The morning brought no relief, nor did the mornings after.
Moth had not expected it to, but she had not expected to feel a fierce longing within her chest that seemed to want to rip her heart out.
She had been within the Dog's home for a good few weeks, and yet nothing happened.
She was fed, of course. But when she chose not to leave her room, no one contended that choice. It had given her time to think.
She wanted her Spider, badly. But she also wanted the man who had once been hers. She felt a desperate desire to see him again, but he was dead.
After a moment of silence, she arose. The dawn had not yet broke, and she could not help but smile as she looked upon the room around her.
This pattern of hers was one directly related to Spider's influence. He'd always said she could sleep in, but she never had...
One last hint of defiance, Moth supposed.
It was time to leave the room. But first, she would need clothing.
When she looked around for something to wear, Moth discovered a kimono that had obviously been laid out for her.
It was odd, that she hadn't noticed it before.
Letting out an exclamation of pleasure, she picked it up and looked at it closely, running her fingers over the pattern.
It was undecorated but for a simple hibiscus flower twining itself about the sleeve, contrasting sharply with the kimono's grey shade.
"Grey for the inbetween place..." she whispered softly, a wry smile covering her gentle mouth. "Accurate."
Moth let her hair flow loose and free, stepping outside of her room with the silent grace of one used to fear.
She made her way down the hallway, to a door she hadn't seen before, and through it found herself in another room.
Moth had never felt so... Clear, before.
She no longer had that fuzzy sensation to contend with, and within the Dog's home it seemed there were no dark barriers to separate her from the beauty that was the world.
Now, all there were were many halls- But those halls were enough.
They suffocated her, and Moth wanted desperately to find her way out of this massive prison.
She needed to find some door, a door that would let her out into a courtyard that she might breath the fresh air.
Soon, she came across such a door and a small sob of relief tore from her throat as she breathed the rich tang of early morning dew.
So much had changed... Moth knew, instinctively, that if she were to have been here when she was 16 this would have been a place neatly kept.
She was not the only one to have experienced change in this world. It led her to wonder- How much HAD she missed, locked away in her silent misery?
Moth was pondering this thought when he appeared like a silent shadow in the mist. She observed the Dog and he silently observed her in return.
He was an enigma. She had been in his home for a good few weeks and the Dog had barely talked to her.
She was silent, and he seemed to prefer that to the chatter that her Spider had taken for granted.
Moth wistfully remembered the days when she had been indulged in her chattering tendencies- Not by Spider, but by those from before.
Her mother. Her brother. Her grandfather. Perhaps Buyo had passed on by now. Cats don't live very long beyond 18, if even that.
She hoped that if he was dead, that he was happy.
She allowed herself a contented smile as she pictured the fat cat from ages before, wearing his angel wings.
He wouldn't be able to get to heaven, he was just so HEAVY...
Despite herself, at this image Moth burst into a merry peal of laughter.
The fresh air was infecting her lungs, and her bare feet, numbed by the chill, only made the exhilaration seem all the greater.
The dog observed her, and was amazed.
Since he had brought her into his home, the woman had been a perfect guest, silent and polite. She had been grave, and she had been respectful.
And now, for no reason at all, she was laughing merrily as though all were right with the world, as though she were not being sought for by the most influential demon of the times.
Spider had become such, after all. While Moth had been within her cell, he had conquered all others, including the Dog.
Now these ruins were all that was left of his once spectacular empire.
Spider ruled all. Moth could not escape him by hiding in one place, though she might not know it.
The Dog could easily turn her over for a large sum of money.
And yet... He did not. He could not. He did not love Moth, but he longed to own her. He needed to cage this last reminiscence of a golden past.
Could one truly blame him for seeking refuge in the past, when it was so much brighter than the future?
"Good morning," he said finally, unsure of what else could be said, "I trust you slept well?"
Moth looked at the Dog, mouth agape.
He finally spoke to her, yet it was not what she had supposed it would have been.
His eyes were intent, but he seemed casual to the point of being desperate.
Was the once great Dog embarrassed?
Moth smiled softly, looking down at her hands, resting upon her lap. "Very well, this night and all the nights previous. Thank you for your hospitality."
"Memories are hard to come by." he returned simply. "Breakfast?"
And so it went. Together, they whiled away the time.
He was cold, and she was respectful, and soon they grew to be distant friends, brought together by circumstance.
After a while, the Dog knew what he had feared would soon come to pass.
Spider's search was beginning to span wider, and the Dog's home would soon be searched.
He could not let her be lost, this link to the past. She had been in his home for 6 months, and now he could not imagine not having her there.
He had told her everything. She knew of Rin, and her death. She knew of how he ached. She knew of how his reign had fallen.
Yet there was one thing he would not tell her. He would keep it from her until he could not hide it anymore. Then he didn't know what he would do.
"Why do you look so sorrowful, Dog?" she asked him, one memorable evening by the fire.
He stared at her intently, over the flickering glare of the fire. Moth wore a sky blue kimono, simple and beautiful. She perched by the fire with easy grace.
The Dog wanted this so badly... He took her hand, and his eyes burned with an odd light.
"Dog?" she whispered, suddenly afraid of he who stood before her.
Desperately, without thought, the Dog mashed his lips to her own. The action was filled with longing, but it repulsed them both.
The Dog realized too late that she could not fill the void. No one could. No one could replace the little girl who he had loved so dearly.
He pushed her from him and Moth crumpled to the ground. When she lifted her head, the Dog's gaze was cold and composed once more.
"He's searching for you. He scours the country, and you will not be able to reside within my home any longer."
Moth blinked her eyes, and suddenly understood. Eyes saddened, she reached out a hand and touched his shoulder.
The Dog would not meet her gaze. "You can leave out the back door. There are supplies. Take what you need. Get out of here."
"Thank you..." Moth, remorse in her gaze, softly kissed the Dog on his cheek.
And then she was gone, stealthily nabbing a small bag of supplies and escaping through the back passage.
The Dog stayed where he had been, silent and grave. He knew that Spider would know he had protected Moth.
Spider would know everything, when he came across the Dog's home. The tortures he would inflict would be far worse than death, by a long shot.
And besides... Moth had been the last one left. There was no one else now, not even that insufferably subservient Jakken.
The Dog's lips curled into a heartless smile. It was ironic, for someone like him to die like this... But at least the path he chose was an honorable one.
With the slow moving grace of royalty, he opened the casket that contained Toukijin.