CHAPTER TWO
It felt like an eternity.
The falling, I mean. Although I do know that it lasted only a matter of seconds becasue the next thing I knew my muscles were automatically bracing for impact and then there was a sickening crunch when I landed.
As my eyes adjusted to the dark surroundings, I got a good look at where I was. A well, yes. It had the damp, mildewy smell associated with water-word rock. With a heavy sigh I look down to see what it was I had landed on. My gaze was returned by the empty sockets of a half crushed skull. I stepped back against the wall and closed my eyes, swallowing back the burning bile that was trying to fight its way into my throat.
"Hey, Namir, you comin'?"
I looked up to see the opening of the well and Kagome's sun-shadowed figure staring down at me.
Throw one last look at the gaping skull I adjusted my bokkon on my back and began climbing the wall of the well. As I
reached the top, a hand reached down to help me. I accepted the offer and regretted it the instant I did. My brain started screaming CANINE! and my eyes narrowed as I instantly launched myself out of the well, hissing as I landed in a low crouch.
Kagome rushed over and helped me up, saying, "Woah. What was that all about? What the hell's wrong with you?!"
I flipped my ebony hair out of my face and snorted. "You never told me that I was going to have to help a dog... and a mutt nonetheless."
A low growl came from over by Miroku. Turning my head in that direction, I could tell that it was the same "boy" that had attempted to help me. He had long silver hair and eyes the color of my own. His ears atop his head were facing full-front and his fangs were bared as he growled from deep in his chest. I just rolled my eyes and turned back to Kagome who seemed rather surprised at the friction going on between two people who had never met before.
"Kagome, even you have to have some limits. I mean, as if it wasn't enough that you've attracted the company of Hojo, but now you've gone to mixing with half-breeds! It's --" I never did get to finish my sentence because the silver-haired boy had leapt at me, claws outstretched and aimed straight for my throat. I twisted my arm behind me to reach for my bokkon...
"NO NAMIR!" Kagome screamed from the side, "Don't hurt him!"
... and threw it to the ground, in the same motion ripping a dagger from its sheath on my ankle. As I flipped the knife in my hand to get a better grip, the boy's claws whooshed in from on my nose. I emitted my own growl and began dodging the flurry of fists that were being thrown in my direction. Instictively I backed up toward the forest, one hand behind me feeling for the solidness of a tree. Once I located one, I looked the boy in the eyes, flashed him a dangerous grin, and shot up the tree. Well, not all the way up. About halfway I pressed my feet to the trunk and pushed off. Hard. Hard enough to send me sailing over the dog-boy's head and landing behind him. On landing I didnt stay still for long, but pushed off from the ground and launched at the boy. I spun him around and shoved him hard against the tree, pressing my dagger against his throat. He growled and made to push me away but I bored down harder against the sharp little tool, drawing a slight amount of blood and getting me close enough to talk to him.
"Listen," I growled menacingly. "Do not make me kill you. Yeah you're a demon and I'm a girl but maybe there's something about me that you dont know about. So unless you want to die, dog-prince, I suggest that you back off 'cause I have no problem killing you and turning your hide into a new coat. You got me?"
His topaz eyes met mine, searchingly. Searching for what I don't know but he must have found it because next I knew he wasx saying, "Fine. I yield. Lemme go."
I stared at him for a moment, wondering why he'd given up so easily. But I didn't want to kill him. Not while Kagome was standing right there and looking for all the world like she was going to eat my face. At last I let up on the dagger and backed away. Kagome, Miroku, and some small child, who seemed to appear out of no where, ran over to the boy who had slumped against the tree, gingerly rubbing his neck.
"Inuyasha," Kagome breathed. "Are you all right?"
Inuyasha. I thought to myself. Quite a suitable name for a dog prince...
"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded gruffly. As he stood I could see his delicate nose twitching, deciphering scents and sorting them to where they belonged. I ignored it and bent to return the dagger to its sheath. When I rose, Kagome was glaring at me and I could tell that I had some explaining to do.
"Care to tell us how you managed to pin Inuyasha?" Kagome began. "Seeing as he's a demon - well half anyway - and you're a--"
"Don't say human."
All heads turned as Inuyasha stepped forward, his eyes narrowed and fixed on me.
"You arent human, are you?" he demanded hotly. "Not like it takes a lot to figure it out. You don't have the same scent as Kagome does and... well... just look at you! You dont look anything like the humans I've seen. I bet your own mother doesnt know what you're capable of!"
"Be silent!" I screamed, clenching my fists. "You have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha countered, circling me at what he thought was a safe distance. "Then why the jacket? Why the gloves? Why the fire-quick reaction to my touch? And how in the HELL did you know that I was a dog-prince?!"
I could hear Kagome gasp even before she started walking toward me.
"Namir?" she whispered. "Is that true? If you arent human, then what are you? C'mon, you can trust us."
I raised my eyes to meet her dark brown ones. They say that eyes are the windows to the soul. Well, if that's true then Kagome had one of the purest souls I had ever had the privilage to see into. I snapped myself back into reality and sighed, taking a step back.
"All right. Fine. You're right. I'm not human. And if you wish to see me for who I am then so be it."
I removed my leather gloves and shrugged the jacket to the ground. Then I closed my eyes and allowed the change to take place.
Right on my shoulder blades the flesh began to bulge as muscles reconstructed themselves and bones grew in. The bulging grew outward, feathers replacing the skin as the bones forced the lumps to elongate and form two wings; one black, one white, and each about five feet long.
A tail began to sneak its way out of a slit in the back of my jeans, creating this wonderful stretching feeling that went all through my spine. The six foot apendage was beginning to be covered in soft black fur that I could feel growing in, almost like a living carpet.
My already abnormal ears had disappeared from the sides of my head and had regrown on the top, appearing just like Inuyasha's. Except mine, like my tail, were covered in black fur rather than white like his. I twitched them and flapped my great wings just to make sure everything was in working order. My fingernails had grown slightly longer and had become more sharp, as had my poorly named "canine teeth". My teeth elongated and retracted on my inner command, giving me a tingley feeling that I couldnt help but shudder inwardly at.
At last it was finished. Only then did I dare to raise my eyes to look at the expressions of my new comrads.
*~Chapter two complete. hopefully this'll suffice for those of you who need more detail. Although, i dont think that there's TOO much dialoge because thats how I explain things is through the characters. Eh, oh well. Have fun with it.~*
It felt like an eternity.
The falling, I mean. Although I do know that it lasted only a matter of seconds becasue the next thing I knew my muscles were automatically bracing for impact and then there was a sickening crunch when I landed.
As my eyes adjusted to the dark surroundings, I got a good look at where I was. A well, yes. It had the damp, mildewy smell associated with water-word rock. With a heavy sigh I look down to see what it was I had landed on. My gaze was returned by the empty sockets of a half crushed skull. I stepped back against the wall and closed my eyes, swallowing back the burning bile that was trying to fight its way into my throat.
"Hey, Namir, you comin'?"
I looked up to see the opening of the well and Kagome's sun-shadowed figure staring down at me.
Throw one last look at the gaping skull I adjusted my bokkon on my back and began climbing the wall of the well. As I
reached the top, a hand reached down to help me. I accepted the offer and regretted it the instant I did. My brain started screaming CANINE! and my eyes narrowed as I instantly launched myself out of the well, hissing as I landed in a low crouch.
Kagome rushed over and helped me up, saying, "Woah. What was that all about? What the hell's wrong with you?!"
I flipped my ebony hair out of my face and snorted. "You never told me that I was going to have to help a dog... and a mutt nonetheless."
A low growl came from over by Miroku. Turning my head in that direction, I could tell that it was the same "boy" that had attempted to help me. He had long silver hair and eyes the color of my own. His ears atop his head were facing full-front and his fangs were bared as he growled from deep in his chest. I just rolled my eyes and turned back to Kagome who seemed rather surprised at the friction going on between two people who had never met before.
"Kagome, even you have to have some limits. I mean, as if it wasn't enough that you've attracted the company of Hojo, but now you've gone to mixing with half-breeds! It's --" I never did get to finish my sentence because the silver-haired boy had leapt at me, claws outstretched and aimed straight for my throat. I twisted my arm behind me to reach for my bokkon...
"NO NAMIR!" Kagome screamed from the side, "Don't hurt him!"
... and threw it to the ground, in the same motion ripping a dagger from its sheath on my ankle. As I flipped the knife in my hand to get a better grip, the boy's claws whooshed in from on my nose. I emitted my own growl and began dodging the flurry of fists that were being thrown in my direction. Instictively I backed up toward the forest, one hand behind me feeling for the solidness of a tree. Once I located one, I looked the boy in the eyes, flashed him a dangerous grin, and shot up the tree. Well, not all the way up. About halfway I pressed my feet to the trunk and pushed off. Hard. Hard enough to send me sailing over the dog-boy's head and landing behind him. On landing I didnt stay still for long, but pushed off from the ground and launched at the boy. I spun him around and shoved him hard against the tree, pressing my dagger against his throat. He growled and made to push me away but I bored down harder against the sharp little tool, drawing a slight amount of blood and getting me close enough to talk to him.
"Listen," I growled menacingly. "Do not make me kill you. Yeah you're a demon and I'm a girl but maybe there's something about me that you dont know about. So unless you want to die, dog-prince, I suggest that you back off 'cause I have no problem killing you and turning your hide into a new coat. You got me?"
His topaz eyes met mine, searchingly. Searching for what I don't know but he must have found it because next I knew he wasx saying, "Fine. I yield. Lemme go."
I stared at him for a moment, wondering why he'd given up so easily. But I didn't want to kill him. Not while Kagome was standing right there and looking for all the world like she was going to eat my face. At last I let up on the dagger and backed away. Kagome, Miroku, and some small child, who seemed to appear out of no where, ran over to the boy who had slumped against the tree, gingerly rubbing his neck.
"Inuyasha," Kagome breathed. "Are you all right?"
Inuyasha. I thought to myself. Quite a suitable name for a dog prince...
"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded gruffly. As he stood I could see his delicate nose twitching, deciphering scents and sorting them to where they belonged. I ignored it and bent to return the dagger to its sheath. When I rose, Kagome was glaring at me and I could tell that I had some explaining to do.
"Care to tell us how you managed to pin Inuyasha?" Kagome began. "Seeing as he's a demon - well half anyway - and you're a--"
"Don't say human."
All heads turned as Inuyasha stepped forward, his eyes narrowed and fixed on me.
"You arent human, are you?" he demanded hotly. "Not like it takes a lot to figure it out. You don't have the same scent as Kagome does and... well... just look at you! You dont look anything like the humans I've seen. I bet your own mother doesnt know what you're capable of!"
"Be silent!" I screamed, clenching my fists. "You have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha countered, circling me at what he thought was a safe distance. "Then why the jacket? Why the gloves? Why the fire-quick reaction to my touch? And how in the HELL did you know that I was a dog-prince?!"
I could hear Kagome gasp even before she started walking toward me.
"Namir?" she whispered. "Is that true? If you arent human, then what are you? C'mon, you can trust us."
I raised my eyes to meet her dark brown ones. They say that eyes are the windows to the soul. Well, if that's true then Kagome had one of the purest souls I had ever had the privilage to see into. I snapped myself back into reality and sighed, taking a step back.
"All right. Fine. You're right. I'm not human. And if you wish to see me for who I am then so be it."
I removed my leather gloves and shrugged the jacket to the ground. Then I closed my eyes and allowed the change to take place.
Right on my shoulder blades the flesh began to bulge as muscles reconstructed themselves and bones grew in. The bulging grew outward, feathers replacing the skin as the bones forced the lumps to elongate and form two wings; one black, one white, and each about five feet long.
A tail began to sneak its way out of a slit in the back of my jeans, creating this wonderful stretching feeling that went all through my spine. The six foot apendage was beginning to be covered in soft black fur that I could feel growing in, almost like a living carpet.
My already abnormal ears had disappeared from the sides of my head and had regrown on the top, appearing just like Inuyasha's. Except mine, like my tail, were covered in black fur rather than white like his. I twitched them and flapped my great wings just to make sure everything was in working order. My fingernails had grown slightly longer and had become more sharp, as had my poorly named "canine teeth". My teeth elongated and retracted on my inner command, giving me a tingley feeling that I couldnt help but shudder inwardly at.
At last it was finished. Only then did I dare to raise my eyes to look at the expressions of my new comrads.
*~Chapter two complete. hopefully this'll suffice for those of you who need more detail. Although, i dont think that there's TOO much dialoge because thats how I explain things is through the characters. Eh, oh well. Have fun with it.~*
