Rasberries starts a new story! woohoo! Okay, Authors notes: This story is a continuance of my other story *Captured Soul*. In Captured Soul Sesshomaru was captured and made a bound servant to a very powerful *miko* For those of you who have not read Captured Soul I highly recommend reading it before this one. For those of you who do not want to read such a dark tale, but still want to read this one, you can email me and I will give you a brief synopsis of Captured Soul.

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of it's characters.

_____________________________________________________________

Chapter one: Beginning of a journey

___________________________________________________________

Night was falling. Liana peered up to the darkening sky. One lone star blinked back at her, the first twinkle of the shadowy dusk. Field crickets chirped for the cooling darkness, adding melody to the rustle of the surrounding sage.

Liana looked down at the baby in her arms. With a tired but wistful smile, she whispered to him, "What shall I name you, my little one?" The infant gave a gurgled grunt in response while trying to finish his meal.

For the first time, Liana gazed at her baby, lovingly noticing every detail that the darkening evening would soon take from her sight. Tenderly, she traced the blue crescent moon on his forehead then lightly smoothed one fingertip over the fuchsia stripe along his chubby cheek. Her smile grew as she took note of his silvery white hair and fuzzy little ears. She almost laughed when the furry ear laid back as she rubbed across its newborn softness. "Oh, sensitive, are we?"

Her smile fell some, becoming wistful once more as she ran her fingers through the silken fluffiness of his hair. "You look like your father."

At that thought Liana frowned deeply. She would never see him again. "Sesshomaru." The name he gave her only once fell from her lips in a faint whisper, the name of the inu youkai that had given her this beautiful baby.

Blinking back the blurry wetness that threatened to fall, Liana grasped her baby's small pudgy hand, brought it to her lips, then kissed the tiny fingers. The infant nuzzled closer to her warmth, lightening her heart. She took in a deep breath and sighed, her wistful smile returned. "I shall name you, Aki Maru Lian, Maru for short."

Little Maru squirmed. Gently, she picked him up then held him against her shoulder and chest while patting his back. Directly, she heard a small burp.

A cool night wind swept around them. Liana shivered, holding her bare infant close. What could she do? Should she build a fire? Her old home was not very far. If she made a fire, Her Lady might see the smoke. Fearing for Maru's safety, Liana decided to stay awake until sunrise and begin the journey in dawn's light. She caressed Maru's tiny cold foot. He needed to be kept as warm as possible. Taking out the tuft of fur from under her garment, she proceeded to wrap the soft piece of cloth around his bare body.

Lying back against the Great Old Stone, Liana pondered on what direction to take in the morning. The nearest human village was to the north, about five days travel. If she walked all day with a few short rests, she could make it there in four, even with sleeping at night. There were a few streams along the pathways. Those streams would provide water as well as fish. After forming a plan, Liana balled up, holding her now sleeping baby between her knees and stomach. The night would be a long one.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The sky lightened with the dawn. Liana shivered a little as she stood on shaky legs. Dew frosted the stretch of sage circling them. With a deep breath, she summoned up her courage and began walking in the direction of the mountains, leaving the field of sage and flowers where she had spent the night, stepping into the shaded forest that had bordered the field. She walked for a while under shadowy looming trees until her bare footfalls came upon the not so worn path, the one that branched and criss-crossed throughout the giant hills before her, leading northward to the human village.

While holding a sleepy Maru close, she traveled for half the day, staying on the lower dusty trail that lined the base of the tall mountains. The lower trails were not as cool as the ones higher up and they were not as dark or ominous, considering the brightness of the leaves that fell from the wind blown trees. Up higher, the trees along the trail seemed darker, greener, and smelled of pine. Natural instinct told her to keep to the lighter trails and move with cautious quietness. Along the way, she found late summer berries, nuts, and a few mushrooms.

By midday, Liana came upon a small bubbling stream. She kneeled by the rippling brook, laid Maru on the mossy ground by her side, then leaned over the edge, cupping the coolness in her hands before bringing it to her mouth. The sweet cold water refreshed her body. Bright sunlight reflected off the water's surface, splashing warmth over her face, raising her spirits. After drinking enough water to satisfy her thirst, Liana picked up Maru and began to feed him. The little one seemed all too happy to partake in what she gave.

Liana observed the beautiful being in her arms as it gently pawed for its meal. For a moment, she regarded him in curious wonder. Maru had not made one single sound since they had begun their journey. All he did was gurgle softly and grunt while taking his nourishment. She smiled. He was going to be a quiet one. Much like his.... Her thoughts paused. No. Thinking of him now would only bring a despair that might hinder her journey. She would have to wait until she had reached a place to stay, a home, before allowing his memory to walk freely along the confines of her spirit.

Feeding little Maru did not take long. After burping him, she laid him down once more and removed the fluffy scrap of fur that he was bundled in. Reaching to the hem of her dress, she tore off one long strip then two square ones from her clothing. Taking the long strip of cloth, she doused it in the stream, wetting it. With the damp cloth, she cleaned Maru's body, washing the bloody streaks from his hair, the crusty brown stains from his skin, and the yellow brownish mess around his bare bottom. When she was sure he was clean, Liana folded one of the square cloths, fashioning a changing rag, which she then tied around his lower half. Again, she bundled him back up in the white scrap of fur.

Deciding she needed to remove the blood coating her inner thighs, Liana quickly undressed and dipped into the water, but close to the bank, close to her baby. When she had finished washing her lower body, Liana stepped on the bank, dressed, picked up Maru, and then continued on.

By the end of the day, Liana found a nook under a large tree, big enough to hide them both and keep the cool night wind at bay. After laying her baby beneath the protruding root, she sifted around the base of the tree, finding several old fallen branches. With two sticks and some dried grass she started a small fire near the entrance of the creviced hole. As she sat down inside the shadowy alcove, she picked up her little one, thanking heaven itself the ground beneath them was sandy and dry.

By the dancing firelight, Liana fed Maru again. When he had had his fill, she burped him then snuggled him close in her arms. Sleepily, she gazed at his yawning features, the yellowed light catching a beginning glint of two tiny canine fangs. It had only been a day and already his hair was longer and his teeth were coming in. Smiling, Liana whispered a soothing lullaby. Soon, he was sound asleep. The heat of the fire drifted into the dark niche, giving solid warmth. Leaning back against the inner bark, Liana held Maru close. Slowly, her eyes closed as the sounds of the approaching night whispered across her senses along with the crackling of the fire and the silent sleeping breaths of the baby in her arms. . . . .

.

. . .

_____________________________________________________________________

. . . . . . . Okay, thats my start. I decided to begin this instead of updating Captive soul. I will be anternating updates between this one and Captive soul. I know, a little boring but its just a start. I want to address the baby's name. He is born in the fall. Aki means born in autumn. Maru is from Sesshomaru and Lian in chinese means strong yet graceful willow. I chose Lian because of the meaning and because it is a spin off of Liana's name.