Road Trip

When the sun finally rose, the vixen woke up. She was back at the hide out. The moment her eyes had opened, she was scooped into a strong embrace. She cried out as the arms squeezed on her, nearly constricting her breath. It was Youko, by the sound of the voice. "Thank you," he said, "Thank you for saving us."

"What for?" she replied.

"That werewolf line is dead now, no one will ever try to take you away from us again." she could hear his voice wavering. She saw his eyes brim over; he fought to keep his tears inside. She covered his eyes with her hands, "Don't be afraid to cry, Youko," she whispered. She felt his tears flow unhindered from his eyes. He hugged more tightly, crying silently. Footsteps echoed in the hall, "Koronue," she whispered. Youko was too proud to cry in front of another male, so he quickly wiped his eyes.

The bat strolled into the room, and he had a familiar strip of cloth and some pink substance in his hand. "Reiki training again." And similar to the past training sessions, she was blindfolded and her ears plugged. Her training was not as rushed as before; the weeks wore away again into the final days of October.

Gabriel stood straight as a pole, her hands balled into fists. The long grass of the training area had long since turned brown and become scratchy. A wind coming from around her whipped the grass around, making a satisfying crackling, like potato chips. Yummy…

"Focus on the power within." The bandits coached.

"I can feel it." She had her eyes closed tight.

"Try and force it out into your hands." The wind blew stronger. "I-I… can't!!"

"Don't loose focus!" she appeared to be struggling inwardly. The wind started to rotate in a circle like a tornado, making everything float upwards that wasn't rooted down. "Stay in control!" they shouted, clinging to the trees. She could barely hear them over the wind and her own screams. A small light glowed in her hands; it flickered and licked at the air like a flame. Slowly, it stretched and started to resemble something, but before it could take shape, it flickered and died. The wind ceased; various debris rained from the sky, including branches, dirt, rocks, and several boulders. Youko ran to her and had to pull her away from the field as several things were falling dangerously close to where she was standing. "Are you blind, kit?" 'Kit' being the equivalent of 'girl.'

"I couldn't do it," she said sadly.

"Try again later, its time to head in." they started to walk back to the hide out.

"Why?"

"We have to pack up."

"Where are we going?"

"You and I are going, Koronue must stay behind."

"Where are we going?"

"We'll be on the road for about three days-"

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?!"

"To a youko convention."

"A what? We get to meet more youkos?"

"Yes, and some of my family might be there."

"Do you think somebody from my family will be there too?"

"I don't know, golden youkos are as rare as hens teeth, even though it's the predominant gene when they breed. We'll see."

"Yay! Road trip!" forgetting everything else, she bounded down the path and into the hideout. The bandits stayed behind and walked at a normal pace. "How long are you going to be away?" Koronue asked. Youko shrugged, "Not too long I imagine; it will only take three days to get there and three back, the convention is only a day or so long. Sometimes families hang around longer."

"It's a pretty chilly time of year to meet like that."

"Mainly, it's a get-together to bear offspring, as mating season is in the spring. A lot of youkos who aren't mated or with young come to meet their friends and family."

"Would you and Gabriel fall into the non-mated category?" the bat gave him a sly look. An uncharacteristic blush came to Youko's cheeks, "Of course we do!"

Packing for the journey took up the remainder of the day. Only a few things were needed, seeing as how only Youko would travel as a full fox, but Gabriel was too excited to concentrate on anything. Koronue laughed wildly as Youko's frustration mounted. She finally settled down when the fox threatened not to go at all with her and leave her behind.

Next day: the vixen trudged along behind the fox. Trudge meaning sprinting in a sulky manner while Youko ran on all fours in his beast form. They started their journey at sunrise, much to a grouchy vixen's dismay, and had gotten past the village near their hide out and into the mountains by noon. "Not that I'm complaining," she started, "But how long will it take to get there? And where is there, anyway?" No answer. "Are you ignoring me? Are you mad at me or something?" Youko stopped and turned toward her, staring with his golden eyes. He could not use many facial expressions in his current state, but if he could, he would arch an eyebrow and say, "Isn't it obvious I don't have a human mouth to speak with?" a few more seconds of staring…

"You scare me like that, you know." She said, eyeing him warily. Feeling mischievous, he gave her a fox glare and bared his teeth.

"Eep!" she bolted away, Youko followed, snapping at her heels to herd her in the proper direction they were heading. After six hours of shrieking bloody murder and running as fast as her legs would carry her, which wasn't nearly as fast as Youko could, she promptly collapsed in a somewhat damp clearing near a mountain stream. "Youko's a frickin' meanie bo-bo head!" she cried pathetically, tears and sweat dripping down her face. Still having plenty of energy left, he barked, wagging his five tails. "What are you barking at? I'm tired! You chased me like the hounds of hell all day! Go away!" Burying her face in her arms, she sulked quietly.

Youko sat on the ground and cocked his head at a confused angle. 'What's so wrong about that?' True they had gotten to their daily destination, but he had also scared the crap out of her to do so. Females are so fickle. Approaching her cautiously, he put his paw on her head. She gave him a grunt similar to 'hn,' and acknowledged his presence no more. He nudged her again; she said nothing. Burrowing his muzzle under her stomach, he forced her over with strength not normal for a regular fox to have. She covered her eyes stubbornly with her hands. He jumped onto her stomach, resulting in her upper torso heaving upwards and a satisfying 'oof!'

Slurp!

"Bleah! What the hell?" he had licked her right on the mouth. "Youko, you don't just lick someone on the face! Its just icky; besides the fact that my face is filthy." He transformed back into his two-legged form, "You never complained about where my mouth was before." He grinned suggestively.

"PERVERT!"

SLAP!

"What was that for?! Damn it, you hit hard!"

"I finally got rid of one barking pervert, I don't ever want to have to put up with another."

"Eh, sorry?"

"Yeah right."

"I'm sorry! Okay, lighten up! I was kidding with you!" she turned her back to him and crossed her arms, sniffing. "I just can't let go!" she cried into her knees. "I have nightmares about him," she whispered. Feeling a fluffy moment coming on, he gave in and hugged her. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry; okay."

She nodded, wiping her face off, "I know; I'm acting really pathetic and spoiled."

"And it doesn't help you've practically got me wrapped around your little finger."

"Really?"

"Basically; I can't deny you anything," he smiled genuinely, "No more tears now, ne?" he tweaked her nose.

"Not unless you invoke them, you wicked thing!"

"Oh, Come on! I said I was sorry!" her giggles drowned him out. She walked over to the stream to wash her face off; he promptly shoved her in. Standing waist high in the tributary, she glared fiercely at him. He found it difficult to stand so he rolled on the ground, laughing as loud as he could. She finally managed to crack a smile, secretly formulating her revenge for later. Pulling off her slippers, she tossed them onto shore to keep them from being ruined. Thinking she was trying to hit him, he scooted farther away. "Hey, watch it!" he yelled.

"Sorry!" She giggled. She walked out of the river again and wrung out her clothes. "I really needed a bath, I got all gross from running and crying." A small gust of wind blew across her. Instantly, her knees clasped together, her arms circled around her middle and her tail tangled itself around her figure. "Cold! Wet doesn't work with cold!" she shivered uncontrollably.

Plucking a seed from his hair, Youko formed a bush with large broad leaves to use as a shelter. "C'mon, lets dry you off."

Sort of a pointless chapter, oh well.