Ch 5
"Are you SURE he can get rid of the demon menace?" the leader of the village asked as the sun climbed yet higher in the sky. It had been three weeks since Shippo joined our company and for three weeks we had traveled from village to village, helping the people who needed our services. I had learned many lessons from Shippo, Such as how to deal with rude, snobby know-it-alls.
"Yessir," I reassured him, "as I have said before, Shippo is an accomplished fighter, and has a history of taking care of spider demons."
The leader of the village looked over at the green eyed kitsune, who was watching the little kids at play with amusement.
Through most of the villages that we traveled through, I found most of them held a general dislike for demons, no matter if they had given them a service or not.
When I had spoken my opinion to Shippo of these high and mighty snobs and how they treated him, he just chuckled and said, "We'll be met with this kind of dislike everywhere. I don't let one person put me down, and neither should you. Just because one man dislikes you doesn't mean the world does." I left it at that
The headman seemed to size the young demon up with his eyes. I had heard rumors of men who liked other men and an involuntary shiver ran up and down my spine. The man gave a loud sniff and turned his back on me.
"You can stay in the visitors hut at the edge of the village. My advisor will tell you when the spider demon comes and what tools you will be given. Should you need anything, just ask my servant."
"We won't need any tools," I said, my blood rising, "but thank you anyway for you kind thoughts."
"Suite yourself," the headman headed in the direction of a group of young men. I remembered the look he had given Shippo and shuddered again.
I walked over to Shippo who had now joined in the games with the kids. Some of the mothers hovered on the sidelines anxiously, but when they saw that the kitsune wasn't hurting their little ones, they smiled and went about their work. The children were having great fun holding onto Shippo's tail and trying to keep up with the fox as he ran around in circles. A small girl sat on the Shippo's shoulders, holding onto his bow for balance and sucking on her fingers while clutching a hand made doll in her arm.
Shippo roared and flexed his claws, pretending to chase the children attached to his tail, but just seemed to go around in endless circles, and the children just barely managed to escape his grasp.
I giggled at the sight. Shippo caught my eye and smiled. He seemed to be at his happiest when he was making other people happy. With a shout Shippo managed to snag the straggler and he held him up and pretended to eat his stomach, while in reality he was tickling him with his chin. The other children scattered and ran to hide behind their mother's skirt while the child in Shippo's grasp wriggled and screamed in giggles. Shippo finally set him back down and he scampered off with his playmates.
I walked up to Shippo laughing. "I sometimes wonder how old you are."
"You can never fully grow up," Shippo replied with a smile, panting slightly from his play. I giggled back at him. I was about to say something when a fat, bellowing man rolled up to us, panting as if he had run a great distance.
"If I may," he said, trying to catch his breath, "you are lady with the demon am I right?"
"His name is Shippo," I said, a tad bit annoyed. "What do you want?"
The fat man didn't notice the edge to my voice. "I am to show you were you and your….um...companion will stay until you defeat the demon."
"Thank you but no," I said. "No accommodation will be needed tonight, thank you." The fat man seemed a little taken aback.
"But the Master ordered…"
"The 'MASTER' can order ants for all I care. Shippo and I will be just as comfortable in the sky." The Fat Servant looked up at the darkening sky with astonishment. Then he looked back at me. I smiled at him and walked away, Shippo giving the man an apologetic smile and then followed me.
"Why do we have to sleep in the sky tonight?" he asked, falling in step with me.
"Because I can't stand to be in that man's village for longer than I have to," I replied irritably. For some reason, any rude comment aimed at Shippo I took personally. Perhaps I was just letting the people get to me. I needed Shippo's calm attitude.
So I was glad he didn't press the issue any further.
"It will rain tonight," he said with a glance at the sky.
"Yes! And it will be wonderful! I could use some amusement tonight."
"And tomorrow we could use for scouting the remainder of the land."
"Why not now? Won't the demon come tonight?" I asked, this was not the usual way that Shippo went about to destroy demons. Shippo smiled knowingly at me.
"You said yourself it was going to rain. Spiders don't come out during the damp. The demon won't attack until tomorrow."
"Oh, I knew that!" I said. Shippo grinned.
"Of course you did!" he winked at me! Why did my heart suddenly skip a beat? Shippo stopped walking when he came to the small stream that ran next to the village.
"At the moment, though, I am hungry." He rolled up his pants to his thighs and waded into the stream. Standing patiently in the middle of the current, Shippo waited for the fish to become accustomed to his still legs. Not a toe on his foot wiggled. Why was I looking at his feet?
Quicker than I could follow, Shippo shot his hand forward into the water. A bright, silver colored fish flopped onto the bank next to me, gasping for breath. I looked over but Shippo had already returned to his frozen state of being. Not a hair stirred as he waited for his prey.
I watched as the fish slowly stop moving. I felt at a loss. I had no knowledge of how to build a fire, so I couldn't cook the morsel for Shippo. I wasn't feeling particularly hungry at the moment. All I could do was gather wood for when Shippo would come and build the fire.
Another fish flopped down beside the first and gasped out its last breath. A third one followed suit. Shippo followed this one and shook the droplets off his legs. He noticed my pile of wood and smiled, silently thanking me.
Using a small amount of fox fire, Shippo ignited the wood and started a fire. Then he took sticks and pierced the fish and set them over the fire
"These will be juicy when they are done," he said, a small mount of drool showing itself on his lip. I giggled and called the tiny amount of moisture to me. I sent it into the atmosphere, though the clouds above didn't look like they needed it.
Cume came zooming down out of the sky. "I suggest you take refuge," he said. "The storm is about to break."
"Storm!" I asked, my eyes glittering with excitement.
"Yes, a storm," Cume answered with a laugh. I raised my hands and said something totally irrelevant. I stopped when the others stared at me. Shippo just shook his head and smiled. He munched away on the first fish.
"I'm not sure if I will ever understand everything you say," he said. I picked up another fish fillet, suddenly ravishing
"When you eat my socks you will understand," I said as wisely as I could.
"You don't wear socks," Cume said, not seeing the joke. Shippo nearly chocked on his fish with laughter. I wiggled my toes and tucked them underneath me. I continued to eat my fish in silence.
Shippo devoured the remaining fish and picked his teeth with his claws. I watched the ever darkening clouds with anticipation. Ever closer they seemed to their breaking point. My hair started to stand on end with the electricity in the air.
I looked over and laughed at the sparks that flew through Shippo's fizzed up hair. The annoyed look on his face said he wasn't used to the electric charges that naturally collected in the air around me. I laughed.
"If you don't want to get wet," I said, "Cume can protect you."
"I will just sit under a tree and ride it out," Shippo replied, trying to smooth down his hair. My eyes widened.
"Don't go under a tree!" I exclaimed.
"Why not?" he paused in pawing his hair.
"Lightning is naturally attracted to trees and any large object that sticks up out of the ground. It would be safer for you to sit in the middle of the ground. And Cume can protect you from the rain. I will make sure the lightning stays clear of you. It will understand. It normally listens to me." I rubbed my hand on top of his hair and the lighting left their play ground and traveled from my fingertips to the ground.
Shippo looked on in amazement as clouds gathered under my feet and lifted me up into the sky. I spread my arms wide as I embraced the sheer power of the storm. Lightning kissed my cheek and the wind rolled around me and embraced me. The clouds took my soul by the hand and pulled me into its eternal dance.
