Remembering, however painful, is the first step to healing.

Epilogue Healing

Skye finished the healing process, and proclaimed Kurama well, if exhausted. She refused, however, to let him leave until he had rested and was at the top of his health. It was a Miko's job, right? But maybe it was a little more.

She wanted Kurama to stay, and she knew it. How could she ever really let him go? She had died – literally – for him, and brought him back from Reikai. She'd nursed him through a deadly epidemic…and maybe even fallen in love.

She didn't want to admit that. Half of the pain of becoming Skye Wingthorn was realizing that in doing so, she was letting go of Hiei. But even if she told him, there was no denying that it wouldn't work out. They were both different, and she knew it. She was no longer Reyanina, First Miko of the WolfChildren, but Skye Wingthorn, a Miko who lived on her own, and served only the sick.

She'd lost a lot of her innocence, and a piece of her heart in that change, the former of which would never recover. But she was beginning to think that in the presence of Kurama, she was healing.

She was a different person, and her name fit her like a glove. Wingthorn. It was hard to believe that she had relived all that, all of it true, with someone she barely knew. That was trust for you – entirely unpredictable.

But now…she had to confront Hiei.

"Hiei…I need to talk to you." She requested hesitantly. He was surprised, though only the wind told her so, that she was showing hesitance. She swallowed hard, and closed her eyes. "This is…very difficult. I haven't been entirely…honest with you."

He narrowed his eyes, suspicious emanating from him, carried by the wind in swirls. It's hard metallic odor – so much like blood – came to her through the breeze.

"Reya… Reya isn't dead." She told him, dreading the feelings that would come to her next. Shock, hatred, fury. The last thing she expected was confusion. He did not say a word, but his eyes begged her to explain. "I am…. Was…. Reyanina Moonstone. But I am not anymore. I am Skye Wingthorn now, and that is no longer just an identity. It's who I have become.

"I loved you once, and you, I. It worked out so well, I had hoped it would never end. But, then the attack came. When the Wolf Stone took my spirit from the statue that was once my body, he fashioned a new one, a white wolf instead of black, and gave me the chance to choose my human form. I love the elves ears, but other than that, I decided to be simple about it.

"He marked me with a blue diamond," she went on, pointing to her forehead. She rubbed off the dye from a mixture of natural ingredients, and a diffused blue diamond showed. It glowed in the sunlight like a miniature sun itself. "Just here. And He changed my spirit as well. I am not who I was, not exactly.

"I understand if you don't want me to say this, but we cannot fool ourselves into thinking we still have something. We don't, we have both changed a lot. And I am going to be starkly honest with you…I really think I kind of…. Click…. With Kurama. It has nothing to do with you, and I really don't think I could have avoided it no matter how hard I tried.

"I am sorry."

Skye bowed her head, fully expecting fury, and willing to accept death by Hiei's katana if he willed it. But it seemed he didn't. He just stared at the ground, looking as lost as he had when they admitted their feelings for each other, so many years ago. By human standards she was… awe inspiringly old. But as a WolfSister, she was just entering her prime. She wondered if Hiei knew that, and decided upon reflection it did not matter. They both had a right to be confused.

"You told me once that 'sorry' would fix nothing. What is done is done, and a string of sounds cannot change a thing. I think I understand what you mean now. It is the intent that can really change things."

"….no, I meant-"

"But even so, sorry will not make it hurt any less, and it won't take back all the damage I have done. I would change for the better in its stead, but I don't know that I can.

"When you left me, the world came crashing down. But now, perhaps, I can move on knowing you are still alive. Thank you for showing me that the heart cannot be silenced by blood. I need to leave, to find a way to get in speaking range of Koenma without being brought down as a dangerous killer. Fair day." And with that, he turned on his heel and left.

"Hiei?" she called. He looked over his shoulder, seeming to have exhausted his supply of words. Don't ever expect me to give another speech like that. he warned, knowing she would hear.

"Thank you."

My name is Eri Windstorm, and I now inhabit the Wolf Stone. It has been my duty to record the great happenings in the living realms, though my question has recently been used by a fire demon, one who wanted to know how to fix what he has done.

Thank you for hearing my tale, and the tale of my daughter, Skye Wingthorn, former Reya Moonstone. I am sure that there will soon be another one, for adventures seem to follow her.

While I have enjoyed watching my daughter grow, it is finally time to move on and allow the spirit of another of the WolfChildren to take my place as I move on to the next world.

Now that will be an adventure.