Rosaline fought back tears, as she interjected her pain filled statement, and the group fell silent. Kagome gently placed her warm hand on Rosaline's shoulder, encouraging her to continue. Rosaline shook her head, dislodging a few adventurous saltwater tears from her cheeks. "She died saving my life. She wanted run, but my damn pride and her stupid loyalty killed her. Not to mention that my foolish curiosity was what got us in trouble in the first place." She pulled away from Kagome's comforting touch, resting her face against her hands. Tears began to trickle through her fingers. "It was my stupid fault. I just had to find out what that smell was."
"You couldn't have known," Shippo said gently, placing his small hand on her knee as he jumped into her lap. Rosaline cuddled him like a baby and he seemed to enjoy the attention.
"I smelled the demon before I even crested the hill. I was curious. I should have turned tail and ran then."
"What is it with women and never listening?" Inuyasha grumped. Rosaline growled.
"What is it with men and only thinking with their balls?" The pair glared death at each.
"Crazy bitch!" he snapped.
"Kagome, do your stuff,"
"Inuyasha, sit!" Kagome commanded and Inuyasha hit the ground with a yelp.
"Kagome, I told you not to do that!"
"Women don't listen, remember?" She winked, and Sango and Rosaline giggled.
"She got ya' there, buddy," Miroku said. Inuyasha grumbled incoherently under his breath. Kagome was giggling now and Inuyasha shot her a growl. Rosaline stood and gripped Kagome for support as her injured leg buckled under her slight weight. She growled as she righted herself, frustrated for her brief period of weakness. If she was to go after Naraku, she had to be strong. She wouldn't let that bastard get away with what he did to her family. Kagome took her arm and ignored Rosaline's cold brush off.
Rosaline knew that this mismatched pack would probably stand a better chance against Naraku then she would alone, but she didn't want to risk loosing them as well. She would rather die on her own then live long enough to see them get killed. She turned to Kagome and imagined Naraku's blade through her chest and shuddered. The little human pup was smiling in her sweet way, trying to comfort her with her gentle voice.
"What's the matter, Rosaline? Are you cold?"
"Um…Yeah," Rosaline lied quickly. With that picture fresh in her mind, Rosaline moved away from Kagome's steady and supportive hands, now leaning on a tree to keep her from wobbling. She shifted to her white wolf form, three legs giving her better balance then one, her front leg still hurt, but it supported her none the less. She gave Kagome a soft bark, meaning, "I need to leave." Kagome got the message.
"But Rosaline! You need to heal. You won't be able to take on Naraku like this. You'll be-"
"Grrrrr!" She growled, gripping Kagome's hand between her teeth, her grip to light to puncture the skin, but hard enough that Kagome squirmed, trying to remove her hand. Kagome patted her head with the hand that had already been deviled by Rosaline's teeth.
"But-"
"Grrrrrrrrrr!" she growled again and let go of Kagome's hand, the skin unbroken with no marks, save tiny red blemishes to show where Rosaline's teeth had been. Those quickly faded. Without another word, Rosaline loped into the surrounding forest.