After several reassurances that no, they don't require any payment for slaying the demon and yes, they'll be perfectly alright on their own the villagers see the trio off with hesitant smiles, but before they leave one of the women in the village offers Andy a change of clothes to wear so that she wouldn't be forced to travel back in a partially-transparent blouse and an uncomfortably clingy skirt. They're all simpler items that the woman clearly doesn't mind parting with and Kagome smiles as she helps guide Andy through the process of putting on the various articles of clothing that Andy honestly doesn't know the name of but tries to burn to memory when Kagome tells her what is what. Faster than Andy would have suspected she's dressed in a simple kimono and her damp clothes are placed in a cloth that Kagome explains is called a furoshiki, it's quickly secured around her shoulders to rest against her back and Kagome smiles brightly at her before pulling Andy out into the street where Inuyasha is waiting for them impatiently.
"Took ya long enough." He grumbles, eyes roving over her more traditionally clad form.
Andy supposes that a lot of the men and women, maybe even the children, who have seen her and Kagome so far have probably thought they were a bit loose, or a demon, because most people don't go around showing off as much skin as she and Kagome are unless they're demons. Someone had attributed their strange dress to their foreign upbringing, which isn't really a lie but Andy doubts that really makes anyone think better about the way she and Kagome are dressed. Compared to every other woman they've come across their uniform skirt is obscenely short. Having at least one of them dressed more conservatively has probably eased tension somewhat.
"I'll have you know that this is the first time I've ever worn a kimono, so I wasn't aware of how to dress in one properly." Andy says, moving to twist her hair up into a knot at the top of her head.
Inuyasha stares at her for a moment then scoffs as he turns around to make his way out of the village with Kagome and Andy following close behind. Some of the village children wave at them as they leave and Andy makes sure to smile widely at all of them before she's swallowed up by the trees. Everyone pretty much keeps quiet after they begin making their way back to Kaede's village, each lost in their own little world of thought and too concerned with whatever it is that's bothering them to keep a productive conversation going. While this could have been helpful under different circumstances the longer Andy is left to her thoughts the more aggravated she becomes.
The events of the past few days have processed and Andy can say without any uncertainty that she does not appreciate being dragged into wells by centipede demon ladies that want to tear her friend apart for a jewel that causes more problems than it solves. If it weren't enough that she was dragged into a well because of it, said jewel is currently shattered into hundreds of dangerous little pieces and is probably going to cause a lot more problems for them later on down the road. And because Kagome's the reason the jewel shattered in the first place the two of them are going to end up having to figure something out before something really, really bad happens. What other kinds of demons are there anyway? The ones she's met so far haven't exactly been benign, so the fact that there could be more dangerous ones out there is actually really scary. Just imagining one of these theoretically more dangerous demons getting a fragment of the jewel makes Andy shiver.
Getting the remaining jewel fragments is going to be nearly impossible due to the simple fact that neither Andy nor Inuyasha can see the fragments. But apparently Kagome can? Andy doesn't understand how that works but she's going to chalk it up to some weird spiritual magic and call it a day, but it's clear that out of the three of them Kagome's obviously the most useful. Sure, Inuyasha can claw someone's body in half but does that mean anything if he can't see the shards? No. No it doesn't. What would he even do with the shards anyway? Obviously he wants to use the whole jewel but could he use the shards as he gets them? Would there even be enough power to give him a real boost?
Dull throbbing at her temples causes Andy to clench her eyes shut and suck in two steadying breaths through her nose.
It seems like she's been having more and more migraines lately. Having had them occasionally throughout her life Andy has never thought much of them other than they're a giant inconvenience, but the week leading up to her birthday and the days following it have been filled with more and more mini-migraines than Andy's been bothered to count. She's going to have to talk to someone about it when she gets back... If she gets back.
"How long will it be until we reach the village?" Kagome asks and Andy blinks at her for a second before turning to Inuyasha.
"Should be there in a few hours."
"Oh." Inuyasha's ear twitches violently at Kagome's utterance of disappointment.
Andy understands, really she does, but how else are they going to get to the village? It's not like Andy is going to let Inuyasha cart the two of them all the way there after his failed attempt earlier and with no cars there's really nothing else for them to do but walk. She doesn't even bother entertaining the idea of stealing a horse because there aren't any around and neither of the two girls have ever ridden a horse... Well, maybe Kagome, but Andy doesn't really think being slung over the back of one after being kidnapped counts as riding.
Aside from the occasional remark from Kagome the trip is rather dull. Andy can tell that Inuyasha is beyond irate at this point, body trembling with barely contained anger. He's doing an admirable job keeping himself in check, however, and Andy thinks that when they get back to Kaede's hut so they can tell the older priestess what happened things might be a little different but for now she's actually really impressed with his self-control. Frankly, she wasn't sure Inuyasha had much self-control to begin with but clearly she was wrong. Who knew?
Light fades slowly overhead and they don't seem that much closer to the village. By the time they actually get there it will probably be time for dinner and Andy's thankful for it as she hasn't eaten anything all day. She pats a tune against the side of her thigh to distract herself from the annoyance she's beginning to feel as a result of the stress building over the past few days and the lack of food. The others must understand what she's going through because they all seem to pick up their paces a bit when the village appears in the distance, a dark smudge that quickly grows more and more familiar the closer they get to it. Kaede is waiting for them on the outskirts of the village when their weary feet carry them down the last bit of road that stretches out toward the village from the trees.
She looks them all over with a shrewd eye, lingering on Andy the longest, before telling them to follow. None of them say much as they make their way through the village and to Kaede's home where they find food and a fire waiting for them. Andy drops onto the section of floor she'd occupied the evening before at dinner and smiles tiredly at the woman as Kaede passes her a bowl. She eats quietly while Kagome digs into her pocket to pull out the jewel shard they'd found, it takes all of two seconds for Inuyasha to finally explode.
"What did you do to it?" He demands, eyes bright and full of rage.
Kagome merely stares at the shard held aloft between her index and middle finger while Kaede says, "Stop barking, Inuyasha."
"Leave it to her to wind up breaking it!" He growls.
"Technically, it wasn't Kagome who broke it, but the crow's foot attached to her arrow that actually caused it." Kaede says.
Bless the woman, she's honestly the most level headed of the group right now. If it weren't for her Andy thinks that the yelling, screaming, and raging going on would be far worse than it already is.
"As we saw the jewel has been scattered into many different pieces. One hundred... one thousand...who knows? Yet, however many shards there may be all it will take is one in the wrong hands to bring disaster." Kaede says to the group.
"I'm so sorry," Kagome breathes, eyes wide, "I had no idea."
"Kagome, Inuyasha, Andromeda, only by working together will the three of ye be able to recover the shards of the jewel."
Andy cringes slightly at the use of her full name but doesn't try to correct the older woman. She had, after all, given her permission to use it. In fact, she's always given people the right to use her full name should they prefer it. Normally people just refer to the shortened version of her name because it's easiest and more commonly used than Andromeda. At this point she's so used to everyone using Andy instead of Andromeda that the actual use of her full name is almost startling. Even her aunt doesn't call her Andromeda all that often.
Surprisingly, Inuyasha doesn't seem that put off by the idea as he smirks and says, "You won't find me complaining. I'm one of the wrong hands you were talking about."
"Aye, I know that all to well." Kaede concedes, gaze downcast and sad.
They all drift off to bed after that. Deciding that the best thing for any of them to do right now is sleep so that tomorrow their minds are well rested and clear. Andy curls up and falls asleep rather easily, the stress of the day catching up with her on swift wings. Whatever she dreams about escapes her the next morning despite the fact that she wakes with the taste of ash and smoke in her mouth. Groggily, Andy runs a hand through her hair and grimaces at the feel of too much oil at her roots and too many tangles everywhere else. She needs a bath, a proper one, today if possible. Kagome doesn't look much better either. She's pale, there are dark circles under her eyes, and her hair is noticeably greasy but when she asked Kaede where they can take a bath the older priestess merely blinks at her before telling them that there's a spot in the river a little ways from the village where they can do so without notice.
It's not a proper bath, no, but at this point neither she nor Kagome are in a position to complain so they end up gathering some spare clothes, some cloths to dry themselves with, and follow Kaede to the river instead. When they reach the spot Andy is pleasantly surprised to find that not only does it appear relatively deep but there's a little waterfall and plenty of tree coverage around them to block them from view of anyone meandering through the forest around them. Andy helps Kaede gather wood for a fire, which she helps set up and start, then strips out of the borrowed clothing from they day before and steps into the frigid water of the river.
Violent tremors wrack her body as Andy rubs the leftover dirt from the day before off of her skin and then sets about the task of carefully untangling her hair and scrubbing her scalp as clean as she can without the use of shampoo or soap. She would love some soap right now but she figures she's lucky enough to be getting a bath of any sort right now. Deciding that she's as clean as she's going to get Andy makes her way back to the riverbank to dry off and change into her borrowed clothes. Once dressed, Andy gathers her uniform and attempts to wash it out a bit in the river as well, handing it up over a branch Kaede had Inuyasha set up for her and Kagome when they arrived at the river.
Andy is curled up next to the fire attempting to dry out her hair when a piercing shriek causes both Kaede and her to jump and look at Kagome who has dropped her shoulders beneath the water while screaming, "Sit, boy!" up at Inuyasha.
It's a pitiful sight indeed, seeing Inuyasha splayed out on the rough stone lining the riverbank... But he shouldn't have been looking so Andy doesn't really feel that bad for him.
"Thee alright, Inuyasha?" Kaede asks, though she doesn't seem all that concerned for his well being.
"Oh man," the dog-boy groans, "I forgot all about this stupid necklace of yours!"
Andy snorts.
"It serves you right for spying on me you peeping Tom!" Kagome shrieks from behind the bush currently hiding her from view.
"Ha! Shows what you know! The reason I really came was to-" Kaede cuts Inuyasha off with a withering look. "Ye really come to steal this shard, correct?"
Inuyasha picks himself off of the ground and sits with his back to them as he says, "Think you're pretty smart, you old hag."
Andy's seriously tempted to throw a rock at the back of Inuyasha's head. She probably would if she wasn't sure he'd catch it before it made contact with his downy silver locks.
"I see. Ye think to do it alone, do ye?" Kaede sounds tired. "Ye forget, only yon girl can find those shards, while only ye, Inuyasha, have strength enough to take them back once found."
"So where does that leave me? I mean, you did say I was gonna have to be part of the group..." Andy's never really been insecure of her own abilities but it's hard to find where she fits in to all of this when she has nothing going for her in terms of supernatural vision or strength.
Inuyasha and Kaede share a look that makes Andy think they may be having a silent conversation of some sort before Kaede turns back to her with a gentle expression. Andy sits up a bit straighter under her gaze.
"Ye shall see, child, ye shall see."
Ominous.
Andy smiles thinly in response before going to weave her hair into a braid. Thankfully, she hadn't lost her hair tie at any point during the mess of the past few days so she pulls it off of her wrist so she can twist it around the end of her braid.
"I can put up with anything for the jewel." Inuyasha says.
"You really do hate me, don't you?" Kagome asks as she marches over to stand in front of Inuyasha dressed in the borrowed priestess robes that had once belonged to Kaede's sister.
Inuyasha stares at her dumbly which causes Kagome to huff before she spins on her heel to go about tending to her uniform. This is probably the first time Kagome's had to deal with someone who doesn't like her. Kagome's not loved by everyone, no person ever is, but Andy doesn't think Kagome's ever been in a situation where she's had to deal with someone who doesn't at least attempt to be civil. The worst part is that Inuyasha doesn't even hate Kagome, he hates Kikyo. Maybe hate's too strong a word but the feelings he holds for the dead priestess are clearly a complicated bunch and with Kagome looking so much like her... Well, there was always bound to be some tension but aside from the first night there hasn't been a direct attempt on her life yet. Rolling her eyes at Inuyasha's childish antics Andy goes back to quietly warming up by the small fire while the others talk.
"And what ails ye now, Inuyasha?" she hears Kaede ask.
But he says nothing and they're left to go about their various tasks in silence until a woman comes out of the foliage calling for Kaede.
"It's my daughter," the woman says when Kaede motions her to speak and she sounds nervous.
"I see," Kaede says gravely, "let's head back."
Kaede leaves the three of them at the river with a warning not to fight and the mother bows to them politely before turning to follow Kaede back to the village. Andy waves and makes faces at the child clinging groggily to her back.
After a few moments Inuyasha says, "Hey."
To which Kagome responds with an irritated, "Now what do you want?"
"Get undressed."
Andy is across the small space in seconds, hitting and smacking at any part of Inuyasha she can reach while Kagome goes for a large rock. It's clutched awkwardly in her small hands so Andy keeps smacking until Kagome is close enough to whack Inuyasha on the back of the head with said rock. He cries out sharply and clutches at the lump forming on his head, looking pained and sounding confused as he cries, "That hurt! Why did you-"
"You're a pig." Kagome spits.
"I didn't say "Get naked," stupid!" Inuyasha points at the uniforms hanging to dry only a few feet away. "I just can't stand seeing you in those clothes!"
"Why? Because I look like Kikyo?" Kagome demands hotly.
When Inuyasha says nothing, brought up short by Kagome's question and likely uncertain of how to proceed Andy sighs and decides that enough is enough.
"If you have an issue with what Kagome is wearing you can politely ask her to change into something else and explain your reasoning, or offer to get her different clothes but you have no right to demand anything of her or press the matter further should she deny your request. Kagome is an innocent young woman who has done nothing but try and offer you kindness. You're unresolved feelings for Kikyo, whatever they may be, are none of our business and taking out your frustration on Kagome isn't going to help you sort through them."
"That's got nothing to do with it ok?" Inuyasha looks off to the side putting a clear end to the conversation, on his part anyway, but obviously denying that Andy and Kagome have struck their own individual nerves.
"Look, I don't want to do this either, ok? But we got to work together, the three of us."
"I ain't got to do nothing, it's you who needs me."
"I don't have to do anything, actually," Andy corrects him just to be spiteful as she pulls her braid over her shoulder, "and you do if you want to get your hands on those jewel shards."
The fact that he's probably right about needing him too isn't discussed or approached.
"Oh, I see! So you don't care if we just go back home!" fluffy, white ears twitch at her words but Inuyasha says nothing so Kagome just marches over to the wrack where their clothes are drying, snatches up the various bits of uniform, and waits for Andy to dismantle the wooden poles.
"Hey, what are you two doing?" Inuyasha asks.
Is he seriously that dense?
Andy shoots him a look as Kagome says, "What do you care? We're going home... Good-bye, Inuyasha."
"You can't just leave!" He cries as the two of them begin walking away, rising in an angry flurry of red and silver, "You-" "-My name isn't "you." it's Kagome."
"Wait, stupid!"
"It's not "stupid." either."
"Will you just wait and hear me out?" Inuyasha rages at them.
"Why? So you can try and stop us?" Kagome asks in a tone sharp enough to cut glass.
Inuyasha is in front to her in seconds, hand outstretched as he says, "No, so you can give me your jewel shard."
"Oh! This?" a little red mag made of silk is held up between them and Kagome's eyes flash dangerously before she snaps out a, "Sit, boy!"
Andy sighs as she steps over Inuyasha's twitching form so she can follow Kagome into the forest.
They walk in silence for several minutes for two reasons. The first is that Kagome needs to sort out her emotions so that the two of them can figure out what they're going to tell their family when, if, they manage to go back home through the well. The second is that Kagome looks positively irate and Andy's not sure asking if she knows where she's going is going to do her any favors. It's a really bad idea, actually, almost suicidal. Andy would almost take getting lost in the woods every day over getting yelled at by Kagome. Because she's scary. Still, it would be nice to know whether or not they're traveling in the right direction. Neither of them are exactly expert finders-of-things and so there's a very real chance the two of them are wandering in the opposite direction of the well.
Minutes pass as the two trek through the forest, neither speaking to the other, but surprisingly enough they do stumble across an all too familiar well after some time has passed. Kagome takes a few quick steps toward it but is stopped by Andy gripping her wrist.
"What are we going to tell people?" She asks when Kagome levels her with a look.
"I'm sorry?"
"Well, our families probably went to the authorities at some point, probably the evening we didn't come home, and we'll end up being questioned when we get back if they have."
"We could always say we went on a trip." Kagome jokes, clearly unsure of what to say.
"I guess we could tell our families the truth but that doesn't mean we can tell anyone else." Andy says.
Telling her aunt Phoebe is going to be a wreck, there's a possibility the older woman won't believe her, but they still need to come up with something to tell the police. Kagome's hand tightens around her own in an act of comfort even as the younger girl guides Andy toward the well. They both peek down into the well only to gasp harshly when they find a large pile of bones waiting for them. They look almost familiar, the shape of the head does anyway, there are too many fangs for the remains no not possibly belong to Mistress Centipede.
Suddenly the thought of jumping into the well makes Andy queasy.
"We jumping?" Andy asks.
"No way, I can't jump in there now!" Kagome's voice quivers as she moves to crouch beside the well.
"It's not like she's alive to hurt us anymore... We could always take the skull back. Evidence... or something."
There's no way in any sort of hell Andy is jumping down into the well to grab Mistress Centipede's skull. Nope. No way. She drops to sit beside the well with Kagome so she can bury her face against her knees as it seems the best thing to do.
A grunt and the sharp tang of iron has Andy's eyes shooting open to find a woman with short hair and pretty cranberry eyes staring down at them from where she's being held aloft in the air by... Is that hair? The strands are so thin that they're barely visible, the only reason she can even see them is because the sun is hitting them just right. Andy carefully rises, wary of the hair, and takes a few hesitant steps in Kagome's direction. The woman, demon, seems amused by them as she tilts her head to the side.
"Oh, my! Oh, me!" She breaths delightedly, "You can see it then. My net of hairs, I mean. Pity. Because's seeing's not enough!"
"Who are you?" Kagome asks, eyeing the woman through fierce blue eyes.
The woman's left hand twitches, fingers curling and moving back and forth before they still and she smiles.
"How do you do? I'm Yura of the Hair, though you needn't bother to remember... Because you'll be dead soon!"
Quick as lightning Andy puts herself between Yura of the Hair and Kagome, shoving the smaller girl back and grunting lowly as razor sharp strands of hair bite into her clothes and her skin, drawing blood that flows gem bright from the cuts peppering her arms and torso. They don't seem to be bad cuts but it's not like Andy has had a good look at them. They don't feel all that bad. It's a sting similar enough to a paper cut that Andy can ignore it for the most part.
"I'll be having the jewel if you don't mind." Yura of the hair says, another tendril of hair going for Kagome, it reaches her within seconds and the bag containing the jewel shard is quickly plucked from her grasp. Andy watches through narrowed eyes as Yura of the hair empties the contents of the bag into her palm. "Oh! You naughty, naughty girl! You've shattered the jewel! Where's the rest or I shall be cross."
"You give that back!" Kagome shrieks.
"Answer the question, where is the rest of it?"
"We don't have it." Andy bites out in reply, loathe to give the demon any more information on the jewel than she has to.
"Oh... In that case-" Yura of the Hair goes for her blade, "- I may as well finish you right now!"
Andy does the first thing she can think to do and shoves Kagome backward as hard as she can, the thunk of the back of her legs hitting the well and her startled gasp the only thing Andy hears from Kagome before she's tumbling into the well. A brief flare of power and Kagome is gone. But Yura of the Hair is still coming, katana raised and ready to strike down Andy. Stumbling to the side Andy just manages to avoid getting her head cut off and watches through horrified eyes as the demon lands on the edge of the well, cries something about escaping, and throws her blade into the well. Knowing Kagome is gone does not stop the swell of panic that builds in Andy's chest, because Kagome might not have actually gone back or she might need to actually touch the bottom of the well to activate the magic or whatever it is that pulled them through time the first go around. So seeing the demon's sword disappear into the well and the echo of Kagome's scream is not comforting and suddenly all Andy knows is fire.
Fire in her head. Fire in her chest. Fire in her veins.
Fire, fire, so much fire.
It's almost like her brain is three steps behind her body. Andy finds everything appears to be in slow motion. Yura pulls her sword out of the well, frowning when she sees no blood, she mutters something to herself, and then turns to Andy to say more but the words are distorted in the same way they would be is someone was shouting into a pool of water. Andy curls her hand into a fist, nails breaking through the skin of her palms but it does nothing to calm the rage. It only makes it worse when Yura of the Hair smiles and raises her blade to face Andy.
"You're turn little bird." she hears a man say as Yura moves her lips, the sound enough to make something very much like terror flood through Andy's body.
And then the sword is coming at her, silver metal gleaming dangerously in the sunlight as it's propelled through the air by Yura's power. Even though it must be a piercing thing Andy's scream sounds like white noise in her ears as the world around her erupts in a burst of fire and golden light that burns her eyes. But Yura's scream? That terrified, high-pitched cry ripped from her lungs as the fire races toward her, burning away the hairs she commands with such ease? Oh, Andy hears that and it makes her blood sing in such a way that the light around her shivers and grows brighter with her pleasure.
Kill her, that disjointed voice isn't so disjointed anymore, kill she who would touch the sister-of-our-soul! Do it now!
The voice sounds like logs finally cracking beneath the heat of a fire but honey smooth and rich with an emotion Andy has no name for. It's startling in a way but Andy finds a sort of comfort in it. She quickly finds herself sinking into the comfort of the voice, black bleeding into the white light around her until all that's left is a pinprick and the startled cries of Yura of the Hair. Then that pinprick of light is swallowed by they inky blackness that had seeped into her vision and Andy becomes aware of nothing, not even the sound of Yura's vengeful screaming and her violent promises as she retreats is enough to pull her from the lull of darkness that has sunk its claws into her.
Something shifts in the darkness. Something large and wild and ancient. Andy can't see it but she feels it the moment it settles against her, tucking it's much larger body around her own so that Andy is surrounded by it's near-stifling heat. Small, sharp talons poke into her side, prompting Andy to grunt lowly as she attempt to roll away from the feeling. That ancient, primal thing seems to laugh as it nudges her again, only this time with it's beak. She needs to get up, she knows this, but it's nice here in the darkness. Here, she is surrounded by light and love and warmth and nothing can ever touch her.
"Hey... up!"
Words, muddled and distant but enough to ease Andy further out of the darkness.
"Wake up, will ya!"
With an agonized groan Andy peals her eyes open and blinks at the figure hovering above her. In the light offered by the moon hanging overhead Andy can just make out golden eyes and dog ears. Inuyasha.
"Kagome went through." Andy points weakly at the well.
She thinks Inuyasha frowns at her but with so little light there's no way to be certain.
"What happened here?" He asks as he eases his arms under her so he maneuver her up against the side of the well.
Andy licks her lips, drops her head back to lean against the lip of the well, and tries to recall everything that happened from the moment Kagome went through the well and the unimaginable rage she'd felt when Yura of the Hair tried to kill them. It's all fuzzy so she's not really sure, but Andy thinks there might have been something that attacked Yura.
"Um, some demon named Yura... She had a lot of hair."
"Hair? You saw it?"
"Mhm. Pretty hard not to. Tried to kill us with it."
Across from her Inuyasha growls lowly before glancing at the trees around them. Yura isn't hiding in the trees. Andy doesn't know how she knows that but she's certain the demon that had attacked her and Kagome had scuttled off to hide and lick her wounds somewhere far away. It would be idiotic to remain in the trees around the well, especially when there's more than one creature in the forest trying to kill her. Shivering, Andy reaches out to touch Inuyasha's elbow.
"You ok?" She asks him.
"Huh?" he seems genuinely surprised that she's even asked after him. It's sad. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"I'm glad."
It feels like Andy's bones are trying to rattle out of her skin, her entire body is wracked with violent tremors every so often and the air around her feels so much colder than it had only moments ago. Inuyasha frowns and moves to press his hand against her forehead.
"You're burning up." He says, more to himself than Andy.
"Ha! Burning. Something tried to burn Yura earlier."
Inuyasha doesn't say anything to that but he does frown as he gathers Andy up into his arms once more. He takes a few running steps before leaping up into a tree where he finds a thick branch to settle her on about halfway up the trunk. He crouches in front of her, offers a thin sort of smile, and says, "Stay here. Rest. I'll be back with Kagome."
It's the first time he's said Kagome's name, Andy realizes, and she doesn't have a chance to comment on it before he's disappearing in a flash of silver and red. Andy stares at the empty space he'd inhabited only seconds ago and snorts lowly before settling back against the trunk of the tree behind her, secure in the fact that it will hide her from Yura should the demon come back searching to Kagome, Inuyasha, or herself.
After what feels like hours Andy is startled by the rustling of branches around her and opens her eyes expecting to find Yura smirking down at her but only sees Inuyasha creeping carefully closer so that he can scoop her up and jump out of the tree. She wraps her arms tightly around his neck as they drop as it helps ground her. While she feels a bit better than she had earlier Andy still feels like she's been hit by a train and really just wants to lie down for a few hours. Inuyasha sets her on the ground beside Kagome, who's wearing Inuyasha's robe, and steps back to scan the trees.
"You're ok." Andy says in way of greeting, relieved beyond reasonable measure to find Kagome appears unharmed.
"Are you? Inuyasha told me you weren't well."
"Never been better." Andy smiles widely, honestly feeling much better than she had earlier when Inuyasha found her. "We going to kill ourselves a demon?"
Kagome offers her an annoyed look before glancing around the trees. There's hair everywhere. Nowhere appears to have been safe from Yura's invasion. Andy's skin scrawls at the reminder of just how dangerous the hair in the trees can really be when ordered around by the red eyed demon.
"I can see a lot of hair in here, but all we need to worry about is the main one." Kagome says, eyes searching for something clearly specific to her. "If we follow it, it'll lead us straight to her. I'm sure of it!"
"And what are we going to do when we get there? I mean, Inuyasha can't see the hair and I'm not exactly-" Andy waves her hand in the general direction of Inuyasha's ears and claws which ears her an angry huff from the half-demon that she easily ignores. Clearly, Kagome's having no problem ignoring her either as she doesn't respond to her question.
"There!"
Startled, Andy follows Kagome's finger to a gleaming strand of hair and frowns when all she finds is strand after strand of hair glinting ominously in the light filtering down through the leaves. None of the strands look all that promising, none of them stand out above the other, so Andy isn't really sure what Kagome's found but if she thinks she found something then who is Andy to tell her otherwise? It's not like she even knows what it is they're looking for anyway. A solitary strand of hair? A large cluster off to the side? One that looks more murderous then the rest? Andy scoffs at that one. She doesn't think any strand of hair looks more murderous than it's fellows as they're all about as dangerous as the demon controlling them. If Yura wasn't so bound and determined to kill them Andy thinks she might have been able to dredge up an ounce of respect for her.
A sharp hiss leaves her as Inuyasha swoops her up into his arms and takes off running in the direction Kagome is pointing them in. The situation looks bleak, Andy's aware of that, but the closer they get to Yura the less anxious Andy grows. Whatever happened at the well earlier isn't something Andy understands but she thinks that if worst came to worst Inuyasha would do all in his power to protect them, and in return Andy and Kagome will do the same. They're not exactly a family but they are friends, tentative though that friendship may be it's still something Andy holds dear. Yura doesn't know what's coming, could never even begin to comprehend the amount of wrath she's brought down upon herself. Andy tightens her hold on Inuyasha and takes a steadying breath. Whatever happens tonight none of them are going to go home dead, Andy will make certain of it.