The rain had finally stopped after Torunn, Rin and Jaken shared a meal of what was left of the dried venison, while Sesshomaru sat near the mouth of the cave, staring at the sun that began to set. Clouds still covered most of the sky, but hues of deep orange and pinks leaked from the grey forms. Rin curled up next to Torunn, asking questions about the warrior's home and even about the warrior herself, but Torunn's eyes kept wandering back to Sesshomaru.
"So I know you keep calling yourself an Ulfda - an Oofla- that wolf warrior thing," Rin said after a few failed attempts of trying to say 'Úlfheðinn', "But you seem so normal to me." The young girl's face scrunched up as she turned to look at Torunn, who's own gaze went from the demon lord to the little girl. The warrior smiled warmly at Rin as she chuckled softly, stroking her brown hair affectionately.
"That's because I only turn or - what we call berserk - into an Úlfheðinn when I need to," Torunn said as she reached for the fur that was tied loosely around her shoulders, "This is a special pelt given to by Odin that lends me its powers when I tie it tight around myself and I call upon him." Rin sat up and looked Torunn up and down. Her tiny hand went to reach for the fur that hung on the warrior. Hesitantly she reached towards the grey and white fur. A smile spread on the young girl's face as she marveled at it.
"It's so soft and warm!" She exclaimed, now both hands petting it as Torunn suppressed a giggle, "It reminds of Lord Sesshomaru's fur! But it doesn't turn you into a giant dog demon like Lord Sesshomaru, does it?" Torunn gave the little girl a bemused smirk.
"I didn't know that he could do that," the warrior woman remarked, looking back at the proud dog demon who sat staring at the day turning into night. Rin nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh yeah! Sesshomaru-sama get's HUGE!" She said standing up on her tip toes, trying to show just how big he got. Torunn couldn't help but smile at the young girl's antics, her warm laughter filling the cave. Rin laughed with her as Jaken grumbled how loud they were being to himself but the two safely ignored him. After a few moments of shared laughter, Rin continued, "Is that what happens when you berserk, Torunn?" Immediately the warrior's demeanor shifted as the demon lord turned around at the question, curious now to see what Torunn would say because she hadn't talked about the full extent of her powers to him or to anyone. She could feel his scrutinizing gaze but decided to ignore it for the mean time, and returned her attention back to Rin, smiling warmly again.
"Not quite, Little One," the warrior woman replied carefully, "When I berserk, I look pretty much the same but I do become a lot stronger and faster than I am normally."
Torunn chose to leave out that she was only ever able to see red - of only her wonton for blood lust and hunger for destruction due to her transformation. She would become wild, almost mindlessly so, and only satiated once she served her purpose in battle and to Odin. Or tire herself out so much that she would eventually just collapse wherever the nearest safe haven was and sleep. Never usually more than a day or so.
Still wrapped up in her thoughts, Rin continued to pet the fur, sighing in awe. "That sounds pretty amazing! Can I see you do that sometime, Torunn?" Before Torunn had to give an excuse, Sesshomaru gave the little girl an admonishing look that seemed to say, "drop the subject," which Torunn was grateful for.
There would never be a reason for Torunn to fully berserk in Midgard she kept telling herself. Every "threat" she had run into so far proved little more than a nuisance which Torunn could easily handle on her own without using the full extent of her powers, or losing herself to them. Most importantly, Torunn never wanted Rin to see that side of her. She didn't want Rin to think of her as some sort of monster. It was easier to do it in Asgard because everyone else was like that, and knew what to expect. But Rin shouldn't have to see such violence. No child should.
Besides, they were so close to Totosai, to achieving her goals - once she was finished and left for Asgard, there would be no danger of ever having to do that.
Rin did indeed drop it, and went back to asking Torunn to tell her more stories about Thor - "Those are my favorite ones. He's kind of silly even though he's so strong!" she had said - and Torunn happily obliged but again, her eyes would eventually wander back to the ever perceptive Demon Lord. For someone who was not very emotional themselves, Sesshomaru had an odd knack for feeling for others' emotions. Torunn wouldn't dare say it was empathy but would call it more like an instinct. It seemed similar to when a dog knew when it's owner was sad and would try to do what they could to comfort them, with the dog not knowing why they know or how to. Torunn stifled a laugh thinking about Sesshomaru like that, but like clock work, he noticed and gave her a look. Torunn only smiled at him as she paused in her story telling, keeping the joke to herself.
After two more stories and the moon coming out did Rin finally fall asleep next to Torunn. The warrior woman leaned her head against the wall, feeling a little tired herself but her mind kept her up. It felt like Torunn needed to get rid of excess energy or something seeing how she hadn't worked out her frustrations from earlier, even though her and Sesshomaru had made a sort of amends with one another. She felt restless, and needed to do something about it. After a few moments of contemplation, Torunn noticed that the Demon Lord stood up himself and walked out of the cave. She looked around seeing that Rin was sound asleep and that Jaken was nodding off. Carefully, she managed to get up without waking the little girl and stood next to the imp. She gave him a gentle nudge with her foot.
"I'll be right back - you've got a handle on this, right?" Before Jaken could protest, Torunn was already out of the cave and following Sesshomaru into the night, while the imp demon grumbled dishearteningly to himself.
Silently the daiyokai traipsed through the sparse brush, knowing that they were close to where Totosai lived. His eyes caught sight of the volcano ahead of him that Totosai called home. It was maybe a half days' journey if they did not dawdle. Sesshomaru stopped, pivoting around himself as he sensed Torunn making her way to him, the rugged scent smell of the sea salt wafting on the breeze. He knew she would follow; Sesshomaru had planned on it.
Torunn slowed down her jog and stopped some fifty feet away from him, the clear night only making her inhuman blue eyes shine brighter than normal. They gave the same look she had been giving him before in the cave. There was no hesitation but there was puzzlement, which Sesshomaru supposed he couldn't blame her for.
"It's a beautiful night for stroll," she called to him, "Not a single cloud in the sky."
"Hn," was all Sesshomaru said as Torunn made her way closer to him.
"But I suppose that's not why you're out here, is it Lord Sesshomaru?" She asked as she got nearer.
"Is that why you're out here, Torunn?" He retorted, "For a night stroll?" The warrior barked out a laugh.
"Maybe I am," she said with a sly smile but then her her eyes became serious, "No, I followed you because I know you had questions still about my powers. I could feel it back in the cave when Rin was asking her own. I'm grateful that you did not ask them in front of her." She stopped in front of the stoic demon lord.
"Are you ashamed of your powers?" He asked, not trying to insult her. Sesshomaru was genuinely curious as to why Torunn held back.
"Of course not," Torunn replied, "I'm honored that I was given this power by Odin."
"Then why do you hesitate?"
Torunn sighed. "The true power of an Úlfheðinn is awe-inspiring, but it is also can be terrifying. When I invoke Odin for this power, I let go of the last shreds of my humanity to berserk. I become bestial, subhuman even, with the only thing I care about is victorious bloodshed. I am a perfect war machine for Odin and it is the highest honor that could be bestowed on a warrior."
"But?" Sesshomaru prodded.
"But," Torunn continued, "Rin does not need to see that, or even to know about it. She is a but a child, and I'd rather her to remember me as I am right now, and not some feral beast when I am to leave here." She paused again, her eyes looking longingly at the volcano off into the distance. "We are close to Totosai, aren't we?" Sesshomaru's own gaze followed hers, and at that moment, he felt a pang of despondency ache within himself and felt it radiate off of her. That somehow losing her made him feel that despondency. He told himself it was because Torunn still had that win over him, and that was something he could never live with. He told himself that him catching the deer before she had, hadn't count.
No, he needed to prove himself to her as a warrior. Sesshomaru felt like he had to do something- anything - at that moment to get rid of his and Torunn's melancholy. To see the mirth back in her eyes.
Sesshomru turned sharply to Torunn and jumped back about 15 feet or so. "Fight me," he said, lifting his chin to her. Torunn had to scoff at him, trying to remain nonplussed, and failing horribly. "Hand to hand combat. I have yet to use this new arm you gave to its fullest extent." The wolf-warrior bit her lip to keep from grinning too widely.
"Does the sting of your first defeat still hurt, Pretty Boy?"
"Hn."
"I'll take that as a yes, Pretty Boy," she said with sly smile.
"What have I told you about calling me that," he rebuked.
"To not call you that in front of your vassals but I don't see them any where near us," Torunn retorted, flexing her aura ever so slightly. A shivered raced up Sesshomaru's spine. Torunn crouched low to ground, "If I win this fight, you're going to have to tell me all about this "giant dog form" of yours. Rin sparked my curiosity. I feel like it's only fair since I explained my true powers to you." Sesshomaru smirked - it amused him how many ultimatums Torunn had made with him, and how he had agreed to them all. Torunn piqued his interest every single time she made a deal, with hime wanting to know the outcome, whether it was in his favor or not.
Something about Torunn was compelling, Sesshomaru had to admit. She didn't bore him like so many others before her. Torunn was a challenge and he enjoyed it.
The night breeze rippled the grass like wind on the sea as the two of them stared each other down, both hanging onto a breath neither expected to be holding.
It was Torunn who made the first move, launching herself at the Demon Lord, but not with a strike of her fist, but the full force of her shoulder. She managed to vault her full body weight into Sesshomaru - which admittedly he was not prepared for. He took the blow, being pushed back about 30 feet but still remained standing nonetheless. Torunn, on the other hand, rolled out of the way and less than gracefully got back on her feet, only barely missing a swipe from him at her left shoulder. Torunn was able to match him hit for hit, and dodge for dodge. His own speed matched her own as she felt the graze of his heel as he tried to land a kick in her gut, but turned around him to evade it.
They kept circling around one another. A punch thrown by one that was handily dodged by the other, a redirected foot from an errant kick by being merely pushed away. To on lookers, it truly looked like a beautifully but deadly choreographed dance, with neither one truly leading nor following. Both formidable warriors knew to deflect but Torunn wondered how Sesshomaru would fare in close range combat, and she meant close. Everything from his fighting technique to how interacted with everyone, screamed "keep at distanced". Torunn had a thought:
Could Sesshomaru even wrestle? She supposed there was only one way to find out.
Sesshomaru shot his right hard toward Torunn's face, and as she redirected it away from her, Torunn did the unthinkable. She seamlessly glided around to his back and managed to get the Demon Lord of the Western Lands into a sort of full nelson. Sesshomaru was so confused that she somehow looped her strong arms under his and around his shoulders that he did not know how to deflect her movements. Sesshomaru had of course been constricted by other demons before, but he would merely unleash a small amount of yokai and they would practically disintegrate - but they weren't using powers. Just raw and very much brute strength.
Slowly, Torunn's left arm inched its way towards Sessomaru's neck to avoid the lotus armor on his right shoulder but she did mange to miss its spikes. What she hadn't thought about was his mokomoko and how soft it was. The last time she had touched it, she was only thinking about how she was going to use all of her strength to throw him, and not how soft as a cloud it was. It began to tickle her face ever so slightly. She blew air out her mouth, trying to get the fur away from nose. Sesshomaru tried to thrash about, doing anything to get her off his back but he then felt Torunn starting to drag him to the ground, one knee at a time.
"Is this how your people fight where you come from?" Sesshomaru gritted out, while thinking of how to get leverage of her. Torunn had gotten one of his knees to the ground but was struggling to get the other to the same level.
"Sometimes," she managed to say, her breath a little ragged, "We will do anything to win a fight - to survive."
"Anything?" He asked, twisting his body around, using his body weight and leverage to toss Torunn over his right shoulder, her own slamming into the ground. A brief moment the was wind knocked out of her but managed to get on her knees before Sesshomaru had gotten a hold on her legs. She writhed like a fish out of water, but Sesshomaru grabbed at her waist with his new left arm and she fell face first to the ground. She let out an "oof" as she made contact with dirt and earth. Wildly, she got onto her side as the Demon Lord of the Western Land made his way on top of her. The two of them interlaced their hands, Sesshomaru not quite straddling her but very much over her. She smiled wide with determination, with Sesshomaru's silver hair falling all around her.
"Well, I wouldn't try everything in a sparring match," Torunn grunted out as she saw just a flicker of what seemed like happiness pass through his amber eyes, "I wouldn't try stabbing you right now - that would be un-sportsman like." The two tussled and turned in the soft grass, grabbing at one another. Torunn was actually impressed that he was able to hold his own in such an undignified manner, so much that every so often when Sesshomaru would get the upper hand, a laugh would escape from her lips.
Again the two locked hands with one another, pushing with all of their might. Sesshomaru had gotten himself mostly back on top of her, Torunn trying to wrap a leg around his body but his clothes made almost impossible to do so. She kept on getting tangled up with his flowing garb and fur train. After sometime, she finally got a leg wrapped one of his, making him lose some stability, and falling close to her face.
"I'm glad to hear that wouldn't stab me," he replied evenly. Torunn let out another laugh.
"Were you trying to make a joke, Lord Sesshomau of the Western Lands?"
"If I was, I was successful."
"And why is that?" Torunn pushed back.
"Because I was able to make you laugh."
As soon as he said it, a fire lit up in Sesshomaru's eyes. It was a light that Torunn had not expected to ever see. It was a light that matched her own that burned brightly in her eyes. In that moment, the two of them shared their light together.
One would have to be either have to be blind, or an idiot not to see Sesshomaru's beauty, she idly thought to herself. In fact it was one of the first thing Torunn had noticed, aside from his immense power, of couse. Torunn had felt his power but hadn't known what to expect, if anything at all, when she did finally encountered the source. She surely hadn't count on his God-like beauty when she sought after him. Every flattery that she had thrown his way, Torunn meant. Torunn appreciated a precious treasure when she saw.
And it was that moment that Torunn lost her edge against Sesshomaru.
Torunn had loosened her grip for scarcely a second, but it was enough for Sesshomaru to seamlessly go from gripping her hands down to her wrists. That brief distraction of being lost in thought that he was able to slam Torunn's body between him and the ground. With her arms pinned down, she looked into those damned amber eyes and saw a bright triumphant burning there. Torunn couldn't tell if his triumphant was beating her finally in sparring, or something else.
The two them stayed there, almost frozen in their position, with Sesshomaru straddling Torunn, her wrists locked in his grip. Neither one of them made a move, or hardly breathed as the stars hanged heavy above them, making the daiyokai's silver hair shine like silk, its etherial glow all that more present to her.
"It looks like you beat me this time, Pretty Boy," Torunn said, breaking the silence. The wind blew all around them, the rustling leave in trees being the only other sound for miles. Slowly, Sesshomaru released one of his grips around her wrist, but still hold the other down. "I'm glad the arm is treating you well." His free hand reached down towards her face, moving the errant strands of gold from around her face. Sesshomaru's gaze never left hers, looking like once again trying to unravel a riddle. Slowly he made his way closer to her face. Normally, it would be Torunn to close the distance, picking up the habbit to show dominance and to prove they would never back down. Rarely was she ever on the recieving end of her own intimidation tactic. Be there, Torunnn understood people would bend to her. It was the same reason why people watched gale force storms on the sea insteading finding shelter.
It was beautiful and yet terrifying. So much that you could not bring yourself to look away, no matter the danger. And Torunn felt like she was in the middle of a raging storm when she looked into his eyes. It was a storm within himself - Torunn could see that as plain as lightning, but she wondered if he knew how visible his storm was.
Torunn began to shift underneath the Demon Lord who was still lost in thought. "Not that you're heavy or anything but maybe we should get up and go back to Jaken and Rin." After a moment, Sesshomaru shook himself out whatever reverie he was in, and slowly he made his way up to his feet. Torunn eventually followed, brushing herself off, giving the Demon Lord a lop-sided smile as she did.
"I'm impressed," she said, "I would never have imagined a being such as yourself to hold their own in a fight like this." He looked at her again, his silence somewhat unerving her. "What - cat got your tongue?" She hadn't meant to but she felt herself trying to goad him into saying something - anything - after that intimate exchange. Even a grunt would be better than the silence he gave off.
"You're nervous," he finally said. Torunn gawked at him, now only really sensing how fast her heart was bearting but was she nervous? Torunn wasn't sure.
"Well," she started, "I thought - rather maybe I still think - that you might be angry with me for pulling a stunt like that but hey! At least we know your arm works pretty well." Sesshomaru looked at his left arm and back to Torunn.
"Yes," he said, "Your craftmanship is adequate."
"I think better than adequate."
"Hn," he replied, his eyes dipping down but there was mistaking it - there was a smile on his lips, and for a moment, Torunn felt pride swell. She started walking back to their camp, passing the daiyokai as she did, only to be stopped by the moody demon. His left hand caught her arm, and turned her towards him. "You're right - it is a good arm, and I am very grateful for it, Torunn." Not knowing what else to do, the warrior woman raked her hands through her golden hair, trying not to feel the flush in her cheeks.
"You are very welcome, Lord Sesshomaru," Torunn managed to say but let out a measured sigh and looked into his eyes, "It is an honor to help a warrior such as yourself." She raised her chin to him but made no move to release her arm from his grip.
"Still you hesitate," he said. Torunn cocked an eyebrow, trying to figure out what Sesshomaru meant, but knowing in her gut that she understood the words he said. She let a out a small laugh, shaking her head.
"So do you," she shot back, "I guess we're at another impasse, Pretty Boy."
Trees shook as lumbering foot steps echoed in the distance. Birds flew in every direction as hulking figured made its way to a rushing river, bending down to take a drink. The creature lapped at it, the cold water splashing into its tusked mouth. The large dark red oni's head shot up as he heard an errant twig break hind him. His watery, yellow eyes scanned the area behind him but he relaxed. Standing up and turning around, he found a large rock to sit on as he crossed his enormous arms over his barreled chest. The creature snorted out a laugh as he looked upon a smallish figure, cloaked in a white baboon's fur, crouching on the ground away from him.
"Naraku," the creature grunted, "To what do I owe the pleasure of being in your precense?"
"Heh, it is good to see you too, Chiyu-Ryoku," the other being said, "I came because I have a proposition for you." Chiyu-Ryoku let out a gutteral laugh that gurgled in the back of his throat.
"You need my help?" He asked.
"Yes," Naraku said almost sweetly, "I need your strength. I need you to find and bring back someone for me."
"That doesn't seem too hard," the oni said, almost disappointedly, "Why not have one of your lackeys do that for you?" Naraku shook his head.
"They're not strong enough, " the half-demon said wistfully, "That's why I need you, Chiyu-Ryoku. I need your strength. And I promise you will be paid handsomely." Naraku threw something small at the large oni. He caught it, looking at the shinning object in his clawed hand. He looked greedily upon, and looked back Naraku. "There will be more where that came from should you succeed in this task." The oni grinned a terrible grin, with malice in his yellowed eyes. He took the Shikon Jewel Shard, and pressed it into his bare chest, right above his heart. After a few moments, he felt a power unlike anything he had ever felt before surge through him. Chiyu-Ryoku felt invincible.
"Who is this being you look for, Naraku?"
"I have no name but she is a formidable warrior, with long golden hair and piercing blue eyes. She smells of sea water and wolf, and carries a strange aura. I'm sure you felt her presence in the last week, hm?" Chiyu-Ryoku grunted a yes of sorts, "I will warn you though - she travels with Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands but I will take care that for you. I only need you to worry about the warrior woman. Do not kill her, though. I need her alive - for now."
"How will you take care of the Demon Lord?" The ogre asked.
"Do not worry yourself about that," Naraku, "I have my plans. For now, make your way towards that volcano in the distance. I'm sure you will find her soon enough. Again, do not kill her - just incapacitate her."
"What if there are others?" The spider hanyou laughed.
"Do what you will - the woman is the only thing that matters to me." The ogre let out another disgusting laugh as he lumbered off in the direction of the valcano, a small swarm of Saimyōshō following after the hulking form. Naraku's own face was twisted into a vile smile.
Soon I will have her power. He tilted his head back, letting a maniacle laugh dance on the wind.