Birds sang their morning hymns as the sun's rays crept their way into the cave, but disturbed no one. Jaken, Rin and even Torunn had stayed asleep, while the silent Daiyokai never actually closed his eyes once that night. His mind was too wrapped in certain thoughts to grant Sesshomaru any sort of lull. He had sat at the mouth of the cave all night, listening to the winds sing their quiet songs, watching the moon dip behind them and the stars fade into day. Not that he needed sleep, but he secretly wished he had so his mind would stop all of its chattering. It was beginning to grate on his nerves, dissolving what little patience the Demon Lord held.

All night, Sesshomaru's mind played out his and Torunn's "sparring" match over and over and over again. How he had lost himself as soon as Torunn had him locked in that ridiculous move, her strong arms squeezing his torso and neck like a viper. The look of utter shock on her face when Sesshomaru had her underneath him, her blue eyes wide. He thought about how she had felt moving underneath him. Sesshomaru swore that he could feel Torunn's heart beat in his hands still, hearing her blood race through her veins as he held her down - it matched his own heart beat at that moment.

What had kept him up the most was what if Torunn had noticed how his heart beat betrayed him? How would she think of him? Or what if she hadn't notice the way that she made him feel? He didn't know which one was the worse of the two.

She was right - the two of the were at an impasse, both knowing that neither of them were going to budge in this mutual frustrated predicament. It was her stubbornness matched up against his pride. Sesshomaru scoffed at himself, but caught his line of vision to wander back to the sleeping warrior woman, her face the very definition of serene. A sense of annoyance almost over took him, looking at her being able to sleep while he stayed up with his thoughts, but then that was followed by a very different feeling. A sudden warmth washed over him, a warmth that was not too dissimilar to the warm feelings that he encountered the previous night. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, but Sesshomaru thought he could finally put into words what he had been feeling, even if it was fleeting, in that moment.

It was happiness - a true happiness. A sense of freedom. It was nothing like he had felt before.

And it was all of Torunn's doing. As he continued to gaze at her, Sesshomaru could feel the warmth burrow beneath his skin, trying to bury itself deep within him. He tore his gaze away from her and looked out of the cave at another new day. Another day closer to finding Totosai. Another day closer to Torunn leaving them. Another day closer to losing her. Sesshomaru shook his head in disagreement to himself. He couldn't lose something that didn't belong to him.

Torunn only belonged to herself. Sesshomaru didn't know her leader Odin, but he had a sneaking suspicion that not even he could truly tame the wild warrior. And if Sesshomaru was to be truly honest with himself, that was one of the reasons why he was so intrigued by Torunn. He, on the other hand, belonged to the Western Lands. He could try to fool himself with traveling, nomadic life style but at the end of the day, Sesshomaru still had subjects to rule and a court that he had to answer to, no matter how few and far between those meetings were. He was a slave to decorum, pedigrees and prestige.

Torunn was none of that - in the time that she had spent with the Demon Lord, she had helped him to feel free, and helped him feel a sense of contentment that he soon would never forget. Without even trying, Torunn had given so much more than just a new arm. Thinking upon that, Sesshomaru let out small and tired sigh and got up and stood at the mouth of the cave, letting a different kind of warmth wash over him. He didn't bother to cover his eyes from the brightness of the sun.

"Did you even sleep at all?" A familiar voice asked behind him, still slightly husky from sleep. Of course Sesshomaru felt her approach him, but was slightly taken aback to hear Torunn directly behind him. He hadn't realized how deep he was in his thoughts as he turned to look at her, wearing a tired smile as she tried to claw the knots in her wild hair. "In fact, do you ever sleep, Sesshomaru?" The Demon Lord gave her a dry stare,

"Your impression of me is most amusing," he replied. Torunn let out a snort and moved to the other side of the entrance of the cave, crossing her arms as she leaned up against the rocky wall.

"You should ask Rin about my impressions of you. She think they're hilarious, though Jaken wouldn't say the same." Sesshomaru caught the impish gleam in her eyes, and felt a small shiver shoot up his spine.

Torunn almost lives to play with fire, he thought to himself as her gaze wandered into the distance.

"Today's the day, I suppose," Torunn said, stretching her arms above her head, "How long does it usually take this Totosai to forge his weapons?"

"Not very long," he replied, "Maybe a few days at most." Torunn's response was her own version of his non-verbal "Hn". He couldn't help but smile but it quickly dissipated. "We will be leaving soon."

"Should I wake the others?" Sesshomaru shook his head. His answer surprised Torunn, her blue eyes holding so many questions.

"Rin can't physically be there, so Jaken will stay back here at the cave to watch after her. No use waking them - they'll know where we'll be."

"Poor Jaken," Torunn said and then continued, "But then just where in the name of Frigg does he live if Rin can't go? Hel?"

"A volcano," Sesshomaru said flatly, but his eyes held some humor when he looked at Torunn's shocked face once again.

Damn you Odin. Why must you make things more difficult than they need to be, Torunn thought to herself as she marched beside Sesshomaru, who still had a smug smile tugging at the edge of his lips. And after the previous night, she had to be alone with the infuriatingly handsome dog demon. Bastard - how is Sesshomaru so calm after last night? Am I the only one still feeling the shared energy from last night?

The smell of sulfur hung heavy in the air as the two of them made their way closer to the impending fixture in front of them, waking her out of her thoughts. Torunn wrinkled her nose at the pungent scent. It had smelled like something had died, its corpse rotting in the mid-day sun.

"It smells like Surtr's asshole," she grumbled under her breath.

"Did your Odin tell you anything before you came here?" Sesshomaru asked. Torunn shook her head no, a tight, forced smile on her face.

"Nah," she replied, "That pain in the ass never makes anything easy - not even for his most prized warrior."

Just how does Odin expect me to do this? This is going to take forever to climb. Torunn groaned internally as they reached the base of the volcano, I'll get that one-eyed trickster back, just you wait. She looked at the looming rock form, thin swirls of smoke escaping from its gaping jaw. Internally, Torunn swallowed hard. Torunn, while not quite a demon but definitely not a human, should be okay - that's what she was trying to convince herself. As they stopped, Torunn craned her neck upward, Sesshomaru stopping a few feet behind her.

"How long does it usually take you to climb this beast? A half day?" She turned her head back to him.

"I do not climb this," he simply said. Torunn made a face and then turned back to the volcano, her brows knitted tightly together in confusion.

"Then how do you - ?!" But before she could finish her question, Sesshomaru had scooped her up in his arms and in a graceful leap, the two of them were gliding through the air, weaving in and out of the low hanging clouds that clung to the volcano. Torunn's eyes grew larger as the ground below them grew smaller, her heart beating madly in her chest. She had never flown before - Torunn was a creature of the ground, not the sky! She could have beaten the vainglorious Demon Lord for pulling a stunt like that. But instead, Torunn buried her face in his chest, trying to ignore just how high they were in the air.

As they continued to soar upwards through the sky, Sesshomaru cast his eyes down but didn't expect the proud warrior woman as frightened as she was. He could feel her heart beating fast and hard like an obon drum; he needed to get to the bottom of her behavior. Slowly, Sesshomaru made his and Torunn's way back down towards the earth, about half way up the volcanic mountain, landing so gently that she hadn't even noticed that they were on the ground. Her face was still buried in Sesshomaru's chest, her arms around his neck in a vice-like grip.

"Torunn," Sesshomaru said gently.

"What, you bastard?" Torunn said, her words muffled. Sesshomaru let out a deep sigh.

"We're on the ground." Slowly, Torunn turned upward and began to pry herself off of Sesshomaru, feeling her face flush with each passing moment - she was feeling an odd mixture of exhilaration, anger and embarrassment. After standing on her own two feet, she took a step back from the Demon Lord, giving him a slight shove as she did, the anger winning in that moment.

"What in the name of Freyja was that?" Torunn practically yelled at him, throwing her arms up in the air, "You - you can't just pick someone up and fly them in the air like that! You've got to give some warning. Sweet Norns." Sesshomaru was stunned to say the least at her reaction.

"I did not think that this would have frighten you," he replied, "You always seem so sure of yourself." The warrior woman let out a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah because I know my limits for the most part. I've never done - " Torunn gestured wildly towards Sesshomaru and then towards the sky with her hands, "That before. I'm a creature of the earth. I've never thought about doing that so how do I keep myself safe from something I know nothing about?" Sesshomaru looked at Torunn with puzzlement.

"Do you not have faith in me to not let you fall?" He asked as though he was slightly offended. Torunn caught a glimpse of pain pass through his amber eyes like a thunderbolt and it caught her by surprise, "I trusted you when you said you could give me a new arm." Her blue eyes went to his left arm and the guilt hit her hard in her stomach. She had nothing to say to that because he was right. Sesshomaru grew to trust her, even when he had no reason to. Torunn did trust him but there was something different about what just transpired between the two of them.

Being cradled in his arm like that felt... Nice. And that scared Torunn, maybe even more than the flying but she sighed deeply. Relenting, Torunn took a step closer to the insufferable Demon Lord, trying to show bravery, although her heart raced in her chest again but this time it was for a different reason.

"I do trust you, Sesshomaru," she said looking into his eyes. Torunn felt that she could trust him to not let her fall to her death. Her blue eye went soft as she sighed again, "And I suppose it would be quicker doing it your way. Is it easier if you carry me in your arms? Or have me ride on your back?"

"It will be easier if I carry you in my arms," he replied. Torunn swallowed hard. She was afraid that he was going to say that, but wondered if it really would be easier that way, but decided not to press any further. Torunn exhaled tiredly.

"Alright", she said readying herself, "Let's get going shall we?"

"Hn," the Demon Lord replied. With more gentleness than Torunn thought he had, Sesshomaru picked up the fierce warrior in his arms, cradling her as though she weighed no more than a child. He did not show it, but he marveled the way that Torunn almost instinctually buried her face into his chest again but this time she didn't feel stiff in his arms. This time, her body relaxed into his, her arms once again wrapped around his neck.

A smile graced the Demon Lord's face.

"Hang on," was all he said, the smile still on his lips, as he jumped into the air again. There was a part of him that reveled in her nervousness, and appreciated her complexities. There were so many layers that he longed to understand about Torunn but pushed those thoughts out of his mind as the continued their ascent.

After a few moments in the air, Torunn timidly turned her face away from the his musky, floral scent and looked at her surroundings and couldn't believe her eyes. Torunn had never been so close to clouds before and was surprised to feel how damp they were as the two of them passed through one. The same exhilaration had returned but it was joyous this time instead of panic stricken. As she felt the wind whip past the two of them, Torunn had the biggest grin plastered onto her face. She had to admit that flying was one of the most incredible experiences she had done, which was saying a lot for the nearly half a millennia old viking warrior. She smiled broadly at the scenery in front of her, and then up to the silent daiyokai.

The only time she felt this sort of freedom was when she went full berserk. She didn't have that much control, if any, when that happened, nor did she when she was flying with Sesshomaru but like she trusted herself when she berserked, she trusted Sesshomaru to not let her fall.

Some time had passed but Sesshomaru could still feel her heart beating wildly. His eyes wandered downward to Torunn whose own bright blue eyes were staring up at him. "Are you okay?" He said of the roar of the wind. Her eyes widened again and a slight pink hue crept onto her cheeks. She nodded yes fervently. "Good. We are almost there." Torunn's bright smile dimmed for a sliver of a second, feeling a bit of sadness when he said that.

As foolish as it was to wish it, Torunn wanted nothing more than to soar among the clouds with the Demon Lord.

Alas, as she turned away from him Torunn saw the top of the volcano in view before. As they approached the gaping maw, smoke trickling and dancing into the seemingly never ending blue sky that surrounded them. Sesshomaru began to slow down and retreat towards the top but missing the ledge. Confusion was painted all over the warrior's face as they made their way down further.

"He lives inside it?" She asked incredulously. The strong smell of sulfur made her nose crinkle again, and the fact the silent Demon Lord hadn't answered her question but only because he hadn't needed to. The heat was enough to tell her that Totosai did indeed lived inside this fiery mountain. While she sweated profusely, Tournn stared in disbelief at Sesshomaru who seemed to not be bothered by the heat, especially given the many layers that he wore. It simply eluded the viking warrior, who only wore a tunic, her pelt and woolen pants. She tried to move her hair away from neck, drenching her with even more heat and sweat. That and it didn't help that she was still cuddled up in Sesshomaru's arms, sharing his body heat with her, finding out that he ran a lot warmer than most beings she met.

The Demon Lord in question slowed down as they reached deeper into the crater, heat and steam swirling about them as scanned for the demon smith's forge and home. A few minutes passed, Sesshomaru found it and made their way towards the large hovel that was a large demon skull. Torunn's eyes grew wide with surprise at the sight, and as they finally made touch down to mostly solid ground. Torunn had half expected to see something similar to the plane of Muspelheim - fields of bubbling lava and sparking embers. And while this place did have that, what they had landed on was an area of scorched earth.

"Just who is this guy?" She asked absent mindedly as they made their way to the open jaw of the deceased demon's head that served as the front door.

"A fool," Sesshomaru answered. Torunn snorted in response, a small laugh escaping from her.

"I suppose a fool would live a decaying skull of a monster in the middle of volcanic mountain," she commented dryly, eyeing an odd, three eyed ox sitting next to the entrance, "It would make sense for Odin to befriend a being like this Totosai."

"Are you implying that your leader is a fool?"

"Of course," Torunn said, "Everyone is a fool at some point in their life, if not for the majority of it. Even the wisest can succumb to folly - it would be foolish to think otherwise." Sesshomaru scoffed at the notion of ever considering himself like that. He was Lord Sesshomaru - the Demon Lord of the Western Lands. The Killing Perfection.

"This Sesshomaru is no fool," he said icily. Torunn snorted another laugh.

"Here I thought you had gotten over your pride. You hadn't boasted in nearly a day." She ended her remark with a sardonic smile, her blue eyes dancing with mischievous intent. She had come to learn how to press the Demon Lord's button just enough - he growled at her. Not threateningly, but more in a playful manner.

"What have I said about your smart mouth?" He asked, his rich baritone voice sending shivers up and down Torunn's spine despite the heat.

"How you admire it so much?" Torunn retorted playfully, tossing her long blonde hair into his face as she turned to the entrance of the skull, it's dull teeth like curtains that barely covered it. Torunn poked her head into the open jaw. "Hello? Anyone in there?" Of course Torunn could see perfectly in the dimly lit cavernous room, so it only took a moment for her eyes to see a waifish, old man cowering on the side of the cavern.

"There's no one here!" The man, whom Torunn presumed to be Totosai, called back, his voice cracked and raspy. Torunn pulled her head from the entrance, turning to Sesshomaru who only said, "I told you so." The warrior woman rolled her eyes.

"Totosai," Torunn called back to him, "Please, I need your help." A long stretch of silence passed between them when she finally heard the gravelly voice answer:

"Hmm, Totosai? Never heard of him."

Torunn let out a tired sigh. She had come so far only to find what Sesshomaru was trying to tell her all along. A fool.

Thinking on that, her heart had dipped little but quickly shook herself from that. Torunn was getting too soft - she was a viking warrior, Odin's Alpha for Tyr's sake! And vikings did not take "no's" idly. Torunn straightened herself up tall and proud, held her head high and strutted into the gaping maw that was the old fool's home.

"I am not here to play games, old man. I was sent here by Odin, The All-Father, to you to repair my broken blade," She said, her voice strong and commanding. At that moment, Torunn reached into her bag pulling out the hilt and what little there was left of her weapon. Her voice softened, finishing, "I'm not sure why you cower but I am not your enemy."

"No," Totosai replied, still splayed up against the wall, "But he is!" His bugged eyes only grew larger when he looked beyond Torunn's shoulder. She turned around to see Sesshomaru standing at the entrance but not coming any closer. Her eyebrow shot up at the Demon Lord in a bemused fashion, her attention then going back to the sword smith.

"Am I missing something here?"