Only a brief day had passed since the crowning of my adulthood. Bestowed with wisdom of my father to carry on the title of Lord, it was my decision to carry out a test to see if I was truly worthy of the fang blessed by the foxfire. Though I think of this, having not seen Clara since yesterday had me curious what she was doing.
"Son," hearing my father approach with his fang in hand, he seemed perturbed.
"Do you require something of me, father?"
"The new priestess, she has gone into hiding and dares not show herself. I required her to be trained as to bestow the fire upon my own fang."
"...can she bestow more than one fang?" Asking perhaps the obvious, he was not pleased hearing such a question from me.
"If that were the case no demon like myself would stand before these halls." He wasn't clear with his words, but he was still eager for Clara to bestow the foxfire onto his fang. "If you find her, bring her forth for training. She cannot hide from us longer than she already has." Turning away and seeing his anger get the best of him, there was a moment to myself I thought this was a good thing she was gone. The strange feelings I've had whenever she was around trouble me. Knowing the foxfire is possible to be on my fang, though it was weak, it lingered for at least a day and I felt powerful. A priestess' foxfire—
"Um..." Her voice was soft, nearly a whisper. "Do I do it…?" She was asking herself.
There was no visual of where she was at and somehow when catching her scent I managed to find her behind the pillar away from the temple halls and beside the arch that would lead to the forest to her freedom. She hadn't noticed me as of yet, her back to me. Staring at the grove and pondering where to go from here made me curious to what she could be thinking. There was no way she would survive on her own. Not without an inkling of fighting skill. Yet there she pondered, staring at the trees and biting her nail in frustration to what she could do.
"Does one think to flee into the woods?" Startling her stupor and facing me now, her eyes grew wide with fear and anxiety. The look making her all the more tantalizing as instincts kicked in. "Where do you think you'd go?"
"...maybe back...back to where I was found..." unsure of her own answer, her hands grasping her arms and holding herself steady, there was something wrong with the way I felt. "...Um...Toga keeps pressuring me to train...I really don't want to do anything other than going home."
Knowing it's only been a day, the changes from being human to a kitsune priestess must be strange and overwhelming.
"...you defy my father?" Piqued curiosity as to how a woman would dare defy the great dog demon of the East, she bit her lower lip and it made me stare at each facial feature she showed. "Quite brazen of you..."
"I never asked for this," hands out and staring at her newly developed claws, she grimaced and returned to holding onto herself. "What is the big deal about some blue fire?"
"Power." Stating that fact clearly, she sighed.
Puzzled as she heard my straightforward answer, she seemed to want to ask me something, but refused.
"There is more to your questions?"
"I...yea, there is." She didn't ask right away, but from how she fidgeted and kept her eyes lowered made me irritable in a different sort. There was no reasoning behind it, none, yet the urge to grab hold of her hair fell deep into my being, making the demon in me growl in hunger. "Is there a possible chance you could take me back? Get me home?" Tearful as she asked this of me, I knew there was no way for I was not aware there was such a thing in the first place. But as she continued her pathetic antics, my inner demon grew strongly in desire to capture her.
"Heh," looking away before the urge increased, she seemed downcast I responded in such tone. I made my decision based on the circumstances. "You will train as the new priestess of the foxfire. Powers such as yours could grant you your desire if willed, so I heard."
"Seriously?" She seemed to grasp that small hope, but I gave nothing more to light the fire she had stoked. "...will you be training me? Or is that all Toga?"
"My father is an esteemed Lord who trains no other than myself. You should be humbled he'd offer such a rarity."
"...again, I never asked for it in the first place to be brought here or to become, this..." she was solemn of her position and pointed at herself in a way that sparked my carnal desire.
It happened as swiftly as I took breath, I was beside her and taking a small strand of hair in my grasp and holding it aloft when she stared wide eyed up into my eyes. A ravenous feeling pulled me towards her, but my senses came to and I pulled away to turn my back at her.
"You will begin training now and focus on your core."
I must distract myself.
"Sesshomaru?"
Not turning back, feeling the demon within me growl, I walked towards the courtyard and heard her follow lightly from behind.
Days spent of arguing over how the priestess was to be trained drained me. Father persisted the old way while I insisted on doing things consisting of her core. She is no full demon, merely one that changed into one. Nothing I say gets through to him though, thus leaving the temple to seek guidance of the other foxes in the North was really the only plausible option. He wanted nothing to do with traversing to the North, so the task fell upon myself to go through with it since I suggested the option.
Procuring a mount to suffice the trip and gathering enough supplies to last for at least a month, it was vexing being alone with her. She was curious over the smallest things. Scared of even smaller entities we've passed. Possessing such a grand power and having not the slightest idea how to procure it was more frustrating than learning to wield a blade.
"We'll stop here and work on your aura." Pulling over the Kirin and seeing the empty grove with no other demons passing through, her groans of displeasure was not hard to detect. "You need to train."
"I'm over it! Can't we just stick to riding? Why must we train every single day!?"
"You need-"
"Nope. Done!"
Her fits becoming problematic and holding back my anger, I could feel my fangs poke my lips and calmed myself before reverting to my demon self. She was stubborn to say the least, yet I knew not of how stubborn a single woman could be till now. I proceeded with conversation slowly before she kept brushing me off and as a whole I felt my composure slip.
"Do not bring shame to the Kitsune name!"
She shrunk back, fearful of what I was to do as I approached but results came forward and I watched her body shrink in size and felt the tension diminish. "Well now, at least something of the kitsune power was used...though I'd prefer if it was foxfire." She clamored when she saw herself and even tried hitting me. The audacity of it was striking but amusing nonetheless.
"You've become so small, much easier to carry."
Her retaliation was amusing in a way that crept a smile to my face. In time as she settled down and the day grow dark did she finally ease to sleep. Across from her by a different tree I watched her curl into a ball with her tail as coverage and drift. It was settling to see her be at such peace when all this time was spent with arguing and trying to train her. Curious of my actions towards her, it did not occur to me to keep watch for further flare-ups of power until blue flames flicked to life and surrounded the area. Leaping away from the flames and feeling no heat resonate from them, I watched as Clara's body unfurled and combine itself to the foxfire.
[Does she commune with the priestess in her dreams?] A thought crossing my mind before approaching Clara in her state, she was shivering and sweating at the same time. She returned to her normal state, albeit with new features, and I acted thoughtlessly. Unsure what I was to do in these situations, I picked her up gently and brought her over to the tree I rested at and felt her hands slowly curl around my kimono. She was warm...her scent filling all other senses. Before I realized how this might have looked, it did not matter to me as I pulled her closer and shared my warmth upon her bare skin.
It occurred to them both there was something amiss between them. A magnetic pull they could not have foreseen. Fate had its hands on them, trying to tamper with the red string, but Sesshomaru would not have it. His primal desires bitten back and buried deep, he calmed his inner demon every waking moment while around Clara. Refusal of desires is strenuous, even to the most adept demons. The urge to control and ravage was far more suffocating to him before choosing a rightful mate.
She had power he desired. Urges have been present that never has been before.
Innocent and unaware of the world.
He could have his way if he allowed himself to drown in desire.
He held himself together in her presence at best, but alone when the moon rose into the night sky he felt weak to the night's gaze.
[How silly they both are to deny such a pull…I will have to fix that.]
"We depart to the mountains. There is a small village where we can ride out the storm." Stating it matter-of-factly, he turned to face her absent gaze to the horizon of the West. "You feel something pull you there?"
"Hmm," she seemed confused, but straightened her posture and mounted the Kirin without a word.
"Speak, or this one cannot answer."
"I feel something that way...but it could be me just daydreaming." Brushing the matter off lightly, kicking the Kirin to a trot, she seemed restless. There was no eye contact between them since the hot springs, it gave Sesshomaru a slight complexity of emotions to decipher. "How long will this take to reach that village?"
"Half a day," mounting from behind, locking her in place on the saddle and being sure her tail was comfortable. "There will be no stops from here on."
Complacent, she leaned into him as the Kirin took speed and ran across the plains. They remained silent on the journey, only speaking when something caught their attention, or her foxfire coming out as she loses control with her emotions.
As the sun peaked over the hills and lit the valley below in orange hues, they stopped at an open field where a torn castle was left to rot.
"What happened here?" She asked quietly.
"...a human's war. The demons here took care of them, clearing them out of this land."
"Why? Did the humans do anything to upset them?"
A small laugh escaped him. He was not aware of her question fully, until she dismounted the Kirin and walked to the edge of the flower field to ponder the scene. She turned to face him with a furrowed brow, her understanding of this time unfilled.
"Why must you wipe them all out?"
"You forget who you're with," back straight and his eyes firm, he did not falter his aura at her while she questioned him. "You are no longer human, Clara. The mortality you once possessed is no more."
"I may not be human any longer, but I still retain my humanity." She was distraught seeing the destruction, but she held in more emotion than she let on. As Sesshomaru dismounted the Kirin and walked her way, he resigned himself to appeal to her emotion, to better understand what she was trying to portray.
The same magnetic pull had begun to swell as his hand came close to touching hers. He hesitated, knowing full well the action would cause a stir, so he pulled back. Never catching what he came close to doing, she stared at the castle and wondered to herself of all the lives lost and if it affected her in any way.
It was a slow passage through the castle grounds to reach the mountain pass. The ruins charred by fire and soot, a foul smell choked the air as they passed through and undeniably see the carnage that haunted the place.
"This is terrible..." her breathing short, covering her now sensitive nose. Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried not to gag each breath she took.
"...this was done by higher demons..." Sesshomaru spoke in darkened tone, analyzing the scene before him and anticipating the demons were still close by. "We should move quickly," picking her up and mounting the Kirin quickly, he took hold of the reins and got the Kirin to run.
"Sesshomaru?!" She yelped.
Ahead of them, just past the gate, several Oni patrolled the area and spotted the two of them.
"Use foxfire," he kicked the Kirin to run faster.
"But I-" Sesshomaru clenched his jaw, took hold of her face and came close to enough to brush his lips upon hers when the blue flames kicked up around them and enveloped into a sphere.
"Hold onto your flame," kicking the Kirin harder to run past the Oni before they could take a swing, the flames kicked out and singed the three of them as they ran past. Howling cries echoed, but they were safe, and on the mountain path leading to the village. The kirins heavy breathing the only sound that filled their ears.
"That was too much..." hearing her whispers of discontent, he cared not of her flippant feelings and focused on the task at hand. The village will shelter them from the high winds for the night, he had to get there before the sun sets. "Can't you find a better way to help me with my flames?" Her plea nearly a cry, he slowed the Kirin down to a walking pace to have her speak without sheltering her face in his kimono. "Did you really have to do that to make my flames come out?"
"...you react well to such tactics," answering without faltering, "the reasoning is entirely your own as to why you react in that way whenever I am close."
"You-" raising her hand to slap him, his hand already holding hers in his clasp, she was quiet, deep in thought to her defeat. "...find another way..." she grumbled.
He felt his brow twitch. Unyielding as she was to his whims and teachings, he cupped her chin and made her look up at him to see his reflection in her eyes. She was startled, but her free hand took hold of the front of his kimono and twisted the fabric between her slender fingers. A low growl slipped from him. His primal side coming forth, tempting and rekindled the fire within him he so desperately held back from. It took them both to realize the Kirin had not stopped till reaching their destination to get on track of what they were here for, but the burning desire grew deeper between the two.