Prompt: Feminine
Genre: Romance
Rating: T
To a dog demon, actions always speak louder than words, so when he wished to know what she was feeling, he didn't listen to her speech, he closely watched her hands. She was not aware of it, but they eloquently spoke volumes to his discerning eye.
Though her hands possessed great power, they appeared deceptively delicate and utterly feminine. They were exquisitely small but incredibly strong and beautifully shaped. Her fingers were long, slender and elegantly tapered, each one tipped by a neatly trimmed nail. Those expressive appendages conveyed more information to him than she ever would have believed possible.
When she was happy, they fluttered in front of her like graceful birds, enticing one and all to come and join with her in celebration. Excited, she gestured, waved and clapped; it was an endearing facet of her buoyant nature. How could anyone help but be drawn in and experience the joy they displayed?
If she was enraged, they transformed into tightly clenched fists, balled up and locked down at her sides on ramrod-straight arms. Though she was not normally a violent person, she had quite a formidable temper if push came to shove. She would not hesitate to strike hard blows with her hands if it became necessary to protect someone she loved. She was not a meek girl who would stand by helplessly when her friends came under attack.
Those hands were also adequately skilled at wielding a weapon. He personally witnessed her take deadly aim and deliver a fatal shot when using the bow and arrow. Many demons misjudged the threat she posed and assumed she was easy prey. They often discovered, usually to their detriment, that she was anything but weak and it was foolhardy to dismiss her as such. He himself had been on the receiving end of her arrow more than once. He would never admit to feeling any imminent danger from her, but even so, he was grateful those days were long gone.
Ironically the same hands that dealt death were often called upon to help bring about new life. Many times she assisted Kaede with a new mother going through a difficult labor in the village. She held a cool damp cloth to their brow and let them squeeze her hand as tight as they needed while they endured the bittersweet agony of childbearing. Afterwards, she would swaddle and tenderly cradle the infant briefly before laying the babe in the mother's eager arms.
She preferred the use of her hands as instruments of healing, not hurting. She enjoyed their unique abilities of soothing and providing comfort to those hopelessly lost or in unbearable pain. Not only did she use them to carefully treat and bandage injuries, but a firm, steady hold, a hug or a calming touch did wonders for providing a stabilizing anchor to the emotionally adrift, frightened or confused.
While laboring at a strenuous task, her hands were strong and hard working, but captured in a tender moment, it took but a heartbeat for them to soften and return the sweetest of caresses. These were the hands he knew best of all, the ones with the sensuous and curious fingertips. He especially enjoyed them slowly tracing the stripes that adorned his face and body, erotically brushing the tips of his sensitive ears, fisting in his hair and raking down his back in ecstasy. Her hands definitely spoke to him and said much about her thoughts in their private moments.
Yes, he thought, his woman's touch was truly a miraculous thing.
A/N: Posted Oct. 23, 2008. Not humorous, I know... but I liked it all the same. I guess others did too, because it won first place. :) Thanks for reading!
