Charlotte took three deep breaths and counted to ten - twice - so she wouldn't have a total freak out. Okay, so, she didn't know where she was, or what to do, but she would figure something out. It was a very good thing she had so much practice with the unexpected. Smoothing the hair back from her face, she started walking while putting her long silvery blonde hair in a low ponytail. She noticed a worn dirt path, and decided to follow it. It had to lead somewhere, to someone. Someone had to be able to help her figure out what had happened to make her end up in such a wild place. The forest was eerily quiet, and she shivered. She'd never liked the dark, and that hadn't changed now. The only thing that gave her solace were the stars peeking through the darkness, between the branches that creaked with a low wind that blew warm against her face. Leaves rustled in the distance, and she squeaked, freezing where she stood. Running was most likely the best option, but she couldn't move her legs. The rustling grew louder and nearer until it had to be right on the other side of the bushes in front of her. She braced for some wild animal to come out snarling and on a search for blood, and almost smacked herself when a rabbit hopped onto the path, then quickly away.

"Of all the cowardly moments you've ever had Charlotte, I believe that was the worst," She berated herself sternly, just as she heard more leaves rustling, and branches snap. "Oh no, bunny rabbit, you won't get the best of me again."

She promptly stomped into the bushes to scare the little thing away. Which turned out to be a very large mistake. Very large indeed, because what she saw next made her eyes widen impossibly, and her mouth open in a very loud scream.

~-~ Sesshomaru ~-~

For the last twenty years, nothing had happened, nothing of interest anyway, and the Lord of the West found himself experiencing something he had seldom felt before in his life: boredom, and an ever heavier sense of loneliness. He tried to deal with these things like he always had, by killing something, but lately there was no enjoyment in it, no satisfaction. Ever since the defeat of the evil half demon, Naraku, there had been a kind of peace between the Four lord's of the Land's, the lesser demons, and humans that resided within those lands. No longer did anyone have to fear the half demon's nefarious plots and the death and destruction that came with them. That bored him, frustrated him to no end. He had spent much of his time traveling back and fourth between each of the kingdoms, looking for something interesting. Rin had outgrown him, gotten married, and had children. He would never admit it, but this made him sad, but she was a ningen, and needed to live her own short life to its fullest. He still dropped by to see her, and give her gifts, but the visits had become fewer and fewer until he rarely visited at all now. He rarely saw his half brother at all, in fact, he and Kagome had left the village soon after their marriage, to travel, to adventure. They were somewhere far east, and not very entertaining. The monk and the demon slayer had three children, and no time. He wanted none of their company in any case anyway. That frustrated him more than anything else, because he was lonesome for company. He didn't understand that either, because loneliness was something that he had never felt before.

He had just passed the Goshinboku, the place where everything in his life had started to change in one single moment, when he heard a very feminine scream come from below. To his amusement, there was a humanoid snake demon about to kill its prey: a very human woman. At any other time, he would have let the demon have its way, but today was a different day. Maybe it was out of boredom, our maybe it had been the peculiar way she was dressed - he didn't know, but he swooped down to save her anyway, using his reiki to form his poison whip. He swung his arm down quickly, throwing it with his two fingers, satisfied as it cut the demon in half. There was a horrible wail that came from it as it melted and slowly died. The girl looked up, startled, and screamed again. Her face went ghostly pale, and she promptly lost consciousness. He swooped down to catch her in his arms, and flew off again on his cloud.

"What to do now," He said aloud, in thought, staring down at her pale face. She was pretty, for a human.