It was several hours after nightfall when Kouga called for the wolves to turn in, and more than a handful later than normal. Kagome had calmed more than he thought she would under the attention she received from the pack, and he didn't want to take that away from her. He knew the cubs, if nothing else, would help cheer her up, but he wasn't expecting the way the other females seemed to take to her. There were three or four the Miko seemed to take a liking to, and the feeling looked mutual from an outside standpoint.
The boar Kouga killed earlier in the day had been collected by the hunters, cleaned, and cooked for dinner that night. Being a rather large animal, it fed everyone, animals included, and what wasn't was taken far enough from the den to ward off scavengers. The hide was prepared to be dried so it could be used for bedding. After dinner, the cubs, Shippo included, played along the cliffs under the ever watchful eyes of the entire pack.
Kagome didn't stray too far from Kouga's side, too many not awesome memories of the last time she was on the mountain rearing up and making her stomach knot. There was also a lot more bodies than she was expecting, and she never really did great with large groups. Being the center of attention was certainly not one of her strong suits, especially when she was in a bad mood or depressed, and as long as she stayed close to him, everyone else stayed away from her.
When she asked why there were women and children there this time and not the last time, it had been explained to her that they weren't safe there at the time because of the Birds of Paradise, but since they weren't a problem anymore, they had been allowed to return. It was in a somewhat standoffish manner she asked about the living males because of what happened at Naraku's castle, and though the unnecessary reminder of that day made Kouga's eyes spark, he had simply told her their survival was due to being the ones sent to protect the females and cubs.
She also learned Kouga was extremely efficient with his pack mates, never having to repeat himself or really even have to rise his voice to get them to fall in line. Most of the time, a look was enough to get his way, and the few it wasn't, a sharp growl was all that was needed. Only once did he have to physically get involved in something, and that was because of an infant cub.
That was how she was introduced to the few females that didn't seem to be threatened by her for whatever reason. Kouga had to chase after a cub that got just a little too close to the cliff's edge for anyone's comfort and, while he was dealing with the young cub, three tribe females came over and sat with her. While she wasn't rude, Kagome didn't go into great detail over why she was there or answer about how long she would be staying. One of those answers she didn't know and the other wasn't something she wanted to talk about.
Once that was clear, the wolf women switched topics and pried into her interest in their alpha. They weren't stupid. They knew who this woman was. How could they not? Kouga had spoke only of her for the better part of three years. They were mostly curious if he had finally gotten her to agree to his advances, but one of those sharp growls from the man himself quickly ended that line of questioning, and directed it more toward just getting to know things about the human.
Once the uncomfortable air passed, Kagome had been able to relax, even smile to a small degree as she watched the cubs and conversed with the other adults under the much more watchful eye, and ear, of Kouga. He promised her a stress free, or as stress free as possible, environment, and the fact she watched him nearly go out of his way to keep that promise made that small smile grow just a little bit more.
It became clear the cubs were up way past their bedtime when the they began to get overly aggressive toward each other, leading Kouga to call for bedding down for the night. The order actually left Kagome in a bit of a bind, though. She had no idea where she was supposed to sleep, and felt very uncomfortable with the idea of asking.
From the corner of his eye, Kouga watch Kagome stay where she was as everyone else cleaned the cliff and the mothers began to usher the little ones inside. It wasn't being the first time since she woke up and joined everyone outside she didn't offer to help with whatever was being done that caught his attention. It was her expression. Her face said more than she ever would, and he quickly realized they didn't cover something earlier when they discussed the half-assed plan he had worked out while they waited for her friends to return.
Leaving the men to do as they always did at night, he walked over to her and held out a hand, smiling when she took it, and pulled her to her feet. He didn't say anything as he pulled her behind him and into the cave, but when he got to the fork in the rock, he let her hand go and nodded into the other cavern. "You'll sleep in there, unless you would rather sleep in here with me."
Looking into the smaller cavern, Kagome watched as mothers, cubs, and the other women began to lay out furs around the floor and start to settle in for the night. Lips pursed, she looked back at Kouga. "You don't all stay together at night?"
Kouga just gave a shake of his head. "Not anymore at night, no. It's for protection purposes. If someone, or someones, come in the cave, they have to get through every single male and animal, then get through me, to get to our women and cubs. We used to, though. Mates would sleep next to each other with their cubs, but, and it's not often, but we have been invaded before. When my father was alive, a rival pack attacked in the middle of the night and slaughtered every cub they could reach and took every female they could get their hands on until they were run off, their intent to weaken our pack so they could take over the lands. You can get back someone who's kidnapped, but you can't bring back the dead. The cubs are our future, and the women folk provide us that future. They're much better protected now."
All Kagome could do was nodded at the history lesson, having absolutely nothing to say to it. Instead. with her bottom lip between her teeth, she looked into the cavern for a moment before looking back at Kouga, saying nothing.
Kouga just chuckled. "This is up to you, Kagome. Whatever you find more comfortable. In there with the other women, or out here with me."
This was actually a much harder decision than she thought it should be. She was a woman. It should only be natural to want to sleep in a room full of other women opposed to a room full of men. However, she didn't really know the other women, and even if she got along with a couple, there had been some that had less than pleasant looks for her, and she wasn't sure she would be completely safe. On the other hand, she was even more sure she wasn't really ready to sleep next to man for any reason.
It was that thought that, in the end, and after a three minute long debate with herself, Kagome decided to sleep in the cavern with the other women, if for no other reason than appearance sake; though she kept that part of her answer to herself.
Nodding at her choice, Kouga turned his head and whistled a short tune, the result bringing a large, burly looking wolf to his side. Reaching down, Kouga dug his claws into the animal's fur, racking them against the animal's scalp while talking to Kagome. "This is Shun. He's the animal alpha, and my personal pet. Other than myself, he's the best defense you can possibly ask for. He'll stay with you until you get more comfortable here."
Holding her hand out to the wolf, she rubbed her fingers along Shun's muzzle when he nuzzled it against her palm while looking at Kouga. "Is defense really necessary with all the other things you have in place?"
Ever patient with her, Kouga nodded. "You have shards on you, don't you?"
It was that question that actually caught Kagome slightly guard. Of course she did. She always did. And there were a lot of creatures on the island that wanted those shards. It was almost enough for her to tell Kouga she would sleep outside for the protection of everyone else.
When she nodded, he continued before she could say the words he saw in her eyes. "Then while you're sleeping inside, any extra protection I can offer is only a good thing, right?"
A glare that held no head settled on Kagome's face as she nodded. "I guess so."
Smirking the grin Kagome normally saw, Kouga opened his arms, and wrapped them around her shoulders when she tucked herself into his chest. Propping his chin on the top of her head, he held her close for a long moment before he lowered his voice when she pulled back. "Get some sleep, Kagome. Things will be better in the morning."
Again, Kagome nodded her head, her eyes sliding closed when Kouga pressed his lips lightly to her hairline. Giving him a smile, she stepped back and scooped Shippo into her arms, following Shun as he went into the smaller cavern. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled with a 'good night' and vanished around the corner.
Kouga watched the entrance to the cavern for a moment longer before stretching his arms above his head with a tongue curling yawn. Clearing his throat, he grunted and licked his lips as he turned to head to his own bed where he shed his armor and sword and laid out on his pallet. A part of him had hoped she said she would rather sleep next to him, but he wouldn't begrudge her decision.
Picking her way through the cavern so she didn't step on someone, Kagome closely followed after Shun to a slightly raised rock platform someone had already set up with multiple layers of furs. She looked around but, when she didn't see anyone looking her way, she lightly shrugged and followed Shun's lead of laying down on the makeshift bed after she released Shippo.
It took her a few minutes to get comfortable, but when she did, both canines on the bed with her laid down and conformed to her, Shun lying in such a way to be used as a pillow should Kagome desire, and also so he could see the entrance opening.
Kagome didn't even notice.
She was so tired, and so emotionally exhausted, she wasn't awake that long after closing her eyes.