There was a carefree spring to the step of the wolf prince as he jumped from rock to rock, a grin on his face as he flew through the air. There was something quite freeing about soaring a hundred feet above solid stone, knowing one misstep would very likely end with a grievous injury, but only spurred him as the distances between rocks got further and further apart.
Kouga didn't put any thought into keeping any part of his attention into his surroundings, secure in the knowledge he was perfectly safe where he was. He was playing in the center of his father's territory, surrounded on all sides with either demon guards or beasts within yelling distance.
He was paying so little attention to where he was, he hadn't noticed he had ventured so far from the mountains until the scent of blood drew him back to his body and forced him to look around. At this point, he was closer to the western border than he was home, and that was hardly ever a good thing.
Still, he couldn't ignore the scent, so instead of turning back like he knew he should, he continued his course until he reached the gorge that separated his family's territory from the neighboring Inus. The gorge was firmly on their side of the line, but Kouga had been told for nearly a century now he wasn't allowed to go there by himself because there was an ogre pod that lived along the border. Ogres didn't give a rat's ass about who someone was or lasting consequences if they fucked with the wrong person. All they cared about was the two things all basic demons did; food and fucking. They didn't even give a shit if they had any form of shelter, their huge size and girth enough to keep them perfectly healthy in all but absolute dire weather. Being the nicer time of year, the beasts would be out in force looking for anything they could find to continue to fatten themselves up because autum wasn't all that far off.
Keeping his senses sharp, he made one final jump to the far side of the gorge, landing in a crouch and as soundlessly as possible. Ogres had shit for hearing, but they could see better than any hawk, demon or animal, and they had this really annoying habit of just knowing someone was close. They also had a fairly decent sense of smell, so all the young wolf prince could do was hope he was down wind. Kouga was fast, but ogres didn't have to run to catch you.
Clamping down on the self preservation a bit, he put his nose to the air and took a deep breath, trying to find exactly where the blood was coming from, and also, hopefully, what. If it was just an injured ogre, he would leave it alone, but if it wasn't, he couldn't in good conscience just leave whatever it was to their rapidly expiring fate. If he smelled the blood, most certainly the beasts that ran the land have as well.
Moving swiftly and quietly along the rock face, Kouga again took a deep breath, his head snapping to the tree line when a breeze brought with it the scent of Western Heir. What the hell was he doing all the way out here? The scent was pretty recent, and from the strength of it, he had literally toed the border. He didn't know Sesshoumaru well, though he had met him a few times for one thing or another. The only thing he could think of was one of the ogres had taken too much slack and the dog decided to put it back in its place. Wouldn't be the first time one demon or another had been run from the Western Lands for being a pain in the ass.
One thing the Inus didn't deal with was unruliness. They will fuck up a rogue demon. Kouga's father was a more 'live, and let live' sort of ruler, though he would step in if it was absolutely necessary. He might not come to the rescue of every last demon that resided in the East, but he did protect the humans within the borders. Then again, if Ryushi stepped in every time someone made the request, he would literally be able to do nothing else. Demons were certainly better able to defend themselves against other demons, but not so much the humans. Human on human violence was another matter entirely, however. That shit he had nothing to do with.
With the breeze coming towards him, Kouga went in hunt of the exact place the Inu Heir was when he reached the border. The wolf wanted to know exactly what it was that brought him there because, if it wasn't an ogre and he didn't cross, Kouga figured he would be back. If he could, he would find what it was the dog was hunting and present it to him when Sesshoumaru showed back up. That dog doesn't just stop and turn away. He finds what he's after.
Being downwind of the location worked well in his favor because who or whatever this was wouldn't be able to smell him coming, and that was exactly what you wanted if he was indeed chasing away an ogre that got a little overzealous on their side of the line. When he reached the place that was most covered in the scent of dog, Kouga stopped and gave it was good look over. He didn't see any new foot prints in the dirt, so he wasn't chasing something, and there wasn't any scents besides his own.
Brow creasing, Kouga moved to the very edge of the cliff and peered over, looking down the sheer rock wall and squinted his eyes. He thought he saw something, but it was a long way down, so he wasn't sure. It was nearly straight down, so it would take some serious finesse to not die on the way into the valley. After a glance over his shoulder, he sighed before he stepped off, turning to the side and digging his toes and claws into the rock to slow himself down.
He was a little less than half way down when he was smacked in the face by the scent of a dog, and the further down he went, the stronger it got and mixed more and more with the scent of blood. He could tell quite a bit from the scent alone, and more than just it was hurt. Like, he could tell it was a she, and she was young. Well, that explains that. Sesshoumaru was looking for whoever this canine.. whoever this puppy was.
Digging his claws harder into the stone to stop himself, Kouga looked to the top of the cliff, his brows drawn. How was it there was no scent at the top? Or no scent until he got to the halfway mark? Surely it had to have been there at some point. Scents don't just pick and choose where they're left. Knowing something was not right about this, the wolf then released his hold on the stone and let himself fall to the valley floor, slowing himself closer to the bottom so he didn't break his leg before letting go altogether and dropping to the ground.
Looking down at his feet, he stood on what was now a dried blood puddle. Moving his eyes, he saw a clear path of drops heading towards the forest, but he also sensed an ogre that way, but nothing else. This was really bad. He didn't tell anyone where he was going because he's not supposed to be there, therefore he wasn't sure anyone would hear him if he called out for help. He was going to get his ass kicked for this, but he now knew there was an injured inu within the territory that was in someway related to the ruling family. He wasn't completely sure how, though. There was something about her scent that hid most of the details one could obtain from scent alone, and that was one of them. He was also only assuming she was related in someway and that was because of Sesshoumaru's scent. She could just as easily be a runaway or abandoned by her parents.
The only way to find out was to find the puppy.
*X*X*X*
Sesshoumaru landed outside the caves of the wolf-demon tribe, and stood with his head held high as a commotion kicked up at his abrupt arrival. One of the more infuriating things about the wolves was there was no visible way to tell who was in charge and who was not. They all wore basically the same thing, armor and fur, so for most, it was difficult to pick out who was important and who was just a member of the tribe. All he could really do was wait for one to grow a set of balls and step forward.
It was due to frayed nerves that it seemed to take forever for someone to do just that, but he nearly sagged to his knees when the wolf smiled at him and spoke. "Ah, Young Sesshoumaru-sama. Welcome to my home. To what do I owe this surprise visit?"
Sesshoumaru dipped his head out of respect before stepping forward and pulling the scroll from his father from his haori. "Lord Ryushi, Kagome has gone missing and her scent led to our shared border."
Brow rising to his bangs, the wolf took the scroll and broke the seal, but still spoke to the young inu as he unrolled it. "Kagome? The new inu infant?
Keeping his voice level, Sesshoumaru answered. "She's hardly an infant any longer, My Lord. She's closer to her first century than infancy."
Eyes scanning the document, the old wolf chuckled slightly. "I suppose when one is as old as I, time slows or ceases to pass at all. Were you to ask me, my son is still a cub and has passed that mark by no small amount."
Sesshoumaru only barely stopped the snort. "The same could be said for Father, it seems." Has a cub not much older than Kagome my ass, Father. He's closer to my age than her's. Though he kept his thoughts off his face, the amused annoyance couldn't be cleared completely from his eyes.
As the wolf read the missive, concern began to swirl in the old demon's aura. "Half shadow, is she? There are still shadow inus alive? I had thought they were wiped out centuries ago along with the rest of the race." When Sesshoumaru said nothing to that, the wolf continued. "Regardless, this certainly complicates things no small degree." Lifting his eyes from the paper, he looked at the elder brother. "And you are certain she is within my borders?"
Sesshoumaru knew he had to tread lightly here, because this was a very damning answer for what he wanted. "I honestly cannot say for sure if she is still in the East, no. However, it is where the spot trail led. She has yet to master that part of her abilities and she was sleeping when she vanished. Until her entire body is illuminated, she will continue to drift with no way of stopping on her own, even once she wakes."
The wolf hummed. "So, either way, be she be within my border or not, it is most imperative she be found before nightfall." When the young inu nodded, the Eastern Lord sighed and again looked at the letter. "I cannot allow a mass of Western Guards to run unchecked within my lands, as your father would not allow an undetermined number of wolves to run amuk within his. I will lend all the aid that can be spared, and you may use five of your guards plus yourself and Lord Touga, should also he be inclined." He then turned to look at two young wolves standing off to the side. "Ginta, Hakkaku. Find my son and sound the alarm to call the wolves from their posts. Also, when you find Kouga, tell him the Western Heiress had gone missing and must be found before sundown." Returning his eyes to the Western Heir, "Retrieve something that carries her scent for the wolves. They will be your biggest asset in finding the puppy. I will have your aid waiting for you upon return to the border."