Wrinkling his nose as he tugged slightly at the sleeves of his borrowed hoari, Kouga grunted and took it off, choosing instead to just wear the white hakama he had been given. They were decidedly uncomfortable, and he could not wait until his fur was returned. He was sure someone would have something to say about him being shirtless within the cushy and posh dwelling of the Western Pack, he just didn't care. This was not the life he was accustomed to, and as he took a snoop around his little mate's chambers while she slumbered, he began to question just how well she would do within the caves.

For certain the prince had been properly raised when it came to dealing with the Court, but that particular part of his upbringing was only used when his father hosted such things, which wasn't very often, or on the rare occasion when he couldn't get out of attending events within a different lord's lands.

The amount of clothing the onna had alone was, in Kouga's opinion, fucking ridiculous. She could nearly go the rest of her life and either never wear it all, or never wear the same thing twice. He understood perfectly the east and west were two completely different worlds, but for Kami's sake, you could be of your station without bleeding the rest of your lands dry of necessary items. He was sure the seamstress that made the kimono was well compensated for her, clearly, above standard skills, but Kagome's wardrobe alone could pay for a year or better of the expenses of running the lands themselves.

Shaking his head as he shut the doors to the standing wardrobe, Kouga turned to look at the onna herself. Even as sick as she was there wasn't a hair out of place. She herself was perfectly tailored, and it made him have to bite back a snort. He looked to her fingers and rolled his eyes. What was the purpose of having claws if they are to be filed into something less than pointless? No wonder she fell off a damn cliff. She had nothing to help stop her.

Looking to his own hand, he smirked at the sharp and deadly points he kept them in. Crossing his arms, he cocked his head to the side, his thoughts about her future outside these oppressive walls floating through his head. Here in the West, she had the literal best of everything... in abundance. When she was brought to the East, she would certainly have everything she needed, but it would be on a much smaller scale.

There were also a lot of things to do on a day to day basis and, looking at how Kagome was being raised, he wasn't all that confident she would be capable of doing any of it. While he was sure the Lady she was being raised to be would have been spectacular had her future gone according to her father's design, with the path things took with their little run in, it was't going to work out well for the onna if something wasn't done to alter it... and soon.

Tapping his claw on his arm, Kouga made his way over to her bedside, taking a seat on the floor and leaning back against the wall behind him. Closing his eyes, he was finally able to relax himself after the last week of literal hell he had been living. Though he would never admit it to anyone if asked, he had been just as affected by the separation as Kagome had, though in different ways. While it didn't make him sick as it did her, he was fully aware of her every sleepless night, every mood swing. He was both physically and emotionally exhausted from their time apart, and he wanted to spend his time in the quiet to try and come up with something to lessen it, if only enough to get her through the worst of it.

He wasn't able to.

Jumping nearly out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before turning barely opened eyes on the one that woke him. Trying to stretch his back out from sleeping sitting up, he grunted in his throat as he looked at Touga, who was looking at him with concern in his eyes.

It had been several hours since he first poked his head in on the pups, finding his daughter sleeping peacefully in her bed, and a clean Kouga passed out against the wall. Kagome had woken up in the best mood she had since she was returned home nearly an hour before, but it seemed to Touga, the young wolf was affected far more than his father had let on, so she had been told to leave the cub alone and let him sleep. It was approaching full dark and the evening meal, so it had been Touga's thoughts to have him join them for dinner, but looking into drawn and bloodshot eyes, he reevaluated the situation and changed his mind.

Standing once Kouga was looking at him, he cooked a finger at him, beckoning him to follow with a 'Come, Cub.'

Having no idea what was going on, Kouga climbed to his feet and followed after the older canine, who merely took him down the hall to the next door, opened it for him, and he was then told to go back to sleep. Rubbing his eyes with the heals of his hands, Kouga shook his head. "I need to return home."

Touga shook his head in return, all but shoving the young prince in the room. "You need to sleep, Cub. Your father will be here in the morning, and we will figure out how to make this bearable for the two of you. For now, it will do neither her nor you any favors if you fall ill trying to care for your mate, while neglecting yourself in the process. From the looks of things, you are no better off than Kagome. Rest, and I will have you brought something to eat."

Turning back to him, Kouga popped his spine. "How is she?"

With his hand on the door to close it, Touga hummed in this throat. "She awoke an hour ago, better than she has been since we came home, but still not at her best. You will both get there. I will be making sure of that."

Nodding to him, Kouga waited for the door to close before he fell face first on the pallet in the middle of the floor, sleeping again before he hit the pillow.

A/N

I know... another short one, but after this, the chapters get longer, and things really start to move along, promise!

Kouga's Eternal