First I need to, yet again, apologize for not updating for so long. I did start college this Monday and so have been very busy. Anyway I'll go ahead and respond to my kind reviewers. PassionIsLove is right about what Healo was experiencing; since both father and son have these strange mental abilities I thought it only made sense that they would be able to sense strong emotions in each other. I also understand that you may not be able to review but I hope that you keep reading since that is what this is all about. A special thanks to the intriguing Kagome357. I have tried to fix the POV problem and hope that this is more in tune with the original nature of this fic. Thanks for your support in this and if you notice anything else that needs to be changed please let me know. Thanks to all my readers and especially to my reviewers who keep me working and, thus, happy. This chapter is going to focus on the Northern Lord's POV and will help to move the plot along a good bit, or at least, that is my goal. Enjoy and please review I always want to hear about your opinions.
CHAPTER XLIII
ACCEPTING GOOD AND EVIL
Healo's POV
A gloomy silence was held throughout the cave, but not all of the occupants were sleeping. The Northern Lord, along with all of the other demons, was waiting impatiently for their unseen foes to make their move. For over a day they had noted with displeasure that they were being followed and watched by the wolves of Ellios. However, since they had not made any move towards violence Healo assumed that their intentions were peaceful enough. What the demon lord could read of their emotions, caution and curiosity, only strengthened this theory.
However, even if the presence of the wolves had not troubled the Northern Lord sleep would still have eluded him. His mind was tortured with countless images that he could not make any sense out of. Healo recognized Ionin and some individuals amidst the tangled sight of flames and smoke. Prominent among them was the person who was dearer to him than anything else in this world; his son, frightened and in pain. The demon lord shook himself slightly as he silently scolded himself for his lack of concentration. Ionin was a city of great strength and nothing would happen to his son. Surely Riath and Jaken would make sure to watch after the children.
Healo's dark blue eyes focused as figures appeared in the distance. Sighing the Northern Lord stood as the guards began to draw weapons in case this was an attack. Of course Inuyasha also was preparing to draw his father's fang, and Magus was holding his scythe close. However, though there were many of the wolves, they did not draw their weapons and instead moved slowly towards the cave. Soon the demon lord could make out the somber eyes of the wolves, and he was not surprised when Sesshomaru said clearly ", Do not advance any further. What is your business with us?" The humans were awakened by this and quickly realized their situation, but they said nothing since they did not know what to say.
A small female stepped out away from her pack and gazed at each of the strangers with curiosity. A moment later she blinked her steely grey eyes and said with surprising strength ", I am Elan of the Western Wolves. My company and I keep strangers from entering our sacred mountains." Healo was amused by her statement and so asked pointedly ", And the kingdom that lies hidden within them?" Stony silence followed this statement but the wolf stared for only a moment before asking softly ", How is it that you come to know of our hidden sanctuary?"
The Northern Lord smiled cryptically and replied ", It is well known to the four lines that the Emperor Maleus set up hidden areas to protect imperial artifacts. We have already discovered one such area, and Lord Faustin was willing to point us in your direction." Some of the wolves began to murmur at these tidings; they could not believe that the lord had given away their location. However, Elan only looked more thoughtful as she said ", You must be someone of great importance for the lord to have given you what you desired."
Healo only smiled more secretively, but the Western Lord responded calmly ", I am Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands and these are my brothers; Magus and Healo, Lord of the Northern Lands." The demon lord frowned at his brother's convenient slip of Inuyasha, but perhaps that was for the better since he would not have counted as much since he was a hanyou. The wolf demoness did not seem to notice the fuming hanyou and smiled as she said ", It is a long time since we have had visitors of your stature attempt to enter our sanctuary."
The Northern Lord's frown deepened as he asked quietly ", Others have been trying to sneak into the mountains?" Elan's steely eyes hardened as she answered ", For many years various adventures would attempt to cross our border, but for the past few years servants of the creature Naraku have been attempting to violate our security." Magus asked tightly ", Have any managed to force their way through?" The wolf's voice was strong as she replied ", No, the Western Wolves are still too powerful, but the situation has grown steadily worse. Now we are basically locked in a border war against the minions of Naraku and the servants of the Eastern Lord."
Healo was not surprised. Both Naraku and Bianen were known for their inability to accept no as an answer. However, his response was neutral enough as he said ", That is part of the reason why we have come; to find something that we may use to destroy Naraku." The wolf laughed harshly and said ", How do you think that he may be overcome? He has legions of demons and humans under his command; besides, 'Northern Lord', you already failed to defeat him before." The demon stiffened slightly at the meaning behind Elan's words, but she was right he had failed.
The Western Lord was the first to respond ", It is true that we have suffered reverses against the hanyou in the past, but with Yamikura his destruction would be achievable." Silence answered this statement before some of the wolves murmuring things like "cursed sword" were silenced when Elan said dangerously ", The sword is not within our possession, but even if we had it you could not wield it. Only those of direct descent to the emperors can even use the sword, and even then their can be dire consequences."
Inuyasha surprised everyone by interrupting rudely ", If only you knew who you were talking to, mangy wolf, you wouldn't be acting so high and mighty." Before anyone could reply, Healo was secretly glad to hear a firm "Sit" from the miko standing further in the cave. Elan did not respond to the hanyou's words and instead said quietly ", I assume that you will want to be allowed to speak more with our ruler." Sesshomaru answered in a neutral tone ", That is what we desire." The demoness nodded and said sternly ", I hope you understand that you are not to speak of anything you will see within." They all nodded and this seemed to satisfy the wolf who signaled to her companions and began to walk away.
The Northern Lord glance to his side to see Inuyasha slowly standing and sending a glare to an unperturbed miko who only stared back at the stubborn hanyou. The demon lord hid a smile at the sight; it was Inuyasha's own fault since he always had to be so rude. Unfortunately Kagome noticed Healo's attention and amusement at his brother's punishment, but instead of being upset the young woman smiled in acknowledgement of the humor of the situation. The demon lord felt a surge of pleasure from seeing the brightness of her smile. That was one thing that would always surprise him, in a good way, her smile.
Kagome did notice the change in her friends expression so she said quietly ", Well you can't say that the morning hasn't been interesting so far." The Northern Lord shook away his earlier thoughts and responded calmly ", Adventure and excitement follow all of the descendents of the great chieftain. It certainly does make life more interesting," he paused and sighed", but also more dangerous." The miko seemed to hesitate when she noticed the dark gleam in her friend's eyes. However, she eventually responded firmly ", That's just a part of life itself, isn't it? Uncertainty and danger are just as much a part of life as hope and joy."
The Northern Lord was surprised by the wisdom in the miko's words, but then he felt a tinge of shame for his thoughts. He had allowed himself to become so used to her cheerfulness that he had been surprised by the knowledge that she sometimes revealed. Kagome was no fool, but sometimes, to those who did not know her, she could appear to be slightly strange. The miko was waiting for the demon lord's response so he said warmly ", You are right of course. If we accept good things from life should we not also be expecting to have times of trouble? Sometimes, though, it seems as if our lives become unbalanced; it starts to seem like we are only experiencing the worst of this world, but this is usually not the case."
The miko laughed and asked ", Do you always have to be so profound?" The Northern Lord smiled and replied ", Age generally has a way of mellowing people (like the fact that, generally, the older you are the more conservative your views, but that's not true with me), and making them wiser as a result." Kagome sighed in irritation and said ", That may be true, but it really dampens peoples spirits sometimes." Healo frowned slightly as he asked ", Does my somber attitude discourage you?" The young woman seemed amused by the question and answered sweetly ", Of course not. Actually, your seriousness makes me feel safer, you know?" The demon lord smiled as a feeling, (pride?), was encouraged by the kind miko's words. As long as Kagome was with them no journey would ever be boring no matter how bland and disinteresting the others involved may have been.
Alright everyone so are you glad that I finally updated? I am because it was starting to disturb my thoughts while I was trying to do other work. It's difficult to focus on Algebra and essay writing when scenes from the chapters you have yet to write keep popping up in your mind. Not to mention plot ideas for the sequel and good side plots for the prequel. So anyway the storyline is finally going to start moving forward. More of the pieces are starting to fall together on both sides. However, there is still I good bit of story to go before I can even begin to think about the ending, but I already know what the last words will be "it was, after all, a family affair." Also I wanted to see if anyone noticed something about Healo's conversation with Kagome? Well I won't force you all to guess without a hint I kind of took some of the things he said from something else. I wonder if anyone knows what it is? Well I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I'm happy because the story passed 4000 hits, and I think that I might be able to get 100 reviews for the whole story if not more. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you review so that I know what you are thinking. I will try to update within a week if possible, but you have to remember that I am in college now so it may take a little while, but I promise to keep going. By the way I apologize for the shortness of the chapter, and for the fact that a large percentage of the chapter is my own notes to you all. I'll keep thinking about ideas for the sequel and prequel, but they will not be appearing until after I have finished this. Please review!!!