The next morning came bright and early, I awoke with a dull ache running down my back and spreading down my arms. I stood and brushed myself off, getting ready for the day I slipped off my kimono and went to get out another one. I placed my hands on top of my chest to lift and the contact hurt! I pulled my hands back and looked at my palms, they were a light red. I probably just slept wrong on them and disrupted the blood flow, I shook them beside me hoping that would help and used my wrists to slide open the chest. I pulled out a kimono and pulled it on, the feel of the fabric over my hands felt like sand paper. With much trouble I finally got my sash tied and headed out for breakfast, my stomach grumbled in approval at the spiced meat wafting up the tunnel. I made my way to Senna. Once I made it to the main den it wasn't Senna at all making breakfast it was Ari.
"Ari!" I ran over to her and wrapped her in a hug, being very mindful of my hands. "I am so glad to see you!"
Ari's shocked expression quickly changed upon seeing it was me.
"Kagome! I have missed you!" She held on to me tightly. "Where did you go?"
We released one another and continued our conversation while she kept serving out breakfast.
"I needed a break from cave life." I gave a light giggle, but Ari's expression was serious.
"Kagome, you took off with only a few people knowing where you went. The elders wanted to send out the tribe for a man hunt." Her expression did not change, and her tone was quite serious too.
"Well woman hunt in this case." I laughed at my own joke, she just shook her head.
"And we find out that you took a man with you without Kouga's permission."
I was getting irritated, Ari was scolding me and I wasn't going to have it.
"I took him for safety, he and his mate agreed to it and I don't see why I had to tell Kouga. Other people knew about me leaving and he would have tried to make me stay. I needed to get a away for a bit Ari, please understand." My tone softened considerably at the end of my statement but Ari's stayed hard.
"So you ran away from the man who loves you because he wouldn't let you run away?"
"Ari you aren't listening." I started to explain more but Ari cut me off.
"I have chores that need my attention, maybe you should go explain to someone else your childish ways." She turned her back to me and I felt hurt. How could she? She had become my best friend since I came here and now she wanted nothing to do with me? She called me childish! I grabbed a hunk of meat and stomped back to my den.
Fine then Ari be that way.
I noticed outside my door was my bag with herbs I collected, that would use up some time. I walked back in my den and spread out the different herbs I set out the ones that needed to dry, I made sure to seal up those that didn't so they wouldn't loose their moisture. Then I came to the 3 strange roots I found. I grabbed my canteen and rinsed off the first, it was the one I found on the ridge. Being so late in the year it was hard to tell what any of them were, the flowers and plants on the upper part were not blooming so this really was a shot in the dark. Maybe I should ask Jiki?
My palms burned as the water ran over them, I quickly made to dry them. Then I took the moment to examine them properly which I hadn't done earlier. The skin was red, yes but there were small places where my skin was raw. Places where my skin had parted and moved way for the tender skin underneath. But why? What had caused this to happen? I felt my head start to pound as I looked over my hands, noticing the red went up the under side of my arm. It was spreading! I made to stand but my head hurt too bad and the world was starting to spin.
Keep it together Kagome, keep it together. What caused this? You have to figure it out before you leave, you have to get it out of the den. The root-the root! The world was tipping and throwing violently, I feel numbness start at my finger tips and spread up my arms. I tried to reach for the wall to steady myself but my arms wouldn't listen. The numbness clear up to my elbows now, my heart is pounding, I can hear the rush of blood in my ears and it is deafening! I tried to do anything that would help and steady myself to no avail.
"Kagome? You are going to miss breakfast if you don't get up soon." It was Kouga! He was checking on me! I tried to yell out for him but it came out as a strangled groan.
"Kagome?" I tried again but this time it was even more pathetic.
"What is that noise? Are you in there?" I saw the curtain move and Kouga's head peek in.
My control slipped and I felt myself falling. My eyes locked onto Kouga, as I saw his expression turn from joy at seeing me to terror as I started falling. I felt my arms and torso hit the cold cave floor but Kouga caught my head before it slammed down. The numbness was spreading into my chest, and it was harder and harder to see as darkness flooded my vision.
"Kou-" I managed to force out. He pulled me onto his lap still cradling my head which I seemed unable to hold up on my own.
"ssshhhhh, it's alright. What happened?" Worry was laced all throughout his voice and etched into his beautiful features.
"R-r" I couldn't make the sounds to tell him about the root! The darkness overpowered my vision and my eyelids slid closed.
The last thing I heard was a loud, long, sorrowful howl that echoed around me.
Kouga I am so sorry.
A/N: Ok so I normally don't make them this short but I wanted to get this out of the way. Let me know what you think please! I am still up in the air about it….give me a heads up with yay or nay. Thanks in advance!