"Don't you EVER do that again!! Do you understand me?!?" Hiei yelled the moment Moon walked into view with a quiet Faylinn riding behind on a cloud.
"Do what?" Moon asked cocking her head to one side, her face looking completely innocent of anything.
Hiei fumed. "You know exactly what you did. Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!"
Moon straightened up and pulled herself to her full height suddenly looking both regal and deadly at the same time. "Do not tell me what to do. This is my home, my property and she is in my care. If I find her non-threatening there is nothing you can do to stop me from leaving with her." Moon shot a glance over her shoulder at Faylinn, giving the young elf the full force of what power actually lay hidden inside her soft exterior; Faylinn winced away. "She is of no harm to any of us and you worry unnecessarily." With that she turned and twitched her fingers on her right hand causing the cloud to once more follow behind her obediently, still carrying the now slightly nervous Faylinn.
Just before entering the second house she turned to face everyone in the lawn while still commanding the cloud with its rider onward into the house. "I am tired of all of you questioning my authority here in my home. I personally discussed the course of action to be taken with the young girl with Koenma. This was my decision to have her stay here with us. For those of you who do not like the new living arrangements you are welcome to leave. My home is always open to you but I will not have you discriminating against other guests in my home." She turned quickly to hide the hurt that she had begun to feel growing in her heart and tried to gather herself before entering the room that Faylinn was now resting in.
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"You know she's right…" Kurama finally murmured as he watched the door close to the second house.
"I guess we can't blame her for getting mad at us all…" Yukina answered.
Hiei stood there in silence staring at the door his wife had gone through, he had seen the pain in her eyes just before she had turned away from everyone and he knew it was killing her to have everyone so divided.
'I should have noticed sooner…' He cursed himself for his neglect for his own wife.
"Daddy…?" A little voice called out from behind him.
A small hand tugged on his pants before he turned to look down at the little girl.
"Yuki…" He answered as he knelt down beside her.
"It hurts right here…"she pointed at her heart. "Like I want to cry, but I'm not the one that's sad it's mommy."
He patted her head then scooped her up to take her inside the first house on the land. "That's because she is and it's partially daddy's fault."
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"Moon…?"
"Hm…?" Moon answered the voice that was calling her as she sat up in a tree staring off into the sky. The tree branch shifted slightly and she knew who was up there before the smell of a wood burning fire and cinnamon hit her.
They sat there together in silence for a time before Hiei wrapped his arm around her shoulders and dragged her into him. She buried her face into his chest, drawing in a ragged breath; his smell always calmed her down.
"Moon I-" Hiei started
"Shh…" She cut in before he could continue. "Just like this…" She whispered in a hoarse voice. "I want to stay just like this…"
Hiei sighed and wrapped his arms around the shaking frame of his wife and promised to never ignore any sign of changes in her emotions. Softly he lowered his face to her hair letting his lips brush the top of her ear.
"I love you Moon." He whispered gently against her ear.
She lifted her head and gazed up at him. "I love you too Hiei." She brushed her lips against his as he pulled her into a tighter embrace. 'Never again…' He swore to himself, 'never again…'
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Faylinn stared out the window at Hiei and Moon, her useless fingers were pressed straight against the cold glass.
'I'll never have that…' She thought to herself as she tore her gaze away from the couple outside and let it wonder around the room of pale wood, white, and plants. 'I wonder who's room this really belongs too…' Everything looked simple but home-y to her; from the plush white bed cover, to the pale wood furniture scattered around the room, to the living, thriving plants that were all over the room. She could almost feel the breaths and heartbeats of each plant in the room. Closing her eyes she listened to each plant as it spoke about the love and care the owner of this room gave to them, it lifted her heart to feel how much someone cared for these plants.
"Do they talk to you?" Someone asked from the door.
Wrenching her eyes open Faylinn jumped up at the sound of another person's voice but the moment she placed pressure on her feet she fell.
The person who had been at the door rushed into the room. "I'm sorry." He pleaded as he helped her sit up. "I really didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry, really I am."
Faylinn blinked up to the red head. "It's my fault. I'm sorry… err…"
"Kurama."
She tried to give him a smile, which probably turned out to be a grimace. "Kurama… Is this your room…?"
He smiled at her as he slid his arm under her legs to lift her onto the bed. "Yes, this is my room. Do you like it?"
"I can feel all the plants in here. They speak only of love for their caretaker. You treat these plants as if they were your children. I have never seen someone do that ever since my mother died."
Kurama turned away from the girl to look at the plants in his room. "I grew to care for plants more deeply than most due to my former lover and her sister."
"Your former love…?" Faylinn pushed herself up into a sitting position to get a better look at Kurama's face.
A bitter smile lifted the corner of his lips just slightly before it slipped away; Faylinn was almost certain that she could almost see another personality peaking through Kurama's gentle exterior. "Yes, she and her sister were the two most amazing women I had ever met, one head strong and regal the other innocent and just as lovely as her sister. They were dear to me. But… She is gone now and I am sure her sister is gone as well, or if she is not she hates me by now."
"Why would she hate you?"
"That is a very long story… It will have to wait for another time." Then he carefully lifted Faylinn up off the bed and pulled the blankets down. "You need to sleep, you have had more than enough to go through for several days, rest now." He smiled as he set her back into the bed and covered her up gently.
"Where will you sleep if I am in your room…?"
Kurama turned back from the door, his hand hovering over the light switch. "Oh… I'll sleep somewhere." With that he shut off the lights and closed the door.
Though Faylinn was certain she wasn't in the least bit tired she cuddled into the soft bed breathing in the scent that lifted from the pillow as she moved; she decided that that would be the smell she associated with Kurama, the smell of roses and damp earth, a smell that felt almost like home to her. As she rested her head against the pillows she was quickly pulled into a deep slumber by both the comforting smell and the soft rustling of the plants as she listened to their happy voices.
