The trio stopped for food. Ueda really did not need anything, but Shippo was hungry and they both didn't think it was a good idea for Sumi to go without food in her condition. Besides, Shippo wanted an excuse to take a break from being around her. Her whole body was beginning to smell like a diluted version of her breath, and he needed to get some fresh air that wasn't making him feel tight all over and warm. So he went fishing at the stream that they'd been staying close to.

Ueda's nose was not what it used to be, but the man could smell a faint change in the air surrounding their female companion. He'd been able to catch it more when he'd walked at her side. When she sat down across from him as he built a small fire, he'd made an excuse to get closer to her to clarify that scent to him.

It was not unlike most female youkai's scents when they went into heat. Once satisfied that was indeed what he'd noticed, he sat down across from her again, stirring at the sticks in the fire. To him, a mated male, she did not smell attractive. Just different, but recognizable. However to Shippo, he could imagine her scent was probably very alluring. Perhaps that's why the fox had offered to fish for them all.

Ueda wondered how often a nagual might go into heat. Was it like inus? Where it was a regular time a year, or was it like most youkai which were about as fertile as often as humans? Ueda didn't know what her beast was, so he couldn't judge.

A thought occurred to him as he looked off into the trees where beyond the teen was fishing for their breakfast. Perhaps Sumi was like cat and panther youkai? Could it be that she could be forced into heat suddenly from a male their beast would find attractive?

If this were the case, it would be Shippo throwing her into heat, and he was a bit young to manage that. The panther rubbed his chin. The boy was old enough to breed, he just normally would not be viral enough to cause such a reaction from a more mature female. But, he was the only available male around. Maybe Sumi's hormones were just kicking in because she'd been alone for so long before meeting him. In holding. Maybe Shippo was more powerful than he first seemed. If his father had been a leader—an alpha—that could have passed on to him despite his sweet disposition. He was reminded of the boy's threat when he'd though he was hurting the nagual. Perhaps Shippo was simply quietly dominant.

Maybe this was why the girl had been in a sullen mood for the past few hours. She might be annoyed with her body. Ueda's older sister was often thrown into heat by her future mate—though she hated him at the time. A childhood rival, the boy was often irritating, and when Ueda's sister became old enough to respond to males, he was the main one who affected her cycles. She'd become moody and upset by it until the two finally started courting and she realized her childish rivalry with this male was no longer a concern. They still fought and verbally spared with one another nearly constantly, but his sister was happy.

Sumi kicked out her bare foot and connected her toe with a small pebble, sending it tumbling away with ease. Ueda smiled. Perhaps she was irritated with her body's reaction to Shippo.

The silent youkai grinned softly at her, and Sumi who had been gently spacing in his direction, pulled back and brought herself into reality.

"What?" She asked.

His grin widened. He sniffed the air and pointed at her with a gleam in his eyes. She got the message and turned her head away and crossed her arms. The panther could laugh all he wanted. She growled softly and ignored the male.

Yep. Ueda nodded to himself. The boy threw her in, and she wasn't too happy about it. He held back another snort when she glared at him from across the fire. Tilting her head back, he watched as she sighed for his benefit. This time he did laugh, a sudden loud boom. She cocked her head back in his direction and wrinkled her nose. Smiling, he pointed in the direction which Shippo had taken to go fishing. A red hue crept over her brown cheeks and she looked away from the panther to her feet.

Shippo had caught five fish and was going for one last because he wanted to make sure there was plenty so Sumi especially would not be left wanting for more. Cupping his hands together under the water, he stood very still and let the current flow through his palms. He waited for the last fish.

Her scent had changed, and he wondered what it meant. He sometimes really disliked that he'd been nearly raised solely by humans. Something in the back of his spine told him the new scent was very important, but other than his obvious reaction by getting hot and bothered, he couldn't figure it out. He thought he'd ask Inuyasha when he got to see him, but since the hanyou had only been raised around humans also, Shippo doubted he knew what it meant. He'd ask anyway.

He felt a slippery touch, but kept his hands still, quelling his reactions until the fish was between his palms. No use in scaring it off before he even had a chance at it. The water flowed around and through his grasp. Patience was always the key. He smirked but let out no sound as he remembered nearly every time Inuyasha would attempt this, he'd wind up wet and cursing.

The teen felt a closer touch this time on his palm, as a fish seemingly felt around his skin. He allowed it to slide through just a touch more before he slapped his hands together, capturing the thing. He yanked it from the water and tossed it onto the grass before it could slip back into the water. It flapped about as Shippo walked from the water and rolled his clothing back down around his ankles.

He crouched down next to the dying fish and watched it flop.