To run straight back to Sesshomaru's group was out of the question. Such an act would leave a scent trail leading directly to the lord. Instead, Nazoki trailed around the forest as quickly and complexly as possible. When she was positive that it would be impossible to follow her, she returned to the clearing. Though she did not have much to offer, Rin happily thanked her for the harvest. Sesshomaru was eying her oddly, but Nazoki ignored the attention. The woman leaped into a tree, and stared down into the surrounding forest. As long as she remained off the ground, even if she had been followed she would not be seen.
Night fell over the world, and Jaken and Rin fell into dreams. Sesshomaru also appeared to be sleeping, but in all actuality, he was thinking. Nazoki smelled differently. When he first returned she smelled of flowers, and something fresh. While that scent remained, now it was tainted with dirt, and a man's sweat. She had also been behaving differently, and brought back less food than usual. The remainder of the day Rin had done nothing but talk about Nazoki. The child had spoken of the fun she had, and things she learned; such as identifying soapweed. Jaken had scolded her, stating that Sesshomaru probably did not want to hear meaningless talk about the woman, but was quickly silenced by a single glance.
The air held a slight chill to it, yet felt wonderful to Nazoki. Most of the time she had to deal with high temperatures, while she had developed a tolerance to such things, cold was always welcome. A light slumber settled over the woman, and she allowed herself to drift off, comforted by the sound of the wind rushing through the leaves. A breeze also chilled her hair and tail. It was not until she realized that if she was feeling slightly cold, then Rin would be freezing, that the woman pushed herself awake. Everybody below was sleeping. As suspected, Rin appeared to be uncomfortable. Without a second through Nazoki took to gathering dried wood. Earlier in the night, the woman had not started a flame, but now it was necessary.
Once the wood was gathered, Nazoki dug a small hole. She arranged the wood, and easily sparked a fire. The wind did not interfere with her ability, to her pleasure. Next, she moved to Rin's side and raised her body heat. As she sat beside the sleeping girl, Nazoki allowed her thoughts to wander. The meeting in the forest had been unexpected. And was by far the most tedious thing she found herself dealing with in weeks. Hideki's casual mention of Arashi being dead caused a long low sigh to take the woman. She wrapped her arms around her knees, and stared into the fire. Nazoki's gaze settled on Sesshomaru.
The man was sitting against the trunk of a tree, appearing to be asleep. His head was slightly tilted to the side, and the crescent on his forehead seemed to force her to fix her eyes on him. The man's white hair was draped over the bit of red on his shoulder, yet ventured no farther than his bit of armor. Nazoki remained in place, studying his fine features. When she was sure Rin was warm, the woman allowed curiosity to take her. The fur over his right shoulder. She wanted to know what it was. She had speculations of it being his tail, but was unsure. As silently as possible, the vixen crawled over to the man. His eyes were still closed, and she slowly inched towards him. Stopping over one of his legs, Nazoki studied the fur.
As Nazoki extended her hand, she stared at the fur. As long as Sesshomaru did not find out, she would be fine. All of her attention was fixed on the mokomoko. She did not realize the fact that Sesshomaru had noticed her, and was staring directly at her. Maybe it was because she expected him to move if he woke up. Needless to say, he hadn't been sleeping in the first place. The vixen placed a hand to his fur, and as she had assumed, she found it was warm, and real. Curiously rubbing said mokomoko, Nazoki noted that it was undeniably soft. In all actuality it was rather comfortable, and gave her an urge to sink into it; hug it maybe. The woman started to lean into the fur, studying it. She wondered how such a cold man could have such warm fur. As she glanced up at the Lord, she froze in place. A slight frown had creased his brow, and his golden eyes had locked on her.
Startled, Nazoki immediately retracted her hand and pushed herself to her knees. Sesshomaru did not speak, rather, stared at her expectantly. The man's gaze seemed to pierce her, and she lowered hers. Instead of answering his obvious question, the vixen looked away. It became apparent that she was trying to stop herself from combusting out of embarrassment. Despite her efforts, she burned a bright silver shade. To Sesshomaru's surprise, heat didn't seem to radiate off of her. He curiously stuck his hand into her hair, noting that he was not being burned. This was a new color, a new emotion.
Startled, Nazoki leaned away from the man and fell back on to the ground. She glanced at Rin and Jaken who seemed oblivious to the awkward situation. Forcing herself into a bow, the vixen willed her speech to work.
"F- Forgive me... I was curious..."
Though Sesshomaru still frowned slightly, the man nodded.
"It is my tail." His deep voice calmly filled the silence, and Nazoki peered up at him.
A moment passed, and the woman's discomfort seemed to grow.
"What does that color mean?" Sesshomaru asked, and Nazoki glanced down at her tail. The vixen attempted to suppress the flames, contemplating whether she should tell him or not. Deciding that is was best not to lie, she leaned up. Placing her hands on the ground between her knees, she gazed at the man. His face was lit by the flames of the fires, yet when hers disappeared, the warm light from the one she had set up for Rin remained.
"It... It is embarrassment..."
Sesshomaru nodded, and continued to stare at Nazoki. Still uneasy, the woman leaned to the side. Before she could escape, Sesshomaru gripped her arm. Her attention snapped to the contact, and for a second, the lord thought that the woman's face flushed. But with her back to the fire it was impossible to be sure.
"Your scent has changed."
Nazoki's eyes widened and she tried to think of a response. The woman had not even thought of that possibility; that Sesshomaru would smell Hideki. Instead of waiting for her to reply, the lord reached into his pocket, and offered her sleeve back.
"You never retrieved it."
Nazoki stared at the green material for a moment before accepting it. She thanked the man and pushed herself to her feet. Without even attempting to make an excuse for her scent, she returned to her tree.