Emiko inclined her head as he lay down beside the hearth. "Welcome back. I assume you'll be staying all winter?"
"If he is, I'm using Kagome's bed for storage," Kagura piped up, smirking when her sister glared at her. "What? We all know you won't be using it."
Kagome flushed, avoiding the beast's gaze as she sat next to him, his tail automatically curling around her. She felt silly, childish, for her earlier reaction, but she couldn't find it in herself to apologize.
Kagura and Emiko disappeared into the kitchen, Kagome turning around once they were out of earshot and hugging him fiercely. "I missed you."
Youki surrounded her, sliding up her arms as if to return the embrace, the rumble from his chest vibrating through her body and calming her nerves. The roses had helped, but the source was much more potent, more satisfying, mixing with her reiki as power blanketed them both.
It struck her as odd that there was no pushback. Most of the stories in her mother's scrolls told of youkai and those with holy powers attempting to destroy each other, reiki and youki causing storms and sudden shifts in weather during times of war.
It wasn't until the current royals came into power that people on the opposing sides stopped fighting long enough to consider the thought of peace. And even then, it had nearly fallen apart when the king had been assassinated.
Old ideals had sprung up, soldiers storming the Shiro when they thought the queen to be at her weakest, but Inukimi was a warrior in her own right, quickly setting the record straight that any attack would be met with retaliation in the bloodiest of ways.