Chapter Nine: Curiosity

For the next several days Lord Sesshomaru had not made an appearance and Rin was grateful for that. Being in the mountains alone gave Rin time to think and try to get her head under control. Most of her nights were filled with dreams of the yokai Lord, very vivid dreams.

'I've gone mad.' she thought.

Without much planning, Rin decided to venture deeper into the East mountains. During that day she would observe the surrounding nature and she found different animals she had never seen before. Often most were as big as deer but had vibrant colors and unique patterns. One resembled a horse but it's back legs were considerably taller than its front, giving it a hunched appearance. The ears of the creature were pointed like a cat with mixes of red and orange, while its body was a bright yellow.

Birds with wingspans longer than she was tall, with two sets of wings. As beautiful as the colorful birds were, Rin kept a good distance from them because as interesting as they were, she knew they'd be able to fly off with her.

One of her favorite places she'd discovered was the largest lake she's ever seen. It was so vast it would take her many days to walk around it.

One night she had decided to remain by the lake and watch the stars that peak through the trees and the view made her feel calmed.

The night after, she climbed the biggest tree that overlooked the lake because she wanted a better view of the stars. The moon was full and she was able to see the banks of the lake on either side. Her game was to count all the stars as far as she could see, however she lost count multiple times.

The thick tree branch she sat on shook lightly, startling her to the point she almost fell off.

Rin cocked her head to the left to find a pair of golden eyes staring at her.

"My L-" She started.

"Shh" he whispered.

Sesshomaru pointed a clawed finger to murky waters below.

At first, the human was confused but continued to watch as she saw something swim against the current. It looked like blackish scales swaying through the water before it completely disappeared.

Rin was entranced and kept her eyes trained on the water, waiting for whatever it was to emerge and it soon did. Much closer to the bank this time too.

It crawled half way out of the water with it's arms, its upper half appeared almost human-like with bluish skin and the bottom half revealed two black, legs sized fish tails. The creature had no hair on its head and instead of ears there was gills.

Rin leaned forwards, not believing what she saw. The fish-like creature appeared to be sniffing the air for a moment and then looked straight up at her. Its eyes were the size of her hands taking over most of its face and they were a glowing yellow.

After several moments, it lost interest in Rin and turned its head to Sesshomaru curiously. It hisses loudly and cocked its head sideways.

At this point, Rin was also looking at her Lord, waiting to see what he would do.

Sesshomaru did not move from the base of the tree, and the creature looked at Rin and then hissed at Sesshomaru again.

Lazily, Sesshomaru leaned forward and turned towards the hissing.

"Mine." he growled, baring his fangs.

Rin gasped slightly because she'd never heard such a sound coming from him. It didn't even sound like it came from his mouth or chest, it resonated across the water.

When looking down again, it was gone.

Rin blinked a few times, "My Lord? What was that thi-er..animal?"

Sesshomaru ignored her and squinted his eyes towards the distance.

Within seconds, the creature elevated out of the water and threw itself at us. Sesshomaru reached out his hand and caught the creature's neck with ease. It squirmed and screeched loudly, making Rin cover her ears. Even Sesshomaru groaned at the sound, green poison came out of his claws and the creature stopped moving but was noticeably alive. The demon threw it back out the lake and it was gone.

"It can fly?!" Rin exclaimed in awe.

"That was a Helioskan and it's been watching you." he said unamused.

"Helioskan? Where did it come from? I've never seen anything like that." said Rin.

"Hm I imagine you haven't. This water connects to the eastern sea. When the tide rises it allows them to journey farther for food." he stated.

"So, it's been watching me." Rin said awkwardly.

Sesshomaru's piercing eyes bore into hers as if he was scolding her.

"You are food to it."

Rin laughed awkwardly and scratched her head, "Lovely."

After a few moments of silence she asked, "So…If it were to try to eat me, how exactly would it do that? It didn't even look like it had a mouth."

"You're too curious for your own good."

Rin quickly relied, "I wouldn't willingly make myself food!"

Sesshomaru scoffed, "It does have a mouth but it's very small. Its claws contain poison that will immobilize you and it will slowly eat you after it drowns you."

"So it plays with its food. How very unpleasant."

"Do you intend to stay in the East?" he asked, changing the topic.

"I'm thinking about heading back West. I want to go towards the western sea. It's been a few months since I've seen anyone from the village, so I'll stop by to see them as well."

"That's a long journey from here Rin." he stated.

The woman laughed, "Yes but I have time."

Sesshomaru said nothing