Rumors
"There are bad rumors going around."
Sesshomaru didn't answer, which meant he was allowing the old woman to continue.
"They say that someone is capturing half-demons to make an elixir of eternal power from them."
"What do you think we are, pieces of meat?" Inuyasha found something to be offended about, despite the third bowl of soup. "We can't be cooked... cough-cough-cough"
"Eat silently, silly puppy, you're choking," the priestess remarked kindly, almost with affection.
"I won't die from this, bah... Is there more?"
"I'm carrying..."
"Not just the elixir," Sesshomaru finally said, still looking at the fire in the hearth, hardly blinking. "Do you know anything else?"
"Rumors are coming from the bull side. Apparently, if this is true, it means it's dangerous for Inuyasha there.
"Dangerous? For me? Khe!"
"Nowhere is dangerous for him as long as he's with me," Sesshomaru disagreed, but Inuyasha, barely above his knee, clearly had something else in mind.
"That's true too! I'm not in any danger next to my brother, bah! Don't be afraid... Did you fall in love with me or what?"
Inuyasha continued to wolf down his food like a savage. He also played with it: pricking the meat onto his claws, and then licking it off, giggling. The old woman sat down next to Sesshomaru and they both stared at the gluttonous hanyou.
"It seems he's more like his father," the priestess remarked meaningfully.
"No one in our family has stooped to that."
Sesshomaru let out a barely audible but painful sigh, although neither the expression of his eyes nor his face changed.
"Maybe it will go away, don't worry. The age is like that. Not children, but monkeys... Okay, okay, I'm silent. You have the same look: if you're angry, it chills to the bone. But don't go in the direction of the bull. Who knows if these are rumors or not... it's better not to check."