Fear
See first chapter for disclaimer.
In this installment: Sesshoumaru and Rin encounter the one thing she fears.
A/N: I've never been able to find a definitive answer to the question "What the f*#$ is that fuzzy thing over Sesshoumaru's shoulder?" Is it a tail? Is it a trophy from some defeated foe or fallen authority? Is it just a manifestation of his quirky yet fabulous fashion sense? Right now I'm inclined to believe it's just there to serve as a paradox for spiritual centering, a animated "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" if you will. Or maybe the creators are just trying to baffle us for their own twisted amusement. I can respect that too. In any case, I've chosen to refer to it as a "pelt" in this series of stories. It seems the most conservative term that I can apply since it really just means object covered with fur. Pelt can be stretched to apply to a tail, a boa, or the skin of another animal/youki.
I'd also like to take a moment to show my deep and sincere appreciation for everyone who has reviewed this story. You have all been remarkably benevolent and encouraging and I am humbled by, and deeply grateful for your kind words. Thank you.
Chapter 3 -Fear- owes a special debt of gratitude to Sirithlothien for pointing out some very careless mistakes on the part of the author. Thank you for seeing what I missed.
I hope you enjoy this third vignette.
Fear
They stopped as the night fell upon them, soft and balmy. Each went about their tasks for making camp silently; he found game while she built a fire and prepared the meal. Rin had long been accustomed Sesshoumaru's economy of words and had learned occupy herself happily with her own thoughts. The workings of her mind played across her face, her expression constantly changing in the firelight. After they had eaten she wandered off to bathe and had returned clad in her new kimono and a guilty smile. Now she sat, brushing her long hair dry before the fire, contentment radiating in her guileless smile.
Sesshoumaru stood, braced against a tree, his gaze falling upon Rin and the dancing fire light. He had been watching her for some time now, but that too was a habit they had both become accustomed too. Each knew the subtleties of the other.
Finally she finished the ministrations to her hair, giving it a satisfied shake, reveling in silken feel of it as it brushed her cheek and neck. The long obsidian curtain settled heavily around her shoulders, so dark it would have been indistinguishable from the night but for the soft gleam she had so meticulously brushed into it. Rin rose with a yawn, worn out from her day's activities and moved softly to Sesshoumaru, weariness beginning to show in her eyes.
"I'm going to sleep now Sesshoumaru-sama. Goodnight," she said softly, leaning up on tip-toe to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. He leaned down slightly to accommodate her. For though she had grown substantially since this nightly ritual was started, fate had still left her a petite creature. Her hand lingered lightly on his arm as she began to turn for bed, another yawn struggling past her lips.
A lone howl ghosted over them from far away and Sesshoumaru saw a chill passed over Rin. She took an unconscious step closer to him.
Rin had never gotten over the attack by the youkai, and whenever they heard even common wolves calling to each other in the night, the same pale look of apprehension came across her face. When she had been very small, the call of the wolves had caused her to cry and cling to him in fear and he had silently allowed it, wrapping her in his pelt to hush her tears, silencing Jaken's grumbling with a ferial glance.
Now she glanced up guiltily though her lashes as she realized what she had done in her fear. Rin took possession of herself and withdrew, sheepishly steeling herself, exerting all her effort not to react when the answering call came.
Something about that look of guilt as she tried to hide her fear, her body going stiff under the fluid drape of the pink kimono triggered something deep within the youkai lord. As he watched the fear gleam in her eyes, and watched her try to disguise it, a deep growl rose in his chest. Rin jumped, startled. "Rin, don't move," he ordered, leaping off into the night with, his sword drawn.
Rin felt panic rise in her throat. He had left her alone in the dark with the howling of the wolves, the fierce manner of his departure only unsettling her more. Were they in some kind of danger? She hugged her arms to herself as another shiver passed over her. The night seemed to close around her, grumbling and snarling as it reminded her of her frailty in harsh whispers. Rin strained for sounds of Sesshoumaru and what could have drawn him away, though no noise, no shouts of conflict or smash of weapons greeted her ears, compounding her unease as the empty seconds ticked by.
Rin stood absolutely still in the clearing where he'd left her, forcing herself to breath the sweet air in deeply, willing her heart to calm it's frantic pacing. "Sesshoumaru would not have left if I were in danger here," she admonished herself sternly, "he will be back any moment." Rin waited, the darkness growing less threatening as she reasoned away her fear and the crawling seconds coalesced into languid minutes. "At least," she though wryly, "I don't hear any more wolves."
It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes of that eternity before she heard him returning, knowing his sounds absolutely. The remaining tension slipped away and she turned her gaze to the eastern forest waiting for him to appear and grant her full relief. Sesshoumaru didn't disappoint her, breaking through the tree line seconds later.
Rin frowned, noting he carried something with him, a large awkward bundle of sorts that she was unable to make out in the gloom. "Sesshoumaru," she called to him, possessed with the sudden urge to run to him, throw herself around his neck and tell him how happy she was to see him. But she thought better substituting a concerned, "Is everything well?" instead. He did not answer, but kept coming swiftly toward her, his body set in a belligerent stance, dragging the bundle behind him.
Rin felt her apprehension begin to return, sensing something was wrong. She reached out a hand to him, preparing to call out again but he was already upon her, swinging the bundle over his shoulder fiercely and slamming it into the ground before her as though he detested it and could bear to touch it no longer. Rin looked at him curiously, trying to fathom his mind, hoping for a rare hint of what might be transpiring behind those great golden eyes, but his features were hard and impassive. She turned her attention to the ground hoping that would give her some inkling of what was happening. The moon shone down upon it, revealing it's true nature and Rin let out a strangled scream, drawing back.
There, at her feet, lay the carcasses of a dozen wolves.
She looked back to him, pale and questioning, unsure of what he meant by this gesture. Sesshoumaru met her trembling gaze evenly, his expression unchanged, giving nothing. Rin took a breath and a step closer, reaching out slowly with shaking fingers. Lightly she touched the shaggy head of one large male, laying on top of the others, drawing her fingers back immediately with a gasp, expecting the creature to snap at her. It simply lay still. Dead.
Sesshoumaru watched as she touched the creature, drawing back as if she had been burned, the scent of fear rolling off her almost as strongly as the scent of death from the creatures between them and the rage began to build silently in him again. He was sorely tempted to seek out another pack of the craven animals…but not tonight. He couldn't leave Rin alone again tonight, not with those creatures nearby, dead or not. It was only due to his presence that she stood them now.
Rin was looking at him again, with a wide and troubled gaze, so many questions swimming in the mahogany depths, her supplicating hand held out to him. He went to her now, moving slowly round the carcasses, and took her hand, drawing her to him. Sesshoumaru saw her cast an apprehensive glance to the pile out of the corner of her eye. He caught her delicate chin in his hand, forcing her gaze to meet his, rendering her unable to look away. "Fear nothing Rin," his voice was cool but the words were unmistakably an order. He held her eyes for a few more moments, his fingers pressing firmly into her chin then let her go, the command in his grip giving way to tenderness, his fingers brushing back the silken hair at her temple.
Sesshoumaru's arm snaked gently around her shoulders, turning her away from the wolves, keeping his body between her and those of the slain creatures as he lead her softly into the forest upwind of the campsite. The smell of wolf's blood would make sleeping there unbearable.
Rin settled heavily into his arm, letting him lead her, unconscious of where they went, her mind still puzzling over what had just transpired. 'He killed them for me,' she hadn't even realized it until he had spoken to her and now that though dominated all the others being tossed around by her nimble mind. 'Sesshoumaru killed the wolves because they frighten me.' It was a realization that did little to ease her thoughts and did even less to answer the question at the bottom of all the others: Why?
She was still deep in those contemplations when they stopped, Sesshoumaru spotting a resting-place to his liking at the base of a tall tree. He sat; resting his back against the strong trunk, suddenly weary from battle, uncomplicated though it had been. He had fought nothing greater than a simple animal after all. Rin stood before him for a moment, her gaze far away. She looked decidedly inhuman in her reverie, with her pale, elegant features, the moonlight threading ribbons of shimming silver in the loose strands of her hair, and the delicate pinks and whites of the cherry blossom kimono giving off a soft iridescence in the tricky light. It seemed as if her distant gaze was trained upon the place she belonged, far from this rough plane.
She would surely ruin her fine gown if she slept on the dewy ground tonight, Sesshoumaru realized as he studied her in the moon glow. He took her hands gently in his own, reviving her, and drawing her down, not beside him as she had expected, but into his lap, much to her surprise. It had been years since he'd held her so, but his impassive face barred any argument as his warm pelt was wrapped around her and he settled her fully against his much larger frame. Rin simply laid her head against the curve of his shoulder, too wearied by the day to begin to tackle this as well.
She could feel Sesshoumaru relaxing beneath her, his head falling back against the tree as he too settled in to sleep. Softly, his arms crept around her, holding her reverently and securely as he warmed her, kept her dry, kept her safe just as he had when she was a child…. Suddenly Rin wanted nothing more than to weep. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers tangling gingerly in his soft, silver hair, and buried her face in his warm shoulder. His cryptic words echoed in her head, "Fear nothing Rin," taking on thousands of new shades of meaning like dewdrops in the sunlight. The image of him staring at her intensely, face grim over the foes he hand placed so easily at her feet forming before her closed eyes.
"Thank you Sesshoumaru-sama," she whispered into his neck, cuddling close to his heart, giving herself up to his embrace.
He said nothing, but his arm lifted and he began to stroke her satiny hair gently, pulling his claws gingerly though the fine, shimmering strands. Within moments she was deeply asleep, her arms securely about him.
Sesshoumaru stroked her silky head long into the night. Rin was so light and fragile against him, utterly defenseless. Alone, deep in the night he let her vulnerability humble him and he admitted, though only for a span of a single night, her surrender marked his defeat.
He would lay every single wolf in Japan at her feet if she ever asked.
----------
As usual, reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome and appreciated. I can't improve if I don't know what I'm doing wrong. And as usual, reviews have no bearing on when the next installment is posted; there will be review extortion here.
See first chapter for disclaimer.
In this installment: Sesshoumaru and Rin encounter the one thing she fears.
A/N: I've never been able to find a definitive answer to the question "What the f*#$ is that fuzzy thing over Sesshoumaru's shoulder?" Is it a tail? Is it a trophy from some defeated foe or fallen authority? Is it just a manifestation of his quirky yet fabulous fashion sense? Right now I'm inclined to believe it's just there to serve as a paradox for spiritual centering, a animated "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" if you will. Or maybe the creators are just trying to baffle us for their own twisted amusement. I can respect that too. In any case, I've chosen to refer to it as a "pelt" in this series of stories. It seems the most conservative term that I can apply since it really just means object covered with fur. Pelt can be stretched to apply to a tail, a boa, or the skin of another animal/youki.
I'd also like to take a moment to show my deep and sincere appreciation for everyone who has reviewed this story. You have all been remarkably benevolent and encouraging and I am humbled by, and deeply grateful for your kind words. Thank you.
Chapter 3 -Fear- owes a special debt of gratitude to Sirithlothien for pointing out some very careless mistakes on the part of the author. Thank you for seeing what I missed.
I hope you enjoy this third vignette.
Fear
They stopped as the night fell upon them, soft and balmy. Each went about their tasks for making camp silently; he found game while she built a fire and prepared the meal. Rin had long been accustomed Sesshoumaru's economy of words and had learned occupy herself happily with her own thoughts. The workings of her mind played across her face, her expression constantly changing in the firelight. After they had eaten she wandered off to bathe and had returned clad in her new kimono and a guilty smile. Now she sat, brushing her long hair dry before the fire, contentment radiating in her guileless smile.
Sesshoumaru stood, braced against a tree, his gaze falling upon Rin and the dancing fire light. He had been watching her for some time now, but that too was a habit they had both become accustomed too. Each knew the subtleties of the other.
Finally she finished the ministrations to her hair, giving it a satisfied shake, reveling in silken feel of it as it brushed her cheek and neck. The long obsidian curtain settled heavily around her shoulders, so dark it would have been indistinguishable from the night but for the soft gleam she had so meticulously brushed into it. Rin rose with a yawn, worn out from her day's activities and moved softly to Sesshoumaru, weariness beginning to show in her eyes.
"I'm going to sleep now Sesshoumaru-sama. Goodnight," she said softly, leaning up on tip-toe to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. He leaned down slightly to accommodate her. For though she had grown substantially since this nightly ritual was started, fate had still left her a petite creature. Her hand lingered lightly on his arm as she began to turn for bed, another yawn struggling past her lips.
A lone howl ghosted over them from far away and Sesshoumaru saw a chill passed over Rin. She took an unconscious step closer to him.
Rin had never gotten over the attack by the youkai, and whenever they heard even common wolves calling to each other in the night, the same pale look of apprehension came across her face. When she had been very small, the call of the wolves had caused her to cry and cling to him in fear and he had silently allowed it, wrapping her in his pelt to hush her tears, silencing Jaken's grumbling with a ferial glance.
Now she glanced up guiltily though her lashes as she realized what she had done in her fear. Rin took possession of herself and withdrew, sheepishly steeling herself, exerting all her effort not to react when the answering call came.
Something about that look of guilt as she tried to hide her fear, her body going stiff under the fluid drape of the pink kimono triggered something deep within the youkai lord. As he watched the fear gleam in her eyes, and watched her try to disguise it, a deep growl rose in his chest. Rin jumped, startled. "Rin, don't move," he ordered, leaping off into the night with, his sword drawn.
Rin felt panic rise in her throat. He had left her alone in the dark with the howling of the wolves, the fierce manner of his departure only unsettling her more. Were they in some kind of danger? She hugged her arms to herself as another shiver passed over her. The night seemed to close around her, grumbling and snarling as it reminded her of her frailty in harsh whispers. Rin strained for sounds of Sesshoumaru and what could have drawn him away, though no noise, no shouts of conflict or smash of weapons greeted her ears, compounding her unease as the empty seconds ticked by.
Rin stood absolutely still in the clearing where he'd left her, forcing herself to breath the sweet air in deeply, willing her heart to calm it's frantic pacing. "Sesshoumaru would not have left if I were in danger here," she admonished herself sternly, "he will be back any moment." Rin waited, the darkness growing less threatening as she reasoned away her fear and the crawling seconds coalesced into languid minutes. "At least," she though wryly, "I don't hear any more wolves."
It couldn't have been more than 15 minutes of that eternity before she heard him returning, knowing his sounds absolutely. The remaining tension slipped away and she turned her gaze to the eastern forest waiting for him to appear and grant her full relief. Sesshoumaru didn't disappoint her, breaking through the tree line seconds later.
Rin frowned, noting he carried something with him, a large awkward bundle of sorts that she was unable to make out in the gloom. "Sesshoumaru," she called to him, possessed with the sudden urge to run to him, throw herself around his neck and tell him how happy she was to see him. But she thought better substituting a concerned, "Is everything well?" instead. He did not answer, but kept coming swiftly toward her, his body set in a belligerent stance, dragging the bundle behind him.
Rin felt her apprehension begin to return, sensing something was wrong. She reached out a hand to him, preparing to call out again but he was already upon her, swinging the bundle over his shoulder fiercely and slamming it into the ground before her as though he detested it and could bear to touch it no longer. Rin looked at him curiously, trying to fathom his mind, hoping for a rare hint of what might be transpiring behind those great golden eyes, but his features were hard and impassive. She turned her attention to the ground hoping that would give her some inkling of what was happening. The moon shone down upon it, revealing it's true nature and Rin let out a strangled scream, drawing back.
There, at her feet, lay the carcasses of a dozen wolves.
She looked back to him, pale and questioning, unsure of what he meant by this gesture. Sesshoumaru met her trembling gaze evenly, his expression unchanged, giving nothing. Rin took a breath and a step closer, reaching out slowly with shaking fingers. Lightly she touched the shaggy head of one large male, laying on top of the others, drawing her fingers back immediately with a gasp, expecting the creature to snap at her. It simply lay still. Dead.
Sesshoumaru watched as she touched the creature, drawing back as if she had been burned, the scent of fear rolling off her almost as strongly as the scent of death from the creatures between them and the rage began to build silently in him again. He was sorely tempted to seek out another pack of the craven animals…but not tonight. He couldn't leave Rin alone again tonight, not with those creatures nearby, dead or not. It was only due to his presence that she stood them now.
Rin was looking at him again, with a wide and troubled gaze, so many questions swimming in the mahogany depths, her supplicating hand held out to him. He went to her now, moving slowly round the carcasses, and took her hand, drawing her to him. Sesshoumaru saw her cast an apprehensive glance to the pile out of the corner of her eye. He caught her delicate chin in his hand, forcing her gaze to meet his, rendering her unable to look away. "Fear nothing Rin," his voice was cool but the words were unmistakably an order. He held her eyes for a few more moments, his fingers pressing firmly into her chin then let her go, the command in his grip giving way to tenderness, his fingers brushing back the silken hair at her temple.
Sesshoumaru's arm snaked gently around her shoulders, turning her away from the wolves, keeping his body between her and those of the slain creatures as he lead her softly into the forest upwind of the campsite. The smell of wolf's blood would make sleeping there unbearable.
Rin settled heavily into his arm, letting him lead her, unconscious of where they went, her mind still puzzling over what had just transpired. 'He killed them for me,' she hadn't even realized it until he had spoken to her and now that though dominated all the others being tossed around by her nimble mind. 'Sesshoumaru killed the wolves because they frighten me.' It was a realization that did little to ease her thoughts and did even less to answer the question at the bottom of all the others: Why?
She was still deep in those contemplations when they stopped, Sesshoumaru spotting a resting-place to his liking at the base of a tall tree. He sat; resting his back against the strong trunk, suddenly weary from battle, uncomplicated though it had been. He had fought nothing greater than a simple animal after all. Rin stood before him for a moment, her gaze far away. She looked decidedly inhuman in her reverie, with her pale, elegant features, the moonlight threading ribbons of shimming silver in the loose strands of her hair, and the delicate pinks and whites of the cherry blossom kimono giving off a soft iridescence in the tricky light. It seemed as if her distant gaze was trained upon the place she belonged, far from this rough plane.
She would surely ruin her fine gown if she slept on the dewy ground tonight, Sesshoumaru realized as he studied her in the moon glow. He took her hands gently in his own, reviving her, and drawing her down, not beside him as she had expected, but into his lap, much to her surprise. It had been years since he'd held her so, but his impassive face barred any argument as his warm pelt was wrapped around her and he settled her fully against his much larger frame. Rin simply laid her head against the curve of his shoulder, too wearied by the day to begin to tackle this as well.
She could feel Sesshoumaru relaxing beneath her, his head falling back against the tree as he too settled in to sleep. Softly, his arms crept around her, holding her reverently and securely as he warmed her, kept her dry, kept her safe just as he had when she was a child…. Suddenly Rin wanted nothing more than to weep. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers tangling gingerly in his soft, silver hair, and buried her face in his warm shoulder. His cryptic words echoed in her head, "Fear nothing Rin," taking on thousands of new shades of meaning like dewdrops in the sunlight. The image of him staring at her intensely, face grim over the foes he hand placed so easily at her feet forming before her closed eyes.
"Thank you Sesshoumaru-sama," she whispered into his neck, cuddling close to his heart, giving herself up to his embrace.
He said nothing, but his arm lifted and he began to stroke her satiny hair gently, pulling his claws gingerly though the fine, shimmering strands. Within moments she was deeply asleep, her arms securely about him.
Sesshoumaru stroked her silky head long into the night. Rin was so light and fragile against him, utterly defenseless. Alone, deep in the night he let her vulnerability humble him and he admitted, though only for a span of a single night, her surrender marked his defeat.
He would lay every single wolf in Japan at her feet if she ever asked.
----------
As usual, reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome and appreciated. I can't improve if I don't know what I'm doing wrong. And as usual, reviews have no bearing on when the next installment is posted; there will be review extortion here.