A Walk in the Woods With Mother

Sesshomaru and his mother, Seiobo, were walking at a fast pace through the forest. He was having a hard time keeping up. His mother and he had taken walks through the forest before because they both preferred the light of the moon to the sun of day. She taught him about the stars and was lately showing him how to hone his night vision. Tonight was different. She was riled up about something and even as a child Sesshomaru knew when his mother was angry it was best to either avoid her completely or do exactly what she told you to do. He couldn't hide from her this time because she looked specifically for him.

"My son, you'll be as big as your father someday, perhaps someday soon." Her pointed ears poked through her long turquoise hair. Sesshomaru did not take after his mother in appearance, but was still a beautiful child.

"Father is a giant. I don't think I could ever be as powerful as him. I heard the guards talking the other day about him and they said he could take out the panther demon tribe leader in one swipe if he wanted. Mother?" Sesshomaru, as a child, spoke openly and constantly. This vexed his mother to no end. She had always preferred a quiet household, but once Sesshomaru learned to speak he never stopped. Always asking questions, wanting to know why? Why? Why? "Why wouldn't he? Aren't they our enemies? Why are we their enemies? Has it always been so? Do they feel the same?..Mother? Mother? Why are we walking so fast tonight mother?"

Usually his mother would silence him with a stern look, but tonight her patience was running thin. His father had started speaking with humans. Seiobo could hear her husband's words as they walked i They may be good allies, Seiobo. These humans are willing to help us if we help them. /i Fool, my mate is such a fool. Humans are not to be trusted. They're weak, selfish, dishonest—' "Sesshomaru! SHUT YOUR MOUTH! I CA N'T CONCENTRATE WHEN YOU, YOU…Just keep quiet a little longer, little one."

Sesshomaru started to think to himself. 'Wow, she must be really upset. She usually never raises her voice to me. What are we doing tonight? I wonder…'

"Sesshomaru, Your father is powerful, but his weaknesses are taking over. His softness for humans will be his undoing. You will be different, though." She stopped to sniff the air then moved in a new direction. "When he is gone our people will need you to be strong, and not to rely on humans. They're filth". She stopped in her tracks and bent over to look her son straight in the eye. She grabbed his shoulders with her powerful claws. "Humans are filth! Do you hear me Sesshomaru!" Her eyes glowed red like hot coals.

"Ye-yes, Mother." The young child became afraid. He had heard of his mother's flaring temper, but never had become subject to it before. 'What will she do with me? Where is father? Does he know where we are going? I'm too afraid to ask mother.'

"Do not under ANY circumstance involve yourself with humans." Her hands gripped him harder and he winced. "They are the dirt we tread on! You are above them."

He had never heard his mother speak this way. 'Why all of a sudden does she have such hatred for humans? They were never worth her attention before.'

"You are still a child and cannot understand, but someday you will." He blinked his large eyes, and opened his mouth to ask more questions, but his mother cut him off with a harsh look. He was a vibrant child. Sesshomaru was full of questions that entertained his father, and possessed an unending amount of energy. He found it difficult to sit still and his mother would have thought him never calm enough to sleep if she hadn't seen it herself. He had so much energy and enthusiasm for life bubbling inside of him. His eyes were wide and bright as though the world and life was just one adventure after another. This would change soon, possibly even that evening.

"Yes, Mother."

His mother stood and scanned the forest with her keen night vision. "Hmm, now where did I leave her?"

"Mother, what are we looking for?" Before the words had left his mouth there was a rustle in the bushes nearby. They halted at the sound and sank into an animal stillness which was natural as breathing air for them. The animal in the brush was whimpering to itself. Sesshomaru took a few shaky steps towards the bushes and sniffed the air. sniffsniff "Mother! It's a human!" 'I've never been so close to one before!'

"Thought you could hide from us did you? I told you, you couldn't hide from our superior senses." Seiobo dragged the girl by the arm out from behind the bush, dropped her in front of Sesshomaru, and then stood behind her son.

'Why has Mother brought this girl here?' The girl had long black hair, scruffy bangs, and large brown eyes. The girl whimpered and looked up at Sesshomaru through pleading eyes. Since his mother was behind him she did not see the small reassuring smile he tried to give the poor girl.

"Sesshomaru. Kill her."

He turned to face her "Mother, I—"

"KILL HER!"

"She didn't do any—"

A Walk in the Woods With Mother

Sesshomaru and his mother, Seiobo, were walking at a fast pace through the forest. He was having a hard time keeping up. His mother and he had taken walks through the forest before because they both preferred the light of the moon to the sun of day. She taught him about the stars and was lately showing him how to hone his night vision. Tonight was different. She was riled up about something and even as a child Sesshomaru knew when his mother was angry it was best to either avoid her completely or do exactly what she told you to do. He couldn't hide from her this time because she looked specifically for him.

"My son, you'll be as big as your father someday, perhaps someday soon." Her pointed ears poked through her long turquoise hair. Sesshomaru did not take after his mother in appearance, but was still a beautiful child.

"Father is a giant. I don't think I could ever be as powerful as him. I heard the guards talking the other day about him and they said he could take out the panther demon tribe leader in one swipe if he wanted. Mother?" Sesshomaru, as a child, spoke openly and constantly. This vexed his mother to no end. She had always preferred a quiet household, but once Sesshomaru learned to speak he never stopped. Always asking questions, wanting to know why? Why? Why? "Why wouldn't he? Aren't they our enemies? Why are we their enemies? Has it always been so? Do they feel the same?..Mother? Mother? Why are we walking so fast tonight mother?"

Usually his mother would silence him with a stern look, but tonight her patience was running thin. His father had started speaking with humans. Seiobo could hear her husband's words as they walked. 'They may be good allies, Seiobo. These humans are willing to help us if we help them.' She thought 'Fool, my mate is such a fool. Humans are not to be trusted. They're weak, selfish, dishonest—' "Sesshomaru! SHUT YOUR MOUTH! I CA N'T CONCENTRATE WHEN YOU, YOU…" She sighed with frustration, trying to keep a handle on her anger. "Just keep quiet a little longer, little one."

Sesshomaru started to think to himself. 'Wow, she must be really upset. She usually never raises her voice to me. What are we doing tonight? I wonder…'

"Sesshomaru, Your father is powerful, but his weaknesses are taking over. His softness for humans will be his undoing. You will be different, though." She stopped to sniff the air then moved in a new direction. "When he is gone our people will need you to be strong, and not to rely on humans. They're filth." She stopped in her tracks and bent over to look her son straight in the eye. She grabbed his shoulders with her powerful claws. "Humans are filth! Do you hear me Sesshomaru!" Her eyes glowed red like hot coals.

"Ye-yes, Mother." The young child became afraid. He had heard of his mother's flaring temper, but never had become subject to it before. 'What will she do with me? Where is father? Does he know where we are going? I'm too afraid to ask mother.'

"Do not under ANY circumstance involve yourself with humans." Her hands gripped him harder and he winced. "They are the dirt we tread on! You are above them."

He had never heard his mother speak this way. 'Why all of a sudden does she have such hatred for humans? They were never worth her attention before.'

"You are still a child and cannot understand, but someday you will." He blinked his large eyes, and opened his mouth to ask more questions, but his mother cut him off with a harsh look.

The young Sesshomaru was a vibrant child. Sesshomaru was full of questions that entertained his father, and possessed an unending amount of energy. He found it difficult to sit still and his mother would have thought him never calm enough to sleep if she hadn't seen it herself. He had so much energy and enthusiasm for life bubbling inside of him. His eyes were wide and bright as though the world and life was just one adventure after another. This would change soon, possibly even that evening.

"Yes, Mother."

His mother stood and scanned the forest with her keen night vision. "Hmm, now where did I leave her?"

"Mother, what are we looking for?" Before the words had left his mouth there was a rustle in the bushes nearby. They halted at the sound and sank into an animal stillness which was natural as breathing air for them. The animal in the brush was whimpering to itself. Sesshomaru took a few shaky steps towards the bushes and sniffed the air. "Mother! It's a human!" 'I've never been so close to one before!'

"Thought you could hide from us did you? I told you, you couldn't hide from our superior senses." Seiobo dragged the girl by the arm out from behind the bush, dropped her in front of Sesshomaru, and then stood behind her son.

'Why has Mother brought this girl here?' The girl had long black hair, scruffy bangs, and large brown eyes. The girl whimpered and looked up at Sesshomaru through pleading eyes. Since his mother was behind him she did not see the small reassuring smile he tried to give the poor girl.

"Sesshomaru. Kill her."

He turned to face her "Mother, I—"

"KILL HER!"

"She didn't do any—"

"NOW!" she commanded. Panic overtook him. His mother said "You will be stronger for it, stronger even than your father." Though this last bit had an appealing ring to it, adolescence was far off, and the need to conquer his father was not present yet. His father was his hero.

"I don't under—"

"DAMMIT SESSHOMARU, if you speak out again I will slash you myself! NOW! Kill her!" His bottom lip trembled; he was too young to understand that her hatred stemmed from fear. A few years down the line, it would be jealousy.

"But moth-"

"Kill her!" Her claws came unsheathed and her eyes glowed with anger. "She is meaningless, my son. Kill her," She was cracking her knuckles "or I will kill you."

He knew she would do it too. He swallowed hard and turned back to the girl. The little girl had gotten to her feet and stood before him. Scared, confused, and afraid Sesshomaru followed his mother's orders. The girl didn't scream or run, but gasped at the sight before her. He struck quickly and quietly by slitting the girl's throat with his new claws. As the light of life drained from her eyes she dropped to her knees then fell to the ground, arms stretched out in front of her. Pangs of guilt stabbed at his chest. 'If I were more powerful I could have resisted my mother. If I were more powerful I could have fought her and the girl would have lived.' His mother knelt down next to him and put her arms around him. He was stone. "Mother, she did nothing to deserve this."

"Oh my son, they are nothing to us. You need to learn that. You have done the right thing. Forget her. You need to get used to killing them, child. You can't allow them into your territory. She didn't belong here." Sesshomaru didn't have the courage to ask if his mother had brought her here or if she had found her in their territory to start with.

'Her blood on my claws is warm' "Father will not be pleased." Her claws tightened on his shoulders in anger, blood dripped to the ground, and he flinched. "Ow" he said quietly.

"Then be quiet. Don't speak of it to him. Don't speak."

As Sesshomaru walked down the hallway towards his own apartments he examined stone floor, and the gold inlay on the walls; flowers and leaves like the forest. 'The forest. That girl. Will I ever forget the fear in her eyes? Will this guilt ever fade? It's eating away at me.' There was a large portrait of a giant white dog demon at the end of the hall. His father was examining the portrait, his back to his son, his hands clasped behind his back.

The hallway was deep within the den and thus lit by torches. As Sesshomaru aged he would be less defenseless and would gain the right to sleep closer to the surface. The surface apartments were nicely decorated and had currents of fresher air, but were also more vulnerable to attack. The weak were underground. The strong and powerful were further up.

"Sesshomaru," his voice was deep and echoed down the hall. Sesshomaru responded with silence. His father turned to face him as Sesshomaru approached him. He looked up at the painting as his father questioned him about his whereabouts. "Your spirit seems diminished. Where did you go with your mother?" Again, nothing but silence and a sad look were his son's response.

'Do not give anything away. Then be quiet. Don't speak.' His mother's words came back to him again and again. 'Don't speak. My father will be angry if I confess my whereabouts this evening. My mother will be angry if I tell. Who can I rely on, but myself? Don't speak.'

His father became angry at his lack of response, a sign of disrespect. He grabbed his only son's chin to look in his eyes. What he found startled him. His normally vibrant and lively son was no more. His eyes were sad and empty. They didn't appear as large anymore. They were two pieces of amber stone shining up at him. Sesshomaru blinked twice, but did not say anything.

The father saw nothing of the son he knew and believed in, and the scent of human blood wafted up towards him as he heard the low chuckle of his mate who emerged from the shadows. Sesshomaru replayed the events of the night over in his mind while his parents exchanged sharp words. He couldn't hear them, but knew it was about him.

"Where did you take him?" snapped his father.

"I took him to learn something important. A lesson you yourself should learn" said his mother, casually with spite.

"What did you do to my son…"Their words faded away as Sesshomaru walked, as though in a dream back to his room. He lay down and stared at the ceiling unable to rest. He could see the girl's eyes pleading with him every time he shut his own eyes.

In his mind over and over he heard "Don't speak" until he slipped into a fitful sleep.