disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue...

Dreaming of Days Long Past

Tomoe sat, well hidden in the bushes, perking up his fox ears for the smallest noise in the area while watching the peasant girl passing a ragged ball to a smaller boy, probably her younger brother. The spring only started, and there was still chill in the air, but the snow already melted, and the wind blew away the grim winter clouds, bringing with it the promise of warmer days.

There she stood barefoot, in the cold, muddy ground, looking at the ball falling into the distant, clear sky. Despite her shabby clothes, the girl looked radiant and beautiful. She was young, no more than sixteen, the hard work and a heavy hand of some crude husband still hadn't claimed her body and soul. She was vivid and full of life. Her long hair flew around her in the wind, her eyes bright with laughter. She was a beautiful sight to Tomoe's sore eyes, who spent the winter in the common room of his master's castle, drinking sake and listening to the tasteless jokes of the lesser demons, among the smell of their unwashed bodies, his boredom only occasionally dispersed by rare clashes in the deep snow with the nearby demon tribe and by the appearance of some lost wanderer, who was lured in by the castle lights in the deep winter nights, which promised warmth and safety, but instead hid a clan of vicious demons who liked to play with their victims before eating them. All in all, it was a long and boring winter, Tomoe concluded. No wonder that as soon as the Bloodthirsty King - as their pretentious leader loved to call himself - heard the rumors about an attractive girl, who was spotted collecting firewood near the forest of the East Wolf Demon tribe, instantly dispatched his most trusted lieutenant, Tomoe, to check if the girl was worth his time.

She most certainly was a true pearl among all the rough pebbles in this region, decided Tomoe. His experienced eyes couldn't find any fault in the girl. Her hands and feet were small, all her frame delicate, her tooth bright and straight, her long hair silky and shining, and her eyes... there was something special about those big, dark eyes. He wanted to move closer, to examine how they reflect the light, but that would be unwise and unnecessary. A white fox, seen so close to the village could arouse the suspicion of the villagers, and even warn the rival wolf tribe of the intended invasion. And it would be a needless risk. The girl most certainly was fit enough for the attention of his master. More than fit. Tomoe suddenly felt annoyed when he remembered his mission. He couldn't understand why. The results of his scouting were satisfactory. The village was completely undefended; the primitive weapons of a few peasants couldn't pose any danger even to the lesser demons, who all were well experienced in fights. The packs of the wolf tribe, which claimed this ownership of this region hadn't posed any serious danger either, as they were divided and weakened, fighting among themselves: their leader, an ancient and shrewd wolf demon who saw many winters, suddenly died, without choosing a successor. 'Not that suddenly', thought Tomoe, smiling to himself, and licked a healing scar, which shape resembled a wolfbite on his forelimb. But now nothing interfered with his leader's plan to raid the village and seize its territory for his clan. '...And gets a beautiful concubine whom I wouldn't refuse myself. Pity.' Tomoe shook out the dew of his fur, and turned to run back to the castle to make his report.

As soon as he entered the forest, he sensed the danger, even before he spotted the thick fog, spreading between the still bare branches and quickly engulfing the trees.

r&r please...