Howl laid in bed; he couldn't get the sounds of Kagome sobbing softly, once she thought she was alone, out of his mind. He could picture her knees pressed to her chest as she sobbed into her arms; her back pressed against the wall for support as she tried to mask her fear. He wondered if he should go and check up on her. She was quiet now but what's to say if she is asleep. With a groan, he sat up and went to check on the female kitsune. Howl proceeded to his goal, Kagome's room. He silently creeped in, noticing that Kagome was laying upon her side. He came closer and leaned over her, watching her breathe softly a strand of hair fluttering in front of her nose. Within moments he was surprised at finding him being offered a spot in bed next to her. She murmured sleepily, "Its alright I won't tell anyone that you couldn't sleep."
Looking at the lifted covers he cleared his throat nervously, "I just wanted to check that you were alright."
Kagome sat up, waking up more and more, "Yes at 4 in the morning. I see. But the offer still stands. I'm used to having people crawl into my bed because they couldn't sleep. Shippo has said that something about my aura is soothing. He used to do it. Now his children and grandchildren do it. Sometimes my nieces and nephews did it."
Howl was surprised to see that Markl had awoken and walked past him in his half-asleep state to crawl into bed beside her. The kitsune ran her hands through his hair softly, "Poor boy, he worries so much for you and he has fears about being left behind and being left alone."
Kagome scooted closer toward the apprentice, and mentioned that she will keep the far end of the bed open just incase he decided to crawl in anyways. She lay back down and repositioned herself to protectively cocoon the boy. "Sweet dreams, Howl-san. And sweet dreams to you, Markl."
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Shippo cursed softly, "I don't think he is going to get in. How are we suppose to get them together if he acts as his own largest cockblock"
Souten, smacked her husband on the chest, "Shh. You realize if we can hear them, she can hear us."
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Kagome smiled to herself secretly, she heard what the two were talking about but the creaking of the bed had her focusing on the black-haired wizard who was currently climbing over her body to join the group. "I might as well see if this aura thing is accurate."
Her grin widened and she snuggled under the covers her eyes closing as she drifted. Her last conscious thought being, 'I should probably warn him of what Shippo is plotting.'
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The aroma of coffee was what woke the sleepy kitsune. Shippo rolled over and gave Souten a peck to wake her up. The scheming duo came down the stairs only to see Howl give them a cold glare. Kagome poured the wizard a cup of coffee and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Please don't be to terribly upset. He means well. And I forgot to tell you with all that happened…"
Kagome headed over to the table by the door and picked up the envelope, returning it to the wizard. "It just slipped my mind with everything that happened yesterday. Some messenger came by and asked that this be delivered to you."
Opening the seal with a deft slice of his hand he pulled out a gilded invitation. His face blank as he read it. Walking around to stand behind him Kagome reads the invitation as well,
-----------------------------------
You (+1) are cordially invited to attend the wedding
Between
Prince Justin of the Kingdom of Ingary
&
Sophie Hatter
on the 18th of June in the year 2047
Please provide your RSVP by May Day.
Howl and Markl, I do hope you do attend~
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Howl just placed the invitation back into its envelope and returned his attention to breakfast, eating the meal silently. Markl came down the stairs at this point, rubbing his eye's sleepily. "You need to be awake sooner! How will you be a decent wizard if you sleep the day away!"
Kagome glared at Howl. "No need to take you anger out on Markl, he's just a child. Besides you normally sleep in longer than he does and you are a decent wizard.'
'Markl, please sit down. I'll get you some breakfast in a jiffy." Her expression lightening as she spoke to the boy. Calcifer spoke up, "Not that I don't appreciate seeing your lovely face in the morning, you are a guest here, isn't it Howl's job to take care of his guests."
Kagome merely poked him with a pair of freshly washed thongs. Causing him to yelp at the water touching his body in a unpleasant sizzle. Loading Markl's plate, she served the boy telling him to eat up.
After serving everyone, Kagome washed all the dishes that were used for cooking and placing her apron on the nearby coat rack exposing the sundress she wore. "You sure are dressed nice… I appreciate the gesture but I'm a mated demon."
"First off, eww. And secondly its none of your beeswax. And thirdly Souten, control your mate."
"He's your son."
"I think he's been hit on the head one too many times as a child. If InuYasha were still alive…'
Kagome brushed down the front of her dress, 'So I look alright? I was invited to lunch at the local pastry shop and I wanted to walk the harbor before I go. I don't look stupid, right? It's the only decent thing I brought with me."
Markl shook his head, "You look very pretty."
Smiling, the miko-youkai thanked him, "If Howl doesn't mind I would love for you to come along. Of course if that will interfere with your training."
Howl still smarting over the fact that 1) Sophie invited him to her wedding, 2) Shippo's mother reprimanded him, and 3) the matchmaking efforts of Shippo now kept Kagome on his mind. "Yes he will be busy, I want to him to master portals."
Kagome smiled her hand running through Markl's hair affectionately, "I'll bring something back for you two then." Pressing a kiss onto the boy's forehead she murmured a 'stay safe'. She absentmindedly did the same to Howl before heading out with a wave.
Once Shippo was certain Kagome was out of hearing range he turned to Howl, "Hmm, what was that about? And did any of you know about this planned lunch?"
Howl shook his head, " I'm not her keeper, she's your mother, shouldn't you know? Besides which STOP attempting to interfere in my love life, her's too if you want to get down to it. She told me of this supposed matchmaking plan. I just need to say this, she is a grown woman, if she was looking for someone she will look. Convincing her younger brother to fake a heart attack to get her out of the country is pathetic. He told her everything. She didn't want to say anything to you to prevent hurting your feelings but she told me about it today. She felt that I should be aware of what you are trying to do."
Shippo merely brushed the comments off, "I know it was a low blow but she's happy here. Outside of the drama of yesterday this is the happiest any of us have seen her in the past 10 years. She will put on that fake 'I'm happy' face to stop anyone from worrying. If she doesn't find the one here during the trip, we will live because she was so happy here. But if she finds the one, we will be ecstatic. Our fear is that she will be alone. I'm mated but luckily enough I have lived close by for now."
Souten piled up the used plates as she began to speak, "I know it seems extreme but all of us are looking out for her best interests. The fact that she knows the pretext in which we brought her here will merely highlight the fact that she is of age to go out and find someone to be her husband. Kagome is the sort of person who loves to be around people especially children."
"Besides which we weren't thinking about you when we brought her over here, just the fact that most of the wizards of the world live here, on this continent. Think about it, most demons are too cold for someone like Kagome. A human will die far too soon and leave her broken-hearted so a wizard makes the most sense.
So anyways who's up for spying?"
Howl shook his head and directed Markl into the basement where all the magical tomes were moved after the place was converted into an inn. "I was actually serious about making sure Markl masters portals today."
Souten elbowed her mate. "I don't care if she is your mother, you will not go spying on her date. Give the woman some privacy."
Shippo eyed her, "You already sent Ryu on it. Right?"
Souten blushed and shushed him. Shippo laughed and brought her into their bedroom since no one would be around for a bit.
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Looking around, Kagome frowned at the lone cloud in the sky, she reasoned that it didn't look threatening and continued on her way. Spotting a hat shop she reasoned that a hat would be the perfect accessory entered. She regretted her decision as soon as she saw the vast amount of women herded within those doors. She was somehow pushed into the group, where she was jostled over toward the stairs which led to the living quarters of the owners. Kagome quickly climbed some of the stairs and sat down. She had 2 hours until she had to be at the pastry shop and it was merely a 15 minute walk from the shop.
Deciding to come back when it was less busy she watched intently for an opening to flee the crowed place. "It only started to get this busy when it was announced that Sophie was going to marry the prince."
Kagome looked up to see a beautiful older woman standing there looking at the crowd bemused, "Sorry I came in and the crowd kind of overwhelmed me? And what does Sophie marrying the prince have to do with the hat shop?"
The woman chucked and settled herself next to Kagome, "She is my step-daughter and she used to work here until the Witch of the Waste turned her into a 90 year old woman and she met up with Howl. They are all hoping to buy up the last of the hats that she made. After all Sophie won't be making hats anymore after she marries."
Kagome grimaced, somehow she knew if Howl and Markl found out she was here they would be angry or hurt. "Ah well I apologize for taking up space but I should go now. I was thinking a hat would look nice with my dress but it's not worth going into that fray."
The woman laughed and brushed herself off, "I am glad I hired more help. I would hate to be in that mess myself."
Kagome noticed a path and booked it as fast as possible, closing the door behind her. The same cloud was still hovering overhead. She stared at the cloud keeping an eye on it as she walked towards a nearby bookstore. Entering it, she looked outside to see the cloud pause overhead. 'Souten…I swear that girl is just as bad as Shippo sometimes. I mean sending Ryu to spy in cloud form.'
"But if he wants to spy on me I might as well give him a show he won't forget."
The lady next to her jumped and backed away from the clearly demented woman, especially as a grin broke over Kagome's features.
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OMG I updated. lol Its just I am feeling nostalgic and wanting to work on some of my older stories. I mean I updated Princess of Games after how many years?! I'm trying to not think about planning this wedding. (Its 2 years away this November.) And Yuashu Katsuya (look him up! and bug him to update) doesn't want me to stress about it now. I graduate this December and after that I need to find a job. Those college loans don't pay themselves off. Then updates will come when I have time between work and at that point wedding planning AND when I have access to internets.