Chronicles of the West

Chapter Eighteen

Ryu held Silvana for a long while, staring up at the sky. He felt her barely repressed shiver and turned his head toward her, "You cold?" he asked. She surprised him, snuggling a little closer, "Just a little, the air is cooler now and I can smell it". Ryu sniffed but caught only the natural scent of night air and that odd ozone that lingered over this place. "Smell what?" he asked. Silvana closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, "The frost that's coming, the first kiss of frost".

Ryu sat up so quickly he jarred her, "First kiss. First Kiss!" he said aloud. She blinked at him in confusion, "I'm not following Ryu" she told him. He seemed deep in thought, "First kiss, a maiden who isn’t young anymore. I thought it might be Marian but I forgot about that part" he muttered. Silvana understood that he was pondering the riddle. "But there is no one else around here" she told him. He nodded, his eyes drifting over the landscape.

"If it's frost, it has to be out in the open" he mumbled. Silvana turned to look at the surroundings herself. Her gaze fell on the craggy mountain, "Ryu…doesn't that mountain look like the face of a woman turned to the sky?" she asked him. He gazed at it for a long minute, " Yeah. It does" he said.

Silvana sighed, "Think that might be it?" Ryu shrugged, "Hell, you're guess is as good as mine at this point, but it's likely. Guess we'll have to see". Silvana stared back at the mountain, "Where the frost kisses first." He nodded and then looked back at her. It was getting late and he knew that she must be tired. "Why don't you get some sleep Silvana?" he asked.

She stood and stretched her limbs, "What about you?" she asked softly, "Are you going to stay out here all night and wait for the frost?". Ryu leaned back on the roof, "Keh, I got nothing better to do" he said. Silvana's eyes flashed for a moment and then she was gone. What was up with her? Ryu thought back, 'nothing better to do'. Ah hell, he just couldn't win with her.

Dawn came hours later, and Ryu blinked the sleep from his eyes and turned to stare at the mountain. It was cold this morning, looking down at the worn shingles he noted the slight lacy pattern. Frost. Excellent. He turned his gaze back to the mountain and waited.

The light was just beginning to outline the rock and he tensed. He wasn't even sure if this was the clue they were looking for but it was worth a shot. "Still here I see" came the feminine voice of his traveling companion. A steaming cup of tea was thrust under his nose.

His eyes never wavered from the mountain as he accepted it. "Thanks. Yeah, still here" he said quietly. He felt her shift and settle beside him. The sun was peeking over the horizon now, and he leaned forward. There! On the left 'cheek' of the old woman there was a glimmer.

Silvana stared at the mountain, the glimmering area oddly shaped. "Is that an X?" she asked. Ryu chuckled, "X marks the spot". She blinked in confusion, "But I don’t understand how that can be a kiss". Ryu stood and stretched his cold, stiff muscles, "Some people sign letters with hugs and kisses, or x's and o's" he told her. She looked up at him, "Who would do that?" she wanted to know. He smirked, "My mother and Aunt Kagome".

Silvana watched him duck around an eave and drop into his room. With a sigh she supposed she might never understand the legendary thief. She glanced back at the mountain one last time before ducking back into her own room. She flopped onto her bed and pressed her face into her pillow. She was so tired, she'd got little if any sleep after that kiss and then his casually given words. Why was she so upset about it? She didn't want him to hop into her bed , so why was she taking his words personally? Maybe he found her lacking.

Shippo rolled out of his bed at the light knock on his door. He knew it had to be one of his friends, pushing his red hair from his face he rose and moved to the door. He opened it, feeling Kurama's youki on the other side. The silver fox took in his disheveled appearance and gave a small "Hn".

Shippo pushed the door wider and stepped back, the older fox following the closing the door behind him. "Looks like you had a late night" he commented. Shippo stifled a yawn and shrugged, "Up early aren't you?". Kurama sank into the wooden seat in the corner. "Well I take it you would be the one to ask…. Any luck on the new clue?".

Shippo shook his head, running his claws through his bright hair and tying it up as usual. "She was not the clue" he muttered. Kurama smirked, "Ah then I guess it was all for nothing". Shippo eyed him coolly, "Not entirely for nothing, I enjoyed my night". Kurama sniffed delicately, "I see she did as well".

Shippo blushed and shrugged, "I'm heading to the lake this morning, I need a bath and I haven't seen anything around here that suits me". Kurama sighed, "Well, Ryu and Silvana weren't in their rooms for a good portion of the night". Shippo blinked, "Is that so?". Kurama nodded, "I am guessing that our young friend was too busy poking around for clues".

That sounded like Ryu, head so wrapped around the issue at hand to notice that he had captured the interest of the lovely white fox. Shippo chuckled as he shook his head, "Idiot". With nothing else to say, he and Kurama headed to the lake. A bath would wake and refresh them and both were fastidious about their hygiene.

Toga barked at the person outside his door to enter. He had caught his brother's scent moving along the hall towards him. Ryu threw the door opened and strode in. "We need to get ready to go" he said. Toga nodded, "I take it that you have discovered the mark on the mountain". Ryu blinked, he'd thought he was the only one to stay up and wait. "Ya know Toga I am beginning to think you aren't as dumb as you look" he teased with a grin. His brother lifted a solitary finger in response.

"For crying out loud, people are trying to sleep!" came Ippiku's muffled voice from the cloak Toga had tossed on the chair. Ryu walked over to him and pulled the folds revealing the slightly crumpled looking creature. "You need whole lot more beauty sleep Ippiku" he said, the ice imp glared up at him. He grumbled under his breath and Ryu picked him up by the tip of a wing between thumb and forefinger.

"What's that?" he growled at the little blue body. Ippiku raised both hand before him. "I ought to give you frostbite you impolite excuse of a half dog!" he snapped. Ryu laughed and shook him lightly, "I don't think you squirt". He dropped the imp in the cloak and made his way to the door. "I'll get the others. Be ready in an hour?"

Toga nodded and watched as Ryu left the room. He looked over at Ippiku and chuckled, "You do look pretty bad this morning" he offered. The imp grumbled and fluttered to the windowsill. "Unfeeling brutes, the lot of you!" he buzzed angrily, "Think I'll go spend the morning with Silvana". Toga blinked as the imp fluttered out the window.

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"Taisha! Taisha please wait!" Madu called after the blur of silver ahead of him in the trees. Taisha turned and glared at him, trying hard to look like the impatient lady of the lands, disturbed in the course of her very serious duties as opposed to the impatient young demoness who was fleeing an unwanted suitor.

"Madu" she snapped icily, "What ARE you doing here?". Her golden eyes were like glittering ice and the wolf stared her down. She studied the seafoam eyes and waited. Waited for him to flinch, to blink, to be Madu. He did none of these things. He folded his arms over his chest and glared at her, "Patrols must be pretty hectic" he said.

She sniffed lightly, "Some one must see the welfare of this region in Toga's absence". Madu smirked, "I see. I was under the impression that you were running from me". Golden eyes narrowed fractionally. A pearly fang peeked at him, "You are treading on dangerous ground wolf" she told him. Her voice low and hard.

Madu chuckled, "I don't think so. Admit it Taisha, your borders are quite secure and the only threat you feel these days, comes from me". She growled at him and he smiled, "It's ok. I understand". She stared him down, but he refused to budge, unlike their many other meetings. "What is it that you THINK you understand?" she asked.

Madu smirked, looking very much like his father, "That you need a strong male, not someone to handle you like a breakable thing. You say you don't want a mate, but I think you do Taisha. In fact I know you do. That is after all what females are meant for". She bristled at his words, "Why you little…". He cut her off with a slight wave of his hand. "I have time Taisha" he told her, his expression deadly serious, "I have all the time in the world. You can have your freedom for now but in the end…. I will have you".

She set a glowing slash of green snapping towards his head, but he dodged and was gone before she could follow. Not that she had any intention of doing so. Smug bastard. Who the hell did he think he was? He'd have her? Not bloody likely, she'd claw his balls off first.

Adjusting her hair over her shoulder, she turned toward the fortress. On the bright side, her unwanted guest would no longer be in residence, which meant she could have some peace again. His words, despite her efforts to ignore them, kept churning in her head. "I am not one to be had" she growled.

Days later she looked from her reports as a surge of power made itself known on her borders. Blinking she stared out the window before smiling over at Haru, "Dads here" she said. She was gone in the blink of an eye, her glowing orb whizzing over the forest toward him.

Sesshoumaru merely waited. He sensed her approach and turned expressionless eyes to his second born as she took her humanoid shape. She bowed her head to him, "Lord of the west" she said formally. A silver brow arched and he nodded his head, "Temporary lady of the north" he said warmly.

She lifted her head and grinned before launching herself at him. Sesshoumaru threw up his barrier and hid them from sight. He embraced his daughter tightly. "I missed you!" she told him and he chuckled. The cold lord replaced by her own sweet dad.

"I've missed you too Hime" he told her, "I hear that you were not pleased with your recent visitor". His golden eyes were all knowing. She sighed, "Madu is worse than fleas dad" she muttered. Sesshoumaru held her at arm's length, "You have fleas?" he asked, the teasing light in his eye. She growled at him, before smirking..

"I am not for him father" she said then, her tone serious. He blinked down at her, "Fine" he said calmly, "Who are you for then?". She looked at the ground. Sesshoumaru stared at her silvery crown and smiled softly. "If you don't want him, I will abide by that decision Taisha" he told her, "I wonder, what it is that you wait for".

She turned her golden eyes to his, "I don't know dad. I just feel like there is something special out there for me". He pressed a kiss to her brow, "Of course there is. You sound like your mother". She smiled up at him, "Well she was right. She has you". Sesshoumaru chuckled, "Hmmm, I'll have to remind her of her great luck when I see her. Things are calm here?"

Taisha nodded, "Thank you for coming to see me. Will you be here long?". Sesshoumaru shook his head, "Your mother dislikes when I am gone long. She sends her love, hopes you come home soon". Taisha nodded and stepped back, watching her father curl in on himself and then his orb shot into the sky.