The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
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The Northern mountains were treacherous. It was mid-December and the winter in all its glory was unforgiving. The sun was about to set in a matter of seconds, cloaking them in the hushed silence and eerie darkness of the woodland that so imposingly surrounded them.
Had it not been for the attack by those bear youkais, they would have settled their camp for the night sooner. The attack took place in the late afternoon and here they were. Without any place to have dinner or sleep. The cold was biting, so they had favoured walking over flying in the chilling air.
Sango was holding out a lantern and walked beside Miroku and Kirara. Inuyasha was in the front, not needing any light. Kagome held Shippo, who was curled up and fast alseep in her warmth, close to herself as she walked behind them, both cloaked in the heavy fur that was gifted to her by Koga of the Wolf Clan.
Sesshoumaru's pack followed closely behind. Rin sat, also cloaked in heavy grey fur, atop Ah-Un. Behind her was Jaken, not being able to walk on cold snow. Sesshoumaru, as always, was seemingly unbothered by something as trivial as winter temperature and was walking in his famous languid paces. The snow crunched softly beneath his black boots.
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{Sesshoumaru's POV}
The alien quietness of the forest was an old friend to him. It was dark yet very comfortable. For he had never associated comfort with warmth.
The landscape was a monochrome painting. A painting made on white canvas only with black ink. The only colour was the golden shadow of the lantern held by the Taijiya ahead, that touched the unforgiving land with a soft glow that provided warmth only to the sights. Everything else was black and white.
The branches of the conifers, high and low, held sheets of snow, like furnitures covered with white clothes in an unused room. The undergrowth too, was covered in soft snow entirely. The woods stretched ahead of them endlessly as they walked the narrow mountain pass.
It was as if the forest life had stilled as Mother Nature had decided to stifle the entire world with her icy breath.
"It is lovely." He thought to himself.
"It's so lovely." Came a voice, echoing his exact thoughts.
He looked at the miko, now a very few paces ahead of him. Her sweet voice had broken the forest's hush and his own mind's wandering notions. Her declaration took him by surprise and his eyes widened slightly.
He felt something in his chest at his mind's words being shared by another soul, akeen to the bodiless flame of a taper candle lighting a stony and bitter room in the depths of a castle on wintry nights.
Maybe a little warmth among dark chills was not that bad, afterall. For light is of no value to one who hasn't seen darkness and comfort is taken for granted by those who have not struggled. Likewise, he who knew cold like the back of his hand, knew what warmth could bring in its wake. If he could never associate comfort with warmth, maybe right now was the perfect moment.
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{Kagome's POV}
The only sound of the evening was that of the soft, occasional fall of snow from the branches that no longer could take their weight and their very own gentle footsteps. Each new step was on an unspoiled patch of snow. Because of the cold, most animals were hiding or hibernating. The ringing hubbub of birds or the constant chirping of insects that could usually be heard in any woods, could not be heard.
She had never seen or walked such a path before. It was so different from the Tokyo roads and shops bustling with flair and colour on a Christmas Eve. The alien serenity imprisoned the world around her in a glair-white silence as she marvelled at Mother Nature's force with awe.
The little kitsune bundled up in her arms warmed her chest and reminded her of the grey winter storms spent with her mother, sipping warm tea in the kitchen back home. She decided to prepare a batch and store it in her thermos the moment they got a chance to settle somewhere.
She could feel the Daiyoukai and his pack walking not too far behind her. A warm puff of white mist formed and disappeared in front of her with each exhale.
"It's so lovely." She uttered without much thought as the Daiyoukai's gaze shifted towards her. For he too was thinking something along those lines.
"Oi! What's so 'lovely' about this? We don't have a clearing to settle. I'm hungry as hell. It's chilling and dark. Are you seeing an illusion or something?"
She knew how Inuyasha got when he was hungry. But even the monk and the Demon Slayer eyed her in confusion.
"It's nothing. You won't understand." She muttered in a low voice.
And they won't. For light is of no value to one who hasn't seen darkness and comfort is taken for granted by those who have not struggled. Likewise, she who knew winter as the smell of chocolates, and jingles and laughter of friends and family, knew how rare a chance it was for her to witness the equal yet contrasting beauty of the winter in its authentic crisp form.
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"This won't work. We will be walking like this for the whole night." The monk finally voiced.
"Y'all keep walking. I'll take Kirara and scout the lands ahead. If there's anything near, we'll fly." InuYasha announced and took to the sky.
The roads were getting more ragged and stony. It was getting harder for Kagome to walk in the pair of boots she was currently wearing. She stepped on a soft patch of snow that gave out under her feet. If not for the strong arms circling her waist and bringing her around, she would have fallen into the small ditch that was deceptively hidden under the cover of snow.
She looked over her shoulder to the burning gold of Sesshoumaru's eyes, the only thing around that could be described as burning. Not even the lantern gave such vigour shades of golden.
"Watch your steps." His voice a vocalisation of the chill in the night air.
"Th-thank you." She muttered as he held her in his arms a little longer than was necessary. The curtain of his silver hair fell around her, obstructing her view of the monk and slayer who had stopped to watch the show over their shoulders.
Kagome was brought back to the icy planes of earth at the stirring of the kit in her arms. She righted herself as he relinquished his hold on her.
"Kagome-sama, you should come and sit with Rin. It will make Rin really happy and warm." Rin chipped happily from behind after a long time of silence. Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru who was now walking ahead of her with his usual indifference.
"Stupid child.... You would have me get off...." Jaken started protesting as he lost his balance and fell face-first onto the snowy ground below. "..... For this pathetic human." His voice incoherent through the snow.
Kagome looked at Shippo and made her decision.
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Rin leaned back into Kagome's warmth and Kagome in turn revelled in hers as they huddled together on the dragon as it followed Kirara in the chilly air. The imp sat behind Kagome near the dragon's tail, maintaining as much as distance he could without falling off.
InuYasha had returned after around half an hour, seemingly have found a somewhat acceptable place to stay the night.
When they reached the place, it was not so much as a small cave as it was a space surrounded by large boulders with a small roof-like slab of stone among the woodlands. The place was devoid of direct snowfall, which was a good thing, but it could barely shelter four adults.
Kagome tucked away Rin and Shippo together in her sleeping bag that saved much space and settled into her fur coat beside them. Sango and Miroku settled opposite her, near the mouth of the space. A fire was started with the help of Jaken's staff of two Heads.
InuYasha sat atop the roof keeping guard. Sesshoumaru was... Well.. Absent.
"Ne, InuYasha, where is Sesshoumaru?" Kagome called out to him above her. Her question was answered by the demon in question himself as he materialised himself like a phantom. He put his hunt down and disappeared again. All Kagome could do was stare silently and proceed to prepare some food with Sango's help.
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The night was spent uncomfortably and without much sleep. So they thanked the God when they finally found a mountain village the next day, and also their next lead in their search. The villagers had seen a female youkai travelling atop a large feather who had passed towards north-east from there.
The village was small but the cold made it all too spacious. Kagome and the children were given a hut whereas InuYasha stayed with Sango and Miroku in another.
When the dinner was had and they retired for the day, Kagome went out in the hope of getting a glimpse of Sesshoumaru who had been away all day. Thankfully, she found him outside the hut, perched against Ah-Un. He was looking at the stars in the evening sky.
"Where were you all day?" Kagome approached him.
No answer. Not even a sign of acknowledgement of her presence.
"Come inside, please. There's enough space."
"Not necessary. Go to sleep."
"It's still early. Listen, I won't bother you. But if you don't come, you might find out that I can be quite persistent."
He looked at her, his eyes placid and face blank as usual.
"I'll come by again after a while if you are not inside."
The children were going through a picture book and were yawning contagiously inside her sleeping bag. Kagome was preparing herself a place to sleep when she heard him enter and settle down against the opposite wall. She smiled to herself. Rin seemed extremely pleased too.
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The fire burned in the irori, enveloping the room in a dark golden hue. The children slept, their constant breathing a comfortable rhythmic sound. The shadows danced here and there as the flames licked the firewood hungrily. They had Sesshoumaru's undivided attention as Kagome stared at his handsome features in the golden light.
"Do you plan on staring at This One for the rest of the evening?" He intoned, his face never leaving the flames.
A rosy blush creeped into Kagome's cheeks at being caught but she had this uncontrollable urge to tease him.
"Hnn... " She tried to imitate his famous vocalisation of indifference. "Rest of the evening.... And night."
At that, he finally shifted his eyes from the dancing flames to their reflection in the miko's blue ones.
"You gave your word that you would not bother This One."
"Oh!" She made a sound of mock surprise. "How can the inferior stare of this pathetic human faze someone so great such as yourself?"
He narrowed his eyes slightly. "You are barely a pathetic human."
"Look at you. Trying to get your way with it by flattering me." She said with an innocent smile.
"I was certainly not trying to flatter you. I'm sure of it."
She huffed audibly and looked away, heat colouring her cheeks a dark rose in the darkened room. A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips at her antics.
She looked back at him with a half-hearted glare and continued. "You know, that fluffy thing on your right shoulder. That must keep you real warm in this winter. I'm so jealous."
He raised his eyebrows slightly. "I do not require this fur to keep myself warm. I can regulate my temperature good enough."
She scoffed gently. "So you don't even need it? Maybe you should give it to someone who really requires it in this cold." She tried to sound reprimanding. Like a parent lightly scolding their child for not sharing their toys with others.
His eyes narrowed and gaze darkened. For a moment, Kagome thought she had crossed the line. Her throat bobbed lightly as she gulped her nervousness and looked away. Then came his measured voice.
"Such as yourself?"
She wasn't expecting that question. She tried to think of something as a comeback but her brain had chosen that exact moment to freeze like the lakes in the height of winter.
She just looked at him and was locked in his stare. He refused to take his eyes off till he got an answer.
"Maybe," was all she could mutter softly.
"Hn. I see. That wolf fur is no good afterall."
Kagome didn't reply. His attention returned to the flames too. She decided it was enough playing with the dangerous dog for one day and settled into the fur that she had spread as a bedsheet underneath. There was no blanket but the villagers had been kind enough to provide an appropriately comfortable pillow. So she curled in on herself to keep herself warm throughout the night.
She tried not to think much of the conversation. Sleep soon came and her eyes started drooping. The last thing she saw through her heavy lids was a flurry of silver and red silks. The last thing she felt was her body being enveloped in something exquisitely soft, furry and filled with kind warmth. That night, she dreamt of being in a strong arm and looking up at golds burning, with a curtain of silver around. A steady warmth in the middle of a winterscape.
They all slept peacefully that night, with the knowledge that tomorrow they would have to travel the cold and dark woods once again till they found a new lead and reached their destination. They still had miles and miles to go.
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The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", by Robert Frost
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A/N: I can imagine Sesshoumaru giving his mokomoko to kagome when no one is looking. Especially when she herself is not aware. Afterall, he's such a softy at heart.
That said, I really hope you enjoyed this.
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