Crystal Morning's Discovery
Because of the nagging sting of annoying heat flares his eyelids, Hiei slowly opened his eyes to the shone of yellowy sunshine, spotlighting down through the gapping opening. It took a few moments for his eyes to dilate to the muggy glow, yawning away last night's slumberous task. Shadows encasing the back corner deemed a perfect protection from the morning's full afterglow giving him extra time to adjust to the taste of closed breathe and foggy memories clearing up from before.
That's when Hiei remembered—snapping his eyes wide—that he'd found the kit last night.
Sitting up from his slight slump, Hiei distinctly encircled his arms around the prize and lifted the sheet of fur to see the pup still napping inside, curled into himself to trap as much of his body heat as possible. A breathe of air he hadn't known was held, released through his nose in a puffed cloud after seeing the pup's presence still there and turned to see what damage the storm could've done during his rest.
Through limited view, he could see sharp daggers frozen at the cave entry hanging stiffly.
Must've been some sleet added in there sometime last night.
The second time he gave a fierce yawn, wide enough to crack his jaw, movement aroused the sleeping fox from his slumber land. Same as his elder friend, a timid yawn escaped the kit's jaws as he uncurled from his cozy cluster, arching his back. One balled up fist rose to scrub away the sleepiness while the other automatically latched onto the still damp cloth of warming refuge he'd been resting on. His stubby fingers fisted a tuff of the cloak, looking around wearily at the sudden change of sight. Everything was clearly visible now. He could see it all.
Which meant—the little foxling, by the slowest degrees, turn up to his protector—he could see him too.
Now in full display, the designs of well woven features genetically twined together to create a very handsome, stoic face. The naturally narrowed cerise eyes met evenly with his saffron, both studying the other closely for the first time in illuminated settings. This man's hair was just as black as the soaked cottons of his clothing, possibly darker than blobs of ink. But if looked closer the spurt of jagged ivory streaked up and down in an exaggerated pattern above the white band wrapped around his forehead. But what probably fascinated the timid kit more was the polished shimmer of pure vermillion reflecting the sun's harboring glow.
There really wasn't a need for alarm. The bigger demon may have looked evil but the kit wasn't afraid to be around him. In fact he felt more at ease being able to see a stern expression attached to his safety. Which brought about the peep of blissful passivity as he turned on his back, kicked his ears back waving his chubby arms and legs in the air, and swayed his bushy tail side to side. He yipped and purred, giggling playfully at the other in show of respectful appeasement.
The strange behavior was one Hiei was barely familiar of, though he'd seen enough canine demons to know that this child was offering his life to his new found security.
Tough, because he wasn't planning on sticking around too long for this pup to get attached.
The dark demon going to need to rid himself of this boy if his previous mission was to be completed on time. The task of taking care of a child wasn't on his agenda of things to accomplish in a year's time. So getting to some place other than here was added to list tight schedule.
Only thing is, he needed to decipher this child's characteristics to figure out which clan of Youko he belonged too.
. . . silver hair . . . pale skin . . . yellowish eyes . . . who could he belong too?
There were a total of four large clans, which spread out in the farthest distance of each quatrain: North, South, East and West. The closest sector nearby was the group near the eastern section of Makai. Perhaps they would consider taking this pup off his hands. Either he lived there or they could adopt him. Whatever the case, Hiei couldn't just leave the brat here. So with new goal set in mind, Hiei pushed his back against the wall, bending his knees to stand up with kit in hand.
The furs were fastened in a tighter jacket form, with only the pup's head sticking out. "Mmm." He peeped curiously.
Hiei lifted a dark eyebrow. "What?"
"Mmm. Mmm." The small fist balled on his cloak, patted expectantly at his chest, nuzzling his nose where Hiei assumed he was asking for nourishment.
At this he couldn't detain the mockery of agitation. "As much as it wounds me," He began sarcastically. "I'm not exactly lactating your mother's milk. You're going to have to hold off for a while." Ending on a dried note.
The silver kit seemed genuinely confused by this and expressed it with a small frown, patting the same section again with a bit more force. "Mmm. Mmm."
Hiei resisted a reflexive eye roll, instead opting to shake his head as he mumbled patiently. "There's nothing to eat here," he pointed at his chest. "Here," the hands circled around the cave. "Or there." Pointing out in the frosty wonderland. "If you're hungry, just keep it bottled up until we can find your clan. Understand?"
The kit's bottom lip trembled but he simply nodded and ducked back inside his wooly comfort, keeping his hand clamped tightly around his friend's robe.
When Hiei turned to take his leave the weight in his arms began to wiggle about frantically until he loosened his grip. The large mound of fur clambered up his chest, stumbling around under his arm pit until finishing at the top of his neck, wrapping his stubby arms around his throat. A small chin came to rest gently on his shoulder as a content sigh tickled his chilled jawline.
Hiei blinked once, than blinked twice at the innocent little yellow eyes fluttering curiously at his expression. "What the hell are you doing?" He demanded to the kit struggling to maintain a firm grip on his back. The child was practically piggy backing him like a horse.
Tilting his head to the side the little kit peeped a short reply.
"You're content there?"
Another soft peep and brisk nod confirmed it.
Hiei shrugged shoving his hands in his pocket. "Suit yourself but I don't want to hear any wailing if you fall off." He exclaimed walking to the entry. "When we find safer grounds you're going to walk."
The kit nuzzled his cheek against Hiei's which he jerked away, speaking gruffly. "No, I told you last night not to do that. I don't do that huggy, fluffy nonsense. Got it?"
The kit gave a short nod and crawled back a little until only his two ears were visible from the pouch.
Hiei clicked his tongue, irritation growing by the second. This child was a quick remainder of why he enjoyed his solitude. There was no one else to bother you or damn near aggravate you to the point of murder. And already this one was pushing his buttons. The faster he dropped him off the better and if he'd been in his right mind he would've just left the brat in the cave and went about his business. Who's to say the pup's dam wouldn't return to claim her son? She could've easily left him here to go out on a hunt and soon be returning to pick him up.
. . . If that were the logical explanation to his theory . . . than why the hell was he exiting down from this cave with the kit snug on his back?
The first step sunk into the falsified solid fluff till touching the slippery soil underneath. Hiei kept a secured hold on the cave frame, cautious of a possible roll off down the steep hill. Outside, the storm had down its wondrous magic blanketing the entire landscaping with its powdered refreshments. With the sun's morning rise trickling through the gray clouds, sparkled seas of glittering diamonds winked and twinkled all around. The blizzard's aftershock left the air crisp and pure of all filth, leaving only the endless vast of shimmering starlight.
A sight to behold indeed, proving that nature's winters could be as beautiful as a sea polished gemstones or as savage as a wolf's fangs nipping at your skin with its icy pricks.
Hiei carefully scaled his way down the mountain side, the pad of his boots lifting more and more clots of snow magnetized to his feet. Each crunched step was calculated against the rocky wall, his hand acting as a guide through the fragile slope. Being mindful of these hills was extremely crucial lest he fancied a rough stumble down a steep drop. The fall would likely kill him and the pup from a collision with the few boulders spouted out here and there.
Only when they were completely clear of the mountain range would his mental alert be put slightly at ease since the direction toward the Eastern Youko Territory was littered with weak Class D demons. None of which posed even the smallest threat to him. Being that of a high Class C himself, someday to join the ranks of B, the effort to put up a meager combat attempt with any of them would only waste their and more importantly,
his time.
For some time the kit had stayed voiceless through half of the trip. Probably having fallen asleep from the lack of converse but near the ending point a slight trip by Hiei's missteping, stirred his voice in a frantic series of low whimpers and quiet peeps.
Hiei unconsciously reached around to tap one of the kit's ears as a comforting gesture that everything was fine and settled back down.
. . . For a while anyway.
Ultimately about three quarters down the mountain,
'Little Fool'—as Hiei came to dub him—began to wiggle around on his sitter's back humming sweet musical melodies only he could interpret through his baby gurgles. The occasion lullabies weren't as irritating as his confound whining so Hiei allowed the mindless dribbles to proceed. In a way it was kind of relaxing to sense the pup's complacent attitude toward him. Little Fool didn't tremble anymore when spoken to or try to run away when Hiei touched him from time to time. There were a few times Hiei muttered a few words asking
if he was still back there and each time he received a full blown convey of babbling nonsense.
Eventually Hiei came stepping off the final ridge of the mountain edge, anchoring in a melted clearing of a peeled off forest. The surrounding temperature was still nippy but not so bad that the little pup couldn't handle it on his own. "Alright, here is where you come down." He announced over his shoulder to the extra occupant.
The kit pleadingly shook his head, digging his claws in Hiei's back suggestively. "Mmm. Mmm."
"No, the deal was until we came down the mountain." Hiei kneeled one balled knee to the forest floor urging his inserted point. "From here you walk or get left."
Exhaling a heavily upset breath, the silver pup made his way down Hiei's back until he could stoop down on all fours. The plump of fur stayed tuckered around his head and body similar to a slacked cape. At the very least it was covering the child's nudity from the world but it wouldn't be enough for him to carry the damned thing around where they went.
Hiei shook his head and turned to squat before him tugging the rims of the pelt overhead. When the luscious blanket pulled off completely, the kit yelped out terribly from the rush of crisp cool air attacking his pale body, curling into a tight ball and the bush of his tail wrapped around to the tip of his chin. As amusing as the overdramatic spectacle of the toddler's reaction to the climate temperature, Hiei wasn't up for taking care of anyone sick. Especially when the fire demon himself wasn't feeling at full potential.
The katana blade was retrieved from his cloak and used to cut through most of the extra baggage hanging from the boa, forming a type of one sized poncho to fit the kit's smaller body. The silky material seemed to cut smoothly with no resistance as would other textures. Hiei'd have to remember to sell this once the kit was taken back. These furs could be his spoils for the time wasted.
"Here." He beckoned, to the whimpering pup. Hiei lifted the kit up by the scruff of his neck, placing him on his feet and pulled the makeshift fleece overhead, where a head hole had been slit through. A few struggles conjured but soon the silver mop of hair managed to popcorn its way through the opening, a bit dazed from the whole ordeal.
However . . .
The creation was definitely too big. The side openings were layered over the tips of the kit's claws and the extra backing dragged the ground. But at least the front was sliced at a reasonable length so he wouldn't trip. Despite the misshapen appearance, Little Fool would just have to make do.
Hiei stood up—and the babe tried to secretly climb his back mid-stand. Which was quickly interrupted when the Koorime shoved him back, catching him in the act. "Come on," He sneered authoritatively. "Cease this ridiculous coddling and carry your own weight. You're going to walk whether you like it or not."
With that harsh lesson spoken, Hiei turned on his heel heading into the thick forestry. A few seconds later, the kit sighed and pushed himself up to his feet to steadily follow after the only friend he had.
Now here in the thicker lush valleys of various greenery and scattered vegetation, is where the young fire demon felt most accustomed. The grown-over camouflages of the overhead marquees weren't unfamiliar to the pads of his black boots. He's been to this invigorating part of Makai on more than one occasion. Mostly to blow off some frustrations on the weaker prey or simply to flee through the disfigured brown fingers praising their life giver.
Add the cleansed supply of cool layered air floating about the unpolluted sector and you had yourself an excellent routine paradise. What few demons did reside here, weren't foolish enough to seek out a nonsensical decision on battling those out of their league. So the option of a casual stroll was welcomed. There were also the uniformed communicative songs drawn from every side of the forest ranging from the buzzing insects snug in the dampened cavities of aged trees to the chirped tweets of morning cardinals and fluttering blue jays.
Peace, quiet, tranquility and amity amongst the unspoken agreement between predators and prey all worked perfectly within the flourishing thicket and employed its calm demeanor for all those who walked through her emerald delights. Sometimes it was a pleasant welcome to Hiei's mental thoughts of the cruel former life he once lived.
Though at times with the deficient trails of non-spoken syllables, he was reminded of the spared space of company. A loner by choice he was. The decision was a wise instinct to abide by, ensuring that he could never be betrayed by anyone but himself or if something were to come out against his favor, only he would be the one to blame. The depraved voice of another was indeed smart and he'd always choose it over hearing the absurd mutter of foolish converses of basic ridiculousness and what nots.
Speaking of muttered foolishness, Little Fool hasn't made a sound since their travel began a couple of hours ago. His scent was still clear in the air. There wasn't a detection of any intruders for miles so Hiei needn't turn his head to check the child's presence. Though the abridged speech of a normally excessive chatter box was oddly unsettling.
Of course Hiei cared not of the child's sudden choice for being an obedient mute because his generous silence was more than accepted.
Though some small part of his mentality made him debate over whether he should check the lad's actual appearance or keep his conventional pace until nightfall. But after another quiet hour passed of absent gurgles, desired inquiry won over Hiei's conception to glance over his shoulder. And he was quite fortunate he'd chosen
than to investigate why there hadn't been a murmured sound.
The kit was astonishingly dawdling behind about fifty meters in the distance. Hiei stopped his stride momentarily to witness the foxling's weak attempts at walking, noting the slight jerky movement in his left leg and winched crunches on his baby face.
Little Fool panted out tight breaths against the obvious agony riddled on his face but kept cruising along. When a small root caught under his foot, he stumbled forward a bit but kept his balance. That's when he glanced up to see his bigger friend staring at him impatiently, the wobbly delay straightened to a stiff poise of self-control, puffed out his chest and tried to sped up.
Despite the bravery craved on the pup's face, Hiei could still see his bottom lip drawn between fangs in a powerful effort to keep from mumbling the whimpers of his anguish.
This was getting more and more time consuming than he'd originated. Shrugging it off, he calmly turned back toward the little kit until he towered over. "Can you manage?" He questioned evenly.
Little Fool nodded urgently, biting his lip and held his head high, steadily waddling around to prove his point. The loosened sway of his composure still remained as trembling as ever, but Hiei decided to give the pup some dignity by letting him walk at his own pace. He'd have to give the child unexpressed praise for forking up the load of determination to walk on his own, regardless of the numbing pain he was in.
That ailing leg, if he recalled correctly, was the same one that bore the shivered injury from last night. Apparently it hadn't healed as quickly as it should've and he was reaping the benefits of his youth. Because of its age the healing process was much slower.
"Tsk." The name of miniature jest was obviously the perfect title for how this pup was proving his ailing strength. One thing was for sure…he certainly reminded Hiei of another demon just as stubborn in nature. As calm and collected as the placid river, Hiei coolly began to walk behind the little fox seeing each disguised limber.
Tiny, hardly audible peeps whispered through the clenched fangs as Little Fool accidentally trotted over another object nearly knocking him off stability. Luckily only the ball of his right knee touched the ground whilst his injury remained elevated the best he could. "Mmm . . ." He whined pushing off the forest floor to stand tall. He wouldn't give up or be spoiled. He was very strong and intended to prove it by walking on his own. The flappy sleeves of his fuzzy poncho fell over his arms as he tried again only to abruptly halt, yelping from the shot of fire surging from his wound.
Hiei took a deep breathe, the air blown through his nose. "You really are a little fool." Came his blunt admission to the young lad.
The foxling reflexively winched from the brutal insult and couldn't hold back the choked sob lunged in his throat from the stored self-inflictions. But his leg hurt so much. He couldn't help it.
Suddenly he squealed when gravity went against him, snatching the short locks of his hair. In one swoop his whole body went upward and over against the flat contours of a strong back.
"Grab on or fall." He heard the older demon order.
Recovering quickly from the additional support, Little Fool's claws coiled through the thick cloak-sealed shoulders, placed his chin on the left side of the burly cloth and nuzzled his face against Hiei's jaw, purring a blissful hum.
No matter how much he said he despised the affectionate cuddles, this brat insisted on dishing them out. Oh well, at least without the pup's lagging they could sped up their journey east.
"Hold on." Slightly bending his knees, Hiei leapt without another muttered warning, into the nearest tree landing on the sturdy branch. The next hop lifted them a couple of branches higher in the canopy. A few more heightened bounds until they were directly above the forestry viewing the entire busheled sea of blooming sage. As far as his eyes could see the forest imaged seemed as distant as the endless horizon.
Glancing over his shoulder, he could fairly make out the icy snow caps of the mountain tops which indicated that they hadn't covered as much ground as he'd hoped in one day.
The journey east was two days on foot and so far they'd only covered about seventy miles in five hours' time. If the mission before was to be accomplished, they were going to have to do better than this. No more delays, no more interruptions.
In one calculated second, Hiei's figure disappeared from the sage canopy.
As the stomach sinking plummet ceased on the closest branch, he checked fast for another support and jerked a sharp jump to the left. Little Fool squealed his thrilled delight at the fast ride, latching on as tight as he could.
Hiei's accelerated motions were flawlessly smooth, the sheets of his obsidian robe executing more noise than his gliding boots, every dashing hurdle and declined landing confident and secured. The rushing winds slashed through the burbs of ebony and platinum hair, flustering from each descending dive or rapid sprint to the next tree appendage. "Eeeeep!" Child-like giggles rained magically down to the ground only to vanish in a hushed whisper as distance stole away the mirth jubilee of that brief moment.
The soft laughter tickled the curve of Hiei's ear, marring the tiniest tug of his lip as he catapulted off an extremely high limb, falling remarkably fast for a natural gravity descent. But that didn't deter the burst of terrified excitement. Little Fool's pelt flew in a waving flash, showcasing all of his angelic nudity to the chilled air as again they fell down, down, down, to the next branch and shot off to another.
Leaves brushed against his face, lightly tickling over his arms—until suddenly they stopped. The sudden cease in movement slapped his body's levitation against his friend's back in fumble flop. Blinking curiously, Little Fool vocalized a quiet peep to the stoic side glare and hunkered back when one fierce red eye narrowed for him to keep silent.
There was no glint of hidden anger or scolding discipline . . .
. . . Only the tiniest glow of tinged sympathy.
The scent of crystalized blood was a great comparsion to the foxling's odor. It wasn't too far and it couldn't have happened more than an hour ago at best.
Excellent. As if his day couldn't get much worst.
Hiei reached around and gently pulled the pelt sheet over Little Fool's head. If his predication was accurate, this child didn't need to see what he was aiming for. So at a deliberately slower pace, the Koorime turned off the current branch and landed on a lower scion, heading off course from the east. Each hurried advancement continued to increase the stench of death, burning his nostrils, further proving his invading concerns.
Hiei pressed down near a wide clearing concealed behind the truck of large tree. His slanted eyes slid to slender fire slits—There was no mistaken it now.
There, secured in a dark collection of inflamed blood was a young sterling haired vixen tangled with the body of a large snake demon. The frontal portion of her coagulated body was compressed between its clamped jaws; her claws lunged deep within its eyes up to her elbows. In the throes of battle her survival had been a futile attempt though she tried none the less to live. The two were solidified in an icebound casing, forever displaying the illustrated endings of a grim oblivion.
"Mmmm . . ."
Hiei glanced over his shoulder at the pair of eyes peeking up innocently and pulled the furry cape back over his eyes.
No, the child needn't witness this despair.
The gruesome death of his mother? Hiei wouldn't dare bestow the boy such a daring scene that could easily destroy his faith in life.
Sadly the answer to his question of a returning dam for this kit had been replied in the most horrific manner. So with a pinged pity for the lad's loss, Hiei bucked off the tree truck and propelled into the distance, back on course to the east.
In all faith, he hoped that this child did belong to the clans of the east.
TBC: Don't worry. Yoko and Kurama will be showing up soon. I hope the story still has your attention so far though. Dialect will increase as the story progresses. With so much detailing I simply want you guys to see what I see ^_^.
