�Inu Yasha,� Catriona groaned, putting her hand to her throat after removing it from the hanyou�s shoulder. �Inu Yasha, stop running,� she choked out as a wave of nausea washed over her.
Inu Yasha slowed to a stop in the tall grass, half-covered by snow, when he heard Catriona�s request, then helped her off his back. They were on their way to the village he had told her about, after leaving Koga's den early this morning before the sun had even had the chance to rise, & so far were making good time since this was the first stop they had made.
Catriona moved away from her hanyou friend quickly before she threw up the little bit of breakfast she had had with him before their departure from Koga's den. When she was done & had her hands on her knees, her body bent over slightly, she felt a hand rubbing her back as another hand came in front of her face to pull her hair back incase she should get sick again.
"Are you alright?" Inu Yasha asked, his voice full of worry as his hand rubbed her back softly.
Catriona coughed & cleared her throat before she rose up straight, nodding her head slowly, before she walked away from him a few feet before allowing her body to drop to its knees. She soon found Inu Yasha's arm around her, holding her gently as she held her stomach. "I'm okay Inu Yasha," she whispered, looking at the snow on the ground. The snow showed no sign of being dirty, even when she dug down a little bit, so she unwrapped one arm from her abdomen & scooped up a tiny handful of the snow & hesitated before she put it in her mouth.
"What are you doing?" Inu Yasha asked, since he had never seen someone do this before.
She held up a finger, indicating for him to wait a moment, before she leaned over to the left, after swishing the melting snow around her mouth, & spit the snow out. "I'm cleaning out my mouth... If I let the snow melt in my mouth, it turns into water, correct?" When Inu Yasha nodded, she continued. "Water is drinkable, so after I clean my mouth out, I'm going to get another handful, let it melt, then swallow it as if drinking water."
Inu Yasha listened to her as she explained to him her weird method. "Why didn't you say something sooner? Like when we were near that last lake?" He asked, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.
"Because I thought this nausea would go away after a few minutes..."
He rubbed her back softly. "Do you need to rest for a little while?" He asked as he watched her once again scoop up a little bit of snow, after checking for dirt below the surface, then put it in her mouth. "Just nod or shake your head so you don't have to rush that."
Catriona thought for a moment, feeling the nausea in her stomach still resting there; she nodded before swallowing the new amount of melted snow. "It wouldn't be too much trouble to ask for that, would it?"
Inu Yasha shook his head. "Of course not,� he spoke. �The wind isn't blowing & there's now snow falling, so we can make a miniature camp for a few minutes or until you think you're fit to travel again."
"Thank you Inu Yasha," she whispered, shivering slightly.
"Do you want my haori for a little while?" When she nodded, he slid the fire rat robe off of his body & draped it over her shoulders, watching as she slid her arms into it & snuggled into the warmth that surrounded her. "Want me to dig us a little resting area in the snow & get something small for you to eat?"
"I wouldn't want to ask so much of you Inu Yasha," Catriona mumbled softly as she looked at her friend.
"I wouldn't mind Catriona," he said, sniffling slightly, almost gagging when he caught the heavy scent of an odor, sickening to any hanyou or youkai that could smell it.
Catriona noticed the sudden gagging Inu Yasha had let out & her eyes filled with worry. "Are you okay Inu Yasha?" She asked.
"I'm fine Catriona, you just worry about yourself," he answered, holding his breath slightly as an attempt to avoid the odor that she wasn't able to smell. "I just choke on my own spit when I inhaled instead of swallowed."
She gave him a small, teasing smile that made his insides melt a little bit. He enjoyed her little smiles more than he would ever tell her, even though she already knew how he felt to her. "Inu Yasha, would you be able to find anything in this weather?" She asked.
"Of course," he smiled as he rose to his feet & walked a few feet away from her, looking around & sniffing the air. When he caught the scent of a rabbit family's winter den, he smiled at her & began digging away at the snow, throwing it away from the spot he was digging. Eventually he had a spot cleared of snow, down to the grass below, for them.
Catriona had watched the whole thing & while he was digging, she stayed within his sight, but moved around the area looking for any twigs or small branches that might have fallen from the trees around them to make a small fire & roasting spit with. She was aware of the hanyou's watchful eyes staring at her & it brought her a sense of comfort as she reached up, leaning her body against the nearest tree & began pulling away small branches that weren't wet from melted snow. Every branch she pulled down, she tossed to her right so she wouldn't stumble on one of them.
Inu Yasha watched her from the spot he had made for them & while he watched her, his nose went to work sniffing out the rabbit den he had caught wind of earlier. When she stood at his side with the wood to make the fire with, he dug a hole for the wood that she had shaken the snow from & she placed the wood inside the hole. "Do you think you can have a fire ready by the time I get back here with food?" He asked.
Catriona nodded. "Of course,� she answered, �I'm good at making fires. Do you already smell something to catch?�
It was now Inu Yasha�s turn to nod as he jumped several feet away from her to avoid knocking any snow from the tight wall he had packed around their spot, into the space. He wanted Catriona to be able to stay as warm as she could get.
Catriona watched as Inu Yasha began walking away from her, dead set on a direction she was certain was food with the way he was acting. She felt another wave of nausea wash over her & she got up quickly, jumping as far as she could over the small wall without making it collapse or any snow knock in. She made her way to where she had thrown up earlier & leaned over, holding her hair back as she once again, emptied her stomach, but now there was very little in her stomach. She kneeled where she had before & repeated the snow process before she went back to the resting spot & began to make her fire.