Catriona ran her fingers through her hair as she sat in front of the fire Totosai had so nicely blew onto wood for Inu Yasha & herself. Inside Totosai's cave, she had no bit of cold in her bones anymore after sitting in front of his fires for sometime now. They had arrived in the old youkai's cave nearly five hours ago & the old youkai had offered to make dinner for them & with Catriona's hunger, after not eating since the morning they left Koga's den, she wasn't about to refuse.
Totosai looked at the ningen female before him & he rubbed his chin in thought as he waited for Inu Yasha to get back from hunting their meal. It was mid-afternoon & you could hardly tell by the lack of sunlight because of the clouds covering the sky. "You look familiar Lady Catriona, have I by any chance seen you before?" He asked, his eyes moving to the sword that rested across her lap, before he looked back up at her face.
"No," she answered, shaking her head slowly. "I've never met you before, Totosai..."
"Are you absolutely sure?"
Catriona thought for a moment before she shook her head again. "I'm sure, I have no memory of ever meeting you..."
Inu Yasha, who had a wild boar slung over his shoulder when he entered the cave, looked between the two, wondering what they had been talking about before he returned. The silence in the cave annoyed him slightly since he had the feeling they had been talking about him before he got in there or had a chance to hear a fraction of what they had been saying.
"That's a good catch, Inu Yasha," Catriona said with a smile a she stood up to make room for him since she had gotten comfortable in his spot while he was gone.
"It'll be quite the decent meal for us," Totosai spoke, poking around inside the fire with the end part of the handle of his hammer, trying to stir the fire more.
"Keh," was all Inu Yasha replied with as he went to the far back of the cave to drop off the boar. As he was heading to the front of the cave, Totosai stopped him & pulled him to the back.
"Inu Yasha, is my nose fooling me, or is your brother's mate carrying your child?" He asked quietly enough for Catriona to not hear him.
Inu Yasha lowered his gaze to the ground, turning his head to the side slightly to avoid the prying gaze of the elder youkai that stood only a few inches away from him. �She is carrying my child Totosai & that�s none of your business...�
�Inu Yasha, are you aware of the trouble this could cause should Sesshomaru arrive looking for her?� Totosai asked. �Should his battle with Lord Mottomorashii end anytime soon & he goes to Koga�s den looking for her, he�ll throw a fit of rage to find his mate isn�t being protected by Koga like he ordered. When he comes here to find her & smells your child growing inside of his mate, the female he has chosen to live his life with, he could destroy everything in his path.�
�What are you getting at old man?� Inu Yasha growled, looking up at Totosai.
�You are going to have to find a different place for her to stay,� Totosai spoke, folding his arms over his chest. �It can wait until you both have eaten & have had sufficient time to rest from your travels from the ookami den, but after that, you�re going to have to keep her elsewhere.�
Inu Yasha glared at the elder youkai in front of him & found himself fighting the urge to slash his throat open & shred him apart with his claws. �You didn�t mind her staying here when I first asked you, so what�s changed?�
�The fact that she is carrying your child instead of Sesshomaru�s. Now go to her while I get the boar ready.�
Inu Yasha put his back to Totosai & made his way to the front of the cave where Catriona was still sitting by the fire, but now she had her sword half unsheathed & was studying the customized gold blade. He watched the flames of the fire reflect on the polished sword, making her eyes sparkle with the dim reflections.
He sat down across the fire from her & gave her a small smile when she looked up at him long enough to send him a small smile & nod her head to him before looking back to the sword. He watched her eyes roam over the sword, the sparkles from the reflections returning to her eyes, as he continued watching. -She�s so beautiful in this light,- he thought.
Since he returned it had grown slightly darker as the cloud gathered & he thought he caught the scent of rain in the air as he headed back to the caves with the kill earlier. The air outside had grown thick with a very powerful aura he was nervous of for some reason; one that made him move his hand to his Tetsusaiga most of the way back. He yawned softly since he had relaxed after no longer sensing the aura that had been so heavy in the air.
�Inu Yasha?� Catriona spoke. Her soft voice reached his ears & he looked into her eyes as she looked up at him. �You never got to train me, how come? Do you need to be ningen to train me?�
Inu Yasha shook his head & nodded in the direction of the back of the cave where Totosai still prepared the boar for their dinner. �I had to be ningen to learn how to wield it properly so I knew what to tell you, but since I still know what to do, I could teach you as I am now.�
Catriona nodded slowly as she listened to what he said. �Could you start my training now?�
Inu Yasha tilted his head to the side slightly. �Why now?�
�So we can have something to do until Totosai gets done making dinner...� She answered. �I don�t know about you, but I don�t want to sit around doing nothing until then. So how about it,� she grinned. �Train me?�
Inu Yasha grinned & rose to his feet, helping her to her feet as well after moving over to her. �Of course.� He walked with her to the front of the cave where he instructed her on how to stand & hold the sword in her hands properly, he glanced at Totosai, his eyes easily finding him in the darkness at the back of the cave. When he received a nod from Totosai, he went on with his training Catriona.
From the back of the cave, Totosai watched them closely while he worked on finishing up preparations on the boar�s body. -He has definitely grown attached to the ningen mated to his brother,- he thought as he moved the now ready boar body to the fire & place it upon a spit he brought with him from the back of the cave. -He doesn�t realize just how much trouble this is going to cause. Either he�s just plain stupid or he doesn�t plan on Sesshomaru retrieving Catriona before the child inside is born.-
Totosai brought the fire back to its roaring life by blowing more fire into it as fuel. -If that is the case he is foolish to think the child might make it through the pregnancy. Since he�s hanyou, he can only smell the child inside, but a full-blooded youkai like myself can smell what is wrong with the child.- He rotated the boar�s body & returned to the back of the cave to feed Momo, whom he�d had to ignore long enough to prepare the dinner for the night.
-I hate to kick her out in her current state, but I can�t risk my life for Inu Yasha to spend time with his friend,- he thought as he pet Momo on the head as the bull ate from his hand. -He seemed as if he had no place she could possibly go, when he should know by now that the villages he watches over would gladly do anything for their protector. Is he that stupid to not realize that he can safely leave her there or stay there with her? I�m certain they would give him a hut to share with her during their stay.-