Picturesque [Merodi]

[Aiko]

It was picturesque, quaint, charming, and all of those complex words that mean pretty. Well, on second thought, perhaps those weren’t the right words… after all, the home of Koga, the mighty and awesome wolf demon, should be described in a more manly way. Still, what was one supposed to call a place that flowed so beautifully, mountains jutting powerfully into the sky, crags dotted with speckles of green, that filled that one’s heart with awe and adoration, outside of beautiful? Well, on that note, Koga could think of a couple things (essentially one) that were more lovely, but still, this was home.

He was back.

Who knew how long it had been since he had last been here? Wow, when he really thought about it… the last time had been the time he had met a deer demon who had been intent on following him around, a second shadow. He really had been gone a while. Koga frowned for a moment… and boulder-sized rock of disappointment thundered down towards him. To escape it, the wolf demon flew gracefully to his feet. No sense hovering around on a mountain ledge when an entire territory lay below him, just waiting to welcome him home, he reasoned, excusing himself from any unhappy feelings. With the speed only a combination of demonic and magical energy could provide, he practically flew down the craggy slope, flying a hundred feet or so with each singular bound.

At the base of the mountain, which he reached within a few seconds, he skidded to a stop. He just barely avoided making a pancake out of himself on a physical boulder (which had nothing to do with metaphorical disappointment), skidding around on rocky soil until his feet burned with friction. He grinned fiercely; the actions, and even the pain, gave him an amazing high. To think, all of that power burned within his own physical muscles! Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he hopped lightly a few times, slowing effectively to a stop. A laugh burst out of him, chasing away the last of the bad vibes he had been feeling.

Of course, having been on a long journey does take its toll, and he couldn’t go running around forever. As with many highs, Koga’s energy almost instantly crashed after a few steps. He hardly had time to feel shocked before he slumped to his rear, feet sliding out almost involuntarily from underneath him. With a thump, he landed on his rump. Surprised, he looked keenly at his legs. He saw them shaking slightly a moment before he felt them, jittering as though they had energy to spare. An ache spread through his muscles, something he’d chosen to deny for a while.

As the throbbing sensation spread through his arms, he gave up on holding himself in a sitting position. Koga fell to his back, and the boulder of unhappiness rolled suggestively toward him. Frowning impatiently, the demon raised a weary hand and waved it away. Pointedly ignoring the encroaching depression, he rolled onto his stomach, pressing his face into the compact, cool earth.

Breathing deeply, he let the familiar scent of his territory, his homeland, flood his senses. Feeling tired, he closed his eyes (not that he’d been able to see anything against the darkness of the ground, anyway), losing himself to smell.

[Lord Sesshomaru]

The deer demon didn't mind being alone as she was. After Koga and her had entered his homeland he was quick to lose himself to the excitement of coming home. There was no chance of her following him, so she stayed behind, taking in his territory with a new light then when she had first seen it. The first time she had been so afraid of the wolves that she couldn't truly look at her surroundings and see the beauty of the place. Now she could. The scent of the wolves in this area were almost like a comfort to her, no matter how odd that sounded with her being a deer.

Wolves eat deer.

Such a fact had always been in her mind, but it seemed to be muddled the more time she spent with the wolf demon Koga. In which, she was slowly following, allowing herself to conserve her energy. It seemed like a good walk before she was able to find him. She stopped, a rather surprised look on her face as she stared down at Koga in his odd position on the ground. Did he truly tire himself out? She had never thought he could truly get tired. It was funny to see him like that, and she couldn't help but let out a small giggle, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her smile.

[Aiko]

It felt so good to be home, after his fruitless Naraku-seeking expeditions. Still, Koga wasn’t one to give up; his personal despair still hovered around nearby, ready to set in as soon as he allowed himself to think about how he had pretty much failed at that. The earthy smell in his nose brushed it away for a moment, but the wolf demon could still feel it suspended on the edge of his other emotions, and for a few heartbeats, it closed in, and he wondered why, for the gods’ sake, why he had just seemed to give up and go home, even if for a temporary respite to alleviate his homesickness.

His extra-sensitive ears picked up the vibrations of a chuckle. Oh yeah, he thought, his high from earlier sneaking back and ripping apart his unhappiness, that’s why this is okay. He rolled over as the cloud of despair dissipated, and blinked against the light from the sky. The slight smile that had already been playing on his lips as he lay with his face in the dirt spread widely across his face, until he was beaming up at the deer demon through the smudges of dirt he now had on his face. “Hey, Merodi.”

Okay, so he’d thought of his territory as pretty. But then, he could think of one thing that was, possibly, in its own way, more beautiful than any plot of land could ever hope to be. In his eyes, anyway. Feeling the energy from a fresh rush of adrenaline, he used one hand to wipe some of the dust off his face and used the other to push himself up from the ground. Naturally, being tired and standing up too quickly weren’t the smartest combination… As a lightness filled his head, Koga teetered slightly to the side, but soon regained his footing and grinned, not feeling too embarrassed by looking like an idiot.

Not too embarrassed… not enough to flush red or anything, but Koga wasn’t pleased with himself for clumsiness.

For purposes of distraction, for her sake as well as his own, Koga swung around to give Merodi a quick, one-armed hug that was half-choke. Ah, he couldn’t resist. Once he established how he felt about someone, he just couldn’t resist following through with whatever actions he felt like taking because of his feelings. Such was the way when he had established that InuYasha was an annoying idiot; he treated him as such. So this was a little in the other direction of what he was used to, because of what he kept establishing (and then un-establishing at a later time) about Merodi. Guess what he had established today?

The hint: Koga might not say it out loud, worried about what her reaction would be, but he had decided that Merodi was, out of everything else he saw, the most picturesque.

[Lord Sesshomaru]

Merodi just smiled her hello to Koga as he noticed her. He had seemed tired but his energy did come back quickly. She didn't have that much energy at the moment. As he stood on wobbly limbs she held back another giggle threatening to escape her. Did she always giggle when he did something oddly? She wondered on that for a moment, but all thoughts stopped at once as he gave her a slight hug. Or, at least, she thought it was a hug. She hadn't truly been hugged with one arm before. But Koga was, well, Koga, and he was known to do things she wasn't used to. Including laying face down in the dirt.

Merodi blushed once he let go, although the contact was innocent enough, her realization of how she saw him made any sort of contact enough to make her blush. She wondered what it was that made him a little more touchy than she thought he truly was. "I am guessing you had a good run?" she asked, distracting herself of thinking that he hugged her.

[Aiko]

Ah, crap. Koga had intended his actions as a friendly sort of hug… more like an act between comrades than anything else. Of course, he could feel sudden warmth emanating from Merodi’s skin, which told him that he interpreted his actions otherwise. Crap… she probably could see right through what he did to the way he had decided, for the time being, that he felt about her. Sheesh… she probably thought he was a moonstruck idiot. His cheerfulness evaporated.

Thankfully, Merodi forgot about it. Perhaps she didn’t interpret his actions the way he was afraid she would (as Koga did not link her question with his awkward hug, which had been a kind of spur-of-the-moment thing in his mind). “Uh… yeah.” He grinned quickly, shoving away the awkward moment in a way he flattered himself into thinking was smooth. Not really knowing what to say about running, but running his mouth anyway, he rambled, “Yeah, it’s a great feeling, your energy flowing through you, and knowing your stronger than anybody else around…” His speech on the good points of running faded, and the moment threatened to become awkward again.

Wonderful. Just when he thought he was feeling more comfortable around Merodi, a moment like this had to come along and ruin everything. “Stupid moment,” Koga growled under his breath.

“Anyway,” Koga continued, hoping to chase away the last vestiges of a bad moment, “I haven’t really seen you run before. Aren’t deer supposed to be good at running, too? I mean, they get chased by predators a lot…” As if some inner sense told him this was insensitive, he quickly amended, “And they escape… a lot. Don’t you run much? Don’t you know how good it feels?” Well, perhaps Koga wasn’t the most tactful conversationalist, but at least he could congratulate himself, if Merodi answered, on redirecting a possibly embarrassing moment… even though, by now, he had partially forgotten about it.

[OOC: Wow, I’m out of it. I blame testing.]

[Lord Sesshomaru]

Merodi did hope he hadn't noticed her blush. It was rather odd to blush at such a simple hug. She truly wasn't used to contact, including with a male. Luckily, even if he had realized it her question had distracted him enough from her blushing from contact. She knew he really liked running. She wasn't the type though. To run just for the hell of it. That sudden burst of energy could only be given to a wolf. She listened, making sure she looked truly interested in what he was saying. Yes, she did find it interesting, but she knew that if you didn't give a little extra in her smile then it might seem she was disinterested. That was the last thing she wanted him to believe.

Koga's questions weren't really expected, but she found them easy enough to answer. He must think everyone was as energetic as he was. Too bad that wasn't true. "Our speed is used for a great burst of energy in small distances to get away from enemies. We can not risk wasting energy and end up...well, caught." She had never known how good it felt to just...run. When she ran, she was too busy thinking of the enemy that was behind her. The only time she had ran without being chased was when she was following Koga, and at that time she was too busy trying to make sure she could keep up.

[Aiko]

It took a moment for what Merodi said to process in Koga’s mind, for him to dissect the answer to his question from her reply, but when he did, he found himself staring at her. “You mean… you’ve never let yourself go to your running? You were… concentrating?” That wasn’t right, no, not right at all. Running was the art of freedom (as far as Koga was concerned, anyway). To run because she had to would be like… like… well, to a singer, he supposed it would be like singing because she was forced to. And he knew that Merodi knew how that felt.

By some miracle, he wasn’t as tactless as to bring that up.

“But running’s so… so…” Koga couldn’t even find a word to describe it. “Great!” he concluded. Why couldn’t Merodi realize this? Forgetting how tired he felt, or how he would feel once he was done with this conversation (because Koga was the type who could forget when he needed sleep), he stared at her dumbly, not sure what to say, but feeling the itching need to do something. It was important that Merodi realized how great running was: the feeling of freedom, of power, of exhilaration. He needed her to understand it, to feel it, the way that he did. If she could just understand this, this crucial part of Koga’s life, he felt as though something important would be accomplished.

Then his brain locked onto the logical solution, the solution that would fulfill all his needs in one clean action. “Run with me,” he said to the deer demon. The statement was said in the manner of a demand, but… it wasn’t as if Koga was going to do anything if she didn’t want to. He supposed he meant it as a question, a request, if you will, but of course it sounded like an order.

But what would he do if she refused? He wouldn’t be angry, he was sure… but… he wanted her to run with him. More importantly, he wanted her to want to run with him. He hovered anxiously, shifting from foot to foot with restless energy, waiting for her to start running, or refuse, or something.

[Lord Sesshomaru]

Merodi found it rather funny how he thought running was so great. She guessed it was something he was good at, and that he enjoyed. It was like her and singing. But she had not allowed herself to sing in some while. She had never thought to just run for the heck of it. But the more she was with him the more she wanted to try the things he did. She couldn't see how running was so great, when running was always connected to predators. Including since she didn't have the energy for it. Koga did, he always had. He traveled by running.

Koga's sudden command took her by surprise, and she frowned in thought. Run with him? Could she really risk losing such precious energy? There was nothing to worry about, not a lot of predators to worry about when she was with Koga. But still, she wasn't sure if she should. She knew it wasn't such a big deal, and the point it was with him. She smiled, nodding her head. "Alright, I think I can do that."

[Aiko]

Just in the subconscious, Koga had been pretty nervous about Merodi’s reply. What would she say? And then she frowned.

No! he thought. She was about to tell him, “No way, there’d be no way I’d ever run with you!” For some reason, just the thought felt like a slap in the face. He could feel it, it was coming, she was going to tell him how much she hated him, she was going to refuse to run with him, she was going to refuse him… As usual, Koga was taking things to the umpteenth level, and the thought of her rejection nearly made him panic. He was about ready to sling her over his shoulder and carry her off anyway when she smiled.

She said yes! Well, maybe not the exact word, but it was good enough for Koga! A smile spread across his face as relief spread through his body. “Alright!” he said enthusiastically. Of course, his half-formulated plan from before (slinging her over his shoulder, that is) still lingered in his head, and he quickly closed the distance between them, reaching out to her with one hand, his body still expecting to follow through. At the last second, however, he paused. Wait… no… that’s not what I’m supposed to be doing now… Warmth pulsed against his cheeks, and he wondered suddenly if he was blushing.

“Urk!” A noncommittal noise escaped him, but then he reached over and grabbed her by the hand. Giving Merodi a look that said “I meant to do that,” he gave her a gentle tug. “Come on! And don’t think about anything. Just trust me to take you, and don’t worry about anything, ‘kay?” Without giving her a chance to think about what he said, he turned around and began what he thought was a slow jog, attempting to drag Merodi along with him.

[Lord Sesshomaru]

Merodi wasn't used to such energy. She had never thought a wolf could have so much energy, nor did she think he would be just that happy that she had agreed to run with him. Was he thinking otherwise? Oh, she had frowned. She waited for him to start running, since she was still in that mindset of following. Of course, when she was concentrating on keeping up that would kind of ruin the point, wouldn't it?

Koga's sudden closeness had her confused...and a bit too nervous. Too close, too close! Just his proximity to her had her blushing, only just a tad. She was lucky she had fur instead of just skin. She wondered what he was doing as he took her hand. She blushed just a little bit more. Now he was touching her.

Merodi nodded her head absently to his words, her mind only taking in that he was touching her. Without being able to get ready, he took off and pulled her along with him. She tripped and stumbled as she tried to found out exactly how to keep up with his pace. She trusted him, but Koga just didn't seem to realize the difference in running slowly or fast. Luckily, she was able to figure out how to keep up with him as she moved her legs, gripping the dirt roughly between her hooves as she moved with him.

Sadly, she was too busy concentrating on his pace to actually lose herself. When she realized this, she tried to stop thinking, and just allow her legs to stay on auto mode. Once she was able to get that, she was able to let her eyes wander around the trees the blurred as she moved, and the wind that rushed through her hair. She was glad Koga was holding her hand, if he hadn't, she might lose herself too much and end up running into something.

[Aiko]

Koga refused to slow down. This pace was agonizingly sluggish compared to his usual blast-your-way-across-the-earth sprinting that he usually did. He wanted to go faster, to show Merodi what true speed was, but he held back, too, for her sake. She wasn’t as fast as he; he acknowledged that, even if he didn’t like it. But running was hi second nature, and this was on the brink of boring, it was so simplistic. But it allowed Koga to twist his head around, to look at the deer demon he was towing along, and see how she was holding up.

She was looking around, as if her mind was mulling over the blurry shapes of rocks and trees that she passed. From what Koga could see, she was mesmerized by these simple things. But as the wolf demon watched, he found himself watching how the wind pushed Merodi’s hair back from her face, how the air twined each individual strand with invisible fingers, caressing every lock, every bang. Even as he ran, his instincts guiding his tough-skinned feet across the ground, he found himself wrestling with the desire to reach back and adjust the other demon’s hair, to twist a few strands between his fingers. Thankfully, he couldn’t exactly twist around and run backwards; even Koga wasn’t that skilled. So he turned back to face the forward, but not before he felt his lips twitch upwards at the corners.

Continuing on the twisting route through the valley, Koga followed his instincts to a place. Well, of course he was heading to a place; but he had a particular “place” in mind, something that he spontaneously decided to show Merodi. Of course he knew every contour of the ground; this was his turf, and he knew it as well as he knew himself. Pulling Merodi along, the wind pushing his own hair back from his face, Koga sped up slightly, suddenly eager to reach this area which he had in mind. She’ll like this! he thought, half-forgetting that he was still tugging her along (and therefore ignorant to whatever fate befell her as he ran faster).

Around a boulder and a brook came into view, a tiny tributary of a larger river; Koga could hear the louder rumbling of the river behind him as he turned to run upstream. He plunged into a forest, weaving through the trees, flashing around trunks quickly, following old wolf trails that were practically invisible. Of course, some part of him was still careful not to fling his arm around (therefore preventing the throwing of Merodi against a tree).

As the trees thinned out, Koga finally slowed, skidding against the ground until his feet ached with the friction and his muscles quivered with exertion and weariness, until he began to walk. At that pace, he discovered that his legs were shaking, and pretty badly, a result of pushing himself too much. Ah, but that would be worth it! To prevent himself from falling over, he began to walk quicker, accidentally letting go of Merodi’s hand, still following the little creek.

Finally, he found what he was looking for. It was a small, grassy area, with a convenient seat-sized rock hunched near a tiny cliff that was more of a ledge. Over that ledge tumbled a small waterfall, which tinkled softly as it splashed into the brook below. Koga turned around to grin triumphantly at Merodi… and collapsed.

[Lord Sesshomaru]

Merodi was enjoying this run, really she was. She could see why Koga liked to run. But even so, she knew she could never like it as much as Koga. She couldn't run fast enough for the thrill that Koga always got. She had been able to keep up with him. Suddenly, he was running faster. Even so, she tried her best to keep up with him and not have him dragging her across the ground. It wasn't long before she was panting, but even so she kept running. Now, she was too busy keeping up to actually enjoy her run. Finally he was slowing down, she had never been so relieved. She was panting, her chest moving up and down rapidly as her lungs took in air.

Merodi watched Koga as he let go of her hand. She continued to follow him before they came to his destination. She looked around, her eyes taking in her surroundings. It was beautiful, she had to admit. She turned her attention to Koga, returning his grin with a smile of her own.

Merodi gasped when he dropped to the floor and was quick to go to his side. Worried and concerned for him. "Koga, are you okay?" she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

[Aiko]

Leg muscles were twitching and contracting, feet felt distant from the body, and Koga slumped to the ground. A dull throb of surprise resonated through him, feeling like a bruise, as his weary legs folded all-too-willingly beneath him. He’d… crumpled. He couldn’t say that happened too him very often. Vaguely he wondered if he’d been putting too much stress on his body, working his body and mind to full activity for too long. Along with this thought came the pulse of typical defiance, but it came with defeat. His heart said, “This isn’t over yet! I won’t let this happen again. I’ll be stronger next time.” Meanwhile, his body decided that resting was well overdue.

Oh… Merodi was there. Though the high she’d given him earlier had worn off, he still looked up at her through eyes that, while weary, were pleased, with just a hint of smugness in them. Look… there she was, with him after all. Hardly realizing that his grin had dwindled to a slight smile, which was itself oddly gentled by the rolling waves of weariness pealing through him, he gaze at her. She looked concerned. How strange… She should look annoyed, that Koga couldn’t keep his energy forever.

But this was Merodi. She just wasn’t like that. And her clear concern for him, which was a message she cared (which Koga instinctively recognized), made him smug.

He was able to smirk very slightly for his reply. “Never better,” he insisted in a mumbling voice. Yeah… he’d be better after a nice, long snooze, in this pretty place he’d chosen for Merodi. A behemoth yawn erupted from him, and he stretched his legs out in front of him. He was sitting somewhat slumped… what a weird position for napping. Oh well. Too tired to care that much, he leaned his neck to the side, resting his cheek against the softness that was the back of Merodi’s hand. Great, big breaths billowed through his lungs, and he realized that his chest had been aching. But… he was going to sleep now. And Merodi would be with him. Who cared about a little pain here and there?

“Never better…” He repeated, eyes just a smidge away from being shut. After endless moments, he released the deer demon’s hand from underneath his cheek and slumped out from underneath her touch. He laid back, as casual as he could ever be, and turned his head so he could look at Merodi one more time. The tired-gentle smile was there again as he watched her for a brief few seconds before his eyes fully closed.

After a moment, he started to snore.

[Lord Sesshomaru]

It seemed that Koga didn't have has much energy as she thought he had. Had he pushed himself too hard? It seemed so. She hoped that it wasn't too much of a problem. Maybe he ran too much? She decided to keep it to herself. He knew his limits he would learn from this, she hoped. Because right now, as he hunched over there saying he felt never better, she knew he wasn't that alright. He looked exhausted. He really shouldn't push himself so hard. But what could she do? There was nothing to do except allow him to sleep, and that was what she did. Merodi watched him quietly as he had his cheek on her hand before he moved away and fell asleep. For a moment, she wondered what she should do. Should she leave and allow him to sleep in private? No, she would stay here with him. She thought it would be best to stay with him in case of predators, but she wouldn't be much to defend him while he slept. She sighed, sitting on her knees and watching him as he slept, his small snores making her smile as she watched him. He seemed peaceful, and more than anything, quiet. Something he wasn't all the time. She didn't mind, it seemed better when he wasn't quiet. It made up for her being so quiet. She could just sit here, watching him and comparing the two of them. From quiet to loud, from dominate and domestic. From wolf to deer. The corners of her mouth pulled down in the slightest of frowns as she got up from the ground and walked a bit away from his sleeping form.

They were just...too opposite. Too much for the thoughts that fluttered in her head. Too different. The deer demon sat down at the edge of where the water and land met, staring at the waterfall for a moment before moving her head down to look at her reflection in the water. What she saw only proved more on how opposite she and Koga were. She blurred the image with her hand, allowing her fingers to hover at the water's surface, the chill of the water distracted her from her thoughts. And when she wasn't thinking, there was only one thing she did. Sing. Of course, she didn't wish to wake him and only permitted herself to hum bits and pieces of a song that had been stuck in her head since she realized how she felt about the wolf demon. She couldn't see any other song fitting them as it did. She was urged to sing it, but she kept herself from doing so. She contented herself with humming the tune as she did.

[Aiko]

As strange as it may sound to some, sleep held some strange revelation. Everybody dreams differently, some with bright images, some in a continuation of thoughts from the day, some with completely offbeat dreams that make no sense whatsoever. But Koga’s dreams, in his deeply asleep state, gave his subconscious the freedom to express what it knew, yet Koga did not in his conscious mind. After all, he was asleep, the state of unconsciousness. The primal, but wise in their own way, emotions came into his mind at that time: the wise wolf, I suppose you could say, that lies within the lupine demon.

Like this, Koga dreamed.

There stood two women side by side in a sea of whiteness, a place where there were no shadows. Koga first looked to the one on the right. The glossy black hair, the strange clothing, they were all familiar. Kagome stood there, smiling. Like it had many times before, his heart began thumping inside his chest, and he smiled broadly in return. The feelings that surged through him were the typical ones of infatuation: he thought she was beautiful, in her odd way, and he wanted to hold her close, a feeling that was typically compulsive. His eyes began to rove her figure… and, well, details can be left out of that. When his eyes returned to her face, she was blushing and looking awkward, and a word screamed in his ears, though Kagome was apparently deaf to it.

“LUST!”

Embarrassed to a point that was uncharacteristic, and for reasons that he would later assume was “dream logic,” he turned his face away, looking instead at the woman on the left. And guess who it was? A hint: it wasn’t Kagura. Merodi… Her name rang beautifully in his mind… literally. As he thought her name, an unfamiliar melody was introduced to his ears, as though she was humming it. She looked at him with wide Bambi eyes, looking like her usual helpless self. As he had earlier decided that she was the new Kagome, Koga stared back, expecting to feel the same thumping of anticipation as he had with Kagome. His heart beat faster… but that was it. Yes, he wanted to hold her close. Yes, he wanted to run his fingers through her hair. But she was… different. And Koga, in his dreaming mind, realized why.

Kagome had often pushed him off in her various ways, but Koga always chased after her anyway, determined to make her his whether she liked it or not (because, he’d reasoned, she’d grow to like him). But if he was to try to pull Merodi close, and she would push away… he knew he’d stop. He’d follow her, refuse to stop, and make sure she was always happy… but if she hated him being so close… The thought was enough to send a rip through his chest, and his breath caught. He would follow her forever, but if she didn’t want him, he wouldn’t force himself on her. Her smile -- it flashed now on her face as though in response to his thoughts – he wanted to capture in his mind and never let go, and better still watch it forever in his physical eyes.

“LOVE!” cried the voice from before.

But then the inner enlightenment died, because here was Kagome, in this too-white place, standing beside him, staring up at him with her pretty eyes. Koga lost his train of thought. Merodi...? Wha…? Kagome reached up and stroked his cheek, and the place where her fingers trailed against his skin left tingling tracks behind. A shiver of pleasure raced down Koga’s spine. Kagome moved around to the front of him, staring up at him, every contour of her face etched in perfect detail…

Behind her stood Merodi, her gorgeous eyes wide and hurt. The music faded a few notches as the deer demon turned and walked away. And something ripped apart inside the wolf demon. Koga looked back down at Kagome, who was now stroking his chest. For some reason, it was bare. But her fingers had no more potency, and her perfect detail showed off her eyes.

They were dull in the wake of a deer’s sparkling ones. He wanted those brilliant eyes, those eyes that sparkled every time, narrowed slightly every time she smiled. He wanted Merodi’s face, not this dull and plain human one.

Koga pushed Kagome away. He felt, rather than saw, her hurt, as though it was his own. But it was a dull bruise; it would heal. The rip inside of him, left by the absence of Merodi, wouldn’t. Not without her returning what she took.

But suddenly, all of the romantic stuff about a heart breaking was replaced. Suddenly, it wasn’t his chest that ached; it was his feet. Or rather, his ankles, because when Koga looked down, all he had were bloody stumps where his feet were supposed to be. And he could still see Merodi walking away, a foot in each hand.

He tried to chase her, but his stumpy legs wouldn’t support him. Koga toppled backwards, a shuddering thump reverberating up and down his spine, ending at his head. “Ow…” he complained, blinking. But the too-bright whiteness was still there, but now it was too painful to look at, and he clamped his eyes shut. The pain in his feet had gone away. That would be a plus… if he could have felt his feet. But he could suddenly smell better than he had before. Earth, grass, water… typical smells. And then… Merodi, a scent in a class all its own. He stumbled up to his knees, and though the ground beneath his was suddenly sharp and solid and clear, he paid no attention. He crawled his way towards Merodi’s smell on hands and knees, having it in his mind to demand his feet back.

The music grew louder. He had to be close.

He could sense her right in front of him. Her scent was there, and he could feel the heat radiating off her body. Above that, he could hear the gurgling sound of water, a familiar sound… but that wasn’t important! He needed his feet back! Without his feet, he couldn’t run.

Koga opened his mouth to order her to give them back, and the words came out in a bark of command. “Stay with me… I want my feet!”

[OOC: Yes, Koga was awake from the point the light got too bright to stand, though you probably figured that out. Sorry that this is really confusing… I blame reading Shakespeare. I did try not to use thee or thou.]