Silence to the Songbird

[Aiko]

Koga held her for all the time the deer demon sobbed. He held her until he felt stiff from standing in the same position, until his legs began to cramp from holding still. And then he held her longer than that. He held onto her, wanting her to get all that bad emotion out even though it sent pangs through his own heart, until the sobs began to lessen to the point that Merodi was able to form a few coherent words.

While Merodi had had her cry, Koga had been trying to think up some possible solutions to her problem. Strategizing, though, wasn’t the wolf demon’s expertise. When his mate spoke up, though, only one of the ideas he’d thought up made any sense. The solution he had made him grit his teeth, made his heart begin to pound, made his every cell scream out in protest. His very personality rejected the very thought of what he planned to do. But it was for Merodi. He could do it. He would have to.

He allowed his mate to pull away, to look up at him with those dark, despairing eyes of hers. Those eyes tore his heart into tiny pieces, and strengthened his resolve. Even so, Koga knew Merodi would never allow him to do what he planned. And in so many ways, he didn’t want to have to do it. But he was going to.

The wolf demon lat his hand drift away from Merodi’s hair, onto her immeasurably soft cheek. His other hand joined the first, so that Koga was cupping his mate’s face between his hands. He stared into her eyes, willing her to understand his resolve, his commitment. She had to understand. She had to keep the idea of this look in his eyes in her mind for the many days to come when she would need it. Koga’s intention was to look strong for her, but his icy sapphire eyes melted into tender pools of blue as he gazed on her beloved face. He knew every way that her cheeks curved, the soft shape of her chin, every fleck of color in her eyes. Her face was branded into his heart. His own face gentled completely as he looked at her. Love, all for Merodi, swelled up inside him, and the anger died where it lay in his stomach. That was what would appear in his eyes.

Koga leaned close to her face, until his lips were so close to hers that he could feel her breath against his skin. [brown]“Trust me,”[/brown] he whispered. He kissed her then, with a kiss that started out gentle, but grew harder, more passionate, more needing. He kissed her deeply, his hands moving around her face and through her hair, memorizing the feel of her. And then he was pulling away, both his lips and his hands leaving her. He breathed deeply, let it out slowly.

[brown]“Come on,”[/brown] he said to her in a hushed voice. [brown]“It’s getting late.”[/brown] Taking her by the hand, he led her towards the cave.

[Lord Sesshomaru]

The longer Merodi stared up at Koga the calmer she got. She never realized how much a good cry meant. She let out a deep breathe, and let herself be consumed by his blue eyes. Always filled with confidence and strength. And she tried to borrow that confidence, and the stability she lost. And she felt like she owned it. And it was there inside, inside of her and she suddenly realized she could...maybe live without the blessing. She had something so much more. And the kiss proved it. It strengthened her resolve; but weakened her knees.

Sadly it had not lasted long enough. Merodi blinked, and the kiss was over, and her leverage was gone, as well as the warmth of his hands on her skin. She bit her lip, trying to hold onto the strong emotions from his eyes. To remember it and keep it with her. She was quiet then, afraid to speak and lose it. But her heart had been calmed, and although it still ached for her songs, but she realized her heart didn't need such a blessing as much as she needed Koga, and Tempa. Not as much as she needed her family. She smiled, a small timid and unsure smile, but still one none the less. She squeezed his hand, leaning against him as she walked with him back to the cave. Drained of her tears she was also drained of energy, and would fall asleep as soon as her head touched the soft fur of the mat.

[Aiko]

Koga led her by the hand to the mat where the pair of them slept at night. He eased her down beside him, and he lay not quite touching her, except with his hand, which still held hers. He didn’t want Merodi to feel the tenseness in his muscles, but he didn’t want to let her go. No matter what she thought in the coming days, he never wanted to let her go, not now, and not ever. The wolf demon waited until several minutes after her breathing had steadied, until the point that he was completely positive that she would not waken, and he slipped his hand from hers. He padded quietly around his cave, selecting six of his strongest, his swiftest, his smartest wolves. They followed their leader, confusion plain on their honest faces, but Koga had motioned for quiet, so they kept their many questions to themselves until he led them to a shadow-riddled corner of the cave, where conversation would be masked by the rush of the waterfall.

When the six chosen wolf demons gathered, crouching around their leader, their faces wondering, Koga waited a moment, gazing around the circle. He saw a scarred cheek here, lined foreheads there. These were, indeed, the six that would carry out the task. [brown]“I’m leaving,”[/brown] he announced abruptly. Gasps echoed around the group, and they began to raise their voices in questions, but Koga shook his head and raised his voice above the chorus. [brown]“Not for good, stupids! I’m going to go on a… a quest, sort of. I’ve chosen you six to be the bodyguards of Merodi and Tempa until I return.”[/brown] Koga stared hard at all of the quiet, somber demons that were gathered around him. [brown]“I will return, too. You will guard Merodi and Tempa with your lives. That is your most important job until I tell you otherwise.”[/brown] The wolf demon waited for any questions or comments, but none were forthcoming. Instead, the heads of the wolf demons around him nodded in acceptance.

“Of course, Koga,” they mumbled to him, though in variations of the phrase. Their leader looked around at all of them a final time, his heart swelling almost to the bursting point. These were his brothers, loyal and true to the last. They were loyal to him, their leader. They would not fail in their task.

Koga rose from his crouch. [brown]“Good,”[/brown] he said with a nod, and then, as an afterthought, [brown]“Thank you. Merodi and Tempa are in good hands.”[/brown] One by one, he clasped their shoulders, and without further ceremony, bounded out of the cave.

For the second time that evening, Koga’s shoulders were dampened by the spray of the waterfall. How many more evenings would pass before his skin felt the welcoming touch of that water? Already, his feet itched to turn him back, to take him running back into the cave, to lay down by Merodi’s side and just live in peace. But he was going on this quest for the sake of his mate, for the sake of her smile, and for the tears that she’d already shed. He had to leave before he could return. Sucking in a lungful of air, Koga took off at a sprint, but his feet were directed towards another part of the territory.

There was one thing he had to do before leaving.

[ooc: End?]