32Chapter once again dedicated to Wolfs Pack whose support has made sue this creation survives and doesn't remain locked in my brain forever more.
Amaya counted the steady drip of water coming from somewhere in the front of the cave. One, two, three… she could still hear the others muttering over her thoughts count. Four, Five, six… She was getting a headache just trying to block them all out. Seven, eight…screw this… She opened her eyes slightly and stared up at the ceiling as she took in all of the bits and pieces of conversation.
"He can't really like-" "What about sister Kag-" "No way! He does-" "You really think that he could-"
A growl rose up in the back of her throat and she shut her eyes again; she tried to concentrate on that steady drip. It drove her insane after twenty. She rolled to her side to face away from the rest of the wolves. Nyoko raised her head a fraction before scooting closer. Amaya buried her head in the wolf's fur and counted Nyoko's pulse instead; the deep steady beat was a lot less annoying. Nyoko hadn't left her side ever since she had returned, staying by her all day in the back of the cave while she had tried to sleep. It had been surprise that she was in a bad mood now; all the talking had kept her awake.
"You feel okay sister Amaya?" Ginta was sitting nearby, most likely with Nami still draped over his lap. Nami had taken a liking to bugging those two when Amaya didn't feel like it. Amaya didn't feel like answering out loud, so she just climbed to her feet instead. Staring at Ginta and Hakkaku for a moment, she weaved through the cavern. Though she really only weaved through them for the first few yards; they stepped out of her way after that. She ducked out of the cave as the two men tried to climb to their feet.
"Hold on!" She slipped around the corner and jumped one of the ledges nearby, stretching out her stiff muscles and dropping into the grass. It wasn't a comfortable, but it would be quiet outside and she might be able to doze off for a bit. She concentrated on relaxing every part of her body, starting at her feet and working her way up. Her mind was the last thing that she let go. The blissfully quiet evening air was nice. It wasn't too far into the year yet to be cold. She was tempted to pull off her shoulder pad, but couldn't bring herself to move. Instead, she closed her eyes and let her mind wander.
She must have fallen asleep. It was a bit cooler when she woke up. It had to be after sunset by then for it to be that cool. A familiar scent nearby rolled across her tongue: salt, dirt and, at the moment, dried blood. She ignored the person who'd dropped into the grass next to her, turning onto her side in the opposite direction. She had almost managed to block out the steady breathing coming from over her shoulder when a finger trailed down her arm.
"You tired or just trying to ignore me again?" Koga's finger trailed down past her elbow and onto her hip. He let it fall to the middle of her back before tracing her spine. "Why are you out here? Were Ginta and Hakkaku annoying you?" Her shoulders tensed as his hand rubbed the back of her neck. She kept her mouth shut until he leaned over and pressed his lips to the corner of her jaw.
"The muttering was driving me insane." She growled as he rubbed his lips against the back of her neck. "Apparently they're all a little bit surprised at our sudden friendliness. They mentioned something about Kagome as well." He paused as she waited. "What's the story there?"
"It was a while ago." He muttered, "Just some unreturned affections. Nothing to think about now…" She didn't want to think about it, even if it did nag at her somewhat; she had enough of a headache trying to concentrate at the moment. He nipped at the her ear, pulling gently at the soft skin until she rolled back onto her back. He looked down at her before burying his face in her throat. She sighed and rolled away two feet.
"You have a way of changing the topic without actually saying anything useful." She stopped on her stomach, using her arms for a pillow with her head facing the away from him. He laughed and pulled her over and against his chest. He pushed her hair aside and went back to her neck. She gave up any form of conversation. He wouldn't be paying much attention to what she was saying at the moment. She turned over and pushed him onto his back, lying on his chest with her head over his heart.
"They're just a little…hesitant." He said; his voice vibrated through his chest. "They probably don't know what to think of you now. You left a rather confusing impression on them before." She punched him lightly in the stomach when he started to laugh. She yawned and he laughed again. "I guess you really were tired." He pulled her into his arms and jumped down from the ledge with her clinging to him in surprise. She pushed out of his arms as soon as he had landed on his feet.
"I can walk on my own feet," she grumbled. He kept a steadying hand on her lower back as they entered the relatively warmer cave. Some of the wolves looked up from their meals around one of the few fires and watched Koga push her to the back of the cave. She sat down in the bed of hay, intent on stretching out on her back, but he sat against the wall and pulled her back. She sat in front of him, between his knees, and leaned back.
Despite the armor, it was comfortable leaning against him. He trailed his finger over her arm again when she rested her head against his shoulder. It raised bumps on her skin. She swatted at his hand after she closed her eyes. The low laugh rumbled in his chest as he continued. No one was muttering now, but she guessed a numbered of bewildered looks were most likely being exchanged instead. She did hear someone cough rather violently when Koga bit at her neck lightly, but it otherwise it was blissfully quiet.
At least this one didn't take 8 months. I did bring up something I though was important in this chapter, though only briefly. I never did read all of the Inuyasha manga, but i needed some way to explain his more friend like attitude toward Kagome now and eariler and i don't want to make that a major problem in hte story. That would be just lame to have to deal with that.
Anyway, action will be coming soon, I promise. And I just had to get a little more fluff in before that comes because i don't know how much lovin there will be later on in the midst of all the problems. Hope to see you again soon!
-Kyra Odayashi
Wolfs Pack - Once again you are my only reviewer, but the best one yet! I hope you like this piece of short fluff (which I just couldn't get out of my head and was blocking everything else) and to see you again next chapter. You Rock! See ya next time!