[Week 4] Hour of the Dog
Week: 4
Title: Hour of the Dog
Author: Amber Michelle
Genre: gen
Universe: canon
Rating: T
Characters: Inu Taisho, Izayoi
Warnings: n/a
words: 941
Concrit: sure.
Notes: unbetaed. Also technically late, but it's the thought that counts.
..........................................
Inu Taisho stalked the perimiter of the estate, several hundred steps away from the wall and sheltered by the towering pines of the forest. Dusk was beginning to deepen into night, the red and orange fading from the sky on the western horizon. The shadows bled together into darkness. Over his own footsteps he heard the murmured conversations of the sentries, and beyond them, like a whisper, the conversing of the lady's maids as they readied for bed. Her voice wasn't among them, but he could smell her, mixed with the other scents of the night; sap, dust, oil and leather, and the moisture of clouds so far over the horizon they weren't visible yet, even against the lingering sunlight. Salt, and seaweed drying on the shore fifty miles distant. The taste of burning wood was on the air, tickling his nose.
He would admit, in the safety of his own mind, it was foolish to be here. His son would figure it out eventually, and so would his enemies. By returning every month with the new moon, he was giving his rival the excuse he needed to strike, if he dared to take it. No, it wouldn't be long now. If the woman wasn't enough of an opportunity for Ryukossei, he would simply wait for a better one - when Sesshomaru decided to confront him, perhaps.
Whether The General survived that encounter or not meant nothing; it was the way of things, for the young to surpass the old, for those in power to desire more. If Sesshomaru lived up to his name, he trusted the boy would maintain their lands as a matter of honor. What Inu Taisho did not relish was the possibility that the child would be stupid enough to challenge him before he was ready. Intelligence didn't always lead to bright decisions, as his own situation made obvious.
If she conceives, his advisor had said, your honor will be irreparably tarnished, even if My Lady does not find out.
Honor, he'd scoffed. He could bed his own kind as much as he liked, but deviating to humanity was a breach of honor? That logic left a great deal to be desired.
He was done with antiquated ideals. This line could be crossed - would be. His enemies would do the suffering for it.
A bell rang from the watchtower to signal the rise of the next hour. Inu Taisho approached the wall to watch the nearest humans leave their posts, and scented the wind. Stars were beginning to peek through the dark, but the moon was absent, and the guard took his torch with him to meet his replacement. The General leaped onto the battlement as soon as the area dimmed and pushed from the walk through a stand of trees, to land in the garden.
The maids' chambers were dark except for the farthest, the one he knew belonged to Izayoi's old nurse. The light burned close to the screen, and through a gap in the slats he saw her doing needlework. He followed the veranda around the corner to the lady's chamber, shielded by hanging vines and ripe clusters of wisteria in full bloom. Their scent was sweet, almost heady this close, but when he stood before her screen the sharper, herbal scent of her lamp oil pierced the haze.
If she did conceive, he mused, sliding past the screen and closing it soundlessly, would that be so terrible? No son of his would be weak. If Sesshomaru was fool enough to challenge him, there would be another.
He removed his swords and propped Tessaiga and Sounga in the corner. Tenseiga he laid across the opening to prevent entry. Next was his armor, unbuckled quickly and bundled in his haori, then his sandals. When he approached, clad only in the long kimono he wore beneath his armor, he heard the rustling of her robes as she moved, and her hand peeked through the curtain, drew it aside. The tiny lamp, barely enough to cast her shadow against the back curtain, glimmered in her eyes and gave her hair a silky sheen. Her summer kosode, gossamer white and almost transparent, left little to the imagination.
His duty was to his land. Beyond that, he would be obligated to no one, nothing.
"She knows," Izayoi said. Her outer robes, crimson and green and glittering gold embroidery, were hugged to her chest. "Baya."
Inu Taisho parted the curtain further and stepped inside, kneeling to take her hands in his own. They were small, her skin like the petals of an evening flower - pale, soft. Easily bruised, easily broken. Her bones were delicate like a bird's, fluttering when her hands moved under the stroke of his fingers.
"Baya isn't here," he said, tracing her veins with his claw. If she interfered, she wouldn't be a nurse much longer. "Are you afraid?"
She looked up, eyes wide. Her hair was a black river slithering over her head rest. "Aren't you?"
He leaned in and scraped his fangs over the spot her jaw met her neck, tracing the curve of her breast through the silk. She whimpered, pressing into his hand. He smiled and kissed the shell of her ear. Her body warmed in his arms, her limbs parting to accommodate him.
He didn't fear her father, or the forces he might muster to fight for his daughter's honor. He had several to marry off, there was no need to begrudge Izayoi. She wasn't his business any longer.
"No." He pulled the robe from her shoulders. The lamplight tinted her skin gold. "No one keeps me from what is mine."
.................................................................
The Hour of the Dog is 7pm to 9pm. It amuses me, but I swear I didn't do it on purpose. I just wanted whatever hour that corresponded with dusk in the summertime. XD
I wanted to get something in for once, so I didn't go over it at all except to make sure my spelling was right. Never mind, I couldn't help myself. ^^
Title: Hour of the Dog
Author: Amber Michelle
Genre: gen
Universe: canon
Rating: T
Characters: Inu Taisho, Izayoi
Warnings: n/a
words: 941
Concrit: sure.
Notes: unbetaed. Also technically late, but it's the thought that counts.
..........................................
Inu Taisho stalked the perimiter of the estate, several hundred steps away from the wall and sheltered by the towering pines of the forest. Dusk was beginning to deepen into night, the red and orange fading from the sky on the western horizon. The shadows bled together into darkness. Over his own footsteps he heard the murmured conversations of the sentries, and beyond them, like a whisper, the conversing of the lady's maids as they readied for bed. Her voice wasn't among them, but he could smell her, mixed with the other scents of the night; sap, dust, oil and leather, and the moisture of clouds so far over the horizon they weren't visible yet, even against the lingering sunlight. Salt, and seaweed drying on the shore fifty miles distant. The taste of burning wood was on the air, tickling his nose.
He would admit, in the safety of his own mind, it was foolish to be here. His son would figure it out eventually, and so would his enemies. By returning every month with the new moon, he was giving his rival the excuse he needed to strike, if he dared to take it. No, it wouldn't be long now. If the woman wasn't enough of an opportunity for Ryukossei, he would simply wait for a better one - when Sesshomaru decided to confront him, perhaps.
Whether The General survived that encounter or not meant nothing; it was the way of things, for the young to surpass the old, for those in power to desire more. If Sesshomaru lived up to his name, he trusted the boy would maintain their lands as a matter of honor. What Inu Taisho did not relish was the possibility that the child would be stupid enough to challenge him before he was ready. Intelligence didn't always lead to bright decisions, as his own situation made obvious.
If she conceives, his advisor had said, your honor will be irreparably tarnished, even if My Lady does not find out.
Honor, he'd scoffed. He could bed his own kind as much as he liked, but deviating to humanity was a breach of honor? That logic left a great deal to be desired.
He was done with antiquated ideals. This line could be crossed - would be. His enemies would do the suffering for it.
A bell rang from the watchtower to signal the rise of the next hour. Inu Taisho approached the wall to watch the nearest humans leave their posts, and scented the wind. Stars were beginning to peek through the dark, but the moon was absent, and the guard took his torch with him to meet his replacement. The General leaped onto the battlement as soon as the area dimmed and pushed from the walk through a stand of trees, to land in the garden.
The maids' chambers were dark except for the farthest, the one he knew belonged to Izayoi's old nurse. The light burned close to the screen, and through a gap in the slats he saw her doing needlework. He followed the veranda around the corner to the lady's chamber, shielded by hanging vines and ripe clusters of wisteria in full bloom. Their scent was sweet, almost heady this close, but when he stood before her screen the sharper, herbal scent of her lamp oil pierced the haze.
If she did conceive, he mused, sliding past the screen and closing it soundlessly, would that be so terrible? No son of his would be weak. If Sesshomaru was fool enough to challenge him, there would be another.
He removed his swords and propped Tessaiga and Sounga in the corner. Tenseiga he laid across the opening to prevent entry. Next was his armor, unbuckled quickly and bundled in his haori, then his sandals. When he approached, clad only in the long kimono he wore beneath his armor, he heard the rustling of her robes as she moved, and her hand peeked through the curtain, drew it aside. The tiny lamp, barely enough to cast her shadow against the back curtain, glimmered in her eyes and gave her hair a silky sheen. Her summer kosode, gossamer white and almost transparent, left little to the imagination.
His duty was to his land. Beyond that, he would be obligated to no one, nothing.
"She knows," Izayoi said. Her outer robes, crimson and green and glittering gold embroidery, were hugged to her chest. "Baya."
Inu Taisho parted the curtain further and stepped inside, kneeling to take her hands in his own. They were small, her skin like the petals of an evening flower - pale, soft. Easily bruised, easily broken. Her bones were delicate like a bird's, fluttering when her hands moved under the stroke of his fingers.
"Baya isn't here," he said, tracing her veins with his claw. If she interfered, she wouldn't be a nurse much longer. "Are you afraid?"
She looked up, eyes wide. Her hair was a black river slithering over her head rest. "Aren't you?"
He leaned in and scraped his fangs over the spot her jaw met her neck, tracing the curve of her breast through the silk. She whimpered, pressing into his hand. He smiled and kissed the shell of her ear. Her body warmed in his arms, her limbs parting to accommodate him.
He didn't fear her father, or the forces he might muster to fight for his daughter's honor. He had several to marry off, there was no need to begrudge Izayoi. She wasn't his business any longer.
"No." He pulled the robe from her shoulders. The lamplight tinted her skin gold. "No one keeps me from what is mine."
.................................................................
The Hour of the Dog is 7pm to 9pm. It amuses me, but I swear I didn't do it on purpose. I just wanted whatever hour that corresponded with dusk in the summertime. XD
I wanted to get something in for once, so I didn't go over it at all except to make sure my spelling was right. Never mind, I couldn't help myself. ^^