SessKag Week 2021 by LadyGoshawk

Green: Nature & Eternity/Fertility & Growth/Youth & Vitality

The forest had burst into fervent, verdant vitality, fresh green growth unfurling everywhere as they paced beneath boughs spread to catch the early spring sunlight. He shortened his stride to match hers so that they walked side-by-side with the rest of their small pack trailing behind. The young ones frolicked along the sides of the path as they moved, youthful energy and excitement sending them picking early-blooming flowers and playing tag. Jaken brought up the rear, leading Ah-Un and muttering under his breath.

“Mmm, it was a long winter. The sun feels so good. Isn’t it nice to get back out into nature?” Kagome made her remark with her face turned upward as they walked through a pool of light created by a gap in the canopy. She threw a sidelong look at her mate, wondering if he would comment. She’d suspected for the last couple of months that the months of confinement in the village, in close proximity to his younger brother, had begun to chafe his desire to roam freely. He’d patrolled the area in mostly friendly competition with Inuyasha, but it simply couldn’t be the same as roaming the lands freely as he was used to.

“Hn.” Knowing what she was about, he merely acknowledged her comment and let a few more moments of pleasant silence pass between them before he reached over to brush his fingers through her unbound hair below the enameled clips and silver chains of her mating crown. The blue crescent moon dangling between her brows glinted as she turned her face to look at him. “Were you uncomfortable in our winter den, my Kagome?”

Since he’d spared no expense in the construction and furnishing of a five-room home complete with a stable for Ah-Un at the edge of the village not too far from the shrine and her beloved Well, he knew his pack had passed the cold months in perfect warmth and comfort.

She wrinkled her nose at him. “Of course not! How could I? I actually felt a little guilty for being so warm and comfortable when most of the village only has one drafty room and barely enough firewood to keep themselves from freezing.”

“Yet now they all possess enough warm coverings for every member of their families.”

He said it in his usual neutral tone, but she saw the fond look in his eyes. She sniffed playfully. “You didn’t complain when I was handing all those blankets out.”

“Why would I complain when you cared for your people as a true Lady ought?”

“I…what?” Her face warmed. “I thought you said it’s just a title!”

He tilted his chin down in a nod. “In human terms, it is an empty title. Yōkai, however, respect power above all else and so it forms the basis for the title. I am called Lord because I am daiyōkai, the most powerful in the lands. You, mate, are Lady among yōkai because of both our mating and your own status as most powerful miko in the lands. And though I was late to learn my Father’s lesson, I have come to understand that great power confers some responsibility toward those with less. Particularly toward those whom we claim as our own.” His gaze darted significantly toward the children.

“Our…” She blinked at him for a moment, and then a warm, loving smile curved her lips. “It’s nice to hear you say that, but that’s all Inuyasha’s village. And the forest around it.”

“My brother may have claimed the territory, but you have clearly claimed the people within it as your own. It is right that you should ensure their well-being as necessary.”

She laughed softly. “I’m sure he’d argue about that, but I think I see your point.” After a moment of thought, she frowned. “But I’m going to be gone for—well, at least for the summer and the beginning of the fall, aren’t I? I mean, we’re going now. What if they need something while we’re gone?”

“Then the elder miko, the slayer, the monk, and Inuyasha will see to them as your representatives among those you have claimed.” He didn’t shrug, but his tone somehow suggested he had. “The hanyō may argue all he likes, it will not change the fact that you and I are far more powerful than he. He will simply have to resign himself to our claim.”

“Wait. You keep saying ‘our’.”

“Yes. We are mated. What you claim is mine, and what I claim is yours.”

“And you’re… That’s all right with you? I kind of tend to pick up strays.”

“Hn.” He glanced over his shoulder again. “In this, we are of one accord.”

She half-turned, following his gaze to the gamboling children and their grumbly retainer, then laughed outright. “Okay, fair point. So where are we going then, my Lord?”

“For once, miko, we travel merely to travel together. There are some places we may visit with purpose, places I wish to show you, but we have no true destination nor any schedule to follow.”

Her hand slipped shyly into his, squeezing lightly as his fingers closed over hers. “Then I look forward to seeing what you have to show me.”

He brushed his thumb over her knuckles. “We have an eternity together. There is much to look forward to, little mate.”