Fan Fiction / Wolf's Rain Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ My Father, The Outlaw ❯ My Dearly Departed ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Wolf's Rain or Rowan Hood.

#~#~#

The weeds gave me slight scratches as I gathered the coltsfoot my mother had sent me out to get. Suddenly, as I was picking the last of the coltsfoot, I felt my mother's protection spell envelope me.

I dropped the small basket I had been holding and dropped to the ground. The force of her spell surprising me and I knew something was horribly wrong if she had sent such a powerful spell to me.

I closed my eyes and hoped that it was something easily taken care of. Hoped that my mother was alive and had only sent out the spell just in case.

In just a few seconds the spell was gone. I could feel it being ripped away from me, like a blanket ripped off a child.

I opened my eyes to see that everything was in order. Farmers ploughed their land and a shepherd boy ushered his sheep out to the fields. The village beyond going about its daily business, and the lord's stronghold, farther away still, silent and watching.

I turned and ran through the forest, knowing in my very bones that something was wrong. Even before I smelt smoke on the wind.

I burst through a last thicket and found my former home smoldering on the ground. The home that had protected me and my mother from harsh winds, cold winters and the dangers of wild beasts, it could not withstand an attack from men.

Please let mother have gotten out. Let her be waiting for me by the spring like she would when I got lost and finally heard the gurgling of the waters. Just let her be alive.

I slowly walked through the rubble, still warm from the fire. I continued to pray that I would not see her remains. I went around a small bit of fire burning itself out, only to see her. Lying as if she were only sleeping, her hair spread out around her head, hands folded on top of her stomach, her mouth tilted downward a bit.

She's not burned, not a scratch or blood. Maybe she did live, and is just sleeping off the fatigue that resulted when she used such a spell?

I ventured close enough to smell the burnt hair. As I reached to touch her face the image was swept away by a breeze. Leaving her charred body lying in its place.

I wept bitter tears then, how could the wind steal her away from me? She was my mother, without her how could I live? If I stayed and built another cottage who ever had done this would likely do the same to me.

If I left, where would I go? I could work, but who would put their own lives in danger for letting me work?

I sat by my mother's body until the sun began to set behind the mountains. I knew I had to do something to protect my mother's body from wolves searching out food after the hard winter, so I stood and started to build a cairn over her body.

As I was about to set a stone down I spotted my mother's old ring. A silver band with a stone the size of a pebble embedded in it. The stone, which was the color of amber, had caught my eye. I picked it up and set it into my apron pocket.

When I had finished the moon was already high in the dark sky. Too tired to run, but scared of the creatures that hunted in the woods, I set a fast walk to the God Tree.

It rested nearly above the small spring. Its thick branches reaching over the spring and far onto the other side.

Tired as I was, I was determined to climb up to my special hollow.

Using the same gnarls for footholds when I was smaller, I climbed to the hollow in the tree. It was near the middle of the tree so high up that if you fell you would most likely die. But I had never felt fear when I came up to this spot, it was almost the opposite. The tree gave me comfort.

I took out the ring and looked closely at it. My mother had once told me that this ring had been passed through the women in our family since the beginning of the hills. She told me that the color of the stone foretold something within the woman's life. Birth, life, soul, death.

The ring had been given to my mother because she would die by the color, amber fire. Did it mean the same for me? Was my future set in stone, or could I still change it?

You cannot change the future any more than you can change the past.

She had told me that too.

#~#~#

Three dark wolves ran through the underbrush, chasing their prey with the stealth of natural killers.

But they did not hunt to eat; this time they were hunting what they thought to be a being unfit to carry wolf blood in his veins.

The silver wolf-dog ran to a giant tree, stumbling with his injuries. His blood spouting out various gashes the three wolves had given him. He lay down by the tree, exhausted to the point of fainting.

But when his head grazed the ancient God Tree new strength entered his body.

So he ran on in the night, wolves close on his tail. Leaving only a pool of blood by the tree with the girl sleeping in it.

#~#~#

The sun's early light pierced through the thick leaves of the tree. My back leaned against its thick trunk.

I looked down towards the ground and saw a fresh blood stain. After looking myself over for any gashes I concluded that an animal must have killed another while I was sleeping.

I wiped away the tears that had sprung from my eyes while I dreamt of my mother. Then a little shakily climbed down the trunk with the ring, a bow and arrows that I had made myself, and a thin dagger.

Once my feet touched the dew soaked earth I held the dagger up against my black mane and with one quick swipe cut off the outlandish dark mass.

Unlike the girls who lived in the village my hair had been black, not brown or golden. They spoke me of like I was a deformed animal, or a witch. And with my dark brown eyes they called me stranger still. I couldn't fit in with them, there was no one to say goodbye to before I left to find my father.

Only a moment before had I remembered what my mother had told me about my outlaw father, Robin Hood. I would go to seek him in Sherwood Forest and tell him what had happened.

Perhaps he would remember Celandine, my mother. If he did then I would tell him of myself. Kagome, daughter of Celandine.

But if he didn't want me, or was ashamed of me then I would be forced to travel on my own. Far away from this hurtful land, into the arms of death, and go to see my mother instead.

So I left in the direction I thought was the way to Sherwood Forest.

#~#~#

Along the way I stumbled upon a merchant trying to sell some of the poor quality clothing to a group of village girls. As he tried to convince him that his wares were one of a kind, the girls taunted him and giggled at his antics.

I fingered the few coins that I had and set a fast walk to the cart, pushing some girls out of the way. They hardly took notice of me until I asked to buy some of the boy's clothes.

Starcha, the leader, seemed to realize it was me. She pointed to me and led the other girls on a rant about my finally becoming a boy. I was ignoring them fine until one of them mentioned how my mother was just as mannish and odd.

My face burned with anger and I turned to the girl and swung my fist at her face as hard as I could.

She fell holding her face and calling for help, her nose was bleeding all over her dress and had squirted at another a girl as she fell. Before anyone could catch me and arrest me for it I ran farther up the path.

Once, I thought I heard horse hooves so I jumped off the path and ran into the deep of the forest, the thick undergrowth kept tripping me and I fell more than once. When I was finally out of breath my elbows and knees were bloody, my hands had gashes all over and splinters were stuck all over my sore body.

I lay down and wished I was back home with my mother and that somebody would just be my friend, I hated traveling alone.

My eyes closed and I went into a fitful sleep, dreaming of amber eyes.

#~#~#

I could smell something on the slight breeze that flowed through the forest. I remembered smelling that scent when I had been by that tree.

I ran to the smell with my tail wagging, like it had a mind of its own. I never could stop it, even when it started at an embarrassing time. Like when someone rubbed my ears just the right way.

Maybe whoever had the smell would want someone to travel with. I needed to be moving. I could barely move around the forest when Kouga and those damn wolves are always trying to kill me.

I shook my head and ran on to the source of the smell.

I almost missed the girl lying on the ground with a coarse brown coat covering most of her small body. Her short ebony hair fanning out in all directions as she slept.

Slowly, I came closer to her curled up form. She didn't seem like she was going to reach behind her and pull out a bow and arrows. But girls were always like that, you just can't understand what they're going to do next.

I started sniffing around her, all I could smell was her scent mixed with blood.

Seeing the scratches I started licking them as my instincts kicked in.

It tasted disgusting, but maybe she wouldn't kill me if I helped her like this. Or she could think that I'm eating her.

Either way.

#~#~#

I woke up to feeling something rubbing on my knees. When I opened my eyes I found a huge wolf standing above me licking my knees.

I did the first thing that came to mind; I rubbed those cute little ears!

The wolf stopped licking, giving me look that said "Keep doing that and I'm gonna start eating you" but his tail wagged anyways.

I giggled a little at this strange wolf, maybe it was part dog? Whatever it was it was a guy, and it seemed this was the friend I had asked for.

I looked at him more closely as he stood waiting for me to do something.

He had a sleek silver coat with black on his forehead and neck. He had dirt on his underbelly and mud on his paws. There were patches of new fur that looked like they were just coming in. He had long nails with sharp points almost unnaturally that way. And I could see the tips of his fangs poking out from the sleek muzzle.

His eyes were purplish with a hint of gold in them. They didn't seem like animal eyes, more like he was a boy stuck in a wolf's body.

Finally he grew tired of me staring at him and turned his back to me and lay down. His puffy silver tail with a black tip waved back and forth in front of my face. Tickling my nose.

Soon I could feel a sneeze coming up, and when it came out in a loud whoosh of air the wolf-dog seemed to glare at me.

I reached my hand towards his muzzle, "Do you have a name?"

His expression seemed even more boy like than before, confusion obvious in his eyes.

#~#~#

A name? I never thought of one. And never had one.

Mother had called me baby and everyone else calls me half breed.

The girl said something, "My name's Kagome. And if you don't mind I'll call you…Hmmm, dog wolf. Yea! Inuyasha." (AN: I know that's not what Inuyasha means but in this fic that's what it means.)

She's going to call me dog-wolf? That's real creative. At least it's not a girl's name.

Again she was talking to me. Couldn't she tell I wanted to sleep?

"Guess you must not have a home either. I'm searching for my father. Hopefully he'll want me. But he's all the way in Sherwood Forest. Do you want to come with me? I don't like to travel alone, especially in forests that have hungry wolves in them."

Yeah, but you aren't being chased by them…Wait! Did she ask me to come with her?

This was too good to be true, now she can't chase me away when I follow her. Hopefully.

And she'll get all the food and I won't have to run around chasing rabbits. Stupid rabbits.

Wonder why she doesn't have a home. Did she run away or did she get kicked out.

I guess I'll have to find out.

#~#~#

Inuyasha pushed his head into my side; maybe he wanted me to talk more?

"Ummm, you want me to talk more?"

He shook his head and gave a low whine.

"Okay, me and mother lived in a little glen, in our cottage that my grandparents had built when they had first searched for a place to live. It was really beautiful in the spring when the plants would bloom and get new leaves. She would always sing a song about spring to celebrate it and we'd stand out there for awhile until I got hungry and she laughed and went inside to make me something.

That first day of spring we'd always take it easy and save our hard chores for the next day."

I sighed my heart was breaking remembering all those good times with her in the spring. It had been our private holiday.

Inuyasha looked at me with a bewildered gaze; I guess he had never had a family. The only thing I thought worse then my mother dying was not knowing her at all.

A tear escaped and ran down my cheek, to drop off into Inuyasha's fur.

#~#~#

It was strange hearing her talk about her mother in such a loving way. When I heard the story I discarded my idea that she had been kicked out or that she ran away.

When she came to the ending her voice was quivering and her brown eyes were so sad.

Then I felt a drop of water fall onto my fur, I turned and saw that the girl was trying to hold back tears. Something terrible must have happened if she was this upset.

I put my paw on her hand that was pressed against the earth, careful not to scratch her with my nails.

She looked at me and pulled me into a hug. Her arms were wrapped around me and she sobbed into my coat. I felt awkward and couldn't do anything but let her cry. I could vaguely hear her sobbing out a name and the word mother.

It was turning dark by the time that I felt her loosen her grip on my neck, and heard her deep slow breathing.

I eased her to the ground and laid her in a soft bed of flattened leaves.

Then I got up, put on my disguise and went to go patrol where the girl was sleeping.

#~#~#

I might add more to this chapter later. But I really like this idea but I'll be at camp with a friend from this Sunday to next so I can't update anything for that week. Hope you all enjoyed the beginning!