InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A New Twist ❯ A lesson in flying ( Chapter 23 )

Disclaimer: As much as I hate to admit it, I do not own Inu-Yasha or anything Inu-Yasha related.

 

Chapter 23

 

Ether gasped softly in her sleep as something wet and pleasant slid across her skin where Sesshomaru's mark was. She shivered and slowly opened her eyes, sleep slipping away from her. She turned her head to see what was creating the pleasant sensation only to lock eyes with Sesshomaru. She watched as he ran his tongue along her shoulder and neck the sight of his tongue caressing her skin and the feeling of his tongue running across her skin made her shiver in anticipation. A light blush spread across her cheeks and she purred lovingly as Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around her tighter. `Wait…what?'

“Your arm!” she exclaimed as she ran a hand up and down the muscled appendage. It didn't look new, it looked perfect. Ether lifted up his arm and turned it a little so she could follow the stripes with her eyes. She heard a soft chuckle from behind her as she laced her fingers with his.

`Even though she has grown physically, she still has the innocence of a child,' Sesshomaru thought as he laughed softly as his mate explored his regenerated arm. “I believe when I marked you, your youki flared and helped to speed up the regeneration of my arm,” Sesshomaru said as he lifted his arm out of her grasp and used it to push himself up, he hovered over Ether, an arm on either side of her. Her wings retracted and folded tightly against her back and her tail wrapped around one of his legs. His hair fell around him, creating a curtain around Ether, blocking out the rest of the room. He stared at her for a long time, watching as her blush deepened in color. He grinned and leaned in to give her a light kiss. “How are you feeling today?” he asked as he sat back to allow her to sit up.

Ether rubbed her cheeks, her blush still a deep crimson. She took a quick inventory on any aches and pains she might be feeling. Surprisingly, she wasn't as sore as she had first thought she would be. “Alright I suppose,” Ether said as shifted and pushed herself up to lean against the head of the bed. She blushed again as her chest was uncovered. She looked at herself and realized a little more deeply just how much her body had changed. She lifted a hand and gently, investigating exactly how her larger breast felt. She poked gently and cupped her left breast. Before she could investigate further though, a clawed hand reached into her sight and plucked her hand away from her chest.

“What are you doing mate?” Sesshomaru asked as he got tired of watching Ether touch herself.

Ether giggled and shook her head. “I didn't realize how much I've changed,” She said as she looked down at her flat stomach and curved waste. She flicked her tail and lifted the spiked tip to eye level. It was way longer then her tail used to be, and the scales looked like they were a darker gold. She pushed herself up off of the bed and looked down at herself. Her feet were also way different. Before her change, they had looked like normal human feet. Now though, they were paws. Scaled and clawed paws. She stretched out a wing and watched as the membrane stretched. One wing alone was almost as long as the room if she stretched it out far enough.

Sesshomaru stayed propped up on his side as he watched his mate explore her new body. He grinned as he imagined what she would look like when she was heavy with pups. `How many will she have?' he wondered as he watched her. Most dragons had 2 to 3 dragonlings at a time.

It took a few minutes of discovering herself for her to realize that Sesshomaru was watching her intently. “Um…Sesshomaru, what's so interesting?” She asked as she pulled a robe over her body. She held it closed as she watched Sesshomaru push himself off of the bed.

“You are Ether. Your curiosity is very amusing,” Sesshomaru said as he stepped close and pulled Ether into a loving embrace. “You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen,” He said as he laid a kiss on her head.

Ether blushed and tilted her chin to look up at Sesshomaru. “I'm not beautiful,” she muttered in embarrassment.

Sesshomaru chuckled and nuzzled the top of her head. “Of course you are. And you'll be even more beautiful while you carry our pups.”
Ether giggled and squirmed to try and get free. “Pups? That won't be for awhile,” She said with a laugh.

Sesshomaru frowned and held his mate in his arms tighter. “For awhile? No, you carry our pups now.”

Sesshomaru's words made Ether freeze in surprise. “What…what do you mean now?” She said as her mind started to work out what he meant.

`What was the human word again?' Sesshomaru wondered. He had heard Richard and his mate use the word many times. “You are pregnant with our pups. Surely you realized that?” He asked with open curiosity. From his knowledge, Ether should know at least what would happen during mating season.

Ether was in shock for a few minutes before finally pulling free from her mate. She turned and looked at Sesshomaru, anger glittering in her eyes. “I'm WHAT?” She yelled, more in shock then anger. `How can I be pregnant? We only did…once…but…I'm too young,' she thought as she felt Sesshomaru try to pull her back into his arms. She pulled away again and slumped onto the bed. She still had to finish school, get a job, live her life!

“Ether? Are you alright?” A calm voice said from the door of their room.

Sesshomaru turned his head and growled softly at the intruder, which happened to be Sarah.

Sarah hmphed. “Don't growl at me mister, I'm just here to help,” Sarah said, her hands on her hips. She heard Richard return Sesshomaru's growl with a snarl. “Oh shut up!” She yelled as she marched over to Ether. “Males, can't live with them and can't…no…we can live without them,” Sarah said making Ether grin. She sat down on the bed, much to the growls and snarls emitting from the males in question.

Ether growled suddenly on her own and launched herself at Sesshomaru. “Will you stop?” she said as Sesshomaru tried to hold onto his struggling mate. Ether hadn't been able to knock Sesshomaru down, but she was squirming enough to make him stumble back a little. Needless to say, her sudden attack on him made him stop growling and snarling at Richard.

Sarah watched as Sesshomaru slowly tried to calm his struggling mate and then sighed. “I'm guessing you weren't expecting to become pregnant?” Sarah asked as Richard leaned against the doorway.

Ether slowly slumped in Sesshomaru's arms, tears prickling her eyes. “I can't get pregnant…not now…I'm too young,” she said unaware that in Feudal Japan girls as young as ten became pregnant. It was perfectly fine for a seventeen year old to become pregnant. Her mind was modern, she was a twenty-first century girl. When she came from believed that getting pregnant before the age of 18 was taboo…then again even that was too young to many cultures.

“The fact is you are pregnant and you are not too young,” Sesshomaru said seriously, any laughter that had been in his face was gone.

Ether tilted her head and looked at Sesshomaru through tearful eyes. “Sesshomaru, I can't be pregnant. I still have school to finish, I have no idea what my mother will think, and what about Kagome? I'm just not ready to be pregnant.”

Sesshomaru held his sobbing mate and looked at Sarah and then Richard questioningly.

Sarah sighed and began to explain, figuring Richard would be too much of a brute at the moment. “Sesshomaru…in the time we come from mates plan for children a long time in advance. Also, the female is typically in her late twenties and has finished her education,” Sarah said carefully. She didn't add that there were still cases in the world which girls got pregnant in their teens. That little nugget of information might make Sesshomaru confused.

Sesshomaru nodded understandingly. He looked down at his mate, worry for her gleaming in his eyes.

Ether sniffled and nodded. “I wasn't planning on having kids till way later in my life,” she muttered. Then again she hadn't been planning on mating this early either. She knew though, that even though she hadn't been planning on having a baby that she would never be able to have an abortion.

“Everything will be alright,” Sesshomaru whispered to Ether, his cold mask slowly slipping into place now that the current trauma seemed to have been overcome.

Ether nodded mutely and closed her eyes. Everything had to turn out alright, it had too.

 

“Eek! Sesshomaru I'm not so sure!” Ether said as she and Sesshomaru hovered about two stories off of the ground. It had been a week since Ether's change and Richard, the big mouth he was, suggested Ether start training. Of course, the first thing Sarah said was that Ether should learn how to fly. Then Sesshomaru had to get it in his head to drop Ether off of his cloud while Richard and Sarah observed in case Ether didn't at least glide.

`I've wanted to fly forever…but now…' now that she actually had the chance she was scared. For the past week Sarah and Richard had been making her strengthen her back muscles so she could hold herself up in the air. They said by now she should at least be able to glide. Now she just wanted to keep her feet planted firmly on the ground and not risk being a pile of ick on the ground from being dropped by Sesshomaru from his cloud.

“You have to learn,” Sesshomaru said as he nudge Ether closer to the edge of his cloud. Though he looked all serious and cool, he was laughing on the inside. Ether was acting like a child who was now getting something she wanted only to discover it wasn't what she thought it was.

“Can't I learn a little closer to the ground?” She asked, looking at Sesshomaru with big pleading eyes.

“No,” and with that he pushed her off the cloud. He heard her scream and chuckled. He didn't worry about his mate, for if she did fall Richard and Sarah were both prepared to catch her. Not only that, but he was fast enough to catch her himself if it came to that.

Ether closed her eyes and screamed, she fell about a foot until she suddenly slowed. She opened one eye slowly and then the other to see that she was drifting very slowly towards the ground. She uncurled her body and looked at her outspread wings in surprise and wonder. `I'm flying!' she thought ecstatically. She tried one of the wing tilts Sarah had showed her earlier and she drifted forward a little. That was about all she could do because right then her wings started to hurt from the strain of holding her up in the air. She tilted her wings back and drifted down towards the ground. When she finally touched down she slumped to her knees and laid her wings on the ground. That. Had. HURT.

“How are your wings?” Sarah asked as she touched down next to the sitting gold dragoness.

“They hurt,” Ether said simply as she glared up at Sarah. Her mate landed behind her and she felt his hands start to massage the base of her wings where they connected to her back. Ether moaned softly and leaned into his hands, her eyes closing in pleasure.

“We told you flying would strain your wings,” Richard said as he leaned against a tree just a few feet away. Ether and Sarah glared at him. “What? We did. Flying is never easy for anyone with wings when they first learn. Took me a couple months to build up the strength to glide for longer then thirty minutes,” Richard said as he examined his claws.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “That was because you would wear yourself out too much by practicing. If you had just relaxed more often instead of forcing your body to continue you would have been able to fly sooner,” Sarah said with her hands on her hips.

“Shows what you know. You were able to learn when you were young. I had to learn right after my change just like Ether now,” Richard stated, grinning at his mate.

Ether sighed and stood up, Sesshomaru taking a step back as she did. Her wings still felt tender, but she wouldn't strain herself.

“So…what now?” Ether asked as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“Now we go and eat lunch,” Sesshomaru said as he gently maneuvered Ether back towards the castle.

Sarah and Richard both grinned and nodded. “After that, I am afraid I must go on patrol,” Sesshomaru said with a trace of sadness.

Ether nodded understandingly. Sesshomaru had to take care of his lands, she knew that. “Alright.” She said with a bright smile. “Can I go get changed before we eat?” She asked suddenly. She was currently wearing a gi training outfit, and she had gotten overly used too wearing skirts and kimono's.

“I don't see why not,” Sesshomaru said. He glanced back at Sarah and Richard. Both nodded and Sarah looped arms with ether.

“I'll go with you. Maybe we'll take a quick dip in the hot springs before changing,” She said with a light giggle. Just then, Rin came running out of the castle and towards the group.

“Rin!” Ether said with a big grin, taking a step towards the happy girl only to suddenly stumble back. The aura coming off the young girl was larger then she remembered it being. Her knees felt suddenly weak and she felt Sarah brace her to keep her from falling. Ether knew Rin was only happy to see her, having been restricted from visiting for the past month or so.

Sesshomaru felt and saw the pain his young ward was suddenly putting his mate in and he intercepted Rin before she could get closer.

“Lord Sesshomaru! Rin is very happy to see Lady Ether outside again!” Rin exclaimed as she hugged Sesshomaru's leg, her smile large and excited. She started to let go of his leg to go to Ether when his arm darted out to stop her.

“Rin, Ether is still healing and should not be disturbed,” He stated calmly. Rin's smile faded and she pouted instead.

“What is wrong with Lady Ether?” Rin asked worriedly. She didn't want her friend to be hurt.

Sesshomaru sighed, thinking about what he would tell his ward. “Nothing too serious, but she is not yet ready to play with you. Perhaps in another week,” He stated as he gently turned Rin around. “Go find Jaken Rin.”
Rin's smile returned and she nodded, bounding off towards the castle to find Jaken, just as her Lord had told her to do. She was still worried though, Lady Ether looked fine but if Lord Sesshomaru said she was still healing then something really bad must have happened.

Ether released the breath she had been unconsciously holding as Rin had been approaching. She stifled a soft sob and felt Sarah's hand on her shoulder. “Poor Rin…” She muttered as she felt Sarah gently hold her up.

“Everything will be fine Ether, you're just a little to sensitive to humans still. In about a week you should be able to spend time with Rin again,” Sarah said soothingly.

Ether nodded and the two women walked towards the castle heading towards the hot springs. Sesshomaru watched his mate closely as he followed them. As his mate and Sarah turned and walked towards the hot springs he felt rather then saw Richard stand beside him.

“She has it worse off then many others,” Richard stated as he watched the two females wander off.

Sesshomaru looked at the red haired dragon out of the corner of his eyes. “Explain.”

Richard sighed softly and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Most dragonlings are hoarded and protected at all costs. If the parents of the dragonling die or go missing then the entire clan takes the orphan in. For some reason, Ether's mother never informed her clan about Ether's existence. By the time the clan found out Ether was alive, she was already nearly full grown. Demon families have been trying for years to adopt Ether, but something always came up. Either Ether wouldn't like the demon family, the demon government had disagreements with the human government about the secret relationship between the two races, or the demon family wasn't found expectable,” Richard said as he looked at Sesshomaru closely.

“The last family that tried to adopt her arrived too late. By then Ether had decided to live with her human relations and her step mother was protective of her. I was sent to retrieve Ether before her 17th birthday to ensure Ether would not be harmed. This situation though is much more to my liking then the original plan.” With that Richard turned and walked off towards his and Sarah's room to await his mate. He knew Sarah would try to rip his balls off if he tried to go to the hot springs to wait for her.

Sesshomaru frowned as he considered the information Richard had given him. He walked to his study, informing one of the servants to prepare lunch and to inform the others when it was ready. Once in his study he settled onto a cushion to think. His mind rotated around the thought that Ether had been raised around humans to the fact that the demon race was a secret and the fact that it seemed only the human government knew of it's existence. `Something must have happened between now and the future to have made the demon race go into secrecy…to trust only the highest of human officials,” He thought as he took out a brush and rice paper to make notes. He would have to speak with Ether, Richard, and Sarah about the future. He needed to know how to plan for the future, of his land, of his people, and of his mate and family.

 

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Ok, chapter 23 is done. Sorry it took so long, but this chapter was really boring to me. Sorta like a filler chapter. The next one should be better, we'll be going further into the plot with a visit from our favorite villain Naraku!