InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dangerous Assumptions ❯ Nature of Wolves ( Chapter 2 )

Dangerous Assumptions

Assumption= 1.To assume, 2. Accepting without proof

Author's notes= AGGrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhh. One would think that it wouldn't be so hard to find research on animal parenting....WRONG. There are only 2 books at my city library on the subject and neither says anything clear on how wolves and dogs discipline their young. I got a few things though...Like wolves, foxes are monogamous :) I also found some stuff out about child bearing and the like concerning humans. Well I go ahead the best I can, If I find anything later, I will simply revise the story.

Ch.2

The closer they came to the mountains, the more signs of wolves could be found. Miroku saw a paw print by the riverside while Sango saw some tuffs of fur on some low-lying branches of a bush. As Kagome neared the mountain base, a wolf howl pierced through the air, making both Sango and Miroku jump.

Sango tightened her grasp on the Hiraikotsu as she glanced a failed attempt to locate the numerous wolves she knew were hiding, surrounding them. Despite her station as her old village's best exterminator, she could not find the animals or the youkai that they work with. This truly vexed Sango to no end. `This is unbelievable! I am a seasoned demon exterminator! How can mortal animals that work with Youkais escape my detection?!'

Trying to hide a grin, Kagome watched as her friend kept darting her eyes from one side to the other. "Relax Sango, you're worrying for nothing. That howl was merely announcing our arrival on their territory. If they thought we were a threat, the wolves would have already attacked." Kagome looked at their perplexed faces while Shippo out-right laughed. Kagome decided to have some pity and explain. "That one night when Shippo and I stayed with Kouga and his tribe I had a chance to watch some of their behavior and listen to their various howling, afterwards I decided to read some books on wolves. I learned about some of their habits."

Not convinced that they were safe, Miroku stood at the ready. "Kagome-sama, we still should be cautious. Wolves are notoriously territorial, you can't assume that it's safe..."

Jumping on the monk's shoulder, Shippo patted him on the head. "Don't worry, this wolf pack is Kouga's tribe. They accepted Kagome after Kouga announced that he wants her as his mate. For ookami and kistune, to make that announcement it isn't a little thing to ignore."

Miroku was curious over what the young Kistune said. "Shippo what do you mean by `for wolves and foxes'?"

Looking back at the monk, Shippo realized that the humans are ignorant of certain facts of youkai life. "Both wolf and fox youkai are the same as the mortal animals when it comes to taking a mate. Unlike dogs that take many different mates and rarely make a long-lasting relationship; wolves and foxes are monogamous. They take one mate for life."

Shaking his head at the adults thick-headedness, Shippo took a deep breath, catching the scent of several wolf Youkais. Their scent revealed they were amused and not hostile. `It seems that they find it funny that a child is explaining such things to the adults. Hmmm still no Kouga yet. I wonder if he's on the very end of their territory.'

Before Shippo could continue, Old Myoga decided to speak up. "It's a serious matter to stake a claim for a mate, to say the name of your intended mate in front of the clan. When Kouga claimed he wanted Kagome as his mate, it gave her some protection since his clan now sees her as part of the clan. And since Kagome made it clear that Shippo is her adopted pup , her protection includes him."

"What about the rest of us?" Miroku asked only to jump out of his skin by one voice he wasn't expecting yet.

"Yo!" Kouga jumped down, taking the hands of his dream girl in his own. "Kagome, I'm glad you finally came to visit me. What's up?" With his usual `bad boy' grin, Kouga turned to the exterminator and monk, who both had a death grip on their weapons and stood alert as some of the ookami approached. "Heh, you two can relax. Like the pup said, my clan accepts Kagome. They see you as her guards, not some annoying enemy."

Ginta and Haggaku were among the group of wolf youkai to greet the visitors. After escorting Kagome's group into the den they approached her friends. Many of those who were still conscious at the end of the battle with the Gokurakucho remember the battle abilities of these two unusual humans and their demon allies. Those who were unconscious heard of the tale latter.

A wild tale of how a female human tossed a giant throwing weapon at the demon birds and killed two of them with one throw. Those who did not see it happen have refused to believe it; a human who can kill more than one of the hated birds with one throw? That's impossible when it's a difficult task for several wolf demons to take down one bird demon! Even more insane is the story of how the monk somehow shrunk and sucked in most of the Gokurakucho into his hand.

Then there is the large two-tailed cat that seems to have fire licking at its feet. "What!" Nearly everyone was shocked when the cat seemed to burst into flames, when they died away there stood a much smaller two-tail cat that jumped into the female warrior's arms to be held.

Of course, it is not every day that a one of the cunning kistunes takes a human for its mother. All of the clan knows of the tale of how Kagome shot a magical arrow that saved Ginta from being eaten by the enemy. Needless to say the wolf demon clan are quite curious of these strange allies.

As his tribe approached Sango and Miroku, Kouga lead Kagome to a far corner that looked familiar. `It's probable it this is the same corner that I sat in when he first kidnapped me.' After sitting down on the comfortable fur throw Kagome began to explain. "Kouga, I wanted to talk to you about how youkai discipline their young."

Dropping his trademark grin, Kouga looked over his shoulder at the young kistune. "That fox kit isn't giving you trouble is he? I thought he adored you…"

Kagome shook her head quickly to correct Kouga. "Oh no, it's not like that! Shippo minds me; its Inu-Yasha that problem is with." Ignoring Kouga's mumblings of `it figures it's the mutt that acts up', Kagome went on to explain the situation of Inu-Yasha keeps on bopping the kit on the head. As her story progressed, Kouga's eyes kept getting bigger.

Finally, the wolf prince could hold it in no longer… "Inukoro did WHAT?! Grrrr, I tell you this Inu-Yasha's behavior is not that of a parent…unless an abusive one." Kouga saw that bothered Kagome although she kept a calm face. He could smell the sudden nervousness in her scent.

After his anger had calmed, Kouga started to think. `Kuso! I need to think on this, if I answer well, I can get in Kagome's good graces. However, I won't make anything up, I'll just tell the truth. If I show that I take parenting seriously, which I do; then Kagome might realize that I'm serious about wanting to be her mate. Of course, the best way to show her is with the fox kit that she adopted. I've seen the way that she watches how dog-breath and I both treat Shippo ' Kouga snapped out of it as he noticed Kagome's stare. "Ah, this is something think about. Parenting is something we do instinctively, you know. A lot of beings don't think about it, we would merely act similar to how our parents had done. But I want to help you out, Kagome, so I'll try."

Kagome gave a dazzling smile at Kouga's willingness to sit down and talk calmly. `Huh, that was easier than I expected. Humph! I wish Inu-Yasha would have a conversation in a polite manner instead of screaming and cussing.' Taking a deep breath, she pushed all thoughts of her love-interest away in order to talk. "That's ok Kouga, in that regard it's a lot like humans."

Thinking of a way to approach the seeming elusive subject of parenting, Kouga realized there was one way to approach the subject that he could achieve two goals. One, he wanted to get to know more about Kagome. And two; if he could reveal more about himself perhaps she would be less nervous around him. "Kagome I have an idea, we can talk about our own parents and how they dealt with us. That way we can compare how youkai and humans approach parenting."

TBC

Note= I originally thought the wolf youkai with the patch of darker hair that Kagome saved was called Haggaku. I was wrong, it was Ginta. Haggaku is the one with the Mohawk. I couldn't tell who was who until I watched the episodes after the battle with the bird demons. That was when they called each other by name, so now I know

Ookami = wolf

Kistune = fox

Gokurakucho= birds of paradise , harpies= these are demon birds with humanlike head and torso

attached to a round ball of feathers that has a second face and wings.