Crash Landing [Byakko / Jaken]

[Rin]

Rin screamed as A-Un charged down from the sky, breathing fire at the demons on the ground below them. Apparently, these demons were some kind of threat to them, although she did not understand why, as they were so far down below. The sudden movement and change in direction had startled her. Normally, Rin would control A-Un; but Jaken was with her and he had wanted to be in charge.

Of course, Jaken wanted to abuse A-Un's fire power to kill the weak demons, although it was not necessary. "Master Jaken, I thought we were supposed to be looking for food!"

Jaken did not respond, and she assumed he was having too much fun with A-Un. Rin noticed though, out of Jaken's blind driving, that they were heading straight for the roof of a shrine. Her eyes widened as she grabbed on to Jaken's shoulders,"Master Jaken! Look out!"

Rin shut her eyes, as they crashed straight into the shrine. They broke through the wooden roof, and landed roughly on the floor with a large thud. Rin rolled off of A-Un, and on to the floor's surface. She laid there for a few moments, before sitting up slowly while holding her head.

"Are you okay, Master Jaken?" She asked as she crawled over to him, but before he could respond Rin noticed a strange demon lying on the ground a few feet ahead of them.

She crawled away from Jaken and toward the stranger, 'Is he alive...? she thought with a frown. Rin felt a bad feeling in her gut as she thought of the possibility that their crash may have hurt - or even killed - this demon. Rin placed a hand on his shoulder, and attempted to gently shake him.

"...Are you going to be alright?" Rin asked in a concerned tone. 'Please, be alright...'

[Byakko the Wanderer]

To be truthful, the youkai nesting on the ground below had, in fact, been set to attack the approving group. Sensing their energy, they had rallied to protect their nesting site, a vast field of overgrown foliage crawling over the skeletal remains of an old human village. The place had been wiped away years ago by a flood, and the reek of decaying human flesh had seemed to ideal place for weaker class demons to make their nests. The invasion of Rin, A-Un, and Jaken had not been premeditated, and so the youkai had rushed into a flurry of panicked attack.

And were consequently incinerated by the flaming breath of an irate, two-headed dragon.

But it was not the youkai that would prove to be the true point of interest, for it was when the trio crashed through the roof of the old shrine and cracked the floorboards of it that Byakko began to wake.

The shrine itself had been overgrown and broken into by the vines and ivy from outside, but the intrusion of plant life had not been enough to break the seal. The flora had overtaken Byakko's prone form, curling around his body to effectively trap him against the wall. Ivy clung to his skin and hair, dirt and dust forming cakes of filth in the long white tresses. His clothing, made from threads woven by a youkai seamstress, had weathered the thousands of years well enough. He looked almost frozen in time, save for the dust and foliage that had settled over him in his long hibernation.

But it was the flowered scent of a human, and the singed, burning smell of dragon- and something like sour green fruit, too- that brought Byakko around fully.

His broad chest expanded slowly as he took in the first deep breath he had managed in a very long time. He parted his lips, allowed the scents of those nearby to waft over the delicate scent glands on the roof of his mouth. Definitely human, female, small. A dragon, too. And some sort of imp. And what were they doing here? Curious indeed, Byakko thought sluggishly, his eyelids flickering, and then parting.

And suddenly small hands were pressed to his shoulder. Small hands that felt so familiar, tiny fingers, and the small human female was blurred for a moment, and he saw orange hair and a grinning face and tiny, delicate stripes-

Byakko snarled suddenly and jolted, effectively forcing Rin off of his person. The vines and ivy snapped as he began to move, extricating himself from his imprisonment. Grunting and rumbling deep in his chest, Byakko slowly pushed himself to his feet. He growled, staring down his nose at the three people- well, one person, an imp, and a dragon- that had invaded his pace.

And then promptly fell to one side, groaning as his muscles seized up, and he realized how hungry, and very thirsty he was.

[Kikyo / Jaken]

Jaken did not like Ah-Un. Jaken sat up and looked at Rin. Rin was alive and he was thankful that Rin was alive. Jaken thought about how upset Sesshomaru would be if he had injured Rin, and Jaken shook his head. Jaken did not want to think about how upset Sesshomaru would become. He was prone to violence when he was upset.

Rin stood up and ran to an object in the shrine. Jaken followed Rin and told her, "Rin! Remain close to me!" Jaken stared at the object Rin had been so interested in when he realised it was not an object but a demon! Jaken shouted in fear and his shout alerted the weak demons he had been pursuing to their location.

The weak demons went to their location and tried to attack them! Jaken did what he did best and used the Nintojo to burn the weak demons. Jaken laughed when the weak demons were reduced to ash. Jaken kicked at the ash and decided that the ash was an improvement for them.

Jaken did not realise, but when he burned the weak demons to death Rin had gone to the demon on the floor that Jaken had mistaken for an object and woken it. Jaken turned around and saw the demon, with a emancipated torso and a gaunt face stumble to the back wall and collapse.

Jaken wanted to laugh at him, but he did not. Jaken did not know enough about this demon to laugh at it. Jaken approached the demon and knelt beside it. Jaken took a step back and covered his beak. "I think this demon is dead, Rin. He smells like a corpse. Let us leave him here."

Jaken began to walk away.

[Rin]

Rin fell onto her side with a gasp, her eyes shut tightly as she laid on the floor, trembling. She stayed that way for a few moments, until she heard a loud thud beside her - causing her to open her eyes.

The young girl stared at the large demon that was now lying beside her, groaning. He looked very tense, as if he were in a lot of pain. She didn't quite know what to do, but she figured that she could try to help him. She sat up slowly, afterward running her fingers through her hair a few times.

Jaken spoke, and Rin turned her head to look at him. "He is not dead, Master Jaken! He is..." She paused herself as she crawled over to the demon, and sat in front of him. "...He is very exhausted. I think he needs our help."

"Can you get up?" Rin thought that if he could get up, he could mount A-Un with them and they could take him somewhere safe.

Somehow, this scene reminded her of the time she first met Sesshoumaru in the forest outside her village. It was under very different circumstances, of course, but this was not the first time she ever tried to help a full-grown demon. Although this one could probably manage without her help, she didn't have the heart to leave him behind; he was alone and hurt - it was something she could relate to, as she had been a village orphan before she began to follow Sesshoumaru.

'There is a river not too far south from here, we could take him there...' They had stopped there earlier, so that Rin could get a drink of water. It would not be a long ride.

[Byakko the Wanderer]

There was a sweetness in the air that, after a moment, Byakko recognized as blood. Demon blood, from the cloying smell of it, and it clung to the air in a sickening way. Byakko clenched his teeth together, elongated canines grinding together. It hurt to be here, to be in this realm of waking again. It was so.. so different, and it hurt. His stomach clenched and his muscles tensed, and his youki poured out of him unimpeded. It had been so long...

He took a deep breath to steady himself, broad chest expanding as he calmed his energy. There had been demons here, and there were still some here, too, that imp, and the... the dragon, those damnable beasts- but no, it was not the same sort of dragon that had taken his Amaya- and the girl, she was human, and so what was she doing in the company of these youkai? And he sensed something else, further away perhaps, something stronger.

He grunted softly, and as he calmed, his youki began to pour through his muscles, energizing him. He was not hurt, and he could have survived longer than he had with no food, and there was no need to scare the child. The child, with her brown eyes and black hair, who looked nothing like his Kaiserin, but who was small and human, and tugged at his heartstrings in a way he had not felt in years. Painful.

Slowly, he pushed himself up, as his demonic energy gave his muscles strength. He glanced down at the little girl and growled softly. His voice refused to work, vocal chords weak from years and years and years of disuse. He coughed sharply, and then looked away, chest heaving. The urge to flee was prominent in him; in his weakened state, his animalistic tendencies tended to take over. And he wanted to run.

...but to run was not the right option here. No. He peered down at the girl as he stood, let out a slow breath. "...I am... not... hurt." he informed her, to calm her fears. Oh, it hurt to speak. He lifted his head, inhaling sharply. What was that scent? Some powerful youki, something he did not recognize. Troublesome, and... worrisome.

[Kikyo / Jaken]

There was a loud snort. Jaken had snorted at the comment that the demon was not hurt. "You are not hurt but you cannot stand and you cannot speak, or at least you cannot speak with ease?" Jaken shook his head. The kappa understood that Rin would not leave this demon here.

Although, Jaken assumed that what this demon wanted was to remain here. Jaken recognized fear because he felt fear often. Jaken told the demon, "I do not know you and you do not know me. My name is Jaken. My mount is Ah-Un. And this girl is Rin." Jaken took a step closer to the demon.

"I apologize about Rin. Rin would like to know if you would like to come with us." Jaken thought that he had to translate for Rin. Rin spoke with her heart and not with her mind. Jaken continued, "You do not have to. You might be happier here." Jaken began to feel worried.

Jaken was worried because this demon appeared to be becoming stronger. Although he looked to be a living corpse earlier, this demon now looked healthier. Jaken was worried about how strong this demon would be when this demon was at full strength. The kappa gripped his nintojo and thought, "I must be careful."