Collection of Nonsense by Itsumademo
Prompt: Discovery
Bi-Monthly Dokuga_Official Contest
Title: Stranger, Friend, or Faerie
Author: Itsumademo
Prompt: Discovery
Genre: Friendship
Rating: K
Word Count: 1358
Length: Oneshot
Summary: The forest on his mother’s estate was without a doubt his favorite place. He’d wandered the vast acreage often, but this was the first time he’d stumbled upon a faerie.
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I think i'm the only one who posted for this prompt, but oh well--NEVERMIND, someone else did :) This piece is actually based on a scene from a story idea i have had lying around for these two. I have no idea if anything will ever come from this, but it's what came to mind after i wracked my brain for ideas about what to write using this prompt.
To help avoid any possible confusion in the first couple paragraphs, they are both kids in this piece and it's modern entirely--no demons, etc. I'm thinking Kagome is seven or eight and Sesshoumaru is about eleven.
VOTING IS OPEN NOW!! go here: dokuga-official.livejournal.com/4968.html if you'd like to vote on one of the three pieces :) please please PLEASE do not vote for me just because you came from here, pick the one YOU like best. oh, and of course you do not have to vote, but i want to help get the word out, the other pieces deserve much love too ^-^
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The woods beyond his mother’s large estate had always been his safe space, his sanctuary. Calm and quiet to a point, the kind of quiet that allowed him to think without delving too deep, the light sounds of nature keeping him aloft.
While he often spent his time wandering the grounds, today he’d ventured out primarily because an unavoidable stay with his father and the man’s ‘new family’ had come around again. He didn’t see his father much, and although he didn’t particularly dislike his father’s wife or his young half brother, he wouldn’t say he liked them either. Every one of the few trips felt awkward somehow, and Inuyasha had only become more bothersome now that he was older than a terribly curious and mildly destructive toddler. Sesshoumaru believed the boy had passed his eighth birthday not too long ago; he honestly wasn’t sure, nor kept track, not intentionally.
A gentle gust of cool wind swept through the trees, each one swaying, their leaves rustling softly, all colored in varying shades of green. Spring was probably Sesshoumaru’s favorite season. There was a calm to the lightened atmosphere of the world, the temperature warm but most always laced with cool breezes, the taste and scent of rainfall, he even enjoyed the touch of the sun bathing his pale skin in warmth. Of course, he’d never tell anyone all that. Not that he had anyone to tell in the first place. Outside of his tutors, his mother was the only other person he saw on an interactive basis, and she generally wasn’t home too often. Typically, Sesshoumaru would deny he was lonely. He preferred his solitude. But…at times, when his emotional resolve weakened, a small part of him would admit to wishing for company. Not much, just one person would do. Unfortunately, even if he were given the opportunity to make a friend, he was so accustomed to being alone, not to mention his natural disposition toward quietness to begin with, that he likely wouldn’t manage a single thing. His schooling also extended beyond that of other children his age, so he’d likely not find any who’d be interested in his friendship. He’d probably be considered weird, or stuck up.
Sesshoumaru had always considered himself cursed.
As he reached out to brush his fingers along a blossoming flower, the red vibrant and its petals looking soft, a rustle and gentle thumping far too rhythmic and loud to be natural startled him straight again.
Shoving a tall bunch of rich verdant leaves speckled with tiny pink blossoms, the bush trembling lightly, was a young girl. She stumbled a little as her dress caught on a branch, the thin wood snapping as she tugged free.
He was quiet. Primarily because he was struck speechless. It wasn’t often that Sesshoumaru saw another child close to his age beyond his half brother, who was still a couple years his junior, and he couldn’t imagine how he’d ever encounter one on his mother’s private estate. He studied her as she inspected the hem of her light blue dress, a small frown twisting her mouth. The girl was…lovely. Her hair was long and wavy, tumbling over one shoulder like bunched silk, the color like midnight, like a raven’s glossy wings, the rays of the sun highlighting the blue sheen. She had pale skin, much like him, but hers seemed softer somehow, smooth and flawless, and while his lips were likewise pale, hers were rosy and full, a slight cupid’s bow on the upper one. Sesshoumaru had read about pretty young beings who appeared in the woods. Faeries. And if he were careful and lucky enough to catch one, he could request a wish be granted in exchange for the faerie’s freedom.
When the girl finally glanced up, she jolted a little, a gasp escaping her as her eyes widened for just a brief moment. He hadn’t intended to startle her, but apparently he’d been so quiet and she so lost in her inspection, the girl hadn’t noticed him.
Only a moment slipped by before the girl’s expression shifted dramatically, a large, warm smile painting her gently heart-shaped face. "Hello," she greeted, her voice light and melodic.
Yet again he was surprised, having not expected the kindhearted response. Although, he did recall reading that faeries could be tricksters. So then, perhaps this was a trick?
Eyeing her warily, he asked with a subtle, inquisitive tilt of his head, "how did you get here?"
She sighed, her smile drooping, "I don’t know," she mumbled, "I can’t really remember… I, uhm, I think I’m lost." Her grin returned, though slightly sheepish.
"Lost," he tipped his head a little more, a slender brow raised. How could a woodland creature be lost in the very woods it hailed from?
For a slow few seconds she eyed him, then, suddenly, started giggling, her faintly rosy cheeks rounding and her large blue eyes bright and warm with evident but restrained mirth.
More baffled and frustrated than ever, Sesshoumaru narrowed his gaze just a little and demanded, somewhat less forcefully than he’d wanted, "why are you laughing?"
"It’s nothing…" she giggled more, "it’s just…you looked so confused." She held a small hand over her grinning mouth to try and conceal her laughter.
His annoyance ebbing as his confusion took precedence again, he asked in earnest, "how is that funny?"
Biting back her laughs, the girl dropped her hand and brought it behind her along with her other, likely interlocking them at her back. Tipping her head to her shoulder, her raven waves falling with the movement, she said with another large grin, "don’t worry about it, okay?"
Running his golden eyes up and down the small girl before him, he concluded that she could not be a faerie. She was too…strange, but in the wrong way, like she was normal and yet wasn’t. Definitely not a mythical creature who was able to grant him a wish.
After a moment of reflection, he said, "this forest belongs to my family. If you are lost, I can lead you out."
Her face brightened, her blue eyes wide and her full lips smiling even bigger as she gasped in excited relief. Without the slightest hesitation, she stepped toward him, closing the space between them quickly until there was less than a foot left, and leaned in.
"Really?!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.
He instead leaned back, wide-eyed himself and very surprised at the breach into his usually well-kept bubble of personal space. Unused to being so emotive, or around someone so expressive, he tried to swiftly wipe away his shock and return to his more careful mask of indifference that he’d been working on.
"Yes, really," he replied, "why else offer if I did not mean it?"
The girl cocked her head a little with a humored twist of her lips, like she wanted to laugh again but was holding it back.
Furrowing his brow, he inquired with uncertainty, "what?"
"Nothing," she shook her head with a smile. Then, reaching out suddenly, she took one of his hands in hers, the unexpected gesture surprising him once more. "Come on, let’s go!" she turned on her heel, the scuffed black of her shoes twisting in the grassy dirt, and tugged gently on him to follow.
Still a tad dazed, Sesshoumaru gave in to her pull and started trailing after her, staring at the shiny green ribbon holding a small portion of her long raven waves at the back of her head. A part of him realized that she was the lost one, so why was she doing the leading? But the other was merely noticing how warm her hand was in his and how much he actually liked it. He couldn’t recall a time he’d ever felt this sort of warmth from anyone. Not even his parents.
Soon his fingers lightly gripped back and he said calmly, "turn here," directing his seemingly carefree leader as the two headed out of the forest, strangers, hand in hand.
Or, perhaps at last he’d unwittingly discovered a friend.
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~itsu