Snow of the Moon, Ice of the Sun by Alex Negron

Chapter 1

“Fur black as night will cover your skin. You will not speak, but howl at the moon. Your nails will sharpen into claws. Only during the nights of the full moon will you shed your furs. You will have no need of them, for you will be as cold as ice on a midwinter’s night.”

Bones cracked and popped. Blue black fur grew at an alarming rate. She tried to scream, but that ended in a distinctly canine howl. Muscles developed where there shouldn’t have been any. She writhed and twisted and clawed at the earth in a desperate bid for release from the agony that was flowing over her. Darkness and light enveloped her aching body as the change took place.

She cursed the witch that had casted the dark spell upon her.

She cursed the hanyou that had plotted her downfall.

She cursed herself for falling into their hands.

Scraps of fabric, green and white in color, floated to the ground. She snarled at both figures, her hackles rising in fury and fear. The hanyou laughed at her, his red eyes gleaming maliciously from underneath his white furs.

“Run, run my little miko, I will come for you later, when the moon is full.”

She turned and ran, her paws barely touching the ground as she sought to lengthen the distance between her and the hanyou. There was no telling what he would do to her, and her new form was still strange to her. Could she even access her powers in that form?

For three days she ran, she stopped for nothing and nothing stopped her. The thought of going back to her companions passed through her mind, but she shook it away, she would only endanger them more. She couldn’t do that to them, she just couldn’t. A growl was all that was needed to discourage any interlopers. It was when she first stopped, to drink from a stream of clear and fresh water on the third day, that she smelled a familiar scent.

Rin?

Pushing her snout into the air, she sniffed and when she found the scent of the child’s blood in the air, she growled. Taking off, she ran faster than she ever had, fear taking root in her freezing heart. She followed the scent, identifying the ones of her attackers, oni, three of them. With one last rush of speed, she landed in between the orange kimono clad child and the youkai.

Hearing the tiny child’s whimpers behind her sent her instincts into overload. A dome of shining, blue energy encased the little girl while she stalked her prey, searching for their weaknesses and attempting to frighten them away. Black fur stood on end and gleaming ivory fangs were bared. The same immaculate energy that protected the girl and encased her in its sacred protection was released from her body in threatening waves. Yet, instead of a protective energy, this one screamed of death and destruction, one that grew angrier when one of the oni spoke in their primitive language.

“Give girl!”

She growled in return, it was clear what was meant. Over my dead body.

Rin sat in the center of the dome, the pearlescent azure energy reassuring her and healing her wounds. Fearfully, she watched the battle and wondered at the black creature that had appeared from seemingly nowhere and had protected her. At first glance, she thought it was a wolf (and that frightened her) but after looking closely, the creature more resembled a giant, wolf-sized fox than anything. It had ebony hair that was almost blue in its darkness with large, lustrous sapphire eyes. They reminded her of Kagome-oneesama. Even the sparkling, healing energy reminded her of Kagome-oneesama’s gentleness and sweetness.

She had to end the fight quickly, Rin had been hurt and she wasn’t sure as to how seriously. Even with the creation of the barrier (that had surprised her), she wasn’t sure how long it would last or how powerful it was. Could it withstand the blows of the oni if she failed in protecting Rin?  She wasn’t quite sure of her abilities in this form…so it all came back to her first thought: she had to end the fight quickly.

With the swipe of one great paw, she was able to rip out the throat of one the looming enemies. It fell immediately to the ground, her aim having been right, but as she landed back on the ground, the club of one of the other oni’s caught her in the side. There was the sickening crunch of bone and a slick wetness in her side, her ribs were broken. Panting, she struck again, tearing off the head of one of the remaining demons and an arm of the other. Spitting the slightly green colored blood of the ogre demons onto the grass in disgust, she tensed herself, readying her body for the final hit. A bloodcurdling roar escaped her as her maw clasped around the thick neck of the oni and tore it to shreds, spraying the once pristine clearing with gore. Panting, she made her way to Rin and nuzzled her, searching for any wounds. There were none.

Sighing in relief, she plopped down to rest, the wound in her side having bleed greatly and drained her of strength. Will I heal like a youkai? With a wry glance at the tear in her flank, she concluded that it did look smaller. But I wonder…why was Rin being chased by the oni?

Even though she had healed completely, it was only when Sesshomaru stepped into the clearing that she dropped the protective dome and left. She glanced back to see the shocked look on his usually impassive face and fled.