Captivate Illumination by Modular Blues

Directionless For A Night

Sunlight was sifting through the woods as a solitary figure trekked by, camera in hand. The air was soothing and crisp with a trace of pine. It was a fine day to take a walk and some pictures, just in case the right moments arrived.

Sesshoumaru had always looked forward to his periodic retreats from his hectic schedule as a magazine photographer. Nicknamed "The Silver Flash," he was well-known in his field for his talent and artistry. Yet his personal life was shrouded in mysteries. Even his few friends and associates could hardly grasp this elusive artist. One of his idiosyncrasies seemed to be his annual hiatus from September to November, in his private vacation spot that nobody knew where it was.

He was going about his aimless walk when he saw a robin skittering across his path not far in front of him. Its feathers were a brilliant red except for the tail, which was gleaming silver.

Hello, new visitor, thought Sesshoumaru.

Almost by reflex, he had his camera ready. He was mildly surprised when another red robin with an iridescent blue tail fluttered next to the Silver-Tail. Rare find indeed. He smiled ever so slightly as he captured the two robins on live video.

Suddenly the sound of a car engine disrupted his concentration and scattered the birds. Sesshoumaru turned off his camera and frowned. Who on earth could possibly arrive at this neck of the woods?

He was fairly well-hidden behind a line of bushes and trees, but he could make out a black sedan slowing to a stop about twenty feet away. The engine was turned off and the interior lights came on. He could make out the silhouette of a woman reading what's probably a map.

So she's lost, he thought. He put his camera in his backpack and watched from a short distance back. This could turn out interesting.

Just last night, Kagome got a phone call from her mother that Grandfather was ill. The mid-September back-to-campus rush prevented her from getting tickets for the next few days, so she decided to rent a car and drove over the next morning.

She spent most of that night lying awake and worrying about her grandfather. And whenever she finally fell asleep it must be rather late, for she woke up at 3PM, way past her alarm. Fortunately she already packed, so she quickly embarked in the little Volkswagen.

Kagome had been driving for the past fives hours and was feeling light-headed. By the time she realized she was really lost, she found herself practically in the middle of a forest. The narrow worn-asphalt road she was driving on was lined with trees and bushes on both sides. She pulled over and checked her map. Sure enough, after some recollection efforts she discovered that she took a wrong turn an hour ago – and everything went downhill from there. Great. At least it's not totally dark yet.

She called her mom on her cell phone and told her that she got lost and would be staying at a hotel. She assured her mom that everything was fine, even though it obviously was not. Her mom seemed convinced. Kagome put her cell phone in her purse and felt a pang of hunger. Sighing, she got out of the car and opened the trunk for some snack bars.

As she lifted up the trunk cover, she tensed. She felt someone's presence nearby. She cautiously shifted closer to the woods and looked in one of the side rearview mirrors. Her suspicion was confirmed when she saw a person's ear and silvery hair partially covered in shadow.

Almost simultaneously, Sesshoumaru realized she saw him. Damn, so much for the cover.

The girl asked in a low voice, "who's there?"

Oh what the hell, Sesshoumaru emerged from behind the shrubs. Kagome whirled around, visibly frightened but doing a great job at staying calm. He stood about fifteen feet behind the car, calmly expressionless with a touch of amusement.

Kagome said, "I have nothing to steal, and – "

Sesshoumaru cut her off, "So I can tell." He found it vexing yet amusing that she would presume him to be a thief.

Kagome felt her anger rising. "If you'd excuse me, I have to drive three more hours away from this forsaken place."

Sesshoumaru checked his watch. It was half past eight, and the sun was lingering about the western horizon behind the trees. "It's gonna get dark soon and you'll get even more lost." He crossed his arms with a hint of a smirk.

Kagome frowned and narrowed her eyes. What's up with this annoying guy? Nonetheless, he had a point. Although what would she do in this middle of nowhere for a whole night?

Sesshoumaru eyed the girl in front him. She seemed exasperated and distressed at the same time. Somehow his interest in torturing the poor girl faded.

"I'm going back to my house. You can come if you want." He turned and walked into the forest.

Kagome quickly accessed her situation. Neither choice seemed that appealing: Alone in the car in the middle of a dark forest with possible bear attacks, or alone in a shelter of a stranger she just met. Well, she decided, she could handle people better than wild animals any day. And although that guy sure had a cavalier attitude, he seemed almost... trustworthy... if there's anything like that nowadays. She closed the car trunk and trailed after him before he completely disappeared into the woods.

It was growing rather dark amongst the trees, and Sesshoumaru flicked on his flashlight. He could hear shuffling footsteps and the girl's breathing not far behind him. He was walking on a barely discernible path, first made by his father more than twenty years ago and renewed by him every year.

So she decided to come after all, he mused. Shouldn't she know better than taking the words of a stranger?

The woods grew denser for a minute but slowly became sparse. They were climbing up a hill. After fifteen minutes, Kagome found herself arriving at a fairly large clearing. She was amazed at how well-concealed this area was from the outside. It's about the size of half a soccer field, and there was an oddly-shaped house in the middle of it. The house was cylindrical with a hemispherical dome as the roof, rather like – an observatory – the thought struck Kagome.

She entered the living room and was just standing around while Sesshoumaru was slinging off his backpack. "The kitchen is straight ahead and the bathroom is on your right..." a pause. "And the bedroom is on your left. You could take the bed if you want." He went upstairs and disappeared behind a door.

Kagome looked around. The living room wasn't large, but the sparsely arranged furniture seemed to expand the space. There was a long couch, a glass table, a lava lamp, and a bookshelf with astronomy, photography books and assorted novels.

The interior design was in a black-and-white scheme, but there were colors on the walls – photos of constellations and galaxies and aurora borealis. Kagome stared at them, astonished at the exquisite colors. Upon closer inspection, most of them had the signature of what looked like "Sam R." in the margin. The pictures had dates and numbers on them, from 20 years ago to fairly recently.

Then she noticed a framed photograph on the bookshelf, propped in a way that it's almost hidden. It was what looked like a five-year-old version of the guy next to his father and a sleek professional telescope. Both of them seemed happy. Kagome began to wonder why he was living here alone.

Sesshoumaru settled himself under the eyepiece of his father's telescope, now his. It looked like a great night for sighting auroras – clear sky and new moon. He connected the telescope to the computer display, appropriately circular-shaped to monitor the entire observable area from the dome. There was a small white circle on the screen, telling exactly where his telescope lens was relative to the dome. He designed the system with his father, the smartest and most knowledgeable man he ever knew, and thus the only one he respects. Yet the most he could do now was to grant his last wish.

Downstairs in the living room, Kagome took a book from the shelf, "Contemporary Photography," and began reading. Her ears were still pricked in case anything happened, but all was quiet except for insects chirping outside and the clock ticking 9:30.

Sesshoumaru went downstairs to grab a lemonade from the fridge. That was his favorite non-alcoholic drink while he's filming the marvels of a clear night sky. One of the things he learned from his father was to be sober while filming, out of respect for the filmed subject and the art of photography.

He saw Kagome sitting on the couch and reading something, or at least pretending to read. Their eyes met for a second. Kagome felt like she was completely scanned and analyzed in that one second. Sesshoumaru was utterly expressionless.

Kagome ventured, "Um, I really like these pictures..."

"Mmm." He remarked noncommittally, then proceeded to the kitchen. He emerged shortly after with his drink, "There's lemonade in the fridge and paper cups on the counter." and promptly went upstairs.

Kagome watched him go. She wondered what's up there. It looked like he's working hard with whatever he's doing upstairs. Anyway, she was a bit thirsty. Lemonade sounded like a fine idea.

She puzzled over this guy. Aside from his dashingly long silver hair, he also possessed a refined handsomeness when she got a better look at him by the living room lights. Yet there's also a certain wistfulness about him, some hidden secrets that she'd probably never find out about.

Kagome tried to read, but felt her mind going in and out. Suddenly there was a loud clank followed by a few curses upstairs. She instinctively rushed up the stairs to see what's going on.

There was a door at the end of the stairs leading to the second floor. Kagome opened it and the room was almost pitch-black except for a few indicator lights. In that few seconds when her eyes were adjusting, she saw the guy fixing his chair and sitting down. He was staring at her intently with rather piercing amber eyes. Kagome immediately felt like she was intruding on something private. "Oh sorry is everything okay? Should I leave?"

Sesshoumaru stared at her for another moment, "If you want to stay just close the door," he muttered. He just saw the beginning of a most unusual aurora borealis, and when he reaching over to set up video recording on his machine, he almost tripped over his chair. Quite accidentally.

Kagome closed the door and looked around. She could discern the faint outline of a telescope, the same one in the framed photo, and a circular computer screen nearby with a much smaller circle traced in white. She deduced that it was some sort of tracking device for the telescope. How fascinating, she watched in wonder.

Sesshoumaru was adjusting the angle and watching the computer screen intently. The auroras he had seen were usually a mixture of green or red waving curtains, but this time the aurora started out a pale lavender. It slowly morphed into a bluish shade of cyan starting from the tops, and grew into an undulating corona.

Kagome was also watching where the telescope was pointing. She was mesmerized by the sight, having only seen two much-less spectacular auroras a few years ago. She imagined herself beneath the pitch-black ocean and watching colorful jellyfish propelling through the water, except they were waving in place instead of moving forward.

Sesshoumaru stared into his telescope, transfixed. His father had always wanted to see a lavender/cyan corona. As the video streaming equipment was sending the motion picture directly into his laptop, he was just barely containing himself.

Kagome didn't notice because it was dark and Sesshoumaru masked his feelings too well. She said aloud, "This... this is really amazing..."

He did not reply, but his amber eyes were glowing as brightly as the aurora above. The corona continued waving and gradually turned into a kiwi green, a more common hue. He turned slightly and studied her outline in the dark. There was potential there, he thought when his fashion-photography mentality kicked in briefly. But she's definitely unlike any of those shallow bimbos he had to deal with...

Kagome felt the stare and turned in his direction. For a second the blue eyes met the ambers. Even after Sesshoumaru turned away, the afterimage echoed like ripples, energy waves across the cosmos. He decidedly stared into his telescope and somehow found his imagination blending with what he saw in her eyes. He suddenly felt a warm fuzz like when he saw his very first aurora. Except this time, he wasn't sure if it was because of the celestial phenomenon or the girl, or a combination of the two.

The corona was flattening out into the curtain form, with a tinge of red. Kagome contemplated what she saw in his eyes. Wonder, quickly masked by passivity, and melancholy shadow right before he turned away. This unusual and beautiful stranger was one she'll never understand.

Ever since his father's death, Sesshoumaru had been having trouble sorting out his feelings. He was the one who defined him and made him who he was. Sesshoumaru remembered being confused and lost for months right after the incident, not knowing what to do in life at all.

He eventually dealt with it by deliberately sidetracking himself whenever he felt himself reminiscing. Yet at that moment in the semi-darkness, whatever he was feeling was growing more and more concentrated.

Sesshoumaru stood up and watched the night sky without the telescope. He let himself be hypnotized by the shimmering aurora. It calmed him somewhat, even though he was feeling anything but peaceful a moment ago. When she caught him gazing at her, he was sure she saw something in his eyes then. He wondered about this strange girl. She seemed so perceptive yet innocent, and had a reckless sort of courage...

Kagome continued staring at the colorful lights. This certainly beat any fireworks, especially with the clear sky. Her mind wandered and she began humming – an improvisational tune like flower petals drifting into a stream, reflecting the moonlight in all different colors.

Sesshoumaru heard her humming and closed his eyes briefly. "Debussy?" He asked rather softly, surprising Kagome from her reverie.

"Yeah, I think..." She trailed off, amazed that he seemed almost gentle now. She was even more surprised when Sesshoumaru picked up her humming, improving Ravel, his baritone voice reverberating and blending with the colors above. He almost had a dreamy expression. Kagome mused. Sometimes words are simply inadequate.

Sesshoumaru was remembering his last aurora sighting with his father. It was over a lake about a mile from the observatory. The phantom green wisps in the sky were reflected on the lake surface, haunting and exquisite. Maybe she was thinking about the imagery with water as well.

The curtain was now entirely crimson and gradually fading. Sesshoumaru stopped humming and arched the telescope along the vanishing track until the aurora completely disappeared into the night sky.

Kagome really didn't want the magic to end. And neither did Sesshoumaru. Now the dome interior was almost pitch-black again except for the computer screen. Sesshoumaru said, "You should sleep. I'll be down in a second."

Kagome walked down the stairs a little shakily. She really did need to sleep. She plopped down on the couch and just before she fell asleep, she saw him coming downstairs. Then she drifted off completely.

Sesshoumaru ambled down the stairs and looked at the clock, which read 1:03. He went to his bedroom and fetched his blanket. He quietly and carefully covered it over her delicate frame. Despite himself, he took a good look at her before he turned the lights off and headed to his bedroom.

Sesshoumaru reflected. She's been the first person to catch an aurora sighting with him after his father died. And he didn't know who she was or where she's from... heck, he didn't even know her name. Maybe it's better that way. Attachments too often lead to disappointments in the end. He lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling until he fell asleep.

Kagome's eyes snapped open at 7AM and she was surprised to find a blanket on her. It took a moment for the events of last night to re-register in her head. She got up and wandered around groggily until she saw the sleeping Sesshoumaru in his bedroom. She smiled when she examined his peaceful and almost innocent expression. Gently she draped the blankets over him, admiring his silver hair and his perfectly statue-worthy countenance. But she still had a three-hour drive to visit her sick grandfather. After some digging, she found a pen and a scrap paper and left a note.

Sesshoumaru woke up a little after 9AM and found the blanket on himself. He got up immediately and found the note:

Trailing ellipses... Which could mean anything and everything. But she did leave her cell number. That's a start.

Sesshoumaru put the note in a clear plastic wrap and placed it on his bookshelf. He went out to the same spot and found tire tracks in U-turn, and concentrated for a few seconds at what her license plate number was. Slowly his lips turned into an amused smirk. Having a photographic memory is pretty useful. He pictured a very surprised Kagome when she found a CD with the aurora footage in her mailbox.

Sesshoumaru looked up just in time to see the silver-tailed robin flying over the woods across the graveled roadway.