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The White Dog
by Becky Tailweaver
Chapter 29: The High Stone
When Kagome and Shirokiba were well out of sight and earshot of Miroku and the others, the wolf-dog demon stopped so suddenly that Kagome almost ran into him. She stumbled back, startled at his abrupt halt. "Shirokiba? What's wrong?"
"Kagome, we won't make it there tonight if we go this way," he said quietly, turning to face her. "The place where the Gathering is held is miles and miles away from here, deep in the mountains to the west. It will take me hours to run there, and Inuyasha and Ginnezu are an hour or more ahead of us."
"Do you mean...you'll need to carry me?" Kagome asked.
"Yes, in a way." The demon looked down, as if thinking, as if searching for words. "I have to return to my true form if we're to get there in time to do anything useful. Do you understand?"
Kagome nodded easily, surprising him. "Oh, that's no problem."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I didn't want to frighten you or your friends--that's why I didn't do it earlier."
"I've seen Sesshomaru do it before, so you don't have to worry about that," she told him. "It was scary, since he was so huge and he was trying to kill us...but I know you're nicer than he is."
Shirokiba actually chuckled. "Well, I'm not nearly so large as he, but... The other reason I'm telling you this is because once I have transformed, I will no longer speak in a human tongue. Because I won't have one, really. Do you understand this as well? If you ask me something, I won't be able to answer so that you can understand."
Kagome looked taken aback, as if being unable to "talk" in his true form was something she had never considered. "Um, I guess that's okay too."
"Very well then." The wolf-dog stepped several yards away from her, then paused and turned, as if remembering something. "One last thing, girl. When I am transformed and we are traveling, you must be quiet. Especially when we reach our destination--then you must be utterly silent. Your life will depend on it."
Taking a deep breath, Kagome nodded. "I understand. I'll do as you say."
Shirokiba gave her a half-smile. "Prepare yourself. And don't be frightened when I change." You are very brave, human girl. Were I in your place, I doubt I would have such courage.
Kagome stepped back further when Shirokiba began his transformation. As when she had seen Sesshomaru shift his shape, the wolf-dog's familiar face melted and elongated into new, unfamiliar features. He grew and grew, his posture shifting to drop to four legs, his thin fur coat becoming a rich pelt even as she watched.
She had to stare in awe when the transformation completed. He was not so big as Sesshomaru--perhaps only half the White Dog's size--but still, he dwarfed her by far and was an imposing sight in the glitter of the starlight. He looked like a giant wolf in the night, her eyes picking out the familiar brown-gray mottling of his coat, which matched his hair in his other form. His back and ruff were grizzled with a touch of black, like all wolves, yet his face and flanks were steely gray, the only places not mottled with brownish wolf-color. Aside from his coloring, only the thick, wide set of his chest and the squareness of his muzzle served to indicate his Dog heritage.
"Wow," she whispered.
Familiar blue-gold eyes turned to her. It reassured her, somehow, that his eyes remained as they had been. She felt safer; she knew that this giant creature, despite his fearsome size and appearance, was still the same kindly Shirokiba that she knew. "Well..." she began softly, lookning up at him. "I admit...after seeing Sesshomaru...I did expect you to be bigger."
He gave her a wry look and a low snort that sounded almost like a chuckle. Good; she had almost been worried for a moment that he wouldn't understand her like this. Don't be silly, she reminded herself. He's still Shirokiba--why wouldn't he understand me?
She was a little surprised when he crouched down before her, lowering his head. She got his message and stepped forward, carefully gathering a handful of his ruff. She wondered insanely for a moment if she might hurt him. "Is it okay if I climb like this? Can I put my foot on your leg?"
She took his short "huff" as a tentative yes and leaned her weight on his foreleg, using it as a step up. Keeping her hold on his fur, she pulled herself up to his back, seating herself gingerly just behind his shoulders. Still worried that she might make him uncomfortable, she shifted her weight and got a good grip on his ruff. "Okay, I've got a hold," she informed him.
She gave a little "Eeep!" of surprise when he slowly rose. He took a few steps forward, one ear tilted back to her as if asking, "Are you ready?"
"I think you can go now," she said, leaning down and tightening her hold on his fur. She had to admit she was nervous about this; she had barely even ridden a horse before, and rarely on Kirara--and now here she was riding a wolf-dog demon!
But soon there was no time for thinking, because Shirokiba moved forward again, this time at an ever-increasing pace, considerately giving her time to adjust to his stride as he increased his speed to a canter, then a lope. She ducked low on his shoulders to shield herself from passing shrubbery. With her face buried in his fur as she hung on, his scent was thick enough that she could pick it up; cedar, something spicy, and a musky, doggy smell that faintly reminded her of Inuyasha.
Inuyasha...
Gripping the big wolf-dog's smooth fur, she held on tight as the forest blurred by in the dark.
* * * * *
Inuyasha's legs were beginning to cramp, and his rear end was taking a beating from the long ride. He said as much to his steed, earning little but the canine equivalent of a giggle in response. Then he wondered aloud--and loudly--when they were going to get there. He was getting damn tired of riding, and Ginnezu was a poor excuse for a horse if ever he sat on one. As if in response to his growling statement, Ginnezu slowed her pace to a walk as they crested the next ridge.
"Aaarrg," Inuyasha groaned, sitting up to stretch his spine and rubbing his sore tailbone. The night was growing brighter, slowly, as the full moon began to peek above the horizon. Its gentle light cast a silver-blue glow over everything, making the deeper shadows of the woods stand in stark contrast to the milky-pale patches that shone through.
"Are we there yet?" Inuyasha demanded for the hundredth time.
Ginnezu barked shortly, and Inuyasha paused, ears pricking. "You're right, I can hear it. Is that...them?"
Another bark. Inuyasha sat back, brows going up in surprise. He sat up straighter, snow-furred ears straining forward to listen. He caught the sounds of voices ahead--dog-demon voices. Sonorous barks, low bellowing growls, sharp snarls, articulated baying, all blending into a full, distant roar that promised to be quite a cacophony close up. "We're almost there, aren't we?"
Ginnezu let out a cheerful yip and sprang into motion again, almost dislodging her passenger. "Hey, watch it!" he snarled, but he was too busy grabbing handsfulls of fur to do anything else.
The Silver dog-demon's rapid bounds brought them ever closer to the source of the continuous noise. Inuyasha quickly forgot his ire as he leaned forward, willing her to run faster, straining to see over the next rise and through the trees. The sounds ahead rose to amazing levels, and suddenly they were bursting from the trees, out into the growing moonlight on the slope above the shallow, broad valley. Inuyasha sat still upon Ginnezu's silvery back as she confidently strode forward into the melee; he could say nothing, only stared out at the incredible sight that met his eyes.
Dog-demons.
They were everywhere, crowding the valley below, filling the air with their rumbling speech. All in their true forms, all of the sizes, shapes, and colors from each Clan, milling about like a town full of humans on a festival day. The groups were amazingly diverse; here Ginnezu passed a trio of males guffawing about a hilarious hunt, and there was a gathering of elderly females lounging and gossiping as if they were human crones in a bathhouse. A passel of pups skittered across Ginnezu's path, yipping and squeaking, while a gamboling flock of young adults nearly ran into her as they raced toward the woods to play.
Inuyasha had never seen so many dog-demons--heck, he'd never seen so many demons in one place in his entire life. He still sat in awe on Ginnezu's back, cranking his head this way and that, trying to take it all in. It awed him, scared him, and exhilarated him, seeing all of these frighteningly magificent creatures in the light of the rising moon.
All of them demons. All of them Dogs. All of them...his own kind.
No one seemed to have noticed yet that Ginnezu had a rider upon her back; they continued about their business as if nothing was amiss. The noise of all the shouts and conversations--and was that music he heard as well?--drowned out the individual voices, but Inuyasha could pick up snatches of comments about the likely entertainment tonight, who was courting who in that particular family of the Red Clan, the possibility of a grand hunt later on, a nasty ogre in somebody's territory... It was almost too much for him to take in at once.
Ahead of them, looming in the moonlight, was the huge, blocky shape of the High Stone. Like a low, squarish pillar, it rose into the night, set into the side of the mountain above, surrounded by the crowds of dog-demons. Ginnezu pressed through the throng toward the great tower, and Inuyasha was surprised to see how large it truly was as they drew closer.
The ground began to rise as Ginnezu approached the huge rock. It sat against the mountainside, the front of it slightly overhanging the entrance to an underground cave. Two bonfires burned high into the night, one on either side of the cave's mouth. At the base of the incline there seemed to be an invisible line; none of the common Dogs dared approach the slope below the entrance. But Ginnezu left the crowds behind, striding up the hillside without pause. She stepped fearlessly up to the four dark shapes that stood shadowed in the bonfires' light.
Inuyasha gaped. Four giant, steel-gray Dogs--and not only that, but these Gray Dogs stood a half-size again larger than Sesshomaru, powerful and dangerous. Their amber-brown eyes glittered in the firelight as they snapped out a command to Ginnezu.
"[Halt!]" barked the largest Dog. "[Lady of the Silver Clan, state your business here.]" The Dog-tongue he used was harsh and formal.
"[I have brought the Great White Lord's heir,]" Ginnezu replied evenly, "[as the Clans had requested.]"
Inuyasha tried not to squirm as four pairs of glittering eyes turned to him and four sets of nostrils twitched, examining him by sight and scent. He bore their scrutiny silently, nervously, before their gaze returned to Ginnezu. Something about them had changed; they looked almost...surprised?
"[Very well, Lady.]" The lead guard looked over his shoulder and barked another command, sending one of the smaller Brown Dogs waiting in the shadows scurrying into the cave. "[I have sent a messenger to announce you,]" he informed them. "[You may pass.]" He stepped aside, and Ginnezu swept by him to enter the cave. The entrance itself was massive, cut directly from the rock, and looked large enough to accommodate several of even the largest Dogs passing through it at once.
Inuyasha remained silent as Ginnezu threaded her way through the rock-and-earthen halls, large Dog-sized corridors that led them deeper into the mountain. Now and then a torch lit the way, for this deep underground even demon eyes needed light. Finally, Ginnezu reached a point and stopped in a hallway filled with several large wooden doors, each large enough for a Dog to pass through easily. In the hall ahead, several humanoid figures awaited them--dog-demons, but they had shed their true forms.
"[My Lord,]" Ginnezu said, her tone surprisingly respectful as she lowered her shoulders. "[You may dismount. Ahead are the ones who wait for you.]"
Still somewhat in a state of awe, Inuyasha slid off of Ginnezu's back, staring at the hall and the demons ahead, feeling very, very small. When he turned to Ginnezu, he was surprised to find her already back in her humanoid form. The nervousness must have shown on his face, for she smiled and giggled at him.
"It's alright, my Lord," she said sweetly. "They won't bite. But..." She lowered her voice. "I do need the...item we discussed. So that I can prepare it."
Inuyasha gave her a sharp look. "Can I trust you with this?" he asked quietly, eyeing the ones who waited for him down the hall.
"My Lord, I give you my word," Ginnezu replied.
He gazed at her for a moment longer, then reached into his shirt and pulled out the bundle in question, handing it to her almost absently. "If I don't get this back by dawn, I'll know who to come kill for it," he whispered almost threateningly. "You have my word on that."
Ginnezu gazed at him solemnly. "I understand, my Lord. Now, you'll have to excuse me--I must go pay my respects to my family, given the occasion this night..."
Inuyasha fought off a sudden sense of panic at the thought of her leaving his side. He didn't particularly like her, not by any stretch of the imagination, but she was the only familiar presence he had right now. However, he steeled himself, drew up straight, and nodded. Ginnezu smiled at him and was gone in a flash, the wrapped Shikon shard clutched tight in her hand.
I swear, if she doesn't bring that back to me when this is over...
But the other demons were already approaching him, breaking him out of his dark thoughts. The procession consisted of two men and several women. They came close to him, and though he tried not to draw back, his apprehension must have been obvious, for the elderly-looking man in the lead suddenly stopped, smiled, and held up his hands. Inuyasha was startled to notice that the elder had long, pale hair--snowy white like his own.
"Be at ease, young one. We mean you no harm," the old demon said, his voice deep and rough, sounding quite aged. He was a demon, but he was by far the most ancient one Inuyasha had ever seen; his upraised hands were bent and gnarled, though the claws were still sharp, and his face was creased with the centuries, rough and wrinkled like old leather. He was so old that, though most dog-demons never did grow facial hair, his cheeks and jaw had begun to sprout a pale half-beard that made his face look even more wolflike. His snow-white hair was brushed with faint silver at his temples, evidence of his great age, but his eyes were sharp and bright pale amber, burning with awarness and intelligence. Despite his advanced age, this old demon was far from senile.
Inuyasha drew himself up and tried to find his tongue. "I...I'm..."
"We know." The elder smiled again. "Lord Inuyasha, the chosen heir of the late Lord Seibunishi. I am honored to meet you at last."
The whole procession bowed to him, startling him. He'd never been bowed to before--not like this. "I...uh..." He couldn't seem to think of what was proper to say in a situation such as this one.
"I am Lord Byakugata of the White Clan," the White elder said, then gestured to his companion, a man with hair the color of a dark thundercloud who seemed to be in his mid-sixties--but was in truth probably centuries older. "And this is Lord Kaishika, Daimyo of the Gray Clan, and a good friend of your father's."
Inuyasha regarded the gruff-looking, grizzled Gray demon curiously, seeing a hint of friendliness in the amber-brown eyes. He nodded to the other, then turned back to Byakugata. "I'm...not sure...what to do here," he confessed hesitantly, trying not to look like he felt--a clumsy, ignorant clod of a boy.
"When the moon grows high you will be brought before the Daimyos," Byakugata informed him. "A Council is usually held here upon this night, but it came as some surprise when the Brown messenger brought word that young Lady Silver had led you to us! So we have dispatched more messengers to inform their Lordships that the original agenda for tonight's Council has been changed."
"Um..." Inuyasha scratched his head. "Well, you really didn't have to do that on my account..."
"Nonsense!" the Gray Lord spoke up for the first time, startling Inuyasha with his gravelly tones. "The heir of Great Lord Seibunishi comes home for the first time since he was a wee pup, and we are supposed to do nothing in recognition? Pah!"
Inuyasha still didn't know quite what to say to all of this, so he remained quiet. Lord Byakugata seemed to sense his discomfort and spoke up to ease the tense silence.
"My Lord Inuyasha, if you would accompany these ladies, they will see that you are made presentable for the Council. I hate to sound so forward, but as this is such an auspicious occasion..." He let it hang in the air, his stern amber eyes emphasizing the importance of this night's Council meeting.
Inuyasha nodded blankly, almost afraid to refuse, counting the odds against him. Good Lord, what had he gotten himself into? Ginnezu had dropped him in the middle of this underground castle, she'd taken the shard with her, he hadn't brought the Tetsusaiga...how much worse could it get if he refused to play along with these demons? These were older, more experienced dog-demons--probably much more powerful than Sesshomaru, considering their relative ages.
Byakugata smiled again, nodding to the three women behind him. They were two Browns and a Gray, judging by their hair color, and they bowed to him and gestured that he should follow. He hesitantly stepped after them, glancing back at the elder White Dog as he passed.
"Don't worry, young Lord," Byakugata reassured him. "I shall come to meet you presently, when your preparation is complete."
Leaving the two Lords behind, Inuyasha followed the ladies down the large hallway, marveling at everything they passed. Most of the halls were hard, packed earth, reinforced with massive timbers and stone, and here and there an ornate lamp flickered, lit from within. Sometimes a beautiful piece of sculpture or pottery stood in an alcove or a corner, and he would periodically pass large wall scrolls depicting fierce Dogs of many colors in heroic exploits against humans and ogres.
The ladies leading him were rather nondescript, as demon women went. They were pretty, but not of the same showcase caliber that Ginnezu seemed to strive for. Inuyasha began to recognize traits common to the various colors--or at least that's what he thought. The Gray Dogs seemed to have darker amber-brown eyes and hair that ranged from steel to thundercloud gray while the Brown Dog ladies had coppery eyes--and where one had earth-colored hair, the other was the shade of a dark, polished wood. There seemed to be some variety within the types of Dogs--even the Whites; he'd noticed that while his own eyes were brilliant gold, Byakugata's eyes had been pale amber.
The dog-demon women led him around another corner, then slowed before a large oaken door. Inuyasha blinked at it for a moment, wondering why the door seemed out of place--when it occurred to him. This door was the only one he had yet seen that was not scaled to fit a dog-demon in his true form--instead, it seemed to be more of a human proportion. The demon ladies opened the door respectfully and showed him in, into a room that looked like the parlor of many human homes he'd been in before.
There was a low table at which to seat many guests, and a small oven heated the room from the corner, the fire within burning cheerfully. A pot of what smelled like green herb tea sat atop it, warming. The room was lit gently, by candle lamps, and the walls were paneled to cover up the earth behind, giving the room the look of a normal house with well-made tatami mats on the floor. The tapestries and screens on the walls were decorated more softly than others he had seen, with flowers, trees, cranes, deer, and other depictions of nature. One picture drew his attention, the one hanging on the wall near a corner--a simple watercolor painting of a young noble girl in a pretty spring yukata playing with a large white puppy.
He didn't have long to study the picture, however; the ladies were politely gesturing him onward, further into these chambers. The door at the back of the room led to a small, square hallway, the walls still paneled, that had several doors leading off of it. One of the doors was open, and a demon youth was preparing a hot bath in the small room beyond. Upon seeing him, the boy set down his bucket and bowed, as the ladies stepped out and slid the door shut.
"If his Lordship would be so good as to allow this unworthy one to assist him during his bath..." the young demon began.
Inuyasha blinked at him for a moment, then sighed. He felt a little more confident when he was only dealing with another person close to his own age--or who at least seemed to be close to his own age. "Look," he said, interrupting the youth, "you don't have to bow and scrape for me. In fact, I'd rather you didn't. It's getting on my nerves."
"My Lord, this unworthy one..."
"You can stop with the 'unworthy' stuff too," Inuyasha told him gruffly. "And I'd rather you just call me by name. I guess you can tack on 'Lord' Inuyasha if you feel you absolutely have to."
The young man looked surprised--in fact, almost terrified. "My Lord, I--I mean, this...er..."
"Well?" Inuyasha asked, starting to remove his outer clothes. "Didn't you say something about a bath?"
"I...er...um...yes, my Lord..." Looking worried and confused, the youth hurried to comply.
This particular room was ingeniously designed as an indoor bath; the floor was raised, with a rim running about the edge to catch spills, and there were troughs in the floor which led to waiting containers which could be carried out and emptied. These richer, more influential demons were obviously way ahead of humans in the area of amenities. It stood to reason--most higher-class demons were known to be quite fastidious.
Inuyasha took care of his hygine himself, pointedly disdaining the other demon's help, further alarming the youth. He scrubbed himself thoroughly, trying not to remember the last time he'd had a bath of any kind. He found that he did miss the gentle touch of Kagome's hands washing his hair...
Idiot! he scolded himself. Now's not the time to be daydreaming about that girl!
Closing his eyes, he firmly banished those thoughts from his mind. When he was respectably clean, he settled into the large wooden tub for a final soak, and turned his head to regard the half-dazed demon youth standing helplessly across from him, looking as though he felt quite useless.
"So...what's your name?" Inuyasha asked, his tone studiously neutral.
The other youth jumped, looking like a startled deer. "Ah...um...this unworthy...er...I am called...Kuroboshi."
"'Black-Spot?'" Inuyasha inquired. "But...you're a Brown Dog, aren't you?"
Kuroboshi flushed, looking down. "I am...of mixed color, my Lord. It's not immediately apparent, but...under my clothing I bear...black spots. Hence my name."
"Huh. You work here, right?"
"I...uh...am bound to the Gray Lord's household. I may leave his service...if I choose to...when I am of age." His speech seemed either characteristically hesitant or else he was painfully shy--especially in the presence of the one who was, for all intents and purposes, the prince of his race.
Inuyasha turned completely around to look at him incredulously. "You mean you're a slave here?"
"No...not like that, my Lord," Kuroboshi replied. "My dam did not wish to acknowledge a pup of mixed color...so she requested a place for me here, on the Gray Lord's staff--and I may choose to go my own way when I am aged of sixty years. But I...must not mention her name..." The young demon looked down. "I am...not of a highborn line...on either side. So I am not welcome in any pure color clan or family."
"Hn." Inuyasha sat back in the water. "Treating people like that just 'cause of the color of their fur..."
Kuroboshi took his annoyed tone to mean that Inuyasha was upset with him, and scrambled to apologize, bowing profusely. "Please excuse this unworthy one's forwardness, my Lord! This unworthy one should not have spoken--!"
"Kuroboshi, stop it!" Inuyasha snapped, frightening the other youth into frozen silence. "I'm not going to get angry with you for saying what you think. Hell, I do it all the time, myself. I'm not gonna hold it against you for speaking your mind, so I don't care what anyone else tells you. You can say to me whatever you damn well feel like saying--got that?"
The mixed-color youth nodded mutely, pale copper-yellow eyes wide.
"Besides, you and me--we're not all that different," Inuyasha said, a little more gently this time, but still in his usual gruff way. "Heh, you've probably got more right to be here than I do. So you're born of two colors--but hell, you're still a demon. I'm half human. Did you know that?"
Kuroboshi dropped his eyes. "Well...yes...but...I was instructed not to speak of it."
Inuyasha blinked. "Why the hell not?"
"Er...well...we did not wish to offend you..."
The half-demon snorted. "Pah. If you're just talkin' about it I don't care--it's when you start picking on me about it that it pisses me off."
"I...I wouldn't dare such a thing...!" Kuroboshi stuttered, looking apalled.
"That's good." Inuyasha grinned at him, rising out of the tub. "That way we can be on friendly terms. Got anything to dry with?"
Kuroboshi was still frozen for a second before his brain engaged, and he scurried to provide the half-demon with a drying cloth. He slipped from the room briefly, then returned to inform Inuyasha that a set of clean dry clothes had been provided for him. Inuyasha wrapped the cloth around his waist and cautiously stepped around the corner to the next room, where the clothes awaited him. His beloved Fire Rat ensemble had been folded and put away, ready for him to change back for his trip home if he so chose.
Once Kuroboshi had seen him sufficiently clothed in his undergarments, the two Brown women arrived to assist him into the rest of the clothes. Inuyasha didn't particularly like being waited on hand and foot like this, but he had no idea how the fine, intricate silk garments were supposed to be put on so he couldn't really complain. Once he was clothed, one of the women set to drying and brushing his hair, combing it to silky perfection. When he was finished, the other demons left him there to inform Lord Byakugata of his readiness.
Finally free of the pampering servants, Inuyasha made his way to the large metal mirror against one wall, almost tripping over the silk slippers they'd provided him with--and which he was sorely tempted to remove. When he reached the mirror he gaped in surprise--he almost didn't recognize the handsome, white-haired demon youth that was his own reflection.
The kimono they'd fitted him with was basically white, like the one he remembered his brother wearing, but this one bore a different pattern of red and gold. The sashes were crimson as well, accenting the pattern of the cloth, but he didn't have a chestplate, there being no need here. His hair, combed for once, still fell forward in his unruly bangs but seemed...tamer, more neat than usual. With his face free of any lingering smudges and his hair smoothed thus, he found himself surprised to see that he actually did have a strong resemblance to his older half-brother.
Now that was an odd thought, he mused. Why the hell would I want to look like that jerk, anyway?
"Well, what do you know?" said a familiar voice--a coolly amused voice that made his hackles stand on end. "You clean up well. They might make a half-decent demon out of you yet."
Inuyasha whirled, bristling and snarling, claws and fangs bared. "Sesshomaru!"
The elder son of Seibunishi regarded him calmly, a slight, uncharacteristic smile gracing his cold, beautiful features. "Hello, little brother."
To be continued...