Fox Love:
Chapter 4- Fox Song
Haven gave him her typical icy glare and shrugged, wincing when the pain in her arms and shoulders shot through her at the simple gesture.
The day was darkening into night and the skies above them seemed to show no signs of stopping the seemingly endless rain. The rain had begun to fall faster now, and colder too, the kind of rain that chilled you to the bone, that penetrated right to your heart and gripped you in its icy clutches, never letting go.
Kurama stood there, his arms hanging limply at his side, his teeth chattering. His green eyes swept over the terrain before them, searching for some kind of shelter from this torturing rain. Apparently Yusuke had the same idea, though he appeared less chilled, for the smart-mouth Spirit Decetive spoke the words Kurama was thinking. "Look for a shelter!" he shouted as a peal of thunder shounded directly above them. Hiei nodded his head a was off before anyone could say another word, his drenched black cape swirling out behind his retreating form. He was back in a matter of seconds with a report of a fairly large cave up ahead that was dry and would shelter them all.
The group fairly flew towards their promised sanctuary, Hiei leading, the others not far behind. Suddenly it loomed directly ahead of them. They dashed inside, with only Haven noticing the fact that the mouth of the cave reminded her of a huge beast of prey, opening its yawning cavern of mouth to swallow them whole. Kurama collasped on the floor, shivering, his lips looking slightly blue. Hiei leaned against the cave wall, by the mouth, and stared out at the ceaseless rain. Kuwabara and Yusuke both sat down on the ground, leaning back against the walls, eyes closed. Haven stood slightly aparts from the rest of the group, standing by a huge boulder, looking back into the bowels of the cave. She was uneasy, something was not right. Her spine tingled and her hands were clammy, her mind was alert and overly-sensitive. When she got like this, either something was wrong, or something was going to go wrong.
She glanced back at the others, surprised to find them all huddled around Kurama. She raised one thin eyebrow and sauntered over. Yusuke barely glanced up when she reached the group, only giving her an annoyed glance before returning his attention to the red-haired demon before him. Kurama lay sprawled on the floor of the cave, his face pale, coated with a sheen of sweat, his slender body shivering and his eyes covered by a feverish glaze. He rolled his eyes to look up at her and he managed a weak smile.
"What the hell..." Haven murmured under her breath.
Kurama rolled his eyes back downward and he curled up into a tight ball, trying to keep warm, his arms hugging his knees tightly. Haven could hear his teeth chattering and could sense the weakness that radiated off of him. So this was why her sixth sense had been going beserk on her. Kurama was sick, deathly sick.
Kuwabara glared up at her, and risking her wrath shouted, "Well don't just stand there, do something!"
She glared evenly back at him, meeting his gaze with an icy stare. "And just what do you propose me to do?" she quiried, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper.
Kuwabara gulped visibly, but continued on in the same loud voice. "Your little blue-light thing! The one you used to heal me and Yusuke when we fought that demon! Heal him!"
Cringing in preparation for the explosion he knew was going to come, Kuwabara was surprised when Haven only sighed. "If I could, I would," she said wearily. "But my healing technique only works on physical ailments, not viruses or fevers."
"Well, the least you could do is try," Hiei stated, joining the conversation for the first time.
Haven fixed him with her trademark stare for a moment, the dropped down on her knees next to the little fire-demon and sighed once more, her face seeming to sag and grow older, more tired. "Alright, but I can't guarantee any results." She sat down on the cool, dry floor and put Kurama's head in her lap. Her slender fingers found their way to his temples where they rubbed gently then began to glow and pulse with blue light. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei looked on, unconciously holding their breaths, watching, waiting. Kurama twitched once or twice, but otherwise lay still.
After what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a matter of seconds, the blue glow faded and Haven let out her breath in a whoosh. "I only suceeded in lowering his fever slightly, I can do no more." Yet she continued to sit with Kurama's head in her lap, her fingers still delicately massaging his temples.
The others nodded, gazing apprehensivly at the feverish kitsune, who now opened his eyes and stared at his friends in a deliriuos, wild eyed manner. Then his gaze fell upon Haven. "Mother?" he whispered, reaching up with one long-fingered hand to brush against Haven's cheek. But he let the arm fall back with a loud thump, not having the strenght to support it. He grinned weakly at the female kitsune above him. "Can...can you sing me...a song, like when I was little. A lullaby...please, mother. I feel so...tired."
Haven's emerald eyes opened wide in a startled bewilderment. He was delirious as well. She glanced around at the others, who gazed back at her expectantly. Then looking back down at the boy in her lap she half-smiled and replied, "Yes, Kurama, I will sing for you."
She closed her eyes and for a moment, the caze echoed with silence. Then she opened her mouth and began to sing. The cave echoed with her voice, powerful, compelling, and sweet as the voice of an angel. She hit every note with perfect precision, the tones reverberating off the stone in angelic harmony, making it seem as if the lone kitsune was not the only one singing. Later, as the four looked back on the time in the cave, they could never seem to remember what it was she sang. They never even remembered hearing words, just music, pure, and sweet, and perfect.
As her voice faded away into nothingness, the boys seated around her stared in awe and undisguised wonderment. She opened her eyes and saw them staring at her; her cheeks went sightly pink and her voice grew annoyed. "Stop staring!"
Yusuke started and gulped but still shot sidelong glances at her every few seconds. Hiei snorted and retreated to a secluded corner of the cave, while Kuwabara strecthed out on the ground and put his hands beneath his head, dozing off in a matter of minutes. Kurama though, remained staring up at her, his eyes shining with fever and adoration. "Thank you mother, I..I can't ever remember you singing like that, but it was...beautiful." And those were the last words he spoke that night, dropping off into a deep, healing slumber.
Chapter 5- Sword
