It says it in the title, but to mention again...this chapter is narrated by Hoshiko rather than Jaylin.
Finally. Two years of searching, and I finally sensed his energy. I`d known something was wrong when he hadn`t returned within six months of disappearing, and from then on, widened my search area, culminating in searching Earth as well. There had been traces that he`d been caught by a summons, but no one had believed it. The only summons that could capture royalty had long been destroyed and eradicated. Or so we had thought. But if he really was here, on Earth…and since I felt his energy, he was. So I needed to find out about that as well. We couldn`t let the humans keep a summons that could capture royalty.
I continued through the forest, following that energy, ignoring the rain pouring down. Finding him was more important than being a little wet. The energy led me to a long narrow ravine. I judged the distance. Easy enough for me to jump down to, but something a human likely couldn`t manage without breaking a bone or two. Which would be why he`d picked it. Easily defensible, accessible only to him. Which it would be, with only humans around. He had always liked places like that.
I jumped down as easily as I`d thought, and looked around. At a glance, the ravine seemed empty, other than a small river running through it. But the sense of his energy was stronger now, and I knew he was here. I spotted the semi-large overhang a moment later, and moved towards it. Lightning flashed, and with it I heard a growl.
A growl? He was growling at me? There was a slight feeling of dread in my stomach. That told me more than any guess that something was most certainly wrong. I still took another step forward. And then there were actual words, but not out loud, only in our language, on a mental path. Mine! I froze.
His? What did he have hidden there with him…? Something that he didn`t want me near…? I was close enough now to see him through the rain, bare-chested, wearing only pants, and behind him, gripping tightly onto his arm and peeking out at me wide-eyed was a girl. A girl? “Calm down, Kohriko.” I told him, a little annoyed that it might be only because of a girl that he hadn`t come back. “I`m not here to take…” I slid one step forward. “…your…”
Something stopped me from completing the sentence the way I`d meant to and I frowned, another baby step forward letting me sense the energy from both of them. Their intertwined energy. “…mate.” I finished. Kohriko`s timing always threw me for a loop. He had found his mate now of all times? That part was good, but…Still, something was very wrong, because I could see by the look in his eyes that he hadn`t understood a word I`d said. And he should have. But before he had spoken mentally in our native tongue, so I quickly repeated the most important part the same way. If he attacked me, I couldn`t help. “Your mate, I know.”
The low growl died, and I took that as permission to come forwards, and duck out of the rain. They both scooted back as far as they could, so once barely under the overhang, I froze a little. They were both studying me, as if neither had ever seen me before. I had certainly never seen the girl before…she was short, and looked maybe 14 or 15. Long blonde-brown hair pulled back into messy twin braids, and large violet eyes. She smelled like a demon, though I didn`t see any familiar lineage in the traces of her face. Seeing that she was flinching back and trying to hide from me, I quickly focused on my brother instead. No need to frighten her more than she already was if I could help it. I could study her more later.
The long silver hair identical to mine was normal, as were the ice colored eyes. The lack of comprehension in those ice colored eyes was not. From the growl, I guessed that most of his reactions would be wild animal ones, which could be problematic. “Do you…remember me?” I asked. His lack of responses, only speaking our native tongue that we were born knowing, only speaking on a mental path and not out loud…animal responses to what he did respond to…those all spoke of memory loss. I didn`t know why that would be the case, and I didn`t like it. But it would certainly explain why he hadn`t returned. “My name is Hoshiko.”
I watched their reactions carefully. I would have to tailor how I reacted based on how they did. I had finally found him; I wouldn`t risk him deciding to run based on animal instinct alone. Hoshiko…? Kohriko considered my name for a long moment, repeating it, as if it did, in fact sound familiar to him. Then I saw the recognition in his eyes. Not a complete recognition, but at least a little. ...! …Shi?
I breathed a silent sigh of relief as he studied my face very, very carefully, shoulders relaxing. He recognized me, at least a little. It would do for now, since it meant that he would allow me to stay. And it would give me time to figure out what exactly had caused the memory loss and reverse it. Although since he had recognized me, perhaps bringing him home would help.
No danger. He assured the girl behind him, half turning to look at her. “Koh? Do you know him?” She whispered in response, perhaps thinking that I couldn`t hear. She was speaking in our tongue, mentally, though the intonation said she thought she was speaking out loud, and she had a nickname for him. Their connection was strong, which also meant that they had exchanged blood…
Kohriko pet her hair gently, and then tried to pull her onto his lap. She resisted, and I realized that she would likely be the biggest problem in returning immediately. That was fear in her eyes, though I didn`t think it was of Kohriko. She was scared of me…? I kept still and quiet, and simply waited. I needed more information before I decided how this should all play out.
As soon as Kohriko turned all the way to face her, she threw her arms around him in a hug. It was me that she was scared of. Interesting. Also annoying, but at least I knew how to deal with it somewhat. I wiped all traces of frown from my face as Kohriko glanced at me, then back at his girl, and ended up turning again, sitting with his back to the wall and her on his lap.
She huddled against him for a long moment before peeking up at me, large violet eyes afraid. Deer in the headlights afraid. I made my tone as gentle as I could, and spoke so that Kohriko would understand as well. Which meant mentally, but since she had already spoken that way as well, I knew she would hear. “May I know your name, little one?” She was little, and I needed something to call her. “You know mine.” She blinked at me for a moment, and didn`t answer, instead looking up at Kohriko. I trust Shi. He assured her. One tense knot in my shoulders relaxed. If he still trusted me, then I would be able to figure this situation out.
Softly, shyly, still with fear in her eyes, she answered my question. “…My name is Jaylin.” I nodded to show I`d heard, and said the first thing I thought of that might calm her down. “Thank you for finding Kohriko.” That surprised her more than my asking her name, and she looked at me for a long moment, biting her lip a little as she thought that over. Kohriko touched her lip gently, and she stopped biting it, leaning against him a little more, still watching me warily.
The wind blew a little of the rain to where we were, and while Kohriko and I didn`t react, the girl—Jaylin—shivered. That wasn`t good. It wasn`t quite that cold, I hadn`t thought… Kohriko spoke almost the same time I did. …! Cold? “Are you cold, little one?” She looked from one of us to the other, seeming surprised that we had noticed.
Kohriko bit his wrist open a bit savagely, and I inwardly winced. He was not taking very good care of himself then. But he was being gentle with her. You need more. Drink. So she had been drinking his blood, though since she was hesitating so much over it, likely not a lot. That was a little odd for a demon… Kohriko knew how to deal with that, and made sure she`d smelled it, which caused her stomach to growl, before he put it close to her lips.
I sensed the energies coming together, clashing, and realized what was about to happen. Dermo. She`d been human when she`d met Kohriko. That`s why she was hesitant over the blood, and why I didn`t recognize her. Even as I watched, her face twisted a little in pain, and she pulled away from him, wrapping an arm around her stomach, eyes panicked. Kohriko almost automatically pulled her head to rest against his chest, but then looked at me to help. It showed that he really did trust me. He remembered enough to trust me. “You should sleep, little one.” I said calmly, gently. Sleep would be the quickest way to get her through the pain of the change.
Her eyes closed a moment later, and very quickly she had dropped into a deep sleep. Kohriko draped his head over hers protectively, one hand going over her stomach, where much of the pain was at the moment. Then he glanced up. Shi. He knew that I knew what was happening.
“Because of the blood exchanges, she`s changing into a demon.” I replied. I didn`t know how much he was understanding at the moment, so I kept the explanation he had asked for as simple as I could. “Just let her sleep,” I advised. “She should feel better when she wakes up.” It was almost noon now, and how long she slept would give me a rough estimate of how long she would need as recovery time before I could bring Kohriko home. Because their energies entwined so much told me that they were truly mates, and that meant that I could not separate them. Nor did I want to if she was Kohriko`s true mate. I had hoped for years that he would find his. The situation was less than ideal, but find her he had. Kohriko half nodded, and his eyes grew a little distant, as if hearing something that I could not.
I simply kept an eye on them and the rain, not minding the silence. The way he held her was gentle, and the fact that he had been gentle with her even before she had started changing meant that their bond really was strong. And I likely had her to thank for the fact that he was this calm, without memories. But I would have to be gentle with her, gentler even than Kohriko was. She had a connection to Kohriko, and would instinctively trust him. The same could not be said of myself, so I would have to earn that trust.
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