Chapter 11 - Troubles
 
It had been three months since their hillside conversation. Life continued for the three of them in much the same manner as before. Landscapes changed as they walked. Sometimes the land was fertile and lush, sometimes harsh and unforgiving. The weather had changed and it was now full summer. The ground was parched and the very air shimmered in the heat. There was no wind, no rain, no clouds; no bugs chirped, no birds sang, nothing. The dry grass crunched under their feet as they walked. Rin was tired and hot, but she refused to say anything about it. Lord Sesshomaru wore silks, and she knew his clothing and armor were much heavier and hotter than her own simple shift. Still, when a line of trees became visible in the distance, she could not stop the relieved sigh from escaping her lips. In front, Sesshomaru heard her and picked up the pace. He knew his tiny charge needed rest under shade. The water they had kept in Rin's bamboo container had been gone since yesterday. He knew there was a river just beyond the copse of trees in the distance, however, and marched them all towards it.

By the time they arrived in the trees, Rin could go no further. She dropped down under a sagging tree limb and spread her arms and legs wide, hoping the coolness of the ground in the shade would relieve her. Sesshomaru, not having planned on stopping until they reached the water, paused and turned to her. "We must go a little further. We need water."

Rin groaned and tried to sit up, but she was dizzy. As she flopped back to the ground, Jaken came to her and prodded her with his strange two-headed stick. "Get up you lazy girl! Lord Sesshomaru doesn't have time to waste waiting on you!" He prodded her again with his stick. Then, when the girl barely stirred, ignoring him, he bent closer to her face and peered deeply into her eyes. "Milord! I think this girl is sick!"

Sesshomaru, waiting patiently for them to catch up, turned and was at her side in an instant, bending down to her. He placed his hand on her head and felt the heat coming off of her. She was, indeed, sick. He scooped her up in his strong arms and carried her to the river he knew was flowing less than a mile away. When they arrived there, he did not hesitate, but waded, clothing and all, into the chest-deep water, carrying the girl. She was very still and he was nervous. He had never had to take care of an ill child before. He held her gently in the water, scooping it with his hands over her brow, hoping she would come around.
 
Rin felt the cool water all around her body and thought at first that nothing had ever felt so good. When it touched her head, though, she cried out. It was TOO cold on her fevered brow. Throughout the day she had been feeling worse and worse. She had just figured it was the heat getting to her. When she had stopped to lie down under the tree her dizziness had taken over and she had fallen into a fevered stupor. The water suddenly was not feeling good anymore! It began hurting her with its coldness. Now she was alert, but her body was wracked with wave after wave of chills. She shivered in his arms in the hot afternoon sun.

Sesshomaru felt her tiny body shivering. He knew that as hot as it was the shivers could only be caused by fever. He held her in his arms a little longer, letting the fresh water run over her. While he held her he ordered Jaken to clear an area of grass so as not to set fire to the copse of trees, and light a fire. When he emerged from the water, he wrapped the little girl in his furs, placing her as close to the fire as was possible without burning her.

He set Jaken to hunting for whatever food he could find. He did not care if it was meat or not, as long as the child had something in her stomach. Since they had been traveling the dry areas of his land, food had been scarce. When their water had run out it had already been a day and a half since any of them had eaten. They all needed food, but his concern was for the girl. She was still so young and did not have the same stamina as he and Jaken.

Jaken returned sometime later carrying some roots and berries he had found close to the water's edge and two dead tiny songbirds. They had nothing in which to make a stew, so Sesshomaru placed the birds into the fire while he ground up the roots and berries. When the birds were sufficiently cooked he mixed the meat up into the ground berries and roots and carefully placed some on her lips. Rin, in her fevered sleep, did not take the food. Sesshomaru was at a loss as to how to get her to eat. It was Jaken, whose own mother had fed him that way many decades ago, that offered the suggestion. Sesshomaru took a small bite of the food into his mouth and chewed it up into a tiny mash. He took a swallow of water to soften it even more, then took the food out and placed it against her lips. When he rubbed her jaw, she opened her mouth and he slipped the mass of chewed food between her lips. She instinctively swallowed it.

Lord Sesshomaru, the great ruler of the Western Lands, sat on the ground, in the falling darkness, and fed a tiny child in that manner until the food was gone. Later that night he left Jaken with the girl and hunted for larger game. He brought back to camp a small fawn, which he and Jaken ate raw. After Jaken went to bed the white Demon stayed awake, ever watchful of his charge.

Around dawn her fever broke. Sesshomaru took a cloth, dampened in the cool water, and bathed her face, arms, and legs with it. She had been thrashing around for most of the night in her fevered sleep. Once the fever broke and she began sweating he removed his furs from around her, letting the warm night air blow over her, cooling her. Now she was resting peacefully, still and silent as the dawn approached. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had not known he could feel such concern for a human.

The next afternoon he left Rin sleeping with Jaken standing watch over her. He had smelled lesser demons close by earlier in the day. As he focused on the location of the demons, his thoughts were on the child. He knew she could have died. He worried about her, knowing that if something else had been wrong with her, he would not have known what to do. He located the demons and observed them for awhile, unnoticed. When he was satisfied they meant no harm to anyone, he left them alone. His duties done, he allowed his thoughts to focus more fully on the child. He had to decide what to do about her. She could not continue to follow him. He had realized that as she lie in his furs, thrashing about. She needed a family. A home with parents. Humans. He would have to find a village that would take her in and care for her.

His mind heavy with these concerns, he arrived in camp to find her awake and alert. She looked up and smiled her brilliant smile at him. He smiled back, a rarity for him, knowing that he may well not get to see her smile again after he informed her of his intentions. He decided not to bring it up. For now.

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