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After being excused, Seon followed his foggy memory of the interior of the castle he remembered from his childhood to his destination: the gardens. Glancing around his surroundings silently, the Inu's gaze fell upon a small bench under some Plum trees. Deciding that would be a good spot to relax, Seon sat down under the calm sway of the trees around him...
A warm spring breeze brushed past Seon, causing his long hair to whip around him gently. In the back of his mind, Seon made a note to get that shortened later, but for now he ignored it and continued to gaze up at the rising moon overhead. This was the first time he'd seen the moon in roughly 300 years...it was almost impossible to think about. However, even after all this time had passed, the moon looked just as it had back when he was still on this earth...the small details of life may have changed, and today's events were obviously different, but nature as a whole hadn't changed while he was gone...the sun and moon were still there, just as always...
But the people...no, the person he left behind had changed. And so had he...he and Kara weren't children anymore. They'd both grown to adulthood now, even if mentally he hadn't quite caught up yet. Kara was, as a Daiyokai, at the age of looking for a mate and producing heirs...no, she was a bit older then that now. This brought Seon back to what he said to her earlier...about her and Sesshoumaru's now annulled arranged marriage. He couldn't deny a part of him was pleased that the two had been forced to cancel due to the situations at the time, but this made Seon wonder why she hadn't moved on to another prospect...he certainly knew those old Ministers that were supposed to keep her in check/take care of things while she was gone had probably said something by now...so why?
Was it his fault..? Did his abrupt disappearance from her life disrupt her so much that until she found him, she couldn't move on with her life..? He hated to sound so egotistical, that everything in her life up till now had been his fault, but he couldn't help but wonder...
So enthralled in his own deep thinking, Seon didn't even notice the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Seon?"
Jolted from his thoughts, Seon looked over to see a curious, yet concerned Kara looking down at him, her hands folded in front of her. He noticed she had removed her armor, and was wearing a simple white haori over her normal red and black kimono. Taking a second to clear his throat (and thoughts), Seon offered the female demoness a slight smile before he responded, "Gomen ne, I didn't hear you coming...what'd you need?"
Clenching her hands slightly, Kara knew she'd made the correct choice in following him. It was odd how he asked to be excused so suddenly, and while walking out here, he never once noticed...she also saw the solemn look on his face, and she knew he must have been deep in thought.
Without a word, Kara walked over and gently sat down beside her childhood friend, joining him in his 'moon-watching'.
Without even saying a word, Seon felt comforted, having Kara by his side like this...he knew she noticed something was up. Just like when they were younger, whenever something was on his mind he'd become oblivious to the world, and just sit there quietly staring at something - and she remembered that. Smiling slightly at this thought, Seon decided it was best to put aside his thoughts from earlier...he knew Kara didn't have a mate simply because she didn't want one - that she would never say it was his fault that she was still alone. And he knew that if Kara ever found out he had even thought such negative thoughts, she would be cross with him. Glad to just be with her now, Seon put aside these negative thoughts to focus on the positive things - like how he could truly start to live again, and that he was finally reunited with his one friend from his past...
Closing his eyes, Seon felt himself awash with a kind of calm he hadn't felt in eons...even though she didn't speak a word, Kara didn't have to - this was the way she'd chosen to comfort him, and it worked perfectly. Disregarding whatever may happen, Seon put aside any thoughts as he leaned his head towards Kara, resting it lightly against the soft fur draped around her shoulders. He only noted briefly that this made a rather nice pillow/headrest, before his mind went blank once more.
Kara was glad that just being beside him was enough to calm Seon down and get his mind off of whatever negativity he had been thinking about...but this was a bit unplanned. When Seon rested his head on her shoulder-fluff, she at first stiffened, but found herself loosening up rather quickly. After all, he'd been through a lot...so this was ok.
Golden eyes softening, Kara felt an almost motherly protective instinct kick in as she looked at her friend's tired facial features. Running on pure instinct mixed with emotions she'd suppressed all these years, the Inu demoness put a hand on the young male yokai's back to comfort him, while she rested her head on top of his lightly. She felt him stir slightly, but he then relaxed further, leaning into her more as he got more comfortable.
Blinking slowly, she couldn't help but smile at his affectionate display...rubbing his back reassuringly, Kara spoke up softly, a layer of emotion lacing her words, "It's good to have you back, Seon...I've missed you."
Feeling his heart clench at her words, Seon's eyebrows drew down slightly from his own emotions as he responded, "Hai...I've missed you too, Kara. Thank you for saving me..." The soft touch of silk encircling him caused him to pause and open his eyes. He was surprised to find that Kara had wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly.
The next thing he noticed was the sudden scent of salt - even without looking, he could tell that Kara was crying...not much, but enough for him to smell it. Even though he'd been the one sealed away in solitude in the darkness, Kara had been the one left behind with a dead father and a missing friend...and she'd spent the past 300 years looking for him, trying to free him.
Crimson eyes softening, the male Yami Inu carefully shifted himself to sit up, and returned Kara's gesture by wrapping his own arms around her, holding her tightly as he now rested his head on top of hers comfortingly. Her face now pressed against his chest, he could feel Kara's grip tighten around him as her body started to shake slightly. Eyebrows furrowing, Seon was taken aback slightly...He'd never seen Kara display this much emotion up front like this before...this must have been harder on her then he'd realized...
Closing his eyes, he felt his heart pang with what felt like pain over seeing his beloved friend like this...he knew though, that no words would be good enough right now. So, he simply let her cry in silence, holding her tightly as he stroked a hand through her hair gently, all in an effort to comfort Kara while she dealt with her overwhelming emotions she'd been holding back these past 300 years...Kara had held it back all these years, and now she no longer had to. And while she was in this weakened state, he would comfort her and let her have this moment, protecting her while she finally got to work through her emotions.
He would never leave her alone again. That, he promised...
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