Kurodani Madara shivered a little as she hurried after her parents. The three of them had decided to go on a walk on a fine winter day and it was starting to get dark. A drizzle of snow had started and there was a faint breeze in the air. She gripped onto her mother's hand tighter. "Mommy, Daddy, how long until we get home?"
Yamame looked down at her daughter with a smile. "Don't worry, we're almost there. Just hang on a little longer, alright?"
"I...I'm fine!" Madara insisted. "I...I just really miss the warmth..."
"I do too," Madara's father, Kisume, said as she too gripped onto Yamame's hand. The three of them made quite a sight; Kisume's somewhat small size and relatively childish has caused some individuals to mistake her for being a lot younger than she really was. The Kurodani family had already heard from several people that they looked more like a mother with two children as opposed to a couple with one child. Kisume did not usually take these misunderstandings that well, often sulking whenever a person made such an assumption. "Ah, it will be such a relief once we get back."
"It's just a little longer," Yamame laughed. She suddenly gave her daughter a look of concern. "Are you alright, Madara?"
"I'm fine! I'm...I'm..." Madara let out a yawn. "Actually...I'm a little sleepy..."
Yamame stopped walking and knelt down. "If you're sleepy, I'll give you a piggyback ride for the rest of the way," she said.
"But...won't I be too heavy...?"
"It's alright," Yamame insisted. "Go on, get on."
The little spider youkai gave a sleepy nod and crawled up onto Yamame's back and, as soon as the tsuchigumo had straightened up with her on her back, promptly fell asleep. Yamame smiled as she felt Madara's small head slowly slump forward and touch her shoulder. "Don't worry, honey," she assured her slumbering daughter. "We'll be home before you know it."
It was then that Yamame felt something warm next to her and, turning around, she saw Kisume holding a hand full of demon fire. "Just in case the two of you are cold," she said, giving her wife's hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry I can't make it bigger, but it'll have to do for now."
Yamame let go of Kisume's hand to pull the tsurube-otoshi closer. "It's fine...no, it's actually more than enough," she said as she gave Kisume a grin of gratitude. "Being with you always makes me feel warm."
Kisume laughed a little sheepishly as she held the small ball of demon fire closer to her sleeping daughter, looking satisfied when the tiny shivers ceased. "Come on; the sooner we get back, the sooner we can all snuggle together."
"You're not going to just grab a big blanket and hide in your bucket?" Yamame teased.
"And miss a chance to snuggle with you?" Kisume replied. "I'll choose that over my bucket any day."