Byzantium

Stage 8

They left Judah at home, warning him not to go outside and to leave all the curtains and windows firmly closed. When he repeated the instructions twice, verbatim, that's when they left, and even then they were weary. Still, they left Judah alone and Ivy drove, as usual, and Elise was low in her seat, as usual. They were in companionable silence. It was a new occurrence for them but they didn't mention it. Elise less so, not wanting to make things awkward. The vibe they had together was peaceful and shouldn't be disturbed.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Elise asked after a while. She was watching a bird fly, tilting her head as the bird began to swerve to hover directly over the car.

"He should be," Ivy said. She was wondering what Elise was looking at, and why Elise didn't just roll down the window to get a better look at it. "I've never left him outside of his room before, but I think he'll be okay."

"You've never let him roam the house? Even before I got here?"

"No. His... transformation was very recent, and I was scared. I didn't know if I could take care of him on my own."

Elise hummed absentmindedly. "Guess you're glad you have me now," she said, more to fill the silence than anything else.

Ivy smiled in Elise's direction. Elise was still looking at something out the window, her gaze intense. Ivy turned her head back to the road, embarrassed, but not knowing why. Then she was caught off guard when Elise gripped her forearm, gentle but persistent.

"Stop the car in here," Elise mumbled. Her finger was pressed up against her window, indicating a wide alleyway, but her eyes were focused upward towards the sky.

Confused, Ivy pulled the car into the alley. She knew the area wasn't for cars and she hoped that she wouldn't get towed. "What's wrong?"

"Stay here," Elise instructed. She got out of the car then stalked up to a dumpster near the end of the alley. She climbed onto it then jumped up, grabbing onto the fire escape ladder attached to the side of the building. Ivy watched Elise climb to the nearest floor, try the window, then keep moving when the window was locked. Ivy frowned and continued to watch Elise try window after window until she found one that was unlocked. Elise climbed through the window then was gone.

"What is she doing...?" Ivy leaned forward and watched the building, waiting for something to happen, waiting for Elise to reappear. Two minutes passed. Nothing. Five minutes. Quiet. Ten minutes. Ivy slunk back in her seat, tempted to get out of the car and try to find her Host. She tapped the steering wheel with her thumbs and sighed. Where was Elise? Ivy was beginning to get anxious. Maybe someone had caught Elise breaking and entering. Maybe Elise was hurt.

Ivy undid her seatbelt but remained in her seat. She wasn't sure what she should do. She wanted to make sure Elise was okay, but what if she ended up interrupted something? Ivy chewed on her bottom lip nervously. She had trusted Elise enough to stop the car without questions, so she figured she could trust Elise to keep safe. That thought calmed Ivy slightly. That didn't mean she still wasn't worried about the wolf though. It would be tragic, she thought, to lose Elise right when their relationship had hit something close to friendship. She didn't want someone that knew about her situation to be gone from her life. Elise was essentially the only person that could be trusted. Elise was the only person that could be trusted.

"Five more minutes," Ivy whispered to herself. She would give Elise five more minutes. After that, she would go in search of her Host. She might go through the front door instead of going into someone's apartment uninvited, though. She was human and definitely didn't have an excuse for a random B&E. Elise at least had the chance to use the 'I was protecting my human from a perceived threat' reason. It was a flimsy reason, but it had worked before. It had been all over the internet for a few days.