Byzantium

Stage 12

In Ivy's room, Elise pulled on the handle to the entrance to the bunker. As soon as it was open, Judah popped his head out. "You okay, dead man?" Elise asked.

Judah smiled. "I heard people and didn't come up."

Ivy chuckled and squatted down. "That was good of you. I'm proud." She decided not to tell him about what had happened while he was hiding in his room. Instead, she gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Everything's alright now. You can go back to bed. Everyone's gone."

Judah nodded. "Okay. I'm tired." With that, he went back down into his bunker with absolutely no curiosity in him about the night's events.

Elise dropped the door and kicked some mess over it to hide it, and there was a lot of mess to kick. The bug man had made an absolute disaster of Ivy's room. It had been cleaned within the three days that Rayna gave them peace, but now it was back to its old look.

Ivy shook her head, lifted her hand, then dropped it, defeated. Her bed, among other things, was destroyed and thrown across the room and, once again, she didn't have somewhere to sleep. She could have simply placed her mattress in the middle of the chaos for one night but her body and mind were dead tired. She didn't have the energy to clean, never mind try to get a decent sleeping situation prepared.

Elise grunted at the mess. "You can sleep in my room. C'mon." She went to her room and offered Ivy the bed, as she had the last time Ivy's room was destroyed by one of Rayna's workers. She took her pillow and threw it on the floor, same as last time, and turned out the lights. Before she could lay down, though, Ivy whispered her name. Elise looked at Ivy, who was standing by the bed. Elise cocked her head and wondered what was wrong. Maybe Ivy wanted to talk about the nights events?

Ivy looked away, a slight pink to her cheeks, afraid to face Elise head on even in the low light of the moon. But that near darkness gave her courage to speak, too. "Did you mean what you said earlier? That I was... a part of your pack?"

Elise's ears burned, her misshapen ear giving her an odd sensation. "Oh... you heard that, huh?" She had said that pack comment in the spur of the moment, not thinking that Ivy would catch it, not considering the implications. It was just something that slipped out. Worse yet, it was completely how Elise saw things.

Ivy nodded. "So... is it true?"

Elise stood awkwardly, not sure what to say. She knew how she felt inside, and she knew Ivy would want the truth. So, taking a deep breath of courage, Elise stepped up to Ivy and gently took Ivy's cheeks in her hands. When Ivy didn't react negatively, Elise leaned forward and did something Ivy did not expect- she licked Ivy's face slowly. Her tongue traced from Ivy's chin, across her cheek, and stopped at her temple. You are my blood. You are my equal. You are within me as I pray I am within you. We are one, and we are whole. Elise had no other way to express this than with a simple lick, as her kind was so fond of. She took back her tongue and pulled away, her face pale with fear that Ivy would not accept, or understand, the sentiment and chose to sever their ties. Elise had only done such an old world ritual with few people, most of which were her biological family. The ritual meant so much even though the act was so little. Elise was afraid she'd get her first rejection in the form of Ivy.

Ivy's lips were parted and her cheeks were crimson. She had yet to blink. "What... What does that mean?"

Elise held her chin high, prepared for the worst. "I see you as my family. You are my..." She tried to search for the right word, but couldn't find one in english or spanish that was sufficient. She only knew of the wolf speak that represented what she felt. She gurgled deep in her throat, an almost growl, and yipped softly. "That is the only way I know to say it. We share a bond, or so I think. I want to know if you see us in this way too. Do you wish to be a part of me as I think I am you?"