Ivy was standing above Elise as Elise came to. Ivy looked concerned, almost motherly. Elise groaned and sat up too quickly, bile coming up her throat. Ivy reacted quickly and turned Elise's head to the side, changing the direction of Elise's stream of vomit. Elise was thankful.
"Crap." Ivy grimaced at the pool of throw up on her living room floor. "What happened to you? Did that girl do this?"
Elise mumbled something but Ivy didn't catch it. Elise swallowed, ignoring the taste in her mouth, then tried again. "Too much."
"Too much? Too much what?"
"Just... sleep..."
"Just sleep? Just sleep... Oh! You want to sleep? Sleep? That's what you want?" Ivy helped Elise stand, having trouble getting Elise to stop shaking. Ivy managed to get Elise to her room and in bed with a lot of pushing and shoving and dragging. Ivy watched Elise immediately shut her eyes and begin to snore softly. Worried, Ivy rolled Elise onto her stomach and pushed her face to the side just in case she threw up again. Then she left to get some things done for the day, since Elise was sure to stay out for a long time. She was concerned, sure, but there was no point dwelling when Elise wasn't going to be speaking for a while.
-----
Elise dreamt of the past, of random memories, of things her subconscious wanted to share. She knew she was dreaming because her vision was outlined with stark white and things were just a tad bit blurry. Things always looked that way when she was dreaming.
The memory that replayed for her was the first time she lost control of her magic, of her wolf. She was on her first run with her parents, deep out in the deserts of Mexico. It was so hot she felt like her fur was going to burn away from her skin. Her paws stung from the heated sand. Her tongue lolled out of her jaw as she ran further and further from her parents, leaving them behind to yowl and snap.
Elise ran so hard her legs and chest ached but she wouldn't stop, couldn't stop. Not even when she ran directly into a small abandoned village did she stop. Her magic fueled her need to move and chase the wind. She knew she was powerful, her parents had said as much, but she just didn't know how much, not then. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribcage and she could feel her magic throb in her veins. Her head spun but she knew she was still running. Sand changed to cobblestones and the pads of her paws felt like they would melt away. The howl that left her was piercing. Her parents had to tackle her and hold her until she calmed, and she never did. She only passed out from a magical overdose, the byzantium in her veins becoming too potent.
Then, the next moment, as dreams tended to morph, Elise was in her room from when she was a teenager. She was lying on her bed, on her back, with her crush at the time on top of her. It was the first time she had gone so far with another person, and it made her feel strange. Elise, the watcher, the fully aware Elise that knew she was dreaming, remembered that day clearly. It was the second time she had lost control. It was the time she knew that sex was not for her, it never would be, not unless she learned to control the beast, the magic, inside. Even then, she never wanted to be so intimate.
Her crush had gone too far and pushed things thanks to the fuel of fresh hormones. Her shirt was being pushed up, her pants pushed down. The strange feeling multiplied and she gasped. Her crush thought that was a sound of encouragement. She couldn't say it wasn't, her throat had closed and her magic was pumping through her blood. She panicked and pushed her crush away, her claws extended and her teeth biting through her lips. She shrieked wildly, byzantium poisoning her from the inside out. She passed out from the pain.
The scenery changed again and she was meeting Cav for the first time. Cav was just a kitten, really, and Elise a cub. They were teens but still so immature. Their meeting was not long after Elise's second freak out. Cav was a calm in Elise's storm. Elise begun to go on runs with Cav, short ones at first, then increasing in length as time passed. Cav knew of Elise's affliction and never pushed. The best part, to Elise, was that Cav wasn't scared. A lot of people were scared of Elise's power, and that was when they didn't know about her magic being dangerous. Cav never shied away. In fact, she got closer. She flirted with Elise, helped her control what was inside, helped her function without passing out every time a good looking person winked in her direction. Soon enough, Elise could flirt back and banter, even touch and feel without her magic thickening in her veins. The wolf and its killer magic didn't run free again. Elise made sure of that. She could finally run wild, flirt, get excited, and all without losing control. She was no longer limited to soft activities. She could play sports again, she could dance, she could party. Her life was hers once more.
The scenery shifted. Elise was older, out of high school, and in control. Her dreamscape was a hodgepodge of things she had experienced throughout the years. The first apartment she had with Cav just over there. Her first car. A variety of people she had been intimate with. At the end of memory lane lay a beautiful, purple flower. Elise walked up to it and plucked it from the earth. Stars exploded around her and her memories were gone. Then there was Ivy. There was that Judah man. There was Rayna, Cav, the girls from the club, Carmen. There was another being that she couldn't see. A darkness tainted all of them. Elise's dream form shivered from an invisible chill in the air and goosflesh marred her skin. A purple smoke engulfed all of her friends, leaving behind only that strange being. The being grew, expanded, transformed right before Elise's eyes. It grew to the size of a ten story building then bent over, leaned down close to the floor to study Elise. It roared silently and Elise found herself roaring along with it. Something popped, then Elise cried out as the being shot inside her. It twisted and cracked and forced its way down Elise's throat, filling her up with taint. Elise couldn't stop it. She could only cry and shake and hope it would cease, but it wouldn't. It filled her to the tipping point, so much that she thought she would suffocate and die. She wasn't that lucky. It gripped her bones and muscles, squeezed until everything splintered and broke. Her skin remained intact but everything inside was shrapnel. She was her and it all at once, but it had control. It wielded her wolf, her magic. And it wanted that byzantium to flow unhindered as Elise never allowed before.
-----
Elise gasped into the waking world with jerking limbs. Her body stung and a fierce headache pounded the base of her skull. She lifted herself to a kneeling position and looked at her surroundings through bleary eyes. She was back in her own room. She remembered fighting herself to get here, but she never made it. Then she recalled Ivy helping. Yeah, that was right. Ivy had found Elise passed out in the living room. Elise remembered now. She was brought to her room thanks to Ivy. Had she told Ivy what had happened? No, she didn't remember doing that. She didn't even know how she could explain it now if Ivy asked.
Groaning, Elise managed to get herself out of bed and to the bathroom. She felt like cement was poured into her mouth. She brushed her teeth to get rid of the taste of old vomit then took a long shower to relax her muscles. The headache was still present by the time she got dressed but she figured Ivy had some painkillers. Most humans did. Elise padded to the back of the house to not only ask for painkillers but to thank Ivy as well. Ivy had helped when she hadn't needed to, and Elise wouldn't forget that.
She knocked on Ivy's door politely and waited. And waited. And waited.
Knocking again, Elise waited some more. Ivy still didn't answer. Frowning, Elise searched the house but couldn't find Ivy anywhere. Her car was in the driveway but Ivy was nowhere to be found. Elise made her way back to Ivy's room and knocked one more time. Still Ivy didn't answer. Elise stared at Ivy's door, then the doorknob. Should she just go in? Ivy was very secretive, she probably- definitely wouldn't approve. But Elise wanted to see Ivy. Elise needed to thank her.
Taking a deep breath, Elise grabbed the doorknob and turned slowly. Nothing popped out at her and Ivy's angry voice didn't shout, so Elise opened the door and peeked inside. It was dark and smelled of Ivy and something disturbing. The scent of that Judah man was present, if only slightly. Elise went further into the room and was surprised at how messy it was. There were clothes strewn everywhere, dust covered almost every available surface, and there were food wrappers and plates stacked up by the bed. How in the world could Ivy's room be so dirty when the rest of the house was so clean?
Something crunched under Elise's foot and she grimaced, hoping whatever she just destroyed wasn't important. Ivy wasn't in the room but Elise felt the need to explore since it was probably her only chance to do so. She stepped over the mess she made and tried to walk further into the room but regretted it immediately. Her foot snagged on something and she toppled over, smacking her face on the edge of Ivy's bedframe. She yelped and rolled around, holding her stinging nose and wiggling the toes that hurt. When she recovered, she sat up and glared around, trying to find what had made her trip. Then she spotted it- a lump underneath one of Ivy's skimpy t-shirts. Elise moved the shirt in an unjustified rage and found a handle instead of a shoe or some such thing. Now that was interesting. What was a handle doing in the middle of Ivy's room? Curious, Elise pulled on it. The handle creaked and the door attached to it lifted, causing a pile of Ivy's clothes and trash to clatter away.
"What the...?" Elise stuck her head into the opening and came face to face with a set of stairs, and a gnarly stench wafted into her nostrils. She coughed and almost threw up. The scent was disgustingly familiar. It was Judah's stink. Elise frowned, looked around Ivy's room, and listened for her anywhere in the house. She couldn't hear a thing and that gave her the courage to explore the room below. She descended the stairs carefully, covering her mouth and nose with a hand. The stairs went on for a while and it made Elise wonder. How did Ivy build an underground bunker directly under her room? How could she afford it? And what was down there?
Elise blinked in the darkness and finally reached the bottom of the stairs. It was another room, a bedroom. There was a bed, a dresser, and a full length mirror taking up one side of the room. The other side held shelves and shelves of what looked to be potions and spices. Elise gasped as her eyes found a dark shadow standing in the furthest corner of the room. She gathered her wits then growled, letting a bit of magic bubble up inside her. The shadow moved, and Elise reacted. She jumped at the shadow, her bones shifting, and she grabbed it by the throat. Tufts of fur covered her knuckles and her body was taller than the shadow now.
"Wait!"
Elise relaxed her hold slightly. She could feel her magic swirling inside her but she kept it at bay, remaining in between human and animal. The shadow wiggled and gripped at Elise's thick wrists. Elise carried the shadow into the light and was surprised by who she was holding. It was Judah.
"Let me..." he gasped. "Please... hurt..."
Growling in warning, Elise let Judah down. He rubbed his throat and dead skin fell away. That's when Elise noticed that he looked... decayed. His skin was an ugly pale and his eyes were empty of life. Judah noticed Elise's stare and he went to one of the shelves and drank a moss green liquid, chugging it down in one gulp. He brightened some, the dead skin growing healthy again and his eyes turning a human brown.
"Holy. Shit." Elise's mind was spinning. No wonder that Judah man had the smell of an invalid. He was dead! All the trips out with Ivy, the weird deals, the Pre stores, all of it finally clicked together. Elise was accessory to necromancy. She groaned and returned to her full human form, shaking her head in disbelief. She thought she was definitely going to be an outlaw now. There was no way Ivy would get away with bringing back the dead.
"You must know," Judah said, stopping Elise's breakdown short. "Let her explain."
"Oh. Oh no. This is... this is... this is so illegal!" Elise gripped her face and thought of prison. She'd be sentenced for life if anyone found out she was an accomplice to Ivy's activities. Necromancy was forbidden by law, of all kinds. It was wrong, it was difficult, it had so many consequences that it was better just stabbing yourself in the face. How did Ivy even find someone to perform the ritual? No one was stupid enough to attempt it. There weren't even a handful of people in the world who knew how to do it, much less had enough power to succeed.
Judah laid a heavy hand on Elise's shoulder. "She worked everything out. You'll see."
Elise shook her head. "I'm so dead. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna be deader than you."
"Let her explain."
A sudden jolt of inspiration, and Elise smiled. Slow at first, then a full blown grin. "I never saw this. I never saw you. I don't know anything." She made her way back up the stairs, muttering to herself that she hadn't found a thing. "I was never here. I was never here." She la-la-la'd as she ascended the stairs, completely wiping her mind of... Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She had knocked on Ivy's door, and when she didn't find Ivy, she went back to her room. Nothing weird about that.
As her head popped up in Ivy's room, Elise laid eyes on a pair of red stilettos. They were still, and most definitely full. Caught, Elise blushed and slowly raised her eyes. Ivy was glaring down at her. Elise had a fleeting thought that this was the second time she had to look up at Ivy in such a way. She wondered how many more times it would happen in the future. She chuckled nervously.
"Hey, Ivy. How's it going? I was just going to go to my room. You look like you've been out having fun. You should tell me all about it in the morning." Elise tried to get out of the bunker but a stiletto stepped on her fingers, putting so much pressure that she had to bite her lip and hold back a whimper.
Ivy ground the toe of her heel into Elise's fingers both gracefully and skillfully. "What do you think you're doing?"
Elise squeaked and pat Ivy's ankle gently. "You're, uh, you're stepping on me..."
"I asked you a question."
"No, yeah, I heard it." Elise gulped and tried to pull her fingers out from beneath Ivy's heel with no avail. She smiled up at Ivy innocently. "I was just looking for you. I had a major headache and wanted some painkillers. I, uh, also wanted to thank you for helping me to my room when I passed out. I noticed you cleaned up my vomit in the living room, too. So, you know, thanks for that as well."
Ivy didn't lift her foot. "None of that tells me why you're down there."
"Down where? I'm not down anywhere. I was just leaving your wonderfully decorated room."
"Don't play coy with me." Ivy squatted down, putting more pressure on Elise's fingers, and grabbed Elise's chin, forcing their eyes to meet. "What are you doing in there?"
Elise blinked, searching for mercy in Ivy's sweet honeys. She found none. "Looking for you?"
Judah popped up behind Elise. "She found me."
Elise squeaked as her fingers begun to feel like they were going to pop off. Sure, she was a powerful wolf but she wasn't a wolf now, and she wasn't invincible, not against an angry human with killer heels. She blinked up at Ivy, begging for leniency. Ivy sighed then moved her foot, stood, and held out a hand to help Elise out of the bunker. Elise took Ivy's hand as a sign of forgiveness and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. She was still holding Ivy's hand.
Ivy cleared her throat and took her hand back. "What did he tell you?" She was referring to Judah.
Elise shook her head. "Nothing. I don't know a thing. In fact, I would have pretended I never even saw that man if he hadn't come out flapping his tongue."
Ivy sat down on her bed and started to remove her heels. There was a small smile on her face that she hid by ducking her head and focusing completely on her task. "You're completely set on ignoring everything, aren't you?"
"Nothing's happening. There's nothing to ignore."
Ivy couldn't hold back an amused chuckle. "I guess I have my answer."
"She saw me before I drank my medicine," Judah said. He looked like a dismembered head on the floor, the rest of his body inside the bunker.
Elise groaned and glared at him. "Stop talking! You're ruining everything I'm working for."
Judah rested his chin on the floor, a sad look on his face. "It's not nice to lie," he mumbled.
Sighing, Elise rubbed the bridge of her nose. "He lost brain cells during the ritual, didn't he?"
Ivy stood, barefooted now, and cocked her head. There was still a smile present on her lips. "So, you're not denying that you know what's happening now?"
"Okay," Elise said, dropping her hand from her face. "For the record, if anyone else finds out about your illegal activities, I will go to my grave saying I had no idea what was going on. I will rabidly defend my innocence."
"You're not innocent, though..." Judah mumbled.
Elise frowned down at him. "You're a corpse, no one will listen to a word you say."
He frowned right back. "That was mean."
Ivy padded over to the bunker and kneeled down next to Judah's head. "Why don't you go to sleep? You're sleepy, aren't you? You already took your medicine, so you're okay."
Judah nodded and reached out a hand to squeeze Ivy's. Ivy leaned down and kissed Judah's forehead, then urged him to go back down into the bunker. When he was gone, Ivy shut the door and covered the hatch with a pile of clothes. She clapped her hands together then stood up again and focused on Elise.
"So," she said. "Any questions?"
Elise shook her head. "Nope. I don't want to know anymore that I already do. I will say, though, that you took a huge risk bringing that man back to life. The bureau will kill you and him if they ever find out."
"I'm aware. But it was worth it."
"It's never worth it. That's never worth it. You have no idea what things you're bound to bring on yourself. Death is not supposed to be defied. When it is, all hell breaks loose, and I mean that literally. It's actually possible for Hell to spill into this world. Don't ask me how I know."
"I don't care about the consequences."
"And that's your problem. What is with you humans and your need for eternal life? People die, it happens. Why can't you accept that? It's always a human that does some really stupid thing that ends up putting tons of lives at risk. You're unbelievable."
The look on Ivy's face was a mixture of rage and sadness. Elise shut her mouth and wished she hadn't said anything. She always forgot that when people used risky magic, it was the fault of the heart. Every recorded incident of necromancy was a heartbroken human trying to resurrect a lover, sometimes a child or very close relative.
Elise gulped and suddenly knew the true identity of that Judah man down in the bunker. "He... he's your brother, isn't he?"
Ivy bit her bottom lip and nodded almost imperceptibly. "How did you know?"
"Your neighbors are a bit gossipy." Elise smiled nervously, took a half step towards Ivy. "I'm... sorry."
Wiping her face of tears that hadn't shed yet, Ivy straightened up. "What did they tell you?"
"That your brother was sick for a long time and you took care of him. They said he died recently. That's... pretty much it."
Nodding, Ivy slumped down onto her bed. "I know you disagree with what I did, and you don't even want to be a part of it but... will you tell? Are you going to inform the bureau?"
Elise sighed and scratched the nape of her neck. She did have a moment where she thought about turning Ivy in. Not only would the bust absolve Elise of any blame, but she would probably earn a few privileges from the bureau. But Elise noticed the look in Ivy's eye and she couldn't do it. Ivy was just a woman wanting to bring her brother back to a world where he wasn't sick and hurting. For Ivy, necromancy seemed the only answer.
"No," Elise finally said. "I won't say a thing. He was- is- your brother. I can... I think I can understand that." She took a step towards Ivy and, when Ivy didn't object, sat down on the bed.
Ivy's sadness was apparent but Elise didn't know what to do about it. She scooted closer to Ivy and reached out a hand but then stopped. That didn't seem right. She couldn't just hug Ivy like that. There was only one thing Elise knew for sure that calmed humans and made them feel better. Quick as lightning, Elise stripped off her shirt and her wolf teetered on the bed. Her pants slipped to the floor as she placed her snout underneath Ivy's hand. Service Pre's were a common occurrence now and though Elise wasn't one, she knew the basics thanks to a class that Riley had made her take.
Surprised, Ivy rubbed between Elise's ears. Elise lifted her head to show that it was okay and encouraged. She flipped onto her side to expose her underbelly and licked one of Ivy's fingers. Ivy giggled. Elise's tail wagged, pounding the mattress, and she wiggled her ears to make Ivy smile. It worked perfectly.
"Thank you," Ivy whispered. She ran her hand through Elise's fur, noticing for the first time that it was tinted red. She smiled, then leaned down and gave Elise's nose a tender smooch.
-----
Elise didn't feel awkward exactly, but it was odd to have Ivy suddenly so comfortable around the house. Before, Ivy was confident, in charge of her space, but she wasn't so relaxed. Ever since Elise allowed her wolf to comfort Ivy, the way Ivy carried herself around the house changed. Now Ivy was comfortable with reaching across Elise to get something, leaving herself exposed in Elise's presence, and even asking Elise questions regarding dinner. That was the weirdest thing of all to Elise. She hadn't expected Ivy to make dinner and for them to eat together. At the same time. In the same room. Sitting at the same table.
What was even weirder was that Judah was allowed to roam the house now that Elise knew of him. With just the two days that passed, his stink had embedded into everything, but Elise didn't complain. The Atkins siblings seemed much happier and Elise didn't want to ruin that feeling for them. It was all too weird for Elise so she spent most of her time outside painting the house, fixing it up. The work calmed her and she didn't have to spend time inside with that Judah man and his sister.
Halfway into day three of the unexpected normalcy suddenly thrust into her Hosting job, Elise had the house looking spectacular. Sam had come over to help with the garden and that help really made things perfect. Elise stood on the sidewalk in front of the house, her clothes covered in paint and dirt, surveying all the time she invested into the Atkins home. She was proud of what she had accomplished and wanted to bring Ivy out to come see. As she cleaned up her mess so that Ivy wouldn't get mad, a car pulled up to the front of the house, honking its horn. Elise squinted at the car and noticed Jeff sitting inside, waving at her. Her stomach clenched. Jeff was there for a surprise check up, that was the only reason he'd come for a visit without calling first. Elise ran into the house to warn Ivy and Judah. They had to get Judah down into the bunker and fast. If Jeff saw Judah, there would be a storm. Surely Jeff knew of Judah's existence, and his death. There wasn't a doubt in Elise's mind that Jeff had researched Ivy's background. He would have come across Judah's death certificate, known about Judah's illness. He would know what Judah looked like most likely.
"Ivy!" Elise bounded through the house, not caring that she was tracking dirt inside. "Ivy!"
Startled, Ivy stuck her head out of her room. Her door was wide open, as it had been since the day Judah was discovered. "What?" she asked in a panic. "What's going on? What's wrong?"
Elise skidded to a stop in front of Ivy's room, almost crashing into Ivy. "Jeff. He's here. Where's Judah? We need to hide Judah."
Ivy's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. "Inspection," she whispered. She pushed passed Elise and ran to the backyard. Judah was standing in the middle of the yard, staring up at the sky, directly at the sun. He wasn't blinking. "Judah!" Ivy grabbed his arm and dragged him inside.
The doorbell rang.
Ivy handed Judah off to Elise. "Put him in the bunker."
"No, wait!" Elise caught Ivy's arm before she could run off and answer the door. "I need to answer. I'm your Host, your protector. It makes sense if I answer it. You know, first defence and whatnot."
Ivy nodded. "Okay, I'll put him in."
"And tell him not to stare at the sun anymore. I know he's dead and it doesn't really hurt him but-" Elise's words were cut off as Ivy pushed her away, hissing for her to answer the door. She jogged to the front door and took a deep breath, then opened it and welcomed Jeff inside.
"Hey," he greeted. "Want to tell me why you ran away from me, and why you took so long to answer the door?"
Elise smiled, her heart still pumping from the sudden panic of Jeff's arrival. "Had to make sure the perimeter was safe, you know? A Hosts job is never done."
"Right..." Jeff looked skeptical. He switched a notebook he brought from his right hand to his left hand. Elise widened her smile then led Jeff to the living room. She sat him down and went to fetch him something to drink. As she returned to the living room she found Ivy sitting across from Jeff, making small talk. Jeff was smiling and clearly charmed by Ivy. Elise placed a glass of water in front of Jeff and another in front of Ivy, which she brought for herself but it would look better if Jeff thought otherwise. Elise sat in the chair next to Ivy and listened to her and Jeff chitchat.
"So," Jeff was saying. "There haven't been any problems? Even little ones. Anything. I'm here to listen."
"No, no." Ivy waved her hand and leaned back in her seat. "Sure, she's a little dirty but I think you knew that." She laughed as Jeff did. "Otherwise she's a great Host. I'm glad I picked her."
"Really? Wow. I expected a little trouble from her." Jeff smiled at Elise. "What about you? I'm assuming you have something to say. You always do."
Elise slid her eyes towards Ivy, who looked nervous now that Jeff's attention wasn't on her. "Nope," Elise said nonchalantly, making Ivy sigh in relief. "I'm fine. Just waiting for my six months to be up. I guess this is what inmates feel like. Prisons have better food though, at least."
Jeff shook his head. "I swear..." He smiled apologetically at Ivy, then refocused on Elise. He opened his notebook and placed it on his lap, then pulled out a pen, clicking it. "Have you been doing your duties?"
"Yes," Elise sighed, rolling her eyes.
"You've been wearing your dogtags?"
Elise pulled out said dogtags. "Yes."
"At all times?"
"Yes."
"Have you had to use your preternatural powers to defend Ivy yet?"
"No."
"Because you didn't want to or because it wasn't necessary?"
"It hasn't been necessary yet."
Jeff scribbled something down in his folder. He looked to Ivy. "Has there been a situation where you believe Elise should have used her power?"
Ivy shook her head. "No."
Jeff nodded, scribbling. "I would like to take a look around the house, if you don't mind. I would like to make sure you have an acceptable environment for your Host. You are allowed to refuse but it will be put in my report."
Ivy stood and held an arm out. "Please. Do I give you a tour?"
"Actually," Jeff said, standing. "I'd like to just look around on my own. You are allowed to follow but can't intervene. Do you agree to those terms?"
"Of course."
As Jeff headed down the hall, Elise and Ivy followed. "Elise. You were working outside when I arrived. Did Ivy make you do that?"
"No, no she didn't." Elise knew well enough that Ivy could be fined or worse if she was using her Host for difficult manual labor. It was hard to prove since most Hosts were blackmailed into doing it, their humans threatening to call the bureau if they're Hosts didn't cooperate, but still Elise didn't want to put Ivy in a bad light. "I was fixing the lawn and stuff for myself. I like to have somewhere to run."
Jeff nodded, inspecting the kitchen. "And Ivy wasn't helping to make an environment for your Lycan to relax and expel energy because...?"
"Because..." Elise looked to Ivy for some help, but Ivy had nothing to offer. Elise needed to come up with something quick. "Because she was working on the backyard. Two places are better than one."
Jeff hummed and made his way to the back of the house, to the backdoor. He stepped into the backyard and surveyed the area with a scrutinizing eye. He nodded, scribbled something down in his notebook, then came back inside. He walked straight to Ivy's room. He put his hand on the doorknob, but stopped before he twisted it. "Whose room is this?"
"Mine," Ivy piped up. She was tense. If he inspected it, he just might find the bunker, and Judah inside.
"Okay," he said, removing his hand from the knob. "I don't need to see yours. I just need to see Elise's room, make sure she has her own space and all that."
Both Ivy and Elise sighed in relief. Elise quickly moved Jeff along, getting him as far away from Ivy's room as possible. She led him to her room and swung the door open for him to see inside. He walked around once, nodded, scribbled into his notebook, then stood directly in the middle of Elise's mess.
"You're messy," he commented, a smirk on his face.
Elise smiled. "Yeah, well, you know how it is."
"Right." He pointed to the pet door with his pen. "Was that installed with your consent?"
"Yes."
"Is that your only means of getting inside the house? What I mean by that is: is that what Ivy prefers you to use?"
Elise frowned while Ivy looked absolutely offended. Elise looked at Ivy, not believing that Jeff had asked that question either. "No," Elise finally said. "I can use the front door, or the back door, or whatever entrance I want. Wow, Jeff, that was a pretty messed up question."
He reddened slightly. "I know, but I had to ask. I can't have you living in place where the people treat you like trash. It's happened before. Why do you think the rules are in place?"
Ivy's face softened when she heard that. Elise nodded in understanding. She showed Jeff around the rest of the house, sometimes he'd scribble in his notebook, sometimes he'd just nod and smile. Not once did he frown or look upon things in disapproval. When the tour was over, Jeff clicked his pen and closed his notebook. As he stood by the front door, he gave both Ivy and Elise a look.
"All of this is great, it really is, but I have one final inquiry."
Ivy looked at Elise, Elise cocked her head. "What is it?"
Jeff cleared his throat. "Are you two, uh-"
"No!" Elise shrieked before he could finish his question. "Why does everyone always think that? Do we give off that couple vibe? Seriously, I want to know."
Jeff's eyes widened and he waved his hands out in front of him. "Oh my! No, I wasn't asking that at all." His ears were red in embarrassment. "I was asking if you two got along. It's nice that the house is livable and safe all that, but the people that reside in it are important too. It's not a safe environment if you two are at a cold war. I want to know how your relationship is. Do you communicate well? I'm speaking generally. Like, is there any tension at all? Can you eat breakfast or dinner together and have it be normal? Can you ask favors of each other? Do you feel safe with each other in the house?"
"Oh." It was Elise's turn to be embarrassed. She should have waited for Jeff to finish his question the first time around. "Uh, yeah. Or wait, no." She made a fart noise with her mouth. "Everything is fine. I don't feel tension or whatever, and I feel safe and all that. Ivy?"
Ivy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's right. I feel safe. No tension. I think we communicate really well."
Jeff smiled. "Good, that's good. Well, that's all I have for today." He opened the front door. "You two did well. I'm pleasantly surprised at you, Elise. I honestly thought I'd come here and find you at war."
Elise poked her representative. "You have no faith, Jeff."
He chuckled. "Apparently not. I'll leave you two to... the rest of your day. If you ever have any problems, questions, anything, call me. That goes for both of you." He nodded, two fingers to his forehead, then left. Both Ivy and Elise ran to the window into the living room that looked out to the front yard and watched Jeff get into his car and drive off.
"That went well," Ivy commented as she watched the dirt that Jeff's car kicked up settle.
"Yeah. Right? We passed. I'm sure we passed."
"We definitely passed."
They stared out the window for a little while longer then looked at each other. "Judah," they said simultaneously. They ran to Ivy's room in a hurry. Elise pulled on the hatch and let Ivy go down into the bunker. Elise didn't exactly know why she was suddenly so worried about Judah, he had spent most of his time down in the bunker before she had discovered his secret. For some reason the surprise visit from Jeff, and the abrupt caging of Judah, made her feel a little worried for the dead man. Ivy popped back up from the bunker and held a hand out for Elise to take. Elise took it and lifted Ivy back up to the ground floor.
"He's alright?" Elise asked.
Judah popped his head up, and Ivy smiled, saying, "He's alright. I think the suddenness shook him, but he's alright."
Elise helped Judah out of the bunker then she closed the hatch and scattered clothes over it. "You good, dead man?"
"Yes," he answered honestly. "I took my potion."
Elise hadn't asked about that, but it was good news all the same. "That's good. Good job." Judah's childlike attitude was sort of endearing. She hadn't noticed it when they first met but now that she had spent some time around him, she found that he was more likeable that way. It was sad that he was dumbed down when he was brought back from the dead, but that was one of the consequences of using such dangerous magic. The only thing Elise really found regrettable about the whole thing was that Judah had that awful stink that didn't seem to ever go away.
There was the sound of the doorbell resonating throughout the house. Ivy shot Elise a look. "I'll get it," Elise said. "It's probably just Jeff." She jogged to the front door and flung it open, a sassy greeting for Jeff sitting on the tip of her tongue. She snapped her mouth shut when she realized that the person standing in front of her was not Jeff at all. It was an old woman dressed in all black.
She held out her hand, forcing Elise to look down at it. There was a rolled up piece of paper trapped between her gnarled fingers, the paper held closed with a red ribbon. Elise sighed and snatched the paper, trying her best not to touch the woman. Elise knew what the paper meant- that she'd have to go out on another 'mission' with Ivy. At least that was what happened the last time the woman arrived.
"Give this to-" the woman started.
"To Ivy," Elise finished.
"Tell her it's-"
"Important." Elise nodded. "Yeah, yeah, got it."
"You are rude, dog-"
"Finish that insult, lady, and you won't have a tongue."
The old woman imitated spitting at Elise's feet then she turned around and went on her way. Elise found herself growling as she watched the woman retreat. She calmed herself then took the paper to Ivy, and she waited for Ivy to read it and say where they would be going.