Ivy

Ethan chuckled. Even though they were several years older, their conversations hadn't changed drastically. He was still curious about everything that enveloped her life, the description she gave him, only intriguing him more. Ethan tried to imagine it – the sparkling, celestial ambiance of fairy-dominated land, and even though his mind had constructed pretty vivid pictures, it was just something he had to see for himself. He knew a day like that would never come though, but he was perfectly fine living off of Ivy's colorful details.

"Hah, makes sense!" Ethan exclaimed. "It's different in my world – there's cars, crime, drugs, sex… pollution." He paused, before letting out a tiny snicker. "I'm not exactly making it sound the most attractive, but there's freedom, and millions of wonderful opportunities."
"I don't know what half of that stuff is."
He raised his brows. "Wow, our worlds are truly different." Each and every term he had listed was an active part of his life, save for the drugs. Crime happened in Chicago daily – it simply came with the package of living in a big city.
"Very," she snickered, "but that's what's so interesting."
Ethan nodded, rubbing out the kinks in his neck. "That, it is."

He stood up from the couch, moving over to the kitchen as he dumped his half-finished plate of dinner into the trash can. Ethan was thankful he had had a rather large breakfast earlier, having the energy to get through the night and try again tomorrow.

"Do you come here often?" He asked, referring to the house
"Every weekend," she smirked, "since they died."
."Wow," Ethan murmured, moving over to the sink to wash the dishes. "Why?"
"I didn't want to lose it, I guess. I find that if I kept this place alive, I'd keep the memories we had alive, too."
He smiled sheepishly. "Well, you've kept it in lovely shape."

She truly had – the place was practically spotless, just as his grandmother enjoyed keeping it. Ivy preserved it's essence, and Ethan couldn't even adequately sum up how much he owed her for it. Perhaps they would have that discussion later.
 
~ ~ ~

Ivy hated to leave him that day, but they both had duties to attend to and as the evening began to turn into night, she departed. They hadn't talked about what feelings they had left behind that summer, or what they felt now, but their conversation still no less than exhilarating. Sometimes when she didn't think about the years that had separated them, it felt like they had always been together. He brought out her constant smile and laugh in such simple conversations.

The next morning, as she had promised, she returned to his new home. The scent of burning pancakes greeted her senses as soon as she entered, and she wrinkled her nose.

"Do you try to burn them?" she asked.
Ethan scrunched up his nose. "Yeah, I like my food a little charred. Tastes better!"
"Here," she smiled, extending the smallest of flower-shaped plates to him. It held an array of fruits, as well as a small cake-like piece of food glazed in glistening honey and sweet to the nose.
"What is it?" he asked, but took the plate gratefully nonetheless.
"Food," Ivy explained, "food of the fae. It'll be sweet, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it more than your homemade breakfast."
Ethan grinned like a kid in a candy shop. "Awesome. You eat this back...home?"
"Kind of," she explained, "we eat to celebrate, not to necessarily fulfill needs, like you people do."
"You don't need to eat?" he questioned curiously.
Ivy shook her head, "I don't have to do much, really. Sleep is the main thing, but that's about it. I don't even think we reproduce the same way as you people do. But that's an entirely different matter I think." She smiled sheepishly.
 
They had moved over to the table, Ethan cutting into the cake before shoveling it into his mouth. It was an explosion of flavors on his taste bud, that involuntary 'mmh' escaping from his lips as he glanced up at her at the mention of reproduction. Of course their innocence had limited their conversations, but now, as an adult, he found himself curious on how exactly that worked for her race. They hadn't spoken about their relationship, but even in their preteens, where he would come back every now and again, the gestures they exchanged were light and naïve, like soft kisses on the cheek or sometimes the lips, before breaking away and flushing a deep red.

The memory caused his heart to swell, but he pushed it to the crevices of his mind. Ethan had no idea how she felt about him, and didn't want to bring up anything that could potentially screw the comfortable way the treated each other now.

"How does it work…for fairies? Reproducing and all?"
"The child grows between the wings, encased in a blossom. And when it's ready, it blooms, and a tiny fairy is released."
Ethan's mouth fell open. "Wow."
"What's it like for humans?" she questioned, taking a seat in front of him.
He smirked to himself, stabbing a piece of fruit before popping it in his mouth. "For one, sex is just as recreational as it is reproductive. There's a lot of women that don't do it, just to have a kid, they do it for pleasure."

Ethan was part of the former demographic. The idea of kids was a wonderful thought, but not at twenty four. For now, he simply enjoyed doing it for fun, when the right girl came around.

Ivy looked up at him through her eyelashes, "my father always told me that, when they reproduced, that humans were vulgar... more like untamed animals than anything else. He's gone into the city more than any other fairy of our area, and though he's never seen it, he said he had heard..."
"Vulgar," he repeated, with raised brows. "I wouldn't call it that. It's…a good way to release stress." Apparently her race was convinced over the prospect human were merely animals; it took a while getting used to.
She shrugged, "I don't understand it."
Ethan nodded, reaching for the water bottle he kept on the table and swigging half of it. "Well, it's not within your nature, I guess. I'm guessing you're waiting until marriage, to have kids?"
"Marriage?" she asked curiously.
"Y'know, the joining of two people…in holy matrimony….forever?"

"Like... a mate?"
"You make it sound so impersonal," Ethan mused with a tiny smirk. "Most people get married to the love of their love, which I suppose you could call a mate, but it's a term rarely used."
 
Ivy watched in amusement as Ethan devoured the small spread she had brought for him. Next time, she would be sure to bring him more; he was acting like he hadn't eaten for years.

"Our worlds are so different," she smirked, "but that isn't news to me. For us, mating isn't really... personal, I guess. Except for a few, like my parents were. Usually you just have a mate in order to have a child, and then you move along. But of course you want to have an appropriate mate, because who you reproduce with determines your standing in the village, and all that kind of stuff..."
Ethan laughed softly, "that sounds awfully... awful? I mean, what about love?"
Ivy shrugged, "it's not normal for us, I guess. Not the point of our existence." Though, since she was just a child and could see the love that bonded her parents, she had craved something wonderful like that. Even her brothers were against the idea, despite the fact that they had seen it all their lives. She supposed they were a lot more traditional, and thought their sister to be odd because she wanted more.

Standing from her chair, Ivy began to circle the small room. She admired the paintings on the wall, and the old cross stitching and Mrs. Fuller seemed to be so fond of.

"Have you ever been in love?" she murmured, and then she explained, "I haven't. It's so rare here, like some gift that only some people are given. But as my father had told me, it's an abundant where you are from. Always people kissing, and holding hands. That's nearly non-existent where I'm from. And sometimes, despite what everyone says, I feel like we are more animalistic than you humans are."
 
Ethan had grown up in a broken home, although the prospect had never bothered him. His father and older brother, in spite of being incredibly annoying sometimes, were more than fitting people to learn and adapt from and he wouldn't have changed a thing. She had left before Ethan was fully capable of understanding the world around him, at a ripe age of three. According to his pa, she was a haughty drug addict, with big dreams of traveling the world. Apparently, this 'dream' didn't include a family, so without a second thought, she drove to Mexico with her other boyfriend at the time.

Ah well.

"You're the closest I've ever been to falling in love," Ethan admitted with a tiny shrug. It could have happened if they spent a few more summers together, but there was no denying the chemistry that radiated between them back then. He described it as electrifying. Ethan turned to glance at her, a tiny grin pulling at his lips. "Eh, I think those gestures are fueled more by lust than love. But animalistic – how so?"
"Animals, they mate, have babies, and they leave. Where as humans, they stay with their mate all their lives. It just seems, I dunno... special."
Ethan chuckled. "I guess you could say that. Have you ever wanted to settle?"
"I thought about it. But it makes things complicated where I am from."

He nodded understandingly. "The thought of settling terrifies me. Besides the occasional fling, I like to keep my distance from the whole commitment business." It's not like Ethan couldn't imagine it happening one day – but he was only twenty four and had plenty of time to consider that later on down the line.
"We should switch worlds then, huh?" she laughed lightly.
Ethan pretended to think about it. "Maybe – although I don't think I'd rock the wings as well as you do."
She shrugged, grabbing the tip of the broken one from over her shoulder, "they aren't that bad."

"When are you getting that fixed?" Ethan asked curiously, noticing the ruptured tissue. He wasn't sure how injuries worked in her world, but he could somewhat imagine that being painful.
"Fixed?" she smiled, "it fixes itself, like if I were to get a scratch on my skin, like yours."
"Wow," Ethan murmured. "Guess I got a lot to learn?"
 
Ivy did not know what love was like outside of the love she had felt from her parents and siblings. But to have someone say that he had been in love with her (or the "closest thing to it") made her feel all sorts of emotions. She could recall the butterflies in her stomach, the rapid heart rate when he was around... but still, she wasn't sure if it had been "love".
She didn't know a thing about that stuff.

Standing from her chair, Ivy smiled lightly and crossed her arms. "I suppose so. But if you don't have an open mind, you'll go back to thinking it was just another figment of your imagination."
"Well, now that I'm positive those summers we shared weren't just a hallucination, I'm definitely more open-minded," he replied with a handsome smile, white teeth gleaming in the lamplight.
Ivy walked about on her tip-toes, surveying the room and pondering, fingers to her chin. "Let's see. Ever heard of... werewolves, or vampires, mermaids?" His eyes glistened at just the names. Ivy imagined he had heard of each, though only in stories as child; according to her family, people who had the privilege of witnessing such creatures had taken the idea and claimed it as their own. It seemed as though humans were much more partial to imagining the creatures as fictional, not something they dwelled among daily.

"In stories," he paused, eyes widening at her with a shred of his youth flickering in them. "They exist, too? Well, men and women transforming into werewolves, for the first bit."
"Humans like to take our species and mark them as their own ideas. But we all exist. The only reason none ever surface is because we live in small numbers, not even as many as you humans. You all have dominated us, and now we live in areas we cannot be found."
"That's incredible," Ethan murmured. "People always thought I was insane for having a fond interest in the supernatural, which was partially why I chose to not believe you existed."

Ivy shrugged meekly, "like I said, humans don't have very open minds. But sometimes, it's better that way... I can't imagine what would happen if they ever discovered we existed. The species that coexist right now are having a difficult enough time!" She smiled sadly, knowing well enough that their world didn't need anymore war and bloodshed; and according to the council back home, that was all that the humans would bring. It was also precisely the reason why Ivy had never told anyone about her attachment to a human boy, or showed her friend her home.
 
"How bad is the war back home?" Ethan asked all of a sudden. He had no idea if it was on the same level as a human war, but he figured the two concepts were similar.
"Bad. I can lose my family because of it. We don't really know what's going on, all we see is soldiers coming back with awful wounds... or worse, not coming back at all."
Ethan frowned, fingers playing with the rim of his empty plate. "Is it against another supernatural species or something?" He had no idea how it worked – and if there were certain between species like…the rivalry between the Knicks and the Heat.
She nodded, "over stupid stuff that happened thousands of years ago."
Ethan let out a low whistle, glancing up at her. "Well if you ever just need a place to hide out or something, by all means, stay here."
"Thanks," Ivy smiled meekly.

Ethan cleaned up his plate, as well as the other scraps before tugging off his shirt, still needing to take a shower. Even after all these years, he still felt fiercely protective of her, and honestly couldn't imagine his life without her in it. The war troubled him, and he didn't want Ivy or her family suffering from it.

"Tell me about your family," he encouraged, wanting to push away the worrisome thoughts that clogged his mind.
"My family? Well, I have a father, and many brothers and sisters."
"No mother?" Ethan felt like he was prodding, but his curiosity had always spurred a plethora of questions.
Ivy cast her eyes downward, "she died awhile back."
Ethan inched towards her carefully, not sure whether or not it was appropriate to touch her. "I'm sorry, Ivy." He never understood why people used the word sorry when it wasn't their fault, but he felt the two words were absolutely necessary.
She shrugged lightly, "I am the oldest female in my family, and so I try to give my younger siblings what I had. It's not so bad... I do miss her, though."
"Well, that's natural," Ethan murmured. "It's nice what you're doing—for your siblings."
 
Memories of her mother panged at Ivy's heart. The woman had been the most wonderful in the entire village, and very few were brave enough to deny it. She was not only beautiful, but had a certain elegance about her. Like Ivy, she had a pair of translucent yellow-green wings and matching blond locks. Ivy had enjoyed listening to her stories of imagination and dreams as a child, looking up into those round blue eyes and starry night above them when she went to bad.
Recalling all of these things made the young woman yearn for her mother once more; she hoped, if she ever did parent in the same way, that she could be even half as wonderful as her mother.

"What about you?" she asked carefully, smiling as he approached her, "and your family? I know about your grandparents, and your dad, but that's all."
"Well, we're a lot more similar than I thought, because my mom isn't in my life either," he responded, carefully choosing his words.
Ivy's eyes saddened significantly, "did she pass away, as well?"
"No, she left. With her boyfriend. A long time ago," he admitted.

Now, Ivy wasn't sure what was worse – knowing that you would never get to see her again, or knowing that she was out there somewhere but didn't care enough to come back for you? She could see the sadness in Ethan's eyes, and that was precisely why she didn't press him any further.

Instead, she travelled to the nearby window. The pane was filthy with dust but she could still see what lie ahead; a field of trees and brush, and overhanging a storm that turned the clouds a sickly shade of purple.

"A storm's coming. A bad one," she murmured, touching the glass.
"Guess we'll have to stay put then."
Ivy shook her head, "I have to go. I can tell from the way the clouds are moving that isn't just caused by the weather."
 
Ethan raised his brows in surprise at the hidden meaning behind her words. Did it have something to do with the war? He found his forehead creasing with worry once she straightened up and started towards the door, frantic to exit the small, wooden house.

"It's not safe, Ivy," he advised, wanting to stop her. But after all these years, who gave him the right to decide what was best for her? Ethan felt like he had been pushed against a rock and a hard place, completely uncertain of the state of their relationship – she wasn't mad at him, but then again, they weren't entirely comfortable around each other, either. Not like they used to be.

She bit at her lip, "you don't understand, Ethan."
"You could get hurt." Ethan ran a hand through his hair, hoping she'd reconsider her actions. If the war was as large as she was making it seem, how was running into the pit of fire a good idea? Ethan understood she had family, but wasn't the main objective just to stay safe and hope to God everyone was okay?

"My family is unsafe..."
"I want to help you, Ivy," Ethan murmured, although he was very unsure of how to do that.
Ivy shook her head, "you really don't understand, Ethan. Whatever's coming... it's bad. It could be centaurs, or gorgans... something awful, considering the storm they bring. And you know what they want? Fairies."

He felt his heart drop at the thought, his tongue suddenly becoming a huge lump he couldn't swallow. Ethan bit his lip. "I know it may not be possible, but perhaps your family could hide out here? It's not big, but I just don't want anything happening to you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Ethan felt like she was perfectly capable of handling herself, as she had done since he left, but seeing her again after all these years brought back a fierce loyalty and urge to protect her from within him, and he couldn't shake the feelings no matter how hard he tried. He understood his preposition was probably nothing short of impossible, but Ethan would at least offer, regardless.
 
Ivy wrapped an arm around herself, seeing the confiction in Ethan's eyes. She knew that he cared about her, even after all of these years - but she had a family to protect, as she had vowed to her father so many years ago upon his leave.

His care meant the world to her, but staying here was not only dangerous for those back home but him, as well.

Pressing one hand to her temple, Ivy breathed in deeply. "I have to go, Ethan."
Her words were quick and her actions even more rapid, knowing well enough that if she dwelled on her departure than he was going to stop her. So she flew out the door, hearing only Ethan's words call out for her.

Ivy didn't get far, however; the scent of the centaurs, musty like horse and rancid like dirty men, hit her. Immediately, she was drawing back into the house. Immediately after the torrential rain poured down on the small structure, hitting the roof at high speed, threatening to break it down.

"Go back!" she whispered hastily, seeing Ethan still standing stunned in the kitchen. She pointed to the back bedroom, gripping him by the arm.

Ethan looked at her incredulously as she pulled the curtains and locked the old door. By the time he had asked "what's going on?" Ivy was already pushing him to the floor, following closely behind.
"They're centaurs," she explained. He looked like he was about to ask a question, but Ivy beat him, "they're half man, half horse. They are very fast and extremely good at hunting. They've been eyeing the land around here, that the fairies and the sprites and the elves have always owned. We must stay under here, and be very, very quiet. They can't bend very low, so we have to hide here."
 
Ethan felt like he could have gotten whiplash from the flurry of events that had suddenly transpired. From Ivy rushing away from the house to protect her family to suddenly returning to the house and jerking him underneath the frame of his bed and forcing him to keep quiet. He felt mystified as she went on about centaurs – explaining them as half men, half horses, the images from his childhood vivid of the ancient creatures often used in Greek mythology. Ethan had always read the stories of them, not sure if it had been true or not, but her words actually resembled the descriptions used back then.

He tried to hold his breath for longer intervals of time once the sound of the front door being banged open instigated his ear drums, the rhythmic claps of hooves on the wood soon to follow.

"I thought I had 'eard someone in 'ere," a gruff voice muttered, just loud enough.
"'as to be," another one agreed, "the smell of blood is still thick in the air."

Ethan felt goosebumps prickle against his skin as Ivy remained close next to him, their bodies pushed together in the tight, dark space. For a second he feared they could hear the sound of his heart beating painfully against his rib cage, but he tried to push any and all uncertainty from his mind. If they couldn't bend that well, they should be fine, right?

"'Aye, check the bedroom," another voice piped in, voice enriched with a menacing deepness. Ethan assumed this was the captain. "That seems to be the first place they always 'ide."

The clap of hooves increased accordingly, Ivy's breath silently catching in her throat.

Ethan's eyes widened at the fluttering of the sheets as the beasts moved along it, a hoof so close to his face he was pretty sure if he craned his neck several centimeters further, he could have touched it. And just when things couldn't possibly get any more nerve-wracking—

His foot twitched, and that was all it took to send a loose marble slowly rolling from underneath the bed, and against the hoof of a centaur.

Ethan was positive his heart stopped.
 
Ethan was much larger than Ivy, as he always had been. She squeezed herself into his chest, forcing him to curl his legs around her slightly so that they were concealed underneath the bed. She could feel his rapid heart beat and increased breathing rate against her own frame, feeling that same nervousness and fear pulse through her own being. But they remained quiet... until Ethan moved ever so slightly, however, a marble went rolling across the floor.

"What was that?" one of the centaurs mumbled, kicking about the marble on the floor. He hit it with his hoof, sending it flying back underneath the bedframe again.
Ivy buried her face into Ethan's shoulder and closed her eyes, concentrating on their voices and their lingering stench.
"Just 'er toy," another responded. And soon they were searching the rest of the house, only to faintly declare that it had been abandoned for decades.

The cruel creatures had never acquired a good sense of smell, so the lingering aroma of breakfast hadn't phased them one bit. They seemed to enjoy the small place, however, searching the place for small momentos, including the sparkling crystal glassware and the old drapes from the windows.

Despite the fact that they had long since left, Ivy and Ethan remained stowed underneath the bedframe. She could feel Ethan's heart still rapidly beating against her frame, and even as the hours passed, it didn't subside. Only when he turned to look at her, pure relief in his eyes, did Ivy realize that he was okay; they were okay.
She took in a deep breath and curled further into him, trying not to dwell too hard on the fate of her family.
 
They had stayed underneath that bed for what felt like hours, even after the centaurs had left. Time felt irrelevant though as soon as Ivy pressed her head to his chest, their bodies somewhat tangled in the dark space. For the first time in thirteen years, Ethan sincerely felt like nothing had changed, slipping into that comfortable state of mind he often was in around her.

"Is that what you have to deal with daily?" he breathed carefully, breaking the silence, although his voice was still faint. For as long as the rain continued to pound against the thin roof, Ethan would continue to be careful in his movements. Even after the centaurs had left, there was no telling what creature could enter next.

"No," she whispered, "it's rare they come to the village. But there's always the possibility..."
He drew soft circles along her back. "Are their always wars?"
She nodded, "lots of species, not enough land."

Ethan glanced up at the dark space, mildly frustrated with the fact he could do absolutely nothing to help her. She was right – he didn't understand her world, and there was a great chance he never would. But that didn't stop his distress from overwhelming him whenever she brought up the war. Ethan couldn't help but be pessimistic, and he strongly feared one day she'd never return from the underbrush.

"And they're trying to seize the land my grandparents' house was on?"
"It's part of the fairy territory, but just barely. It depends if they get held back, and how much they take."

Ethan nodded, before they fell into silence once more, simply enjoying the presence of the other's body. Sometimes a silent understanding was the best way to console someone, and he just gripped her tighter, taking in the sweet honey of her hair and allowing his lids to flit closed momentarily. His grandmother never enjoyed city slickers, therefore the location of her house made nothing but sense, being approximately sixty or so miles into the woods, taking weekend trips or paying people to bring her the necessary utilities and groceries every week or so.

Ethan enjoyed the quiet, country life as well, although adulthood loomed over him, and unlike his grandparents, he didn't receive hefty retirement checks after decades in the workforce.
 
Ivy wasn't quite sure how to proceed; as she laid locked in Ethan's arms, her main thoughts were of her family. The worst part was that she knew she couldn't return, especially as long as the rain continued to pour down. Her family was in danger, but by going back her village, she knew she'd only be putting them all further into it. For now, she had to stay here and only hope.

"They've only found us once," Ivy murmured softly, "the invaders, I mean. It was when I was just a baby... we are so far into the wild that we are essentially hidden. But the prospect is still frightening."
The worst part was the fact that each time, they only got closer and closer. The centaurs were always searching, and the werewolves hunted the grounds regularly. The soldiers were always monitoring from the borderlines, but considering the extent of the dark powers, they could do little to stop them.
"I can imagine," Ethan breathed. "That's terrifying."
Ivy squirmed slightly in his arms, only to find him closer, "do they have wars, in your world?"
""Not as frequently," Ethan responded. "The government agencies and such usually keeps everything in check. "
Her brow furrowed with confusion but since she was so emotionally and physically drained, Ivy wasn't about to press Ethan about his world. Surely there were so many differences between the two, and they could go on and on about it. But for now, she was content to lay with him and pretend the rest of the world didn't exist.
"Are you going to go back to the city right away? Now that you know this place isn't safe?" she inquired.
"Why would I?" he asked. "I couldn't just leave you, Ivy."
Ivy smiled sadly, "you don't belong in my world, Ethan. As much as I want you to, you don't... you can't. It's not safe."
 
Ethan understood how true her words were, although it never stopped him from trying to learn as much about her and her world as he possibly could. But for now, right this moment, he was perfectly content, excluding the world and everything that went on it. They could think about everything later, and even though sweeping things under the mat didn't make it disappear, he just wanted things to be carefree, if even for an hour.

"Tell me something about yourself you've never told me before." Ethan wanted to bring their conversation to a nicer light, that tiny grin felt in the darkness.
She smiled timidly, "hm... let's see. Well, I have eleven siblings."
"Eleven, wow," he murmured. His brother was already a pain in the ass, so Ethan could hardly fathom having nine other siblings to deal with. "Doesn't it ever get…crowded?" he teased slightly.
"I love each of them, so no. We live in a tight space, but I like having all of them near."
"Are you the oldest?" Ethan only asked because he didn't remember her having so much when they first met – although his memory could have failed him.

"Out of the girls, yes. But I have a few older brothers."
"Do they live with you, also?" He was known for getting carried away with questions, but it wasn't any regular day when you had a conversation with a fairy.
"They're soldiers," she nodded.
"Oh," he murmured, resting his jaw on the crown of her head. "I only have one brother – Michael. Him and my father practically raised me."
 
Slowly but surely the couple moved from underneath the bed. Under her insistance, Ivy was the first to emerge - she surveyed the house before deeming it safe for her human counterpart to come out as well. She was saddened to find that the centaurs had ruined a lot of the house; their claw-like nails had ripped at the sofa and wallpaper, and they had ransacked every cupboard of food and porcelain.

Ivy looked sadly at the ruined home, sighing in deeply, "you should return to the city, Ethan."
They would have been in shreds too if the centaurs had discovered them underneath that bed.
"I have to watch over this place for a few days," he murmured, "and I don't want to leave you...not yet, anyways."
Ivy shook her head hastily, "I can take care of this place. But you... you need to leave, Ethan. They aren't the first and they won't be the last. This place, as I have, has changed a lot since we were kids. It's not safe anymore, not for you."

Of course, Ivy would have loved to reconnect with the human she had been so fond of as a kid. But her need to protect him exceeded her need to be beside him, as well as her anger towards him; thus, she willed him to go.

"I'll be fine, Ivy," he murmured. "Trust me."
Ivy shook her head - he always been the more stubborn of the two. She nodded, "then I need to leave. They are here because they can sense me. As long as you don't get in their way, any of them, you should be fine."
 
Ethan would have protested for Ivy to stay longer, but he soon realized he really didn't have a choice at this point. Obviously she had a family to protect, and even though they had been close, no one could beat a relative. Needless to say, he let her leave, with a disappointed scowl before attempting to salvage the ruined house. How the hell would he explain this to his father? They already thought his 'crazy' stage had passed after Ivy – now he had to somehow explain that magical centaurs had torn through the house in a mythical uprising.

Bull.

Night had crept along by the time Ethan had taken a quick shower, changing into plain pajama pants and stirring a bowl of cereal for about half an hour. He found it nearly impossible to fall asleep by the time he had, blankets tucked up to his chin as dreams of Ivy instigated his thoughts. Her pictures, now, had become a lot more vivid in his mind – eyes a little greener, skin a little paler. Ethan had gotten to the middle of a dream that comprised of Ivy explaining the different types of bark in the forest, and how each held its own tale before a loud screech coaxed him from his subconscious.


He blinked open his eyes, bright crimson orbs directly in front of his, fangs gleaming in the darkness, a crooked grin spreading across his lips.

"I've found dinner," he hissed teasingly, nail dragging along his jaw.

Any normal person would have been positively scared for their life at that point, but for some completely unknown reason, Ethan felt…mystified. It had actually taken him seconds to register the fact that an actual vampire was before him, threatening to eat him alive. Ethan eventually used the skills he had acquired from track and field, kicking up his legs from the bed and darting towards the foyer for the iron stake that rested before the fireplace.

Ethan was going on pure folklore at this point, hoping the ancient texts held some truth.

But the very second his fingers closed around the cool metal, the vampire appeared in front of him once more, knocking the rod from his grasp as a tiny chuckle escaped his lips.

"Are you trying to run from a vampire, my boy?" His face looked youthful, although it held the maturity of someone well over a few centuries old. "Haven't you read the stories?"
Ethan raised his brows, swallowing any fear that might have hit him at that point. "Worth a shot."

Just as the vampire had begun to guffaw once more, he practically flew towards the ground, grabbing the stake once more. The creature was quick, however, falling on top of Ethan's chest as he pressed the rod hard enough against his throat to constrict his passageway of oxygen. The world began to blur around him, browns mixing with reds…reds mixing with turquoise. He pictured the fairy's face, however, those emerald green eyes branded into the crevices of his mind, the charm bracelet surging a newfound strength through his veins as he brought his knee to the vampire's stomach, forcing him off and springing to his feet once more.

Ethan took this as his golden ticket, quickly driving the stake through the creature's heart and watching in mildly satisfaction as it stumbled backwards, sputtering in surprise.

But if even for a second, he thought things were over, the vampire found the energy to lift the coffee table by the couch, thrusting it at the human with remarkable power as it threw Ethan into a wall, the glass exploding around him.

The final thing Ethan took solace in before blacking out, was the fact the other man crumpled, absolutely lifeless, to the floor.
 
"Oh gosh, oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh," Ivy breathed in deeply, searching over Ethan's face several times. He was bloody and beaten, his limbs cut up by the glass that surrounded him and one of his arms crushed in a position that looked completely unnatural.
Her gentle fingertips traced over his rugged jaw and stubbled chin. She was satisfied to find that breath was leaving his lips, although just barely.
"So odd," a voice came from behind her, masculine but sounded melodic at the same time. Ivy turned to meet the grass green eyes of one her brothers. Just a year younger than her, Peter had discovered the man in the home; to Ethan's luck, he had managed to chase the vampires off the land - they hadn't been looking for a war, just a meal for the evening. When Ivy had heard that a human had been found injured, she had rushed to the house immediately.
"What?" she asked.
"That a human would be out here... we thought this place was abandoned, that's why we never patrolled," Peter explained.
Ivy nodded her head shakily. "We can't just leave him here, though... I mean, what if he gets hurt?"
"Are you suggesting we take him back to the village?"
"We can keep him in the house, and no one will know."
"Dad will kill us."

Ivy sighed in deeply, "dad's at war, Peter. Dad will never know."

~ ~ ~

"He's waking up, Ivy! He's waking up!" Rosa, one of Ivy's younger sisters, called. The young woman had recruited her smallest siblings to watch over the intriguing human while she prepared some food and a bed for him.
As she entered the main room of their wooden home, Ivy smiled softly. Ethan now had a badly broken but newly bandaged arm, and his face had been cleaned of all blood and dirt. He would surely be sore when he woke up, but Ivy was just happy that he was alive. Apparently, encounters with vampires rarely had survivers, regardless of the species of their victim.
Shooing the small ones from the room, Ivy sat on the edge of the cot. She stroked at Ethan's hair before smiling into his eyes. He was just beginning to open them, a groan leaving his lips.
"Shhh." she whispered softly, "you're alright. Just relax, now... you've been hurt."
 
Ethan could hardly make sense of his surroundings by the time his eyes fluttered open, the pain instantly licking at each and every limb of his body. Where…was he? He tried to blink hard enough so the scene encompassing him would focus, and after several seconds of allowing his eyes to adjust, he took in a bright room comprised of ivory-white wood, and a canopy of leaves dangling from the ceiling. His bed was carved out of sturdy wood, a few blankets thrown over his body as a sling wrapped his throbbing arm. Ethan noticed the bandages that shrouded his still-taut skin, a basin of hot water with a rag in it resting by the bed.

But most importantly, Ivy absolutely glistened in her own element, vivid green eyes filling with relief once he returned to consciousness. Ethan couldn't help but smile even though pain surged through him, her fingers soothing as it stroked his dark tousles of hair.

"What…happened?" he murmured, the image of a vampire still embedded in his mind.
"You were attacked... by a vampire. But my brother found you before you were seriously hurt."
Ethan tried to suppress a groan, already trying to come up with a plausible explanation for his father. There was no way he could get around this one.

"Where am I?" he murmured after several seconds of careful silence. "This doesn't look like the cabin."
"My home," she whispered.
Now that she had mentioned it, Ethan fully registered the celestial air that hung about the place, a particular sweetness about it that words couldn't adequately explain. Now he understood why Ivy always had trouble helping him picture it.

"Oh," he murmured, looking around the room once more. "It's beautiful."
She smiled, "thank you. But you need to rest, I imagine you're in a lot of pain."
"Just a little bit," he teased, feeling the heat in his limbs only heighten. Ethan fought the urge to wince.
 
Ivy knew that if any other fairy discovered she was harbouring a human in her home, she, Ethan and her family could be seriously and negatively affected. But for some reason, the thought barely phased her – her brother had only mentioned it once, and after seeing the true devotion that Ivy had to the human, he seemed to understand that this was not their first meeting. Surely she would be questioned about it later on, but for now she was more concerned about keeping Ethan a secret and making sure he was safe and healthy.
</SPAN>
She pressed a cloth soaked in cold water against his head and watched as he seemed to relax against it. Then she told him, "this is the only safe place for you, now. My brothers fear that the centaurs or vampires have caught your scent."</SPAN>
"So you mean I can't go back?" Ethan inquired.</SPAN>

Ivy looked down sadly at him, "to that house, no. It's not safe for anyone at this point… we have reason to believe that the Opposition, the "bad guys" as you humans so fondly refer to them as, have tracked the place and plan to take that portion of the land."
</SPAN>
"Shit," he muttered under his breath, "but my dad is going to go back to it when he doesn't hear from me. And it's our property… I mean, he's not going to believe me when I say that some dark magical beings took it over and I can't go back." He coughed a bit after his words and Ivy shushed him gently, knowing that in his condition even talking could be difficult. Perhaps he hadn't seen himself yet; he was badly battered with scratches and dried blood shrouding his normally clear complexion.
</SPAN>
"For now, rest," she nodded, moving the cloth so that it pressed against the large gash on his cheek. He winced and Ivy smiled apologetically. "If your father tries to go, we can try to influence him not to. But for now, you need to rest, and then we'll return you to the city."</SPAN>
 
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