Ink and Bone

[IvyKane]

Ivy's eyes widened as she was lifted from the ground and near cradled in the Warrior's arms. He was likely just a man but for her she could only see him as something more. Something... someone...familiar. She chanced a look up at him before nervously dipping her head back down to avoid making direct eye contact. Her heart was in near panic beat mode and she wondered if it had to do with adrenaline or just something about the one holding her so carefully. He was the one that had broke bone so easily and yet here he was carrying her like he was terrified she might break.

It wasn't usual that Ivy reacted such a way towards other blonds. In fact she preferred her men of darker hair but something about this one... it was different. Safe. Then again who was she fooling everyone made her nervous. The thought almost had her chuckling if not for the state of the evening. A hand lifted to take her glasses from her eyes and she yelped at not only pain but the near loss of balance. She swore she heard him laugh at her and before she knew what she was doing she was glaring up at him. That was a bad choice.

Eyes widened and she just about lost her glasses as her eyes met his. Ivy felt that familiar spark ignite within her, the feeling she always got when she felt she was going to see something. A vision. A dream. A nightmare. This usually happened in the night when she was sleeping but this was no dream. A nervous shove of her glasses back in place, demon ash and dirt smudging her cheeks as she looked down swiftly. No, no, no Ivy, don't be an idiot. He was just doing his service as any other human being would if they had a heart. There was nothing there.

She had to distract herself, breathing in deeply she inhaled the scent of oil, grease, ash, sweat, dirt and blood from him and shook her head as it all but blanketed her. Ivy should have been revolted but she imagined she didn't smell that great herself. Biting her lip she closed her eyes for just a moment, she was so exhausted. How was this the right moment to be drowsy? In the arms of a stranger that was likely just going to haul her off to the authorities to earn a pretty profit. Still the steady beat of his heart was calming. Half-lidded eyes began to close as one of her palms smoothed along his side to come to rest at his chest. Even injured, her hand seemed determined to find a resting place just above his heart. The steady throb against her palm was a soothing balm to her wounded palm and near broken spirit. Ivy was an idiot.

A subtle shake of head and then the briefest wrinkle of nose as she felt a drop of moisture hit her nose. At first she swore she was crying but no she had done that earlier. As she contemplated it the drops became heavier and more frequent. Rain. Ivy couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief for the rain. Not just the relief that it would smudge the ember mark she had left behind when she became a human torch, but relief that thankfully she had elected not to wear white today. However, her relief was trumped by her bemoaning she was alone with a stranger and getting drenched. What a night...

[AlexKirk]

The touch.
Just above his heart.
Gentle, almost as the touch of a lover.
A familiarity stirred deep within him and he swore he heard a cry.
Primal.
Raw.
Needing.

She looked at him, silent question filling her eyes but never falling from lips. Alex tried to smile and find the reassuring words.

"You're safe now. They are gone." His voice didn't sound like it normally did. It was heavy and lower, but smooth and soothing and barely heard above the driving rains that came from nowhere.

She felt light, even with his fatigue. A long day of deals, fights and bad blood. Her energizing light had replenished him, but that was fading along with her. Alex's green eyes fell to his bike. His beloved Dyna. He'd ridden in worse storms, but never with a passenger who was unaware. She could easily spill them both. He knew the area, and it wasn't far from his sanctuary. The locals would know by the mural painted on the tank to guard his prized possession. If the demons came back, that would be a different story.

"Taxi!" He called as there just happened to be one passing by. The door pulled open and he placed her inside.

"Hey, I know you." The driver said. "This ride's on the house, I'm goin' home anyway."

"It's a weird request, but I need you to drive her to my place. I'll lead on the bike."

The driver waved his hand at the windshield, as if Alex didn't know he was getting soaked to the bone. "You'll get to lookin' like a drowned rat."

"I'm not leaving my bike here," Alex shoved more cash than necessary toward the other man. His bet on Muggo's loss had made him a nice profit. "Stay close, it's not far." The door was pushed closed, but his hand lingered against the steel, watching her.

Something about her...

Alex pulled the bike in through the large overhead door. Then motioned for the cab to follow him inside. It was a mechanic's shop, and there was more than enough room. Usually the business was a front, but there were a couple of vehicles inside. Favors and cash jobs. The driver rolled down his window as Alex was picking her up as gently as if afraid she would shatter.

"I know it's a weird question, but why not take her to the hospital? Those burns look..." Alex cut him off.

"She's with me, and safe. I've got her."

The cabby bobbed his head nervously. Something about the look in Alex's eyes, there was something there even briefly. "Uh...how much for an oil change sometime soon?"

"Bring 'er by in a couple days. I owe you." Alex said as he hip bumped the door closed. "Go home to your family."

There wasn't another word between them, the driver backed out and the door slid down, sealing the garage from the outside and allowing nothing more but the sound of the storm and her breathing.

He carried her to his room. It wasn't typical biker decorated. There were no posters from men's magazines, no flags of anarchy, just a simple, clean, and nicely arranged room.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but my name is Alex. You're safe here. Your hands are burned, and I'm going to use some of The Witch's salve then wrap them. She does good work. I use this stuff if I burn my hand or arm on a hot exhaust pipe." His voice was not loud. Maybe he was talking more for his own assurances, but he felt it needed to be done. "If you happen to wake up and I'm not here, I am not far. There is a living room, just outside of the door and down the small flight." Alex began to massage the salve into her hands. She twitched, but he knew the cooling would come soon. "I'm going to leave this small bedside light on, there's a bathroom to your left, and..." he paused, looking at her, and studying her face. "That's about it."

He stood and watched her. He swiped his hand across his wet jeans and gently took her glasses off to put on the bedside. The hand returned to wipe the smudge of ash from her cheek. "Rest easy."

It was then that he walked away, pausing at the closet for a pair of sweats and a clean tee. He needed a shower, and sleep.

[IvyKane]

She woke in darkness in a strange bed. Needless to say the panic was going to set in. Eyes flickered wildly around her as the near panic attack consumed her. A deep breath and she looked to her treated hands, brow in a furrow as she reached out at the counter beside her. Glasses put on she felt more secure as she looked down at herself and breathed a sigh of relief. All put together. She slowly eased her way as quietly as possible out of the bed and tiptoed silently to the door.

Fingers tucked stray strands of blond behind her ear as she pressed her fingertips to the door frame. Quietly she listened as she held her breath and wished for all to be still and silent around her. The memories of hours earlier flooded into her system and she gingerly dropped her hand away from the door to press upon her skin. Bruised but not broken. That in itself was a small boon. The Warrior. She looked around, bridge of her nose pinched as she closed her eyes tightly. She wouldn't dare turn on a light.

The Warrior. No... Alex. Now she remembered his name was Alex.

You should remember me

Ivy spun around on her heel in search of the voice, only to realize once again it was all in her head. Closing her eyes didn't banish the voice as a visual proceeded the voice. Standing on a mountain top overlooking the sun rise. Wings so pale and delicate they seemed translucent were resting at her back as she looked down upon the world below. The man beside her was so familiar and yet a stranger to her still. She should remember but she didn't. The memories were as easy to brush aside as spider webs. Still they clung to her, begging for her to remember something she had forgotten.

Ivy opened her eyes as she felt moisture spill down her cheeks. She couldn't blame the rain on that one. It had dried so long ago and stopped now aside. She at least knew that. Something about the way the air smelled to her. Sniffing softly, she knew she was about ten seconds shy of becoming a blubbering mess and she didn't know why. When she closed her eyes she saw that vision again tucked at the edge of her mind's eye. Gazing at the one beside her, his wings seemed forged of shadow and apparitions of smoke. So different from her own.

Angels.

A snort. The burns must have scorched her sanity too.

"This is just madness. Stupid, stupid girl. They were right Ivy. You should just turn yourself in."

See. Certifiable. Crazy. Kook. No wonder she kept to herself. There was no way she was going to drag someone else with her. Drag someone down. Alex...

Shaking her head, lower lip caught in her teeth she stumbled over to the night stand and scratched out a swift apology on a piece of paper she found. A receipt of some sort. How she was able to see in the dark really was beyond her but it didn't matter. All she knew is she had to go before she made someone else's life complicated...

[AlexKirk]

The skies were blotted with heavy, ink black clouds. The war raged overhead and underfoot. Lightning flashed to allow glimpses of the warriors. They fought for their beliefs. They fought for blood. On the ground a pair stood on a large, winding rise. The winds ripping at their flesh. He was the darkness, she the light. Together they were unstoppable. Together they were the love desired by many.

Their battles had been fought. Bodies of their enemies stacked around them, and following them up the rise. The last taking a dying, ragged breath and reaching for her, only to be pinned to the ground by a great, shadowed sword.

She looked at him, a smile played across her lips. She knew he'd live for her, and he'd die for her.






Her things sat on the chair by the bed. Before leaving however, her bag was lifted and wallet taken out. Alex stared at her name and address on her ID.

"Ivy Kane." He said her name quietly into the darkened room.

She seemed familiar, but her name didn't. She had the look of a librarian, but not like the slutty ones that had danced at the clubhouse. Maybe he was really drunk the night she had been there. Something pulled at him, something comforting but forgotten. A lover's embrace. The taste of her kiss? Her wallet was put aside, something to drop back into her bag and hand to her when she came around. He told himself again and again that it was just to know her name so that when she came around, she wouldn't be as scared.

That's when he heard her stirring. Or had he feltit?

Alex pushed to his feet and nearly ran into her as she was pulling open the door.

"Evening, Ivy. I'm not sure where you think you're going, especially without so much as a goodbye." He grinned at her. "The big one said he'd be back for you, so going home right now maybe not the best idea." He folded his arms across his expanse of chest. "So, please... have some tea with me, and help me understand what's going on?" It was an insistent tone. One that said he wasn't about to take no for an answer.

[IvyKane]

"You went through my stuff?"

The words were almost spit out even as she stumbled and landed on her butt to save from running smack into his chest. His chest. A flash of memories, fingers curled at his chest above a beating heart. A spray of blood, a fall of feathers.

"Feathers..."

The word caught in her throat and she shook her head, fingers curling into wounded palms as she looked at him with such anguish in her eyes before they were closed and she turned away from him.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she returned to the room and dropped on to the bed. Mortified she was mortified. He went through her stuff. He had to have seen the medications that had been prescribed to her by the Centre. Anti-psychotics. Anti-depressants. Anti-anxiety. A mess. Fingers pinched the bridge of her nose as she pulled her glasses off and sat them on the night stand.

Knees drawn to her chest, cheek pressed to knee cap. She wouldn't dare look at him.

"Tea would be nice... Alex..."

Bare feet in winter. She wasn't cold though. Holding out her hands she stretched her fingers out toward the moonlight, smiling with pleasure as the cool rays licked at her palms, painting her skin a soothing balm of energy. Even as a creature of light she took such reverie and delight in the darkness and the shadows. The moon and the stars when she was told to linger with the sun. She was meant to be an Angel of the Sun and Glory, ever since the Morning Star had fallen she was the next in line... but she did not want that... she ached for the Night... and the Warriors...no... Warrior... that lived there. A Night Hunter. Head tipped back and she shrieked in delight as she was lifted in the air and tossed into the night sky. Her wings were gold and fireflies dancing on display for him. Smiling as always. With him she was fearless... the consequences... irrelevant.

"I... don't have anywhere to go... They will destroy the shop... I can't let that be. I promised. I swore...I have a duty. I don't go back on my word."

Her blue eyes were fringed in a sliver of sunbeam gold as she frowned at him, tears threatening to spill over. Who was she fooling, it was false hope truly. She knew the shop was likely in ashes already.

"Someone else was here before. I shouldn't be here. You... are...."

She shut her mouth, cutting the words off sharp as she bit the inside of her cheek until she drew blood. Hugging herself she shot to her feet as she felt the anxiety crushing her once more. The heat, the fever struck a match within her and she was damn near ready to burn alive with it. It didn't matter anymore. Not to Ivy.

The smell of another female, the scent of desire and want mixed with sweat. It was enough. Fresh enough to her senses. Ivy cursed her sharp senses. Even still... it made her want to burn alive.

[AlexKirk]

"Someone was here, a long time ago." Somehow he knew she meant another woman. Truth told, there'd been a few. "You're safe, and I belong to no one, Ivy."

He turned and moved to the kitchen, the ritual of tea making always calmed him. It was better than any drug.

Snow.

Bloody tracks leading away from a fallen greater demon.

The warrior threw his head back and released a primal scream. The pain unlike anything felt before. The pain in his body as it tried to heal from the demon's ravages. The pain in his chest from losing her. He leaned heavily on his great sword. The demon's black blood dried on the ancient blade, but he could still see his reflection in the few places it hadn't clung to. Shadow ink eyes stared back. His blood ran from his scalp. With another roar, the blade was lifted toward the battle above.

"I will find you!"

Lightning flashed and a bolt struck the blade, sending fire through his body. Another scream was heard above the raging battle.

He shook his head. The dreams were coming to him when he was awake now. "What kind of shop do you have, Ivy?" Anything to take his mind off the dreams. "If it will make you feel better, we can go check it out tomorrow. I'll call ahead to my guy for warding, that'll keep it safe while I keep you safe."

They were endless. Pouring over the cliff's edge to fight the warrior. He cut them down, sometimes two at a time. But, they kept coming. He could feel her. She was close, but not close enough to keep him at the pace he went. He needed her light. He needed her.

Teeth pierced the flesh on the back of his leg and he dropped to one knee. But, he fought on. Shadow consumed him. Darkness incarnate he became. Every one of the attackers dead at his feet. The sword clattered to the blood covered icy rock below his feet. His own mixing with demons. It was too much, the warrior fell among his enemies reaching for the light from above.
"I need you...." The darkness swirled.

Alex was gripping the cabinet's edge to steady himself. The kettle was whistling, indicating it's ready. He blinked a few times and shook his head. He was just tired. That's what he told himself. The tea was taken to her with a small jar of honey and a few packs of sugar.

[IvyKane]

The world was burning around her. After he had fallen and the demons came upon him one after the other she was frozen with terror. There was so much blood and darkness and fire. She was screaming for him as she dropped to her knees, crawling to the edge to peer down below in hopes of seeing him holding on. From time to time she would see a smoky flash cutting through the demons and knew he still fought on but then there were too many. The tears blinded her and she screamed until her voice went raw and silent. She felt the blood on the back of her throat and then a hand closed around her throat and she was thrown. Her wings snapped out and she hit the obsidian edge of a stone crevice. The breath was knocked out of her as she felt the darkness crowd her.



They had called her the North Star. For obvious reasons and some not so obvious. After Lucifer had fallen and she had been called as his replacement there were so many expectations. So much wanted and required of her. She was meant to be dedicated and sworn to Uriel ? the announcement was supposed to take place soon but all of that went to the wayside when the demons rose. Something of it was a small relief because she had no love towards Uriel. No? she loved another. Forbidden Darkness. A Shadow Warrior that was only meant to be the holy hand of the Lord. Judge, Jury, Executioner. He had a job to do? and yet she loved him. The memories of their stolen moments in twilight left her struggling against the hand of the demon as her eyes snapped open. Fire gold as the wings flared out behind her, burning bright. Once they had shone brighter but after his touch they had dimmed to moon pale. North Star. If they found out that her Glory was tarnished surely they would destroy her. Perhaps Death by demon was not a terrible way to go.



She heard him in her mind. Encouraging her to fight. He never would beg or plead. He always told. Demanded. Forced. To make her stronger. A smile touched her lips and she let out a silent scream. They wanted her to burn? She would light up the world? and that was exactly what she did.



The tea cup was lifted, the warmth a soothing balm against her injured palms as she looked at him with distant eyes. The memories that seemed her own and yet so not seemed to play there in the blue. She ached to be near him and she no comprehension as to why she felt this way. He was a stranger to her. He felt like something else though. So far from a stranger.



Ivy shook her head and sipped at her tea, closing her eyes as she chewed nervously on her bottom lip. His words drew her from her thoughts and the mention of the shop drew a small smile upon her lips



?It?s a library of sorts. A used book store really but you?re not going to find any Harry Potter or James Patterson there.?



The words were a mirror of what she had been told when she first came upon the shop. She set her half finished tea down and offered him a dimpled smile as she grinned. For a moment it felt like things were just normal and that the world wasn?t falling apart around her. His offer surprised her as that sudden nature of shyness overcame her once more.



?Thank you. I would like that. I?m sure she would appreciate it too.? She didn?t speak more of the past. Her smile dimmed in the smallest fraction as she looked at him. Tentative steps before she slipped her arms around him and buried her head against his chest. A deep sigh that seemed borderline contentment as she fell silent. This was so out of her nature but she found it seemed so much easier to embrace to speak the volumes of gratitude she felt towards him. Surely it was just that? gratitude.