Ivy's eyes blinked open. The air was thick with dirt and dust, and she was forced to roll over as her body was wracked with coughs. Sitting up, she wiped her watering eyes and tried to rid her lungs of dust and smoke. Even with her vampire senses, she couldn't see more than 4 or 5 feet in front of her.
She closed her eyes and sighed, then her eyes flew open and she sprang to her feet in a panic, nearly tripping over herself. Where's Rachel?
"Ra-" she rasped, a cough cutting off the name. Breathing shallowly, she tried again. "Rachel?"
She spun around, trying to get her bearings. The witch they had been tracking had come from her left, and Rachel had been behind her... "Rachel?" she called louder, making her way in what she thought was the right direction. Her breathing became ragged, and her vision started to blur. No, no, no, no. No. No! Come on, witch, where are you? She tried to push her rising panic down in favor of listening harder trying to hear something, anything.
Hearing a low groan from in front of her, her heart leapt even as she realized that it had been from a man, not Rachel. Stopping, she crouched down when she almost walked into the man sprawled against the wall.
His eyes were fluttering, and the bitter scent of burnt amber filled her senses. Narrowing her eyes, she slapped her hand across his face, none to gently. Maybe it was a tad too hard to be for the sole purpose of waking him up, but he had just blasted Rachel with something, and she didn't much care. Once she found Rachel, alive, she'd kill him herself.
"Hey," she said angrily, not letting her desperation leak into her voice. "Hey!"
His eyes opened, and he shook his head blearily at her, his gaze unfocused. "Who are you?" She shook him, but not hard enough to impair him farther, seeing as she needed him conscious. She clenched her teeth. "What did you do?" she ground out. "Where's Rachel?"
She saw his eyes clear and lock onto her pitch black ones. He tensed, his fear hitting her, and she felt herself beginning to pull an aura. "Where. Is. Rachel." she growled.
The man was shaking, and she was about to hit him again – harder – when she heard a rustling coming off from her right. She snapped to her feet and let the witch thump back down. She followed the sound, knowing that her motions were edging on vampire quickness. Though she tried, she couldn't bring herself back to the state where she could slow down. It was getting harder to suppress the panic, and she had to stop herself from vamping out completely, or else she wouldn't be able to help Rachel when she found her.
Rachel. You had better be okay. Please, dear heart. Please be okay.
In the distance she heard sirens approaching. She hoped that it was Edden with the FIB, and not the IS. They would probably try to arrest them for something like destruction of property.
"Rachel!" she called out again, desperation shining on her face. "Where are you!" She had reached a wall, and reaching out to touch it, she saw that the plaster was cracked in a vaguely Rachel-shaped dent. Wincing, she looked around.
She stilled when she heard a tiny cry, then jumped when she felt something pat against her shin. Jerking away, she looked down, eyes widening when she realised what she was looking at. It was a small child, maybe 2 or 3 years old. The girl had flaming red hair, and wide green eyes, and was looking at Ivy with something in her gaze.
Ivy cautiously lowered herself down. No way. The child's eyes were watering, and Ivy imagined that if she was having trouble breathing in the dust-laden air, then it must be next to impossible for this tiny little girl. She had a slightly dazed expression on her face, looking around like she was trying to figure out where she was.
"Rachel?" she whispered hesitantly, holding her hand out to the girl. Her mind was having trouble accepting what she was seeing, but it had to be her. The little girl was wearing Rachel's working leathers, shrunken down with her so they still fit, making it look like an adorable pre-Turn Halloween costume. The child whimpered and fell into her arms, and Ivy stood up, bringing her up to where the air was clearer, as the dust was starting to settle around her feet. Wrapping the girl firmly in her arms, she leaned back so she could look in her eyes.
"Rachel? Is that- well, is that you?" Ivy searched her eyes. The girl was gripping the front of her shirt with tiny fists and taking shallow breaths. She murmured something, one hand scrubbing at her face.
"Ivy... wha...you...happ-n..."
"What?" Ivy leaned her head closer. "Vee..."
Ivy breathed in. That was her name, or it could be if you were a toddler who had just been blasted. It was Rachel.
She felt the air whoosh out of her lungs, and she almost cried in relief. Rachel was alive. Maybe not okay, since she looked about 3, but alive. Ivy could work with alive. Dead, she couldn't do. She wouldn't let herself think about what would happen to her if Rachel was dead.
What kind of spell was this anyways? Her guess was it was demon magic, that would be why the smell of the ever-after was there. Not to mention that she was pretty sure that there was no spell to turn someone into a child. She's never even heard of a rumor of one. If it were anybody else, she would probably be having a mini internal freak out about how it had happened, but since it was Rachel, she just accepted it. Whatever had caused this, she'd figure it out later.
Rachel squinted at her, before burying her head into her neck. "Okay," Ivy breathed, holding her hand protectively over her. She felt her heartbeat finally start to settle back to normal, and she blinked away the tears that had sprung into her eyes. She's fine. She's alive.
She looked around, only now remembering that they would need a way out. Carrying Rachel, she picked her way over to the hole that fool witch had blasted and peeked her head around the wall. Aw, crap. It was the IS. Okay. Different way out. Spinning, she spotted a door nestled behind a stack of crates. Moving quickly towards it, she tried to rid herself of the remaining panic that had built up inside of her. She took a couple of deep breaths, trying to let the fear and desperation spill out of her, with limited success. It wasn't perfect, but her control on her emotions would return soon. It was just as well that there was no one here to see her like this. She had to get her mask back in place first.
Reaching the door, she pushed at the bar, finding it locked. Looking behind her, she saw that she had no time to pick the lock.
Tightening her hold on Rachel, she spun and kicked the door open, making sure to only use the muscles in her lower body as to not hurt the child in her arms. The door banged open at the force of her foot, the hinges protesting but remaining attached to the door frame. Rachel had tensed at the bang, and Ivy realized that she had been unconsciously running her finger through the girl's hair, trying to calm her.
"C'mon Rachel," she whispered, "Let's get out of here." She stepped out into the fresh air, squinting when the light hit her eyes. Rachel was trying to twist in her arms, so Ivy shifted her so she was holding the girl against her hip with one arm. Rachel coughed a few times, and Ivy felt her spirits lift as she began to walk towards Rachel's car, which they had parked a couple streets down to avoid being recognized. They were both alive, no serious injuries, and no one had gotten arrested today. Not too bad a day. Aside from the whole Rachel-turned-into-a-child thing.
She shifted Rachel, finding the foreign weight of a tiny body surprisingly relaxing, her arms curving around the girl more naturally then she would have guessed possible. Ivy didn't exactly get around to carrying too many 3 year olds.
Luckily she had swiped the car keys from Rachel when the witch almost forgot them on the seat. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened to them, she thought, peering again at Rachel's shrunken clothes. Even the straps on her boots were tiny to fit little 3 year old feet.
Looking Rachel over in the sunlight, she saw that she had dust covering her hair, and dirt streaked all over her face. Ivy knew that she was probably in a similar state. She tried brushing some of the dirt off of her clothes and Rachel's, but it had no effect. She sighed, mentally promising she'd clean the seats of the car for her after.
Unlocking the door, she realized she had a problem. Rachel, who apparently had always been small for her age, could not safely be strapped in with a seat belt. Ivy was well aware of the consequences, and knew there was a reason why small children used car seats. She couldn't strap Rachel in with a seat belt, and it wasn't like the witch kept a spare car seat in the back in case one of them was turned into a 3-year-old.
So that left tossing her into the trunk, or holding her on her lap while she drove. Ivy looked at Rachel, who was smiling happily and playing with Ivy's hair, the expression on her face making it look like some very intriguing puzzle. The girl was completely oblivious to the problem at hand. Must be fun to be a child, she thought wistfully.
She blew out a breath, thinking please don't let anyone see us. Leaned over, she placed Rachel down in the passenger seat. Rachel made a questioning noise, and when Ivy slid into the driver's seat and shut the door, Rachel clambered over the center console and onto Ivy, grabbing her fingers when she extended her hand. Ivy smiled softly at her, wiggling her caught fingers, and the girl giggled. She put her seat belt on, then positioned Rachel so that the child's back was against her front, wrapping her left arm securely around her waist.
The girl snuggled back, amusing herself by playing with Ivy's fingers again. "Okay Rachel, I'm going to drive, and you can't move too much, okay?" Rachel turned her head calmly and gave her a look, then went back to her fingers.
"I hope that was a yes," Ivy muttered as she shifted the car into drive and pulled onto the street, for the first time in her life not going past 50 even though the street was deserted.
Within ten minutes, Rachel had curled up against Ivy and fallen asleep. And Ivy was bored. So very, very bored.
She had decided to stick to the back roads, not the main ones, and she was driving so slowly. She had always loved getting into some kind of vehicle and just gunning it, feeling the power of the engine. Never had she driven this slowly, even when Rachel had been in the car before. But she was smaller now, and her body was weaker, not to mention the only thing holding her in the car was Ivy's arm. And she knew the possible consequences of a car crash, and the faster you went, the risk increased exponentially.
But Ivy knew that if something did happen, her vampire reflexes would almost certainly be able to protect her. Who needed this? 50 km/h. She scoffed inwardly. Nobody drove this slowly.
Then Rachel shifted in her lap.
She slowed to 25.
Finally reaching the church, she parked and shut off the car. Taking care not to wake Rachel, she held her breath and unbuckled her seat belt, trying to slowly slide it out from between them. Rachel stirred, and she winced.
"Sorry Rachel," she whispered.
Rachel looked up at her sleepily and yawned. "Ivy," she mumbled, snuggling down again. "Tired." Ivy smiled. Rachel was most possibly the most adorable kid she had ever seen. Opening the door, she tried to nudge Rachel into motion.
"We have to go inside, Rachel." When Rachel ignored her, Ivy chuckled. "Come on, up we go!" She swung Rachel up so she was resting against her shoulder, and Rachel shrieked happily. Ivy started laughing with her, and still giggling, Rachel wrapped her arms around her neck and buried her head in Ivy's hair.
Ivy locked the car and made her way up the walk. "Ooh!" Rachel exclaimed, and Ivy looked at the child reaching to grab something she couldn't see. "Buherfy!"
Glancing behind her, Ivy saw a blue butterfly flitting through the shrubs. Sparing a thought for the pixies, she bent and put Rachel down, making sure she was steady on her feet. Any pixy could fly out of her reach in a heartbeat. They'd be fine.
She watched as the child ran after the butterfly, surprisingly fast on her feet. Ivy crossed her arms and watched Rachel jump for it, practically running in circles as the butterfly kept changing directions.
Rachel made a sound of disappointment when she realized that the butterfly was flying too high for her height to reach. Then she brightened and ran to Ivy. "Up!" she exclaimed, holding her arms up at her. "Up, Ivy! Wanna go up!"
Ivy stifled a smile and bent to pick her up. When Ivy was holding her against her hip, Rachel tugged on her shirt and pointed at the butterfly. Obligingly, Ivy walked towards it, making sure not to drop Rachel when she tried to jump out of her arms, apparently believing now that she was high enough, she'd be able to fly.
Rachel made another grab for it, and when it flew away from her again, her face fell. "Aww," she stuck out her bottom lip and her eyes scrunched together. "Buherfy," she said sadly, looking like she was one step away from crying. Ivy smoothed her hair back.
"Hey Rachel, you want to see the butterfly?" The girl nodded excitedly.
"Uh huh. Yes, yes! It goes away though..." Ivy smiled.
"I'll help you, okay? You're bigger than it, it's probably just scared of you."
"But I's not scary…"
"I know, but you have to show the butterfly that. You just have to be really quiet, and not move fast, got it?" Rachel moved her head up and down with exaggerated slowness, green eyes serious. Ivy swallowed her laugh and nodded back just as solemnly.
The butterfly was flitting around the steps, and Ivy moved towards it. Rachel was almost completely motionless, which was a surprise. Ivy's lips quirked up. Rachel Morgan, fearless witch and kick-ass runner, was enthralled by a butterfly. Nearing it, she slowly extended her hand to the object of the child's attention. The butterfly flew around it before finally deciding it was worth landing on.
Rachel's green eyes tracked its flight, and let out a gasp of wonder. She held it in front of her face, watching the awe grow. The butterfly fluttered its wings but didn't take off, and Rachel released a sound of amazement, wonder in her eyes. Rachel lifted her hand, and the butterfly took off Ivy's finger. Ivy waited for disappointment to fill Rachel's eyes, but the girl merely leaned back into Ivy, wiggling her fingers after the butterfly.
"Bye-bye," she whispered. "Bye-bye buherfy." Ivy's lips twitched again, and she finally let the smile split across her face. You couldn't not smile at this girl. Rachel took notice and leaned up to touch her face with a tiny hand, a strangely satisfied look on her face.
"Good," she murmured, "Good, Ivy. Stay like dis, pease." Ivy blinked, feeling her heart clench happily, and just had to hug her. Rachel made a happy noise and pressed her face into Ivy's neck. Ivy felt a surge of relief that Rachel was too young to trigger her vampire instincts. She couldn't do it if she tried.
Ivy was relatively sure that her vamp powers wouldn't hurt her accidentally, and she sure as hell wasn't about to hurt her on purpose. She blinked as a thought struck her. What about Rachel's magic? She looked at the child speculatively. She didn't know much about young witches, or if Rachel even remembered how to use ley lines. She was safe from any earth magic mishaps, at least. She'd have to look it up.
Rachel was still watching her, her wise green eyes reflecting a wisdom beyond what her body would suggest.
Deciding it was time they were inside, she pulled the door open and stepped in, letting it fall shut behind them. "Jenks?" she called, not hearing any pixies.
Still holding Rachel, she kicked off her boots and padded to the kitchen. She then realized it was quiet and empty because it was just after twelve, and the pixies were all still asleep. Her and Rachel really had been up early for this run.
Rachel seemed content with being held by Ivy in the middle of their kitchen, but Ivy knew they had to start figuring things out. For example, what the heck had happened to her.
They would probably need Ceri's help, since it was a demon curse, but she was also asleep, elves taking naps around noon just like pixies. It didn't seem like Rachel was in any immediate danger, so another hour or two wouldn't hurt. She didn't want to deal with a grumpy, sleep-deprived Ceri. That woman could be scary. And she'd need to get Rachel cleaned up too. I'll do it now, I guess.
"Come on Rachel," she said, hoisting her up higher and hoping that she wasn't one of the children who were fussy about everything. "Bath time!" she tried injecting a note of enthusiasm in her voice, but she wasn't sure how well she succeeded. Instantly, a wide grin split across the child's face.
40 minutes later found Ivy wearily carrying a giggling, towel-wrapped Rachel from the bathroom. It turns out Rachel was one of those crazy enthusiastic kids who did everything except what they were supposed to.
Ivy had given Rachel a bath in her bathroom because Rachel's didn't have a bathtub, and now she had shampoo on the ceiling.
She had opted to stay in her working leathers, since she was filthy and would have to wash whatever she put on anyways.
And now she was soaked, her hair dripping in her eyes. Rachel had the unfortunate ability to fling water with amazing accuracy.
Ivy eyed the happy child in her arms. She had tried to give her a bath, after establishing that she couldn't do it herself. Rachel hadn't wanted to go into the tub, and after trying and failing to reason with her for almost ten minutes, Ivy had simply picked her up and plopped her in. this had led to shrieking, until Rachel realized that she like the water.
She had nearly given Ivy a heart attack when she turned around for a second to get some soap, and then turned back to find Rachel had ducked under the water without popping back up. In panic, she had lunged for the red blur under the water, and in response she got a face full of water, Rachel laughing and clapping her hands.
She heaved a mental sigh of relief, wiping her eyes and glaring at the girl, not really finding it in herself to be angry. "Nice, Rachel." But after that point, she made sure to keep an eye on her at all times.
Looking back down at the girl in her arms, she felt her heart melting just a little bit more. God, if this kept up, Rachel would completely own her heart by the end of the day. More completely than she already did, anyways. Oh, who was she kidding? This child…woman…this Rachel already owned her heart.
Rachel's eyes had started drooping, and while she was valiantly trying to keep them open, it was clear she was about to fall asleep. She had snuggled deeper into Ivy's arms and the big fluffy towel, and Ivy had to suppress the urge to start cooing. She was Ivy Tamwood. She didn't coo.
Stepping into Rachel's room, she flicked on the lights and walked to Rachel's closet, planning on finding something that wasn't big enough to smother a 3 year old.
Shifting so she was holding Rachel with one arm, she opened the door and pushed aside the hangers. She knew that Rachel just threw the clothes she wouldn't wear into a heap at the back of the closet, and she also knew that the witch had accidentally shrunk more that one piece of clothing in the wash.
Ivy pulled the pile to the front and rummaged through it, picking up a green t-shirt with some kind of sports logo on it that was at least 4 sizes smaller than it was supposed to be. She eyed it critically before deciding that it would be fine for her to wear. She'd need to get Rachel some actual kid-sized clothes, unless Ceri knew the solution and could change her back right away.
She nudged the door closed with her foot and walked over to Rachel's bed, leaning over to place her down. Rachel uncurled herself for a moment, before making a noise of protest and latching herself back around Ivy's arm.
"Come on, Rachel," she said, halfheartedly trying to pry her off. Rachel conceded to holding onto Ivy's hand instead of wrapped around her entire arm.
"Ivy," she moaned, "Sleep. 'M tired, wanna sleep!"
"Okay Rachel, let's just get you changed first. Then you can sleep, okay?" Ivy said gently, running her fingers slowly through the girl's hair. Ivy realized that now that Rachel was a little kid, she would need naps like any other 2/3 year old. She still wasn't sure how old the witch was.
She slipped the shirt over the girl's head, seeing it fall well past her knees. That'll do. She rumpled her hair with the towel again, drying it a bit more before tossing it to the floor by the door.
Standing, she looked at Rachel, and this time she didn't even bother trying to hide her smile. There was no one here to see anyways.
The girl had burrowed into the covers and was more asleep then awake. Ivy watched her for a moment before mentally shaking herself. She still needed to wash herself, and now seemed as good a time as any she'd take a shower, and be out before Rachel woke up.
But she hesitated to leave Rachel on the bed, where she could roll off and hurt herself. She remembered for Erica they had used these baby walls to surround the bed, but Rachel didn't have any baby blockers.
She thought for a moment, before moving to grab Rachel's pillows and placing them on the floor. She went to her room and got took her pillows as well, going back and putting them with Rachel's.
She arranged them a bit, then placed the sleeping baby in the middle. She leaned back eying the makeshift baby bed she had made. Since Rachel was lying on and surrounded by pillows on the floor, there was nowhere for her to roll.
Satisfied, Ivy stood up. She went to grab a fresh change of clothes, then hurried into Rachel's bathroom for her shower.