Disclaimer: I do not own Ivy, Noah, the concept of the Village, any other characters or most other occurrences mentioned here. They are property of Mr. M. Night Shyamalan… the lucky guy…
Summary: Noah has a nightmare and seeks out young Ivy for comfort. I really wanted to do some fluffy, pre-movie scenes between the two of them, just to flesh out their friendship. I know this idea is rather cliché but I for one think it's cute. Excuse the lame title.
A note on ages: To my knowledge, Shyamalan never specified the characters' ages, so I'm pretty much guessing randomly here. In the movie, I'd put Ivy in her late teens, early twenties at most, and Noah, Lucius and Kitty in their early to mid twenties. I've no idea, really, so I put a five-year age gap between Noah and Ivy. It seems about right.
Note on ships: I totally support IW/LH, but some moments of this fic may seem IW/NP. This is just because for one, Ivy's nine so there's not much romance going on anyway and, two, there are a few places I really wanted to put a bit about Lucius, but felt it would ruin the mood. Suffice it to say that Ivy just hasn't noticed how bright Lucius' color is yet. ;P
Color as Seen by the Blind
Noah's color was her favorite. It was every color, ever changing, but it was never complicated or diluted. Kitty was pink- a loud, vibrant pink. It was happy, but every now and them the luminosity stung her sightless eyes. Father was a strong, grey-toned blue… very constant, but sad sometimes. Too sad to stand. And the Bad Color- the color of passion and fear- was Lucius Hunt's alone. But all these colors, and the few others she'd seen, became mixed up sometimes. Became hard to look at. Confused her.
But never Noah's. Noah's color changed with his mood- blue for sad, purple for happy, yellow for calm, or asleep. But each color was distinct, defined, and bright. Sometimes Noah's color was so bright it almost illuminated his face for her to see. Sometimes it passed beyond a color and became the outline of a boy… the only solid shape she had seen for years. Whichever color he was at the moment didn't matter… it was vivid and pure, and she loved it, because, oddly enough, it seemed realer, and closer, than any others.
Tonight, for example, Noah was orange. It was an awkward color, not the prettiest, although that was not for her to say. Orange was the color of naïve fear- it was fear for people who didn't understand exactly what it was they were afraid of. It was the color of fear for everyone in the village, save Lucius.
Ivy Walker sat up slowly in her bed. It was deep in the night- the silence told her that- and everyone in the village not in the watchtower either was, or should have been, asleep.
A nothing color- the grey of a void- enveloped her entire field of vision, except for a smear of vivid orange thrown in right where she guessed the end of her bed to be. The silence was punctured by a heavy breathing.
"Noah?" Ivy whispered. "Noah, you should be at home."
Instead of answering, Ivy saw the edges of Noah's color shift and he moved closer to her.
"Had a bad dream," he whispered back.
Ivy was only nine, but already all the children in the village came to her for advice. Even the elders had been known to seek out her opinion from time to time. But no one came to her as much as Noah Percy, the 'strange' fourteen-year-old boy that the entire village seemed to talk about in whispers that Ivy's sensitive hearing picked up on.
Ivy had understood from the start about the difference of Noah, but she, unlike the other children, had embraced it. It was wonderful to know someone so pure of intention, she thought. Noah never had a hidden agenda; this, she was beginning to learn, was something fairly rare.
"What about?" Ivy whispered.
Noah mumbled something incoherent, then admitted, "You were dead."
Ivy sighed, sounding much wiser than nine years would imply. "I'm not dead, Noah, I promise. I'm right here. Can't you see me?"
The patch of orange shifted slightly, telling Ivy that Noah was nodding.
"You should be in bed," the girl mock-scolded. "Did you walk all the way across the village again just to make sure I wasn't dead?"
Noah nodded again. The orange rapidly faded into blue as Ivy heard him begin to cry.
"Noah? Don't be sad." Ivy reached out and took one of his big hands in both her smaller ones. "What else did you dream?"
"I… I…" Noah stuttered. "I killed you."
Ivy sighed again, tightening her grip on Noah's hand. It wasn't the first time he had dreamed something like this, and every occurrence left him understandably shaken. It was at least the fifth time he'd snuck in through her front door, quiet as could be, just to see her.
"Noah… you didn't kill me. Do you know why?" Noah shook his head. "Because I'm right here sitting next to you."
Noah moved even closer, and Ivy felt his hair touch her cheek as he rested his head on her shoulder. "Promise?" He asked quietly. Something wet hit her neck and Ivy realized that Noah was still crying.
"I promise," Ivy swore solemnly. She let go of his hand with one of her own and reached up to brush the tears from his face.
"You're not dead." Noah repeated.
"I'm not dead," Ivy confirmed.
The blue became a brilliant violet, one of the colors that lit Noah up until Ivy could almost see his face. She desperately clung to his outline for a moment until the brilliance dulled very slightly, and the color was once again shapeless. Trying not to be disappointed, Ivy leaned forward and tapped her own forehead. Obligingly, like a loyal subject approaching his queen, Noah kissed her temple briefly and sat back.
"Tell me a story," Noah requested.
Ivy yawned. "It's much to late for that now. I'll tell you one in the morning."
Noah nodded.
"You should go back home now," Ivy told him. A quick flash of orange darted before her eyes.
"I'm scared."
Ivy raised her eyebrows. "I will not be much help walking you home, Noah." She smiled. "I suppose you can stay here tonight."
Another flash of purple came, happier and, if possible, more vivid than the first, and for an instant Noah's features were highlighted. For just an instant, it was like she could see perfectly again. Then that flash, too, faded, as she knew it would. But it was enough for her. Noah clung to her, and she to him… he was the only one whose color was ever pure, ever bright enough for her to see again, if only for a second. They were, she knew, the two flaws in an otherwise perfect village, and just for that they had to stick together.
Ivy lay back down, and Noah scrambled around the side of the bed and lay down beside her.
"If you get scared, I'm right here," Ivy whispered.
Noah didn't answer her. The purple faded to peaceful yellow and a light snoring filled the room as Noah drifted off to sleep. Ivy smiled a minute, then nestled farther under the warm quilt. Soon she was asleep as well, Noah's color a comforting presence next to her.
AN: Eeep. That was a bit fluffy for me. Please review and tell me what you think… this is a classic case of a plot bunny attack; for better or worse it had to be written. I think Plum Blossom is better, though.