Happy Birthday to Tricked Out! Ivy and her story are now three years old and I'm so glad you all have stuck with us throughout the journey! I like to think my writing style and understanding of character has certainly expanded as the chapters go on, but you all will be the judges of that in the end! An extra special thank you to everybody's who's ever clicked on and read this story- whether you skimmed through, reviewed dutifully, or are even reading this years from now- you're a fantastic inspiration to keep me writing something I started off-handedly- I had no idea it would ever grow to be this large or complex! Here's to the story finishing up before another three years pass...
CHAP 28
November 19
Halfway through a breakdown (12:54 pm)
Goldberg, Stuttgart
"Now what did you do that for, kid?"
Anton sniffed, curling up into a tighter ball. The floor of the bathroom was cold and dusty, skiff marks from various sneakers discoloring the dull, orange tile.
The presence from his parents' car was still there, still following him, still watching him. Distantly, he thought he could hear Ben and Bezata arguing (again) and he hated that he hated it they just got louder and louder and what if they didn't believe him and wouldn't do anything-
"I don't know what more you wanted from me, kid," the man seemed to admit, giving a weary sigh. "I told ya she was alive, just that she wasn't coming' home for a while, even gave you the hat as proof, and what do you do? Go running off to other people!"
The man had said he couldn't tell his parents so he didn't, he couldn't, even when he held his notebook his hands got slippery and oh no he left the notebook it had everything why was he so stupid and no no they were getting LOUDER and why couldn't he just TALK-
"Kid?" The voice wouldn't shut up-
"Ok, we're past normal fear now. You can calm down."
But he couldn't! He was only five but he knew it wasn't that easy-
"Aw, shit. I'm not really trained for this, kid. Kinda the opposite, really."
Anton sniffed again, half-heartedly scooting backward to get away from the voice. But the man sighed and Anton felt the person get closer, almost crouching in front of him.
"Uh, the other guy said you've got sensory issues. Is that right?"
Anton shrugged, hands pulling the fabric of his pants tightly together. He wanted the voice to just leave him alone, why was that so hard?
"I know you don't talk but do you think you could breathe, at least? I really don't think you wanna pass out in here. I might do it myself if I have to keep smelling this place."
Anton wanted to laugh, he really did. The thought of somebody tripping over nothing had a giggle forming in his stomach, but he choked on the sound and gasped for breath instead.
"Ugggg, fine. Hold tight for a second." The stall door swung open and shut, and footsteps faded from Anton's hearing. The boy froze, sparing a glance upward. He hesitantly poked his foot forward, finding nothing but empty air as his breathing picked up once more.
Now he was alone. The man had kept popping up since he'd appeared (in voice, at least) in the car, moving things in the corner of his vision and he'd wanted him to leave but not like this, now he was alone and he was scared and-
"Ok, look, kid-" a hand landed on his shoulder and Anton panicked, twisting away from the foe he couldn't see, one sneaker kicking out to strike-
"OUCH! Unholy mother of-" the man broke off into various colorful curses as the sounds of something writhing on the floor reached Anton's ears. Curious, he lifted his head from his arms, staring at a strange patch of air where the light didn't seem to be falling correctly.
"Ok," the man gasped. "Ok. Kudos to you, you're the first person to land that shot in- well, who knows how many centuries it's been. Good for you or whatever."
Anton took a shuddering breath, his heartbeat slowing as the laugh escaped his mouth- granted, it was harsh and cut off sharply, but the man seemed to understand.
"Glad you find it funny, kid," the man grunted, and the sounds of somebody sitting up echoed around the stall. "You good now?"
Anton shrugged. The air was still buzzing in his chest, and his shoulder still burned from the phantom touch, but the tears were slowly drying on his cheeks.
"I'll take it. Here, I grabbed this for you. Think it'll help?"
His notebook lay on the floor, a pencil from Ben's desk sitting on top. Anton broke the paralysis on his body, hugging the worn pages close and fumbling with the pencil in his sweaty, loose grip.
WHY CANT I TELL? He asked, trying in vain to prevent his pencil from tearing through the page.
"I guess you could," the man offered. "O' course, nobody's gonna believe an invisible man told you your sister's trapped in Halloween Town, and you don't know how to get there anyway, and everybody would just think you're lying or crazy. Does that sound like what you want?"
Anton swallowed thickly, shaking his head.
"Alright. So we'll keep doing what we've got now- I'll tell you if she's bleedin' out or not, and you tell me what the progress is on the search for her. 'K?"
It was not 'k'. It was far from 'k'. But he couldn't think of anything else! He wanted Ivy- she'd know what to do, she'd find some way to trick the invisible man, then turn her head and give him a sly wink, making him giggle. She'd always said she'd look after him- was it his turn? Was this man going to hurt her if he didn't do what he said? What if- what if the hat had doomed her? He fumbled to a new page.
IS SOMETHING BAD GONA HAPPEN NOW?
"What, because of that stunt back there?"
Anton nodded, gazing at the floor with new tears pricking in his eyes.
"Oh, no, no, don't start again, you look like a kicked puppy." The stall door was pulled shut and the man sighed, the sounds indicating he now leaned against it. Anton could feel his legs tingle, as though they sensed another pair stretched beside them. "Nah, she'll be fine, I won't hold it against you. You're human, I guess it's ok- this time."
Anton scowled. TELL HER MY BIRTHDAY IS SOON.
"I'm not a- you know what, ok. Sure, kid. Anything else?"
I MISS HER.
"I-," he sighed. "I know you do."
NOBODY WILL BE MAD IF SHE COMES BACK, he wrote.
"'Mad'? What do you mean?"
Anton chewed the top of his pencil. SHE RAN AWAY 3 YEARS AGO. The letters were hesitant but neat. WE DONT KNOW WHY. SHE WAS GONE FOR 2 DAYS AND THEN CAME BACK. SHE
He stopped, folding the pencil over in his hands.
"She what? Don't stop there. What happened?"
Oh, Ivy would kill him if she were here.
But she wasn't.
SHE TOLD ME SHE THOUGHT PEOPLE WERE MAD AT HER. SHE TOLD ME NOT TO TELL.
"And I suppose she never told you why people might be mad."
He shook his head.
"Damn, woulda liked some blackmail on her. Got any embarrassing stories?"
Anton's jaw dropped as he shook his head fiercely.
"No as in, 'you don't have any' or no as in, 'I wouldn't tell you, even if you said you were going to push my sister into the underground lake'?"
Anton's eyes grew wide.
"Oh, and I'll do it too, buddy. C'mon, give me something."
Anton panicked, mind casting back. He wasn't certain if the man was joking or not, but he doesn't want to risk it. Maybe something harmless?
SOMEBODY BROKE UP WITH HER, he offered. FIRST FREUND.
"That's it? She got dumped? So?"
IT WAS ONLY THREE DAYS.
"Three days? Holy shit, what'd she do? Or was it the personality?"
Anton narrowed his eyes in the direction of the door, pointedly putting his pencil down.
"What? No, come on, don't stop now!"
Anton shrugged and made a few gestures.
"Smartass, I don't know sign language or whatever the hell you're doing!" The pencil lifted off the floor, eraser pointed in his direction. "I'll shut up about your sister's charm, promise."
Anton raised an eyebrow but hesitantly reached his hand out, feeling the faintest tug on the other end before the utensil- and his words- were fully his own once more.
HE SAID SHE DIDNT ACTUALLY LIKE HIM. SHE TOLD EVERYBODY IT WAS OK BUT SHE WASNT.
"Don't know how far I can get with jilted affections but I'll do my best. Anything else you want to know?"
Anton made a small humming sound, soothing his vocal chords after the cries of earlier.
YOU ALONE?
"What do you mean? It's you and me right now, bud."
IN HALLOWEEN.
The man didn't respond, but some instinct told Anton he hadn't left. Finally, there was the drag of skin against the tile as the man moved.
"It's not that simple. I've got a bunch of monsters who keep trying to pull me into their little schemes and three brats who keep trying to play tricks on me. There's lots of monsters around."
NOT WHAT I SAID. THEY CANT SEE YOU.
"Nope! And I like it that way!"
LIAR.
"Look, if I want to talk, I can. If not, I can just mosey around and not get bothered! I mean...yeah, it's been just me for...a while, and the newer monsters don't really have the respect that they used to but...why you askin'?"
CAUSE YOU TALK TO ME. Anton held his notebook up, eyes roaming the stall. It felt so good to look up when nobody was there to meet his gaze!
"I'll bet you've got tons of people talking to you. Hoodie Guy out there wasn't half bad. And your parents are actually nice, decent humans- you know how rare that is where I come from?"
The boy shrugged, slowly falling from his curled up position. THEY WANT ME TO TALK, he wrote carefully. THEY DONT WANT TO LISTEN. ITS EASY TO JUST WRITE. I CAN LISTEN REAL GOOD.
"I'll bet you can," the man laughed- but it was a nice laugh, not cruel or curt. "You tryna' say you're invisible too?"
Anton tilted his head, tapping his pencil against the page. NOT LIKE YOU, he conceded. BUT I WANT PEOPLE TO HEAR.
"Cheers to that, kid. I'll pass your message on, don't you worry. Now," the man said, shifting once more, "let's get out of here, ok? 'Cause if my bare butt has to sit on this floor for one more minute I might lose it. I'm serious. Halloween filth has got nothing on these bathrooms."
Anton giggled, then shifted his notebook under one arm and clamored to his feet, peering at the stall door with hesitant curiosity. The man snickered and opened the door for him, the slapping of feet letting the boy know that the coast was clear.
"Let's go see how they're handling this, huh?"
Anton shrugged but obediently padded back towards the main room, feeling the same eerie presence following just inches behind- but for whatever reason, it didn't seem to scare him nearly as bad as before.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
November 24
The uncomfortable time before true nightfall and dusk
Ivy woke up, her body tense.
Something was wrong.
She remained stock-still under her scratchy blanket & jacket combo, back pressed firmly against the wall (in Halloween, of all places, she just couldn't turn her back on a seemingly empty room). The Tailypo was in its designated spot on the center of her pillow, its quiet snuffles sounding more like demonic growls than breaths, but Ivy was convinced she'd be more frightened if it did make normal animal noises. She wasn't quite sure when the Tailypo had decided her pillow was going to be its daytime spot while she slept, but its presence did seem to have a calming, if contradictory, effect.
She flickered her eyes across the room, wondering if somebody else had popped in while she'd slept. The Tailypo's eyes opened, blood red and questioning.
"Are we alone in here?" She asked in a whisper, her stomach twisting. The Tailypo rolled its eyes and huffed, chewing on the short strands of her hair that sprawled across the pillow.
She wasn't feeling particularly anxious or restless- Halloween seemed to have no set routine, each day enough to keep surprising her. Even the past few days she'd spent in Finkelstein's tower, watching Sally sketch out designs for Jack, had somehow managed to satisfy her urge for something new. Even if Sally hadn't been completely receptive to some of Ivy's ideas.
"C'mon, think about it! The dark of the night, humans scared out of their wits, and out from the shadows stalks a skeleton clad in hot pink."
"I don't think so," Sally had responded, painting a white stripe down the solid black of her current sketch. "He needs color to break up the black, but I don't think that's the one to do it."
Ivy pulled herself from the memory, shifting her legs and pushing herself up onto her elbows before freezing.
Her stomach sank in a particular, horrifically familiar way, and Ivy's heart sunk along with it.
The Tailypo looked up in interest as her heart rate skyrocketed, wiggling its nose at the new scent in the air.
"Oh, no, no, no," Ivy hissed to herself. She gripped the edges of the blanket, squeezing her eyes shut. "Just rip off the band-aid, Kunze, c'mon. You're probably totally wrong. Just…"
She threw off the blanket, stared at her lap, and let out a scream of hysterical laughter and frustration, startling the crows on the roof. In the back of her mind, she knew she'd regret the action- the birds would swoop down later, squawking indignantly, Jack might come with his hands flapping, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Those were problems she could deal with.
Getting her period in Halloween Town?
Now that was a whole separate dilemma.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jack quirked his brow at the shrill scream that echoed from upstairs, momentary pausing in his book. One on hand, screams were perfectly natural in Halloween- encouraged, even! The pumpkins provided a soothing white noise to let one think in, and the laugh that would follow dismissed any possibility of true danger.
He thought she'd been doing better- she still jumped or grew pale at much of Halloween's normalcy, but a scream of frustration was something new. It'd be remiss of him to at least not check in- she was most likely due for some sustenance, anyway.
He climbed the stairs, his hearing painting an image of her scrambling around the small room before her voice, low and hissing, cut through the air.
"Ew! No! Don't sniff it, you nasty creature! Get off!"
"Good evening, Ivy," he called, grinning to himself at the accompanying thump that signaled she'd tripped. "How is everything?"
"Me?" She answered, the door's pressure indicating she was leaning against it. "Um, I'm, uh, great! A- And you?"
Jack frowned at the door, as though waiting for it to yield answers. Something metallic caught the edges of his senses, and he leaned closer to the door.
"Ivy? Are you injured?"
Her heartbeat stuttered, and her voice soon matched. "I- uh, why?"
"There seems to be blood coming from this room," he explained. "Granted, it's faint, but if it's something left over from an old ritual I'm sure we can get rid of it if it will ease your discomfort, but you did scream again so I'm simply wondering-"
"It's no big deal!" Her voice shot out. "Really. Just me doing dumb human things. It's just, ah, one of my scrapes," she insisted, despite the fact that her heart still hammered.
Jack raised his brow at the door, far from convinced. "Very well! I'll await you in the study."
He leaned down and detached his feet; balancing expertly on his ankle bones. The feet loudly hopped towards the stairs before striding down, each creak marking their decent.
Step one complete, Jack bent backward, letting all his weight fall onto the tips of the finger bones. He grinned, then let himself crawl backward in a spider-like fashion toward a darkened corner, tuning his hearing toward Ivy's room once more as the human resumed her frantic scrambling.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"This is bad, this is bad, scheiße scheiße SCHEIßE!"
The Tailypo sat on the windowsill, gaze aloof to Ivy's panic. The bed had no sheets, but the rust color had instead proudly displayed itself across the blanket and thin cot. Her jeans shifted and she winced in discomfort, both hands buried deep into her hair. Her cramps choose that moment to strike, a harsh yank under her navel causing her to groan. She sank to her knees and tugged her jacket off, leaning over as she emptied the pockets. ID card, house keys (a pain that had nothing to do with cramps hitting her), an old (and illegally reused) bus ticket, fingerless gloves…
There!
She pulled an orange pill from the lining of her breast pocket, her nose wrinkling in distaste at the lint stuck to it. She shoved it deep into her jean pocket anyway, mentally preparing herself for the arduous task of swallowing down Halloween's murky water. The pill was probably expired, but the Placebo effect would be beneficial regardless.
She wrapped her jacket around her waist, cheeks burning as red as the seat of her pants. A fuzzy memory of loaning the pad in her pocket to another faceless girl bubbled up and she snorted cynically. Look where that got me!
She slid the window open and shoved the Tailypo out, preventing the creature from sniffing at the bloodstain once more. The Tailypo flattened into a black pancake against the cobblestone, then slowly rose as its bones snapped back into place. Ivy allowed herself a small grin, then carefully slid the window shut and bolted it.
She gingerly slid her socked feet into the waiting Converse, trying to focus on tying the knots securely rather than the growing ache in her abdomen. She pushed herself to her feet and faced her reflection in a small mirror hanging by the door, quiet and unassuming. Initially, she'd been surprised by the general upkeep of it- sure, cobwebs had marred the dark gold frame, but the glass itself was dust free and glowing faintly.
"But of course!" Jack had said when she'd made a snide remark regarding the matter. "Mirrors hold fantastic power, Ivy- who knows what's trying to get through? We've always got to keep the way clear."
Ivy had laughed uncomfortably and thrown a sheet over the mirror as soon as she could.
She yanked it off now, frowning at the white, misty swirls that hastened to vanish from her sight. She grimaced at her reflection, fingers combing through her short, greasy black strands, eyes rolling as she noticed a breakout hiding by her chin. Perfekt.
"You've got this," she muttered to herself, nightly mantra seemingly extra applicable that night. "Nothing's wrong. Don't be super obvious. Get some water. Don't cry."
She covered the mirror once more, evening routine complete, opened the door, and frowned.
The hall was empty, and Jack's footsteps echoed up the staircase. Still, she couldn't seem to shake a sixth sense of being watched…
She took a deep breath and shook it off, reasoning that whatever was watching hadn't moved to hurt her and thus wasn't worth the worry. She made her way down the stairs, skipping steps that Jack's irksomely long legs easily bypassed. She ducked under a hanging candelabra and plucked an overzealous spider from her arm, turning into the candlelit kitchen- Ivy was fairly certain daylights savings had long past, and all the monsters were gleefully exploiting the longer nighttime hours.
To her surprise, there was no skeleton in sight- just a rat that froze as she appeared, a wheel of rotten cheese crammed into its cheeks. It remained still as Ivy rose an eyebrow, oblivious that she could, in fact, still see it.
"T-Rex physics don't work on me," she informed the rat, breaking the spell of silence and prompting the animal to flee. She allowed herself a small grin at being on the scaring end for once and settled onto one of the high stools that surrounded Jack's table, no longer minding how far her feet swung from the floor.
In moments like these- in the (somewhat) silence of the early evening, before the town got moving- in moments like these Ivy almost found herself liking Halloween. The constant terror had slowly been weaned into a weary apathy over the course of the weeks, but little things kept quietly sneaking, unbidden, into Ivy's fonder thoughts. The Wind whispering dry, unheard jokes into her ear, Sally and Jack's blatant feelings of affection despite their total obliviousness, the Tailypo curled on her pillow, huffing rank breath as it chewed on her hair, the pumpkin sunsets, the kids editing their macabre version of 'Rock, Parchment, Scissors,' so she wouldn't lose a finger or eye...it wasn't the completely terrifying, aggressive environment she'd pegged it for when she'd fallen.
"This cursed place aims to make you forget your humanity and all that you hold close," Ciaran muttered in the back of her mind. Well, he had more reason to be hostile towards the town, anyway.
There was a bone-crunching sound in the hallway and Jack rounded the corner, rubbing one ankle.
"Good evening!" he greeted cheerfully, sockets twitching as they scanned her subconsciously tensing form. "Scrape taken care of?"
Ivy wordlessly held up her middle finger- before grinning and rotating her wrist so that a fresh pink line was shown across the palm. It had taken a few minutes of scraping her nails across an old scab, but it'd gotten the job done.
She missed the furrow of Jack's skull and the twitch of his non-existent nose as she pulled a mug of water close, thinking longingly of her coffee on the surface. She'd always told people it was black, but added...how many sugars? Had she used creamer or not? She narrowed her eyes at the dark stained wood, trying to push past the now familiar haze that obstructed her thoughts of the upper world. Ciaran was right- she bit her lip, remembering the red of Ben's hoodie as he hummed, making the coffee in early mornings, sliding a mug over with a grin on his face… his blurry, amorphous face-
"You seem to be in pain," Jack commented, his voice mild but soft. "I don't envy you that."
"You never had to feel it," she muttered, abdominal muscles clenching as she faked a yawn and popped the painkiller into her mouth (stubbornly ignoring the taste of lint).
"I remember physical pain all too well," he retorted sharply. As she shrunk back into herself, he added softly, "but emotional pain persisted, and it is not so easily absolved."
Ivy swallowed thickly, her mind spinning for a way to deflect Jack's all too accurate observation. "You told me you were never human, though," she argued. "You said you'd never been to my world!"
It had the desired effect- Jack blanched and squirmed, guilt as evident on his face as the moon outside. "I, ah, didn't tell a full falsification," he stammered. "Your world, in my defense, is far different from what it was when I met my fate."
She crossed her arms and leaned back with a huff, unimpressed. "You-you were human." Her head struggled to accept the twisted truth Jack had fed her, and her conscious scoffed. A bit hypocritical, isn't it?
"At one point," Jack agreed breezily. "That Jack is long since dead, I assure you. But the memory of pain...it tends to persist."
Memory. It was on the tip of her tongue to inquire about the disappearance of her own, but a sneeze caught her off guard- as did the subsequent rush between her legs. She locked herself into place, elbow frozen over her mouth. Ivy shifted, her treacherous heart picking up speed once more. She felt Jack perk up, eye her closer, sockets flickering to her palm as his head tilted, and she closed her eyes for a brief moment, smothering any hint of panic before allowing her eyes to slide open once more.
"I'm gonna take a walk," she found herself saying, though her mouth felt numb and disconnected from her person. She almost seemed to exist just behind her body, directing it to ease Jack's concern. "I'll be back before midnight; I just need to walk around for a little bit." An easy grin slipped onto her lips for extra measure and she slowly pushed herself off the stool, one hand reflexively tightening her jacket around her waist.
She kept her stance loose and casual, even going so far as to toss a jaunty two-fingered salute to the pumpkin king before the door slammed shut and she was jolted back into her body, nerves returning in full force.
Ivy slipped through the fence and glanced at the sky, the shadow eroding the moon to half. She scampered down the road, experimenting with what she'd heard Jack tell the younger scares, if nothing else to keep her mind off the utter failure that had been.
She rolled her ankle carefully, staying on the edge of her foot- why had she said all that, god, the Treppenweisheit was hitting her HARD- she pulled her arms close to lessen the noise of fabric- she couldn't wait the half hour before the painkiller kicked in, if it didn't kill her first- she crouched down, keeping her muscles engaged so that as little of her weight hit the stones- why couldn't she have just been NORMAL-
It worked better than she expected- her Converse no longer slapped against the cobblestones, and her new hairstyle meant she no longer caught on brambles or fence posts. She bunched her legs together, burn in her stomach temporarily paused by the activity, and leaped up, hands gripping a stone wall as she pulled herself upwards, relishing the warmth as her muscles ached and worked. Ivy settled herself on the wall, leaning back on her palms (while stubbornly ignoring the scrape) as she gazed over the town. Just behind her, the forest stood silently, urging her to just turn around, or lean back and fall outside Halloween borders…
Her stomach swooped once more and she groaned aloud, slumping to her side and bringing her knees flush against her chest. The wall was icy cold, and a patch of moss was tickling her temple (perhaps literally- Ivy didn't care to find out).
"Having some difficulty, Miss Ivy?"
The human huffed a strand of hair from her face but grinned nevertheless. The formless being had been uncharacteristically silent the more she spoke to other members of the town, but nothing could ever really replace the Wind's gentlemanly demeanor.
"You psychic or something, Wind?" She asked, closing her eyes against the cool breeze circling her face.
"Merely observant, Miss. You don't seem to be handling some ailment correctly if that deflection is anything to go by."
"I'm not deflecting," Ivy deflected with a scoff. "Just...not feelin' so hot. It'll go away."
"Honesty at first venture," the Wind mused. "You really must be unwell."
She gave the sky a glare and rolled over, lying prone on her back as she stared up into the black expanse of the said sky...or was it a cavern ceiling, if she was truly below the earth? What were the stars, then?
"Tell me what is on your mind, Miss Ivy," the Wind pestered, sending a stronger gust into the leaves nearby.
Ivy bit her lip, hesitant, as her cheeks burnt. "I- it's nothing, Wind, seriously."
The Wind didn't respond, allowing the human to squirm under the non-existent, accusatory stare.
"It's stupid," she muttered, her resolve wavering.
"You need not fear any mockery from me, my dear. Progress cannot stall from anxiety over retribution."
Another wave of pain struck her pelvis and she squeezed her legs together before finally snapping, "Ok! I'm- I'm cramping up because I've got my period, and I'm freaking out 'cause I've no idea what to do about that! This doesn't happen to people in movies! This just sucks!"
The air rang as her voice cut off and she gripped the edges of her jacket, refusing to cover her face- though she knew it was red as a tomato. She'd never talked about this with anyone besides her mother on one awkward afternoon. Just like everything else when I fell down, she mused bitterly, I keep rolling a one on luck.
The cool breeze raked through her head, causing her to take an unconscious deep breath and force her eyes open.
"You have nothing to fear nor any cause to be embarrassed," the Wind whispered. "You forget that I have been around for millennia, across the Universe, above the world and under it. I don't wish you any discomfort, but you had to admit it before the next step could be taken."
"You knew?" Ivy shrieked, pushing herself to a sitting position, twisting around to check her jacket for stains (and quietly bemoaning the dry cleaning bill if- when- she got back).
"Not in so many words," came the smooth response as her hair flew up once more. "But I'm not the only one. You've cause Jack a bit of a tizzy, if the meeting is anything to go by."
The world spun very quickly as she froze, pain forgotten. "Me- meeting?"
"Oh, yes," the Wind answered carelessly. "He's convinced you've done something to get yourself hurt or poisoned, and that somebody in town is responsible. He's called a meeting to address it- they're gathering in the town hall now."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
November 24
Town Hall
Comfortably Dark
The town was, and always had been, an absolute cesspool and hivemind of gossips and suspicious characters, and Jack was always confident that the town hall would be full before he himself ever set foot in it. The subject matter was serious, and he hoped he would still retain the town's good favor when the time for accusations had passed. In any other scenario, he would be grateful that most had seemed to warm up to their human mascot as her presence became more recognized in town- thought this only made the idea of an attack against the girl more troubling.
The pumpkin kind slowly cracked the 33 bones down his spine before adopting a stern expression and shoving the oak doors open to the madness within.
Some were gathered in their natural social circles- the vampires flocking a bored-looking Vlad like eager schoolchildren- while the actual children extracted themselves from the grips of their parents to jeer and cheer, adding to the swell of noise within the hall. The other council members stood stiffly by the edge of the stage, exuding false importance before the Clown caught Jack's socket and mumbled a warning to the rest, who scattered in a resemblance to autumn leaves when the Wind was feeling particularly restless. In fact (to Jack's surprise) every class of monster was in attendance, from the beginner levels, just learning how to sneak and creep, to the scarers Jack would consider true equals- even, he noticed with trepidation, the Classics had shown their faces, aura radiating power and danger ew could hope to achieve. The Creature looked somewhat embarrassed- his hulking form was blocking a game of knife throwing conceived at the hands of the younger monsters- but even as he dipped his head to allow Jack through, his eyes held a dark yellow gleam of warning.
"Hello, my friends!" Jack called, spreading his arms wide as gently shook a leg to detach an over-zealous child. A resounding cheer was his response, with most of the monsters falling into a faint semblance of order.
"Thank you all for gathering so horrendously fast," he began, winking at the assembled. "I hope this won't take too much of your night, but I'm there's been a disturbance who's origin I would like some assistance in solving."
The crowd hmm'd, shifting in their seats. Vlad straightened up, new interest creeping onto the waxen face.
"Would any of you be horrid enough to tell me," Jack began, smile juxtaposing the bite in his tone, "how the human came to be injured without my knowing?"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ivy wanted to die. She was slowly getting used to that particular sensation.
Damn all the studies that say otherwise, moving through the pain in her gut was an awful idea!
The Wind flitted around her form as she leaned against a wall, gritting her teeth as the wave of pain gradually ebbed. She solely regretted not bringing her board- the Wind could push her faster than she could ever hope to go.
But, whatever, the town hall was within sight- she could even hear hoots and hollers from inside, Jack's patient tone somehow rising above the rest. She wrapped an arm around her abdomen and stumbled forward, one hand resting on the oak doors before an open (albeit shattered) window caught her eye.
Ivy hesitated, curiosity creeping up her spine as her mind highlighted a path from the ground to the window- where she could evaluate the situation rather than storm in and embarrass herself (again)...
She stepped back from the door, instead securing her foot on a window ledge as she retreated for a handhold in a wayward brick.
"Can you never do things in a straightforward fashion?" The Wind moaned, nevertheless keeping her palms cool as she climbed to prevent a slippery grip. "If you fall, I'll be the first formless being to suffer a heart attack!"
"Point for melodrama," Ivy quipped as she heaved herself onto the ledge, eyeing the shards of glass critically. She poked her head through, ignoring the Wind's reply as she gingerly navigated her way through and onto the rafters above the town hall, where the noise reached its peak.
The scene reminded the human more of a deranged auction than a town meeting. Monsters were shouting out defenses and explanations to Jack, who stood by a large chalkboard with a list of human weaknesses in his usual cramped writing.
"Perhaps she's merely teething," one monster suggested during a lull in the racket. "They don't regrow teeth a quickly as we, and they're not even retractable, poor dears- just bits of bone sticking out!"
Jack nodded thoughtfully, adding limited teeth to the rather extensive list.
"I still say it's shedding," a reptilian monster remarked sullenly. Evidently, this was a notion of intense debate- outcry erupted among the assembled, and Ivy swatted away a spider to lean closer.
"Human skin doesn't come off!" The Clown snapped. "It just squeaks and stretches and tears but there's no shedding!"
"Of course it comes off!" Came a retort. "They pick at it and it peels! That's key shedding techniques!"
"Has she exhibited any shedding behaviors?" Jack asked thoughtfully, tapping the chalk against his face before the dust made him sneeze.
Before Ivy could quite process the logic of that, the monster supplied an answer. "Well, irritability is one factor-"
"Well, if that's an indication, she's been shedding since she showed up," Vlad sniggered. "We would hardly notice a difference between her normal disposition and shedding behavior."
Nervous giggles broke across the hall and Ivy gripped the rafter until the rotten wood creaked under her trembling fingers.
"Thank you for your input," Jack said dryly.
"Oh come now, Jack, she's too curious for her own good and yaps like an overgrown chihuahua! You yourself said she's suspecting too much, and to perfectly honest, there's only so many times her reactions can be satisfactory."
"Don't pay him any mind, Jack," Finkelstein interjected before Jack could respond, Ivy's blood running cold in the rafters. "He's your strongest bet for any malicious action- we've all seen how desperate he's been for her blood ever since he failed to drain Harker."
Soft ooooooo's filled the hall, the spectators shifting to watch the show in fascination.
"Bold words," Vlad said in a low voice laden with umbrage, "from a monster so unoriginal that he must impersonate the true mad scientist who's monstrosity soared above yours of trite."
"Oh, stercore!" a monster hissed, as the Creature flinched but offered no defense for Finkelstein, eyes narrowing in hatred.
The situation was spiraling out of control- this hadn't been what she planned on hearing! Ivy's mouth went dry and she leaned closer, her grip on the rafter going slack. She felt the center of her gravity shift- time didn't even slow down to give her time to think- her heartbeat accelerated- Vlad's eyes snapped to her position as Jack called for order-
-and she fell the short distance into the hall, face-first onto a table, and she bit back a scream of pain as her pelvis took the brunt of the fall. There was a beat of stunned silence as she rolled herself over, head hanging off the table and turning the hall upside down.
"Hi," she said dumbly, twitching her hand in an approximation of a wave.
The hall erupted into chaos.
Ivy winced and pushed herself, head swimming as the building righted itself. She swung her legs over the edge of the table, turning her back to Vlad's accusatory gaze.
Jack gave a sharp whistle, the sound piercing and impossibly increasing, rising in pitch higher and higher until nearly every monster in the hall (and Ivy) had fallen silent, limbs wrapped protectively over their auditory orifices.
Jack let the whistle die off, his sockets sweeping the hall. Ivy moved to join him but he halted her with a sharp motion, keeping her frozen amidst the monsters. He rubbed a hand over his face, sighing deeply.
"Ivy," he began wearily. "You have been showing signs of pain and discomfort- don't deny it!" He added as the human opened her mouth. "Is this something that occurs naturally or was it the result of another monster?"
"I've gotten some bumps since I first fe- first arrived," she dodged. "What's so different this time?"
Jack winced. "Monsters don't get injured to the extent that you do, which was an oversight on our part."
Vlad scoffed.
"Also, there's a lot of blood," another monster added helpfully. "Like, guillotine amount. More than you've got in your face right now."
Ivy kept silent, her face an impressive red. She let her eyes dart around the room, weighing her options.
This was humiliating. The Wind had been bad enough- and she hadn't even had to truly face them! Now every monster had their eyes fixed on her, some bored and judgmental, others earnestly curious. Could she make up some story for the blood- pin it on another? She chewed her lip, feeling a small tear in the skin, the voices in the hall muting as she scanned the faces.
The Witches had healed any electrical burns from the lightning, and Finkelstein hadn't touched her since, so he was out. Her eyes flickered to Vlad, but the vampire's gaze was ice cold and a deep survival instinct threw the suggestion from her brain and dragged her eyes away. The Treaters, maybe- she'd lied for Shock last time, so that made up for the witch's anger at her, right?
This is pointless, her mind concluded. There's nothing to gain here anyway, and the Wind knows what really happened, and would tell them you're a liar and they'll hate you and kick you out and-
She tuned the voice out.
Another injury then? She scanned her body: There were a few bruises, her head ached from a few hits, but nothing drew blood. Even her pitiful scrape was scabbing over, pain shooting through her nerves as she curled her fingers into the palms.
The truth was embarrassing. A lie wouldn't work- impossible! There had to be something, something she hadn't thought of- some way to get herself out of this god awful position-
"Ivy." Jack said sternly, with a sudden rush of authority that had nearby monsters feeling a rush of empathy for the target of his ire. "If you cannot tell us what exactly is the matter with you physically, we'll have no idea how to aid you, but I will continue to pursue this until you-"
"FINE!" She snapped, losing all traces of coherent thought. "I'm having some stupid, blöd human problems because my uterus is trying to tear itself apart and take me with it, verstehen sie? Ich habe monthlies, menstruation, Feuer von Hell in my gut! Satisfied?"
The hall had never been more silent. The Classics and Jack seemed to share her mortification- under different circumstances, she would have laughed at the way Jack's sockets almost seemed to roll back as he gripped his podium.
"Sorry," came a confused voice, one lone hand raising. "What in Jack's name are you going on about?"
Mutter of agreement echoed around the small space, and Ivy realized for the first time exactly how many monsters had, apparently, completely forgotten their human roots.
"I, uh-" she stammered, unsure of how to proceed. This definitely hadn't been a foreseen outcome- surely she didn't have to-
"Yeah," yelled another. "Stop using your fancy human words and say what's wrong"!
"What about your anatomy is self-destructing?"
"I see no fire."
Ivy looked to Jack for rescue, but the leader had clearly mentally exited the conversation.
For the first time, she was certain they were feeling the same thing.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Well. When it came down to it, giving The Talk to a bunch of undead creatures was absolutely high up on the list of the Worst Things Ever, above sushi and construction noises but just below her fractured elbow or dealing with Bezata.
The Classics had fled the scene (cowards) but Jack, impressively, had remained (though he sat with his skull stuffed into his arms the majority of the time).
With the basics out of the way, Ivy stared at her knees, ache in her abdomen returning as the stress in her body grew.
"Question."
It was Chifte, who was copying the dog form sat next to her, paws crossed at an unnatural angle.
Ivy blew a strand of hair from her face. "Shoot."
The dog/Chifte gave her hunches a deep stretch. "Why were you embarrassed?"
Jack perked up here, and Ivy blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
"You were acting like it was some huge, awful secret," Chifte continued. "But if all human females go through it, why do you act as though you're the only one?"
"To be fair," Ivy retorted, "here I am the only one."
"Was that what stopped you asking for help?" Jack asked, knotting his hands together.
"...no," she admitted after a stretch of time. "It wasn't."
"Then why-"
"I don't know! That's- that's just the way it is! We're not supposed to talk about it, it's weird!"
"So does no one acknowledge when you disappear for a week?" hissed a sentient pile of goo on Ivy's left.
"Wait, what? Why would I disappear?"
A triple-eyed monster hugged, crossing its multitude of arms. "You say you're shedding a major organ-"
"Told you she was shedding," came a disgruntled mutter, and Ivy quickly answered before a brawl could break out.
"We don't do anything different, really- we have to keep doing normal human stuff."
She was met with silence and blank stares.
"We- we can't just take a week off to, I dunno, sit around and bleed out," she scoffed, hand resting on her hip. Her stomach tensed and she grit her teeth, leaning back to grip the table with her hands.
"She is dying, Jack!" Angus wailed (she hadn't been able to convince the kids to leave and had purposefully avoided eye contact with any of them). "She's bleeding out and hurting and dying!"
"For the last time, I'm not dying!" she shouted. "Sure, it feels like it, but I'll be fine. I just- um, I..." she trailed off, suddenly uncomfortably aware of her blood flow. "I may need...stuff."
The monsters perked up at a possible solution, and Ivy steeled herself for the request.
Kill me, kill me now.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Monster Under the Bed had had many a mission in their generations of scaring. For them, Halloween Town was more of a rest stop (hah) when they needed to familiarize themselves with others in monsterkind. Children's bedrooms were the most enjoyable of all- partially cramped? Mattress sinking to press against their back, the heaviness giving them comfort, in the same manner their scarees clung to blankets? Pure perfection. This gave them the most practice slipping through gateways- most existed under beds, anyway- time seemed to pause in the dark confinement. Their habit of trinket-collecting from the rooms they visited (mostly socks- they felt so good on their horns, but they always left the children the other one!) had led to Jack declaring they would be perfect for the Mission.
Objective: Infiltrate the Kunze-Walter household and steal the supplies that the red-faced human had described.
"You're not gonna get caught, right?" She'd asked, tearing at the dead skin on her lip. "I know it's like, the middle of the night-"
"Don't you worry!" They'd chirped, flattening their form in delight. "I'll be in and out faster than Jack can disassemble his bone structure!"
Jack had then given a demonstration, which the human rudely shook her head at in favor of curling into a nearby chair.
The Monster Under the Bed lay quietly under the human's resting spot in the town, letting their nostrils stretch and elongate until they suctioned onto the floor. There was the human's scent- blood, sweat, the faintest traces of lemon and smoke. They allowed the stillness of the air to overwhelm them-
-reality shifted sideways, and they kept the scent-
-until an entirely new mattress pressed against their back. They opened their eyes and were immediately met with a dusty helmet, small enough for a child's head to fit in.
Ivy's blankets fell to the floor, effectively hiding the Monster Under the Bed from view. They poked their head out, red eyes lighting up the room.
This whole room had taken on the potential to be a Gateway now that its owner was gone- the Monster Under the Bed frowned and kept their claws buried into the soft wood of the floor to stay rooted in this reality. Her Rolladens were up, allowing the moonlight to aid the monster in scanning the small space.
Clothes were strewn across the floor- t-shirts, checkered flannels, patches that had yet to be added to the already-impressive collection on the back of her jacket.
The ceiling sloped down to touch tan walls just above the bed, which was sloppily made and a sock (the Monster Under the Bed twitched with glee) tossed haphazardly across the pillow. A small black nightstand held enough plastic water bottles to fill a landfill, and a lotion bottle lay on its side. The walls were covered with pasted on postcards and posters- Einstein, Heisenberg, Haun, Tony Hawk, Oberth, the script on the bottoms declared. Odd hats with flat brims and soft beanies also hung on the walls, giving the room a closely cluttered feel.
The Monster Under the Bed poked a bottle of leather shoe polish, catching sight of three particular patches plastered onto the wall- Stuttgart, Alconbury, and San Antonio sewed on with blocky letters.
She'd said the supplies were in her nightstand. The Monster Under the bed carefully slid a claw under the handle, examining the contents. A small bottle that rattled when they poked it was on top, a bundle of strewn-about items she'd called 'pads' lay underneath. They grabbed a clawful, adding the bottle for good measure. There was a collection of seemingly untouched photos, which they wasted no time in gathering together to investigate.
The first photo showed the human when she was far smaller- the helmet from earlier buckled onto her head, her grinning a gap-toothed smile as she hugged a small skateboard. A man stood beside her, dark blue eyes hiding behind square frames that squinted at the camera. His hand was on her shoulder in a somewhat awkward stance, a cigarette dangling from his lips, which were twisted in a small smile.
First Day with my own board! Read the writing beneath the photo. The next photo had her with a paper-mache hat, a wooden wreath filled with candles sitting before her. A boy slightly older than her had an arm slung around her shoulders.
Ben and my Geburtstagskranz, the caption declared.
There were more- photos of places she must've traveled, food, (American Burgers are terrifying, she'd written) of a young boy named Anton growing from a small baby to younger boy, of her giving a thumbs up from where she lay in a hospital bed, arm bound in a sling-
"I thought I sensed somebody else here."
The Monster Under the Bed squeaked, dropping the photos in a flurry. The door to the girl's room was open, and while nothing stood in the doorway, they knew it was far from empty.
"Invisa-"
"Oh, call me Marvel, if anything. 'Invisible Man' was my employer." Footsteps made their way across the floor, and the Monster Under the Bed fought the urge to duck their head. Their mentor, the previous Monster Under the Bed, had always warned his underling that the only ones who could sneak into houses as easily as they could were Jack and Thomas Marvel.
"What's goin' on here, then?" Marvel asked, Ivy's bed creaking as the man seemed to sit heavily upon it.
Wordlessly, they held up the pads and had the pleasurable experience of hearing the man choke on air.
"Oh, Christ, we didn't even think of that!" He sighed heavily, the photos fluttering as a foot swished through them. "Can I take a moment and tell you how glad I am I'm not a dame? You know the whole thing about stuff being visible the moment it leaves my body, I don't wanna even think about the blood trail that would leave." A pause. "Actually, come to think of it, that would be pretty hilarious for the police to try and wrap their stupid little heads around-"
There was a catch of breath and a shadow fell into the room, causing both monsters to freeze. The Monster Under the Bed whirled around, canines bared, to face a young boy in footie pajamas, clutching a notebook, eyes wide as he locked eyes with the Monster crouched by his sister's bed.
The Monster Under the Bed screamed, causing the boy to fall onto his bottom in shock, and they spun around, scrambling under the bed-
A pain erupted in the lower end of their tail, before two powerful hands wrapped themselves around the thick appendage and dragged them out from under the bed, one arm securing itself around their throat.
"Shut up, rookie!" the Invisible Man hissed as they squirmed. "The kid's cool! I got this covered!" They felt the man turn his head to face the kid, sighing, "I thought I told you to stay put."
The boy gave them an incredulous look, pointing stubbornly at the Monster Under the Bed even as he crawled backward toward the hallway.
"Shit, shit, no, kid, you stay there." The boy hesitantly stilled his movements, hugging his knees close to his chest instead. "This guy's just from my place, 'k? He stopped by 'cause he's a nosy little shit but he's leaving as soon as we have a little chat."
The arm tightened around their throat once more, and while they didn't need to breathe, their neck snapping would be overwhelmingly irksome. They flattened themselves once more, sliding out of the Invisible Man's grip.
"You've let yourself been seen by a human!" They accused, eyes fixed on the target. "You've broken the most important rule of our kind!"
"My mission has a bit of a higher rank than yours," the Invisible Man answered icily. "Besides, kid can't even talk, right Anton?"
The boy's cheeks flushed a dark red as he looked down, but no sounds of protest came from his lips. The Monster Under the Bed noticed that he was chewing on his lip in the same way that his sister had. An unnamed emotion had him relax slightly and retract his claws, visibly easing Anton's anxiety.
"People don't believe kids anyway," the Invisible Man continued- almost as though he were rambling. "It's fine if I chat with him or whatever, he's cool with it."
Was he trying to convince them or himself?
Anton gingerly scooted forward, hand waving around in the air. They heard the Invisible Man huff before moving forward, the boy seeming to relax as his fingers curled around an unseen hand.
What?
"Not a word of this, you hear me?" the Invisible Man grumbled. "I'm so serious. I'll make you into a damn carpet. Take her stuff and get out."
Anton paled, mouth opening and closing as he struggled to vocalize. The Monster Under the Bed heard the Invisible Man kneel, and the notebook seemed to tug itself from the boy's grip and spread open. Anton pulled a pencil from the spirals of the notebook and jotted something down, tugging the Invisible Man down with him.
Whatever he'd written made the Classic laugh. "He wants to know if you're coming back."
The Monster Under the Bed frowned before answering, their voice low and raspy from disuse. "Maybe. The underneath of your bed is comfy and her's is too."
Anton nibbled on his lip before scribbling something else down, tearing the paper from the notebook and sliding it to the monster. They picked it up delicately, eyes narrowing at the strange dots and dashes. "What's this?"
"'A message for Ivy,'" the Invisible Man read from Anton's next inscription. "Kid, this is going a little far. Nobody's supposed to know that we're here, alright? If the higher-ups know you've been chatting with monsters-"
"So your lot does fear Jack," the Monster Under the bed said smugly.
"Who said I was talking about Jack?" the Invisible Man retorted in a low voice, and the Monster wisely shut up. "We can't give this to her, kid. Get over it."
Anton squeezed the hand, eyes widening pitifully.
"Ah, nope- not gonna get me with those kicked puppy eyes this time. I'm- well, you can't see it, but trust me when I say I'm shutting my eyes."
Anton dropped the hand with a scowl, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes.
"A temper tantrum? Nice try."
A new light came into the boy's eyes at that, and he grinned at the Monster Under the Bed slyly in a way that exactly mimicked his sister's. The hair all across their body stood up in fear.
"Invisa- Marvel," they said in a low voice, slowly backing towards the bed, "I think we ought to-"
Anton dropped his notebook, opened his mouth, and wailed.
The cry was high and piercing, with periodic grunts and breaks in his voice, but it rang through the night air louder than any gunshot could hope to achieve.
"What the hell are you doing, kid?" the Invisible Man yelled, his shadow moving frantically around the room. "You're gonna get us-"
"Anton?"
The two Halloween Citizens froze, adrenaline coursing through their veins. Being seen by a child was one thing- children had always been able to peer through the Veil between worlds easier than even the monsters themselves could- but an adult was something else. Adults demanded proof and answers where the child only asked to go home at the end of the adventure. It was disastrous.
Footsteps started down the hall, and the monsters sprang into action.
Marvel had it easy: He merely flattened himself onto the dark expanse of the wall, hissing threats towards the human boy, who kept up his broken wail. The Monster Under the bed half-heartedly scooted beneath the mattress, but the Gateway had fled as soon as Marvel had entered the room. They made themselves as small as possible, retracting all bones into their shoulders so that the rest of their limbs hung loose and could be tucked under their stomach.
A much taller shadow fell across the floor, and Anton's cries finally tapered off.
"Anton, Kind, was passiert?" asked the human female, pulling a terry cloth bathrobe around her figure as she yawned, her dark hair tied in a messy bun atop her head.
Anton shrugged, pulling a photo from the pile the Monster Under the Bed had dropped. It showed Anton perched on Ivy's shoulders, grinning wildly at the camera as the two stood in front of the skatepark, Ivy's board leaning against her thigh as she gazed up at her little brother, a soft, genuine smile on her face. Anton held the photo up, eyes brimming with tears.
He made no move to point out the man against the wall or the abomination under his sister's bed.
Selena Kunze sighed, kneeling down to slide the photo from her son's grasp. "I know, hon," she continued in German, gathering the photos up and tucking them back into the drawer. She was so close the Monster Under the Bed could smell her mint shampoo and hear her heart beating.
She scooped up Anton and propped him on her hip, eyes soft as she pressed her forehead against his. "We'll find her, I promise, Kampel. Don't you worry; we'll never stop looking for her."
Marvel groaned.
The woman straightened up, eyes narrowing, but Anton grabbed her face and turned her to look at him, tracing shapes into the tired skin of her tanned cheek.
B- E-D, he then traced into her shoulder, looping his arms around her neck and yawning into the skin there. His mother held him tighter, biting her lip and squeezing her eyes shut before running a hand through his coarse hair and nodding, turning the duo towards the younger boy's room.
Just before she shut the door, Anton's eyes shot open, tears gone, and stuck his tongue out at the room with a mischievous smile. Before either of them could react, the humans were gone, and they were left alone in the dark expanse.
"That kid is so damn lucky," Marvel whispered before his jaw popped as he clenched his teeth together. "But his luck is gonna run out, 'cause I'm gonna kill him for pulling that stunt."
"No you won't," the Monster said simply, tucking the boy's message close to where their heart would be. "Just like how I won't say a word about you being here, and you won't tell him I'm giving her the message."
Marvel sighed heavily. "Do whatever you want, rookie. I'll handle things on this end, you just scamper on back and stop her stupid lady problems. Glad I'm not dealing with that stercore."
"No," came the easy agreement. "You're holding little boys' hands."
"Oh, god, never say that again or breathe a word of that to anybody else or I really will make you into a damn carpet."
There was no lie to his words, so the Monster replied, "I'll be on my way as soon as you leave- you know how Gateways are."
"Finkle damn things," Marvel agreed, soft shoshing sounds indicating he was walking towards the door. "Timore coniungit nos, and all that."
"Timore coniungit nos," the Monster Under the Bed returned. The Invisible Man left, and they let themselves relax...the shadows grew longer...time slowed down…
...and the Gateway opened, allowing them to slip inside, and Ivy's room was left dark and abandoned once more.
Anton has adopted Marvel and Marvel had grudgingly adopted him back, this is no longer a debate.
Stercore- Latin for shit.
Blöd- stupid./
Verstehen Sie?- do you understand
Ich habe- I am having/ I have
Feuer von Hell- fires from hell
Rolladens- aluminum shutters that every respectable German house has. They do a fantastic job of making high noon look like 2am.
Einstein, Heisenberg, Haun, Tony Hawk, Oberth: Albert Einstein (German, theoretical physicist), Werner Heisenberg (German, theoretical physicists + pioneer of quantum mechanics), Otto Haun (German, Chemist/pioneer for radioactivity + radiochemistry), Tony Hawk (American, pro skater), Hermann Oberth (Austro-Hungarian, physicist and pioneer of astronautics). Just some proof that Ivy is a huge science nerd.
'I'm rolling a one on luck'- oh yeah, and she played D&D religiously back in the day as well.
Stuttgart, Alconbury, San Antonio- places where Ivy's been stationed! Stuttgart, Germany, Alconbury, England, and San Antonio, Texas.
Geburtstagskranz- a wooden wreath filled with candles for a birthday.
