That One Time Ivypool and Blossomfall Got Stuck in The Tunnels
Chapter warning: weed, swearing, lesbianism, Millie being a terrible mother
CHARACTERS:
Ivypool → Ivy
Blossomfall → Bella
Hollyleaf → Holly
Thornclaw → Theo
Bumblestripe → Ben
Brambleclaw → Brandon
Sandstorm → Sandra
Dovewing → Dove
Tigerheart → Tristan
Icecloud → Iyla
Briarlight → Blaire
Whitwing → Whitney
Firestar → Fredrick
"Brandon, you know I've been on patrol everyday this week," Ben complained. "I'm beat."
"Last time I checked organizing patrols was my job, not yours," Brandon replied sternly.
Ben rolled his eyes.
"It's cool, I can switch with you," Ivy offered. "If it's okay with you, Brandon?" She asked, turning to the older man.
"Suit yourself," he said dryly.
"Thanks, Ivy." Ben grinned, "I owe you one for sure, now I'm gonna go back to sleep."
"I don't care which of you is coming with me as long as you hurry up," Sandra snapped at Ben and Ivy.
Ivy ran over to her. She usually wouldn't volunteer for patrols she wasn't scheduled for, most warriors wouldn't either, but she had been looking for a chance to talk to Bella alone.
As they set off Ivy purposefully lagged behind with Bella who was limping slightly after last night's training with the Dark Warriors.
"How's your leg?" Ivy asked the young woman.
"It's fine, you know we can't talk about this here though," Bella said pointedly.
Ivy sighed. She had known it would probably be useless trying to talk to her friend about their training with the Dark Warriors, they had been sworn to secrecy after all, but she'd had to try. She had seen a flash of worry cross Bella's dark eyes when she had mentioned it and could only hope that meant the woman was starting to doubt their motives.
"Well then how did you sleep?" Ivy asked. She could tell Bella was in a bad mood and decided not to press the Dark Warriors topic.
"Like shit, can't you tell," Bella said dryly.
"Hurry it up you two," Theo called back to them.
Ivy felt a pang of sadness as she watched Bella struggle to catch up on her injured leg. It was a hot day in late spring, but the young woman was wearing a pair of heavy-looking jeans. Probably to hide the bruising, Ivy thought.
"The spray paint's still wet," Theo noted, looking at the red Xs that marked the Shadowclan border. "A patrol must have just come through, glad we missed them."
After being held for ransom and finding out her sister had been seeing Tristan, Ivy'd had enough of Shadowclan for a lifetime. She had seen Tristan at the last Dark Warriors meeting, but they had pretended not to see each other. She was glad her sister had dropped that piece of shit, he was training with the Dark Warriors after all, it was just confirmation he couldn't be trusted. Ivy turned to look at Bella, then again, so was Bella and she still felt as though she could trust the dark haired woman...
"Hey, Ivy!" Theo snapped. "Pay attention, Sandra wants you and Bella to check out the North side of the Windclan border. Run back to camp and grab a car, we don't want Bella walking the rest of this patrol."
Ivy nodded and looked over to Bella who seemed a little embarrassed at being singled out like that.
"Want me to drive?" Ivy asked as the two turned back to camp.
"I guess you should," Bella said grudgingly, "I don't think I can drive with my right leg this messed up. I could totally have walked the rest of the patrol though, Sandra just always thinks she knows best," the young woman rolled her eyes.
"You can't drive, but you can walk over a mile?" Ivy raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Shut up," Bella said, but there was a teasing note in her voice that put Ivy a little more at ease. She'd been worried about Bella all day, but she seemed to be feeling a bit better.
As Ivy started the car Bella turned to her with a mischievous look in her eyes. "We're not actually going to check out the Windclan border, right?"
"I mean, they told us to, so that is where I was planning on going," Ivy said awkwardly.
"You're so boring, Ivy." Bella shook her head. "I was thinking we hotbox the car and then go exploring those tunnels Iyla fell into."
Ivy bit her lip. As much as she didn't want to get in trouble she had to admit that Bella's plan did sound a lot more fun and for some reason she could never quite manage to say no to her friend. "Okay fine, we'll do your thing," Ivy relented, "but we're gonna check the border afterward, okay?"
"I can live with that," Bella grinned.
Ivy turned on the music and they peeled out of the Thunderclan parking garage. Ivy glanced over at Bella and caught the other woman's gaze and for a moment there was a feeling of electricity before Ivy reluctantly turned her eyes back to the road. They drove in silence with the windows down enjoying the warm spring air for several minutes.
"I love this song," Bella said excitedly and reached over to turn up the volume. As she did her hand lightly brushed Ivy's arm and she felt that spark jolt through her body once more.
Bella had clearly seen her reaction, but she didn't say anything; instead she just leaned back in her seat and gave Ivy a strange, knowing glance.
"I think it should be right around here," Bella said, checking the gps on her phone as they pulled into the empty parking lot of an abandoned warehouse. "Yeah," she continued, "I definitely recognize this place. I think it's down that side street. I guess we'll find out." With that Bella reached into her pocket and pulled out a joint and a lighter. "Shall we," she grinned before lighting the joint and taking a long puff. "Your turn," she handed it to Ivy, smoke still drifting lazily out of her mouth.
Ivy tried not to cough as she inhaled. She always did and every time Bella would playfully tease her. Maybe it's not that bad…, she thought, picturing Bella's teasing grin 'how do you still have rookie lungs?' she would say and Ivy would blush and protest, but she would always just laugh and take another hit. Ivy exhaled the smoke and looked over at Bella who was watching her with a curious intensity.
"I can't believe you didn't cough. I'm impressed, rookie lungs," Bella grinned.
"I feel like we're apprentices again, ya know?" Ivy commented, passing the joint to Bella. "Sneaking off to get stoned."
Bella laughed. "At least you still make an effort, I've been a burnout since day one." She took a long hit before passing the joint to Ivy. She said it jokingly and Ivy knew the only person who would ever say that about Bella, apart from herself, was her mother Millie, but she knew the young woman had taken those words to heart.
"If you're a burnout what does that make me?" Ivy said, taking the joint from her, "my sister's Dove, everyone in the clan adores her."
"I forgot about that," Bella giggled, "sorry, it's not funny," she said, but continued to laugh and before long Ivy joined in.
"I mean how can I compete with that?" Ivy laughed, "She's the golden child and the pretty one." Ivy realized she was still holding the joint and took a hit before passing it over to Bella.
"Well I think you're cool," Bella said, looking over at Ivy, "I mean Dove probably wouldn't be down to leave a patrol to get stoned and explore a tunnel with me." She pointed out.
It was true, Dove got her thrills from dating older warriors from other clans when she was only an apprentice apparently. Ivy sighed and took a long hit, maybe it would help her forget her sister's betrayal. Then again at least Dove wasn't training with the Dark Warriors.
"I mean you're one of our best fighters and you work so hard to prove yourself everyday and," Bella went on and turned to look at Ivy, "just between me and you I think you're really pretty."
Ivy felt her face go bright red. "You're just saying that cause you're high."
"I'm not, but believe what you want to believe," Bella shrugged and took another hit.
Ivy leaned back in her seat. Did Bella really think she was pretty? Surely she was just saying it because she was stoned, right? Ivy bit her lip, she shouldn't be getting so worked up about an offhand comment like that, she had more important things to worry about than whether her friend thought she was pretty or not.
"You good?" Bella asked, snapping Ivy back to her senses. "You just totally zoned out there."
"Oh yeah, sorry, I'm pretty gone," Ivy confessed.
"I can tell, your eyes are crazy red," said Bella, "what about mine?" She leaned in close so her face was just a few inches away from Ivy's.
"They look okay," Ivy said. Truthfully she had been too flustered by Bella's closeness to even notice. What's wrong with me? Ivy thought, we're friends, why am I so nervous?
Bella sat up in her seat to look in the rearview mirror. "Ivy you liar," she giggled.
"I'm high!" Ivy protested.
"Oh I know," Bella laughed, "you've been messing with your hair this whole time and you always do that when we smoke."
Ivy blushed, she hadn't even noticed she'd been doing it until Bella pointed it out to her.
"Here," Bella leaned over and ran her fingers through Ivy's short blonde hair. Ivy felt a shiver run down her entire body that had nothing to do with how much they just smoked. "That's better, it was sticking out all over the place."
"Th-thanks," Ivy stammered.
"What's gotten into you?" Bella asked. "You're a nervous wreck, it's not like we haven't done this before."
"I'm just a little paranoid, that's all," Ivy lied.
"Okay," Bella lightly touched her shoulder reassuringly.
Fuck, Ivy's heart was hammering so loud she was sure Bella could hear it.
"Do you want the last hit?" Bella asked.
"I think I'm good," said Ivy. If she smoked any more she'd probably fall down before they could even walk to the tunnel.
Ivy watched Bella put the joint to her lips, they were full and looked so soft. She's probably a good kisser, Ivy froze. What was she thinking! She's just a friend and she's probably not even into girls, Ivy told herself and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to put those thoughts from her mind.
"Alright, let's go," said Bella. She opened the door and tossed the filter onto the ground before cushing the ember with her heel.
Ivy had to catch herself on the side of the car as she got out and stood there for a moment before she got her bearings.
"Are you okay?" Bella asked.
"I'm good," Ivy replied.
"You never realize how stoned you are until you stand up," Bella commented, "same as when you're drunk. Now let's find that tunnel!"
"Shh, what if someone hears you," Ivy said.
"You're just paranoid, there's no one out here but us," Bella giggled, "now come on."
Ivy followed Bella across the parking lot and into a small side alley. "There it is!" Said Bella excitedly grabbing Ivy's arm.
At the end of the dead-end alley there was a hole with a warning sign placed over it. "You were right," Ivy put her hands in the pockets of her shorts, trying to play it cool as Bella still hadn't let go of her arm.
"You have rope, right?" She asked.
"Yeah," Ivy replied. She unclipped the rope from where she had stored it the carabiner she kept on her belt loop.
"We can tie it to that," Bella pointed to an old bike rack, "and use your carabiner to attach it ourselves. It's locking right?"
"Yeah," replied Ivy, "that's a really good idea." Nothing about what they were about to do now was a good idea, but Ivy's curiosity was too strong for her to turn back now so she knelt down and tied one end to the bike rack making sure it was nice and tight.
"You're good at that," Bella pointed out with a slightly mischievous look in her eyes.
"I've had a lot of practice," Ivy replied.
"Oh," said Bella with a note of interest in her voice, "I should have guessed you were into stuff like that."
"Wh-what do you mean," Ivy stammered, going bright red.
"I meant that you're outdoorsy!" Bella laughed, "but now I'm curious."
Ivy blushed.
"I'm just teasing you," Bella grinned. "Now tie me to that rope and let's find out where this tunnel goes!"
Ivy stood up and walked over to Bella. Her hands were shaking as she clipped the rope to Bella's belt loop. Being this close to her was making her lightheaded.
"Here goes nothing," Bella grinned and moved the sign covering the hole. Ivy picked up the slack in the rope. She figured she would just have Bella unclip it and would climb down when it was her turn, but she didn't trust Bella's rope climbing abilities to let her do it that way herself. Especially not when she was stoned.
Bella carefully climbed into the hole. "Wish me luck," she said before letting go of the edge. The rope burned Ivy's hands as she slowly lowered the other woman down. Thankfully Bella wasn't very heavy and Ivy was stronger than she looked. "I made it!" Bella called up to her, "it's crazy down here!"
"Did you unclip?" Ivy called down.
"Yeah! You can go ahead!" Bella responded.
Ivy took a deep breath and slowly began climbing down the rope, her hands stung from lowering Bella, but at least it wasn't very deep, she'd be down in no time. That was when Ivy felt the rope go slack and suddenly she was falling. Luckily she had only been a few feet from the ground, but the impact still knocked the wind out of her.
"Oh my god, Ivy!" Bella ran to her side. "Are you okay?"
Ivy nodded, still trying to get her breath back. "I think the rope snapped," she said breathlessly, looking up at the hole above them in horror, "Bella, we're stuck." Ivy felt panic beginning to set in. The tunnel stretched out in front of her like a yawning black maw. "We're fucking stuck!"
"Ivy calm down," Bella knelt down and put her hands on Ivy's shoulders. "We're gonna be fine, besides," she grinned, "now we have no choice but to explore. There's no way that's the only exit." She then grabbed Ivy's hand and helped her to her feet. "You're not hurt are you?"
Ivy shook her head. "Don't worry about me, how's your leg?"
"It's feeling better," Bella smiled, "a lot of people use weed for pain after all." She grinned.
"Just because you're too stoned to be in pain doesn't mean you should be wandering around this place for who knows how long until we find an exit."
"Did that fall sober you up?" Bella asked her.
Ivy paused for a moment, she'd forgotten she had smoked just as much as Bella, "I don't think so," she admitted.
"Too bad, this is gonna be tricky. If only we could call someone, but we'd get in so much trouble," Bella mused, "we'd better start now," she said, her mischievous grin back in place.
"You have your phone, right?" Ivy asked.
"Did you forget yours in the car again?" Bella sighed.
"Yeah," Ivy looked at the ground in embarrassment and realized she was still holding Bella's hand. She decided not to let go.
"This is so exciting," Bella said.
As they walked Bella intertwined her fingers with Ivy's and she felt her heart skip a beat.
The tunnel was completely dark aside from the dim light of Bella's phone flashlight and the two girls' footsteps echoed loudly off the concrete walls. As they walked Ivy noticed a faint light ahead of them.
"Do you think that's the exit?" She asked Bella.
"I hope so, if we find another exit we can explore without worrying at all" Bella replied, but as they got closer they realized the light was not that of the sun, but instead it emanated from an old light that clung to the wall by just a few scraps of rusted wire.
"Do you think that light's always on?" Bella asked.
"What do you mean?
"I mean do you think it's always on or do you think someone turned it on?" She said, turning to Ivy with a look of both fear and excitement.
"You mean do I think there's someone else down here with us?" Ivy asked.
"Yeah," Bella whispered.
"Look who's being paranoid now," Ivy smirked, but she felt her heart sink at the idea of someone else there with them in the dark.
"I mean we're not doing anything, we're just exploring," Bella said, "it's not like we're gonna hurt them."
Ivy nodded, but she still squeezed Bella's hand tightly out of nervousness.
"I mean there's no way this place can be that big, we'll be out of here in no time so we might as well enjoy the adventure while we're here," Bella grinned.
"I don't know…" Ivy trailed off.
"You worry too much," Bella teased.
Ivy opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything Bella leaned up and kissed her. As soon as their lips met Ivy felt as if she'd just been electrocuted; her whole body tingled and she felt more awake than she ever had in her life, but at the same time as if she might pass out at any second. Fuck! Bella's lips were even softer than she had expected and she tasted like smoke and cinnamon gum. Ivy wrapped her arms around Bella's waist as the other girl tangled her fingers in Ivy's hair, pulling it slightly as she leaned into the kiss.
When they broke apart Ivy realized she was shaking and she swore her heart was beating faster than it ever had.
"I got tired of waiting for you to take a hint," Bella said with a teasing smile.
"I didn't think you were into girls," Ivy admitted.
"Wow, you are oblivious," Bella laughed, "I literally told you I was bi! What more did you want me to say?"
"We were drunk, I thought you were joking," Ivy said sheepishly.
"You are unbelievable!" Bella laughed.
"I didn't want to get my hopes up," Ivy said, "besides, I wasn't even out then."
"Come on Ivy," Bella rolled her eyes, "we all knew."
"oh," Ivy blushed and looked down, "was it really that obvious?"
"You were the only person who didn't know," Bella giggled and gently traced her fingers along Ivy's jaw. "I really like you…" Bella said with a little smile.
Ivy leaned down and kissed her again. Bella eagerly returned the kiss, her nails dug into Ivy's back making her shiver and she brushed her lips down Ivy's neck, lightly biting her surprisingly soft skin. Ivy let out a shaky gasp as her teeth pressed down.
Bella pulled back. "Is that okay?" She asked.
"Yeah," Ivy said shakily, "actually I was pretty into it," she admitted.
"Good," Bella grinned as she resumed.
Ivy leaned against the wall as Bella traced her lips back up Ivy's neck. As she kissed her Ivy pulled her closer, pressing her body against hers.
"We should probably find a way out," Bella murmured, her lips softly brushing Ivy's.
"Yeah," Ivy breathed.
"But I like kissing you," Bella said with a little grin as she casually slid her hand down Ivy's waist to rest on her hips.
"I like kissing you too," Ivy grinned, "but we should seriously get out of here."
"You're right," Bella said, leaning back, "kissing can wait."
Bella grabbed Ivy's hand as they headed down the halls. They walked for at least half an hour and Ivy could see Bella beginning to limp once again.
"I think we should just go back the way we came and call somebody," Ivy said nervously.
"You know how much trouble we'll be in," Bella said.
"I think we'll be in more trouble if we stay down here."
Bella bit her lip, "okay," she finally said.
They turned and started back down the tunnel, but were soon met with a fork in their path.
"Ivy…" Bella said hesitantly, "do you remember which way we came?"
Ivy turned to Bella nervously, "no. Do you?"
"No."
"We're lost, we're fucking lost!" Ivy exclaimed.
"Come on, let's not panic yet." Bella said quickly. "We'll just pick a side and it'll be fine. I think I hear something down the right one, maybe it's traffic!" Bella let go of Ivy's hand as she hurried down the right fork of the tunnel.
"Bella wait!" Ivy called, running after her. She was surprisingly quick for someone with an injured leg.
"Come on, Ivy!" She called through the darkness. "I know I can hear something!"
That was when she saw Bella's little light go out and heard her cry out.
"Bella!" Ivy gasped. The darkness around her was so complete, so impenetrable and Ivy felt panic once again flooding her body as she crept through the darkness towards the other girl. "Bella where are you!" She called out.
"I'm here," Bella said weakly and her phone light flicked back on. The young woman was sitting on the ground, a trickle of blood running down her face.
"Bella are you okay? What happened?" Ivy rushed to her side.
"My leg gave out and I think I must have hit my head," she sounded disorientaed.
Probably a concussion, Ivy thought. "Can you stand?" She asked.
"I-I think so," said Bella. Ivy helped her up, but she could see how unsteadily Bella was just standing. "What if we die down here, Ivy?"
"We're not gonna die," Ivy reassured her.
"But what if we do?" Bella said fearfully. "Do you think Millie will miss me at all?"
Ivy wrapped Bella in a tight hug. "Of course she will," she said softly, "she loves you so much!"
Bella clung to her tightly and Ivy wondered if this was how the Dark Warriors had won her over, it's how they had gotten her after all. She knew well how jealous and hurt Bella was by the way her mother had neglected her and Ben after Blaire's accident.
"Maybe, when she remembers Ben and I exist," Bella rested her head on Ivy's shoulder. "I hate that I'm jealous of her, Blaire I mean, I know how much she's been through, how much she's suffered. I'd trade my body for hers if I could, she deserves it; but I'm still so jealous. Does that make me a bad person, Ivy?" Bella looked up at her, tears and blood mixing together on her cheeks.
"Of course not! You're great, really great," Ivy reassured her.
"I'm not. Why else would the Dark Warriors want me? I know who they are, Ivy. I know that they're the worst of the worst, the scum of the earth, that's why I fit in there," Bella looked up at Ivy sadly.
"Don't say that, Bella. Don't ever say that," Ivy said seriously.
"Well you're there too, maybe we're both bad people. Maybe we're meant to die down here in the tunnels, maybe it's our punishment."
"We're not going to die, Bella," Ivy said sternly.
"You might not, but I've got a busted head and a leg I can barely walk on."
"You're not going to-" Ivy stopped speaking and froze. She suddenly heard the sound of footsteps, they were close. How did someone sneak up on us here?
Ivy's hand closed around her pocket knife as Bella, who had also clearly heard the noise, turned her flashlight in the direction of the stranger.
Standing before them was a pale, red haired man dressed in clothes that would have been much more at home in a WWII period piece than the 21st century. He was young, no older than they were, but his face was sunken and gaunt and his green eyes seemed to stare through them.
"Oh," he said and his voice was just as strange and dream-like as his appearance, "you're not who I thought you were."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ivy said suspiciously. Maybe he was just a lonely drifter seeking shelter from the heat, but there was something deeply unnerving about him.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"We're lost," Bella sobbed, "please just help us get home."
"I don't know if I can do that," he said slowly, "you always say you'll come back for me, but you never do…"
The words sent a chill down Ivy's spine and she tightened her grip on her knife. "We've never been here before," she said warily.
"You shouldn't have come here," he said, "people who come here don't come back."
"Are you threatening us?" Ivy snapped, pulling Bella closer.
"No," said the man calmly, "it's just the truth."
"Then take us home!" Ivy yelled.
The young man paused, seeming to study Ivy and Bella's faces. "No, I suppose you're right, you don't belong here. Alright, keep going down this tunnel and take the next three rights, then a left, then go straight, then take another left, then turn right at the light."
"Can you show us the way, her phone is about to die," Ivy implored.
"No," the man replied and turned to walk back the way he came.
"Fuck you!" Ivy yelled after him. "We've got to get moving, I'm sure they've noticed we're gone by now."
Bella nodded.
"Do you need me to help you?" Ivy asked her.
"I don't think so," said Bella hesitantly.
They managed to find the first three right turns, but as they continued not a single left appeared.
"Do you think we passed it in the dark?" Bella asked fearfully. Her phone was almost dead and Ivy cursed herself for leaving hers back in the car.
"No, I'm sure we're on track," Ivy reassured her. The floor of the tunnel was beginning to slope upwards which Ivy thought must have been a good sign, until it began sloping even more steeply downwards.
"We're going to die here," said Bella and in that moment her phone died.
Darkness enveloped them completely and Ivy instinctively reached out and grabbed Bella's hand. "This is all my fault," Bella said and Ivy could hear the tears in her voice, "I made you come with me."
"I'm the one who tied a shit knot and left her phone in the car," Ivy reminded her.
"I guess that's true," Bella admitted, "I suppose this is it then."
"It seems that way, doesn't it?" said Ivy. "Let's sit down, might as well be comfortable while we wait for death."
Bella laughed, "if I die before you I give you permission to eat my body."
"Gross," Ivy laughed.
Bella reached out a hand and gently placed it on Ivy's cheek and Ivy leaned in to kiss her. Even in the dark she was able to find her lips. Ivy could taste the blood and tears as she kissed her, but she didn't care. Bella lay back, pulling Ivy on top of her and sliding her hand down to undo Ivy's belt buckle.
"If we're gonna die we might as well have fun," she said and Ivy could hear the playful smirk in her voice.
"Before we're too weak to do anything, but wait for the end" Ivy grinned and kissed her, tangling her fingers in Bella's tight thick curls.
"You need to get out of here!" Ivy froze. The voice had come from the depths of the darkness, but the tunnel's echoes made it impossible to pinpoint it. All Ivy could tell was that it did not belong to the man that had met earlier.
Ivy quickly stood up, helping Bella to her feet. "Who's there she called out!"
"Come with me," said the person. Ivy was pretty sure it was a woman's voice, but it was lower and raspier than most. Ivy strained her eyes and saw the faint outline of the strange woman standing in the tunnel in front of them. "If you want to live, follow me," she said.
"Ivy, I know we just like accepted our deaths and everything," Bella said to her, "but if we have the option not to die I think we should take it."
"Follow me," the woman repeated and Ivy faintly saw her turn and hear her footsteps echoing faintly down the tunnel.
Without another word Ivy and Bella followed her. They walked in silence for what must have been at least half an hour, but Bella was now leaning heavily on Ivy's arm and she could tell she wasn't going to be able to make it much farther.
"Are we almost there?" She called out to the woman, but her question was answered as she rounded the next bend and was blinded by sunlight. There was no sign of the woman, she must have slipped off somewhere. "Thank you," Ivy called out, hoping she could still hear them.
The tunnel had spit them out in a park somewhere and as soon as they emerged Bella collapsed onto the grass. She was covered in mud and blood and Ivy assumed she probably looked much the same.
"Where do you think we are?" Ivy asked, sitting down next to her. "Do you think we're in another clan's territory?"
"I don't care," replied Bella.
"Are you okay to walk?" Ivy asked her.
"Not far, but I think so," Bella replied. "Do you think there's a water fountain around here?"
"Probably," Ivy mused, "it looks like a public park."
They sat there in silence for several minutes before Bella stood up shakily. "Let's find that water then," she said.
Ivy nodded and followed her. Thankfully Ivy had been right about the water fountain and they took turns drinking from it for several minutes.
"I feel better already," said Bella wearily. She certainly didn't look better, but Ivy just nodded and followed her down the street. To their shock it took just a few minutes before they saw the unmistakable green X marking Thunderclan territory.
"We made it," Ivy sighed in relief.
"What are we going to tell everyone when we get back?" Bella asked.
"I don't know, obviously we can't tell them that we went into the tunnels," Ivy replied.
To her surprise Bella gave her a sharp look. "We're already lying about training with the Dark Warriors, I don't want to start lying about everything," she said sharply. Ivy knew her anger was probably due mostly to her being exhausted and in pain, but her words still stung.
"Let's just say we got lost," said Ivy.
"What if they ask why we're covered in mud?" Bella queeried.
"We got really lost," Ivy offered lamely.
Bella let out a small, tired laugh.
It didn't take them long to get back home. They stood outside the door to Thunderclan camp and Bella looked over at Ivy and nodded before opening the door.
There were a dozen or so clan members relaxing in the living room on couches or the floor and they all froze as soon as they saw the two young women.
"Where the hell were you?" Sandra stormed over to them with Theo hot on her heels. "We were about to send out a search party!"
"We got lost," Bella replied.
"You were driving! How did you get lost?" Theo asked incredulously.
"We thought we saw something so we got out and then we got lost," said Ivy, looking down at her muddy boots and scraped legs.
"Ivy! I was so worried!" Her mother pushed through the gathering crowd and threw her arms around her not seeming to notice or care how filthy Ivy was. "Are you okay?"
"We're fine," Ivy replied, glancing around at the confused faces of the surrounding Thunderclan members.
"I thought surely something happened to you," said Whitney, tears welling up in her eyes.
Ivy cast her gaze over to Bella who was hanging back. She could see Millie pushing Blaire's wheelchair towards the doctor's office as if she had neither noticed nor cared that her other daughter had been gone for hours and turned up looking like she had been dragged through, well, a muddy concrete tunnel. Ivy bit her lip, pity welling up in her chest.
"Millie!" Whitney called joyfully. "Bella and Ivy are back!"
Millie leaned down and said something to Blaire before turning and striding over to where Bella stood. "Where have you been?" She snapped at her daughter and Ivy saw Bella shrink back. "You've wasted a whole morning with this little stunt of yours. Do you know how much your sister wishes she could go galavanting around with her friends? Of course you don't, you never think of anybody except yourself. You're a selfish little bitch, Bella," she said angrily, "you're a warrior now, it's time for you to grow the hell up."
"It's okay, Millie," Theo said, quickly stepping over to her, "they're home safe and that's what matters."
"Don't tell me how to parent my child," she snapped and walked away into the crowd, no doubt looking for Blaire.
Ivy walked over to Bella after the crowd had begun to disperse. "I'm so sorry, I'm sure she doesn't mean it," she said. She wasn't really so sure; Millie's words had been filled with so much contempt, it was no wonder Bella thought no one in Thunderclan would ever see her as the wonderful, dedicated warrior she was instead of the burnout loser she had been told she was.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter," Bella said, looking away. "The Dark Warriors have a place for me and I guess that's the best I can do."
Ivy gave her shoulder a squeeze, but Bella just gave her a sad look. "You can do better than me," she said and walked away before Ivy could follow her.
But I want you, Ivy thought as she watched Bella disappear into the crowd.