The women waited until it was sufficiently dark before venturing down out of their treehouse and beginning their 8-mile journey towards the lake. Ivy stroked the tree fondly before somewhat reluctantly leaving it behind in favor of the dark forest that lay ahead. She led the way because the plants helped her keep to the correct path. Harley followed closely behind, occasionally clutching Ivy's hand as the redhead deftly avoided the roots and bushes that littered the terrain. Catwoman brought up the rear, her head on a constant swivel to make sure no evil lurked in the darkness around them. Ivy had assured her that the closest presence she felt was at least another 6 miles from their position, but Catwoman remained alert anyway.
It took them only 10 minutes to leave the thickest part of the forest. They were passing Ivy's apple orchard now, and Catwoman picked three of the safe ones in case any of them got hungry as the night wore on. Selina was honestly impressed with Harley for staying silent for so long. To say it was out of character would be an understatement. The blonde hung onto the redhead in front of her like they were tethered by a short rope, carrying Ivy's shovel over her shoulder. Harley's weapon of choice had- of course- been her giant mallet, but Ivy convinced her that the metal shovel could be just as useful in combat and was infinitely more applicable to their other tasks. In an honestly surprising outcome, Ivy had appealed to Harley's common sense and reasonable mind, so she carried the shovel proudly, boasting that she could kill anybody with anything. Selina doubted that very much, but if it meant having another tool at their disposal, she was happy to play along.
Catwoman spotted a camera perched on a tree and silently pointed it out to Ivy who studied it for a moment before pressing forward. The cameras came equipped with a night vision mode so that viewers could enjoy watching their favorite villains be brutally murdered in their sleep as well as in the daylight. Gotta love modern technology. Harley gave it a big wave, prompting a pinch on the arm by Ivy. Harley pouted for a moment before her face was once again taken over by a smile and she flipped off the camera instead. Ivy couldn't bring herself to punish the jester for that one.
Pamela's pace began to slow around mile three, and mile four seemed to take them as long as one and two put together. All three women were in good- even great- cardiovascular shape, but 95-degree heat and no water proved to be the great equalizer. Ivy took a moment to collect herself and lean against a tree trunk and as she did so, Harley flopped lazily onto the ground. Catwoman did the same, although not as animatedly. She was beginning to wish Ivy hadn't returned her suit.
"I think this is as far as we should go tonight." Ivy proposed to the group. "Encroaching any further upon the lake when we're this tired doesn't seem wise. I'm not sure about you two, but I'm not exactly feeling motivated to embark on further physical exertion tonight, especially against more well-rested foes."
"Oh my god!" Catwoman complained, her voice a harsh whisper. "We get it, you're a doctor. The superfluous vocabulary is really starting to piss me off. Just say you're tired and let's sleep." The heat was clearly getting to her.
"I don't know, Kitty. 'Superfluous' is a pretty nifty word…" Harley lulled her head to wink at the other woman. "So is 'hypocrite.'"
"We'll have to sleep in the open air." Ivy told them, looking up into the bows of the tree above her and ignoring Harley and Selina's conversation. "It would be morning by the time I finished a shelter and I'm not familiar with this area enough to feel comfortable sleeping in the daylight."
"So we gonna sleep down here like a camp out, Red?" Harley asked, sitting up quickly with excitement.
"No." Ivy shook her head. "The safest bet is still to sleep in the trees. We'll just need to find one with thick enough branches."
"You calling me fat?" Selina sat up too.
Ivy narrowed her eyes at the woman. "Selina, that doesn't even make any sense."
"I'm too tired to be witty." The brunette sighed.
"As am I." Ivy conceded. "There." She pointed to a large tree about 50 feet away from them.
Harley groaned. "I'm too tired."
"The sooner you get in bed; the sooner you can get to bed." Ivy reminded her as she helped the girl up from her sprawled position.
"Nothing sexier than your girlfriend talking to you like a child, huh, Harley?" Selina chuckled, pulling herself up off the ground only to be pushed back down by Harley's strong arms.
"Mean kitties don't get to sleep on the bed." The blonde told her matter-of-factly, her arms crossed.
"Harley, Darling…" Ivy began, her shoulders relaxing slightly at Harley not denying their relationship status. "She may be crude, but I don't exactly want her dead. Not yet, anyway." She said pointedly, glaring once more at Selina.
Ivy asked the tree to bend its branches in order to make scaling it easier. She let Harley and Selina go first and then pulled herself up, whispering "thank you" to the tree before righting its branches once more. Selina put her back up against the trunk (the only way to sleep being upright) and closed her eyes. She was too tired not to trust that Ivy would keep watch and so she drifted off into a somewhat restless slumber but was awoken sometime later by Harley's attempt at a whisper.
"Red?" Harley ventured, her voice slightly shaky.
Catwoman opened one eye to observe the two on the branch just to her left. Ivy's back was to the tree like Selina's and Harley was wrapped in her arms using her as a sort of "human" bean bag chair. Ivy's eyes were closed while Harley's were wide open.
"Red?" She tried again with more urgency.
"Yeah, Harl?" Ivy answered groggily without opening her eyes.
Harley glanced over at Selina and the brunette quickly shut her eye. Satisfied that she and Ivy were alone, Harley continued. "I'm scared."
Catwoman dared to once again peak through her lashes and watch as Ivy's thumb idly stroked at the skin visible through the tattered remains of Harley's costume. "I know you are." Ivy said.
Harley twisted around slightly so they were momentarily face to face. "Are you scared, Red?"
Ivy was quiet for a moment, searching for something in the expanse of Harley's sky blue eyes. Silently, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the blonde's forehead. "I love you, Harley." She whispered, her lips moving against the girl's smooth skin.
Selina tensed when she heard that. She briefly wished she hadn't been snooping, and then, when she realized she didn't exactly have a choice in the matter, she wondered how long it had been since a human being had heard those three words from Poison Ivy.
Evidently content with the utterance, Harley faced forward once more and pulled Ivy's arms tighter around her. "Sometimes, when I got scared at night…" Harley began, her voice a true whisper now. "My mama used to sing ta me."
"I'm not your mom, Harley." Ivy reminded her with what Catwoman thought was an impressive degree of gentleness.
"Yeah, I know, Red." Harley mumbled, exhaustion thick in her voice. "But you're warm like mama was."
For a moment, the only sound in the forest was of the leaves rustling in the slight breeze. Then Pamela softly cleared her throat and began.
Wall-flowers, wall-flowers,
Growin' up so high,
Neither me nor my baby
Shall ever wish to die,
Ivy sang with a haunting tone and cadence that made Selina's chest ache. She clamped her eyes shut as the words echoed in her head.
Especially Harley,
she's the prettiest flower.
She can dance, and she can sing,
and she can tell the hour,
With her croí agus aign
She is my Harley flower
Selina was too late to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She knew that song…well, one version of it anyway. It was an Irish children's song that the only father she ever knew had sung to her, using her name instead of Harley's, of course, but she was moved by it now just the same. All these years later, she still clung to that expression of affection like a lifeline. Hearing that song now…Selina had never felt so alone.