CAUTION: Spoils aspects of Innocent Hopes, Twisted Realities, as well as aspects of When Nothing Remains, and aspects of Usurpation of the Darkness through chapter 29.

Seriously, major spoilers here.

Assuming you wish to continue, read on…

Background: Ivy isn't a main character. Not even close. But he's gotten a surprising amount of attention, and in conversing with reviewers, I ended up giving a lot of clarification that just isn't present in Usurpation of the Darkness. It occurred to me that I might as well make that clarification available in story form for everyone, and depict him as I would have had UotD not been a single perspective. What follows is a fragmented look at Ivy's side of some of the events of Usurpation of the Darkness. This is labeled (EC) for extra canon because it did indeed happen; we just didn't see it because we spent the entire story in Lily's mind. It's also meant to give an impression of a character, not tell a new story, so it's pretty short. We know the circumstances around all of this, after all. It's the details, the reasons and the thoughts, that matter.

Ivy watched from a distance as his mate argued with his daughter. He considered intervening… for the time it took to remember how his daughter had just beaten and broken Claw, and then dropped the idea faster than a hatchling who looked like she was about to relieve herself on him.

He decided that he was not going to do anything. Neither Pearl nor Diora would want his interference, and he wouldn't know what to say anyway. He didn't even know what they were fighting about, aside from the obvious. Pearl was breaking away, taking her independence and refusing to bow her head to anyone.

Ivy resented her. He could not do the same, so she should not be able to either. She was putting herself above him, and he had precious few people below him in the first place. It wasn't fair that one of them was moving up in the world, and he was not.

Pearl snarled something, and Diora snarled back. Ivy cringed, thinking about how bad a mood Diora would be in after this. She would take it out on him or Silva, and Silva wasn't around. He didn't even know where Silva was, to bring her back and distract Diora. That might have been for the best, though; Silva had an ugly way of whining, more of a sniffle than anything, and Diora would definitely have reduced her to tears. The noise would have been obnoxious.

Diora turned her back on Pearl, and Pearl made to leave… before looking around and spotting him. Ivy cringed again, for a very similar reason to before. Pearl was above him now by virtue of being above Claw and Diora, and if she wanted to roar at him, he would have to sit there and take it. He certainly couldn't fight back.

Sure enough, Pearl approached, thumping down in front of him and making him flinch. She had every reason to dislike him, and he knew it. He hadn't cared about her any more than he did Silva.

"Listen closely," Pearl snarled. She already had his full attention just by being present, but he endeavored to remember her exact words, just in case. He knew full well what disobeying a command made in that tone of voice usually brought. Claw punished with bruises and cuts, Diora with verbal scorn, and if he had to guess, Pearl would do both.

"If you ever give Dam another egg, I'll kill you," she said with a peculiar slur. "She doesn't deserve children to turn into obedient little tools."

"If I do not try, she will kill me," he objected, horrified that she was placing him at odds with Diora. He never wanted to be in a position to anger one of those above him, and now she was putting him in that place with no way out.

"Possibly. But I'll definitely kill you if I ever find out another daughter of hers wound up with Claw."

Ivy felt his blood run cold, and he regretted not knowing where Silva was all the more. That was Diora's plan, her main occupation to pass the days, and Pearl's threat aside, if Diora did not have that, she would be all the more unbearable. One of the few good things about having a daughter was how it kept Diora off his back more often than not. Better the child bear her scorn than him.

"And I'm taking Silva away from here," she added, seemingly reading his mind. "You get one chance. Don't mess it up. I'm scarier than Dam could ever be, and you don't even want to know what my friends could do to you."

"Okay…" Ivy said, searching his mind for something to placate her. "I am sorry," he managed.

"You always are, at least to whoever scares you the most," Pearl sighed. She leaped off the rock and walked away.

Ivy stared at her until she was out of sight. He wasn't allowed to have any more eggs according to Pearl, but he knew that the moment Diora accepted that Silva was gone, she would start trying for another, just like when Pearl disappeared. Disobeying Pearl would end in possible death, and disobeying Diora would end in… something. He didn't know what. Short-term, a lot of roaring and getting smacked around, and maybe Diora dragging Claw into it, in which case it really could end in death, because he would be forced to resist someone.

He had no idea how he was going to get out of this while keeping all of his various superiors satisfied, and he hated Pearl for making his life harder.

O-O-O-O-O

Ivy lingered near Diora's rock, wishing he had something to take his mind off his predicament. Diora had gone somewhere, maybe to search for Silva, and would soon realize she was gone. After that, it would only be a matter of time until he was forced to choose between immediate punishment, or inevitable doom.

He wondered whether there was a way out of it, a way to ensure that neither Pearl nor Diora wound up thinking he had disobeyed them. Diora would only be satisfied if he helped her make another replacement egg, maybe several if the first one turned out male. But then Pearl would come for him.

An idea occurred to him, one with some merit to it. Pearl did not want Diora to raise any more children. The time between egg and hatching was a time of carefully providing warmth, and Diora often made him sit with the egg. He could just let it grow cold and die while she was gone, then pretend nothing had happened.

That could work… the first time. The next, she would probably keep the egg on her at all times. She knew he was unhappy, she just did not care, and she would suspect him of a petty act like that.

What he needed was a way to make it seem like it was her own fault none of her children lasted. Ideally, she would just be struck barren, unable to produce eggs at all. That would solve his problem and hopefully bother her to no end, as a bonus.

Ivy noticed a purple glint among the rocks nearby, and his attention was drawn. He felt a flutter of pride in his chest, alone amidst the many crushing disasters of the day. At least, he thought to himself, stoking that feeling, he was not the lowest of the low. That position undoubtedly went to Lily, who was in the most disgusting place possible. Everyone knew it was wrong, and nobody pitied her.

It was comforting, seeing someone who had less than him. The only way her position could be worse would be her having an egg with her own Sire, though that hadn't happened yet…

His thoughts flew off on their own path as he noticed the comparison. Lily had yet to have eggs, despite being Claw's and most assuredly given many, many chances for such things. Eggs did not take so long to come about, so she might be barren.

That seemed a little too lucky for him to stomach. It could be luck, or it could be some sort of trick, something she did or did not do. Something against Claw's will, because he clearly meant to claim her as thoroughly as possible. Claw was a big, strong alpha with hard muscles and all the dominance in the world, he would have tried, and tried hard...

A clever thought occurred to Ivy, and he purred happily. If she had a trick, a way to circumvent Claw, it could be something that would work for him. He could make Diora barren, or himself, and serve all of his superiors without displeasing any of them. Even Claw, since he could force the secret from her, then inform Claw of his mate's trickery.

And if she did not have such a secret, since it was very unlikely that such a thing existed and he was probably grasping at smoke, he could still benefit. He could rat her out anyway, accuse her of it and watch as Claw punished her whether or not it was true. It wouldn't solve his problem, but it would make him feel better, and make Claw happy with him. Lily would suffer, but he didn't care. He had long since given up caring how others felt about anything except for when it affected him.

This would work. He stood, still purring smugly, and prepared to follow whichever path came easiest. If she had the secret, he would take it for himself and then have Claw punish her, and if she did not or refused, he would have Claw punish her anyway. It would make him feel better, seeing someone more miserable than himself, and Claw would be grateful.

O-O-O-O-O

Some time later, Ivy returned to Diora's rock, his head spinning. He felt as if he had been stepped on and then helped up with kind words, only to be threatened with another stomping if he was bad… and all by the same light wing.

"Where were you?" Diora hissed, glaring at him from the top of the rock.

"Looking for Silva," he lied. In reality, he had wandered the valley for a bit after the dizzyingly quick reversal Lily had pulled on him. It was almost sunset now.

"She is off with Claw," Diora snorted. "The one good thing in this whole day. She would have come back by now if he ignored her."

"She would have," Ivy agreed. Silva was long gone, gone with Pearl, but Diora hadn't figured that out yet. He would do his part to keep her in the dark for as long as possible. He still needed the protection Lily had used to raise herself above him, and he needed it before Diora got over her customarily short grieving stage. Postponing that process helped him. That, at least, he knew.

"If she is lucky, he will take a liking to her," Diora continued.

"Possibly." He saw absolutely nothing attractive about Silva at this age, or really any age, but Claw had different interests. That wasn't important. It wouldn't be important even if she was still around for Claw to enjoy.

What was important was figuring out how he had gone into a situation with nothing to lose and all the bargaining power, and left it having given away almost everything for the thing he wanted. Lily had twisted him around until he was agreeing to lower himself, to place himself firmly under her control, yet another person giving him orders when he was already struggling to work with those he had. He had not planned to accept anything except fearful, total compliance and begging.

"You are especially dull tonight," Diora complained.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Do something about it," she hissed. "Say something interesting."

"I think Claw will be totally fine once he has had time to heal," Ivy offered half-heartedly. "I heard Pearl saying that his tailfin will grow back."

"Oh, I hope so," Diora sighed, completely losing her anger at the thought of Claw. Were Ivy remotely interested inher affection, he would be insulted. As it was, he knew very well that he was a second choice, an inferior option only mated because she had deigned to lower herself. She had made that clear from the very start. She wanted Claw, who was unattainable, and was settling for him instead. He was doing much the same thing, at that, but it didn't make her attitude any more tolerable. He was supposed to be grateful she deigned to be with him.

He settled down on the rock, as far from Diora as could be managed, and sunk into his own thoughts. They were not pleasant, but they were more pleasant than Diora.

Now he had four light wings above him. Claw, Pearl, Lily, and Diora, in order of importance. Claw and Pearl would kill him for disobeying, Lily had the ability to set Pearl on him by inaction, and Diora would make his life miserable and maybe set Claw on him if he had to defy her in order to avoid Pearl…

He could not live like this, not for long. Lily had demanded nothing of him but a promise of future obedience, and with her help he could placate Diora and more importantly Pearl, but Claw would rip him apart if he found out on his own. Slowly, and with all the strength and fury of a scorned alpha...

The obvious answer was to go to Claw now, but Lily had blocked that by not giving the secret, just the effect, and not even that yet. He needed to know how to stop eggs, not just to have it while he served Lily. Then he could betray her to Claw, be rid of her, and have all he needed.

Hopefully, he would find out before Lily tried to make him do anything. He would have to obey if she did. She held just as much power as the rest of them did, and that made him angry. She was supposed to be the lowest of the low, not him! She should be suffering! If he could make that happen, he would.

O-O-O-O-O

Ivy leaned over and threw up into the narrow alley between boulders, his heart pounding fiercely. Root's pained moans could be heard even now, but he was scared for himself, not for Root. Claw was fuming mad, and Ivy had been made to place himself at the center of that ire, to be the face Claw would associate with the proposition that had led to this, to be the focus of Claw's attention, with all that entailed… But not in the way he would have wanted.

If it had worked, if Claw had conceded and let Root live with a few bruises, this plan would have worked out fine for him, which was why he had not come up with some believable excuse to get out of it. But now, it was all going to fall apart, and Ivy had no problem abandoning his newest alpha in favor of the infinitely more brutal old one. Lily was not capable of tearing eyes out or killing, and he wanted her to suffer anyway.

Ivy gulped nervously, pulling back the rest of his bile, and breathed shallowly until he had his body under control. Then, he flew up into the air, seeking out Claw, who had left the scene.

Claw wasn't hard to find; his furious snarling could be heard from the air, and his angrily pacing form was obvious in front of the small cave used for fighting. Ivy didn't know why he had gone back there, but that wasn't important anyway.

"Alpha!" Ivy cried out, diving down to land a safe distance away.

"Traitor," Claw snarled. "You started that."

"I was told to!" Ivy blurted out. "I have been spying for you!"

"Spying?" Claw growled, hooked by the unexpected excuse. "What does that mean?"

"There is a light wing who is trying to work against you, alpha," Ivy said as confidently as he could manage. "I found out by chance, and she tried to extort me into joining her. I let her think I fell for it, then waited until she did something I could prove. She told me to do it, but I thought it would not go that far-"

Claw lunged forward and slammed into him bodily, knocking him to the ground. A paw went to his throat. "You worked against me," Claw snarled.

"Only to prove she was," Ivy wheezed. He had no trouble breathing yet, Claw was not pressing down all that forcefully – he would have to press much harder to make Ivy pant – but the anticipation felt like it was strangling him on its own. "It was her, I know who, I can tell you."

"Tell me, then," Claw growled.

"I have done well?" Ivy asked hopefully.

Claw seemed to consider that. His claws slid out, then retreated again as the moments passed.

"Yes," he eventually decided. "But do not do that again. Not that you will have the chance." The paw shifted, and Claw kicked him in the head.

Ivy put his paws up around his ringing head and lay there, defenseless and submissive, weathering the strikes until Claw got bored and backed away.

"Get up," Claw growled. "And tell me who it was."

"Lily," Ivy said, staggering to his paws. "It was Lily." This, at least, had gone right. After tonight, he would be back down to three superiors… though he still did not know what Lily was giving him to stop eggs. He hadn't meant to betray her until he had that knowledge, but now that plan was gone, ruined by this. Ruined by Root making Claw mad and getting his own eyes torn out.

O-O-O-O-O

Ivy ran through the forest, the sounds of conflict fading behind him. Diora was back there somewhere, and Claw, and Lily. His alphas were all fighting for control of the whole pack, not just him, and he had been forgotten in the confusion.

He slowed, panting heavily, and began walking in a random direction. He wondered whether it would be best to just keep going, to leave the valley forever. Lily's side had been winning, and she had to know that he had betrayed her again. No matter what she said, she would remember and punish him.

But to keep going would be to fly out into the unknown, and he wasn't brave enough to do that. He didn't want to leave, he just wanted to be on top of the pack here. To have power, to not bow to anyone. He would be content to just not have Diora, or Lily, or Claw in his life. To have a mate who he could berate and abuse, so he would not be the one taking the abuse, for once. Or at least in the right way and by the right paws–

The sound of female voices broke the ominous silence, and he crept toward the noises. The fight was over, probably, and he had to know who was in charge. If Claw, he would return without mentioning that he had fled at all.

If Lily… He didn't know what he would do.

The voices resolved into one he knew and one he did not, the latter camouflaged. Lily stood out in the open, by a bloody mess of a body, and spoke with someone.

A whiff of the corpse came his way, and he gagged. The scent was vile, but also Claw, and it was as impossible as it was disgusting. Claw was dead.

Somehow, he had not thought that Claw would die. Lily, crippled and weak as she was, was definitely mortal, but Claw was not supposed to be, not really. Season-cycles of watching a perfect, brutal, dominant alpha hold sway over the pack had driven any idea of said alpha's fallibility right out of his mind.

Something fell into place as he stared at Claw's mutilated body. If Claw of all people could die, then anyone could. They could be killed, and if they were dead then they couldn't be above him.

The camouflaged voice bid farewell, and Lily stupidly remained in the forest, alone and extremely vulnerable. Ivy decided that he was going to free himself and put himself above Lily once more. Killing her would be good. She had dragged him into this, refusing to stay in her place and suffer for his benefit, and now he would get his revenge. He was not a strong light wing, but she was weak and he was done listening to her. She had killed his alpha, and now he would have his revenge.

Author's Note: Now, to answer a few more questions:

Why is Ivy like this? Obviously, we first see him as a petty, self-absorbed servant of the desires of anyone he sees as higher than him, and totally unsympathetic toward anyone he thinks is worse off than himself. He only gets worse from there, and while those developments can be partially blamed on outside pressure and his own actions backfiring throughout the story, he was a very unlikable person from the moment we met him. Diora is likely at fault for that, as well as the general nature of the pack, how Claw treats the males, and whatever else is in Ivy's past, along with whatever he was like long before any of those factors came into play. I left a few hints toward all of that, but the focus of this chapter was more current events, not his life story.

Is Ivy redeemable? In the right setting, with positive reinforcement from both those around him, and whoever is above him, plenty of kindness, and no reason to strike at others, I would say probably, yes, as he is capable of acting as others wish, and we are seeing him at his worst here, not at his best (but, as my beta reader says, very few people would not be redeemable with all of that at play). It depends a lot on how much of his behavior is learned, and how much is integral to his character, which I have not set in stone here. But it would take time, and of course the canon story is nowhere close to a favorable setting for that. I might one day take on that challenge in an AU, but as of now it's not a high priority.