Graduation

The fall flew by quickly, and suddenly, Ivy woke up on the morning of her thesis defense and walked out to her car, realizing that there was a thin layer of frost on the windshield. Where had all of the time gone? Every morning, when she awoke, she wondered if Alex wondered about her the way that she did about him. Alex weighed heavily in her mind, and she wondered if his job offer had been a farce, for she had heard nothing yet from Ranger Phelps about the invitation. She would check her email thirty times a day for job offers or interviews for other jobs anywhere. She applied all over the country, but with her impending graduation, she still just had no bites. Haywood had promised to find her an adjunct position for the next semester if she couldn't find something.

It was the morning of her thesis defense that finally, Ivy's dreams came true. There it was, sitting in her email. An email from Haywood from late the night before, explaining that Phelps had emailed him to offer her the job, but she would still have to go through the normal, governmental hiring process, and it could take a month or longer.

Ivy's defense flew by. She cared about her work, and about impressing her committee, but her heart was free and flying high with the news that she would indeed get to go back to Kir'nu. At the conclusion of her defense, which she passed with flying colors, she was asked by her committee where exactly she was going, and if she had a job lined up. She was able to share her news, and they congratulated her emphatically.

The celebration that night was wild. Most of the faculty joined in thesis defense celebrations, and this was no different. Everyone, including their partners and sometimes, children, headed over to the sports bar where they usually gathered to congratulate Ivy and get plastered.

The next day, of course, hungover, with five copies of her thesis torn to shreds by her committee, was less joyous and heartfelt. She woke late, probably around 11, and realized that it would not be feasible for her to go to school today. Her head was pounding, and every movement was accompanied by the sound of a jackhammer and waves of nausea.

A few hours later, Ivy sat in her rocking chair with her cat snuggled up against her, highlighter in hand as she poured over each document. She had mostly grammatical and minor revisions, and thankfully, a lot of the comments were similar between versions of the document, but Ivy still had her work cut out for her. She knew that finishing the thesis was paramount, but she could not help but to return to the email that Haywood had sent to her and click on the link where she had applied the moment she had heard the news. The application was in government limbo, which meant that maybe, someday, she would get confirmation that it actually got to the right people. She eased her mind with some hot chocolate and trashy daytime television as her headache finally eased up and the world began to right itself. It would take a couple of days, but she knew that she could get the edits turned around quickly, and then she'd be home free until December, when her money ran out.

#

The dreams always started the same way. Wolf-Alex ran through that clearing where the ranger station now stood, and the moon was shaded through the mature forest's trees. He was running towards the same clearing where he met the gods, but given the ambivalent way he felt, and the way that the trees seemed to close in on him, he had a feeling that this lucid dream was not god-induced.

He reached the clearing moments later, and standing there in the suddenly clear moonlight was Ivy, her curly brown hair longer and cascading over her shoulders. She smiled when she saw the wolf, and her smile seemed to brighten the whole clearing, her eyes shining with happiness. Alex transformed closed the distance to her and sat in front of her, wagging his tail.

Happily, she crouched and began to pet him. He savored the sensation for a moment before remembering that it was a dream, and decided to change to human to see where this vision was leading him.

He stood and walked a few feet away from Ivy and transformed effortlessly. The change always felt the same, whether he was in real life or dream land, as if he was released into a body that was finally his. Naked, he stood from his crouching position and looked at her.

She was afraid, and disgusted, and everything about her screamed hate, and fear.

"What are you?" She asked him, her shaking voice filled with trepidation.

"You know me." Alex insisted, stepping closer to her.

"Get... go away. Get away from me." The last sentence was screamed, and Ivy turned to run. Alex reached out, but her arm fell through his fingers and she took off at an un-humanly speed. He watched her go, sadness carving a cavern into his heart.

"Come back!" He called to her, but she was gone. Did she hate him so much that she couldn't bear to come back to him?

Alex woke with a start, and by instinct, rolled towards the wall. His face was wet with tears, but he could smell the demon in the room. Why did he always leave the damned front door unlocked? Why did the demons always choose the nights he felt safe to violate the sanctity of his home? Alex transformed and moments later, Wolf-Alex narrowly avoided an axe crashing down onto the bed. Great. Now they were using weapons.

And he had forgotten to clap, and so, he was left in the dark. At least his eyes were pre-adjusted, and he saw the demon with his night vision. This one had wings, interestingly enough. Was it a gargoyle? Wolf-Alex didn't really care. It was trying to kill him, and he was annoyed, and so, this stupid, stupid demon would die.

He wasn't sure that the dream had been demon induced. It may have been his own fears and worries coming to the surface, as he had continually pushed them down, ever since she left. Wolf-Alex ducked as the axe swing came, and the clattering of yet another lamp biting the dust caused the over-sensitive clapper lights to turn the overhead light on. Momentarily blinded, Wolf-Alex leaped with instinct and ran directly into the gargoyle's chest. It was like rock, but it startled the gargoyle enough to make him drop the axe. Wolf-Alex slid down the gargoyle's body and bounded away as it screamed in annoyance.

The wolf's vision cleared and he saw what he was up against. A gargoyle, yes, but he had seen demons like this before, and he knew just how to make it scream. The wings were non-functional, and dangerous, but very sensitive. Wolf-Alex made a dash between the gargoyle's spread legs and turned before the gargoyle could, launching himself up onto the wings. He bit into the right wing base, ignoring the pain that the razor sharp feathers inflicted on his face and body. The gargoyle screamed in pain and off balance, began swinging mightily, trying to force Wolf-Alex's jaws to release their quarry. Wolf-Alex let go fluidly, and waited expectantly as the gargoyle spun around, and then, seeing his target, he leapt.

#

"Have you heard anything yet?" Alex let himself into Jon's office. They had become much closer in the intervening three months, when fall and winter began bringing more and more hikers, some of them who had been kicked out over the summer due to the earthquake, and were just now using their travel vouchers to finish their vacations.

"It's a girl." Jon offered, the same tidbit of information he offered to Alex each week about his pregnant wife, although they both knew that his wife's baby's sex was not what Alex's inquiry was about.

"So... no." Alex said, disappointment clear on his body. His shoulders instantly slumped.

"Relax." Jon said, laughing. "You know how the government works. They're slow. I told them who I want for the position. I'm sure that at any moment, they'll tell me that she's passed the background check and we can welcome her back to Kir'nu."

"It's been a while though, right?"

"Alex. I will let you know as soon as I do. I promise. Where did you even get the money to fund her position?" Jon turned another topic of frequent conversation. It was Alex who had gifted the money to the island to establish both the initial research grant, and the more permanent position.

"When you've been around as long as I have, you stockpile some things." Alex said, his response the same as it had been every other time that Jon had asked.

"Why do we pay you, again?" Jon asked him, and Alex shrugged.

"The government requires it. I wasn't paid until you guys invaded the island and I saved a few explorers from certain death."

"Ah, yes. The great capers of 1912."

"You make me sound so ancient." Alex grumbled, but he knew that it was only with respect that Jon mentioned his age.

"Someone has to give the right perspective."

"How's Miriah, anyway?" Alex asked. Jon laughed.

"Now you ask?"

"Well, if something was wrong, I'm sure you would've told me well before I walked through that door to bother you."

"True enough. She's fine, although last night, she decided she wanted shrimp at one in the morning, and I had to go to the store."

"Pregnant women can be crazy." Alex agreed with Jon. "That's one of those inescapable facts of life."

"Punishment for the pain and suffering we bring to them through pregnancy. Or, that's what Miriah says. She says I deserve it, and I should thank her because her urges are mild compared to other women."

"And do you?"

"No." Jon laughed. "But I do love her, and I can't wait for the day when I can see our child for the first time."

"We'll be there too, right?"

"What, you want to be in the delivery room?" Jon asked, and Alex shuddered.

"I see enough blood and gore on a daily basis. I don't want to see Miriah go through that. But I'd love to be there when you come out to announce that everything's fine. You know, like in the movies."

"We'll see. It'll be a month or two yet." Jon said. "You do seem to be one of my closer friends, so who knows. It could happen."

"Are her parents still flying out when the time comes?" Alex asked. "How's that going to be? In-laws and a new baby in the house? My guess is that you'll be working a lot of overtime."

"Her parents aren't too bad. But yeah, I'm going to take some paternity leave to deal with everyone. Now my parents are talking about coming out too."

"Hey, at least you have family." Alex said, smiling. He was not at all bitter about the fact, but Jon stilled at the suggestion.

"Hey, you're family to us, Alex. You know you're welcome home with us anytime, right?"

"I know. Its just my boss... he works me to death."

"Hey now."

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