Recovery

Ivy's blurred vision seemed to magnify the pounding in her head, and she struggled to open her eyes. She could hear sounds of fighting -- of growling and tearing all over the place. But she could not understand for the life of her what was happening, or what had happened. The world was swimming, and there was nothing she could do to ease her own suffering.

Why was her entire body screaming at her? Get up. Run away. It said these things over and over again and Ivy could not comprehend the danger she was in. She gingerly reached out to her body, begging it to do her bidding. She thought she wiggled her toes, although she could not be sure.

Through her blurry eyes, she saw a body fall to the ground. Was it Terrance? No, it wasn't the right shape. Dog. It was a canine of some sort.

Suddenly, the memories of her run from the wolf-dogs had come back. She was indeed in danger. She moaned, then cursed herself for drawing attention to her condition. Then again, she must be safe if she was not yet torn to shreds. She moaned again and felt her legs move. Yes, she could move her legs. Nothing seemed to be broken. Except for her head. It hurt so bad.

Movement again in her line of vision. A gray blur moved towards the black, crumpled body of the other wolf. Oh, no. They had been fighting over her. The wolf stood over its kill, proudly, for a moment, then the shape began to move closer to Ivy. Well, this was it. She hoped her mom knew how much Ivy loved her. She tried in vain to remember if she had shared the affection before she had left for Kir'nu. Yes, that's where she was. Kir'nu. That wretched island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The wolf bent over her -- that, or it was about to sit on her, and Ivy couldn't help herself: She moaned again and vainly tried to feel for her knife, which had fallen by the wayside when she had fallen. She was helpless. Please make it quick, she prayed to the gods as she braced herself for a world of pain.

But nothing came. Just a wet nose, once, grazing her nose and forehead. Perhaps the wolf wanted to taste test his prize? But no, he was backing up some. Laying down. Perhaps he was too injured to eat her. Ivy's body flooded with relief. If someone found her, she would live to another day.

The wolf seemed to be... changing, before her vision. It was still incredibly blurry. But, had she mistaken a man for a wolf? For it was certainly a man that stood before her now. But the wolf had never left her sight. The change was almost instant, and the man stood before her. Great, was a shapeshifter going to eat her? Maybe they were wolf cannibals that turned into men when they got tired of being dogs...

The man-wolf crouched next to her. She only knew he was in a crouch because of his crotch -- inches from her face, and reeking heavily of ball sweat. She couldn't be dead if she could smell the man-wolf, right? Just a little crazy.

"It'll be ok." The voice came from far away, and she suddenly knew exactly who it was. It was Alex Sloane, ranger. "I'm going to get you home. Just hang in there."

With one fluid motion, the man slid her into his arms and stood. She moaned again -- that seemed to be all she was capable of doing, in her compromised state. "Alex?" She tried to speak his name, but it came out as a question moan.

"Hush. Save your strength. You have a bite."

"Where?" She tried to ask.

"Don't worry about it. We'll be to the truck soon."

Truck? Ivy's already befuddled mind took this news in with trepidation. Why would there be a truck in the middle of the woods? She struggled in his arms, but he only tightened his grip some more.

"Relax." His commanding voice soothed her. She was too tired to be angry at his order, although the smallest, sanest part of her regretted instantly the way that she quieted. This would make for a bad relationship.

What? She questioned herself. What are you going on about, crazy woman? This man is saving your life. If any of this is real. This could be heaven. Or hell.

"There you go. Good girl."

Now the sanest part of her was definitely pissed off. She was not a child. She was just a wolf-dog ravaged scientist looking for answers in her severely concussed brain and injured body. She tried to ask if Terrance was okay, but no syllables would come out of her mouth. She realized slowly that in being lost in her thoughts, she had lost track of time. She was suddenly in a truck, the bumps awakening her briefly again, but she could not move voluntarily or speak. Was she paralyzed? That was a scary thought, but it was the last thought she had as she drifted back to oblivion.

#

"Hey, stranger." Ivy's eyes focused on Ranger Alex Sloane, who hastily let go of her hand. "Welcome back to reality. No, relax."

Relax. Why did that word sound so familiar to her? Ivy stopped her struggle to get out of bed.

"What do you remember?" Alex asked her. "Can you talk?"

Ivy realized her throat was parched. She also realized that there were tubes hanging out of her arms. Had she almost died? She coughed and carefully, so as not to disturb the contraption she was hooked up to, pointed meaningfully to her throat.

"Ah." The ranger intoned, and looked around for a source of liquid. Seeing nothing, not even a pitcher of water, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a can of soda.

"I smuggled this in. Don't tell the nurses." The ranger grinned conspiratorially and popped open the can with a flourish.

"Be careful." He said as he gently gave it to her. "It might burn on the way down. It'll be the first thing in your throat in a few day."

Ivy nodded and slowly took her first sip. It was a sharp taste, not at all what her mouth had been expecting, but she swallowed it in a measured fashion. She took a bigger, longer sip, then tried again to speak.

"I hurt." Those were her first words. Alex laughed.

"I suppose you would." He responded. "Now, how much do you remember?"

"Is Terrance ok?" She asked him, fear crossing her face.

"Yes, he's fine. So clearly, you do remember the attack."

"Yeah. We got separated. I ran."

"You ran right into the ground." Alex said, gently. "You must've slipped and fallen. I found you. For whatever reason, the wolves decided to leave you alone."

"No..." She furrowed her brow, searching her memories for what had really happened. Because she knew the wolves hadn't left her alone.

"There was another." She decided, lamely, although she wasn't sure if it had been real, she remembered her blurry vision and crisp, clear thoughts about the end of her life like it had been just moments ago.

"Another what? Person?" Alex sounded worried.

"Wolf. Not like the others. Though they're the strangest wolves I've ever seen."

"Ah. You see a lot of wolves in your line of work?" Alex asked her. He was trying so hard to be nice. But he needed to make sure that she had her facts straight before he brought her back to the island.

"... No." She admitted sourly. "But the wolves that were chasing us were black. And the wolf that saved me was gray."

"Ah. A savior wolf. That makes sense."

"I thought they were fighting over who got to eat me." She pointed out. "That's why I remember. I was preparing to die."

"Well, that's morbid." Alex said. He could almost smell the fear that her memories brought up, and he could hear the change in her heartbeat through the monitor. "Relax. It's ok. Hey now, don't cry."

Ivy sniffled a little, embarrassed. Gently, Alex turned away to retrieve the tissues from the nearby night stand.

"You went through some trauma. Its ok." He awkwardly touched her shoulder with his free hand, offering her tissues with the other.

His touch was electric. Suddenly, she had forgotten why she was crying at all. He drew his hand back, as if he had felt the electricity between them, too. As if she burned. Was she so unattractive to him that he could not stand to touch her? What was wrong with her? Why did this man send her into thoughts about self worth and sexuality? She could've lived out her days never feeling this way and been perfectly happy.

"The wolf. It... it changed." The sharp intake of breath that Alex held back did nothing to help his case. She knew his secret. And he knew she knew. And when she met his eyes, realization crossing her face, he knew that she knew. And she knew she was right. "It changed into you." She finished, almost proudly.

Alex tried his best to explain how a concussion can cause strange dreams. How she had been asleep for three days, and although she probably remembered bits of her rescue, they had all melded together in her mushed up brain. Finally though, she cut him off.

"I saw you do it. I watched you come up to me, as wolf, then back away, change into human, and pick me up. You told me that it was okay, and I was safe."

"I did say those things." Alex admitted. "It's funny how our brains connect these stories all together."

"Cut the bullshit." Ivy said, before Alex could continue with his concussion speech. "I saw the guilt cross your face the instant I mentioned the change. Now, you can either tell me what and who you are, or..."

"No one will believe you." Alex preemptively said, and she glowered at him, took another sip of the soda, and then said,

"I wasn't going to tell everyone. My guess is that the rangers know, anyway. I was going to say that I will become the largest nuisance in your life. Worse than those pesky, mutated wolf-dogs that tried to eat Terrance and I."

"Wolf dogs."

"They weren't true wolves." She said obstinately.

"Okay. I'll play along. If they weren't wolves..."

"Really big, really intelligent dogs with a sadistic streak. That's my best guess. Although I suppose I could provide true identity if you gave me a body..."

"The wolv-- wolf-dogs were tranquilized and returned to the restricted area. No bodies to speak of."

"Is the fence fixed?" She asked him. "That's how they got out, right?"

"Yes, a tree fell on the fence. We cut the tree and fixed the fence. It should be more secure." Alex hoped that the distraction techniques would work on the scientist, but she soon returned to her hypothesis.

"How old are you?" She asked him. She must be trying a different angle.

"Twenty nine." Alex said.

"How long have you been twenty nine?" She asked.

"No comment." Alex shrugged. It wasn't an outright lie. Just a refusal to answer her question.

"How long have you been a shapeshifter?" She asked him, her face straight. She was really convinced that what she had seen in her dream was the truth.

"I'm not a shapeshifter."

Ivy glared at him, then sighed with a dramatic flourish.

"Fine. Let's say, hypothetically, that you are a shapeshifter. For about how long has your hypothetical self had this power?"

"We're playing a game now?" Alex asked. "I don't think I signed up for a game."

"Just humor me and answer the damn question, you surly, rebellious wolfman."

"I would say that, hypothetically, I have been a shapeshifter for... hmm. Let's say about 428 years."

"And how did this come to be?" Ivy asked, not flinching at the four centuries number that Alex had pulled from his brain.

"Hypothetically?"

"Yes, hypothetically."

"Let's say the power was handed down to me by the last guard -- shapeshifter." He stopped himself from saying his true title: Guardian.

"Guard?"

"I misspoke."

"What does your hypothetical shapeshifter call itself and its ability?" She asked, smoothly. Alex felt like he was having his mind raped. Bound by his own set of rules, he could not lie to her. Especially when she asked an outright question.

"Guardian." He answered after a long pause.

"How megalomaniacal of your hypothetical self."

"I see your brain is fine." Alex responded to her choice of vocabulary. "Maybe you should hang around Kir'nu for a while and help us all earn our Ph.D.s."

"What?"

"Megalomaniacal." He repeated her word. She laughed.

"I love that word."

Their banter was interrupted by a nurse popping her head in.

"Visiting hours are almost over, Alex. And the ferry leaves in a half hour."

"Oh." Alex stood abruptly. "Well, it's time for me to go."

"When do you think I'll be out of this get up?" Ivy asked, fear and loneliness crossing her face.

"If the doctor comes by tonight, which he said he would, he'll explain it all to you. But, barring any other mishaps, you should be able to go back to Kir'nu tomorrow morning. One of us, or one of your scientist buddies will be by to pick you up."

"Thanks for... why [were]{.underline} you visiting?"

"I found you." Alex said, simply. His tone had a sense of longing to it, as if he had not yet claimed a much sought after prize. "Have a good night."

#

Ivy was released the next day, and welcomed "home" to Kir'nu with a bouquet of freshly picked native wildflowers. The entire lab, in fact, Haywood, Emily, and Terrance, came to the mainland to pick her up. Ivy had called her mother before being released from the hospital, to let her know to watch for bills, and that the rangers would pick up the tab. She had then argued with her mother for a while about how next time, when she ended up in the hospital, she should call. Ivy reminded her that the injuries weren't life threatening, and that she had been unconscious. The reminder of Ivy's head injury did nothing for her mother's comfort, but instead sent her into a tirade about how Ivy's career was too dangerous and she needed a desk job.

After calming her mother's fears, and promising to put her mother's emergency contact information in Haywood's hands, the lab arrived to take her home. Terrance could barely look at her, and Ivy had a feeling it wasn't the scratches on her face. He, too, had a few stitches. They had done well. She sat with him on the ferry ride and reminded him that they were both fine, and that's all that mattered. She reminded him that it was she who left him, and not the other way around.

Haywood had hugged her -- the first time something like that had happened, and she hoped it wouldn't become a regular thing. It was way more awkward than that time he had offered her a high five for a job well done. Emily, too, had hugged her, gushing mostly about how irritating the two boys had been for her four day hospital stint.

"No one knows." Ivy answered Haywood when he asked why she had been unconscious for so long. Not in a coma -- they could shake her awake (the doctors), and she would moan or mumble that she needed to sleep, and go right back to it. Fearing for her brain, they simply left her alone, gave her fluids, and waited.

Ivy had a dull ache that seemed to be omnipresent in her head, and the doctors warned her that the pain might stay awhile. Although her brain hadn't swelled, it was still a major concussion, and she might notice some unusual side effects, including pain or a worsening of her migraines.

Ranger Phelps -- Jon -- and Ranger Sloane -- Alex -- joined the lab for a dinner. Since Haywood had the day off, as did they all, he had picked up some steak before returning to the island, and was outside grilling, while Emily and Terrance prepared some macaroni salad as a side. Ivy tried to help, but everyone insisted that she stay put, and so, she sat on the couch, useless, with the awkward presence of both of the rangers. She desperately wanted to get Alex alone. To talk to him more about his hypothetical shapeshifting that she knew, in her heart, was real. A guardian? Guardian of what?

But Alex avoided her eyes and she knew it was going to be a fight to get him to reveal more. She also wanted to talk to Haywood about what she had experienced, but not before she got all of the "facts."

"Alex." Ivy ended the silence and he looked up, brief annoyance and trepidation flickering in her eyes. Come on, now, Ivy thought. Am I really that scary? "Do you regularly carry a gun?"

"No. None of us do." He had a feeling that he knew where this was going, and he did not like it one bit.

"But you... You work primarily in the restricted area, right? Won't you carry a gun, now that those wolves have tasted human blood?"

"We have a truce. I'm like the... the pack alpha."

Jon smiled tersely at his subordinate yet equal. You're handling her well, Jon seemed to silently communicate to Alex, but be careful. Alex smiled just as tersely back, as if saying, I've got this, boss.

"How are your injuries?" Alex asked her before she could respond with a follow up question.

"I'm a little tender. But alright." She admitted. "I seem to have a semi-permanent headache right now."

"Are you tired? We don't have to do this dinner."

"According to you all, I spent the last four days in bed, so I'd like to stay up as long as possible. And honestly, I'd like to get back to work tomorrow."

"I doubt Haywood will allow that." Jon pointed out.

"I don't have to work as hard as I was, before." Ivy insisted. "But we're here to do research, not hang around the house like old ladies. The doctor cleared me, the stitches come out in a week, and it's not like I broke anything."

"Your leg looked pretty broken to me when... yeah." Alex iced over the fact that he had rescued her.

"Tore up, a bit, yeah. But I'm not really favoring it. It just hurts when my pants rub against it."

"Which is with every step?" Alex asked drily.

"No. Just most steps." Ivy retorted.

Haywood rescued Jon from the increasingly uncomfortable banter between Alex and Ivy as he came inside with a plate of sizzling steaks.

"You guys ready?" He asked Emily and Terrance. "The steaks are done!"

"Just finished." Emily smiled at him and rinsed her hands off in the sink.

"What about you three? Ivy, you want me to bring you a plate?" Haywood asked lightly. She shook her head.

"I can get my own. Are we going to eat at the table?"

"There's enough room, I think. Sure." Haywood said, assessing the situation in the kitchen. "Let's just grab two chairs from the library for our guests."

Ivy rose and started to head towards the library, but of course, Terrance raced ahead of her, with a gentle command of, "Go. Eat." She acquiesced and hobbled to the kitchen to get a plate.

"So, gentlemen." Haywood started the conversation off amiably. "Tell us about yourselves."

Jon spoke first. "Not sure what you want to hear. I've been here for quite some time. I basically got promoted from the mainland. Brought my wife over here. We live on the mainland, as do most of our rangers."

"Kids?" Haywood asked.

"Not yet. Maybe soon." Jon said, and, having said his piece, turned pointedly to Alex. If Jon must suffer, so must Alex.

"I've also been here a while. Longer than Jon, actually. I'm one of the only rangers that lives on the island itself. As I mentioned before, I'm sort of the... resident wolf handler, so I actually live in a small cabin inside the restricted area."

"Mysterious." Haywood said conspiratorially. "Wife and kids?"

"No thank you." Alex said. "Not in the conditions I work in. Maybe someday. When I retire."

No wife. No kids. And resident wolf handler would make a perfect excuse to be always where the trouble is. Especially if he was the one causing it -- or cleaning up the messes.

"That's what I said. Some lifestyles are just hard to keep a partner in, right?" Haywood looked at Ivy. Ivy nodded, her mind racing. Was Haywood trying to set her up with this ranger? Or was this more of her self-worth questioning paranoia that she seemed to get whenever she was near the wolf-man?

"Ivy had a spurt of dating where, it seemed like every week, she had an excellent story to share about the characters she had met over the weekend. It's amazing what sort of people you have to wade through to find your one." Haywood continued. Ivy smiled, thinking of "cow man," a story that she had been too embarrassed to share with Haywood. No, she always shared the [awkward]{.underline} dates with Haywood. Not the hookups.

"Oh, we don't need to talk about my dating life. What about you, Dr. Walton? You've had your share of bad dates, too, you know."

"Oh, I know." Haywood laughed. "But it's no fun to share your own embarrassment. Jon, how did you meet your wife?"

"School. I actually got my training in Syracuse, New York, of all places, where she was studying to be an environmental scientist. She works now as an editor for an online science magazine. We met at one of the club meetings and hit it off, and haven't ever really looked back."

"She's a total sweetheart." Alex said, smiling at some long past memory of Jon's wife.

"She brings Alex soup when he gets sick or badly scraped up. He's sort of our crash test dummy, so it's good that she takes care of him."

"And you, Alex?" Haywood asked, keeping the conversation flowing smoothly. "Any past love?"

"Never. I spend a lot of time alone." He explained. "I like it better that way."

"Makes for a lonely existence." Haywood said, and they all murmured their agreement.

"I think Jon's the only one with a significant other. How sad is that?" Emily joined the conversation between bites of her steak.

"Yeah, I suppose he is." Haywood said after a moment. "Science isn't for the weak willed, that's for sure. Anything in nature, for that matter." Haywood amended his statement to include Alex in his description of a lonely person.

"Eh. We have each other. Friends are just as important." Ivy said, defending her current decision to be single. "Right?"

"Right." Terrance and Emily chorused their agreement, but both Haywood and Alex nodded. They had been alone for much longer -- Ivy guessed -- than the three junior members of the dinner party. And time had a way of changing even the most obstinate mind.

#

Ivy was back at the same spot, like a bad dream. This time, there were no wolves, or wolf-dogs, or wolf-men, but still, Ivy's heart quickened as she reached the spot. Terrance stood uneasily behind her, as if somehow, the wolves would suddenly reappear and launch themselves at the scientists' throats.

Ivy had just wanted to see the fence repairs. Then, her and Terrance would go check on their insect traps and call it a day, focusing on data entry and analysis. It was a compromise between she and Haywood, who had turned into an overbearing father figure and didn't want her to do too much, too quickly. As it was, her leg with the bite gash was aching from the exertion, and she wished wholeheartedly that she could just wave a wand and make the pain go away. But, she could not, and so she sucked it up and tried not to let Terrance notice her discomfort.

"Do you think you could've..." Terrance's voice faded.

"Died? I really thought I was a goner there, for a bit. But I didn't die. It's ok, Terrance. These are the hazards of being out in the field. I've stared down bears before. Shit happens."

"I know. Just, if Ranger Sloane hadn't..."

"Yeah. He's a good guy, for all his gruffness. Hey, speak of the devil." Ivy pointed to a shadow in the distance, growing larger. "Or its the wolves again." She teased lightly, for she knew that it very well could be round two.

But it wasn't, she realized, as Alex came waltzing up on the opposite side of the fence.

"Back for more trouble causing, I presume?" Alex called and Ivy laughed.

"Just surveying the scene of the crime. I see someone cleaned up my blood spatter."

"Yes, well, I am the clean up crew." Alex said, closing the distance.

"Can I come in? To stand where it happened? That sounds morbid, I know, but..."

"Yeah." Alex said suddenly. The words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Cool." Ivy said, ignoring his hesitation. She turned to Terrance. "Let's go."

She heard a barely audible groan from her younger friend and employee, most likely, the bewildered groan of a friend who didn't know how to tell her to take it easy.

"You're limping." Terrance said to Ivy in a whisper. "Might want to slow down a bit."

Ivy nodded and slowed her pace, trailing Alex through the other side of the fence, which was okay, since he had to unlock the gate anyway.

Let through, with Alex close by, and legally this time, Ivy strode towards the spot she thought she had fallen. Alex corrected her, some, at least, to the place where he had found her, and she stood there for a moment, taking it in. Nothing remained of her less than graceful, fear fueled fall, other than a small indentation in the ground. The grass had already regained its peaceful, springy texture.

"Can we walk over there, quick?" Ivy asked. She pointed to the boggy area. "If you have time, I mean. We don't want to inconvenience you."

"Sure thing." Alex said, surprised by the sincere curiosity in her voice. It wasn't quite begging, but it was close. He liked it.

Ivy and Terrance followed behind Alex, but he realized that Ivy was moving at a slower pace, and so, crouched to the ground like he had seen an interesting insect while they caught up. He stood, cursing himself for letting it get away, then matched their pace more evenly. If Ivy noticed the change in pace, she didn't let on, instead grateful for the relaxed walk.

"Hey. What's this?" Ivy stopped and poked the ground with her foot. She grimaced as she squatted down, and Terrance and Alex joined her at ground level. "It looks like a bear print."

"No... its the wolves." Alex responded.

"Is that like the giant wolf mother?" Terrance quipped, and Ivy nodded.

"They're unusually large." She agreed.

"We feed them well." Alex responded. "Shall we?"

They continued to the boggy area and with assistance, Ivy finally got her chance to wander into the field of strange and alien plants. It was as she suspected: these were a species she had never seen before, probably endemic to the island. She shared the news with Alex, who shrugged.

"I expected as much. Jon had mentioned to me that you guys wanted to look. A lot of what grows on this island is unusual."

"But beautiful." Terrance said, placing his finger tentatively on a pitcher plant, as if it would bite.

"Yes. This is my home, and I wouldn't trade it for the whole world." Alex said. "Are we ready? I do have some things I need to take care of this afternoon."

"Sure." Ivy rose, with assistance from Terrance, her injured leg burning every inch of the way. "Sorry to keep you so long."

"It's not a problem." Alex insisted. "As long as I'm here, you're safe."

"So you say." Ivy smiled at him, and Alex shrugged.

"Haven't failed you yet, have I?"

Terrance either tuned out this exchange and its deeper meaning, or more likely, chose not to join in the conversation, as it would be awkward. This was flirting, no doubt about it, and Terrance was the third wheel.

Alex released the gate for them and Terrance and Ivy walked through it. He clicked it shut from the other side, but Ivy stopped him as he turned to go.

"Alex." She called. "Can you take me in further tomorrow? If you have time?"

"We'll see." He said as he walked towards the interior of the reserve.

"He's certainly playing hard to get." Terrance commented as soon as Alex was out of earshot.

"What?"

"You can't tell me you weren't flirting, Ivy." Terrance said drily.

"Hush. There will be no talk of flirting." Ivy admonished him.

A moment of silence passed between them, and Ivy couldn't help the grin that flashed across her face. "Plus. He's playing much easier to get than he was before."

"Ivy Hickman." Terrance did his best teacher voice. "Are you trying to get us kicked off this island by having a fling with the hot ranger?"

"If he comes to me, it's not my fault." She said innocently. Terrance threw his arm around her, half to support her, and half, to give her a hug.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you."

#

The next day was sunny, and Alex approached the field station with trepidation. Had he really agreed to spend time alone with this woman? In all of the years he had been here -- and he had been here many, he had always kept his distance. Always been above the din and going ons of the mortals. Not that he was immortal per say, just semi-indestructible. But this woman, he felt a strange attraction to. He had tried to fight it, but it couldn't be helped. Every time he had an opportunity, his heart jumped on it before his mind could say no.

But here he was, standing in the early morning light, having agreed to meet Ivy outside the field research station around seven. They would only spend the morning together, as Alex had some fallen trees to take care of, but he would try to show her the highlights of the restricted area without roaming too near the giant, gaping hole which spit out demons on a regular basis.

He was excited, and nervous. It was like a date. But he had never been on a date. His mentor had taken him on at a very young age, and he had killed his first demon when he was only ten years old. His birthdays had only been celebrated with days off, and when he had turned 29, his mentor felt it was time.

Alex knocked on the door and was greeted by Terrance and the smell of food. Terrance had offered to go work with Emily and Haywood on this day, so that Ivy could have alone time with Alex. It was like the entire world conspired against Alex's good senses. Terrance invited him in, explaining that Ivy was in the shower and should be out shortly. Alex reclined on the couch, greeting Haywood, who was playing with a computer of some sort in the recliner across the way.

The changing had been incredibly painful. Alex ceremoniously killed his mentor and drank his blood. His mentor assured him that he would move to a new life -- to the Summerland -- to join the other mentors before him, but Alex had doubted that until the moment he saw it with his own eyes. An ethereal version of his mentor had appeared before him when the deed was done, thanking him and reminding him that he would know, himself, when it was time to find a student and conduct the same rituals.

Those were the days before the white man, Alex realized. He was looking far back into history. He had learned English long ago; had adapted his accent with the changing times. Learned new vocabulary each decade. It had been an interesting transition, to say the least, but change kept him young, it seemed.

Ivy emerged from the bedroom and smiled at Alex. Alex looked up at her with a grin. "You ready?"

"Almost. Just gotta pack my bag."

"Cool. Let me know." Alex said and returned to brooding.

There had been so much blood. Towards the end, his mentor had even resisted, albeit weakly, but he was bound tightly between the trees and his blood flowed freely. Alex cried for days, even after he had given the man his proper burial. He had known his mentor by no name other than "Guardian," and it pained him that he had had to take a name other than "Guardian" as civilization encroached closer and closer onto Kir'nu. He had used to live off of the land, a small garden and occasional game being his diet. Now, though, he was just as likely to throw one of those awful frozen meals into the microwave for three minutes. He tried not to let technology impede his lifestyle, but with even the hikers bringing cell phones and GPS systems on their trips, it was impossible. So he had just given in and had asked for lessons from the head ranger, on the equipment.

"I'm ready." Ivy's sweet voice woke Alex from his memories and he stood quickly.

"Sorry, did you say something before?"

"No, you're fine. Quite the deep thinker, I see."

"Old memories." Alex acknowledged. "Shall we?"

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