Lucius shivered in the cool, crisp air and pulled his yellow
cloak tighter around his body as he walked. It was fall, and the
leaves on the trees were turning color. To everyone's horror,
many had produced red leaves, and, in light of that, they had to
be uprooted and burned. Noah had laughed and clapped as the red
flames engulfed the red-leafed trees, but everyone else was
nervous that Those-We-Don't-Speak-Of would be attracted by the
flames, thus they tried to quicken the process as best they
could. Ivy had simply stood there among the children, listening
to the crackle of the red leaves as they burned, a sorrowful
expression on her face. Lucius quickly snapped out of his
thoughts when a green leaf fell on his face. As he passed near
the border between the village and the woods, he noticed the
yellow paint on the trees was fading and made a mental note to
ask Finton and Christop if they could help him repaint. He
quickly glanced into the woods and did a harsh double-take when
he thought he saw two dark black eyes glinting out of the
already dark black forest. He relaxed a slight bit when he
couldn't see them the second time he searched for them, though
his relaxation was worn thin by the constant sound of branches
cracking in the forest.It was dark by the time he reached the
Walker home. He had promised his mother he would stay with
Kitty, Ivy, Noah, and the children until the Elders had finished
an impromptu meeting that had been called.
Those-We-Do-Not-Speak-Of had been heard screaming and moaning
recently, and everyone was preparing for a very unwelcome
attack. Lucius was very much on edge, as he still could not get
over the feeling of those black eyes boring into his, even if it
had all been farce. He knocked on the door and Kitty greeted him
with a very strained expression on her face. "Noah Percy", she
whispered, "has been having fits." Noah's fits were not
something anyone enjoyed, but they put up with them because they
all knew it was not something he could control. Lucius nodded
and entered the Walker home, glancing over at Ivy with her fiery
red hair and greeting her with a quiet "Hello" before sitting
near the fire. He could hear Ivy return his greeting with an
equally quiet "Hello, Lucius Hunt", which he thought more than a
little odd since he wasn't always sure "quiet" was in her
vocabulary. As he looked back, he noticed her face looking a tad
worn out, and figured she was simply having a difficult time
managing Noah and the children. Noah was currently sitting
quietly next to Ivy, a rather forlorn expression on his face,
while the children, all rather young still, flitted around like
orange butterflies on a bright summer day, and proved equally
difficult to ensnare when it was time to change into their night
clothes.
As time wore on, Lucius began to wonder if the Elder's
meeting would ever end. Not that he necessarily minded being so
close to Ivy, or staying to watch over them all, but he was
getting rather anxious to know what it was they had decided.
Besides, he thought with a poorly-contained grimace, he was
rather tired and he wasn't about to be rude and fall asleep in
the Walker's home without some form of permission. Kitty, to his
embarrassment, had caught the grimace as it passed over his face
and approached him with an expression of concern on her face.
"Lucius Hunt", she said, the concern seeping into her voice,
"are you feeling well?" Lucius nodded, not looking up. He was
more than a bit embarrassed to be around her now, as he had
recently denied her request for marriage, and learned through
Ivy that she had been devastated by the refusal. "I am tired,
Kitty, that is all." Kitty nodded, not at all convinced, and
left him. Suddenly he felt another presence by his side. "Lucius
Hunt," Ivy spoke quietly, though her voice had strength again,
"if you are not feeling well, you should not hide it. That is
how Daniel Nicholson died, you know, and I would not wish death
to befall you." He looked up into the face of Ivy Walker and
smiled slightly. "I promise you, the wish for sleep is the only
thing that plagues me this night. If there was anything else I
would let you know." This perhaps wasn't entirely truthful, as
he would probably just tell his mother, if anyone, and she would
tell Mr. Walker, who would then, most likely, tell Ivy. But that
answer seemed to satisfy Ivy, who went back over to Noah and,
within a few minutes, she had fallen asleep. Noah, by now, was
fast asleep and snoring softly. Lucius, against his better
judgment though deciding it wouldn't be too bad, fell asleep not
long after.
He was awoken a few moments later to the sound of a door
opening. The meeting had ending - Mr. Walker was home.
