Lila and Ivy sat in awkward silence as the serene darkness of the woods surrounded them, with the occasional sound forcing them to snap to attention. It was always some dry leaf rustling in the wind, or a small bug chirping in the distance.
Or perhaps it was their hearts, still thumping in nervous desperation.
Lila hated that feeling.
Despite her visible reluctance, she wanted her friend to stay. If she could even call her that.
"I uhh..." Lila shuffled around her words as best she could. "I'm glad we both made it. I know all this fighting is getting surreal at this point, but...I'm still thankful."
Ivy finally broke out of her stupor. "Thankful for what?"
"You. It's us or them, Ivy. I know we haven't exactly gotten along all that well but-."
"We haven't," Ivy muttered, looking away from Lila as her eyes turned a shade of red. "We haven't at all."
"But I like to think we're a good team." Lila smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah...we are."
Something about Ivy had changed. And when she got up to leave like she always did, Lila felt enraged. One of them had to break.
Ivy sighed, her tired legs wabbling as she spoke. "We should go our separate ways now."
Lila snapped just as soon as the heiress's words left her tounge. "No."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm tired of this."
"You're the one who went looking for me!" Ivy scoffed, placing two hands on her hips. "Don't even start with me!"
"And what would have happened if I didn't? We both know you weren't going to take on that company by yourself. I saved you! And you know it! Y-you. You smiled! You laughed!" Lila screamed. "Do you hate me or not! What's up with you?"
Ivy rolled her eyes. Turning to leave, she kicked her heels up at Lila, releasing a cloud of dirt. She had intended for that to be their last exchange.
"No!" Lila barked, grabbing onto the heiress's wrist.
Ivy's eyes widened in shock. Something about Lila laying a hand on her in such a manner felt wrong in ways she couldn't even comprehend. In fact, her disgust was visibly palpable.
"L-let go of me!" Ivy squirmed.
Lila refused to stand down. "Not till you tell me what's going on! Stop running!"
"I already told you! I hate you!"
"Why!"
Ivy pulled her arm inwards, leading Lila directly into a slap from her other hand. She could practically feel the guilt wash over her the mere second it happened. In that moment, the heiress felt like her father.
And that disgusted her far more than Lila ever could.
Lila teared up, one side of her face bearing a visible mark. She was hurt. Yet she refused to let go.
"I didn't want to say it." Ivy shook her head, trying to ignore her own sin. "But you've forced my hand. I...I'm jealous of you, Lila. What you have. What you've ALWAYS had!
Hate cannot begin to describe what I feel for you! All I've ever wanted was a taste of what you've lived through. You think I'm the perfect heiress?
I have no riches. No loving family. No power, no privilege. These things, I can admit. But you...I can't..."
Ivy burst into tears, tugging at Lila's grasp as she tried to free herself.
"I can't be around you! You're like poison! Constantly reminding me of my own failure! You are your stupid little plushies, and your stupid little pigtails. I hate all of it!"
Lila didn't respond. She felt nothing but feral rage.
"How..." Lila seethed. "Did you know about them?"
Before Ivy could respond, Lila tackled her with her Psionic speed. The girls tumbled an absurd distance, descending further down the hill as they spiraled out of control. When they finally landed, the fight was over before it even began.
"Ugh!" Ivy grunted as she fell onto her back.
Ivy immediately turned red, realizing her legs had been draped over Lila's shoulders as the girl knelt in front of her, her hands mere inches from the heiress's belly.
"Uh." Lila scrambled for something to say, her anger having diminished in an instant, only to be replaced by the overwhelming sense of embarrassment.
Lila had never particularly liked girls. She should have just laughed it off. But seeing Ivy's thin, supple legs, covered in a single layer of tight white mesh, made her breath heave. Lila's eyes drifted towards the heiress's open legs, her delicate pale thighs squishing against the Earthling's waist as the blood within them began to burn hot with red friction.
Ivy's mouth was agape, her eyes quivering with shame as she attempted to move. Something was holding her down, begging her to stay in that position and confess to Lila. Deep down, she liked it. She liked Lila. And she wanted to be humiliated, her legs spread open like the pricey bag of meat her family saw her as.
It was intoxicating.
"I-I." Lila froze. "I'm really sorry I didn't mean to-."
Ivy looked away, gritting her teeth as her cheeks began to glow. That was all Lila needed to see. Sliding Ivy's legs off her shoulders, she scrambled backwards in a desperate attempt to flee.
"I-I'm so sorry, Ivy." Lila blathered. "I didn't...I shouldn't have. You're a lovely girl, but I uh...I like boys, and I'd never touch you like that. I'm so sorry if I made you feel-."
"Don't." Ivy whimpered as she crawled away in shame. "Just don't."
Lila watched helplessly as the heiress got up and left, leaving her in the darkness. Placing her face into her hands, Lila burst into tears. She felt betrayed, guilty, and worst of all, she felt a sense of yearning.
"Ivy..." Lila called out helplessly, her hand grasping at thin air.
Little did she know, Ivy was facing the same dread, her tears falling against the dead leaves as she hobbled away. Both girls were exhausted. Yet instead of finding shelter in each other, they were fated to face the dangers of the world alone.
It didn't have to be this way.
Lila found herself a nice fallen tree to crawl into before crying herself to sleep, her back leaning against the dead wood as she clenched her fists. All she wanted was a friend. But in that forest, she had nothing but an enemy and a torrent of feelings she couldn't possibly understand.
She could still feel Ivy's hand on her face.
- - - - - - - -
Ivy wandered further and further into the forest, stumbling about like a drunken child. Part of her almost wanted to run into the Consortium; maybe then her pain could come to a swift end.
That would be nice.
Another part of her knew exactly where Lila had scampered off to for the night, and wanted nothing more than to give chase. Even with the girl's frightening speed, Ivy could track her exact movements. It would have been so easy to creep up on the Earthling and tell her how she really felt.
She did indeed hate Lila. And she did hate how she made her feel. But Ivy knew more than anyone else how much deeper that passion truly went.
"No." Ivy shook her head, looking back at the treeline, its vivid details visible to her even at night. "Never."
But as if unable to command her own body, Ivy continued to wander in only the most infuriating of patterns.
"I said no!" Ivy screamed at herself as her gaze fixated on Lila, the girl's distant outline glowing in the dark.
The heiress punched a nearby tree in frustration, piercing its bark with ease. She grunted in frustration before pulling her hand out of the splintered hole. After what she had experienced the night before, Ivy couldn't even delude herself into thinking she had any hope for a proper night's rest without Lila.
She knew what would be waiting for her if she tried.
"I...fine."
With an unnerving amount of stealth, Ivy crept into Lila's sleeping spot before taking her place at the girl's side. She had managed to avoid waking the Earthling, and after a brief moment in her presence, a feeling of warmth and comfort washed over her like a wave of relief.
It was where she should have been, from the start.
Ivy didn't even realize her head had begun to lean into Lila's shoulder by the time she fell asleep.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Hello, Auntie Ivy." A high-pitched voice called out to Ivy from the pink mist of Lila's dream.
She was back there again. And just like before, it was a heavenly experience, untarnished by her past. But something was slightly different.
"You're not boy...he calls me Uncle." Ivy groaned, picking herself off Lila's carpet. "And you...remember me?"
A tiny little Ginjou with a red bow climbed onto Ivy's lap, placing both of her mittens against her own cushioned hips. "Of course! I'm a girl!"
Ivy picked the Ginjou up by her arms before nuzzling it against her nose.
"I missed you guys."