Ch.23 IvyWood Village - part.1

Midnight, Sapphire, Boo, Hex and Silver followed Ruby through bushes and trees down a path.

Hex: Where are we going again?

Ruby: Because Grandma's house is so small and because there is a lot of us, you guys need somewhere to sleep!

Boo: Couldn't we sleep down in the basement?

Ruby: Not big enough. And you'll like this place much better!

Ruby leads them until they reach a big tree house with a running stream around it.

Ruby: What do you think?

Hex: This is where we'll be staying?

Ruby: Yup! This was me and Sapphire's tree fort when other cousins came to visit!

Sapphire: And since you can't return to your village for a while, it would make a great shelter for you! And as a bonus, it's not that far from Grandma's house!

Silver: That's very generous of you, I'm sure we would all agree. But we couldn't POSSIBLE stay here...

Hex: Why not? I say its perfect!

And saying so, Hex runs up the ladder and up into the tree house. She waves from the balcony and Boo waves back.

Boo: Seems solid enough.

Sapphire: And it should be.

Ruby: We might need to spring clean the place first, but I'm sure you'll fit right in!

Ruby climbed the ladder and entered the tree house. Everyone follows her in.

Silver: Dusty... old... I like it!

Boo: Perfect for a Mist Shooter like me!

Sapphire: What's a Mist Shooter?

Silver: It's the type of class he's in. Our village works differently to most villages you'll come across. As you may know, some UnMythics think our village is haunted, so they come looking for ghosts. And what do we give them?

Sapphire: Uh... Ghosts?

Silver: Exactly. Boo is a Mist Shooter, meaning he has to spray mist over a certain area before the "ghost hunters" arrive. I'm a Pebble Creeper, meaning that I drop stones and bombs nearby the UnMythics that distract them long enough for the Ghost Screamers to get away.

Ruby: And what's a Ghost Screamer?

Hex: They make sounds like crying ghosts. The highest class in our village!

Ruby: I see.

Sapphire: What class are you in, Hex?

Hex: I'm a C-class Bat caretaker. I help feed the bats...

Midnight: Ruby, we really need to go.

Ruby: As much I want to stay and chat, Midnight's right.

Silver: Why do you have to go?

Ruby: We disobeyed Captain Slash and we have to train till moon rise. On the bright side, we rescued Boo, you and a lot of other Vampires!

Hex: He's a mean Captain.

Ruby: I guess he's just following rules.

Ruby and Midnight wave goodbye and head towards the Vampire Lord's training grounds. Sapphire looks around the ancient tree house.

Sapphire: I'll make sure to ask Grandma to give you some make-shift beds.

Boo: Do you think your Grandma could give me some fire powder? I want to make Flash bombs and I think I can find the rest of the items I need in this tree house.

Sapphire: I'll keep that in mind.

Sapphire climbed down the ladder and headed back to Grandma's house. Just before she opened the door, she heard a barking sound and paws pounding on the path. She looked up to see a blood hound running towards her.

Sapphire: Mora! What are you doing here?

The blood hound bounced into Sapphire's arms and knocked her to the ground. Grandma opens the door and Mora rushes in.

Grandma: Is that blood hound yours?

Sapphire: I wish she was.

Sapphire enters the house and Grandma closes the door. Mora bounces around Fang in excitement.

Fang: Why is this hound jumping around me?

Grandma: It seems she likes you, Fang!

Fang: Well, I don't like it!

Sapphire: Be nice to Mora.

Fang: ...

Grandma: Do you know this young pup?

Sapphire: We used her to find the prison where the UnMythics were keeping the Darkriver Vampires, and I guess she tracked us back home?

Fang: Please say we're taking her back to the Hound Trainers...

Grandma: If this blood hound decided to follow Sapphire, she can stay. It might just rush back to Sapphire if we take it back.

Sapphire: YAY!!!

Fang: But... I'm already the pet of the family!

Sapphire: But you're Ruby's pet, not mine. Besides, can you track down UnMythics?

Fang: Technically, no.

Sapphire: Then stop complaining. Just because Mora can do things you can't is no reason to hate her.

Fang scurried up on top of a bookcase and glared down at the hound.

 Sapphire: That reminds me, Boo wanted to ask if you had any fire powder for his Flash bombs.

Grandma: I think I've got some left from my home made Flame Breather potion... Let me go and check.

Grandma went down into her potion lab and brought up a small cloth pouch tied with red string.

Grandma: Give this to Boo next time you see him.

Sapphire: ... What can fire powder be used in?

Grandma: All sorts of things... making fires, fueling bombs of all sizes, making useful potions, and sometimes put into cake and pie for explosive results!

Sapphire: So... we can eat fire powder?

Grandma: Only if it's in food. Eating it on its own would make your mouth burn so badly, you couldn't eat properly for a whole week!

Sapphire: For both Vampires and UnMythics?

Grandma: We believe so. It's happened to Vampires, but I don't think an UnMythic has tried eating fire powder before...

Sapphire: I'll make sure not to try in case it has the same results...

Grandma: Indeed. We wouldn't want your mouth to be burning for a week now, would we?

Sapphire: Probably not.

Sapphire whistled for Mora to follow her, and they left Grandma's house and headed towards the tree house.