"Well, speak." Ivy shot Ella a nasty glare. While the vines that had been inching toward Ella had stopped, the vines on the walls didn't.

"Ivy..." The hesitation in Marina's voice cut through the tension. She could sense Ivy's emotions and what they did to the plants.

Ivy could feel the calmness the witch tried to push out to the room, and she did her best to reject it. However, Marina's skills were too much for her. The anger Ivy held quickly dissipated and the calm took over. She retreated to the other side of the counter and leaned against the shelving units, finding solace in her plants.

"For someone that did her best to push magic away, you seem to be embracing it whole-heartedly now." A grimace pulled at Ella's lips, bitterness echoing in the words.

"This is not the time for this petty bullshi.t." Aura stepped into the middle of the room and looked between two witches. Ella rolled her eyes but let Aura proceed.

"Three dreams in a week are more than we have ever encountered." Aura brushed back her hair and started to pace back and forth. "This is not some coincidence. Cassie is still out there."

"She has to be," Ella cut in. "Unlike some of us, I never stopped looking. Some other creatures have started disappearing as well, and I think they might be linked."

The thinly veiled insult did not get past Ivy. She planned to call Ella out on it, but the second sentence is what caught her ear.

"More of us are disappearing?" Her eyebrows furrowed

"Not just witches." Ella stepped forward, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "There have been a couple vampires–"

"Those vampires easily could have gone rogue," Aura pointed out. "While I can't exactly report on creature news, I still have my sources in the community."

"There's been at least one fairy," Marina squeaked. "They like to come into the Tulip, and I've heard some rumblings."

Ivy stayed silent with her arms crossed over her chest. She didn't doubt anything they said. She just had no say on the topic, as she wasn't as tapped into the community as they were.

In truth, Ivy did her best to separate herself from the supernaturals at Cassandra's disappearance. However, in a town like Malachi Peak, you couldn't simply cut yourself off from the community, especially if you belonged to it willingly or not.

Cassandra Laurent was the saving grace for each of these young witches. They actually formed a Pentacle, one that had been prophesied over a century ago. Cassie found and united them. Somehow, she made them see past each other's faults and come together. The best mediator of the group, Cassie kept the peace while still maintaining order.

As for Ivy, Cassie found her at the University of Portland, Ivy's alma mater. Ivy was just sitting out in the courtyard with her notebook. She was in the middle of writing when Cassie approached her. They didn't even talk about magic on their first interaction. Despite not even knowing Ivy personally, Cassie knew better than to make Ivy question reality. Instead, she invited her to a party, already knowing the other would go.

Ivy debated about it but chose to go in the end. The theme was magic – no surprise there. As she stared back at her reflection, Ivy played with the necklace her mother had given her when she was young. The rule was to wear it at all times and never take it off. Gale Vale claimed it held good luck or some thing like that. Deciding it didn't go with her outfit's aesthetic, she slipped it over her head and stuffed it in a drawer.

Within moments, Ivy felt lighter. She felt freer as if she no longer had her mother's eyes on her. Unknowingly, she had slipped off what was blocking her magic. Gale had given her daughter the necklace to hinder and completely stop her from tapping into her gifts when she was a child. It was meant to kept her safe and out of harm's way, especially with trackers always on their tail.

Cassie knew this, however, from one of her visions she received from being a spirit user. She took full advantage of the newly freed Ivy. Cassie showed her exactly what Ivy's power could do and how she could help her control it. That night a guy had made an unwanted advance and vines just started to wrap around his legs as Ivy grew angrier and angrier.

"Ivy, what do you have to say?" Ella had crossed the room at this point and leaned over the counter on both her hands. "You have to have an opinion on this. Cassie disappearing then these innocents, it's all connected."

"Aura might have a point..."

"Fu.cking shit." Ella threw her hands up and spun on her heel "You –"

"You didn't let me finish," Ivy snapped, standing straighter now. "Vampires disappearing could be them becoming rogues, but with fairies thrown into the mix, it could be something. Anything from the werewolves?"

"Raul wouldn't confirm nor deny the news, but Ro did say there's been activity at the fringes of the pack," Ella added. Aura's eyebrow shot up and her head cocked to the side. "It's nothing like that. The werewolves are decent P.I.s with their keen sense of smell and tracking abilities. I use them when the human law stops me from proceeding."

"With everything going on, we need to come back together." Aura looked around the room and locked eyes with everyone. She knew she wouldn't have any objections from Ella and Marina, but Ivy was a different story. "We're safer if we stick together and actually train and use our magic."

Ivy opened her mouth to protest. She still wasn't ready to get back to training or even using her magic. It all reminded her too much of Cassie and the pain of losing her. She knew each of them was suffering in some way.

Ella did her best to hide the dark circles under her eyes, but they all knew she was constantly searching for the missing witch. While Marina did her best to keep others' emotions in check, she let hers runaway from her. The way her shoulders slumped when she thought no one was watching and the faraway look in her eyes revealed the sadness she kept from the world.

Aura was the only one who seemed to have accepted everything that had transpired. She didn't dwell in the past nor did she consecrate all of time to searching for Cassie. She still lived her life and found time to dive into the case when life allowed her too.

Ivy didn't want to admit this to herself, but she knew the path she was on was the most hurtful. Hunter tried to help her past it, but this destructive part of her personality was in full effect. She wanted to pretend everything was okay when in reality it wasn't. Eventually when she came to her senses, it would hit her hard.

"You know I'm in." Of course, Ella had to be the first to give her opinion.

"Me too." Marina nodded her head in approval. "I miss you all so much."

"Ivy, that leaves you." Aura physically pointed to her. All eyes turned toward Ivy, and she instinctively took a step back. The pressure overwhelmed her.

Ivy's mouth hung open as her thoughts ran a marathon in her brain. She closed it, her jaw clenching. The common denominator in it all was one singular feeling: pain. Her decision had been made for her. Marina looked at her longingly, wishing her friend had made a different choice.

"You know where to find us." Aura had noticed the look. Shaking her head, she sighed and headed for the door. The bells jingled as it closed behind her.

Realizing what had transpired, flames practically burst from Ella's fingertips. Anger, frustration and a flicker of pain flashed in her eyes. She stomped toward the counter and banged her fist against it, leaving charred marks where her fist collided with it.

Ivy jumped in surprised, and her eyes widened in fear before anger consumed her. The vines began their descent toward Ella, who took note of this.

"You can't keep doing this," she growled, practically spitting the words at Ivy. "You will realize the mistake you made, and at that point it might be too late."

The door slammed behind her. Ivy looked down to see the vines had chased her out. They had started to seal the bottom part of the door, doing their best to eliminate the threat. When had this become a thing? Had she really been that disconnected from her powers that they were starting to go haywire?

"Everything will work themselves out in the end." Marina patted Ivy's arm in reassurance, sensing this confusion. "Just don't be too late. You know we all care about you, and we realize you are going through a hard time. The other two might not get it, but I can literally feel it.

"Cassie is the reason you were even introduced to magic in the first place. Without her, you would never have known what you are. To have lost her shook everything up, but don't forget about the rest of us."

Marina pulled back at this point, wrapping her arms around herself. She started for the door, and the vines retreated completely as they felt the calm she pushed out.

"We too lost someone that night." Marina threw Ivy one last glance, a final chance to realize her mistake. "Now, it feels like we've lost another person as you keep pulling away. We need you too."

As the door closed, all the energy Marina brought to the shop completely vanished. A rush of emotions, mostly anger and sadness, bulldozed Ivy. She gripped the edge of the counter and did her best to steady herself. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, but those techniques weren't enough.

The sorrow won out over the rage. Ivy staggered back against the shelves and slid down in a fit of sobs. She moved to lie on her side, curling into the fetal position, as sobs racked her chest. The whole shop froze. The vines crawled toward her and wrapped themselves around her. They cocooned her in a secure blanket to protect her from the rest of the world.

—

A/N
Wow, oh wow. I always love writing the interaction between the Pentacle. My goal is to make sure they each have individual voices that can be clearly heard. Still, I always come back to Ivy 🌿