“Can you make it to the top of that tree?”

Zero looked up at the broad and monstrous cedar trees around them, their thick branches reaching far and high. “Yes.”

Akiko handed the boy a small wooden box. “There is a type of beetle that lives only in the utmost branches. They’re green and purple and they’re wings are black with orange speckles. I only need their wings. But I’d also like a live one as well. Will you do that?”

“I will.” The devil grabbed the box carefully from the woman before leaping to the branches and disappearing into the foliage.

“They’re stardust beetles, only found in large cedars like these,” Akiko informed the girl who sat on the ground, jotting down in her notebook. “If you crush them and mix them with rice wine then it creates a strong analgesic that works almost instantly. You never want to give more than a very small spoonful for an adult, and a drop or two for children depending on their size. It’ll stop their organs if you give them more than that, but at least they won’t feel it.”

Ivy looked up at the fox demon. “What if you can’t mix it with rice wine? Will it do anything?”

“You can crush them and put the powder in an open wound. That’ll help ease some of the pain, but it’s the alcohol that helps to release the pain-relieving properties.”

The girl wrote it down with a small smile. “Of course it does.”

Akiko stared up into the trees, everything tranquil and still, not so much as a sign of the boy she sent to the top. “How did you tame a devil?” she asked quietly, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

Ivy froze, the question catching her off guard and making her feel uncomfortable. Zero was a devil, but he wasn’t some sort of animal that could be trained or controlled. She would never want to do that to him. “I… I didn’t tame Zero.”

“Did Sakura or the angel?”

The girl shook her head. “No. That’s just the way he is.”

“How can you trust a devil?” The question wasn’t aggressive, rather exploratory, trying to make sense of a contradiction. “No matter how docile he may seem now, he’s still what he is. He’s still a devil.”

Ivy’s violet eyes gazed up at the woman innocently. “How can you trust anyone? Devils aren’t the only ones who cause harm to others, after all.”

It was the elder’s turn to feel out of place. “I guess it’s something we choose to do. To trust people.”

“I never chose to trust him,” the girl told her sincerely. “I just always did. I knew I could. I know his eyes scare people, but they’ve never scared me. You only have to look at them, actually look at them, to see that they’re not the eyes of someone who wants to hurt others. They’re kind, and calm, and warm, just like Zero.”

Akiko was silent, mulling over the girl’s words, before looking at her with a gentle smile. “You think very highly of him, don’t you?”

Ivy averted her gaze, but thought against it, and returned back to the woman’s gold eyes. “I do. Very highly. He’s very important to me.”

“How long have you two been mates?”

The girl couldn’t talk herself out of not looking away this time. It was understandable that Sakura would claim that they were mates considering the customs of the den, and not wanting to deal with more push-back than necessary. But whether or not it made things easier, she never had been good at lying, and now was no exception.

Akiko raised a brow at the suddenly uncomfortable girl. “You’re not mates, are you?”

She sighed in defeat. The cat was already out of the bag. “No. I think Sakura just said that so we could stay together.”

“You two care very much for one another, though.”

Ivy couldn’t hold back her smile. “We do.”

The woman nodded and sat next to the girl. “Sometimes, a woman is chosen by a man who has never even spoken to her. Sometimes, by ones they hardly know or even despise. It’s an unfortunate truth, but a common one for us. It will serve you two well to take your time. There’s no need to rush.”

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She was quiet as she nibbled her lip, debating whether or not to speak her mind. Ultimately, her curiosity won. “Why don’t women have a choice of who their mate is? I’m not trying to be rude by questioning your traditions, it’s just hard for me to understand.”

“It is for a lot of people outside of the den, but it’s the way things are done here. Long ago, it was a more common custom throughout the land, but now the den is the only place that still participates in it. For us, it’s like the sun rising and setting, it just happens, and it never changes.”

“Were you chosen by the man you wanted?”

Akiko chuckled lightly. “I was fond of him, so I was pleased when he was the victor. But I would have been content with my other suitor as well. My mother always told me that smart girls have no expectations, while foolish ones fall in love. I can’t say she was wrong.”

Ivy allowed the words to sink in, feeling the hopelessness in them. It may have been the way things were here, but it was hard to imagine that everyone was fully accepting of it. “I don’t think Sakura would have done very well here.”

“Neither do I. I’m not surprised that she is how she is now. She was the same way even when she was little. A wild one that nobody could control. It caused a lot of trouble with the people of the den. Young girls are held to a certain standard and she seemed determined to revolt at every opportunity. Keiko tried at first but there was no stopping that child, so she just tried to keep the damage to a minimum. Haru loved it, just thought she was perfect and began teaching her to fight from the time she could walk. He was convinced that she would take alpha one day.”

“Do the girls ever fight?”

The demon shook her head. “Oh, no. Never. But you couldn’t stop her, and Haru always encouraged it. To be honest, she was the most vicious little thing I’d ever seen. She would even beat up the boys that were older and larger than her. The worst part of it though was that she was a biter.” Akiko raised the skirt of her dress to her knee, showing off an old scar in the shape of a little mouth on her calf. “I’m sure a good portion of the den have at least one of these somewhere on them. I got this one pulling her off a boy and she whipped around and latched right on.”

Ivy peered at the scar with a small, exasperated groan. “Yeah… she never really grew out of that.” Though the girl had never experienced it herself, she’d witnessed it plenty of times throughout the years, and now often cared for Ren’s wounds since he could never go too long without going unscathed. She was grateful that she hadn’t had to use her knowledge to treat anything severe, but at the same time, it really was a shame that the bulk of Marisol’s teachings were used for tending to the consequences of the angel’s harassment.

“How long have you been with her?”

“Six years. Since I was twelve. She raised me.”

A look of sympathy washed over the woman’s face. “What happened to your family, dear?”

It was an inquiry that was innocent enough and even expected, but Ivy never liked it. Though she could never quite put her finger on why the question was so upsetting, it always brought up a feeling that didn’t visit her often.

Anger.

Ivy met the woman’s gaze, her eyes shining brightly, convincing. “Nothing,” she answered, her voice lacking its normal, sweet tone. “Sakura is my family. She’s my mother. Please don’t ever doubt or question that again.”

Akiko seemed to stare passed the girl for a moment, frozen and distant, with glossed over eyes before slowly blinking the haze away and placing her hand on her shoulder with a nod. “That’s wonderful. Has she been a good mother to you?”

The loveliest of smiles spread across the girl’s face and she giggled. “She’s been the best mother I could ever ask for.”

A body landed behind them, footsteps making their way around the women. Zero stood above them, holding the box out to the woman with one hand, the other clenched closed. “Will that be enough?” he asked.

She took and opened the box, pleasantly surprised to find it full of the tiny wings. “That’s more than enough. Thank you. Did you bring a beetle?”

The devil crouched down and opened his hand, a brightly colored beetle the size of an almond in his palm. Ivy hurried to sketch the insect as the boy watched her with a softness in his eyes and the fox watched him, marveling at the slight yet drastic change in demeanor she never imagined possible for a devil.

“You should make this girl your mate one day,” Akiko told the boy, ignoring Ivy’s quill that sharply veered off course. “It’s obvious you’re very fond of her.”

“I am,” Zero agreed and looked at the woman, the hint of emotion now gone. “And Sakura said we are mates.”

“Ivy said you’re not. Would you like her to be?”

He was quiet as he thought about it. “What’s a mate?”

Akiko tilted her head, her brows raised. Did this boy really not know? “Someone you spend your life with. Take care of, and they take care of you. Build a family with,” she explained.

“Yes,” the devil answered immediately. “I would like to be her mate.” He looked back at Ivy, the girl hiding her burning face behind her arms on top of her knees. “Did I do it again?”

“Yeah.” Her voice muffled, the fire in her chest raging uncontrollably. “It’s okay though. It’ll go away.”

The old woman chuckled lightly, making her way to her feet. “Let’s go, you two. I’m going to need you to wade into the pond and gather water lilies, and then we’ll head back for the night.”

“Ivy.”

She peeked over her arms at the boy who reached his hand out to her, deep crimson eyes sinking into hers without faltering.

Someone you spend your life with.

She wanted nothing more than for that person to be him.

Ivy took his hand and Zero pulled her up, refusing to release as he guided her in following the woman.

“We can start again tomorrow after everyone returns,” Akiko told them. “Hopefully everything goes well. Maybe the den will start to view Sakura differently after she has a successful extermination.”

“If the den doesn’t like her because she fights then I don’t think it’ll change their mind,” the girl pointed out, sad for the woman. If only they saw her the way she did.

Akiko slowed, her head hanging in shame. “She wasn’t shunned just because she fights. It’s because the den believes that child is cursed.”