"Is he, truly?"

"Is he on yours?"

"Oh, absolutely not. He doesn't like me one bit - I promised to help him out with his little death wish once, you see, but I then broke my word when Lily dear commanded otherwise. He's been quite wroth with me ever since."

"But we can trust you."

"Depends on how you define 'trust.' I'm not out to get you, but, well. Anyone could say that."

"Proving the negative is traditionally considered quite difficult."

"Well, I suppose it's important to start difficult tasks early then, isn't it?"

"So: what could I do in the short term, to start proving that?"

...Not how it works. (She doesn't say anything, though.)

"Answer my question, for one. What creatures?"

Her lighthearted smirk fades away. "The Resurrection Beasts - the revenants of eight of the Nine Houses - the First was kinder, though She still would get into Her moods. They were our Lord's third greatest mistake - and the reason she's been cast from her home for the last myriad. They consume the souls of any living planets they cross; they pay less attention to thanergy planets, but a sufficient concentration of thalergy will still draw them. There's nothing glorious, no great war, nothing for song when they turn their sights on a world - everything on the planet just dies; necromancers die screaming. They hunt God and Her Lyctors whenever they get a chance - and at least one of them's started tracking back this way."

...Shit.

Her gaze jumps over to Tamerlane, before she realizes that actually no - she snaps back to look at the strange Lyctor.

Not quickly enough, though, and Ivy's gaze follows hers - 

And then she tilts her head, and considers the cast of Gideon's features, the bright golden eyes - her age - the lack of surprise with talking about the First - but the unease at 'one of her moods' - 

She smiles again - softer this time. 

"Good morning, Alecto," she says, taking a stab in the dark. 

"No one here by that name."

"I apologize, then. Is another name preferable? If you don't know who I'm talking about - well, she would bear a striking resemblance to your friend here," she gestures at Gideon, "With either golden or black eyes."

Twitch. (She glances at Tamerlane again, a bit more furtively - shouldn't Tamerlane know if they can trust this woman - ?)

The Body says

Ivy

in a chill voice that manipulates the tiny bones of the ear directly instead of anything so ungainly as vibrating the air.

The Body says

It is time for you children to leave.

Oh what the fuck what the fuck that feels so weird and Phoes does Not like the sensation.

And the Body says

Behave.