I haven't written for the host fandom, which is odd since it is one of my favorite books! I thought I would give it a whirl, and see what you guys think? I'll try to keep it real, and I would love comments on what you think. They would be much appreciated. Enjoy!

Rainbow

One: Awakening

It is early in the morning when I open my eyes, I can tell that by the darkness in my cavernous bed chamber I have been sharing with Ian. I can tell this because there is not quite a light coming through the small, slivery gaps in the ceiling, but sort of a dim, blue-gray color that allows me to see my hand in front of my face, or even a few feet in front of me.

I gently reach my hand out on the mattress to grope for Ian's chest, but my palm falls flat on the bed sheets. It figures; on a morning like this, a rare, cool breeze drifting through the caverns, he would be sprawled out in a deep sleep, how I often find him in the morning. Of course, we have more room, now that the rain has subsided, and we have a room to ourselves.

I pull myself up from the mattress and stretch my arms behind my back, feeling the joints crack and strain. My body, Pet's body, is still fragile, but with the steady work in the fields, upon Jeb's insistence, and my constant work, I've begun to build up some muscle, though it is nowhere near the capacity of strength Melanie held in her own body I once shared with her. Her body can run for miles, whereas mine tires after only working for a short amount of time. I keep on insisting that Ian, or any of the others for that matter, stop treating me like a child so I can build up my strength again. And they have done a fair job of giving me my space, and in this time, I have become stronger.

"Ian?" I call gently, walking expertly in the dark room. There are snores down the hall; I distinguish it as Andy's gentle rumble. Reaching for the door that is propped against the doorway, I realize that it is already pulled aside, propped in the hallway. I struggle to move it, reaching my thin arms out to lift against the width of the door, and slide it back into place so no one will trip on it in the dark.

There is no answer, just a snorting grumble from the door across the hall. That one is Kyle; he sleeps with more restlessness than his brother, whom I have become accustomed to.

My bare feet on the cold stone of the cavern floor, I wrap my arms around my bare shoulders, wishing I had more than the light green tank top and sweatpants. I know these caverns, probably better than anyone, having to learn to travel them in two different bodies. I was always in the dark, and now it feels just as normal as breathing.

Trudy is awake in the kitchen, up early as always, and a faint, blue solar powered lantern is resting on one of the tables. A book is open in the path of the faint, blue light, and she looks up as I approach.

"Morning, Wanda." She smiles kindly, flipping her salt and pepper braid over her shoulder, turning the page of her novel.

"Morning." I reply in my high-pitched warble, rubbing my hands up and down my arms, feeling the goosebumps. "Is Ian awake, do you know?"

"Went down the hall to the washroom." She waves in the direction.

"Thank you." I reply, turning away to her muffled "mmhmm." A few lanterns of the sort Trudy had been using are placed throughout the main tunnel, and I set off at a slow jog, my calf muscles burning. I've been trying to run everywhere, to exercise my muscles, as ridiculous as it might seem. I had to start somewhere, and I really do miss the way Mel's body moved.

When I enter the bathing room, a warm steam touches my skin and I shiver; not with chills, but with anticipation. I stand there in the dark a long time, registering my breathing. My pulse is thudding like a humming bird – I get a vision of their wings beating quickly from Pet's past memories, her mind was very simple, her memories sweet.

"Wanda?" I jump when I hear a voice in the darkness, and a high pitched squeak escapes my lips as I flatten myself against the wall. One thing I don't like about this body is the way it causes me to occasionally react to shock or terror. Not that there is much of that in the caves.

"Ian." I breathe out, recognizing his soft voice. "Where are you?"

"In the water." There is a soft splash in the far side of the pool, the sound of Ian's hand making a tiny wave in the current. "Did I scare you?"

"Only a little." I feel a smile spread across my face like butter, imagining him sitting here in the pool, waiting for me in the depths. "Can you hear my heart?"

"Of course I can, little hummingbird." He chuckles, and I kick a spray of water in his general direction, remembering my earlier comparison to Pet's memories of the tiny bird.

"Pet remembers hummingbirds." I sigh gently, sitting down at the edge of the pool so my knees are pressed to my chest, my toes touching the edge of the water.

"Are her memories coming back?" Ian's body moves closer in the water, I sense it, until his chin is touching my toes. I reach out in the dark, touching his familiar, dark hair, running my fingers through the wet mess of it. He makes a soft groaning nose and presses his cheek to my knees.

"Some of them." I confess. "It isn't just that, Ian. Do you remember when I was part of Melanie? When I would get the memories of Jared and Jamie?"

"Of course." He answers, starting his lips at my ankles and traveling up to my knee. His lips feel like warm magma being poured from a pitcher across my skin, a sizzling that isn't like a wild fire, quick moving and fast, but a slow stream that savors itself over my skin, engulfing my body for him to claim as his own. "Wanda, tell me."

I shiver, distracted by his lips parted now on my bare shoulder. I am suddenly overwhelmingly aware of his naked figure, wet and sheen with warm water.

"I was able to experience Melanie's memories, as she was a human. I get Pet's memories, clear as day, a soul, and her distant memories as a flower. But there are other things – certain smells – mint, crayons – stimulate different memories. Suddenly, I'll get the flash of a math equation, or a red sneaker, and I know that it isn't hers, Pet's I mean."

"You mean that your host – the human portion of her, whatever her name may be – is still in there?" Ian's voice freezes icily, his lips a soft brush against my shoulder. His body is stiff and rigid. "Is she –"

"No." I brush my tiny fingertips over his cheekbone, wiling him to relax again. He is still frozen, despite my attempts to calm him. "Nowhere near as strong as Mel was. She – whatever her name might be – isn't really alive in a sense, Ian. Her memories are just stirred up a little, that's all."

"Wanda." He whispers back in a hushed voice, both of his large hands clutching my shoulders. "Wanda, this is you. This is you, your body. This is not Pet, this is not – whoever had this body before the souls came – you are in there, it belongs to you." Ian sounds surprisingly angry, and I stroke his cheek.

"It isn't anything to worry about, Ian." I lean in and kiss his forehead. Not yet, I silently add to myself, wishing for not the first time that I had Mel in my head again, she gives good advice.

"Promise me." His lips are against my neck, and a shiver runs over my entire body. There was no mistaking that Melanie's body loved Jared, but this body loves Ian.

"Promise." I whisper, leaning into his wet chest. "I will make sure to keep the promise."

"Of course, you aren't even thinking of yourself, Wanda." Ian grins against my lips, I can feel it, and his warm palm slides under the hem of my tank top to rest gently on the pale skin of my ribs. I wonder to myself, my head fuzzy, if he even realizes what it does to my body, the tingling, the feeling that a pitcher of boiling water is pouring over my skin in a slow drizzle that spreads slowly and surely. "Only of me."

"Hmph." I huff, crossing my arms. Ian lets out a low chuckle in the darkness, a soft noise that echoes within the caverns, bouncing against the rocks.

"You know I was joking." His hand travels farther up my waist, further disturbing the fabric of my top. "But there are certain things that I don't joke about."

I rest my hands over his as they gently link around my back. He is still making me crazy, and my body longs for him in this quiet, dark place. "Like what?" I ask sweetly, and I feel the electricity between him and I, the voltage connecting our two bodies together.

"Swimming." He lets me go, and there is a "ping" of separation in my mind as I hear him drift away in the water. "Will you come in with me, Wanda?"

I shiver, though it is not exactly cold in this cavernous room. Ian is waiting for my answer, but my throat is thick, like I've just swallowed a spoonful of peanut butter. Instead, I stand up silently in the darkness, and slip my sweatpants over my thin, smooth legs, lifting my tank top over my head and leaving the rest of my undergarments along with it. The water is warm when I take a step into it, just as it had been on Ian's body, and I wade deeper until it is about to my thighs, which in retrospect is not very deep with my body, and sink into the pleasant liquid.

It is silent in the bathing room for a few breaths until I hear Ian's breaths, heavy and loud across the cavern once I am still enough to hear around me. I dunk my head underneath the water, returning to the top once again for air when I am completely engulfed. The water is probably only to Ian's waist, but to me, it seems much deeper with my tiny figure. It comes much higher up my waist, making it over my elbows. I realize my breaths are coming just as fast and hard, and my heart is hammering in my chest.

Ian draws me to him with his strong arms, enveloping me safely. He sits down in the water, again, not very deep to him, and links his hands beneath my thighs to hold me up higher. I wrap my legs around his waist and press myself closer to him as he cradles my body gently. It has only been a few weeks since we have moved into Ian's room together, allowing us some alone time, but I am not used to satisfying my own physical needs, and the body I possess is young and doesn't exactly provide much help in that matter.

"Wanda?" Ian speaks while kissing the divot behind my ear.

"Hmm?" I find his face using my delicate lips and plant kisses all along the line of his jaw, something I've found to please him. It takes him a moment to gather his train of thought once more, and when he does, he lets go of my legs to hold my face in his hands. I hold in tighter with my legs, as not to let go.

"How old is your body?" He strokes over my high cheekbones and plays with the wet strands of my blond hair. "When you were put in her, I mean."

I remember when I woke up, being asked that question. Upon seeing Ian, I had told them all Pet's body was 18 years old, which was pushing it, even I knew. She is young, and agile, and not yet fully grown into her body; I know this because I feel the growing pains from time to time. There is no way to truly know, but I could only say she was still attending school before I possessed her body.

"Eighteen." I lie back to him, badly.

"Wanda…" He seems to pull away slightly, but I pull back gently, but with more force.

"Ian, I am thousands of years old." I correct.

"So you're technically an old lady, then?" He chuckles darkly, pulling me in for a long kiss. His lips linger on mine, and he takes my bottom lip in between both of his and tugs on it gently. I let out a tiny noise of pleasure, something Pet must have been used to doing.

"In human years, yes." I answer, finally, after pulling away from a long kiss, catching my breath. Ian's hands are on my back, traveling up to my shoulders as he embraces me. It doesn't take much to do this, as I am very small.

Ian doesn't need to comment again, he just pulls me in once more, locking his mouth with mine. Hot magma overtakes my body, the power of physical love, something I have never known until being human, until experiencing with Ian what I feel. I knot my fingers in his dark hair, pulling him to me with a burning in my chest, a dire need for him. He is panting, and so am I as he pulls me under.

Pet.

A voice whispers in the back of my mind, nothing like what I've experienced with Melanie. But I am caught up enough in Ian's scent, the soft feeling of his mouth, his wet skin. I will have to worry about the awakening memories later, when my head is clear.

Alright, the plot will really get going in the next chapter, but I would really appreciate reviews in the meantime! I love reviews , so please consider, if you read. Love you guys, fellow host fanatics!

Love,

Rainbow