Kind of a prequel to my Story Easy to Love. I love Quil and Claire stories, especially when Claire is little. Claire is five in this story. I was originally going to have her be four but then I came up with a Jacob/OC idea that I may or may not get around to writing someday. :P Anyway, in this Jacob/OC story, Clair is four and the two scenarios wouldn't fit then, but I'm still going to be doing some mentioning of the story in this one, just in case. So -Without any further needless explanation - I give you my story.
Quil's POV
It was yet another cloudy day in La Push. I was on my way to Jacob's. Ever since Emily's doctor put her on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy, Jacob's place had become the new HQ. On the way there I passed by a little park that was on the reservation.
I froze.
I knew that sent. It was the sent I lived for. The only reason my heart beat. That sent and the beautiful little girl attached to it. Claire.
My head spun in the direction of the park where the sent was coming from. Over on a bench by the park I saw Kim and Katie, Jared and Jacob's imprints. Kim had her eyes on Maggie, Claire's sister, and Katie's eyes were directed toward the woods at the edge of the park.
I followed Katie's gaze to my own imprint. Claire's curls disappeared behind a bush in the woods.
I tried to fight down the panic that threatened to overcome me. It was a perfectly normal thing for people to be out of view for a few seconds. Claire's head would pop back up at any moment.
Katie craned her neck to try to see over a bush that even I couldn't see behind, and I was tall and standing up. Claire did pop up but her face was confused and disappointed. Then she saw me.
"QUILLY," she screamed at me, drawing quite a few gazes to her and myself. I tried to fight down the stupid grin that was quickly overruling the muscles in my face.
As it was, all the werewolves who had imprints had a name or two that only their imprint could call them, which meant everyone called them that. Sam was Sammy, Jared was Jay-Jay, Jacob became Cub and now I was Quilly, and proud of it dang it!
Three long strides and a lope led me to my perfect little Claire. She smiled up at me and held her arms up to be lifted. Her parents were trying to tell me that Claire is getting "too big to be carried all the time," but I figured if "Sammy" could carry a fully grown woman pregnant with twins then I could carry little Claire. Therefore I didn't hesitate to pick her up.
"Hey, Claire-Bear," I said, planting a kiss on her cheek.
"Quilly, I'm Claire the woff-girl," she informed me. (She still had trouble saying wolf.) She had insisted that for I don't know how long though I had never told her what I was. I think part of her just knew.
"But Claire-Bear rhymes," I said.
"Claire the woff-girl," she demanded. It was a familiar argument for both of us.
"Claire the woff-girl, then," I said smiling. I knew what was coming next.
"Not Wooff! Woff!" She told me exasperated that I couldn't say her name right. She tried to look grumpy but I could see the effort it took to make her lips make that exaggerated pout. She was soooo suppressing a smile.
"So Claire my little woff-girl," I said. "What were you doing in the bushes?"
"I was looking for my ball," she informed me, the real pout in her lips back. "It rolleded away."
"Should we go look for it?" I asked. I didn't really need to go to Jacob's just yet the meeting wasn't till much later actually.
"Yes, we should," she told me. "Because it was my favoritest ball in the whole world that you giveded to me for Christmas."
I glanced over at Katie and Kim. Kim waved at me and then continued to watch Maggie who was sliding down the big slide at top volume. Katie got up from the bench and walked toward me.
"Hey, Quil," she said. "How are you?"
"Great," I said, giving the tiny girl in my arms a gentle squeeze. Claire giggled. "I was heading over to Cub's actually."
Katie glanced down at her shoes to hide a blush. Then she looked up at me again.
"Kim and I were watching the two while Emily and her sister go through the girls' old clothes," she explained. "Claire lost her ball into the woods. I told her not to go past the bush."
"It wasn't there," Claire pouted. "It must be more in the woods."
"I can take Claire the woff-girl to look for it," I told Katie. "It's a bright orange ball right? Shouldn't take long."
"Was bright orange," Katie said. "It's more of a dirty, faded yellow now."
"I played with it lots," Claire told me proudly. Cue my stupid silly grin again.
"We'll go look for it," I told her. Katie went back to sit on the bench while we trudged trough the overgrowth into the woods, Claire on my shoulders, keeping our eyes out for a dirty, faded yellow thing.
Not finding it we delved deeper. Soon the park was out of sight and I was starting to get suspicious. How could a dirty little ball roll through all these sticks and leaves and get this far?
Then I caught a new sent. It was an icy sweet sent that burned my nose.
My hands trembled. Claire. What was I going to do with her? I couldn't faze while holding her, but there was no way as heck I was putting her down while I wasn't fazed when that thing was so close.
The thing in question came into view now.
"Well, this is an interesting sent that has accompanied you child," the voice cooed. A figure swung gracefully from one of the high braches from a nearby tree and landed lightly on its feet. It appeared to be a pale young man, his high cheek bones, dark black eyes and full lips looking too perfect in the faint light of the woods. His hair was ultimately brown but had many colors highlighting it. This figure was unfamiliar, defiantly not one of the Cullens, though they shouldn't be in the reservation anyway. A dirty, yellowish sphere was in one of his marble hands.
A growl rumbled in my chest when I realized that that thing was talking to my Claire.
"I've never met a human that didn't smell appetizing before but I suppose there is a first for everything," the leech said walking back and forth in front of the two of us. He paused, studying me.
I suppressed a smirk realizing that the blood-sucker had no idea what he had cornered. Or thought he had cornered. He probably expected his prey to look afraid when he mentioned blood smelling appetizing but I just continued to growl at that remark and Claire, though she didn't understand what was going on and stiffened at the remark, didn't appear to be afraid ether.
"I suppose I'll just have to kill you since I have no desire to taste the foul smelling substance that I'm assuming is your blood," the leech said, throwing the ball to the side, trying to bring about a reaction at least similar to fear.
I was trying to work out a plan in my head quickly. There was only one thing I could do and it totally required on how quickly I could faze. I'd seen Jacob faze on the fly multiple times but no one had quite the same talent.
"You are sorely mistaken if you think that any creature, besides yourself, will be dying," I sneered at the thing, distracting it as my mind raced.
"Strong words, petty human. You undoubtedly are strong among your own kind but you really don't know what you are dealing with here," the thing sneered back. I resisted the urge to laugh. I would have if Claire wasn't with me. She was the only reason I hadn't torn this thing to shreds by now.
"On the contrary I'm quite familiar with your kind, Vampire," I hissed the last word letting it sink in to the being in front of him.
That thing barred its teeth at us.
"It's you who doesn't know what you're dealing with," I whispered. Quicker that most people would be able to, I threw Claire up into the air as high as she could go. Then I fazed. The shreds that had been my clothing flew in all directions.
Even with the creature's incredible reflexes he hadn't been ready for that. My jaws opened up towards the air and I carefully caught Claire in my mouth the same way a mother cat would carry her kitten. Claire had let out a little shriek when I threw her in the air but that was all the noise that came from her.
Now I was fazed completely and Claire was safe in my jaws, but I couldn't attack the thing while I had my baby in my mouth.
Quil?
Sam! Good someone was 'online' as I liked to put it.
Over by the park. I've got Claire with me. Have Embry bring me some pants.
No need to tell him about the leech as Sam could practically smell him through the pack plural.
Less then a second later I had mental visions of at least six other wolfs headed my way. Now all I had to do was keep the leech away from the other humans at the park.
"What are you?" the vampire hissed at me.
Werewolf… duh.
The vampire lunged to my left trying to get past me to the park behind us. I quickly blocked him. Claire let out another little shriek and curled her arms and legs around my lower jaw.
Hearing the child reminded that thing of the girl in my mouth. He feinted right and then lunged at Claire. NO! No, no, no!
I jumped, using my momentum and speed to seemingly climb and jump over the bloodsucker and land behind him. I could feel Claire shaking.
"Aw, I have found your weakness, dog," the creature was saying, starting to circle around us. I spun as well keeping that thing in front of me.
"Apparently the girl is important to you. Any human, I suppose, is important to you. Are you their protector? You keep my kind away from them don't you?" The stupid leech was smart. Dang!
Hurry guys! He's onto us!
Yeah but he doesn't know that there is more than you. Jared.
That's why I said 'Hurry,' man!
"You can't protect them all, dog," he said. He stopped circling. He was between me and the park.
He ran toward the park.
NO! That was Jacob and Jared. They knew from my memories that their imprints were there too. I couldn't let that happen either.
I ran. Blocked him off. He lunged at Claire. NO!
Back and forth we played that game. He'd go toward the park but when ever I lunged at him, he'd go toward my mouth and my angel in there.
"It's either her or them, dog. You can't protect them all," he grinned ruefully. His black eyes almost sparkled. "Not by yourself."
HA! That was all of us.
Because right then, I was no longer fighting him alone. Six other wolfs erupted from the woods and surrounded that foul creature.
The vampire spun helplessly. Looking at the seven of us, taking us in. Then he stared at me. His eyes filled with hate as he looked from me to the trembling figure in my mouth.
He was desperate; we could smell his fear now. Let me tell you, not much smells better than vampire fear. Except Claire of course.
He lunged at me and Claire one last time. Two seconds later he was shreds gathered in a pile. Sam unfazed and grabbed a pair of pants from a pile that Embry had set down by the base of a tree. After slipping them on he pulled a lighter out of his pocket and sent the pile smoldering.
It smelled sickly sweet, like incense, but burning vampire was the third best smell in the world, after vampire fear and Claire…. Wait, make that fourth. Emily's cookies take third place.
I put the trembling child gently on the ground and grabbed a pair of pants from the pile and went out of sight to faze back. Claire had had her eyes closed when Sam fazed but now her eyes were as wide as saucers.
Now that I was in my human body, all I wanted to do with the limbs I called my arms was wrap Claire in them. She was sitting stock still in the spot wear I had left her. Sam stood there, giving her a encouraging look but leaving the actually comforting to me.
Thanks, man, I thought at him even though he couldn't hear my thought anymore.
I knelt in front of Claire, hesitant to touch her. If she flinched or cringed away from me after what she had just gone through –it would be understandable- but I wanted to hold her so bad and there was no way my heart could take rejection.
"Quilly?" her tiny voice shook.
"I'm here, baby," I whispered.
Her eyes were swimming. My girl was going to cry. Oh no! A vampire or two was fine, but when my girl cried my whole world shattered.
"Quilly?" she held out her arms. This time she sounded offended. Like a, 'why aren't you scooping me up into your arms, Quilly?' offended.
I didn't hesitate a moment longer. I tried to keep myself from crushing her against my warm chest instead. Her arms wrapped around my neck in a death grip only a child could have.
"That's my brave little woff-girl," I whispered into her hair.
"Quilly! It's woff-girl, not wooff-girl!"