Kinsie's Quest, a twilight fanfic

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Welcome to the RPCC Contest!

This is a collaboration contest in which members of The Original Twilight Role Play! have teamed up to give the fandom a taste of the fun and skills gained from role playing through one shots.

Entry #01.

Title: Kinsie's Quest

Summary: A young Quileute girl sets out to prove that she's brave, like the Third Wife in her favorite story. She gets in trouble and her grandfather is called upon to rescue her, with interesting results.

Rating: T

Genres: Adventure, General

Characters: Billy Black, Kinsie Black

Authors: Aunt Bran and snowleopard241

Young Kinsie Black was the apple of Billy's eye. He loved all of his children and grandchildren, of course, but she could melt his heart from twenty paces. For one thing, she was the image of his late wife, Sarah. She had Sarah's lustrous dark hair and smoky eyes and had inherited Jacob's impish personality. Everyone who met her fell under her spell, but she had a special relationship with her grandfather. She'd listen to his stories for hours, actually fascinated by the ancient tales he spun for her. She knew the Quileute history by heart, and he knew one day she would be the one to pass the stories on by the tribal campfire. This was the way of their people; these things were never written down.

"Grandpa, tell me the story of the third wife again." Of course, he agreed.

"The Third Wife was brave. She sacrificed herself for her tribe. She knew what she needed to do and…"

"Grandpa," Kinsie cut him off. "Am I brave?"

"Yes," he said, his eyes shining with adoration. "Of course you are."

"Then how come I didn't sacrifice myself when Adrian died?"

Billy wrapped his arms around her and held her close. It took him a long moment to answer. "You and Adrian were just babies, Kinsie. There was nothing you could have done. People are brave in many different ways. You helped your mommy and daddy to get past his death, and you gave them a reason to go on. That was very brave." He kissed her sun-warmed hair, blinking back a sudden rush of tears that threatened to overflow. Just a tiny innocent baby.

"But," she murmured. "I could have done so much more." She buried her face in
his shirt. "I'm just a wannabe wimp. I can't do anything! I even let my twin
brother die!"

She sat down on a chair. "Grandpa," she started, then broke off, crying. "I'm the worst person ever!"

Billy pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her gently. He just didn't know how to comfort her, and her pain was a physical ache in his chest. "You're the most kind and generous person I know," he murmured in complete honesty. "Your mommy and daddy are good people too, and very strong, and even they couldn't save Adrian. You have to stop blaming yourself." He added, his voice quavering slightly, "please."

He didn't have a chance to talk to Jacob when he dropped her off at home, but he was worried about her feelings of guilt. He'd discussed it with both Jacob and Nicole, and they too were at a loss. She simply would not be consoled. He waved as he drove away, noticing how small she looked standing in the driveway next to her father. Then again, most people appeared short when standing next to Jacob.

That night, Kinsie had trouble sleeping. She thought about the story in more depth than she had in a while. The third wife was brave. She sacrificed herself for her entire tribe, but she hadn't even thought of sacrificing herself for her own brother.

Through her tears, she managed to somehow fall asleep, but even so, the thoughts would not leave her mind.

She dreamed of Adrian and his unruly hair. She dreamed of the vampires taking him away. She dreamed of him dying. With a gasp, she woke up to the bright sunlight streaming through her window. With the dawn came a child's resolve to do something very brave and make her family proud of her. And maybe, just maybe, it would stop the constant pain that was caused by the piece of her that was irretrievably lost.

With her childish logic, she dressed carefully and tiptoed into the kitchen. She was not allowed to touch the wooden knife block on the counter, but she knew her parents would forgive her when she killed the thing that had made off with her brother. She selected a steak knife and wrapped it carefully in a dishcloth, then tucked it in her pocket. She wasn't quite sure where to find a vampire, but she knew it would be across the border on the other side of the woods.

Kinsie closed the door carefully behind her, the soft "snick" of the latch nearly inaudible, and trudged toward the dark forest.

Courage was streaming through every one of her veins. She felt it permeating throughout her body. Kinsie was determined. Now, nothing stood in her way.

Taking a deep breath, she entered the forest. Dew covered every inch of grass, and it was chilly here in the darkness. It was weird seeing the forest in a new light. She had never been here by herself before. A part of her was urging her forward, willing for her to get revenge, but another part was willing her to go home.

"No," she said audibly as she accidentally stepped on a fallen tree branch. The "crack" was loud, and Kinsie darted behind a tree, not wanting to be discovered by whatever might be watching her from the dense vegetation. She sensed movement off to her left, and she uttered a squeak of surprise when a baby bear, no bigger than a pet dog, stumbled out of the bushes.

Kinsie smiled, then froze when she heard a deep, throaty growl. She wasn't sure which direction it came from, the forest was so silent. The growl intensified, and as it grew louder she could pinpoint the source more accurately. It was coming from the mouth of a cave, only twenty feet away, that was almost hidden by large ferns. She had no idea that she had accidentally situated herself between the grizzly cub and its six-foot, 300 pound mother. The bear stood on her hind feet and roared.

From the opposite direction, something incredibly large and furry flew past the terrified child and landed in front of the bear. The wolf was even more terrifying than the bear, but the bear seemed to be afraid of it too. She sniffed the air carefully as her cub clumsily returned to her side, passing within inches of the frightened child. Kinsie was cowering, petrified, as the two large animals traded snarls and growls.

The bear was the first to back down. She lumbered off, back into the cave, with her cub in tow. The wolf turned to Kinsie, its amber eyes not unfriendly, and as she started to cry it walked into the thick undergrowth.

Kinsie couldn't remember which way was home, and she cried harder just as a man stepped out from where the huge wolf had disappeared. "Jar..Jared?" She blinked, wiping at her eyes.

Jared scooped her up in his arms. "Kinsie, what on earth are you doing out here by yourself?" he asked her, his voice gentle. She tried to answer, but the tears started again – this time from relief. He cradled her to his broad chest and walked swiftly and surely toward home.

"Jared," she whispered into his chest. "I don't want to go home."

"Why?" he asked tenderly.

"I'm being brave."

"Kinsie..." he started unsurely.

"It's for Adrian," she offered.

His eyes widened. He realized what she meant. "No."

She was furious now. "NO! I'm not going home!" She tried to tear herself away from his firm grasp. It was no use.

"Kinsie," he said firmly. "You are not going to help Adrian do whatever."

She screamed. It was loud and shrill, and certainly damaged Jared's ears. Shocked, he dropped her for a second. It was enough for her to run. Even though Kinsie couldn't phase, she could still run like the wind. She was proud of that, and it proved useful.

Jared reached for her, then stopped suddenly and sniffed the air. "Oh, no," he groaned as he shifted wordlessly back to his wolf form. The bear was gaining on her, and he charged into the creature's furry side, knocking her down a steep incline and rolling with her, both heavy animals crashing through the underbrush as Kinsie took off in the opposite direction. He lay panting at the bottom of a ravine for just a moment, then charged back up the hill and picked up Kinsie's scent. He followed it to a small stream, and he walked back and forth several times, whining softly. She had disappeared.

Billy looked up from the dog he was whittling. "Jared? Is something wrong?" He put his knife and the small figurine down on the porch rail and stood, frowning.

"It's Kinsie," Jared said softly, his eyes not quite making contact with Billy's. "She ran off into the woods on some kind of damn fool mission to be brave. Do you have any idea what that's about?"

Billy's jaw tightened as he reached inside and grabbed his hat. "I'm afraid I do, Jared. Which way did she go?"

As they hurried off, Jared filled Billy in on the morning's activities. Billy stopped and stared at Jared. "And you let her GO?" he asked, incredulous.

"I didn't LET her go, Billy, there was an angry grizzly bear hot on her trail! I thought I should take care of that first, and she slipped away from me."

"That doesn't matter. All that matters is that we find my granddaughter." He took off running, desperately calling her name. Jared didn't wait around for the slower human; he phased and disappeared into the woods.

Billy wondered how far she would go. He almost chuckled as he remembered how fast she was, but his laugh died in his throat when he realized that that could become a big problem.

Billy paused, his heart pounding. "Kinsie!" he shouted as loudly as he could. There was no answer. "Kinsie, if you can hear me answer me!"

"Help!" Billy heard faintly.

"Stay where you are, baby. I'm coming! Are you hurt?" He ran in her direction.

Suddenly, he heard a growl. Billy groaned. It must be that bear that Jared told him about. He increased his speed, adrenaline pushing him faster. He hadn't done any running since his surgery, and his legs were trembling and threatening to give way. He gritted his teeth and pounded on.

"Grandpa!" he heard, closer than before, but still too far away.

He realized now that the growl was not from the bear, but from a vampire. In return, he growled also.

"Grandpa!" he heard. Billy looked up and Kinsie was there, wrestling a vampire.

Billy lunged, ignoring the fact that a human had virtually no chance of stopping a vampire. His feet left the ground and he landed, not on his original two feet, but on four huge paws. He stopped and shook himself, his whole body screaming in pain. But there was no time to sort it out. KINSIE!

An amazingly loud roar tore from his throat, and the vampire turned. Billy saw what looked like fear in his eyes. Fear? No time…no time to think.

A terrifying howl stopped everyone in their tracks, and Billy suddenly realized it came from his throat. He leaped on the momentarily stunned vampire and clamped his powerful jaws on its neck. He didn't question where the strength came from, or even the razor sharp teeth and vice-like jaws. He just needed to save his granddaughter!

The vampire's body was hard. It twisted and flailed, trying to free itself from his grip. Billy gripped harder and shook his prey, knocking it to the ground and standing on the body as he twisted the neck and finally separated the head. Jared stepped out of the bushes and reached in the pocket of his shorts, producing a cigarette lighter. "Step back, Billy," he ordered tersely as he touched the flame to the twitching creature.

Kinsie was awed. Had her grandpa just...?

She quickly jumped back from the flames, but still stared at her grandpa in admiration. "Oh, I'd love to be able to phase!" Then forlornly, she said, "He was my kill. Not yours. I was being brave."

"Kinsie, you don't need to prove yourself for anything. You are brave."

She looked up at him. "What did I do?"

Jared answered this. "You were willing to sacrifice your life just for Adrian."

Kinsie looked down sadly. "But I didn't succeed. Grandpa, I'm a failure."

"Kinsie, you are not. You're too young to take on a full grown vampire."

She blinked back tears of disappointment. She looked at the vampire who was burning in the flames. She looked at Billy and Jared, her saviors – the tall Quileute warrior and the large grey wolf.

A tiny smirk played on her face. "No, I want to be like you."

Jared chuckled and Billy huffed. "Don't get any ideas."