Chapter One: Call Me the Seeker

I am not happy.

In fact, I am cold, wet, and dead. Not the best combination of adjectives on earth, but hey, for me, it was a good day. I was almost home.

Well, technically it wasn't my home, yet, but assuming that the Cullens would have gladly taken me in, I convinced the nomadic group that I was 'backpacking' with that I would be more than happy to have me, Iris, as another adopted daughter. But now, walking on the main street in Forks, WA, I started to get another one of my creepy feelings that something was up. There couldn't have been an accident nearby, I would have sensed it. Something was definitely suspicious though, so I walked twice my normal human speed to get into the coverage of the nearby forest.

I paused slightly to zip up my hoodie to its fullest, and only then did I hear the guttural growling of an animal behind me. Usually my diet mainly consisted of humans, but I had not eaten in a while in order to keep my cover on the streets, however, I considered eating this animal just for the heck of it. I turned around, and for the first time in my existence, I was the one who felt threatened. In front of me, less than three feet away, was a giant wolf.

Common sense told me to run, get away from it as far as possible, but instead, I stood perfectly still. I froze the expression of shock on my face, and then fell over, stiff as a board. Grinning to myself in my mind, I knew I was out of trouble because of my 'opossum' tactic, something I used to lure in humans in dark alleyways and such when I was hunting. But my glee turned to panic when I heard voices right in front of me say,

"What's it doing?"

"I don't know, are you sure it was a leech?"

"Yeah, it certainly stank like one, but I never got a good look at its eyes…do you think it's a Cullen?"

"I highly doubt it; we'd have seen it before."

"Well, um, ok….so, what do we do with it?"

"I…um, I guess we could take it back to Sam…you know, just in case?"

"Yeah, that's a good plan, hold on, and let me get my shoes…"

I opened my eyes, just enough to see two human teenage boys looking down at the ground in front of them. I quickly hopped up into a crouch, and said, "They're over there by that evergreen."

The boys whipped around, and looks of defiance and horror took over their faces, while I laughed lightheartedly and leapt into one of the low-hanging branches of a nearby tree. The boys looked on in shock as I perched on the tree standing on the tips of my toes, and then settled down comfortably. I patiently waited while they collected themselves enough to speak. After several minutes of this dumbfounded attitude, I said, "So…you guys come here often?"

That seemed to break the spell. They boys instantly turned cruel. "Shut up leech! Come down from there!" I happily obliged and swung down from my roost, only to have one of the boys attempt to shove me up against a tree. I quickly struck him lightly and sent him staggering.

"Now now, let's not fight, I come in peace," I tried to reassure them, but they decided to give me a round of the Spanish inquisition. It went something like this:

"Enough, leech! What's your business here?"

"Why do you care? And why did you choose right now to go frolicking through the forest? Unwise choice."

"I'm asking the questions here! Who are you?"

"Iris Hélène Papaleonardus, aged permanently 15, 5'6", eye color: burgundy-scarlet, hair color: deep chestnut, and I like long walks on the beach and romantic nights in."

"Okay…what's your business?"

"I seek the Cullens. Perhaps you know them?"

"Why do you seek the Cullens?"

At this I was hesitant. I decided to distract them and make a run for it. I gasped and pointed behind their shoulders, and when they turned, took off. I was already five miles away when they realized I was gone. I could hear their growls of fury, and I laughed.

I finally made it to a large clearing, only to realize it was the Cullen's front yard. I took a deep, unnecessary breath, and skipped up to the front of the house. I paused for a second before I knocked on the door, trying to think of what I would say, but someone had already opened it from the inside. When the door opened wide, I saw a woman with a heart-shaped face and interesting golden eyes. At first I doubted that I hadn't reached a vampire coven, instead some poor lady's house, but then I realized that no human could ever have eyes that color. She looked me over, most likely taking in my wet, dank clothes and bloodstained hoodie before she uttered a friendly, "Hello, may I help you?"

I smiled up at her and said, "Hi, my name is Iris, and I was wondering if the Cullens live here? If not, then could you tell me where?"

The woman smiled and said, "Yes, I'm Esme Cullen, please, sweetheart, come in."

Victory!