BROTHERHOOD OF THE CAMP FIRE
"Jake honey,come on,tell us a story" Renesmee whined and pulled down on my arm playfully.I couldn't resist her when she used that voice and she knew it,it was her secret weapon in winning all arguements, even though those were few in number.
I used to love telling scary stories, it was one of my stories that was the reason for the beautifulseventeen year old girl in my arms. It was my story that set everything in motion. But things had changed, those stories were now my life, those legends I used to scoff at were a crucial part of me. I never believed that we were really wolves, and once we were I never really believed in imprinting, and now those two things were my essential make-up, every bit a part of me as my hair and eyes. Everyone had laughed and rolled their eyes but look where we are now.
Renesmee pouted and gave me her puppy dog eyes that tugged at my heart .I chuckled and kissed her. Just as I was really getting in to it and we were in danger of one of Emmetts crude jokes she pulled away and wagged her index finger at me.
"Oh no you don't, stop trying to distract me and tell us a story!" I grinned at the thought of me distracting her, if only she knew!, before crashing back to reality at the mention of "us".
We were down at First Beach with the pack,their imprints and the Cullens. Once the drama was over, the pack reasembled into one pack and I left on good terms. The treaty was abolished except for the bitting clause that was still in place but it was just a precaution. They were all mated now and there was no need to add another to their ranks, that house was hectic enough as it was.
We had a steady bonfire going, the bright flames were dancing in the nights air,the strange blue-green glow from the drift wood was magnificent against the black night sky, reflecting off Renesmee eyes and hair majestically. I was momentarily dazed by her beauty. Dazzled as I remembered Bella once describing how Edward had made her feel from the start.
Not much had changed with them, they were still the same old love struck teenagers. Vampires weren't supposed to have hormones and such but I'm sure Bella found a way to bring them right her in the change, or maybe she had so many the vemon wasn't able to burn them all away in time!Edward chuckled under his breath, but nobody bothered to ask, they were used it by now. I stilldidn't like having my mind invaded so I brought a picture of me and Renesmee making out to the front of my mind. I chuckled as he growled furiously. Messing with him and Blondie still had it's pull, it was too easy .
"Jacob" Quil flung a rock at the back of my head. "Tell the girls a story,will you!" He was referring to Nessie, of course and his imprint Claire who was sixteen now. He had only one more year to wait before he could tell her everything.
"Why don't you, you know them just as well as I do" I mumbled but I had already given in, there was no denying your imprint, it was just impossible to resist her.
"I want to hear more too Jake" Bella surprised me by smiling keenly across the camp fire to were Nessie and I sat. She was usually quiet 'cause she thought the wolf pack disliked her due to the pain she caused me, but obvisiously she really wanted to hear my story. My story that I had no idea about.
I raised an eyebrow in her direction for a second butnodded and sighed. I couldn't refuse my girls, my love Nessie, my best friend Bella and my whinger Quil.
There was a mock cheer around the circle at my announcement. I earned a kiss from my Nessie and a happy nod from Quil, who was eying Claire with a pained expression. I knew how he felt, it was agonizing waiting for Edward to pronounce Nessie read for a boyfriend and even so it was only seven years, Quil's been waiting for over a decade.
"Okay" I searched for a suitable storyfrom our legends. A good one, interesting and a small bit scary, just enough to have the girls all up on the guys, that'll make everyone happy.
Edward snorted and shook his head, his arm protectively around Bella. Jeesh man, shes just as strong and hard as you now, she can take of herself. Before he could disagree, and I'm sure he would I found my story.
"Everyone here knows the legend of Taha Aki, the final spirit chief."I tried to bring the majestic edge to my voice Billydid when he told me these very stories, the kind that made everyone listen and be in must have worked 'cause the whole group wasnow in full attention, all eyes rested solely on me.
Then I remebered the Cullens, who hadn't heard any of this before, or so I thought. Edward made a gesture with his hands to keep going. When I raised a questioning eyebrow he nodded slightly towards Bella and then towards Nessie who were both staring at the ground embarrassed. I frowned, confused but another peeble to the head courtesy of Quil pushed me on.
"Well, the orginal legend says that he disappeared into the woods and lived on as a wolf, but was never seen again" I put emphasis on the last three words, doing my best to make this an enjoyable story.
"What if thats not the case.... what if he didn't merely live out his life in the forest as we thought. What if he left many years ago, in serch of those who made his life a misery. The Volturi." I paused, letting the full effect of my words sink in.I glanced around the camp and saw many open mouths. Even the wolves hadn't heard this one before, it was a Black family tale.
"After the death of the third wife, Taha Aki was inconsolable, the grief was too much for his human form to handle, so he didn't. He left the tribe, left all of civilisation and became one with the wolf in him. He gave over completely to his animal side, hunting, sleeping,thinking as a wolf. The pain was still there, ever present but it was easier to handle."
I paused for a moment, not for effect, but just because this part of the story was always the hardest. This was my part of the story. The part that brought back the rough days. Of course the pain was long gone thanks to Nessie, but the memory was still there.
I jumped in fright as Bellas cold arm wrapped around my neck and she buried her face in my shoulder. Ignoring her icy feel, I gentley hugged her back " Love you Jake" She choked out, if she could have cried I knew she would have been bawling her eyes out for the pain she caused me all those years ago. She turned and walked back to Edward and Nessie burrowed under my arm again.
"But he eventually realised that he was losing himself and that he needed to find himself again, to return from the brink. That's where he was, right on the very edge of becoming purely wolf, of never phasing drew in all the strenght he could muster from his very core. At first it was too hard, but he kept on trying until he got it. He phased back"
There was a silence around the congregation. They knew the story wasn't over, they knew that most of ours storiesdidn't have "happily ever afters". None of us did. I felt the familar pang as was reminded of our missing pack member, Leah.
"That's where everything went wrong. All of the supressed grief,hate and anger came out at once, once they found a mind capable of feeling them. Taha Aki was overwhelmed with emotion. He couldn't form a coherent thought. All that mattered to him was revenge."
"And so he left America, he swam to Italy. He had heard the stories of the powerful royal family there and believed them to be the source of all his miserys, the source of all evil in the world." The vamps looked like they were about to protest but I held a hand up to them and bekoned to Nessie with a raised eyebrow. They had no arguement there.
"He tracked the scent to their 'underground fortress' in Volterra and immediately phased, unable to take the power of the scent. It was unbearable."
"Legend has it that their Leader Aro, wanted to keep him around. Apparently he sensed great power in Taha Aki and believed that he would make a fantastic guard dog for loss of better words. Needless to say Taha Aki refused to be treated as such" The pack nodded intently as if to say "damn right".
"The rest of the vamps weren't too happy with the smell either and they complained often." Emmett wrinkled his nose in disgust and chuckled. Bella hit him hard across the back of the head" Will everyone let him tell the story!" She exclaimed angrily.
"But Aro was adamant, he wanted Taha Akis power and he wasn't going to stop until he got it. So like anyone clever enough would, Taha Aki bidded his time and waited for Aro to make his move. It's important that you understandhe is still consumed by hate and revenge at this point and would wait for yearsto get his vengance."
"Aro, on the other hand, was eager for it , and made his move quickly. He offered to make Taha Aki into a vampire and he accepted." I held up my hands to the bewildered pack and continued.
" Just when Aro was about to bite down, Taha Aki made his move. He ripped Aros arm from its socket mid phase and used his shock to secure another arm. Taha Aki knew what he was doing and had requested a private room, just him and Aro, no disruptions."
"An epicbattle between vampire and wolf ensued, they were evenly matchedd but Aros surpriseworked against him and he fell at Taha Akis feet."
"Taha Aki was triumphant. He began to disembody Aro and prepared to light the fire but, somewhere along the line, he found himself again. Truly found himself and felt great pain and remorsefor what he had done, letting himself become such a monster. It didn't matter that is was a vampire, it was still a creature, a creature with a life and a soul. A creature that he shouldn't kill. And so he didn't, he fled Italy and returned to LaPush where it is said he wanders freely, sometimes a man, others a spirit. But he never again returned to his wolf form, for fear of losing himself again." I concluded gravely.
It took awhile for the end to sink in, for both species. I stared at the fire, waiting for them to come back from they're dreams.
"I never imagined you wolves had such compassion, it really amazes me that he would stop midhunt and walk away, leaving his mortal enemy to heal." Carlisle was the first to come back to the clifftop bonfire." I severly underestimated your species again, I think."
"It's only a legend doc" Paul joked. And just like that we were back, a bunch of teenagers in such a crazy situation but yet here we were, vampires and wlves, descendants of the legends, gathered together around one fire sharing stories.
THE END