RUGBY WITH THE WOLVES
Jasper had flown to Italy to discuss matters with the Volturi. It was nothing serious. Just that the Volturi required the use of Jasper's gifts to accomplish a small task. Usually Alice would spend her time hanging out with Jasper, but now that she was by herself she was dying of boredom. To keep herself busy, Alice reread almost all of the books in the archives of the coven to keep her mind and memory sharp. In no time flat, she was done with the lot.
After all that sitting, Alice became jittery and she needed to burn off the excess energy that built up since she had no one to hang out with. Edward and Bella had their hands full with Renesmee, Carlisle and Esme were working, and Rosalie and Emmett were busy doing their own thing at another house. Alice didn't feel like drafting new fashion designs or shopping. What she really wanted to do right now was... something primal.
Hmmm... squirrels would make a fun snack. Ooh! And sparrows! Yummy!
Alice grabbed her vintage black leather jacket from the closet and put it on. She took a look at herself in the mirror. Alice admired her outfit, especially the jacket. It made her whole look really come together. The vampire was as suave as a carefree, bad girl fashion model wearing the latest Vivienne Westwood punk collection. Of course, there was no one she was trying to impress. Alice just liked to dress at her best, all day, every day. After she was done approving her reflection, she ran out of the house and sprinted into the nearby wilderness.
The sky was filled with grey clouds and looked like it could rain anytime soon. This was nothing new for the people of Forks. For Alice Cullen, it was another beautiful, sun-free day. Perfect for hunting some fast food.
Alice went deep into the forest, getting herself lost in the emerald wonderland. The dark green and lush forests of Washington were a gorgeous sight. Amateur poets would try to recapture the beauty of it in their poems, but there was no way they could describe anything as beautiful as actually being there.
Alice stopped running to look at her surroundings. She stayed quiet so that she could hear the natural sounds of the forest. Suddenly, Alice quickly turned her head to the tree on her right. She smelled a squirrel and heard it nibbling on an acorn.
At full speed, she chased after the source of the sound and smell. Despite Alice being the fastest of the Cullens, the squirrel beat her by a few seconds and it sprinted down the tree and ran across the ground.
Alice smiled. Thrilled by the challenge, she followed the squirrel at her top speed. The vampire was confident that the little guy would soon be squirming in her hands.
What a cutie! I wanna hug you and squeeze you and call you George! Then I'll eat you!
But the squirrel was gone. Alice still had a lock on its scent and she refused to give up.
That thing has to be the fastest squirrel in the world! No problem! Nothing I can't beat. Just need to surprise him again. That and he'll get tired sooner or later...
Alice sniffed the air once again and found that her prey ran to the west. Alice followed the trail but didn't like how it was getting closer and closer to werewolf territory. Before she knew it, she was right on the edge of the border. The clever little critter ran all the way into the tribe lands. Although werewolf and vampire relations had gotten a little better due to the Renesmee, Jacob and the team up against the Volturi, things were still very tense. There was a slight animosity between them all.
Dammit! The challenge just got harder... okay. This is alright. Still not a problem! All I gotta do is not get caught. And if the dogs sniff me out, It's not like I'll get killed. The worse they can do is yell at me and tell Carlisle.
With zero hesitation, Alice crossed the line and she was in werewolf country. The agile vampire cruised in pursuit but something strange interfered with her tracking. A strong, alien smell overpowered the squirrel's.
UGH! Werewolves are close! That's weird... it's not the boys... its... slightly different. Kinda smells like Leah now that I think about it... But she isn't by herself...
Unique, individual scents were in the area. Alice guessed that they belonged to different wolves but she didn't recognize any of them as part of the Quileute. Alice continued to follow the squirrel's scent but she heard the laughter of feminine voices up ahead. The vampire got uncomfortable. She had to hand it to the little guy- the squirrel duped her again. It had run straight into the lot where the werewolves were playing. Alice carefully sneaked around the area to take a better look.
There was a wide sunken pit that was devoid of trees. The ground was covered in rich black soil and a few spots of bright green grass randomly sprouted here and there. Surrounding the pit was hills of eroded rocks and cliffs of earth that looked like they were cut into pieces of cake by a giant's knife. Tall black trees with dark green leaves made a fence around the whole area. It was the perfect spot to set up a campsite. But instead of campers, there were girl wolves running about.
Alice was shocked. She had never seen so many female werewolves in one spot.
Wait... isn't Leah the exception? Who are these girls? They reek of dog but there's no trace of Quileute on them...
Alice had to admit that these gals were some good looking werewolves. Most of the girls had short hair ranging from chin length bobs to boyish to pixie cuts. Only one of the girls had long hair and it was tied in a ponytail. Some girls had a tattoo of a different tribe on their shoulders and others had their tattoo on their backs. Three of them had none or at least, their tattoos were hidden in plain sight. The girls came in different shapes and sizes. There were a few shifters who were more muscular and taller than Leah and others were younger and smaller. All of them were fit and athletic - probably from all that running in their wolf forms. Shirts were off and they all had their sports bras on. The more modest girls were wearing tank tops and sweat absorbent athletic shirts. Leah herself was running at the speed of light in only her shorts and sports bra. Compared to the rest of the werewolf ladies who came in various flavors of cute, pretty, hot, and cool- Leah was the only one who could be described as beautiful. Leah's rock hard abs, lovely copper skin, and tough but delicate features made her standout amongst the crowd.
There was a total of ten girls in the playing field. Leah was running with a round oval ball in her hands as the opposing team was chasing her. It looked like an exciting game as there was much laughter, jeering, shouting, and rough housing. Alice guessed that Leah was the MVP of her team as Leah passed the end line and slammed the ball on the ground in victory. All of her teammates cheered as they raced to tackle her in a very violent group hug. The opposing team booed and taunted the winners.
"Goddammit Clearwater! We'll get you next time! Next round, all my girls are gonna top you!" Snarled a shifter with spiked purple hair.
Leah smirked and wiped the sweat off her forehead, "You can try to touch me, but I'm too fast for your game of grab ass!"
Now I'm really confused. Leah, happy? First time I've seen her with a smile on her face...
Alice looked around and saw that there was a huge tree whose branches provided a massive shade over the girls. And there was that clever squirrel, happily eating an acorn on a branch that was right above the werewolves' heads.
Why you little... Alice glared at the rodent.
Leah turned around to where Alice hid and sniffed the air.
"You guys smell that?"
"Doesn't smell like one of our own..." Said a skinny girl.
"It's a vampire! There's a vampire here!" Yelled a muscular shifter.
Alice's cover was blown, but she knew she was safe since Leah was there. Besides, if the werewolves bit her head off, an all out war would break out between the Cullens and the Quileute. Alice slipped out of her hiding spot and stood right where she was.
"Hey there. Looks like a fun game you're playing..." Alice said with a curious smirk.
Judging by the looks on their faces, the werewolves did not look happy to see her. Leah cut them off before any of them had time to react.
"Guys! Take it easy! Relax! She's on our side. If it weren't for her, a lot of the Quileute boys might've died! She's cool!"
Some of the shapeshifters softened up but others still growled at Alice in disapproval. Leah ignored them and walked up to Alice.
"Sorry about that. You wanna play with us?" Leah asked.
Leah was unusually friendly. She was no longer the grumpy, bitter Leah, but was a lot more confident. Still, there was some caution in her body language. Alice wondered if Leah wanted her to join out of respect because of Alice's prevention from a war with the Volturi. Or perhaps Leah wanted to see a pack of girl wolves maul a vampire.
"Depends... are you guys gonna play fair with me? Or are you guys gonna pick on me?" said Alice.
The werewolves started to talk amongst themselves as giggles and whispers could be heard.
One of the more vocal girls called Alice out, "We'll play nice! C'mon and join us!" The tone of her voice followed by the malicious giggling of her peers said something else entirely. They were totally going to rough her up no matter how sweetly they said otherwise.
"Don't worry." Leah reassured Alice. "I'll make sure they won't bother you. Try at least one round."
Alice smiled at the werewolf. "Why do you want me to play so badly?"
Leah rolled her eyes. "Please. I'm not desperate. Just being polite... aaaaand... I'm curious. I wanna see how werewolves match up against a vampire's abilities."
Alice looked over Leah's shoulders at the hungry, hungry wolves in the pit. She faced Leah again and said, "They are obviously, not gonna play nice with me... but that shouldn't be a problem..."
Alice's eyes suddenly opened wide and she stiffened up her back.
"Alice? You alright?" Leah asked.
Alice blinked twice and came back to the present. "Sorry, had a vision. I'll definitely be playing." She pointed her finger into Leah's chest, "You, Miss MVP, and me are gonna team up... against everyone else."
Leah raised her eyebrows, "Just the two of us versus nine of them?!"
Alice smiled. "Don't worry. We'll totally win. My vision said so. I'm the fastest vampire around and you're the alpha of this pack. We'll be fine."
"I'm not their alpha. We're just a bunch of girl wolves hanging out." Leah corrected, "But yeah, I'll team up with you. The girls are gonna love this..."
Leah turned around and shouted the new game change at the players. Once the girl wolves heard the stakes, they hollered in disbelief.
"You two are gonna get DESTROYED!" Yelled the purple haired shifter.
Leah responded back, "Just keep talking Casey! You'll be eating your own words after this."
There were mischievous grins on some of the girls' faces but Alice simply gave a friendly smile to everyone around her. She took off her leather jacket and neatly placed it by a tree. Alice was considering taking off her shirt as well but decided against it, should one of the more ballsy werewolves unhook the back of her bra and embarrass her.
Everybody got into the beginning formation. Alice faced off against the loud mouthed girl wolf who did most of the taunts.
"You sure you wanna ruin that nice shirt of yours? Looks expensive… " She said with a nasty tone.
"I can always buy another one. Maybe I could get a nice shirt for you too. " Alice retorted.
The girl wolf growled at her. Alice stuck out her tongue.
"Awww, you're getting along with them!" Leah said with a smirk.
The game got going and Alice had the ball in her possession. She dashed across the field, barely dodging the other werewolves as they chased after her. Alice saw the end line and she forced herself to run faster. Alice smiled to herself.
Too easy! Next round, it should be just me versus Leah and the werewolves! I'd housebreak all those mutts!
As Alice was closing in, she saw in the corner of her eye, one of the bigger girls running after her at full speed. She was fast and Alice underestimated her.
Shit! She's going to hit me…
Leah jumped on top of the defender and aggressively wrestled her to the ground. Alice was saved from any danger and she ran all the way to the end. Leah got off her dazed friend and gave Alice a well done pat on the back.
"Whoa! We actually did it! Not bad there, Dracula. Did your vision tell you how many times we scored?"
"No. It just showed us looking happy and the other team looking pissed. I'd hate to admit it, but you werewolves are better than I thought. I almost got caught a couple times…"
The other werewolves sneered at Leah and Alice. The same girl that Leah tackled got off her feet and walked towards them, trying to make herself look as intimidating as possible... but failing.
"Hey ladies! I'd hate to interfere with your little romance here, but we got a game to play." She turned her head at Alice and grabbed the ball out of her hands. "We were being nice, but this time, we're playing for real."
The girl walked back to her team and they assembled a quick huddle to talk strategy.
Leah shook her head, "Don't let Laurie get to you. What she really meant was that you impressed her. We should prepare ourselves."
Alice smirked, "I'm not offended at all! Ya know, they're all like angry little puppies! I forgive all of them. They're just too adorable for me to handle."
Leah laughed as the two of them took the defensive position on the field.
"BREAK!" The opposing team shouted in unison. The leader ran up to Leah. She was tall and actually looked intimidating unlike the cute little Laurie who was trying her hardest to scare Alice.
"Yo Leah, we wanna play hooligan rugby. The majority won. Nine votes for a new game." Said the leader.
Leah stared at her in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? You guys are such… sore losers, oh my god!"
"I'm not sore about anything! We just want to play something more fun, more… tough. Are you too scared to play?"
"What?! Of course not! But Alice doesn't…"
Alice butted into the conversation, "Somebody say my name? What's hooligan rugby?"
"It's every woman for herself. Complete chaos. Anybody who has the ball tries to score it for themselves. The rest of the players can try to kill that person or kill each other. Usually someone they hate the most." Leah explained.
Alice got excited. "That sounds like so much fun! I wanna play!"
"You sure? You know they're all gonna try to tackle you. Even if you don't have the ball, they'll chase you all over the field... in their wolf form."
"Pfft. Not even on all fours, they can't touch me. So you should join your little wolf friends and chase me too. " Alice said as she playfully flicked Leah's nose.
Leah shot Alice a mischievous grin. "Alright… you asked for it..."
The tall, intimidating shifter had the ball in her hands. She called out the rules for everyone to hear. "Whoever has the ball has to score it at whichever end of the field they choose. The rest of us can use whatever method you want to stop her. Remember that you want to score at least two times!" Everyone took a random spot on the field. All the shapeshifters had their targets locked on Alice.
"GO!" Yelled the leader as she threw the ball into the air for anyone to grab.
Alice jumped high into the air and grabbed it in midair. She landed gracefully and started running as the entire team pursued her. She dodged them with great ease but there were a few close calls.
"You can't run like this forever!" Shouted the muscular werewolf as she blocked the direction Alice was running in. Alice threw the ball right into the attacker's face. The shifter stumbled back with a bloody nose as the ball bounced off her face and Alice caught its rebound. The vampire ran past the K.O'ed werewolf girl.
Alice laughed at the girl's misfortune, but soon found that she was surrounded by six wolves. They had shifted while the attacker with the bloody nose delayed her on purpose. It gave the wolves enough time to form a tight circle around Alice and trap her.
"Oh shit." Alice said. Smart doggies…wait a minute… did these girls strip while I wasn't looking or what?
The wolves closed in on the petit vampire, but Alice had a trick up her sleeve. With great acrobatic skill, she ran directly into one of them and used her as a springboard. The vampire's feet slammed into the wolf's head and she yelped loudly. Alice used the momentum to jump into the air and she landed with a body slam on top of another werewolf. While Alice was still on her back, a small, skinny wolf ran towards her. In an instant, Alice pitched the ball so hard, it hit the wolf right between her eyes and she whimpered in pain. Alice sprang back on her feet and ran out of the broken circle. Four down, six more to go.
"C'mon guys! Teamwork! Watch out for each other!" Leah called. She was still in her human form while the rest of them were wolves. They followed Leah's lead as they tried out a different tactic.
They're probably coming up with some secret plan with their telepathic wolf powers… Still, they just can't catch me. I am just too good…
As Alice continued to run, only two of the wolves chased her. The rest trotted away slowly. Alice was getting suspicious but she couldn't afford to lose any speed as the two wolves were right behind her. Alice wanted to pick up the ball again where it laid next to the whimpering wolf, curled in a fetal position.
If I could just score once, it'd totally humiliate these over sized fur balls.
Alice changed directions to get the ball, two wolves following her back. As Alice picked it up, two more wolves joined in on the chase.
They're trying to surround me again. Not gonna fall for that one.
Alice was getting close to the end line and the last wolf joined in on the chase. All five of them flanked her sides.
What are these guys up to? And where hell is Leah?
"Hey Alice!" Leah shouted.
She was standing in the center of the field, holding Alice's leather jacket in her hand. "This sure looks deliciously chewy! OR! I could just put this baby on and explode it when I shift!"
Alice's eyes flashed red. Her jaw dropped in surprise.
"HELL NO! " Alice roared and she ran back around to attack Leah.
With all her might, Alice tackled Leah unto the ground. The jacket flew out of Leah's hand. Freezing cold brick hits furnace hot muscle and the two wrestled each other for dominance. Leah had fought plenty of times before with the Quileute boys in their play times so the werewolf had the upper hand. Alice was a graceful martial artist but she was definitely no wrestler. The vampire clumsily groped around Leah's sweat covered body to try to suppress her. Leah grabbed both of Alice's arms and flipped their bodies over using her weight and momentum. Alice was strong and Leah was really fighting to keep her down. Channeling her werewolf strength, Leah topped Alice and had her squirming.
"Relax Alice, I'm not gonna hurt your jacket…" Leah said as she tightened her grip on the vampire.
"Get off! Get off!" Alice yelled as she tried to struggle out of Leah's hold.
Leah let go and Alice grabbed her jacket from the ground and put it on. The vampire dusted off her shoulders and shot Leah a defiant glare.
"That was dirty. A real low blow!" Alice said with an unamused expression. Leah started to laugh, "Anything goes in hooligan rugby! But, oh man! You should've seen the look on your face when I said I was gonna explode your jacket, hahaha! God, you are scary!"
Alice couldn't help from laughing either, "Okay, that was pretty funny, I'll give you that…"
The two had a good laughing fit over what just happened. "I'll never threaten your clothes again!" Leah chuckled.
The rest of the wolves gathered around the two with amused looks on their faces.
"Sooooo… are the ladies gonna walk home naked or are there emergency kits of underwear hidden in the forest?" Alice asked.
"Emergency kits of underwear." Leah said in the most deadpan voice she could muster.
"What, seriously? I was joking!… No way! That's not true!" Alice exclaimed, and then she broke out laughing again. "I always wondered how Jacob got his pants back on so quick…"
"Ancient Quileute secret. You must tell no one." Leah joked.
A wolf barked at Leah. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can smell it too…" Leah shouted back. The pack started to walk out of the pit and into the forest.
"There's a barbecue back at La Push. You're welcome to join us. You've earned it." Said Leah as she picked up the ball that Alice dropped.
"I got nothing better to do. Sure! But you know I can't eat any barbecue."
"Well… we'll improvise. Maybe you can lick a raw steak? How's that sound?"
Alice responded with a playful "Woof!" and she put her arm around Leah's shoulders as they walked to La Push.
Author's Notes:
Although I wanted to flesh out the female wolf pack and give them names and personalities, I had to focus on Alice and Leah. So almost all the gals are unfortunately nameless because I don't think anyone would remember them.
I'm thinking about writing a part II and that'll be it for this fic.
Thanks for reading!