- MELODY -
Every place, every mark was so clear, so beautiful. The face before me was amazingly different, more gorgeous than I had ever been. But it made me miss the old, common face.
The blonde hair was still wavy, but it was shinier, less frizzy. The soft pink lips looked as if they were sculpted from ice. They weren't discolored or chapped like I remembered. And unlike my blotchy, marked surface from before, the new skin was all pale and as smooth as glass.
My pale, elegant fingers came up to touch the cold glass of the mirror. The changes in my features made my stomach clench.
"Melody? Are you okay?" A high girlish voice sounded behind me. I turned in the swivel vanity chair to the female vampire before me. Elipsophine stood in the doorway, out of the mirror's reflection.
Nodding, I stood. Elipsophine approached me and reached down to take my hand in hers. "You can stay here as long as you'd like, Mel." She said softly. I looked deeply into her golden eyes.
"I think I'm going take off," I whispered. My new voice was musical and clear. Every time I spoke it sounded as if I was singing. Ever since the change, I tried to speak as little as possible since the voice was so strange and unfamiliar. Suddenly, I missed my old mid-range voice.
Elipsophine dipped her head in a nod and let go of my hand. She patted my cheek and turned away. Moving so quickly that my old eyes wouldn't have seen her, she left the room.
Sighing, I walked slowly to the door in the room. With one hand on the knob, I looked around the small side room. This could be my home, Elipsophine could be my family if I stayed.
Gritting my teeth, I twisted the knob and threw the door open. I heard the wood of the house splinter from the impact. Throat thick with thirst and sadness, I ran out the door and into the forest as fast as I could.
- JULIE -
The various greens and browns of the forest swirled around me. Every sound within a mile burst into my eardrums, seemingly shattering my brain.
Whimpering, I dropped to the damp forest floor. The blending colors gave me a headache and made my stomach clench. Squeezing my eyes shut, I whined. Oh, God what was happening to me?
"Julie!" A feminine voice rang out through the trees. The voice was familiar but I was too confused to recognize it.
Several snaps and grunts soon came after the voice. "Julie Anne Reece, you're okay, sweetheart! Just let me know where you are!" The voice sounded again. It struck a few memories in my mind.
Aunt Rianne? I let out a yip of recognition. "That's my girl…" Aunt Rianne muttered. I heard her heavy footsteps tramping through the bush.
My new sensitive nose picked up my Aunt's distinctive scent. Her warm gingerbread aroma was always strong, but as a wolf, it was overpowering.
Soon I felt small human-sized hands on my face. "Oh, Julie baby," Aunt Rianne whispered softly. I could feel the numerous metal rings on her fingers press into my skull.
I slowly opened my eyes. The large woman was kneeling before me on the ground. Her usual flowing skirt was drenched with mud. The bright oranges and reds of the pattern were soon covered by thick brown liquid.
Whining, I pushed my face into her hand. Her long fingers twisted themselves comfortingly in my long fur. Fur. The word made me shudder. "Julie, Julie, Julie…" Aunt Rianne murmured.
All I wanted to do was crawl into my Aunt's lap like I used to do when I was about five years old. But seeing how I was bigger than a horse at the moment, that wasn't a possibility.
Suddenly the gently grip on my face turned strong. Aunt Rianne's kind face grew serious. "You are fine, baby. This is normal- well, not normal. But for some people it is. And you, sweetheart, are one of those special people. Now it's gonna take a couple days or so for you to change back to normal. And that's alright. It took some people more than a few weeks."
A few weeks?! So I was stuck in this wolf form for more than a hour? What about school? I was starting in two days. And Ma would worry. I couldn't think about telling her about… this. Aunt Rianne could cover for me. I knew she would.
"Now I'll tell Betsy the truth. This'll be too hard to cover up." Aunt Rianne shook her head. "You're starting school soon, right?" I dipped my head to let her know she was right.
"Thanks, baby." She said, pushing my stiff ears back. "Anyways, you stay right behind the house. Don't wander when I'm not with you. You remember all the legends I told you?" I dipped my head again. How could I forget? All those legends were told to me my whole life.
"Well, Julie, don't freak out. But since this particular legend, the wolf legend, is true… You can probably guess the others are too. You know, the ones about the cold ones. A coven of them live here. Not in La Push, but in Forks. They could be in the woods and you don't know how to… handle them." Aunt Rianne shuddered. Were these cold ones really that horrible? Sure, they sucked blood. But all the legends said that the coven around here didn't harm humans.
Aunt Rianne sighed and lifted her heavy body off of the ground. Deciding I was able to stand, I did the same. My legs shook a bit, but I was otherwise steady. Aunt Rianne's head only came up to my shoulder.
She turned to look up at me. "Julie, I mean it. Stay here."