"Mom, are you sure that I have to move to Forks?"
"Of course, Rain. It is a small town, so it will be easier for you to blend. And sunny days are very rare." That was the conversation that had sent me to the small town of Forks, Washington. I would be attending the local high school. This would be my second time in with normal humans and my first time away from all of my sisters (from oldest to youngest) Cirrus, Cloud, Cumulus, Snow, and Stratus. Of course, I'd have to hide my ears. FYI: I'm an elf. I'm not one of Santa's elves. No, I'm just a normal human sized Wind Clan elf. My ears are pointy and I have limited magic. That's it.
Mom and I flew to the airport near Forks (in an airplane. I can fly and no, I don't grow wings. It's complicated) from our home in Michigan. I rented a car that I hoped would blend in Forks. I said my goodbyes, grabbed my luggage, and drove off. Mom, of course, gave me last minute reminders like stay out of the sun, keep moving, don't show my ears, etc.
It was late when I finally arrived at my new home. It was big enough for me and a few friends with an upstairs and a basement. I chose my room, unpacked, got myself ready for starting school tomorrow, fixed a light supper, went to bed, and pretended to sleep (elves can't sleep).
When I 'woke up,' I got ready for school and drove to school. I had already gotten my schedule, so I headed straight for my first hour, trigonometry. The only empty seat was next to an extremely muscular person. A breeze whispered that he was an alligator. Winds call vampires alligators or crocodiles, depending on their diet.
"Class," the teacher, Mr. Eagle, said as he had me stand in the front of the room, "this is Raven Valeneski. She is new, so make her feel welcome." Ugh. It was the 'new kid' speech. "Raven, you may sit in the only empty seat." Of course. You seat the elf next to the vampire. Of course. Breezes in the room brought parts of other people's conversations to my ears.
"She has such pretty, long black hair." Unimportant.
"No one has ever sat next to Emmett Cullen." So the alligator's name was Emmett Cullen.
"Wind sister, the alligator is acting weird," a breeze complained. I cast him a sideways glance.
"Wind, the alligator is just trying to not run away from me. We are natural enemies, you know." Lucky for me, no one, not even vampires can hear me when I'm talking to a breeze, except for other Wind Clan elves.
"How can you tell?"
"My mother showed me what to look for. She also warned me about how wind sisters, fire daughters, water aunts, and earth cousins smell to alligators and crocodiles."
"And how do you smell?" Mr. Eagle dismissed the class.
"Wind, I'm sorry, but I have to go."
"We can still talk."
"And in other classes I might actually have to pay attention."
"Darn."
During lunch, a girl named Ann from my first hour told me about the Cullen family.
"Carlisle and Esme Cullen are Emmett's adopted parents. Alice and Edward are his brother and sister. Jasper and Bella Hale also live with them. And Dr. and Mrs. Cullen adopted them all." She pointed out who was who as she said their names. "Alice and Jasper are dating, as well as Edward and Bella. Emmett is the only one who is alone. He doesn't date, though." That made sense. He'd try to stay as far away from humans as possible.
The rest of the day was uneventful and passed by quickly. I asked one of the breezes to pass Emmett a note when he reached his home. And then I went home.
The next day was sunny. So I, being an elf, had to skip school. Instead of school, I went exploring in a forest near my house. The breeze that had delivered the note to Emmett found me.
"Wind sister," it said, "the alligator was being funny. When I dropped off the note, it was open just like you had requested. The alligator saw the note, picked it up, and was surprised when the words appeared. I had to laugh at his expression and apparently, you had somehow made it so that he could hear me. He then called for an alligator he called Edward and Edward said that he couldn't find the laughter in his mind. That's when I left."
"Who's mind?" I asked, confused.
"The first alligator's mind, silly wind sister." I had to laugh. By this time, I had reached a clearing.
"I hear a wind mother," a voice said. The only elf clan to call me a wind mother is the Fire Clan.
"And I hear a fire daughter," I replied. She stepped out of the trees across from where I was. She had thick red hair.
"My name is Blaze."
"My name is Rain."
"There's an ice near here. Is it a dry ice or just a normal ice?"
"He's an alligator."
"What's all this talk about ice and alligators?" I heard Emmett ask. I froze. Blaze gasped. He walked to the clearing, but not into the sun.
"Emmett, it's okay. We know what you are," I said.
"Raven? Why can't I see you? And shouldn't you be in school?"
"You asked for it," I said. I moved to make sure that Emmett could see me. Then I stepped into the sun. The half of me that was in the sun turned invisible, including my clothes.
"Apparently I'm not the only one who does something in sunlight." The breezes around us laughed at Emmett's comment. He looked startled.
"Emmett, drop the note," I said as I stepped out of the sunlight.
"What note?"
"The note that I sent to you yesterday."
"You sent that?"
"Yes. Now drop the note." I was starting to get extremely mad. Emmett dropped the note.
"I have to go," Blaze said. I sent a breeze to pick up the note.
"You aren't human, are you, Raven." It was a statement, not a question.
"No, I'm not human, but I can't tell you what I am."
"Wind sister, wind sister Cirrus is coming. She sent me to tell you that."
"Thank you, wind."
"Raven!" Cirrus ran into the clearing at human speed.
"Sara!" We joined hands and spun. The breezes in the clearing swirled around us. When we stopped, the breezes kept spinning, faster and faster.
"Whoops," Cirrus giggled. We went over to the breezes to clam them down, which by now had formed to create a mini tornado.
"Raven, can you control breezes?" Emmett asked.
"No."
"Raven, who is he?"
"Emmett, this is my sister Sara. Sara, this is Emmett Cullen. He sits next to me in Trig."
"How do you know my name?"
"I asked one of my friends during lunch." Lies. I asked about his family.
"Raven, I'm going to your house to set up my stuff," Cirrus said.
"Okay."
"Raven?"
"Yes, Emmett?"
"Why do you keep moving, when Sara didn't move nearly as much as you?" I stopped moving and became perfectly still. To anyone watching, I became invisible. "Oh."
"Wind sister!" The wind sounded upset.
"Yes, wind? What is it?"
"Wind sister Gale sent me to tell you that wind sister Stratus is dead."
"NO!" Emmett looked towards me, clearly startled. I ran out of the clearing. My thoughts jumbled. One thought was clear. Stratus is dead. My favorite sister is dead. I continued to run until I was exhausted. Then I collapsed and the world went black.