It had been a week since my arrival in La Push. Jacob and Paul were still tense with one another but Paul hadn't done anything more than any of the other guys.
I'd met everyone of Jacob's friends two days after the incident. Quil and Embry were the ones who had taken me around La Push when Jacob had to work.
The most surprising friend I'd made, to everyone else, was Leah. After some suspicion on her part for a few hours, she'd sidled up to me and we'd chatted away about anything that came to mind.
Everyone was shocked to find out that I'd graduated High School early and got my degree in Trauma Nursing.
"Now we don't have to go to Forks everytime someone get's hurt down here..." Jared had joked, causing me to frown.
I was currently sitting with Emily's niece, Claire, on my lap as Emily fixed my hair for the bondfire on the beach tonight.
Us girls had all decided to dress nice and drive down after everyone else, with much persuasion from Kim, to dazzle and stun.
"Done." Emily sang, pulling back from me as I gripped Claire and turned to face her dresser mirror.
"Whoa." I smiled. "Em, that's amazing."
"No trouble..." Emily grinned. "Get dressed, I'll meet you downstairs. C'mon Claire."
The little girl giggled and hopped off of my lap, clasping her aunts hand and following her from the room.
I pulled the dark blue one shoulder, sheath column dress over my head and smoothed it out. I smiled at myself and slipped on the silver ballet flats before making my way downstairs.
Leah was wearing a lilac chiffon cocktail dress, Kim a yellow sundress and Emily opted for a red dress with long lace sleeves.
"We look good." Kim giggled and I smiled softly, looking down as Claire grasped my hand.
(...)
Emily parked the truck next to Jacob's old Rabbit and hopped out. I gripped Claire to my hip and stepped out, adjusting my dress to avoid embarrassment.
We made our way onto the beach, with Claire playing with my curls as she hummed to herself.
Sam was the first to look up at us and smile. "Looking good, Em!"
Every guy's head snapped around as they heard us and my eyes immediately flitted to Paul's. His face was pulled up into a breathtaking smile and I blushed as I set Claire onto her feet.
"You look beautiful." I squeaked and looked up at Paul, who'd appeared out of nowhere. "Sorry."
"It's fine." I said, "And thank you."
He nodded his head and proffered an arm, which I took slowly, and led me towards the bondfire.
Jacob was watching us and I pulled a face at him, sitting down on the log next to Embry.
"So, any explenation as to why you ladies dressed up so pretty?" Embry asked, shoving a hot dog into his mouth.
"No reason." Kim smiled. "We just felt like it."
I saw Jacob tense slightly as Paul's arm brushed mine, causing goosebumps to arise there, but ignored it.
"Hot dog?" Embry asked and I grinned at him as I took one before handing two to Paul.
I'd also learned, through the course of the week, that every boy in Jacob's circle of friends ate as much as an elephant per day.
"Thanks." Paul smiled, kissing my cheek quickly. I blushed again and took a small bite of my hot dog as my eyes stared into the blue-green flames from the driftwood fire.
"Who has a nice story?" Emily asked, "Sam?"
"Wh- I... Jacob knows the ledgends like the back of his hand!" Sam said, looking at Jacob pleadingly.
"Which one?" Jacob asked, looking indiffirent.
"The one about the spirit warriors..." Quil said. "Since Alina hasn't heard them before..."
Jacob glanced at me, "Alina, this is one of the ledgends of our people."
I nodded and Jacob sat more upright, clearing his throat.
"The Quileutes have been a small people from the beginning," Jacob said. "And we are a small people still, but we have never disappeared. This is because there has always been magic in our blood. It wasn't always the magic of shape-shifting. First, we were spirit warriors."
"He tells it exactly like Billy." I heard Jared whisper to Sam.
"In the beginning, the tribe settled in this harbor and became skilled ship builders and fishermen. But the tribe was small, and the harbor was rich in fish." Jacob glanced around the fire.
"There were others who coveted our land, and we were too small to hold it. A larger tribe moved against us, and we took to our ships to escape them.
"Kaheleha was not the first spirit warrior, but we don't remember the stories that came before his. We don't remember who was the first to discover this power, or how it'd been used before this crisis.
"Kaheleha was the first great Spirit Chief in our history. In this emergency, Kaheleha used the magic to defend our land.
"He and all his warriors left the ship - not their bodies, but their spirits. The women watched over the bodies and the waves, and the men took their spirits back to our harbor.
"They could not physically touch the enemy tribe, but they had other ways..." Jacob grinned at me slightly. "The stories tell us they could blow fierce winds into their enemy's camps that terrified their foes. The stories also tell us that the animals could see the spirit warriors and understand them; the animals did their bidding.
"Kaheleha took his spirit army and wreaked havoc on the intruders. This invading tribe had packs of big, thick-furred dogs that they used to pull their sleds in the frozen north. The spirit warriors turned the dogs against their masters and then brought an infestation of bats up from the cliff caverns. They used the wind to aid the dogs in confusing the men. The dogs and bats won. The survivors scattered, calling our harbor a cursed place. The dogs ran wild when the spirit warriors released them. The Quileutes returned to their bodies and their wives, victorious.
"The other nearby tribes, the Hohs and the Makahs," he glanced at Emily and Claire. "Made treaties with the Quileutes. They wanted nothing to do with our magic. We lived in peace with them and when an enemy came against us, the spirit warriors would drive them off."
I blinked my eyes from their trance and looked up to find Emily grinning at me. I shivered from the sudden cold breeze and moved closer to Paul's warmth, much to Jacob's discomfort.
"Alina, I have a jacket you can borrow... Come sit over here with me." Jacob said and Paul growled softly beside me.
"I like my spot here." I smiled, "Don't be such a big brother; Paul isn't going to eat me."
Jacob muttered something unintelligable and Paul relaxed next to me.
"Awina?" Claire's voice pulled my head in her direction. "Can I sit on your lap?"
I nodded and she crawled over from Quil's lap, over Embry before settling onto mine. "You tired?"
She nodded vaguely and I chuckled, running a hand over her arm soothingly as Kim started a conversation with me.
(...)
I was cradling Claire against my chest as Paul and I made our way up to the truck behind Emily and Sam.
The boys had all decided to stay on the beach a little longer so all the girls were going back to Sam and Emily's to sleep there.
"Why doesn't Jacob like us interacting with each other?" I asked, looking up at him through my lashes.
Paul sighed heavily, "I guess he thinks I'm going to persue and eventually hurt you."
I cocked my head, "Are you going to persue me?"
"Only if you want me to? If not, I'll stay away from you." He said truthfully, though he looked pained as he said it.
"Are you going to hurt me?" I asked quietly; stopping to look up at him.
"Never." He murmured, raising his right hand to tuck one of the curls behind my ear.
"Then you can pick me up at eight on Saturday and take me out to dinner." I smiled, leaning up on my tiptoes but only reaching his chin, so he leaned down, and I kissed his cheek.
"Sleep well, Alina." Paul murmured against my hair, causing me to shiver slightly.
I climbed into the truck with Emily, after Sam had said goodnight, and smiled at her.
"So I take it he finally asked you out?" Emily raised an eyebrow at me and I shook my head. "You asked him?"
"I told him to pick me up at eight on Saturday..." I said, bouncing slightly but looking down as Claire stirred in her sleep.
"Congrats." Emily smiled, expression turning hopeful. "Does this new romantic interest mean you'll be staying a while longer?"
I looked back at the beach, where I could see Paul and Jared playing with a soccerball, and shrugged. "Maybe."
It was a definate maybe.