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Previously…

"They will come after us eventually. The smaller the better. I want the best possible outcome for our family, but right now at their size and gifts, Alice can see it going either way," Carlisle said before stomping off. Rosalie sneered at him and ran off to hunt.

Chapter 4: Legends

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. SM owns it all.


Seth's POV

At the campfire, I met a bunch of random faces and put them with corresponding names. Nobody really made an impression on me except for the elders. The elders' names were Harris Fields, Barry Neil, and Rodney Baker, of course Robert Pratt was technically there, but he and Riley seemed to be running late. There seemed to be many people there, most clueless about the truth. One thing that didn't change was the way the food tasted. The same old recipes helped ease my mind.

A hand on my shoulder caused me to jump. Sarah stood behind with two girls at her side. I finished wolfing down the hamburger and turned around. "Hi Seth," Sarah sighed with boredom. "My friends wanted me to introduce you to them." I smiled kindly at them but shot Sarah a warning glance. She didn't catch it. "Seth, this is Allie and Amy. Have fun," and just like that, she escaped.

"Seth," Amy, the younger one of around fifteen tried my name for size. "It doesn't suite you."

"It's a handed down name," I snort. My dad gave me this name. Personally, I love it.

"How old are you?" Allie asked. She seemed to be about sixteen, maybe a bit younger. My eyes skimmed the area for any signs of escape. I used to love socializing at the campfires, but that was when I knew the people and they knew me.

"Seventeen."

"Awesome, here's our numbers. If you are nice, maybe we'll call you," Amy giggled. Mentally, I rolled my eyes. Obviously they wouldn't call me, I'd call them, but that's not going to happen either. The 'if you are nice' comment has been trending lately, but it's stupid. It's meaning the exact opposite. Either way, she wrote the numbers down on my forearm. Guess who's taking two showers tonight?

I honestly felt bad that I was thinking so negatively about them. It is them, but I was also frustrated with that way the women of that generation acted. The men weren't any better, but I was hoping my soul mate would have more of a mind than to just hand themselves out there to anyone. I saw those types of girls everywhere for my entire life. They would never mean anything special to me. Sadly, it was those girls who would fawn themselves over me constantly.

"Okay…" Maybe if I used short answers, they would clear away. All hopes were shot down as Allie trailed a hand along my arm. As nicely as I could, I shoved her manicured, sharp nails off. Then I caught sight of about the only blonde living in this town. "It was nice meeting you two, but I have to talk to my friend."

At that, I nearly sprinted over to Riley. Her plump lips were devouring a cup cake as I ran into her. It caused icing to coat her nose. "Oh, sorry, Riley!" I said, trying to get a napkin, but suddenly, the icing fizzled away from thin air. "Wha-?"

"Nothing, I licked it off," Riley turned away from me. She still had those annoying glasses covering her eyes. The words the guys said echoed in my head. I was truly temped to rip them off her myself just to prove my point that I couldn't hit this lucky. I'd never tell her, but Riley was definitely lovelier than Rosalie Cullen and that was saying a lot.

"I have fast eyes. You did not lick it."

"I'm curious, did you get both of their numbers or are you not feeling the jizz flowing tonight?" Riley sighed, glancing toward my arm. She didn't seem the least bit interested. See that's how my life went. The interesting, smart, or caring girls never batted an eye at me. It was only the pretty ones, but don't get me wrong, pretty was nice, but I'd much rather have somebody with a good personality. I know I sounded like I was talking bullshit, but after one hundred years of young, gorgeous girls throwing themselves at you, you'd think the same thing. With age, comes knowledge. I had seen all the looks, so I would definitely want a little more than that. Smart was sexy. Of course, Riley topped any girl and she seemed to be intelligent.

I smirked, "You may be surprised, but I am actually a virgin." Plenty of girls had given me disgusting looks when I said that so I was expecting Riley to as well. Instead he jaw flew open.

"You have to be kidding me. Somebody as hot as you? What, is your dick the size of a needle?" Riley spoke, shell-shocked. Hot as me. Riley just called me hot!

"As flattering and personal as that sounds, no my dick isn't that small. I'm sure you want to see, but it's invitational only," I joked. Riley's white cheeks fill with red as she bit her lip. Riley once again surprised me by not teasing me or anything else.

Jake came our way, which would only lead to disaster. "Talking about Seth's dick so soon, are we? You like them naughty?" Jake clamped Riley and me on the shoulder. She cringed at his touch. The look she gave Jake had me laughing.

"Riley, this is Jacob Black. Jake this is Riley Pratt," I announced. People had started to gather around and quiet down. It must be nearing time for the story.

"It's nice to meet you. I heard a lot about you. Seth forgot to mention how out of his league you are," Jake grinned at me with triumph. I stepped where I thought his foot was, but was dark.

"Ow!" Riley exclaimed. "Why did you step on my foot? And why were you talking about me?"

"I always like talking behind neighbor's backs," I winked at her.

"As fun as you sound," Jake looked at me with confusion. He didn't see what I saw in her. Honestly, I didn't even know that I liked her or not. I was just going with the flow. "I have a story to tell, Seth." He dragged me to the head of the fire where the elders were. Rodney hobbled forward as it turned eerily silent.

"We have a special treat here today. Jacob Black and Seth Clearwater, descendants of the very firsts, are here to stay for a while. They are very well respected and have seen many things. They are to be added onto the council. Jacob," Rodney said and motioned for Jake to step forward. After the announcement where everyone got to see me, I went to sit on an empty spot by the fire. Jake sounded just like Billy did when they told stories. I'm sure he'd have loved to hear that.

Jake continued to tell the story of our past that I had listened to for so many times. Eventually, I dozed off. Riley's enchanting voice awakened me. Jake had came down to sit next to me.

"This isn't normal, but since we are very close with the Makah tribe, we are listening to their legends as a gift from Riley Pratt," Robert announced with a grim smile. Riley stood and began to speak, but Harris stopped her.

"Honey, let us see those pretty little eyes," Harris offered, but nobody would refuse Harris. With a deep sigh, Riley removed her beloved sun blocking devices. I fought to see the color of her exceptionally large eyes, but she kept her entire face downcast for some time. Riley's voice couldn't project well enough for most to hear so she'd have to look up eventually.

Finally, Riley looked up, right into my eyes. Suddenly, I felt like the world was spinning…around that girl with the eyes like jewels. They were sea green, but that wasn't what I was thinking about. I felt like my lungs had given out all of their air and I was only alive because she was keeping me here. She was keeping me tied to Earth. It was suddenly only her and I; nobody else mattered as long as she was safe. Riley Pratt was the one sole reason I lived. My only purpose then was to make sure she was satisfied. She was my everything.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. She couldn't look away from me, no matter how confused she got. I finally realized that she had to begin to speak. It probably wouldn't happen if I were staring at her like she was the last bottle of water on Earth. But I couldn't look away, no matter how hard I tried. In fact, I couldn't even move a muscle. It was scaring me. A lot.

Riley spoke, "My mom is from the Makah tribe. No outsiders know our legends so you won't be able to find this on the Internet or anything. Keep this to yourself. It's quite similar to your start. They had spirit warriors as well, but our warriors were a mix of women and men. When the entire tribe was searching for enemy tribes, a huge tsunami swept through the village. It was terrible, many killed, but some escaped just in time. The spirit warriors had no clue what to do when they returned home. Their bodies had been taken and drowned in the flood. One young man, Fip, hadn't realized the danger and wandered off. The rest of the warriors found him watching a huge heard of swans. Coincidentally, there was the exact number of swans as there were warriors. The chief saw this a sign. Although there was little protection in a swan, they each asked permission to share their minds with a swan. They had based this off of Taha Aki's findings when he shared a body with a wolf. But one swan was unwilling and refused to let him have his body. They left him behind for the good of the tribe, promising to find him a new swan.

"Enraged, Ky followed them to the village. Without the spirit warriors knowing, he planted secret messages in the swan's minds, telling them how the warriors were evil and would never give back their body once they gained better control. The swans shoved the warriors out of their bodies with force, so much force that most of the warriors weren't able to keep the animal's majestic bodies like the Quileute's warriors did. Although, three people fought back with true courage and power. They kept the swan's bodies and found that they could transform between a swan and their new body. The rest of the warriors could only stay in their new bodies. They named the three able to transform the three Swan People. All the spirit warriors had gained traits of the swans. Inhuman beauty, grace, and luck.

"If an enemy approached, the Swan People would transform and walk to the front line of the enemy. No matter how many or who, everyone couldn't take their eyes off of them. It was impossible. While in that form, nobody could look away from their beauty, for they were even more beautiful than original swans. While the enemy stared, soldiers from their own tribe would run out with something covering their eyes and kill the soldier one by one. The Swan People had many kids. Descendants upon descendants, as long as they had the Swan People's blood, they got what I like to think of a curse. The children couldn't transform into anything magical or brave. They got the gift of beauty, but only the women. Those few women were called the Graceful. The men were like any other normal being except they could pass the gene onto their daughters. The beauty is indescribable, more so than the beauty of Aphrodite in the Greek myths. Their whole bodies were outstanding, but their eyes held the true power. If their gaze fell upon anyone's, they couldn't look away. It was as powerful as the trait of the Swan Peoples'. They used it in battle, sending those women out for the enemy to stare at while the soldiers killed them one by one. Of course, there were few exceptions to the gift.

"If a Graceful were to marry, they gained control of their eye power. They were able to turn it on and off easier than your wolf people could phase. Another exception, which has never been done before, is if a Graceful found her true love and soul mate she gains control of their eye power as if she is married. Although it has never been done before, we know it like our ABC's. The gift came with a curse that was more or less a fact to them. There has never been a single Graceful with a happy life. They never had found love. When they married, they married just because they wanted to either have kids or they wanted to get rid of their constant eye power. Some got lazy husbands, some got abusive, and some got selfish the list goes on. It was never good and every Graceful knew it. But if a Graceful is lucky enough to find her soul mate, she'd live forever beside her love," Riley finished with a huff. All eyes were on her and then she slid her sunglasses back on. Her glasses…she was hiding her eyes. Everyone stared at her. Could she be a Graceful? No way! They couldn't still be alive. Sure, I didn't think our legends were real, but hers was just too far fetched. But…she fit the picture perfectly. I put that aside because I was pretty sure I just imprinted. It had been so long since I heard what imprinted felt like that it was hard to tell.

They spoke a few more words, but I pulled Jake aside quickly. "I know what your thinking. Riley has to be a Graceful," Jake cursed under his breath. That wasn't what I was going to say.

"So what if she is?" I retorted, slightly defensive.

"That would be a huge advantage against the new leaches. We could slaughter them single handedly without the Cullens even being a part in it," Jake was already forming a plan in his head. "Man, that was so weird. I felt like I just re-imprinted for a second ago."

"Wait, you did?" I gulped. If he did, then maybe I actually didn't imprint.

"Yeah, didn't you? I couldn't take my eyes off of her. It was kind of freaky," Jake shook his head. He just now saw my ghost white face. "You okay man?" I decided not to mention it to him. I nodded my head and thought over the plan. That would mean telling Riley about the wolves.

"I – I just think you are wrong. She's not that pretty. It may not even work on vampires," I stuttered. Somebody brushed the leaves away and stepped into our little circle. Riley.

"Only one way to see," Jake whispered before turning to Riley. She had obviously heard what I said. "Hi Riley, nice story you told earlier."

"Whatever, can I talk to Seth for a second?" Riley said in a hurry. She shot Jake a glare.

With a sigh, Jake backed up slowly, but before he disappeared, he mouthed, "Ask her to dinner at our house!" I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not that bad, Seth, it will be quick," Riley said. "Why did you imply to my dad that you knew my secret?" She had her hip cocked out with a deadly set mouth. It was odd how somebody that hot could make such a mean expression.

"I want to know your secret, that's why. I have a pretty good guess now," I smirked. Riley stomped on my foot. Harsh. "Is he mad?"

"He doesn't know. And now that he thinks I trust you enough with my secret, he's invited you over to dinner," Riley puffed. A cloud of white came from her mouth. I hadn't realized how cold it was away from the fire. Damn, I was supposed to get her to come to our house.

"Now you'll have to tell me your secret," I flashed a triumphant smile. Riley groaned and ran a hand through her blonde locks. "I'll come only if you agree to dinner at my house."

"Why?"

"My…" I never knew what exactly to call the Cullens. Anybody could tell they weren't my blood related family, but they felt close to family to me. "Uh, we want you to come over. Emmett's been asking about you."

"But you don't want me to come over?" Riley asked. I wanted to call her crazy for thinking that, but any girl would think that if I had said they weren't that pretty. I'd never picked Riley to be self-conscious. "Never mind. I'll meet you at your house tomorrow around seven. Keep Wednesday night open." A cold breeze ran through the woods, totally puffing up her hair.

"Wait-," I grabbed for her arm, but she was already gone. Scratching my head, I walked after her in confusion. Just as we emerged from the woods, everyone turned to look at us and made a path to the area where they spoke.

"-Seth Clearwater!" All eyes turned to Riley and me. People oo'd and aw'd. Others snickered. Suddenly, I realized what it looked like. Riley's frizzled hair. Both of us coming from the woods. Alone. Robert's hands clenched at his side.

"Huh?"

"We were asking you if you'd like to tell of the battle with the newborns, but it looks like you and my daughter were…busy," Robert spat with distaste. I blushed and shook my head, but he already has his back to me. Riley cursed under her breath and ran to him. I walked back to my seat and began.

"There was a special human who caught the eye of a vampire in a special clan. They only drank animal blood so we let them near our land with a treaty. While with them, the human was sensed by nomad vampires. The good clan had to kill one nomad who was tracking the human. James. His mate, Victoria, and their leader, Laurent, tried to kill the human in revenge. We killed Laurent. Victoria went on to create an army of newborn vampires. Newborns were stronger than normal vampires. They also acted and thought the most obvious moves. To protect the tribe and the human, we fought a tough battle. But I – er, the original Seth Clearwater," I cursed under my breath. Jake grunted, telling me to perk up. It wasn't his eyes on me that had me sweating. Riley's nose was scrunched like she was trying to figure out something. "He was with the human and a vampire. They encountered Victoria and a new one, Riley." At that, Riley smirked.

How ironic that the first Riley had nearly broken my leg while my Riley probably would love to do the same thing. "Seth fought Riley, faking an injury to kill him. He fought alongside a vampire that day. It just proves that enemies can surprise you in many different ways. In the main battle, it was an easy fight. At the end, though, they missed a newborn. Leah, my – I mean Seth's sister," I bit the side of my cheek. That's twice. I knew more than half of the people there didn't know or believed in the legends being true. "Attacked the bloodsucker, but Jake, the idiot, went to help out. He crushed almost every bone in his body." People all looked to Jake. My eyes went wide. "Jacob Black the first one," I assured. "The leader and doctor of the clan saved him. Once again, its proof that we have to be open to options."

Jake pulled me home directly after that. Needless to say, he was mad I had slipped up three times.


A/N: So this was very short. Sorry, but I can't have super long chapters because I plan on getting around twenty? Thanks for the four reviews so much! That was amazing. I know this was hours late, sorry, but I couldn't find time today. Let's get four this time! But five would be greatttt!