"Sophie, my family is going hunting. Care to join us?" Carlisle asked. The others, besides Renesmee who was standing next to me, were ready at the backdoor.

"Uh..." I wasn't sure how to answer. The thought of blood brought that uncomfortable swallowing sensation in my throat. I guessed would cool the pain I felt now, but the feeling wasn't really unbearable. Did I need to hunt?

"Just tag along," Renesmee said. "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to." She smiled at me. I nodded.

"Very well then, let's go," Jasper said, and shot out the door.

We all followed, but at a slower pace. It took me a while to figure out that the reason was Renesmee, who was struggling to keep up with us. I felt a surge of pity.

Suddenly, the pity swelled over me, capturing all the space in my head for thinking, making movement impossible. Compassion for Renesmee seemed to be the single most important thing in the world, and I collapsed, sobbing without tears.

She can't keep up with her own family, she's different than anyone else she's ever met, she can't be independent, she's been traumatized by a huge group of indestructible vampires-

Outside my realm of thought, I heard a murmuring voice, but that's all it was. Useless sound.

A miserable existence, she isn't at home with humans or vampires-

"Sophie, snap out of it!"

I blinked, then froze in horror. What had happened? In a second, I had been controlled completely by a single train of thought. I swallowed desperately, then began screeching. The pain! My throat was scorching, my vision went red, and all I could smell or feel was a sweet, throbbing pulse nearby, so close, I could reach out and touch it-

In a second, I was on the ground, arms pinned behind me. In the same second, rationality returned to me. I was in control of my body once more, and turned off the scorching in my throat, the overflowing wave of emotion, and forced relaxation into me, taking deep breathes.

"I'm okay," I said, and pushed Edward off of me. I looked around the empty forest area for the others. "Where are-"

"They left when you lost control," he said, tensed. I sighed. Losing control is just another way of saying 'going insane'.

"Sorry, I'm not sure what happened. I was just feeling sorry for Renesmee and then-"

"I know. After you firs transform, feelings can get very intense. You aren't to blame at all. You need to be fed, that will help." And he began running off after the others. I followed behind him, when a new thought crossed my mind.

My 'gift' was to control minds, to bend them to my will. Could I completely dominate myself like I had Roger, instead of this weak grip I held over myself?

"Maybe," Edward said, and I tripped a little bit, forgetting what his special talent was. Mind reading. Right. I didn't have time to test my theory, as we caught up to Carlisle and the others in just a few seconds. They had stopped, and were frozen.

"Listen," Carlisle breathed, and I did, letting my senses spread. And I could hear throbbing, like Renesmee's, only wilder, quicker, and many more just like it. A herd of animals, at least twelve...

But something inside me told me I could hear so much farther than I was right now, that I was only filling a tiny bit of my potential. That same instinct that had told me what to do with Roger commanded me now.

Listen, said the voice, and my hands bended to form little domes. There was some pain, which I automatically removed, and then I could hear everything. Edward's tiny gasp as he read my mind, Carlisle's tiny shift as he turned to examine me, the padding of deer's' feet on the soft grass, the rumble of cars on the highway, the small sound of a stone being hit by one of those cars and landing on the dirt on the side of the road, a plane taking off at an airport many miles away-

"Sophie!"

The sound would deafeningly loud if it weren't for my infallible ears.

"What's wrong with your hands? Carlisle!" Renesmee cried, grabbing my hand. Her pulse was blindingly loud, right up against my hands. I turned to look at them and gasped.

A small hole, about the size of a dime, was right in the middle of my cupped hand. I brought my other hand to my face, and saw an identical hole.

Go away!

The holes closed, and my extra hearing retreated. Everyone was staring at me. The weirdest part was feeling the cells in my body respond to the directions my brain was sending out, vampire bone cells turned into vampire auditory nerve cells, morphing and changing to create a mini, super powerful ear in each of my hands. I felt it happen, I knew what to do to make it happen, I knew what exactly was changing inside myself. It wasn't an automatic thing, I was knowingly controlling it.

"Sophie, are you okay?" It was Carlisle. I nodded, taking a few deep breathes to calm myself. The effect of deep breathing was completely psychological, as I didn't need oxygen, but it seemed to help.

Renesmee was at my side. "Are you sure?" she asked, looking at my hands.

"Yeah, I'm sure. It was just...well, it was a thing with my gift. It really is okay, I have everything under control. Let's hunt," I said, and headed off to where I had heard the deer.

And there they were. Gathered around a small, mossy creek, more than twelve. I waited for the others to strike first, as I wasn't sure how to kill one of these animals myself.

Rosalie, perfectly calm, had snapped the deer's neck before it had understood its fate. She immediately sunk her teeth into its neck, sucking the luscious blood easily.

The deer were scattered now, trying to stay together while running away. There were only five or so left, everyone had already gotten at least two deer.

It was clear to me that they were waiting for me to have a try. It was also clear to me that I did not need to harm any of these creatures. I curled up into a ball, relaxed, closing my eyes.

No thirst.

I didn't need a hand gesture for controlling myself, like I did others. The words in my head were strong enough.

I stood up, inhaling deeply through my nose, releasing my weaker hold on the pain of being thirsty. Edward bolted towards Renesmee along with Bella and Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper stepped towards me, and Carlisle held a freshly-killed deer, which I could tell he was ready to give up if I needed it.

But I didn't need it.

I could smell the delicious scent of the spilled and spilling blood, the savory scent of Renesmee, the earthiness of the moss in the creek and upturned dirt. I could smell it, and it didn't bother me in the slightest. It was like being in a bakery with a full stomach, you could admire and smell the breads baking, but you didn't feel an overpowering urge to steal a few loaves.

"I'm fine, I don't need to hunt," I said, smiling triumphantly. Jasper and Edward shared identical faces of surprise.

"Are we ready to head back, then?" said Carlisle softly, having finished his deer. There were murmurs of agreement. Renesmee gave me one of those 'you-will-tell-me-what-happened-just-now-when-we-are-alone' looks, and we head back to the house.

I was buried deep in thought. If I could tell my throat to stop scorching, and if I could tell my hands to become ears, then maybe I could tell my tongue to be human too, and my nose, and my stomach, and my digestive system, and, well, everything.

Could I make myself human again?