Chapter 7
I restlessly complied with all the boring tests. You know, reflexes, eyesight, hearing, etc. I barely listened as Carlisle muttered to himself and partially to us as he performed the tests. I did file away the impressive results in my 'good to know' mental file folder, though. Eyesight almost double capability, not quite the level of a vampire's but much better than human. Quicker reflexes, hearing at 1.8 times the human norm. Most of the upgrades seemed in about that area. I did notice that there were slight differences person to person that seemed to fit. Of course, the exciting parts hadn't come yet, but remembering the vampiric abilities varying from person to person in the past, I had a pretty good idea this would continue into the other upgrades.
And wow, I did not mean for that to sound as dirty as it did. I rolled my eyes at myself. Stupid hormones. Anyhow, I was impatient. My knee kept bounding up and down as I sat on the cheap wooden desk for Carlisle to complete his final tests. Jasper was watching his every move with eagle eyes. Yeah, he understood Dr. Cullen was very professional and mated, but he still didn't like anybody else's hands on me. He was possessive. I knew this from experience, and frankly I found it hot. His stare was just so…burning. His beautiful, mysterious eyes raked over my body with such intensity I couldn't help but feel the little curl of heat slide down low into my belly. I felt very womanly, and insanely, surprisingly, seductive. It was getting very distracting and more than a little awkward, since Carlisle was still performing the check up. I shot him a wink, but made sure to follow it with a reproachful glance.
He at least had the decency to look ashamed. If only for a five-count. Then he went back to his intense scrutinizing with a small smirk in my direction. I rolled my eyes. I sat there bored through everyone else's, although I was mildly amused when Pete and Char went. Obviously, they had different normal to begin with, being vampiric and all. But when Carlisle first made skin-to-skin contact with Peter (who went first), he frowned and pulled his hands away, staring at them as if they were foreign in some way. Then he placed them back on Pete's arm. The frown got deeper. Took his hands off. Put them back on again. At this point, his subject was pulling the most bizarre confused face I'd ever seen. He even tentatively brought his own forearm up to his cheek and held it there for a few seconds. He must not have felt anything surprising, because he turned to look at Carlisle with a frown on his own.
The dirty-blonde man had then placed the back of his hand on the good doctor's forehead, as if checking a human for a temperature. If that wasn't funny enough, since Carlisle was a normal vampire who couldn't get a fever even if he tried, Dr. Fang had then put the back of his hand on Peter's forehead. They froze like that for a while, as I tried to keep from laughing. I wished I had a camera to capture the moment, their faces both wearing matching puzzled and curious expressions as they stared into space. I then remembered I had an eidetic memory that came in handy in situations like this. Contenting myself to etch every detail of this moment into my brain so I could later use it as ammo against Sarcastic Pete, I counted the seconds as they stayed like that for a surprising amount of time.
"That's odd," Carlisle muttered as he finally dropped his arm. "Your temperature…it's elevated, for a vampire."
Pete frowned. "What?"
Instead of answering, the good doctor raised his arm and placed it next to his patient's. His eyebrow raised, and he looked up to make eye contact. "Your skin is also a few shades darker than a normal, Caucasian vampire's. It looks more…human, in color."
Under the light of the desk lamp Carlisle was using to illuminate the room better, as apparently the light was broken in this crappy, windowless hotel room, I noticed that I could now see the scars littering Pete's skin clearly. I smiled faintly at the familiar sight. He'd looked…. different…. without them. Not necessarily bad, no, vampires are naturally good-looking, after all. But he and Charlotte hadn't looked like my family, the couple that saved me and more importantly saved my mate. Not just physically, I'm sure we would've been fine there, but emotionally, mentally. Spiritually. Morally. Every other way, basically.
Char caught my smile and looked at knowingly, with a gentle one of her own. Jasper nudged my shoulder with his. I turned to see the breathtaking curve of his mouth. My heart fluttered. I loved how he looked more like the guy I remembered as him through all my lifetimes. Early twenty-something, the traces of baby fat vanished, the only traces of boyhood youth in the soft shininess of his hair and the twinkle in his eye. Of course, Jas had always looked a few years more mature than he actually was, so to be honest he could pass for 28 if he wanted to. 30 was a stretch, though. His hands had gained a few callouses from different lives and there was some early-morning scruffiness about his stronger jaw and upper lip. His skin had deepened a few shades to a warm tan that spoke of the beams of sunlight that had kissed it, and his Adam's apple was a bit more prominent. My eyes travelled downwards, taking in what I could see under the now-too-small shirt. He'd had a lithe but strong physique before and while he was still all lean-mean-machine, he'd lost the teen-boy lankiness. Very defined muscles and lower…oh, mm, yes…I thought back to us making love, and unconsciously licked my lips. Can't wait for that part of him.
Caught up in my fantasies, I was brought back to earth with a soft, barely-there groan in my right ear. I attempted to reign in my lust with a giddy feeling wreaking mayhem on my guts. I felt a bit mischievous and was going to do some teasing, but by then Carlisle announcing we should get somewhere that we could do the rest of the tests without drawing unwanted attention. At that, my emotions quickly did a 180 or at least a 90, and I was the first out the door.
The first thing I noticed was that colors were so much more vibrant before. It was like I'd been viewing the world with some kind of gray filter on, and now it was stripped away. I'd though I'd known what red or green looked like, but it was so much…more. I could detect the subtlest changes in shade or tint, and the edges of shapes were clean and crisp, and much more defined.
It was bright outside, but cloudy enough for sufficient cover, keeping the secret of sparkly vampires from any unsuspecting humans. I had accepted that while the six of us that were still mortal weren't human, we weren't vampires either but rather a weird mix of the two with a sprinkle of some other thing thrown in for good measure. So I immediately noticed that while I could detect (with my newly upgraded vision) a slight sparkle now visible to me dancing on the skin of Carlisle and Esme, Peter and Charlotte only shimmered so slightly even my enhanced eyes had to squint and strain to see it. Their scars didn't even seem to noticeably reflect light at all. I looked up at Carlisle only to see I didn't need to call attention to this development. From this, I gathered that even with super-vampire-sight they didn't sparkle. I knew that Petey would be thrilled with this new development. Years of his grumbling about being 'mother-fucking vamps, for gods-sakes, what kind of elite and powerful predator fucking sparkles?' rang in my head, and I figured I might just convince Carlisle to not tell him about this added perk for a little longer.
Enough time for me to get in all my fun, of course. After another squeezing into the car, this one tighter since our men's now fully matured frames seemed to take up some more space. Especially Em's. The giant of a man had to slouch to fit.
I decided to start not-so-subtly, by leaning forwards to lean on the chair containing my southern 'siblings'. I'd been surprised earlier that I could now turn on a full-force southern drawn at will. Which was pretty awesome. And it had the bonus side effect of turning Jas extra horny. I swear, if we didn't get a night to ourselves we were going to either burst into flames of sexual frustration or just rip each other's clothes off and have at it not caring who was watching. The thought had me biting my tongue and trying to clamp down on my lust again before it reached Jasper. Or maybe I should just let it run and see what happens…I'm not particularly partial to these clothes…
Focus, damnit.
Anyways. What was I-yes, so I switched on my accent that seemed to combine a whole bunch of unique state twangs and decided to just come right out and provoke him. "Ya know, Petey-boy, do ya think I'll sparkle like a pretty little fairy princess like you when I turn into a vampire?" Of course, it came out more like, 'Yah naiow, Paetae-boia, daoe yah thaink ai'll spairkle laik ah praitty laittle princaess laik you whaen ah turn inta ah vahmpaire?'. In a completely innocent tone, of course.
Pete growled, Jasper shifted slightly beneath me, and Em howled with over-the-top laughter. When Pete turned to face me, making sure not to shift Char, I put on my wide-eyed innocent face and blinked twice with a sugary-sweet smile. He growled some more, then muttered, "We'll see who's laughin' later on when you join the ranks of the stupidly sparkly ones."
I raised an eyebrow. "Come on, I was expectin' better than that, Terrarium." Terrarium groaned.
"Really? You're startin' up the whole 'random nickname' thing again? How'd you get Terrarium, anyhow?" My smile grew wider. If he was letting the sparkly remark go, then that meant I had time to build up the resentment over time. Which meant that when I finally pushed him over the edge, it'd be all the more hilarious when he was informed of his un-sparkly-ness.
"I started off real simple. Peter. Your name has 'ter' in it. I figured you wouldn't take kindly to bein' called Terry, so I just used the first thing I thought of. Expect more complexity next time." He did a weird nod/head-bob/shrug thing and I let it drop.
Five minutes later, I called out, (again, as innocently as I could), "You know, Good Eats, I can't seem to remember correctly. Did that little girl say you looked like you were covered in jewels, or was it glitter?"
My target turned back to face me, eyes narrowed in a faux-glare. Not that it fazed me. Not even close. I used the innocent-bat-of-the-eye trick again. His eyes narrowed further. "Can't remember right, huh. You seem to be able to remember how I don't like that bein' brought up, though."
I shrugged, maintaining my façade. "Oh, you know me. Silly human memory. Even after all that weird juju." I acted casual, but just off enough for him to pick up on it. Char was stifling giggles.
"Uh-huh." Somehow, he didn't seem convinced. "And 'Good Eats'?"
"Peter. Ete. Eat. Got it?" He nodded, kept up his playful intimidation for a few more seconds, and then finally turned back around with an empathic kiss for Char's sweet lips. I pouted. He knew that the lack of, well, fucking, between Jas and I and the ensuing tension drove me crazy. I narrowed my own eyes after he pointedly deepened the kiss. But I also made sure to shield my boyfriend-mate-hopefullysoontobelover from the lust they were giving off. What started as a ploy quickly progressed to hot and heavy, and Jas didn't need to have to suffer that.
The part of my brain constantly surveying my surroundings told me of no immediate danger. But there was a pouting Emmett. I sighed and turned to face him.
"What's wrong, Em?" He frowned at me, but the dancing light in his eyes told me he wasn't really upset.
"It's just…it's been awhile since you called me anything, and I'm feeling a little left out, is all." He sounded like a six year old who'd gotten put in time-out.
"Aw, don't feel that way, Brother-Bear. I'm just tryin' out different things to see what will annoy Petting Zoo the most for the next five years or so. I already know what to call you, so I don't need to run so many test trials." He seemed satisfied with this reply. And by that I mean, he sniffed, nodded, and planted a fat kiss on Rose.
I almost facepalmed at his childlike tendencies. By the time we'd driven out to some deserted area that would do for the next phase of tests, Em had already picked a few inconsequential fights and was quickly unraveling my frayed nerves. But his booming laughter meant I couldn't stay mad at him for long. However, being in a vehicle with both Pete and Em when either was feeling particularly mischievous was not very pleasant. They'd started arguing about the color of Peter Pan's jacket, for the sake of all that's holy. His. Jacket. And it had quickly devolved into pouting from both participants and a tired sort of amusement from everyone else.
But once I stepped out into the fresh air, those thoughts dispersed from my mind. The anticipation that had been ebbing slowly over the much-too-long car ride came back full force and I had to force myself to wait for the others before testing out my new speed or strength.
I did convince Carlisle that the best, and most importantly most fun, way to test the speed portion was to simply have a race. Everyone would participate and Esme and Carlisle would represent the average vampire speed. Even though these things could vary, there was a certain range and luckily both seemed to fall somewhere in the middle of that range.
I could just see the competitiveness in the air, as all of the men present tended to have a certain streak. And not only that, but Rose was also focused on the finish line. It wasn't too long of a race, especially considering the fact that we all had better than average levels of endurance. It was more of a sprint than an actual race, but it still served our purposes.
Rose had stepped up to everyone else with narrowed eyes and hands on her hips, threatening all present with evisceration if anyone even dared to think about cheating. It escaped nobody's notice that she made extra eye contact with both her mate and Peter, both prone to bending rules. They wore matching pouts until Carlisle started counting off to the start.
"Alright, 3…2…1…GO!" At the 'g' sound, we were off. The feel of freedom and air rushing against my skin like a fresh gossamer veil of the finest silky material the world had was just as amazing as I'd looked forwards to. I pushed myself, admiring the way I didn't tire as easily as I had before, feeling the light impact of the ground beneath my feet. I let out a peal of laughter that was carried away in the wind. I felt like I was soaring, almost capable of flight if only I could go just a little faster. I heard several answering giggles and whoops for brief moments before they were swept away and left behind us.
Any worry I had was temporarily suspended, as I focused on the cool, light feeling enveloping my body. It was almost as good as kissing Jasper. Which said a lot, because nothing was as good as kissing Jasper. About halfway to the designated ending point, I noticed that we mortals were actually a few paces ahead of the normal vamps, Carlisle and Esme. Esme was last, Carlisle ahead of her, then came Em, Rose and Jasper neck-and-neck, me only ahead by an inch, Alice, and Edward. Alice being so swift was no surprise, as she had always been light on her feet, graceful, her dainty toes seeming to flit slightly above the ground. Edward being the fastest one, though, was at the same time expected and unexpected.
Expected because he'd always been the fastest, yet not so because in this lifetime I'd somehow envisioned that Alice would be just a foot faster. Maybe because of the way she seemed to float an inch off the floor or dance across a room.
Meanwhile, Pete and Char were racing for the lead. Each time one pulled ahead of the other, their mate would put on some steam and gain just enough speed to come out in front. They both were a few yards ahead of the rest of us, and that was to be expected as they were already vampires as well as mixed with this juju. I was, however, surprised that we were able to pass an average vamp. I'd expected for us to be slightly slower. Interesting. I supposed later it would make more sense. If you thought about it, in a fight or flight situation we could only choose flight as we were still more breakable than a vampire, or on an occasion that we couldn't, we would just try and stay on a defensive side and speed would help us more than almost any other physical attribute.
Char won by a hair, and Jasper broke the tie between himself and Rose by a nose. The three pairs of us who still needed to catch our breath did so with wide grins on our faces. There was something about going for a good run when you weren't as bothered by the physical strain. My heart rate was slightly elevated but not as much as it would be if I were still a normal human, the same as my breathing. Carlisle made sure to take note of this in each of us. I could just see him filing these findings away in his mental files like I so often did.
I felt a bit disappointed it had ended so quickly, but I knew that I would have the chance in the future to go on more runs. I made sure to mentally bottle the feeling of absolute freedom I'd felt to store it away for the wait in between. Alice and Rose half-heartedly grumbled about the state of their clothing and wind-whipped hair, but I just ran a hand through my tousled waves and kept on grinning. I was also secretly glad I hadn't worn the more flimsy not-so-much-made-for-durability-but-rather-fashion clothes they had. The speed had taken its toll on their outfits, evidenced by the small and various rips and tears, especially at the seams. Their mates eyed the new additions hungrily and I fought a smile. My clothes, of course, were not unaffected, nor were the men's. But it wasn't as bad as our two fashionistas', a fact they grouched about more.
Carlisle seemed eager to move on to the next stage of tests, which was using our powers. It made sense that they would be increased, and as we hadn't ever been in this form before we had no idea as to the extent. The more powerful they were before our Change, the stronger they'd be after. And we had to be on our top game for what was coming next.
Pete started, since he was a vampire and had the least likely chance of overloading himself. I slowly pulled away my shield and he went frozen for a second as info rushed in. I had adjusted my shield to only let in a few items at a time so he wouldn't be distracted or overwhelmed. He couldn't see future events, but he could wade through all the complicated shit and find the simplicity, his remarkably strong intuition and conclusions drawn from barely anything also were a part of his gift. But it was more than that, it helped him to see clearly and figure things out better than any normal knack or skill for the same thing.
He blew out a breath and turned to Carlisle. They had a conversation at vamp speed. I found the fact that I could now catch the odd word and the fast moving of their lips interesting. Of course, I still couldn't actually hear the entire conversation, and lip reading was out of the question. But I did hear them mention 'Volturi', 'Aro', and oddly enough, 'fish'. Although, the last one might've been part of some name-calling. I hadn't directly interacted with any of the Volturi before, but I knew they were the reason all this juju was happening. Carlisle had spent some time with them, simply relieved to find a coven that was at least somewhat 'civilized'. That was, after all, how they appeared on the outside. Carlisle's odd diet quickly became an issue, as Aro saw it as weakness, and so he left.
Aro, Cauis, and Marcus. They were the three 'Kings' of vampire society, who passed judgment through their Guard and the Volturi. The Guard was the more esteemed officers of the Volturi, which was the dominant coven of any. It was quite large and spread throughout the world, and had many other affiliations and allies. Their main stated rule was to never reveal the secret of vampire existence to any humans, or they shall be Changed or killed, and the offender shall be punished. Usually, death was the punishment for both. The Guard all lived in Volterra, Italy and call their Kings their Masters.
Aro, the uncontested lead of the three, was the spokesperson and front face. It was also widely understood but never acknowledged that he was the real and singular leader, the dictator of our world. He hid a cruel and self-serving personality under courteous and often even friendly words. He did whatever he wanted, and if he met too much opposition, he'd either eliminate them outright or go about it in a much more sneaky and underhanded manner. His gift of tactile telepathy gave him the ability to read all the thoughts you'd ever had through a single touch, giving him a huge advantage. It also helped in his behind-the-curtain control, as he could simply lie about seeing a traitorous threat and have the often innocent vampire immediately disposed of. He was the one who built up the Guard of mostly Gifted vampires, gaining support and power, and overthrowing the former rulers, the Romanians. He is known for coveting particularly useful or strong Gifts, seeing them as gems for his collection and doing anything to acquire the vampires that hold them. His mate, Sulpicia, was secluded with the mates of his brothers so as to 'protect' her. Little was known about her, but it was said she was often overlooked by him because of his power hungry ways. His blood sister, Didyme, was Marcus's mate and had the ability to make people happy. He saw this as useless, and when the pair started getting desires to leave, he killed her.
Thanks to a very useful Guard member named Chelsea, he secured Marcus to the Volturi with strong bonds of loyalty and therefore Marcus still lives every day with the pain of losing his mate, though he never found out her killer. Aro is very careful with this secret, as he knows that the mating bond and its prerogative come first and would eclipse the manufactured bonds.
Marcus is the bored one, choosing not to participate in anything unless he has to. Instead, he daydreams and longs for his mate and is the only one who may be halfway decent. His gift was being able to sense Of course, his passive role allowed Aro to control the Volturi singlehandedly more easily, as Aro only has to get Caius on board and he will have majority. Cauis's love of bloodshed makes that easy.
Cauis, Aro's brother and fellow King, is known for being vicious and loving gritty violence. He didn't care if you were an innocent, he chose to cause as much despair as possible. He had a great propensity for hate and a highly ambitious drive, and so Aro chose to make him a fellow King knowing that these traits were strengths but also weaknesses easy to exploit. He had no gift and his mate was Athenodora who was kept secluded with Sulpicia after Didyme's death. He was also known for hating werewolves and drawing great pleasure from nearly extinguishing them after being attacked by one.
Another important member was named Corin, whose gift was to make people content with their situations. She was the main reason the Volturi worked, along with Chelsea, although she was kept more of a secret since Aro didn't want the general vampire population to know that people were discontent in the first place. The only reason I knew was because of Peter, a few lifetimes ago. It was a random piece of information, but we made sure to hang onto it, as we knew we'd need it in the future. After all, a much more effective way to destroy a coven was to get them to do most of the work for you. And most vampires do not like finding out they've been controlled.
After their very brief conversation, they made a concentrated effort to seem like everything was just fine and dandy. We not-quite-vamps knew better, but wordlessly decided as a group to drop it for now. We'd find out later.
Char was next, with her ability to get a good sense on what a person's like and their likely decisions, basically their frame of mind. She closed her eyes, reaching out with her mind for a stranger. She made a small noise of content, showing us she found one, then gasped.
"What's wrong, honeybee?" Pete asked, immediately at her side with a concern written all over him. His stance was protective, defending his mate from the invisible threat.
Reopening her eyes, she turned to look at him with a reassuring smile on her face. "Nothin', buttercup. It just took me by surprise, that's all."
Pete looked mostly reassured, though there was still a slight crease in his forehead. "What took you by surprise?"
She looked at Carlisle, then at the rest of us with a slightly astonished look on her face. "I can get a read on almost everyone in the city. Every. Single. One. It's not as confusin' as it was before, and I can keep track of their shifting views all at once. Clearer than they were before. Especially the ones that might be threats or just important or significant. And I can keep track of people I met in the past and decided to pay close attention to. Even now, though they aren't real close."
"That's amazing, sunshine! Though, that shouldn't come as much of a surprise to me. Everythin' about you is so amazin'." Pete smiled like a lovestruck fool then kissed her soundly, and his level of cheesiness still managed to make Char melt into his arms and bring a smile to our faces at their cuteness. He wasn't crude all the time, after all.
She shook her head, clearing it of the daze she'd been in. Pete smirked when she wasn't looking. I could just see his 'ego meter' go up three notches. Then she frowned slightly. "But…it's odd. I feel like I'm missing a few people. And it feels…not right."
Pete was quick to reassure her. "I'm sure it's just the Gift settlin' in, babydoll. It's nuthin', everythin's fine." She smiled at him after a brief hesitation. I felt a little twinge of unease set in, but pushed it aside. Pete was probably right. It was nothing.
Since my shield could potentially help to prevent the overload of my friends' gifts, I volunteered to go next. First, I started off by seeing how far I could expand it. I centered myself with a deep breath and flexed my shield. I propelled it outwards, leaving it its characteristic shimmering blue, as far as I could. I found I could shield a good thirteen feet diameter easily. Without immediate danger or extreme emotional duress, that was how far I could make it expand in a single shot. I glanced at Carlisle, and he nodded, confirming that he'd taken mental note of the fact.
I proceeded to gently push it further outwards, thickening it as I went. I watched it creep outwards another few feet, but by the time it was around twenty feet in diameter I was straining for each inch. Then each centimeter, then millimeter, and finally I realized I would probably give myself an aneurism if I pushed any harder. I was sweating, my entire body pulled taut as I focused all my mental energy in overcoming this challenge. I didn't want to give in, but I could feel my limited human brain starting to struggle.
Jasper's gentle but firm hand on my shoulder finally convinced me to reluctantly allow my shield to snap back into me. I let out a slightly wheezy breath, doubling over slightly and shaking my head. I just needed a moment to regain control, that's all. So what if I was feeling a little dizzy.
Carlisle had gotten closer by the time I looked up again. The concern in his golden eyes was easy to read. I smiled, though not as brightly as I'd intended to, and assured him I was fine.
"I think I want to see how much force I can handle, now." It took several more reassurances, but I eventually got the okay to see how much I could block.
We started small. Emmett threw rocks with increasing levels of force. He graduated to bigger and bigger chunks of things, until he was lifting boulders and struggling slightly to hurl them at my shield. Peter smirked and took over, easily flinging about huge projectiles. I taunted him into running full speed at my shield, and only 'oomf'-ed a little when he made contact. My shield absorbed the impact and had him staggering back more than a few feet. I smiled my cockiest grin, but screwed my eyes shut for a second when no one was looking. I shook off the odd dizzy feeling I still had with vengeance then resumed my normal behavior.
Carlisle expressed genuine interest in the other factors of my gift, such as the length of time I could keep up my shield, how the duplication worked, and so on. But seeing as we didn't have time for the former and I didn't want to copy any of my friends' gifts, still feeling guilty for accidentally gaining Rose's, we moved on.
Because Edward's couldn't cause much physical harm, and would likely benefit the most from being tested while my shield and I were prepared, he went next. His eyes darted around nervously and he slid his hands into his hair to prepare himself. He was fidgety and nervous, but also curious and determined. I eased the thin layer of shield I'd been keeping on him so as to protect him off. I warned him with a meaningful glance when it slipped all the way off and he closed his eyes and brought the hand that was tangled in his hair to the bridge of his nose. I tapped into Jas's gift and felt the confusion, wonder, frustration, and stress he was feeling, as well as the slight pain. I was glad that the pain wasn't greater, surmising that the upgrades must've taken his gift into account.
Carlisle gently asked his questions after a few moments. He made sure to keep his voice low and soothing, as we all remembered how Edward's gift could be painful sometimes. The gift in question surprised us all by apparently not being as overwhelming or harsh.
In fact, Edward was grinning, relieved. "It's like what Charlotte described earlier. The voices that aren't really of importance to me are dull, more like a gentle buzzing than anything else. And I can hear thoughts further away than usual. If I had to guess, I'd say double the range." Alice, naturally drawn to her pleased mate, beamed up at him.
But then he frowned a little. "That's odd…Izzy's silent to me, naturally, with her gift. Jasper's kind of white noise, as usual. We all agreed that it probably has something to do with their mating bond. Everyone else is slightly muffled, and that's probably also caused by the strong bonds we have with each other, and her shield not fully being able to leave any one of us. But…" He trailed off, unsure. Then shook his head with a smile that was only slightly forced. "It's probably nothing."
By this point I was getting suspicious. I expanded my shield again, this aiming it in a specific direction and keeping it invisible so as not to alert anyone to my doings. It took less energy than it had before, mostly because I didn't need to make it block anything so much as send feelers out. I was slightly surprised and amused to find Jasper had the same idea as I did, shooting him a wink when I felt his distinct gift reaching out to the edges of the clearing. But I didn't find any sparks, and I could tell he couldn't feel any emotional signatures lurking around.
I pulled back, but that didn't mean I stopped being suspicious. Oh, no. Something was definitely wrong.
But Edward was suddenly freezing up, just as my ghost of a shield swept over him. Voices invaded my mind. Jasper twitched at my side. Everyone else looked around strangely, looking for…something, or someone.
Oh my god! That bastard! Thinks he can cheat on-Shit, shit, shit, shit, I should probably pull up my pants, Michelle's going to k-He has a girlfriend? That bastard! Oh my god-What did she ask me for again? Oh, yes. Credit card….hey! Where's my-Poor fucker, thinks he lost his credit card. Hm, how long do I have before he reports it stol-Fuck yeah! That girl is so hot! I wonder if I can-Eugh, there's a creeper staring at me. I hope he doesn't try and-Oh god, I'm so high. Is that? Swim, Fucker, swim! I'm-Oh, wow, John's so high. I can't believe he's trying to swim in a parking lot. Does he really think he's chasing a shar-What would it feel like to have a penis? I mean, guys are always complaining about it, and having such vulnerable balls…hmm. I mean, seriously, does it really hurt that badly to be kicked in-Oh, yes, it's time to feel some young pussy with those wrinkly old dick of mine, it's gonna feel soo goo-This guy's a little old to be paying for my services, isn't he? Oh, well, as long as I get my money. I wonder if Robbie is gonna gimme a discount again, it's been too long without a hit. Maybe if I give him a blow-
I couldn't think straight. I could hear all the inane musings of the people just out of sight. Was all that really happening at the same time at that little hotel just around the trees? Wow, so much drama. And that last one? That's just nasty. I felt my shield snap back around my mind as I tried to cope with the onslaught that Edward was transmitting. And it all ended as suddenly as it started. I shook my head. Whoa, whiplash. The dizzy feeling I'd had before cranked up a few decibels. There was a dim ringing in my right ear, but I ignored it again.
Jasper looked at me with concern. He knew me better than I knew myself, and while I smiled at that, I made sure to give him a look that said, 'I'm fine'.
He didn't look convinced, but trusted me to tell him on my own time if it was important. I felt a twinge of guilt, but brushed it off. I was fine.
"Edward, I think your gift was just broadcast to us all." Carlisle stated, plainly already going through possible scenarios in his mind. "Did you do anything different at all? Anything that could've resulted in this new and interesting phenomenon?"
The male in question shook his head, looking confused as all hell. Carlisle frowned, looking puzzled. "Did anyone else do anything?"
I thought back to the moment. It couldn't be….could it? "Uh, I was messin' with my shield a little." I offered, after a moment of bewildered silence that no one else broke.
Carlisle took the idea and ran with it. "Interesting. Then again I suppose I should have expected your gifts would interact in special ways, as it goes with the section of the prophecy about being stronger together than apart. It would also explain as to why this particular reincarnation, so to speak, is so special. We all already theorized all of you being together was paramount, but…" he trailed off, softly mumbling a few words here and there. His eyes were glazed over and all sparkly, so I knew he was lost in thought. Esme drifted closer to him and the rest of us stood awkwardly by, waiting for him to snap out of it.
He only seemed to come out of it after Emmett yawned widely and loudly. Taking in our faces and expressions, he smiled somewhat guiltily, before sharing his theory with us.
"I apologize for the complete lack of decency I exhibited there, I tend to get caught up in new knowledge sometimes, though I know that is no excuse for my behavior." We smiled at him, telling him without words we didn't mind.
"My best guess for this interesting new phenomenon is that your gifts are designed to work together to enhance effectiveness. As to why Izzy's in particular, seems to be particularly potent, is most likely because of its unique nature. Peter already informed me that it mostly deals with protection, and since she willingly and purposefully has placed us under it, it has evolved in ways to best do its purpose. I theorize that this projecting of thoughts is another facet of Edward's gift that will manifest after the Change, and Izzy's shield can activate it as a means of fast and discreet communication in a danger situation, to better preserve you before you join our vampire ranks. I think that perhaps her shield can magnify these facets, suspect it works in a similar way with all of your gifts, and presume that they are not in play because it would drain you while you are still mortal. I also suspect that your gifts work together in different ways, as well, with each individual gift boosting up everyone else's. Particularly those of your significant other, since they are your mates, or at least the closest they can be without either party being a vampire." His eyes were lit up with possibility, and I felt a little uneasy.
I suppose it was because I now realized just how different we were. We were something new entirely and apparently we were supposed to save the world or something like that. Overthrowing vampire royalty? There were so many expectations and I didn't want disappoint. I was used to having only myself to answer to, and only my own expectations to live up to.
I calmed myself as best I could. I was never one to freak out unnecessarily, until this whole twist started, and I didn't want to become one of those girls that has a panic attack every time some new little thing happened.
Alright, Pete, Char, Edward and me had already gone, so the question was: what next?
Em decided to ask the question on my mind and we all collectively shrugged. This was new territory for everyone.
"Alice? Wanna give it a shot?" Alice looked up, surprise flitting across her face before she nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly.
I signaled that I was pulling my shield off of her, and she tilted her head in recognition. She took a deep breath and her eyes glazed over immediately. Edward, who I was shielding from having to share the visions she was having, gripped her hand in support.
When she came out of it, with a shake of her head, she looked like a mess of emotions. I could make out terror, confusion, determination, and love among them, but she refused to share what she'd seen. The future was a heavy burden on her thin shoulders, and I briefly thanked whatever deity was out there that I didn't have her gift.
When Carlisle asked, she simply stated the improvements on her gift. I noticed she specifically avoided saying anything at all about the actual content of her visions, simply stating some things needed to be kept secret.
"I can see multiple different paths, it all depends on decisions that are yet to be finalized. I noticed I could also seek out a future, but…well, Izzy is kind of an empty spot, but I can tell when she has someone else present. I was expecting that, though, with her shield, but that's not all. It seems almost like…something's blocking some specific visions from me. As hard as I try to seek them out, there's some kind of obstacle in the way. I can't explain it." She gave a frustrated little sigh, at which Edward immediately drew her into his arms and whispered sweet nothings in her ear. Something about not worrying about disappointing anyone.
I sympathized with that feeling. As far as I could tell, one terrible flaw most of us shared was taking responsibility for every little failure even if it wasn't our fault. Damn, we should see a therapist or something. Then again, with all our issues, I doubt any therapist could successfully navigate all our crazy.
Besides, we'd have to kill them for finding out about vampires. I almost chuckled, thinking of the cheesy line, I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.
Oh, god. I have more things wrong with me than I thought.
I had this nagging feeling that we had to hurry up, though, so I suggested that Jasper go next. This was mainly because I didn't want Rose to set fire to our vampy friends or Emmett to accidentally freeze everything forever. Also, maybe a little bit of me wanted to see my sexy man in action. It always turned me on to know how powerful and confident he was. All our gifts were essential parts of us, but his was almost like simply an extension of himself. While my shield was like an extra limb, his empathy was like his very essence, only amplified. It was amazing and embarrassingly arousing to watch. It didn't help that him using his gift as a weapon usually had led to hot fucking in the past.
The slant of his smile told me he knew my ulterior motives. I made a face at him behind his back, not caring how childish I was acting.
I quickly got distracted by the way his muscles moved under his sun-kissed skin. He'd had a bit of a tan before, which definitely stood out among Forks' pale and sun-deprived population, but now his skin was the shade I remembered. None of that orange spray-tan stuff, his was the result of time spent outdoors, working, playing, laughing. It brought back memories of his heated body gliding across mine and I had to swallow my lust before I jumped him right there. Jasper…shirtless…sweaty…hnngh.
God, a simple tan shouldn't affect me this much.
I felt a small burst of humor from Jasper, tinged with a hint of answering desire. I smiled back at him, and couldn't help licking my bottom lip a little. His eyes darkened a shade or two. I forcibly collected myself. Bad girl, Izzy. No time for that. I saw him pull himself together and felt a light wave of giddiness ghost along my shield.
It was subtle, and as I looked around I saw that my friends didn't notice it. They did, however, seem to lighten up a little. Jasper added some more of the emotion, this time intertwined with elation and humor. They wove together in an understated but brilliant way, causing our friends to smile without realizing it.
He kept building his concoction up, until we were full-out laughing our asses off. Even I had trouble keeping peals of laughter from erupting out of my mouth. My shield seemed softer when it came to him, naturally letting him in just enough to have my cheeks hurting from smiling so much.
I was almost too distracted to recognize the soft curls of bitterness joining in the fluffiness of the existing emotions. When I did notice, though, I immediately concentrated on his new direction of emotion. A small pit of anger started building up, gradually enough that Em went seamlessly from guffawing boisterously to glowering without even realizing why.
Soon, my friends were seething and it would take only a little to start a massive fight. Interestingly enough, Esme looked completely benevolent. She was staring off into space, and I knitted my eyebrows in confusion.
She seemed almost like she was under a completely different set of emotions.
Interesting. I stared in the rough direction of Edward and Alice, mulling it over.
I didn't have time to dwell on it too much, though, because the next thing I knew Edward was rushing at me. I reacted instinctively, and the next thing I knew he went down hard. He was flat on his back on the ground with the wind knocked out of him. The emotional influence Jasper had been exuding had cut off abruptly and only a beat later, Edward went rigid. He looked like his spine had suddenly been replaced with an iron rod, and his eyes were unseeing. Soft whimpers came from his mouth, and Alice bit her lip, glance flitting from Edward to Jasper nervously, rocking back and forth. She seemed to be holding herself back from running to her mate's side.
Jasper, though, he looked murderous. He was glowering at Edward, fists clenched at his sides and daggers flying out of his eyes. He swallowed, hard, before taking a deep breath. I stepped over Edward, throwing him an apologetic glance that he probably didn't see. He was shaking now, and I hurriedly glided over to Jasper's side.
I laid a gentle, tentative hand on his bicep, noticing that each and every one of his muscles was tensed. He was holding himself back, I realized with a start. He was very much aware of the situation and knew that it was Edward currently incapacitated on the ground. His posture screamed dangerous. His eyes were quickly darkening to a flat black with only the bleeding neon blue ring. He looked absolutely feral, but I knew him well enough that he was focused on shoving the Major back and keeping the God of War in his cage. Somehow, I had a feeling he would be quite different if they came back full-force.
Something dark stirred inside of me for the first time. Loki hadn't been in this body before. Apparently, she was waking, deep inside the shadows. I shook it off, trusting that Skydd and I could hold her back. She wasn't thrashing, which was a good sign. It was more like…she was stirring. Probably awakened by the proximity of her counterpart in Jasper.
I rubbed his arm, trying to help. I whispered to him how he knew it wasn't Edward's fault and there was no threat to my life. He relaxed in tiny increments, taking deep breaths and trying to rip his eyes away from Edward. I knew that he had simply reacted violently to what he saw as a threat to me, even if it wasn't our friend's fault.
When he finally turned to look at me, his eyes were more normal. Of course, all our eyes were weird to begin with, but they were no longer black. They were much darker than before, but I was confident that he was fully in control now. He dropped a kiss on my lips and pulled me into his side. He turned to face everyone else sheepishly, his free hand running through his hair.
"I'm real sorry 'bout that…I just…I dunno what came over me. Nah, that's a lie, it was…well, I'm just real sorry for not controllin' myself there. Especially because it was kinda my fault anyway, I shoulda' pulled back on that anger there. Sorry, Edward." He gave a sheepish smile, stuffing his hand in his pocket and looking down at the ground like a naughty child.
Edward, who had recovered by now and was sitting on the ground lightly panting, just grimaced. He waved off the apology and gave one of his own for trying to rush me. I countered with an apology for staring at him, because I should've known better. If someone's out of their mind with fury like that, what they perceive as a threat or challenge can be something as simple as accidental eye contact that's held for a second too long.
Once everyone was alright, Jasper made a report of the changes to his gift. "I found I could focus more on individual people, which I tested by sending Esme lighter emotions than the negative angry ones I was using on everyone else. I also noticed I could send more of a potion or variety of different emotions at once, which allowed for a more subtle intrusion. I wanted to explore the possibility of slipping someone emotions while going undetected. I found it was relatively successful, with the exception of Iza, here." He gave me a small smile, before resuming. "I tried expanding my radius and noticed that I could also feel from a slightly farther distance, though I had to stop myself from trying too hard because it was starting to be overwhelming. I was going mostly by my memories of my gift from previous lives, and, well, let me just tell you I was used to a more durable body." His small hint of a joke at the end kept it from being too cold and impersonal, but otherwise he was sticking mostly to the facts he'd garnered.
Delivering results like that was a hard habit to break. No time to waste on pleasantries or speculation, I knew he only added the few exceptions as a conscious effort.
I tapped his bicep to get his attention and smiled up at him when he indulged me. I went up on tiptoe enough to whisper huskily in his ear. "I have…very fond memories of just how durable we were…made for some interesting times, no?" While letting my finger trail slowly down his arm.
He froze for the briefest second, but by the faraway look of lust, love, and desire in his eyes, I knew I had achieved my goal. Keeping a giggle to myself, I resumed my earlier stance and acted like nothing happened. I had half a mind to start humming overly innocently, just to draw it out, but thought better of it.
I wonder which incident he was replaying? I was thinking of the one that resulted in a dead exercise ball and half a room destroyed. Or maybe the time we were responsible for enough damage that the locals were still talking about the 'tornado' that had ripped through town. And can't forget the giant tub of margarine…hmm…good times.
Anyway, Brother Bear was coughing awkwardly. He kept glancing at us quickly and then looking furtively away. Clearly, he hadn't missed my flirtation. I smirked at him. It wasn't like he and Rose were any better. At least I wasn't mauling Jas's face in a very public mall. He ducked his head and looked at me sheepishly, knowing what I was thinking.
"Well…shall we proceed?" Carlisle asked, after having tended to Edward. Emmett cast a sideways glance at Rose, who raised an eyebrow.
"The question is…which one of us should go first?" Rose asked, addressing the rest of us but only having eyes for Em.
Brother Bear broke out in a wide grin. "Rock, paper, scissors?" He suggested, the same goofy expression lighting up his features.
Rose, as always, rolled her eyes. She then made a shooing motion with her hands, telling him to go first, already. As always, he complied. I mean, most of the time he was so whipped that when she told him to jump he didn't even have time to ask how high before he was already in the air.
First, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. I recognized the moment when everything just stopped. I looked around, still finding it bizarre. It was eerily quiet and the stillness was making me uneasy. Em broke the silence with a whoop that sounded strangely out of place. He went around, peering closely at our frozen friends. Jasper, who, as always was automatically shielded from the effect just from being my mate, shifted his weight from foot to foot restlessly. I could tell it made him edgy as well, this supernatural lack of movement.
Em eventually closed his eyes again and inhaled. Though, this time, he stopped mid-breath, opened one eye, and grinned to himself, before continuing. To my surprise, movement resumed, but not in the way I was expecting. Everything was slowed down. It was surreal, and this was coming from me. After every fucking thing that happened I still found it in me to feel bizarre about that.
Well then. I strode thoughtfully around the slow-mo sideshow. It was funny to see their confusion and how it would slowly dawn on them that they were bein' messed with by Em's gift. The process of emotions playing out across their faces was slowed to a crawl. I especially took this time to study the resident vampires' faces. Usually, their initial facial cues and immediate reactions were too quick to see. Even with my boost-up, they were hard to catch.
So I strode up to moon-speed-Peter and smirked in his face. Watching as his eyes slowly rolled to face me and he registered who I was served to be more entertaining than I thought it would be. I saw each emotion pass by his face, wariness, surprise, recognition, fondness, amusement, anticipation. I knew everything he was feeling almost as surely as if I shared Jasper's gift.
First, I stuck my tongue in his face, causing him to scrunch up his features and flinch away in an almost dramatized, delayed fashion. I giggled, pulling my tongue in. He relaxed, returning to his previous position, but before he could I was making a show of fake-licking my hand and holding it next to his face. He repeated the flinch thing before he realized there was no actual spit on my hand. He narrowed his eyes at me in a slow-mo glare, and it reminded me of pissed off kitten. Though that was most likely because he didn't really pose much of a threat right now. A fact that really frustrated him, as he attempted to catch me around the waist. I easily evaded his grasp and took great pleasure in his irritation. He'd been a vampire for decades, so this kind of taunting was probably about a once-in-many-lifetimes opportunity. At least, until I was, too, a vampire. Even then…
I held out my hand for a handshake, offering him a truce. He sighed and tried to take it, but I dropped it at normal speed. Then I got up in his face and said "Too slow", with a shit-eating grin on my face. Immature? Yes. But so was he.
Of course, that was when Emmett, seeing my taunts, decided to return everyone to normal speed. I had little warning, just enough for my eyes to widen and my legs to begin going in the other direction. But, of course, I was no match for super-vampire speed and soon found myself in Peter's arms, being given a noogie of all things. I sighed, relaxing myself in his grasp and resigning myself to my fate.
My vision obscured by my long hair, I wasn't sure what happened that had me back on my feet a moment later. All I saw was Jasper's boots approaching and suddenly Peter was standing apart from me, an innocent look plastered all over his face.
By the time I had my hair sorted out, Jasper was glaring at him. Although, it lacked any kind of real threat, as the corner of his mouth was twitching upwards. Pete just looked down, his toe drawing patterns on the ground like a naughty little kid who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. It was adorable, really.
Char just rolled her eyes at her mate and gave me a 'what can you do?' look.
I giggled. And I don't fucking giggle.
I guess I just couldn't help it. This rollercoaster of events was fucking with my head, I'll tell ya. I allowed myself to revert back to my inner stereotypical tween for a beat before pulling myself together.
Turning towards Em, I saw Rose in his arms with a look of complete adoration on her face. I let them have their moment, facing towards Pete and Char again to give them some privacy.
"Really, Peter Pan? A noogie? What is this, elementary school?" He just gave me a shit-eating grin and shrugged a shoulder.
"What can I say? I guess it's just a part of my natural boyish charm." I scoffed at that. Charm? Peter? Never.
Jasper seemed to be thinking all the same lines, because he just laughed. "Boyish charm. Is that what you call that one time where you were trying to provoke a bear and it pissed on you?" I made a show out of high-fiving my mate. Pete scowled playfully.
"Oh yeah?" he challenged. "What about when it then tried to mate with you?" I raised an eyebrow. This was the first time I'd heard of this. They each had enough dirt in the form of stories like this on each other to build a freakin' mountain, but most of it was shit they'd gotten into together. Although, Pete was usually the one who convinced any of the rest of us to get into it with him.
Without missing a beat, Jas just smirked, gave a half-shrug, and said, "I can't help if I'm just too sexy like that. I guess it's just a part of my natural primal charm." We all laughed at his cocky statement, and the way he threw Pete's words back at him. Even Pete gave a snicker, though he covered it up quickly.
"What about when we were wrestling and you landed in a giant pile of bat guano?" he challenged. He didn't like not getting the last word in, after all, and I had a feeling they could keep dredging this shit up forever.
"I think you're forgetting the fact that when you were too busy laughing your silly ass off, one of said bats started trying to attack you. Remember? You freaked the fuck out, screamed like a girl, and walked backwards into more bats. I still can't believe how high your voice got." Jas got a glare for that. He batted his eyelashes in return, a gesture which I thought I would never, in a million years, see on him. "I know I'm sexy, Pete, but keep the looks up and I'm afraid Char will rip your dick off." I couldn't keep my laughter in, even doubling over and feeling tears well in my eyes.
Peter hastily looked away, and I swear he'd be blushing if he could. He took a step back and mimed gagging, before recovering and letting out a loud hoot of laughter. Char was doubled over and laughing at my side, and we leaned on each other for support. Though, to be honest, it was more me hanging onto her, as she was a super-vamp and I was still human. –Ish.
Jasper was chuckling, and spreading the mirth around. I was the first to shake myself and try to recover. Though it was hard to, because their laughing was setting me off, not to mention Jas's empathic influence. I managed to contain my laughter enough to face away from the group and back to everyone else. They were all watching with amused looks on their faces, and I ducked my head while smiling and still holding back chortles.
"Sorry," I murmured, though I only half meant it. It was a welcome distraction, and hey, everyone copes in different ways, huh? The foreboding unknown of our future was wearing us down and being silly was a way to bring some much needed happy to my life. I needed it.
They shot us understanding smiles, and Rose took a deep breath. She then walked out to the center of the field, and told us in no uncertain terms that she'd like to get this over with as quickly as possible without hurting anyone. She looked at Carlisle, and then at me, asking if we had any ideas for safety precautions. Carlisle, I'd imagine, because of his vast knowledge, and me because of the insight my gift provided since I'd copied hers.
Carlisle just shrugged, looking uncharacteristically clueless, though he did offer a few basics. "I honestly don't have much experience dealing with gifts such as yours. I would imagine we'd have to give a wide berth, and be on higher alert than usual, as well as be extremely cautious. In the end, I suppose, it all comes down to anticipating any mishaps and trying our best to dodge and keep ourselves safe."
When her searching gaze landed upon me, I hesitated. I thought before I answered her, reaching with my gift to the copy I'd made of hers. I kind of….stroked it with my gift, for lack of better word.
I spoke almost without realizing it. "Rose…I'd say you should try to remain as calm as possible. Your gift is tied heavily to your emotions, as most of ours are, and if you are set off by anything it could get unruly. Also, when you're experimenting you should build slowly. Fire, after all, can get out of hand quickly. It's a hard element to control but it will listen to you. As far as I can tell without you having used it after the uh, upgrade session, as long as you control yourself it will do whatever you want it to."
She nodded thoughtfully. Then she closed her eyes to center herself and when she opened them you could almost see the flames dancing before her eyes. She was looking in the general direction of Carlisle and Esme, and her arms seemed to begin rising of their own accord. Before she could start, however, Peter gave a little shout.
"Rose! Uh, I can't say why, exactly, but…ya might wanna look at that tree there 'stead of any of us. And Dr. Fang, you and Esme might wanna give it a little room." She looked at him quizzically, but let it drop. She indicated her acceptance and redirected her gaze to a tree. Carlisle and Esme moved away from it warily.
Rose seemingly tuned out all the possible distractions and concentrated again. I was concentrating so much on my sister, in case she needed any help I could give, I almost missed it. Out of my peripheral vision I saw a flicker of fire burst into existence just as she tensed and relaxed. I snapped my head over to look at the tree, where a small flame was quickly growing as it met fuel. It had turned into a decent, but surprisingly slow-burning fire before it began to curiously shrink. I turned my gaze back to Rose, keeping the tree also in my field of vision. She was concentrating very hard, her right arm raised toward the fire, hand outstretched and curved slightly as if caressing it fondly through the air.
As she slowly flattened her hand, exhaling, and pushed it downwards, the fire followed her motions. It grew smaller and smaller, though at several points it seemed to try and rebel and grow larger instead. In those moments, Rose's breath would hitch, she would take a deep breath, and bring it under her control instead. Jasper was sharing her emotions with me, and I knew the moments were caused by her feeling hesitant and suddenly second-guessing herself. I wanted to reassure her and express my confidence in her in hopes of bolstering her own, but I held my tongue. This was something she needed to do for herself.
When the fire was finally gone, she dropped her hand, but didn't tear her gaze away from the tree. It was blackened at the base, but still standing. When she furrowed her brow and suddenly brought her arm back up, bent at the elbow, drawn up near her shoulder, and hand flat as if about to push something, I knew that wouldn't last long. And I was right. With a shove of her hand, the tree seemingly spontaneously combusted, lighting on fire from someplace inside itself and quickly being consumed by the hungry flames.
Rose felt oddly relieved, as if it had taken some weight in her chest with it. I thought about it for a second, then realized it made sense. As far as I could tell, the fire wasn't an extension of her so much as an embodiment of her essence itself. It wasn't part of her, it was her, at her very core. Being able to express it in all its destructive but beautiful glory must feel…cathartic in a way. Like holding your breath for a vampire. You could still function and it wasn't painful, but it felt uncomfortable and you were shutting off one of your senses.
Of course, as my gift gave me insight into the core nature of her gift, it also keyed me in on its strengths and weaknesses. I saved them in a folder marked 'Soon, but still later' in my mind to discuss at a further time. For some reason, I just felt I couldn't do it right now or I'd ruin it. What, I don't know. Just…it.
I realized I haven't made much sense in my head since moving to Forks, Washington. My train of thought, my mindset used to be so straightforward and easy. Now, my thoughts were convoluted and twisted back into themselves. Not to mention they were a lot wordier. I cursed my romantic past-self again for bringing the trying-too-hard-to-be-profound tenure into my thoughts, and a few of my others for somehow making my inner monologue's vocabulary so stocked-full of unnecessarily long words.
Then again, since they were now part of me, I figured I couldn't really do anything about it. Those personalities were me now. There was no separate distinction, really.
Wow, I sound like I should definitely be locked in the loony bin. Yep. If I ever voice any of these things out loud, I have no doubt I will be considered crazy. Maybe human doctors would even insist I take a rainbow of pills and try to lock me up for treatment. I mused on these idle thoughts for a while, picturing different scenarios where they tried to force me into a straightjacket. I found them probably much to amusing, especially considered I wasn't even sure what a mental facility was like now and I could probably easily avoid them with my upgrades.
While I was distracted, part of my brain had been keeping up with Rosalie's playtime. For it was truly play for her. Her smile was bright and lit up her entire face as she allowed a flame to dance and twist up her arm like a pet snake. This was after she'd used it to write her name in the air. There was some more of that kind of thing before she had to stop. She'd shown that she had intimate control over her gift, after she'd gotten over her own doubt and self. She'd have time to play later, and we couldn't really try to test the destructiveness of her gift without setting fire to the whole state. Which wouldn't be good.
I imagined Smokey the Bear looking at her with a stern look of disapproval, surrounded by miles of black, dead trees and tried to contain my inappropriately-timed humor.
We hashed out a few more things about each of our gifts, testing them against each other. Emmett found he could cover his hands with ice, or something like that, after attempting to hold Rosalie's while not realizing they were on fire. Their hands had sizzled slightly and we had looked horrified, thinking he'd burned himself. Then we'd seen that his hands were a noticeably ice. He'd looked shocked but proud, shrugged, and figured whatever gods were up there had taken the whole 'fire and ice' thing literally. Freezing time and freezing objects? It was almost unfair, as it seemed like two almost completely unrelated powers. Pete had pouted a little, before contenting himself in the knowledge that he could probably convince Em to freeze some things for him. But so far, Em could only freeze his own hands so that they turned almost-clear with a slight pale blue tinge to them.
I found out my shield was fire-proof, which was a good thing to know. I could even surround one of Rose's flames in a mini-shield and use it like a floating torch as long as I shaped it like a fish-bowl so it could still get oxygen from the top. I could also just close it all the way up and then kill the flame, but that wasn't as fun.
What was fun was using my shield as a means to lift things or bring things my way. It would appear to the others like I had telekinesis or something, but in reality I was shaping my shield and moving it around to manipulate objects around me. I could even do it to myself, allowing me to 'fly', although it was more like riding a magic carpet. So…hover. Or float. Not quite fly. I could gently move around but not very fast.
Jasper played a few tricks on us, of the empathic kind. At one point he had Char slapping Pete, then kissing him, then slapping him again. Of course, he apologized afterwards and a simmering Char had slowly cooled down after seeing his sheepish face. She couldn't resist that shit, just like I couldn't resist Pete's puppy dog eyes. After checking with me to shield her from the possibility he could just make her un-angry, of course. She then found it hilarious, leaving Pete pouting.
"With great power comes great responsibility," he'd snarked out accusingly, with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "So where's the responsibility part?"
Jasper raised an eyebrow, probably because of Pete's random Spiderman reference. Before he'd had the chance to retort, however, Em had been shrieking. Apparently, Rose had come close to lighting his eyebrows on fire, though we all knew it had been an empty threat.
After we'd laughed and razzed him about it a little, we realized we would have to be wrapping this up. it was already noon, though I actually thought it'd be much later, and our time-frame wasn't exactly forgiving.
Next was the strength testing. This part was the one Em was looking most forward to, as we couldn't exactly use the most elaborate forms of testing. No, this was going to be an arm-wrestling contest. As I wasn't quite as interested as my Brother Bear, I kind of fast-forwarded through the whole thing in my mental log.
But the results were as follows: Strongest went to Pete. This was expected, as male vampires were physically stronger than females though we had the upper hand in other fighting assets. And he was an enhanced vampire. Second, as also expected, was Char. Then, Carlisle and Esme, in that order. Vampiric strength still reigned superior. Thankfully there hadn't been any accidents with broken bones or anything like that. Next, Em. A fact that he was proud about but was, again, typical. None of these results were actually very surprising. Jas won the next spot, narrowly beat by Em. Edward beat me for the one after J, but only by a small margin. As you can guess, I came in eighth, with Rose in ninth, and Alice brought up the rear.
The crude 'experiment' confirmed my beliefs, but Em had really, really wanted to see what he could pick up now. So we spent another half an hour taking turns at seeing if we could lift various objects he pointed out. A fallen tree. A particularly large boulder. Even a huge chunk of dirt. While this was easy-peasy for the vamps and quite ordinary, we found it surprising when holding things we couldn't have picked up before. I guess this was one of those times that Em's ideas weren't completely stupid. Not that he wasn't intelligent, because he was. But usually when he suggested things with that cheeky smile and mischievous glint in his eye, they turned out with us shaking our heads in that Emmett-will-be-Emmett way at him.
Before we knew it, time had flown by while we were messing around and throwing things at each other like five year olds. If five year olds could pick up an entire fucking boulder with ease, that is. All of a sudden, we all stopped, standing still in the middle of the field. Pete, who had been zooming and zipping around messing with us and generally showing off, cocked his head to the side like a puppy. Char, who had been chasing her mate around in an effort to make him stop, slowly gravitated towards him. When she was in arms' reach, he pulled her to him, his head down in thought.
I felt a distant echo of the electric tingling hum that had surged through our bodies. I shuddered. Jas appeared at my side and wrapped me in a soothing embrace. I laid my hand on his around my waist and listened to my body.
There was something wrong. Not necessarily bad, but unaccounted for. It was like a little piece of information was jiggling around in the back of my head, a feeling that mystified me.
When Skydd's voice filled my head at full volume, I flinched and would've fallen on my ass had it not been the suddenly frozen form of my mate holding me up.
IZZY! GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE! NOW!
Numbly, I stood still in shock for the space of one thudding heartbeat.
NOW!
I turned, feeling Jas echo my movements, 180-ing us in unison. The small pang loss at the discontinuation of our physical contact reverberated through me as my friends caught on to my lead and turned with me. I saw the world in slow motion, not being able to act fast enough as a feeling of overwhelming dread filled me.
Jas's voice rang out, breaking through my muddled hearing. I whipped my head around to see what was causing the overwhelming need to be as far away from this place as fast as possible, but it was wasting time, so I turned back just as the last words left his mouth.
"We need to get out of here! Right now!" His voice and Skydd's bounced around in my head in unison, a perfect harmony of foreboding. I used all of my new speed, no longer being able to savor the feeling of almost-flight. There was just adrenaline rushing through my body and my heart pounding in my ears. My instincts hissed at me not to turn my back on an unknown enemy, but my head told me whatever was coming was a fight I couldn't win. At least not yet. Not while I was still human, and unprepared.
We were speeding towards the car, but I couldn't even think of sitting in it. Not when we could go just as fast on foot and not have a conspicuous vehicle that might be followed. No, it was safer to run.
Somewhere in my head, it occurred to me that we were most likely going to have to abandon the hotel rooms. Whoever it was that we were running from probably knew about them. We'd used names and hadn't exactly been cautious. After all, we were not expecting this to happen. Any of this to happen, really, except for the part where we reconvened with Pete and Char.
Well, I thought wryly to myself, at least there'll be something to distract Alice and Rose from losing their stuff. I remembered a few weeks ago, when Alice had been moaning over the loss of some bottle of beauty gunk. She hadn't shut up about it until yesterday. Yesterday.
It didn't matter too much to me. Yeah, I regretted losing things I'd spent money on, but in the end all of it was easily replaceable. It's not like I'd brought anything sentimental or important to me and left it behind. I idly reached a hand up to gently stroke the chain around my neck. It was an old filigree locket that my mother had passed onto me when I was young enough to still have a dad. Inside was a picture of the two of them, smiling and happy, my father in his police uniform and my mother lit up in a way she hadn't been since he died. Since before she needed the alcohol to keep away the demons.
This, my dad's old badge, and a thin silver bracelet from a life long ago, where the only items I couldn't ever replace. The badge was still in Forks, and everything else was in a discreet and secure hiding spot I'd picked out. These things were priceless to me, for sentimental reasons. Just like my Jasper, in his last life, had clung so closely to things from the era of The War Between The States. (He liked to call it that, as 'nothing about that war was Civil, nothing'). He'd had nothing but the clothes he'd been Changed in and anything that had been in his pockets to remember his human life with. And even those had been destroyed by Maria. One little lump of metal, the remains of someone trying to shoot him. That was all he had, and then only because it had been imbedded in his body and pushed out as he turned. He didn't have anything else. Only our last human life had been truly happy, before we were turned. I could still remember harsh words and harsher people, the hurt faded but still in my memory. As for the lives farther back, they weren't quiet as fresh, the wounds closed up and healed with nothing but a thin scar left behind.
I sighed. As much as I hated it, I knew that you couldn't remember the good without the bad. That wouldn't help. We are a sum of our past experiences, after all. However trying or messed the fuck up they would be.
My body seemed to feel the phantom ache of the trials I'd gone through. Torture, some quiet creative actually. Injury, self-harm, beatings. Assault, knives, guns, bullets, even a surprising amount of shrapnel and explosions. Violent deaths and cruel acts. The list went on and on, and I needed to get my mind off this topic or I'd start to feel the emotional side creep up on me and I had to be able to breathe right then.
I looked to my side, where Jasper was running. From this angle, just behind him, the light cut across the strong angle of his jaw and cheekbones so that I could see the determination to keep everyone safe in the very makeup of his person. I remembered how lucky I was to have him, and the demons and darkness subsided. Sure, if I thought too much I'd maybe get freaked out that I loved him so much it might destroy me, but life is too short to hold back your love. Even if life isn't short, it wouldn't have any meaning unless you loved something the way I loved Jasper. Love Jasper. Will always love Jasper. So much I can't possibly describe it. It'd be like trying to describe colors to someone who's been blind their entire life. You've just got to hold onto that as much as you can.
I took a deep breath. Man, that was unnecessarily deep. I need to shake this off. Okay, what do we know? Whoever this is found us in a field far from where we usually are. Well, most of us. Maybe they're targeting Char and Pete. There were three, and since I was tapped into Jas's gift, I knew they weren't newborns. Too calm and rational, there was even anticipation and violent feelings.
They could be just a small coven of random vampires who happened upon us. But this was within Pete and Char's territory, so if they were than they were stupid to be trying to hunt on it. They would've had to deliberately ignore their instincts, something vampires just didn't do.
The probability was far, far less than the chances that it was the Volturi. Besides, the timing was just uncanny. They were after us, chasing us and usually ending our various lifetimes. But, this time was different. They knew it as well as we did, which was probably why they decided to attack and nip us in the bud.
But how had they found out? How had they found out we had been…reborn? Did they know? Was it just Pete and Char they were after? And now…did they know we were back, and what would that mean?
The wind had been helpful to us, so they probably didn't catch our scent right away. And even if they had, they might've been new and wouldn't recognize our scents. There were too many if's and I had to fight to keep going away from the source of potential answers.
I didn't like that we were running away. It went against my very nature. But strategically, retreat was the best option. We had plans, and those didn't involve those Volturi fuckers descending upon us full force while we were still human. I also knew that none of us had any intention of letting them get word back. If they didn't know that we were back, then good for them. We'd let them leave and report that their mission had been a failure. If they did know, they wouldn't waste time informing anyone back in Volterra. No, they'd try and bring us back. They'd be too determined to track us down and abduct us to phone or text anyone. And if they captured us, we'd make sure to destroy their means of communication, and hopefully, them. If they didn't, which they probably wouldn't, well, they wouldn't inform anyone before they had to. They would put off having to admit they let us slip through their fingers. We'd just have to waylay them before they could get back.
Aro would assume Pete and Char had neutralized them. That was beneficial for two reasons: 1) it would make him more wary than he already was about them, making them a bigger threat in his eyes (not that they weren't a threat, because they were), and 2) it allowed us to only make our comeback known when it was more helpful.
Edward's gift would've told him. We'd first have to get to a safe place so he could share that information.
I then thought of something else. These vampires sent out had most likely been the ones blocked from Charlotte's gift. Damn.
I'd hoped we'd have at least some peace while we transitioned into vampires. Apparently, that was too much to ask. The worst part was I had a feeling more shit was about to hit the fan. Because when it rained, especially on us, it fucking poured.
AN/: Okay, so my updates are not faring well in the realm of timeliness. I'd expected this chap to be out sooner, actually, but I got sick and then had to make up all that homework…stupid excuses, I know, but it's the truth. I hope the length makes up for it, though it isn't my best work….I typed most of it still coming off of a fever and my brain may have been a bit addled. Not to mention, a good idea would be splitting this into two chapters and polishing each to kill two birds with one stone. (The birds being raw lack of refinement and slowness in updating). But, to be honest, it's three in the morning and I can't be bothered to do more editing and hold off on the updating.
What can I say? I'm lazy as fuck. Anyways, to those who actually felt like reading my blabbering here at the end, hope you enjoyed at least a little. Can't say when the next update will be, because as you can see I tend to break those kinds of promises. Sigh. Me and my stupidity. I apologize.
-SGS
