Chapter Seven: Explanations

Corrinne was just little above nervous when she encountered Levi Uley without Seth there. Emily was sitting next to her on their couch, an arm around her for comfort. Old Quil was talking to Sam right now, so he hadn't noticed her coming in. She heard him mention fostering and adopting a couple of times to his son, but beyond that, she oblivous to any other conversation that was taking place. She leaned against Emily's arm, and looked up at her. "What does he want with me?" She had a pretty good idea.

"I think he just wants to talk." Emily straightened up, as elderly man came over, and sat across from her newly adopted daughter. She felt Corrinne stiffen in reflex, and she rubbed the girl's back to sooth her. "It's a pleasure to have you in our home."

"Thank you." Their visitor replied, and his gaze turned to Corrinne now. "It's been a very difficult week for you, I presume."

Corrinne merely noddeod at that. The week had been full of emotions, what with meeting Seth and then being adopted by his family, and then brought to live with Sam and Emily instead. She still wasn't sure what she thought of the Reservation as a whole. She had very scattered memories of having been there before. But they didn't make sense, the ones she remembered. The only memory that stayed with her to make any sense was the one she had of Sam. "Yes."

"I'm sorry things haven't been as smooth as you'd hoped. Things should be calmer now." Old Quil smiled then. "Now then, you remember the conversation we had last night?"

Corrinne nodded. She hadn't bothered to ask Seth what any of that had meant. She had hoped at the time that Seth would be there upon their first meeting with Sam's father. "I'm not sure what you meant though.... They're just dreams."

"Of course that's all they would seem to be to you. You were not brought up on the Reservation as you should have been from the beginning." Levi paused briefly. "Do you know what precognition is?" He doubted it. It was clear whatever Home she had been in, Corrinne's caregivers had probably been really straight laced.

"No...." Corrinne wondered if that was some kind of magic. And then she doubted that. Even with the secret of the shapeshifters out to her now, she couldn't bring herself to believe that she was anything more than a dreamer with a vivid imagination at night.

"It's the ability to see things in the future, before they happen. Some people have waking visions. Others, like yourself, have them at night. Can you think of any dreams you've had recently that remind you of current situations?" He sat quietly, watching Corrinne's expression. She was taking his words into consideration, and trying to comprehend the meaning behind them. He heard her gasp then. "A memory, I see."

Corrinne thought about the nightmare she had on her first night on the Reservation, where the black wolf, which he now knew was Sam, had eaten Seth. Her eyes widened. It had meant something alright. It meant the Sam was going to become more important in her life than Seth. Sam had "swallowed" Seth's importance for the moment. "The night I came here..." She told the man all about it.

"I think you might be misinterpeting that just a little bit." Quil's grandfather smiled gently then. "Sam has no intention of trying to make himself more important to you than Seth. Seth imprinted on you. That means, in a nutshell, that you are his whole world now."

"Imprint..." She had only heard that word in relation to animals who copy the first thing they see after being born. "But, what does that mean?" She had the strong suspicion it had a lot to do with why she was so attached to Seth; why she didn't mind it when he held her in his lap, and it also explained why he'd had a hard time with letting her come live with Sam.

"Let me try." Sam said now. He came over, and pulled her into his lap as he sat down next to Emily. "When we imprint, it means that the person we imprint upon becomes the object of our affection. Now, sometimes, our imprint might be a bit too young for romantic involvement, and that's okay. Do you know Quil?"

"Yeah. He's Jacob's cousin."

"Well, Quil imprinted on Claire, Emily's niece . Claire's only four right now, so there's nothing remotely romantic about it for Quil. He takes care of her, and makes sure she's safe and happy. Just like Seth's done for you. Right now, you see him as maybe a brother, or a best friend, but some day, when you're older, that's going to change."

Corrinne found she didn't believe the part about her relationship with Seth changing into romance. She loved him too much as a best friend and brother for that. She wrinkled her nose. "No way."

Sam chuckled. "Yes way." Her reaction probably wouldn't have offended Seth either. She was, after all, a nine-year-old girl. "You'll change your tune. Just wait." He turned to Old Quil then. "Do you think she foresaw her move here?"

"That's precisely what I think it means." Levi turned to Corrinne now. "As I told you last night, you're the first Dreamer we've had on the Reservation in quite some time. When you get older, others will come and ask you for an interpretation of their dreams. You may or may not have answers for them right now, but as you become more accustomed to figuring out the meanings in your own dreams, it will get easier." He turned to his bag now. "I've brought you a gift I think you will find very useful." He held out a book to her. "Here."

Corrinne took the book from him. It was heavy, and leather-bound. She opened it, and was surprised to see that much of it was written in a language she was not familiar with. She looked up at Sam, frowning. "I can't read this."

"That's because it's in our native language." Sam replied. "I'll help you read it." He intended to start helping Corrinne become more familiar with her own heritage. It was a role that her father should've played. Sam suddenly realized that he was going to be a father figure to someone who no longer had one. He hoped he would do it right, since his own father had never been around. He glanced at Quil's grandfather then, and smiled. They would very subtly, and slowly introduce Corrinne to that which she rightfully deserved to be a part of. "But right now, I think it's time for bed."

"Can I call Seth first?" She didn't want to wait until morning to tell Seth all about the book, and the imprinting. She had to talk to him.

"I don't see why not." Emily answered before Sam could. She figured the calls would stop once Corrinne got used to them. "I'll bring the cordless into your room, okay?" She watched Corrinne go into her bedroom.

"We can't give in to her every whim. Even Quil and Jacob don't...."

"Let it be for now, Son." Levi advised. "It's like you said. She and Seth have a very strong bond. It's one of the strongest I have seen between an imprinted one and a shapeshifter since your mother and I." He put his coat on. "Let it be." He said again, as he nodded his goodbye to Sam and Emily.

***

Seth all but jumped on the phone receiver when it rang. He and Leah had just gotten in from a quick run of perimeter with Jacob. "Hello?"

"Hi, Seth!" It was Corrinne. She sounded so cute on the other end. Seth flopped on the couch.

"Hey, Corrie. Everything okay over there?" He was concerned. He'd told Sam that she could call if she really needed to.

"I just wanted to talk to you before I went to bed. I learned some stuff tonight." She curled up in her new bed, and began to tell Seth all about the things Levi Uley had told her.

Seth didn't say anything. He just let her talk. It felt good to hear that she had done so well after he'd left. She sounded good to him. "Yep, that's exactly what happened the day we met. I ... didn't know how to explain it to you. Sorry." He said when she got to the part about imprinting.

"It's okay! Sam and his dad explained it. " Corrinne looked up as Emily and Sam came in. "I have to go, Seth. It's time for bed."

"Alright. Well, I have to go work at the Home tomorrow. I forgot about that today, and Ms. Martha called looking for me. But I will come see you as soon as I get off."

This didn't make Corrinne happy at all, and Seth heard it in her voice when she replied. "Okay, Seth. I think I'll go visit Embry then." She wasn't happy about that. She liked Embry alright, and he appeared to care for her too, but she just really wanted to be with Seth all the time.

"Okay. Well, I tell you what. I'll call Sam when I get out of work, and we'll do something fun together." He wanted to hear her smiling again. He didn't like the idea that he was making her sad. "Maybe we can get Jacob to take us into Port Angeles or something."

"Ooh, can we go to a movie? I've never been."

"Sure! That sounds like a fun idea." Seth smiled at her innocence. He wanted to give her the things she'd never had a chance to have.

"Yes!" Now Corrinne was excited to go to sleep, and go through her day tomorrow. If she could just make it through Seth's time at work, she'd be able to spend the rest of the day with him. "Good night, Seth. I love you."

"Love you too. Hey, give Sam the phone, okay?" Seth wanted to talk to Sam about what Corrinne had told him. He just wanted to get clarification, since she was young yet.

Corrinne handed the phone to Sam, and watched him walk off with it, talking to her Seth in a low voice, as Emily closed the door so she could tuck her in. "Emily, thank you for taking me in so I wouldn't have to leave Seth. He'd be even sadder now if I had to leave the rez." She smiled. Using their own slang already, she realized.

"I know. You're welcome." Emily kissed her on the top of her head. "Sleep well, Corrie. Sam and I will be right down the hall if you need anything during the night. Don't be afraid to come get us."

"Can you leave a light on...?" Corrinne remembered the night she'd moved into Seth's house, and instead of having a light on, Seth had stayed in the room with her while she slept.

"Sure." Emily figured she'd come in and turn it off after the girl was asleep. She turned a mini-lamp on. "Good night, sweetie."

"Good night, Emily." She knew instinctively that she'd never be able to call anyone on the Reservation Mom or Dad. It would just seem weird to her. Emily left the room, and closed her door. She curled up in her bed, and laid there for a while. She glanced to the window, and saw that it was open. She tried to guess how far it was to Seth's. She figured she could probably get there on her own, if she wanted to go bad enough. She didn't think Seth would mind. She pulled on her robe, and her battered shoes, before climbing out of the window, and heading towards Seth's.