I knew from Jacob's memories that this was around the place where she turned around on her run. I hoped I could catch her and run back with her. When I phased, both Jacob and Leah were on patrol. I was grateful it wasn't Quill or Embry; I didn't want to have to explain anything. Both felt my anxiety and they both left me alone. Jacob directed me to the right spot and then I phased to wait for my Raven. And, it wasn't too long before her form came into view.
She looked up and recognized me and smiled. I hopped down from my rock and caught up with her as she turned around to head back. "Hey Beautiful! Mind if I run back with you?"
"Only if you promise not to make fun of how slow I go," she smiled.
"Never." We ran in relative silence; the only sound was the steady huffs of her elevated breathing. After about twenty minutes we slowed and walked back to where she shed her shoes, keys, and bottle of water.
"So," I began, "how'd it go with your mom?" I finally asked, cautiously. I heard her sigh through her labored breathing.
"Seth, there's a lot I haven't told you about my mother and I. We don't along very well, and well, she's using us as an excuse to try to move me to Portland." My heart dropped. I didn't know what I'd do without her if she moved that far away. I couldn't leave the pack-she must have seen the look on my face because she stopped and hugged me tightly around the waist.
"I'm independent enough to be able to stay, if I have a place to live. It'd be stupid to leave with just a few months left in school." She reached up to kiss me. "I told her I wasn't moving."
We walked like that for a few minutes and I finally stopped her. "She doesn't like me," I stated. I could tell by the way she looked at me when I fell on the floor.
"She doesn't like Indians it seems," Raven said. "Not the kind that stay on reservations, anyway. She's had a chip on her shoulders since I was conceived and I wouldn't doubt if it was there before that."
I couldn't believe that Raven was speaking so negatively about someone. Was this the same girl who urged me to go fix things with my sister just yesterday?
"Did you guys know that off the Res you're called the LaPush gang?" I shook my head. "Yeah," She continued, "my mom thinks that you guys are juvenile delinquents who skip school to go to the gym so you can walk around shirtless impressing the girls." I could see the anger flare into her eyes. "She asked me if I was stupid enough to fall for that." Then she caught me by surprise again when her eyes filled with tears and her body wracked with sobs. She fell to her knees as the pain she felt seemed to overwhelm her. I dropped down beside her and gathered her into my lap.
"Shhh." I soothed and rocked her back and forth. I had never seen Raven like this before; never. She was normally so strong and self assured. But at the same time, I was glad that she felt comfortable enough to show this with me. My heart split in two at her pain.
"Why do I let her get to me, Seth? Why do her words hurt me so much?" she cried into my shoulder.
"Because she's your mother," I cooed, "and you want her to love you-all parts of you." I whispered in her ear and tried to reassure her how special she was. I kissed her head and stroked her back as she clung to me. All I could think was this should have been her mother holding her about something insensitive I said. This situation was all backwards and it made me angry that someone had hurt my kind, loving girl so much.
"Seth," she said after a few more minutes and sitting up. She wiped her eyes and it looked like she was getting control of herself. "She doesn't even know the history of the tribe; or she doesn't understand it. She thinks all you guys are in a gang, but she won't stop to ask people on the reservation how you help in all the small ways that matter."
"What do you mean 'the small ways'?" I asked.
"Well, I know Sam drives Mr. Blackfoot to the doctor at least every other week. Jacob has Dr. Cullen providing free check-ups and vaccinations to anyone on the Res that needs them. Not that Dr. Cullen wouldn't do that anyway, but Jacob is the only reason he's allowed on the reservation since the treaty has been amended. I've seen you and Quil and Embry fix up the dilapidated houses so that the roofs don't leak in the heavy rain. And, Jacob, Paul, and Jared will fix anyone's car for the cost of parts. If you guys are a gang, it's a gang of do-gooders and my mother just won't see that."
I had never thought of all those things put together like that before. Sam just said it was our job to look out for people on the reservation and so we did. It was true we skipped a lot of school, but we thought of that as our pay check and no one seemed to mind too much.
"She says you'll never go anywhere and she doesn't want to see me get tied down," she said the last part so low my 'wolfie senses,' as she called it, had to pick it up. A large round tear rolled down her cheek. I caught it with my lips as I kissed her and she sighed. We sat there a few moments, silent. I could she was thinking about something. I pulled away from her and was about ask her what she was thinking about.
Then, a light went on in her eyes and I could see her mind working. "But," she almost shouted and her tears stopped, "what if we begin some program that aims to send kids from the Res to be college educated? Part of the pack could go to protect the tribe members and receive educations themselves!" The gears in her head were cranking. "I've been recording the legends and histories for months now and the key to the survival of the Quileute people has always been adaptation. If we don't adapt in some new ways, then we can't preserve the old ways. There's federal money for our kids to go," she looked at me with new fervor, "AND YOU! There's money for you, too!" Like the thought just registered that I was Quileute, too. "It's just sitting waiting for our kids to apply to use it. And we could be together! We could start a massive program that aims to send Quileute kids to college to learn trades and how to be teachers and then come home to revive the reservation. Sam's pack could stay here to protect LaPush and Jacob's pack could be sent to protect those at college." Then she started mumbling to herself. "We'd have to choose a university to centralize the students, but we could form an official organization. I bet the university would love it and even get federal money for sponsoring such a program. We could begin with just a few and…"
I lost her when she told me I could go to college. I had never even thought about it. I phased when I was fifteen and then the duties of the pack required me to stay here. But there was something to her idea. Jake's pack comprised the younger and unattached wolves, except for Quill whose Claire would not be ready for marriage for over a decade. Sam's pack was married and/or more settled. I looked at her in wonder. Her tears were gone. She had just transformed all her pain and anger into a wonderful plan that would appeal to almost everyone in LaPush.
All I could think to do what kiss her. I poured into it my relief that she wasn't upset anymore as well as my admiration for her ability to think of everyone but herself. "You like the idea then?" she asked when I finally pulled away breathless.
"It sounds good to me, but is it possible? Would the elders go for it? How soon could it be put into place? We need to talk to Jacob. I bet he can help us think of all the kinks and work them out." My mind was working just as fast as hers. If I wanted to go away to school with her, I'd have to get my butt in gear-I'd been skipping a lot. I knew Raven planned on going to college, but it never occurred to me that she'd be gone. Now I wanted to go with her. But is that the right reason to go? I could consider that later. Right now I was just happy that she wasn't hurting so much anymore. Or, that her mind was off it at least.
"Come on. Let's go to the Cullen's house. Nessie is waiting to meet you anyway," I said.
"I need to shower, Seth. I'm gross," she protested. We picked up her things and headed to her car we decided to head straight to the Cullen's just in case her mom still hadn't left for her next trip.
Raven's eyes were wide when we pulled up to the Cullen's house. I smiled at her. "It's big, huh? I hope you're hungry. Esme and Edward love to cook and they know you're coming."
Before we could get to the door Renesmee was running towards me and she jumped in the air for me to catch her. She almost knocked the wind out of me. "Whoa, Nessie! You're getting big!" Jake followed behind her grinning.
"Hey, man! Raven," Jake nodded at us. "You're early."
"Raven has some ideas that she wanted to run by you." His eyebrow arched at me, but he could tell that my anxiety was gone and things were okay between Raven and I. I put Nessie down and introduced her to my girl. "Nessie, this is Raven. Raven, this is Renesmee."
Nessie grabbed Raven up in her arms and gave her a big hug. "You're the one who makes Seth so happy," she breathed. "And you do smell good." Raven looked at me and I blushed.
"Well, you do," I said. "Even after a run." She pinched her fingers together indicating that she would not be above giving me a purple nurple in front of everyone.
"You're the Harry Potter fan who's finally forcing Jake to broaden his horizons," she said back to Nessie and then they launched into a whole discussion about British authors and books about rings and sensibilities and prejudices against lions and witches. I couldn't follow it. I realized that going back to school on a regular basis might be a good idea.
Jake and I followed the girls into the house. It looked like Raven and Nessie were deep in conversation so I briefly filled Jake in on what happened this morning and Raven's idea. Jake looked interested, but wanted to talk to Raven more about it.
All of a sudden we all heard a snarl come from up stairs. "Bella? What is it?" Edward asked from the couch looking up at the stairs. Jacob and Renesmee looked towards the stairs as well, but Raven didn't seem to hear anything. She only looked after all of our attention was pointed to there. Many things seemed to happen at once and I was powerless to stop or help with any of them.
Bella came flying down the stairs at vampire speed and grabbed Raven from behind. Raven didn't even see her coming. Edward called for Emmett and Carlisle as Jasper seemed to appear out of nowhere. Before Edward and Jasper could catch her, Bella sank her teeth into the back Raven's of neck. Raven fell to the floor as Bella allowed Edward and Jasper to pull her off.
"Get me out of here!" Bella screamed. "I'm sorry!" By then Emmett and Carlisle were in the room. Emmett helped Edward and Jasper pull Bella outside and Carlisle knelt beside Raven. That's when I felt Jacob force me to the floor as my body began to quake.
"Seth, breath. If you think you're going to phase I'm going to make you leave. Breathe!" Jacob hissed into my ear. It still hadn't registered what happened in my brain, though my body was reacting. I did as he told me, but all I could see was my Raven in what seemed to be torturous pain.
Raven was writhing on the floor and Renesmee moved quickly towards her. "Grandpa, let me suck the venom out. She smells good to me, but I don't crave her." Esmee and Rosalie moved to pull Nessie away, but Carlisle put up his hand to stop them.
Renesmee touched his face obviously communicating something to him and he moved aside granting her access to Raven. She placed her lips where Bella had broken the skin while keeping contact with Carlisle. She took three pulls from Raven's neck and when Carlisle said, "That's good. You've drawn it all." He smiled at his granddaughter as she pulled away. Renesmee bent over again and licked the wound and in a matter of seconds, it healed over.
The tremors in my body stopped when I saw that Raven was no longer in pain and her neck was now healed. I was numb and my ears were ringing. That was nothing to what happened next.
Raven sat up. "You mom sure knows how to make an impression." She said to Renesmee.
A/N: So how was that for a twist?
A/N2: I see some more of you are adding and reading...have any comments? What do you like?
