OH SWEET BABY JESUS, WE'RE ALREADY AT CHAPTER TEN? Pardon me while I fetch the brown paper bag.
Also, now the Jezzie's cat is out of the bag, I'd like to refer any of you research nerds to this [ guns-and-drums(.)tumblr(.)com/private/21302481751/tumblr_m2njwaCfwg1qj6m90 ] on my Tumblr, wherein I go list some of my source information. I did a lot of research on MS, and this is just the barest hint of it. I don't want anyone thinking I slapped a disease on my OC just for grins and giggles and angsty plot factor. The goal is to craft real life issues, without offending anyone in the process.
Chapter 10: "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." -Leo Tolstoy
Thursday, December 14, 2006
"Holy shit," Brady breathed as he whipped his head around in his seat. "Dude, they're trying to corral us."
"Brady," Claire squeaked. "You said a bad word!" Nessie was simply sitting with wide eyes and her hands over her ears. For all the good it did her, Embry thought.
"They're not even under cover. They're on the road. They're on the road!"
"My Uncle Emmett says that word sometimes, and Mama gets very mad."
Embry thought quickly. He was in a car that would prove no trouble at all for the werewolves chasing them to dismantle. If they stopped, the werewolves had fast enough reaction times to tear the walls off and be off with Ness or Claire – or both before Brady or Embry could get far enough away from them to phase. And there was no way in hell this beater was going to outrun them.
At least Claire and Nessie were unfazed.
"Brady, listen to me." The rank poured out of Embry's voice. Normally, a passive wolf he left the leading to others more qualified. He was content with his status as Third. However, locked in a car with two imprints and a very young, very low-ranking wolf pulled on Embry's reserves of leadership. The panic and anxiety rolling off Brady that pulsed with a need for direction kicked Embry into overdrive.
"On the count of three," Embry relayed quickly but clearly. "I want you to get Ness and Claire. Full body shield. This isn't going to be pretty. You only phase if absolutely necessary."
"What the hell are you going to do?" Brady asked wide-eyed. Asking. A much more common trait between mid and low ranking wolves.
"One," Embry replied as he shifted into a higher gear and sped up.
"Shit, dude, okay," Brady hopped as lithely as his size would allow over the center console and unbuckled both Nessie and Claire. Claire was trilling something at a high enough pitch that Embry wasn't processing and Ness kept muttering about how that was not allowed.
"Two," Embry shifted into fifth and sped up even further, pushing far beyond the posted speed limit.
"Three," shifting directly from fifth to reverse, the small Escort came to a violent halt. Screeching gears and grinding metal clashed with Nessie and Claire's screaming. The car was an old enough model that it there wasn't a lot to stop a major cataclysm if a driver was stupid enough to shift from the highest gear to reverse. There was a crack and thud as the transmission fell completely out of the car.
The machinery tore at the low riding undercarriage and sent the rear axle careening to keep up with the front. Pushed by the force of its previous speed, the now disemboweled car skidded on its passenger side wheels. Embry and Brady could hear the thud and bang as the sprinting werewolf smashed into the bottom of the car, halting his pursuit immediately. The car teetered before rolling completely over.
Launching himself out of the driver side door as the car took the brunt of the hit on its opposite side, Embry phased once he'd cleared the door frame. The sound of tearing flesh, and metal being ground into the pavement was all that filled his ears as he tried to land close to the car.
Where had the rangy bastard gone? Embry heard him crash into the careening car full force. He'd kinda been hoping the blunt force trauma would've been enough to kill the thing. The first had been quick and sly, but not very hearty. They weren't as resilient as shapeshifters or even vampires.
He landed – nails ticking against the pavement – just in time to feel the impact of a body against his. Being much larger than a werewolf helped infinitely. He snarled once before grabbing the creature's leg between his teeth. They were too lanky, too ill-equipped to fight. Embry flung the werewolf off him and he landed with a thud more than twenty feet off.
The monster was still. Moments passed as he looked around the deserted roadway. The others hadn't disappeared – not that fast – they had to be somewhere close. There had been at least five of them. He sniffed. They were heading east it seemed like? Away from the car at the very least. The sound of small cries began to echo from the car as Nessie and Claire realized what had just happened. Embry could hear Brady trying to console them.
Heading east, Embry heard reverb through his head. Embry? Embry, are you okay? Are the girls okay?
Jake had yet to phase into the collective consciousness – he was meeting with the elders. And Leah was in Seattle at school with Addie and Rachel. But the rest knew they would be phased in minutes. The impact of an attack on one imprint – let alone two – was not an event that died at the edge of a single consciousness. Some things – like Alpha orders – reverberated through Pack Mind even in human form.
Fine. Paul, I can't find them. They disappeared – all except one. I got one. It smells like the rest are heading east.
Towards the Cullens, Jared informed them all again.
They probably caught Nessie's scent and didn't differentiate between her and her family, Paul continued to think. Seth – warn the Cullens. I don't care if you end up in their living room phased or naked – you're only a quarter mile away.
Ten-four, dear high beta! Seth must've been even closer or had anticipated the order because his mind dropped out moments later.
Embry get rid of that one you've got, and stay by that car - phased. The others are past you now. Stay with the girls, have Brady get the car upright and off the road. Jared – go help them out.
But what about the Cullens?
They'll be fine. This is their mess, now they can clean it up.
Jared had finally made it to the edge of town where Embry had rolled his car over. He stepped out of the woods to one of the most bizarre sights he'd ever seen. The Escort laid on its side on the shoulder of the road, though it's transmission was still laying pitifully on the double yellow line. Good thing this stretch of road was mostly abandoned. Brady was doing a remarkable job of entertaining both Claire and Nessie and neither was even crying anymore. Embry was on the other side of the road, out of human sight, lying next to the crushed form of a true to life werewolf.
Jared phased human, waved to Brady and crossed the road to where Embry lay with his head on his fore paws, out of sight in the trees. Jared looked down at the werewolf next to him. It was a gruesome sight at best. Werewolves seemed to maintain most of their human physical form. There was a greater hunch to the back; the arms and legs were longer, with higher ankles and distinctly claw-like hands and feet. Heads with muzzles and bodies covered fully in fur. However their phase wasn't drastic enough to completely shred clothing. Jared noticed that the remnants of a shirt and pants still clung to the dead monster's frame.
His head was at an odd angle and Jared knew that Embry – ever the humanitarian – had probably snapped the creature's neck and was done with it.
"The girls didn't see you do that, right?" Jared checked.
Embry chuffed. He was kind of offended that Jared even asked. "Sorry," Jared raised his hands. "Just checking. I know it might've been unavoidable. All right, I don't know how werewolf lore works. But Carlisle and Edward said the old stuff holds true. Silver bullets or tearing the heart out."
Embry whined slightly, the sound echoing in his snout.
"Yeah, I know," Jared nodded looking at the ground. All of them were way to young to be killing, let alone tearing out the hearts of people. Between hunting down Laurent and then Victoria's army – Jared was sure that the entire first generation of phases were going to be permanently scarred. Sometimes he swore he could still taste the once-human vampire flesh in his mouth. It woke him up at night sometimes. He never told anyone that. Only Kim knew. Embry was seventeen, only two years younger than Jared. But it seemed like an awful big age gap.
"Well… it's supposed to be death by brain or heart damage – so I think snapping the neck definitely counts. I say we just burn the bastard. Is your phone in the car?"
Fifteen minutes later, Jared had called Charlie to report his car stolen. He'd sent Brady, Ness and Claire on their way back to La Push on foot before catching up with them after he and Embry had placed the werewolf inside and set the car on fire.
"Why are you naked in my living room, Seth?" Bella shrieked when the young boy barged into the house without knocking or wearing any pants.
"They're back," Seth said out of breath. "Those werewolves. They're back. They're headed here."
Vampiric hearing was normally polite enough to pretend to ignore private conversations even though they could be heard at the far recesses of the house. This was not one of those times.
"Oh my God," Bella gasped, now coming at Seth, gripping his bare shoulders like a vice. If Seth didn't actually know Bella, he might've been scared. "Renesmee! Where's Renesmee?"
Emmett was past Seth and out the door in a blur, his eyes scorching as far as he could see as he made for the back of the house. Seth heard a thud as Jasper jumped from God knows where and landed in the front yard. The rest soon flooded out in similar fashion, circling the house. Bella and Edward were the only ones left inside.
"Where is she, Seth?" Bella shrieked, looking enraged and terrified as Edward tried to prevent his wife from dismembering the one shapeshifter he didn't necessarily hate.
"Don't kill me," Seth backed away. "Jared and Brady have her and Claire back over the treaty line on the rez. They're gonna stay there with them. They're fine. The issue is here. These werewolves are coming here. They don't care about us for a change. They caught your scent and seem hell-bent on finding you."
"Why?" Edward looked at him confused.
"How the hell am I supposed to know? We were kind of hoping you could tell us. It's obviously you guys they're after."
Seth was interrupted as loud snarling rent the outside quiet. The three were out the door and Seth jumped over the railing and landed, phased, just in front of Esme. The entire coven was lined up across the front yard, watching the shadows and leaves shift with the coming confrontation. Seth could discern the shadows as they approached.
The Pack began materializing out of the woods to the rear of the house and settle in on either side of the porch, crouched – like the Cullens – in a defensive position.
From the woods to the east, four werewolves and a single haggard human emerged from the underbrush. The man was young – maybe mid twenties – and he was filthy and wild. His jet black hair was short but shot in many directions, his pants were shredded at the bottom and his feet were bare. His shirt was torn and unidentifiable in color. His face was long, lean, distinctly canine – like a jackal. When he looked up, he smiled a manic gesture.
"Ah, Edward Cullen. It has been too long."
Friday, December 15, 2006
"What time is it?"
Things had not gone according to plan when five werewolves had materialized in the Cullen front yard. Carlisle – in his never-ending quest for world peace – had actually engaged them in conversation. Well, actually, it had started with Edward, who wanted to know why the heck some feral werewolf knew who he was and how to find him.
Jacob would grant them that. However, it seemed like any time Carlisle got to talking to someone, it turned into one giant peace summit. Which was why five – now fully human – werewolves were sitting at the unused Cullen dining room table.
"Midnight?" Anna shrugged.
"Collin," Jake spun around. "I need you to down the road and get Jezzie. She just got off work so she should still be awake. Try not to scare her but make it quick." Because Jacob needed to convene a delegation of his most diplomatic and dominant Pack with ten minutes warning. Great.
"Once you phase, tell Embry I said to get here, pronto."
"What?" Paul asked as Collin disappeared into the woods.
"Excuse me?" Anna remarked. "What gives?"
Jacob was of the opinion that this Pack asked him too many questions. Though, neither Paul nor Anna were pleased that they were being sidelined for a Third and a Pack Human – as much as they loved them both.
"Because," Jake replied in a long-suffering way. "Paul, I need you to hold the Pack while I'm in there. Embry's too passive to do that and Leah's at school. I need you to be able to run the show out here, just in case. And Anna, I love you dear, but you're way too green. The others will sense that and I don't want them provoking you into a phase. Besides, Leah would kill me."
"But Embry and Jezzie? Isn't that a conflict of interests?" Anna pointed out.
"Not if Jezzie doesn't know," Paul spoke, the Beta in him able to pick up on Jacob's thought process with more ease over the course of time. "And Emb's pretty much proved she doesn't."
"And if I order Embry not to make it one," Jake added. "That's easier than my risking your life and packing our delegation with too much dominance and leaving the Pack vulnerable."
"Beta life sucks," Paul informed Anna plainly as she scoffed and rolled her eyes.
It was only five minutes later that Jezzie's Jeep could be heard rumbling down the driveway and the remnants of the Pack – Jake, Paul, Quil, Seth and Anna – waited for their last required member. Jezzie parked and Collin hopped out as Embry came out of the woods behind them, pulling his shorts up.
"Sir Alpha, this best be a good one," Jezzie yawned. "Because it's midnight."
"All right, Jezzie, Embry over here – the rest of you, I want you on patrol between this house and the line. If you hear from Leah or Rachel, tell them to stay together and I want them back here. But don't call them. Only if Leah phases. We don't call Sam unless this negotiation goes bad. Let him stay human. Paul, anything odd you come get me, clear?"
The last five nodded and ran into the trees.
"Jezzie, I'm going to make this quick for your sake. We had some real, bonafide werewolves break the borders earlier today. They almost attacked Ness and Claire, but they're both fine. Apparently they have some issue with Edward. We're meeting them inside and because neither Leah nor Rachel are here I need you as representation without the whole dynamic being off. Are you game?"
Jezzie just gaped for a moment. "What… what about Anna? I'm not a shapeshifter. I'm not even Quileute."
"Doesn't matter," Jake shook his head. "You're Pack. We're naturally balanced by the female presence and you've worked your way into the hierarchy. Anna's too new, and they'll sense that – she risks a phase if anyone pushes her buttons. I need cool heads."
"Sure," Jezzie shrugged, throwing up her hands at a loss. "Why the heck not." And with that she stepped between Embry and Jake and made her way up the Cullens stairs looking absolutely flabbergasted. She tried not to let the aching pain that radiate from her torso and her back show.
"Embry," Jake said in undertones as they followed her. "I need you for your diplomacy. I need Paul to hold the Pack in case of anything, but I am ordering you not to let your feelings for Jezzie figure into this, okay? I know how you feel about her, but if the others sense it we're done for."
Embry nodded silently, feeling the Alpha demand roll over him. He wasn't a fan of how detached it made him feel from Jezzie. It was the first time an Alpha order had ever messed with his emotions. It was hard describe, but he felt… distant. Like she was a stranger. Like she didn't matter. He felt indifferent. He would kick his best friend's ass for that later.
He tried to shake it off and the two headed inside the house after Jezzie. Jake nodded to the rest - Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, Esme and Bella waiting in the living room. He stepped ahead of Jezzie and Embry and opened the dining room door, preceding them inside.
Carlisle and Edward were seated at the long side of the table closest to the door. Jacob admired the good tactical choice to put themselves between the werewolves and the rest of the coven.
Jezzie watched Jacob and Embry sit down in stoic silence. She took a seat between the two, trying to stay calm and poker-faced. The five individuals across the table were a truly terrible sight to behold. They looked homeless, like refugees or victims of some horrible natural disaster. Or zombies. As ridiculous and clichéd and horror-movie-esque as it was, Jezzie thought the group looked exactly like the living dead. And not in the sparkly vampire way.
Two were male and three were female. One woman looked to be about middle-aged, one girl might've been Jezzie's age and the last not more than thirteen. The boy that sat in the middle had black hair, and also appeared to be about Jezzie's age. The last boy might've been the youngest girl's twin. Their clothes were torn and ragged; they were filthy.
But what worried Jezzie the most was the expression. Not zombie-like at all. Most zombies were supposed to be fairly stupid. But the eyes staring her down across the table spoke not only of intelligence but an incredible sense of the tactics of the hunt and pursuit. They all shared equal expressions of bloodlust and a distinctly canine speed and countenance. A face that had been put back on a human body, but only masked a wild mind. They looked ready to lunge across the table and tear a person's heart out at the drop of a hat. Jezzie steeled herself, trying to force herself to stay calm and keep her heart at a natural rate – she knew everyone in the room would be able to hear it.
Carlisle nodded and spoke first. "Let's say we start with a round of introductions for the sake of ease. I see you know of my son, Edward. I'm Carlisle. We'll represent the interests of our entire family."
Carlisle turned to Jacob and for a moment – a brief flash of a second – Jezzie was reminded of just how young Jacob and Embry were. How young the whole Pack was and how it was much too much for the world to ask this much responsibility of them all. She was smart enough to know that the health and safety of many hinged on the outcome of this meeting.
"Jacob," he nodded towards the five ragged humans on the other side. "I'm Alpha of the neighboring Pack. We represent our own interests, as well. But it would be important to note that we maintain a treaty with the Olympic coven. Embry is my Third wolf. Jezzie, my Beta."
"She is human," the young woman noted, cocking her head to the side and leaning a little over the polished mahogany table.
"True," Jacob nodded. "But irrelevant."
"I am Damien," the dark haired leader nodded. "This is Elizabeth," he indicated the older woman. "Lydia," the young woman who had spoke. "Zachary and Abigail," the two youngest.
"All right," Carlisle nodded to them in recognition. "It has become clear to us that your presence on our land over the past few weeks has not been an accident. Is there anything you'd care to share with us?"
"Retribution," Damien grinned.
"Excuse me?" Edward replied.
"Did I stutter?" Damien leered across the table. Edward reached up to briefly rub his forehead. It looked like he had a headache. "Terribly sorry about that. I am afraid our kind tend to interfere with most your abilities."
Jezzie could see Embry quirk a brow and Damien's eyes flicked momentarily to him before addressing their whole half of the table. "You cannot read my mind, can you? Well," he continued not waiting for a response. "Your sister cannot see us and your leaders do not have much affect either."
"Why is that?" Edward asked, looking particularly pained.
"We are not quite human anymore, are we? You read human minds. Your sister sees the future of humans. Your nobility – they track your kind as well as humans. We are not human. I very much suspect you would encounter the same problems with your allies, no?" Damien indicated the wolves on Carlisle's opposite side.
"Excellent observation," Edward replied curtly.
"Do try to keep up."
"It will be a lot easier for all of us to reach some kind of compromise here if you were simply to let us know what – precisely – your desires are." Jezzie swallowed and waited as all eyes in the room turned to her. Maybe they didn't expect her to speak. "I think it would be poor form to start out talks of cooperation on a bad foot. Don't you?"
Damien only grinned at Jezzie in a manner she found unsettling before he spoke again.
"I believe it is largely by accident that our families have become interconnected," he spoke to Jezzie before turning back towards Edward. "1928," he said his voice slightly elevated. "Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was twenty-five. My father, in an attempt to bring some justice to our family, sought out the werewolf that attacked and changed each of my family members. It took him quite a few years to track the man down. As you have noticed it is very easy for us in the supernatural community to leave no trace upon the earth."
Jezzie watched, and saw no visible change in either Jacob or Embry's demeanor. Carlisle appeared engaged and she saw Edward's jaw clench.
Damien only grinned. "Yes, this part of the story should start sounding familiar. My father tracked the man to a more unappealing part of town. He had him cornered in an alleyway – all very cliché and Hollywood, I assure you. However, he was apprehended by a vigilante. A young man, pale and refined beyond compare, swooped down upon him like a wraith, pulled my father from his seemingly helpless victim and snapped his neck, killing him instantly. The would-be victim – a true werewolf – beat a hasty retreat and escaped unscathed."
Edward expelled a breath and leaned back in his chair.
"Yes, your mind reading got you into trouble that day because you were only focusing on that one mind – were you not? You could not make much of the victim's, eh?" Damien nodded. "Unfortunately, tracking an anonymous attacker such as yourself is hard in even the best of circumstances. Having limited witnesses was a trouble spot and it was only about ten years into the search did I realize that this man who killed my father – this attacker – must not have been human. Eerie the pattern of life; the way he moved about the country was far beyond the ability of any mortal."
"Of course there was also the small logistical issue of having a small nomadic coven claim the entire Plains region as their own territory. But you seem to have polished those three off and cleared the road for us to find you. You really could not have placed a better sign upon your own home. If your whereabouts were still hazy at best, they were clear after the Newborn War trickled through the ranks of vampire and wolf alike on this continent."
"You heard about our altercation last spring?" Carlisle asked.
"Of course," Damien responded blithely, leaning back in his chair. He had a way about himself, he didn't just sit in a chair, he possessed it. Like it was a prop to further assert the image of his power and dominance despite his homely state. Carlisle thought he could've given Aro intimidation pointers. "We are a largely unorganized and disconnected community, I will grant you. But there are few things that happen to us otherworldly types that are not disseminated quickly. That is, if one is willing to listen. Surely you were not surprised by our seeking you out?"
"I'm afraid the reception up here in Forks has been rather foggy, then," Edward grumbled.
"It was easy enough to find you when the very man you saved has been circling your lands like a vulture."
"He was the one that first came through here?" Embry asked.
"No," Damien replied slowly. "We are not entirely sure who that was. No one we were familiar with," he brushed the dead werewolf off. "A new creation – new prospect – I suspect? No, the man that dear Master Cullen spared came through right after that – a few weeks ago now? He skirted the land, before cleverly darting inside. The way I hear it, your Pack almost had him. A real pity your 'allies' don't take an equal share in securing your shared land. You surely would have finished him."
Embry could hear Jacob grinding his teeth and Jezzie sat up a little straighter. Damien had found the sticky spot in the relationship between the Cullens and the Pack: the Cullen's negligence on patrolling.
"Well, now that we are all caught up? Our demands." Damien's sinister smile faded and his face turned one of pure anger. "Retribution," he demanded in a firm voice. "Blood for blood, this one here has released a plague upon the Earth. My father – a single breath from ridding us all of the putrefaction of a rabid werewolf – was killed in a moment of vigilante terrorism." Damien's fist came crashing down on the table as he tried to emphasize his point. "This lycan remains at large and is nigh uncatchable. Over eighty years has taught our family that."
"This… werewolf," Jacob began trying to make the distinction between the shape shifters and those across the table. "He's still out there? The one that came through – how are you sure it's him?"
"He is the same," Damien nodded, significantly more calm than moments ago. "I can be sure, because werewolf populations are cropping up in various parts of continent. Mostly here in the states. Apart from my family he is the only rogue wolf in the Americas. Extensive observation has proven that he is wild and unpredictable. I realize how much you dislike sharing a common name with us," he leaned across the table, "and believe me the feeling is quite mutual, but not all of us are naturally prone to wanton savagery. However, those possessed entirely by the wolf are uncontrollable."
"Are you trying to say that there are spotty werewolf populations all over the area?" Jacob clarified.
"No," Damien shook his head, examining his ragged nails. "My family and I have largely taken care of those isolated few that do not perish on their own. It is hard to survive the first year a lone wolf. For those that survive the Transformation and the first moon cycle, it is difficult in the extreme to remain present minded enough to control themselves thereafter. Most are killed in human form during acts of violence. An entirely uncivilized lot they turn out to be. The issue at hand is their creator; he is strong, intelligent and completely savage."
Jezzie didn't know if it was more ironic or disturbing that Damien was talking about degrees of civility – and rather adeptly emanating his own – as he sat across the table, filthy and looking beyond the pale of hygiene.
"Civilized?" Edward repeated. "Is that what you call the ravaging of a cemetery? The exhuming of the dead for consumption?"
"I am afraid that is largely your own fault. As I said, he has been seeking you out. For reasons unbeknownst to us. The one the wolfpack decimated was one of his new creations – as I have said."
"So this attack on our local cemetery is not of your doing?" Carlisle confirmed.
"Of course not," Damien assured him. "As I am sure the killing of our ally from Tulsa earlier today was unavoidable," he glanced toward Embry. "The cost of combat."
"So," Jezzie spoke. "Are you proposing a war? Retribution is what you want. Have you come here asking for a slaughter?"
"Well that would be silly now, would it not?" Damien replied.
"We desire a compromise," the woman Elizabeth – who Jezzie could now assumed was Damien's mother – spoke for the first time. "We face extinction from all sides. Your nobility does not see fit to allow our populations to live – however meekly – upon the Earth as long as they have the means to find and exterminate us. We are regularly pushed to the edge of existence despite our presenting no threat to the public, let alone your own kind. We rule over our own kind with enough discretion. We cleanse our populations of all rogue elements."
"We rarely make it a habit," Damien explained, "to hunt your kind down. You're quite frankly not worth the effort. Your family has proved the exception in this case. And we do not anticipate your assistance with eliminating those of our own species but we ask you to exercise some degree of persuasion with those of your own."
"You desire an alliance with us against the Volturi," Carlisle said. It wasn't a question.
"Simply put," Damien inclined his head once.
"Uh, we're gonna have to call for a brief recess," Embry interjected. "La Push needs to confer with the rest of the Pack on this matter."
"Sounds fair," Carlisle nodded, before turning to Damien. "Are you amenable?"
"Of course," Damien insisted with a wave of his hand.
"They want what?" Paul shouted. He looked like he was about to have a coronary.
"They want a treaty," Embry sighed.
"Oh well doesn't that sound familiar?" Paul replied. "Like we haven't had to deal with one of those before. What part of living on an Indian reservation or being the leader of this Pack makes any treaty sound like a good idea? We don't have a good track record with those things."
"You can't be seriously considering this, man," Quil replied, looking to Jacob. "Billy and Old Quil and Sue will tear you a new one if you make a new treaty with these guys. It's bad enough we've got the one to hold up."
Paul was pacing a short circuit around the yard, rubbing his jaw and trying really hard to act his rank. "Look, I respect that we've got a duty to not kill the Cullens. And in the broad scheme of things, they're really not worth starting another war over. But that doesn't mean that any good is going to come out of our joining up with someone else against an enemy we don't actually have."
"The Volturi," Anna interrupted. "Aren't going to make a lot of distinction between werewolves and shapeshifters if it ever really came down to it. And I mean, it's not like we couldn't handle it if need be. And, we'd probably sympathize more with the werewolves than the Cullens. I mean, all our lives are royally fucked thanks to them."
"But wouldn't it be best if we just never had a throwdown with these Volturi bats?" Quil pointed out. "We're neither friends nor enemies with the Volturi and it's been kinda nice that way. If we ally with their enemies though, that puts us on target. We're allied with the Cullens, that's enemy territory enough."
"Loyalty complications will arise," Embry added slowly, "if we chose to step back on this treaty but maintain the one we have with the Cullens and the Cullens ally with the werewolves. We'll still be diplomatically tied to the werewolves, even at a distance. We could be morally bound to them in ways we can't anticipate."
"To hell," Paul replied, "with the morals of it. This about self-preservation. It's our job to protect the tribe, to protect La Push and the people in our area. This isn't some kind of whack ass foreign policy battle. What does an alliance with a family of werewolves from fucking Minneapolis have to offer us? "
"Protection?" Anna shrugged. "If anything ever does happen involving the Volturi – to either the Cullens or us – the Minneapolis Pack will be treaty-bound to help us. More numbers never hurt a battle."
"They're another geographical barrier," Embry shrugged. "We have no one except the Cullens between us and Italy. More ears on the ground aren't necessarily a bad thing."
"And what's going to make them uphold their end of the bargain? We have no idea how trustworthy they are."
"Not to mention that one on the road was an easy kill," Collin added. "I mean, they run like crippled ducks and sure, they're poisonous if they bite, but how effective are they in a fight, really?"
Jezzie had mostly just stood in this circle of arguing, half-naked Quileutes in a state of shock. "None of this makes any sense," she finally blurted out. She got a few looks of frustration when she was misunderstood and decided to elaborate. "What I mean is that we don't know these people. That means we can't tell their intentions and we don't know if working with them will be good or bad. Allying with them formally could bring us some problems, but turning them away could be just as bad. It doesn't have to be a black or white situation."
Paul and Anna actually both nodded in something akin to appreciation before a thoughtful silence permeated the group.
"I say," Jacob interrupted the quite. He'd mostly allowed his Pack to talk this out, while he watched. The beauty of Pack was that they all were highly opinionated and were very good at debate. Watching them hash out the issues was easier than Jake being forced to do it all himself. He didn't want to be a total dictator anyways. "This Pack is open to a non-aggression treaty, but I'm not putting loyalty to strangers down in writing anytime soon."
"Elaborate," Quil requested. "Hey, I'm the one that's gonna have to go and explain all this to the council – humor me."
"I don't mind agreeing to not attack these people if they do the same for us. And if they have some serious issue that we can help with, without endangering ourselves, then sure. I'm cool with that. But I'm not going make a rock solid alliance, only to have them go provoke the Volturi into an all out war."
"I think that sounds pretty good," Paul conceded.
"Jezzie, Emb," Jake nodded his head over his shoulder. "Back to the drawing board."
They never really got done to hammering out definitive agreements that night.
"What do you mean you're not open to any kind of alliance?" Damien asked Carlisle. "Do you mean to make us as your enemies?"
Jacob, Jezzie and Embry only stared in a line down the table towards Edward and Carlisle. All three had expected the Cullens to be far more liberal about the matter than the Pack. "I am afraid it would be most disadvantageous for us to ally with a group that is a decided enemy of the Volturi – a group we maintain a fragile relationship with."
"Decided?" Damien scoffed. "We have decided nothing. We have been hunt to extinction, as your kind are as well, no doubt. We know their opinion of the Western vampire's lifestyle. And yet, you choose to refuse a potentially prosperous alliance as a way to avoid stirring the pot?"
"We don't agree," Jacob interjected plainly. Damien's shocked expression turned to Jacob. "We're not signing our lives away here," Jacob began. Jezzie extended her hand and placed it on Jake's forearm. She could sense the impending arrival of a foot-in-mouth moment and realized now was not the time for it.
"The fact of the matter is," Jezzie began carefully, "that the Pack is not familiar enough with your family to cement real diplomatic ties with you right now. However we don't wish to see you as enemies either."
"The La Push Pack is open to a pact that outlines an agreement for mutual nonaggression," Embry elaborated. "We are willing to treat your family as peacefully and respectfully as you do ours. And we're willing to help your family in any way that doesn't prove a threat to the Pack's safety and security."
"This is not ungenerous," Damien agreed. "And I appreciate your willingness to work with us. However," he turned back to Carlisle and Edward, "I have a very difficult time imaging what you have to gain by spurning a potentially dangerous neighbor for a distant and apathetic alliance in name alone?"
"We feel it's in the best interest in our family," Carlisle replied.
Lydia scoffed and sunk lower in her chair. Jezzie watched as the young woman stared daggers towards Edward and Carlisle. She was visibly trying to restrain herself.
"The best interest of your family?" Elizabeth seethed. "What a novel concept. It's wonderful that you have such luxuries, to live in a relative peace, to be assured that you will not – at any moment – be attacked and wiped from the face of the Earth! We have been made enemies without our own consent! We were born into a world that gave us enemies! I realize many of you did not have any more choice in your transformation than we did ours, but you continue to hold yourself the higher diplomatic power!"
"That is most certainly not the case," Carlisle insisted. "That is not what we intend."
"It does not matter what you intend," Lydia growled. "The fact is we are mere pawns in this game of ego. We are like colonies to your imperial powers and your choice not to deign to put even an iota of risk upon your shoulders puts the entirety of it on our own! Your frail alliance with the Volturi is more important to you than a strong one with those of like mind!"
"This family," Carlisle reiterated firmly, "desires no such thing. And we will not be made to feel the tyrant, simply for wishing to remain out of the fray of interests that are not our own."
"You robbed us of the possibility of a quiet life," Elizabeth spat in Edward's direction. "These interests are your own by the simple fact that we were so close to ending the creature that brought all this upon us, but you – you! – dashed that hope! And after all that you cannot even bring yourselves to—"
Elizabeth did not have the chance to finish her thought as Lydia, seething in anger, lunged across the table. She jostled the huge piece of furniture and Edward met her halfway before she was able to reach the other side. Jezzie saw Edward pin Lydia to the table by her throat and Damien snarled before jumping up so quickly his chair fell back and crashed through a pane of the glass wall behind him. Jezzie only heard the hard crack of rock solid bodies against the wood before she found herself on the ground with Embry on top of her. Just as Lydia went sailing through the air where Jezzie had just been sitting, she heard screeching from the younger werewolves as an all out fight consumed the room.
She would have been surprised if she had the time.
She heard the door bang open and the sound of the Cullens clashing with Elizabeth, Damien and even little Abigail and Zachary. The roar was deafening as yelling, growling, the crushing and snapping of furniture and the collision of bodies rent the air of the small space. The entire china cabinet fell away from the wall after a particularly harsh bit of reverb from Damien's forcing Jasper against the wall. The armoire wavered before crashing down on Embry's back.
He uttered a few choice words and Jezzie shrieked and closed her eyes as grains of shattered crystal and china rained down around them. Jezzie gasped as a heavy someone then landed right on top of the cabinet, pressing the two further to the ground as Embry tried to prevent her from being crushed by the supernatural strength around her. She could see a small bit of light flood back on her left side and she could see Jake force the cabinet off Embry's back.
Embry slid Jezzie and across the dusty bits of finery as he lifted the armoire more fully to block any more projectile bodies. "Get her out of here," Jacob shouted over the din. Jezzie made a quick scramble on her hands and knees to the door only a few feet away. She made it out in time to see one of the smaller werewolves – she wasn't sure if it was the boy or the girl – come flying out with Alice in full attack mode.
Embry more or less tossed her in the passenger side of her Jeep as Jake jumped off the Cullen porch. Jezzie watched in horror through the front windows as she saw the fight rage. She watched as they screamed and yelled and growled; she could see someone tear another someone's arm off and another person was being held by the hair. Her hand flew up and covered her shocked mouth instinctively. She could've sworn all that debris meant they'd torn down a wall.
Her attention was broken as Embry put her truck into gear and she heard Jacob shout. "Get her back to La Push and I want your ass back on the treaty line with the rest. We will not be party to this BS."
And so they weren't.
If Jezzie were not so shell-shocked by her second ever Pack related adventure she would have protested being kept behind the lines and guarded like a prisoner. But she didn't. The Pack patrolled the treaty line for hours, and it wasn't until Jasper and Rosalie arrived to tell them that the Minneapolis Pack had gone back East that some of the Pack fell off patrol to rest up for their next shift.
There was a letter in Jacob's mailbox from the Minneapolis Pack the next day thanking for him for his openness to cooperation. And the Pack accepted La Push's offer, reciprocating in full. They also promised ample notice of their next arrival in Washington.
And though Jezzie was almost mauled in her attempts to help negotiate some semblance of peace between the four species present, she didn't complain. Leah arrived back in La Push around 2AM and almost took Jacob's head off when she found out he didn't call her. She growled and seethed the entire time she was driving Jezzie home. Jezzie almost fell asleep against the window.
She mumbled her thanks and stumbled painfully into the house. The day of school, combined with work – and recent history – had not been kind to her pain quotient. She collapsed for the remainder of the night, exhausted.
The Pack found that her willingness to help did not end her exile. And no one heard from Jezzie for many days thereafter.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Embry only barely stirred when Jared threw his bedroom door open and let it crash against the opposite wall and ricochet back. Damn, his mom had been right, boy was dead to the world.
Tiffany Call had been nice enough when Jared Cameron had showed up on her front porch asking to talk to her half-dead son. Jared had become a regular enough face over the course of a year that she expected him as often as she did Jake or Quil. Or even Seth.
And because of that, Jared was nice enough to drag her emo son's bitch ass out of bed. "Do you plan on getting the fuck up at all in the next few days?" Jared asked loudly.
Embry replied with the display of a select finger and rolled back over. "I don't have patrol until tonight."
"So?" Jared replied coming more fully into the room. "You haven't left this goddamn room in two days – what the fuck is wrong with you? Even your Mom is worried and hell knows raising you makes it hard for that woman to worry."
"I don't have patrol until tonight."
Jared just stared for a moment at the pathetic lump that his charge had turned into. In the broad scheme of things, Jared and Embry had it easy. Dealing with Jake had been a motherbitch for Sam, and Paul had seriously considered investing in some rubber bullets after the first few weeks of trying to wrangle Quil. But Embry had always been lowkey and, sure, phasing had seriously freaked him the fuck out, but he learned to control it quick; he didn't complain about his Mom ragging on him all the time, and if Jared were being honest – he was glad he didn't have some spazzy imprint fascination running through his head all the time.
Jared actually liked the kid; raising him through Packlife made him love him. Kim loved Embry, too. There was a strange and intrinsic sort of soul tie that developed in the mentoring lineages of the Pack. Sam was a fucking mess when Jake left and no one heard from him; Emily cried for days. Jake had almost eaten Tommy Littlesea when he came back into town after Collin first phased; and Paul had been the only one on Quil's side in the first day after he imprinted.
And, now, Jared was worried as fucking hell when Embry had fallen off the radar for two days. Because Jared loved Embry – in his own weird way. He loved him enough to go and drag him out of whatever funk he was in, because if he let Kim do it – like she'd been threatening – she might've traumatized the guy.
But this was not the Embry anyone knew. Embry was quiet, sure. Never talked much, even as a kid. But this was fucking depressing as hell. It wasn't hard to gather just by associating with the Pack like normal that Embry hadn't turned up in days. No, he hadn't had patrol in a few days but to go more than twelve hours without anyone hearing from a Packmate was pretty friggin' odd.
Something was wrong. "Embry what the fuck is going on?" Jared was running over scenarios in his head. Embry was even keel about almost anything that came at him. Not much shook him up; Jared liked to think he got some of that from him. He was right. "Embry? Seriously? If you don't tell me who died, I'm dragging your ass into the yard and locking you out."
Embry's phone lit up and shook against the side table. Jared snatched it up before Embry even had time to rollover. It was Leah.
"Hello?" Jared answered.
"Give me my phone," Embry demanded without moving. At least he'd rolled over so Jared knew he was alive.
"Jared? Where's Embry?" Leah asked.
"He's being a bitch right now, can I take a message?"
"Sure," Leah replied. Jared could practically hear her roll her eyes over the phone. "Tell Embry to stop being insane and to give the damn girl some room to breathe because he's being a pain in the ass. And if he doesn't, well… I hope he's not allergic to nuts because I'm going to kick his up into his throat."
"All righty then," Jared nodded. "Anything else?"
"I think that covers it for now."
Jared hung up the phone. "This is about Jezzie? Are you torturing the poor girl?"
"I'm not torturing her," Embry retorted actually sitting upright. "She won't talk to me!"
"Did it ever occur to you that that's her choice? You can't force yourself on people, Emb."
"She won't even tell me why!"
"All right," Jared shook his head and stepped forward. "Time to take a shower and wash the clingy bastard off you." Jared reached down grabbed Embry's hand and pulled him out of his bed. The kid was damn mess and hell he needed a fucking shower.
"I'm not clingy," Embry insisted as Jared steered him out of the room and down the hall.
"Like hell you aren't," Jared scoffed. He didn't think he was doing it on purpose, but Embry was becoming a dick over a girl. Something neither his friends, nor the aforementioned girl would appreciate. Embry liked Jezzie. A lot. Jared thought he probably liked her more than he realized, more than the rest of the Pack realized. Jared was pretty sure only he knew how much Embry liked Jezzie. And he thought that was damn stupid. The boy had never been good with this sort of thing.
"Over my dead body is any pup of mine turning into a whiny-ass bitch and scaring away a good, decent woman." Jared opened the bathroom door and gave Embry a good shove to the back. "Now get in the damn shower before I call Kim and she'll help you do it."
Mrs. Call had actually hugged Jared on her way out the door, thanking him profusely before going to open the store across town. Jared just sat on their porch. It was a quiet morning. The Call house was small, but they were on some really nice property. The trees were far back enough that the place made for good open space, and always the brightest mornings on the res. Jared heard Embry in the house less than ten minutes later; he eventually swung the screen door open before sitting down next to larger wolf.
Embry inhaled deep and Jared just continued to pick pine needles of an individual frond. Something was up with Embry and Jared could sense he was about to spill, so he just waited for it.
"I haven't heard from Jezzie in two weeks," Embry said, shaking some of the water out of his hair.
"Wow," Jared offered. "I haven't seen her around, but I didn't know she was gone gone."
Embry nodded. "It didn't really bother me at first," he shrugged. "I mean… we've been busy. It's not like I didn't notice, but I didn't make anything of it. But a few days ago she called Joy and cancelled on her."
Jared nodded.
"I called her to see if everything was okay, but she never picked up. The same thing happened the next day. And the next. And it's kinda taken all I have to try and be normal about this and not go wolf-stalk her house like some creep, but I was worried. She just… disappeared. And then out of the blue, she called Leah. She disappeared to her house for a full day and came back with all this ominous bullshit."
Jared tried not to grin – this was serious – he wondered if it really was ominous or if Leah was just rattling Embry's cage.
"And, yeah, I was worried before. But when Leah came back and pretty much implied that Jezzie's keeping something from me."
"So?" Jared offered.
"So?" Embry replied with a small shake of his head. "Dude… who just does that? Who just bails on all their friends and doesn't say anything. That's not cool."
"We're kind of in some extenuating circumstances, Emb, don't you think?"
"What?" Embry shrugged. "Just because we're shapeshifters means we can't have normal relationships with people?"
"Pretty much," Jared nodded. "Think about it, man. In the course of a week Jezzie watched Anna's first phase, learned about the wolves, vampires and imprinting. I think she might be a bit shell-shocked."
Embry didn't respond. Why hadn't he thought of that? "I'm such a moron," he groaned, leaning back.
"Yes," Jared agreed. "But a well-meaning moron. Look, Emb? Just chill out when it comes to Jezzie. I know you like her a lot man, but don't scare her off. And don't obsess."
"It's hard not to obsess," Embry offered, staring at the sky.
"I'm aware," Jared nodded. "More aware then you'll hopefully ever be. Don't treat her like an imprint, because she's not. Whoa, whoa," Jared supplied when Embry's head snapped up with a glare. "Chill. Okay? I'm not placing a value judgment on imprinting here, so you shouldn't either. It's different Embry."
"It is," he agreed.
"And I think it's a good difference. It gives you both space do things as they come naturally. Jezzie isn't an imprint. So don't treat her like one. None of us should treat our imprints 'like imprints'. It's not fucking healthy. But we have a harder time controlling it than you do. She's first and foremost a human being. And so are you. So even though all this BS is probably Pack-related, you gotta remember that you're still a guy. And hopefully at some point that's all you'll be."
"So," Embry sighed rubbing his hand over his face. When was the last time he could've gone a day without shaving? Those had been good times… "I have to treat her normal. I don't know how to do that Jared. What do normal people do when their friends ignore them?"
Jared shrugged. "Hell if I know. That's a chick thing. Ignoring people. Some people would probably call obsessively but I don't know who would call obsessively and worry themselves to the point where they don't leave their room for two days."
"Point granted," Embry conceded.
"About fucking time," Jared smiled, giving Embry's shoulder a friendly shove. "I can't take this emo bullshit from you, Emb. You were the easy pup. What the hell happened?"
"I don't know man," Embry grinned in return and slung arm around Jared's shoulder, his playful air returning. "This girl's turning me into a total pussy and I can't even help it. Maybe I'll get the retribution when Seth reaches his emo stage?"
"My bets are on Seth stealing your girl if you don't get your ass in gear. And Jez definitely wears the balls in your relationship."
Tuesday December 20, 2006
"Hi, Joy? It's Jezzie. I was wondering if I could call in that rain check on dinner?"
"Absolutely!" Joy shouted over the phone. The woman didn't even pause to breathe - let alone consider having another mouth to feed. "How about tonight? I made pot roast – I make a mean pot roast."
Jezzie laughed. "Okay, sounds great. What should I bring?"
"Oh, please," she heard Joy Ateara scoff. "Don't worry about it, hon."
"Please? I had to bail on you guys with no decent excuse, the least I can do is bring dessert."
"Dessert sounds good to me," Joy agreed. "Give me an hour, okay? The house is a mess and if Quil isn't stuck to the floor yet, I'm sure Anna's laundry situation has eaten her alive. Maybe both."
Jezzie agreed and hung up the phone. She was glad she was feeling better. She was glad to be back. And she was glad to be spending the evening with the Ateara kids – who Jezzie had found took right after their Mom. Joy Ateara was where Quil and Anna got all their Quil and Anna-ness. Jezzie wasn't sure how to describe it. Maybe sass? Yeah, she'd go with sass.
Jezzie was also starting to think that Joy Ateara was one of the only things that anchored the tribal council to sanity. Well, that and maybe Paul. Elecitons were next month and everybody was rather certain on Paul's winning. They didn't even fix the voting (Paul would have killed them if they tried), he was winning hearts and minds all on his own. Those two definitely tag teamed Billy, Old Quil and Sue – who seemed so stuck in an alternate universe some days she wondered how La Push even functioned as a political entity.
Joy loved all her extended and unrelated family greatly. She had to. There was too much acting against them for her to ever consider not taking someone under her wing. So when wan little Jezzie Sullivan showed up on her front porch with an apple pie just below her gaunt, smiling face she got mauled. Joy looked her up and down once before ushering her inside the house. She carefully took the pie and started towards the kitchen before nodding her head towards the table. "Sit that behin' of yours down. You're wastin' away 'fore my eyes. Sit! Sit! Mama feed you. Quil! Anna!"
Jezzie hadn't made it more than a few steps before both she was sandwiched between the two Ateara siblings. "Red on Red sandwich!" they shouted.
"Cheeks in seats, heathens!" Joy yelled from the kitchen and the three laughed like kids before sitting down.
"So you don't think we're total freak shows?" Anna asked as Joy knocked the swinging door open with her hip and placed the pot roast in the center of the table.
"Of course not. I've just been a little sick. It doesn't really have anything to do with you guys being wolves. Oddly enough."
The knowing glance both Anna and Quil gave her from across the table when she used the term 'a little sick' lead her to believe they knew exactly what was wrong with her. She had anticipated that. She hadn't asked Embry to keep it a secret and hadn't expected him to. She knew Leah's mind was a steel trap, but she'd kind of planned on the news getting around once she'd told Embry.
Joy broke their small visual conversation. "Well, Jezzie, I'm really glad we haven't scared you off. Honestly, I've been thinking Anna was gonna phase – not quite so soon – but she certainly had all the warning signs. You seem to have handled it pretty well."
Jezzie shrugged. "As well as can be expected, right? They still kinda terrify me. I wouldn't even leave Kim's house when I asked for them to prove it."
Joy smiled slightly as she put a ridiculously large portion of sweet potatoes on Jezzie's plate. "Well, good for you for asking for proof when these kids threw down such an outlandish concept. Smart girl. And for staying in the house," she pointed to her sharply with the serving fork. "They're our kids, yes, but they're still wolves. You're well-advised to give them ample room whenever you can, you hear me?"
"Yes, ma'am."
And the rest of the evening passed in such a normal manner that Jezzie wondered if maybe she hadn't dreamt recent history and maybe things were normal. That was until Anna snapped the bathroom doorknob off with a muttered curse. Apparently wolf strength was hard to get used to. They ate the apple pie Jezzie had bought, watched Family Guy, Joy tsked a little more about Jezzie's obvious state of unhealth, and didn't let her leave until she accepted a thermos of stew as a good will gesture.
She smiled and took it with grateful thanks. On her way out, Quil snagged her elbow on the porch and turned doleful eyes on her. "Oh God, what?" Jezzie asked warily. "Your wiles don't work on my Quil Ateara. Save it for Veronica. What do you want?"
"Do me a favor and go say hi to Emb before he has a total bitch fit meltdown?"
"It's 8PM," Jezzie checked her watch. "Is that too late to stop in?"
"The Calls love you, so I'd say it's fine."
Jezzie was still nervous knocking on the front door. She hadn't planned on doing this. She didn't know how she was going to tell Embry she was back in the real world. The fact that she had to think about how she was going to tell him something so trivial like that felt incredibly immature. This boy brought out a lot of infantile tendencies in her. And she didn't appreciate the stomach acrobatics either.
"Jezzie?" Tiffany Call's look of surprise was at least welcoming. "Come in, come in." She stepped aside and allowed Jezzie to enter. "Are you feeling better? Embry mentioned you'd been a bit ill. I was wondering why I hadn't seen you around. Anything we can do for you, please don't hesitate."
"Thanks Ms. Call," Jezzie smiled. Tiffany Call really was a nice lady. "I actually was just stopping in to say hi – because I am feeling a lot better."
"Well," Tiffany smiled, placing a gentle hand on Jezzie's shoulder. "It's good to see out and about. Last I checked, Embry was asleep but I don't think he'd mind if you woke him up to say hello. Last door on the right."
The door moved open easily enough and while the light was on, Embry was indeed out cold. Jezzie took a moment to glance around the small room. Embry had somehow managed to wedge a bed, a dresser, a desk and two bookshelves into the small space. The room was neat, if crowded. Everything obviously had a place and the only hint that this wasn't just a staging area for a teenage bedroom was the desk spread with homework. The bookshelves were full with varying shelves of CDs and books. There might have been an organization system – it looked like there was – but there didn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to what Embry might've favored in his music or reading. There was political philosophy and history, classics and graphic novels, Hawking and… was that a Quran? Jezzie reached up a bit almost automatically, tilting her head to the side to observe the unfamiliar script on the binding. She heard movement from behind her and turned in time to see Embry roll back over to face the wall.
"Whatever the hell you want Jake, the answer is no," he mumbled.
Jezzie smiled. He must've been awful tired if he couldn't tell the difference in sight, sound, or smell between her and Jacob Black. "Well it's a good thing Jake isn't here then, huh?" Jezzie replied quietly as she turned back around to the bookshelf.
"The fuck?" Jezzie couldn't help the ear-to-ear grin as she listened to Embry awake in a confused and shocked haze.
"Jez?" He stood up – maybe a little too quickly given the way he wobbled like a drunk. Jezzie turned again and reached an arm out to steady him and he bent down and scooped her into a hug. A warm, safe, happy, bone-crushing hug. Was this being too obvious? He wasn't really sure. He was acting on impulse which – given the givens – was probably not the best idea in the world. But she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back, laughing easily.
"Not that I'm complaining but what the hell are you doing here?"
"I just stopped by to say hello," she replied. "I had dinner at the Atearas. Feeling a lot better. Hey, Embry?"
"Yeah?"
"You can put me down now."
Oh. Right. "Sorry," he mumbled putting her on solid ground. Pants. Pants were definitely in order, he decided. "So is your flare passed?" he asked as he opened a dresser drawer.
"Mostly," she nodded happily. "Still a little achy, but nothing I can't handle. I'm a lot better."
Embry – slightly more comfortable now that he wasn't standing in front of Jezzie in only a pair of boxers – sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Jezzie appraisingly.
She didn't miss it. "What?" she asked.
"You don't look good."
"Thanks Embry," Jezzie rolled her eyes. "You sure know the way to a girl's heart."
"I just mean you still look sick," how he managed to stick his foot in his mouth so often with this girl was beyond him.
"Well, I am," she nodded taking a seat in his desk chair and propping her feet up next to Embry. "But I have two things to ask."
"Okay, shoot."
"Number one," she indicated raising an index finger. "Can I borrow The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," she pointed to the bookshelf. "I've been meaning to read it but the library here is small."
Embry smiled. "Of course," he nodded. He knew Jezzie was a science person. She liked logic and process. But it was nice to see that Jezzie liked to read. "Under one condition…" when she glanced back at him dubiously, he grinned further. "You have to lend me a book. You can pick it."
Jezzie's grin matched his own and she bit her lip, standing gracefully to appraise his bookshelf. "Hm… I have to see what you've read, first. Wouldn't want a repeat performance. And it should be of comparable length… I guess that rules out Anna Karenina…"
"I have seen that one," Embry interrupted her. "And I'm gonna need a helluva long time to get through that. Help me out, Jez."
"Ever read Conrad's Heart of Darkness?" she asked with a sly grin as she turned about to face him. He shook his head. "Excellent!" She pulled the book carefully from the shelf and ran a hand over the cover. "You read a lot," she noted. It wasn't a question.
"Yeah, when I used to have time. I don't even read the instructions on Easy Mac, anymore. Some days I wonder if I'm still literate."
"It's like riding a bike," she insisted with a smile, sitting lightly on the edge of the bed next to him. "Do you know what you want to do when you grow up, Peter Pan?" She glanced back at him, and Embry could tell that her question wasn't patronizing or prodding, like every other human life form that wanted to know if he was going 'make something of himself' or why he had such a hard time getting to school everyday or why he only did strategic parts of his homework. She was just curious. They'd never really talked much about school, really.
"I don't know," Embry offered a one-shouldered shrug. "I've always been really good with numbers – you saw, I do all the billing and accounting stuff for my Mom's store. I'd like to go to college in the fall. Kinda depends on a lot of things. Pack, money, whether or not I can salvage my GPA from the hit it took this fall. We'll see." Jezzie nodded with a small smile playing on her lips. People always asked him if he was going to do something, very few people ever asked what. Embry liked the change. He liked that Jezzie just knew he was going to do something cool with his life, and she was just curious about the specifics.
"What about you, Tink?" he asked. "What are you gonna do when you grow up?"
"Mm," she hummed. "Med school."
"Really?" he replied. "Tough stuff. Bet you'll love it, though."
"I think I will," she agreed.
"Was that the second thing you wanted to know?" Embry asked, leaning back against the wall his bed was pushed to.
"No, actually. Tell me what's been going on the mythical part of the world since I've been gone?" she insisted. "I feel out of the loop."
"So you mean to tell me that some other non-human biting vampire from Alaska stopped by, saw Nessie, and the shapeshifters on their way out of town and is going to go to some vampire monarchy that can have us all killed and now it's just a matter of when Alice sees them arriving?"
"Pretty much." Embry wasn't sure if she was gonna freak out like she did when Anna phased or if she'd take it way too well like she did with the werewolf thing. He was batting a thousand with this girl's reactions.
Then that wry smile Jezzie gets when she had an idea cropped up on her face. "What?" Embry asked, dreading her response just a bit. The girl had a habit of throwing serious curveballs at him – and aiming for the nuts. She took no prisoners and the fact that she was involved in a mythical world with people that could kill her in a moment, didn't really seem to phase her. She was either crazy or tough as nails. Probably both.
"I'm not telling you," she teased lightly as the cogs in her brain continued to spin.
"What do you mean you're not telling me?"
"I have a question… a musing… about this upcoming battle. But you're way to personally invested. And you're not Alpha. Technically I'm not under your jurisdiction."
Embry rolled his eyes. Great. Whatever she had up her sleeve it was bound to be a whammy – especially if she wasn't telling him. Embry wasn't nearly as overprotective as some of the others, particularly Sam or Jared – but if it was bad enough that she wouldn't tell him, he only assumed it was because she knew he'd put his foot down. Awesome.
"Technically," Embry mocked her tone, "you're from Forks and are under Carlisle's jurisdiction."
Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him for a moment. "Good," she finally said. "I need to talk to him too. Let's go find Jake," she hopped up out of her seat. "I'm calling a meeting."
And for some godforsaken reason, Embry followed her out of his bedroom continuing to buy into her elusiveness. "A meeting? Well aren't we all that and a bag of chips? You're calling a meeting with my Alpha and the head of the neighboring coven. Aren't you precocious?"
Jezzie's relapse hadn't fully died out; or it was gone but left her with lingering symptoms. She had skirted around the issue but he had figured it out. Based on what she'd told him her symptoms tended to be, it wasn't hard to pick out. "Wallet," he said quietly. She nodded and picked it off his counter, along with the phone next to it. "Phone? Good."
Jezzie was strong willed enough that Embry was afraid that she wouldn't be receptive to help. So he'd always been really careful about stepping over boundaries. He didn't want to make the girl feel like an idiot, but whatever method Embry had adopted (because he sure as hell don't know how he stumbled on it; he was running blind) seemed to be working. She responded well to it and didn't yell at him.
"Sanity?"
"Funny," she chided. She took a last look at the countertop, absently rubbing a spot on her lower back as she made for the door. However, Embry being an all encompassing being blocked her exit. She was forgetting and her back was still bothering her?
Embry held my arm out and grasped her shoulder, causing her to meet his eyes. He couldn't help his glance down to her leg as she tried to shake the feeling back into it again. "You okay?" he asked quietly.
She nodded. "Four."
Just to clear up any confusion: the whole shebang with Irina stopping in town and seeing Nessie and the shapeshifters has happened in Jezzie's absence. Just like it does in canon. I'm not rewriting the whole shtick, because, well, I'm kind of assuming you've already read it. So that's what happened there at the end. Sorry for any confusion.
Also, have you guys ever seen someone drop the tranny out of a really old (or conversely, really new and expensive) car? It's horrifying and awesome.