Jasper darted off deeper into the forest. I followed closely, my black cloak flowing gracefully behind me like a shadow.
"Use your senses. What do you hear?"
I heard the rustling of the leaves, cars on the road around Volterra, people walking in town, and… the soft snores of deers. They were around the river area, as I could hear water gushing down the stream.
"Found it."
"Venison blood it is today, then."
I crept up on the largest deer that was dead, and with the strength I exerted on the deer's windpipe, I snapped it in half. It meant no yowling and struggling. I sank my teeth into the deer's neck impatiently, where the artery was. Warm, like normal human blood. However, it did not taste the same. Jasper hunted his as if it was really easy, like he did it with one hand behind his back, and eyes blindfolded.
"Why do I feel… weaker?" I've never felt weak after drinking blood before. The feeling was weird. Usually there would be strength, power.
"Animal blood isn't like human blood. It can quench your thirst, but it isn't as strong as human blood. Let's say it's like a human living only on tofu – as Edward had explained to me before – it keeps you up and about, but just never fully satisfied." His explanation was logical.
After the hunt, Jasper had to go. I decided that I had spent too much time out in the forest, and that it was time to go back home. They would start to worry.
"IMPOSSIBLE! IT CAN'T BE! YOU'RE LYING, CAIUS! HE WOULDN'T DO THAT!" Marcus' voice boomed through the hallways from the throne hall. What was going on?
Caius whispered something, which I was too far away to hear what he said. When I entered the throne hall, Caius and Marcus had left. I left them to be and did my own things. A moment later after they finished their discussion, I went to walk the castle. Marcus and Caius were on their thrones by the time I came back. They sat, in authority, like something grave had happened and it was time for decision. However, nobody was at the centre of the hall, except me.
"What's going-" I was cut off mid-speech.
"Shut up. You have no authority to make a statement." Caius grinned.
What was going on? Me, no authority? I was above all! What were they saying?
Marcus came up to me with a speed so blindingly fast that I'd never seen before. It was the action of anger. His hard, cold-to-human fingers grabbed tightly at my neck, threatening to rip my head off that very half-second.
"I could kill you now, and believe me, I very much want to. I could rip your head from your body right now, Aro." Marcus was trembling with anger, as he spoke through his teeth.
"Calm, Marcus." Caius laughed.
"What did you tell him?" I snapped.
"Nothing much." He smiled deviously.
I grabbed his arm swiftly and securely, and read what happened that Marcus was so angry with me.
I felt a snarl rip through my throat. Caius happily let me enjoy the pain while reading his mind.
"Caius, you-" I exclaimed in anger.
"It was not intentional! I'm sorry!" Caius feigned innocence, then laughed.
Outrageous! Caius told Marcus… He wanted to overthrow me just because the battle did not go as planned? Ugh! Immature idiot.
"She was your sister, Aro. She was my LIFE! How could you be so selfish! Killing her out of jealousy, my poor Didyme. You are sick…" Marcus winced.
I was indeed jealous. I changed Didyme into a vampire, but I didn't expect her and Marcus to get married. That wouldn't be a life I would have chose. But maybe he was right. I was selfish, so much that I did not allow my own sister to love. Marcus released the grip on my neck.
"What's done is done… Just go. I never want to see you again." He said, his back facing me.
I left the hall. What should I do now? Everyone hated me. Where could I go? Just then, I remembered what Jasper had said. I could go find Grather, and find out more about the fascinating species. What about Sulpicia? She shouldn't suffer with me. She could stay in Volterra while I embark on my journey to the Amazon. I ran from dawn to dusk just to reach the Amazon. I was getting thirsty. My throat burned like a wild fire.
'Do not hunt humans. Do not hunt humans.' Were the only words that ran through my mind. I raced through the forest. Using what Jasper had thought me, instinct, I felt a presence of a beast that I had never seen before. It's giant head was larger than me myself. It's eyes sparkled red, like rubies as large as a boulder.
It was a tough fight. It was hardly as easy as handling the deer I hunted yesterday. It's height itself was taller than me by at least thrice. It was 3 meters long. The anaconda chased after me, and it was really fast. I leaped onto a tree higher up, and fell onto its back. It was most vulnerable. I wrestled the snake and finally killed it. Now, there would not be another creature that hunted on the other beasts in the forest. I followed my senses to find myself in the territory of the jaguars. I hunted a few with the little expertise I had. Now, I had to find Grather.
"Hello? Is that you, Aro?" An unfamiliar voice whispered. Human. How did he know me?
"Who are you?" I demanded.
"I, sir, am Grather. Alice told me that you would be coming to find me." He said timidly. I guessed that he was afraid I hunted humans, well I didn't really hunt them. Heidi would fish a whole group for us.
"Oh. No need to be afraid, Grather. I've hunted, on a few jaguars in the jungle."
"I can see that, your eyes aren't that crimson red as when you hunt humans. It's turning a little towards the orange, though not that visible. I've seen many before." Grather explained, as he walked out from behind the trees. Curiosity overwhelmed me. I had to ask the question.
"Aren't you afraid that we might kill you? Or that if the Volturi knew, they would either kill or change you?" I asked, very curious to know the answer.
"Never. I've been waiting to be changed. But Alice never wanted to change me. I didn't force her. She was my friend, and I did not want to put her in a difficult position." He sighed.
"And now you don't want to be changed?" I asked.
"I still want to, however, when I was bitten by one of the nomads, he winced and left, leaving me there. I thought I was going to change, and was waiting for the pain to start. It just never came. I only have bite marks, and suffered from poisoning." That was puzzling. He was a special human. I listened attentively as I wanted to know more. "I did some research. People like that are either born a werewolf spirit warrior, or a vampire-human. So I guess I'm a werewolf spirit warrior. Though I've never really phased. I did phase once before. It felt tingly and all weird." So he was another one of those werewolves.
"I know some werewolves, down at La Push. It's in Washington." I told Grather. "You can come along with me if you want. But first I need to find Joham." Suddenly he went silent.