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Disclaimer: I seriously don't own Twilight. Any of it.
"Edward." Rosalie's angel's voice had Edward's attention at once.
They communicated silently for a moment, with every other eye trained on them.
"Yes," Edward finally said, his voice cold. I looked at him curiously.
"Today we went exploring the neighbourhood," Rosalie began. "We went to La Push, where the boundary line was. Tanya and Irina argued that they weren't part of the treaty we had with the werewolves, so they crossed the line and I stayed behind. But, not surprisingly, they ran into the werewolves." Rosalie said this with a tone of distaste.
"They saw them, and almost fought with Tanya and Irina right there, near the road. That was when Paul saw Tanya.
"The others probably didn't know, because they were all human at the time. They probably had a hunch. Well, Irina acted really cool and like she didn't know them at all. And Tanya…she and Paul were like lovebirds." Rosalie shot Tanya a teasing glance and shook her beautiful head, her golden curls flying. A smile lit up Tanya's usually-stern features.
"Anyways, Sam gave them a warning about the treaty. Paul and Tanya spent some time together, and that was when the pack noticed. Irina walked back to the boundary line and we spent the rest of the day shopping. Tanya only came flying back when we were done shopping and you two were out," she finished nodding to us both.
"But, Tanya came with news: the werewolves discovered that you had been changed, Bella." She looked at me when she said my name. "They request to start the war tomorrow night, in the woods."
"Does Charlie know about this?" My voice was barely above a whisper, but she heard and nodded.
"I imagine the werewolves have already told him," she said dryly.
I nodded weakly. Edward's arm supported me as I sank down into a chair.
Jasper cleared his throat. "Since we're fighting again, we need to brush up our skills. It will be harder, because, this time, our enemies have experience and also know the type of moves we are familiar with."
Everyone muttered in agreement. Jasper held up his hand for silence. "I'm sorry Tanya, but this is how it has to be. We start practice now?" He looked at Carlisle.
Carlisle nodded grimly. "Alice?"
Everyone watched Alice as she closed her eyes for a short second and opened them again. She nodded.
"The future disappears tomorrow night."
Jasper walked out of the house and into the clearing where we had practised fighting so long ago. The place brought back bitter memories.
The practice continued exactly the same as before, except for a few exceptions. Tanya proved useful with her flying ability, and the rest of the newer vampires were exceptionally experienced, also.
Finally, it was my turn. Edward squeezed my hand in reassurance, then I walked out to meet Jasper. All my senses were alert and I was trembling slightly with anticipation. I didn't want the other to know, so I walked, tall and proud, with my head held high.
I stood to face opposite Jasper. He smiled slightly and slipped forward into a crouch. I imitated his pose. It seemed strangely familiar to me, like I had been practising my whole life.
Jasper snarled, a little sound, and leaped to advance on me. I deftly swung onto my left, narrowly avoiding Jasper's sharp teeth. He struck again and I swung to the side again, just in time.
Just then, an idea rooted itself in my head. I jumped up high just as Jasper darted forward. My legs were springs; I leapt up a couple of metres high. Just as Jasper was about to pursue, I threw him down with my 'clumsiness power'. He slipped and lay on the floor on his side. I heard the others gasp. Jasper was getting up, ready to strike again, and that was when I plunged down.
I landed neatly on the ground next to him, crouched. My teeth were just centimeters away from his throat. Everyone gasped again.
Jasper laughed and drew away from my glistening teeth. I laughed too and got up, walking to Edward's side. He hugged me.
"Congratulations. You did well," he said, grinning.
"Thanks," I said flippantly. I tucked my hands under my chin and gazed out onto the battlefield. Jasper was walking away, to Alice.
"It was a really good idea to use your power that way," he commented. His expression was thoughtful, like he was deep in thought about something, or listening to someone else's thoughts.
The rest of the night continued like this. We all battled each other, and polished our skills. I discovered that I had fighting instincts inside me, which just needed improving. The way I fought seemed natural, like I had been practising all my life.
I lost track of time as the night progressed. I practised my skills against everyone, and won most of them. The only one I couldn't beat was Alice, of course. I was glowing inside by the time dawn approached.
Somehow, I didn't feel tired at all, though I felt I should be. I leaned against Edward's side contentedly as I watched the last of the fights. His arms were tight around me, and I was in the best heaven that I could be.
"Where are we going to spend the day? I'm thirsty," I asked, gazing into his dark eyes. There were dark purple bruises under them, like he couldn't sleep during the night, which was not the case.
His eyes lit up with amusement. "I thought you'd like to visit the grizzlies, wouldn't you? You can finally see Emmett hunting."
"Sure. Fun," I joked. Edward smiled crookedly.
"We need to be as strong as we can be to defeat the werewolves," he reminded me.
My face was instantly cold. "No need for reminding," I said in a tight voice.
Edward crushed me to his stone chest. "I'm sorry," he whispered. His lips were in my hair.
I sighed, surrendering to his embrace. "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have reacted that way. I should know better than to wish the werewolves luck." I spat out the word 'werewolf'.
"Don't blame yourself, Bella. I shouldn't have mentioned it in the first place," he argued, his tone light.
I smiled slightly. "You'll always blame yourself, won't you?" I asked slyly. He nodded. "Shall we go to the Goat Rocks Wilderness now?" I changed the subject before he could expand on the other one.
Edward said nothing. He continued to gaze unseeingly into the forest surrounding us, his face expressionless. Finally, he nodded and walked over to Carlisle to tell him of our plans. I saw Carlisle nod and walk over to Emmett to tell him. Emmett and Rosalie walked over to us; Emmett was loud and cheerful, despite his loss of the wrestling match, and Rosalie was in a thoughtful mood.
"Let's go!" Emmett said cheerfully. He launched into the dawn with much enthusiasm, Rosalie right behind him. I laughed and ran after him, and, holding onto Edward's hand, quickly overtook them.
"Which way?" I shouted into the draft pushing my hair back from my face and knotting it.
"Follow me," he shouted. Even though the wind whipped away our words, we could still hear each other properly.
Soon, we came to a stop at a place filled with green. Green could be seen everywhere: on leaves, trees, grass, and lots more. Everything was green, with colourful birds flitting here and there. It was very peaceful, calming. I felt my worries slip away at once.
"Wow," I breathed, committing the scene into memory. "It's beautiful."
Edward smiled crookedly. "It is, isn't it?"
I could have sat there the whole day, watching the landscape and listening to the sounds with Edward. But, just then, Emmett and Rosalie came into view, snapping me out of my daydream and reminding me what I had to do.
I bounded forward, following a delicious scent that wafted past my nose. Following it to the end of its trail, a huge grizzly lumbered along, completely unaware of our presence.
It was brown in colour, very furry and tall, at least twice as tall as I was. It also looked very appetising, and my voice filled with excess venom.
I hid in a clump of bushes, waiting for the time when the grizzly turned its back. When it did, I leapt onto its furry back. It immediately tried to buck me off, but I held on, completely oblivious to the pairs of watchful eyes behind me.
I clambered up the bear's back, to its neck. I sank my teeth in its neck, felt the venom flow from my mouth into the beast's neck, felt its movements slow under me as it writhed in the pain of my venom, of its predator. I could feel the blood; it was so close, that my throat burned with longing. I drank thirstily. The blood washed down my throat, down my body, nourishing it. I sighed in content and licked the blood from my lips when I was done.
The still corpse of the bear lay beneath me, and I kicked it away. Almost immediately, insects and birds advanced on it to devour the flesh.
I walked back to where I had last left Edward, but they hadn't moved an inch. I looked away in embarrassment when I realised that they had seen the kill.
"Nice one," Emmett commented, slapping me on the back. I grinned at smacked his shoulder in response.
"I'd like to see you hunt," I volunteered, grinning impishly.
Emmett grinned. "Easily arranged," he said and ran off. I followed him, with Edward and Rosalie close behind.
Emmett pounced on a bear playfully, wrestling with it until it surrendered in exhaustion. That was when he drank the bear's blood. When he had finished, he looked at me playfully. This was all a game to him.
"Is he always like this?" I asked Edward.
Edward nodded. "My turn, then Rosalie's." With that, he turned left and ran hard. The run was so full of grace and power that it left me dazed for a second, then I charged after him. He found a large grizzly, even larger than my one. Without hesitating, he darted forward and sank his teeth in the beast's arm. The bear staggered before it hit the ground. Edward withdrew his teeth from the bear's arm and sank them in again at the neck. The grizzly's movements stilled, and Edward leaned back from the grizzly, grinning widely. His eyes were now a light butterscotch colour.
"My turn." Rosalie's musical voice announced. She turned to the next copse of trees. Through the green, leafy branches, I spied a small grizzly mother tending to its cubs.
Rosalie flitted forward. In one short second, she was in between the trees, creeping up to the bear. When she was just a few metres away, she shot from her standing place. Her style seemed to be stealth rather than power. In no time at all, the mother grizzly was down on the ground and Rosalie was drinking from its neck. Her beautiful golden hair was slightly bloodstained.
She ran back to us, her hair flying in the wind, a smirk on her divine face. Her eyes were the lightest golden colour.
"Shall we get back to Carlisle?" Rosalie asked. Edward nodded and then we were flying through the trees.
When we were running, I thought I saw a streak of russet fur, then deep black eyes. The eyes held me gaze for the tiniest fraction of a second. They were furious. No, they were beyond anger; they were bottomless pools of the deepest death pit.
His furious face stayed in my memory, and I knew it would haunt me for the rest of my life.
Jacob.
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