It was dawn, in a clearing in the woods. There was an eerie silence. It was a large field surrounded by dense forest. The mist was heavy; it's overcast, grey. Suddenly, the quiet was broke by Darius being flung through the air, flailing in slow motion. He landed hard on his back, but immediately sprang up to face Kurda, the person who threw him.
"Again." Darius said.
Larten, Arra, Kramisha and Aphrodite watched them spar.
There was an arriving Volvo that skidded to a halt next to Kurda's Jeep. Edward and Reiko climb out, head into the field together. Halfway across, Edward stopped.
"They're here." Edward said.
On the treeline, from out of the mist skulked eight giant wolves, along with Kuri and Mana, as wary and on-edge as the Cullens are. Darius recognized Paul-wolf; their eyes met, both itching for a rematch.
"They don't trust you enough to be in their human forms." Mana said.
Kuri glared at Mana. "No need to be so sharp, Mana."
"They came. That's what matters." Larten said.
Kuri saw Jake as a wolf and smiled. "Jake!" She petted him.
He seemed to almost smile, tongue lolling. A sharp look from Sam-wolf gets Jacob-wolf to focus.
"Will you translate?" Larten asked Edward.
Edward nodded. Larten moved slowly towards their pack. Sam-wolf, the biggest and blackest stepped forward.
"Hey, Jake. Welcome." Edward said.
"Kurda has experience with newborns. He'll teach us how to defeat them." Larten said.
"They want to know how the 'newborns' is differ from us." Edward translated.
"They're a great deal stronger than us, because their own human blood lingers in their tissues. Our kind is never more physically powerful... ... than in our first several months of this life." Larten said.
The pack took this in. Larten nodded to Kurda to take over. Kurda was initially uncomfortable with both the wolves and the attention. But stepped forward.
"Larten's right. That's why they are created. A newborn army, doesn't need thousands like a human army. And no human army could stand against them. The two most important things to remember are, first... Never let them get their arms around you. They'll crush you instantly. The second... Never go for the obvious kill. They'll be expecting that. And you will lose. Darius? Don't hold back." Kurda said.
"Not in my nature." Darius said.
Darius charged Kurda with impossible speed, but Kurda was a virtual blur. Darius lunged several times, his strong arms grabbing at air. Kurda stopped long enough to say—
"Never lose focus. One more thing... Never turn your back on your enemy." Kurda said.
Darius lunged again with similar results, until suddenly he froze – Kurda had him from behind, his teeth an inch from Kurda's throat. Reiko was taken aback by Kurda's skill. And there's an impressed rumble among the watching wolves.
Mana looked impressed, and Kuri was beaming.
Everyone took turns sparring with Kurda, or pairing off against each other. They were all blurs, which became visible as shift to slow motion to see a violent but extraordinary dance.
Kramisha and Kurda sparred, spiraling, twisting. Kurda launched at her but with her eyes glazed over, not looking at him, she saw his moves before he made them. Out of nowhere, Kramisha was perched on his back; she kissed his neck.
"Gotcha." Kramisha grinned.
Edward and Larten attackEd one another, but Edward could read Larten's mind which gave him the advantage. He twirled beyond Larten's grasp, then slammed into him delivering a vicious body blow.
"Focus on speed, agility, keep your opponent off guard..." Kurda said.
The wolves rose and paced, watching intently, itching to get into the fray but holding back.
"Use their momentum against them—" Kurda said.
Kuri was anxiously watching these fierce, life and death war games. A portent of the violence to come.
A furry muzzle brushed her face. Jacob-wolf was beside her, his eyes conveying concern. She pensively looked back out at the field.
"Some of you, are gonna get hurt. Some of you could get killed, because of me. It's gonna be a hundred times worse than this, right?" Kuri said. "I released this curse on the land, and I..."
She stopped, her voice breaking.
A beat – then Jacob nuzzled her face again. She pet him and leaned against him.
"We're done for the day." Edward said, appearing next to Reiko.
His expression was calm, but firm. Kuri eyed them, then rejoined the pack as they left into the woods.