Divine Comedy (38) (epilogue)

~FOUR YEARS LATER~

Jay

I burst through the door of the house like a runaway bulldozer. I slam it open and pound my feet on the dirt. I could barely hear my brother and sister calling my name.

"Skye, Leo, it's okay," I hear Dad say, and he sounds distant, like he's muffled underwater. "Let him go."

Blood throbbing behind my ears almost drowns them out. I'm hot and shaking all over, and feel like I'm going to explode.

And I did. But not like a bomb. I feel my face stretching out, my teeth sharpening, my palms swell into pads, and hair sprout all over my body. I fall onto all my fours, feel my shirt and shorts and shoes fall away in shreds. I charge at full-speed into the forest ahead of me, even when my eyes are shit.

My eyes aren't complete shit, though. They're bad enough for the doctors to call me legally blind, but I can still make out light and fuzzy dark silhouettes. That's the sight I've had all my life. I was born blind. That's not new to me. But turning into a wolf for the first time? Totally new, and kind of scary. I didn't know what to do with myself.

I weave around tree trunks and bushes, and use the roots under my paws as footholds to jump harder and farther. I trip a couple of times. I tumble over the roots, like my paws are made of putty. Dirt gets into my fur and stays there. I run until I hear waves crashing against the cliff rocks. I peter out to a stop, feel my new tail droop between my hind legs. I start to shake all over, like I came down with a fever. I have to sit down on the dirt. I lean against a tree, and feel hot tears welling in my shitty eyes again.

Jay, you okay?

It's Dad's voice, but not in the way I'm used to hearing. His voice isn't coming from his mouth, but slips into my mind. I hear him pad up to me in his wolf form, and feel his muzzle brush against my cheek. His familiar scent floods into my nose, and it's comforting. He settles down next to me and I lean against him, my tears falling into his fur.

I'm so sorry, buddy. This is a lot to take in, I know. I phased when I was fourteen. It's rough.

I was born four years ago, but being a hybrid, I look and act thirteen already. I'm still shaking violently. I breathe in and out so fast that I'm getting dizzy.

Calm down, buddy. Think happy thoughts, remember? Happy thoughts...

I've never had the best control of my temper—I used to throw a lot of tantrums when I was smaller—so it's only natural that I lose my cool and wolf out first. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to pull up the happiest memory I could hang on to. I settle on my last birthday party—Leo's and Skye's, too, since we were born together—and singing a duet with Mom. We sang Erlkonig in front of our guests, with Mom singing as the father and I sang as the son. I'd been practicing with Mom ever since she found out I had a knack for singing, but that had been my first time performing in public. Remembering the joy of that helps calm me down.

I look up at Dad, at the shaggy silhouette of his face. You...you're not mad at me for trashing the living room? And my clothes?

We can fix that up quick and buy new clothes, no problem. That comes with being a wolf. Hurt feelings, though...they aren't so easily fixed, especially if you don't try to mend them.

Leo and Skye said that I don't care about them, because I'd rather hide in the woods and talk to animals than hang out with them. They say I care more about the animals. I glare at the dirt, which I can't make out from the tree roots. That's not true. I do care. But how can I hang out with them if they won't make it easier for me?

Leo likes stargazing and geeking out over all things space. Skye's into sports like basketball and soccer. Those aren't things a blind kid like me can really get into.

I'll talk to Leo and Skye about that, Dad says softly. I don't think they mean to, but because they're into different things, they make you feel left out.

I nod.

We'll find something that all three of you can enjoy doing together. Maybe things will get better once they start phasing, too.

As for me, I prefer trips to the woods, where it's nice and quiet, where I can talk to squirrels, deer, snakes, and other critters. I can even hear the mumblings and mutterings of bugs, if I put my ear almost to the ground and listen closely enough. Animals have lots of interesting things to say. It's too bad everyone else can't understand them.

I can't see Dad smile, but I can hear it in his voice. You're a lot like your mom, you know? She and your uncle, they were born with psychic powers. They've always been special that way. You got that from them.

I lash my tail, sending up a cloud of dirt. I wish I didn't. I wish I was born a normal kid.

Dad nuzzles my cheek again. Don't say that, Jay. Your mom and I love you just the way you are. We don't want to change a thing about you.

Not even the talking to animals bit?

Especially that, he says firmly. It can come in handy someday. I'm sure you can use that gift to make a difference in the world. Dad gets up on his paws. Come on, let's go back home. Your mom's supposed to come back tonight, and we've got all sorts of things to tell her.

I haven't seen Mom in a week. I wag my tail at the thought of her coming home, and lope after Dad.

I realize that I like being a wolf. Walking around on four legs gives me a wider center of balance, so I feel safer and more grounded than if I'm walking on two legs. I feel more at home in this body than in my other one. I hope that Leo and Skye will feel that way too, when it's their turn to become wolves.

Skye

Looking back, I feel bad for upsetting Jay. I said things I shouldn't have said. As soon as I saw my big brother shoot out of the house, and turn into a wolf as white as snow, I felt like a jerk for doing that to him. Jay might have the shortest fuse of the three of us, but I'm not too far behind. I often speak before I think. I fall back on my go-to method to calm down and feel better—I pick up my soccer ball and head over to the Cullens.

It's hard finding people who'd want to play with me. Most people around here didn't bat an eye at me and my brothers being half-Native, half-white. It's the half-vampire part that makes them nervous. I could easily break someone's arm or leg by accident. I can't play basketball or soccer with other kids. I can't play for any official team, or I'd give them an unfair advantage.

Jay, Leo, and I are the only wolf-vampire hybrids in the world, and that feels awfully lonely sometimes. Having other vampires and wolves around makes me feel less lonely. Jake and Sam's pack sometimes play ball with me too, but right now they're busy on patrol.

Aunt Leah runs into me on my way out of the rez. "Hey, kiddo. Need a fellow wolf on your team?"

I flash her a toothy grin. "You bet."

My aunt loves all three of her brother's kids, but being the only girl makes me feel particularly close to her. I think she's hoping I could phase soon, so she wouldn't be the only female wolf around.

The Cullens greet me with big smiles and tight hugs, as always.

"You've gotten so big and tall," Carlisle exclaimed. "Your brothers, too. You are all growing up so fast."

He was the doctor who had delivered the three of us, and keeps track of our health and growth. He says that in three years we'll be full-grown, looking and acting eighteen years-old.

We head straight for the field by the house to play. I'm proud to say that I've singlehandedly convinced the Cullens to get into soccer. Baseball is and always will be their first love, so sometimes I'd swing a bat and run bases with them, but they can't refuse a good game of soccer whenever I'm over. Out of hybrid solidarity, Renesmee tends to side with my team.

I love playing with the Cullens because they're older and bigger, so they give me a good challenge. The biggest challenge I have to face now is getting past Emmett as the goalie.

He smirks at me as he plants himself in front of the goal. "You ready for me this time, Skye?"

I smirk back, bouncing the ball between my feet and knees. "I've been training for two straight weeks, just to figure out how to kick your butt."

Jasper whistles. "Ooh, it's on."

Rosalie claps me on the shoulder. "I'll help you beat him."

The opposing team—Carlisle, Edward, Jasper, and Alice—have me working up a sweat, but with help from Renesmee, Rosalie, Bella, and Leah, we squeeze past the defense and I manage to kick the ball past Emmett. I throw up my fists and yell "Goooool!" till I run out of breath, just like on Spanish TV covering soccer. My team cheers, and we give each other high-fives that would've broken a normal human hand.

Emmett comes up to me grinning ear-to-ear and gives me a noogie. "Good job, kid. I'll let you have this one, but that ain't gonna happen again."

I squirm out of his hold and put on my game face. "This won't be the last. I'll make another goal, you'll see."

"You like to win, just like your mom," Dad would say to me. I definitely get my competitive streak from her.

We keep playing until sweat stains dark circles under my pits and plasters my hair to my head. I don't care about looking all dirty and sweaty, as long as there's been a good game. My team narrowly wins 3 to 2. Esme, the referee, would make protein shakes for me, Renesmee, and Leah afterwards.

Leah leans over to me and whispers, "Esme has perfected the art of protein shakes before you were born."

Renesmee leans from the other side. "You were spared of the guinea pig phase."

I hide a smile as I sip on my shake.

Apparently I have missed out on a lot of other rocky starts. Being the current leader, representative, and ambassador for all vampires, Mom has done a lot of work trying to make mankind wrap their heads around the idea of embracing us. Good thing she doesn't have to carry so much on her shoulders. Uncle Alec, as co-leader of the Knights of Red, shares her duties, and Dad, as a cultural ambassador of the Quileute tribe, makes it his life's greatest goal to promote understanding and peace between humans and vampires.

For all my gripes on not having the most normal life, I should thank my family for making my life as normal as it could possibly be. They fought hard for my future, for Jay's and Leo's, too.

Leo

With Dad and Jay in the woods, Skye over at the Cullens', and Mom hundreds of miles away from home, that leaves me being the only one in the house. I flop down on the couch and turn on the TV, searching the stream for a new episode of a Star Wars show I've been following. No new episode yet.

Disappointed, I switch channels and almost turn off the TV when the news headline catches my eye: "Knights of Red Pitch In To Earthquake Relief In Lima."

There's footage of debris strewn everywhere, then the camera pans to Mom and Uncle Alec picking their way through them, no doubt searching for survivors buried under the rubble. More footage shows Goro, Enkh, Kate, and Garrett lifting up chunks of building three times their size, and Benjamin diverting water from a flooded street. The Knights of Red had made it a rule not to get involved in human affairs, except for things like natural disaster aid.

The news cuts to Mom being interviewed onsite by a reporter. "For those who may not know, our sense of smell is a thousand times sharper than that of domesticated dogs." Mom's not bragging, but saying that with quiet confidence. "Each of us also has the strength and manpower of a rescue squad. We can make quick work of locating missing persons and extracting them from debris. We are still working on the search and rescue efforts, but we will make sure that as many people as possible are safe and accounted for."

Because Mom looks so young, she has to put in more effort than most to be taken seriously. People who look down on her or dismiss her, because they can't get past her teenage girl looks, make a big mistake. You have to look past that to see her years of experience, and see how articulate, intelligent, and mature she really is. With her poised and elegant manner, she can stand toe-to-toe with world leaders in national conferences. She can engage in complex debates, effortlessly switching among languages all the while, commanding the attention and respect she deserves. She doesn't mince her words, doesn't let people step on her, and doesn't take shit from anyone.

I'm proud of my mom, and proud to be a vampire.

The news isn't live; it aired hours ago. Dad had said that Mom's coming home tonight.

She shows up around sunset, earlier than expected, with Uncle Alec by her side. They glide across the grass from the woods with a grace beyond human, in uniforms of mostly black with hints of red and golden brass. Mom gives off a prim air in her dress coat, while her twin brother looks sharp in his suit jacket. The hilts of their swords stick up from behind their backs.

Jay, Skye, and I burst out of the house to greet them. We've never been scared of our own family. Smiles break out on Mom and Uncle Alec's pale faces, and they don't look so imposing anymore.

Ever since we learned how to speak, Dad would always tell us to give Mom lots of hugs and kisses. When she comes back from a trip abroad, we'd race each other to see who'd give her the hugs and kisses first. At thirteen, we might be too old for the races. We're taller than Mom now. The last time we raced, we accidentally knocked her to the ground with tackle hugs. We still run, but we're more careful this time. Mom and Uncle Alec feel cool even through their sleeves and gloves.

"I saw you on the news," I say to them. "You were so awesome."

Uncle Alec smiles at me. "I'm glad we're getting good press back home for our work."

Mom briefly rests her one hand on Jay's cheek. "Speaking of news, I hear that you've phased for the first time."

Dad joins our little huddle and wraps his arm over her shoulder. "He sure did."

"Dad says he's going to help me adjust," Jay says.

Mom kisses the top of his head and throws a pretend glare at Dad. "I would be very cross with him if he doesn't."

Dad frowns down at her and rubs her shoulder. "Hey, I'm the expert at staying on your good side, babe. It's some of those anti-vamp prime ministers who are really pissing you off, right?"

Mom purses her lips. "Language, darling, but you're not wrong."

While still holding her in his arms, Dad gives us a meaningful look. "All right, guys, you know what this means."

"You two get the house to yourselves for the night," I say.

"We stay over at Grandma's," Skye says.

"And we come back tomorrow morning," Jay says.

Mom nods. "That's right. You know the routine well." She looks pleased at that.

Dad winks at me. "Don't forget to bring your astro-thingamajig."

"Astrolabe, Dad." My face gets hot. "And I won't."

The three of us head for Sue's place with Uncle Alec, before the sun goes down.

"They always do that every time they get back together," Skye says.

"Why's that?" Jay asks.

I quirk an eyebrow. "What, you two don't know? They're gonna make out and smash."

Skye makes a strangled, horrified noise. Uncle Alec bites down hard on his bottom lip, pretending not to hear us. Jay bursts out laughing so hard that he snorts. I take that as a sign that we're cool now. When he's mad, he gives the cold shoulder, shuts down, and doesn't say anything.

But really, I'm telling the truth. One time, when I was (physically) ten, I forgot my astrolabe, a nifty round thing that helps me figure out the position of the sun and other stars. I went back into the house to fetch it. I accidentally walked in on Mom and Dad, with their clothes all over the floor, and the bed shaking from them...um, getting it on. And they weren't under the sheets. I ran back to Sue's place screaming, wishing I could wash out my eyes with bleach. Mom and Dad used to be so embarrassed. Now they just laugh it off.

And now that I'm older, I can appreciate Mom and Dad being able to be so close. For hundreds of years, vampires and wolves have been enemies. The idea of them being together, in love, was unheard of. Jay, Skye, and I are living proof that it's not impossible. Lately Mom and Dad have been wanting more kids, so they've been...having a lot of fun working on that, I guess.

Having a wolf dad and a vampire mom has its quirks. My half-brother Connor is over a thousand years old and hangs out in the spirit world. Mom has descendants in Japan. (So what does that make me, Kimi, and Kenta? I'm not their ancestor, but we're not cousins, either. We'll have to think up of a new word for that.) I hope that someday Mom and Dad can teach me, Jay, and Skye how to spirit-roam, so we can visit our family on the other side. I've always wanted to meet my grandparents and half-brother. Yeah, my family's weird. But I love our kind of weird. I wouldn't trade my family for any other in the world.

Sue knows to expect us, so when we come over, she has dinner hot and ready for us. We go to town on our favorite meal: fried fish from Charlie's catch, with homemade cole slaw, fries, and tartar sauce.

"You three been keeping up with your homework and studying for finals?" Sue asks.

We nod, because our mouths are stuffed with fish.

She shakes her head. "You'll be in high school soon, can you believe it?"

Sue's not just our grandmother, but our homeschool teacher. She used to teach Mom and Uncle Alec, and found that she really enjoyed teaching, so she went on to teach us. We wouldn't have fit in a normal school, anyway. As hybrids, we grow like weeds. We require an accelerated curriculum to suit our special needs.

"It's time to think about what you want to do," Uncle Alec says, and looks among us curiously. "You three have anything in mind yet?"

"I think I'd like being a wildlife biologist," Jay says quietly. "I'll get to study animals all the time."

"I want to be a professional basketball or soccer player," Skye says, and adds with disappointment, "I don't think I can do that, though."

Alec tilts his head thoughtfully. "Your mother and I aren't into sports, but Benjamin is an avid soccer fan. Last time I talked to him, he wants to lead the effort to establish official sports leagues for our kind, like how humans have NBA and NFL."

Skye gasps. "Really? That'd be so awesome!"

Our uncle smiles at how hope lights up her eyes, then looks to me. "I'm guessing you're still set on becoming an astronaut?"

"Yep," I say.

"Keep up the good work in science and math, and you'll reach the stars you're shooting for," Sue says.

Jay, who's tired from wolfing out, and Skye, who's tired from a soccer game, go to bed early. I stay up late to watch the stars. I always try to find the constellation I'm named after, before I look for anything else. If I become an astronaut, I'd be the first vampire and the first wolf in space. Maybe NASA will get to send me to the far reaches of the universe. The possibilities are endless. My heart races at the thought.

The next night, we hang out as a whole family over a campfire outside. To anyone who doesn't know them well, my mom and dad look like night and day sitting together. Dad is tall, tanned, and dark-eyed, in his sweater vest and cargo shorts, while Mom is small, pale, and golden-eyed, dressed like she could blend in a 50s movie set starring alongside Audrey Hepburn, even in her most casual clothes. They look like they don't belong together, but my siblings and I know better.

We make s'mores by the fire and strike up small talk. Mom's funny when she tries small talk (though she doesn't mean to be). When she isn't discussing geopolitics, her idea of small talk is spouting off all the weird, creepy trivia she knows. Like, Wednesday Addams kind of weird and creepy. Lately she's been down the rabbit hole on decapitation, so she'd say stuff like "I read somewhere that a chicken has survived 18 months without a head" or "Did you know that you can have your skull severed from your spine but still have your head attached to your neck? That's called internal decapitation."

Being her family, we aren't grossed out. We just think it's funny, and we'd chew on our s'mores and nod along to all the cool, creepy facts that have interested her lately.

As for Dad, he tries to catch up on our generation's lingo and sense of humor, like memes and that kind of stuff. That's funny, too—he isn't even that much older than us.

We run out of small talk for the week, and we let the crackling of the fire take over for a bit. Then I ask, "Can you tell us the story of how you two met?"

"Yeah, the full story this time," Jay says. "Don't leave out all the dark, gritty parts."

"I think we're old enough for that now," Skye says.

We lean in our seats toward Mom and Dad, who exchange a small smile.

"It all started with a mission," Mom says.

"And Latin," Dad says.

I wrinkle my nose. "What do those two have to do with anything?"

Dad just smiles. "First, we need to get more wood for the fire. This is going to be a long story."

END

It feels liberating yet bittersweet to complete this story. For 6 months, 38 chapters, and ~200k words, I have stuck with writing about Jane and Seth, so it feels like I went through this journey with them from start to finish. Their journey has come to an end, but with this epilogue, I wanted to show a glimpse of the happily ever after I had in mind for them.

This is the longest complete fic I've ever written, so I admit I'm proud of what I've accomplished. Working on this fic has legitimately done wonders for my mental health and productivity. It's been a real joy to write about such an unlikely couple, and build on the world that the saga has already established. Anyone who came around to shipping Jane and Seth because of this, please let me know!

And lastly: a big, huge thanks to you, the readers. Thank you so much for following this story to the end. Ave atque vale!