Two months.
That's how long Jasper has been kept from the animal diet.
Carlisle had been increasing the doses of venom and blood and while he felt better and stronger with each dose and the nausea had disappeared along with the dizzines he didn't felt comfortable with being the only one with red eyes, Bella's had already become bright gold as her newborn year came to an end.
He did found rather amusing Emmett's displeasure over their bet having been dispersed at the end for no one actually figured out the why he used sunglasses.
His grip on the walls and ceilings had gone from sloppy back to perfect. Most of his abilities had returned, though shapeshifting still made his bones feel like they wanted to explode.
Carlisle had told him that it could be due his bones still being too weak to sustain something as complicated as a transformation that forced the bones to rearrange and change. He had said to give it time. That he was still healing and that it may take a while before he was completely back to normal, he had subjected his body to poison for over 70 years, it was bound to take more than just two months for his body to get back to normal.
He still hid his scent under Alice's. It was a reflex he didn't think he would grow out of at this point. His sleeping schedule was still a mess. Sometimes he couldn't sleep even though he felt exhausted and other times he would sleep for longer than it was normal. His tolerance to light varied from moment to moment.
His hair was still wielding mismatched colors of gold and brown but at least the black co-webs had gone back to their normal size and location. He felt like a lab rat though, whenever he had to sit down and let Carlisle check his hair, claws, fangs, even his skin . Way too much touching and prodding for comfort.
And he wasn't sure which one was more humiliating, if feeling like an animal when he checked his fangs or having to sit in his underwear while he checked every inch of skin visible.
At least during those times no one else was in the room which made it less humiliating. Yeah. He understood that Carlisle meant well and all he wanted was to make sure there weren't rising more side effects and that his body was reacting well to the blood, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
It was weird and he felt far from comfortable no matter how many times he had gone through it by now, Carlisle at least was quick about it.
The first time it happened he wished he could have gone and drown himself if that meant not feeling the man's flickering anger and guilt over the scars on his knees and thighs.
He did found interesting the fact that Carlisle felt the need to ask if the shrapnel scar on his back didn't bother him. If the shrapnel had been removed completely, had even felt it around to make sure the shrapnel was indeed gone.
Also.
He had taken some of his blood for testing. And while Carlisle had said that it was to understand his blood Jasper knew that deep down Carlisle had done it out of his own personal curiosity, much like he had done with Renesmee's blood after she was born.
It was amusing if he was being honest.
He had found it... interesting though. To see his blood being extracted by a needle with such ease and without the need for a wound.
Still .
The Major had been oddly silent.
But things were going fine.
Kind of.
He still couldn't decide if he liked or not having to answer to Bella and Emmett's endless questions either to give truth to what the books said or to know if something wasn't being exaggerated.
One answer in particular had gotten him Carlisle's attention.
Can you shapeshift?
That's what Bella had asked and of course he had told her that he could.
Emmett then had proceeded to ask him in what could he transform into. If he could change size.
Of course he had told him that no. Changing size wasn't possible . And the animals he could transform into weren't even that great.
That's what had gotten him Carlisle's attention.
He had felt the confusion in his emotions before some weird realization dawned upon his face. The man had asked him to come with him.
Thus that's how he ended in his current situation of sitting at Carlisle's studio.
-Jasper, can you tell me about your abilities?
That single request made Jasper frown in confusion.
-I know what the books say, just humor me.- Carlisle said as an answer to the clear confusion in his son's face. He hadn't given it thought before since it wasn't something he had to give thought to in the first place.
But Jasper's words about not being able to change size or even transform past the basic despite his age was a rather concerning thing.
Because if Maria had gone as far as neglecting telling him about what she had turned him into, who said she hadn't neglected telling him about the extent of his abilities in order to keep him under her hand?
-I'm stronger and faster than a newborn. I can scale walls and ceilings. My senses are twice as heightened than a normal vampire's. Can use compulsion to control others. Fly. Not turn humans through bites. I can grow my hair. Inject venom if I really focus on it. Shapeshift into 8 different animals. I can also transform into a creepy humanoid thing I like to not think about. I read once that black bloods have a form of echolocation and can turn into fog but I've never been able to figure out if it's true. And were I a female, I would be able to get pregnant.
-You can actually transform into any animal you desire, and you can change the size of said transformation. For the echolocation and the fog I'm afraid I can't help you, but they are true. Also, your bone structure is meant to be stronger than ours, it would take a newly turn newborn to be able to fracture your bones.- Carlisle told as a statement of fact.
Jasper frowned at that, that would actually explain why when Maria wanted to break his bones she wouldn't do it herself but either force him to break them himself or bring a newly awakened newborn to do the damage.
Still.
The idea that he could use echolocation sounded rather interesting and useful. Turning into other animals and changing size...
Could he mimic the size of one of the mutts while turned into a wolf himself? That could be useful.
Turn into fog.
The kind of things he could accomplish turned into fog. Unsuspecting. Harmless. Perfect to sneak up on the enemy. He smirked to himself. Oh the amount of things he had been missing on that could prove as useful as they could prove perfect to use in a fight.
Echolocation could aid him into locating the enemy and their exact numbers and location. Turning into fog could aid him into slaughtering the unsuspecting threats within minutes. Spy on them. Sneak up on them. Turning into a wolf the size of the mutts could give them a couple of advantages. A giant venomous snake to shatter a thousand vampires' bones at the same time. A flea. Flies . Bees. Mice. Lice. Dog. Eagle. So many unsuspecting animals great to spy and hide as .
Meanwhile Carlisle couldn't help but smile in amusement. He had to admit that it never tired him out to see Jasper's face whenever he lost himself in thoughts regarding strategies and the pros and cons of abilities and/or skills that he just learned. It were one of the few moments were he looked genuinely excited.
Even to this day he had a hard time processing how unnervingly talented Jasper could be when it came to planning out strategies, either in a fight or in chess.
No wonder he became a Major at 19.
The God Of War.
Sometimes part of him wondered how would their fight with the Volturi turned out with Jasper on their side.
But thinking better of it, he now knew that of all of them, skilled or not, Jasper had been way too weak at that point.
Black blood or not. Skilled or not. Gifted or not.
Something told Carlisle that that fight could have ended up bringing Jasper's death.
~~~~~~~~~
Jasper was quick to find out that wanting an ability was way easier than actually managing to develop it, but he was nothing if not relentless.
Shapeshifting was still out of the question so he took it to attempt to find out how to use echolocation.
So far he had been unsuccessful.
Emmett, Bella and even Seth were more than eager to throw every single one of their ideas at him.
But none of them were successful.
It was irritating but he refused to give in.
At some point blindfolding him seemed to be added to the list of attempts. And making different sounds at random distances.
Emmett had seen smart to clash two pans right at his side which had ended up with Jasper's ear ringing for over two days and the house missing a railing from where Jasper had punched Emmett through.
It got to a point where Carlisle had to intervene.
Thus now he sat in the middle of the forest in absolute silence with his hands flat on his knees. And blindfolded.
Carlisle had told him that what he needed was to meditate. Focus. Silence. Not force it out for he doubted that that would work.
He had followed Bella, Emmett and Seth's advices and none had worked.
Following Carlisle's couldn't hurt.
Wouldn't be the first time he has meditated. He took in a deep breath and emptied his head. Relaxing his shoulders for the first time in a long time. Let go of the inhibitors and be one with his surroundings.
Birds chirping. Flapping wings. Dancing branches. Rustling leaves. Hooves. Wind. Cricket. Bees. Bear. River.
Focus .
He sat there for God knows how long.
Then he heard it.
A squirrel's little claws scratching and digging on the dirt. Chewing. Little heartbeat. Blood flowing. Lungs filling with and releasing air. A drop landed near it sending a ripple across the air like an echo that made his instincts reel.
He moved out of reflex and straight towards it. Hand snatching the squirrel before this one even saw it coming. A screech came from the rodent as it found itself caught. It tried to bite him without success as he pulled the blindfold off with his free hand.
The squirrel struggled for a bit longer before seeming to tire itself out. He stared down at it with a triumphant grin. He got it. Yeah. Catching a squirrel while blindfolded wasn't the greatest feat compared to what he knew echolocation could give him but it was a start.
For a moment, he scratched the squirrel's head with his index finger before releasing the squirrel. Watching it run off and climb up a tree as quickly as possible.
He glanced up at the sky, it was already getting dark, Alice would definitely not be happy if he was outside at night, she took very seriously their alone time at night, whether it was for cuddles or sex, he found it amusing though, how everyone chose night time to be their personal hour with their mates.
His attention was brought back to the present when he felt a sharp sting on the back of his hand. Sun . He was quick to step back but the damage was already done.
Still.
Sunset .
The sun wasn't as strong and all it did was peel his skin off. Much like an horrible sunburn.
Or holy water.
Of course the skin began healing itself back, but two months or not the speed of his healing was still questionable. At least it healed enough for the pain to not last long. Leaving nothing but grayish skin behind.
He sighed.
Sunburn wasn't a good wound.
He was used to it but of course those were one of the wounds that most freaked Alice out.
Not that she didn't freak out in general when he was injured or sick.
He turned around and began his walk back to the house. Hiding his hand inside his pocket and biting back a wince as the action returned the horripilant sting.
The second he was close to the house the second Alice was there giving that look she gave him whenever he attempted to hide an injury from her.
But she didn't shout it or showed her concern so as to not bring attention to him. Everyone despite all had been a bit hysterical over him since the incident in the forest, as if he would drop dead at any moment.
Alice didn't said a word as she skipped the stairs and snatched his uninjured hand. Pulling him with her to their bedroom.
Once there she locked the door and turned to look at him.
-Hand.- She requested putting her hand out for more emphasis. He sighed but still gave her his injured hand.
-I'm perfectly fine, I've gotten worse.
-I know.- She looked upset and he couldn't help but bring his arms around her shoulders. Giving her a peck before descending to her neck. Her fingers burying into his hair as he did so.- Bite me.
Jasper scrunched up his nose at that. He didn't like biting her neck. Not because it could leave scar for he knew that wasn't possible as long as he didn't inject venom but because he didn't like biting her the same way he would bite a prey.
Still .
Biting her on the same spot over and over again was starting to make the scars too noticeable. He didn't want her to not be able to show off her clothes because of him giving her questionable scars that could raise suspicion among humans.
Thus he bit.
Alice didn't even flinch when Jasper's fangs sank in, breaking through the skin with masterful ability, she was so used by now to the feeling. Carlisle may had come up with the method of storing venom for Jasper but she still liked having him biting her.
It was an intimate moment between them where both of them were trusting each other. It made her feel closer to him.
She ran her fingers softly through his hair, smirking as he hugged her closer, fangs sinking deeper into her neck for a moment before he pulled back, licking her neck before starting to pepper it with kisses.
-I saw what you did.- She told suddenly. His kisses coming to a halt right on her cheek before he pulled back to look at her.
-You did?
-Of course I did, just because I can't always see you doesn't mean I can not see you. You did great.
Alice couldn't help but chuckle when she saw the excitement and pride in his eyes at her last words.
That was a look she rarely saw on him. He looked endearing when his eyes were bright like that.
And she couldn't help but pull him into a hug. Pressing a kiss on his shoulder. She was so proud on how far he had come.
To think that that red eyed vampire from her visions would turn out like this... It made all the frustration and pains from the beginning worth it.
He had a life free of pain now. Free of suffering. She could see him smile whenever she wanted and get to put that happy look on his face with the simplest of compliments.