"First, we were spirit warriors."

-Stephanie Meyer, Eclipse

Legends

'The Quiqwidicciat** have many stories. Since first camping on this cape, we have passed them down throughout the generations. They are as old as our grey rocky landscapes, and as familiar as the call of the seagulls. Our most famous tale goes like: A long time ago when the earth was young and there was nothing but sand and grass and half-formed creatures, two twin brothers came to the earth. Their name was Hehoeapbess and they were the Two Men Who Changed Things.'

'No, no!' A little water-eyed girl pouted, folding her arms with a humph as she stomped her feet. 'Sissy you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to say that they were the Sun and the Moon!'

With a great roll of her eyes the elder of the two girls dragged her baby sister off the red-cedar floor, tossing the girl into the air until she giggled. The little girl's dark curls burst loose, like a pair of black wings on a raven. 'Well I was getting there, but you interrupted.'

'Cheni put me down!' The girl squealed, eyes tightly shut.

'Nope. I told you not to interrupt me again. This is what you get.'

The elder of the royal sisters, Chenita**, threw the younger a few more times before placing her on her hip. Little Sakari*** traced her fingers against the bright tribal designs of war painted across her sister's face, even though she knew better, before wrapping her tiny arms around her sister's neck.

'But it's my favourite. And you won't tell me about the Quileute princes cause they play with wind.'

Chenita's green eyes went dark. 'I don't like the stories about the Quileute very much, my sweet. And if you were old enough to understand, you wouldn't like them either.'

'Girls!'

The sisters glanced sharply to the door of the old longhouse. A tall, dark-skinned woman stood watching them, a formidable and commanding presence. At the sight of her stepmother Chenita could not help but imagine another set of stories. Those of the famed Ogress Swasyok, a giant cannibal who kidnapped children and carried them off into the forest in her weaving basket.

She bowed her head respectfully, keeping her animosity out of her voice. 'Mother Daka***.'

'Both of you are late!' The woman tossed a bow, and Chenita caught her favorite weapon before it could fall to the floor. 'Your father and the other warriors are heading out within the hour Chenita. It would be wise for you to follow suit.'

Nodding, Chenita placed her sister onto the ground, and the little girl walked cautiously up to her mother, 'Is today healing lake?'

Chenita's head shot up quickly, her eyes darkening in horror. 'What?'

'Nothing.' Daka barked.

'Healing lake!' Sakari repeated before going silent at her mother's menacing look.

'Don't be silly Sakari,' the woman said. 'The healing lake is for the grown-ups.'

'First you take her to gather sacred herbs and now this!' Chenita hissed, 'Once again you travel the child places she is too young to see. I would not be surprised if you've been teaching her dark magic!'

'Watch that tongue.' Daka said, grabbing her daughter's hand. 'You are only jealous the gods have not blessed you with healing hands as they have your sister.'

'Father will hear of this.' Chenita spat before turning back to her sister. She hated to leave the girl alone with her stepmother for too long, and she feared Daka's influence over the girl. She dropped to her knee, smiling gently as the girl tugged on her braid. 'I'll be back soon little princess. Be a good girl for me, okay?'

'Yes!' The girl nodded eagerly, 'I'll be good, I promise.'

'Good,' Chenita kissed her sister's cheek before standing.

'Cheni?'

'Yes?'

'Daddy says you're a good warrior because you have fire.'

'Is that so?'

'Yes. He says you have too much fire and I have too much wind and that's why we will never be separated.'

'What an awfully apt description.' Chenita grinned. But perhaps she should have been more worried. Her little sister had become quite skilled at eavesdropping on adult conversations.

Over time Sakari grew into a famed beauty, garnering the attention of many suitors. But the princess's only interest was travelling with the medicine men, aiding the sick, and learning the secrets of nature. Her older sister was more practical, Chenita had no such whimsical musings. While she was one of her father's best warriors, the Chief had no sons, so the elder girl knew that one day she would be given away in marriage.

She only hoped it would be her father's courageous Second, Kalil**.

These two sisters, as different in looks as they were in temperament, never wavered in their love for one another. Sakari never let the warrior leave without uttering a protective incantation, and Chenita never returned from her trips without a new flower to gift to her little sister. But one dark winter night in Sakari's fifteenth year, everything changed.

Chenita dropped to her knees, 'Papa please.'

'I have no other choice.' Chief Tututsi** said sternly, his voice thundering. 'They have grown too strong. We must foster peace quickly otherwise we will have no hope.'

'We have always lived in peace with the Quileute.'

'That may change in time.' The Chief sighed, 'I do not like what I have been hearing of their magic Chenita. You are brave, you own a warrior's heart. You know that we cannot leave our people unprotected.'

'Then send us, let you best warriors go and we will fight to the death if we must. Anything would be preferable to this.'

'And how does one fight the wind?'

Unbeknownst to the two, Sakari was eavesdropping from the shadows.

'You would condemn your own men to death Cheni? Instead of sacrificing your desires for them?'

The princess cried. 'You are condemning me! How can you ask me to leave my home? Marry me off to those who practice strange magic? For years their Chiefs have employed cheap tricks of the wind to win their wars instead of joining their own men on the battlefield! There can be no honour in such a marriage!'

'Kaheleha is a famous prince Cheni. You will be treated as a Queen. Your people will remember you as their savior.'

'I don't want to be a savior!' The young woman growled. 'I don't want to be Queen! I want to sleep under the stars and fight by your side father. To be a magician's wife? It would be a disgrace.'

'Enough of this.' The Chief said with a wave of his hand. 'Prepare to leave in the morning.'

The warrior princess threw her favourite weapon at her father's feet as she stormed away. It was the first time Sakari had ever seen her sister cry.

Too much light. There was too much sunlight streaming through the plank openings of the cedar roof. Chenita's eyes flew open at the realization that someone should have woken her before dawn. But when she turned on her sleeping mat, her heart went cold. Her favourite bow, the one she'd tossed at her father's feet the night before was resting there. Beside it was a beaded blue bracelet. Faster than wind, Chenita jumped up and ran out the door. She followed the sound of her stepmother's wails to the longhouse the woman shared with Chenita's half-sister.

'How could you do this?'

'She begged me herself.'

Chenita stepped into the house, and instantly her stepmother's eyes became poison aimed at her. 'You! This is all your fault.'

'Daka! Control yourself!' The Chief warned.

'What did you say to her huh?' The woman spat as she stalked towards the young warrior, 'What did you say to poison her? Sakari would never choose this for herself!' Tears were streaking down the woman's face, her face contorting in agony. 'My sweet baby girl, fed lies by the two of you! She would never leave me this way. Without a word? No. You forced this on her!' '

Chenita turned to the Chief. 'Papa? What has happened?'

The Chief shook his head, astounded by the depth of his wife's grief. 'Sakari came to speak with me after you left. She said that she wished to take your place. I did not refuse her.'

'Of course you didn't!' Daka hissed, 'You would much rather keep Lawana's child here, though this union is her responsibility.'

At her stepmother's words Chenita's bow and arrow came ready in an instant. The Chief thrust his hand out to stop her, though he knew that the young woman was within her right to shoot. It was a deep dishonor, absolutely forbidden, to speak the names of the dead.

Chenita hissed. 'You are a disgrace!'

'As are you!' Daka said. The Chief and his daughter felt something in the air shift suddenly, darkness flooding the room as the older woman's eyes filled with malevolence. 'If anything happens to my daughter because of your selfishness, let every old curse fall on you and your father's head! May blood drinking demons lead all of your descendants to their deaths!'

This time the Chief did not stop the warrior's arrow, and a volcano of blood erupted from the witch's chest.

He had come in the night. A beautiful being like a god, with long dark hair and eyes of blood, whispering nonsense things in an unknown language with a voice that rang deep and sweet as music. Mesmerized, two maidens had followed the man into the forest. Their broken bodies were found the next morning.

Chief Kalama** of the Qwiqwidicciat tribe was forced to intervene, so the leader armed his men against the Quileute tribe. Taha Aki's sons were fearsome warriors, bettering their predecessor in both ferocity and sorcery, it was well known that they had learned to take the form of wolves to destroy their enemies. To attack the Quileute was sure to cause many casualties, but what other choice did the Chief have? His people could not sit idle after the death of two young and innocent women.

But on the eve of the planned attack, while he was still talking to his men, Old Taha Aki travelled over the mountains to speak to the Chief.

'My brother.' He said. 'When we are wolves, my sons and I cannot hide our thoughts from one another. I promise that they are not the ones responsible for what has happened to these girls.'

'My people expect answers.' Chief Kalama replied. 'These deaths force my hand.'

'Give us but a few days.' Taha Aki said, 'And we will get to the bottom of it.'

And so the Old Quileute chief went back to his people.

Four nights passed before his son Taha Wi arrived. With a respectful bow the young man placed a sweet smelling pouch of grey ash at Chief Kalama's feet. 'Chief Kalama of the Makah people, whose tribe has long been famed for their eager generosity, please accept this offering as a sign of peace. Let it be known that the one responsible for your women's deaths has been found and put to death. And may this knowledge comfort the grieving hearts of their families.'

Chief Kalama drew the pouch to his nose and sniffed. With a grimace he tossed the small bag to one of his men, who did the same. 'Who was he?'

'A blood-drinking demon,' the man said with hands that shook with fury at the words. 'caught in the act and destroyed by our fiercest warriors, though many of us were lost battle. My father offers you his remains as a show of our innocence, and in hope that the bonds of peace once forged between our tribes through marriage still stand.'

'They stand.' The Chief said with a cautious smile, though he did not breath any easier than he had in the last few days. He lifted his brow. 'Blood drinking demon?'

'Yes.' Taha Wi nodded solemnly.

In the ancient stories, only one powerful sorceress was famed for calling on blood drinking demons. She had been named for the moon, and she was considered the enemy of the Qwiqwidicciat tribe. The Chief frowned but said no more.

The song was coming to an end. Leah let the breeze carry her into the sky before it dropped her onto a soft cloud. Before her, the moon was a semicircle of white and the stars twinkled in the deep, blue sky.

When you said history, I thought you meant my people. Leah said. If you wanted to teach someone about the wonders of the Makah, you should have called Emily.

Kaheleha laughed. Still angry are we?

Leah made a small sound of annoyance. Songs in the wind, ancient chiefs, warrior princesses and now sorceresses? Her visions and dreams were becoming stranger as she aged.

Why can't you take me to go watch the new Marvel movie for once? You know Winter Soldier got really great reviews.

But he wasn't really listening to her. Kaheleha's eyes were trained on the group of people gathered below them. Leah could see her unwanted new family seated around the bonfire at La Push beach. Her favourite place in the world, or at least it once had been. Here her mother had played with her and her father had taught both her and Seth how to swim. It was even the place where Sam had given her her first kiss, not that it meant anything to anyone but her anymore.

There was nothing here for her but a life she would always want to leave.

You know… Kaheleha said, there is a reason you are called Protectors. Why you stay on these lands. Blood Calls.

Leah fought the urge to roll her eyes, knowing that it wouldn't do well to act disrespectfully towards someone who was probably as ancient as the old stories. With a sigh, she let her back fall onto the cloud.

It was tranquil up here. Weightless. Though her visions could be disorienting at times, she preferred the flightiness of keeping her head in the clouds to the cruel reality of being down there on that beach. Down there was her father's death, Seth and her mother's sadness, Sam and Emily's happiness and even that dumb Swan girl's ridiculous love triangle with a werewolf and a vampire. Down there were the long nights spent running in the forests hunting vampires, and the lost hopes and dreams she would never recover.

You told me once about a graveyard, she said. When we were in the dessert. When will I see it? When will I understand what these visions mean?

When you are ready. Once you have learned to trust life. Once you are no longer afraid of it. You know young hurricane, there is more to life then hating your new responsibilities. If you open yourself up to the possibilities, you might grow a taste for adventure.

Bewildered by his words, Leah lifted herself onto her elbows and studied his profile. She really did need to paint him one of these days, he was a beautiful dream. When her eyes dropped she noticed that he had a mark on his arm, Quileute like hers, but his was the color of champagne and shimmered, changing shapes with each breath he took.

Gently, Leah lifted her fingers to the mark, tracing it. As she did she noticed the love and grief often at war in his green eyes, only this time she understood. She dropped her hand with a sigh, wishing she didn't have such dismal taste in men. Even in her dreams they were emotionally unavailable.

All this has to do with the fact that I look like that Sakari girl, doesn't it? She asked sadly.

He nodded once.

She was your wife, wasn't she? Why am I having visions of hungry moons, sorceresses and your wife?

The man frowned. Lesson's over.

Like a mighty wind he pushed Leah off the cloud, and with a bloodcurdling scream, the young she-wolf plummeted to the ground.

'Leah?'

Flinging her arms, the young she-wolf blinked awake and found two almond shaped hazel eyes pouring into hers. 'Hey, hey… What's going on? Are you okay?'

Reality came flooding back to her as her heart slowed it's pounding. The bonfire was long dead, embers fading to a dull red as a slight wind blew away what was left if the ashes. Seth, Quil and her mother were tidying the tables, Old Quil Ateara was watching her intensely from his seat, and she could hear Sam and Emily whispering somewhere in the woods.

Leah's eyes came to focus on the man in front of her. His hand was hot and steady against her waist, grounding her, as worry clouded his eyes. 'Calm down, it was just a dream.' he said.

With some shock Leah realized that the grown face and strong arms belonged to Embry Call. Unnerved by the look in his eyes, she shoved his hands away. 'Stop it!'

'Okay.' He lifted his hands in surrender, those dark eyes pouring into hers in a way that made no sense. Everyone in the pack hated her, she knew that. Even Sam couldn't stomach her on most days. So why was he looking at her like that?

'I was just checking up on you.' hesaid, shooting her a quick smile.

'Why?'

His one hand scratched the back of his neck. 'I think that's just something that friends do.'

Leah narrowed her eyes. 'We are not friends.'

'Family then.'

Leah grimaced. 'Seth is family. Sue is family. You are one of Sam's lackeys.'

'Wow.' Embry said, sounding impressed. His hazel eyes sparkled with mischief, 'That's one better than your usual minions. But no need to worry yourself Lee-lee, I was just making sure you were okay.'

All of them (Jared, Quil and even Seth nowadays) thought of her as Lee-lee now. Even Emily called her by that cursed nickname. They only saw her as the naive fifteen-year-old girl that had fallen love with their Alpha, no wonder none of them respected her. Time to put an end to that.

'It's Leah, and I can take care of my damn myself. So how about you take your goddamn pity and stick it up your ass! Go where you're wanted, and leave me the hell alone.'

The young man blinked, his mouth opening as though he meant to say something. But then he closed his mouth, and walked away without another word.

Leah watched him go with cold satisfaction. It was time for things to change around here. No more silent obedience and acting like a little doggy only fit for doing master's bidding. Sam could go choke on his broken promises for all she cared. And his new second, Jacob Black, who didn't care about his responsibilities and got away with breaking rules every chance he got, well… he could go choke on his entitlement as well. For even daring to hurt her, Leah Clearwater was going to destroy them all.

A/N: I did not want to repeat Meyer's faux pas of ignoring all existing tribal legends so I referred to existing Makah legends and added my own characters instead.

Name meanings are as follows:

Qwiqwidicciat is the name the Makah people use to refer to themselves. 'Makah' was a name given to the tribe by their neighbours and describes their generosity with food.

Daka is the Makah word for 'Moon.' Tututsi was the name of a real Makah Chief and means 'Thundering.'

For the other characters I made use of generalized Southern Wakashan names: Chenita and Sakari mean 'White Dove' and 'Sweet' respectively.

Kalama and Kalil are Native-American names meaning 'Stone' and 'Seagull'. The origins of these names are said to be from the State of Washington though I could not find their exact languages of origins.

I apologize in advance if I've made any offensive mistakes concerning these characters, their culture and/or their stories. No disrespect was intended.