Jasper looked down at his lovely wife, content smile on his face. They had to enroll in high school again soon, and he was completely unexcited about it, but knew Alice enjoyed herself. She got an opportunity for people other than our family to see (and gawk) at her impeccable fashion sense. With a sigh, he recalled the swiftly losing battle he tried to fight with her about his wardrobe, he should have known from the start that that was an issue he was just going to have to drop. He stood no chance against her glistening doe eyes. He let his thoughts take him down memory lane some more, stroking Alice's hair as she laid comfortably on his chest. His life before Alice was pure agony. He wished he could die every day. He was so lost, so broken, mourning a life he could barely remember. A face flashed before his eyes before he could catch himself, and he squeezed his eyes shut to ward off the pain that came with it. Her. His daughter he only held once. It took a while after his change to remember his human life, but when he did, they came in flashes. Hugging his mother. Dancing with his sister. War. A beautiful woman in a white dress. Feeling her pregnant stomach. Holding his precious daughter the morning before he was turned.

He couldn't remember his human wife at all anymore. She was long dead anyway. He had found his life partner in Alice, but the infant child's face still came back to haunt him. He remembered visiting her grave 20 years after he changed. A simple country plot with no headstone, but he knew, he knew it was hers. The worst part?

He couldn't remember her name.

Clara sped through the forest, taking in everything around her. Running was by far her favorite thing about her second life, she felt so weightless. Laughing merrily, she picked up the pace, heading straight for the Canadian border. She had journeyed all over the south, she wanted to experience the north and the claimed frigid temperatures. A half second later, she came to a stop, then leapt in the air.

"I won! I won!" Two seconds later her companion appeared.

"That's because I went easy on you. I know how strong your competitive side is," she teased.

"That's not true and you know it, Mary," Clara scowled.

"Are you sure you want to go to Canada? Why not North Dakota where it's just as cold and empty but its still in the states?"

"What do you have against traveling outside of the country? And it's not like Canada will be that much of a culture shock," Clara inquired. She would never understand her companion of almost 150 years. In that entire time together, they had never left the country. Not once. Not that Clara had a desperate urge to leave, but it was puzzling all the same. They wouldn't have to deal with air travel or border security. They were much too fast for that. And they rarely played a major role in society to need any sort of documentation. The two nomads lived in the shadows. And that's how they liked it.

"In case you haven't noticed, we vampires aren't that big on change. You must be some sort of fluke," she jabbed.

"Okay, okay. Fine. I won't push it. But maybe… Alaska?" She asked, hopeful. "It's in the states but has the Canadian climate. Come on, you can't object to that!"

Mary sighed. "Alright, Alaska it is." Clara squealed in victory, clapping her hands together briefly. Her age protested against such childish gestures, but like Mary said, vampires detest change. "The loser catches lunch," she taunted. Before Mary could retort, Clara was off like a bullet. Mary spared only a beat to roll her eyes before chasing after her.

A flock of birds suddenly flew above Clara's head, startling her. They didn't see that much wildlife in Alaska, but she was in a forest of evergreens, enjoying the peaceful silence surrounding her. That was what featured in her sketchbook today, tall looming pine trees and fresh dew shimmering on the grass. Clara loved drawing, it was second only to running as far as her favorite activities went. Besides, one had to find a hobby in this life, or become frozen in time.

Clara brushed the lock of hair that had draped over her face back behind her ear. It was long, blonde with tints of brown, and wavy, something Mary was intensely jealous of, Clara thought with a smirk. Unfortunately, vampires cannot grow hair, so Mary was stuck with the small amounts she had when she was changed. Clara only knew a fraction of her story. She was only 14 when she turned, but that was hundreds of years ago. Her age certainly had matured her even though she was technically frozen at her youthful state.

Clara, on the other hand, had a bit of spirit left in her. She loved pulling pranks on her companion, but spaced them out every 10 years or so, so as not to suffer a cruel fate, she thought with a shudder. The two had gotten close over their 150 years together, but Mary never truly opened up to Clara, and still gave her a sense of danger whenever she was around. She shrugged, even though no one was there to see. Everyone has a past they'd like to forget.

She sighed as she made her final touches to a tree. The two would be moving again soon. They never stayed in one place for too long, it was too dangerous. Even though she had never met the Volturi, she shuddered at the thought of meeting them after being discovered by the humans. They had fed in Juneau in preparation for their journey. They were headed for Yakutat next, heading further inland. It was tricky finding habitable places to feed without going unnoticed, though. Being close to Juneau helped with the population issue, but technology was progressing so quickly that it was difficult to go unnoticed. They hoped a town with a population of around 600 would bridge the gap.

Clara gazed at her finished work. She would miss it here when they finally had to leave. Their stay in Alaska would be shorter than how long they normally stay in one place, simply due to the tiny population up north. She had to hand it to the humans who lived here, though. It couldn't have been easy living in a frozen wasteland, essentially.

Her ears perked up at the sound of grass and leaves crunching and quick footsteps heading her way. Mary. Clara stood to meet her, closing her book and putting it in the small rucksack she carried on her back. All of her worldly possessions were in that bag. Her sketchbook, an assortment of pens and pencils, a compass, and a very old picture she kept in her sketchbook. A photograph she snagged from her old house as a newborn. Her human family. She's incredibly glad she took it, because on the back of the picture, in cursive script was written, "Richard, Lucille, Frances, and Clara. 1863". Without it, she was sure she wouldn't have known their names. Her grandparents and mother. Now they were long gone.

"You're late. You said you'd be back before sundown. It's sundown," Mary spoke at the speed of light, but Clara caught every word.

"I was just leaving. I'm ready to go."

"Good."

Mary took off running, not waiting a second longer. Clara gazed at her trees one last time, getting a strange feeling of loneliness. Or was is homesickness? She puzzled over this for less than a second before chasing after her maker. Whatever it was, it could wait.

Alice was troubled. Her visions were acting strange lately, switching from one future to another, then another, and so on like a toddler playing with a light switch. Even more troubling was the fact that it happened so quickly she couldn't get a good look at what that future was, only change was involved in each one. They were driving her crazy.

"Carlisle, maybe moving to Forks wasn't such a good idea. My visions are only getting worse," Alice complained. The family were in the middle of building their new home, orchestrated by Esme and her magic architectural skills.

"Worse? How so?" Carlisle worriedly asked.

"Well, not worse per say, although they could be, it's just the future is so uncertain right now. I'm getting flashes of so many futures I can't keep track of them! It's never been this bad before," she murmured, rubbing her temples, though she knew it would prove futile.

"It's your choice, Alice. If things are too bad, then we can move somewhere else, if you wish."

Sighing, Alice shook her head. "No, it's alright. I know how difficult it is to find a place to blend in. And they aren't necessarily bad visions, they're just so many. Hopefully they will become clearer to me soon."

"I'm sure they will, darlin'," Jasper smoothly interjected, draping his arm over her shoulders. "Perhaps more shopping trips will help get your mind off of things?" he grinned.

Alice felt a smile make her way onto her face. Shopping. Her first love offered by her true love. What could be better? "You strike a nice deal there, mister," she smirked up at him.

"Since that's cleared up, I'm going to help the others with the house," Carlisle stated then sped off. Alice and Jasper walked leisurely that way as well, hand in hand, but Alice felt the smirk sliding down her face. There was one flash of her visions that she couldn't get out of her head. A blonde stranger buried in Jasper's arms, wide smiles on their faces as Jasper plants a soft kiss on her forehead. The blonde's eyes were red.