Ch 1: A real "home"?
Kallie sighed, curled up in the small but comfortable chair. Her oldest brother, Nikodimus, was flying to Washington to search for a job and a house, leaving her to look after her two other brothers, Mika and Korum. The irony was, of course, that they were all fifteen years her seniors, having been changed at 36 years of age, but they still needed her.
After 94 years their control was excellent, but they still needed her around to bully them into cleaning up their hotel room, into behaving when a cute tourist gave them her room key at the bar, into remembering that real humans did NOT leap off the balcony of their twentieth story room. It was like babysitting her Aunts four year old twins all over again.
Nikodimus did not bother with a car, he chose to run. Once free of the city limits he became a blur as he ran through the forests, towards his tiny little destination, Forks. He was there in ten minutes, his hair a little wind blown, he made his way to the hospital slowly, Kallie would likely work there and she had asked him to check if they needed an emergency nurse. As he entered into the ER the wind blew from his beck, into the little space. Pulling his sent ahead of him.
A Tall man with pale hair and rich golden eyes looked up sharply. Nikki knew exactly what this man was, exactly what he'd stepped into. He cleared his throat and made his way to the receptionist. "Hello, Miss." He said, smiling in his most charming way. "I was wondering if you all might be hiring, my family is thinking of moving here, and one of my siblings is a trauma/emergency nurse, one of the best."
"Oh, no, I'm sorry, but we don't really need…" The receptionist started, blushing.
"No, Clara," interrupted a soft, masculine voice to his left, the vampire, "We could always use such a nurse to be on call, but we wouldn't need them fulltime."
"Yes, Dr. Cullen." She murmured, eyes slightly wide, her smile a little brighter.
"Why don't we have a chat?" Asked the vampire, Dr. Cullen. 'Is that name familiar to me,' Nikki wondered. "I am off in five minutes, why don't you come home with me and we will discuss it over dinner?"
Realizing the danger it would be to refuse, but the danger it would be to accept Nikki smiled. "I would be delighted," he said to the smiling vampire. Turning he met the receptionist's eyes, "But I will be back later tonight, after dinner, to pick up all the relevant information." He gave the human woman a smile that should make a blind woman melt, "You will be here when I return, won't you?"
She smiled and blushed deeply, rambling on about her shifts. Nikki took it to be a yes so he smiled and turned to the vampire doctor, "Lead on then, friend."
Jasper returned home from a quick hunt to find a strange emotional signature in his family's home. He entered slowly, Edward at his side, and was met with the sight of a short but well muscled vampire, whose red hair glittered like fire. He turned his eyes to meet their entrance and smiled, but his emotions screamed his nervousness. His eyes were ruby red.
"These are my two remaining sons, Jasper and Edward." Carlisle introduced them, smiling.
The stranger smiled softly, "I am Nikodimus, my family and I were considering making this place a semi-permanent residence, but as I can see it is already claimed I will be on my way…" He tried to leave but Carlisle's calm voice rang out before he could disappear, "Why don't you stay and we talk. You obviously hunt humans, how could you expect to live among them?"
Nikodimus laughed, "Oh, yes, my eyes…" He smiled softly, this time to himself and Jasper felt a flash of tenderness in his emotions, "My brothers and I are… special. We are not venomous, not like the rest of our kind. And we have wonderful control. We tend to… find lovely young women who are more than a little drunk, take them back to their hotel rooms and… have a little to drink ourselves. They don't remember a thing, and we are able to stop before we take more than what a blood donor would give."
Carlisle looked at him oddly, half-smiling to himself, Jasper felt his curiosity. "And you would hunt here?" Edward growled out, Jasper could feel his tension.
"Heaven's no." The shorter man laughed, "Why would I do such a thing, when it's so short a run to a number of large cities where no one will recognize me. I really am not a monster. We hardly even break the skin, my siblings and I, so the wounds heal quickly, and with the aide of a family salve for cuts and bites the wound is gone before the woman wakes."
Carlisle seemed to be considering this, considering this man and his "family". He knew because Edward's tension was rising. So he released a wave of calm into the room. He felt his brother relax somewhat. The stranger looked around, startled.
"Who did that?" He asked, not angry, but merely interested, "Who made me calm all of a sudden?"
Jasper was surprised to have been noticed. He stepped forward, "I did, I apologize. But the situation was a little tense, and it was making me very uncomfortable."
The man barked a laugh, "So you feel emotions too huh?" At his nod the man continued, smiling slightly, "You'd like my Kallie. She's a very… special young woman." A flash of tenderness crossed his emotional wavelength, Kallie must be very important to him, he loved her very much.
But at the name Kallie he felt a flash of pain and sorrow from his brother, Edward. But neither of them said a thing, so he assumed his brother wanted his privacy.
A Month later
Kallie smiled as she unpacked. She was the last to arrive to their new home, she had driven with the U-haul truck. When she had arrived they were gone, having apparently gone hunting with their neighbors, a coven of "vegetarian" vampires. Kallie laughed, wondering how it would go. She hummed to herself, her iPod in her ears playing "Whispers in the Dark" rather loudly.
She put the finishing touches on her bedroom and stood back to inspect her work. It was rectangular, twenty five feet by twenty feet. One wall was a solid window, facing north, the rest were painted to appear to be a forest. If one were to look at the room with the lights off and in the dead of night it would seem as though someone had tossed a bed and carpet into a clearing in a forest. Her bed was a dark mahogany, queen sized four poster bed. The sheets were Egyptian cotton, 500 thread count, and a deep green. The color reminded her of her lost best friend, making her smile sadly. There was no desk, no bookshelves, no dresser or anything else, except the walls. Smiling she pressed a hand gently to the wall, to the small but beautiful flower by the door. The eastern walls slid aside to show her bookshelves, five panels of them, and her closet, a walk in almost as big as her bedroom.
She smiled and turned to walk down the stairs, and ran right into a rock solid, cold chest. "EEP!" she shrieked and leapt backward. Landing five feet from the man she eyed him. He was defiantly NOT one of her brothers. She pulled her SkullCandy earbuds from her ears and scowled at the intruding vampire. "Can I help you?"
She watched as his lips fought to curve upward, into a small smile. He was tall, well taller than her 5'3", and his dark blonde curls fell around and into his face, his eyes were a very pale amber color. "Yes'm," he murmured softly, still trying to fight his smile, "I was sent here to tell you that we've returned from our hunt." She watched as his eyes traveled over her, evaluating.
She scowled, "Yes, yes, fine. I'll be there as soon as I shower." She knew she had paint all over her arms, and probably on her face too.
Jasper fought an urge to smile as he ran to the house a mile away from his own. A wave of happiness and contentment, stronger than any he had ever felt, washed over him again. The whole area was saturated with the joy; even though the rain pounded upon the ground the forest seemed alive with color, seemed brighter, as though it were reacting to the joy, just like he was.
Once under the porch he shook his head to rid himself of the rain that clung to him. He knocked but no one answered, but he could feel the emotions inside the house. Could the young woman he had been sent to collect not hear him? Then he heard it, faintly through the walls of the house and the rain. A soft voice singing, melodic and sweet. He knocked again then opened the unlocked door, removing his wet boots he walked into the beautiful house. The main entryway was styled after an old Southern mansion and it brought a wave on nostalgia to him. The spiraling staircase was grand, like that of his father's employer all those years ago. As he stepped upon the staircase he realized something his senses had been trying to tell him since he entered the door.
A heart was beating from upstairs, from where the joy was originating. Their little friend was HUMAN. He took a short breath to steady himself and stopped his lungs. If he did not smell her she would not appeal to him, he could get her to his home, where Emmett and Edward could help him remain under control. He ascended the stairs and found that the sound of her heart was coming from the end of the hallway. He stopped just outside the room, peering in.
Spot lamps brightly lighted the room; the carpet and the huge bed were covered with plastic. Standing in the middle of the room was a young woman. She stood maybe 5'3", her red hair glittering like copper in its messy bun. In her left hand she held a paintbrush, her hands and arms were covered in paint, and there was a handprint on her hip in bright green. Still singing softly she all but danced backward and pressed her free hand to a small flower upon the wall. The eastern wall became a bookshelf as panels slid away, and opened into what he assumed was a walk in closet.
Joy and pride welled up in her chest and rippled outward, hitting him like a tsunami crashing upon the beach. She was so close to him he could feel the heat of her body radiating outward from her, like a space heater. She, eyes closed, spun around and stepped ring into his chest.
The feeling of her hot body pressed to his made him inhale sharply, taking her sent in along with it. She made a sound rather like a mouse, an "eep", but louder, and leapt backward. But he was hardly paying attention to the distance between their bodies. He was still tingling from the heat of her body, his mind still singing with her sent. But he did not lose control, he did not fling himself forward and rip her throat out. He felt desire well up in his chest, threatening to override his control, but he did not feel his venom burn his throat and coat his tongue. Did her blood not call to him?
He took a second breath, a deep breath, pulling her sweet sent into his chest, reveling in it. She smelled like rain, from running into his still damn chest, like some sort of fruit, sweet and fresh, and like mint, cool and calming. He took a third breath, wondering as to his desire, wondering as to the fire that roared in his stomach, making him want nothing more than to reach out and touch her again.
He fought a smile as her annoyance and a tremor of fear hit him, for she stood proud and strong, her eyes flashing with her annoyance. "Can I help you?" she snapped, her voice threatening him. His mind flashed to a kitten, threatening someone with its harmless little claws. He could tell he was losing the fight against his smile.
"Yes'm" he said, "I was sent to tell you we have returned from out hunt." He felt her sudden rush of happiness, wondering as to its cause. But still she scowled at him, or was she scowling at his smile… She looked at him with bright green eyes, her face a sweet heart shape, and her skin a very pale golden tan color. She wore a pair of ratty jeans, good thing as the green hand print on her hip was not the only splash of color on her, and an equally ratty black tank top. It had green, brown and pale pink and purple splashed covering it. And like her hands her face had smears of color. Along her right cheek was a smudge of brown, her left eye had a line of pink across the brow, as though she had bushed back her hair, and even her hair had splashed of green and brown in it.
"Yes, yes, fine. I'll be there as soon as I shower." Her voice rang like chimes in the wind, soft but sharp with her annoyance and fear. She walked proudly into her closet and did not return from it. He heard water being turned on and smiled, their house was very oddly designed. He walked into the closet slowly, and saw that there was a door leading to a bathroom along the wall adjacent to the wall that entered into her bedroom.
Like Alice's closet it actually had a small seat in the center, he allowed himself to sink into it. Her content and pleasure as she stepped under the spray of the showerhead was enough to warm his heart further. Nikki had certainly been right, he would very much like Kallie, if this was in fact Kallie. Her positive emotions were strong, but her fear had been very muted. Except that her fear in her eyes was much greater than the fear he felt coming from her.
Curiosity burned in him. If he felt no desire to eat her then he could allow himself to speak with her. "So," he called just loud enough for her to hear him, "You're Miss Kallie, right?"
He felt her surprise, "Oh…" she called, "Yes, yes I am. They talked about me huh?"
Jasper smiled, "Yes, Nikki talked of you when we first met. And the three of them talked about you on the hunt."
She laughed, and he felt her ripple of shyness and happiness. "They're really great, those three. God's know how I'd of lived the last 94 years without them."
Jasper choked. "94 years? Aren't you human?" He asked sharply.
"Me?" her voice was soft, and sweet, "Heaven's no! I was bitten 94 years ago, same as my brothers. Apparently some bloody leech thought we'd make good additions to their army. Well when we woke up and I wasn't, ya know, dead, the other newly made vampires attacked me. My brothers went a little crazy… between the three of them they killed them all. And we ran. We've been running ever since."
"So you are… what, m'am?" His curiosity had apparently leaked into his voice because she was relaxing, feeling more comfortable. 'Brothers,' he thought, startled, suddenly understanding, and smiling.
"We don't really know. I like blood, but don't need it. I'm not venomous, but I'm also immune to vampire venom. I don't really sparkle in the sun like you and my brothers, I do a little, when the sun first hits me, but it goes away real quick. Obviously I have a heartbeat, I have all the human bodily functions. I sleep, I dream." He heard the water turn off and a wet foot stepping into cold tile. "We figure I'm effectively a human who happens to be immortal and has slightly better senses than other humans. Goddess knows I'm just as bloody breakable."
Jasper smiled at her curse, and at the annoyance that flashed in her emotional wavelength. Her head showed around the bathroom door, her cheeks tinged a sweet red as she blushed. He felt her embarrassment and stood. It took his every ounce of strength of will to refrain from walking to her and touching her again. He was a gentleman after all. He walked from the closet without a word and he felt her gratitude.
He listened as she dressed, muttering to herself. "It's raining, what to wear…" suddenly she called louder, "How did you get here, you're a little damp."
He smiled, that had been an understatement, but the house was warm and it had helped dry his clothing. "I ran."
Kallie laughed, "Well, I'd rather we don't run, so can we take my brother's car? You'll have to drive, I don't dare, thing's a bleeding death trap in this weather with me behind the wheel."
"Anything you want, miss." He said, eying her room, and the paintings on the walls. He was slightly distracted so when he felt a small wave of emotional heat from her he did not understand what could be the cause. "Are you alright Miss Kallie?" He called.
He felt her flash of embarrassment and a dash of shame. "Yes, yes, I'm just dandy."
He heard a hair dryer start up and continued to inspect the room around him. He was so awed by her workmanship he did not consciously notice that the hair dryer had stopped and that soft footsteps were stopping right behind him. "It's pretty huh?" she whispered. He did not jump but he wanted to, only his vampiric reflexes kept him in place. He nodded. "It's the place where my parents were bound to one another. Mother was a wonderful artist, she drew it in her journal." Sorrow and longing whispered through her emotional wavelength, almost like shadows in his mind. But he could smell the salt of her tears.
He turned to look at her, taking her in again. She wore a brilliant blue dress, it clung to her shoulders and chest, exposing as much as it concealed. It flared at her waist and dropped to just below her knees. Her hair was back in a messy bun, tendrils of her long, copper hair fell into her face. Her eyes were lidded with a pale golden brown and she wore gold hoops earrings and a gold heart dangling from a delicate looking gold chain.
"We should be going." He said calmly. He almost brought his arm up to offer to her, as any good southern gent would, but he held the impulse in check. He was not sure if he could contain himself if she were to touch him. 'Funny,' he mused as they walked down the grand staircase and out to the garage, 'how as an empathy I have no idea what emotion she is evoking in me.'
