Chapter 12: Views
The days became less eventful which was a relief. Alice and Edward had to go back to school, Edward wanted to stay with me and tried every trick he could think of to avoid going but Carlisle wouldn't budge, they had to maintain appearances. Carlisle had taken a week of leave from hospital and allowed the same for Alice and Edward from school so they all could be there for me. The leave came to an end so he had to return to work. Carlisle wouldn't cover any additional shifts if he could help it, he hated missing out at home as much as the other two did.
I know it sounds awful but I didn't have much time to miss Edward. He hated being stuck at school, away from me. I did miss his presence to help calm me when things got intense but I didn't miss his nervousness, no, his dread for my well-being each time I had another sparing practise.
We fell into a pattern; Days were spent training, nights with Edward.
As soon as Carlisle returned from work he and Eleazar would catch up with what the other had learnt during that day. They came up with training plans to consolidate my understanding of my existing powers and to try and trigger any of the new powers. I would train and spar with whoever was available that best suited the training plan for the day. The wolves came and joined the training a few evenings a week.
Nights I spent with Edward, just being together was a balm. We could talk all night or just spend the time in silence relishing the company. We had physical contact in some form without conscious thought, we both agree we feel more complete when we are touching. Our physical intimacy never went beyond some of the public make out sessions I have witnessed. I keep hoping things will go further but with all these powers emerging on a regular basis I'm a bit nervous, and after a full day training I'm as drained as a vampire can be. Edward's morals hold him back. I know we are both want more but the timing isn't right for us yet.
Eleazar would inspect me for emerging powers. Some days he would tell me some of the seeds had joined the others on my shield. He was still amazed that each power merged with the existing, all coalescing and working together.
Their latest theory is my ability to learn quickly and easily along with my love of learning as a human is showing as a gift in my vampire self, consolidating and compiling my powers. They think that is why I seem to get each new power at their maximum potential, even if I initially I only used a small aspect of the them.
Learning the full extent of each power, even with Eleazar's ability, became almost as difficult as triggering new powers. Fortunately just knowing I may have a particular power enables me to switch them off or keep them turned down so they don't take me unawares.
As usual I had spent the morning with Peter and Eleazar. We went through a set of warming up exercises, very similar to those I did for martial arts. Vampires may not need to stretch out and warm up muscles but the physical exercises helped me mentally prepare for the day ahead. We then tried to work on some of the gifts I had recently triggered using the ideas that came out during the previous evenings discussions with Carlisle.
Peter and Eleazar were in full debate mode, anyone else may have called it arguing but who am I to complain! I flopped onto the grass and closed my eyes as they tossed ideas back and forth. Today's plans hadn't worked out as hoped so they were brainstorming again. I was daydreaming. My daydreams head in the same direction as my dreams did, while I could still sleep, Edward!
I know his schedule, he should be just coming out of Calculus and heading for the cafeteria. I can feel the long grass blowing in the breeze tickling my face and arms as a part of my mind sees the school come into focus. Using the hook I can feel myself getting closer to my other half. I can see the chipped paint as I pass through the closed door into the classroom. He is sat at the back, his eyes on the window. The clock on the wall shows it's nearly time for the bell. The teacher is setting the homework, complete the rest of the page of problems. I smile as I see Edwards hand fly over the page completing the work as she speaks. The bell goes, Edward moves just a bit too fast as he picks up his books to escape from the room. Lauren simpers his name as he strides past the back of her chair to the door. He just sneers at her, I can see her shudder as part of her mind recognises the danger. She gives herself a slight shake and speaks again, "Edward, do...." but he had already stepped through the door into the corridor.
"Bella, Bella," I could hear Peter's voice clear yet distant. I concentrated on his voice and opened my eyes to see concern on his face. Eleazar on the other hand was full of excitement.
It seems my daydream was more than just my imagination. I'd triggered the trick of remote viewing. Eleazar described it as it joined Alice's precognition on my shield, I practised with it watching Edward as he queued for lunch and joined Alice at their table. It was strange, almost lonely seeing just the two of them sat at that table. I am able to change my viewing angle as easily as you tilt your head. I had thought many times in the past what it would be like to be 'a fly on the wall', now I can be, without the tell tale of a fly or the annoying buzz! Now I'm aware of the power I can use the capacity of my vampire brain to remain alert to my surroundings while still watching the distant events. Eleazar spoke in awe as he watched both abilities grow as they combined and took on the strengths of the other power.
The training helps me become more comfortable with each power and control over them all. I have practised with all the powers blocked and all the powers active with every possible combination we can think of in between. Blocking some powers and using combinations of others strengthened the links between them. I'd not used the visions much since the first couple of days. Practising with it and the remote viewing gave me new insight into their value.
Opening up to use all the powers tends to overwhelm me very quickly. Eleazar has had me practising in this overwhelmed state. He gets me to shut out just one aspect of the power like slamming a door on it or like turning down the volume to reduce it's power. The practise is good as I feel more confident in my control of them all.
I'm becoming more aware of shutting down powers, becoming more confident of only allowing the power I want through my internal shield keeping any unknowns shielded, only letting them through as a trickle when I'm ready.
Alice and I worked together trying to remove the block that prevents her from seeing me. I have managed to reduce it so she can see everything round me but I'm still a fuzzy patch to her. I'm not totally sure if I'm doing it on purpose to retain my privacy or if the decision limitation of her power, I have so many gifts that emerge unexpectedly, I suppose I could be difficult to predict!
Peter and Charlotte feel like integrated members of the family, the Whitlock's are just as much a part of the Cullen family as the Hales. I spend all day with them, it's helped me get to know them really well. I love seeing Jasper interact with them as I see a different side to that he shows with the rest of the family. Peter may have been changed when he was physically older than Carlisle but he is such a kid at heart for the most part, you would never guess his age. Charlotte has tomboy tendencies, living with Peter I don't suppose anything else would be possible, but she gets into the Barbie sessions with just as much enthusiasm as Alice.
The Denali's feel more like close cousins. I have become close to each of them. Tanya can still be a bit of a thorn but she is coming to terms with the idea that I am with Edward. Edward is now asking her to give him some space in a very polite gentlemanly manner. Dealing with her and remaining polite to her is a real test of my patience but I see her as another test of my control. Edward's new manner with her, combined with him and I being all but joined at the hip may have also helped!
Esme, Carmen and Irina, to my surprise, have all bonded closer, cooking mammoth meals for the wolves. Initially Irina was very closed to the idea that the wolves could be friends to vampires but she is the biggest convert. I couldn't be happier to see both of my honorary families getting on so well.
I made the mistake of letting Carlisle know about the lack of appeal of human blood. It took tests with drops of donated blood then open cups before he fully believed me. With my extra strength and abilities he didn't dare risk putting me near a human without being as sure as he could be that I would control myself, if I lose control there isn't a hope that even everyone together can hold me back.
Now Alice can drag me shopping and I can't use the easy 'but I'm newborn' excuse. I enjoy shopping when I want something or I can browse at a sensible speed but Alice makes shopping an endurance event, even as a vampire. She still gets frustrated that she can't see me. She has to come up with new lines to persuade me, 'but I can see' doesn't work now.
The wolves trust me enough to go to their bonfires with their imprints in attendance. It was so great to see Billy and catch up. Jake was keeping him informed but seeing him in person was the best. He was nervous to start off with but we soon slipped back into our normal comfort zone. The imprints never treated me any different to how they were with me when I was human. If they can deal with a werewolf, a werewolf approved vampire isn't too much of a stretch! I don't act any different around them, I still help with all the cooking just as I did before. I walk at human speed, the only time I move at vampire speed is for food prep and I make a joke of it, it eases any tension.
I miss Charlie. Esme and Sue Clearwater have been popping in to get updates about me since I have been away. They used the visits to keep an eye on him for me. They keep sending him meals using the excuse they had made too much and plated an extra one up for him.
I snuck close enough to the house to see him arriving back in his cruiser. I watched him go through his normal routine and found it comforting. I got a 'hook' for him but I look too different, I still have to deal with Aro and so much can go wrong. I think it's better for him to believe I'm still travelling. I did the same with Angela. I miss them both. They are the closest thing I had to my dream of a normal life. I don't want to drag them any further into the supernatural; Angela's adventure proved to me how wrong that would be.
My spending more time with the wolves bought up even more discussions over Alice's lack of sight of them and the fact I could see them. We ran back over so much old ground. The split personality theories either since when they are in wolf form they use the animals inside to direct and influence their fighting ability or when they are wolf their minds are linked. Another theory is they have an ability to remain hidden from their natural prey but I don't agree with that one since Edward can read their minds.
Eleazar can't discern any abilities in the wolves which they attribute to the hidden from their natural prey theory. Looking at me he can't decide which theory is accurate as all my powers have combined and grown as I use them, he can no longer tell the differences between the added abilities as they are so completely merged. He can still make out the original five powers, they have a difference to them that defines them even where other powers have combined and added to them. He tried to describe them visually, that they appear to make the pentagram, the other powers filling in and merging across the sphere of the shield that protects my mind.
The tribe elders had already turned in but the wolves were still in high spirits; messing about and being loud about it. Billy came back out giving us all a strict lecture about being role models to others on the reservation and respecting their elders 'enough to turn the volume down so I can sleep', I think were the precise words. We waited long enough for him to turn around and go back into the house before the snickers started.
"Shush! He'll come back out and send you all home," I warned them, "How about making the conversations silent?"
Sam caught on straight away, some of the others didn't get it until I opened the link so we could talk in our thoughts.
Paul, being Paul, well his thoughts can get a bit aggressive. I found I can tune him out, only letting him speak in the conversation when he is ready. Once I had perfected it with Paul I tried it with everyone. It worked so well. It was more like a normal conversation rather than the loud overlapping of many thoughts all vying for attention. Wolves heads can get very loud when they are all on four legs as a pack.
It's great practising the mental speaking with the wolves as they are used to this type of communication. We messed about all night. Even the wolves on patrol got to join in with the stupidity we descended into. Drunk on laughter is the best way to describe the night.
In the early hours sanity slowly descended and the value of the new connection started to be realized. We found if I keep the mental connections joined at a low level so a telephone becomes nearly unnecessary for me for those in the know. If someone wants me all they have to do is call out to me in their mind and I notice it and open the connection to talk.
It's a bit harder for me to set up a connections between two others without me listening in. I don't want to end up feeling more like a telephone exchange so I decided to refused to link people apart from in emergency.