well, second chapter's up! WOOT! oooo gettin' into the plot maybe? Am I seeing hints of it!?! REALLY!?! OMG! THE SUSPENSE!!!! IT'S KILLING ME!!!!!! ........................... ahem... anyway.... yeah.... read and review?

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!!!!

Natural Magic

1: The Owl

In many cultures... the owl is a sign of omen or bad luck. Often times, death or sickness accompany it. They are associated with the truth and the ability to see through lies. Either way, they don't usually bring about anything good to the person that hears their call... I learned that first hand.

"Jacob..." there was a knock at the door. I ignored it, just remaining on my bed as my gaze drifted out past my window. "Jacob?" another knock. I still didn't move. On the other side of the door, I could hear my father sigh. "Jake... you need to get up..."

I continued to ignore him, gaze dead and unfocused on the world outside... the world that kept going on. A click of the door and soon it was open, my father wheeling his way into the room. I didn't twitch. Honestly, I should have been a little kinder and made an effort... seeing as my dad let me move back in after Seth... oh hell, I couldn't even think it...

"Jacob Black." I looked up at that one. He frowned at me, pulling his wheel chair up to the bed and stopped so he could smack me over the head. "Stop moping. Get your ass up. Get showered, changed, and downstairs. You've been laying up here for three weeks and you've barely eaten anything!" He started to head back to the door and into the hall where his ramp was. "And if you aren't down here and cleaned up in a half an hour I'm dragging your ass down the stairs!" and with that, he was gone.

I let my gaze follow him before I huffed and got up. Might as well go get something to eat... I dug around in my dresser before pulling out a pair of ratty jeans and a regular t-shirt. That done, I made my way into the upstairs bathroom and started the shower. With my hearing as good as it was, I could hear my dad downstairs in the kitchen. He was talking to someone...

I eventually trudged my way down the stairs, gaze drifting towards the table where my father had rolled his wheel chair up to, another figure sitting across from him. Charlie...

The man lifted his gaze to me and offered a small smile, getting and meeting me at the base of the steps. "Hey, Jacob..." he stated, pulling me into a hug. "It's good to see you up and moving at least..." he added softly before releasing me. I just lifted my gaze to meet his. He hesitated before continuing. "Bella's... flying in next week... it was the earliest flight she could get..."

I just nodded and side stepped. My father gave me a pointed look before looking to the counter, food ready to be dished up and an extra plate waiting. I sighed and made my way over, biting back the urge to gag at the smell of food. It just wasn't appealing... I sighed and dished up a small plate. My father cleared his throat and I paused, jaw clenching as I fought back the urge to retort. I settled for a quick glare and dished up a full plate.

While I sat at the table, Charlie and my father talked back and forth. Meanwhile, I picked at my food, eating only when my father shot me a look. He talk was simple, mainly discussing local news as well as Bella's latest address. Under different circumstances I would have been chattering right along with them, but... at the moment, I was too busy forcing food down my throat. I finished the plate and got up, placing it in the sink before making my way upstairs. I heard my father call after me, but I ignored it, calmly walking towards the bathroom only to empty my stomach into the toilet.

My arms shook as I held myself up on my knees, forehead resting against the cool porcelain. My body was weak, hungry, and at the same time I just couldn't keep anything down. Soft foot falls alerted me to some one other than my father entering the room. A soft sigh and a hand on my shoulder. My heart skipped a beat and for a second I almost believed it was Seth. But reality sunk in and Charlie's scent reached my nose.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The rest of that week was spent like the others had been... me moping. The only difference was the room I was in. I was at least moving around the house... it was an improvement... a small one, but still... a step forward.

Seth came to me in a dream that night... something that had been happening more and more often the longer I was without him. He was frowning, looking towards me, but never at me... almost like he was watching something beyond me. Every time I tried to turn around, I was stopped. I woke up, the dream ending or shifting into something new... something terrifying. If there was one thing that my mother made sure I knew, it was omens in dreams.

Howling... it was all I could hear when I slept. Like that of a wolf. It's said that to hear a howl in your dreams it signifies loneliness... solitude... pain... anguish... I guess they nailed it on the head. I did, however, manage to turn around once. That only found me stumbling around in the darkness. Yet again, another bad sign. I was lost, depressed... hopeless...

I snapped back into reality as a light, almost barely there touch ghosted down the bridge of my nose. My eyes snapped open, brown coming face to face with the familiar irises of Bella Swan. She grinned.

"Hey hey... good to see you awake..." she stated softly. I blinked a few times before a small smile formed.

"Hell's Bells..." I muttered. She squealed and wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me close.

An hour later and the two of us were sprawled out in my room, trying in vain to keep our laughter down to a whisper. It was odd, talking to Bella, I felt almost human again. It was a good feeling, knowing that not all the good in the world was gone. Hell, it even made me miss my old life...

"So... tell me about this guy of yours..." I finally stated, shifting slightly to lie on my stomach, elbows resting on at the foot of my bed. Bella was sprawled on the floor, grinning from ear to ear as she wrapped the spare blanket around her a little more.

"Oh! He's amazing! Muscular, handsome, and oh so good in bed." she purred, fingers idly playing with the cat's eye necklace around her neck. One of the things Bella and I had in common was magic. Her mother was a form a long line of witches, passing the gift on to her daughter when she was born. It's how we met and it was what sealed our friendship. When my mother died, I learned from Bella's mother... all the way up until the divorce. That was when she and her mother moved away, Bella only returning in her junior year of high school.

I chuckled and shook my head, relaxing a little more. "Why do you always go for the same kind?" I asked, smirking. "Anyway, what's his name?"

"Emmett... Emmett Cullen..." the name rolled off her tongue, being caressed as if she were handling the world's softest silk. "And he's got a brother I think you might like to meet..."

I sighed and shook my head. "I think I'm good for a while..." I replied. She snorted.

"Come on, at least meet them when they come up?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Oh, Charlie didn't tell you? I'm heading back to Arizona at the end of the week. But I'll be back in three months. I'm bringing them with me. Emmett and his family. They're moving to Forks then... and I'm joining them." She giggled, going back to her usual bubbly self when we were together. She grabbed her purse and dug around in it a moment before withdrawing a photo, handing it to me. "Emmett's the one to the left, standing next to the blond. And that..." she pointed to a man with almost golden colored hair due to the sunlight bouncing off it. "That, is Edward... his brother I mentioned..."

The man's eyes... were the color of green amber...