Chapter 8. Hunting Party
"Jennaaaaaaa! Come on that was mine!" Max whined as Jenna won the race to the deer. She grinned up at him, looking slightly ghoulish with her bloodstained shirt.
"Snooze, you loose, Max!" she said, finishing her meal. Max stamped the ground angrily and raced after another deer in the underbrush. I knew they'd like these woods. The twins liked big open spaces to hunt. London was difficult for them, as we had to travel far upstate to hunt.
As much as I loved London, the green of Forks was always a reminder of my human life. The trees, the rocks, the sky…it was all cluttered with bright jade green leaves and moss. My first human thoughts were how much I hated the colour but really, now it was comforting. Familiar. Things change so much when you're immortal that the tiniest things that don't change are priceless. Idly, I wondered how La Push had faired over the years but immediately I shut them down. Thoughts like that were like gasoline to an open flame. Very. Bad. News.
Vee and Andrew were further north where the bears were, they both held somewhat of a grudge towards the creatures. Chen was eastward still cautious about hunting whenever we were around. He didn't like hunting with an audience. I was racing Max to the other deer. I caught it a split second before him, nailing it to the ground. "Bellaaaaaaa! That one was completely mine!" he whined again and I smirked.
"Max, go get your own deer." I ordered and for the fourth time that night, he hunted down another creature. I finished my own meal and went in search of Jenna who was distracting Max. She danced around him, her silvery blonde hair billowing behind her, her eyes light with amusement and golden. Jemma reminded me of Rosalie sometimes but only physically. She had the same staggering beauty but Jemma didn't like it. She thought it was the worst part about being a vampire. Everyone stared. No matter how dull you tried to make yourself look, everyone's eyes followed you around the room. "Jenna, come on, let your poor brother eat!" I called and a chuckle was my only reply. Comforting.
The scent of the forest filled my nostrils, bringing up all the memories I'd spent here. Suddenly another scent flowed into the area. It was sweet and thin, dancing around the air. It wasn't animal or human. It wasn't even werewolf. It was vampiric. Slightly different though, one was like honey and another thicker like rising bread. Maybe five or six different scents mixed together: a hunting party. I hissed and sprinted after Jenna and Max who probably couldn't take on other vampires due to their size. I found them talking as Max fed off another animal, his eyes sparkling topaz. Jenna smiled too, before frowning at my expression. She sniffed the air and stiffened. Max did as well and immediately stood up.
Because of our vegetarian methods and the way we moved around a lot, many covens didn't particularly like us. They tended to prey on us singularly rather than in the whole group. But something about this group smelt friendly, almost familiar. "Let's go find your parents." I murmured and we all sprinted up north, following Vee and Andrew's scent.
We found them feeding on a grizzly bear, uncommon but not unheard of in these parts. Vee was lying on the ground near Andrew and smelling the air and ground, absently mashing a boulder to bits in her free hand. In all respects, it was a comical arrangement. "We smelt another group. Better to leave now and avoid confrontation." I suggested and the two nodded in agreement. Running for everyone was second nature. I understood what Edward meant by that now. It was like talking but with movement and speed, dancing almost but more practical. We ran through the trees, finally reaching our driveway. It was Cullen style, as I liked to call it, big and long with trees on either side. It made it seem like another trail through the woods. We found Chen on the couch, lazily scrolling through the channels. He gave me a look that said he knew why we'd come back.
Although I hadn't realized it, we had stayed up all night hunting and the clouds were much brighter than usual, the sun was up. "Andrew what's the time?" Jenna asked, stretching her arms. Andrew always had a watch handy. Jenna and Max called him Father Time.
"Almost seven. God you were right Bells. You really can't tell the time here without a watch." He remarked. I'd told them all before hand that it was always cloudy in Forks so you couldn't tell the time here using the sun. I smiled and stretched as well. If I could feel tired, I would be exhausted right then.
"Well you have an hour to do what you want. But we should probably get to school early so be ready at ten to eight okay?" I said and we all split off into general directions. Max and Jenna went outside to spar for a bit while Vee and Andrew went upstairs. God only knew what they were up to. Chen remained in front of the TV. Being from a relatively small village, he found the whole concept of TV amazing. Even after the sixty or so years he'd been with us, he still found it mind blowing.
As for me, I went to the piano in the living room. After thirty years of doing nothing at night, I decided to give myself a hobby. I learned to play the piano. We'd shipped it in the first class area so it arrived a few days before us. It was a big black grand piano, glossy and expensive looking but I really bought at a thrift store in Colorado.
I'd been trying to recreate Edward's lullaby for me but it was harder than it looked. I could only just remember the tune and the rest was history. I'd locked the memories away in the Edward file at the back of my head, along with the other memories that caused me pain.
But lately the pain had eased up and I was able to remember a few more notes in the tune. I played softly on the piano, trying to remember the last few bars. But they eluded me and before I knew it an hour had gone and it was time for school. Joy.