Chapter 16

Nessie's POV

Talent Development

"Thank you!" I shout to the boy, and girl, who just entered my kitchen. It's Leah and Embry, which means Quil and Seth must be back on patrol. I frown, and Jake, of course catches my expression.

"What?" He asks quietly, out of earshot to the entering werewolves.

"Quil and Seth are back on patrol again. We're going to run you guys ragged."

Jacob just shrugs, and shakes his head, but I know from his concerned expression it's crossed his mind too.

Leah and Embry make their way over to the counter and plop down on the barstools with a synchronized sigh.

"You guys look beat." I comment with a smile, "I'm assuming that means you're hungry."

"Yes!" Embry practically shouts, "Food sounds amazing."

I chuckle, "I'll have to tell Jake to stop starving you guys."

"Hey," Jacob immediately protests, "It's not my fault the Volturi chose now to come back for a visit."

I don't acknowledge him, I just turn to the fridge and start poking around, wondering what can be cooked easily, and still manage to feed hungry werewolves who eat more than it appears they should. I settle on making hamburgers, pulling out the meat quickly, and thanking heaven I had to foresight to pre-shape the patties when I brought the meat home.

"Hamburgers are good, right?" I question as I pull out a pan.

"Better than good." Leah says with a smile, "Thanks Ness."

I'm impressed. Leah hates vampires, and she doesn't even really like me, but she's here in the kitchen waiting for me to cook her food. I think it helps that the only vampires here at the moment are 'vegetarians'.

"Did you guys just get off?" I ask idly, as I refocus my attention on cooking their meal. Without turning, I can hear Embry's response perfectly.

"Yeah. We've been going since one. After I eat I'm going to crash. We've all been running patrols though, don't worry about us."

I don't make any comment on that-of course I worry about them.

In fifteen minutes the hamburgers are done, seasoned, cooked, and on buns. I give a plate to Leah, Embry and Jake-because I know he thinks I haven't seen him checking the clock, but I have. He has patrol soon. Hopefully he's giving Seth a break.

They all eat-relatively quietly, but when they're finished Leah asks Jake, "When do you need us back?"

Jake ponders the question for a minute, "I'm going to run with Quil for a while, but I'd say somebody needs to relieve us at about eight. Then Quil's going to need some serious ZZZZ's, not to mention food. Leah, you can decide who's best rested out of the three of you, Embry, Seth, and you. I really don't care who's on patrol as long as they can keep their eyes open."

"Jake-" I attempt to cut in, but Jacob's not finished.

"I… I don't like this. At all. We're stretched too thin. This isn't going to work." There's a mixture of pain and worry etched on his face.

"Jake," I start again, "Go see if you can work something out with Sam. I'm sure they won't mind, there's more of them, and if we only need two wolves on patrol at once you'd all be better off."

He thinks about this for a moment. Surprisingly, Leah's on my side.

"Jacob, she's right. So are you, this won't work if we're all dead tired."

Jake sighs heavily, "I hate to ask him to risk his pack, but at this point I don't see another choice."

"He's not risking anything. There shouldn't be any trouble for at least a few days now."

"Alright, I'll go, but I still have patrol after, so I won't see you again until eight."

"I'll allow it," I say with a smile. "But only so that certain werewolves can get some sleep."

"Shape shifters," They all correct simultaneously, causing all the vampires in the room-half vampires included to laugh.

"This shape shifter is going to sleep," Embry says following Jake out the door.

"Me too." Leah adds with a yawn, following the boys when she's almost out the door she turns to me. "Thanks Nessie, really."

"Not a problem." It seems being the cause of all the trouble hasn't made Leah dislike me more. In fact, she seems to like me a little more now. I have a sneaking suspicion that Leah might just be an action fan.

Unfortunately, now that all the werewol-shapeshifters are gone, I'm stuck trying to entertain the vampires. Awkward.

Tanya see's me straightening up around the kitchen and decides to help.

"So what's the pack dynamic?" She asks quietly, though she doesn't whisper. She's simply being considerate of the highly attuned ears in the area.

"Jacob's the pack leader."

"Ooh. Alpha's girl." Tanya teases, poking me in the ribs.

I giggle, "Yes, I guess so. As of recent developments."

Tanya raises her eyebrows, "How recent?"

I bite my bottom lip a little, "Yesterday," I admit, feeling sheepish.

"No way!" Tanya looks at me eyes wide, "Man, the boy sure has great timing."

"I know right?" I say completely exasperated. "It's not really his fault though. The Volturi just…" I trail off, thinking about how this visit isn't random.

"What is it Renesmee?" Tanya looks worried now.

"I'm just thinking about the Volturi, and how they're bringing-supposedly-another hybrid with them."

Tanya seems to consider this. "It's quite… disturbing, to think that Aro could father children."

"I've been thinking that too. But that's not what I'm worried about. I'm more concerned with the child's talents in particular. Let's say Aro is the father-which he may not be, what mind set does that leave the child?"

"That's an excellent train of thought Nessie," Eleazar chimes in from his spot on the couch, though he stands to join our conversation.

"If Aro is the father, and talents are a genetic thing, that would lead me to believe that the child will be talented in some way. Though you say you've never seen a talent manifested in the same way in two people, correct?"

"That's right," Eleazar confirms. "There's always some kind of unique quality."

"That rules out the child being a mind reader-at least in the sense that my father reads minds. And that'd be my first guess, assuming it's father is Aro."

"Well, there's always the possibility that the child can read minds in a similar way that your father could, however perhaps it could see every thought in someone's mind, as opposed to whatever thought they were having at the moment."

Tanya chimes in, "I suppose that's one angle, but you're both forgetting that Bella was talented too. Maybe it takes more than one talented parent to produce talented offspring."

"That's something to consider," Carmen adds softly, the rest of the coven-Garrett and Kate, also paying attention to the conversation. "Especially since it seems your talent is somewhat of a reflection of your parents talents."

"That's true. I can put thoughts, well… pictures really, into people's heads, and so far no one has been able to keep me out, and I can project like my mother." It's something I forgot to tell everyone, even my parents.

"Really?" Kate jumps off the couch hurriedly, "Have you been practicing?"

"Not much," I admit. "Only a little, with Jacob. It seems similar to Alice's talent, at least in the way of it working best on 'half-breeds'." I smile. "I'd assume since I'm half vampire and half human it'd work about half as well."

"You should practice with that." Kate says excitedly, "Maybe we can turn it into something offensive."

"We're off topic now Kate," Eleazar reminds us. "We were discussing the possible talents this other hybrid could possess."

Kate looks at me and mouths, 'later' and I smile at her.

"What if," Garrett chimes in for the first time, "Much like Bella, the Volturi specifically selected a human mother with an embedded talent?"

"That's something to consider. I wouldn't put it past Aro."

"Would they save the mother?" I ask lightly, just out of sheer curiosity.

"It's very possible they'd try, depending on the talent she had, if she had one." Eleazar's extensive knowledge of the Volturi has come in handy far too frequently for anyone's liking.

"If there was a talented mother in the equation the possibilities are endless. Just think of how many different combinations of talents there could be. One couldn't even begin to predict, or speculate then." Carmen says in her soft, motherly tone.

"Then lets assume the mother was some random human. How many ways could Aro's talent really be construed?"

"Too many." I say, just thinking aloud. "It could be anything from touching someone and affecting them in some way to anything having to do with a persons thoughts. It's not as cut and dry as if, lets say a male version of Kate could father a child. Since your talent is purely offensive wouldn't it stand to reason that the child's talent would involve incapacitating an attacker? Where as Aro's talent isn't really classified as defensive or offensive, it's more of a crutch, if you think about it. It just enables him to 'see' more of a person than intended. 'To get every facet of the truth,' if you will."

"Renesmee has a point," Tanya agrees simply. "Aro's talent is too broad to nail down. There are too many unknown factors."

"Unfortunately I think they're right," Eleazar adds reluctantly. "This child could be able to see someone's life in the future from one touch, or be able to pick events out of their head, or do any other variety of things we can't even begin to guess about. It's too broad and we don't have enough information."

"That's a shame. I wanted to know what kinds of powers we could expect."

"That's not what I'm most worried about," I just have to get it out there. Five sets of golden eyes stare at me, surprised.

"What are you concerned about Nessie?" Carmen recovers from her brief shock first.

"This child, no matter how old, has been raised by the Volturi. Where does that leave its mindset? It's impression of other vampires? Lets say for a moment I was raised anything like Jane," I shiver involuntarily at the thought. "What kind of person would that make me?"

"A sadistic one." Tanya adds glumly.

"And," I continue. "Let's say the mother was talented, if they have an offensive talent-one that can break through mom's shield…" I don't need to continue. They all know how it'd end for us. "It's upbringing alone should be cause for worry-but it's talent? That could be the end of us."

It's silent for a few moments, as the group of vampires takes in the information I've provided. They all look more uncomfortable now, but I'm glad I could tell someone without them freaking out too much.

"Wow, way to bring us down Ness." Kate says, though she's smiling. "Come on, lets go work on your talent."

I shrug, following her out the back door, Tanya trailing behind us.

"I'm not very good at this Kate, I'm not my mother."

"You're biologically half her, that means you can do this."

"You heard Eleazar. No two talents are the same."

"Phssht!" She waves me off, "I don't see your mother putting her thoughts into people's heads."

I just laugh.

"Now, what'd you do with Jacob that you didn't do with us?"

"Nothing that I know of. It might just be the imprint bond…"

"The what?" Tanya asks, confused.

"Imprint, Jacob imprinted on me. It's a wolf thing."

"Oh," Kate looks thoughtful. "I don't think that's it though."

"All I did was think of the picture I wanted him to see and he saw it. It helped me win a contest." I add with a satisfied smile, and Kate laughs.

"See? Motivation. But I feel like we're missing something, when we tried before what weren't we doing?"

"I don't know Kate, I just-"

"Wait," She cuts me off eagerly, "Did you say you thought of the picture you wanted him to see?"

"Yes… Oh! That's it. That's what I wasn't doing before. I was just trying to shove my thoughts into your head. No wonder it wasn't working."

"Alright, now try it." Kate says, an excited smirk on her face.

I quickly conjure up an obscure question and add an image to it-it's quite funny, and my thoughts are very questioning, Kate, is it possible to shock yourself? I focus on Kate, with my eyes closed, and envision the picture making it into her mind.

I'm met with a little resistance, but it's nothing like the brick wall before. Kate doesn't seem to be seeing the pictures, until suddenly she laughs. "No Nessie, I don't think so."

"What question did I miss?" Tanya whines impatiently from the corner.

I quickly come up with a question for her. How embarrassed could you make Kate if you really tried? And I attach my mental picture of what I think Kate would look like embarrassed.

I focus on Tanya for a moment, until she replies easily, "Very." The tone of her voice makes me unable to doubt her response.

I smile at her and Kate raises her eyebrows at both of us, mildly irritated at being left out.

"How far do you think it works?" She asks curiously, wondering what other variations of my parent's talents I could have.

"I don't know… hang on." I close my eyes, and think of a request this time.

It's for Carmen, please come outside. I attach a mental image of her standing out here, near Tanya and Kate, and think of 'showing' her this picture.

Seconds later she's standing by the door. "What was that?" Then her eyes open wider, "Nessie was that you?" I nod proudly. "Well done."

"Was the image clear?" Kate asks, more excited than me. "It didn't flicker did it?"

"No not at all." Carmen says looking at me in awe. "It seems you are more talented than anyone has dreamed."

"Will it work on multiple people at once?"

I shrug, "I don't see who would determine that, my mother or father?"

"That could be the part of your talent unique to you." Carmen suggests.

"Or," Kate adds, "It could be like your father's ability to hear multiple minds at once."

I shrug and decide to find out. This time I try something new; I think about the craft store I was at just yesterday and select an image of a price tag. It's basic, and I want to see if that makes it easier.

I think about putting the image in all three of their heads with the question too expensive?

All three of them gasp simultaneously. I smirk, "This is odd, I feel as though it's too similar to Zafrina's talent."

"I was thinking the same thing, but Zafrina's images are so much more… real. These are only two dimensional-at least to me." Kate clarifies.

"For me as well," Carmen agrees, "And I can almost think around it. But it's always there-at the front of my mind."

"Like a billboard you can't see around." Tanya adds with a smile.

"That makes sense I suppose. Kate, do something for me," I begin, and she nods enthusiastically. "Run about three miles from here. I want to try something."

She nods, "Wait three minutes."

Only in my family could a person run three miles in three minutes-dad could do it in one and a half without running at his full speed. It was astonishing really.

Three minutes later I attempted something. I chose an image of Kate running and tagged on my thought, if you see this run three more miles. I focused on Kate's face in my mind and just… willed the picture to enter her thoughts.

"Did it work?" Carmen asks quietly.

"I don't know," I tell her honestly. "There's no indication that she received the message."

But three more minutes pass and she doesn't return, so I send out a different message, with a picture of her back here with the rest of us, you can come back.

Six minutes later she was back by the house, grinning wildly. "Clear as day, six miles out."

"Impressive Nessie. How many people do you think it will work on at once?"

I shrug. "Hard to tell, really. It was as easy as doing it when she was right in front of me."

"Try someone else." Kate suggests.

I nod, "Carmen, and Tanya you guys could try ten miles. I don't know how far it will work. Take my cell phone." I say, tossing it to them as they dash off in the other direction.

Kate runs in to get the house phone, coming back out ten minutes later, with both Garrett and Eleazar in tow. I'm starting to feel self-conscious, but I don't think about that now.

I send my thoughts and pictures out to Carmen and Tanya, call us, and not ten seconds later the phone rings.

Kate picks up, and relays their words to me with a smile, "Perfectly clear from ten miles!"

Eleazar smiles at me, "I knew you were powerful, but it's harder for me to pin down the exact nature of a talent-even if that is my talent. It's even harder, it would seem, with humans, and half vampires."

Garrett looks intrigued, "Can I try something?" He asks cautiously.

"What?" My voice sounds curious.

"If I describe something to you can you picture it and put it in my head?" I think about his request.

"Probably, try it."

"Alright, just think about our house in Denali, and envision the floor plan."

I do as he's asking, putting the thoughts into his head as he works. I keep my eyes closed, and he responds.

"Now, if I asked you to add a room, could you?"

Keeping the picture in his head I think of drawing in another room.

"Remarkable," He says, sounding quite shocked. "I didn't think you'd be able to do that."

"It seems the power of your talent comes from your mother-she's a strong shield." Eleazar says with a warm smile.

"You see the image in your head but if you open your eyes can you still see the environment your in?" I ask, wondering if I'm different from Zafrina in this way as well.

"Yes and no." Kate says, obviously having tried it. "It's very hard to focus on anything other than your image, but not impossible, I'd say."

"Hmm." Carmen and Tanya burst through the trees. "Nessie that image was very powerful."

I shrug. "I was concentrating harder-I thought distance mattered."

"Now…" Kate says with a smile. "Does it work on humans?"

Hey! Sorry it's been a while, but this chapter was extra long (9 pages on microsoft word) so hopefully that makes up for it. What do you think of Nessie's talent? Turns out that little thing she did with Jacob was just part of the story. Hope you like my idea, and let me know if you have questions/comments about something. I know this is a little confusing at some parts because sometimes my brain works a little too quickly for my fingers to keep up with it.

Also there was some speculation about the other hybrid's talent (or lack thereof). Let me hear your ideas-if you have them. Even though I've got this story 99% figured out I love your opinion/ideas. So review or PM me please.

Thanks for reading,

R&R