Author's Note: Lots of new characters introduced this chapter, so I take my hat off to you if you can keep up. I will admit to having a bit of fun writing this – I quite like the way Kim is portrayed, I suppose. Also, if you haven't noticed already, my lingo isn't quite American – this is because I am actually Australian. I apologize if you can't quite understand what I'm saying most of the time (I don't either) just roll with it, my friends! Enjoy, and feel free to congratulate me on being inadequate in a review.
The window girl? My eyebrows shot up beneath my fringe and I applauded myself at doing a spot on impression of Seth and his odd eyebrow habits. I gave him a look and he grinned back at me sheepishly.
"I go by Ginger actually-" I began, before I was interrupted.
There was a scramble as another boy came into view. "What? The window girl? The window girl? Seriously?"
"This is Paul and Quil." Seth said, in an apologetic manner, as he gestured towards the two men.
Paul, the first person who spoke, physically looked like a man, but had the stale air of teenage angst surrounding him. He had a scowl slapped onto his face, and wore an expression that suggested he could constantly smell smoothing bad. The second man, Quil, while looking far friendlier, had just described me as the window girl, so I shot him an unimpressed look.
"You made quite the impression." Seth said under his breath.
"I suppose launching myself out of a window would do that." I told him in a passive voice.
"Don't listen to these idiots," Said a girl who had suddenly appeared by my side. "They don't have a brain cell between them."
The girl had prominent and broad cheekbones, highlighted by her smooth russet skin colour. Her dark hair whipped around her face and I noticed her lips were pulled up in a smirk.
"I'm Kim." She told me, taking a humungous bite out of a hotdog.
"Ginger." I told her. "But you can call me the window girl if you'd like a good thump over the head."
"I think most of the boys need a good wallop, except for Seth of course, seeing as he has exceptional taste." She said, giving Seth an approving look.
"He doesn't have exceptional taste in clothes though." I said, eyeing his ratty shirt as Kim and I laughed at his expense.
"If you're quite done," Seth said, blushing furiously. "I wouldn't mind introducing Ginger to other people, ones who won't corrupt her completely."
"Is that a blush I see, Seth?" Asked a new man, before he placed a hand over Kim's shoulder.
Seth let out a small, resigned groan. "This is Jared, Kim's husband and her personal entourage."
"And so he should be!" Kim said indignantly.
Despite the fact that Kim had just sent crumbs flying from her mouth in every direction, Jared gave her this adoring look, as though he would like to do nothing else than kiss her senseless, hotdog still in mouth. If any man looked at me like that after I had just sprayed mushed up hotdog all over his shirt, I'd marry him too.
"Right." Said Seth, sounding unconvinced. "I'd like to introduce Ginger to the most sane member of the group, so if you would excuse us without coating us in crumbs again…"
He led me away from Kim, who gave me a cheerful wave, quite quickly. He had a very strained look on his face.
"You look a bit constipated, Seth." I told him in what I hoped was a sympathetic manner.
The blush returned almost immediately. "That's not – I'm not…"
I gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, realizing he'd stopped walking and was introducing me to someone new. The first thing I noticed was the pink scar running down the length of the woman's face. However, when I caught sight of her almond shaped eyes and soft smile, I was struck by a sense of the woman's overwhelming beauty.
"This is Ginger, Emily. The one I've been telling you about." Seth said softly, not taking his eyes off me.
She gave me a warm smile, something I wasn't generally accustomed too – usually it was odd looks and eye rolling. "Nice to finally meet you – I've heard so much about you, Ginger."
"Can't say the same – Seth usually tends to be pretty discrete about his sane friends, but nice to meet you too."
"That's probably because he doesn't have any." She said with a laugh before glancing at the man beside her. "This is my husband, Sam."
The man held an air of importance around him, and looking into his dark eyes I felt them study me in return. I basically shrunk under his gaze of scrutiny, but eventually he held out his hand to shake mine.
"Remember now – when someone does that with their hand, you're supposed to shake it." Seth told me with a grin, instantly reminding me of the first night we met.
"Hello." I said awkwardly, shaking his hand with mine. He had a strong grip and it felt as though he was, unintentionally, trying to rip my arm from its socket.
"We're about to tell Quileute legends, would you like a beer?" He asked.
I nodded, accepting the beverage and not willing to mention that I much preferred cider, but free alcohol was free alcohol after all – I wasn't about to complain.
Seth and I found a cozy spot around the fire, and he draped his arm around my shoulder as I leaned into his warmth. I noticed, after the others found their places, a strange silence fell over the group – as though they were waiting for someone to speak. I looked around in a bemused way.
"What's going on?" I whispered to Seth, but he instantly shushed me and I rolled my eyes.
"We have always been a strong tribe." Sam's voice rung clearly in the silence, causing me to leap about a foot in the air out of surprise.
"And that starts," He continued, pretending to ignore my interruption. "With our tribe's great warrior, Taha Aki, a great spirit chief of the past. Known for his wisdom, and renowned for his kindness – he was the first to lead our tribe to our wolf form."
I raised an eyebrow and looked around, noticing that, unlike me, everybody else was giving Sam his or her undivided attention. I looked skeptically back at Sam, but soon found myself lost in the magic of his words. He described the legends of his tribe, weaving words to create hypnotic imagery in a way that I couldn't help but believe. He talked of Taha Aki, his struggles to retain peace, and the turmoil of his tribe. Sam spoke of the warrior's transformation into a wolf form, and how the magic was passed down for generations to come in order to preserve Taha Aki's aspiration of peace.
"Do you want another beer?" Seth whispered to me.
I nodded and shushed him, waving Seth away, eager to return to the tribal legends. Sam, surging on as though Seth hadn't disturbed him, now spoke of what he called 'The Cold Ones'. At first, I glanced around to gage everyone's reaction. Nobody seemed perplexed as to what a 'Cold One' was, so I reverted my attention back to Sam, eyebrows furrowed.
"Here you go – it's still cold." Seth said, passing me a beer as he returned.
"What the hell is a 'Cold One'?" I whispered furiously, trying to divide my attention between both Sam and Seth.
"It's a, er –" He began, scratching his head, trying to pick his words carefully. "Vampire, I suppose."
"A vampire." I repeated incredulously, giving him what must have been a very blank stare.
"Just – just –" He tried, before shushing me again. "Just listen."
I looked away from him, eyebrows still disappearing behind my fringe, and returned my gaze back to Sam. Unconvinced as I was, Sam's words continued to have the profound impact of truth behind them. He spoke of a continuing war between the opposing forces, and the tribe's everlasting will to protect their land and their people.
The bonfire flickered under the air of the night, and as I glanced around I noticed people were beginning to stir, as though expecting the story to end. Sam's voice faded into silence, and I realized that everyone had probably heard to story before, except for me. Seth stretched out beside me and gave me a lazy grin.
"That's it?" I asked, trying not to sound too desperate.
"Sort of," He shrugged. "There's a bit more about The Third Wife, but you'll hear that at another time. Fancy a walk along the beach?"
"Oh, aren't you romantic." I said sarcastically, but agreed anyway.
"I'll steal us some more alcohol, meet me over there." He said, gesturing towards a sloping sand dune.
A few minutes later, Seth approached me, a suspicious clinking under his budging shirt. He gave me a grin and handed me two beers.
"Technically this is illegal, supplying alcohol to a minor and all." He told me, a sheepish look on his face, before pulling another two from under his shirt and cracking one open.
"Minor technicality." I told him smoothly, before changing the subject. "So, these legends, do you believe them?"
I studied his face and noticed a very torn expression appear on his features. "Yes," He said eventually. "There's been evidence, and our tribe prides itself on these legends. I know it sounds a bit farfetched –"
"Vampires and shape shifters – yes, farfetched is a word to describe that." I interrupted.
"But," He continued. "I believe them, as do the tribe elders, and, being native to the land, we've always had a spiritual connection to the flora and fauna."
I considered his words in silence. I had grown up in a household where religion and spirituality were regarded cynically by my Gran, so I had never really contemplated them of importance. While, even now, I didn't believe in a heaven or hell, there was an appeal to spirituality. Seth's description of his connection to the land and his strong sense of spirituality, made me feel a certain pull towards his beliefs.
"I respect that." I said simply. "I wish I could feel that way towards the land."
We were sitting now, just on the edge of the shore. The air, cool and salty, lingered on my skin in a pleasant way. Grains of sand engraved into our skin, he looked at me.
"All you have to do is listen." He told me quietly.
For a moment all I could hear was the roar of the waves, but as we lapsed into silence I understood what he meant completely. The roar of the ocean wasn't as hostile as I had previously believed; there was a certain softness of the waves collapsing over one and other. The wind, once a howl, sounded more like a distant hum. The ocean and the air were almost communicating to one and other.
He was still looking at me, and I turned my head to face him. My heart, hammering against my chest, gave me a sudden rush of adrenaline, urging me to seize the moment. I launched my face towards his in what can only be described in an overenthusiastic manner. Seth, obviously caught of guard, let his mouth fall open in an unattractive way. Somehow I managed to head-butt him in the teeth.
"Is your head made out of rocks?" I cried in pain as I pulled away, clutching my nose.
"You were the one who tried to attack me!" He said ludicrously.
"I wasn't trying to attack you, you idiot!" I exclaimed, suddenly blushing. "I was trying to – to kiss you!"
"Oh!" He said, an odd look clouding his features, before laughing at my misfortune.
"It's not that funny." I muttered, turning away.
He laughed, and held my face softly in his hands, his eyes looking at me searchingly. His palms were tender against my skin, and this thumb traced the length of my jaw and stopped under my chin, tilting my head towards his.
"Why don't we try that again?" He murmured.
He brushed a stray strand of hair away from my cheek and moved his head towards mine. His lips were gentle, grazing mine as I moved closer towards him, consumed by his warmth. My fingers brushed against his bare skin and he shivered, leaning into the kiss until our lips met firmly. For once, I wasn't self conscious about how my skirt clung to my hips, or how he would feel pressed against my body. His touch was so sensitive and sweet, that I knew he wouldn't care either.