North Star: Edward (1918-1919)
#32 - Confusion
Edward wakes in confusion that turns to terror at the voices that shout-whisper-laugh-cry-yammer inside his head, with the burning gone but this new pain threatening to tear his sanity apart, and when instinct propels him at his perceived tormentor's throat, he doesn't resist.
#03 - Soft
Only the fact that the other does not fight back, tries instead to soothe him with soft words, prevents Edward from following through with the urge to bite, to rend -- to destroy the source (he thinks) of the cacophony in his brain.
#38 - Gift
It takes minutes for Carlisle to figure out Edward's "gift" (curse); it will take days for Edward to accept, and years to fully master, it.
#18 - Speed
In some ways, Edward is truly newborn, and he spends his time learning how to control his too-fast, too-strong body; to separate the intrusive jumble of thoughts from speech in order to communicate; and to control his primal urges ("Wanting a thing does not mean you must have it right now, Edward.").
#13 - Death
Death is a way of life: he cannot feed without killing, but (for now, at least) the only lives he takes are those of the wild creatures in the forest.
#19 - Wind
His newfound fleetness is a benediction, running is like flying, and Edward finds ephemeral peace in these moments when he forgets everything else and simply races the wind.
#01 - Comfort
Carlisle instructs him in the basics of vampiric existence -- hunting, feeding, avoiding the sun -- and it is difficult for Edward, each new lesson a reminder of his lost human life, but he is reassured by the knowledge that Carlisle will be there to guide him.