Blackhaven18: Alright, I'm trying a new format for my story. Enjoy!
Thanks to: Rymoarox, CleverBast, Riddicks-gurl1998, MelissaRM, Haru Inuzaka, Divina17, and stephvamp25; for their reviews.
And extra special thanks to: Lady Dragon, and HumanSage for the advice they gave me. This chapter dedicated to you two. =)
Song choice: Citizen Soldier, Three Doors Down.
Chapter 8: Citizen Soldier
Billy winced when he heard the front door slam close and a his son appear drenched by the rain with none other than Nate thrown over his shoulder, unconcious to the world.
"What in the world happened?"
Jacob's fist clenched and his eyes narrowed dangerously, "Not now pops." He walked over to his bedroom and a few rustles later returned in dry clothes, with no Nate. "I'm giving him my bed for tonight." Was his only answer and he sat down on the couch, looking worn.
Billy stayed silent for the most part, even though he was itching to find out what had happened. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask Jacob stopped him by holding up his hand and beat him to the punch.
"Jeez, Nate's done some freaky things before, but this was just... He so much more of an-" He paused again, searching for the correct word to describe what he had witnessed, "Animal then we thought. Did you know that if he really wanted to he could probably wipe out this entire town with the flick of his wrist?" Jacob chuckled humourlessly when he saw his father's eyes widen, "But in all honesty, it's far too... above him to sink that low. He's too much like us to do something like that pop's. He could never harm an innocent. Though I can't say the same for an enemy though."
Jacob stopped a ran a hand through his hair, trying to figure out what he should say next to explain Nate's behaviour. After all, what the blond had conceded in telling him was something he didn't feel he should repeat.
"Sorry dad, but I can't say too much... He's really torn up about this and I'm not about to break his trust in me. He's kind of afraid that we won't except him for his... preferences and his past, but mainly the first-"
Billy couldn't help but be mildly shocked when Jacob called him 'Dad,' instead of by his first name. The only time he did so was during a time of great importance and he didn't wish to delve further..."Ah, I think I understand. He plays for the home team," Billy stated, nodding in a sagely manner and Jacob gave him a miffed look at being interrupted. "Well? Go on, continue."
"...Alright, it's like this..."
The first thing he noticed when he woke up from a hazy sleep was the sun filtering through the window, carressing his bare torso. He figured from the position of the sun that it couldn't be any later than seven...
Wait... The top half of his body shot rimrod straight and his gaze flitted around the room as he tried to remember exactly where he was.
The unfamiliar room was cluttered, car posters littered the walls and Nate could vaguely make out a the front cover of a porn magazine sporting a busty blond in a lewd positon peeking out from below the matress, where no doubt countless others' lay.
'What...?' He glanced down to find he was clad in nothing but his black boxers, this only served to make him more uncomfortable. 'Hold up, I was in the woods. I remember that much, then there was Jacob... and after? Everything went black...' He stopped for a moment and hissed, "Edward... of course. How could I be so stupid!"
An almost sheepish knock at the door sounded and Nate quickly looked around, 'No places to hide in this mess... I might be able to squeeze out of that pathetic excuse for a window...'
"Nate? I heard you moving around in here, so don't try to deny it." Jacob's voice rang out and Nate stilled. "I've got your bag and I'm going to leave it in the bathroom, you saw where it was. So, hurry up, pop's called a meeting after breakfast and you need to be there."
Heavy footfalls tempoed out and Nate opened the door slightly and moved silently down the hall. He quickly took a shower to wash the grime off his body and, with a towel wrapped around his waist, began to sift through his bag for something clean.
He ended up pulling a black sleeveless tee and a pair of sark grey pants from the depths of his bag.
'I suppose I should be happy by shoes dried.' He thought and pulled the black sandel-like shoes on. He left the room after taping the ends of his pants down, buckling the poutches that held various weapons and scrolls into place and tucking away other knifes onto his person.
Nate cleaned the rest of the dishes after breakfast, this being the least he could do after how much the two growing boys ate.
He sighed, 'I told Billy about my appetite, but no, he didn't want to listen to me. Well, I guess after seeing what Jacob put's away I shouldn't be surprised...' He could still see their widened eyes and hear Jacob's uproarious laughter when they realized Nate could definitely hold his own against the wolf... and that was saying something. 'I'll shop for them later on.' He decided as he put away the last of the dishes and wiped his hands off.
Hearing the amount of heartbeats in the next room, he figured that Billy must have called the whole pack and not just the one's he met. Jacob had been kind enough to inform him that besides five he met in Bend there were two others' that decided against coming and stayed in Forks', meaning seven in all.
As soon as the door swung open and he stepped inside Billy's voice sounded, "Ah, there he is. We were wondering when you would joining us."
'So much for the element of surprise...' Nate thought sullenly as the heads of the entire pack swiveled towards him and he quickly moved behind the couch, unnerved to have so many eyes on him at once.
He couldn't help but pause as he counted heads and realized the pack had nearly doubled when he met the pack a few months ago. He huffed when he realised they would have to find a new meeting place soon if his kept up.
"The reason this meeting was called was to discuss the sudden increase of vampire spottings in the area." Billy said and Nate nodded. From what he had been told by the man and the obvious trend beween the wolf population and the resident vampires, as well as 'passer-byers'... it would certainly explain why there was a population explosion among the Quillete. "We have reason to believe that the main vampire coven in Italy has alllied themselves with another unknown force. Our brother clan across the Atlantic have informed us they will keep a closer eye on them."
'...This is no good... they have no allies whatsoever outside the pack in Italy with the way they've alienated themselves off. Unless they get their act together their forces are going to be divided.' Nate thought as he heard various members remark on the 'filthy blood suckers' in the area. 'It's strange... they are obviously my age, even older looking, but they act ages younger with their attitudes.' Nate couldn't help but shudder as he remembered his rivalry with Sasuke.
Nate then, to the surprise of the others', stepped forward after Billy was done speaking. Sensing the tension in the room Billy figured whatever the blond was about to say it couldn't be good...
Steeling himself for the reactions he took a deep breath and continued, knowing that if he didn't get this out it would never be resolved. "...From what I have been told the treaty between the Cullen's and the reservation has been upheld for over a hundred years... If they were about to do something they would have done it by now. I propose that everyone lay down past differences and work alongside with them to not only prepare for this threat, but also to, in a sense, have operatives that are able to relay information to us from the other side."
The room might as well have exploded.
Growls sounded throught the air and Nate could have swore he heard bone snapping from across the room.
He sighed as he realized just how long it this was going to possibly take, he was after all, dealing with a pack of young, immature wolves. Kami knows he'd rather knaw off his own hand then deal with their selfish attitudes, but alas, fate had other plans.
Who would have ever thought, that he, prankster extradonaire, the king of childishness... well, in his younger days that is... would be expected to beat it out of people more than twice his size?
He was sure that somewhere Sarutobi was laughing his ass off at the predicament.
'I wonder if this is cosmic payback of some sort.' he idly thought as he remembered the better days of his youth and decided not to dwell too much on matters that would more than likely wrack his mind to uselessness.
He waited for them to die down... and waited.... and waited.
Feeling his eye twitch and with the lingering thought, 'My Kami, they're going to drive me insane,' he looked to Billy for approval... to do anything at this point really.
Seeing the man nod, almost in an exasperated manner he noted, he stood up.
"SHUT UP YOU LOT!" Nate's voice rang out over the crowd and the room seemed to fill with pressure that forced down on them, making it hard to breathe, much less yell. Snarling, Nate continued, "I can't see how you people get anything done if that's how you react."
"Of course this is the way we're acting, what you're suggesting is ludicrous! Werewolves and vampires won't ever get along!" Sam yelled and others' agreed with him. "Vampires have killed countless of people and harmed others, it's our duty to protect innocents from those monsters!"
He froze when he felt the anger radiating off the blond and his jaw shut with an audible click, he had learned to keep his mouth shut when Nate glared at him like that...
"... Monsters?" Nate questioned in a low, scathing tone, "Like you're one to talk. Everything may be fine and dandy now, but I seem to remember a certain wolf's temper and the actions against his imprint." Sam's previous bravado wilted away at the reminder and Nate knew what he said was a low blow, but it was the only way to get them to see, "My point is, we all make mistakes. All of you are condeming them as monsters for their race, for something that was completely out of their hands. Instead of blaming and arguing amongst yourseves, maybe you should be looking at the bigger picture. You've got what? Thirteen? Fourteen wolves? There's a coven of two hundred strong in Italy, possibly more, as well as other smaller roaming packs that will no doubt band with them to eradicate you and the only allies you have are another pack of six or seven in Italy... Neither of you have the forces needed to protect the innocents, much less yourselves. You'll be wiped out. What happens when the humans' only protection is killed off? What then?"
The room silenced and most of the teenagers didn't raise their gaze to meet his. They were practically radiating shamefullness and Nate was glad he was the one to knock some sense into these children's heads.
Better him than an enemy on the field.
He couln't help but notice some of the newcomers scuffed at the ground with their feet, the action being utterly child-like.
'Children... That's what they all are. They're nothing like the people I know back home. They're were thrust unwillingly into a role of protector, at least I knew what I was going to be doing as a child and had time to prepare for the inevitable.' He thought and sighed.
"I know this must be odd... hearing something like this from some white kid from San Diego," He heard some chuckling, good, that was good, "But like it or not you all have roles now. You can't look at these problems with a child's viewpoint anymore. I'm sorry you all are forced to grow up so fast, but whining will not get us anywhere. Everyone needs to be respectful of each other and if you have a problem, voice it out. Don't keep information to yourselves because I'm sure people here will be able to bring up a point someone hasn't before. All of you can be great with the right training and goals." Billy looked at him in admiration after he was finished speaking and Nate resisted the urge to smile back.
No one had ever given him that look before.
He had always been the 'stupid' one, the 'loud, obnoxious brat', a thorn in the village's side and it was a welcomed change.
One he could definitely get used to.
"... The vampire's smell to us though and we don't smell like a bed of roses to them, what do we do about that?" Seth's asked, being the first the break the uncomfortable silence everyone had fallen into once Nate started speaking.
... That certainly was a problem, if the only reason they could'nt stand each other was because of scents then Nate had no problem dealing with that... He looked back at everyone, a plan already forming in his own mind, 'Better to let them figure it out... their first test on team work I suppose...' He thought as he realized his old mentor may hav rubbed off on him a little. "Well, don't just stand there. Can anyone throw any ideas onto the table?" He questioned and after a silent minute it was Sam who stepped forward.
"We should have a representive from the pack, but... would you be willing to act as an ambassador of sorts between us and the Cullen's since, obviously, you aren't affected by the smell?" Sam asked and was surprised when Nate smiled.
"Now that's what I'm talking about," He remarked, "That sounds great, only I suggest one wolf to follow since I'm not exactly a shifter and therefore can't accurately represent the clan." He looked over at the teenager, currently trying to inch his way out the door.
"... Why am I getting a bad feeling?" Jacob asked and Nate smirked, he knew his friendship with Nate was bound to bite him in the ass one day.
"Simple, you're the Alpha. It's time to step up buddy and I won't take no for an answer." Nate leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner, "And if you don't I will personally prank you until you do. I wasn't the resident rebel/prankster in my town for nothing."
Jacob shivered, he was really going to hate this...
"What are we going to do?" Lillith questioned her husband as she dialed the number to her son's cellphone on the kitchen phone again to try and reach him... She had been informed by some gossiping biddies of the scene at the music store during their trip into town, from there she had alerted her husband and the news was far from good.
Flashback:
"Yes, the boy looked as if he was going to attack poor Edward and that's after he threatened the store manager... I swear, teenagers these days have no respect for their elders..."
Lillith had just bagged a few vegetables, while her husband went to buy some vitamins, when she heard this wafted in her direction, and she had no doubt of who it was that was about to attack Edward. "Excuse me? I couldn't help but overhear..."
"Oh, yes. You must be Mrs. Riven. It's so nice to meet you. We were just talking about some hooligan, nothing to worry about dear." The old woman clucked, and Lillith smiled.
"Of course not, I was just curious to know who it was the boy almost attacked."
"Edward Cullen, dear. Surely you've heard of the Cullens'?" Lillith nodded.
"Yes, My husband and I met Mr. and Mrs. Cullen earlier today, but I'm afraid we haven't had the chance to meet their children, much less Edward." She had a hard time not flinching when she said the name outloud, but the women brushed it off as sympathy and patted her shoulder.
"Edward is their youngest boy, oh, there he is right now!" One of the women pointed outside the store front window just as said person walked by.
Time seemed to slow... and Lillith nearly felt herself stop breathing when topaz eyes turned to face her. Edward almost seemed to be... studying her. This was not good, not good at all...
End Flashback:
"I still can't get ahold of him!" Lillith growled grabbed a nearby knife, handing it to Nicholas. "Do it. I can't reach him and we can't wait any longer, he needs to know before something else happens."
Her husband nodded and embedded it into his 'wife's' chest, before slashing it across his throat in perfectly practiced motions...
Both disappeared in clouds of smoke...
Nate bid farewell to the pack as they walked out of the door and some even smacked him on the back on their way out, obviously a friendly gesture and it meant they accepted him, but he couldn't help but feel wary at the contact.
"You did well today."
Nate chuckled as Billy spoke, "I only spoke the truth, something that should have been done from the beginning." He added in coldly and looked directly at Billy when he said this.
The man let out a sigh, "I know, it's been hard for them. I spoke with the elders and they agreed it would be better to wait."
"Better for whom, Billy? Holding back the truth and keeping people in the dark helps no one, least of all those in question. They should have been watched and trained to harness their ability, not take this change in silence." Nate pointed out and Billy nodded.
"I agree, but before Sam Uley there were no others' like him." Billy tried and Nate glared.
"So? That doesn't make it alright for him to be without guidance of some sort. I'm sure someone could have come up with a way for him to vent his anger and not take it out on his imprint. The clan has been passing down its stories for this very reason, to make sure the art of shifting, along with its consequences, isn't forgotten. Even I can see that."
"You're right as usual Nate..." Billy conceded.
"... It just seems to me that it's not just the pack's ideals that needs changing... You've got to realize when you and the elders are gone it's your son and his generation that's going to be leading and nothing has been said to help him into the position... especially one of that magnitude." Nate said and walked out the door to leave Billy to his thoughts.
Billy watched as the teenager, no, man leave with confusion.
Never once in his lifetime had he come across one that was young in body, yet so old in mind. It was so easy sometimes to forget he was speaking to a person that was barely eighteen years old.
Everytime he looked at Nate he saw something more than a the schoolboy he made himself out to be... It had been obvious from day one that Nate was shrouded in mysteries and Billy didn't want to press him on it, but sometimes... He wished he could figure out at least a portion of the boy's life, to see what had made him into the bright, intelligent adult he is now.
However, he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever it was... it would more than likely scar him for life...
Nate closed the door behind him and heard the squeakiness of Billy's wheelchair as he moved to the next room.
It wasn't the man's fault, he knew it, but damn it all if he didn't even choose to try. The elders knew of this information and still chose not to act on it and feign ignorance on the matter until it was too late. It was too much of a reminder of the council back home... and how they failed him.
He didn't ever want to see such a screw up like that again and if he had to crack some heads, then so be it.
Sitting in the ground next to the window he gasped as images flew threw his head at a rapid pace and settled as if they had always been there. The clones he left at the house destroyed themselves to relay new information back to him.
He felt the blood rush from his head and vaguely felt like he was going to vomit...
'Edward Cullen...? Oh, fuck...' It certainly explained why he was still... walking around and not six feet under he supposed.
He was pulled from his thoughts when Jacob pulled out of the driveway in his Rabbit.
"Yo, Nate. We gonna do this or what?" He called from the car.
He was locked in, he couldn't go back now... Not after the promise he made to the pack.
"Y-Yeah, keep your shorts on." Nate croaked out and ambled into the passenger seat.
'Kami, please strike me down now.' He prayed... if demon's could exist... he figured there must have been some sort of higher deity of some kind...
"... Wait a minute... You're saying the person you saw was someone you used to know before you were turned? Is he a vampire then?" Rosalie asked when Edward told them about Naruto and how they met and saw her brother shake his head.
The entire family was hanging off every word Edward had said with disbelief and wonder, except Rosalie, who was still having trouble accepting what she had been told.
"He has a heartbeat... I heard it."
"Impossible, how could he have survived this long? Without aging more than a few years? A human no less." Rosalie snarled, it just couldn't be possible.
Surely there would have been others' if it was.
"It's true Rosalie, I heard his heart as well. There was even a reaction when Nate saw Edward, feelings of recognition rolled off both of them." Jasper said, backing up what his brother said.
"Edward? What was your relationship with him?" Carlisle asked, needing to know if Edward knew enough to know if he was an enemy to them or not.
If Edward was still human Carlisle wold have been able to pick up on the blush that would have no doubt reached his hairline at this point. Taking a moment to fully understand the implications of what his father really wanted to know he answered, "Over the two years I've known him he's never harmed anyone that hasn't raised a hand to him first, unless it was to help someone else. He wouldn't outright hurt someone like that unless they had it coming," he answered confindantly.
"Alright, Edward. I'll trust your judgement." Sensing the conversation was over he nodded the rest of his family, which told them they could leave now.
"... I'll be up in my room." His son said before he cleared to room of his boisterous siblings.
~Knock, Knock, Knock.~
"Edward? I need to know if you're skipping school today." Carlisle called from the other side of Edward's locked bedroom door, music was playing on the other side, but he could still hear his son shifting through his CD's.
The door opened a fraction to Carlisle's relief and Edward's face came into view, "Can you tell them I'm not feeling well?" He whispered and Carlisle nodded.
Edward shut the door once he agreed.
He couldn't help but sigh. It was situations like this that rendered him completely helpless and it was certainly not a feeling he liked.
He walked back to the living room and watched as Alice bounced into the living room and picked up the phone a second after its first ring. "Hello, Bella. Uh-huh, no he's... coping. I can do that, just a sec." She placed the phone next to its cradle and walked up the stairs. Moments later she came back down Edward in tow and he moved to his sister's pevious position, grabbing the phone.
"Hello, Bella. I'm fine. No, really... You're not going to take my word for it are you?" Edward asked as he heard Emmett snicker from his place on the couch. "Of course you can come over, alright..." He saw Alice smiling at him and waving her hands, "Alice wants to be the one to pick you up. See you soon. I love you too."
"Dude, you look like you're about to puke. Sure you can handle this?" Jacob asked as he glanced at Nate from the corner of his eyes, the blond nodded silently, "You better not puke in my car." He added in and sighed when the blond didn't retort. "I'm sorry about this. I really thought you knew about this being... his family. Otherwise I would have warned you."
Nate finally looked over at him, "It's not your fault, I tend to run into things without thinking things through. Really, it's a miracle I'm still alive." The blond managed a weak smile and looked back out the window, the dazed look once again forming on his features.
"Bloody hell." Jacob cursed and turned to face the road again...
Bella and Edward had retreated to Edward's room, soft talking could be heard down on the lower floor but everyone ignored it. Everyone besides the two upstairs were stuck in a silence, all doing a mind numbing task that would get them through the day.
The phone rang a moment later and everyone looked to Alice, who shrugged in response. She had no idea why she didn't know it would ring.
Carisle moved to the phone and answered it. "Hello?"
(Am I speaking to Carlisle Cullen?) The voice asked on the other end, and Carisle was mildly shocked.
"Yes, this is he. May I ask why you're calling Mr. Black?"
Instantly the house was on alert and Rosalie was fighting off a sneer.
(Actually yes, there have been some recent... developments and due to a large vote by the pack we would like to re-discuss our standing with each other."
Carlisle bit back a sigh, he did not want to talk with a pack of wolves now. "Mr. Black, I really don't think this is the best time to-"
(Please, Mr. Cullen. It'll just be two people you'll have to speak to, not the entire pack, and they even agreed to meet where you deem fit. Bring your family if you feel threatened."
'... Did he just say 'family'? That's odd, he's always called us a coven.' Carlisle thought, something was definitely up. Looking to his family and seeing their confused expression as well and Emmett's thumbs up he agreed.
"Alright, Mr. Black. We'll meet with them, tell them the meeting will take place outside of our home and to meet us in our driveway." He decided.
If this was a trick it was far better to have to take place on familiar ground, since the wolves avoided their home they wouldn't have the sames advantages.
(I'll inform the boys then... Thank you Mr. Cullen.)
~Beep, Beep, Beep.~
"Does someone want to go tell Edward?" Carlisle asked hopefully and the room cleared faster than he expected. "Leave to me then." He muttered and walked up the stairs
"We shouldn't be doing this Carlisle." Edward said and Bella looked between the two confused.
"He sounded desperate and the things he said were too odd to ignore. Like it or not, they'll be here in a few minutes."
Hearing a horn honking outside, Edward hissed and Bella looked almost hopeful, recognizing the sound of the horn. "That's Jacob's car. Can I see him Edward?" She asked knowing that Edward would want her to stay in the house during the meeting.
"Bring the human Edward, they won't think of attacking us if she's there." Rosalie commented and Edward growled.
"She's not a bargaining tool!"
"Of course not. I was merely stating a fact."
"Both of you stop it. Edward the entire family needs to be there to act as representation and unless you want to leave Bella in the house, unattended, I suggest you bring her with us. If something goes wrong at least she'll have better protection and you'll be able to run away with her." Carlisle admitted and walked out of the room.
Bella looked over at Edward and he could see how much this meant to her, she and the mutt hadn't ended things on the best of terms...
"Alright." He conceded and chuckled when her arms wrapped around his waist.
"Thank you," she breathed and he escorted her down stairs to the driveway with the rest of his family.
The windows on the car were tinted and Edward could vaguely make out the figures in the car.
"Looks like they didn't lie so far." Roslie murmured and watched as Jacob, being the only one shaped similiarily like Emmett, stepped out of the driver's side.
Then the door farthest from the family opened and the second person they had to meet with stood up. Esme could see all the similiarites between him and his parents, the blue eyes and the blond hair. Being the recent discussion of their last debate had given them all ample oppurtunity to know what Edward's friend, and son of the Riven family looked like.
It was just hard to believe the human was actually who they were supposed to meet.
Nate stood in front of the group feeling everyone's eyes on him and he sighed, pushed a hand through his hair in annoyance and shrugged off the glare he was recieving from the blond female in the Cullen family. He stood straight, shrugging off all the uneasiness he felt on the way here and looking every bit like a professional he looked the the group dead on.
"It's nice to meet you. You already know who Jacob Black is, so I'll just introduce myself. I am Nate Riven and I'll be the acting as an ambassador between the Cullen family and the rez pack. While Jacob is here to establish his rightful place and introduction as alpha to the pack, he is also here to take care of all things legalities-wise. If you don't mind please take us to where you wish to hold the metting so we can get started." Nate smiled in a disarmingly way and Jacob reached back into his car for the pad and pen Nate forced him to take...
BlackHaven18: I think this may have been my longest chapter ever =)
~TBC~