Disclaimer: I do not own any of Stephenie Meyer's characters – only my own.
Offshoot: Dwelling in the Dusk
Mini Story: Me Te Aroha (with love)
Leah Clearwater's POV:2008, March, 6th
Open the door to your kingdom, let in the light that I bring you.
Why do you sit in the dark? Sit in the dark.
What does it take to be near you? I'm fighting so hard to be with you.
I'm trying to get to your heart. Why be apart?
"I still say we kill her," An unfamiliar voice grumbled.
"No, we'll go to jail!" Another voice hissed.
"You're a wimp, Eli."
"I am not! I just don't want to go to-"
"Where's Ariki?" A totally different voice interrupted with a sigh.
I groaned, my head throbbing with exhaustion as I rolled over and stirred from my sleep. "Kim? Rachel? What's going on?" I mumbled as my eyes flickered open and I peered around curiously. My vision was met with the surroundings of a vast, dark forest and a group of shirtless men staring over me in awe and fright.
For a moment, I thought I was dreaming about the Pack and prepared my lips for a good curse word when a seventh male face entered my view and I was left speechless at the very sight of him. His hazel eyes met mine and he frowned, observing me concernedly. "Leah?" His voice made me tingle, even in the middle of the night when I was groggy and disorientated.
When my mind fully registered this obscure situation, I jerked up and the men immediately stumbled back, keeping their distance as I about to order them to. I glared into each of their faces and snarled, the wolf in my veins feeling threatened and fearful. "Where the hell did you take me?" I shouted, my voice echoing among the trees and emptiness.
Tane stood in front of the group, his frown ever present. "We didn't take you here, Leah," He began guardedly. "We found you asleep here..."
I glanced down at my body and found I was fully clothed, wearing a pair of torn trousers and a grey capped-sleeve shirt. I then fiercely looked up again. "Where are my friends?" I demanded, pointing a harsh finger at him. "Where's Emily? What did you do with them?"
"Nothing! We're not the villains here, sweetheart, so don't pretend to be the damsel-in-distress," A bulky teenager, a little younger than Tane, barked back at me with his arms crossed over his chest.
His eyes were darkened by nightfall and his chestnut hair was cropped. He also had a prominent, slashing scar along his bare chest which appeared recent but rapidly repaired. I frantically made mental notes about each of these boys' features in case I'd need to report them to the cops for abducting me or any of my friends. One of these wimps remarked he didn't want to go to jail...but tonight may be his unlucky night.
"Jax, calm down," Tane hushed and shot his Pack brother a reassuring look. "We don't know what's going on yet. So, before we point any claws, let's just try and find out what happened to Leah and why she's out here alone in the middle of the night?"
His tone of voice stirred something inside of me and I snorted at his implying words. "Are you seriously reprimanding me, kid?" I laughed humourlessly and Tane's entire Pack flinched at the very last word of my snide sentence. "What? You think I need some big ass wolf to take me home at night? Look, I take care of myself and I don't need you or your chastising to keep me in line."
Tane's sharp stare returned to meet mine and we both narrowed our eyes. "Fine, she wolf," He snapped and my chest clenched at the hum of his beautiful voice and how livid I'd made it sound. The want to please Tane was still strong in my heart and it was hard to resist the ongoing urge to make him happy. Fight, Leah, my thoughts shook my imagination back into reality, don't give in! And yet all I really longed to do was surrender...
"If you don't want me to at least try and pretend to be nice, then I won't...because your wish is obviously my command. So, Leah Clearwater, what in God's name are you doing on my territory in the forest when you know a freaking bunch of Italian bloodsuckers are out here rampaging? Are you trying to make me work harder to protect you and your horde of she wolves rather than my own tribe? Are you some kind of attention nut?"
Frustration and hurt gushed in and washed over the open wound of fear in my chest, licking the cut of its sensitivity and becoming yet another scar for me to ignore. My wolf whimpered at the distress I felt and I shot back a retort, "I'm not trying to do anything. Get off my case, okay? I don't have some master-plan! And you know what, asshole? If you're gonna give me this Alpha crap...then I'm not gonna bother pretending to be nice, either, Tane."
My imprint tensed when I uttered his name like poison in my lungs and I knew I had the slightest of effects on him. An imprint is pressure that can only be released in one way. Pressure soon builds up and eventually something in your measly, screwed-up heart must give way. A fire will set from the toxins in your veins, the venom only an imprint can liberate.
"I didn't even know you were pretending or trying to in the first place, Leah," He finally replied and I felt his lethal spite knife into me from the bond we shared. I inwardly cringed, the adamant feeling of being unwanted so familiar and yet so difficult to tame and duly accept.
The silence between the Maori werewolf Pack and me soon became awkward as I sat sitting up, lost in a cold stare with my precious imprint. Tane's curious, adolescent Pack watched us in wonder and I pondered if they had ever actually seen an imprint in their lifetime. Those kids appeared as frightened as me once I'd woke up in the forest a few minutes ago, which led me to speculating why I'd awoken in Ariki Forest.
Sleeping in the woods was common among werewolves like me, so I wasn't stunned to find I'd woken up here. But, honestly, I couldn't quite remember what I'd been doing out in the first place. Usually–and especially after knowing a bunch of Italian bloodsuckers were out rampaging–I'd stay close to the imprints and keep a protective, vigilant eye on them. It was instinct: protecting humans is first on my agenda and keeping an imprint safe is more than vital.
What am I been doing out here? Was there another attack? I felt flustered, yes, and a cold sweat had built upon my skin. Details such as those indicated something was wrong with my body. I rarely sweated, even though my temperature was threw the roof, and the strange ache in my leg wouldn't subside once I'd perceived it being there and not fading. Soon, my worry became too hard to bear and my icy stare shifted into an inquisitive one.
"What am I doing out here anyway?" I asked of no one in particular. "How did I get into Ariki Forest? I never remember coming out."
Tane's gaze softened also and he frowned. "You mean...you weren't looking for me?"
I gave his Pack a fleeting glance before I met his eyes again. "Well, of course not!" Tane looked so childishly puzzled that I suppressed an amused smile.
"Then what are you doing out here? It's dangerous for a human to be out in the middle of the night! Leah, you could've been killed and I can't let that happen. Ever."
"Oh?" I smirked. "Suddenly decided to care, huh?"
The emotions of concern on Tane's face were immediately sheltered from my sight, but I could feel his inner apprehension, and I was somewhat flattered that he might've cared about my wellbeing. Tane snorted at my ironic remark and replied, "If you haven't already assumed, Leah Clearwater, it's my responsibility to keep humans–such as yourself–from drastically dying on this land. It's a rule the goes among all Chiefs in this country. If not upheld, our tribal rights can be stripped from us by the government."
Did Tane just call me a human again? Seriously, what's this guy's problem?
"Whether or not we actually want to keep you humans safe is another debate all together, she wolf," The Maori werewolf with the recent scar muttered bitterly to himself and I gave him a tough, arched eyebrow look as response.
Up yours, 'Scar Chest'! I snapped back and thought twice about flipping him the bird. This Maori Pack hadn't experienced women wolves in their previous ranks, but it would be simple to convince Tane of a female wolf's existence. All I'd have to do was phase and watch him freak out in the process...
"Villages are always kept under close surveillance," Tane continued and ignored his Pack brother's previous, smartass jab about me. "And my Kaitiaki's job is to keep humans like you safe."
"Well, I'm not dead...so I'm pretty sure you're in the clear, Alpha. No feds hunting you down," I replied smoothly and forced a sigh from my lips. "Anyway! I'd love you sit and stay and chat, but I need to go and find my friends if you don't mind. Who knows what time it is by the way?"
"It's 3am, Ms. Clearwater," A boy about fifteen replied meekly and blushed as soon as my eyes shifted to meet his gorgeous green ones. "And I'm sure your friends are fine. Marina cast a protection spell on your cabin just before she left for the hospital in Auckland. That was the last of her magic, too."
I gasped incredulously and looked to Tane for confirmation. "Why would she do that for us?"
Tane only shrugged. "She feels indebted to you. And I guess we all are in some twisted way. You were the first to alert me of your presence in the woods."
"How?" I raised my eyebrows questioningly.
Tane hesitated, leaving a pregnant pause for me to panic. "I-I don't know. What do you she wolves call it again? The, uh, imprint? Well, I guess it got hold of me. I felt your fright and fear, Leah...when I should've been feeling my own sister's. She was the one in real danger and I couldn't sense one ounce of her terror. This curse won't let me feel anything but..." He trailed off, his jaw clenched, and I knew he was referring to me.
"I understand. You think it's bad that you felt my pain and not your sister's," I stated emotionlessly. "Reasonable, I guess. I would've felt the same thing if it was my little brother, Seth. But you found Marina anyway and that's all that really matters. You can't dwell on a crappy dead-end of possibilities."
"But what if you weren't there, Leah? She would've died!" I could feel Tane's constant, internal, self-loathing conflict and so could his Pack. Their expressions radiated ongoing distress for their troubled Alpha.
"I was there and I wouldn't have been any other place. I promise," I replied gently and his fearsome eyes softened noticeably at the sound of my voice. That was the first time, I realised, that I'd calmed my wolf from a rising temper. I yearned to reach towards Tane and feel his hot, tan skin. His complexion differed from the Quileute boys' in La Push. I couldn't yet tell the difference, but Tane's seemed more olive than copper.
"Thank you," He murmured finally and my heart fluttered.
I didn't need to answer or wonder why he'd thanked me. Maybe it was for saving his little sister or calming his edgy nerves or refraining from rousing another unnecessary argument between us. Whatever the reason, the flutter my heart made was detected by my imprint and his heart fluttered in response. The one sound we both heard and both accepted as something perfect. I gave him the most genuine of Leah Clearwater's smiles.
Tane then offered me hand to get up from the forest ground.
I noticed his Pack tensing; as if they feared the truce their Alpha was offering his very own curse. Admittedly, I dreaded Tane's offer as well...and for all of the wrong reasons. But I wanted to make peace with the holder of my heart and I didn't care what setting or how bizarre it felt to find myself here.
I clasped his hand uncertainly, his skin warm and course against mine, and his fingers moulded around my hand. My skin flamed at the contact, my breath hitched and my entire body lit up at the sensation of him.
As Tane steadily guided me to my feet, the dull ache in my left calf was swiftly brought to my attention once the pain sharpened suddenly and shot up my leg with mighty force. I groaned, my knee unexpectedly collapsing at the feel of such agony, and fell to my knees. My vision blurred at the impact of my fall, but I quickly blinked away the dizziness.
"Leah?" Tane hovered above me. His hand didn't leave mine as he crouched down to place another one on my stiff shoulder. "Leah?" Tane repeated with a heightened amount of concern in his tone.
"What's wrong with her, Ariki?" A piercing voice sent my senses into overdrive and I flinched away.
My fingers fell to my left calf and I released another cry as my roaming fingers felt searing, sticky fluid oozing from an obvious tear in my skin. My fingers–already soaked in blood–shakily traced the circular shaped wound. The skin around my torn flesh was ice cold; as if my skin had been eaten away and left frozen. What had I been doing last night? "My...my l-le-"
"She's just faking it!" Another wolf cut in ferociously. "Attention nut, remember?"
"Shut the hell up, Jax!" Tane bellowed, his hands falling to my waist and I distantly recalled the thrilling feeling of having his muscled arms around my torso when the Volturi attacked. Volturi attack! I thought, did the Volturi attack again? When I dared stole a glance, I met Tane's striking eyes and I could only gaze; instead of inquiring whether the Volturi had made another unwanted visit to Muriwhenua lands.
"Leah, tell me what's wrong," Tane pleaded rather than ordered.
I wanted to cry: something I hadn't done consciously or in somebody's presence since two years ago. My fingers retracted from my unbearably sore leg and Tane and I both peered down at my hand. A thick, black, watery liquid was smeared across my palm and splodged along my trembling fingers. I heard everybody gasp in shock and Tane pulled away from me, his eyes wide.
"She...she...she w-was bitten!" One of Tane's Pack brothers shrieked and his girly scream would've seemed comical if I wasn't so petrified myself. The black viscous had the dangerously severe scent of vampire, stinging my nose, burning my eyes and making them water like onions do humans. Ironic, isn't it? Vampire venom has the mythical 'onion effect' on werewolves.
"What is this stuff?" I whispered quietly, staring down at the black liquid on my hand.
"That's...vampire venom," The young, timid wolf with green eyes breathed out.
"I can smell it from here!" Scar Chest had taken a few long strides away from me, disgusted.
"Why isn't she undead yet?" Another wolf I hadn't noticed demanded.
"She's not dying," Tane said with certainty and I blinked.
My leg was still throbbing and, though hard to ignore, I managed the words: "This...isn't v-venom. I should be...dying. Werewolves can't be turned into v-vampires. Venom kills wolves, like it kills all animals. I don't r-remember a bite..."
Another dizzy spell was thrown into my balance and I fell from my knees to my back. My head flew to the ground–and yet the whole world around me slowed down–and Tane was quick to catch my head before it crashed into the forest floor. He hovered above me, panicking, his calloused hand cupping my cheek.
He ordered for someone to fetch help and I heard a cluster of footsteps follow his Alpha commands. Only one face remained in my vision and he whispered my name perfectly, leaving lovey-dovey tingles in my body for me to enjoy. "Hey, Leah, don't close your eyes yet."
"I can't remember anything," I slurred as my eyelashes fluttered furiously.
"Shh...it's just the venom spreading-"
"I'm not turning into a bloodsucker!" I retorted weakly, though stubbornly, as I peered into my imprint's hazel eyes. "I'd rather die than...than be one of them. They killed me, Tane...and they'll me again if they turn me into one of them."
"They didn't kill you, Leah. You're alive but you won't be if you don't relax soon."
"No. They killed the woman in me! They killed beauty and clothes shopping and make-up and romantic movies. They killed my first relationship, my best friendship...and my only f-f-father!" I shook my head, weeping and rambling on. Maybe I was truly descending into madness, but I can never recall that night enough to determine whether if I was or not. "They killed me without even the decency of stopping my heart."
"Vampires kill a lot of things," Tane agreed, his fingers stroking my left temple. "They kill human dreams for werewolves. If it's any consolation, Leah, I wanted to become an artist before I shifted. And when I did, the duty to kill vampires killed that dream," He sighed, his eyes reminiscent, and my eyebrows furrowed.
My imprint...is an artist? I thought absentmindedly, I never would've guessed!
"But you're human and your body's fighting the venom. A phenomenon that is rare, though not impossible. My aunt died fighting the vampire venom in her system. She was a Doveblood like Marina. Maybe you won't die if I can do something to help. You're not a Doveblood, Leah, but you're fighting."
He was nattering nervously and I then concluded that we both prattled on when anxious. With the smallest of genuine smiles, I let him carry on with his panicky rant. "And when I find the godforsaken idiot that dared bite you, I'm gonna rip him to shreds and burn him to ash-"
"Wolves die from vampire venom," I croaked resolutely. "And I'm not human. Don't you see?"
Tane barely frowned. "What? No, Leah, you-"
"No, Tane, I am a werewolf," I interrupted, blinking this encaging dizziness away. My shaky hand rose up towards his forearm, where his remarkable tattoo was inked, and softly traced the lines of each tribal symbol. He shivered at my feather-light touch. "That's why the wolves are the same in our tattoos. I want to show you someday...what I really look like, I mean...when you don't hate me so much..."
His face became merely a shadow in the surrounding darkness – a smudged blur for my vision to mourn the sight loss of. As I lay still, feeling my imprint's fingers running along my warm skin, memories began to flow back to mind. "I don't hate you, Leah. I don't even know you."
I smiled ever so slightly before the torture of my leg threw me into a great, empty abyss.
"Yes," I whimpered, only hoping he could hear me. "Yes, you do. And too well for my liking."
Third Person POV: 2008, March, 7th
"Yes," He heard her whimper slowly. "Yes, you do. And too well for my liking."
She then lay nearly dead in his arms and Tane could feel her slowly slipping away.
Pain enveloped his chest and he didn't even attempt to fight the feeling of losing her.
He knew only one place he could take Leah, where he'd shamelessly beg the spirits to spare this one she wolf's life. He knew he'd be doing his people wrong, by asking the Maori gods–Ranginui (father sky) & Papatuanuku (mother earth)–and his powerful ancestors to save the curse of a Chief's reign. Alas, something about this mysterious and stubborn Leah Clearwater was worth keeping protected.
Did every wolf warrior feel this way when they first met their she wolves? Was this a part of the immense trial the spirits forced upon a Chief to test his allegiance, resistance and capability? A she wolf threatened all three of these areas. Was Leah Tane Mahora's test? Would the spirits go to such lengths as to take away a woman's life?
"Please, Papa and Rangi!" Tane begged the earth and sky gods, staring into the darkness above, through the canopy of Ariki Forest and into the heavens. The sky is where Father Rangi spends his eternity, awaiting his beloved partner, Papatuanuku: mother earth. Beneath Tane, whilst holding lifeless Leah close to his chest, he felt earth and the comforting sanctuary of nature, which Papatuanuku (mother earth) constantly provided for her mortal children.
Here was where Papa awaited Rangi forevermore.
Leah could almost vaguely sense Tane's heat and heart drum powerfully in his chest against her cheek. Alas, her weakened body was fighting the vampire venom too ardently to allow her to arouse from her bottomless pit of slumber. She couldn't possibly reach him from where she was trapped, even if she tried. But their imprint was still an unbreakable force and, if Leah could feel anything at all, it was Tane and his undying presence.
"Don't kill her," Tane continued, calling upon the deities Rangi and Papa for help. "You of all gods know the feeling of such separation. I cannot lose this outsider. I will die with her spirit and then where will my tribe and your descendants be? They will be without a Chief and my duties will fall upon my mother. No one deserves this. Please, I beg you both, do not let the venom spread. I...I'll do anything you want of me! Papatuanuku? Ranginui? Tāne? Anyone!"
Tane looked up to the night sky for any feasible signs of notice from his ancestors.
Squeezing Leah protectively–and hearing her heartbeat become a fading pulse in his ears–a cold and silent wind swept across the forest floor, making the leaves rustle and trees whisper. Leah was pale and, though she breathed stably, her heart's rhythm was irregular. Her eyes remained sealed, taunting Tane with the reality that he hadn't been given enough time to look into those coffee brown whirlpools.
Leah's thick, black eyelashes hadn't made one hopeful flitter.
Tane groaned at the cruel, piercing silence he was receiving from his praised ancestors. "Gods, don't you ever listen to someone in need of you?" Tane roared furiously, his temper ripening. "I should've become a Christian like Father Mitchell instructed and dropped these stupid beliefs a long time-"
"I expected you to show a little more faith in us, Tane," A musical voice arose from the east.
Tane shifted his stare from the infinite heavens to farther depths of the forest, where he found her staring at him with a motherly smile. As soon as Tane saw her, he gave her a grateful grin and replied, "Thank you for finding us."
"I do whatever I can to help, Tane. And it's not that hard to find you when you're right on top of me, you know," She spoke with a humble gaze. "Remember, I never leave any of my children's sides until they leave mine. I will always be with you, Tane, as long as you walk alongside me."
Papatuanuku always appeared to sacred warriors in different, nymphlike forms. This time she had come in the shape of a thick, grey mist. The haze formed the mystical silhouette of a voluptuous woman with billowing hair and a simple, yet endless dress. Papatuanuku's facial expressions were easy for Tane to interpret and she didn't seem the slightest bit ghostlike.
She was a Maori deity after all–mother earth, to be exact–who never wished any harm upon her mortal children and Tane knew this as soon as he glimpsed her. Tane had seen Papatuanuku before, once when he was a small child and ventured into the woodlands with his father. He'd walked the wrong path in Cape Reigna and found himself lost, as well as on his own.
The shadows and shrills of the forest frightened nine-year-old Tane and Papatuanuku could sense his need for her. She appeared as she did now, exactly ten years prior, in the form of a gentle mist, and guided him back to his father safely and kind-heartedly. She left him with a blooming flower in the palm of his hand and the smile she still wears now.
Tane had kept that flower pressed in a gardening book his father would always read in his leisure.
And like the Maori goddess she was, Papatuanuku elegantly glided to Leah's side, the cloudlike mist transporting her over nature–and making it flourish beautifully in the process–and bent to her knees. Her fingers, made of mist also, reached out to sweep away a dark strand of hair from Leah's sweating forehead.
Papatuanuku then frowned and commenced to observe the unconscious Quileute.
"She was bitten. Is she dying?" Tane asked. "Sunrise is only minutes away and my Kaitiaki are fetching help now. I don't know what to do until then! I hear her heartbeat, Papa, but it's too slow for someone who is healing. At sunrise, the spirits depart for the Afterlife and I fear they'll take Leah with them. I...I can't-"
"She feels your fear," Papatuanuku whispered wistfully. Mother earth only ever spoke in a hushed, melodic tone that sounded akin to the wind and ocean's locked embrace. "If you wish Leah to be comfortable in her state of mind, calm yourself first. Your emotions will only agitate her further."
"You need to help me save her," Tane pushed urgently.
Papatuanuku appeared lost in the earth around her, her eyes closed and lips parted. Her feathery, cool touch soothed Leah's scorching skin and Papatuanuku felt Leah's heart rate lessen. Mother earth's concentration did not waver once she heard Tane's fraught, breathless plea. "Her friends are coming quickly. I can feel their steps upon my skin."
Papatuanuku could feel Emily, Rachel, Kim, Angela and Claire running hysterically towards Ariki Forest with Tane's Pack vigilantly leading them. Hasty, yet clumsy, footsteps were heavy on Papatuanuku's supple skin. Their feet dug deep into her worldly flesh, pushing beyond the forest's threshold, pounding like the last epic thrashes of a drum.
"You don't have much time," Papatuanuku's eyes flew open. The rapid beating of her thick eyelashes caused a mysterious breeze to erupt around Tane and Leah as mother earth studied his burdened, hollow eyes. "You must take Leah to Kapowairua (Spirits Bay). Only there the shadow dweller's venom can be drained from her veins before it reaches her heart. Leah is struggling against the venom, but she cannot overcome it without the support of Muriwhenua spirits."
Tane's body tensed.
"Dawn is when they leave Kapowairua (Spirits Bay) and only nightfall is when they can assist you. You must go before daybreak, Tane. Rest her under the Pohutakawa tree (New Zealand Christmas bush) and let the roots heal her. Muriwhenua spirits will rise from the ocean through the tree's roots and consume the poison. You have been a good Chief to our people and your ancestors feel they owe you her life. They will save the outsider and let you keep her."
"Spirits Bay. The Afterlife Tree. Before sunrise. I understand."
Tane had already begun scooping Leah up into his arms, effortlessly hoisting himself and his frail imprint off the ground. The Alpha stood on two sturdy legs, Leah's head shifting limply against his chest. Leah Clearwater–totally oblivious to the life threatening happenings surrounding her–made the quietest of docile moans and Tane felt a spark mind-numbingly blind hope.
"No," Papatuanuku interrupted, her expression serene and emotions placid. "I don't think you do understand. Tane, your wairua (innermost spirit) is about to die with this young woman because you were too careless and blindsided to realise that she needs you."
When Papatuanuku uttered such words, Tane wasn't surprised to hear them and maybe that was the first clue to comprehending his true feelings for the Quileute stranger. "Every Chief has fought their bond successfully and I assumed I was strong enough-"
"She wolves are only what their tribes portray them as," Papatuanuku stated thoughtfully.
"I don't want to wrong my people...and I don't want to lose her. Either way, I'm being selfish."
Papatuanuku smiled faintly, the very expression she'd give every conflicted warrior. "Are you being selfish, Tane? Or is this bond and curse teaching you to be selfless? The sun will be up in a matter of minutes and Leah's heart will break soon. I earnestly suggest you hurry with her life most literally in your arms. Your Muriwhenua ancestors cannot help you without the Pohutakawa tree."
A bunch of rushed footsteps made Tane's attention swing to the opposite side of the forest. There he saw a familiar crowd hustling towards him with expressions ranging from surprised to petrified to revolted. The atmosphere had changed conspicuously and Tane could feel the chilliness at sunrise set in. The temperature had clearly dropped a few degrees, indicating the sun was close to its peak on the horizon.
"Leah!" Emily screeched apprehensively, the first imprint to reach the motionless she wolf. Tears streamed from Emily's wide eyes, trailing down the jagged scars Tane could only suppose were from a wolf's attack. Emily's hand rose to Leah's forehead and she gasped. "Jesus Christ, she's as hot as the sun!"
"What happened to her?" Rachel cried as Angela and Kim dashed to Emily's side also, Kim holding Claire in her shielding arms. The imprints felt hot tears prick their eyes whilst they gaped down at Leah, racked with angst as well as guilt. "Crap! We should never have let her stay out here last night."
Tane's Pack kept their distance, watching the dismayed imprints hover over Leah frantically. "She's going to be alright. But you must let me take her to the Afterlife Tree where my ancestors can heal her," Tane grimly announced.
Rachel gave Tane a perilous glower. "What in God's name did you did to her?"
"Nothing," Tane ventured a few steps away from the girls, anxious to reach the Afterlife Tree before dawn. "Leah was bitten by a vampire and she's been infected with its venom. Her body, however, can't overcome the poison in her veins without the aid of spirits: the protectors of the living."
"What a load of bull!" Angela yelled, her poised disposition thrown astray in a rare frenzy, and pointed a hateful finger at Tane. "We are taking Leah to the hospital right now and we are pressing charges on you and this...this entire village. Emily, call the police and the ambulance! We're leaving this godforsaken forest. Put Leah down now, Mr. Mahora."
The Alpha sneered at Angela, sensing the threat she was posing. Angela's doubt in Tane signified her underlying qualms with all mythical creatures and legends. Angela hadn't grown up like the Quileutes; therefore some things were still too complex to grasp, no matter how hard she tried. "Then what? Leave her on the forest floor to die? I would rather die for her."
"Where's this sudden show of honour, kid?" Rachel questioned suspiciously, her eyebrows shooting up and tone implying. "Feeling guilty for something bad, huh? Something like injuring our friend? What did you did to her?"
"I did not hurt her!" Tane bellowed and his grip on Leah strengthened.
Emily could only stare down at Leah in alarm, stroking her still cousin with a wavering touch. "This is my fault," She whimpered meekly. "We shouldn't have gone out when we did. Leah said it was a bad idea...but we dragged her along anyway and now look what happened? She's dying right before our eyes."
"What happened at that museum, Emily?" Kim queried.
Tane's consideration of the girls increased and his eyes narrowed.
What happened at what museum?
Emily peeked up at Tane from beneath her thick lashes and whispered, "We broke into your little sister's Maori museum last night..." Tane's eyes widened instantly whilst Emily burst out: "We weren't gonna steal anything! I swear, we just wanted to look around for a minute because we knew you wouldn't let us. Leah came along as protection and then she found that strange mauri on display. W-we convinced her to pick it up for a second as a joke and then...this blinding light came from her hand and-"
"She activated it? An outsider activated the greatest, most ancient vampire staking weapon in New Zealand with one little touch?" One of Tane's Pack brothers, Jax, exclaimed in disbelief. "That woman really is a custodian of the mauri spear. Ariki, do you know what this means? She's-"
"I can't think about this right now!" Tane interrupted, shaking his head of suffocating thoughts. "I need to save Leah first!" The Alpha turned on his heel, glancing at Leah and hearing her fatal heart stammer, and finding that Papatuanuku had vanished from sight. Mother earth was always skilled at hiding amongst herself; in the woodland trees and small streams and brown earth below.
"Leah told us to go home without her before she went into the forest last night," Emily muttered tensely to herself. "She must've been bitten here in Ariki forest and she obviously didn't phase. Was a vampire hunting Leah all this time? Or is a vampire working for someone hunting Leah?"
"Hey, Leah isn't going anywhere, Tane! You are not leaving us without her. Don't think you can walk into the darkness and expect to become a shadow," Kim shouted crossly, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Then come with me. I don't give a damn anymore! But I need this woman alive and conscious. And only my ancestors' sprits can heal her. There's no medical cure for vampire venom poisoning, you know," Tane snapped back without turning to give the imprints a second glance.
A/N: Hey, guys! Thank you for the lovely reviews.
They've been so supportive and encouraging and I hope you liked this particular update.
This chapter was pretty action-packed from the start and I pray it all sounded as realistic as it could be!
PLEASE NOTE: These are a few legends and pieces of really, really interesting information I found out about Maori culture while surfing and searching the internet for storyline ideas. I don't know about you readers...but I love learning about new cultures and their amazing myths and legends. Please don't feel obligated to read this, of course...it's just me sharing my nerdy-ness with ya'll!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these writing pieces or essays.
"I can shelter from the wind. But I cannot shelter from the longing for my daughter. I shall venture as far as Hokianga, and beyond. Your task (should I die) shall be to grasp my spirit." Those words were spoken by one of Muriwhenua's most important ancestors and Chiefs. That was him speaking about the Afterlife Tree on Spirits Bay.
Okay, this is the story of Ranginui (father sky) & Papatuanuku (mother earth).
Honestly, one of the best mythology tales in the world:D
Rangi and Papa are the primordial parents, sky father and earth mother, who lie locked together in a tight embrace. They have many children...all of which are male, who are forced to live in the cramped darkness between them. These children grow and discuss among themselves what it would be like to live in the light. Tūmatauenga, the fiercest of the children, proposes that the best solution to their predicament is to kill their parents.
However, his brother Tāne (or Tāne-mahuta) disagrees, suggesting that it is better to push them apart. To let Rangi (sky) be a stranger to them in the sky above, while Papa (mother earth) will remain below and nurture them. The others put their plans into action. Rongo, the god of cultivated food, tries to push his parents apart and fails. Then Tangaroa, the god of the sea, and his sibling Haumia-tiketike, the god of wild food, who both fail.
In spite of their joint efforts, Rangi and Papa remain close together in their loving embrace.
After many attempts Tāne, god of forests and wild birds, forces his parents apart. Instead of standing upright and pushing with his hands as his brothers attempted, he lies on his back and pushes with his strong legs. Stretching every sinew, Tāne pushes and pushes until, with cries of grief and surprise, Ranginui and Papatuanuku were pried apart. Therefore, Tane created the forests on Papatuanuku's skin whilst heaving his parents apart with his legs.
(Tane's legs are the forests in New Zealand!)
Tāne searched for heavenly lights, so that his father would be appropriately dressed. Tane obtained the stars and threw them up, along with the moon and the sun. At last, Rangi looked handsome and was coated in dazzling robes. Rangi and Papa, however, continue to grieve for each other to this day.
Ranginui's tears fall towards Papatuanuku, which is rainfall and snow, to show how much he loves her. Sometimes, Papatuanuku heaves and strains and almost breaks herself apart (aka earthquakes and tsunamis) to reach her beloved partner again...but it is to no avail. When mist rises from the forests, these are Papatuanuku's constant sighs as the warmth of her body yearns for Ranginui and she continues to nurture mankind.
Well, I don't know about you...but Ranginui (father sky) & Papatuanuku (mother earth) seem like a pretty beautiful couple! I guess I kinda wanted to portray that in my chapter. By showing Papatuanuku appearing to Tane in the forest as mist, like she does in the myths. Anyway, I'll try and update as soon as possible! Please leave a much appreciated review:D