DPOV
The first few days after Isabella woke up went as expected with the added issue of her sense of smell being completely cut off. Her sight and hearing had kicked into overdrive to make up for the loss of her main sense, but as long as noise and light was kept in tolerable measures, she did alright with that. She was very slowly introduced to new people and their scents in an extremely controlled environment over that time and she seemed to now be handling the constrictions I placed on her fairly well.
The first people she was introduced to were the other elite guards since they were the ones she would have the most contact with because one of the constrictions I placed was she wasn't allowed to go running around alone. If she wasn't with me, she was to be with at least one of them. I didn't trust anyone else with her and if I would put my life in their hands and know that they had my back, I knew they would have hers too.
After she was calm around them without being able to smell them, I moved on to the Masters. Surprisingly, they were all rather patient with her. With Caius, I was front and center when she was introduced to him and his scent because that mother fucker was one I would never trust her around without being personally present. However, he just stood there and allowed her the time she needed to get used to him. He didn't say a word when she growled at him when he first came in nor did he pitch a fit when she hissed. Personally, I think it really came down to the fact she was changed and that was that as far he was concerned.
With Aro and Marcus, I oversaw the interaction, but didn't allow her to see me. With Aro, I had Felix present and Alec was there with Marcus. I needed to see if she would actually rely on those two for protection if she was scared and I wasn't there. Likewise, I needed to see how they handled her when she was freaked out and if they were able to calm her back down again. They all did on all counts, Isabella darting behind the present guard when the Masters came into her view, the guard going into a defensive position so she knew she was protected.
With Marcus, he just smiled at her slightly when she snarled at him from behind Alec, standing perfectly still until Alec got her settled down again. Aro, however, looked like a kid in a fucking candy store when he saw what happened when she caught a new scent. Looks like there will be one more thing added to the agenda to talk to him about when this was over and the lines in the sand when it came to my mate. She was in no way one of his little toys and he wouldn't treat her as such.
The reason I had Felix in the room when she met Aro was because I knew he wouldn't be able to resist trying to get close enough to touch her, regardless of the fact his last attempt to read her failed. I hadn't told him shit about her change so there would be no reason he would think that it would work. However, Aro being Aro, tried to anyways, as I knew he would, and Isabella freaked, as I knew she would. Felix responded beautifully in the task of keeping Aro back and my mate's fear in check, as I knew he would. In the end, everything went as well as could be expected and Isabella knew the people that were currently important enough for her to know.
After that was done, I spent a little time working with her and learning exactly how her gift actually worked so that Alec, Felix and Jeff could then begin to figure out a way to control her sense of smell instead of having it completely cut off. It didn't take long to learn the basics. I already knew she could recall any scent she caught at any time of her choosing. What I was after was other details such as distance and how she went about finding her target.
That was an interesting discovery.
It seemed to me that her distance was as long as was needed to find who she was after. However, unlike with my gift and just knowing where they are, she saw a pink fog like hue in the air that led her to who she was looking for. She was able to physically see recent scent trails that normal vampires can only smell. However, unlike me, she was also able to find out where someone was without actually meeting them first. I found that out because I was curious what would happen if she caught an unknown scent off of someone else. Turned out, she had no problems locating the owner of the scent no matter where they were. If she focused on that particular scent, her eyes went out of focus and, after a moment, she could tell you exactly what the owner of the scent was doing.
I also found out that once she caught one, there was no pain to recall it, only to retain it. That was just something she was going to have to get used to and grow into. Just like with my gift, it was involuntary on her part to retain the scents. She wasn't able to pick and choose if she wanted her gift to work. We found out that her nose was so sensitive she was able to pick up scents that no one else, myself included, could pick up. From what I got from Eleazar about the other tracker and what I knew of my own gift, it appeared that she had a nearly perfect combination of the two tracking abilities.
The only thing I couldn't figure out was why her eyes turned pink when she was using her gift. It didn't matter what she was doing with it. If she was retaining a new scent, recalling one she knew or locating the owner of whatever scent she was focused on, they always glowed pink and if her nose was covered, they glowed brighter. The only thing I could come up with was it had to do with the fact she could actually see the scent in the air. It didn't seem to hurt her and when she was told her eyes were pink, she indicated she didn't notice. Since it didn't bother her, I didn't see a reason to dig for the cause. It really didn't matter anyways since figuring out why it was happening wouldn't actually stop it from happening.
Her feeding schedule was kept absolute with no variation. She was fed every five hours like clockwork but it seemed that she had also inherited the more sadistic nature of the other tracker because no matter how many there were, she wasn't satisfied unless she completely destroyed the bodies. It almost seemed like she was feeding off the violence as much as she was off the blood itself, if not more so.
For the most part, Isabella was your typical newborn. She was temperamental, emotional and quick to flip the script on how she acted. One minute she would be relaxed and calm the next she wanted to kill someone. It was all normal and easy to deal with. There wasn't anyone she seemed to have any actual issues with, she was just an infant and acted like one. It didn't take a lot to calm her back down and it never came to getting overly rough with her. There were times she had to be restrained before she actually hurt someone, but again, that was normal.
The 'for the most part' came in when it came to her nerves. She was really fucking jumpy. However, when you take away a newborn's main sense that is to be expected. She rarely didn't have her nose covered, wearing the mask she was given the day she woke up more often than not, only taking it off when she was in our room. Since it didn't take long for newborns to adjust to different things, she had gotten used to not being able to smell so when she could and caught a scent, she jumped every single time. Likewise, when she was wearing it, because she couldn't smell someone behind her or around the corner, she jumped when she saw them.
However, I was positive that once Felix and Alec finished figuring out how to allow her to scent the air and not getting overloaded with scents when she did it, she would be fine and that jumpiness would level out.
It was now her fourth day awake and I had things that I had to see to that I let go for days longer than I should have. So, with a sigh, I pushed myself off my chair and turned to my mate who was laid on the bed with my earphones to my iPod in her ears with her eyes closed. Walking over to the foot of the bed, I leaned over her with a hand on either side of her head. The dipping of the mattress called her attention to me and she opened her eyes, her eyes lighting up a bit when she saw me as she chirped. "Hey."
I just smiled back her with a little chuckle as I flicked one of the earbuds out her ear. "Hi." Then I cocked my head a little and lightly grabbing the front of her mask, giving it a little shake. "You know you don't have to wear this in here. The only scents you're going to catch are ones you already know."
She batted my hand away from her face and you could tell she was wiggling her nose to get her mask back in its proper position. "I know, but it doesn't feel right to not have it on anymore. I get more tense without it than I do with it. It's like, um, I know more what to expect with it on than I do with it off. I know there are people around, I can hear them perfectly. I just can't really tell where they are. When I don't wear it, I can't hear as well so I have a harder time telling if anyone is around."
My lips pursed a little at that tidbit of information. It wasn't all that surprising that she would compensate in such a way due to the loss of one of her main senses. The problem with that lied in the fact she didn't miss said main sense. She should want the mask off as soon as she was able to take it off, but it seemed that she would rather rely on her hearing than her nose. It was something that could be worked with pretty easy and wasn't a huge deal. However, I cocked a brow at her. "I see. I can teach you to hone your hearing so you can tell where people are, but you do know that you'll have to use your nose eventually, right? When you get older, you won't be able to function properly without it. Plus," This time when I grabbed the front of her mask, I pulled it down so it was around her neck. "I would like to see your whole face from time to time."
She smiled at me and I winked at her. "Now, I have to head downstairs to see to a few things that I have put off as long as I can. I should be back by the time your meal shows up. However, if I'm not, Alec will come and escort you down."
Her brow drew down and she frowned a little. "You're leaving?"
I sighed a little and nodded once. "I have to, Gatáki. I need to speak with Aro for a few minutes and then I have to see to replacing the guards I killed last week that I still haven't done and you're not ready to be around that many vampires at once yet."
She looked up at me through her lashes. "We don't know for sure until I try."
I clicked my tongue. "I do know that for sure, but I will rephrase if needed. I don't want you around that many unmated male vampires until our bond is complete." When she looked down again, I hummed slightly. "Hey," she looked back up, "it's only a couple of more days. Believe me, you're not the only one that doesn't like it but some things can't be rushed, Gatáki, and this is one of them. Trying to do so isn't something that ever ends well. My venom from your change is still working to overtake your blood and make your organs obsolete. I told you that nothing in this life was instant and took time. Until everything that makes you human is dead, you are, still, sort of alive. Completing and cementing our bond means more venom is needed and adding that to what is still working will do nothing but kick up the pain of the change again and I'm not willing to do that to you."
She grunted with a wince at the mention of the pain of the change and I can't blame her. Her's was one of the worst pain wise I have been witness to over the years because of the plate she had in her head. It wouldn't last as long because for the most part she was done with the change, but it could still be bad.
After a moment, she sighed and shook her head a little. "I just don't like being alone. It's too quiet."
At that I pursed my lips and hummed again. "Well, how about this. Since you prefer to wear your mask, put it on when I leave and open the balcony doors. You'll be able to hear the guards on the grounds without being bombarded with scents."
"And the humans?"
I cocked my head to the side. "I'm not concerned about the humans. You haven't reacted to their heartbeats before and I doubt you'll do so now. Just, keep your mask on until you eat again and you'll be fine." She sighed a little and nodded, but she wasn't happy about this. I pressed my lips together and hummed in my throat. "I know you don't like it, Gatáki. I'm not really a fan either. However, there are times in life you have to do things you either don't like or want to do. Think of it this way; the sooner I get this done, the less time I have to leave. In three days, I am taking the rest of your newborn year off from duty, but in order for me to have that ability, I have to make sure that I get what needs done, done. After that, there is nothing that I will have to do that you cannot be present for."
She looked up at me with a drawn yet resigned expression, nodding slightly. Giving her a smile, I dipped my nose and nuzzled her's. "That's my girl." Pulling back, I smirked. "Stay on the balcony and I'll see you soon."