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Music:
The bare necessities – Phil Harris & Bruce Reitherman (Jungle Book)
Trasin' the camp – Phil Collins (Disney Tarzan)
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Chapter 6: Nessie – Stories, food and fun
My short life had been quite the rollercoaster ride.- Though I've only heard the phrase and have only seen rollercoasters on tv.
The love and worries of my family. The threat of the Volturi. Making lots of new friends. The moment of pain and sorrow when I thought my family would die. I would only have my very best friend and brother Jacob.
But then, relief and joy, because of my amazing mother. We all survived and got to go home. Going to sleep in our little house and waking up with this new knowledge felt wonderful. I couldn't wait to see what this new day, in this new year would bring.
And of course, it wasn't going to be boring and quiet. A visitor came, who was very unusual, but right away it felt good, she was kind. I knew we were going to be friends. Besides her scruffy look, her scent stood out immediately.
Timmain smelled like a field of flowers near the ocean. The sweet was mixed with some salt, like from a little breeze. Her clothes were worn, but not real dirty. Aunt Alice said she liked roughing it, but her hair and skin looked clean also, hardly any mud, no sticks and leaves. Her feet were wet and smudged of course, it looked liked she used them while climbing trees.
I loved hearing her story and us asking questions didn't bother her. At the end, I was worried for a second about Jake. Was he going to make her leave? He was very protective over me. But of course he didn't, though he gave her a trial period. I wondered, how many more potential werewolves were there?
I was in moms arms for a moment while Jake talked on the phone outside. Aunt Alice had taken Timmain upstairs for a shower and some new clothes. Mom took me to the couch near the big window and sat us down. Daddy also came and sat down. I was curious about her gifts. I wanted to use my own on her and hoped she would copy it back to me. My family had tried to describe to me what my gift was like to them, but it didn't seem easy.
Now I might see it for real, finally.
Timmain came back down in an outfit we would wear, maybe a bit more casual. She didn't seem at ease in it though, she was rolling up the sleeves of the sweater and hadn't tied the laces of her boots. She now smelled sweeter, because of the shampoo and her hair being a little damp. Her curls were really showing, fitting her perfectly. I looked at her like that because of my aunts. When they were dressing me, they would always point out the highlights.
She walked over to us and took the corner seat next to me. I looked at her, questioning and stretched out my hand a little. She seemed unsure and her eyes went towards my father. He reassured her it would be fine, of course he would be watching everything with us.
I reached out and touched her face. I asked her about the wolves first, I wanted to know what they looked like, especially Boots. I could see she was amazed by my gift, she smiled and gently placed her hand on my face. Now I was the one amazed.
I could see a picture of Boots, but I could see my surroundings too. Like a hologram on Star Trek, a movie Embry once picked. I saw Boots pounce on Timmain's chest. It was certainly a good name for him, he was dark gray with black paws and a black muzzle. She showed the other ones too, one by one and I could feel the love she felt for them. Every image gave an impression of what they were like.
Then I asked her about the humans and vampires she knew. Her father was an impressive man, just as she described, but I could tell she didn't love him as much as her mother. She had always been there for her. A small woman with black hair, with a lean muscular body. Always patient when she had been out on an adventure.
Briefly she showed her uncle, whom she only met once. She didn't like him, he was creepy. Nick was next, he was a nice looking guy with short blond, curly hair. Last came Anoushka, a beautiful, strong looking, tall woman with brown hair, up in a perfect bun.
The last thing I was curious about, and the others besides my dad too, was her healing ability. She hesitated for a moment, thought it might scare me. I told her I wasn't afraid, because I knew it all turned out ok. Then she showed me Peter's healing, her first time, I felt her surprise and happiness. It made me smile big time.
Then she got up to go outside. I watched her talk to Seth. I didn't understand why my dad was shocked for a moment. I might ask him about it later. Then Timmain walked off and Jake followed her to have a talk. Hopefully it would be a nice talk.
Different smells were starting to come from the kitchen. Grandma Esme was cooking, the guys would be hungry after their patrol. I still didn't like human food to much. Sometimes I did eat it, mainly because Jake dared me to. It didn't take them long to come inside. Leah however hardly ever came in. Jake said she was happier, but she still couldn't stand the stench. Stench? To me everybody smelled good.
New questions for Timmain started to pop up in my head, I wanted her to come back. I also wanted to show Jake her memories, show him she was nice. But it seemed I wasn't the only one who wanted to talk to her. Uncle Emmet had been restless after she went outside. Looking on the computer for something, tapping his foot and looking outside. Maybe I would have to wait, it looked like he was going to explode. Dad chuckled at my thoughts.
Finally she and Jake were back, they were smiling. Good. Timmain came inside while Jake talked to Leah.
Uncle Emmet rushed up to her right away, beaming with curiosity. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him with a smile; "Yes?" – "Will you take me seal-hunting?" he blurted out. He pleaded with puppy-dog eyes. Several of my family members were grinning now. – She thought about it a moment, studying his face. "Ehm, yes, but not right away," she said.
His face fell, looking so sad, I had to giggle. Uncle teddy bear! "Why not?" he whined. – "Your eyes are to light, you've hunted recently, she answered, it'll be to much, they're to rich." – He seemed surprised, he had a big stomach, he could handle a lot. She saw that and added: "No, really, trust me, you've got to burn some calories first." – Now his face lit up again, of course he had ideas about how to do that. He marched over to uncle Jasper and started making plans for a wrestling match.
Timmain started to move towards the kitchen, softly sniffing the different scents. I jumped of the couch to follow her. The kitchen was filled with lots of food, grandma Esme had been busy. There was bread, several pies and cookies. Every appliance was in use. "Can I help?, Timmain asked, it seems your planning something."
"It's new years day, grandma answered, and we have some birthdays coming up. "And yes, I could use some help." She started giving instructions and moved thru the kitchen at high speed. Carefully I jumped on a barstool to get a better view. At some point Timmain smoothly moved towards me while stirring in a bowl.
"Don't you want to eat something?" she asked. – "No, I don't really like human food," I replied. She acted surprised; "why not? If I could, I would taste everything in sight." She smiled. - "I prefer blood, it tastes good and makes me feel strong." – "What do you like about the taste of blood?" she pressed on. Hmm, I didn't really know. How to describe it? I decided to just show her and touched her face.
"Alright, interesting, she said, smell is important. "I could show you some things, we could try to duplicate the smell and taste of blood. "You know, blood mostly consists of water." – "I know, I've read it somewhere, and there's iron in it too." She started to collect several little jars with herbs and spices and got some meat products too and put them in front of me. – "Just smell them, she said, and tell me what you think."
I was busy doing that when I heard Jake coming in. "What's going on here? he said. What's all this?" – "Jakey!" I yelled, while turning around. He was right behind me and I jumped in his arms. "We were having some fun with food and I think there's going to be a big party." – He smiled at me. I loved that, his brown eyes full of warmth.
"Is that right, he said, and what have you been up to while I was out?" – I put my hand on his cheek and showed him everything. Timmains wolves, the people in her life, her healing and uncle Emmet's request. His eyes widened with surprise and happiness. – "She told me about your questions and her answers, he said. I'm glad you liked it." He smirked; "And your uncle is a funny guy huh." I nodded, grinning at the memory.
I turned back to the counter and Jake put me back onto the barstool. After I smelled every little jar, I went to the different pieces of meat. I actually liked some herbs and spices and decided that the raw steak actually smelled a little appetizing. I looked up and immediately got Timmains attention. "You found something you like?" she asked. I nodded: "Yes." And pointed to the things I had chosen. She picked them up: "I think I can whip something up with this. Give me half an hour."
Jake sounded surprised: "You're going to eat human food? On your own accord?" I spun around in my seat to face him. "Yes, well, Timmain wants me to try, an experiment," I told him. Again, timing it right, she came to me with some bottles. "Will you please select one of these oils, she asked, I want to marinade the steak." I picked a strong smelling sun-seed oil which had a bitter scent to it.
"Yeah, Jake said, she told me about missing human food to eat." Persuaded you with that, did she?" I didn't respond. I wasn't sure why I was doing this. I think it was the way she went about it. Letting me choose, no pressure, no challenge.
I watched her work, mixing my herbs and spices with the oil and submerging the steak in it. Then, it needed some time to soak. She went back to helping grandma. Space was running out fast, even the guys couldn't eat that much that quick. Twenty minutes had passed and Timmain padded the steak down and put it on the grill. Flipping it several times she took it of after two minutes. She put it on a plate and covered it. Another few minutes later she took the cover off and sliced it into some thin pieces.
Then she put it in front of me with a fork and knife. I took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of this dish. Hmm, not bad, not bad at all. I pierced one of the pieces with the fork and put in my mouth. All eyes in the kitchen now seemed to focus on me. Awkward! I started chewing and my taste-buds went into overdrive.
Every part of my pallet was triggered. Salty, then hot, followed by sweet and then a bitter metallic taste. Just like blood. Maybe even better. I put another piece in my mouth to relive the sensation. And again, and again, until it was gone. The big smile forming across my face couldn't be stopped. Delicious!
"Oh my god! Embry exclaimed, you liked that! A lot!" I nodded and looked at Timmain and then at Jake, beaming. Dad had come into the kitchen too, smiling at me. "We have to try that again, he said, dissecting smell and taste like that." Good job Timmain." Jake hugged me and chided: "Now we have a Nessie spice bland." Grandma preceded to put labels on my jars and bottle, stating those were mine. "Maybe we could prepare this again, but with some game meat, Timmain pondered. "You could try some raw meat too, when you go hunting."
I was up for that. "Thank you, I told her, you're a great cook. I chuckled; "Another one, what is with vampires in this family?!" Oh, I covered my mouth, realizing what I just said. She looked at me with surprise and also happiness. – "It's alright sweetie, Grandma said, we feel it too, she fits right in, doesn't she." Putting a hand on Timmains shoulder and squeezing lightly. – She responded nonchalantly; "I've just watched some nice people cook and took in everything."
After that grandma talked to Embry and Seth about their birthdays. They decided to celebrate together on Sunday, confidant Timmain would be allowed to stay. Aunt Alice jumped in too of course. Though the future was still a little fuzzy, she too felt good about the remaining days and Sunday. Outside the wind started to pick up. Everybody decided to stay indoors, the fireplace was lit and most of us settled on a chair or couch. Couples snuggled together. More questions were fired at Timmain, who often replied with questions of her own. Short stories about the family history were exchanged.
It was getting dark outside and I started feeling sleepy. Then I caught Timmain studying uncle Jaspers face. She was in a seat close to him and aunt Alice. "Vampires caused those?" she asked, slowly reaching for a scar on uncle Jaspers eyebrow. She stopped half an inch away, looking at him for permission. He didn't move and replied: "Yes, vampires caused those and you can touch." Her fingers gently grazed the scar and then she softly gasped, pulling her hand back. I felt more alert at once and studied them both.
"Your gift, it's amazing, she whispered, though I only got a glimpse of it." - But I knew that wasn't all, something else had happened. Uncle Jasper moved his hand up to touch the scar and his eyes widened. "It faded, he exclaimed in surprise, a little." He stared at her, but she was as surprised as he was.
"I didn't think about it, she explained, I didn't know what to expect." It just looked like it bothered you, restricted movement, I wanted to do something about it, I guess." Did I make a mistake?" – "No, No, don't think that, uncle Jasper hastily replied, I have enough reminders of those times." I'm just amazed about your gift too. "And I didn't expect it to work on vampires either." – All went quiet and I looked around to see all eyes on the lightly faded scar.
Grandpa broke the silence: "Well then, apparently we must test those powers of yours some more Timmain." Maybe you can join me at the hospital sometime." She said she'd like that. Then mom entered the subject of a visit to grandpa Charlie. She called him and planned to go tomorrow.
Instantly aunt Alice took me upstairs to try on an outfit to wear. I heard grandma and mom debating about bringing food along. Sue probably cooked up a feast too. I loved this, the feeling of family, being happy, a normal day. Well, sort of, as normal as we could get. After an hour dad thought it was enough and time for bed for me. My eyes started to droop and I was carried to the cottage. I was out fast.
The next morning we were up early. I slept like a log. Again we casually walked to the big house. And again Jake joined us, though I stayed on the ground now. I took his big hand and swayed it back and forth. When we were close to the house, there suddenly was the noise of running feet. Jake and I were in front. Timmain came flashing out the forest, Leah's wolf hot on her heals, nipping at her. I thought about yesterday, did this have something to do with my dad gasping? Jake let go of me and started running, ready to reprimand Leah.
Timmain scaled the side of the house, leaving light prints on the wall. She flew over Leah into a tree and then laughed, full on. She was just out of her reach. Leah was waging her tail. What was going on? She jumped down, right in front of the wolf, smiling. "Good chase, she said holding out a fist, you almost had me this time." Leah bumped her nose against her fist, then walked of into some shrubs.
Timmain saw us and walked towards us. "Hey, good morning," she greeted us. Then she observed our surprised faces, except my dad's of course, so unfair. "What?" she asked. We were to dumbfounded to say anything. Behind her Leah came out fully clothed. She walked towards the house and paused on the steps. She turned her head slightly towards us and, … smiled! Then she went into the house!
Mom was the first to respond. "What happened? she asked, she wasn't mad and… you made her smile!" "Who, Leah, Timmain replied relaxed, oh we had a talk and then decided on a rematch." Mom shook her head; "No, it can't be just that, no vampire ever made her smile!" She shrugged in response; "I guess, if you say so, I don't know, but she's okay in my book." Jake looked at her and sighed. "You are something else then, he said, still not fully believing, or you told her something really good." "Well, if you want to find out, she answered, you've got to ask her yourself, I'm not telling." With that the conversation was over. And we started moving again.