"Oh no Seth, I am not going over there."
"Come on, Ash." He said, tugging on her hand.
Ashley dug her feet into the ground and tried her best to resist.
"No," she said firmly, but her determination was not as strong once she began laughing. It was now to the point where she was holding onto Seth's hand with both of hers and leaning back at a dangerous angle.
"Ash, you said you'd go," Seth whined. That made Ashley laugh even harder.
"Yes, but what you failed to mention was the fact that the elders would be there along with the entire pack, half of which I haven't met yet, and Bella who I also haven't met yet."
"C'mon, it'll be fun. I promise."
"No," Ashley said stubbornly, but she was giggling, only half serious.
"Ashley Montgomery, do not make me drag you there, because you know I will."
Ashley huffed, not doubting his sincerity, but she wasn't going to give up that easily. "You wouldn't dare," she cautioned.
Suddenly, Ashley felt herself falling to the ground. She braced herself for impact, and it came, but it wasn't the cold, hard ground, it was Seth's arm. She felt a sweeping motion before she had the wind knocked out of her. He had caught her and tossed her over his shoulder.
She could her Seth's laughter over her speedy breath. As she tried to calm her breathing, Seth began walking towards their original destination. Ashley tried fighting her way out, but that just made Seth laugh harder. Eventually she huffed and propped her head up on her hand, giving up.
Seth didn't seem to listen to Ashley the same way the other boys listened to what their girlfriends wanted. Sometimes she wondered if the whole "do whatever your girlfriend wants" memo didn't quite reach him. But then again, he knew her better than anyone else, he knew she would enjoy herself. Plus, they were the youngest couple, maybe it was a skill developed with maturity.
He put her down just before they reached the top of a hill. From where they were standing, Ashley could smell the fire, and hear the laughter. It definitely sounded like everyone was enjoying themselves. Ashley looked over herself, suddenly self-conscious of making a good impression. As she was fixing her hair, Seth caught her hand. He intertwined his fingers with hers and said, "Stop worrying, you look beautiful."
As they approached, Ashley took in her surroundings. She could recognize Sue, some of the boys in the pack, the imprintees, and Leah who was glaring at a girl Ashley didn't know.
The young couple made their way over to Daphne who was sitting with Paul's arm around her. The four exchanged a welcome before Daphne went back to talking with Emily. Ashley caught a few words from her sister and knew she was talking about her pregnancy and wedding. Ashley smiled to herself before sitting down next to Seth.
He didn't let her stay like that. Almost immediately after she sat down Seth adjusted her so that she was sitting between his legs, leaning back on his chest. He had his knees almost pulled up to either side of her head, and wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked up and saw a smile that matched hers.
Before Ashley could ask, Seth brought his mouth close to her ear, and began pointing out who everyone was.
"The man next to my mom is Quil Sr. Evidently, he\s Quil's grandfather. The one in the wheel chair is Billy Black. Jacob Black, the one across from us, is his son. The girl he is with, that's Bella Swan, Chief Swan's daughter. She's the one who associates with the vampires. You should know everyone else."
Ashley ran over everyone's name again quickly in her head before nodding.
"Okay, but if Bella is with the vampire-"
"Edward," Seth corrected.
"Edward. Why is she here with Jacob? And why is she so," Ashley paused trying to think of the right word. "Close to him?"
"That's where it gets a little complicated."
"Oh, only now?" Ashley teased.
"Well, complicated-er."
"Okay, let's see how far we can push Ashley's brain capacity. Go," she joked. Seth shook his head, but began explaining.
"So, a few months ago, the Cullens left Forks. Edward was worried that he would somehow hurt Bella, so he thought it was best to leave."
"What a stupid thing to think. How could anyone believe deserting the person who was in love with you would benefit them in any way?"
"I understand what he was thinking. I did it too, didn't I?"
"And that was stupid of you. I guess I can understand where you're coming from, but promise me you'll never do something like that to me ever again."
"I don't know if I could leave you, even if I wanted to." Seth kissed the top of her head.
"Good." Ashley smiled. She continued in a quieter tone. "So Bella and Jake..."
Seth caught on, and matched her volume. "Right. So Bella and Jake became really good friends. Jake even fell for her and he was sure she fell for him too. When he came back though, Edward didn't like Bella hanging around wolves so he forbade her from coming here. I guess he gave in eventually since she is here now."
"It sounds a little over dramatic of him."
"You haven't seen anyone lose their temper yet. Paul snapped on Bella not too long ago because he thought she was teasing Jake, and shouldn't have known about the pack in the first place. It probably freaked Edward out."
Ashley turned to look at the guy next to her sister. He seemed harmless at that moment, laughing, and smiling. He had one hand on Daphne's stomach and her hand was on top of his. She wasn't showing yet, but the couple almost always was in contact with their unborn child.
Ashley tried to ignore the creeping worry she felt for her sister and niece or nephew's safety. She knew she had to trust her sister, and Paul.
The food came not that long after, and Ashley got a real sense of what "acting like ravenous animals" meant. Emily had brought tons of hotdogs, buns, chips, and pop up to the fire and dumped it in the centre before quickly retreating. The six boys swarmed the food in seconds and each grabbed their own more-than-fair share.
Seth dumped his armful of food next to Ashley. He told her to guard it from the others, and promised to be back momentarily. He, and most of the other guys went into the surrounding forest, returning with long sticks which Ashley didn't understand until Jared put a hotdog on the end of his. She then realised the sticks would be used as skewers.
Ashley opened the bag of chips, which earned her an almost disapproving look from Seth when he came into view for taking some of his food. She smiled and shrugged as she put a chip in her mouth.
Ashley took the skewer from him and cooked the hotdog over the fire, knowing that if she didn't do so now, Seth would devour them all before she had one.
When it was cooked to perfection, she pulled it out of the fire and close to her, as she turned around to grab a bun from the bag, she felt the stick move in her hand. She turned back just in time to see Seth stuffing the hotdog into his mouth.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, moving to hit his chest lightheartedly.
Seth was about to respond with his mouth full, but Ashley gave him a warning look, and he waited until he finished eating before saying, "That was for taking my chips," with a grin.
Ashley laughed, and rolled her eyes before thrusting the stick at him.
"You're turn. But I get it this time!" she clarified.
Seth chuckled and agreed.
After Ashley finished her second hotdog, and Seth had finished God only knows how many, he finally put the stick down beside him and leaned back. He continued to drink from the large pop bottle beside the pair, occasionally offering some to Ashley.
Ashley moved so she was sitting next to him, but with her back against the log behind them. She stretched her legs out and observed the crowd.
Leah was sitting near them, by herself. The girls had participated in friendly conversation, but even still, Leah was not one for conversation. She talked to her brother for a little while, but Leah didn't seem too interested in interacting with the group. Leah just kept her eyes on the flames.
Ashley realised that she wasn't much paying attention to anyone else while the group was eating, so she wasn't sure if Leah's appetite resembled those of the boys. Actually, Ashley wasn't sure she saw her move much, let alone eat anything at all.
She heard Paul talking from the other side of Daphne, and saw that it was to Jacob. He was asking for the last hotdog that the other boy had in his hand. Ashley could have sworn she saw Paul shaking as Jacob teased him a little, but Daphne tightened her grip on his hand and he stopped immediately.
While looking at Daph, Jacob threw the hotdog, skewer and all, at Paul. Ashley was sure it would fall, or hit him in the head, but Paul caught it effortlessly, and stuffed it into his mouth, smiling.
"So what's happening now?" Ashley asked, turning her head to look at Seth. He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees.
"At every council meeting, one of the elders tells a different tribal story. That's what I'm excited for."
"Oh, so we didn't just come for the mass amounts of food?" Ashley teased.
"Well, that too," Seth admitted. "But, Kim, Leah, Quil, and I are all first timers along with you, so this is pretty big for us. Most of us have heard these storied before, but not since we learned that they're all true. I think it'll be pretty cool for you too. I know you know some of them, I'm sure the elders will do it more justice than I or the internet would." Seth's voice was thick with anticipation and child-like glee.
Just then the group shifted. Jared nudged Kim awake, Leah closed her eyes, Emily removed a notebook and pen, Sam moved closer to the elders, sitting the same direction they were, Jacob was whispering in Bella's ear. Quil perked up a bit, and Paul and Embry sat up straighter. Daphne leaned into Paul, and Seth leaned forward, closer to Ashley.
Just before the elders began speaking, Seth pulled Ashley into his lap, enclosing her in his grasp. She began to protest, telling him it wasn't necessary, worried he would get uncomfortable quickly from the pressure of her back against his chest. Seth waved her objection away, and told her he would be much more comfortable close to her.
The fire cracked, bringing them to attention, and Billy Black cleared his throat.
Ashley could hear a type of authority in Billy's voice, as he opened his story, explaining part of the Quileute history. She also heard an almost fantastical aspect to his voice as well. His strong and soothing voice enraptured her along with the rest of the group, while Emily frantically took notes.
At one point Quil interrupted the story to comment on the information just shared by Billy. According to legend, the colour of a wolf's fur, represented the man they were inside.
"So that's why Sam is all black," he whispered, smiling. "Black heart, black fur."
Sam sent a jab back at Quil about his apparent chocolate coloured coat showing how sweet he was.
Ashley thought momentarily about what the sandy colour meant for Seth, or the gray of Leah's coat for the she wolf, but was quickly pulled back in my Billy's story.
The story of the third wife amazed Ashley as much as it terrified her. To think of someone sacrificing themselves like that, especially someone she cared about, upset her deeply.
Ashley was shaken from her thoughts by a voice interrupting the vast silence for a second time.
"Burden?" Quil scoffed in a low voice. "I think it's cool."
Ashley could feel Seth shaking around her. She looked up to see his eyes full of wonder, and nodding enthusiastically in agreement. She felt her stomach tighten at the thought of Seth being in such extensive danger.
Ashley finally had a full understanding on how dangerous this was, especially for a wolf as young as Seth. She had barely any time to think about her boyfriend's safety, the group constantly distracted her from getting lost in her head. Just then, Billy chuckled at the boys' excitement.
Jared whipped something at Quil, and everyone, Ashley included, laughed at how high Quil jumped in surprised.
"So what do you think?" Seth whispered in Ashley's ear when the crowd moved back into quiet, individual conversations.
"It's amazing," Ashley admitted, and shivered. "It terrifies me too though. I don't understand why you're so excited about this." She added, suddenly serious.
Seth moved to look her in the eye, his face more serious now.
"C'mon Ash, don't start this now."
She looked back at him, equally as unimpressed. "When exactly do you want to walk about this, Seth?"
He sighed, but answered, "Later tonight. I'll come over, I promise." He kissed her hair. "Just enjoy yourself for now."
She raised an eyebrow at him, his expression melted.
"Please?" he begged.
Her emotions diminished, and she looked at him. His smile grew because he knew from that look that she had stood down, for now.
She smiled back and nestled back into his arms. Wrapping his arms around her and holding them there.
Seth jumped into an enthusiastic conversation with Quil about how incredible it will be to be a wolf, and Ashley stayed silent, looking to her friends and family once more.
Leah in particular caught her attention, as she often did. Even with her eyes closed, Ashley could tell the lone female wolf was not as excited as the rest of their peers. What for, Ashley wasn't exactly sure.
Ashley thought of some of the possibilities. Was she worried for her own safety, or the safety of her brother, like Ashley was? Did she hate what was happening because it meant being close to Sam and Emily, seeing into his head, every contact, every feeling the two shared was there for Leah to see, whether she wished it so or not. Or was it unrelated to the people present? Was she thinking about her father whom would have been here, on the counsel?
Ashley has no idea.
A/N: Sorry it took so long, but here is the newest chapter. Since it has been a while I was worried that my writing style changed, but I tried my best to keep it consistent. As always please review, suggest, pm, etc. and let me know what you're thinking. I'll keep trying to post new chapters as often as possible. Thanks guys!