Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you all have a great week!
Chapter Five
While Bella was pulling the pillows and blanket off the bed and moving about the room, Alice started filming her. Dad watched as she very carefully laid the pillows down in the corner of the room and then placed the blanket down.
Once Bella arranged the pillows and blanket perfectly, she stood back up and started looking around. Dad moved to the cabinet and opened it to reveal the large amount of extra pillows and blankets.
Bella's eyes widened with delight as she rushed to the cabinet and started to pull everything out of it. She didn't seem to be angry about being this close to my father now since he showed her the extra pillows and blankets.
"So, what is she doing?" I asked again as she walked back to the corner and started to place more of the blankets and pillows down.
"Making a bed, maybe," Alice said as she filmed. "But it's hard to tell with early humans such as this. They did very strange things."
"Kind of reminds me of the Xuqriel." Jasper said.
We all turned away from Bella to give him a look.
"You know when they make their nests? They just grab a bunch of random crap, then arrange it so it looks good. Then they sleep, mate, and feed their young in the nests? Surely I can't be the only one seeing the similarity."
I was giving Jasper a look when a small hand wrapped around my arm. I looked to see Bella standing beside me, staring at me with her peculiar brown eyes.
"What is it, Bella?" I asked her, know she wouldn't understand me.
She turned her head briefly to the mess of pillows and blankets then turned back to me. When I didn't respond, she grunted, and repeated the head motion.
"I think she wants to you to go to her nest," Jasper said. "She wants to mate."
I turned my head sharply to him and hissed. Bella's hand tightened on my arm to try and get my attention again. I turned back to her quickly.
"Just go over there for a moment Edward, see what she does." Dad said.
I got to my feet and followed Bella towards her little nest, per say. Her reaction delighted me. She seemed to bounce with joy as she lead me to her pillows and blankets. I stood in front of it, waiting for her instruction.
She continued to look between me and the pile. After a moment of intensely analyzing, she made a low, whining noise. She hurried back over to the cabinet, but only found it empty. She whined again and looked up at my father.
He chuckled softly. "I can't give you anymore. You've already used all that was in there. I can't give you the backups. Those are for emergencies only."
Bella whined again and looked back at me, her eyes wide with disappointment as she looked me up and down.
"I think I have an idea of what she's doing," Alice said as she put the recorder away.
"Do you want to fill me in?" I asked as Bella walked back over to me and started to push against my legs and my tail. I wasn't sure what Bella wanted me to do and it bothered me. I wanted to please her.
"I think she did make a nest for you and her," Alice said. "Not in the way Jasper means, he's just being ridiculous. But there are fundamental needs that all humans must have in order to survive. And one of them is shelter. She's made a shelter for you and her."
I smiled at Bella and bumped my forehead against hers, pausing her movements. She made the purring noise and again, I responded.
"And I think she's frustrated because you're too big to fit," Alice chuckled.
"Well, it's very sweet," Dad said. "But she can't make her shelter in here. There are too many injuries that occur throughout the day. I don't want anyone coming in here and making her panic."
"We need to get her to my bunk." I said. "Everyone knows not to intrude. She'd be safest there."
"I have an idea," Alice said. "She obviously needs to be taken out of the infirmary, but we don't want to overwhelm her. We also need to bathe her because her hygiene is very important. Why don't we blindfold her until we reach the pools. Jasper, can you keep everyone out of our path?"
"I can," He nodded, "Just give me the hallways and rooms you'll be using. I can shut down access to them."
"Thank you, Jasper." I said as I picked Bella up into my arms. She huffed in annoyance but otherwise didn't fight against me.
Once Jasper had left, Dad found a suitable blindfold for Bella.
"Alright Bella," Dad spoke gently as he walked over to us. "I'm just going to slip this over your eyes. No need to panic—,"
As soon as dad started to slip the blindfold over her eyes, Bella lost it. She started snapping her teeth, hissing, and trying to scratch him with her small, yet jagged claws. Dad quickly retracted and put his hands up.
"It's okay Bella," He said again. "I promise I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm trying to help you."
Bella hissed at him, baring her teeth.
I sighed. "She's not going to let you cover her face."
"I guess not," He sighed before turning to Alice. "What do you propose?"
"If she's not going to let you cover her face, then we'll just have to hope for the best. Jasper's keeping everyone out of the hallways."
I nodded and hoisted Bella higher so her head was under my chin. It felt strange carrying her this way, as if she were an infant. We usually carried our mates on our back if we were travelling.
"Jasper walk in front of us. If anyone comes out, send them away. I don't want them scaring her."
"Of course," Jasper said before looking at Alice. He didn't say anything, he just raised his eyebrows a bit. She sighed and walked over to him, crawling up onto his back.
I started walking out of the infirmary behind Jasper and Alice. Dad stayed close behind us, watching for any intruders.
Bella had lifted her head and was taking everything in with wide eyes. I carefully watched for signs of distress. So far, she seemed to be handling everything very well. I was still worried, however.
We made it to the heated pools, finally. It took much too long, but we couldn't move as fast as we'd like since we weren't sure how Bella would react.
"Everyone get out," I said as I very gently placed Bella on her feet.
"Get out? We want to see how she reacts." Alice said, still on Jasper's back.
"No, no more," I said as I took my armor off. "I want to be alone with her. Leave now."
Dad didn't linger, he knew what my limits were and preferred not to push them. Jasper didn't wait for Alice to argue. He simply turned and walked out, ignoring Alice's complaints.
Once they had all left, I pressed my hand against the lock and made sure no one else would be able to come in. When I turned back around, Bella was watching me with her head cocked.
"It's nice to be alone." I said, knowing she couldn't understand me. "I don't know if you've ever swam in a pool like this, the water is very warm and soothing. Oh, wait." I said, pausing to stare at the water. "I don't even know if you can swim. I don't want you to drown. The water would be very deep for you."
"Bella swim." Her soft, unused voice spoke.
"Huh, you're full of surprises." I chuckled, shocked she had spoken again. "Bella swim?"
She looked over at the water and studied it for a moment. She dipped her bare toe into the water before pulling it back out.
"Edward swim?" She asked.
I took off the rest of my clothes. "Edward swim."
Bella's eyes widened as she looked me up and down. Her eyes fell down to my covered crotch. I kept my undergarments on. Even though she had stayed naked, I didn't want to get naked and make her think we would start the mating dance. Not yet.
I sat on the edge of the pool, throwing my legs into the warm water.
"Bella come with Edward." I told her, trying to keep my speech as simple as I possibly could. It was obvious she could speak and understand, but only very simple words.
She took a hesitant step towards the water, her dark brows furrowing.
"Edward swim?" She asked and pointed. "Edward swim."
"Yes, Edward swim." I told her, holding my hand out to her. "Bella swim with Edward?"
She inhaled softly and took another step, her toes now hanging over the edge of the water. I placed my hand on the back of her leg and rubbed softly.
"Bella swim," I encouraged her as I slipped into the water. It was so warm and wonderful. I had forgotten how wonderful the water was. "Bella swim with Edward." I said again.
She inhaled very deeply now but followed my lead. As soon as she entered the water, she seemed to panic a bit. Her legs were kicking around wildly, and she was splashing frantically.
I quickly swam to her and grabbed her tightly. I was able to stand in the pool, but Bella couldn't even touch the ground.
"Bella swim," I encouraged again as she started breathing too fast. "Swim."
She started kicking her legs and moving her arms. I purred into her ear before slowly releasing her. I stayed close, however, in case she panicked again.
I swam around her, my tail brushing against her. She reached her hand under the clear water to grab my tail. I twisted away from her so she couldn't grab it.
"Bella swim," I said as I started to swim away from her.
"Edward swim," She said as she followed me. Her movements weren't as stiff now, she was moving easier.
The pools were a good idea. I knew her body needed the heat to heal her. I bet she felt a lot better too. It seemed as though she did.
She got close enough to me to bump her nose against mine. I laughed before diving under the water. I could see Bella, floating above the water, looking down at me. She finally dove under the water, her eyes looking for me.
I was dumbstruck by the change in her eyes. The white spots that littered the soft brown of her iris had disappeared. Her eyes were now somehow translucent, the brown still there, but nearly see-through. She blinked a few times, staring directly at me.
She swam closer to me, purring with contentment. I pulled her against me and purred loud enough for her to hear me. When bubbles started escaping passed her lips, I brought us to the surface. She inhaled deeply and shook out her wet hair.
I watched her eyes change back to their normal, strange color. The white spots entering her eyes once more. We were snuggling for only a few moments before she licked my neck, her tongue brushing against the mark she had made. I couldn't help but shuddered.
The blockers weren't going to last long. Their effects were wearing off and the same primal thought kept intruding my mind. And Bella wasn't helping.
"We need to get out now," I said as I tried to control myself. "We both need to sleep."
"Out?" She repeated.
"Out swim," I told her. "Sleep. Edward and Bella sleep."
"Bella sleep Edward?" She asked in a hopeful tone.
"Bella sleep Edward," I purred at her, pressing my forehead against hers.
I let go of her and then swam to the edge before pulling myself up. I looked over to see Bella swimming towards me. She placed her hands on the edge and pulled herself up effortlessly. She shook out her hair, the dirt falling away from it.
I stared as her hair changed from a matted mess to long, spiral curls. I wasn't the only one shocked by the change. Bella picked up one of her curled locks and stared at it. I reached out and stroked her hair.
"Bella beautiful," I told.
She made a strange humming noise and dropped the lock of hair. She obviously didn't understand what I had said. I knew Alice would be dying to know Bella's vocabulary limit. I'm sure she'd want to test Bella at some point.
"Bella Edward sleep?" Bella said as she cocked her head to the side.
I nodded and jumped to my feet before lifting her into my arms. As soon as she was settled into my arms, I carried her to my bunk.
As we walked to my bunk, her natural scent filled my nose. I kept inhaling her scent deeply. Now that she was clean, I could actually detect her natural scent. It was incredible.
We walked into my basic bunk. I didn't have time to set up my room, not that I had much to set up, but my actual bed was securely hung in the corner.
"Edward sleep?" Bella asked as she cocked her head to the side. I was confused by what she was asking but when she looked around, I finally realized she was confused about where I slept.
"Edward and Bella sleep," I said as I pointed to the hole up in the corner.
Bella looked over to the side and pointed. "Bella Edward sleep?"
I looked to where she was pointing and found a mountain of pillows. There was also an adolescent tunic folded in the corner. I walked over and unfolded it, showing it to her.
"Bella?" I said as I gestured to her.
She cocked her head to the side again, confused by what I was asking. I sighed and then picked up my own sleeping tunic. I showed Bella the similarities then slipped my tunic over my head. Once my tunic was on, I slipped my wet undergarments off and tossed them into the laundry shoot.
Bella placed her hands on her hips and looked me up and down. She had a very judgmental look upon her face. I couldn't help but laugh.
"This is what people wear Bella," I told her as I picked her light pink tunic back up. I pointed at her. "You can't run around naked. You need clothes."
After a moment, Bella sighed. She grabbed the tunic and sniffed it. She played with it for a bit, trying to figure out how to put it on.
She pulled it on, her head poked through the armhole. She let out an annoyed huff before jerking her head out. I laughed and took a step to help her.
"Here, it goes on like this Bella." I said as I directed her head through the correct hole.
Once her head popped out her arms seemed to know exactly where to go. The tunic was big on her. She was abnormally small, but she seemed comfortable.
She kept rubbing the front of the tunic and twisting to see her body in it. It made me wonder what she thought.
"Sleep?" I said once I was sure she got a good look at herself.
"Edward sleep?"
"Edward sleep. Bella sleep?"
She pondered this for a moment before nodding. "Bella sleep."
She walked passed me to the pillows and gathered as many of them as she could in her arms. When she started to walk towards the corner of the room, I redirected her to the hole and lifted her up so she could peer inside.
She made a strange noise before throwing the pillows inside and then crawling in herself. I could hear her take a moment to arrange the pillows. She popped her head out of the hole and pointed to the rest of the pillows.
I walked over and got the rest of them for her. One by one, I passed her the pillows and allowed her to build the nest she wanted.
It took her several minutes before she finally fixed the nest perfectly. Once it was perfect she poked her head out again.
"Edward sleep?"
"Edward sleep." I said as I climbed into the nest.
The nest was built to be extremely large, since I was large. These sleeping pods are always built for two fully grown Outerrians and two younglings. So, Bella and I had plenty of room to stretch out. Of course, that was before the explosion of pillows.
Bella patted the spot that she had designated for me. She looked over and smiled at me.
Not wanting to disappoint her, I crawled to the spot and laid down. It was slightly cramped, but I was able to stretch it out a little. Hopefully she didn't notice that I had moved the pillows slightly when I stretched my feet.
I watched as Bella fussed with the pillows around me before settling on her knees and looking over her work.
"Bella sleep?" I asked, hoping she'd finally lay down and go to sleep. I was sure she was exhausted.
"Bella sleep." She said as she laid down in her spot, which was nuzzled up beside me.
I let out a purr of contentment and turned so I could snuggle her. She let out a purr to match my own, her nose pressing into my neck.