Waxing Gibbous

Planning (A)

The next three months life settled easily. The tapestry of family and friends that wove together around me was a beautiful, glowing thing, full of their bright, complementary colors, each person having their own electrical impulse their own scent, things I could recall perfectly.

The wolves with their woodsy scents and slightly rustic coloring of their trails, the vampires with golden trails. As the time grew I was developing my skill more and more. I could detect the exact path or the fastest path to my target – it made hide-n-seek a terrible thing for the kids.

So much so that I couldn't play anymore.

After dinner with the Black's, Seth had a few choice words with Jacob, but I eventually found my way to him a few days later. He was on the cliffs that we used to jump from as kids.

"are you here to yell at me? Because I don't want to hear it if you are"

I sighed "I was planning on it."

"you've changed"

"so have you" he turned to look at me finally. I could see the turmoil in his eyes, the pain.

"I never wanted this" he replied "I was fine before, happy then I changed and now..."

"you could stop"

He laughed darkly "right, this was all my dad wanted when he was my age. If I give that up now... I guess it wouldn't matter since he has another son to carry on the tradition"

"I'm sorry, I really am... I planned to leave, to end on good terms."

"you should be, but I should be sorry too. I was a shitty friend Alex. God I found a girl who could have been good and I let it consume me because the truth is... An imprint, this... the wolf none of it is my control. I can hardly keep the anger at bay"

"you need a break"

"what do you think I'm doing?"

"I think you're moping. There is a huge world out there. Go explore it, find out who you are."

I left Jacob then, after a few days it seemed like he figured it out. Only this time he let everyone know what he was doing. He wanted to be alone. I remember him coming to find me, telling me he was going on his own spirit quest.

Demetri also met the pack and imprints; they fell for the boy almost immediately. Which helped a long way in the alliance we had brokered.

Then Charlie and my mom visited often. My mom had taken it on herself to help Charlie's transition into the world of make believe. She came with him to the Cullens' most days, though she would spend a lot of time with Demetri. She was always the first person he looked to when Renesmee did something disturbingly advanced - which was often. Of course, my mom would look at me as if to say, tell me about it.

Happiness seemed to fill the home; it was contagious. Like one big happy family, Jasper was practically addicted to the feeling. Instead of being off on his own he was in the midst of the family, spending a lot of time with Demetri (since he smelled the most like him). Lucia and Emmett spent most of the time trying to beat Bella, or rather Emmett did, and Lucia egged him on.

There was a flipside to the joy, though, as fear and doubt creeped in.

Demetri spoke his first word (much like Renesmee) when he was a week old. The word 'mommy' should have made Rosalie's day, but she was so shocked and frightened by the progress that I had reassure them both. It didn't help that he and Renesmee both spoke a full sentence at the same time. Asking where grandma and grandpa were.

When he walked for the first time, fewer than three weeks later, it was similar. He'd simply stared at Lucia for a long moment, watching intently as his aunt arranged an array of video games Emmett kept in the living room gliding back and forth across the floor. Demetri climbed off my chest and got to his feet, not in the least bit shaky, and crossed the floor almost as gracefully.