Waxing Gibbous

Company (A)

We'd replayed the scene of Renesmee's introduction to the Denali coven a half dozen times. First for Peter and Charlotte, whom Alice and Jasper had sent our way without giving them any explanation at all; like most people who knew Alice, they trusted her instructions despite the lack of information. Alice had told them nothing about which direction she and Jasper were heading and she'd made no promise to ever see them again in the future.

Neither Peter nor Charlotte had ever seen an immortal child. Though they knew the rule, their negative reaction was not as powerful as the Denali vampires' had been at first. Curiosity had driven them to allow Renesmee's "explanation."

And that was it. Now they were as committed to witnessing as Tanya's family.

Demetri enjoyed spending time with Peter, he reminded him of Jasper and Lucia. And like with the Denali's he dressed up every time someone knew showed up.

Carlisle had sent even more friends, friends from Ireland and Egypt.

The Irish clan arrived first, and they were surprisingly easy to convince. Siobhan - a woman of immense presence whose huge body was both beautiful and mesmerizing as it moved in smooth undulations - was the leader, but she and her hard-faced mate, Liam, were long used to trusting the judgment of their newest coven member. Little Maggie, with her bouncy red curls, was not physically imposing like the other two, but she had a gift for knowing when she was being lied to, and her verdicts were never contested.

Maggie declared that Edward spoke the truth, and so Siobhan and Liam accepted our story absolutely before even touching Renesmee.

Amun and the other Egyptian vampires were another story. Even after two younger members of his coven, Benjamin, and Tia, had been convinced by Renesmee's explanation, Amun refused to touch her and ordered his coven to leave.

Benjamin - an oddly cheerful vampire who looked barely older than a boy and seemed both utterly confident and utterly careless at the same time - persuaded Amun to stay with a few subtle threats about disbanding their alliance. Amun stayed, but continued to refuse to touch Renesmee, and would not allow his mate, Kebi, to touch her, either.

It seemed an unlikely grouping - though the Egyptians all looked so alike, with their midnight hair and olive-toned skin, that they easily could have passed for a biological family. Amun was the senior member and the outspoken leader. Kebi never strayed farther away from Amun than his shadow, and I never heard her speak a single word.

It was unnerving.

Tia, Benjamin's mate, was a quiet woman as well, though when she did speak there was great insight and gravity to everything she said. Still, it was Benjamin whom they all seemed to revolve around, as if he had some invisible magnetism the others depended upon for their balance.

I saw Eleazar staring at the boy with wide eyes and assumed Benjamin had a talent that drew the others to him. Which was alarming yet understandable as talents could serve as protection, but it made me fear he was like Aro.

Amun's attitude was something else, and he and Kebi kept to themselves, though Benjamin and Tia were well on their way to being fast friends with both the Denali and the Irish covens. Hopefully Amun and his mate would open up more when Carlisle returned, until then...

At least Korinna got along with everyone. They seemed no less concerned about an old wolf that no longer phased than a new one, but her vast knowledge and years made her an easy conversationalist. Benjamin seemed particularly interested in her tales, like a child who was sheltered.

Much like me most of my life.

A few times I saw the Egyptian Coven look at me with quizzical eyes, like they were trying to figure something out. Edward told me it was because Carlisle had told them about me, Amun was as old, if not older than Aro so he knew the stories of the Amarok. Actually, he had met them many years ago, he was the one that Aro saw our kind through. I couldn't tell if he felt guilty about our forced hiding or if he was truly interested to see if I was real. 

Hector had sent more people as well. The first was a man named Aegeus. He was biologically the same age as Korinna, though unlike her he continued phasing. Physically he looked in his mid to late 20's, dark hair and greenish eyes. His wolf was grey on the top, from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail, then it bleeds into tan then to white.

A few hours later Leon showed up. He wasn't nearly as old, but still older than me. He was Hector's twin brother; he came with his wife Cassia, and son Nestor. Cassia was beautiful, shiny light brown hair and hazel eyes. Nestor was younger, only about a year or so older than Leah. He had the same facial structure as Hector and his father, though his hair was lighter, and he held the youthful glow of a recently phased member. 

Cassia's wolf was pure white, while Leon looked like a brown timber wolf. Nestor was a mix of them, unique none the less. They agreed immediately to stand by me and my family. Though Nestor was probably for another reason. When he looked at Leah I knew he would be staying permanently too. The two spent most of their time together and Korinna couldn't be happier. His mate's imprint soon became his and I knew if I had to send Leah away she would be safe. Cassia absolutely loved Demetri, so it wasn't hard for her to decide to stay.

Nestor joined the pack, proudly accepting me as alpha. Leon, Cassia and Aegeus were at the age where they didn't want to be in a pack, but they accepted my role as leader, after Korinna proudly announced it. I became the leader, and they fell into the role of the elders. Offering advice and news. Leon told me that Hector was looking for their older brother, he knew more about hybrids than we did, but it would take time.

Then one of Cyrus' friends showed up too, he joined Jacob and Cyrus but like Atlas and Cyrus he fell into the defender of Demetri easily.

Emmett and Lucia sent individuals - any nomad friends of Carlisle's that they could track down. Garrett came first - a tall, rangy vampire with eager ruby eyes and long sandy hair he kept tied back with a leather thong - and it was apparent immediately that he was an adventurer. I imagined that we could have presented him with any challenge, and he would have accepted, just to test himself. He fell in quickly with the Denali sisters, asking endless questions about their unusual lifestyle.

I wondered if vegetarianism was another challenge he would try, just to see if he could.

Mary and Randall also came - friends already, though they did not travel together. They listened to Renesmee's story and stayed to witness like the others. Like the Denali's, they considered what they would do if the Volturi did not pause for explanations. All three of the nomads toyed with the idea of standing with us.

Demetri flitted through the new group of vampires entertaining them making friends along the way. Unlike Renesmee he didn't have a skill to rely on, all he had was his charm and a seemingly endless supply of wolf's backing him.

Each wolf the phased stood by his side, each new wolf that showed up courtesy of Hector would fight to the death to protect him. As of right now I had my pack (Leah, Seth, and Paul) plus Atlas, Aegeus, and Nestor.

And Hector was still looking.