petrichor [rosalie hale] ✔

xxv. graduation

"Didn't think you'd be wanting to patrol with me any time soon," Kiara huffed as she and Jacob walked side by side to the forest line, the boy having turned up at Sam's that morning instead of swapping his patrol shift like Kiara and Paul had assumed he would do.

Jacob smiled a little as he looked to where his twin sister was untying her shoe laces, the familiar converse reminding him of memories they had shared long before they knew about shifters and vampires. He was surprised the shoes had lasted so long, especially now that she was like him and had an anger that rivalled Paul's. He guessed part of it was down to the fact she had barely been shifting the past few weeks anyway.

They stripped off in silence before finding themselves on all fours, Kiara not waiting for Jacob as she slowly walked into the forest. She enjoyed patrolling - it was maybe her only favourite thing about being a wolf. Everyone had their own way of how they liked to patrol, and her and Jacob had always taken it slow and steady rather than draining themselves the way Leah and Jared liked to.

"Dad cried after you left."

Kiara faultered in her step a little, her head flickering to Jacob as he brushed along her side. She bristled a little, lifting her top gum to show a miniature snarl and telling Jacob to back off. She wasn't in the mood for him to make her out to be some villain when all she was doing was protecting herself.

"Well, I did too."

She threw the memory of Emily and Sam wrapping their arms around her as she sobbed in his direction through their mind link, noticing how the larger wolf beside her seemed to grimace and shake his head a little to cry and clear the thought from his mind. Kiara was aware that Seth and Quil were phased, hearing flickers of their thoughts across the pack link before they both disappeared quickly. It was obvious they had no intentions of listening in to a fight between the Black twins.

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad, yanno."

"Sure doesn't feel that way, Jacob."

They continued in silence, Kiara occasionally pausing to sniff the air. Jacob might have been blessed with more strength than her, but it was no secret that she was the fastest in the pack and had the best sense of smell. It helped that the scent of the red-head was permanently engraved in her mind, a personal vendetta sitting in her mind every time she thought about Victoria.

"I'm not rejecting it," Kiara informed Jacob, caving in as the silence hung awkwardly between them. She noticed it was her brothers turn to falter in his stride for a second, having already suspected that was the case after her and Billy's argument the night before.

"I know," Jacob replied, not sure what else to say. "I can't say I like it... but I'd rather have you alive."

That was reasonably good enough for Kiara. She knew that Jacob's hatred for the Cullens was less about their vampirism and more about Bella constantly choosing Edward over her brother, so hearing that he would rather have her be tied to one of the Cullens rather than dead was progress. It wasn't good - but it was better than it had been.

"I don't think anyone necessarily likes it," Kiara snorted, knowing that Sam and Paul had been pushing their personal opinions about the situation out of mind to try and make Kiara comfortable. She'd have been stupid to believe that they were both okay with the concept, but she knew that whatever thoughts they had they would keep behind closed doors to not upset her. "I just thought you'd have had my back. I always had yours - even when you keep picking Bella over me time and time again."

"I know, I've been a bad brother," Jacob replied, not letting Kiara interrupt as he continued. "But I'm here now, and I want to make things better between us. They've not been the same since..."