Renesmee's Twin - Lili Anne Cullen

Hunt

I finally said my first word after days of forced babble. One night after Mom and Dad went through our bedtime ritual, I uttered out a "Bye," to my parents as they started to slip out of our bedroom. They froze in their tracks before their heads whipped towards me in excitement mixed with fear. My parents knew from Pop-Pop that we were just past a year's worth of growth, but my first word finalized the reality of the situation for them. If Mom had been able to cry, tears would have overflowed down her face. Venom welled up in her now amber eyes. With the consumption of animal blood and the lack of human blood in the past few weeks, her irises had changed a shade in between that of the crimson that adjourned her after she awoke as a newborn and the typical golden of our family. 

My father picked me up from my new twin bed that was decorated with lilac sheets and pillows chosen by Alice with Mom's help in color choice. We were tiny in the beds meant for older children, but my family decided to invest in them, not knowing how much longer it would be until we would need them. Dad's body was soothingly cold as he held me up to his shoulder, cradling the back of my head. I laid my head on his shoulder while my mother stepped towards us facing Dad's back. She reached her nimble fingers up to my face, sweeping my growing hair from my eyes, caressing my cheek with the back of her hand, until my eyes grew sleepy. Mom pressed her cool lips to my forehead before Dad lowered me back into my bed, tucking me in under my blankets.

Ness's first word came a couple days after mine out of excitement when our parents returned from a hunt, Ness cried out, "Mama!" Mom was in front of Ness in an instant. My sister wasn't aware of what she was doing until she did it. She touched her lips and said it again this time quietly. And then Ness repeated her first word again and again until she was yelling it at the top of her lungs, jumping on her little feet. All of the members of our family appeared at the racket. Rose smiled in innocent joy, as proud as I assumed my own mother was at my sister's reaction to her own first word. For days after that Ness would repeat it to herself, even when Mom wasn't in the room with her. Luckily it didn't last long as she was soon completing full sentences a few days after that.

As our hair grew past our chins, Pop-Pop performed his routine check ups on Ness and I. Our heights were recorded as we stood next to the measured ticks placed onto the wall. Ness and I now had the dexterity to run and play outside. Playground equipment was unnecessary for the two of us. All we needed to play was our imaginations and the wooded area outside. An adult was always present for our own safety as we climbed trees and made props and houses out of twigs and rocks nearby. Thanks to Alice and Esme we had endless amounts of toys, but most of them weren't durable enough for the strength Ness and I naturally held. 

When Ness accidentally tore open her stuffed bunny, Mr. Hopps, she had a full out meltdown. Nana successfully convinced Ness that Pop-Pop was a doctor and that he would take care of her rabbit while he "treated" the stuffed rabbit. It wasn't enough to stop her whimpers, but her breathing slowed as she buried her face back into Mom's shoulder. The next day, Pop-Pop returned Mr. Hopps to Ness looking almost brand new. The pink bunny had a few "scars" here and there, but the stitches were neat and clean. Pop-Pop's skilled hand was the best option. We were all thankful, as it was difficult and rare to see my sister so genuinely upset. Sure, she could be pouty or impatient frequently, but it was usually pretty light hearted, not enough to make her eyes water. She could laugh things off most of the time. For instance, she learned to brush off my unwillingness to compete with her after it became old.