fate unfolding in the palm of your hand °sam uley°

Chapter 7

Humans were funny little things. Bella was no exception. She was an even weirder human when it came to her birthday. While humans celebrated their birthdays, Bella seemed to detest hers. Alice was eager, going mental over the idea of the perfect birthday party. Itoro could hear Alice running around the house, eager and so child-like that it was bordering on infuriating.

"Oh, today's the day," Alice practically sang. Itoro rolled over in their bed, wishing they could sleep and wasn't gifted with super hearing. The whole enhanced hearing and general enhanced everything was annoying and inconvenient. Itoro liked birthdays – when they could eat cake and drink and be happy. The whole undead vampire thing with not being able to eat human food anymore was a real bummer.

"She doesn't want a big party, Alice," Edward reminded her from his bedroom. "Not even a small get together. She wants to spend it like every other day."

Alice made a noise of complaint in her throat, like that waws the worst thing she'd heard Edward ever say. "But it's her birthday! We should be able to celebrate her life – I know you always want to do that. Make her enjoy her life, be human and do human things."

"Yeah, what's the worst that could happen on a clumsy girl's birthday?" Itoro asked into their pillow. Emmett cackled from his and Rose's room, and Esme made a chastising noise in his direction. She was in the kitchen, trying to find the best Italian meal to serve Bella this evening.

Edward sighed, displeased at the whole thing. "I love to celebrate Bella and her life, but I also understand that she doesn't like to think about ageing."

"That's because she's a thirty-year-old trapped in a seventeen-year-old body, terrified that she'll never be turned into a vampire and will wither and die while we stay the same, undying and unageing." Itoro said, then turned around and got up. They got dressed and met Edward downstairs. "You know I'm right, she's really fussy about the idea of being older than you."

"He's over a hundred years old," Emmett whined, still in his and Rosalie's room.

"Not physically," Itoro said, watched Edward pull his shoes on for school. "And for some reason that's what Bella's hung up on. Girl needs therapy,"

Edward made a scathing sound. "No she doesn't,"

"Uh, yes she does, and so does every single person in this house, Edward. You included." Itoro knew they definitely needed therapy, an ample amount of it, but it wasn't like any of them were ever gonna get it – not unless a therapist was turned into a vampire. Talking to the others didn't help, what with Carlisle's constant guilt of turning most of the coven and trying to be morally right with an unhelpful helping of Christian guilt. Itoro wasn't really religious and tended to avoid religion on a whole.

"Go hunt," Edward said, and it wasn't advice, it was a command. Itoro stared at him, wondering when the hell Edward changed. Probably on one of the many nights he hung around Bella's room while she slept. What the fuck did he even do to pass the time? What a fucking freak.

"You really need to get laid, jeez."

Itoro left the house before Esme could chastise them for their choice of words. Hunting alone was better than having to be aware of them. Plus it got Itoro out of the house, which they desperately needed. It was a little too much at times. Emmett's cackle echoed in their ears. They found a mountain lion and drank from it, then munched on a few wild rabbits before they went to the nearest lake and washed the excess blood and muck from their face.

With nothing else to do and wanting to hang around nature without accidentally destroying a boulder or two from throwing Emmett around, Itoro walked the border between the wolf territory and theirs. It passed the time, especially when they did it at a slow, human pace. They'd spent the last twenty hours drawing and painting and getting the many characters profiles down and ready. They kept going back to Lugdum, perfecting him over and over, trying to make sure he didn't look exactly like Emmett.