The Hybrid (A Twilight Saga Continuation) (Slow Updates)

9: Welcome (unedited)

Vote. Fan. Sorry if any of the Spanish is incorrect. My Spanish really is rusty. Please leave comments and suggestions.

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I took a step down the hill but Jacob’s hand tightened around mine and he pulled me back.

“What!?” I snapped at him but he wasn’t looking at me. His head was turned to the left and he began to shake. I followed his eyes and quickly saw what was worrying him. A cheetah was coming towards us. We heard something big breathe to our right and both our heads whipped around to see a cougar coming our way.

I heard a low rumble begin in the base of Jake's throat and his hand got hotter in mine before he let go and took a step away from me. I knew what was coming next and I had to stop it.

I stepped in front of him and grabbed both sides of his face. “Stop it.” I commanded.

“Mikenna you need to move.” he growled.

“No. Do not shift Jacob Black. You’re just going to put us in danger.”

“Look around Mik, we're already in danger.”

“No we’re not Jake. Look at them; They’re not normal cats. Normal cougars don’t live in Africa.” He looked at both cats out of the corners of his eyes and the shaking slowed. Both cats were staring at us, listening to our conversation.

Jake tensed and looked over my head. I turned moving my hands to his wrists behind me. Walking towards us was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. She was the African equivalent to the Amazons of Brazil. She was tall, only a couple inches shorter than Jacob. Her skin was as dark and smooth as the darkest chocolate. She was barefoot with a rich purple sash wrapped around her chest and a tan skirt low on her hips. She wore beaded bracelets and necklaces in various colors around her neck wrists and ankles.

"Welcome. She has been expecting you." she bowed her head "Come." she smiled showing brilliant white teeth and turned to walk down the hill.

I followed dragging Jacob along and the two large cats followed behind us. The village was inside of a large bowl surrounded by steep inclines. Our guide walked gracefully down while Jake and I sunk and slid in the setting sun. As we walked through the village people stopped to stare mostly at Jake. I noticed that most of the people, men and women, had very short haircuts close to the head. A few including our guide had long thick curly hair that hung down their backs and was held out of their faces by beaded headbands. Every woman with long hair bowed their heads as we walked by. I nodded back unsure of how to respond. Looking more closely I realized the people with short cropped hair wrote t-shirts/beaters and shorts while the women with long thick hair were all wrapped in brightly colored fabrics and tan skirts like our guide.

The town seemed to be a large oval and as we approached the far end a large wooden cabin stood out in contrast to the smaller, mud brick and concrete that made a majority of the buildings. Out front colored, woven mats lined the ground and more brightly colored fabrics were draped on wooden racks. We entered and stepped onto a hardwood floor, into an anteroom lined with more straw mats and benches. Our guide motioned for us to sit as she brought a tub of water. “For your feet, to wash off the dust and the heat. “

We sat on the bench closest to the door and removed our boots and socks. I slowly lowered my feet into the large bowl. The cool water felt so good that I involuntarily closed my eyes and leaned my head back. I heard Jake sigh next to me. I looked up at him and I could see the red sunburn disappearing from his face. As we dried our feet two women walked in wrapped in red and green cloths I recognized from the rack outside. They nodded at us and walked into the second set of double doors. Something was so familiar about them but I couldn’t place it.