Aeipathy • Paul Lahote

Shifters

Sitting in the trees was not comfortable. Estrella knew this already but it was pushed to the front of her mind as she perched out of sight of the Cullens below her. They all knew she was there and Bella would be unable to spot her even if she looked up, but she stayed hidden away from where the wolves could see her, at the direction of Alice. 

Despite her initial shock that Bella was involved with a family of vampires, she knew that her sister would be safe with the group Estrella called her friends. It wasn't entirely surprising that she knew their secret though. It was something Estrella had assumed after first finding out about the family. She knew it would be impossible for them to hide that when Bella was part of their every day life.

The necklace she wore felt soft between her fingers and she couldn't help but smile at the recent memory of Rosalie's reaction. While they were wasting time until training, Estrella had decided on making a small protective pendant that would keep her scent away from any supernatural being, including the wolves. However, she forgot that others wouldn't be used to the process, and had shocked Rosalie immensely when she pulled out bones along with the needed herbs.

"You can't be serious," the blonde had gasped, reeling back from the table. "Is there eye of newt somewhere, too?"

"Some cliches come from reality," was all Estrella said in response, making Rosalie look at her suspiciously. "Maybe I'll teach you a few things someday."

But Estrella was snapped out of her own mind when her senses picked up on many giant auras approaching. Her eyes snapped over to the opening in the forest just as a group of large shadows emerged. She held back a gasp as she took them in.

There was a large pack of massive wolves standing in front of her, each easily the size of a bear or larger. They all blended easily into the brush around them and it would be hard for anyone to pick them out in a hurry. Each wolf stood large, but they all seemed off. None of them behaved in the way a normal wolf would and the fact that they all stood in front of the Cullens instead of attacking or running proved that they weren't all animal. 

Before Estrella could think much further, she was interrupted by the Cullens starting. She held on to what Edward said, that they weren't comfortable changing in front of the Cullens and he would translate. She would have to bring up the fact that they were shifters to Rosalie later. 

Instead of focusing on the shifters, she listened in on what the Cullens had to say, particularly Jasper. When with his family, out in nature, his mannerisms completely changed. He was confident and proud and moved fluidly, much more reflective of his personality than when he has to try to float in a sea of humans. He was able to explain the mannerisms of newborns and how to fight them in extreme detail with advice that pertained to both the Cullens and the wolves, something Estrella picked up on. 

After the training was done and the wolves had left, Estrella slowly scaled down the tree she had been in. By the time she reached the bottom, Edward had taken Bella home and it was only the remaining Cullens who greeted her. 

"I didn't know you had been in a war," was the first thing that came out of her mouth when she landed, turning to Jasper with a questioning lilt to her voice. "I mean, I heard what you said to Bella and everything, but for some reason I never thought about it." Before he could respond, she turned to Rosalie. "And I've always known shifters exist," she stated with a slight laugh. "I've been studying them for ages, it wasn't like some big secret that I couldn't be told. We've had a few different groups come into our school for learning purposes, although I've never seen a group of shifters so big, both in physique and number."

Once more she turned before she could get a response, but she was cut off by Jasper. "Would you like to train?" he questioned, making her spin again to look at him. Her legs almost fell out from under her when she stopped, but she gained her balance once again. The large grin across her face told him everything he needed to know.