Latibule s. clearwater

Introduction

The Quileute boys were unruly pretty much every day but today. 

An uncommon silence loomed over them like a nimbus cloud - much like the kind the constantly covered Forks - waiting to burst at any moment. The death of Harry Clearwater brought heartache to each member of the pack despite some of them not knowing him well. Today especially being particularly difficult as they walked with their youngest and most recent shifter to pick up flowers for the funeral. 

It wasn't easy. Many times one of the boys would have to stop another from saying something stupid in fear of making it harder on Seth. His usual smile was replaced with a deep frown and they could feel the despondency dripping off of him like sap. 

Seth opened the door to the flower shop with a ring of a bell. It was quaint but there were flowers and plants of all kinds, the closest being some kind of white flower variegated with blue shapes on the petals. Looking up he could see a blinking light on the desk before it shut off and a girl around his age came out from the back. 

She was wearing a simple maroon sweater and jeans, long brownish hair that fell into gentle waves flowed down her back. Seth watched as some pieces fell into her face and she huffed quietly, pushing them behind her ears only for them to fall back once she leaned over to check something on the desk. The closer he got he could see the soft freckles that danced across her nose and cheeks.

Making their way up to the counter, Seth cleared his throat to speak. "We're here for a pickup." The girl looked up at him, her head tilted in an almost concentrated way before her eyes met his, and right away Seth could feel it. 

The undeniable pull, the shift in his surroundings as he stared dazedly into the girl's eyes. It only lasted a moment before Embry and Quil started hollering and cheering on the younger boy. 

She glanced back and forth over all the boys who had begun talking, trying to focus on one thing and make it out but coming up empty each time. 

"Um, excuse m-" still they weren't paying attention and had now begun to pat Seth on the back, making her grow more and more uncomfortable, "Excuse me, under what na-"

"Guys! She's trying to talk!" 

"What's the name for your order?" 

Her voice was mellifluous, dancing through one ear and out the other before settling in his head as if to engrave itself in his memory. Seth began to stutter, "Clearwater. Sue Clearwater. Not me, I'm Seth. Clearwater." She nodded, responding with a quick 'Hazel' before moving to the back to grab the flowers. 

He noticed how quietly she spoke, as if scared to raise her voice louder than it already was. He also couldn't help but notice when she started handing them the flowers how her sleeve rode up on her wrist, uncovering a small tattoo of some kind flower and the name 'Elliot' above it, causing a harsh tug at his heart. 

They said goodbye and the entire way home was disruptive again, the boys constantly talking about how they couldn't believe how Seth had gotten an imprint so fast after shifting, and how pretty Hazel had been. Approaching the house they met Leah outside who helped bring stuff inside, overhearing them yammer on about how her brother had gotten an imprint. 

"You imprinted? On who?" 

"This girl from the flower store. She was really pretty, kinda quiet and she stood there a little confused," Jared responded. 

"You mean Hazel?" Leah asked in shock. Seth nodded, not quite fully comprehending what just happened. "Oh god Jared you're such an ass. She was confused because she couldn't understand you guys when you were probably being obnoxious and talking over each other like always." Jared stared at her blankly, still not understanding what Leah was getting at. 

"She's deaf you moron." 

So I just want to make a HUGE disclaimer that I am really going to try to be as careful as possible not to offend anyone with the topic of her being deaf. I have done some research so that it will at least make sense. Basically, I will explain now so it's less confusing later. She is basically going to be a level 1 on the scale of being deaf. So she CAN hear some things, but she has to rely on reading lips and sign language for the most part because although she can kind of hear your voice, it's so muted and quiet to her it's like she's doing that headphone challenge thing. Its as if you were mumbling really quietly and she had really loud music playing headphones on if that makes sense. So she reads your lips and uses sign language with those who know how to. I hope that makes sense and her character will go more in depth about in later conversations. 

For future reference, when she is speaking to someone in sign language when someone who doesn't know how to understand it is around, just so its easier for y'all to tell when she or whoever she is talking to is signing and or when they are speaking , "It will be written like this."