claudia | embry call

nineteen : return to the meadow

A huff of relief left Claudia's mouth, or snout. She still hadn't quite figured out what to call things when she was in her wolf form. If she had counted her days correctly, it had been ten days since her confrontation with Riley, and her first phase. After the adrenaline had worn off, and she was back to rational thinking rather than relying on instinct, she'd found it hard to adjust to her wolf form. Though, ten days wandering through the woods and hunting everyday definitely helped her improve. She'd gotten better at controlling her phasing as well, spending an entire day practicing. She hadn't been able to smell or hear any vampires near her, let alone Riley and Victoria, so she finally began making her way home.

And, finally just after dawn, she'd come across the first 'Welcome to Forks' sign on the highway. She was anxious to get home, so she risked cutting through town to get there faster. Luckily, Forks seemed to still be sleeping, making it easy for her to cut through to the woods where she could really run. Eventually the smell of sea air hit her, and she pushed herself harder and further. She knew that she had to be nearing her home when she caught the smell of something, something extremely familiar, so she slowed, and phased back. She'd taken to tying her clothes around her ankle-remembering how the pack always used to to do that. One thing about the pack that she couldn't quite figure out, though, was the telepathy.

Jake, Embry and Quil had all told her they immediately heard the voices and thoughts of the others when they phased, but she had yet to hear a single thing. She sighed, pushing the thought from her head as she finished pulling her clothes back on. She moved carefully forward, following the smell but preparing to keep her distance if it was a human. She still didn't know how well she'd fare around them, even if she only ever ate and drank animals now. The trees began to thin and memories began to spark as she moved slowly forward. Eventually, she realized where she was heading. The meadow. Her meadow, Embry's meadow.

She hurried along now, stopping behind a tree and peering out. Her breath caught in her throat, and she realized why the scent was so familiar. Embry was laying in the middle of the meadow on his back, staring up at the sky. She heard quiet sniffling, and her heart sank. He was crying. A breeze rolled past her but she barely noticed, until Embry sat up. She froze, watching him get to his feet and spin around. He looked anxious, but curious. She hid behind her tree before he could see her, unsure of herself. Her time alone had given her nothing but time to think, and think she did. One thought that had appeared, and hadn't left since she first thought it, was why hadn't the pack smelled Victoria and saved her? Why had she been turned in the first place? It didn't make sense to her, she couldn't figure it.

"Hello?" Embry called. She couldn't help but shake her head, as if he hadn't seen every horror movie ever. Even if she didn't like them, Claudia still absorbed them. The first person to die is always the one who called hello. "Who's there?" She didn't move, trying to figure out what to do. Should she reveal herself? Should she run away? She hadn't considered running into Embry at all-maybe Sam or Jake-but not Embry. "Claudia...?" Her breath caught in her throat. "Claudia, is that you? It sure smells like you." She almost laughed. Then, she sighed, knowing what she had to do. With another deep breath, she stepped out from her tree, and into the clearing. Embry gasped, and she stepped into the morning light, her skin illuminating in the sun. "Claudia..." Embry's voice wasn't above a whisper.

"Hi Embry." Embry looked like he was about to faint. Another breeze rolled past her towards Embry, and she saw him cringe.

"How...you..." He couldn't speak, taking a minute to collect himself. "How?"

"How indeed?" She couldn't help it as the anger bubbled to the surface. "If I remember correctly, you were on patrol that day, weren't you?"

"But we...we didn't smell anything, I..." Embry seemed to process. "Are you...?"

"Kinda." She shrugged, and he looked confused. "I was, and I still am, in a way. But my heart kept beating, I still have blood in my veins." Embry listened for a moment, and eyes widened when he finally picked up the faint thumping. "I also phased, just over a week ago. Saved my life." She sucked in a breath, hesitating. The anger bubbled again. "Unlike you." She couldn't stop herself.

"We looked, Claudia." Embry stumbled forward a few steps. "I was out there everyday for a month, looking. But you...you were just gone."

"Well I'm back." She hissed lightly. She heard movement in the trees to their right so she jumped a few feet away, now on high alert. Two wolves emerged from the trees, both very familiar. Jacob let out a low whine while Quil barked happily, and she could see his tail wagging. It didn't fail to bring a small smile to her face, knowing her family was still okay.

"Guys..." Embry said lowly, his eyes not leaving Claudia. "Phase, now. This is important." The wolves looked at each other before slipping back into the trees. In less than a minute, Jake and Quil had joined Embry.

"What happened to you, Claudia?" Jake asked. "You look...totally different."

"She got turned." Embry said, and Claudia's eyes finally met his. He continued to speak but she didn't hear, just saw his lips moving. A pleasant warmth filled her body, not like the terrible burning she'd become so accustomed to. Things seemed to shift, though nothing looked different, and she understood what was happening. Just like Embry had on her all those months ago, Claudia had imprinted on Embry.

"Woah." Quil's voice was the first she heard, and she looked over at him. "So you're like, a half vampire half wolf? That's so cool." He smiled. "Dude, wait'll the Cullen's hear about this. There's no way that newborn army will stand a chance!"

"Wait, you know about the army?" Claudia stepped forward, her eyes widening. "How?"

"Bella figured it all out." Jake said. "Told her bloodsucker, and now we're helping them out in taking all the other bloodsuckers down." He thought for a moment. "No offense."

"You know about it, too?" Embry asked.

"Of course I do." Claudia fired back. "Victoria kept me locked in the same tiny house as her for two months straight, I know everything." An idea then came to Claudia's mind. "I have to go."

"Wait, no!" Embry shouted. "Don't. Please, stay!"

"I..." Claudia sighed. She was still mad at them, it was really their fault that she had turned. But she couldn't say that, she knew it was too harsh. "I don't belong here anymore, on the rez."

"Where are you going, then?" Jake asked. "I bet Sam would let you come back, just stay come on. We'll get him to come here."

"No, it's..." Claudia bit her lip. "Too many humans." The three of them seemed to understand. "Jake, where do the Cullen's live?"