Writer in the Dark - J. HALE

70 - ɪᴍᴍᴏʀᴛᴀʟ ᴄʜɪʟᴅ

ATHENA WALKED down the stairs, having just finished watching a movie with Rosalie and headed towards the music coming from the piano. She smiled as she entered the room, watching as Edward taught his daughter how to play. Upon walking further into the room, she sensed a slight change in the atmosphere. Carlisle seemed awfully concerned about something but his expression took that of a chilled person. She took a quick glance into Jake's mind, figuring out what was going on just as she sat down in one of the chairs in the room. She frowned as she opened her book up, thinking over why Irina had acted such a way upon seeing Renesmee.

Then, as she flicked the page to a new chapter in the book, Alice took in a breath as she fell into a vision. Athena looped into her mind, seeing the vision, just as the vase of flowers in her hand clattered to the floor. She watched as the flashes of vampires clad in black robes with symbols around their necks walked through the snow, surrounded by so many others with the same focused look in their eyes. Her book slammed shut as the vision ended, panic flooding through her veins so intently that she couldn't block out from Jasper. His head snapped in her direction, looking at her with such concern instead of looking at Alice. "Alice?" Luna asked quietly, having run to her wife's aid.

"The Volturi, they're coming for us," Alice paused, letting the news sink in for everyone in the room as she blinked away the remnants of the vision. "Aro, Caius, Marcus, the Guard. And Irina." As she finished, Renesmee ran into her mother's arms, which were clamped over her protectively.

"Why? What did Irina see in the woods?" Carlisle asked, the calm demeanour he had plastered on beginning to falter. Meanwhile, Athena started at the floor, trying not to show the fear that she knew would be pouring from her eyes. The collective force of the Volturi was the one thing she was scared of, not because she didn't think she could handle them but because there were so many awful things associated with them in her life.

"Ness was catching snowflakes," Jake answered with a furrowed brow.

The room fell silent, no one sure of what was going on and why the Volotri would hunt them down this way. Then, it clicked in her head as he fell out of a memory of the terrors of Italy. She half-whispered, coming to the conclusion in her mind as she spoke, "They must believe she's an immortal child."

"Immortal child?" Bella echoed, looking confused instead of concerned like all the others were.

"The immortal children were very beautiful. Enchanting even, mortals would love them just by a single glance at them. Some of our kind too. But their development was frozen at the age they turned so they could not learn how to restrain themselves or how not to destroy an entire village of mortals with a single tantrum. And the Volturi were forced to intervene, killing these children without a second thought," Carlisle explained briefly, not going too much in-depth as it was truly too much to explain in such a tense environment.

"The Denali's mother made an immortal child, Aro used to talk of it quite frequently," Athena added with a soft sigh, trying not to think too deeply about his very vivid description of the brutal evening.

"Renesme is nothing like those children," Bella argued, going into protective motherly mode as she scowled. "She grows every single day."

"Aro has enough proof in Irina's thoughts," Edward replied calmly though everyone could tell he was anything but.

"So we fight," Jake responded, sitting forward in his chair as if that would prepare him for a battle against the Vampire broken government. Athena sighed, not believing how quickly he went into battle mode and he didn't even seem to be worried about the outcome of it all.

"Their offensive weapons are too powerful," Jasper replied, still looking only to Athena. "No one can stand against Jane."

"Or Alec," Alice added, clutching Luna's hand a little tighter than before.

"Well, then we convince them."

"They're coming to kill us, not to talk," Emmett stated, clicking his knuckles like he tended to do in these circumstances.

"No, you're right. They won't listen to us. But maybe others can convince them," Edward theorized, looking over to Carlilse instead of his family. "You have friends all over the world."

Carlile turned to Athena, waiting for her to look up from the ground upon noticing the lack of conversation in the room. Once she did look up, confusion because of the sudden stopping of talking written all over her face, "Do you think it'll work?" he asked, knowing about her background with the Volotri and how she was a part of the inner workings like he was.

"There's a slight possibility," she replied softly, shrugging. "Aro's not one for large confrontations that with powerful vampires or ones that he wants for the coven. He values self-preservation above all wrongdoings," she scoffed, being reminded of all the things in the past that he had done to preserve himself. He had even backstabbed Caius once or twice. Carlisle nodded in full agreement then turned back to Edward.

"I won't ask them to fight," Carlisle continued, shaking his head at the very thought.

"Not fight, witness," Edward enthused, clearly beliving the idea would work more than most people were.

"We can ask this of our friends," Esme added with a convincing smile. From there, the room fell into plans being made amongst the family. Athea however was not needed so she walked out of the room, taking all the methods she could et her hands on to slow her thoughts. The music didn't work at all even after the full hour of listening. She just ouldm]t not focus on the Volroi and all the terrors with it, there was no escaping it. With an aggravated and frustrated sigh, she wandered outside and tried to make sense of all the thrown together information all at once. She just wanted to escape the house for a little while "Luna!" she yelled towards the open window in her and Alice's bedroom. Seconds later, Luna poked her head out of the window and grinned.

"Is it rock throwing time?" she laughed loudly, tapping her fingers against the window frame. Athena had originally just wanted to go to a bar or something but now the rock-throwing idea had been placed in her mind, she couldn't think of anything better.

"Time for the experience of your life," she laughed just as Luna leapt out of the window, volting the frame as she landed mere inches away from where Athena stood.

They ran to the nearest hill, talking the entire way until they reached the very top of the hill. Athena immediately picked up the nearest rock, being a small boulder, and threw it far off the top of the cliff - where she knew that there were no mortals at all. Luna initially laughed but then picked up a rock herself, throwing it in the same direction. She listened to it land then sighed in relief, turning back around to Athena, 'Okay I get it now. This is nearly as cathartic as crying, very nearly."

"I told you," she chuckled, picking up a few smaller stones to throw as the anger built in her stomach. The oncoming arrival of all the Voltotir had her beginning to worry about something she hadn't thought about for a long while. Something that was a lot more concerning for her than the looming threat on her life. Confrontation.