Writer in the Dark - J. HALE

74 - ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴜᴘ

THE BASIS of every day was the same. In the morning, spend time at the Cullen house. In the afternoon, she would head either to Billy's, if he was home, or to her own house for a few hours until she and Benji would spend most of the night in the forest - just talking and catching up. Somedays went quicker than others and somedays she missed the missing people so much that the day dragged unbearingly. She worried for each of them, the not knowing panic took a root in her brain and as the hours passed the plant grew even more.

The one thing that kept her mind away from the looming battle, was the various and numerous emails from Pria and the producers that she had chosen for the movie. She was a lot more involved this time around, more than she had been for any other movie that her books had produced. She would get question after question as the writers worked on the script and had a huge say in the people who would play the characters. She had chosen one person just upon seeing their picture, the spitting image of Sunny in her mind.

With it all, she barely had the time to hunt so when Benjamin suggested that their walk talk a small side track so she could regain the colour in her eyes, she practically jumped onto the idea. So the two of them walked through the forest, talking away while a quarter of her mind was searching for something to sink her teeth into - to take control of the thirst that she now realised was ever so present in her throat.

"I have been thinking about going vegetarian recently," Benjamin announced after the two of them had jumped down a smaller hill, heading to a tree that she had planted and wanted to show him. The beautiful one with all the sporadic branches, with the branch that was perfect to lie on and read a book in. Something which she had done once or twice before. She even read there in the rain, using a coat as a little cover for the book while she let the rain cover the rest of her. It hadn't rained in Forks since Jasper left, just got colder as Christmas got nearer and nearer.

She raised a brow, surprised at the information before she asked, How recently?"

"For the past like twenty years," he replied adding to her overall surprise at the idea. Then he sighed deeply, looking up into a canopy, "I just don't really like killing people." Benjamin had always had a flair for the dramatic, just like she did on some occasions.

"If you chose to do it I'm more than happy to help but I won't push you into anything," she smiled, knowing that without someone helping her along with the process she wouldn't have gotten through it at all.

"Maybe after the battle and all," he replied halfheartedly, looking around the gap in the forest that they had just walked into.

"Sounds go-" she cut herself off as she heard the soft pattering of a deer running across the field. Within seconds, she darted off in the direction hunting it down without much effort at all - she was well practised after all. She killed it off in the most human way, like always, then filled her yearning stomach with the blood. Benjamin arrived at the scene just as she nearly drained the animal dry. She paused, reluctantly so, and looked up after sensing his intrigue. "Wanna try some?" she laughed, wiping blood from the very corner of her lip,

He shrugged and walked over to the animal, reluctantly drinking the minimal amount of blood left in the animal before he pulled away before he grimaced severely, "It's sour."

"That goes away after a while," she laughed, dusting her knees of grass before she carefully moved the animal into the bushes, amongst the flowers that grew there. Then they began walking again, talking a rather slow trek through the forest towards the tree. Upon reaching it, she over dramatically gestured to the tree and smiled, "It's gorgeous isn't it?"

"Very much so," he agreed, running his hand across the surface of the bark as she climbed up one side of the tree, walking onto the branches.

"Anything interesting happen in the last sixty, is it sixty? Years that I haven't seen you?" she asked, having realised they hadn't discussed that quite yet.

"Not particularly, given the whole Amun being an overprotective coven leader," he sighed as he sat down next to her on the branch. "Though Tia and I did get married."

"You did?" she exclaimed, fully turning in his direction, "How come I wasn't invited!" she laughed, falsely offended.

"I tried! You just weren't where you said you would be," he laughed too, having searched for her for a good few days. Athena suddenly hated the odd circumstance that lead her to leave where she had been at the time, more than she had before. "Plus it was only a small wedding."

"That's nicer though," she smiled softly, imagining their wedding as a rather beautiful affair."I definitely prefer smaller weddings."

He raised a brow, "With the grouchy man?"

"He's not grouchy!" she quickly defended as Benjamin only laughed, knowing he had struck a nerve.

"He is with me," he shrugged and this time it was Athena's turn to laugh. He turned and read her expression, not quite sure what she found so funny. Athena certainly wasn't laughing about what Jasper had said about Benjamin a few days before he left, certainly not. "What?" he asked, awkwardly laughing along with her.

"Don't worry," she grinned, struggling not to laugh even more at the look of confusion plastered on his face.

He sighed agitatedly, "Atti you can't do that."

"Yes I can Benny," she grinned again.

"Don't be annoying."

"You started it!" she exclaimed, looking around their surrounding area. "Thank Lucifer, no water sources," she laughed, only furrowing his brow even more.

"I dislike you," he grumbled, hopping down from the tree.

She raises a brow as she landed next to him, "More than Amun?"

He remained silent, thinking about it for a moment, "No."

"Good, because otherwise I would riot," she chuckled as they began walking again, not with any specific direction in mind.

He laughed, fully imagining the situation as they jumped over a large rock. "Wouldn't surprise me."

"I don't have a tendency to riot?" she replied in complete confusion, wondering if she had painted that picture of herself.

"No but your very opinionated, in a good way of course."

She raised a brow then shrugged, "I did yell at Amun that one time."

He laughed but not like before, this was full bully laughter that would be ever so painful if those receptors still worked. "Tia and I discuss that more often than you'd think," he managed to get out through the laughter. She laughed too then, remembering the bewildered look on Tia's face when she had started the argument with Amun all those years ago. Their laughter echoed through the forest and did not stop till the very early hours of the morning when Athena returned home to a weirdly eerie house that had different energy within it than the one she left it in.