Still In Bloom ↠ Twilight ✓

23 ; a time before it was too late

Here's the thing: As Wallace opens his eyes, dark blue irises staring upwards at the tan fabric of the overhead ceiling of the tent, he feels a weight cover his chest. A heavy, overbearing weight that has no discernible origin.

Beside him, Bella's face is still pressed against the side of his throat, tiny puffs of breath ghosting across Wallace's jawline. Wallace counts to ten exhales before he's diverting his eyes away from the top of the tent and looks around the tent to see he and Bella are the only occupants.

Outside Wallace can hear Jacob and Edward's voices. They're in the distance and as Wallace angles his head to eavesdrop, that's when Bella seems to awaken. The brunette snuffling faintly, before she's peering her head up to look at Wallace with sleep tousled hair.

"What time is it?" She asks, and Wallace shimmies his hand underneath the blankets for his phone and pulls it out with chilled hands. Revealing that the time is a quarter after seven, so the morning sun had only been up for two hours. Neither of them comments on the twelve missed calls from Shelby.

Bella grumbles beside him then questions, "And Edward?"

"Outside," Wallace replies and sits upwards.

Bella continues to lay amongst the pillows, brown hair a halo as she seems to be sucking up the warm blankets Wallace had left with his absence. Wallace scans her form for a moment and watches as Bella's forehead crinkles.

"What's wrong?" Bella asks, then adds, "Besides the obvious."

Wallace finds a tiny huff of amusement leaving his mouth at Bella's words and then bends downwards so he can kiss her temple. "I just feel a bit nauseous. It'll go away once this is all over,"

Bella nods her head, lifting a hand to gently run her thumb over the inside of the wrist Wallace has propped himself up on before she's tucking her body back into the covers. "I'm going to lay here for a bit longer. Get warmer,"

Wallace nods, tucking the blankets around Bella so she's stuck in a cocoon. He ignores the chill of his bones as he moves, opening the tent's door and stepping out into the crisp Washington air. Instantly all Wallace can register is a wide expanse of white. The snow covering every available surface, and only disrupted because of Jacob and Edward's footprints.

As Wallace leaves the tent he catches sight of two overgrown wolves. One a dark tawny and the other a softer brown. Beside them, Edward is speaking, his bronze hair flickering in the pale aesthetic around them. Edward glances upwards once he senses Wallace coming near, golden eyes locking onto his approaching form as Wallace rubs his hands together and pants warm air from his mouth onto his knuckles.

"Hello beauty and the...beasts," Wallace remarks, sparring his glance towards the two wolves at his side. He moves close enough to Edward so their shoulders can't move an inch without bumping into one another.

"We were discussing fight options," Edward remarks, turning his head to gaze at Wallace. "You should go back to sleep. Get all the energy you can."

"I'm too awake to sleep," Wallace states, and thinks about the knot in his stomach and Edward's eyes turn from normal into bright orbs of concern. Wallace opens his mouth, quick to appease, "I could just be hungry. Don't get worked up over it."

Despite Wallace's words, Edward moves towards the backpack he had removed the tent from and pulls out a granola bar. His pale hand extending it towards Wallace and insisting whenever Wallace hesitates before taking it. The human male unwrapping the treat before taking a bite, ignoring the way the taste of the peanut butter makes his stomach roll uneasily.

Edward gets to speaking with Jacob after that, reading the wolf's mind and commenting on whatever Jacob says in his thoughts with verbal rebuttals. Halfway through the talk Bella emerges from the tent, a hat tucked over her head that does nothing to dimish the pink of her cheeks and nose from the frothy air.