Under The Spotlight 3 (Jasper Hale)

Chapter 13: Training

(Warning, this is a bit of a long chapter)

I watched Emmett soar through the sky before crashing into the ground. Jasper stood proudly and Jackson pat Jaspers shoulder eagerly. Today Jasper and Jackson taught us to fight. Emmett stood up quickly, a growl ripping through his throat.

"Again!" He yelled. Bella and Edward then pulled in, causing me to bop from leg to leg, popping my knees back and forth in excitement. Jasper rested a hand on one of my knees, keeping it from bouncing and smirking at me. God that smirk. I heard Edward almost puke and he turned to me with a glare. It instantly softened at the memories that would forever lay beneath the surface as I looked at him. The pain, the loss, the hardened worry that I could loose him again. The wolves suddenly brushed through the trees, their fur coming out of the strange camouflage it held. There was more than I remembered, ten wolves.

"Welcome!"  Carlisle called to the wolves.

"Thank you," Edward said flatly. I recognized the tone as Sam's, as if he was speaking through Edward. "We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self control," Samward (Sam Edward) said.

"That is more than enough," Carlisle nodded. "My son Jasper has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style," Carlisle said. Jasper shifted his weight and pulled myself into his shoulder, lightly pressing my lips to neck, reminding him I was here, he was safe.

"They are different from you?" Samward questioned.

Carlisle answered with a nod, Jasper tensed his muscles as a wolf came bounding up. The wolf tackled me and I shreeked, Jasper looked just about ready to murder whoever it was, but stopped as my face was coated in slobber. A rough tongue painted my face, causing me to gasp for breath and writhe around in giggles.

"Seth ew! Your a human too you big oaf!" I laughed. Seth jumped off of me, butt high and tail wagging. Sam barked loudly, causing Seth's tail to fall between his legs and ears to tilt down. He turned and walked back to the wolves, casting me a longing glance before disappearing in their midst.

"He still is waiting for an answer," Edward informed. Jasper yanked me from the ground, wiping my face and scrunched his nose in disgust at the smell.

"They are very different. They are all very new - only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you. It shouldn't be too difficult. The numbers may go down, the new ones fight amongst themselves often," Carlisle explained.

"We are willing to take more than our share," Samward said.

"We'll see how it plays out," Carlisle smiled. It was silent for exactly four of Bella's heartbeats, before Jasper took a step forward, with Jackson trailing on his side. When his calm presence left me I felt so many emotions at once it was hard to deal with. Jasper had extracted all the terror the information brought, all the anxiety of failing, everything bad. And I had always counted on him to do so. Now I felt empty, scared, and embarrassed.

Jasper shifted, glancing at Edward then at me. He seemed to be uncomfortable, feeling my emotions roll off me in waves he couldn't control. He bounced from vamp to heel in his shoes before coughing awkwardly and taking another step forward.

"Carlisle's right," Jasper's voice wrung through the silent clearing. "They'll fight like children. The two most important things to remember are first, never let them get their arms around you and second, don't go for the obvious kill. They'll be expecting that. As long as you come at them from the side and keep moving, they'll be too confused to respond effectively. Emmett?" Jasper called. The entire time his gaze shifted from me to the wolves, never staying focused on one point, like he wasn't sure who he should be addressing.