First Blood | Ed. Cullen & B. Swan

Chapter 15

Simon sat next to Leah, unbothered by how close to the fire they were sitting. He knew that these people could rip him apart and burn his body, but he found that he wasn't worried. That night, he wasn't there as a vampire. He was there as Leah's friend, and he didn't care what anyone else thought.

"Are you sure this is okay? I really hate being a party crasher."

Simon glanced up in surprise when he heard Bella's voice, but he returned his attention to Leah and Seth as the two siblings bickered back and forth.

"Technically, you're a council meeting crasher," Jacob briefly corrected her, "You see? The council leaders; Dad, Quil's grandpa, and Sue Clearwater. She took over for Harry when he died."

Simon briefly shot Jacob a glare, but he doubted the young boy saw it. He was lucky he didn't say that any louder, or it would have ruined the exciting night for the Clearwater family.

"Okay, I should not be here," Bella spoke up as she came to a stop.

"You're alright, I thought...I mean, they thought it would be good for you to hear the histories. Besides, Leah decided to bring her leech friend with her."

"Who–" Bella began to ask, but her question cut off as she saw the back of someone very familiar. "Simon? Since when have they been friends?"

"Uh, a few days now I think. I didn't know Leah could still make friends. I almost feel bad for the guy. Besides, it's the first time Seth, Leah, and Quil will hear them, too. Other than the vamp, you are the first outsider. Ever."

Seth perked up when he heard Jacob's voice, instantly leaving to go greet him and Bella. Leah and Simon fell into a comfortable silence as they continued to sit next to each other. They were listening to everyone else's conversations, but Simon noticed how Leah's gaze seemed to keep drifting over to one man. Surprisingly, Simon found that he recognized the man. It was Sam Uley, the man that Charlie had said found Bella lost deep in the cold woods.

Bella and Jacob came over after a few minutes of talking to a couple of people. Bella sat down next to Simon, with Jake on the other side of her. Simon's thigh was pressed against hers, but he didn't reach for her hand like he so badly wanted to. Her hand moved to rest itself on his thigh, and Simon found his breath hitching as her hand rested right over one of the bite marks littering his thighs. If she knew, Simon figured that Edward had let their time together slip. Whether it had been an accident, Simon didn't know.

"The Quileutes have been a small tribe from the beginning," Billy began as everyone quieted down, "But we've always had magic in our blood. We were great spirit warriors, shape-shifters that transformed into the powerful wolf. This enabled us to scare off our enemies and protect our tribe.

"One day, our warriors came across a creature. It looked like a man, but it was hard like stone...and cold as ice. Our warriors' sharp teeth finally tore it apart, but only fire would completely destroy it.

"They lived in fear that the cold man was not alone. And they were right. She took her vengeance out on the village. Our elder chief, TahaAki, was the only spirit warrior left to save the tribe after his son was killed.

"TahaAki's third wife could see that he would lose. The third wife was no magical being, with no special powers but one...courage. The third wife's sacrifice distracted the cold woman long enough for TahaAki to destroy her. She saved the tribe.

"Over time, our enemies have disappeared. But one remains, the cold ones. Our magic awakens when they're near, and we sense it now. We feel the threat in our blood. Something terrible is coming, and we must all be ready, all of us."

***

"What's it like?" Simon found himself breaking the silence. "Being a werewolf? Er, no, a shape-shifter. Does it hurt? I'd imagine at least the first time would."

They were sitting in Leah's room, lounging across her bed. Simon was lying across the foot of it, staring up at the ceiling as Leah flipped through one of Seth's comic books.

"It's...kind of awful, actually. There's hardly any privacy. And it does. Or, at least, it did. Toward the beginning. You get used to the pain after you learn to control the transformation. It's still there, but your senses become numb to it. Without the feeling of the pain itself, it makes you feel incredibly uncomfortable."

"Damn," He muttered as he rolled on his stomach, beginning to watch her. "I'm sure it has some perks. I mean, at least you're not walking around in your own corpse. You still have some kind of soul."

Leah seemed to freeze, staring down at the pages of the comic. She seemed lost in her thoughts before she finally looked back up at him. She set the comic down, and moved to sit next to him.

"You don't think you have a soul?" She asked, the question coming out quieter than she probably meant for it to.

"My beliefs are...complicated, at best. I have more reasoning behind my claim, but I suppose I agree similarly to what Edward thinks. As a species, vampires are naturally damned."

"Care to enlighten me?"

"I..." He trailed off, not believing that he would ever be discussing this with someone, except maybe Edward. "The creation of our species is still mainly just speculation. But it's believable, to me, anyway. It ties into what I believed when I was human; when I still had my soul. In the Old Testament, there were a few references to Wormwood. The word is usually used to describe a type of herb, but it also correlates with grief and bitterness.

"Wormwood is a fallen angel that is said to bring plagues to this world. Vampirism is believed to be one of them. Being created by a fallen angel makes us naturally unholy. Plus, we are dead. Our body is dead and only functions due to the demonic energy that we possess. Our hearts no longer beat, so our souls no longer stay with us. Fire kills us because it purges us of our darkness."

"Wow..." Leah murmured, shock bleeding through her words. "I don't think I've ever heard an explanation behind why vampires are damned. Or killed. Does it bother you?"

Simon stayed silent for a few seconds before he shook his head.

"Not as much as it used to. Less than I thought it would. I may have had a soul before, but I would still have been damned either way. The people from my era made that very clear to me when the source of my attraction slipped out. It was seen as unnatural to them, so that made me unholy. Just by existing. Just by longing for someone different than what was expected of me. That's not something that bothers me anymore, though. It's a different era, and I think I'm liking this one better."

"I would too," Leah said with a grin, "We have waffles!"

Simon's brows furrowed in confusion as he sat up. He stared at her for a minute, frowning slightly as he realized her comment was serious.

"Leah," He spoke, "Waffles were created before I was even born."

Her face blazed pink at his words, but she shrugged her shoulders as she smiled at her close friend.

"Whoops."