the deed
"i will do what i want, thanks"
_____
"so there's only two?" althea questioned, her arms crossed over her chest in a closed-off manner. an eyebrow was raised as she scanned the room, locking eyes with those she hasn't spoken to yet. "what am i here for then?"
of course, she knew why she was there, but she worded the question differently so the others wouldn't feel as selfish. sure, the girl could fight, but it wasn't anything special in their world, and they should know others more experienced than her.
"tracking," was the simple answer provided to her. it came from the boyfriend of them human, their relationship continued to appear peculiar to althea. "james, alice mentioned him before, he has extreme tracking skills, and we need you to mimic them."
impersonation of others' abilities, that was her power. any vampire within a close enough radius of her could have their power imitated and used against them, or surrounding enemies. they didn't have to be right in front of her to work, and the better she knew them, the further they could push it.
say, for example, alice, she can read the future, but only at certain points. she can identify the small woman to an extent, meaning she won't have to be too close, but the connection would have to be prolonged for any visions. this can easily drain althea, forcing her to eat more often and keep a stable mind - abilities like hers aren't the most efficient for the older one.
edward, on the other hand, has a consistent ability that can be used at any time - mind reading. the girl most certainly will avoid him during her stay at the cullens, feeling it's an invasion of privacy. that's beside the point. althea would be able to use it at her own will, whenever she wanted with the golden-haired boy around, without him knowing. that was another perk, the victim was always clueless.
although, in this case, her presence seems rather useless. particularly during the current stages, she doesn't even know who this man is. how was she supposed to mimic his ability and track him, when he'll be close enough for a normal vampire to sense?
this is exactly why she soon regretted coming here. first it was to help a human against two vampires within unfair numbers anyways, then they can't even grasp the concept of her own power.
"i don't see how i could help with that," she queried, a surprisingly kind tone coming from her. althea wasn't known to be the nicest person on the planet, she's always lost her patience rather quickly. after centuries of pointless living, you soon come to a realisation that not everyone has great motives, and there is no point being welcoming to everyone you meet.
a small pause was initiated, and no one responded to her statement quickly. perhaps they didn't think she would question their plan, or perhaps it wasn't the initial plan in the first place. mind-reading wouldn't sound too bad at the moment, if her desire for blood wasn't growing stronger by the second.
there was also a human within metres of her.
"i was told your miming skills were the best around." speaking of bella, she decided to open her mouth for the first time in this encounter, and it wasn't the best wording either, "you track james, then we can deal with him."
a few side glances we're given to the brown-eyed girl, some more warning than others. plus, who was 'we'? it sure isn't her doing any of the work, or else, seeing a human rip off a vampire's head would be a sight to see.
"what she's saying is they're smart," alice butted in before bella could continue, "well, not james, the woman, victoria. they're working together, mates presumably too. she can sense danger nearby, and they know what places to avoid."
danger. she must've been the one nearby before within the woods. although, it doesn't seem she was close enough to althea to gain any identifiable information on her, nor was the tracker with her either. it doesn't make complete sense, the automatic pick-up of victoria's powers has never happened before, especially considering the girl hasn't been in contact with her. perhaps she wasn't paying attention, her burning body probably distracted althea enough to not notice another presence.
"i will not be able to get near him then," she broke herself out of her thoughts, making eye contact with the seer. it felt like someone was stabbing her head at the moment, and seeing a vampire with a headache is basically impossible. "so there is no use."
the guest was growing more irritable by the moment, and that was most likely evident among alice's husband, jasper. he could sense and control the emotions of those around him, plus her thirst wasn't helping either. the tense boy wasn't known to be good with his self-control.
she shifted weight between her feet, an urge to run outside became enticing as seconds ticked past. there was an awareness that her eyes were slowly turning into a darker red, but not the shade of black just yet.
they gazed at the floor, seconds longingly feeling like hours, as the room grew tenser. it hadn't been too long, less than a minute perhaps, and no one knew what to say.
"yes," the fatherly figure finally broke the silence, "of course there is, i wouldn't call you here for nothing."
it still seemed that way. the human didn't even appear grateful for this much help. she's got seven supernatural beings supporting her, not including althea. well, perhaps six, analysing the face of the blonde barbie in the household.
rosalie, the vampire with enhanced beauty, didn't appear to enjoy the company of bella. it could just be her natural resting face, but it was highly doubtful that's the case. when the brunette first looked at the blonde, sure, it wasn't completely kind, but it was nowhere near as menacing when rosalie gazed at the other.
"bella is part of our family now," he continued, earning a scoff from the blonde. that supports the previous assumption. "and we understand the probability of an attack is greater when we're not around," he paused for a moment, grasping a suitable way to continue, "they used to be a trio. the third, laurent, warned us after their first appearance about james - called him absolutely lethal."
"you mean to tell me he's insane too? is that part of his ability package?"
it better not be, who's to tell whether she can handle it.
carlisle took a deep breath in, not averting eye contact to make sure hers aren't black yet. "that's a low chance. he just enjoys games, tracking just heightens his thirst senses a whole lot more."
althea nodded her head, some relief washed through her body, "that's...good to know, but why couldn't this have been done without me?"
perhaps this was a way for her to get out of this, she didn't feel particularly needed in this context. she wanted more excitement, a feeling of worth for her to be there. helping for 'side quests' like these find less and less worth as you grow older, and their convincing skills weren't the best either.
"we tried to lead him away before, but he quickly realised she wasn't with us..." it was edward who answered the girl this time, standing up from his seat next to his partner, "it'll be a quick deed, and we'll owe you something after it's been done."
owe her something? maybe this could play through, after all, it would be nice to have such an influential coven having to give back to her.
"fine, but i'll hold your word on that," she exclaimed, an almost intimidating facial expression replacing her annoyed one.
the mind reader narrowed his eyes at althea, not expecting that to be such a deal accepter. it wasn't a worry for him in that moment, he only cared about his precious girlfriend to be safe. "alice and jasper will be taking bella to arizona tomorrow, and you-"
"hold your horses," the oldest cut him off, "let me go feed first, then we can discuss the plan while i have a fresh state of mind."
she went to turn towards the front door, but was instead stopped by a quiet 'wait' from alice.
"they're currently lingering in the forest area north of us, just as far before we can hear them - stay south," althea wasn't going to respond, but she was hit with more rules to disrupt her leave. "don't cross the river either, there are..." she widened her eyes, taking a side glance at the human, "...things there you don't want to cross paths with."
the brunette held a tight smile with an extremely small nod, just ready to get rid of the burning sensation in her throat.
"and please don't kill any of the locals."
this was really testing althea's patience, and the longer she stayed put in the residence, the more urge she had to tear apart the cause of all this.
with gritted teeth, she only spoke one last sentence before leaving, not allowing anyone to respond.
"i will do what i want, thanks."