Alice bounded down the stairs, running out to the garage where Rosalie was working on fixing up a car for Esme to use. It was the second one she had worked on, and she really enjoyed it. She was good at it; finally able to explore all the things she had been interested in but had never been allowed to work on. Alice stood and watched her for a moment, examining the careful way she worked with the metal so she wouldn't break it. Her newborn strength was gone, but she was till hyper-aware of how easy it would be for her to accidentally crush the engine.
"Can I help you?" Rosalie asked with a smile, using a nearby towel to wipe the oil off her hands. The towel itself was so covered in oil it was a wonder it still worked. But she threw the towel aside and walked to Alice, quickly kissing her forehead before grabbing her hand to pull her to the car.
"Did you figure out what was wrong with it?" Alice asked, examining the twisted metal that made no sense to her. Rosalie had tried to explain many times what all the different parts were, but Alice hadn't absorbed any of it. She was content to work on her designs while Rosalie worked, finding the gentle sounds and Rosalie's humming as she worked to be comforting.
"Of course I did. The engine wasn't connected properly. It's a wonder we got it here at all. But it should be fixed now," Rosalie answered, knowing Alice would prefer the simple explanation. "Where's Esme? I want her to try taking it out for a spin."
"Her and Carlisle are... occupied."
"Oh... it can wait."
"That's what I thought you'd say," Alice said with a giggle. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go hunting? It's been awhile for me, and I know you didn't go last time because you were so absorbed in that motorcycle...."
"Great idea! Let me change and I'll be right along!" Rosalie dropped the hood of the car and sped out of the garage, up to her room where she took off her dress and changed into a pair of pants and cotton t-shirt, both much easier to hunt in. She ran back downstairs and met up with Alice, who was waiting by the edge of the forest for her.
"I missed you," Alice said, taking her hand.
"I was gone, like 30 seconds."
"33, to be exact," Alice said, squeezing Rosalie's hand. Rosalie rolled her eyes, but bent down for a quick kiss before turning to run through the trees. Alice followed her, eventually taking her hand from Rosalie's so they could race. Rosalie tended to win, her long legs helping her take further and faster leaps.
They ran for a few minutes, each trying to determine the best place to start hunting. They had been going to the same place for a few weeks now, but didn't want to overhunt in the same area so they wanted to find somewhere else. They ran past their usual spot, looking for someplace nearby. They ran a few more miles before they found a spot with what seemed like an overpopulation of bears. It made sense; as it was early spring. Alice stopped running, and Rosalie looped back to her.
"Think this is a good spot?" Rosalie asked.
"Yes. I don't see any issues. And it seems like there are more around," Alice said, after taking a quick scan of her visions. She usually did this before a hunt, just to make sure there wouldn't be any issues. It made Rosalie more comfortable, and it was easiest.
"Awesome. Let the hunt begin!" Rosalie said, shifting into a hunting crouch. Alice watched her disappear further into the woods before taking a few steps away herself, and searching for her own prey. It was a short task; she didn't like to dwell on it too much. She found her prey quickly and pounced, drinking her fill and jumping away before the animal even knew what was happening. She debated catching another, but felt too full for it.
She went back to the clearing she had stopped with Rose, waiting to hear her finish. Rose typically took longer, especially since she hadn't had as much practice hunting as Alice had. She didn't need to, but Alcie couldn't stop herself from listening closely to make sure there were no sounds of trouble. She couldn't stop the worry. Before she knew it, Rosalie finished her hunt too and ran back to Alice.
"Feel better?" she asked, looking into Alice's golden eyes. Hers only had a slight orange tint to them by now; she was sure it would be gone anytime and her eyes would be the same beautiful gold. She couldn't wait.
"Especially now," Alice said with a smile. They hadn't been officially together long, and she could never erase the joy she felt that everything had worked out so perfectly. She held nothing but love for Rosalie, and was still overjoyed she felt the same way.
"Do you want to head back now?" Rosalie asked, again linking her hand through Alice's. Not a moment went by that they weren't touching in some way, especially when Rosalie initiated the contact. Alice was careful to not do anything without consent.
"Let's just walk around the woods for a little bit," Alice said, leaning into Rosalie's side. "It's such a nice day."
"Yes, it is." They began slowly walking through the forest, looking at the trees around them and anything else nearby. They occasionally spoke, talking about their plans in this new town and what else they wanted to do. Rosalie loved to hear about Alice's new designs, and Alize was happy to bounce ideas off her. She found a lot of inspiration in the color and shapes she could see in the woods, and she was discussing how she could incorporate them into a new collection of dresses with Rosalie.
"Do you hear that?" Alice asked, pausing.
"Hear what?" Rosalie asked, straining to listen. She had just been talking about the next car she wanted to work on when Alice interrupted her. But she couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary.
"I think someone's in trouble," Alice said. She could hear a bear roaring in the distance. Rosalie finally heard it too.
"They just woke up from hibernation, dear. I'm sure the animal's just angry." But then Rosalie immediately held her breath.
"That's a human. We have to help them!" Alice called, breaking into a run. Rosalie followed her, still holding her breath. She didn't trust her self control that strongly just yet.
"Alice, wait! We don't have to do anything," she said, quickly catching up to Alice.
"I didn't leave you alone. I won't leave him alone," Alice said, pausing just long enough to say that and then took off at a run again, in the direction of the sounds and smell of blood. Rosalie understood, running after her to see how she could help. They reached the man quickly; he was covered in his own blood and had at least a few broken bones. It was clear that he wasn't going to last much longer. He was cowering away from the much larger animal, unable to stop from trying his best to survive. He wouldn't go down without a fight. Rosalie took a quick breath to have enough air to speak, fighting against the urge to fight the bear to take the human for herself.
"What should we do?" Rosalie asked.
"Can you distract him? I'll go in to change him," Alice said, watching the scene to ensure they wouldn't be too late.
"Shouldn't we ask Carlisle first?" Rosalie asked, using the last of her air.
"I didn't ask him about you," Alice said, reaching over to squeeze her hand. Rosalie nodded, then leaped forward to fight the animal. Once it was distracted, Alice went to the man and knelt beside him. His injuries were different than Rosalie's had been, but were just as bad. Her visions told her there was no way he would survive this as a human. She bent down to bite his neck, hoping he would remain unconscious as long as he could. She stepped back from him, running to help Rosalie finish off the bear.
"Now what?" Rosalie asked, once the animal was long dead.
"We need to get him home. I can carry him," Alice said, walking back to the man and bending to pick him up. He was easily twice her size, but she carried him easily.
"I'll run ahead and warn Carlisle," Rosalie said.
"Sounds good. I shouldn't be too far behind," Alice said, adjusting so that she could run easier. The faster they got him to Carlisle, the better.
"I'll see you soon. I love you," Rosalie said, bending down to give Alice a quick kiss before she ran off through the trees, faster than she ever had before. Even in the midst of the tense situation, she couldn't hold back her smile. It was the first time Rosalie had said that to her.
Alice ran after her, hoping Carlisle would be ready for the sixth addition to their family.