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Post by dev on Apr 11, 2009 0:22:19 GMT -5
There are times when a vampire comes to conflict with himself. He may hate what he is, or he may hate what he does. Maybe he just hates in general. For Devonny, none of these were the case at the moment.
No, the only thing she hated at the moment was the fact that she could not hunt where she currently was. It was not her land. Forks had been claimed by the Cullens long ago, and she respected that. She would not jeopardize their safety in favor of her own. That was not her way.
So instead of hunting in a traditional manner, she decided to go to the mountains, to give the vegetarianism a shot. She knew that she wouldn't be fully satisfied, but she had to do something in order to hold herself over until she could get somewhere where she could hunt without getting anyone into trouble.
It hadn't taken her long to drain the blood of a mountain lion. The beast went down easily, even with its fight. The blood wasn't the greatest, but it would make due for the time being. Devonny was a skilled hunter, and the large cat didn't even get the chance to take a swipe at her. She remained unscathed. No slashes to her clothing, and no blood to prove what she'd been up to. It wasn't a lot, but she'd hunt again later. Instead, now she needed a break. Sitting down near a cave, she could see for miles. Houses, clouds, trees, roads... Everything. Though snow covered the better amount of the giant rock, the air felt warm to Devonny. Though, she supposed, most things would.
She thought about getting up again, but something was compelling her to stay. Something... She was almost at peace. Somethings were left unsolved, but oddly, they didn't bother her at the present moment. And she was thankful for that.
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Post by Bella Cullen on Apr 11, 2009 0:32:07 GMT -5
Bella needed to get away; away from everything in the family that was going down right then. With Lexie being pregnant and Jasper being pretty apathetic about the whole thing, she needed a break from the constant tension of the Cullen mansion. Quickly she just ran from the back door of the mansion to the mountains nearby, as far as she could run without going into a totally different state. Once she was as far away as she could manage, she stopped and fell to the ground in anger and frustration.
For once, she was glad that Renesmee was on the other side of the world on her honeymoon so that she didn't have to see any of this. Bella beat the ground with her fist in anger and hurt; hurt for Alice over Jasper's betrayal, anger that he was not really taking responsibility like he should regardless of whether it was really his fault or not. Her heart wept for Alice; her dear sister who deserved better than that. It was taking every cell of her self-control not to go back and beat the living daylights out of Jasper. Every fiber of her being wanted to kill him for what he had done to Alice, but she knew it wouldn't do any good at all.
Thankfully, Bella was alone and no one in her family was around to see her display of such anger. Or at least that's what she thought...
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Post by dev on Apr 11, 2009 0:48:21 GMT -5
The smell hit her first. The familiar smell of a vampire; death and rot. To humans, the smell was sweet. It would lure the human in. To another vampire, it was like smelling a grave. But after living with so many for so long, one gets used to it. Devonny turned in the direction of the smell, still not seeing. She stood and rounded a large boulder, and that's when she spotted the other vampire. It was none other than Bella, her goddaughter.
She watched in silence as Bella hit the ground. It shook slightly beneath Devonny's feet. Deciding to make her presence know, she cleared her throat. "Bella? Is everything alright?" she asked, taking a few steps toward her.
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Post by Bella Cullen on Apr 11, 2009 0:58:10 GMT -5
Bella heard a clearing of someone's throat to the side of her. Looking up, she saw Devonny coming toward her. Quickly, she stood up and smoothed her t-shirt and jeans. "Sorry, I didn't think anyone was here," she apologized quickly. "It's just a bunch of family stuff that's getting to me."
Yeah, that's the understatement of the year Bella, she chasetised herself. But, she didn't know if Devonny would understand where she was coming from or if she would even want to know all that had happened in the Cullen family. Even their relationship was complicated and mostly misunderstood on Bella's end. Devonny was her godmother, but she wasn't really willing to accept that yet.
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Post by dev on Apr 11, 2009 1:06:12 GMT -5
Devonny nodded. "Well, don't be sorry, there's nothing worse than a sorry vampire. And that, my dear, you are not." she said. "But if you were to apologize, there's no reason for it. I can tell you are distressed." Devonny made a gesture, as if asking Bella to sit down again. She sat as well, a silent way of saying she'd listen to whatever Bella had to say. Devonny knew stress hit all vampires differently, as it did humans. She also knew that because of the extent that vampires can use their brains, it was easy to make it fill completely with whatever was bothering them at the present. "Now, tell me what troubles you."
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Post by Bella Cullen on Apr 11, 2009 1:16:18 GMT -5
Bella sighed and sat down with Devonny. For someone she barely knew, she found her to be rather motherly, sort of like Esme in a way. There were days when Bella missed Renee', her scatterbrained, albeit adoring mother. In truth, no one could replace Renee' in her heart, but Esme had done a wonderful job at being a mother to her all of these years. Then Devonny stepped in out of nowhere, a blind link to her past as someone who knew her mother long ago. Maybe this was fate's way of telling her something.
Breathing deeply, Bella began to share a little of her worries. "I guess you would say that this all started when Crystal came home..." she said and proceeded to tell Devonny about how Alice left, leaving the family devostated. Then gaining two more members when her cousins, Lexie and Veronica, came to live with them. Continuing on, she spoke of Crystal's betrayal and ultimately going back to Will, which they still had yet to take care of. Finally, she ended with Jasper's infidelity, Lexie's pregnancy, and Alice's heartbreak. "Yet, Jasper is being completely apathetic to the situation, putting off all the blame on the fact that he could not control Lexie's emotions and blacked out. Now, I'm the one cleaning up the mess, taking care of my pregnant cousin, and dealing with keeping my husband from killing Jasper for what he's done. Not to mention I just had my only child get married."
A weight had been lifted from Bella's chest as she spilled everything to Devonny. For too long she had been holding it all in, trying not to explode on various family members or go completely insane.
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Post by dev on Apr 11, 2009 1:22:52 GMT -5
Devonny listened intently to everything that Bella was saying. She'd been through so much in such a short time. "It sounds like you've had a very trying couple of days," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind Bella's ear that had fallen forward. "I have a few questions to ask, so I may understand the situation further." She took a deep breath, knowing she didn't really need it, but she figured the few seconds it took for her to do it that Bella would be able to answer without stressing too much. "Now if my memory serves, the Volturi stepped in when you had Renesmee. She was a first of her kind. How does Lexie feel toward her child?" Many things in what Bella spoke bothered Devonny. But nothing bugged her more than the pressure they all put on Bella.
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Post by Bella Cullen on Apr 11, 2009 1:28:28 GMT -5
When Devonny tucked Bella's hair behind her ear, it reminded her of Renee' as she used to do that exact same thing when Bella was a little girl. A faint smile passed her lips after that. It almost was like having her mother back for those three seconds. Out of all the people she missed most from her human life, Charlie and Renee' topped the list indefinitely.
"Well, she seems like she wants to keep the baby," she answered. "She even talked about moving out after it was born, but I tried to explain to her that the birth might kill her. However, her baby seems a lot calmer than Renesmee was before her birth." Bella had cringed at that conversation because it seemed like Lexie and Jasper wanted everything to go back to normal between him and Alice, when Bella knew that it never would be.
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Post by dev on Apr 11, 2009 1:38:38 GMT -5
"Okay," Devonny started, more to herself than to Bella. "It seems to me that Jasper wants to be with Alice, but Alice can't trust him because of what he did..." She trailed off, thinking to herself. There were some holes in Bella's story, but they were either things that Bella felt were too private, or they were things that she didn't know herself. "Bella, darling, Lexie... Does she love Jasper?" The solution was in Devonny's mind, but she didn't want to complicate matters anymore than they already were. She would give advice if it was asked for, and offer solutions if they were requested.
If Jasper and Lexie had a lovechild, then Jasper will have to take partial responsibility for it, whether he liked it or not. But the child cannot grow in a poisonous environment, and it sounded like the situation was also hazardous to Lexie's health.
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Post by Bella Cullen on Apr 11, 2009 1:46:30 GMT -5
Bella immediately took up for her sister, "Alice doesn't want to be with him anymore period because of what he's done. And I stand behind her decision because she's my sister and I love her." She paused a moment to gage Devonny's other question. In truth, she knew that Lexie was in love with him just by the way she acted around him. He was like her...lifeline for lack of better words. But, she had never actually said it out loud to Bella. But, regardless, Bella wasn't blind.
"She's never admitted it to me..." she trailed off for a moment. "But, I think that she is by the way that she acts around him. I know it sounds weird, but I can see that between the two of them."
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Post by dev on Apr 11, 2009 1:57:28 GMT -5
Devonny nodded. She clicked her tongue, deciding that she'd be the best help she could. "I have a couple of things for you to process. Take as long as you need, or as long as it takes the... baby to arrive." Concern was etched in her face for Bella, and the whole of the Cullen family. They were a web, woven intricately, but this raindrop was threatening to break it in pieces. And however distantly, Devonny was a part of this web, and she always had been, even though neither her nor the Cullens knew it. "First, be aware that anytime you need me, I'll be there for you. Second, you don't have to take this all on you. Remain neutral, do not let either side swing you in either direction. And thirdly, a solution. Lexie, should she leave, is going to need a place to go with someone who will take care of her. She can stay with me, if she wishes." She paused, but began speaking again before Bella had a chance. "But if she declines my invitation, she should not leave the house."
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Post by Bella Cullen on Apr 11, 2009 2:02:34 GMT -5
Bella listened as Devonny calmly told her a few things to keep in mind. The first would be the easiest to attain; Rose would help her if she asked. The second...not so much. She knew that she could never remain neutral, no matter how hard she tried. Alice was her sister and Jasper had just done wrong. The third particularly caught her attention. She knew that Devonny did not stictly remain vegetarian like the rest of the Cullen family and if, by some miracle, Lexie survived the birth unscathed and human...there would be a potential problem. "Devonny...if Lexie survives the birth and remains human, how would she stay with you if you are not strictly vegetarian?" she asked before ammending herself. "I apologize for insulting you if I did, but I just need to know how that would work."
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Post by dev on Apr 11, 2009 2:12:20 GMT -5
Devonny almost laughed at Bella's response. She knew that this would be a difficult one to grasp for her, since Devonny did indulge in human blood. Though she controlled her laugh, the smile she could not help. It graced her lips perfectly, where it belonged. When she spoke, her voice was not condescending, but serene and truthful. "Bella, you underestimate me. I stayed with the Volturi for many, many years. You should know that we had humans working for us. Control is mind over matter. I've seen horrors you wouldn't understand... I've been drenched from head to toe in human blood in public. And though the thirst raged, I can control myself." Devonny had no way to know if her words were at all comforting thoughts to Bella. "And, apart from being in territory that doesn't belong to vampires of my sort, I respect you. I would not harm anyone you care for." She hoped that would make sense.
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Post by Bella Cullen on Apr 11, 2009 2:19:25 GMT -5
Bella scrunched her eyebrows at Devonny's laughter, not understanding until she explained about her Volturri experiences. Her expression softened a little more into some sense of relief. At least if something were to happen, it wouldn't be at Devonny's hands. "Thank you Devonny," she replied softly, biting her lip. "With everything that is going on right now, I just needed some sense of relief. Alice is my sister and I love her dearly, so this has taken its toll on me. The only comfort I've had is that she is being taken care of by Evan. He was a friend she brought home from London and has been her supporter through this whole thing."
Even though everything seemed to be crashing down on the Cullen family, Bella knew who she could rely on. No matter what, she always had Edward, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice. Not to mention her own child. Thinking on Renesmee, she frowned. This was going to kill her when she came home from the honeymoon and she found Lexie pregnant and Alice no longer with Jasper. "My other constant worry is my daughter. She is very attached to the family and hates to see any of us fighting. When Alice left, it tore her apart," she explained.
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Post by dev on Apr 11, 2009 2:32:26 GMT -5
Devonny frowned. "Evan?" This was new information. What factor did he play in this mess? She shook her head and Evan from her mind. "How long is Renesmee away?" The length of time of Renesmee's separation from the family was a deciding factor on how she'd take to the situation. There was no way to prevent a family from fighting; that wasn't possible no matter how hard one tried. But there must be a way to resolve the situation at least partially before Renesmee returned.
Evan entered her mind again. A curse of being a vampire was their kind was easily distracted. "How does Jasper feel about this Evan character? And what of his relationship with Alice?" This complicated matters immensely, she decided.
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