IC Time: After dark, April 7.
Location: Forks - Round Meadow
Synopsis: Against the wishes of his family, Emmett seeks out Stasia in the forest to offer what advice he can.
Submitted by: Stasia
The night is cool, overcast, with a hint of moisture in the air. However for once, the rains have stayed in the clouds, leaving the grass reasonably dry. Stasia is near the treeline, sitting on a small granite boulder. There is a map spread out in front of her, which she studies intently. In the grass at her feet, is her canine companion, the year-old mongrel pup, chewing on a rawhide bone.
The vampire is motionless, concentrating.
In the far distance, a Jeep could be heard rumbling over the ragged trails until the engine is cut and there is silence, finally. It's quite some time before Emmett's pale figure emerges on the far side of the meadow; to get this far this quickly, he'd have had to run quite a ways at a vampire's pace, but now he slows as he makes his way through the winter-shortened grass. He had been going off to the side of this particular path, but surprisingly enough, the sound of a dog chewing on a rawhide was odd enough to draw his attention.
Though the young vampire seems entirely focused on her map, she is well attuned with her other senses. The sound of a jeep entering this part of the deep forest doesn't go unnoticed. In fact, she lifts her head, facing the direction as Emmett appears in the distance. The dog also reacts to the appearance of another vampire and growls, hackles raised.
Stasia's expression is carefully masked. She is good at this sort of thing, but not perfect. Her slightly too-large eyes show the signs of stress, emphasizing the dark circles beneath. Her jaw deliberately tenses, as if clenching her teeth, but perhaps that is to keep it from trembling. The vampire reaches down to soothe the agitated dog. She speaks then, repeating the first words that she said to Emmett on their first meeting.
"What do you want?"
Emmett's lips draw in a grin as he nears, honey eyes flicking to the dog as he gets about two dozen feet away. "You have a way with words, anyone ever tell you that?" He says, still grinning, before squaring his feet and crossing his arms across his chest. He's eyes narrow only brielfly on the map. "I don't agree with my family not helping you," he states bluntly, not bothering to mince words. "I'm not going to be able to convince them otherwise. Even if they have a shitty way of showing it, we all appreciate what you've done for us."
"I don't give a damn if you appreciate it or not. I wouldn't be in this mess if I hadn't agreed to help your sister when she came to me and asked for it. If I had to do it over again, you could keep your appreciation, the girl would have been killed or turned, and I would have told Alice to go to hell." Stasia's words are clipped, but lacking the full-blown rage of her earlier conversation with the Cullen patriarch. "Why didn't she tell me? Do you know the answer to that?"
"I'm not going to pretend to know the inner workings of Alice's brain," Emmett admits, not knowing the answer to that one, himself. "Carlisle has told us to not have any contact with you," he says quickly, getting to the point of this meeting. "I came only to warn you of the Volturi tracker, Demitri. If he finds you, he's going to be able to track you no matter where you go."
Stasia closes her eyes, unable to entirely repress a shudder. "I think… I think I saw him once. Right after I had awakened and they attacked." She shakes her head firmly, lips tight, trying to push back that swelling terror and think clearly. "I appreciate what you have done. I can't pretend to forgive your family for this. But I liked you well enough from the start. For a vampire, you are remarkably non-annoying." Though her voice is calm, her hand shakes, ever so slightly.
Emmett only offers a smirk at her odd compliment. "Fair enough, and I don't blame you." He can't change their minds on this one. "I'm sorry I can't help more, but that's all I really know." His arms stay crossed in front of him, though he notices the shaking. Now that he's done his part to make himself at least feel remotely better about the situation, he shifts his weight to a leg, as if thinking of leaving. Lowly, "Be careful, Stasia. I take it I don't have to warn you how the Volturi can be."
"I know. I've seen them before." Stasia half-closes her eyes. "They tried to kill me when I awakened. I ran." She worries her lower lip with her teeth, not hard enough to break the skin. "Will you look after my family, from time to time? Make sure nobody kills them or changes them?"
Sucking in a breath as he considers it for a moment, Emmett decides. He says nothing as Stasia divulges a rare piece of her history. "Of course," he says quickly. It's the least he can do, considering the circumstances. "If you have their names and addresses, I will do my best."
"Stark. Zale. I know their houses, but I don't know the addresses." Stasia followed scents, not Mapquest. "Thank you." She pauses. "I don't know how much time I have. I need to speak with the wolves, so I do not cross their boundary. And I need to find a home for Leopard-bait." And that, appears to sadden her more than anything else so far. "It'll be too dangerous. I can't bring him with me."
Emmett makes a mental note of the names, though only one seems vaugely familiar. "Don't worry, I'll find them." Although he doesn't know their scents, it's not terribly hard to track down someone in Forks if you wanted to. "I would offer to keep him for you, but it's not going to be terribly safe around our place, either. And animals don't seem to like us as they do you." He eyes her, grinning again. "I'm sure the reservation wolves won't mind loking after him."
"I like them too. Always have." Stasia says quietly. "He'll need a place with kids. Maybe I'll send for him, when it's safe." That's a stretch and she knows it. But it helps, nevertheless. "I suppose they must have children on the reservation."
"Of course they do," Emmett assures her. "The animals of the reservation are treated well." And well protected from vampires, especially. He shifts his weight again. "I need to go back before they suspect I came to see you. Rosalie has probably already figured it out," he grins again, though his lip tugs back down. It was Rosalie who suggested that they abandon Stasia in the first place, but he places the blame on neither side. "Stay safe. Good luck." And then he makes his way back across the meadow.
