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Post by Carlisle Cullen on Dec 2, 2008 11:30:10 GMT -5
Carlisle also silently appreciated the slight loosening up of the visitor’s features, his topaz eyes searching them for further signs of relaxation, though that was the only sign that he was continuing to scrutinise her behaviour. He shifted slightly to accommodate Esme’s new position at his side and glanced up at her as she spoke to Jayden. He smiled at her softly, easily threading a lengthy arm around her back and resting it there. He, rather unwillingly, tore his eyes from his wife and looked back towards the girl with a nod.
“Very hard,” Carlisle reiterated. “Which is why we take any visitor very seriously. If you wish to stay in Forks, then we would much appreciate it if you would keep a low profile - it wouldn’t be beneficial for either you or us if the truth was discovered or even approached.”
He paused to glance her up and down. “Given your appearance you shouldn’t find it too difficult to settle into a small town like this, if you wanted to. Do you have any idea what your plans will be? Wandering grows tiresome after a while…”
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Post by Jayden Murphy on Dec 2, 2008 18:50:25 GMT -5
Jayden looked up and smiled at the gentle face of the woman; "He was my Family. My whole world." She smiled lightly as her mind replayed images of her father; from their first hunt to their last goodbye. "I didn't come here to cause you or your family any trouble." Jayden really meant this. In the whole truth she wasn't sure why she was here or what was next. She let her eyes drift to the younger male, he'd said so little yet she could tell he had a strong prescense within with family. Jayden didn't linger her eyes on him she let then roam back to Carlisle. "I think i still have many questions about..." She paused a second not knowing how to say it. After a beat she smiled and continued, "About all of this. My father was a father. He didn't want to scare me. I know so very little of everything."
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Post by Carlisle Cullen on Dec 2, 2008 21:01:51 GMT -5
Carlisle's expression remained in the guise of his constant calm as he listened to Jayden's response. She seemed genuine, there was no indication from Edward that she was playing a role and so he decided to extend a little more in her direction. Just a little.
"That's understandable," Carlisle responded, considering their obviously differing styles of fatherhood. He was an open book to all his family, there were no secrets and that was how it worked, whereas his old acquaintance acted the protector. He supposed that it made a world of difference when your children were actually... children, whereas his hadn't been. It was something he would never experience, even if he lived until the end of time, but there was no regret in his thoughts. He was extremely contented with the state of his family, he could want for no more, especially now that his eldest, yet youngest, son had found love and happiness.
"We're not too different from your everyday human family, Jayden," he told her, gently. "We work for a living, we go to school, we even go on family hiking trips. Sure we're a little more solitary than your average human family, and our hiking trips are actually hunts, but all we really try to do is fit in. We'll never be a popular family in any neighbourhood, you may know that humans are both initially attracted and then instinctively repelled by us, but that suits us down to the ground."
He paused to consider the possibilities of being a hybrid, filtering the fact down through his considerations. "But you can probably afford to be more, do whatever you want with you life, I would imagine. There certainly aren't many of you to my knowledge... I do assume that your mother was a human?"
It was unfortunate that he had to ask the girl this question, but he couldn't work on assumption forever. It wouldn't do to get that wrong.
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Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
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Post by Esme Cullen on Dec 2, 2008 23:46:00 GMT -5
Esme smiled as her husband wrapped an arm around her. In the position she was in she couldn't return the gesture and do the same, so she simply put her left hand on his shoulder again, giving a gentle squeeze. She continued her hand across his shoulder and to the back of his neck, to the start of his blond hair. She ran her fingertips subconsciously through the back of his hair. She turned her gaze from her husband's lovely face to the girl before them.
She continued to listen to the conversation, her fingers still playing with Carlisle's hair as the heal of her hand rested on the back of his neck. Her smile grew, revealing her stunning white teeth, as Carlisle talked about family. Family was Esme's whole life, anyone who knew her already knew that. She loved hers compassionately and irrevocably.
Esme's caramel colored brows mashed together as Carlisle questioned Jayden about her heritage. Her smile falling from her face, and the fingers that were running through her husbands hair ceased. "Carlisle," she said in a soft murmur. Her honey colored eyes were on his face in disapproval as she said his name. She knew the question would bring the girl emotional pain; it was obvious that she had lost her family. She turned back to Jayden, her look a mixture of apology and compassion.
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Post by Jayden Murphy on Dec 3, 2008 21:06:37 GMT -5
Jayden felt her throat tighten immediately as soon as her mother was brought into the conversation. She instantly dropped her eyes to the floor and folded her hands in her lap; pulling herself in as much as she could. The mother subject was always difficult for her, just as it had been for her father. As a child her father had shown her pictures of her mother, but it was so painful for her father that she never asked again. She could barely remember her face, though her father said she was her mother image. "I killed my mother." Jayden said. She didn't say this for shock value. To Jayden it was genuinely how she felt. Her birth had resulted in her mothers death so Jayden believed herself the killer. She couldn't bring herself to look up both for fear of her own weakness for tears and for fear of the look of pity she may find in there eyes. Instead she remained staring down, her hair sheilding her from the other people in the room. Jayden waited for the shock or the replusion of them finally seeing what she was and what she had done to exist. I'm the true monster here, she thought to herself.
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Post by Carlisle Cullen on Dec 4, 2008 20:33:44 GMT -5
Carlisle twisted a little as he became acutely aware of the cessation of the comforting stroke of Esme’s fingers. He knew she would disapprove of this line of questioning and even though her change in behaviour showed this to him perfectly, her gentle but disapproving use of his name caused a guilt to wrap around his heart. He looked up at his wife with an apologetic look on his face, his honeyed eyes looking slightly bashful, but he was not going to retract the question. He had to know and whilst they could make suppositions from their advanced senses of smell, they couldn’t know for sure unless they asked. He didn’t enjoy the fact that he was hurting the guest he was trying to help, but sometimes being a leader in these situations required making the hard decisions. He needed all the information at his disposal in order to help someone in the best way he could. Unfortunately he couldn’t take his wife aside and explain that just now, even though he was sorely tempted to. This was one of the only things left in the world that could leave him feeling disquieted - his wife’s disapproval.
It was only a brief look before he turned back to Jayden, continuing the apologetic expression, though showing no sign of retracting the question. He listened with a nod, taking in the sentient point.
Her mother died in childbirth he thought to himself. Though she had not answered his question directly, he took this to be confirmation of the point. He shifted forward a little, not enjoying the feeling of causing others pain, though it was something he had to deal with on almost a daily basis at the hospital. Tilting his head, he sought out her gaze, wanting to regain eye contact and trust between them, his amber eyes reflecting understanding between them.
“So did I,” he said to her, using his smoothest voice in an attempt to make her feel secure. It was slightly different for him, of course. He was human at the time, and mothers died in childbirth more often than not back then, but in essence it was the same. He narrowed his eyes slightly, “It doesn’t matter the circumstances, Jayden. You were a child, you are not to blame for that and you must have been precious to both of your parents.”
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Post by Edward Cullen on Dec 4, 2008 23:32:39 GMT -5
Edward could see what had happened before Jayden said the words. He heard her mentally call herself a monster. It was horrible what had happened to her mother, but Edward knew it wasn't her fault. He could understand how she felt that way, but could see she wasn't a monster. She was more human than the rest of them in this room.
He looked over to Carlisle, making sure he understood that when she said she killed her mother he knew it was in childbirth. No other thought even crossed his mind, so Edward knew he could allow the father figure to comfort the young girl.
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Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
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Post by Esme Cullen on Dec 5, 2008 2:16:42 GMT -5
Esme slid her hands into her lap, she took a sharp intake of breath as she took in the words Jayden had just told them about her mother. A pang of pity drowned Esme's previous expression. She wanted to reach out and comfort the girl before them, take her under her motherly wing.
Esme wound her hands mindlessly in her lap, fighting the urge to jump up and comfort Jayden. She didn't want to frighten the girl with her smothering tendencies. It pained Esme to see anyone hurting, so she naturally would do anything to help them.
She listened as Carlisle told the girl about his own mother. Her hand instantly flashed to his shoulder again, she gave a single, comforting squeeze.
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Post by Jayden Murphy on Dec 5, 2008 18:05:39 GMT -5
Jayden's head shot up at Carlisle's revelation. She stared at him, shocked by his admittance that had killed his mother too. Jayden had heard of women dying in child birth, but in her heart she truely believed it was what she was that had killed her mother rather then just the act of birth. Jayden glanced around the room in an attempt to avoid eye contact with anyone. She could feel the mothering eyes of Esme watching her. For a moment she envied anyone in this family to have that love of a mother like that. She could also feel the gaze of Edward, from him she felt pity. A deep pity almost of more then she'd spoken. As her gaze still wandered she spoke again; "I don't know what my mother would have thought of me, but yes. My father told me i was unique. A rare being." She scoffed a little to herself, "I just see myself as a freak, even amoungst other freaks." She looked at each of them in as she explained, "Though I mean no disrespect to any of you. It just how i see myself." She'd let her gaze wander to the window. Her slight reflection looked back at her. So human, yet so far from it.
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Post by Edward Cullen on Dec 5, 2008 22:59:18 GMT -5
Hearing Jayden's thoughts mixed with her own spoken words of self-deprication, Edward couldn't help himself but speak up again. He didn't know if anything he could say right now would help her, or would even make a difference, but he had to try.
"You're not a freak among freaks" He said, trying to keep his voice soothing, though still persistant. "You're still half human, that may make you different than us, but you have no idea how many of us would give anything to still be even a little human. What you have...it makes you special, it makes you much less of the monster you think you are". Edward knew she wasn't a monster, he could hear it in her thoughts. He also knew his sister Rosalie would envy the girl's human side, it was what she desperately longed for.
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Post by Jayden Murphy on Dec 5, 2008 23:16:48 GMT -5
Jayden's whole body turned to face Edward when he spoke. She was shocked. Since she'd arrived she'd only got a feeling of indifference and a handful of words, yet he was defending her human side. "What would you know of it? What do you know of human life? " She asked calmly. "I walk the edge of a line between two worlds, never fitting in either. Both equally alien to me. Yet both hold such fasination for me i'm drawn to them more strongly then a moth to a flame." She spoke with mono tone indifference. As she stared at him her mind flashed through the few times she'd tried to be whole in one world or the other. She was never totally trusted. Never completely excepted. She pulled herself out of her memories. "Different can always be a good thing. I know this. But my very existance goes against even the laws of the nature of our kind."
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Post by Edward Cullen on Dec 5, 2008 23:43:58 GMT -5
Edward could only hope that his words hadn't ended up offending her. He didn't want to make her defensive about her. "I wouldn't dare try to say I know what it is to be you, but I do have distant memories of the human life, we all do." He told her. "We try to fit in with the human world even now, but we're always not quite the same. " He said hoping she would see they could sympathize with her.
"Your existence is unexpected, but you can still find acceptance, in both worlds perhaps." Edward told her, trying to convey in his tone that they would accept her as well. He glanced over at Carlisle, wondering if he was thinking that Edward's words had made things worse.
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Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
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Post by Esme Cullen on Dec 6, 2008 4:30:40 GMT -5
Esme's ears listened on as her mind processed everything she was hearing. Her smooth, granite like hands were now back in her own lap, fingers intertwined.
It pained her to listen to Jayden degrade herself. And her golden eyes tightened a minute amount when Jayden commented on being a freak among freaks. Not because she found it offensive, but because no one should feel that way about themselves. Esme liked to think of them all as special, not freaks. And with Jayden being who she was, she was even more special. She made her thoughts clear after Edward.
"Yes, you are special. Very much so. A one of a kind," she murmured in a soft, calm voice. A smile pulled at the corners of her lips.
A few words passed between Edward and Jayden before Esme commented again. "I imagine it would be very hard to find acceptance in either world Jayden," she said sweetly, "Both the human world, and our world, have trouble accepting those out of the norm." She glanced at Edward, her thoughts on the relationship that he and Bella had. Definitely one that was out of the norm for most.
"But our family too, is not like others of our kind," she told her, though she obviously could see that. "We welcome difference. And we will accept you." She said this straightforward. She didn't think of any consequences that could result from this, or how much they still didn't know about their unexpected visitor. But she had welcomed her into their way of life, speaking for the whole family. A rarity for Esme since she usually left such decisions for Carlisle; but her tenderheartedness had taken charge.
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Post by Jayden Murphy on Dec 6, 2008 17:25:23 GMT -5
Jayden watched Edward as he spoke. She could see he was trying to soothe her and she appreciated his kind words. When Esme spoke of her been special, jayden couldn't help but smile. Her eyes wandered back to the window as Edward continued to talk, they remained there until Esme spoke of them accepting her. Her whole body turuned in the seat to look at her. "You accept me?" Jayden asked her voice full of shock. "You don't know me." She half smiled. At hear such maternal acceptence was a first for Jayden. She was shocked and so emotional that she didn't dare say anythign else for fear of her emotions running over. Instead she kept her focus on Esme hoping her eyes and half smile would convey how much that phrase meant to her.
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Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
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Post by Esme Cullen on Dec 6, 2008 17:55:07 GMT -5
Esme looked into the girl's eyes, a large smile on her face, as she spoke. "I'm sure we will learn more about each other soon," she told her. Not taking anything she had previously said back.
She then looked at Carlisle, then Edward neither had spoken yet. She was sure they wouldn't approve of her sudden decision. She only worried about what her beloved husband would say, she didn't want to upset him. But no matter what, Esme had already fully accepted Jayden.
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