Colors In The Grey

[mango]

B E T H I A

From an abandoned roof top, golden eyes were speckled with reds and blues that swirled down below, like strobe lights illuminating the black top, city streets dotted with fearful strangers. Caution tape stretched out across the lawn of the townhouse, crinkled as the hands of officers lifted it above their heads, attempting to make sense of a situation they'd never understand, not without having lived as long as she. The chopped up frequencies of cop car radios flooded her ears, the chatter clear, though her thoughts were drowning in regret, unable to make out the descriptions of what she'd left behind.

But she knew.

I warned you, she exhaled, releasing a ghostly white breath into the crisp morning air. She had remained perched on that building's highest floor all night, gazing longingly at a window that would never again reveal that familiar silhouette, that warm light beckoning her inside never to illuminate the second story again. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. It was a predetermined ending to sleeting romantic stimulation, she knew better, but hundreds of years by oneself gets old. If she could cry, she would; it never got easier, killing those closest to her - but that was the consequence of her charms, death.

"I don't know the time of death, it was at some point last night."

"Victim suffered severe blood loss within an hour, it appears he was attacked at the throat-"

"-I don't know how, sir, we've ruled out animals, everything was locked, neighbors don't report hearing or seeing anyone or anything."

"Poor darling," She whispered, and then disappeared from the scene as a news helicopter flew in.

E D W A R D

Officials say they found him cold, white, entirely drained of blood. The scene was particularly gruesome, his throat having been what appears to be bitten into, a substantial amount of flesh was remove. We have no word on whether or not this was an animal attack, though that would be hard to believe seeing as they found him in his living room. The residents are fearful tonight as this has been the third murder with similar, gory circumstances in Washington. I'm Rebecca Hilton with Komonews, back to you, Jeff."


Engines the roaring, the Cullen siblings sped their way down slick ebony streets, though it was more so Emmett and Edward racing than it was to make it to Forks high before the bell. After all their years of posing, time mattered little, instead they messed around on streets free of traffic due to the late morning hour, occasionally edging close enough to discourage the other from crashing, taunting each other despite the frantic twitching of their speedometers. You're slow, brother, Edward's lips curled back into a smirk, his pale hands gripping the wheel whilst his foot oppressed the pedal, Alice was at his side, revealing every upcoming corner, sign, or hidden cop.

"You have Alice with you, not fair," Growled his sibling, of whom ignored his irritated wife's plea to just head to the school already before they really get pulled over. They'd circled the county three times that morning, everyone mashed together in two cars, uncharacteristically absent minded, or at least pretending they have that luxury.

"Instead of trying to crash your cars, you could just acknowledge that you're stressing over the murders," Rosalie chided, forehead pressed to the glass at her side, full lips in a disapproving, cherry pout. Her long lashes swept across her cheek bones as she closed her eyes, hissing abruptly as they hit a speed bump, and her head hit the roof. "Damn it, Em!"

"Sorry babe," He kept his boyish grin, however, tires screeching as he whipped out in front of Edward, grinning into the rear view mirror.

Edward didn't want to acknowledge the supposed 'isolated murders' that were remarkably similar, all done in a manner that screamed they'd been executed by their kind of monster. It was either a newborn, or a loner, neither of which would care about their actions catching the attention of humans, or more importantly, the Volturi. Their carelessness enraged all of the siblings, but after Edward's impulsive plea to head to Seattle and scour the city himself to rid them of the taunting source, Carlisle destroyed his suggestion, and wouldn't hear another word of it. At least not today.

 

[Rory]

J A S P E R​

Jasper sat in the back seat of Edward's car, partly because he was more comfortable with Edward's driving than he was with Emmett's. While the two of them sped down the road like nobody else existed, Edward had luck on his side because of Alice which meant the chance of a crash was much less likely than it was when riding with Emmett. The large male was much more aggressive in everything he did anyways, and as if to prove this point, Jasper watched as his car met a speed bumpand jerked up.

It was times like these he was perfectly content being a vampire.

The speed was great, and little things like speed bumps in the way hardly hurt, whereas if a human had been in the car, the damages could have been rather extreme. There was no telling what could have happened really. It had been so long that Jasper had been a vampire that he didn't ever know if he was shutting the door with too much fervor than should be normal for a human or if he was walking down the school hallways faster than most of the other students.

Every once in a while he would have to remind himself that he was posing as something he wasn't, but rather had been a long time ago, and while some habits remained, like the sharp intake of breath when Edward would round a corner suddenly, some habits faded.

Emotions, however, were something that remained constant. It was worse for Jasper, because he picked up on them from everyone around him. Still, the blonde felt like he was let off the hook. He couldn't imagine what it was like to hear everybody's thoughts constantly, and wherever he went. Emotions were hard to deal with, but according to him, he could have definitely acquired a worse 'talent'.

Part of what he was able to do simply reminded him of the time he got turned, all those years ago. And when he thought of that, all it did was bring up the recent attacks, that seemed to be getting closer to Forks each day unless he was just paranoid and imagining it. Either way, Jasper had been as adamant as Edward to go and check out what was going on in the city, but Carlisle had refused. It was one of their kind, they all knew that, but was it one, or was it a newborn army? There was only one way to know.

Upon arriving at the school, Emmett had got out of his car, Jasper assumed to flaunt his win in Edward's face, and it was the perfect opportunity really. He never paid much attention to their occasional morning races to school so if he disappeared in between, nobody would wonder where he'd gone. They all had different time tables after all. Taking that as an opportunity, he slipped away from his unsuspecting siblings, feeling maybe a little too overconfident with what he was about to do.

S E R A L O N E​

"Honestly, can't you just wait for me to come pick you up after school?" Seralone heard her brother asking from the driver's seat. It was probably the third time he was asking that since they left the house that morning, and he didn't seem to care that she was going to be late for her first period. All he seemed to worry about was the fact that she was going to find her own way home. As she had been for a while now. But of course, his view on that changed entirely when they saw the attacks on the news. What was worse was that it wasn't too far away, and Jacques seemed to think that something could happen to her any minute.

Which it could, actually. She can't predict the future or guarantee that nothing would go wrong. But she certainly couldn't go about living life while being mollycoddled by her older brother forever. She'd already lived life that way when she had five of them. It was down to one now, and while she loved him, she did wish that she would be left to go about her business on her own.

"I understand that you're worried Jay, but seriously, we hardly live that far away." She protested as she glanced outside the mirror. "Could you speed up a little?" She asked, now not really bothered about being late for class, but more eager to end the conversation.

The chances of him going over the speed limit were very low however because if he worked for the law, that meant he was going to stick to it.

Luckily for her though, he didn't pursue the matter further till they reached the school and he pulled up outside the entrance, the parking lot, now full of cars but lacking any students, told her all she needed to know.

"If anything goes wrong, call me." Jacques insisted as she reached into the back seat to grab her backpack. The redhead merely nodded and let out a quick 'bye' before hopping out of the car and shutting the door. The air outside was cool, but not something Seralone hated. While most thought Forks was gloomy and always dull, Seralone quite enjoyed the weather there when compared to a sunny day in the city.

Shouldering her bag, she made her way up the front steps to enter the school and get to her locker.

 

[mango]

B E T H I A

Forks.

"I hate little towns."

That was a lie, of course.

Bethia stood on the outer borders of the small town, its silhouette an off blue, engulfed in a drizzling mist, adorned with undisturbed, lush forests a truer green than what the cities nurtured. Her feet were bare, wet, slightly darkened from having trekked the roads here; she lost her heels along the way, to her dismay. Condensation made her ivory skin glisten, damp cotton locks a bit messy due to the run. As the wind welcomed her, she swayed a little, her thoughts consumed with what she would do here; she had learned the hard way that the smaller the town, the more likely it's residents are to pry into your life. I can't stay long, she acknowledged, footsteps light smacks against the paved road.

It wasn't long before a car slowed down beside her delicate frame, gradually slowing to meet her pace before the window parted. The man leaned over, steering casually as he grinned, "Need a ride somewhere, sweetheart? It's about to rain."

Lips parted, she considered his offer. After all, it was the strangers that should be weary of her. Walking was easy, quieter, simpler - but if she could squeeze the generosity out of him, she would. All it took was a look. She sighed, bending down, eyes meeting his, tone saccharine. "Are you sure it isn't any trouble?"

"What, for you? Of course not! Couldn't leave a pretty lady - " He leaned over and unlocked his car door, grinning as she slid into the passenger seat. " - Like you out in a storm. Where're you from?"

Here we go again..

E D W A R D

It was rare that the siblings were able to slip away from each other; privacy was not a luxury in their family. Between Alice's visions, Edward's burden of telepathy, Jasper's empathy and Carlisle's intuition, little went unsaid, and that was more often than not Edward's source of anguish. Especially when it came to Rose, her thoughts were more often than not either entirely vain, miserable or straight up petty, and even as she and Emmett had crossed the campus, disappearing from sight, he could still pick up on their thoughts, of which were louder than the thousands that followed the swarm of sundry hormonal students. He tilted his head upwards, catching a fresh scent of something sweet, his throat began to feel parched, and apparently Alice could sense the tension in his muscles.

Smell someone?

"No," She didn't push him further, but he knew she didn't believe him.

This rouge of normality had become their norm over the last hundred years, as the world became more aware of individual identity, no longer could they occupy one place too long, lest someone question their lack of aging, or eternal youth. Normalized as the nomadic living was, it took a toll on Edward more than the others; he had little interest in materials anymore, though socializing wasn't an option, either, aside from what little he shared with his teachers on a purely objective and intellectual level. The others laughed and glided by and rarely he'd consider the same age group he'd blended in with amidst another generation, perhaps one hundred years ago, all of whom were dead or on their way out. There was a distancing forced upon with their living conditions, so when he came across someone that piqued his interested, his reactions were... comical, if not unnerving.

The hallways seemed to part for Edward and Alice as they breezed by, the thinning crowds thoughts immature and pointless; he wished his thoughts could be so carefree and wrapped up in something as menial as an essay.

Quit glowering, you're creeping people out, Alice interrupted, voice silvery in the sea of those that claimed the space within his mind.

"Really? From my perspective it's just turning everyone on," Though his lips quirked up at the corners, as did hers, the amusement had long passed.

Whatever, she laughed alongside him out loud, before her face grew serious. Are you sure you're-

"Yes."

Swiftly disappearing around an empty corner, Alice chirped, off to theater!

"See you."

Motionless at the end of the corridor, his attention shifted to the potent aroma that'd tugged at him from the moment they set foot on campus. With Alice gone, at least until she foresaw it, he was free to investigate. The walls were lined with students waiting to get in locked classrooms, he passed by with minor annoyance at their lustful and envious thoughts, attempting to stay focused on the scent. He followed the intangible trail to his own, neglected locker, something he hadn't used the entire year thus far, and it was there, beside it, that he caught the source of his interest. Leaning against the locker, shoulder to the cold metal and his bag hanging off the other, his golden gaze was sharp, muscles tense and his lips pursed, "Are you new?" He asked, deciding to indulge in just one question.