Strings Are Cut Away [[FERN!]]

[sabriel]

It was a beautiful day. And that was a corny line. Seth shook his head in a wide grin as his thoughts took over and lead him in random directions. Although truly, it was a wonderful day. The sun was shining overhead, making the morning dew sparkle in different colors. Walking under the trees was pleasantly shady and the shadows on the path made interesting shapes to contemplate. But the sun was also hot and when it beat down furiously on it's victims, it would burn a human.

Seth Clearwater did not burn. He didn't even feel the sun, he wouldn't have even if he was human. For there was something magical in the air. A promise of something good to happen. And it tingled away all other senses until it left him breathless with anticipation. The urge for a walk had sent him out today. It wasn't his patrol, and for that he was thankful. Sharing a mind with the pack today would be like a chore. They might even tease him, for feeling about the day like he did.

Seth ducked under a low branch, but the cool leaves brushed across his skin and he shivered. While the sensation might've been pleasant for a human, it was freezing for a werewolf. So freezing he actually felt it. Strange, how his body was sensitive to one thing and not others. Talking of sensitive...

His ears had picked up the sound of feet padding along the dirt path. Normal ears would've never picked it up, but it was there. Who in the world was out at this time of morning? Ah well, his ludicrous contemplation of the weather should be glad for an interruption. Sensing that the feet were just around the corner, he fixed a smile on his face. It wasn't hard to do. There were so many things to be happy about.

[fern]

It was one of those rare, sunny days that fell over La Push. To Fern it seemed like some fairy tale land that you found in those juvenile cartoons on Saturday mornings, but that did not mean that she was not going to enjoy it. She had woken up early out of habit, and the sun had only helped her be able to enjoy actually having to wake up early for no reason. She was going to seize the day, though. That she had decided almost immediately and she was not going to let small things remind her of her mother and bring her down.

That was what had caused Fern to decide that she was going to walk around La Push, and maybe even run into a few old friends. That would have been nice. It felt like it had been forever when she had spent time in South Carolina, as she had stuck out terribly and been denied by most people because she was Native American. It was annoying, to put simply. She liked peace and quiet, but that did not mean she liked being alone. It was a strange balance to keep, but she hadn't had a chance to keep it in that situation.

A quiet sigh escaped her lips, as Fern walked along the dirt rode. The sun's bright rays warmed her tanned skin, something that relaxed her deeply. It was like the equivalent of a massage for her, having the sun warm her skin. It seemed to just take stress off of her. She pushed her hair behind her shoulders and out of her face, a smile actually across her face. It was a rare sight which must have meant something nice was going through her thoughts, as she was not the person who just smiled without a single reason. She just...couldn't.

As Fern rounded the corner, a oddly familiar face came to her sight. She recognized it...but it was oddly different. Sure, she expected everyone to look different but this was just a drastic change. Unbelievable. "Seth Clearwater?"

[sabriel]

Seth basked in the sun, glowing in it. His mind was almost completely at rest, after all, it was not often that he was allowed to completely relax. But a part (albeit a small one) of him listened to those footsteps. Something told him they were important. Suddenly bored with being at ease, he let every sense reach out to the footsteps owners. The scent hit him first. It was perfume, it smelled good, but not over-used. So he was dealing with a female. The footsteps were bouncy, as if the person was energetic. So she was a girl. He heard a sigh, it was mostly a happy sigh, but Seth detected some sadness there. Her voice, even from a sigh, was beautiful. There was nothing more beautiful than that sigh.
With no more time to guess something about the girl, Seth prepared himself to meet her. Then he rounded the corner.
His eyes looked up to see her face.
And suddenly, there was nothing more important than her face. All of his emotional feelings, his life baggage, his duties were suddenly gone. Vanished, just like that. He wasn't forgetting about them, they were just unimportant to him now.
They had been replaced, by something a hundred times stronger. No, a thousand, or maybe a million times stronger. And snippity snippity snip, he had no obligations any more. The essense of himself was gone. No, not gone, they were with her. With this goddess. He was hers now.


Then, the shock and the realisations that came with seeing her face had gone. Just like that, and something took over for him. His eyes filled up with love for her, he would do anything for her. She was his and he was hers. Then she spoke, his goddess spoke. Like he had thought, she had a beautiful voice. It was the bird humming on the breeze, or the gargle of a playful stream. It was her voice. That made it special. There was some disbelief in her beautiful voice which made him hesitate. How could she be disbelieving when everything was suddenly so clear. She had said his name, and it was a question. Questions he was supposed to answer. Everything seemed so new all of a sudden.
Years of living as a normal human took over and he properely looked at her. There was no disbelief in his tone when he said,
"Fern."

[fern]

Fern took a mere handful or more steps, before stopping to maintain a more appropriate distance between them. She thought that she might be wrong, and that this might not be the Seth she had thought that she had a remembered. It felt different being around him, some feeling that she could not recognize. She felt happy, even. Though that confused her, as she was not often happy just from seeing someone. Well. . .not this type of happy. It felt different, though, and she actually enjoyed it which was what she found to be the confusing part of it. She tried to push it aside, but it still lingered in her mind.

Another reason why she thought that she might of been wrong, is that it appeared to Fern that he had an almost. . .dazed look in his eyes, as if seeing something he had never seen before. Sure, she had changed over the years, but she wasn't exactly eye candy as some people put it, in her opinion. She was just terribly average. Not that minded, it helped her blend in better and not be noticed. Which was always nice! Hearing him speak brought her out of her surprisingly quirk thoughts, and she blinked once rather quickly to shove them away. So this was Seth! She was just joyful that she had been correct, as that would have been terribly embarrassing for her.

"Umm. . .yeah, hey." Fern wasn't entirely sure what to say, and disappointingly that was the best that she could come up with. She glance down at the ground, scratching the back of her neck before running her hand through her hair. She didn't know if he had heard or not that she had moved back into town, so that left her even more lost for words as she did not want to appear dumb. That was somewhat among the things that she hated to do the most, as she tended to be a very proud person. She pressed her lips together rather tightly, hoping that he'd find a way to strike up a conversation or something.

[sabriel]

Seth stared at her, the shock of imprinting just wearing off. So many things to tell her, to tell the others. Unable to stand was seemed like a mega-distance to Seth, he stepped forward and took a hand in his. Her hand was drowned in his large ones.

"Hi," He said, smiling widely, "How are you?"

Somewhere in all this, Seth remembered that she had moved away somewhere...South Carolina?...when he was younger. He remembered being really sorry and sad when she had to go...but he would do better to recall those memories later. Just, the shock of imprinting had taken over.

Seth wondered how the pack were going to take it, that brought up another few issues. Leah? Leah wouldn't be happy, Seth was sure. She didn't like her 'baby' brother growing up. Well Leah was just going to have to accept it.. How would the pack take it? Shocked and worried, probably, that yet another pack member had imprinted, but happy for Seth, he hoped.

How was he supposed to tell her he was a wolf, and explain imprinting? He was sure she needed to know about it right now, but they'd barely been introduced. Couldn't he wait a day or two before he saw her again? No, he had to tell her now, preferably.

"Fern," He stepped forward so that nobody else would hear what he was going to day, "Fern, did you ever read the legends of La Push, the werewolves and the cold ones?"
That seemed like the best way to explain it, if only she would just accept him in both forms.

[fern]

Was her hand that small? Fern didn't think so, but perhaps she was a little more under average than she truly realized. Especially in comparison to him now, she was practically a little pixie. Which was truly odd as most girls that she had seen or briefly chatted with had been somewhat near her size; which in her eyes made it seem unlikely. Maybe she was crazy. She had always suspected herself of being slightly insane, though she tried to consider herself relatively normal. It was not always the easiest thing for her to think of, but she at least tried to keep a facade around others to make them think she at least thought that.

"I-I'm doing good, I suppose." Fern's tone of voice said something else, but her face didn't. She wasn't sure if he would believe it or not, as she wouldn't believe it herself most likely. "What about you? How are you?" As long as the subject was off of her she was likely to be jubilant. She just didn't like attention. It didn't fit her persona and she liked to listen to others problems and such other than her own. She often put herself in her own little Neverland, sometimes wishing that she could just be a young child where she hadn't understood death. Life was surely much simpler that way.

When Seth stepped slightly closer to her, Fern managed not to clench her teeth. She was not always comfortable being close to people. . .she was afraid of getting hurt, but did not want to admit it. At his question, her eyebrows furrowed gently. "Yeah, I guess. I think my dad told me some of them when I was younger." But they had not been brought up in a while. She was positive of that. Her father tried to avoid things like that, and after a while she had gotten smart enough to try to not even think of that. It had become a habit of her's as well, which did make it hard to bring up even in her mind.

[sabriel]

She stuttered over her answer, that was an immediate contradiction for Seth. Her hand was cold too, she surely should have noticed that he was burning hot by now. He rubbed it gently, trying to bring some warmth into it. Her speech the second time was better, firmer, but she was asking about him instead of her. Was she trying to avoid talking about herself? Things were much clearer for Seth now.

"Well, there's a specific one I want to tell you," He said, nervous. He had a lot at stake here, but so had Sam, Jared and Embry when they first imprinted. He was going to tell her the story about the imprint, hopefully she'd figure out what it meant. But maybe he should phase first? Yes, he decided. She needed to know. He needed to know if she was going to be scared of him.

"Actually, come into this clearing, I have something to show you."
She must be pretty freaked out now, they'd only just met back up and he was 'showing' her something. What was he up to?
He stepped forward, her hand still in his.
"Come on!" He said, grinning like an excited little kid.

[fern]

Fern glanced for a moment at his hand, and wondered why he hadn't let go of hers yet. It was a bit odd. But the main thing that she noticed was how warm his hand was, it was much warmer than it should of been. Surely he was not sick, as it was likely he wouldn't be outside and around La Push if he had a fever. She did not ask, though, that was the last thing that she planned on doing. The warmth was a bit nice, though why he was gently rubbing her hand she had no idea. Maybe she was just colder than she realized and he was warming her hand. She wasn't sure.

A confused expression crossed her face at his comment. Couldn't he just tell her where they were? As far as Fern knew no one else was around, and besides, it was La Push. Everyone knew everything about everyone practically. It was a bit odd how small towns worked, but that was the way it was. If you told a single person, the whole town knew the entire thing by the next door. Which was why she just didn't tell people things, it made it much easier to be secretive. Besides, secrets weren't really secrets if others knew.

"Umm, okay. . ." Fern wasn't entirely sure whether she should be following him or not, but did anyway. She was a solemn person, but did allow a small smile to show up on her face. He had been a nice kid from what she remembered, not the type that would purposely hurt someone. But her memories were not among the clearest as well, she was only human. She was not entirely sure whether she should be trusting him so easily, but something in her mind was telling her that it was okay.

[sabriel]

Seth didn't sweat, he wasn't even sure if he could sweat anymore. He did, however, suddenly find that his mouth was paper dry and that his breathing had quickened. He led them over a stray branch and into the clearing. It was perfect, enclosed from nosy eyes, enough room for him to phase and enough room for her to -run- away.

"Fern, I'll say this quickly, so pay attention. I'm a werewolf." It almost came out as a gabble, "I'll prove it!" He quickly added.

He removed his shirt and shoes. He ducked behind a tree to tie his pants to the string and hopped out backwards. Then with a practiced movement, the heat rolled up his spine. The Seth-wolf sprang up. His wolf form was sandy. He had cropped hair, because it made his wolf form less shaggy and more neat and trim. It also made it easier to run.

Then he turned around, almost fearing her reaction and whimpered cutely.

[fern]

WHAT?! Fern's thoughts screamed at his comment, that was impossible! No sane person could think they were a werewolf, and he was way past the age of childish games and pretending in stuff. This was not a Neverland, they were not in Peter Pan. This was crazy! Had he lost his mind? She was probably one of th more calm people that someone could meet in their life, but this had her thoughts flying in a rage! Werewolves were beasts, monsters! They were the kind of thing that they put in cheap, terrible horror movies, not real life! It was impossible.

Prove it? Fern's eyes shot up as a look of horror came on her face. It just couldn't be possible. She tried to remember so horror movie that had werewolves in it, but couldn't remember any. Her dark eyes couldn't help but linger on his abdominal as he tool off his shirt, as he was ripped. As in, much stronger than he should have been, for that matter. It seemed crazy, impossible from someone his age. But if he thought that he was somehow a werewolf, there was no telling what he might have been doing recently. Which was a bit scary.

A look of shock and awe spread across her face as Fern whispered, "Impossible." Her teeth clenched together as she stared. It was huge, definitely bigger than her, but at the same time didn't look very dangerous at the moment. She almost got the nerve to step forward toward it, but her feet felt like they were glued to the ground. "S-Seth?" She stuttered out, not seeing how it was possible. It just wasn't clicking in her head. It was then that she realized why he asked if she knew the legends. They weren't legends.

[sabriel]

The Seth-wolf looked at Fern, trying to judge her reaction. She looked panicked, then shell-shocked. Slowly, her features calmed and Seth tried to time his first move accordingly. He gently raised a gigantic paw and moved forward a step. He gently butted her shoulder with his nose. He let a glimmer of fun spark in his eye and hoped she had seen it. He knew she must be terrified, but he didn't think he looked all that awful. Maybe big and threatening...but not awful.

There were voices in his head, voices he did not want to hear. He knew the minute they figured out what was going on, they'd come running. He didn't want that, Fern would be even more terrified. Suddenly, every need he had yearned to protect her. Carefully, without taking more than a fragment of attention away from her, he issued a silent warning to stay far away until he had parted with her. Something scared him for a second, could he part with her? He mentally denied it over and over in his head. His mental red crosses appeared all over the topic until Seth shut it firmly away.

He was finally able to turn all his attention to her. His goddess. He let his love for her fill his eyes, only a blind man could miss it. He was in love with her, and wasn't. This felt far too powerful to be love. He let the irritating voices fade away and the heat rolled away. In one smooth motion, he was once again, human.

[fern]

Fern stumbled backward when he nudged her, she was in a state of shock and didn't even bother to catch herself, and just fell straight onto her bum. It didn't hurt, and it probably wasn't really even her fault that she fell. She was bound to be on the ground at one point, or so she figured. She took a deep breath, trying to relax, but she just didn't see it happening in the very near future. But she could easily be wrong, as she just wasn't sure what was going to happen next.

Bring her knees up to her, Fern curled her arms around them in a child like manner before resting forehead on her knees. She didn't know what she was supposed to think, and it was very confusing for her. She was almost on the verge of shaking, but had been holding it back. She wanted to just get up and run like the devil was chasing her. But she didn't, as she also had a rather odd yearning to stay and learn what it was. She was one that couldn't help but crave knowledge, which was probably the main reason she hadn't sprinted off screaming bloody murder.

After a few minutes, she finally looked back up. Fern was surprised to see him back to...well, normal in her opinion. At this point she had just wiped emotions clear off of her face, not sure what she should be feeling. What the right thing to feel was. She didn't speak, just kept her claw clenched together as she tightened her arms around her. She wouldn't even know what to say if she spoke, and she'd probably just sound like a fool if she did speak. She just waited, wanted to see if he would say anything.

[sabriel]

Seth watched as she fell backwards and landed. He should have caught her but he was waiting for a reaction and got one soon enough. She curled up in a ball. At least she hadn't run away, yet. Being careful to make enough noise that she'd have a chance to run if she wanted to, he came and sat down beside her. He took a deep breath.

"Fern?" He wouldn't continue without her permission. He wanted desperately to tell her about imprints and that he was attached to her for life, but he wouldn't if she didn't want to hear it. He wouldn't force her. She could go away and forget if she wanted to. He'd just be the shadow in the background. Seth gently placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm her down a little. He hadn't meaned to send her tumbling, he wanted to apologise for that. He hoped that she would at least let him apologise. Her face was blank now, no tears. Seth hoped that was a good thing. He was a big scary monster, so everybody normal thought.

[fern]

She heard him as clear as a bell, but Fern couldn't bring herself to say anything for the moment. She didn't know if she really wanted to hear it. Something told her that she did, but she couldn't bring herself to listen to it quite yet. Something felt right, yet she couldn't figure out what. It was honestly annoying the crap out of Fern. She rested her cheek on her knee, staring at him now. Her eyes probably gave away her main emotion at the moment, which was confusion.

"But..." No idea came to Fern on how to start her question, though in her mind it was clear and obvious. She was just going to have to go straight to the point and not beat around the bush. "But, why me? Why did you tell me?" Her eyebrows furrowed gently as she asked, trying to figure it out. Did everyone else in La Push know or something, and was he just trying to make sure she knew and didn't sound like an idiot? That didn't seem very likely in her opinion, but she couldn't find a reason. There was no obvious one in her eyes, or she was missing something major.

[sabriel]

"This is going to be hard to explain," Seth muttered to himself before turning back to Fern, "Okay...the legends tell us loads of different things. Some are about are legendary fued with vampires. Others tell us about imprinting. Imprinting basically means that if we see a girl who was sort of, meant for us I guess, then we'll imprint on her. It's not like true love or anything. It's much, much stronger. Like everything we had duty or love for had just taken a back seat. It's so strong. Fern...when I first saw you today, that happened to me." Seth said, unusually calmly. "I'm in love with you, forever."

He finished his little speech and turned to look at her, hoping she wouldn't take this the wrong way. He thought maybe he should of left the forever bit out, but why conceal the truth? Actually, could he of concealed the truth from her? Seth somehow thought it was impossible. Something so strong had to prevent him from concealing secrets and lying. Imprinting was so pure that he could do no wrong no more.

[fern]

A puzzled expression continued to stay across Fern's face as he started to explain. Vampires?! At that part her eyes widened in an almost cartoon like way, that just seemed unbelievable. She pinched her arm lightly, almost expecting to wake up and find herself back in bed. But she stayed exactly where she was, and still felt like she was in some unusually cruel prank. She ran a hand through her hair in an almost agitated manner, finding the situation utterly impossible. But she could not think of a reason for him to go off and make up a ridiculous story, or find a wolf so quickly. So it had to be real said logic.

Listening carefully, the wrinkles that had formed between her eyebrows did not appear like they were going to disappear anytime soon. Fern's confusion was growing deeper as he spoke. She comprehended it all, but it wasn't until his ending words that she realized it. Her lips formed a soft o shape, not sure what to say. And with that she remained silent, trying to think and clear her head. Her heart said yes, her mind so no. It was a conflicting thing, and almost at the point that it was giving her a headache. How calm he was remaining was lost on her, she was almost on the verge of just passing out. It was a lot to take in.