Second Try

by Jessica L


Julia was desperate for another chance at hunting. The first one didn't go so well of course, but it left her with a fervor to try again.

We were all a little nervous, considering how badly her first hunting trip went. We decided to give her a little time, and supplemented her thirst with a little bit of blood from the hospital, which Carlisle brought home after his shift ended that day.

While Julia preparing herself mentally, we gathered some extra supplies. Normally, all hunting requires is a vampire body and an animal body, but in this case we wanted Julia to be successful, so that the next time could be even easier.

We put together a backpack filled with nose plugs for her nose (to help cover the metallic scent of animal blood), perfume for her to wear to help in case the nose plugs weren't strong enough, some bottled water to help wash the taste out of her mouth in case she was successful in catching a deer, and a sweater for her to wear home just in case her hunting attempt became messy. We were all set and ready to go. Even Julia felt more at ease about this.

We got ourselves out of the house and into the woods fairly quickly. A pack of deer was not too far away from where we were. I could sense a very different outlook in Julia's thought between this time and last. She was determined, strong-willed and almost angry with herself for not going through with it last time. We were not going to have that problem today.

It was the same little hunting group as before- Carlisle, Alice, Jasper, Julia and myself. This time, before Carlisle had finished his prep talk- and I know because I heard him mentally preparing it the entire walk to through the woods- Julia had pulled her noseplugs out of the backpack and popped them on her long, straight nose. She spritzed a few sprays of perfume on herself and took off into the woods, her grey knit sweater and designer jeans barely a glimpse in the wind.

I took off behind her like a shot- as I am the fastest runner- but the others quickly followed. By the time we caught up to her, she had already grabbed a deer and sunk her teeth into its neck before the deer even realized what was going on. We all stood around her- amazed. After a few seconds of awe and admiration, we stopped gawking and grabbed our own meals.

Once our bellies were full, we gathered together and started making our way back towards the house. Conversation naturally gravitated towards congratulating Julia on her excellent hunting job. I don't think any of us were as impressed with her as she was impressed with herself. She immediately plans to tackle the job again tomorrow, without the nose plugs. We will see how that goes. Her words are about hunting, but her thoughts are of Patty, and going home. She wants to check in on the woman she cannot speak to, and she wants to start a life closer to the life she left behind.

So that was our day today. I had better gear up for a busy day tomorrow.
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