𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎
— 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓅𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓊𝓈 —

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘'𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐃 frequently when she was alive; although the strong smell of cinnamon nearly burned her nose every winter, Serenity still enjoyed watching the older woman craft her favorite gingerbread cookies and cinnamon twists. The air freshener in Laythe's truck smelled similar to what she remembered, and she nearly told him that very thing — but had she done so, Serenity knew that the boy would ask her of her troubles. His mother often did the same, and was convicted that her niece's controlled emotional state was only a temporary matter, but months after the accident had proven to Marina that Serenity was a strong-willed girl with a soft perspective that she hoped would never change. The mellow smile that graced Serenity's features was a refreshing new addition to the household, considering the previous suffering that the mother and son duo had managed to survive. It was true that life was not kind to Serenity, but it chose the same fate for Laythe and Marina the second that Bradley Reagan was taken from them.

Serenity was told by her father that Bradley had been in the wrong place at the wrong time; while working with customer service at the Seattle Bank, a robbery had taken place, and had resulted in the death of himself and three of his peers. Though Serenity had rarely gotten the chance to visit him, she knew that he was a gentle soul who dedicated his free time to volunteering, and completed many community service projects with an arrangement of town hall members. And when he wasn't working to guarantee the succession of his faction's economy, he enjoyed to travel with his family. Laythe had, on several occasions, recounted to Serenity the many adventures they had experienced. Serenity remembered their very last the most vividly: New York. Laythe had requested a Christmas full of window-shopping and tree-lighting ceremonies, and his parents complied with his wishes. But her reason for recalling it so distinctly was simple — Laythe's father had purchased him a snow-globe during their stay, and the boy displayed it on the nightstand next to his mahogany bed as a reminder of the last adventure with his father. Like Serenity, the remainder of the Reagan family was resilient, but it didn't come without moments full of memories — such as the one right now — that could so easily bring back the past, as if it were right there, lying innocently in the palm of her hand.

But it was gone before she could grasp it.

After many moments of sitting silently in the driveway of the Black residence, Laythe stares at Serenity with wide, expectant eyes. "You've been silent for nearly ten minutes, is anything bothering you?"

"Of course not," she dismisses him, before working to unbuckle her seatbelt. "I'm just excited to see Jacob, aren't you?"

"I am," he confirms, opening the door and speaking to her before closing it behind him, "but not as excited as you, I suppose."

Serenity had to jog to keep up with his quick pace — although, for Laythe, he hadn't noticed that his walking was any faster than usual. The green grass beneath the girl's boots was slick with the dampness of morning dew (or perhaps it had rained the night before and she hadn't woken to notice), and the morning sun was barely visible in the grim sky full of brooding clouds. Serenity was almost sure that those same clouds emerged every day, and she found herself wondering, contrary to what others would argue, if they grew tired of the routine. She also wondered if the sun grew jealous of being hidden by those very clouds, but she had yet to reveal to anyone her suspicions in the fear that they would merely chuckle, reciting that the clouds and sun were inanimate, inhuman objects. And yet she still wondered.

Upon sighting her favorite russet-skinned boy, Serenity races ahead of Laythe to throw herself into the muscular arms of Jacob Black. He was grinning, as usual, while leaning against the tin garage that he referred to as the home for his mechanical projects. It was barely standing, and yet the very building offered many memories of the summer she and Laythe had spent with Jacob, including the instance in which he decided to halt all of his progress to have a day of relaxation with his close friends.

"I've missed you more than you'll ever know," Serenity laughs into his bare shoulder as he places her back on her feet, "but why aren't you wearing a shirt? Are you attempting to catch pneumonia too? Please, don't be as careless as Laythe and put on a hoodie, I wouldn't want you to get sick again."

Rolling his eyes at her instinctual insistence, he places his finger on her button nose as a means to terminate her ramble. "It could be colder," he shrugs. "Besides, I'm bigger than you, thus the extensive body heat. You should try growing sometime."

"You should try shrinking," she sticks out her tongue, swatting at his finger as Laythe joins the two.

"Hey, no fighting," Laythe interjects, "because it's obvious who would win in a fight — the quicker, stronger, more educated opponent, of course."

Jacob glances to Serenity, patting her head with sympathy, "Laythe, you really shouldn't have degraded Serenity like that. Comparing her to my intelligence, agility, and strength while she's standing right here proves that you have no sense of morals."

"I was actually talking about Serenity," the boy replies, crossing him arms over his chest. Serenity places her hand over her lips in an attempt to hide her growing smile, but fails to do so as a frown appears on Jacob's face and he scoffs in disapproval and disappointment. "Betting on your skills would prove to be illogical, you think with your muscles and temper, not your brain."

Jacob's grown deepened, and as his lips parted to debate Laythe's opinion, a new voice had interjected before he could defend himself.

"Jacob has the tendency to step before he punches," another russet-skinned and shirtless boy steps from the garage, placing a hand on Jacob's shoulder as he grins down at Serenity, "keep that in mind when you kick his ass."

Laythe had mentioned many of his friends before, but Serenity had never met them — from what she had gathered, they all shared a similar sense of humor, dark hair, and the same common attribute: the tattoo on their bicep. Serenity wondered why they had decided to seal the bounds of their friendship with a tribal mark, but understood when her cousin explained it was 'a symbol of the brotherhood', and left her with nothing more than the simplistic answer. Of course, she chose not to pry any further, but that didn't halt the constant gears in her mind that created new possibilities nearly every day. On days that left her dreams of ventures unfulfilled, she found herself fading into a state of deep thought.

"You must be Serenity," the boy speaks again, holding out his hand for her to take. "I've heard so much about you, and I assure you, the pleasure is all mine. I'm Embry." His deep sienna eyes were alight with playfulness, and Serenity couldn't help but pull him into a tight embrace.

"It's lovely to meet you, Embry," she says, laughing at his stunned response before backing away to glance over him.

"She's very friendly." Laythe states, gesturing to the smaller family member. "That is, if you haven't already noticed. She will have you wrapped around her finger in no time."

Embry flashes a smile at her, he could practically feel the warmth of cordiality radiating from her body. Though he had met her merely moments ago, the aura of her affability was something he had never quite known before, especially when first meeting a new acquaintance. But Serenity had the tendency to offer the sense of comfort — her name meant peace, and anyone graced with the pleasure of taking her hand would agree that she, in fact, was the calm that everyone wished to desperately to have in their life. Embry could practically see it now, their friendship would blossom with absolute ease.

Jacob furrows his eyebrows, "I'm still curious as to how you manage that," he pauses, pointing an accusing finger at the smiling girl. "You do that thing, that cute little thing with your eyes and it's like everything else in the world doesn't matter. Yes, that thing Ren, stop doing it!" Serenity tilts her head, as if clueless to what he spoke of — but she was guilty, of course, to batting her eyelashes as she did nearly every time she needed the assistance of Jacob or her cousin. They simply couldn't resist her pleads, or perhaps it was the pout of her lips as she slowly dazed them into persuasion. "I hope you're aware that what your doing is manipulation, and you should be ashamed for taking advantage of me."

"You know you missed me," Serenity winks back at him, stuffing her hands into the pockets of Laythe's hoodie. And he had, that was no secret — hours away from her felt like an eternity, and it was almost as if the world grew more dull with each passing moment. After only a day of growing accustomed to her presence, Jacob had told her that she was the sun that Washington had been searching for. And perhaps he was right. The rain and constant fog practically diseased everyone with a daze consisting of a dreary facial expression and a heart heavy with nothing in particular. The Quileutes had yet to realize that they were missing something . . . someone, to be precise. Someone that they had yet to meet, all the while feeling the absence of her warmth every waking day, all the while wondering if the possibilities for growing tired of waiting.

They, much like Serenity, were continuing to search for the very thing they missed the most. But how was it feasible to miss something that was never there to begin with?

But Embry didn't feel the emptiness anymore, and he found it quite impressive that a smile from the small girl made him feel so undeniably content. "I wouldn't mind taking a walk," Embry suggests to his friends, gesturing to the wooded area behind them. "So, unless there are any objections . . . " Trailing off, Embry gently places his hand on the small of Serenity's back to lead her around the many surrounding potholes she nearly stepped into, before looking over to her. "How are you liking the Reservation?"

"It's different," she replies, thankful for his kind gesture. "More simplistic than what I've experienced, but in the best way. It's almost like I'm meant to be here." She felt that way from the moment her eyes found the sign that welcomed her to the Quileute Reservation, and although it was odd, she had felt more at home than the previous location in which she had spent the entirety of her life. It was difficult for the Reagan girl to admit that she was more comfortable in a foreign place than in the very house her parents had raised her in. But the difference was the forest — whereas she previously had rare connections with nature, Serenity was now surrounded by the trees that beckoned to her, and promised to continuously envelope her in a state of calmness; the birds sang to her, the leaves on the wind waved at her, and the moon sang her name. Here, she was significant. And she wished the feeling would last forever.

"I have a feeling that you'll fit in nicely," he tells her, brushing past a jagged tree branch while watching her pale cheeks tinge a light shade of pink. "You have an abundance of new people to meet, places to explore, and so much to learn — you'll be surprised that things around here aren't as boring as some will lead you to believe. It's all about your perspective, really."

"Any suggestions for the future?" Serenity raises an eyebrow, curious as to what advice he could offer to her.

Embry hesitates for a clear moment, his dark eyes focused on something in the distance. But when he turns to face her, he seems confident with his answer, and the corners of his lips turn up with the hint of a smile. "Don't be so quick to believe that some things are impossible."

Serenity didn't understand then, only nodding along to Embry's words. But soon enough, she would see so much clearer; though her vision was undeniably blurred, one day she would be able to view her surroundings with absolute certainty.

And Embry couldn't help but wonder what that would mean for her.

❝ i can't wait until serenity meets
paul ugh, but first we need some character
development and some beautiful
brotp's with a couple of the other
quileute boys :)) lmk what you think! ❞