They exit the water further down the shore, stepping out near Clearwater and passing around the Quinault reservation to until the made it to Portland where they planned to head straight to the nearest airport to where they were going to catch the next flight to Brazil no matter how convoluted and backward it might be. 

Romulus had been changed the moment they stepped from the water, Alice buzzing around and spinning the clothes so fast that they were little less than damp by the time that she had her son in dry, clean clothes. he couldn't get cold, they had learned that much early on when he had refused to leave the bath even after it had gotten ice cold. 

It was a moment that made a few pretty clear about how special their children were. They processed beating hearts yet could never grow cold and the hoped that they were never going to become ill or get hurt, but still, she never wanted the opportunity to come up where it could happen. 

She wanted more than anything to just tell her family about their little trip to the ocean, through the ocean, because she knew that Bella would have been absolutely beside herself to know what they had done, just as she would have been if she had time to think things through. And after the worry faded they would have taken Romulus and Renesmee out to the water, a pool or the ocean, and they would have held them close as they swam -- photographing every second of the moment so that they could never dare to forget. 

It was impossible not to spend a second of the plane ride thinking back to them, wishing that she was back in Forks with them, cuddling and just holding them close. She felt so strained, drained out and pulled thin the further that she drew away from them. 

As it was, this was only the second time that she had been away from Forks, the first time that she had actually been truly so far from her family when it was all together, when she had them firmly in hand, firmly in heart and she in theirs. Roman didn't know what she was going to do with the itch that grew under her skin the longer she was away from them. 

When she had been given herself to them so completely, she had never imagined that she would leave, sure, she had thought of it, had thrown empty threats, but she had never wanted to actually be anywhere without them. 

From the moment she had first seen Edward, the moment she had first met his eye, she had been captured, bewitched body and soul, promised to never fall in love with another. And then Bella came and she had fallen in love again, had felt herself tumble and fall until she was destined to never be taken by another.  

And she didn't want another, didn't want to face a time where she was forced to be without them, but if there was anything for her to go by, then she would be back soon. She had to be if the feeling in her chest that only grew, only burned and spread the further she went, the longer they were apart, then she had to be back. 

If she was home instead of on this plane, curtain shut tight and Romulus fast asleep on her lap, she would have been tucked into their side, pressed between them both as they spoke in silent words and gentle presses of fingers that touched at her innocently. They would have been gathered together on the couch, watching as Renesmee and Romulus played or read or slept or did just about anything. 

Or they could have very well been on their way to make the same trip that they were making, but at least they would have been together and happy and she wouldn't have felt like she was betraying them. 

Roman was a horrible, traitorous person, and she could only hope that they would be able to forgive her. 

The thought that her daughter, that her little Renesmee had to be left behind, that she was meant to face the Volturi without her there -- meant to face possible death and all that time in between living in this state of uncertainty only made her feel worse. 

It wasn't a show of favouritism. It was a matter of circumstance that her son had woken and asked for her, that Alice had told her to take him along and then given her little choice about whether she wanted to take him along. If she couldn't be back in Forks, then she would have wanted nothing more than to have them both with her where she could be sure that they would be protected away from Aro and Jane and Demetri. 

"You want to keep straight for the Ticuna tribe?" Alice asked softly, drawing her away from her thoughts as they started to descend for landing. 

"Is that where your visions have been leading you?" Roman whispers, raising the blind to peek at the approaching land. 

She could see so much from this high, could see specks of people and green dots that were meant to be trees. She was still so high, so far away, but with new enhanced vision and intense eyesight, she could see it all, it was crazy. 

"It gives us a place to start, but I know that we won't find them there." 

"Would you be able to lead us on the right track without disturbing them?" the other vampire asks, head tilting as she squints into the future. "My visions are confusing around Romulus. Perhaps we ought to separate for an hour when we land. You can bring him to get something to eat." 

"There's no time. Why don't the pair of you go on ahead and we follow behind? I won't be able to lose either of you and If I find something, you'll know and loop back to meet me." 

"Wouldn't it just be better to do what we had originally planned with our research?" Jasper's voice rumbles softly as he speaks, the twinge of his accent spiking through with the low tenor of his voice. 

"Yes, but we don't know if they'll be willing to speak to us. The original plan called for Jacob to approach the tribe," Alice reminds him. 

"It doesn't hurt to follow the leads that we already have," Roman agrees. "How much time is there until the Volturi is set to arrive?" 

Her eyelids flutter as her eyes got darker, glazing over and cloudy; she snaps back to herself the next second. "Not as much time as I had thought. We have two weeks before the snow sticks." 

Heart leaping painfully to her throat, she tries to consider how long it might take to find this mystery hybrid, this magically key to all of their problems, the answer. It was so close, so short a time that she wasn't sure if they would even make it back in time. 

What was she going to do if she came home to find them all gone, find them all as nothing but ash and broken promises, empty dreams and shattered hopes? When the snow fell and stuck to the forest floor casting the world in perfect white and winter beauty, her world would be on the precipice of destruction and chaos and heartbreak. 

Roman worries her bottom lip. "That isn't much time. Will they be able to find all of the people that they need?"

Her brow furrows. "I can't see. The pack is all over it's making it difficult to see. We have to trust that they've made it in time." 

"They'll have Peter and Charlotte," Jasper mumbles, the dislike that he has for that fact still loud and clear. "The Denali coven will be there, as well." 

"When did you speak to Peter and Charlotte?" 

His lips quirk in a small grin. "I contacted them while you were shopping through duty-free at the airport." 

She shakes her head and buckles her son into his carrier once the seatbelt light flashes. "Smart. Anything else that I've missed?" 

"No, don't believe there is," he says gently, tension poorly hidden. "We will need you to track down the Amazonian coven while we're here, however." 

Roman's smile turns bitter as she nods, head falling back hard against the stiff headrest. "Great. No pressure. I'll get on that the moment we land then." 

There are no words of comfort for her as they fell into companionable silence. The weight of their missions was nearly suffocating. Roman was glad vampires didn't need to breathe. 

Sunset was still bright, still dangerous as they waited for the rays to disappear beyond the horizon for the moment that they could freely leave the airport instead of being held prisoner within cowering away from the window. 

Romulus was wide awake placed in her lap as she sat at one of the tables away from the orange glow, snacking on some sweet desert that Jasper had gotten for him to entice him to eat the plain American fast-food that the had gotten him to eat. It was the quickest, shortest line, and something that they were sure he would at least try. 

Her son seemed to understand the importance of the situation, however, when he ate what was served to him without complaint. Though, she knew that he understood more than she liked to believe he did despite all of her pretending and wishful thinking. 

Smart as he was, she could see the sadness in his eyes that must have been reflected in her own. Roman could only guess at what would gain such a response from him.

She didn't have any interest in knowing, not when she was trying to stay hopeful and optimistic. 

He swallows thickly, the green of his eyes glowing as he turned to face her and he looked so ethereal in the mix of fluorescent mixed with the natural atmosphere of the sun like a cat or shallow waters at sea. 

"Who are we looking for?" he asks, mouth barely moving as he speaks, placing his bowl on the table and reaching for one of the many napkins that were placed in a neat little stack. 

"We're not entirely sure, babe," Roman tells him, brushing her hand through his curls and dropping her cheek to the top of his head. She breathed him in, the intoxicating scent pulling a happy little hum from her throat as she held it in her chest. "They're someone like you, though. Isn't that nice?"

He shrugs. "I guess. I already know someone like me." 

Loss rips through her as if she had already lost her child. "Yes, but this one will be older than you and even me."

"You think I'm not going to have to die soon like mom and dad think?" 

"No!" she exclaims, resisting the urge to squeeze him against her chest. "No, you aren't going to die. Why would you ask that?" 

"Because that's what they think," Romulus tells her quietly. "You think it too, but only with the Volturi, mamma."

Her teeth clash, grinding together as her eyes squeeze tight. "I don't think anyone is going to die. That's why we're here. To make sure that it doesn't happen." 

He's silent and she can practically hear the wheels turning in his head. "We'll be the heroes?" 

Roman giggles. "Yeah, we'll be the heroes." 

"I can't wait to tell Ressie. She'll be so jealous." 

"I'm sure she'll have stories to tell you about all the people she's going to meet." 

"I get to meet them when we go back," he says smugly, turning himself in her lap so that he could stand on her thighs so that he was looking over her shoulder. "Are we leaving soon, Aunty Alice?" 

"Don't be so eager to leave just yet, honey," she tells the boy, the soft sound of her chair being placed back against the floor warning her to the imminent hovering and fluttering as the tiny vampire swooped in like a tornado of love and distraction. "Once we leave we're not going to have comfort like this for some time." 

He stills, head tilting as he considers her words carefully, then slowly, he nods, patting Roman's cheek with an open hand. "Mamma will always make sure that I'm comfortable. I'll be okay." 

"You shouldn't be so sure, babe. We're going to the rainforest. There won't be much than I can do," she says softly, head moving to kiss his fingers. "We do have a tent. When we do stop, you'll be able to properly instead of being held."

"I like to be held," he protests. 

Alice coos. "I know, honey, but it isn't good for you to sleep only in our arms."

Romulus pouts, turning to Jasper with wide, imploring eyes. "Do I have to sleep in a tent all the time?" 

The soldier crumbles with only a look, the hardened shell of a warrior, a predator, her equal as a predator, becoming mush for her son as if it was a superpower. She had no doubt that it was. Romulus might not have a clear, strong power as his parents did, as his Aunt and Uncle did, but he had this innate ability to read people, to see their expressions and understand, to read the mood and gauge the environment to get things to fold in his favour. Roman wouldn't be surprised if it developed as he got older, used that sort sixth sense as a weapon as Rosalie drew power from herself as she was knowing her beauty was incomparable; or how Carlisle took his enhanced control and compassion to become the incredible man that he was today with a family so well adapted and modern that they threatened the Volturi themself. 

His talents proved well when Jasper was quick to treasure him that the tent was only in case of hard, rainy night where they didn't want him out exposed for too long. 

"It's time," Alice says, placing her pack on her back in one graceful twist to turn and face the wide windows, her hands holding tightly to the thick straps. 

Roman stands with a silent scrape of her chair, Romulus balanced in one arm as she began to clean up at a sedated pace. She would need to feed soon, very soon. The moment they were protected by the cover of trees she was going to pin down the closest animal for them to share. 

One glance at Jasper and she knew that he would need to feed soon as well. It would help them focus and there was no way that Alice could disagree despite the deadline.  

Romulus was placed in the carrier, his slow breaths bursting against the back of her neck as he sat straight and at full attention -- ready to see everything and anything new around them. 

"To the Ticuna?" Roman says, standing at Alice's side.

"Unless you think there is anywhere else that we should go," Jasper comments, already following Alice as she makes a beeline for the exit. She had no hesitation, plan formed around the future that only she could glimpse. 

"I just believe that we need to get to the Amazon. It'll be easier to pick up some sort of trail that way." 

Alice sighed when they made it outside, breathing in the warm air deeply before she took off in one direction. 

A vague landscape formed in her mind, planes and paths creating an idea of a map in her thoughts. She had never been to Brazil, not with the intent to go searching for something. The maps of the area that she had thought she knew, thought that she memorized were panning out before her, unfolding in her mind as they cemented themselves firmly with their own little details.

With a nod, she let the trail that they were on pave out with little marks of coloured ink for each possibility she could think of. 

And Roman could only wish that she knew how to actually turn on this tracking sense instead of just floating by on a feeling. She knew that she was going to have to learn soon if all of this was going to work properly. 

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hello! We're almost done my dudes and i don't know how to feel about that.

unedited

2020-04-24