Wish you'd see it my way. [Maddie/Open]

[Emmett Cullen]

   The all-too-familiar burning flames were licking temptingly in the back of Emmett's throat as he sat impatiently on the front step of the Cullen house. The breeze, warm on his icy skin, glanced by lazily, pushing lightly against his clothes, carrying on it the boring scents of mere snacks- particularly that of rabbits. Heh, New York. I love New York, he sarcastically chuckled in his head, leaning back against his palms and letting his head fall backward loosely, his obsidian eyes staring blankly upwards. Such amazing food here. Forget the grizzly bears from Washington- sign me up for a forest full of possum! A grin crossed his face at his own joke. Bah, I complain too much, he resolved. Least I'm not having as much trouble with the food here as...

   "Maddie, you ready yet?" he called, shutting his eyes. Even if there had been sunlight today- which there wasn't- it wouldn't have bothered Emmett's eyes. The whole 'situation' of Madison's was more than irritating, and his impatience with her had internally washed over him once again. It's not that I don't love my niece, he defended once more against nobody. It's just... well, how many times do you have to sneak out at night before you finally get over the newborn's human blood craving? The deer here don't taste that bad, anyway. Almost better than Forks. "C'mon, Madd," he groaned after a few moments' reprieve. "I'm not afraid to go without you, y'know."

[Madison Hale]

Maddie sat perched on the end of her bed trying to convince herself that this was nothing to be scared about. So she was going hunting. Big deal. Just because she wouldn't be feeding on human blood... Animal blood was better than no blood, and Maddie was thirsty. Can't you just wait until tonight? A voice in her head spoke up, and she seriously considered it. But she knew deep down that it wasn't possible. She hadn't fed for a while now; her eyes were proof of that. Looking in the mirror opposite her, she could barely tell the where her pupils started.

Madison turned to face the door as she heard Emmett, her uncle, call from downstairs. Her body tensed slightly, as she realised that she was actually going through with this. Slowly getting up off of her bed, well, slowly for a vampire, she walked up to the mirror, and put her hair up into a scruffy pony-tail. She took a deep, but unnecessary and walked out of her room, shutting the door behind her. She sped up when Emmett called her again. "I'm coming! She called out as she walked down the stairs and towards the main entrance, where she guessed Emmett would be waiting.

She found him waiting on the steps leading to the front door of the Cullen's front door. She didn't bother trying to sneak up on him: it would never work. As she reached him, her pace slowed and completely stopped when she reached the top of the stairs. "I'm here, I'm here. No need to threaten me." She said with a smirk on her face, and her hands on her hips.

[Emmett Cullen]

   "Ya sure?" Emmett chuckled, opening his eyes lazily as she stood beside him. "I mean, all that time and you're not wearing something ridiculously complex? You're lucky I don't force you to stick with only rabbits," he teased, tone threatening but expression utterly betraying the notion that Emmett really could be threatening. Of course, she's just nervous. I probably would be, too, in her spot, he mused, remembering the times his will had been shattered against the bloodlust. Just remember to keep an eye on her.

   Jumping in the blink of an eye- to any human, that is- to his feet, he turned to face her, crossing his arms in an epic fashion to tease at her akimbo pose. "Alas, I digress," he chuckled, using a deeper tone like some sort of vampire-like Superman, "are ya ready, niece of mine?" In typical comical Emmett fashion, he raised an eyebrow as he finished the question.

   "Oh, wait a minute- probably oughta see if someone else wants in on this," he muttered to himself, letting his arms drop loosely. Turning towards the entrance, he raised a hand to his cheek and called in a conversational tone, knowing fully well that anyone else needing to hear his offer would be able to, "Hey, Maddie and I are going hunting. Anyone else want in on it?"

[Alice Cullen]

"I'll pass." Alice screamed from behind. She's very protective of Maddie but not exactly strict. Alice doesn't want Maddie to feel that she's very dangerous and untrustworthy, as a matter of fact, she wanted Maddie to feel the opposite of it. "Just take care of my little girl Em and just stick in heading East and away from the lake." She advised. Alice had seen a family going on a picnic and it's not advisable for Maddie to go there.

"Maddie, stay close to your uncle okay?" she reminded her. Alice just bought a new magazine which also made her decide to just stay at home since she's not yet in need of hunting. "I've got this new magazine and I saw few dresses that will look good on you." Alice, just like how she is with Bella, loves to dress up Maddie too.

[Jasper Hale]

Jasper flipped the page in his book, looking up at Alice. He smiled as she warned Emmett and Maddie to stay away from the lake. He loved how she was so protective over Madison, even though she wasn't really their daughter. I always knew she'd make a great mother, he thought.

He stood up, marking the place in his book and setting it down. "You know what? I think I'll go with Em and Mads," he said, knowing what a hard time Maddie was having with their lifestyle. The more support, the better. He raised his voice, but only slightly, knowing he would be heard. "I'll come," he said. He walked over to Alice, giving her a small kiss. "I'll watch after her. Don't worry," he said, before walking out the door and down the steps.

He stopped in front of Emmett and Maddie. "You heard your mother. Stay away from the lake," he said to Maddie, trying to be the responsible parent. Hoping he didn't upset her, he smiled. "How 'bout this? Whoever can catch the biggest animal wins. I'll let you pick the prize," he said.

[Emmett Cullen]

   Emmett merely grinned back at Alice. "Aw, c'mon, Alice," he playfully chastised in reply. "You don't seriously think I'd let my niece, uh..." he trailed off, realizing with an internal pang and an external, subtle jump of a neck muscle where this thread of conversation was taking him. "...do anything near the lake. It's obviously too cold for a swim, right?" he finished lamely, letting out a few awkward chuckles.

   Just then, Jasper happened to jump up, offering to go with them. Were it that Emmett had a pulse, it might have slowed in the wave of relief provided by the change in subject. His expression softening from what had apparently tightened thanks to his skillful choice of words, he watched as his brother neared him and Maddie. "Oh, really?" he asked with a playful tone, raising an eyebrow in his eagerness to make the change permanent. "You sure you want to make that sort of offer, Jazz? I mean, if you don't feel like having me embarrass you, I'll understand..." He was grinning fully now, but, as he turned with his back intentionally momentarily against Maddie, he whispered so quietly he was almost mouthing it, "I owe you one!"

   "So," Emmett began in a suddenly businesslike tone, his hands clapping together in the blink of an eye with the sound of a landslide, "are we about ready to go yet? If I'm embarrassing both my niece and my brother in a single afternoon, we'd best get this party started. In fact, I'll give you two all of one second's head start." He flashed a confident grin at Madison, hoping that his own confidence on the topic of today's hunt, regardless of his almost-slipup earlier, would make her feel better than she obviously didn't.

[Alice Cullen]

"Thanks Love." Alice said and kissed Jasper on the cheek. "Not that I'm not I'm not comfortable with you guiding Maddie Em, but it's nice to have Jazz go with you guys." Alice thought it would be perfect for Jasper and Maddie to have that father and daughter bonding. She wants them both to be fully comfortable with each other. "You three will enjoy this one. And Em,Jazz be ready for the prize." Alice said in a low teasing voice and winked. "I'll make sure your dress is done when you get home Maddie." she said excitedly as she eyed on one dress that she decided to make for Maddie.

"Off you go now. Just don't be home too late." she reminded them. "Esme will worry." she slightly moved closer to Jasper and whisper, "Stay close to her, make sure she's on your site all the time."

[Madison Hale]

Madison shot a glance at her uncle. "Yes, well. Sorry about taking so long, I..." She said, trailing off at the end, not knowing how to continue without admitting that she was scared. "If I wore something complex, how would I hunt?" She challenged, attempting to copy that thing he did with his eyebrow. She was pretty sure that it didn't work.

Maddie nodded in approval as Emmett suggested that he ask if anyone else wanted to come. Not that she didn't want to hunt with Emmett alone. She trusted him enough to make sure she didn't make too much of a mess, but still, more people might be fun.

She heard her mum, Alice call from behind them, declining the invitation. Maddie loved Alice and was a little upset when she said that she wasn't going, but as Maddie listened, and Alice explained why she wasn't coming, Maddie's face lit up. Unlike her aunt Bella, Maddie loved it when Alice dressed her up, or bought her new clothes. "I will mum," Maddie said, smiling.

Then she heard her dad speak up. "I'll come,"[/i] he said. She turned round to face the door to see Jasper walking towards them. "You heard your mother. Stay away from the lake,"[/i] Maddie leaned on one leg whilst crossing her arms. She nodded. "Yes, I get it, the lake is a no go area." Maddie could probably guess why, but she knew her family were just looking out for her, so she'd agree to it.

She thought about Jasper's offer. She could use this to her advantage... Although she didn't need anything, it'd be nice to get something all the same. "That sounds fair," She said, a small smile reappearing on her face again. "Can we go then? My throat's hurting..." She asked, trying to swallow back the flames that were rising in the back of her throat. She walked down the steps and waited for her dad and uncle to follow.

[Jasper Hale]

Jasper stared at Emmett as he tried to get himself in on the bet. Well, that definitely wasn't going to work. Not only would both Maddie and Jasper lose, but then they'd have to let him set the prize, and if Jasper knew anything about Emmett, he was sure a human vampire punching bag was sure to be what Emmett wanted. "I don't think so, brother. This is a father/daughter bet. If you want one, get Jenson to come," Jasper said, knowing that no matter how thirsty he was, he would lose against Emmett.

Jasper then turned to look at Maddie who looked anxious to leave. Since his eyes were getting blacker by the minute, he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," he said, starting for the woods. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting his sense of hearing and smell take over. Alice was right, he heard people by the lake. It sounded like a family, and Jasper definitely didn't want to disrupt that. Instead, he listened to the east, like Alice had said, and listened. It sounded promising.

"Ok, toward the west sounds good," he said, opening his eyes and looking back toward Maddie and Emmett. "Last one there has to make friends with a human?" he asked before remembering Maddie and her difficulties. He frowned. "We might have to think of something else," he said, trailing off.

[Emmett Cullen]

   Emmett couldn't do anything but laugh heartily at Maddie's reply. "Touché," he chuckled, shaking his head and letting the topic die where it was.

   "Aww," he groaned, pouting comically, with stuck-out bottom lip and all, at Jasper's correction. Looks like I have to stay out of this one. If only Jenson wasn't off in Niagara today with Rose... he wistfully murmured in his head as his expression recovered.

   Pursing his lips and then pushing them off to a side, Emmett nodded, still honestly a little bummed about not being in on the bet, as Jasper and Madison resolved to begin the hunt. There was no use in getting too bummed, though; it wouldn't do any good to rain on an already difficult enough parade. "Well, hey," he replied, grinning once more, "I may not be in on the bet, but you guys can still have that extra second, if ya like..." He once again raised a playful eyebrow while stepping down the front steps to stand beside Maddie, switching his gaze between them before he melodramatically crouched for the sprint. Silently inhaling, he could smell Alice's prediction off at the lake to the east, utterly unaware of their possible doom- though Emmett was far from letting Maddie do something she'd regret. "All ready?" he announced, letting a pause go by before he continued on. "Three... two--"

   Like lightning, he was off in a westward direction, the forest screaming inaudibly by beneath his feet. Of course, in spite of him being Emmett, he wouldn't be so reckless with a relatively newborn vampire as to leave his own brother alone to deal with whatever she could throw his way. So, leaping up to rebound against a large evergreen tree that creaked with the icy boulder's weight, he backflipped off of it, turning to face where he'd just run from. "C'mon, you two," he called conversationally with a wide grin. "I think we've got some moose in the area!" he added temptingly.

[Madison Hale]

As she heard her dad making sure Emmett wasn't included in their little bet, Maddie sighed in relief. She was pretty sure that if Emmett was in on this, he would almost definitely win. She shut her eyes and took in the scents around her.

She could smell the animal blood in the west. It wasn't too appealing, as it was a herbivore, but Madison would just have to deal with that. She almost didn't notice Emmett run past her into the woods. She laughed loudly at her uncle before turning to face her dad, who was still behind her. "Looks like you're befriending the human," She said, trying to show that his earlier remark hadn't effected her, even if it had.

She followed after her uncle into the forest. She'd almost caught up to him before the wind changed, bringing in scents from the opposite direction to which they had planned to go. The smell made Maddie's throat burn, and caused her to stop dead in her tracks, frozen. This scent was so much sweeter than the animals that she had smelt before. Only one thing had this appetizing scent. Humans. She stared at her uncle, fear and shock in her eyes. It took every ounce of strength she had to whisper one word - "help." - to whoever was closest to her at the time. They had about half a second before she ran off into the direction of the humans.

[Jasper Hale]

Jasper rolled his eyes at Emmett as his "brother" ran off into the forest, looking like a kid in a candy store. Of course he takes this totally seriously, Jasper thought to himself as he lost sight of Emmett. Well, better get a move on, he thought, picking his foot off the ground getting ready to head off when Maddie took off before him, calling over her shoulder, "Looks like you're befriending the human."[/i] He growled a little, not angry, and rolled his eyes again. "Why did I not make this a fighting competition?" he asked, knowing that the two of them could hear him. Realizing that he was going to lose his own bet, he took off, following his family.

Jasper followed behind the two, hearing Emmett's footsteps in the distance and Maddie's closer. Her's seemed to stop and Jasper got excited, thinking he was going to catch up and beat her. He'd decided that if she lost, he wouldn't make her do it. It was only right, and he wanted what was best for his family. Jasper pushed harder ahead, smirking as he caught up to Maddie.

Just then, however, he heard her whisper. "Help."[/i] His eyes widened and he smelled it: humans. He heard her take off in the opposite direction, and Jasper stared at Emmett, whom he had just spotted in the trees. "MADDIE! NO!" he bellowed, quickly changing direction and following her, pushing faster and faster, catching up. "EMMETT, C'MON!" he yelled over his shoulder. He turned his head around back to Maddie's direction and saw that he was feet behind her, the humans in sight ahead.

He pushed farther ahead, and Maddie's shoulders brushed his for a mere moment before he outran her, turning around and crouching in front of the humans, his teeth bared at his daughter. He hated this, but he needed to protect those innocent lives behind him. His throat burned but he fought it. He was stronger than that. The last human he'd tried to eat was Bella at her birthday party, and that was so long ago. He refused to give in now. He growled at his daughter while he could feel the humans cowering in fear behind him. "Don't do this, Maddie," he said quietly, before calming himself down and letting it radiate out to those around him.

[[Blah. There you go.]]

[Emmett Cullen]

   Emmett began to turn with a sly grin while Maddie took off towards him, preparing to start the sprint once more. Just then, he heard Jasper's muttered woes, and he couldn't hold back loud guffaws. Yelling over his shoulder, he called back between laughs, "Because you'd rather lose slowly this way instead of losing quickly that way! You may have the skill, Jazz, but I can take ya!"

   Still laughing heartily, he was just about to take off-- "Help." Chuckles abruptly halted, his eyes widened in disbelief at her expression- but then she was gone, leaving him momentarily slack-jawed as Jasper flashed by. "MADDIE! DON'T!" he roared. Surprisingly fast, even for a vampire, he took off, Jasper's ghostlike figure bobbing and weaving before him in the forest like some sort of sick guiding light.

   Closer and closer, his brother's back grew larger as Emmett caught up- and he nearly smacked into Madison as Jasper finally got in front of her, stopping her abruptly. Good thinking, Jazz, he commented with inadvertently dull apathy as a calming wave washed over him. Regardless, he laid a hand on Maddie's shoulder, squeezing it boldly: not to force her to stay in that spot, but to calm her- with the added bonus that, if she did try to lunge at the now utterly baffled humans, he had that much of an advantage already on her. His onyx eyes glanced over at Jasper, the irony of how this used to be one of Jazz's own situations striking Emmett, watching with weak concern to ensure that he wouldn't be having too much trouble with this situation. Thirty years of a clean slate, while certainly promising, was no true guarantee that it would all be okay. Emmett knew that from self experience.

   "Maddie," he murmured evenly, still squeezing her shoulder, "You don't want to do this." The sweet, delicious smell of the humans was wafting freely beneath his nose, and, for the merest of seconds, he almost had to remind himself that he didn't want to do this, either. He nearly retched- figuratively, of course- as the mental image of him with glowing scarlet irises floated by, and his fingers increased their hold on her slightly, inadvertently. Now what...?! he wondered with dulled anxiety, hoping Jasper would sense the anxiety and understand what he was wondering- which, he supposed, based on the situation, wouldn't be too difficult to deduce.

[Madison Hale]

Maddie ran. As fast as she could possibly go. She'd never been this fast before, and if she wasn't following the scent of humans, it might have been exhilarating. But her throat felt as though it was on fire now. She kept running, she could hear the voices of the humans that were so close to death. The family had no clue what was about to happen to them.

She heard voices coming from behind her, but she couldn't make out words. It didn't matter to her right now, all of her other senses were slowly shutting off. She could just make out the thud of footsteps behind her, getting louder all the time. It means they're catching up. Maddie thought to herself, not that it meant much to her. All that she could focus on right now was the blood. Human blood, that was so close she could almost taste it.

And then, as if out of nowhere, Jasper was in front of her, crouched and his teach bared. But, looking over his shoulder, sat the family, looking terrified. She couldn't bare this: being so close to her prey but not being able to carry out the hunt. She hissed quietly, to quiet for the humans, but she knew that her dad and her uncle would hear it. She hadn't even realised that Emmett had caught up until his hand fell upon her shoulder. She coiled away from it instantly, sinking lower to the ground, almost mirroring her dad. "Get off of me Emmett," she warned, although somewhere deep inside her, she knew it would do no good.

Remembering her dad's power, she knew she wouldn't have long before they talked her out of this. Deep down, she wanted them to, but here and now, she wanted nothing more but to feed on the family that were just behind Jasper. She growled at her uncle, whose hand had remained firmly on her shoulder. She looked for a way around her dad, a way to the humans, but as she was in Emmett's grasp, she knew it wasn't likely to happen. She was surrounded. It was fight, flight or freeze. Maddie was already doing the latter, and she knew damn well that she didn't have the self control to leave. That left her with one option. Fight.

Snarling, loud enough for the family to hear this time. She turned around to face her uncle, teeth still bared. A tiny voice in her head was telling her to stop, that this was wrong. But it didn't matter, because she wasn't listening to it. She lunged towards Emmett, her teeth snapped as she reached him. She didn't know whether she had got him or not, and she didn't want to see, because something had changed.

She tasted the air again, before turning around. It was only Jasper there. Madison was horror-struck. How could they have gone? She was sure that they hadn't been there that long. She tasted the air once more, checking that her first deduction was right. There was a faint scent of humans towards the south, along with the sounds of cars. They'd reached the town.

Maddie's hinting instincts abruptly vanished, and once again, it was just Jasper, Emmett and herself. She faced both of her relatives in turn, her face covered with horror. What had she just done? What had she been ever so close to doing? If Maddie could've cried, she would've. She sank to the ground, her head in her hands, unable to face her dad or uncle anymore. What did they think of her now? She could only come up with one conclusion. "You must hate me..." She said in a quiet voice, trailing off at the end. Emmett especially. She mentally added. Had she bit him? She wasn't sure, and she could face either of them right now. Instead, she just stared at the ground, counting the individual blades of grass to take her mind off of everything that had happened.

[Emmett Cullen]

   Emmett's eyebrows shot up in surprise as Maddie sunk down quickly into a crouch, but he leaned forward partially over her and left his hand firmly planted on her shoulder. "Not a chance, Madison," he replied evenly, using her full name to accentuate his seriousness in the situation. But what was he to do? She didn't seem so entranced quite yet that he needed to restrain her- it seemed that she was contemplating something, though the fire hadn't yet let go of her, as he noted from her stiff pose- but the family, still lingering stupidly behind Jasper, was all but safe. Emmett moved to glance confusedly back over her shoulder at his brother--

   Maddie's snarl snapped through the air with such surprising vivacity that an inadvertent half-snarl jumped from Emmett himself, fading quickly as his lip, slowly for a vampire, lowered itself back over his teeth. The impossible strength and, thus, the heightened speed of a newborn vampire still had yet to let Madison loose, and, though he was the strongest of the Cullen clan, the truth that he couldn't restrain a newborn alone won out as she spun around in the blink of an eye. Midnight blazes scorched in her onyx irises, and it took no time at all for him to realize what was coming. And, whether Emmett liked the idea or not, it would do absolutely no good to run or fight back against her. Though he could hold her off, either would only set her off more... and the humans would not want, for their lives' sakes, to be around a loose, irritated, thirsty vampire. No choice would save everyone, but he could take the fall for his niece. There was nothing he could do but wince as her mouth reached the base of his neck--

   A wrenching, stinging pain shot through his icy granite skin where her teeth sliced. Jaw clenching as he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, he felt her teeth vacate the cavities each had created, leaving behind in each more of the intense stinging that kept him in a constant state of wince. The squeeze of his eyelids softened, though he kept them shut, and he couldn't help but let his opposite arm, the one that hadn't tried to restrain Maddie, find the purple scar and lay upon it as if contact would soothe the stinging. Letting the one that had tried to restrain her fall stiffly to his side, lightly tasting the air with the relief that the humans had gotten away during the (what must have been) utterly bizarre scene that had just played out.

   Must've thought they'd found some cult's hideout or something... He forced out an awkwardly pleasant chuckle in reply to her, glancing up to see Madison standing before him, staring pointedly down at the ground. "I know we're not technically related, Maddie, but I'm a married man. I don't think Rosalie would like the idea of other women biting me," he forcibly snickered, subtly wincing when the motion in his neck irritated his 'wound'.

   His gaze shifted over to Jasper. "Dang, Jazz. I'm irresistible to women, even when they're vampires!" he forced out another few chuckles, noting that the stinging was just beginning to lessen in spite of the irritation made by talking. "That makes it Emmett- one, Jasper- zero."

((OOC: Tell me I did not just put innuendo in a post for this thread.))