Although Natasha is certain that she isn't going to be able to sleep again that night, the way Alice feels when she curls up on Natasha's other side and effectively surrounds her with the only two people she's ever managed to blindly trust she feels herself drifting off. They never stop surprising her.
When she finally wakes up the motions that she goes through are dangerously close to a routine, and after thanking Alice for making breakfast with a kiss that only almost bordered on inappropriate for a kitchen setting she lets Jasper brief her on the local werewolf clan. ...Pack. Whatever, it's all absolutely ridiculous and Natasha still isn't sure she's willing to accept that werewolves even exist in the first place.
But apparently they do because now she's in a jeep, and Jasper is driving her to meet the new Alpha as Natasha sits in the passenger seat, quietly contemplating her life choices. It's the mention of the Volturi that brings her back to the present, and Natasha's head doesn't turn from staring off ahead as she responds. "She can stay home if they make her uncomfortable, it's not necessary for more than two of us to approach in the first place. From what you've told me, we want to keep the peace. Two is a friendly visit, three is a possible threat."
Once they arrive Natasha seems to visibly relax, although her anxiety and wariness spike. Then she does something strange, something subtle but layered with meaning; Natasha gives Jasper an apologetic frown before building her walls up and neutralizing her emotions. They're dogs, after all, they can smell when she's nervous, can't they? It's the acknowledgement, though, that she's doing it for them, and not for him, that catches even Natasha off guard. Since when has she ever been apologetic for hiding?
She steps out of the jeep and closes the door, but after that Natasha's hands slip into the back pockets of her jeans as she waits for Jasper to move. She'll follow his lead, for now.
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When she finally wakes up the motions that she goes through are dangerously close to a routine, and after thanking Alice for making breakfast with a kiss that only almost bordered on inappropriate for a kitchen setting she lets Jasper brief her on the local werewolf clan. ...Pack. Whatever, it's all absolutely ridiculous and Natasha still isn't sure she's willing to accept that werewolves even exist in the first place.
But apparently they do because now she's in a jeep, and Jasper is driving her to meet the new Alpha as Natasha sits in the passenger seat, quietly contemplating her life choices. It's the mention of the Volturi that brings her back to the present, and Natasha's head doesn't turn from staring off ahead as she responds. "She can stay home if they make her uncomfortable, it's not necessary for more than two of us to approach in the first place. From what you've told me, we want to keep the peace. Two is a friendly visit, three is a possible threat."
Once they arrive Natasha seems to visibly relax, although her anxiety and wariness spike. Then she does something strange, something subtle but layered with meaning; Natasha gives Jasper an apologetic frown before building her walls up and neutralizing her emotions. They're dogs, after all, they can smell when she's nervous, can't they? It's the acknowledgement, though, that she's doing it for them, and not for him, that catches even Natasha off guard. Since when has she ever been apologetic for hiding?
She steps out of the jeep and closes the door, but after that Natasha's hands slip into the back pockets of her jeans as she waits for Jasper to move. She'll follow his lead, for now.