Talking with Carlisle

(Thomas POV)

 Walking back towards the house after getting dressed again, I could barely keep my feet on the ground, I was so happy. I was not a danger to my friends and family, it seemed like I had complete control over myself as a tiger. There definitely needed to be a few more tests, but at the moment, I didn't want to think about that. 

 Before I could even clear the trees into the backyard of the Cullen house, Edythe caught me in a near-painful hug.

 "You looked so amazing in that form, and the idea that I can hear your mind is beyond awesome."

 I smiled down at the beautiful girl in my arms, "I am happier than you can possibly imagine right now. The thought of losing control and hurting you was too frightening to think about. What about you? Did my animal blood have any appeal to you in that form?"

 Edythe chuckled, "I didn't even think to take note of that. Too many other things on my mind at the time. Let's go inside."

 Once inside, I went directly to Jasper as he stood next to Alice, "I can't thank you enough for putting yourself at risk like that. If there is ever anything I can do to repay you, just ask and I will do everything I can to get it done."

 Jasper just smiled, "I don't hold debts for family, Thomas, but you better make her happy. She deserves it." As he spoke the last sentence, he turned his eyes to Edythe.

 "I want to fight you! You looked strong, so it could be fun." Emmett barged in with a smile covering his face.

 There was no hostility in his eyes or actions, just a childlike exuberance. "We can do that, but we will have to take it slowly. Build up to actually testing ourselves. The potential for hurting each other is outrageously high, and Rosalie has a vindictive look about her, so if I accidentally hurt you too badly, I don't want her coming after me."

 "No worries there, I'm the strongest in the house, so I think I can take yah."

 I just smiled, "Then we will have to make a plan for it, Emmett. But for now, it's getting late, and I still have to have a talk with your dad." I patted his shoulder and looked at Carlisle, who nodded his head, then tilted it in a motion for me to follow him and started making his way up the stairs to the third floor.

 I brought Edythe's hand to my lips and kissed it, "I will be back soon, Sunshine." Then I followed Carlisle. We walked up the stairs and down a hallway to what I soon realized was his home office. It was by far the darkest room in the house I had seen yet. The back wall was one big built-in bookshelf that was almost completely full of what I would later learn were medical texts from all ages. The rest of the walls were covered in paintings; at first glance, they appeared to be done in each popular style over the decades, lasting back into the mid-1600s.

 My love of art pulled me to appreciate them. "These are wonderful, Sir. So much history and in such a variety."

 "I remember Alice telling me that you loved the arts. I am glad you appreciate them. Please have a seat, son." Carlisle gestured to a pair of chairs in front of the desk as he sat down in his own chair. 

 Pulling my eyes away from the paintings, I took a deep breath and sat down, giving him all my attention.

 After a moment to collect his thoughts, Carlisle started to speak. "I do not mean this to be the stereotypical discussion about your intentions with the young woman I consider my daughter, but there will be bits of that in here, I'm sure. She was truly my first created child, and as such, she holds a special place in my heart. I can see that she cares for you very deeply, and that is enough for me. Your own inclusion in the supernatural world makes this much easier than if you had been a mortal."

 He paused for a breath, "But I feel I must inform you about our peculiar emotional traits, as a vampire, I mean. Much of this is information I have gathered over my life, and a bit is what I have heard from others, so nothing I say is 100% accurate.

 When a person is changed to a vampire through the venom of another, they are subjected to a cellular change. The Venom overwhelms and changes the cells it comes in contact with. It slowly changes the body into what you have seen with us here. The pain of the transformation is immense and beyond my ability to describe. It makes us stronger, faster, and frees us from the ravages of time. We no longer need to breathe, and if injured, we heal rapidly with only another vampire's venom leaving scars. We do, however, need to feed on blood an average of every few weeks after the first year. The easiest and most plentiful source of blood is obviously humans."

 He watched for my reactions before continuing. "It also in a way… Locks us mentally into who we were at the time of the change." He paused for another moment, "I don't think I'm describing it very well, but what I mean is that we don't change easily. Yes, we can still learn and mature mentally, but who we are in our minds stays the same, unless something comes along and creates enough of an impact on us that we change in response. For the longest time, I feared that I had made Edythe and Edward too young and that was why they had so much trouble finding a mate to share their life with, but this last year has happily proven that to be wrong."

 I thought for a moment, "Are you speaking of emotional maturity?"

 Carlisle smiled, "Yes. Our emotions do not change very often, and when they do, it is a powerful and intense experience. An apt description would be that in terms of finding a life mate, we can go from a complete lack of interest in the idea, to utterly obsessed when the right person comes along. Because we don't have practice with certain emotions, they tend to override our self-control when first feeling them again."

 "It is a bit academic, but when a vampire is a newborn and in its first year, all emotions are overwhelming and distracting to the point one needs to constantly suppress them. In doing so, some emotions that are not used for a while sort of get buried, and when uncovered, they can almost totally overwhelm us. If a mated pair loses one, the other will often go into such a rage that it overwhelms all caution in the need for revenge. I have seen it happen more than once, and it has left a lasting impression."

When Carlisle took a moment, I broke in. "You spoke of the most plentiful source of blood being human, but I understand you… Pioneered the use of animals as a substitute. May I ask why you even thought to do that?" It was a question I felt only he could answer, so I had been looking for an opening to ask it. 

 Carlisle looked over my shoulder and his eyes lost focus for a moment, "When I received the bite that turned me, it was at a time that I felt protective over my fellow man. I was taught that hunting supernatural creatures was to save humanity. That was probably the most prevalent emotion I felt at the time, so looking at them as a food source weeks later revolted me. Knowing I could not resist my thirst long, I ran into the woods and away from any hint of civilization. Sadly, I then looked for ways to end my suffering before I lost control of myself and returned to take innocent lives. Fortunately, in my crazed wanderings, I came across a deer and fell upon it and satiated my thirst on it. Realizing that it wasn't too different than consuming the flesh of the animal, I was able to accept this substitute for human blood and learned to control my thirst."

He shifted in his seat, "Years later, I was to learn of another Coven that also sustains themselves on animal blood, they are called the Denali Coven. They maintain a regular house in Alaska. We have spent time with them on occasion." 

 We both lapsed into silence for a time. But then Carlisle broke it, "Edythe is a very strong-willed woman, and now that you have come into her life, I can only celebrate her happiness. If you have any questions about our nature that you cannot ask her, then feel free to talk with me about it. Until then… You may as well come in, dear. I don't think either of us didn't know you were at the door the whole time."

 The door opened to reveal Edythe, "Then you should have invited me from the beginning."