Shifting Moon

 I watched Sam disappear into the forest and turned my head to bite the vampire's backpack I added the remnants of my clothes too. Once it was secure, I started to walk to my rock but stayed off the path. I really didn't need to run into another hiker, Vampire, or human.

 I just moved without thinking too much for now, I felt that I needed to get comfortable with my new form before I would be able to make any decisions. I really needed to do some research and see just what type of tiger I am. The look I got in the pool of water made it look like I had a mane, and so far as I knew that wasn't a tiger thing. Also, if memory served, white tigers were not truly considered albino tigers, it's just a gene mutation. 

 Plus, I really doubt there are any natural tigers that stand over 6ft tall at the shoulder and who knew how long I was. Food source is another issue, will my family be safe around me? Sam said he was a protector and had no issues being around normal people, so I'm hoping I am the same. I mentally sighed, so much for not thinking too much. 

 The rest of the walk to my rock I tried to concentrate my thoughts on the sounds and sensations this new form brought to me. I was pretty sure I could hear everything within a couple hundred yards of myself. So, anything accidentally sneaking up on me wouldn't be a likely thing. I would need to pay attention to not be seen by people, or these woods could fill up fast with hunters looking for bigfoot or something. 

 When I finally got to my rock, I put the bag down and flopped on the ground. Not thinking about stuff was exhausting. After a few moments, I stood up and concentrated on pulling the heat from my body again until I stood there naked and alone. I opened the backpack and found my jacket, then spread it on the ground so I could sit as I went through the backpack's contents.

 Pulling out any clothing first, I was rewarded with a pair of grey sweats and a couple of shirts that were too small for comfort. The sweats would get me in the house, and I could just put on my jacket to cover my chest. But this wouldn't pass a close inspection from Bella. I may have to wait for her to be occupied before making my way inside and to my room. Pretty sure I could stay in my Tiger form and be close enough to pick up where she is in the house. I may even get lucky, and she left the house to get ingredients for dinner or maybe she would go check out the library before putting dinner in the oven. I will play getting in the house by ear when it's time, I guess. 

 Looking through the backpack more, I found a book. When I opened it, I noticed it was actually a diary or something like that. It had hand-drawn pictures of a woman that looked remarkably like Rosalie. I had a panic attack for a moment there, did I kill a friend of the Cullen's? After thinking about it for a bit though, I decided that even if I did, it was justifiable. He planned to kill me, so that opened him up to being killed by me. 

 The writing in the diary read more like an old play with all the thee's and thou's and it was in the 3rd person point of view also. Weird for something that read like a diary, I decided to look into it later and see if I could make out who this guy was. Finally, just turning the backpack upside down I emptied it of its remaining contents. There I found several wallets with multiple ID's. None of them were from the same state and they looked nothing like each other or the Vampire, so I found it just weird. 

 Returning my attention back to the backpack I started going through the zipper pockets and found them to be either empty or filled with cash. After counting up the money, it came out to be just under 4,000 dollars. I debated turning the whole thing over to Charlie like a responsible person should. I could tell him that I just found the backpack on the trail and let it go from there. But for reasons I couldn't explain, that just felt like a bad idea that would cause me needless issues.

 I opened my phone and looked at the time, then decided it was best to get to the house and see if I could get inside. Stuffing everything back in the backpack, I took a moment to shift into my Tiger form and keeping all my senses focused I moved toward home. As luck would have it, Bella did not appear to be home. The house was quiet minus some snoring coming from the area of Charlie's room and Bella's truck was gone. 

 I hurried up and changed out of my tiger form and on the off chance a neighbor saw me, I quickly put on the sweats and jacket then hurried inside and went straight to my room. Once there I shoved the backpack under my bead after retrieving all my stuff from it and grabbed some clean clothes, then made my way to the bathroom to get in a shower. I was relieved that the smells of Bella and Charlie didn't affect me, heaven knows what I would have done if they smelled appetizing due to my new form. I would have to make myself disappear and be just another lost hiker statistic. Not wanting to think of how that would affect Bella, I stopped thinking along those lines. 

 After going through my routine, I felt more relaxed and decided it was time to do some research. I moved to the living room and powered up the computer, then walked into the kitchen to grab a snack to keep me until dinner was ready. I knew that Bella would want dinner ready before Charlie left for work so she would be home soon. 

 Sitting down at the computer I started typing in my search questions and began reading up on tigers. The first thing I learned was that I appeared to be a very large Bengal tiger and what my reflection showed as a mane, was more like very long sideburns. Supposedly they are very sensitive and help tigers realize when something is going for their neck. When I think of a mane, I think along the lines of a tiger, where it wraps around their neck and is very bushy. 

 Looks like East Asia is the most prominent habitat for Bengal tigers, Nepal and China to be specific. Wasn't my dad from a small border town on the China / Nepal border? Looking into this brought me to some folklore of that area and something called Rakshasas. Though the information was scarce, it was a place to start looking. My musings were interrupted by the sound of Bella's big red monster getting closer and closer to the house. I closed up my search and went outside to see if she needed help bringing anything in. 

 I walked down the steps as she was getting out of the truck and asked, "Anything to carry in?" 

 "No, I just went to the library, it was not well stocked. Looks like any of the books I want we will have to go to a bigger town and find a bookstore to get them. I hear Port Angeles has some good bookstores. How was your hike?" 

 Thomas smiled, "Today's hike was mind-boggling. I saw some stuff you would never believe." 

 Bella just smiled in a humoring me kind of way, "Well I am glad you enjoyed it. Let's get dinner cooking, Charlie will be waking up soon."

 Once Bella got the two pans of Lasagna in the oven she turned to me, "Are you still coming with me to La Push First Beach tomorrow?"

 "That's the plan, I am looking forward to it. I have never seen the Ocean before, so I am very interested in it. You never did tell me what Edward was talking to you about Friday at lunch. He seems to be opening up to you?"

 Bella's eyes got a little big and panicky for a moment, "You saw that?"

 "Bell's, everyone saw that. You have no idea the eye magnet that guy is, and you pull more attention than you realize. Besides, you know I have to look everywhere when I'm in a crowded room like the cafeteria. Not to mention the nonchalant way he caught the apple you dropped, he almost looked cool for a moment. In a mopey Emo kind of way."

 Bella shook her head, "I was hoping that habit of yours was calming down. You seem much calmer since we came to Forks. Do you think you will ever be able to be in a room without watching the doors all the time?"

 "I don't know sis, but this close to the anniversary of it happening, I doubt it."