The Project of Setting Up and Constructing Aloe Wood Workshop

University of Michigan-Flint Admissions Data

University of Michigan-Flint Admissions Data University of Michigan-Flint Description: Founded in 1956, the University of Michigan-Flint is one of 15 four-year public universities in Michigan. Flint is located about an hour northwest of Detroit, and the city has a rich history in American civil rights as well as the automobile industry. Today the city continues to evolve and has become a rich location for the arts. The city is the home to The Flint Institute of the Arts, and a range of venues for art exhibition, theater and music. The University of Michigan-Flint campus sits in the heart of the city. Kettering University is withing walking distance. UM-F takes pride in its engaged learning approach to education. Since its founding, the university has followed a learning by doing model of education in which students engage in internships, undergraduate research projects, campus leadership positions, creative projects, and community service. Students can choose from over 100 areas of study, and academics are supported by a healthy 16 to 1 student / faculty ratio. Profess ional fields in business, education, and health are particularly popular. Campus life is active with several fraternities and sororities, over 20 club sports, and a wide range of other student clubs and organizations. The university does not have any varsity intercollegiate athletic teams, but UM-F students can by tickets to University of Michigan games at a discounted price.   Admissions Data (2016): University of Michigan - Flint Acceptance Rate: 65%Test Scores 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: 493  / 575SAT Math: 485  / 598SAT Writing: - / -What these SAT numbers meanMichigan public university SAT score comparisonACT Composite: 19  / 26ACT English: 18 / 26ACT Math: 18  / 25What these ACT numbers meanMichigan public university ACT score comparison Enrollment (2016): Total Enrollment: 8,044  (6,585 undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 39% Male / 61% Female58% Full-time Costs (2016 - 17): Tuition and Fees: $10,344 (in-state); $20,190 (out-of-state)Books: $1,000 (why so much?)Room and Board: $8,706Other Expenses: $3,910Total Cost: $23,960  (in-state); $33,806 (out-of-state) University of Michigan-Flint Financial Aid (2015- 16): Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 89%Percentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 63%Loans: 85%Average Amount of AidGrants: $7,786Loans: $6,428 Academic Programs: Most Popular Majors:  Accounting, Biology, Business Administration, Elementary Education, Health Care Administration, Nursing, Social Work Graduation and Retention Rates: First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 68%4-Year Graduation Rate: 13%6-Year Graduation Rate: 37% Data Source: National Center for Educational Statistics Interested in the University of Michigan-Flint? You May Like These Universities: Michigan State UniversityCentral Michigan UniversityUniversity of Michigan-DearbornUniversity of Michigan-Ann ArborWayne State UniversitySaginaw Valley State UniversityWestern Michigan UniversityFerris State UniversityOakland University University of Michigan-Flint Mission Statement: mission statement from  umflint.edu/chancellor/mission-vision The University of Michigan-Flint is a comprehensive urban university of diverse learners and scholars committed to advancing our local and global communities. In the University of Michigan tradition, we value excellence in teaching, learning, and scholarship; student centeredness; and engaged citizenship. Through personal attention and dedicated faculty and staff, our students become leaders and best in their fields, professions, and communities.

Discussion#4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion#4 - Essay Example ty as a human being that prompts Bonaparte to remark â€Å"and I was somehow very small and very lost and lonely like a child astray in the snow.   And anything that happened to me afterwards, I never felt the same about it again† (OConnor 1163). As opposed to this, in the story of â€Å"Another way to die† an innocent bystander – a veterinarian – examines a soldier to check whether he is dead, when all of a sudden the almost-corpse grabs him with a death grip and topples him into a pit containing eight dead men. This cold clasp of death is the spur that makes the veterinarian think, â€Å"I’ll never get rid of this coldness again†. This quote is prompted by the veterinarian’s unwitting close brush with death, which leaves him uneasy from its clammy grip, while the changed feelings in Bonaparte arise from natural inner shame at his act of killing a man who had become a friend. The context of the two statements is therefore quite different and does not support a conclusion that both of them are similar people. Bonaparte is a soldier fighting a war, the veterinarian is a doctor who is involved only peripherally in the war. Bonaparte has taken action and killed a soldier friend, the veterinarian did not kill anyone, he was a doctor who was checking the pulse of a dead man. While Bonaparte as a soldier was involved in the business of taking lives, the veterinarian as a doctor was involved in the business of saving lives. Bonaparte killed his good friend even in a different setting – a remote boarding house. The veterinarian is also located in a zoo setting rather than directly on the battle field but he is close to the war because he soldiers move through the area each day, yet even in this war setting, he is saved by the very same lieutenant who had just buried four men and ordered the killing of four more. The dissimilarities between the men also arises out of the context within which the two stories are placed, despite the fact that both of them were

Roisin as a Secular Western Woman in the Film by Ken Loach Research Paper

Roisin as a Secular Western Woman in the Film by Ken Loach - Research Paper Example As the film begins, Casim is shown working as a disc jockey in a club, playing Arabic music. In this scene, the crowd primarily consisting of young British-Pakistanis is depicted dancing wildly to the music. This crowd contravenes the common precept of Islam as a largely conservative religion. It is also fairly unconventional for a Muslim to work as a deejay as Casim does. This scene clearly illustrates the extensive influence that secular western values have had on Islam, and especially on second-generation Muslims. It is evident that these young adults are not devout adherents of Islam and its traditions, like their parents. This lack of complete devotion could be attributed to their intermingling with other cultures and desire to be accepted in a rather diverse society (Ernst 5). Another scene focusing on religion in Ae Fond Kiss is that of Tahara delivering a speech in front of students during what appears to be a class debate (02:48-04:21). The debate evidently revolves around t he West’s unified crusade against global terrorism, as shown on the whiteboard. Tahara presents a strong argument stating that she defies the universal definition of terrorism as provided by the West since it fails to account for the many people subjected to terror in daily circumstances. Most importantly, Tahara says that she rejects the manner in which the West simplifies Muslims. The speech draws one’s attention to the stereotypes held by Westerners for Muslims. It also shows how absurd it is to generalize Muslims and link all of them to terrorism, yet they are as diverse as other religions.

In general Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

In general - Essay Example In the original work, an author tends to own the writing by mentioning his name in it. The writer is responsible for the authenticity of information and is liable for consequences in case, the information is invalid. On the other hand, a plagiarized work lacks ownership. A reader can not believe that the writer had faith in the information he/she has included while plagiarizing in the paper. Originality in writing shows the author’s individualistic contribution in widening and deepening the sea of knowledge, whereas an individual who plagiarizes creates whirlpools in this sea. The most fundamental difference between originality and plagiarism is that the former gives birth to knowledge whereas the latter is a literary theft. Moreover, originality is clear whereas plagiarism often gets too blurred a concept to be put into black and white (â€Å"Types of Plagiarism†). For example, many times, the same old ideas have to be repeated in a new paper. If the language is suffic iently changed so as to remove the originality but the meaning is kept unchanged, would it not be a theft of idea? Different people have different answers to this question. Difference between description and analysis: Description is a straight mention of facts about a thing, matter, incident or anything.

Analysis Of Marketing Mix

Analysis Of Marketing Mix We took up Amul Ice Cream as a product for our study and analysis. The project basic objective was to acquire a deeper understanding of the product and apply the concepts related to marketing mix, 4Ps of marketing and the consumer behavior as learnt in the course. The project was studied in three parts: Marketing mix of Amul Ice cream Study of the consumer behavior with the help of a structured questionnaire Marketing mix of two main competitors; Kwality Walls and Mother Dairy, suggestions and foresight about Amul Ice Creams In the first part, we studied the marketing mix of Amul ice cream which was further divided into four parts: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. MAIN CONTENTS Note: all corrections/additions/reasons in lieu of corrections are done below the remarks itself. SESSION 1 Marketing Mix of Amul Ice cream Amul Ice Cream was launched on 10th March, 1996 in Gujarat. It was launched on the platform of Real Milk. Real Ice Cream given that it is a milk company and the wholesomeness of its products gives it a competitive advantage. In 1997, Amul ice creams entered Mumbai followed by Chennai in 1998 and Kolkata and Delhi in 2002. Nationally it was rolled out across the country in 1999. It has combated competition from the established players like Walls, Mother Dairy and achieved the No 1 position in the country. This position was achieved in 2001 and it has continued to remain at the top. Today the market share of Amul ice cream is 38% as against the 9% market share of HLL, thus making it 4 times larger than its closest competitor. Product Amul has added a vast variety of flavours to its ever growing range. Currently it offers a selection of 220 products. Amul has always brought newness in its products and the same applies for ice creams. The broad heads under which Amul markets its ice creams are as follows: Royal treat range (rajbhog, cappuccino, chocochips, butterscotch, tutti frutti) Nut-o-mania range (kaju draksh, kesar pista, roasted almond, kesar carnival, badshahi badam kulfi, shista pista kulfi) Utsav range (anjir, roasted almond) Simply delicious range (vanilla, strawberry, pineapple, rose, chocolate) Natures treat (alphonso mango, fresh litchi, anjir, fresh strawberry, black current) Sundae range (mango, black current, chocolate, strawberry) Millennium ice cream (cheese with almonds, dates with honey) Milk bars (chocobar, mango dolly, raspberry dolly, shahi badam kulfi, shahi pista kulfi, mawa malai kulfi cream, green pista kulfi) Cool candies (orange, mango), Cassatta, Tricone cones (butterscotch, chocolate), megabite-almond cone), Frostik 3 layer chocolate bar, Fundoo range exclusively for kids, Slimscoop fat free frozen dessert (vanilla, banana, mango, pineapple), Health Isabcool In January 2007, Amul introduced SUGAR FREE ProLife Probiotic Wellness Ice Cream, which was a first in India. This range of SUGAR FREE, LOW FAT Diabetic Delight ProLife Probiotic Wellness Ice Cream is created for the health conscious. Price Amul has managed to stay ahead of its competitors by providing quality products at competitive prices, maximizing customer value. Amul followed the penetration pricing strategy and entered the market with prices much less than the leader in the market kwality Walls. This helped Amul in achieving great success at the start. Amul also captured a lot of the lower end untapped market due to its pricing strategy and gradually acquired a market share of 12-15% in the first few years. The pricing has been a major advantage of the brand. Following Amul, other players lowered their prices consequent to which Amul now follows a competitive pricing as its major strategy. Range of price minimum and maximum? Amul frostiks start from Rs 10 and go upto Rs. 20. The prolife pro-biotic icecream is priced at Rs. 15 for 125 ml. the super saver take away packs start from as low as Rs.110 for 2 litre whereas catering the higher end, exotica range starts from Rs. 120 per litre brick and extends upto Rs. 160 for different flavours. Place Ice cream, being a perishable item, it is very important to have a good distribution channel. Amuls head office is at Anand. The entire market is divided into 5 zones. The zonal offices are located at Ahmadabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. Moreover there are 49 Depots located across the country and Amul caters to 13 Export markets also. Amul follows four marketing channels to distribute its ice creams. Level Zero also called direct marketing channel consists of a manufacturer selling directly to the final customers how? Amul has entered into direct retailing through Amul Utterly Delicious parlours created in major cities Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Baroda, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Surat. These parlours surpass the regular softy and ice-cream scoop offering joints in terms of popularity and look set to give the more established ice cream brands in the cities a run for their money. In these parlours, icecream is stored and transported in a frozen condition (- 28o centigrade or below). They also keep frozen pizzas and frozen paneer. Level One contains one selling intermediary such as retailer to the final customers Level Two has two intermediaries typically distributor and the retailer Level Three comprises the distributor, retailer with the jobber in between Promotion Amul doesnt follow an aggressive marketing strategy for its ice creams. In the beginning, TV commercials for products such as amul tricone, real milk ice cream, frostik and premium ice cream were seen frequently. However these commercials cannot be spotted now. Instead the company prefers a more direct approach to sales promotion strategy. Offers such as super saver packs, one plus one and the likes are often given to lure the consumers into buying. Apart from these, Amul Company as a whole with its advertising partner FCB-ULKA puts up its hoardings which are famous for their satirical take on current happenings, for its complete basket of products including ice cream. The main reason for Amul retaining its dominant position in the market despite a conservative marketing strategy is because all the market players in this product category follow the same kind of strategy, i.e. minimal exposure to electronic media and high on sales promotion technique. In such a scenario Amul has been successful in creating a niche for itself. Amuls entry into ice creams is regarded as successful due to the large market share it was able to capture within a short period of time. The differential pricing, quality of products and of course, the brand name made this possible. SESSION 2 Consumer Buying Behavior We studied the marketing mix of Amul ice creams. Now well study and analyze the behavior in terms of consumers decision making process and factors affecting their buying behavior. Consumer behavior is how individuals, groups, and organizations select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services and ideas to satisfy their needs and wants. Consumer passes through five stages in buying a product: Need Identification Information Search Evaluation of Alternatives Purchase of Product After Sales Service Consumers dont always pass through all the above stages while making a purchase. For many of products (mostly perishable), the kind of involvement in the buying process is low. Consumers tend to do a lot of brand switching for the sake of variety and novelty. While buying a regular brand of ice cream, one goes directly from the need for ice-cream to the purchase decision skipping information search and evaluation. Even if they are present, the time given to each of these is negligible as compared to other stages. This is very important part of consumer buying behavior which in turn affects the factors affecting the consumer behavior. If one is loyal to one brand he will repeatedly purchase that brand and flavor. However if one doesnt find that product, he is very likely to switch to other available brands without much effort and may start liking it. Factors affecting the consumer behavior: Various types of factors which affect the consumer behavior and lead them towards a particular ice-cream brand are as follows: Product specifications, variety, price range, promotion strategies, and availability of product (which forms an integral part in case of variety seeking products) Reference groups (family, friends , media etc) and their effect on choices Knowledge of other brands existing in the market and their positioning in the minds of the consumers Demographics age, gender, income group Situational occasions where a consumer buys a product Involvement in buying the product in terms of frequency of purchase Studying the consumer behavior: In the survey conducted, (sample size=60) well first do a general analysis studying the market and Amul ice-creams position in it. In second part of the analysis, well see how different age groups may behave differently in consuming ice cream. Methodology: Samples for the study consisted of people from the age group of 18-40. Samples were taken randomly where a structured questionnaire was mailed to the people and their responses recorded. The questionnaire had the following dimensions: Demographics of the respondents such as age, income group, occupation, gender Knowledge/awareness about the various brands available in the market Frequency of purchase of ice cream, place of purchase, price preferences, reference groups, Favorite brands vis-Ã  -vis Amul in terms of ratings on the features of the product. Sample size: 60 respondents from the target population were approached to fill in the questionnaire. Result and discussion: The decision in buying ice cream is influenced by many factors such as taste, availability, pricing, packaging, variety of the product, occasions and mood and so on. Results of the data analysis will be studied in two parts: An overall analysis of all the factors. A comparative analysis of the age groups to analyze the difference in their behavior due to different age. Overall analysis: Demographics of the respondents: Data was collected with respect to four demographics of the sample; age, gender, income groups and occupation. Based on the analysis, it was observed that 68% of respondents were in the age group 18-24 and 32% in the age group 25-40. One third of the respondents were females. More than 50% of the samples were students owing to which the income range of less than 50000 Rs. bears the highest percentage in the income distribution. The following pie charts show the age, and income group distribution of the sample: Consumer behavior with respect to frequency of purchase and the occasions/moods leading the buying towards buying ice creams: The frequency of purchasing of ice creams is high. 7% and 35% of the respondents buy ice cream on a daily and weekly basis respectively. This implies that buying frequency for ice creams is fairly high. This influences the level of involvement in looking for the alternatives each time the buyer consumes an ice-cream. The consumer is more or less habitual own interpretation? in purchasing the ice cream due to which the 2 steps in buying behavior become redundant as already mentioned earlier. By habitual, we mean routine to be more precise. This can be seen in the following pie-chart which shows the frequency of purchase. Restating the data, 7% of the respondents are buying on a daily basis and 35% are doing so weekly. In terms of mood in buying, people generally buy ice-cream without any reason when buying very frequently. If they buy occasionally then the occasions on which buying is carried out on the occasions as given below: The samples are equally distributed over the occasions such as birthday, marriage, family outing, hanging out with friends, or part with the % of people consuming it with friends dominating the others. As far as choosing the flavor/brand of ice-cream is concerned, over 93% choose the flavor/brand themselves. It can be inferred that the influence of family and friends in choosing the ice-cream is very low and people go by their own choices while buying it. 5% of the people eat ice-cream flavors as decided by the family which may be the case when one is buying bricks of ice-cream. Rest 2% constitutes people who go by the friends choice in choosing the flavor/brand. Place of purchase and importance attached to packaging: More than 50% of the consumers buy ice cream from the corner shop of their colony. It signifies the importance of distribution channels and the kind of availability they need to have to maintain to create a position in the market. If they go out of stock they are at the risk of losing their customers to other competitors. The data infers that availability of Ice-creams are high in round the corner shop and Super markets whereas Malls may afford to go loose on all time availability. Regarding the packaging, 93% place importance on the packaging of the ice-cream which again makes it important for the brands to have a very attractive packaging in order to attract the consumers. Factors forming an important consideration for trying a new product/flavor: There are various factors which lead to trying out a new product launched in the market and make repeated purchases. The following pie diagram shows the constitution of various factors that may lead to trying out and repeated a new flavor, brand or product: It can be seen that taste forms the most important factor leading to buying of ice cream which is placed higher than the brand name also. It reemphasizes the fact that brand name of the ice-cream is not the most important. If the consumer likes the taste of other product, one may shift to the other brand. The 2nd most important factor is advertising. Ice-cream brands are generally low on their promotional strategies. However the importance of advertising with consumers is easily visible in the survey. For one fourth of the people, advertising is the force which leads them towards an ice-cream product. Most of the advertising for Ice-creams comes through billboards and hoardings and here Amul as a brand scores over others as the brand awareness of Amul is one the best. 2. Comparison of consumers favorite ice-cream and Amul ice-cream on various attributes: We asked our sample to rate their favorite ice-cream vis a vis Amul ice-cream on various attributes such as taste, packaging, price , variety and availability on a scale of 5 where 1 was the worst and 5 was the best (out of total samples 13 rated Amul as their favorite ice-cream also which is roughly 21% of the total samples). A comparative chart of the same is given below: Studying the parameters: Taste: People rate their favorite ice-cream as approx 3.7 (average of all the samples collected) whereas rate the Amul ice-cream as approx. 3.1. And as we saw that taste is the most important factor in determining the choice of consumers, how you can conclude this? Graph shows that Amul ice cream is lagging behind in this attribute to quite a large extent as compared to other factors. In the previous question, we had asked the consumers about the factors which would lead them to try out a new product/flavour/brand. The response was in favour of taste with over 50% of the respondents going for the same. We took five parameters in that question and weve taken the same in the rating scale also. So using the data from above, weve concluded that from these five factors, taste is the highest influence in making the choice for ice cream. Packaging: Favorite ice-cream stands at an average of approx 3.4 as against Amul ice cream which stands at 2.9. The company needs to work on its packaging also in order to attract the consumers. Price: Amul ice cream fairs slight better than the consumers favorite ice-cream. This is obvious as Amul is known for its lower range products. Kwality-walls among the other brands are known for slightly higher prices. Amul has been doing well on this front. Variety: Favorite ice-cream is rated at 3.4 Vis a Vis Amul rated at 2.8 on this parameter. Though Amul offers a wide range of products, but maybe people are not aware about the variety of the Amul ice-creams. Amul needs to create awareness among the consumers on this front. Availability: On the parameter of availability, people rate their favorite ice-cream as approx. 3.4 and Amul as 2.9. Amul has to ensure that it never goes out of stock due to the nature of buying behavior of the product. Awareness about other brands existing in the market: People are well aware about the brands in the market. Among the top 3 brands mentioned by the consumers, Amul and Kwality-walls feature the most among the two. For the 1st preference, Kwality-walls overtake the awareness whereas for the 2nd choice Kwality-walls and Amul stand at an equal rating. This is important from the point of view of Amul as the people who are variety seeking will switch over easily to the other brands if they are not happy with Amul. Among the brands that are well known to the customers, Amul, Kwality-walls and mother dairy are the most sought after brands. Other than these regulars brands, there are other brands such as Vadilal, havmor, Baskin Robbins, creambell, and others which constitute a small share in the market in terms of awareness level. Analysis with taking age, income (demographics) as the distinguishing factors: For analyzing the difference in factors leading to buying behavior due to difference in age, we have already divided the samples into 2 age groups 18-24 and 24-40 years. Frequency of purchase: Following is a chart depicting the total sample of people on the parameter of frequency of purchase divided age wise: It is clearly visible that 18-24 years consume ice-cream more frequently than the people in the age group of 25-40 years. 57% of people in the age group of 25-40 consume ice-cream occasionally which is only 31% in the case of the lower age group. On the other hand, the combined % of people consuming ice-cream on a weekly or daily basis for 24-40 year age group is only 25% as against 48% in case of 18-24 year olds with weekly consumption leading for the same. Factors consuming new ice cream product, brand or flavor: It can be observed from the above table that number of people preferring taste is much higher in case of 18-24 year olds. Also people in the age group of 24-40 years dont consider packaging or cheaper price as a leading factor while considering a new product. This is an important observation as Amul mainly sells on the lower price strategy. If it is offering a lower priced product, it needs to work on packaging as large numbers of people give importance to packaging in this group (also shown in the following chat). However it may or may not work so much on packaging if it is introducing a new product/flavor in the higher end markets. Willingness to buy sugar free ice cream at a higher price: To determine the level of health consciousness of the people and their willingness to buy the ice cream at a higher price if available, the data was collected, representation of which is given below: 70% of the people were not willing to buy the sugar free ice-cream at a higher price. This can be due to 2 factors: always better to ask from the respondents people are less health conscious people are price sensitive The options given to determine the same would not have been exhaustive. Possible the open-ended question wouldnt have been of much use. But yes, it is certainly better to ask from the respondents and due care would be taken next time. To further judge this, we distributed this data age wise to which how many people in which age group are willing to buy the ice-cream at a higher price. The representation of the findings is given below: In case of people in the age 25-40 years, over 42% of the people are willing to buy the sugar free ice cream if available at a higher price. However this falls to 32% In case of the age group 18-24 years. This can be again attributed to 2 factors: People in the lower age group are less health conscious or they are earning less so they are price sensitive or both. People in the higher age group are more health conscious or they are earning more so they can afford higher prices. Miscellaneous remarks about Amul ice creams: (optional in the survey) Amul is my favorite brand but more chocolate varieties are possible using different caramels and nuts. Its like since childhood I have an image that Kwality Walls is the best ice cream. Amul and Mother Dairy are my second best. They should come out with some good advertising campaigns for their ice creams and should really try out the social media to market their brand. It is good, but sometimes some flavors are out of market, especially mango flavor. The Amul ice cream should be readily available and the variety should be more. Also the marketing is very poor we do not see much. Amul seems to be a brand for common men the middle class, very well placed to cater to middle class people the biggest chunk of Indian populationalthough not very popular among the higher class These remarks about Amul ice cream highlight the fact that we have been saying all throughout out analysis. The variety in some products of Amul is not at par with the other brands or the needs of the consumers. The availability is on a lower side due to which some of the samples complained of the brand getting out of stock. Also the level of awareness of the ice creams of Amul among the consumers is very less due to which it suffers a lot. Amul needs to go aggressive on its promotion strategies so that it can expand its market share and perform well. Conclusion: From the above survey, we can conclude that major factors affecting Consumer behavior are Taste, Price, Packaging, Brand Perception and occasion. As Ice-cream is a variety seeking product, therefore the availability of Amul Ice-cream has a major impact on the actual consumption by the consumers and since Amul is very close to the market leader Kwality-walls. It has to take care of availability especially at round the corner stores and super markets where the sales of Ice-cream are maximum. Taste is considered the most important factor in determining the consumer behavior as per the survey. Amul Ice-cream is lagging behind in Taste as per the consumer perception when compared to Market leader. Attitude of the consumer is favorable towards Amul Ice cream and this can be seen through the comparative analysis of different brands in the market. Part of it can be attributed to Amuls brand perception across all the product categories countrywide. There is no significant difference in behavior towards purchasing Ice cream based on gender but the younger age group prefers to eat ice cream more than their older counterparts. Since most of the younger age group also falls in relatively lower income group, this shows the higher consumption trends by low income group in survey.

The Knight in Rusty Armor :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Knight in Rusty Armor The Knight in rusty armor depicts our mental processes, or cognition that plays a complex and dramatic role in my life. I have learned that our cognition makes us human. I can cope only by first sensing and understanding my environment, just like the knight. sometimes I misperceive and wrongly interpret certain situations, causing problems for myself. My expectations and response partly determine how I see the world. My attitudes, suspicions, and conclusions about others also determine how I relate to people. like the knight my hopes, dreams, and/or fears become self-fulfilling prophesies and determine the future to some extent. As we saw in chapter 2, our values and goals determine the directions our lives take. The knowledge of human behavior, including self-help skills, and our rational planning partly determine our success in achieving our life goals. Our motivation also determines how far we go in the directions set by our needs and values. The discrepancies between reality and our ideals will determine how satisfied we are with ourselves and our lives. The knight from an early age viewed himself as unattractive because his nurse told him that he had a face only a mother could love, this early feed back encouraged him to where a face mask that did serve the purpose of protection from dragons and battles but also helped him to hide his unattractive face. I feel that this prompted him to pursue being a knight which gave him positive feed back as a defender and hero. This was a seemingly good idea on the outside but in reality he was hiding who he really was, he neglected his role as husband and father by ignoring his wife, and son. His wife Juliet tried to tell him that he was not rescuing damsels in distress and slaying dragons because he was such a good knight, but that he was doing it for himself, it made him feel good about himself and not so much for the good of others. Juliet made at good point when she told the knight that he did not love her but that he loved the idea of her loving him, meaning that he did not give love but took love. I believe this to be a mistake many people make in relationships they do not have love for themselves, and cannot give love, so they seek out The Knight in Rusty Armor :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Knight in Rusty Armor The Knight in rusty armor depicts our mental processes, or cognition that plays a complex and dramatic role in my life. I have learned that our cognition makes us human. I can cope only by first sensing and understanding my environment, just like the knight. sometimes I misperceive and wrongly interpret certain situations, causing problems for myself. My expectations and response partly determine how I see the world. My attitudes, suspicions, and conclusions about others also determine how I relate to people. like the knight my hopes, dreams, and/or fears become self-fulfilling prophesies and determine the future to some extent. As we saw in chapter 2, our values and goals determine the directions our lives take. The knowledge of human behavior, including self-help skills, and our rational planning partly determine our success in achieving our life goals. Our motivation also determines how far we go in the directions set by our needs and values. The discrepancies between reality and our ideals will determine how satisfied we are with ourselves and our lives. The knight from an early age viewed himself as unattractive because his nurse told him that he had a face only a mother could love, this early feed back encouraged him to where a face mask that did serve the purpose of protection from dragons and battles but also helped him to hide his unattractive face. I feel that this prompted him to pursue being a knight which gave him positive feed back as a defender and hero. This was a seemingly good idea on the outside but in reality he was hiding who he really was, he neglected his role as husband and father by ignoring his wife, and son. His wife Juliet tried to tell him that he was not rescuing damsels in distress and slaying dragons because he was such a good knight, but that he was doing it for himself, it made him feel good about himself and not so much for the good of others. Juliet made at good point when she told the knight that he did not love her but that he loved the idea of her loving him, meaning that he did not give love but took love. I believe this to be a mistake many people make in relationships they do not have love for themselves, and cannot give love, so they seek out

The Twilight Saga 3: Eclipse Chapter 18. INSTRUCTION

â€Å"THAT HAD TO BE THE LONGEST PARTY IN THE HISTORY of the world,† I complained on the way home. Edward didn't seem to disagree. â€Å"It's over now,† he said, rubbing my arm soothingly. Because I was the only one who needed soothing. Edward was fine now – all the Cullens were fine. They'd all reassured me; Alice reaching up to pat my head as I left, eyeing Jasper meaningfully until a flood of peace swirled around me, Esme kissing my forehead and promising me everything was all right, Emmett laughing boisterously and asking why I was the only one who was allowed to fight with werewolves. . . . Jacob's solution had them all relaxed, almost euphoric after the long weeks of stress. Doubt had been replaced with confidence. The party had ended on a note of true celebration. Not for me. Bad enough – horrible – that the Cullens would fight for me. It was already too much that I would have to allow that. It already felt like more than I could bear. Not Jacob, too. Not his foolish, eager brothers – most of them even younger than I was. They were just oversized, over-muscled children, and they looked forward to this like it was picnic on the beach. I could not have them in danger, too. My nerves felt frayed and exposed. I didn't know how much longer I could restrain the urge to scream out loud. I whispered now, to keep my voice under control. â€Å"You're taking me with you tonight.† â€Å"Bella, you're worn out.† â€Å"You think I could sleep?† He frowned. â€Å"This is an experiment. I'm not sure if it will be possible for us all to . . . cooperate. I don't want you in the middle of that.† As if that didn't make me all the more anxious to go. â€Å"If you won't take me, then I'll call Jacob.† His eyes tightened. That was a low blow, and I knew it. But there was no way I was being left behind. He didn't answer; we were at Charlie's house now. The front light was on. â€Å"See you upstairs,† I muttered. I tiptoed in the front door. Charlie was asleep in the living room, overflowing the too-small sofa, and snoring so loudly I could have ripped a chainsaw to life and it wouldn't have wakened him. I shook his shoulder vigorously. â€Å"Dad! Charlie!† He grumbled, eyes still closed. â€Å"I'm home now – you're going to hurt your back sleeping like that. C'mon, time to move.† It took a few more shakes, and his eyes never did open all the way, but I managed to get himoff the couch. I helped him up to his bed, where he collapsed on top of the covers, fully dressed, and started snoring again. He wasn't going to be looking for me anytime soon. Edward waited in my room while I washed my face and changed into jeans and a flannel shirt. He watched me unhappily from the rocking chair as I hung the outfit Alice had given me in my closet. â€Å"Come here,† I said, taking his hand and pulling him to my bed. I pushed him down on the bed and then curled up against his chest. Maybe he was right and I was tired enough to sleep. I wasn't going to let him sneak off without me. He tucked my quilt in around me, and then held me close. â€Å"Please relax.† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"This is going to work, Bella. I can feel it.† My teeth locked together. He was still radiating relief. Nobody but me cared if Jacob and his friends got hurt. Not even Jacob and his friends. Especially not them. He could tell I was about to lose it. â€Å"Listen to me, Bella. This is going to be easy. The newborns will be completely taken by surprise. They'll have no more idea that werewolves even exist than you did. I've seen how they act in a group, the way Jasper remembers. I truly believe that the wolves' hunting techniques will work flawlessly against them. And with them divided and confused, there won't be enough for the rest of us to do. Someone may have to sit out,† he teased. â€Å"Piece of cake,† I mumbled tonelessly against his chest. â€Å"Shhh,† he stroked my cheek. â€Å"You'll see. Don't worry now.† He started humming my lullaby, but, for once, it didn't calm me. People – well, vampires and werewolves really, but still – people I loved were going to get hurt. Hurt because of me. Again. I wished my bad luck would focus a little more carefully. I felt likeyelling up at the empty sky: It's me you want – over here! Just me! I tried to think of a way that I could do exactly that – force my bad luck to focus on me. It wouldn't be easy. I would have to wait, bide my time. . . . I did not fall asleep. The minutes passed quickly, to my surprise, and I was still alert and tense when Edward pulled us both up into a sitting position. â€Å"Are you sure you don't want to stay and sleep?† I gave him a sour look. He sighed, and scooped me up in his arms before he jumped from my window. He raced through the black, quiet forest with me on his back, and even in his run I could feel the elation. He ran the way he did when it was just us, just for enjoyment, just for the feel of the wind in his hair. It was the kind of thing that, during less anxious times, would have made me happy. When we got to the big open field, his family was there, talking casually, relaxed. Emmett's booming laugh echoed through the wide space now and then. Edward set me down and we walked hand in hand toward them. It took me a minute, because it was so dark with the moon hidden behind the clouds, but I realized that we were in the baseball clearing. It was the same place where, more than a year ago, that first lighthearted evening with the Cullens had been interrupted by James and his coven. It felt strange to be here again – as if this gathering wouldn't be complete until James and Laurent and Victoria joined us. But James and Laurent were never coming back. That pattern wouldn't be repeated. Maybe all the patterns were broken. Yes, someone had broken out of their pattern. Was it possible that the Volturi were the flexible ones in this equation? I doubted it. Victoria had always seemed like a force of nature to me – like a hurricane moving toward the coast in a straight line – unavoidable, implacable, but predictable. Maybe it was wrong to limit her that way. She had to be capable of adaptation. â€Å"You know what I think?† I asked Edward. He laughed. â€Å"No.† I almost smiled. â€Å"What do you think?† â€Å"I think it's all connected. Not just the two, but all three.† â€Å"You've lost me.† â€Å"Three bad things have happened since you came back.† I ticked them off on my fingers. â€Å"The newborns in Seattle. The stranger in my room. And – first of all – Victoria came to look for me.† His eyes narrowed as he thought about it. â€Å"Why do you think so?† â€Å"Because I agree with Jasper – the Volturi love their rules. They would probably do a better job anyway.† And I'd be dead if they wanted me dead, I added mentally. â€Å"Remember when you were tracking Victoria last year?† â€Å"Yes.† He frowned. â€Å"I wasn't very good at it.† â€Å"Alice said you were in Texas. Did you follow her there?† His eyebrows pulled together. â€Å"Yes. Hmm . . .† â€Å"See – she could have gotten the idea there. But she doesn't know what she's doing, so the newborns are all out of control.† He started shaking his head. â€Å"Only Aro knows exactly how Alice's visions work.† â€Å"Aro would know best, but wouldn't Tanya and Irina and the rest of your friends in Denali know enough? Laurent lived with them for so long. And if he was still friendly enough with Victoria to be doing favors for her, why wouldn't he also tell her everything he knew?† Edward frowned. â€Å"It wasn't Victoria in your room.† â€Å"She can't make new friends? Think about it, Edward. If it is Victoria doing this in Seattle, she's made a lot of new friends. She's created them.† He considered it, his forehead creased in concentration. â€Å"Hmm,† he finally said. â€Å"It's possible. I still think the Volturi are most likely . . . But your theory – there's something there. Victoria's personality. Your theory suits her personality perfectly. She's shown a remarkable gift for self-preservation from the start – maybe it's a talent of hers. In any case, this plot would put her in no danger at all from us, if she sits safely behind and lets the newborns wreak their havoc here. And maybe little danger from the Volturi, either. Perhaps she's counting on us to win, in the end, though certainly not without heavy casualties of our own. But no survivors from her little army to bear witness against her. In fact,† he continued, thinking it through, â€Å"if there were survivors, I'd bet she'd be planning to destroy them herself. . . . Hmm. Still, she'd have to have at least one friend who was a bit more mature. No fresh-made newborn left your father alive. . . .† He frowned into space for a long moment, and then suddenly smiled at me, coming back from his reverie. â€Å"Definitely possible. Regardless, we've got to be prepared for anything until we know for sure. You're very perceptive today,† he added. â€Å"It's impressive.† I sighed. â€Å"Maybe I'm just reacting to this place. It makes me feel like she's close by . . . like she sees me now.† His jaw muscles tensed at the idea. â€Å"She'll never touch you, Bella,† he said. In spite of his words, his eyes swept carefully across the dark trees. While he searched their shadows, the strangest expression crossed his face. His lips pulled back over his teeth and his eyes shone with an odd light – a wild, fierce kind of hope. â€Å"Yet, what I wouldn't give to have her that close,† he murmured. â€Å"Victoria, and anyone else who's ever thought of hurting you. To have the chance to end this myself. To finish it with my own hands this time.† I shuddered at the ferocious longing in his voice, and clenched his fingers more tightly with mine, wishing I was strong enough to lock our hands together permanently. We were almost to his family, and I noticed for the first time that Alice did not look as optimistic as the others. She stood a little aside, watching Jasper stretching his arms as if he were warming up to exercise, her lips pushed out in a pout. â€Å"Is something wrong with Alice?† I whispered. Edward chuckled, himself again. â€Å"The werewolves are on their way, so she can't see anything that will happen now. It makes her uncomfortable to be blind.† Alice, though the farthest from us, heard his low voice. She looked up and stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed again. â€Å"Hey, Edward,† Emmett greeted him. â€Å"Hey, Bella. Is he going to let you practice, too?† Edward groaned at his brother. â€Å"Please, Emmett, don't give her any ideas.† â€Å"When will our guests arrive?† Carlisle asked Edward. Edward concentrated for a moment, and then sighed. â€Å"A minute and a half. But I'm going to have to translate. They don't trust us enough to use their human forms.† Carlisle nodded. â€Å"This is hard for them. I'm grateful they're coming at all.† I stared at Edward, my eyes stretched wide. â€Å"They're coming as wolves?† He nodded, cautious of my reaction. I swallowed once, remembering the two times I'd seen Jacob in his wolf form – the first time in the meadow with Laurent, the second time on the forest lane where Paul had gotten angry at me. . . . They were both memories of terror. A strange gleam came into Edward's eyes, as though something had just occurred to him, something that was not altogether unpleasant. He turned away quickly, before I could see any more, back to Carlisle and the others. â€Å"Prepare yourselves – they've been holding out on us.† â€Å"What do you mean?† Alice demanded. â€Å"Shh,† he cautioned, and stared past her into the darkness. The Cullens' informal circle suddenly widened out into a loose line with Jasper and Emmett at the spear point. From the way Edward leaned forward next to me, I could tell that he wished he was standing beside them. I tightened my hand around his. I squinted toward the forest, seeing nothing. â€Å"Damn,† Emmett muttered under his breath. â€Å"Did you ever see anything like it?† Esme and Rosalie exchanged a wide-eyed glance. â€Å"What is it?† I whispered as quietly as I could. â€Å"I can't see.† â€Å"The pack has grown,† Edward murmured into my ear. Hadn't I told him that Quil had joined the pack? I strained to see the six wolves in the gloom. Finally, something glittered in the blackness – their eyes, higher up than they should be. I'd forgotten how very tall the wolves were. Like horses, only thick with muscle and fur – and teeth like knives, impossible to overlook. I could only see the eyes. And as I scanned, straining to see more, it occurred to me that there were more than six pairs facing us. One, two, three . . . I counted the pairs swiftly in my head. Twice. There were ten of them. â€Å"Fascinating,† Edward murmured almost silently. Carlisle took a slow, deliberate step forward. It was a careful movement, designed to reassure. â€Å"Welcome,† he greeted the invisible wolves. â€Å"Thank you,† Edward responded in a strange, flat tone, and I realized at once that the words came from Sam. I looked to the eyes shining in the center of the line, the highest up, the tallest of them all. It was impossible to separate the shape of the big black wolf from the darkness. Edward spoke again in the same detached voice, speaking Sam's words. â€Å"We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control.† â€Å"That is more than enough,† Carlisle answered. â€Å"My son Jasper† – he gestured to where Jasper stood, tensed and ready – â€Å"has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style.† â€Å"They are different from you?† Edward asked for Sam. Carlisle nodded. â€Å"They are all very new – only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you – it shouldn't be difficult. The numbers may go down. The new ones fight amongst themselves.† A rumble passed down the shadowy line of wolves, a low growling mutter that somehow managed to sound enthusiastic. â€Å"We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary,† Edward translated, his tone less indifferent now. Carlisle smiled. â€Å"We'll see how it plays out.† â€Å"Do you know when and how they'll arrive?† â€Å"They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help us intercept their path.† â€Å"Thank you for the information. We will watch.† With a sighing sound, the eyes sank closer to the ground one set at a time. It was silent for two heartbeats, and then Jasper took a step into the empty space between the vampires and the wolves. It wasn't hard for me to see him – his skin was as bright against the darkness as the wolves' eyes. Jasper threw a wary glance toward Edward, who nodded, and then Jasper turned his back to the werewolves. He sighed, clearly uncomfortable. â€Å"Carlisle's right.† Jasper spoke only to us; he seemed to be trying to ignore the audience behind him. â€Å"They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are, first, don't let them get their arms around you and, second, don't go for the obvious kill. That's all they'll be prepared for. As long as you come at them from the side and keep moving, they'll be too confused to respond effectively. Emmett?† Emmett stepped out of the line with a huge smile. Jasper backed toward the north end of the opening between the allied enemies. He waved Emmett forward. â€Å"Okay, Emmett first. He's the best example of a newborn attack.† Emmett's eyes narrowed. â€Å"I'll try not to break anything,† he muttered. Jasper grinned. â€Å"What I meant is that Emmett relies on his strength. He's very straightforward about the attack. The newborns won't be trying anything subtle, either. Just go for the easy kill, Emmett.† Jasper backed up a few more paces, his body tensing. â€Å"Okay, Emmett – try to catch me.† And I couldn't see Jasper anymore – he was a blur as Emmett charged him like a bear, grinning while he snarled. Emmett was impossibly quick, too, but not like Jasper. It looked like Jasper had no more substance than a ghost – any time it seemed Emmett's big hands had him for sure, Emmett's fingers clenched around nothing but the air. Beside me, Edward leaned forward intently, his eyes locked on the brawl. Then Emmett froze. Jasper had him from behind, his teeth an inch from his throat. Emmett cussed. There was a muttered rumble of appreciation from the watching wolves. â€Å"Again,† Emmett insisted, his smile gone. â€Å"It's my turn,† Edward protested. My fingers tensed around his. â€Å"In a minute.† Jasper grinned, stepping back. â€Å"I want to show Bella something first.† I watched with anxious eyes as he waved Alice forward. â€Å"I know you worry about her,† he explained to me as she danced blithely into the ring. â€Å"I want to show you why that's not necessary.† Though I knew that Jasper would never allow any harm to come to Alice, it was still hard to watch as he sank back into a crouch facing her. Alice stood motionlessly, looking tiny as a doll after Emmett, smiling to herself. Jasper shifted forward, then slinked to her left. Alice closed her eyes. My heart thumped unevenly as Jasper stalked toward where Alice stood. Jasper sprang, disappearing. Suddenly he was on the other side of Alice. She didn't appear to have moved. Jasper wheeled and launched himself at her again, only to land in a crouch behind her like the first time; all the while Alice stood smiling with her eyes closed. I watched Alice more carefully now. She was moving – I'd just been missing it, distracted by Jasper's attacks. She took a small step forward at the exact second that Jasper's body flew through the spot where she'd just been standing. She took another step, while Jasper's grasping hands whistled past where her waist had been. Jasper closed in, and Alice began to move faster. She was dancing – spiraling and twisting and curling in on herself. Jasper was her partner, lunging, reaching through her graceful patterns, never touching her, like every movement was choreographed. Finally, Alice laughed. Out of nowhere she was perched on Jasper's back, her lips at his neck. â€Å"Gotcha,† she said, and kissed his throat. Jasper chuckled, shaking his head. â€Å"You truly are one frightening little monster.† The wolves muttered again. This time the sound was wary. â€Å"It's good for them to learn some respect,† Edward murmured, amused. Then he spoke louder. â€Å"My turn.† He squeezed my hand before he let it go. Alice came to take his place beside me. â€Å"Cool, huh?† she asked me smugly. â€Å"Very,† I agreed, not looking away from Edward as he glided noiselessly toward Jasper, his movements lithe and watchful as a jungle cat. â€Å"I've got my eye on you, Bella,† she whispered suddenly, her voice pitched so low that I could barely hear, though her lips were at my ear. My gaze flickered to her face and then back to Edward. He was intent on Jasper, both of them feinting as he closed the distance. Alice's expression was full of reproach. â€Å"I'll warn him if your plans get any more defined,† she threatened in the same low murmur. â€Å"It doesn't help anything for you to put yourself in danger. Do you think either of them would give up if you died? They'd still fight, we all would. You can't change anything, so just be good, okay?† I grimaced, trying to ignore her. â€Å"I'm watching,† she repeated. Edward had closed on Jasper now, and this fight was more even than either of the others. Jasper had the century of experience to guide him, and he tried to go on instinct alone as much as he could, but his thoughts always gave him away a fraction of a second before he acted. Edward was slightly faster, but the moves Jasper used were unfamiliar to him. They came at each other again and again, neither one able to gain the advantage, instinctive snarls erupting constantly. It was hard to watch, but harder to look away. They moved too fast for me to really understand what they were doing. Now and then the sharp eyes of the wolves would catch my attention. I had a feeling the wolves were getting more out of this than I was – maybe more than they should. Eventually, Carlisle cleared his throat. Jasper laughed, and took a step back. Edward straightened up and grinned at him. â€Å"Back to work,† Jasper consented. â€Å"We'll call it a draw.† Everyone took turns, Carlisle, then Rosalie, Esme, and Emmett again. I squinted through my lashes, cringing as Jasper attacked Esme. That one was the hardest to watch. Then he slowed down, still not quite enough for me to understand his motions, and gave more instruction. â€Å"You see what I'm doing here?† he would ask. â€Å"Yes, just like that,† he encouraged. â€Å"Concentrate on the sides. Don't forget where their target will be. Keep moving.† Edward was always focused, watching and also listening to what others couldn't see. It got more difficult to follow as my eyes got heavier. I hadn't been sleeping well lately, anyway, and it was approaching a solid twenty-four hours since the last time I'd slept. I leaned against Edward's side, and let my eyelids droop. â€Å"We're about finished,† he whispered. Jasper confirmed that, turning toward the wolves for the first time, his expression uncomfortable again. â€Å"We'll be doing this tomorrow. Please feel welcome to observe again.† â€Å"Yes,† Edward answered in Sam's cool voice. â€Å"We'll be here.† Then Edward sighed, patted my arm, and stepped away from me. He turned to his family. â€Å"The pack thinks it would be helpful to be familiar with each of our scents – so they don't make mistakes later. If we could hold very still, it will make it easier for them.† â€Å"Certainly,† Carlisle said to Sam. â€Å"Whatever you need.† There was a gloomy, throaty grumble from the wolf pack as they all rose to their feet. My eyes were wide again, exhaustion forgotten. The deep black of the night was just beginning to fade – the sun brightening the clouds, though it hadn't cleared the horizon yet, far away on the other side of the mountains. As they approached, it was suddenly possible to make out shapes . . . colors. Sam was in the lead, of course. Unbelievably huge, black as midnight, a monster straight out of my nightmares – literally; after the first time I'd seen Sam and the others in the meadow, they'd starred in my bad dreams more than once. Now that I could see them all, match the vastness with each pair of eyes, it looked like more than ten. The pack was overwhelming. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Edward was watching me, carefully evaluating my reaction. Sam approached Carlisle where he stood in the front, the huge pack right on his tail. Jasper stiffened, but Emmett, on the other side of Carlisle, was grinning and relaxed. Sam sniffed at Carlisle, seeming to wince slightly as he did. Then he moved on to Jasper. My eyes ran down the wary brace of wolves. I was sure I could pick out a few of the new additions. There was a light gray wolf that was much smaller than the others, the hackles on the back of his neck raised in distaste. There was another, the color of desert sand, who seemed gangly and uncoordinated beside the rest. A low whine broke through the sandy wolf's control when Sam's advance left him isolated between Carlisle and Jasper. I stopped at the wolf just behind Sam. His fur was reddish-brown and longer than the others, shaggy in comparison. He was almost as tall as Sam, the second largest in the group. His stance was casual, somehow exuding nonchalance over what the rest obviously considered an ordeal. The enormous russet-colored wolf seemed to feel my gaze, and he looked up at me with familiar black eyes. I stared back at him, trying to believe what I already knew. I could feel the wonder and fascination on my face. The wolf's muzzle fell open, pulling back over his teeth. It would have been a frightening expression, except that his tongue lolled out the side in a wolfy grin. I giggled. Jacob's grin widened over his sharp teeth. He left his place in line, ignoring the eyes of his pack as they followed him. He trotted past Edward and Alice to stand not two feet away from me. He stopped there, his gaze flickering briefly toward Edward. Edward stood motionless, a statue, his eyes still assessing my reaction. Jacob crouched down on his front legs and dropped his head so that his face was no higher than mine, staring at me, measuring my response just as much as Edward was. â€Å"Jacob?† I breathed. The answering rumble deep in his chest sounded like a chuckle. I reached my hand out, my fingers trembling slightly, and touched the red-brown fur on the side of his face. The black eyes closed, and Jacob leaned his huge head into my hand. A thrumming hum resonated in this throat. The fur was both soft and rough, and warm against my skin. I ran my fingers through it curiously, learning the texture, stroking his neck where the color deepened. I hadn't realized how close I'd gotten; without warning, Jacob suddenly licked my face from chin to hairline. â€Å"Ew! Gross, Jake!† I complained, jumping back and smacking at him, just as I would have if he were human. He dodged out of the way, and the coughing bark that came through his teeth was obviously laughter. I wiped my face on the sleeve of my shirt, unable to keep from laughing with him. It was at that point that I realized that everyone was watching us, the Cullens and the werewolves – the Cullens with perplexed and somewhat disgusted expressions. It was hard to read the wolves' faces. I thought Sam looked unhappy. And then there was Edward, on edge and clearly disappointed. I realized he'd been hoping for a different reaction from me. Like screaming and running away in terror. Jacob made the laughing sound again. The other wolves were backing away now, not taking their eyes off the Cullens as they departed. Jacob stood by my side, watching them go. Soon, they disappeared into the murky forest. Only two hesitated by the trees, watching Jacob, their postures radiating anxiety. Edward sighed, and – ignoring Jacob – came to stand on my other side, taking my hand. â€Å"Ready to go?† he asked me. Before I could answer, he was staring over me at Jacob. â€Å"I've not quite figured out all the details yet,† he said, answering a question in Jacob's thoughts. The Jacob-wolf grumbled sullenly. â€Å"It's more complicated than that,† Edward said. â€Å"Don't concern yourself; I'll make sure it's safe.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† I demanded. â€Å"Just discussing strategy,† Edward said. Jacob's head swiveled back and forth, looking at our faces. Then, suddenly, he bolted for the forest. As he darted away, I noticed for the first time a square of folded black fabric secured to his back leg. â€Å"Wait,† I called, one hand stretching out automatically to reach after him. But he disappeared into the trees in seconds, the other two wolves following. â€Å"Why did he leave?† I asked, hurt. â€Å"He's coming back,† Edward said. He sighed. â€Å"He wants to be able to talk for himself.† I watched the edge of the forest where Jacob had vanished, leaning into Edward's side again. I was on the point of collapse, but I was fighting it. Jacob loped back into view, on two legs this time. His broad chest was bare, his hair tangled and shaggy. He wore only a pair of black sweat pants, his feet bare to the cold ground. He was alone now, but I suspected that his friends lingered in the trees, invisible. It didn't take him long to cross the field, though he gave a wide berth to the Cullens, who stood talking quietly in a loose circle. â€Å"Okay, bloodsucker,† Jacob said when he was a few feet from us, evidently continuing the conversation I'd missed. â€Å"What's so complicated about it?† â€Å"I have to consider every possibility,† Edward said, unruffled. â€Å"What if someone gets by you?† Jacob snorted at that idea. â€Å"Okay, so leave her on the reservation. We're making Collin and Brady stay behind anyway. She'll be safe there.† I scowled. â€Å"Are you talking about me?† â€Å"I just want to know what he plans to do with you during the fight,† Jacob explained. â€Å"Do with me?† â€Å"You can't stay in Forks, Bella.† Edward's voice was pacifying. â€Å"They know where to look for you there. What if someone slipped by us?† My stomach dropped and the blood drained from my face. â€Å"Charlie?† I gasped. â€Å"He'll be with Billy,† Jacob assured me quickly. â€Å"If my dad has to commit a murder to get him there, he'll do it. Probably it won't take that much. It's this Saturday, right? There's a game.† â€Å"This Saturday?† I asked, my head spinning. I was too lightheaded to control my wildly random thoughts. I frowned at Edward. â€Å"Well, crap! There goes your graduation present.† Edward laughed. â€Å"It's the thought that counts,† he reminded me. â€Å"You can give the tickets to someone else.† Inspiration came swiftly. â€Å"Angela and Ben,† I decided at once. â€Å"At least that will get them out of town.† He touched my cheek. â€Å"You can't evacuate everyone,† he said in a gentle voice. â€Å"Hiding you is just a precaution. I told you – we'll have no problem now. There won't be enough of them to keep us entertained.† â€Å"But what about keeping her in La Push?† Jacob interjected, impatient. â€Å"She's been back and forth too much,† Edward said. â€Å"She's left trails all over the place. Alice only sees very young vampires coming on the hunt, but obviously someone created them. There is someone more experienced behind this. Whoever he† – Edward paused to look at me – â€Å"or she is, this could all be a distraction. Alice will see if he decides to look himself, but we could be very busy at the time that decision is made. Maybe someone is counting on that. I can't leave her somewhere she's been frequently. She has to be hard to find, just in case. It's a very long shot, but I'm not taking chances.† I stared at Edward as he explained, my forehead creasing. He patted my arm. â€Å"Just being overcautious,† he promised. Jacob gestured to the deep forest east of us, to the vast expanse of the Olympic Mountains. â€Å"So hide her here,† he suggested. â€Å"There's a million possibilities – places either one of us could be in just a few minutes if there's a need.† Edward shook his head. â€Å"Her scent is too strong and, combined with mine, especially distinct. Even if I carried her, it would leave a trail. Our trace is all over the range, but in conjunction with Bella's scent, it would catch their attention. We're not sure exactly which path they'll take, because they don't know yet. If they crossed her scent before they found us . . .† Both of them grimaced at the same time, their eyebrows pulling together. â€Å"You see the difficulties.† â€Å"There has to be a way to make it work,† Jacob muttered. He glared toward the forest, pursing his lips. I swayed on my feet. Edward put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer and supporting my weight. â€Å"I need to get you home – you're exhausted. And Charlie will be waking up soon. . . .† â€Å"Wait a sec,† Jacob said, wheeling back to us, his eyes bright. â€Å"My scent disgusts you, right?† â€Å"Hmm, not bad.† Edward was two steps ahead. â€Å"It's possible.† He turned toward his family. â€Å"Jasper?† he called. Jasper looked up curiously. He walked over with Alice a half step behind. Her face was frustrated again. â€Å"Okay, Jacob.† Edward nodded at him. Jacob turned toward me with a strange mixture of emotion on his face. He was clearly excited by whatever this new plan of his was, but he was also still uneasy so close to his enemy allies. And then it was my turn to be wary as he held his arms out toward me. Edward took a deep breath. â€Å"We're going to see if I can confuse the scent enough to hide your trail,† Jacob explained. I stared at his open arms suspiciously. â€Å"You're going to have to let him carry you, Bella,† Edward told me. His voice was calm, but I could hear the subdued distaste. I frowned. Jacob rolled his eyes, impatient, and reached down to yank me up into his arms. â€Å"Don't be such a baby,† he muttered. But his eyes flickered to Edward, just like mine did. Edward's face was composed and smooth. He spoke to Jasper. â€Å"Bella's scent is so much more potent to me – I thought it would be a fairer test if someone else tried.† Jacob turned away from them and paced swiftly into the woods. I didn't say anything as the dark closed around us. I was pouting, uncomfortable in Jacob's arms. It felt too intimate to me – surely he didn't need to hold me quite so tightly – and I couldn't help but wonder what it felt like to him. It reminded me of my last afternoon in La Push, and I didn't want to think about that. I folded my arms, annoyed when the brace on my hand intensified the memory. We didn't go far; he made a wide arc and came back into the clearing from a different direction, maybe half a football field away from our original departure point. Edward was there alone and Jacob headed toward him. â€Å"You can put me down now.† â€Å"I don't want to take a chance of messing up the experiment.† His walk slowed and his arms tightened. â€Å"You are so annoying,† I muttered. â€Å"Thanks.† Out of nowhere, Jasper and Alice stood beside Edward. Jacob took one more step, and then set me down a half dozen feet from Edward. Without looking back at Jacob, I walked to Edward's side and took his hand. â€Å"Well?† I asked. â€Å"As long as you don't touch anything, Bella, I can't imagine someone sticking their nose close enough to that trail to catch your scent,† Jasper said, grimacing. â€Å"It was almost completely obscured.† â€Å"A definite success,† Alice agreed, wrinkling her nose. â€Å"And it gave me an idea.† â€Å"Which will work,† Alice added confidently. â€Å"Clever,† Edward agreed. â€Å"How do you stand that?† Jacob muttered to me. Edward ignored Jacob and looked at me while he explained. â€Å"We're – well, you're – going to leave a false trail to the clearing, Bella. The newborns are hunting, your scent will excite them, and they'll come exactly the way we want them to without being careful about it. Alice can already see that this will work. When they catch our scent, they'll split up and try to come at us from two sides. Half will go through the forest, where her vision suddenly disappears. . . .† â€Å"Yes!† Jacob hissed. Edward smiled at him, a smile of true comradeship. I felt sick. How could they be so eager for this? How could I stand having both of them in danger? I couldn't. I wouldn't. â€Å"Not a chance,† Edward said suddenly, his voice disgusted. It made me jump, worrying that he'd somehow heard my resolve, but his eyes were on Jasper. â€Å"I know, I know,† Jasper said quickly. â€Å"I didn't even consider it, not really.† Alice stepped on his foot. â€Å"If Bella was actually there in the clearing,† Jasper explained to her, â€Å"it would drive them insane. They wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything but her. It would make picking them off truly easy. . . .† Edward's glare had Jasper backtracking. â€Å"Of course it's too dangerous for her. It was just an errant thought,† he said quickly. But he looked at me from the corner of his eyes, and the look was wistful. â€Å"No,† Edward said. His voice rang with finality. â€Å"You're right,† Jasper said. He took Alice's hand and started back to the others. â€Å"Best two out of three?† I heard him ask her as they went to practice again. Jacob stared after him in disgust. â€Å"Jasper looks at things from a military perspective,† Edward quietly defended his brother. â€Å"He looks at all the options – it's thoroughness, not callousness.† Jacob snorted. He'd edged closer unconsciously, drawn by his absorption in the planning. He stood only three feet from Edward now, and, standing there between them, I could feel the physical tension in the air. It was like static, an uncomfortable charge. Edward got back to business. â€Å"I'll bring her here Friday afternoon to lay the false trail. You can meet us afterward, and carry her to a place I know. Completely out of the way, and easily defensible, not that it will come to that. I'll take another route there.† â€Å"And then what? Leave her with a cell phone?† Jacob asked critically. â€Å"You have a better idea?† Jacob was suddenly smug. â€Å"Actually, I do.† â€Å"Oh. . . . Again, dog, not bad at all.† Jacob turned to me quickly, as if determined to play the good guy by keeping me in the conversation. â€Å"We tried to talk Seth into staying behind with the younger two. He's still too young, but he's stubborn and he's resisting. So I thought of a new assignment for him – cell phone.† I tried to look like I got it. No one was fooled. â€Å"As long as Seth Clearwater is in his wolf form, he'll be connected to the pack,† Edward said. â€Å"Distance isn't a problem?† he added, turning to Jacob. â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Three hundred miles?† Edward asked. â€Å"That's impressive.† Jacob was the good guy again. â€Å"That's the farthest we've ever gone to experiment,† he told me. â€Å"Still clear as a bell.† I nodded absently; I was reeling from the idea that little Seth Clearwater was already a werewolf, too, and that made it difficult to concentrate. I could see his bright smile, so much like a younger Jacob, in my head; he couldn't be more than fifteen, if he was that. His enthusiasm at the council meeting bonfire suddenly took on new meaning. . . . â€Å"It's a good idea.† Edward seemed reluctant to admit this. â€Å"I'll feel better with Seth there, even without the instantaneous communication. I don't know if I'd be able to leave Bella there alone. To think it's come to this, though! Trusting werewolves!† â€Å"Fightingwith vampires instead of against them!† Jacob mirrored Edward's tone of disgust. â€Å"Well, you still get to fight against some of them,† Edward said. Jacob smiled. â€Å"That's the reason we're here.†

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