una wrote:So, I can't quite relate...I can only relate to the mating of vampires through Bella's eyes in her newborn experience with Edward
You could reread Mind over Matter pg 265. Edward describes a little how he fell in love, as he watched Bella sleep, and how jealousy led to him giving up the fight, changing everything.
PS
So I was thinking how Alistair's gift might work compared to James and Demetri.
We know Demetri's gift is mental and that he doesn't need any description of his target at all.
(he was able to find Victoria without any evidence connecting her to her crime)
So maybe he's simply searching all minds within a ~100 mile radius until he catches the one he is looking for.
And that's why the Volturi entered and exited the clearing from the west (not east), when they found Victoria.
They must have taken a plane to Seattle, and then a car from and back to the airport (staying inconspicuous), going on a wide search grid between Seattle and Forks (guessing Victoria's target)
and stopping every so often for Demetri to work his magic.
And that's why the Volturi didn't realize, that Demetri can't find Bella, or that Bree and Diego were hiding near the clearing, because Demetri needs to concentrate for a while and be fairly close (not around the globe) to catch the tenor of his target's mind. (which makes sense, as his gift is similar to Edward's)
I imagine him going to look for Bella, only to check half the planet, before finally giving up.
And that's why Alistair could outrun the Volturi indefinitely, without them cutting him off, because he just needs to stay out of Demetri's reach.
[the same goes for everyone, who knows, where Demetri is at all times, like Alice, James, Alistair, ...
as well as everyone, who can "block" Demetri's gift for a while when he gets close, just long enough to escape out of his reach, like Fred and everyone Bella shields]
James' gift on the other hand couldn't be mental, or he wouldn't have found Bella so quickly.
He said: "Humans can be very
predictable...it was just a hunch. I
usually get a feeling about the prey that I'm hunting, a sixth sense, if you will."
So maybe his gift was similar to Alice's (wouldn't that be ironic
) predicting his prey's movements, once it decides upon it. And the sense got stronger, the more he "attuned" himself with his prey, by watching Bella's home movies. And that's why Victoria was so good at hiding from Alice, because she had a lot of practice with James.
Now Alistair's gift seems to be physical. (like Benjamin or Jasper
)
Bella said: "Alistair just felt an elusive pull toward
whatever he was seeking"
So maybe he can find not only people, but also objects! (though maybe he needs a physical description of them)
That would make him a great detective, finding evidence very easily.
And maybe Alistair and Garrett could go on a
real treasure hunt someday,
so that they can bring them home as gifts to their loved ones.
So we got three trackers with very different gifts.
The first using a mental link to pinpoint and follow his target in a very large area.
The second using a precognitive link to predict his target's movements.
And the third using a physical link to pull himself toward his target.