Stormfeather Ch. 10

Elsbeth's face turned to a scowl, "So the old one worked for them. He was to lure travelers inside, but not anymore. We killed him last night after we left you. He will not talk any others into going to their deaths."

"How did you kill him," Amy asked, "if we heal ourselves?"

The younger one of them smirked, "Angry ones who have lost their mates and parents to watchers can do a lot of damage in only a little time, and there were seven who waited for us to come back after speaking with you. We tore him apart, and once you reach the heart and remove it -- keep it from the rest of the, ... pieces, there is no way to heal from that anymore. The heart, we took into the other passage, out into the wild land. We tore it into pieces and left it scattered there for the scavengers."

Elsbeth looked at Amy and Arn. "We know that you are different from other ones of our kind. You spoke of sealing the cave. Can you do this? Can you keep the watchers inside?"

"Do they ever come here?" Amy asked in a little shock.

"I do not know," Elsbeth replied, "I have never seen them do this, but, -"she shrugged.

Stormfeather wasn't sure what to say at that point. He was about to tell them that he'd see if it was possible, but Elsbeth spoke again.

"If you have a price, I know where the gold that this one's father paid my man for the land is buried. My daughter is upset over what I have told her and she will be even angrier now, but, ..."

She looked at them and tried to choose her words carefully. "I will go into the wild land and try to live, but first, I want Marie to have a chance at a life. I want to teach her how to live here if I could, but that would take a little time. If the gold is not enough, ... "

She looked down for a moment. "Please, ... try to understand," she said, "I see that you love each other. I mean you no insult," she said to Amy, "but if you would have another female, ... you could have us both while I teach her. Only please, seal the gate."

Arn was about to interject, but Amy was just as careful in how she chose the words of her polite refusal. "We understand you, and we also mean no insult, but I'm not crazy about that idea, though I guess a pack of us stands a better chance at survival, "she said, "Can you see this from my side?"

They both nodded and Amy smiled, glancing once past them to see Stormfeather shake his head with wide eyes, "Then please understand that it is not possible. We are paired." She leaned forward to Marie, "And also, I want to apologize for my remark last night."

Marie smiled a little, "I understand."

"Elsbeth," Arn began, "have you ever been in the wild land for very long?"

She nodded, "We went there first. You can live there, and the men are the same as they are here, though more simple. Life is very hard there because it is wild."

"Is it very large?"

She nodded, "I have never traveled very far there, but is goes on and on."

"Are there other ways in to where these large men live?" Arn asked.

"I know of two others," Elsbeth replied, "though only one is a cave. The other is by a pool. I am sure there are more. Why?"

"Nothing yet," Arn said, "I was thinking that it would be better to find another way in if one wanted to go there."

"They are all watched," she said, "to keep beasts from wandering in."

"Why aren't they closed off, then?" Amy asked.

"I do not know," Elsbeth said, "I don't know if they can be."

Amy looked at Arn, "Can we help them?"

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Inside the cave, they stood close to the opening to the other side. What Arn and Amy saw were mostly grasslands, though there were mountains and forests visible as well. Winky stared and was about to walk forward, but Amy moved her rifle to her other hand and put her free hand on Winky's shoulder.

"No, Winky," she said to the upturned face, "not this time, honey."

"Do not go through, "Elsbeth said, "if a watcher sees you, he will bewitch your mind and you are lost."

Arn nodded and he stood looking intently at the rock walls. He waved the others back, and in a moment, the sides had joined together. The others stared as he produced some of the pearlish substance which Amy recognized. With a thought, it left his hand to flow into the seam which disappeared.

He looked at them, "An illusion, "he said, "a very hard illusion. The seam is real and ties it together if one tries to break it. It grows harder then. From the other side, it should look like a solid rock face."

When he repeated the process at the other entrance to the wild land, Elsbeth objected.

"How will I get inside after I teach Marie?"

"I will open it for you in some time," he said, "A year or so. There are wolves there which I do not wish to see on this side again. They belong in there now."

As they walked out of the mouth of the cave, Amy stopped and held out her arms to keep the rest back. She changed her shape and became a nude woman with a rifle in her hand. Marie was about to ask, but they all noted Amy's posture and tensed. Arn sank to his knees and held his hand against Winky's chest, since she hadn't seen what Amy had spotted yet.

Amy turned her head back slowly to look at them, "Shh."

She sank down to one knee slowly and brought her rifle up to her cheek, working the loading lever as slowly as she could. There was a long pause, and then the Winchester roared. Marie almost jumped out of her skin and Elsbeth started a little as well.

Amy jumped up and worked the lever for a follow-up shot, but it wasn't needed.

"There's dinner, "she smiled as she trotted off. Arn let Winky go and walked out after them.

When they caught up to her, Amy stood beside a good-sized doe, waiting to be certain that it was dead and not about to suffer. "I didn't want to shoot until I could be sure that she wasn't in the burial grounds here. But she stepped away and walked a few steps before she turned."

Marie looked at her strangely. "I don't know how it is done here, "she said, "Since you killed it, I think that we must wait for you to eat your fill before we are allowed any?"

Amy shook her head, "No, right here is where the work starts. If I was alone, I'd butcher it roughly a little right here and drag it out, but there's four of us, so I could quarter it here, or, ..."

"I will carry it," Arn smiled.

"But when is it to be eaten?" Marie asked, a little confused.

Elsbeth put her hand on Marie's shoulder, "One if the reasons that I wanted to be here with you is so that you can learn these things, Marie. We never have the time or the safety where we have lived. It is done a little better here."

"You'll get as much as you want, Marie," Amy smiled as she knelt and drew her knife, "But it's a lot better with vegetables and potatoes when it's been cooked, and we save what we don't eat. The whole thing will be hung in a cool place. There's enough for a few days here, so just hang on to your hunger for a while and get down here with me and pull where and when I tell you and I promise you a feast."

While they worked, Amy had a thought and began to work it through as she answered Marie's many questions. One of them was also in Arn's mind as well.

"I changed because I suddenly realized that my hands are different from how they were, and I didn't know if I could work the trigger at all," she said, "It's something that I'll have to try later. I didn't want to try it right then and miss the chance to eat tonight."

She cut some of the meat from the doe's neck and offered it to Winky, who caught it and sank to the ground gratefully.

As they walked back to the house with the gutted carcass over Arn's shoulders, Amy told them of her idea.

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Marie watched as Arn hung and butchered the doe. As he worked, Amy took the pieces into the cellar. "Why all of this work," she asked, "when we could have just eaten our fill where it was killed?"

"It is wasteful," Arn replied, "No matter how much you can eat, there is always some that is left, and to come back to the place later, you have to drive off whatever has found what you have killed. This way, you have clean meat over some days if you keep it cool."

He stopped and looked at Marie, "I think that you have lived a harder life than was needed, if you have always had to look over your shoulder to stay out of the sight of these watchers. You must have only eaten what you could and then left the kill for other creatures, fearing that watchers would find the kill and wait close by."

Marie was a little surprised that he was that cognizant, but she nodded, "I only eat what I can carry," she said, patting her stomach.

"Too wasteful, "Arn said as he turned back to his task, "and not really a pleasant way to live."

Marie watched him for a while longer and turned to find Amy looking at her. Marie gestured with her chin and they walked off a little. "I see a little of your thoughts, Sheena," she said," I was only looking, not planning. He is the only male here, so it is a little hard not to admire him. Looking at him was making me think about things. I miss the one that I had for me very much. I was getting better, but now, seeing Arn made me hurt a little again."

She smiled a little, "Before you take a mate, you have only a strange hollow want for one. Once you find one and you lose your hearts to each other, it is such joy. When he is gone, you want to die as well. I thought that I could just go back to being alone, but, ..."

"I think I can understand you, Marie," Amy said, "I'm still trying to get used to having him in the first place. Now I'm a traveler, and that makes it all so different -- as much as it's the same thing. But I also know what we all are now, so I know that you'll feel some want for him sooner or later. I'm trying to be friendly and understanding here."

Marie nodded, "I know. We both know that this can only last for a time before my want gets strong."

"We'll be gone before then, Marie," Amy said, "Otherwise, I'll have to either share him, or, ..."

Marie sighed, "I don't want it to happen."

"I'm not sure that it has to," Amy said, "I think that he and I just have to be gone when your heat comes. That's the worst part of it if I understand it."

"It is," Marie said, "I see how you are trying to help. I wish that we had met another way -- and I wish that there was another male here all the same." They looked as Arn carried off the last of the cuts of meat.

"Do we have a bit of time now in this strange process?" Marie asked.

Amy nodded, "I guess so. Why?"

Marie smiled a little, "Come on then, pour some of that black coffee drink into me and let's daydream for a while," she said as she put her arm around Amy to go to the house, "If there was only another male here, we could be a proper pack, couldn't we?"

She laughed a little, "And then, you and I could sit and watch them fight a little to see which one will lead. From what I see, your male would likely win. I've never seen a male like him."

Amy looked over with the beginnings of a curious smile, "And then what?"

Marie leaned in a little close in a conspiratorial way and giggled, "Then," she said smiling, "you and I would have to pretend a little and snarl at each other, and then scuffle a bit for our own position."

She laughed again, "But it doesn't matter all that much to me, as long as the other one is a little nice to look at and hold onto. I see how you play with magical things to learn something that I cannot ever do, so all of it is just a show and we both get what we want in the end anyway."

They walked into the kitchen and Amy found the pot full and hot. She poured them each a cup, "I get it in a few places," she grinned, "not just the end."

Marie grinned back as she took the mug carefully and sipped just a little. She sat down and sighed, "Males are wonderful creatures," she nodded, "they drive you a bit crazy when you want one, and then when you have him, he drives you crazier--if he's any good."

She paused looking into her mug with a soft smile at a passing memory.

Amy leaned forward, "And then?"

"And then, the madness eases just a little when they hold you tightly and you both feel safe together and nothing could be wrong with the world then," she sighed.

Amy watched Marie's eyes look over the rim of the cup as she took another sip. The eyes turned playful then as she lowered the tin mug. "But it all begins again the next day because you want him again and again!"

She shook her head with a grin, "They're the strangest, most exceptional, maddening creatures. You get hungry and know that you ought to hunt. You get thirsty and know that you need a drink. But there he is, right there, that wonderful warm thing in your den. He wakes up and looks at you, that part of him swells in desire for you right before your eyes and it's just hopeless!"

They laughed together until Arn walked past the porch, looking at them a little curiously.

"Nothing!" Amy smiled angelically, and the two burst into giggles after he was past.

"And all of that BEFORE your heat," Marie said, rolling her eyes.

"Is it really bad then?" Amy asked.

"You will know it will be soon when you are hungrier and you want to eat more. It is that way to prepare us for what comes. He will sense it and do the same just before. He will want to lick you endlessly a day or two before it starts and you will need that then, Sheena. When it starts, the best thing is to keep your male near to you."

She smirked and chuckled, "He will never be far from you then anyway. Nothing will be able to tear him from you, and anything which tries will die for it. If you cannot have what you need then for any reason, you will be murderous. It is best to just stay in your den and fuck. Talk of it before with him and decide if this is the time that you want whelps. If not, he will have to pull out before - if he can, and it can still happen anyway. If you choose this, then you must help him with his release often, or he will just fill you anyway in his lust.

"I make it sound terrible, but really it is a wondrous thing to have each other like that in your love," she smiled.

The humor faded a little as Marie put her hand on Amy's arm, "You must be gone before any of us come into our heat. If we are not a pack -- if it is not decided by then, ... I have no wish to fight you, Sheena, and even worse over your male if I cannot have him. I know that you are stronger than I am -- I can tell, but that is now -- here, drinking coffee with the one that I wish for a friend. I will likely not have much sense then."

She looked up at the sky as a thought came to her, "And if my mother comes into her heat, ... she is worse than I am."

She looked at Amy in a suddenly determined way. "I need to find out more about this place, what lies around here. I will leave before I start, once I feel it begin."

"We will both leave, Marie," Elsbeth said as she came down the stairs, "These ones are kind to us. I would sooner take a passing dog on the road out there than to act like that to this pair."

Elsbeth looked at her daughter's wide eyes and smirked, "A figure of speech," she said, rolling her eyes.

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Amy sat with them for a time and listened as they all commiserated over their nature and what was wrong with life beyond the caves. But the pair did agree that there might be a little hope for something better now. After a while, Amy got up and walked off to the stables where Arn was brushing his horse. He looked at her and smiled as she walked to him.

"Just how wild are you?" she asked him.

His eyebrows rose, but before he could answer she was on him, pressing him backward so that he bumped into the stallion. She pulled him away toward her as she kissed him hard. When he began to respond, Amy kissed and licked her way down the muscled and ridged landscape that was her male.

She settled onto her knees and leaned forward to meet his maleness as it rose for her and she began to caress him, lifting it up and away so that she could get to his scrotum. She kissed it as wetly as she could, telling herself that this was hers to care for. Amy opened her mouth as wide as she could to take it in and she thrilled a little to hear his sudden deep gasp. What her tongue swirled over tightened now and again in reaction to what she was doing, and she felt his penis against her face and forehead, depending on how she loved him.

She drew back after a few minutes of it and Arn thrilled to see her eyes look up at him this way for a moment.

"Are you really mine, Arn?"

The question confused him slightly, but he nodded, "Yes, why?"

She took him in her hand and stroked gently as she spoke. "I just know what would happen from the female side if one of us comes into season, that's all. To hear them say it, there'll be blood and fighting over you. You're mine, so that means I'll have to, ..."

He shook his head, "I can almost hear what was said, and there is truth to it, from what I was told by the princess in the forest where I come from. But unless I have not had a female in a long while," he smiled a little, "I think that I can keep my head in charge of me. You should try to give me some understanding. We are paired, and you are mine. You do not withhold yourself. Why would I want for another when my female takes all that I can give and is as happy for it as you are?"

Amy opened her mouth to take him in, bobbing her head for a few strokes. She stopped and looked up again, "Don't you think that you'd like a little, ... variety now and then?"

He shook his head, "There are likely some like that, but I am happy with the one who has chosen me. I can lose myself just looking at your body. If I touch you then, I am lost. How would you feel to have a choice of others?"

She rolled her eyes, "I haven't learned about you yet, and believe me, I'm still smitten. I actually can't really imagine it. I suppose that it might happen -- that it's possible, I just can't see that. Not the way that I feel about you."

She smiled and began again, loving the feel of him in her mouth. Every so often, she drew her head back a little and just used her tongue so that she could hear him groan, and then she was back, plunging her head onto him and back as she considered everything. She was trying to decide what she wanted from him now. The decision made, she stopped and let him out of the toothy cage where she held him to stand and hop backward to sit on a bale of hay. She leaned back and grinned at him as she spread her legs wide for him.

"Then show me, honey," she smiled, "Show me what I mean to you. Right here, right now."

"The barn doors are open," he said.

"Good," she grinned as she pulled him to her, "If this business of having a male like you is about making statements, well that's alright with me. Let them look as much as they want, as long as I have you."

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It was two days later when Amy rode into Portales alone. She was certain that this time, she drew a lot more attention than she normally would have, since she rode with her hat pulled down lower than usual and her outline was a little obscured by the poncho that she wore over her long coat.

The day had dawned a looking a little unsettled and overcast with a lazy west wind that carried the scent of rain. About halfway to town, the wind had picked up and Amy watched the front of the rain come to her as she rode along. About a half hour later, the heavens had opened. By then, Amy had Ruby's oiled blanket on her and she'd pulled her long coat out of her saddle bag just in time to put it on.

Thunder rolled all around her and lightning flickered and flashed, but under her hat, Amy smiled a little. She had a few reasons for it, and her mare's attitude was perhaps one of the largest of the contributing factors in an immediate sense. There had always been an aspect to Ruby's disposition that had been a bit puzzling. She was a fine mare and would be considered as a solid and trustworthy mount by any horseman or horsewoman, but there had always been a tiny bit of a predisposition toward skittishness to her. It didn't show itself often, but it was there.