{"sf1_id":696919,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Solstice Solitude – A Winterdown Tale","author":"StGeorgesHorse","words":4572,"posted_at":"2014-04-24T17:51:00.000Z","tags":["First Time","Forest","Human","Love","M/F","Transformation","Winter","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/696919-solstice-solitude-a-winterdown-tale","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/696919","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=696919\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"#5 of Miscellany\n\nOK. I was cleaning out and re-arranging my computer files and ran across this partially completed story. I forgot all about it. I had noticed that someone on here was sponsering a Christmas/Winter story contest last year. The problem was, with everything I had going on, it was just too much to get out within the paramenters of the guidelines. So... I just gave it an ending, and as you can tell, I have left it open for follow ups. I doubt I will, but you never know. As for editing, I didn't bother. Sorry.","content":"                 Winter\nbegan when it and it alone decided it was time. Humans had long set a date for\nthis event, as if the season was required to fulfill the commitment they set\nfor it. The snows came when the air grew chilled and the heavy gray clouds\nneeded to unburden themselves from their load. It came when it wanted and left\nonly begrudgingly. Today, there was snow on the ground, and it was only\nOctober.                Arkouda\nwas watching the fluffy clumps of fairy-forged flakes sink slowly through the\nair to accumulate in ever deepening layers on the ground outside his window. He\nliked winter, but no more so than he liked Spring, Summer and Autumn. He liked\nthem each for their uniqueness. There was joy to be found in them all.                Arkouda\nlived alone. It was by his design. There were plenty of women in the valley who\nwould have loved to lay claim to his name, but he had no desire to partner with\nany of them. They were all devoted followers of the cult called Christianity.\nHe had read their book; a large, word filled text of a confusing and\ncontradictory nature. Oh, it had a lot of good in it, but there seemed to be\nmuch that was useless and obsolete. It didn't help matters that it was largely\nwritten in a land far away with entirely different conditions as the one in\nwhich he presently dwelt. Still he liked some it.                The\nmain deity was born to human parents of humble means. This appealed to him as\nhe preferred to live a quiet and humble life. In a few months the people in the\nvalley would be celebrating the birth of their deity in a festive day called\nChristmas. It was the one time they actually acted like they said they were\nsupposed to. Otherwise, they seemed no different than the red skinned natives\nthat had inhabited this land for a far greater time than people like him.                He was\na peaceful man, was Arkouda, but he was also a practical man. He loved nature\nand all it contained within its many wonders, but he still hunted and fished.\nHe did not trap; to kill an animal for the sole purpose of stripping its skin\nand wasting the rest was abhorrent to him. He killed what he needed and used\neverything possible. He had tools created from bone and antler, and clothing\nmade from deer hide to supplement the few woven items he traded for in the\ntowns below. He was alone and he was happy that way.                This\nmorning he pulled on a few warm layers over his naturally luxuriant body hair,\nyanked on his boots, grabbed his staff and strode out into the white frosted\nforest. The air was clean; it smelled of snow and pine and holly. All at once\nthe smells soured. There was something else borne upon the wind; death.                That\nwas hardly unusual. Creatures lived and died all the time. This particular odor\nspoke volumes however; it was the smell of wolves. Few things dared attack a\npack of wolves. A bear might, and there might be some still out hunting for\nberries and mice and fish before taking their long winter's nap.  Then there were the humans. Humans hated\nwolves, though there was no good reason for it. True, a wolf would attack and\nkill a human if it could. It was more likely however to go after a sheep or a\nhorse. Humans valued their domesticated slaves. If there were wolves dead in\nthe forest, it was likely due to human hunters.                He\nsniffed the air, picking out the direction of the scent. He grunted in distaste\nat what he would find, but trudged off into the wind. It was nearly an hour\nlater before he came across the corpses lying in the red splattered snow. He\nknelt next to one, feeling the coldness underneath a layer of thick gray fur. A\nred encircled patch bore evidence of the passage of a large bore bullet. He\nwent from one to another, finding the same in each. He nearly missed the last\none. What had caught his eye was the trail in the snow, dotted here and there\nwith drops of scarlet.                He\nfound the bitch under a pine. He grabbed her leg and pulled her out, intent on\nplacing her with her family. He was startled to find her body still pliant, not\nstiff like the others. Her foot was cold, but not like the outside air. A\nslight rise and fall could be seen in her chest. She was alive! He stood up and\nlooked around. If he left her, she would die. If he took her home, she would\nprobably still die. But he had the sudden thought; if he were in this\npredicament, he would rather die warm than freezing to death and in pain. He\ngently scooped her up and slogged through the deepening snow back to his cabin.                Once\nthere, he placed her on a rug in front of the fireplace. A few logs later the\nfire was blazing brightly. He stripped of his excess clothing and dropped down\nbeside her body. There was a single bullet hole in her right hip. It didn't\nseem to have hit any major artery, but she had obviously bled out quite a bit.\nThe cold had likely saved her life. And on closer inspection, he found the ball\nof lead had fractured her femur. She wouldn't be walking anytime soon, even if\nshe did manage to survive.                Since\nshe was still unconscious, he decided to attempt removing the bullet. He had\nlarge hands, but he had the skill of a surgeon. He gently eased the gray\nflattened orb out from her tissue, wrapped a rag around the injury, and curled\nher up on the rug. There was little else he could do until she awoke. He went\nabout his business, looking in on her from time to time. That evening, while he\nwas preparing his supper, he heard a whimper from the other room.                He\nstuck his big hairy head through the doorway. Sure enough, the wolf was awake\nand trying to move. \"Whoa little one!\" he called out, \"that leg of yours won't\nsupport your weight no how.\" Her head whipped around. Her eyes grew wide with\nfear. He made no move towards her. The last thing he wanted was her breaking\nopen the wound and bleeding some more. He edged into the room and sat down on a\nstump that served as a stool.                \"Well\nlittle one, you've had a tough time. You and your friends got ambushed. Dirty\nrotten thing that. Every one of them was killed outright, 'cept for you. I\ncan't say what'll become of you, but you're safe for now while you're under my\nroof. When the time comes, you're welcome to stay, or you're free to go. The\nchoice is entirely up to you.\"                Her\neyes went from fearful to curious. She sniffed the air a bit. He heard a growl.\nHe couldn't help but chuckle. \"Belly's empty is it? I think I could part with a\nbit of my supper if you like!\" He brought out a poached smoked fish, some\npotatoes and some bread. He graciously gave her her own plate from which to\neat. She sniffed the food for merely a second before devouring it all, and then\nlicking the ceramic clean. He thoughtfully provided a bowl for water, and then\nsat back down, not too close, but not too far away either.                She\nlapped the clear stream water until it sloshed down her lips. He smiled and\noffered her a towel. She looked at him oddly, but didn't flinch when he wiped\nher mouth and fur. \"You're in a bad spot, little missy. Your pack is dead, and\nyou're stuck here for the winter with a grumpy old nobody for your only\ncompany. I'd suggest you concentrate on healing so that you can get back to\ndoing what it is you do.\"                She\nshifted painfully and laid her head on the rug. She watched him with keen eyes;\neyes that not only saw the outside of a person, but straight into their soul as\nwell. He unabashedly looked right back at her. He was neither afraid nor cowed\nby her stare. He had nothing to fear from any animal but his own species. It\nwas they who were reckless with their treatment of the world around them. It\nwas probably the fault of that book they clung to. He remembered reading how\ntheir god had given them \"dominion over the animals.\" There was no true dominance\nin nature. Even the biggest and strongest of predators eventually died and were\nrecycled into the earth by the lowliest of the creatures. Everyone had their\nplace, and everyone served their purpose. That was the end to it.                Their\nstare down ended abruptly when she blinked and closed her eyes. It hardly\nmattered if she was asleep, or only feigning it. They had apparently\nestablished an understanding that came without words. He returned to his\nkitchen and cleaned things up a bit. He would have slept in his own bed that\nnight, but to keep her warm, he opted to curl up on the floor nearby. From time\nto time he poked the fire and added more tinder to keep the room toasty. By\nfour in the morning he finally succumbed to fatigue and fell asleep. She cracked\nopen one eye and looked over to where he was. Something akin to a smile came to\nher narrow face.                From\nthat day forward, they settled into a truce of sorts. She tolerated him and his\nministrations, and he did his best not to handle her too roughly. After a week,\nthe wound healed, but the bone was going to take much longer. Every day he saw\nto her needs, from daily meals to carrying her outside several times a day so\nthat she could go to the bathroom. She learned to stand on three legs, leaving\nthe lame one to dangle limply out of the way. She startled him one day with a\nwell placed lick to his face, more specifically, his lips. He nearly dropped\nher.                \"Now\nwhat was that for, you silly girl? I ain't lookin for no thanks. I'm only doin\nwhat I know to be right.\" She licked him again. She knew full well that her\nlife would have been lost had it not been for the big human. She could almost\nforgive the others who had nearly ended her life for this chance to be with\nsomeone so special and loving. She had thought she might get lucky with the\npack she had joined, but she had never had a chance to find out. By the time\nshe learned their hierarchy, guns had finished any chance she had there. Now\nthere was this one. He seemed to have a heart as big as the forest itself.                Days\npassed into weeks, and October became November and November turned to December.\nHer leg still gave her fits, and he often helped by gently grabbing her paw and\npulling her leg out, forcing it to stretch. She would bite her tongue, for it\nstill carried a lot of pain with it. But it helped. Gradually, it became strong\nenough to stand on, and then to walk on, and finally to run on. She was happily\ndoing her own toilet, and from time to time, she managed to run down a rabbit\nor a quail, which she proudly brought back to the cabin. He would smile, pat\nher on the head, and take her offering for their evening meal.                One\nnight, just before the day called Christmas, he was sitting by the fire\nwatching the flames flicker and the smoke rise up the chimney. He heard it; he\nknew he heard it but it made no sense on so many levels. \"Stay.\" It was a\npronouncement. The speaker of it said it most matter of factly. The problem\nwas, there was only himself in the room. Well, himself and a wolf. He eyed her\nwarily. \"What did you say?\"                She sat\nup. \"I said I'd stay. You told me once I would be free to choose between\nstaying and leaving. I have decided to stay, unless your offer was not\ngenuine.\" Now a man may see and hear many things during the course of his life,\nbut a man who hears a she-wolf speak is a fortunate man indeed. It simply\ndoesn't happen all the time.                \"Stay?\nYou're welcome to stay on one condition. You need to explain to me how you can\nspeak.\" Then he got just a touch annoyed. \"And since you can speak, why did you\nwait so long?\"                She\nsniffed diffidently. \"I spoke when I had finally made up my mind. Well, my\nheart seems to have made it up for me. I went out looking for some greater\nmeaning to my existence. I started with the pack, but we both know that ended\nbadly. Then you came along. You're kind, and gentle and caring and...\"                \"And\nwhat?\"                She\nshifted uneasily. \"And I think I love you. It is not the way of things for us\nto be joined as mates however. We shared different forms. While I'm sure we\ncould couple,\" he flinched at that word, \"we would find our bodies incompatible\nin the long run. So I thought perhaps I could stay with you maybe as, what is\nthe word...as your pet.\"                Despite\nthe wonder of her ability to speak, this last bit make him angry. \"A PET! A pet\nis simply a slave of an animal, one who has lost the ability to rely on its own\nsenses and abilities to survive. The same goes for any so-called domestic\nanimal. Even humans seem to have lost the ability to survive as they were\nintended to do. I will own no slaves in my house!\"                She was\nleft wondering what to say next. He seemed to have gotten over the shock of her\nabrupt dialogue rather quickly. \"I am no one's slave. I didn't mean to anger\nyou with my suggestion.  I thought that\nmaybe you might love me in return. I'm hardly your equal though.\"                For\nsome reason this made him angry too. But he fought down the emotion and spoke\nwith measured calmness. \"A wolf that speaks in human tongue? You're not my\nequal, you're far above it. I, in return, cannot speak in wolf-tongue. That\ngives you the edge over me. As for love...\" He sat silent for a few moments. \"I\ntold myself I'd never fall in love. There are plenty of ladies around who have\ntried to get their hooks into me, and I've turned them all down. I love nature.\nShe is a true mistress. She never hides her emotions, whether it is the rage of\na storm or the happiness of spring flowers. I have felt something akin to this\nfor you. But you're right; I don't think I could bring myself to lay with a\nbitch, even one as lovely as yourself.\"                \"Wisely\nand thoughtfully said. I like being a wolf. But I find my heart is now\ncompletely given over to you. Yet you will not lay with me, nor will you lay\nwith your own kind. It seems the solution is to split the difference.\"                He\nscratched his head in confusion. \"Look...uhh, do you have a name?\"                She\ngrinned mischievously. \"I do. But if I give you my name, that will give you\ncontrol over me. Are you certain you want it?\"                He\nscratched even harder. \"Uh, I guess so. I need to call you something.\"                She\ngurgled with delight. \"I come tied to my name. When you take one, you take it\nall. I am called Ti-ko.\"                As she\nuttered those two syllables, he felt a wave of warmth flow over his body. It\nwas as if the fireplace has suddenly been transported into his chest cavity. He\nwas immediately so warm he felt the need to strip off his clothing. He took the\nmiddle ground and undid his shirt.\"                Her\ngrin grew bigger. \"I have given you mine. What is yours?\"                He\nsputtered out. \"Mother named me a Christian name. Peter. But she always called\nme by another; Arkouda. Father never liked it, but he loved her so much he\nrarely complained unless other people were present.\"                As he\nsaid his second name, her eyes lit up like glowing embers. \"Arkouda? You need\nto tell me about your mother some time. Was she happy in her life?\"                He\nthought for a moment. \"Yes, she was happy. Father died and left just the two of\nus, but she seemed to cope quite well. It was from her that I learned to love\nnature.\"                \"She\nsounds like a wonderful woman. I would hope that I might be as good as she was,\ngiven enough time.\"                He\nfrowned a little. \"I understand what you're implying, but there is no way I can\nlive with a wolf, even one as amazing as you. Please understand that I seem to\nhave feelings for you, but a man and a wolf; it's just not right!\"                She\nsighed. \"I figured you'd be noble. Only a truly good person would turn down\nlove in the face of the difficulties that would arise from such a\nrelationship.\"                He\ngulped. \"I'm not turning down love. There is no way love can manifest between\nus. I mean, you'd never be able to take me as a lover. I'd tear you up in the\nprocess!\"                She\nstared at him for a moment before dropping to the floor in convulsive laughter.\n\"Rip me up? You are wise in many things, my dear Arkouda, but you do not know\neverything. A wolf has a knot big enough to lock the amorous couple together\nfor an hour or more. Sadly, I never got to experience it. But...\" she continued,\nhalting his protest, \"I think I have the power to make the necessary\nadjustments to allay your fears.\"                 A\nripple went through her body. Within seconds she was twisting and turning like\na flag in a gale. When the dizzying movement stopped, his jaw hit the floor.\nShe was standing there, a wolf, yet not a wolf. She was standing on two shapely\nlegs that ran all the way up to a shapely, uh, pelvis, and that merged with an\nhourglass figure topped by top pert and inviting pair of breasts. From toe to\nthe top of her head was the softest gray fur, flecked with black and red. Her\ntwo keen eyes seemed unchanged, not did her perky ears and luxurious tail.                 She let\nout a sigh. \"That's hard work, but well worth it I think. You don't like\nhumans, but you won't make love to a wolf. So I split the difference. I'm now a\nwolf in human form, give or take a few details. I can guarantee you this body\nwill take whatever you can give it. In fact, I'm looking forward to it.\"                He was\nspeechless. His only reaction to her new form was the bulge in his trouser. She\nswept across the floor to him, running her nimble fingers through his dense\nchest hair. \"Now Arkouda, do you love me or not? I will understand if you\ndon't, and you can lie to me if you like. But don't ever lie to yourself.\" She\nnaughtily reached down and caressed the growing hardness hidden by his pants.                He\ngroaned. \"I do love you. I guess I've lived alone for so long, I figured I\ndidn't need anyone in my life. My own kind seem so alien to me, and you, who\nshould feel alien, are more akin to my desires than anyone I've ever met.\" He\nkissed her passionately. She returned it with equal fierceness.  From that moment on, it was merely a matter\nof finishing getting him undressed.                It was\na good thing his old bed was ruggedly constructed. Even so, it swayed and\ncreaked like an oak in a thunder storm. Neither one had any idea what they were\ndoing, but they did it none the less. His big finger's easily fond their way to\nher crotch. She helped by spreading her legs wide. She was damp and warm. His\nwiggled in a finger up to the first joint, then the second and finally nearly\nto his knuckle. Her response was to dig her claws into his back.                When\nshe got her wits about her, she slid one paw down to his crotch, reveling in\nthe hardness of his cock. She felt him stiffen even more with her touch, so she\nslid her fingers along its length, squeezing from time to time.  He pushed into her grasp, forgetting about\nwhat he was doing. She wiggled out from under him and positioned herself under\nhis cock. She began licking with unrestrained pleasure. He tasted of sweat and\nmusk. In no time at all, he came with a guttural grunt.                The\nfluid sprayed down her throat in great gushes. \nShe never once released her suction, eagerly lapping up the stuff as\nfast as he produced it. She did have the presence of mind to slip away when his\nstrength gave out. He collapsed in a heap on the mattress.                She\nnudged him onto his back and went to work again. When he was sufficiently hard,\nshe straddled his hips and lowered herself on top of his cock. It was a little\ntougher than she expected. She gritted her teeth and pushed down forcefully.\nShe bit her lip when the head of his cock finally speared past her opening, spreading\nwide her previously unplumbed depths. Blood trickled down both sets of lips.                He\nresponded by grabbing her butt and pushing her down even harder. She stifled a\nwhimper. Once she was impaled as far as she could go, he eased up. She could\nfeel the blood pumping to his cock with each of his heartbeats.                Ti-Ko\nbit back the pain. She knew about wolves from her short time with them, but\nthis man was not a typical human. He looked like he was part bruin. And\nincredibly enough, he was equipped with a cock to match his size.  That, and his pressure on her hip reminded her\nof the severe injury she had received. It might be healed now, but the damage\nhad left permanent scars.                She\nalso recognized that this was a first for both of them. She had spent so much\ntime as a woodland sprite that using her limited ability to transform had never\nbeen a high priority. As a sprite, her form was ethereal; without true form. She\ncould inhabit trees, or rocks, or animals. But her transformation to a wolf was\nreal. And now into this adjusted form, where she continued to learn about the hazards\nand frailties associated with living creatures.She felt his big hand brush across her\nback. \"I'm nt hurting you am I?\"She was honest if nothing else. \"Yes\nyou are, but I think that it is the nature of things. I'll get used to it.\"\"But I don't wish to hurt you!\"\"Just because our union is causing\nme pain, doesn't mean you are at fault. I am still new to bodies. Maybe I can\nstill exert some influence over this one.\" She had just enough power to loose\nup her insides to accommodate him, and boost her body's hormone levels.\nSuddenly she felt wonderful!\"There! I think I've gotten the\nhang of it!\"He could feel her slightly change,\nand while it made no sense to him, he was wise enough to not question it. When\none is confronted with a supernatural phenomenon like this, and the phenomena\nwanted to stay with you, you generally acquiesced.  All he knew was that as the seconds ticked\npast, he could feel his heart merging with hers. Their bodies already seemed as\none.                He had felt the pleasure of\nrelief on his own, but never like this. Those people in the valley called it a\nsin, but then they called everything a sin. What he was doing right now would\nqualify, though many of those ladies would have gladly sinned to get their\nhooks in him. And now, he had his hooks, errr, his...well. The fact was he was\nfeeling incredibly turned on.                Since she\nwas on top, she did all the work. She had never engaged in anything remotely\nsexual, much to her dismay, and she intended to make the best of it.\nDisregarding his present satisfaction, she instead concentrated on pleasuring\nherself. Now that the fit wasn't so tight, she found that her body had relaxed\nto the point that movement without discomfort was possible. In fact, she\nquickly learned that changing position could make a load of difference in where\nthe friction rubbed.                He was\ngently holding on to her, afraid that his strength might hurt her. It was hard\nnot to clench up his fingers as she ground down against his loins. Since those\nfingers were strong enough to break her ribs, he had to show restraint. He\nfinally put them on the floor and dug into the rug. The rug immediately tore.                She had\nher hands/paws on his chest and was staring deeply into his eyes. \"I think that\nthis is better than what the wolves do. They only do it for procreation, and\nthis, I truly believe, I could do anytime!\"                He was\nholding his tongue. He had never had sex, and so this first time was making\nquite the impression on him. He knew that he should be bothered by the fact\nthat she was half covered in fur, but then his own supply of hair was nearly\nsupernatural. She was intelligent, compassionate, and at the moment, as sensual\nas anything had had ever dared to imagine.                Her movements\nbegan to increase, and her head tilted towards her back. She started working\naway with a bit more abandon, eventually dropping any pretext of control and\ngoing at it with wild ferocity. The rug under his fingers came apart. All at\nonce he felt the pressure inside. He wasn't sure that he should release inside\nher, but the thought was moot. In one tremendous crash, the two collided in a\nclimax of body and soul.                At the\npeak of it, she let out a throaty howl that would have frightened every rabbit\nand deer within earshot. It was as primal as any real wolf's, and twice as\nloud. Her nails dug into his chest, coming away with tufts of hair. He hardly\nnoticed. When she fell forward on top of him, still in the throes of her\norgasm, even her teeth in his shoulder didn't make an impression on him.                It was\nonly later that he noticed the sore spots. \"Ti-Ko?\"                \"Yes\nArkouda?\"                \"Is\nthis the way it's going to be every time?\"                She\nlicked his face, turning it into a kiss. \"I don't know. I can hope so! What\nabout you?\"                \"I hope\nso too. Thank you for deciding to stay.\" His voice was quiet.                \"Thank\nyou for deciding to save me that day. Without your help, I would never have\nknown about love. It feels wonderful!\"                He\nsighed. \"Yes. Yes it does.\""}