FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The sun shone brightly on the base of the mountain. A stream quietly babbled, the water still held winter's chill although it was nearly summertime. A man stood still as a statue, pronged spear in hand, waiting with infinite patience for fish to come within striking distance and provide him his next meal. All morning the man stood there, still and patient, and the burlap sack on the shore held the fish his patience had already rewarded him. The sun had not yet reached noon and the man believed he could catch another fish or two before he would have to return to camp.

The man's name was Tarvor and he had been living on this mountain by himself for many years. Surviving off the land. He was tall and middle aged, dark of hair and heavily tanned from a life spent outdoors. He was broad at the shoulder but not heavily muscled, instead his limbs were honed to edge by the elements, wiry and strong. His green eyes stared with intensity into the water flowing around his feet. He existed in solitude on his mountain, only venturing away from his home to visit the neighboring town when he had need of supplies. He enjoyed his time spent in town, rare as it was, he didn't mind spending an evening in an inn drinking quietly by himself and observing the locals who spoke loudly and friendly amongst themselves.

That was about all he really asked out of people. He liked to watch them go by and could enjoy their company from afar but he never really felt comfortable participating. As a child he had been quiet and withdrawn, the other children of the village had welcomed him and played with him when he knew other children may have teased him. He still remembered them fondly for that, but no matter what happened he never really felt like a part of them. A well accepted outsider. He couldn't lead a life with them like that, instead he chose to live where he felt most welcome, in his cabin near the base of this mountain surrounded by the flora and fauna that he knew better than almost anybody else alive.

Even with his knowledge it was a dangerous world that Tarvor lived in and he had the scars to prove it. The mountain, and the surrounding forest, was full of dangerous bears, boars, and wild cats, but also more fearsome creatures. Great hulking bear-like animals called Warrox that could run through trees instead of around them. Creatures that drove most men to a simple life of farming and kept the forests and mountains purely the domain of adventurers and the bravest of hunters. However, today the sun was shining brightly and after many hours standing in the stream Tarvor hardly felt the chill of the waters around his ankles, which flowed ice cold from their spring high on the mountainside. No animals were near enough to threaten him or the birds would have stopped singing, listening could tell you more than watching in a world surrounded in dense forest.

Tarvor hands were becoming stiff, wrapped around the haft of the three pronged tool. He slowly stretched each finger separately with as little movement as possible, his care was well rewarded. A fish darted out from a deep hole near the bank, seeking to catch one of the small insects that floated in the lazy current. Tarvor however was a great deal faster than the poor critter and he drove the tines of his spear into the side of the fish, pinning it to the bottom of the stream. The fish struggled but it was well and truly caught. It was a good sized specimen and it's scales shown silver and blue in the light, he carried it over to the sack with the others.

Satisfied that he would have enough for at least a few good meals Tarvor placed his fishing spear in a hollow of a nearby tree where it would stay until he returned another day. He hefted his catch and slipped his arm through the twine cord to keep his hands free. It paid to be careful at all times and Tarvor never left camp without either his shortbow or spear for protection, today he had both with him. The burlap sack resting comfortably between his shoulders he retrieved the weapons from where they lay on the bank of the stream.

The huntsman was a fair shot with his shortbow, managing to track and hunt deer through much of the year with it at his side. It was not much defense versus larger predators however, for that he kept a spear tipped with a long slender blade. With it he could keep anything smaller than a Warrox at bay, using the weapon to keep distance from him and deadly teeth and claws. It had seen use in countless days, he rarely left camp without it.

Camp itself was only a short hike from his fishing hole, it was further up the mountain but close enough that the uphill trek had not even winded Tarvor. He had picked this spot because he wished to be close enough to water to have easy access for himself but not so close as to have all manner of predators traipsing through his camp in search of their own drink. Predators often sought to make an easy meal of prey when they were drinking and distracted. The huntsman had no plans for the same fate to befall him.

The trail led to a small clearing marked with stumps that told the tale of the trees that had once been her. Tarvor had spent days clearing the spot with a small hatchet, woefully inadequate for the job but it had worked. He had used the lumber to craft much of the structures in the camp itself. Outside the camp among the trees surrounding the clearing were many manner of traps, snares, and pits designed to keep Tarvor safe while he slept. Close enough together that most creatures seeking to harm him would be unable to approach him without at the very least setting something off and rousing him from his slumber. There were some local animals that were simply too dangerous to live near if you weren't adequately protected. A great deal of Tarvor's time was spent doing whatever he could to ensure his safety from animals that might seek to harm him, an essential part of life in this corner of the world.

He carefully stepped over two tripwires connected to a dangerous set of spikes that hung ominously overhead and into the clearing. From here he could see the back of his shelter as well as the drying rack where he hung his meats and a small storage area which held all sorts of things he found he needed. The shelter itself was a simple four walled structure, wooden poles held the floor a foot or so off the ground as to keep it clear of insects, snow, or ground water. A roof made of slats of wood and covered in sap provided enough cover to keep him nice and dry when heavy rains came, and sturdy enough to not collapse under the weight of ice and snow in the winter. There were no walls, instead heavy furs hung from the rafters of the roof, in the winter he could put up something more stable but for the rest of the year the pelts did a better job of holding in body heat against the chill of the night. It wasn't much to look at but it was home.

The clearing was serene and birds trilled in the nearby woods, singing merry songs. Tarvor set the fish filled sack down near the drying rack, where strips of meat still hung from last fall, and his bow and spear he carefully set nearby. He wouldn't need them inside the camp itself. He knew he had a short knife near the cookfire in front of his shelter, it would be perfect to help him clean his morning's catch. He took a deep breath and savored the fresh morning air, stretching his arms above his head with the simple delight of being alive. As he moved toward where he had last seen the knife he saw the mountain lion in the corner of his eye and time seemed to stand still.

Only a few feet from Tarvor's unprotected self a mountain lay in wait inside his shelter. It had been hidden from sight from where Tarvor had come into the clearing and he was now easily within it's reach. It slowly blinked its hazel eyes at him and Tarvor could see its black tipped tail swishing back and forth behind it in smooth even strokes. Tarvor had frozen in a combination of surprise and fear, he still had his arms stretched over his head although all feelings of relaxation had instantly fled his body. The position exacerbated his sense of helplessness, there was nothing to stop the lion from ending his life right now if it so chose. He mentally berated himself for his lack of attention. The traps around his camp were designed to keep exactly this scenario from occurring but that was no excuse. Now he feared whatever hole the mountain lion had found in his defenses would be the last mistake he ever made. He desperately wished he had decided to hold onto his spear for just another minute instead of dropping the burden as soon as he set foot in camp. It was too late for regrets, it might be too late for anything at all.

Adrenaline coursed through Tarvor's veins and kicked his mind into overdrive as he considered every possible alternative in the span of a single second. It seemed there were three weapons in the camp, the bow and spear behind him away from the lion, and the small knife that was closer to hand but would require him to get even close to the lion before he could reach it. If the lion decided to jump him immediately his bow would be no good, he would never have time to nock and draw an arrow. His spear had a long blade and an even longer shaft but he was already well within the reach of the big cat and a spear at close range was of limited use. That left only one option, the small knife that stood only feet in front of him, past the lion. He could use it quickly, and at close range but he would have to move as fast as he could to reach the knife before the lion reacted to his presence. It was a slim chance but his best option at the time.

What felt like hours of panicked thought had passed in a fraction of a second and Tarvor made his decision. His legs tensed and he planted his feet hard against the ground, springing forward. The knife was several feet from him but if he could just stretch his arm out enough he could get his fingertips on the handle and draw it in before the claws of the predator found their mark. Out of the corner of his eye he watched the mountain lion tense, it rose to its feet with lightening speed and raised its large front paw. It seemed like it was moving through pudding, he could see the ground rising to meet him as he dove for the knife but he focused on the large paw that moved toward his exposed back. He imagined he could see the claws extend from between the cat's toes, each one razor sharp and capable of inflicting a vicious wound.

The air was knocked from his body as he hit the ground hard, his fingers just barely on the knife. He rolled with the impact, closing his fist around the wooden handle, the momentum from his leap carried him forward, away from the lion. For a fleeting second he felt he just might be able to bring the weapon up to defend himself, but instead he felt a weight slam into his shoulder and the tips of claws raked at his leather vest.

It felt a glancing blow but he felt as if lightning ran through his entire body. He shook, every muscle fiber suddenly tensed at the same time, his knuckles went white on the knife handle gripping it hard enough to crack the wooden handle. Still being driven forward by his momentum but now unable to control himself he landed awkwardly and his own knife cut a shallow gash on his arm. The end seemed inevitable, for seconds he could not fight the sensation, he lay there gently bleeding with no choice but to wait for a killing blow from his adversary. Yet, as suddenly as the feeling had come it disappeared and no mouth closed on his neck, nor claws pierced him. As soon as he could control his limbs again he immediately recovered, and reaffirming his grip on the deadly instrument he moved to defend himself. Turning his body to face the lion which remained seated on the raised floor of his shelter. The blood flowed unabated from the cut on his arm, it held no concern for him.

'STOP'

The voice echoed in his head, like the thunder that followed the lightening that struck him only moments before. He froze, unsure of where the voice had come from. The clearing was empty of anything except him and the lion, though he dared not take his eyes from the predator to be sure. He was sure that he had heard somebody yell stop, though it had sounded like his own voice now that he thought about it.

His gaze fell on the beast and recognition of something he should have noticed earlier suddenly struck home. The cougar should be snarling. The birds should have stopped singing. Instead the lion was once again laying down in his shelter, atop the bearskin rug that covered the floor. Even from the start the lion had only blinked at him calmly rather than reacting like a predator aught to. Further he was bleeding, but only from the cut he had inadvertently made on his own arm. Where the paw had struck his shoulder there was no mark. It had stood up and hit him with its paw but it hadn't used its claws, in his panic he had seen what wasn't there. In fact at no point had the lion growled, snarled, roared, or made any sort of threatening move in the slightest even when it swung its massive paw. It had simply lay there and watched him, blinking and swaying its tail. It was only when he moved for the knife that it had moved at all.

This made no sense. He still held the knife in front of him, he had rolled a good four or five feet from the shelter, out of claw range but still only a short leap away. The hand holding the knife was starting to go numb, he passed the weapon to the other hand, holding it awkwardly in his left, and tucked his arm close to his body.

'You're Hurt'

The voice again pounded into his brain, though quieter than before. He chanced a look around the clearing searching for the source of the sound. Birds continued to chirp in their trees and the wind rolled the leaves in the canopy above but everything else was silent. What had sounded like his own voice the first time now sounded strange. It almost sounded like a person imitating his voice. He drew his eyes back to the lion who seemed focused on his bleeding arm. Logically it was probably just excited by the sight of blood and might be driven to attack now, despite appearing otherwise calm. However a feeling in the back of Tarvor's mind told him that this wasn't the case. The lion didn't seem to be aggressive, it almost seemed somehow concerned.

"It's only a scratch, I've had far worse." Tarvor was surely going mad, now he was responding to the voices he heard in his head. _Maybe the lion isn't even really there, maybe I've finally snapped like the stories said loners who lived in the wilderness would. _He thought to himself.

'Oh good, now you can hear me. I thought it odd you weren't responding before I touched you. Did you feel the shock too?' the voice rang in Tarvor's head again, more clearly this time in a voice entirely unlike his own. The lion did not move a muscle but continued to look at him

It occurred to Travor that the voice he was hearing was not coming into his head through his ears, but was instead simply appearing amongst his thoughts. It was like the sound was emanating from his own skull.

"Are you real? I can hear a voice in my head but it sounds odd, it's not my own voice. Am I just going mad?" Tarvor grit his teeth and shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. This day wasn't turning out at all like he had planned. He put his hand up to his head and winced when his arm moved.

"You can put down the knife." said the voice in Travor's head. The lion's eyes still seemed to be concerned but they had not wavered from the knife that was pointed vaguely in its direction. The voice sounded apprehensive. Rather than the monotone soulless words that he had been hearing in his own voice this new voice sounded like a real person. It was not a terribly comforting realization.

Travor looked down at his own hands in surprise, as if only just know remembering that they still held the sharp instrument. He needed to wrap his arm quickly, he was feeling somewhat light headed and his cotton shirt was now quite slick with blood. He took a few steps back, placing enough ground between himself and the predator that he felt somewhat safer, then he dropped the knife at his side. If the beast charged him now he didn't know if he wold be able to fend it off anyway. With both hands free he tore a clean strip from his shirt and quickly wrapped his forearm. The wound was actually quite shallow but it had bled for awhile now. The mountain lion visibly relaxed, he hadn't noticed before but the big cat had it's shoulder muscles tensed into heavy knots, full of nervous energy. Now however, the lion simply looked at him with big brown eyes and slowly blinked a greeting, its tail resumed its leisurely swaying behind its rear. It fixed it's eyes directly upon his own and again the voice seemed to speak into his mind.

'I was sent here to find you, though I know not why. I was hoping perhaps that you would.' The voice of the lion was becoming clearer, even more distinct in Travor's mind. What had originally had felt like his own mind's thoughts were now explicitly felt as a separate entity, one that reverberated in his head as any spoken word would. 'You are still shocked I suppose. I have had days to come to grips with what I am but I did react much in the same way you are when I first became Aware.' The lion made a low rumbling noise deep in its chest which Tarvor guessed was supposed to be comforting but he found quite unsettling.

'Please take a seat, we can talk and I can explain everything.' The lion shuffled sideways on the edge of Tarvor's shelter, making space on the large bearskin rug for him to sit, even going so far as to make a very human gesture with its head toward the space, inviting him.

It now seemed exceedingly obvious that if he wasn't going mad and the cougar was actually real and not a figment of a sick mind, that it was speaking to him somehow. Though it was hard to believe. When he made no movement toward the spot the lion had motioned toward, the cat rolled its eyes, in yet another human gesture, and instead got up and jumped to the ground, from the elevated platform of the shelter. Its lithe form moved away from Tarvor without so much as looking back at him. When there was a comfortable distance between it, Tarvor, and the building it turned around and leisurely sat, and again gestured with a nod of its head toward the shelter.

Tarvor couldn't help but wonder if the lion's movements came natural to it or if it was making the human gestures with the intent to put him more at ease. Regardless he went and sat on the edge of his shelter like it had asked. He made the decision to assume the lion was real, other than the voices he felt quite sane. Though I suppose the truly crazy ones don't think that they're crazy he thought to himself grimly. He forced those thoughts down and tried to ignore them.

His throat was dry and his voice hoarse when he spoke 'Alright, I guess now we talk.' It wasn't easy but he was coming to grips with the fact that a lion seemed to be speaking to him. A small voice deep inside him still seemed to think he was crazy but when faced with such an outlandish situation it left little option but to accept that a lion was speaking directly into his mind. It certainly seemed to be based on it's body language.

Though the lion was now a good twenty feet away near the edge of the clearing its voice still rang clearly in Tarvor's head, as if it sat right next to him.

'Three days ago I was lying in the sun, just a normal mountain lion when I became Aware.' The weight of the word fell on Tarvor. It spoke to him of something strange and life altering and not wholly understood. The meaning behind the word was being impressed on him in much the same way as the word itself was appearing in his mind. Feelings and thoughts as well as words began to suffuse his consciousness, somehow flowing into him from the lion. 'Like I said, I knew that I had to find you, I knew where you were and how to get around the traps you set at the edge of your camp. I knew I was supposed to sit so that you would not be armed when you saw me, otherwise you may have hurt me on reflex.' The cougar dragged a paw across the ground, sending up motes of dust 'You almost still did.'

'I don't know how I knew these things but they were in my mind when I began to think differently from how I thought before.' The lion paused and struggled to put into words exactly what it was trying to communicate. There was something that happened to it that didn't fit into it's understanding of the world. Failing to come up with words that would adequately encompass the concept, it decided instead to try and push thoughts, memories, and feelings through the bond that had rapidly developed between the two ever since they had first touched.

They came slowly at first as Tarvor struggled to understand exactly what was happening. Soon however the bond was delivering information very quickly and Tarvor and felt the memories of the time before Awareness. When the lion was just a normal lion. When food, shelter, and mating was the only thing in the world that you could possibly think about. How everything was simple and straightforward and there was no reason to complicate things beyond base desire. He felt and understood the fear that came when you suddenly saw yourself understood yourself as _'_I'. When all the knowledge of a lifetime flows into your mind and you suddenly understand that the way you lived before is not something you will every experience again. That now you are now forced to find a man who lives in the mountains and you have no idea why. As the memories and emotions continued to flow into Tarvor's mind they continued to pick up speed until images seemed to flicker for only an instant before being replaced by another. Understanding was being painfully forced into Tarvor.

Tarvor's body rocked with the memories. His eyes were closed and his hands clenched tightly in his lap as three days of traveling, eating, sleeping, and eventually finding, were unceremoniously dumped into his consciousness in the course of seconds. It was painful having another force memories directly into your mind like that. He came to understand that the lion had been Awakened in much the same way. One day it was a simple animal but then something like this happened and somehow an entire personality and all the knowledge and intelligence that make up a human was forced upon it. He immediately felt sympathy for the lion, what he felt was painful and uncomfortable but it could only be a fraction of what it must have felt like for it.

_No, not 'it', not anymore. This lion is a her, and she has suffered. _Tarvor could barely imagine. Referring to her as 'it' just didn't seem to be enough.

When the feelings began to abate and the pain in his head subsided, Tarvor opened his eyes and the mountain lion was only inches away from his hand, staring intently at his face. He knew now that she wouldn't hurt him and he felt no need to panic. He wanted to reach out and stroke her head to soothe some of the confusion and pain she felt since her Awareness but he did not know how she would react to his touch. Whether she would draw comfort from it as he intended or become suddenly aggressive or frightened. After all while he knew much about her now, she still knew nothing about him. She may still fear him. Instead he just made no move to pull away and tried to show his faith in her. Her gaze bored into him and he shifted uncomfortably. He didn't know what she was looking for from him.

After a moment he met her eyes and simply told her that he wouldn't hurt her. It seemed a small thing but she relaxed as he spoke to her, apparently satisfied that he was definitely not going to attack her.

"Did you try to talk to me before you touched me? I couldn't hear or feel anything except fear when I first saw you. Even after you touched me I couldn't tell if you were talking to me or if i was just talking to myself" He longed to ease some of the tension he felt between them but he didn't know how. He could feel that she was still confused about why she was Aware and why she had to find him, but he knew nothing about the reasons either and telling her that likely would make her feel worse. In addition while he knew she wasn't about to attack him his instincts were still kicking and screaming inside to try and get him to flee from the dangerous predator. Whether it could speak or not a large animal that close to his body was disconcerting.

'I was screaming at you! At first I only said hello but when you froze and started eyeing the knife I began to panic. I knew you were supposed to hear my thoughts, just like I knew where to find you, but when you weren't reacting to me I didn't know to do. I almost clawed you just to get you to stop attacking but I retracted my claws before I did, so instead I only hit you. It didn't feel right to claw the man I was sent to find but I didn't know what else to do.' the voice was sheepish. She was embarrassed by how she acted, she didn't want to meet his eyes now and kept looking to the side. Tarvor realized he may not having been seeing things when he thought he saw the claws coming at him.

"I understand, I was panicking as well. I think we should just be glad neither of us got hurt" he replied.

Her eyes went to the bandage on his forearm and she looked away again, her tail hung limply behind her. However his arm was already feeling better, he could feel the blood flow had stopped though he would leave the bandage on for now. He rolled his arm at the shoulder and flexed his wrist as if to prove that he was okay. This seemed to appease her somewhat and she met his eyes again. Her eyes a complex shade of hazel and his a bright green. No matter what forces had thrown them together the knowledge of what happened to her still weighed heavily on Tarvor and he resolved to make her feel better about the whole thing.

The bond between them that had formed when they first touched was nearly whole. Tarvor realize now that he could feel her emotions like a tiny tickle in his mind, she felt unsure of herself but also proud that she had completed her task, he wondered if she could feel his emotions as well. He further wondered how far the bond would go before it stopped growing, it was an intimidating thought. Will it just keep going until we're only 1 person in two bodies? Or will it stop before then.

Tarvor decided to move on from the uncomfortable subject of their first meeting. "Do you have a name? I keep thinking of you as 'the lion' or 'her'. My name is Tarvor, I haven't used my last name in years, I don't even remember it anymore." He still felt strange introducing himself to an animal even if the mind of the animal was practically human. He almost reached out a hand as if to offer a handshake but thought better of it. His speech was awkward and stilted. It almost felt like when he was a child again and he didn't seem to quite fit in with the other kids.

'Shera. Mountain lions don't have last names, we don't really even have first names but I came up with Shera two days ago and I liked the way it sounded.' She sounded proud of herself and Tarvor repeated the name a few times under his breath, getting a feel for it

'I've come so far looking for you but I don't know anything about you, why don't you use your last name?' She cocked her head inquisitively, it was such a simple human gesture that Tarvor couldn't help but find it adorable when the animal did it, even if it was a dangerous predator. It was a simple enough thing that made Tarvor realize that he no longer had to think of the lion as dangerous, at least not toward him anyway, but then some of the most important people one can meet in life are met in the strangest circumstances. The instincts that had been constantly tickling the back of his mind seemed to finally calm down and let him relax around her.

Tarvor and Shera spent hours talking, he talked about himself and how he lived, why he liked living away from people and how he hadn't given anybody his last name in so long that he had just forgotten what it was. He didn't know what to explain about himself, what she would find interesting or not, but she always had another question ready to go by the time he finished answering the last one. The conversation between them flowed naturally, a feeling that Tarvor wasn't use to, he had never been very good at speaking with others. He even remembered that it was polite to ask about the other person as well, and felt a silly sense of pride when he got her to begin telling him things about herself without feeling like he was struggling to come up with things to ask. For the first time in his life he had found somebody easy to talk to and he liked it.

As the afternoon wore on Shera would ask him questions about his life and how he came to be here, and then he would ask her something and she would talk about that, as if it was the most natural thing in the world making polite conversation with a lioness. She talked about what it was like living as a mountain lion before she became Aware and what she has learned since then, which was mostly the things any person would know, from how to bake a simple cake to where the city of Kursk was on a map. Much of what she knew was surprising, whatever had caused her to become Aware had also given her all the information she would need to function in society at a basic level even though she didn't know what society was the day before. At some point in their talks Shera jumped up and lay down on the bear pelt next to Tarvor, and to Tarvor that felt as if it was right and he had no desire to move away.

The whole day passed and Tarvor forgot about the work he had been planning on doing, content instead to share stories and learn more about Shera just as Shera learned more about him. The wood went uncut, the fish he caught earlier languished in their burlap sack, forgotten. Eventually though, his stomach rumbled and brought them both back to the world around them. The sun was low in the sky, hidden by the trees around them and he hadn't even had lunch yet. He finally remembered about the fish and gathered them from the sack, then retrieved the knife from where it had fallen in the dirt. Shera did not seem concerned when he picked up the, only watched him with interest. Apparently her instincts no longer warned her about him either. The bond between them told him she was hungry too, he hoped she liked fish.

He set about cleaning the fish and preparing them for cooking. Shera preferred hers raw and helped herself to some of his catch, both a few whole fish as well as the offal that was left over after he finished cleaning his own meal. He watched, fascinated, as she held the slippery fish steady with her claws and worked her teeth and mouth around the rest of the animal, taking what she wanted in large bites. He couldn't help but admire the power in his limbs and jaws to accomplish the feat, the teeth in particular were long and imposing and he could understand the fear of any prey animal that had to face her. Yet when she finished her meal and his own fish were roasting slowly over a low fire she merely licked her lips contentedly in big wet slurps and set about cleaning her paws and face. Looking much more civilized than her teeth might suggest. The bright white fur on her chin shined in the firelight.

'Tell me,' She said as she groomed and primped her coarse brown fur 'do you know where we are supposed to go? Why I came here?'

Tarvor grimaced, he had hoped she would not directly ask him that tonight. Given the ordeal she had been through over the past few days he did not want to give any more bad news, but nothing good had ever come from lying so he had no choice but to answer honestly. 'I don't. I haven't the faintest idea what it is that we're meant to do.'

She paused in the middle of cleaning her shoulder to slump forward dejectedly. 'I don't know what I was expecting honestly. At least up until now I had a firm goal in mind, even if I didn't understand what set me on this path. Now...' she trailed off. She sat and stared into the fire for some time and didn't return to cleaning herself, seemingly lost in thought.

The silence was awkward and uncomfortable but Tarvor didn't know what to do about it. The hours he had spent casually talking with her may as well not have happened, he couldn't think of a single thing to say to her now. He chose not to involve himself with his fellow humans precisely because he was not practiced at dealing with situations like this. He simply stoked the fire, though it was burning readily enough already, and removed one of the smaller fishes from the spit.

He ate in continue silence. Neither he nor Shera seemed to want to break it. Shera shifted uncomfortably and she watched him. She seemed to be waiting for something that only he could give her. When the better part of an hour had passed with her waiting she got up and left the camp and he didn't stop her. He thought about warning her about the traps, but then felt foolish, she must already know all about those or she wouldn't have gotten inside in the first place. He could still feel her inside his head. He knew that, if he closed his eyes, he could point in the direction she was, and that if he wanted to he could get up and find her at any moment. But he didn't. They were inexplicably linked, possibly for forever, and while she was confused and vulnerable right now she had the misfortune of being linked to him. And while he badly wanted to ease her troubles he had no idea how to help.

He cleaned up after dinner and set about doing the chores he had avoided earlier. He began to chop a pile of wood that had been drying in a stack at the edge of his clearing. It was hard physical work and he had taken of his shirt to let the late afternoon sun dry the sweat from his shoulders. His body was torn and scarred in numerous places, signs of living a dangerous life, but none of them pained him any longer. They were old wounds, well healed with time. Shera still being gone however was starting to bother him. He had only met her today but he felt something for the lioness, she was already a friend, his only friend, and he didn't like that he lacked what it took to help her right now.

Night fell without a whisper, the sun set and the call of the day birds was slowly replaced by the hum of insects and the distant calls of owls. The wood was cut, and Travor was double checking all the traps around his shelter as he did every night before he went to sleep. Shera had not returned. Travor could feel that she was closer now and he thought she might be about to enter camp at any minute but for now all was quiet. The floor of his shelter was also his bed, the extremely large bear pelt covered the floor from wall to wall and was soft enough to serve as a decent mattress for a man who didn't seek many creature comforts. He stripped off his fur vest, and the lighter cotton shirt he wore beneath it and lay down for the night.

He didn't have any pillows but he did have a large heavy blanket, the spring nights were quite cold in this part of the world and he pulled the pelts that lined his walls tight together to help hold his body warmth inside. For the first time since he had ever spent a night at this camp, his bed felt empty and lonesome.

He tried to speak to Shera, though he didn't know if he could over this distance. 'Please come back, it's cold out. You could help warm the shelter.' If she could hear him she made no reply. He cursed under his breath. It had been a stupid thing to say, it sounded like he just wanted her to return for some practical reason, and not because he missed her and worried about her. He felt angry with himself at his inability to articulate what he wanted to say and then he felt angry at the feelings that had him so confused. For years he lived alone and was happy doing it, he was even alone when he visited town, sitting at a table by himself and sleeping in an empty bed in his room, but he had never actually felt alone. Today however left him feeling just that, the shelter felt bigger than it used to, like there was too much space, or maybe just that there wasn't enough of him to fill it.

The slippery edge of sleep was just about to overtake him when the flap to the shelter was pushed to the side by the nose of a mountain lion, and was in short order followed by the rest of one. Shera ignored Tarvor and and instead lay on the far side of the shelter with her back to him. His heart leapt to see her, though it was clear she was still unhappy with him, or maybe just unhappy with her situation. Tarvor didn't know which. However, Tarvor was determined to do, or say, something this time, letting silence reign while Shera struggled with whatever was bothering her hadn't helped before. Even if he said the wrong thing he felt saying anything at all would be better than lack of communication between them that lingered since their dinner.

'I'm glad you're back' he managed quietly, his throat tightened and he only just squeaked out the words. It seemed a simple enough thing to say, he was hopeful that it couldn't upset her at the very least.

Shera stiffened, her ears laying back against her skull. Tarvor couldn't see her face and her outline was dim with the fading light of the sun, but he thought he must have made another mis-step somehow. Yet, when Shera turned her head to him he could see such sadness in her eyes, even in the low light. She wasn't crying, he wasn't even sure if cats could cry, but he felt sure if she had been a person instead of a feline that those big hazel eyes would have been rimmed red, with tears streaming down her muzzle. Tarvor's heart broke. The man who spent years alone, who had, and needed nobody, and viewed other people with passive indifference, could no longer stand it. He reached out a hand and, for the first time since that initial meeting, touched Shera on the shoulder, seeking to help the distressed lioness.

Instantly his mind filled with seething emotion, the trickle he had felt from her earlier was now a torrent of sadness. He could practically feel it running up his arm and tunneling between his eyes. It was so strong he almost began to well up himself. Touching her had amplified the bond between them ten fold.

'I'm the only one.' Shera's voice was sadness given form. 'All my life I've been surrounded by other mountain lions. We don't live together, but we meet from time to time. Maybe even hunt together or spend a night together when my heat is on, but now I have nobody. Not a single mountain lion can understand me anymore, I'm something else now and I can never go back. I always knew it, in the back of my mind, while I was hunting for you, but I felt that surely when I found you that there would be some great purpose behind it all. That we would go on to do something great. Now I don't know. You're the only person I can talk to in the entire world and you ignored me.' The words fell out of her in an emotional rush. Her voice cracked and she sobbed quietly and turned back around. He hadn't considered that she had just been lonely. He assumed that she had been mad at him for something.

Her emotions carried Tarvor like a ship tossed in a tempest. He felt the crushing loneliness that came from being the only one of your kind in the entire world, and found it was not so much unlike what he felt before the lioness nosed her way into his shelter. The one that came from being one of, but not part of, his own race. The feeling of not being able to talk with people as comfortably as they seemed to talk to each other. Only now could he recognize what he felt for what it was. He knew how he could feel her feelings through the bond and now he wondered if maybe she could feel his as well. He pushed his loneliness to the front of his mind, tried to encompass his being in it and see if he could get her to feel how he felt without using clumsy words. Maybe if she felt that he too was alone he could be of some comfort to her, they would not be as alone if they both felt the same way.

She ceased her gentle sobs and turned back to face him. His success was written on her face. The face of a lion, yet somehow he felt he could read it like a book, as if he had been doing it his entire life. Her eyes focused on his, gazing deeply into him, her lips set firm together, and her ears lay comfortably to the side. The sadness that had clung to her like a haze had not entirely faded, but she had seen that she was not as alone as she thought. He had gotten through to her. So it was that the man who never knew loneliness until today, and the mountain lion that never knew loneliness until she knew herself, learned they at least had each other.

Shera broke his touch reluctantly, but only to stand up and walk closer to lay at his side, seeking the comfort that physical contact provided. He lifted up his blanket and allowed her to slide under it with him before he wrapped his arms around her broad chest and hugged her close to him. Her head was nearly as big as his own and her chest was much broader, held tight against her he could feel her emotions coursing through himself, as she felt his course through her. Both of them felt eachother's still raw sadness, but now tinged with some manner of hope and comfort. The sadness slowly eased out of them and the chill of the spring air seemed not as bad as they shared body warmth.

Shera's voice, playful, sounded in his head 'Before I became Aware, I didn't even know what a relationship was. We don't really have those, lions I mean. You're either near another lion or you aren't, but it's never important to you whether a particular lion is around or not. Being given this intelligence has made me aware that what I really want is something more than that. I want to be wanted, and appreciated. I want somebody to care if I'm around, and feel excited if I am. Do you understand what I mean?' The air was heavy with anticipation. Travor knew that despite her playful tone this was a heartfelt sentiment and he would be expected to answer it in kind, without being flippant.

'I do.' Travor then was silent while he thought of what exactly he wanted to say.

He took his time and formulated his words carefully. When Shera grew restless and stirred against him, worried that he might leave her in silence again he gave her a gentle squeeze around the chest to reassure her. When he finally spoke his tone was soft and somber 'Before I met you I was content. I lived my life in the way that I chose and didn't feel like I was missing anything. When you gave me the memories of what you did, between the time when you became Aware and now, the pain of learning so much so quickly was excruciating. It felt as if there was not enough room in my brain to fit everything in, and my body had to quickly adjust before my head exploded. Immediately afterwards I realized that what I felt in those few excruciating seconds must have only been a fraction of what you felt having an entire lifetime of knowledge given to you. In that moment I understood that you went through something I may never fully understand. I wanted so badly to make you feel better about it, to try and ease your pain in some way. It was clear that you needed something from me, and while I wanted to give it to you I didn't know what it was. Wanting to help you, and being unable to, is something I've never felt about another human before. I've simply never been close enough to somebody to care that much. When you left I didn't know what to do, but when you came back I was so happy that I couldn't let myself do nothing again. I do care for you, and I missed you when you were gone. I just had to hope that I said the right thing.'

His words hung in the air. He had expressed how he really felt, and it left him vulnerable and worried.

After a moment Shera leaned her weight back into him, pressing her fur against his face and bare chest. He ran his hands through across her back, he would have expected the fur to be much courser than it was but it was so fine and soft. 'Don't worry, you said just the right thing.' She purred happily, Travor could feel the vibrations in his arms and chest. He pushed back against her weight, leaning into her with his arms wrapped tightly around her, enjoying the tender moment as Shera hummed contentedly. Her fur was soft and warm against his skin and extremely pleasant to the touch. He ran his hands across her sides and belly and let her fur slip gently through his fingers.

Suddenly he was aware that the deerskin pants he had been wearing were becoming awfully tight. It took him a moment to step back from this innocent moment and realize what was happening, but he became extremely embarrassed when he did. He wasn't used to dealing with things like this, being unable to relate to people had some side effects, namely he could go a long time without thinking about anything sexual, and when he did he would often just handle it unceremoniously himself.

Now however he felt the big warm body of a feral cat pressed up against his chest contentedly, and his private parts had not failed to notice that they too were pressed up against something warm and vibrating. He wasn't attracted to the cat sexually, he hadn't even considered it before now, but the body reacts on its own to certain stimuli and now he was trying to think of how to escape this situation unnoticed. He considered Shera his only close friend, he could not remember connecting with somebody in this way, he didn't want to jeopardize that with an uncomfortable thing like this.

He began by trying to subtly adjust his position so his crotch was no longer comfortably resting against her hips, though he missed the sensation immediately. It had been some time since he had paid that area any attention at all and it seemed to want to make up for it at this inopportune moment. She hummed when she felt him pull back but gave no other sign that she had noticed anything amiss, he began to think about really cold water and tree stumps. Maybe he could just get it to go away quickly and she'd be none the wiser. _There is nothing attractive at all about a tree stump. They don't have powerful limbs and fine soft fur, they are not pleasantly warm, or come with their own automatic vibrations... This isn't working at all. _He thought to himself and groaned.

Shera made a strange rolling growl sound, he didn't know what to make of it at first until he focused on the bond between them and felt the amusement, it was a strange feline laugh.

'Did you forget that I can feel what you feel even if I didn't feel something else back here?' her laugh sounded light and airy in her head. She had felt his arousal. She flexed her body and pushed her hips back against Travor's deerskin pants, rubbing them with a slight back and forth motion. She hummed to herself as she did it, seemingly unconcerned with Travor's feelings on the matter.

It was dark but Travor imagined that his blush must be hot enough to produce its own light source. It was no good feigning ignorance now, but she didn't have to make a big deal out of it.

"I'm sorry, I don't really have any control over it, you just feel so nice. Your body is so firm and you fur so soft," He felt sheepish just admitting it and he barely whispered his apologies to her. 'I'll just lay over here until it goes away.'

He shuffled to the side and turned his back to her and thought some more about tree stumps. He hoped that if he didn't even touch her innocently any longer that his body would get the idea. He wanted nothing more than to lie quietly for just a moment until the embarrassment passed, instead he felt Shera move herself around until one giant paw was draped over his chest, and her chest was now nestled up against his back in a reversal of their previous position. Now she is just being unnecessarily cruel about this, Travor thought to himself. The bond between them fed these thoughts to the lioness who shook with amusement once more, her chest shaking as another one of those strange feline laughs escaped her. He could feel the heat from her breath on the back of his neck as she did so.

When Shera spoke into his mind her tone was conversational, as if she were simply speaking of the weather with a mild interest 'Did you know that when cougars mate they do so entirely because instinct drives them to. When my heat was on I would seek out a suitable male and he, enticed by the smell of me, would mate me as his instincts told him he should and thus the species would continue. We felt nothing for each other at all and parted company to, in all likelihood, never see each other again. It was all so meaningless.'

Something warm and wet touched the back of Travor's neck, after a few tender ministrations he realized that Shera was grooming him with her tongue. He could feel the rough part of the surface that she used to clean her own fur, but that was near the back, the front of her tongue was smooth, supple, and flexible. She ran it liberally across his neck and shoulders. He was still uncomfortable with himself but at least she didn't seem to be holding any grudges toward him, he was relieved about that.

He felt he should say something but again he didn't know what. What could ease the tension he felt inside? His mind was full of tree stumps but his pants were full of an entirely different type of stump.

"That is interesting. I did not know that. Are you in heat right now?" The question was out before he realized he had asked it. He had opened his mouth without thinking, distracted as he was by her tongue on his neck, he held his breath and waited for the fallout.

The licking however never lessened. In fact she had moved on to gently caressing his ears and cheek, still holding him close to her chest as he faced away from her. Her strong paws made escape impossible, with only one large paw draped over him he was held tightly against her chest, straining against it only made her hold him tighter. When he tried too hard to get away he felt slight pricks as she extended her claws. Great, she's found a new toy to play with. Travor sighed and lay back against her, surrendering to her strength.

'Oh that is a question,' She laughed and he felt her paw clutch at him almost uncomfortably tightly, the touch of her claws prickled his skin again. 'But no, I'm not in heat right now. I don't know if I'll ever be in heat again or if that was stripped away along with some of the other instincts a mountain lion has. I feel different now than I felt before. I don't know how different, but I certainly am not in heat at the moment.' Her paw rubbed his chest while her tongue tickled his ear.

Travor breathed a sigh of relief. He was excited to be sure, or at least his body was, but he didn't want to cross any sort of boundaries with his new bonded partner. The last thing he wanted was to upset her again. If she isn't in heat then as soon as she is done trying to make me feel better about his little embarrassment by grooming me we can go to sleep and forget this whole thing. At the very least she didn't seem concerned. She continued to gently run her tongue along his cheek, Travor was starting to enjoy the sensation immensely.

'Is that what you think I'm doing? Trying to make you stop being embarrassed?' Shera's laughter tinkled through his head again. Travor had nearly forgotten that proximity amplified the bond between them, if he didn't expressly guard his thoughts she could pick them up easily if she tried. He grunted to himself. 'I told you that before I became Aware the only reason to mate was for procreation and it was driven entirely by instincts and my yearly heat. However,' Shera pulled her paw against Travor's chest, rolling him onto his back which he was quite helpless to prevent. 'after becoming Aware, I am extremely conscious of the fact that I have not, in my entire life, been entered by somebody who truly cared for me.' She leaned her head onto his chest and rubbed against him, her whiskers tickled.

'You're cute when you're clueless' another strange rolling growl as she laughed at his distress.

The word 'entered' caused a hitch to rise in Travor's throat. He may not be the most well versed in the subtleties of conversation, but there was only one way to interpret that particular phrase. His pants seemed to realize it as well, for they had become the tightest they had yet been. Now that he was lying on his back his member tented his pants in plain view while Shera did nothing to hide the fact that she was staring directly at it. She even licked her lips, making an audible slurp. Soon however she returned to her grooming and bent her large feline head close to Travor, and began to lick his chest. She gave him long sensual licks that began below his ribcage and slowly proceeded up slowly to his collarbone and chin. If she happened to pass over a nipple she gave it extra attention, which he was surprised to find he enjoyed. He was having trouble processing any thought at all.

'I would quite like to experience such pleasures. A mate who meant more to me than a compulsive instinct.' Shera's bond with Travor allowed her to continue speaking to him despite what her mouth might otherwise be preoccupied with.

'However if you are unwilling' she let the word hang in the air between them as she started another lick across his chest, this one beginning well below his bellybutton. She attempted to slide her tongue into his pants before continuing the lick. 'Then I'm content to wait until such a time as you are more comfortable.' She made the word sound dirty and full of meaning. Every time her tongue made contact with his chest he felt the bond between them glow and her emotions flow into him, happiness, desire, and a barely concealed lust.

Until this moment he hadn't considered actually doing anything with the lioness. His body had purely responded to the physical contact in the most natural way, but he hadn't bothered to think beyond the autonomous reaction. He now found himself toying with the notion. What is it exactly that makes a woman attractive. Surely her body is important, but wasn't the mind equally important? If a person has, say, the body of a lioness but the mind of a thinking feeling individual who ss fully capable of desiring an intimate relationship, wouldn't that be just as good as anything else? With the heat from the lioness' breath on his chest and the gentle touch of her tongue it took little to convince him of the answer. His thoughts extended beyond her tongue to other parts of her anatomy. I wonder what she looks like between her legs.

He had made his decision. "I think I'm comfortable enough right now. I find the idea rather exciting actually".

She practically trilled at his answer and redoubled her efforts, though it was clear she stared ever more hungrily at his hidden member.

Travor absentmindedly began to stroke himself through his pants. Rubbing his hand up and down his cock as Shera continued to sensually lick him. Shera seemed to enjoy the show.

A smell had filled the air, at first Travor thought it might be his own sexual musk, but while that was present too it was something far more earthy and heady. He imagined for a moment how his own smell must be to somebody with a nose as sensitive as a mountain lion's, which elicited another laugh from Shera as the thought rebounded across their bond. She sent him an image of how she perceived his own sent, it was so much deeper and more complex than what his own nose could detect. There was sweat and oils as an underlying base, but far more interesting was the vast array of deep hearty tones. Through her he could smell the rich spicy flavor that was his own musk. He groaned as another lick fell across his stomach. Shera was eagerly watching his hand stroke himself now as she pleasured him with her tongue. From time to time she would nudge against his hand and he would caress her muzzle and thrust toward it, though with his pants on it was to no avail.

A thought occurred to Travor then, when he realized that the smell he sensed apart from his own must be Shera's sexual arousal.

"Please, please send me how your own musk smells to you. I want to know how another mountain lion would smell you." Though he had been lying with his eyes closed enjoying the attention he was receiving from Shera, he opened them to watch her reaction. He saw her quiver as the idea excited her, sending her mate her own smell as a form of foreplay, it excited her desire for somebody to be with her for reasons beyond emotionless procreation. The entire concept of foreplay was a new and exciting thing to her. Tarvor knew that she could immediately send him her scent, for her smell was so great that even his own, less sensitive, nose could easily detect it in the air. However instead of just sending it along she decided to make a show of it, she was sitting on her haunches as she licked him but now she removed her tongue from his chest and lifted a hind leg. She exposed her sex to him and allowed him a full look at her.

His eyes locked on her lower lips like a man dying of thirst would look at an oasis. It was dark but there was still just light enough to see that the light tan fur of her belly ran all the way back to the base of her tail, and there nestled between her powerful hind legs was a slick, puffy, paradise. Even in the dusk it was visibly excited and it leaked a drop of fluid even as he watched it. Licking his chest and watching him rub himself through his pants had been as fun for her as it was for him, that in turn made him feel even better about what was inevitably about to happen, how could it be wrong to enjoy the embrace of somebody who cared for him like this. Before he could fully absorb what was already laid before him, Shera leaned her head down between her own legs, and without breaking eye contact even for a moment took a big sniff of her own exposed sex. Then her tongue flicked out from between her lips and rubbed her pussy, smearing her juices from where they dripped out and delicately parting her nether lips. For just a moment Travor could see the pink interior before her tongue was removed and her leg put back down, hiding it from view. She enjoyed teasing him this way, she could feel his pulse quicken through their bond and she enjoyed watching his pants stretch to contain his stiffening member, though she was curious what it looked like in full view.

He had only a moment to be disappointed as the lioness' sex was hidden from view before the smell of her came roaring through his bond and hit his senses like a sledgehammer. Where his musk had been spicy and hearty her own was earthy and sweet. He couldn't smell anything of the sweat or oil which permeated his own scent, hers was a pure pleasant tone. The smell of it drove the desire in him to new heights, he longed to smell, and taste, it for himself. He told her as much, and reached out a hand to stroke her chest as she sat over him.

'Oooooh, you can taste it if you like.' She purred out the words sounding every bit as excited as he was. She began to lift her leg again but he stopped her with his hand, moving it from her chest to her hind leg, gently preventing her from raising it and exposing herself.

'No, not like that, not yet. There is something people do with those that they care about, and I want to do that before we go any further. It's important, I think.' She was confused but willing to see where he was going. He pulled himself upright into a seated position putting his own head on the same level as hers. He placed a hand on each side of her jaw, the immense nature of which he only now began to fully appreciate, with his head only inches from her features. He looked deep into her eyes as he brought face closer to her own, and opening his mouth slightly he placed it against her feline lips.

Her mouth was not designed for kissing, but the lion knew what he was trying to do and did everything she could to comply. She let her own mouth gape just a little so he could experience sliding his tongue between her lips before she met his tongue with her own, her fluids still slick on the surface. The taste of her was incredible, it was strong and sweet and everything the smell of it had led him to believe. He yearned to taste it straight from the source but the kiss of the lioness was rapturous and he did not want to end it just yet. He pushed his enjoyment through the bond into her and she returned the favor, he felt her bliss at their union, both of them lost in the warm embrace of the other. The moment seemed to stretch for hours, each of the two mates happily exploring each other's mouths with their own before Travor broke it, his lips still trailing fluids that connected his mouth to hers.

'That was incredible, I have never had a kiss so passionate as that. I could never have imagined this morning that I would have met such an amazing creature and fallen so quickly for her.' Travor sighed in rapturous delight 'But now it seems I have the advantage on you,' he winked at her playfully 'it seems only fair to even the playing field' His hands dropped to his pants as he stood fully in the shelter.

Shera quivered with excitement and stood herself, putting her head on level with his hidden member. She had waited for this moment, she never had a chance to inspect a male before, wild lions wasted little time fulfilling their needs and moving on. To her a human seemed most exotic. Her tail lifted in arousal spreading her smell throughout the room, even Travor could smell her clearly now, if not with as much depth as she could. Travor slipped his thumbs beneath the wasteline of his pants and began to shimmy them down, exposing first his scruff of hair and then the base of his fully erect penis. Before he could lower them further however, Shera darted forward licking his dick and inhaling his scent deeply into her nose. Travor jumped with the sudden pleasure of having the warm slickness of her tongue across him but he wished for more than that and so quickly dropped his pants to his ankles and kicked them across the room. His plans to slowly tease her as she had teased him disappearing just as quickly as her tongue sought to explore his cock.

All the love and care that Shera had shown his back and chest while convincing him to do this was redoubled as she rubbed her tongue across his erect prick. He held it at its base so as to steady it for her and she lapped repeatedly across the shaft and tip being careful to avoid being too rough. She even spent a time administering to his balls, gently cupping them with her tongue and sliding it all around. Before pulling away she even rubbed her face on him, her cheeks and nose especially. He laughed, if she had been a house cat she would have been marking his cock as her own property, maybe in a way she was. Either way he was no longer content to engage in foreplay and was eager to get to something a little more carnal.

He urged Shera to turn around and expose herself to him. She was somewhat reluctant to cease playing with his member but she was every bit as excited to continue as he was himself. Shera lowered her upper body to the floor of the shelter while keeping her hips held high, with her tail lifted over her back everything was on display for Tarvor. He could see where the brown fur of her back and flanks met the tan fur of her belly at her beautiful sex. Her lips were smaller than that of a human woman's and more rounded, less of a slit and more of a small puffy oval, yet no woman Tarvor had ever seen was more enticing to him than her at this moment. Shera's lips were slick with excitement and her opening was slightly agape, beckoning him. He stared, transfixed as a delicate drop of her juices rolled out of her opening and beaded on the tip of her outer lips. While she enjoyed the feeling of being doted on by her bonded partner she was eager for more than just the touch of his eyes, she tensed herself causing her opening to audibly squelch as it beckoned him in.

He became unsure of himself then, despite his confidence earlier. He had never harbored sexual feelings for an animal before and now he had to question himself. He had already come so far but it seemed here was where the point of no return really lay. If he took this even one step further, if he touched her most sensitive spot then there would be no turning back. Was this wrong? Shera purred and swayed her hips back and forth causing another drop of fluid to leak enticingly from her folds, she wanted him and was making every effort to shop that she did. Shera was no more an animal than he was, he decided, she was a thinking, feeling person who was more than capable of forming her own opinions and making her own decisions, and she wanted this as badly as he did. Any reservations evaporated and blew away, the smell of her sex overwhelmed him once more, that sweet and slick smell that he had tasted when they kissed. The source lay before him.

He dropped to his knees behind his lioness, lining himself up with her entrance, his cock was still slick from the attentions he had received from her just seconds before. He had never seen a lion's entrance before however, and he didn't quite know if it would be big enough for him, it looked much smaller than a human's parts after all. He sucked on the fingers of his right hand and Shera quivered with the anticipation of what she knew was coming. He could feel her excitement through their bond, coursing and twining with his own arousal. He placed his now wet fingers against her entrance, gently prodding and familiarizing himself with the sweet area. Her lips tensed under his fingers and Shera released a low growl of pleasure. The skin around her entrance was free of fur and soft, so soft, he rubbed it tenderly mixing the saliva on his fingers with her own fluids. She growled more and leaned back into his hand, attempting to get his fingers to slip inside her.

He placed his left hand on her back just above her tail and pushed down on her as his right hand explored and rubbed outside her entrance. He could feel that the pressure on her back and the control he was exerting over her was driving her to new levels of pleasure, she enjoyed being teased as much as she enjoyed easing it seemed. Her body tensed as her first small orgasm coursed through her and juices flowed freely from her sex, coating Tarvor's hand. His fingers slick with her cum he pushed his pointer and middle finger inside her without warning. Her body was still sensitive from the orgasm and the sudden intrusion caused waves of pleasure to course to him from across the bond. Feeling the second hand orgasm of a woman that you were currently pleasuring was a feeling like nothing Tarvor had felt before, he roamed her insides with his fingers feeling the curvature of her tunnel. It curved upwards toward her spine and while it was tight on his fingers it was deep enough to accommodate his own throbbing cock. He could not reach her back wall with just his fingers though his attempts to do so elicited even more harsh growls from his lion.

Satisfied that he would at least fit in her, but wishing he had the patience to more thoroughly explore his partner, he removed his fingers from Shera causing her to moan her disapproval and rock back towards his body once more, aching to be penetrated. He ran his fingers, still slick with her thick juices, across his own member, preparing it to slide easily into her. He moaned himself as he placed his tip against her entrance, feeling her soft skin pressed against him, a drop of cum leaked from him, staining the short hairs around her nether lips. He went to gently spread her lips with his hands so he could push himself into her but instead an impish idea occurred to him, he rubbed her folds once more teasing another moan from Shera and making his hand glisten with her fluids. Instead of pressing himself against her and fulfilling both their desires he moved his finger north of her entrance to her puckered tail hole. Here he pressed firmly against its unyielding muscles until the first digit of his finger was warmly nestled inside her ass, she was only barely penetrated here but she immediately clenched around him preventing further access.

Shera let loose a surprised growl and turned her head to meet his gaze. At first she seemed unsure of what to make of his actions but soon her eyes were full of mischief and he felt her asshole loosen its grip on his finger allowing him to press further in. She moaned into his head through their bond as he did so and in a sultry voice said 'perhaps another time we can try something else, I can think of a few things I'd like to do to you as well, but if you don't get inside me right this second I refuse to be responsible for my actions.' She pushed herself bodily against him with great force. Her efforts failed to impale herself on him however his cock failing to push between her tight lips and instead being pressed between her haunches and himself. She made the most of it and changed tactics, rubbing herself on his hips massaging her lips against the shaft of his rock hard cock, he could feel the juices flowing freely between them as more of her cum leaked out and coated his balls with the sticky sweet scent. She leaned forward again and held her ass in the air as high as it could possibly go causing her lips to slightly stretch apart as she exposed herself.

'Please Tarvor' she pleaded into his mind 'Fuck me.'

He had only known her for a day but already he was certain he would not be able to say no to her easily. He settled himself against her slightly parted lips, pressing against them, attempting to force himself into her. As excited and wet as she was her entrance was still a tight fit, he took his hand and used his fingers to spread her lips even further apart, with a small push forward she enveloped his cock head, the feeling of her warmth made him want to hilt himself in her but he made the moment last. Her body was tense and ready, spread out before him and he watched his cock slide easily into her pussy. They reveled in their combined pleasure, each feeling the satisfaction of finally coming together in the way Shera had hoped they would ever since she had felt the hardening prick press against her back.

She was so slick and excited that Tarvor had no difficulty fitting inside her though her walls grasped him tightly as if reluctant to let him go again. He focused on the sight below her tail, he watched as her lips slowly spread and stretched as he made his first few tentative thrusts, slowly building up a rhythm. Her entrance was tight but not uncomfortably so, she had quickly adjusted to a man sized cock and was lost in her ecstasy. He had a hand on each of her hips and kept a firm grip, her body stretched out before him, tail high, she moaned her pleasure.

Watching his dick vanish into her depths and appear again and listening to her moan forced his arousal to new heights and he was afraid he may finish too quickly after the great deal of teasing that had come before this moment. Shera, for her part, wasn't helping matters as the feeling of her mate inside her, bigger than anything she had felt before by far, drove her toward another orgasm which she accepted hungrily. She was riding the waves of her pleasure just as Tarvor was riding her with renewed vigor. He had set a steady and strong pace, driving each thrust home with moist sounding slap of his hips to her haunches. She felt his balls swinging and hitting her with each thrust and yearned for them to release their bountiful load so she could feel his sticky fluids inside her.

Tarvor was eager to extend this session for as long as he possibly could, it had been years since he had experienced anything more pleasurable than his own hand and Shera was so moist and tight that it was hardly a fair comparison at all. He felt her muscular walls clench around him as her orgasm shook her and he fought to not spill his seed inside her then and there. He slowed his pace and tried to focus his mind away from his task but his lioness was insistent and as she felt him slow she began to rock in rhythm with him, driving them together with greater and greater force. She wanted him to explode inside of her and she was intent on getting what she wanted.

Tarvor was lost in the heat of their passion, his balls ached and he felt that he would lose himself at any moment. He opened his mouth to tell his partner that he was about to cum when an image of a male lion biting Shera's neck in the throes of their mating was brought to the front of his mind. She begged for him to do the same to her now as she approached her full blown orgasm. He couldn't reach her neck with his mouth and even if he could he doubted it would provide the sort of force she was looking for, instead he leaned himself forward, putting much of his weight onto her hind legs as he continued to thrust himself deep inside her. She roared with delight as she felt his hand find the lose skin on the back of her neck and he gripped it hard, forming a fist and pulling at the fur and skin of her neck. The feeling sent her over the edge, her legs quavered and it was all she could do to stand as the lustful vibrations shook her body with explosive force.

Her tunnel suddenly spasmed and began working hard to milk Tarvor of his fluids. He felt his lioness squeeze and massage his member inside her and the bond between them overflowed with waves of her delirium. With one hand still clenched in the fur at the back of her neck and the other hand pulling himself hard into her haunches he drove himself as deep inside as he could and felt a torrent of cum spring from him as his own orgasm finally overcame his last wall of resistance.

He held himself hilted in her as every last ounce of himself poured into her, their fluids mingled inside her and leaked out around his cock, dripping onto the bear pelt on the floor. Neither could bring themselves to separate, staying blissfully locked together in their shared passion. For minutes they held their position, slowly recovering, locked together in a lover's embrace, Tarvor's hand still gripping the skin of Shera's neck. Eventually, inevitably, Tarvor let go her and felt his softening cock slip from its warm home inside his lion followed by a fresh gush of their fluids which fell with a soft plop to the floor between them. Shera turned around and brought her face to his and kissed him with reckless abandon, placing her large muzzle tightly against his lips and urging him to hold her head in his hands while they explored each other's mouths with their tongue. She purred as they locked lips causing his own head to buzz along with hers.

The lioness cleaned Tarvor's member with her gentle tongue, savoring the flavor of his sperm and her fluids. Her cleaning was thorough covering the entire length of his shaft as well as his balls and thighs. As she nuzzled her snout underneath his balls to lick at the moist skin between his sack and his legs he felt himself begin to harden again, though he could not imagine being able to bring enough energy to bear to repeat the night's performance. Nevertheless he stood at half-mast and he felt the lioness playfully take him inside her mouth completely and roll him across her tongue just for the fun of it.

After cleaning her partner the lion turned her attention to herself, positioning herself so he had a clear view of her sex as her tongue lapped between her folds and cleaned the surrounding area of the sticky mess. He longed to get up and attend to her entrance himself, desiring to press his own tongue inside her and taste her properly but he was so spent he could do nothing but lay there and appreciate the sights that spread before him. She ran her tongue up and down her entrance which had shrunk in size now that her arousal had been satisfied, she even spent some time licking and massaging her asshole, she caught his eye and winked at him in a most un-lionlike manner as she did so. There were exciting times ahead he knew.

He felt the weight of sleep coming on him and as he closed his eyes he was pleased to feel Shera lie down next to him, the size and heat of her comforting him. He managed the energy to roll over and assume the same position that had begun the excitement, although now he was entirely naked and his semi-erect cock rubbed against his lioness' haunches, he knew she could feel it. She purred again vibrating against him as he lay spooned against her, she was pleased to feel him stiffen further as she did so and couldn't help but wiggle her hips just a bit against him, enjoying the hard sensation against the fur of her haunches.

'Tomorrow we'll find out why you came' he said dreamily as he fell into the grasp of sleep.

Shera smiled to herself 'Oh I know exactly why I came' she rubbed against him again 'but tomorrow we can find out what it is we need to do'. He was already asleep and couldn't appreciate her expertly delivered pun, so she laughed at it herself and thoughts of her lovers embrace danced in her head as she too began to dream.