Never Love a Stranger

The zebra striped K5 Blazer came to a stop in what could only charitably be called a parking lot. The young woman behind the wheel looked around noting the two other vehicles, a Jeep and a Ford F150, before pulling out her phone and texting.

"At the trailhead, there was a road closure so running a bit late. Still planning to make the first site before dark."

She sent the message to 2 friends, then her parents appending an "I love you" for them.

With that responsibility out of the way, she climbed out of the truck. Layla had been in a bad mood for most of the last four days as her carefully laid plans for a week-long backpacking trip with three of her best friends had come apart. She'd finally made peace with it turning into a solo trip and then a rock slide had closed the road putting her two hours behind schedule.

Now as she looked around at the majesty of the Bitterroot Mountains it all just melted away. She didn't have it in her to be in a bad mood surrounded by nature's wonder. Taking a deep breath of clean mountain air, she headed to the back of the truck, dropped the tailgate and started checking her gear.

Satisfied everything was in order, she shouldered her pack, locked the truck and headed down the trail. Layla set a brisk pace for the first few hours, trying to make up for lost time. As she got deeper into the wilderness she slowed to her normal hiking pace. She could set up camp in the dark if she had to, and the whole point in being here was to savor the journey.

It was almost 2 o'clock when she stopped for lunch. Sitting on a downed log for a brief rest as she ate. Feeling re-energized she carefully packed away her garbage and took out her compass. She shot an azimuth to a mountain top just visible over the trees, satisfied with her location, she left the trail. Working her way through the increasingly dense forest was slow going for the next few miles, until she reached the scar from a recent fire. The trees were growing back, but the lack of undergrowth made walking much easier, and she was delighted to discover several black morels which she harvested. It was soon back to the dense forest and the light was fading when she reached her destination.

It was a small clearing in the forest, not even a quarter of an acre which the trees had for some reason or other forsaken. She dropped her pack, took a long drink of water and hurriedly set up her tent and rolled out her mat and sleeping bag. With her camp set up, she pulled out her Garmin InReach and sent a message to let her family know she'd made it to her planned site. 20 minutes later she was leaning against a tree, eating freeze dried bison chorizo hash. She'd eaten a few of her freeze drieds back in the real world, usually when she'd been racing to meet a deadline for school and had run out of food in her apartment, they were too expensive to eat on a whim. They tasted good, but it always left her wondering why they managed to taste so much better out here.

She was just finishing her meal when a deer came out of the trees across from her. It was a young, forked horn buck and she watched as he browsed on the quakies around the edge of the clearing. He ate for several minutes as Layla sat motionless watching him, then he turned and disappeared into the forest.

The sun was completely down, but it was a clear night, and she had enough moonlight to put the camp stove away and crawl into her tent. She stripped down and released her long blonde hair from the pony tail. She laid back on her sleeping bag, soaking in the sounds of the forest at night and fell into a blissful sleep.

Layla was up with the sun, another thing that always amazed her about being in the woods. At home she was an unreformed night owl, and would sleep until noon if she could get away with it, but out here she never needed an alarm. She dressed quickly, then made breakfast. The buck from the previous evening returned and they ate together. The deer managed to finish first and made his way back into the forest. Layla finished her own breakfast, then broke camp, and resumed her hike.

It was almost noon when she went over the last ridgeline and dropped down into the small valley that was her destination. She was rather proud of herself, she had GPS coordinates for the entire route, but she'd made the trip entirely with a compass and dead reckoning. Her Grandpa would be proud she was certain. He was always going on about kids these days not being able to find their way to the grocery store without some damn electronics.

She left the dense forest and surveyed the meadow that made up the center of the valley. A stream ran down the middle, forming a small lake a few hundred yards downstream from where she was standing. The grass was lush and green, dotted with various flowers in full bloom. Nature was taking full advantage of the brief growing season at this latitude.

Layla sent a quick message with her InReach confirming her arrival then set up camp. She contemplated another freeze dried for lunch then decided it was time for some fresh food. Grabbing her chest rig and collapsing fly rod she strolled down to the stream a hundred yards away.

It was only 7 or 8 feet across and a few feet deep, she looked for a likely spot for a trout to be lurking. She assembled the fly rod, and headed towards a pool formed by a bend in the stream. Watching the water, she made her way up the bank. Eyes fixed on the pool, she closed the last few feet to a flat area on the bank to cast from. She stepped on a rock, and felt it slide out from under her. She had the presence of mind to toss the fly rod away and just managed to get her arms up to protect her head when she hit the water. The shock of cold knocked the breath out of her, but she managed to recover and struggled to her feet in the swift moving current. Fighting the urge to run, she carefully made her way to the bank and out of the water. She was relieved to see her fly rod laying on the bank intact, it had been a graduation gift from her uncle who had taught her to tie flies and she'd have been crushed if it was broken. She took off the chest rig and checked the InReach, her GPS and radio. They were all waterproof, and didn't seem any worse for wear.

The shock fading, she suddenly realized how cold she was. She was shivering as she took off the chest rig and set it on the bank. Layla hesitated, rationally she knew there wasn't another human being for 20 miles in any direction but her sense of modesty held her back. The cold won out, and she stripped off her wet shirt. Her shoes, socks, and shorts followed. She wrung out her clothes, then laid them out to dry. A breeze sent another chill through her and her wet bra and panties came off as well.

The summer sun on her skin felt wonderful as she contemplated her next move. The responsible thing would be to gather her stuff and head back to camp, put on some fresh clothes and hang these out to dry she thought. Of course, she'd come down here to catch a fish for lunch, and she still didn't have a fish. She couldn't come back to camp empty handed, and it wasn't like there was anyone around anyway she thought mischievously.

The grass was soft under her feet as she retrieved her fly rod and confirmed it hadn't been damaged. With a great deal more caution she headed back to the bank, picked her spot and made her first cast. She was soon in her rhythm and landed a nice brook trout. 10 minutes later she caught a second, much smaller one that she released. She watched it swim away, then froze as she saw movement from the woods across the valley. A bear emerged from trees, angling away from her towards the lake. It was a massive grizzly, with almost blonde fur.

"You aren't supposed to be here." she thought as she watched it. The grizzlies were recovering their old range, but there weren't any reports of them this far west, and certainly not one this big with unusual coloring. All thoughts of what the bear was doing here vanished as it stopped and turned to look at her.

A different kind of chill ran through her as Layla realized it was staring directly at her. Did it smell the fish she wondered? A bear would chase another bear away from food, it would damn sure chase her off. What little wind there was, was blowing across the valley, and away from the bear. It shouldn't be carrying the scent to him she knew. The bear took a few steps towards her and she glanced back at her chest rig. She silently cursed herself for not keeping it closer. The bear seemed to hesitate, almost like it was trying to see what Layla was looking at. It rose up on its hind legs for a better view.

That was a good sign, she thought, bears did that when they were curious not aggressive. Her relief was fleeting as it dropped back onto all fours and continued to advance towards her. She took a careful step back towards the chest rig. I wonder what the headline will be she thought, "Woman discovers Grizzly in Bitterroots and kills it" or "Naked woman eaten by bear."

She took another step back, and again the bear froze, looking down at her chest rig. He knows what's in there she thought. Somehow or other he knows what's going on, and when did I decide it was a he?

She held her hands out, and slowly kneeled until she could set the fly rod on the ground. Displaying her empty hands to the bear, she began to talk not sure if her words were meant for the bear or herself, "Look, what's in that pack is exactly what you think is in that pack. I really, really, don't want to use it. Maybe I'd get you, and maybe you'd get me, let's not find out."

The bear turned his head slightly, as if considering what she was saying, and Layla continued.

"I mean, you're a bear, and well... I'm kind of bare right now. So, let's both be bare, catch some fish and enjoy a beautiful summer day. It's a big forest, plenty of room for both of us, right?"

The bear rocked back onto his haunches and let out a kind of purring sound, then giving her a nod he turned and headed back down towards the lake.

Layla watched for several minutes as the bear made his way to the lake, by then the adrenaline was wearing off and she was suddenly exhausted. She gathered her things and walked slowly back to her camp. Her body seemed to be on autopilot as she cleaned the fish and pulled out her cooking utensils, her mind still going over the encounter with the bear. Had she really made a lame dad joke while face to face with a grizzly bear, and who could she ever tell this story to?

She sauteed the fish and mushrooms over her camp stove and was halfway though her meal when it occurred to her that she had never bothered to get dressed. She'd always been modest by nature, but now she felt strangely comfortable in her nakedness. She speared the last mushroom with her fork and contemplated it for a moment. Had she fallen through the looking glass without even realizing it? She laughed at the absurdity of it all, and ate the mushroom.

An hour later she was stretched out on the soft grass, using her rolled up poncho as a pillow reading a battered copy of Bleak House. It was her mother's favorite book and she couldn't shake the feeling if she read it one more time she'd understand why. Layla read until the sun began to disappear over the mountain. She got up, stretched then proceeded to straighten up her campsite in the twilight. Satisfied everything was in order she headed for her tent. She sat by the opening, listening to the sounds of the oncoming night as the stars began to appear in the clear mountain air. Pulling out her InReach she sent a quick "I'm OK" message. She reached over and took her binoculars out of the pack and looked up at the night sky. One of these days she was going to bite the bullet and pack a telescope up her she thought as she gazed at the stars through the binoculars. All too soon it was getting chilly, and she tucked the binoculars away and slipped into her sleeping bag.

It was late in the morning when she woke up, the nights dreams still swirling around in her mind. She rarely recalled her dreams, and when she did it was usually only fragments. This time it was so vivid in her mind it almost seemed real. She retrieved her sketch pad and a pencil from her pack and began to write it all down.

The dream had started on the plains by the foot of a mountain. There was a village, of a dozen tipis. A young Native American man, perhaps in his late twenties was saying goodbye to his wife and little boy before heading off to the mountain. The man was soon deep into the woods, moving silently through the trees on the trail of a deer. He came to a clearing and saw a grizzly bear and her cub eating the carcass of an elk. The man hid behind a tree and watched.

Suddenly another bear burst into the clearing. It was a large male and it let out a roar. The mother bear pushed her cub back, and moved away from the elk, leaving it for the newcomer. Without warning the male charged heading straight for the cub, the mother grizzly leapt to her cub's defense crashing into the male. Soon the two were a snarling heap of fur, fangs, and claws. The battle raged on, what the mother bear lacked in size she made up for in sheer ferocity. The male landed several blows, his long claws tearing deep wounds into the desperate mother. Somehow, she managed to get behind the male, her strong jaws tearing at his neck as he tried to escape. The male finally collapsed under the assault, and the female staggered away from the corpse.

Turning her head she spotted her cub and limping to him. As she reached him her legs gave out and she crashed to the ground. The cub pressed his head to his mother's blood-soaked fur and let out a keening wail. He patted her nose with his paw and his mother remained motionless. The man watched in silence as the cub mourned his mother's death. Eventually, the cub's wails slowed, then stopped. The man rose silently and walked into the clearing. The grief-stricken cub turned to watch as the human approached, he stopped a few feet from the cub and kneeled until he was at eye level with him.

"I lost my family too little one, but I made a new one. You can join my family if you wish, until you are ready to live on your own," the man said.

The cub stared into his eyes for several minutes before taking an unsteady step forward. The man reached out, placing his hand on the cub's shoulder. The cub regarded it for a moment, then placed his paw on the man's shoulder for a moment. The man stood and began the long walk home. The cub hesitated, turning to look at his fallen mother one last time. He let out one last wail of anguish before following.

Layla finished writing, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She'd hoped that getting it down on paper would help her make sense of things, but it was just leaving her with more questions. It had just felt so real, it wasn't dreamlike at all and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. With that uncomfortable thought rattling around in her head, she turned the page on the pad, picked up her drawing pencils, stood, and headed down to the lake. She took a few steps then paused, looking back at her now dry clothes and chest rig sitting beside her pack. With a half shrug she left them all behind.

She found a comfortable spot a dozen or so yards from the water, sat down and began to draw. Seeing the raw beauty of nature in front of her made her curse her meager talent as she tried to capture it on the page. Satisfied, or at least as satisfied as she would ever be with her work, with a drawing of the lake she turned the page and debated starting another or heading back to camp. The debate was ended when the bear emerged from the woods. This time he was heading right towards her. Yesterday's fear had been replaced by something else. Somehow, she knew he wasn't going to harm her, if he wanted to eat her he could easily have killer her in her sleep she knew.

He crossed the stream and followed the shore of the lake, stopping about 20 yards from her. He stood on his hind legs looking around for a moment.

"I didn't bring it," she said, wondering why she hadn't brought her chest pack. Might as well wonder why you didn't wear any clothes while you are at it she thought to herself.

He dropped into a sitting position facing her, then gestured with a huge paw. She took out a pencil and he seemed to nod at her. I must really be going crazy she thought. I'm going to wake up in a hospital bed in Bozeman any second now, find out I wrecked my truck on the way to the trail and I've been in a coma this whole time.

With that she began to draw, as she did the bear froze. He held perfectly still as she worked, her pencils practically flying across the paper. She put the finishing touches on it and stared at her work. For the first time in her life she looked at one of her drawings and thought, "this is really good."

She was beaming with pride, and unthinkingly she turned the pad and held it up so the bear could see it. He took a few steps forward, and Layla didn't even flinch. He turned his head, looking at the drawing then up at the artist. He seemed to nod, let out a satisfied purring noise, turned and headed back the way he had come. She watched until he was out of sight in the trees, then returned to camp. She put the pad safely away before making something to eat. The rest of the morning was spent gathering huckleberries from around the edge of the valley. She read a bit after lunch, then got her fly rod out and set out to catch dinner.

Her efforts were unsuccessful, and after 2 hours she finally gave up and resigned herself to another freeze dried for dinner. At least she'd have fresh huckleberries to go with it. Despite it having been a rather sedentary day Layla was exhausted when she finished eating and was in her sleeping bag before the sun was completely down.

The dream returned. They were back at the village; the bear cub was outside a tipi playing with a little boy, oddly fair haired for a Native American, maybe 4 years old. The cub was larger, older, but clearly the same bear. The man from the previous dream emerged from the tipi and watched them play. The cub kept pausing his play, looking away from the village, towards the mountains, then resuming the game with the little boy. The man hesitated, as if he was coming to a decision, then approached the bear.

The cub stood up on his hind legs as the man walked to him.

"You will always be welcome in our tribe, but if it is your time to return to your world you must go, and we will understand," he said.

The young bear seemed to nod, then placed his hand on the man's shoulder. The man returned the gesture as his son watched. The bear dropped onto all fours and began his journey back into the forest. 40 paces from the camp he stopped and turned back, letting out the same wail of anguish that had bid farewell to his mother. The little boy tried to run after but his father stopped him by scooping him up in his arms.

"No, he will always be your brother, but he must make his journey alone."

The child let out a cry to match the bear's, then buried his face in his father's shoulder as the tears came. His father gently carried him back to the tipi.

The child emerged from the tipi, but he wasn't a child anymore. He was a young man now, 13 or 14 years old but his eyes were still red from crying. The other tipis were gone, his family's lay alone on the prairie. He had a bow and a small pack, and he began walking towards the forest. He stopped where the bear had, turning back to look at the tipi. He wiped the tears from his eyes and strode off into the forest. Moving silently through the woods, following game trails when he could, working slowly through the brush when he couldn't. He heard an odd noise, followed it, and found himself at the edge of a small clearing. A bear stood in the center of the clearing, obviously watching the young man.

"Better to die as your meal, then from the spotted fever," the young man said as he strode confidently into the clearing.

The bear went up on his hind legs, towering over the young man. The bear raised a massive paw and he closed his eyes as he awaited his death blow. Instead, he felt the paw resting gently on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to find the bear looking at him with great sad eyes. Memories came flooding back as the man reached up, resting his hand on the bear's shoulder.

"It's been a long-time friend," he said. "It seems we are both orphans."

The bear nodded, then dropped back onto all fours. He gestured with his head and began walking, the young Native American following behind. The pair travelled through the forest as day turned into night, then back into day. Finally arriving at rock face, the bear led him up a narrow trail that ended in a cave mouth not quite two feet wide, and twice that tall. The bear stopped and looked back at his companion.

"I might fit, but you surely won't."

The bear let out a soft roar, turned and walked into the cave. The man followed behind, ducking down at first, but then he realized the rock seemed to be flowing around him, opening just enough to allow his passage and closing behind him. Man and beast walked for several minutes through the dimly let passage. It finally opened up into a large natural cave and he saw a dozen bears sleeping. His companion walked to an empty spot and laid down, gesturing for the boy to join him. The two laid down on the cave floor, and the light dimmed, then went black. When the light returned where a man and bear had been there were only two bears, and the new bear was blonde.

Layla woke with a start, she stared at the roof of the tent, trying to calm herself. The bear in her dreams looked exactly like the bear here in the forest. Of course it does she thought, you've been looking at that bear for 2 days now, it's on your mind. Another part of her brain rebelled, but there were several bears in your dream, why did that one look like him?

Still a little shaken she left the tent. Get something to eat she thought, you'll feel better after breakfast. She retrieved the camp stove as she turned towards the flat rock she'd been using as a cooking table. She noticed something on top of it. A heavy piece of what appeared to be parchment of some sort, folded over with a rock weighing it down. She glanced around nervously, then picked the paper up and unfolded it.

It was a charcoal drawing of a woman fly fishing, a naked woman, not just any naked woman her battered brain finally realized, it was her. It was a drawing of her, standing exactly where she'd been yesterday. Her blood ran cold as she looked around the valley. Someone else was here, and they were watching her. For the first time in two days, she felt naked. She made up her mind almost instantly, she was going to get dressed, pack up and get the hell out of here. She went to set the paper down when it caught her eye. On the paper there were several hairs. Not hair, not exactly she realized, it was fur, the same blonde fur as the bear. Her eyes scanned the ground and she saw them, several large pawprints in the grass. The bear must have come around after they left, she told herself, willing herself to believe it even as she knew it wasn't true. The fur had been INSIDE the fold.

A splash distracted her from her inner turmoil. The bear was in the lake, he was rolling around in the water, almost like he was playing. The bear seemed to notice her watching him and he swam to shore. He picked up something that had been on the bank and started loping towards her.

As the bear closed the distance, she could see that he was carrying two large fish in his mouth. She stood unmoving at his approach, feeling her grasp on reality was tenuous at best. The bear slowed to a walk as he got closer, he dropped the fish at the base of her cooking rock before facing her. She held open the paper, showing him. He made an almost chuckling noise and nodded his head.

"You did this?" she asked looking at the bear.

My God, she thought to herself, you asked a bear a question and now you are expecting an answer? Maybe you got the wrong mushrooms, are there any psychedelic mushrooms in these mountains? This must all be a bad trip.

The bear nodded in seeming answer to her question, and Layla decided to embrace the madness.

She gestured towards the fish, "and you watched my failure at fishing yesterday, caught a few of your own, and came here to gloat?"

The bear seemed to have a puzzled look on his face.

"Never mind all that, should we have breakfast together?"

The bear seemed to nod, and Layla laughed.

"Why not?" she said.

The drawing was carefully packed away, then the rest of her cooking gear came out. She took out the filet knife, but then something occurred to her.

"If I clean these, I'm going to get rid of the parts you like," she told the bear, "and I don't really have any spare bowls or anything to save them. You don't pack many dishes when you have to carry it all."

The bear looked from her to a rock a few feet away that had a bit of a stair step to it.

"Of course, you're a bear, it's not like you worry about that kind of thing."

She made short work of cleaning the fish, leaving the heads, tail, and entrails on the stair step rock. The filets went into the pan along with some oil and the last of her mushrooms. The bear turned to the rock, his body thankfully blocking Layla's view as he quickly ate, then he resumed watching her cook.

"You know, I think it was Mark Twain who said the best meal a boy will ever eat is a fish he caught himself. I wonder where a fish caught for you by a bear ranks on that list."

The bear let out a humph noise and sat down, eyes still fixed on her as the fish cooked.

Satisfied they were done, Layla turned off the stove and put half the fish and mushrooms on her plate.

"Well, I only have one plate," she explained, "so you can either wait for this to cool down and eat from the pan, or use my plate after I finish."

She took a bite of fish; it was very good she thought.

"Actually, I have another idea."

She set her fork on her plate, and with her free hand took up the spatula, scooped a piece of fish from the pan and held it out for the bear. The bear deftly ate the fish.

"Pretty good, isn't it?"

Layla sat down in the grass, her plate on her lap and the pan on the ground next to her. A fork in one hand and the spatula in the other the unlikely pair finished their breakfast as she alternated between feeding herself and the bear.

The fish was soon gone, and they sat in a companionable silence for several minutes.

"I'm going to clean up, then I was planning to do a little reading, did you have any plans?" she asked her breakfast partner.

The bear let out a grunt, got to his feet and padded off towards the lake.

"I see how it is," Layla said with a laugh, "eat and run, not even going to help with the dishes."

Cleanup only took a few minutes, although she noted she needed to refill her cooking water bladder, and she returned to her reading spot in the meadow. The bear was back in the lake. At first, she thought he was just splashing around, but as she watched she realized there was a method to his actions. He was washing himself. Did bears take baths, she wondered. Apparently, this one did. She was laying on her back, head resting on the rolled-up poncho again, watching the bear's antics and the feel of the warm summer sun on her body. The bear finally made his way out of the water, standing on the bank he shook himself off, water flying from his fur.

She couldn't help but smile at the sight of it like a big dog fresh from a bath. The somewhat dryer bear made his way back towards her. Two days ago, this would have been terrifying, now she was just casually watching his approach. How had it changed she wondered, when? Why? The bear changed course slightly coming up from what would have been beneath her had she been standing.

He stopped, his massive head just above her feet as their eyes met. He lifted his right paw, stepping forward until his front feet flanked hers, his head now above her knees still watching her. Layla was motionless, not sure if she could move, or even if she wanted to as the bear resumed his advance. She watched in silence as he lowered his head, his mouth opening, a long tongue extending past massive fangs. She gasped and twisted her body as it ran over the flesh between her legs. The bear rocked back, quickly pulling his head away. He watched motionless as Layla caught her breath.

"Wasn't really expecting that," she said, eyes fixed on him as her mind raced.

Almost without thinking, she spread her legs, opening herself to him. The huge head moved forward again, and she closed her eyes as his tongue again found her. It gently ran over her sex, warm and surprisingly smooth. As her body began to respond to the sensations she felt the tongue press against her opening. Parting her lips, beginning to probe inside her, slowly going deeper into her. She felt his warm breath on her as he pressed closer, then an odd sensation, she opened her eyes and realized his nose was pressing into her. The long tongue continued its exploration until it was filling her. She moaned in pleasure as it moved inside her. Twisting and contorting in ways she hadn't imagined possible.

"Oh... yes, that, that..." she cried out as the tongue moved inside her and her orgasm arrived.

She was staring up at the sky, her breathing slowly returning to normal when the bear laid down next to her. She turned her head, looking over to see him looking up at the sky. She reached out, resting her hand on his foreleg feeling the soft blonde fur for the first time. She began to gently stroke it.

"I guess I didn't expect it to be quite so soft," she said aloud.

The bear let out a grunt in response, shifting slightly to look back at her.

"I think it's my turn for a little bath," she continued, reluctantly taking her hand from his fur and standing up.

She was halfway to the lake when the bear got to his feet and began to follow. He stood on the bank as she carefully waded out into the cold water. She dipped down until only her head was above water, quickly scrubbing herself down, then returned to the shore as her lips began to chatter.

"Way to cold to stay in long," she said through the shivers as she emerged onto the shore, the warmth of the noonday sun starting to take the chill off.

"Maybe I should try it your way?" she told the bear, then dropped to her hands and knees and shook herself as he had done earlier.

She laughed at her joke and started to get back to her feet when she felt him again, suddenly the tongue was licking her. Not entering her, just running over her sex again and again. The cold was forgotten as she savored the sensations. As quickly as it had started it stopped, a small gasp of disappointment escaped her lips. Then she felt him moving forward, the soft fur of his chest brushing over her bottom, then over her back as he advanced. His massive body straddling her, all 7 feet of him seeming to envelope the 5-foot-tall woman. The warm soft fur on her back gave her the sensation of being wrapped in a sinfully soft blanket.

Her head was against his neck when he stopped moving and she felt the press of his cock against her. The pressure slowly growing, pressing the head into her, her body stretching to accommodate him.

He grunted as the head entered her, and she let out a soft gasp of her own as he paused. Some far away part of her wondered how big it would be as he started to press forward again. It was soon completely inside her; she caught her breath as her body adjusted. Then with incredibly slowness he started to shift sliding back ever so slightly before moving forward, each stroke was a little farther out, then back in. It went on and on, until he was almost completely pulling out of her before moving forward again. Just as she was falling into the rhythm of his long slow strokes, he began to pick up speed. Each thrust a little faster than the last. He was soon driving into her over and over, and she screamed as she came, struggling not to collapse under the onslaught of his hard cock as the orgasm roiled through her body. She felt herself slipping, on the verge of collapsing. He let out a massive roar, feeling the vibrations in her body as he did and she knew he had come as well. She fell forward, head on the ground, still on her knees, with him buried deep inside her.

She had no idea how long they remained like that, it could have been 5 minutes or 5 hours, until he slowly extracted himself from her. Her legs slipped out from under her and she was laying on the soft grass. Once again, he took his place beside her, this time though a large paw reached out, gently resting on her back.

"That was incredible," she finally managed to say. If bears could grin, he certainly was she thought as the expression on his face changed.

"You're certainly satisfied with yourself," she said with a laugh.

She shifted her weight, and he instinctively lifted the paw from her back. She rolled onto her back, moving closer to him, and he laid his paw back on her. The rough pad against the softness of her breast. The tips of the claws pressing ever so softly against her skin.

Taking a deep breath she began," the dream, my dream I mean... with the bear and the Salish boy, that was real, wasn't it? That was you? You were the young Salish boy?"

The bear let out a grunt that seemed to be acknowledgement. She stared into the sky watching the clouds drift by, wondering how that was possible, how any of it was possible. Even if you got past the idea of someone turning into a bear, the Salish hadn't been living in tipis in this area for over 100 years. None of this was ever going to make sense, best just to accept it she thought.

They lay together, enjoying the warm summer day until hunger got the better of her.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I need to get something to eat."

Almost reluctantly the bear lifted his paw from her breast and she sat up.

"And I think I need to clean up again," she said as she glanced down between her legs.

Once again, she headed for the lake, this time he was right on her heels. She waded in, just to her knees this time and squatted down, scooping up water to clean herself off. Meanwhile the bear plunged into the water, seeming to bathe himself again.

"I'm heading back to camp," she announced as made her way to the shore.

Layla had the camp stove out and was boiling water to make a freeze dried when her companion sauntered up.

He watched silently as she ate, then cleaned up. Afterwards they gathered huckleberries from the edges of the meadow together. Layla quickly had a bag full, and sat to watch as the bear gorged himself on the plentiful berries. Once he had his fill he joined her, sitting across from her, watching her intently.

She smiled as she realized what he was waiting for, then laid back and spread her legs. He eagerly advanced and was soon pleasuring her with that wonderful tongue.

30 minutes later, she was resting against him, enjoying the warm softness of his fur as the sensations of another amazing orgasm slowly receded from her mind.

"Oh, a girl could really get used to this," she said, gently stroking him.

The next two days sped by. The couple were virtually inseparable as they took part in all the valley had to offer. Fishing, gathering berries, just enjoying the beauty of it all. Her companion was a willing partner anytime desire struck her. All she had to do was lay back with her legs spread, or get on her hands and knees and present herself to him and he would make love to her. She slept outside her tent, sleeping bag laid out next to her lover under the star filled sky.

The morning of third day after their romance had blossomed, she woke up alone. he morning of third day after their romance had blossomed, she woke up alone. She looked around, a tinge of fear filling her. There was no sign of him in the valley. Layla began to walk down to the stream. it was unnaturally quiet, no wind at all and the birds were nowhere to be seen or heard. carefully crossing the stream she headed to the spot he had always emerged from. There was a trail heading up the other side of the valley. She followed it to a rocky outcropping. A sense of Deja vu stopped her in her tracks and she examined the rock. It was the path from the dream she realized.

Both relieved and slightly unnerved by that knowledge she continued up the trail to the cave mouth. Entering the cave, the passageway quickly began to narrow, finally reaching a point she would have to turn sideways and squeeze through if she wanted to continue.

She could see a dim light ahead, and knew she couldn't stop now. Layla turned, and cursing herself for not getting dressed gritted her teeth for the inevitable cuts and scrapes as she tried to squeeze through.

Instead she moved through easily, never touching the walls of the cave, it seemed to flow around her as she moved.

Through the bottleneck was a large chamber, lit by a soft glow from the ceiling. Movement caught her eye and she turned to see a man standing up. The copper hue of his skin contrasted with his strikingly blonde hair. He was only wearing a loincloth, and she watched the ripple of his muscles as he straightened up and smiled at her.

"Táx̣ʷs kʷ sč̓ín̓t kʷ kʷíč," he said.

Layla shook her head at the unintelligible words.

"I don't understand that," she replied.

He stared at her for a moment, and she became acutely aware of her nakedness.

He pointed at himself

"Charlo."

She did the same before saying "Layla."

"Tu parlais francais?"

"Oui, un peu."

He nodded before continuing in French.

"I'm glad you came here."

"I dreamed of this place, but you weren't alone here," she looked around the cave, there was the pile of elk skins Charlo had been sleeping on and what appeared to be the rest of his clothing on a flat rock protruding from one wall but the cave was otherwise empty. No sign of the bears from her dream.

"It's been a long time, they all returned to their ancestors."

"Why haven't you? How long has it been?"

"I don't know, I've lost track of the years. You're the first person I've talked to since I came here."

He stepped closer to her, placing his hand softly on her cheek.

"And the first woman I've lain with."

She looked into his eyes, then down, his smooth, strong chest, the loincloth failing to hide the sign of his arousal.

Her mind ran back to the times he'd pleasured her and she slowly went down on her knees in front of him. She pulled the leather belt that held the loincloth in place down and his bard cock sprang free.

Charo let out a soft grunt as her fingers wrapped around it and began to gently stroke it. Then she leaned forward, taking the head into her mouth. She teased it with her tongue before taking him deeper, then slowly back to the tip.

It was only a few minutes before she felt him quiver, unsteady on his feet. He placed a hand gently on her head then he was cumming, filling her mouth.

She swallowed as quickly as she could then released him. He stepped back, looking down at her, still a little unsteady on his feet.

"I never though..." he began.

"Only seemed fair, after what you did for me."

He smiled broadly.

"I suppose so," he said before extending a hand and helping Layla back to her feet.

He put his arms around her, drawing her close and kissing her passionately. She responded in kind, her hands exploring his body as they kissed.

She felt him growing hard again. His member pressed against her stomach as they kissed.

Then he was guiding her to the elk skins in the corner, guiding her down onto them. He was on top of her, spreading her legs his cock pressed against her entrance.

Without warning he was deep inside her, and she cried out in a mix of shock and pleasure. Charo began to thrust, long steady strokes, his cock almost completely put of her before burying it back inside her again and again. She closed her eyes, lost in the feel of his smooth firm body. So different from how it had been before, yet equally thrilling.

She felt herself orgasming, but Charo just kept going and going. She was cumming for a second time, when he let out a shout and his body spammed against her and he was filling her with his seed.

He laid on top of her as his cock slowly softened, then moved to her side.

They lay in silence on the soft hides for several minutes before Layla finally spoke.

"You've really been alone all this time?"

"Yes, sometimes people visit the valley, but I remain in the cave when they do."

"Why not this time?"

He turned to look at her, hesitating before answering.

"You were alone, no one has come here alone before, I was curious. Then, when I got close, when I could smell you, I knew you were in season, I couldn't resist, couldn't stay away."

Layla hesitated making sure she'd translated his word properly. Then it hit her, he was right, she was at the peak of her cycle. Subconsciously her hand moved to her stomach.

"And you can't leave here?" she finally managed to ask.

"No, not like this, always in my other form."

"And if I stayed?"

"I don't know, but it would be better if you didn't. You might become as trapped as I am. Somehow, their mercy became a curse. I wouldn't bring that on anyone else."

Charo got to his feet.

"Probably better if you aren't in here too long. I fell asleep, and woke up different."

Layla got to her feet and caught herself looking around the cave again.

Making sure you aren't leaving anything behind? She asked herself before heading to the cave mouth. She stopped at the choke point, turning back to face Charo.

"Goodbye Layla, and thank you."

"Goodbye Charo."

Fighting back the urge to cry she left the cave and headed back to her campsite.

The next morning she woke up alone again. She surveyed the valley wondering if she would ever see Charo again before she spotted him, near the stream a few hundred yards upstream of the lake. As if he sensed her eyes on him he turned and looked back at her. Then he picked up a pair of fish and started walking towards the camp.

She pulled out the cooking gear, and the two shared breakfast together.

As they finished the last of the fish, she took a deep breath.

"I've got to head home today," she managed to say.

He nodded in recognition.

She quickly cleaned the dishes, then went down to the stream to refill her water bottles. She got dressed, a perfectly normal ritual that felt odd after a week of nakedness. Then began breaking camp. He watched in silence as she worked, and she tried not to look at him.

Her things packed, she shouldered her pack and finally gathered the courage to look at him.

"I guess this is goodbye."

The Charo shook his head, and began to walk out of the valley, along Layla's path.

Overcoming the shock, she hurried to catch up with him. It was early in the afternoon when they arrived at the clearing where she'd spent the night on the way to the valley. She hadn't bothered to use the compass. Her companion seemed to know exactly where they were going. As she stepped into the clearing, she froze as she recognized it.

It was the clearing from her dream, how had she not connected that before she wondered. Then as she looked around, she noticed something else and almost fell to her knees. There on the edge of the clearing was a large volcanic rock, the shape was unmistakable, the almost jet-black rock looked like a bear laying on its stomach, in the same spot the mother bear had died. She walked over to it slowly, gently resting her hand on the stone as her tears flowed dripping down onto the rock. The bear approached, standing next to her, gently leaning his head against her. She gently stroked his fur as she settled her emotions.

The pair left the rock, finding a spot across the clearing. Layla put down her pack and Charo sat down with a heavy sigh. She took out the last of her trail mix, leaned back into the warm softness of her lover and ate. She stuffed the empty packet into her pocket and closed her eyes for a moment.

When she woke up the sun was peaking over the mountains. She got to her feet, realizing her companion was awake as well.

"I really didn't mean to fall asleep," she said almost apologetically.

He nodded in understanding.

She took out her water bottle and took a long drink as the couple looked at the stone bear. Layla put the water bottle away, and adjusted her pack. He turned to face her and stood up on his hind legs, towering over her.

He gently placed the massive paw on her shoulder, she reached up placing her hand on the his shoulder. Then he dropped back onto all fours, and with one last look headed back across the clearing towards their valley. He stopped briefly at the bear rock, placing a paw lovingly on the bear's head for a moment, then resuming his journey. Her eyes filled with tears Layla headed down her own path.

The trail head was deserted as she arrived back at her truck. She quickly stowed her gear and slid behind the wheel. The V8 rumbled to life, she stared at the mountain tops in the distance for a moment, the put the truck into gear and turned onto the road and back towards the real world.

It was almost dark as she pulled into the small motel parking lot. The front desk area was deserted, and after waiting a few minutes she reluctantly rang the bell. She always felt rude doing that.

"One second," a male voice called from through the door behind the desk.

She was suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Her hair was probably a frightful mess, and she still had the grime of a day's hike on her. She looked around the lobby as she waited. There wasn't much to it, a few well worn chairs. A cheap wooden rack filled with brochures for the tourist attractions in the area. Then she noticed, on the fair wall, next to a door marked "Employees Only" was a framed picture. It was a charcoal drawing of a woman fly fishing. It was the same drawing the bear had given her, only the woman was thankfully clothed.

"Hello Layla," said the voice from behind her.

She almost dropped her keys from the shock. She spun about to see a young man, only a few years younger than she was, with blonde hair and a familiar presence.

"Are you OK," he asked, "I didn't mean to startle you, you are Layla right? You're the only reservation we have left for tonight so I just figured..."

"It's fine," she managed to stammer," been a long day, and you're the first person I've talked to in a while."

He nodded knowingly, "too long alone in the mountains will do strange things to you."

"Yes, it will," she agreed before adding, "it's a nice picture."

"Thanks, won the county art contest with that in high school."

"You did this?" she almost stammered.

"Yup, most artistic motel night clerk for a hundred miles."

He extended a key to her.

"You're in room 6, right around the corner, diner across the street closes in an hour, and it's the only food around. If you need anything dial 9 on your phone, my name is Oso, and I'll be here all night."

She took the key, thanked him and headed to her room.