I saw Bear that night, his face full of dirt and sorrow. I saw past his anger, deep into his soul where it had cracked. And bleeding it was, bleeding and screaming, it was screaming out in pain. Screaming out for me to patch it. But at that point, frozen in front of that magnificent beast, I had no idea how to do that. So I started by calling out to him so he’d notice me. And notice me he did. Came bounding toward me he did but, as soon as he saw the raw fear that had taken my face, he stopped short, merely inches from me.
After I had caught my breath I looked at him for a while, and the fantastic thing about it was he actually trusted me! He trusted me enough to let me examine him. I started with his face, which was cut and burned and bleeding, and the fur that surrounded it singed. From the torches and knives and spears and pitch forks of the villagers. I touched one of the sores and, much to my surprise, he cried such a cry that it nearly knocked me to the ground. Knocked me to the ground it did not but shake me to the bone it did. The cry was half werewolf, half pig, half child, and half of something that I have never encountered and never wish to.
The mysterious part of the cry was not only a sound, but an emotion. Well, more like multiple emotions wrapped in one. anguish, exhaustion, sorrow, anger. And those are just the main ones, there were multiple other emotions mixed in there that I’ve never heard either.
’Shh, shh, shh.’ I looked around to see if the villagers had caught on to our location. ‘Settle down, boy.’
He cried to me again, only this was just a whimper. Yes, a whimper it was, not the aforementioned tremendous cry. This cry was soft and pleading and it rolled off his tongue.
I cleaned his wounds nice and fresh, then bandaged them and he lead me through the forest. I had nothing to lose, what with the villagers shunning me for running to care for the beast. Shunned I was but I also trusted him. I wouldn’t have gone back anyway. Not to people so cruel and heartless when I could fall in love with a gentle giant.
And fall in love I did, that very night too! After eating tea and cookies in his cabin, deep down in the wood where no one could find us. I found that he could talk quite properly, though he did stutter on occasion.
’I'm sorry for startling you earlier. I was f-frazzled is all.’
I nodded and looked deep into his piercing green eyes, he looked deeply back. And for a second I thought I saw him blush, though, that’s impossible to see with so much fur on his face. But I knew he was embarrassed from his down casted eyes.
I got up and touched his glorious cheek, ‘It’s okay. We’re all friends here.’ And he looked at me with such a hunger that it frightened me. It frightened me almost as much as his cry. He moved toward me and for a second I thought he’d eat me. Consume me and leave nothing but bones behind. Yet I regretted nothing, I would have called to him and ran away with him all over again.
But the hunger in his eyes was simply lust, as it became evident from his embrace. He kissed me deeper than I’d ever been kissed before. I grabbed on to the fur on the back of his head and tried to contain myself. Tried to contain myself I did but to no avail, I just let myself go as deep as my body would will me to.
We pulled apart and he looked in my eyes for confirmation, I nodded. And he took control. And I let him take control and lead me through the most magical experience of my life. The most magical experience it was, but it was also the most painful. But even the pain was pleasure in that moment. He took me right there on that kitchen table. He took me right there and when it was all done I stayed there.
Not that I had a choice, I felt nearly paralyzed. Or maybe I just didn’t want to move. Maybe I just wanted to bask in the glow of something magnificent.
I lifted my head up and looked at him, he who was resting on a dining room chair and was now staring out of the window with one mighty claw in his mouth, he seemed to be thinking.
’What are you thinking about?’ I asked, and just like that he was looking at me. Fiercely but I was done being scared. Too exhausted to be scared.
He reached over and stroked my hair for a minute and I shivered, ‘Are y-you cold?’ He asked.
I smiled and grabbed his great ear between my thumb and my index finger, ‘Just a little.’
So he dressed me. Dressed me he did, oh-so gently. Pulling the nightgown I had come in over my head. Then he smiled, grunted and went to bed. Leaving me to glisten all alone.
’Come to bed when you’re ready.’ He told me over his shoulder. Then proceeded to his room.
And I sat there, smiling at his back and loving him. Because I think we both needed someone to love at that point. So love him I did.