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A small black bear lumbered through the trees, bringing the scents of the surrounding forest into her nostrils with short huffs. She pushed her way through bushes, ears swiveling with the sounds of the birds above her; eyes set with no concern on the invisible path she was walking. The bear's fur was dark, shaggy and unusually clean for such an animal. But perhaps it was because this female bear, Halleff, was not a bear at all, and actually, a human in the body of one.
Most creatures in these lands were like her, animal by day and human by night. They called it the Curse, and though they had come to love this way of life, had never changed the name. None were sure exactly how they came to be this way, for they'd all been born as full humans. Each person, though, could recall encountering an animal and later, having a vision or dream of some sort, with the same beast beckoning them to follow. Halleff, in fact, remembered her dream as clear as if it had happened just yesterday.
She'd been out for a drive in the late summer, exploring an old winding road that brought her nowhere in particular. With empty, wild fields on one side, a forest of dimming fall colors on the other and very few homes nearby, she hadn't been surprised to see a mother black bear and her cub at the edge of the trees. Halleff had slowed her car, backed it up, and turned it off, waiting for the two animals to cross undisturbed. Sure enough, the bears began to move along, the cub prancing ahead, down into a ditch, and up the other side. The mother, though, halted in the middle of the road, turned her head, and looked the human straight in the eyes. Halleff's gaze had locked with the black bear’s intelligent stare. It was almost as if the creature was trying to tell her something. After what felt like ages, the animal turned away, moving to continue on with her cub. The girl sat there, in her car, for a long while - even after the bears had gone from the fields. Frightened wasn't the word to describe Halleff's feelings, for she was not afraid of what had occurred. Something told her it had happened for a reason.
Halleff had been right that this event wasn't accidental. The following night, in her dreams, the same bear had come to her, had urged her to follow into the exact trees that she and her cub had left that day. Without hesitation, the human had followed.
Over the next few days, Halleff's body acted as if it were dying. She felt no pain, didn’t feel the hundred-five degree fever like the thermometers said. Her family insisted she be brought to the hospital. And there, her life had ended. Well, sort of. It was a nice funeral, Halleff was sure; a good closure to her old life. But it was the beginning of her new one in this new world, too.
Of course, at first, Halleff missed her old life, deeply mourned the loss of her loved ones. Still, she didn't believe this was such a curse. And, there had been someone new to love in these lands, the same someone she was headed to meet now.
Ducking under a willow branch, the black bear moved out onto a pebbly beach at the edge of a small lake. Sunlight beat down through the opening in the trees, illuminating the fur of the golden lion standing on the other side. Halleff watched the water lap up at his paws as she moved quickly toward him.
"Raoen," She spoke in a gentle growl, touching noses with him. The lion's whiskers tickled her snout, and she smiled as only an animal can - with her eyes.
"Greetings," His voice was a deep rumble. The golden animal stretched his neck to nuzzle her ears affectionately. Then, together, they turned the way he had come, moving back into the trees. Halleff stepped with the same gait as the lion, and reveled in the touch of his tail as it swung back and forth lightly, brushing her flank as it went. The two walked in silence for a long time, comforted by one another’s presence. Every second was better than those before it. Birds whirled merrily between branches, squirrels chattered. Halleff’s ears could hear each mouse beneath the roots and leaves, scurrying about with pleasure. What a nice time it was.
Soon, a winding river appeared through the trees. Immediately, Halleff lumbered to the bank and waded in. Like many bears would do, she stood on her hind legs, peering down into the clear water. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Raoen's sleek, muscular form lie down in the grass to watch her. A sudden flash caught her attention - a fish was nearly beneath her already - but Halleff had quick paws. She lashed downward, catching it unaware and snapping its spine with her weight. Hooking it up with a claw, she threw it over to the ground near the lion. He twitched his whiskers, feigning jealousy. The black bear had tried to teach him to fish, but it just wasn’t a job for such a creature – he was far too slow. After catching a few more, Halleff pulled herself from the water and picked up a fish in her strong jaws. The mouth-watering taste hovered over her tongue, but she knew from experience that they couldn’t eat the food raw – their stomachs would get revenge if they did so, in the morning. Raoen carried the rest of the hunt, and they continued upriver.
The sun was low in the sky when the lion and the she-bear finally came to Raoen’s home. It was a large den at the base of a sandy cliff, the river they’d followed fell down over the rocks in a waterfall nearby. They entered the cave, tucked the fish in a corner, and turned to each other. Both knew what came next. Padding outside, they moved toward a small pond at the base of the waterfall, and sat, shoulder to shoulder, to watch as the sun dropped from its perch on the horizon. As the orange light seeped out of the sky, their transformations began. Halleff stood on two legs, and slowly her snout and furry face melted away to reveal her soft, pale one. Her body began to shrink, the black, shaggy fur disappeared, and she dropped to her knees, human. Halleff watched as Raoen did the same, his brown-blond hair replacing the lion mane. Last came his tail, shriveling away until it was gone. She shook her own short, wavy black hair, and stood, fixing her dress-like covering over her shoulder. The young woman smiled at the outlined muscles on the man’s arms and abdomen, as he put on his own coverings. These clothes were made of soft rabbit skins – it was what the creatures of these forests wore when in human form. Halleff turned, scampering back to the den to collect the fish. When she returned, Raoen had already started a fire. Without matches in this less-advanced world, they had learned to deal. It couldn’t bother them any less, though – they liked this new way of life. Halleff decided that it felt more realistic than the plastic world she’d previously inhabited. Pulling a bone knife from a pocket in her dress, the young woman gutted the fish and hung them over the fire. All the while, she’d noticed Raoen watching her quite intently.
“What is it?” She smiled, moving to sit next to him.
He pulled her into his lap and lay back. Together they stared up at the now-revealed stars. “I was just thinking how much more beautiful you’ve gotten each day since I first saw you. I suppose I don’t know how that’s possible, since we don’t change.” They didn’t age – that’s what he meant. She didn’t say a thing, but couldn’t help but blush slightly. How she loved this man.
They lay there, and she traced her finger along the palm of his hand, wondering what their children would look like, had they been able to have any. With all that was perfect in this world, there had to be some downfalls. Getting pregnant was one of them – for it was impossible. Halleff still thought about, though.
“Do you ever think about how your life would have played out if that lion had never entered your dreams?” She closed her eyes when he wrapped his strong, protective arms around her.
“I do… often. But then I think how my life would have been terrible without you.”
“No – you would have married a good woman... you would have had happy, beautiful children.” At this, he sat up, studying her face. The firelight flickered in her blue eyes, and he gently touched a finger to her cheek.
“Is that what this is about?” Raoen whispered, “It’s impossible, love, you know that.” She nodded, and swallowed. Now the fish sizzled, and the man reached over, plucking them off the fire. Halleff sighed, moving to pull the meat into pieces. She pulled a piece off the stone and chewed, eating in silence. It was strange, how back in the human world a silence like this would be awkward. But here, no. At least between her and Raoen, anyway. They had actually gone days without talking, yet stayed side by side the whole time. It didn’t bother them at all.
When the food was gone, Raoen doused the fire. They both stood, and Halleff reached for his hands. She held them for a minute, and, whirling around, towed the man toward the trees. From there, she let go, and swiftly dashed into the woods, dodging branches, leaping over roots, and laughing playfully all the way. Being part animal, she could see quite well in the dark, and was, under no condition, afraid of it. Behind her, she knew Raoen was nearing. When she broke into a small, mossy clearing, she slowed, staring up in awe at tiny, pale flickering lights moving fluidly through the air. Fireflies, she knew. She’d seen them many times before. Now Halleff understood exactly what Raoen meant when he spoke of how she was more beautiful than before, though nothing had changed. These fireflies were still magical, still wonderful in their mysterious ways. It didn’t matter that she’d watched them hundreds of times before.
Turning around when the man came upon the opening in the trees, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, resting her chin on his shoulder. They stood in the middle of the clearing, the fireflies twirling around them in circles.
“Raoen.” She whispered into his ear as she watched the glowing bugs, “I hate you.”
“Yeah?” He whispered back, with no concern.
“I hate everything about you. Because you make me so hopelessly in love…” She pulled her head back, staring into his eyes. Then, slowly, they both moved their faces forward until their lips touched, and touched again.
“And I hate that.” Halleff grinned daringly, and pulled him into the darkness of the trees.
+ + +
The black bear woke, huddled against the soft, hot fur of the lion. She yawned, then stretched and settled down to groom the moss and dirt from her fur. After a few moments, she sat up with perked ears. In the distance she could hear many voices. Shifting her gaze to the still heavily sleeping Raoen, she stood, grumbling. The she-bear pushed against his shoulder with her head, nuzzled his snout. He didn’t even twitch a whisker. Leaning back, Halleff took in a breath, then leaned forward and tugged roughly on his ear. His deep brown eyes immediately popped open, squinting at the light. After a moment, the golden lion stood, shaking himself awake, and growled quietly. But when he heard all the voices, his annoyed expression went away. Raoen looked up toward the sky, and saw that it was a little past sun-high.
“We’ve nearly slept through the Welcoming!” He moved to herd the she-bear out of the small opening, toward the voices. The Welcoming was a gathering of all the creatures in this part of the forest to celebrate the coming of autumn, the color change of the leaves. It was the main meeting of the year, a place to share information and stories.
They moved quickly through the trees, the sounds getting louder with every step. Only once did they pause, getting a quick drink from a stream. Though hurrying, the lion kept stealing glances at Halleff - thinking about the night before, she was sure. She moved to his side and licked the fur between his ears. Then they continued until they broke out into a dirt area where many large animals were mulling about. In a bed of ferns, a leopard and cougar were bragging about the size of some rabbits they’d hunted that year. Near them, a frog – the biggest the bear had ever seen – was telling a story to a young doe and a she-moose about some prince stuck in the body of a frog that he swore looked exactly like him. Halleff snorted in laughter, following the lion to wide, natural steps that tree roots and dirt erosion had made. There stood a mountain goat, a black fox and an owl perched above.
“Halleff, Raoen!” The fox scurried over, small at the feet of the lion and bear.
“Hello, Kip.” She smiled down at the animal, his dark fluffy tail floating behind him proudly. “I trust that food has been running well?” The fox nodded and brought them to the steps to sit and enjoy the gathering.
They had been enjoying each other’s company for a few hours when the real Welcoming began. Now all the animals were joined in a circle, discussing the year’s previous weather, and their hopes for it being nice in the colder months.
Halleff was laughing merrily along with the rest of the others at a badger’s story when a coyote suddenly ran from the trees and pushed through the circle, panting heavily. It was clear that he was too tired to speak up loudly, so, as best he could, muttered something to the animal next to him with genuine fear in his eyes. The cheetah now had a look of distress as he spoke out.
“Friend Hannon has discovered Pharus’ snakes in this forest.” He looked back to the coyote for more information. All around them, they could hear gasps of surprise and horror – the animals knew that if Pharus’ snakes were here, then Pharus himself wouldn’t be far behind. He was a well known monster – a slave of the High Mountain Lord. The Lord chiefly served as the ruler of these lands, and, though mighty, rarely took anything from them. All animals knew well enough that he could ravage the lands in one flick of a finger should he wish to, for he was a powerful demon, so they did nothing but comply with his few wishes. It was Pharus who took care of the Lord’s requests. Apparently he needed yet another slave. But it was not as simple as that. The dragon-demon would choose two creatures to fight to the death. The loser’s soul would be controlled by the High Mountain Lord. Because of this, he could use the soul’s body as a slave. Nobody knew how or why Pharus chose who he did, but there were rumors that he saw the two animals destined for the fight in a vision.
Halleff fixed her gaze on the coyote, who had now caught his breath enough to speak for himself. His eyes flickered back and forth, clearly looking for someone.
“The snakes whispered of a bear and a lion.” He spoke gravely. Immediately, the cheetah’s eyes had found the she-bear and lion amongst the others of the circle, nodding once, respectively, and lowering his gaze. Halleff was the only bear on this side of the hills and Raoen was the only lion here, too. For a moment, the animal’s stare bored into her fur, but, like the cheetah had done, they dropped their eyes soon after. It was hard to believe – for a while, all Halleff could do was stare into the golden mane of Raoen. The lion stood, taking in a breath, and looked back into the now-raised eyes of the cheetah and the coyote. He nodded gently, and turned to leave the clearing with the bear in tow. Only once did Halleff look back to see the wide, frightened eyes of the little black fox, Kip, staring after them, his once proud tail drooping in the dirt with sorrow.
+ + +
They ran; their paw steps synchronized with the pounding of their hearts. Halleff and Raoen’s strong legs had carried them far from the clearing where the Welcoming took place, far from the whispering that still echoed in the bear’s head.
“What are we going to do when he finds us, Raoen?” It was inevitable that Pharus would find them. He was not a stupid creature – in fact, he had more powers than anyone could quite comprehend. They, themselves, hardly knew why they were running. But they had to try.
“Raoen!” She repeated, “What are we going to do?” Halleff stopped, and a few steps ahead of her, he did as well.
“I don’t know…” He growled, padding back to the black bear. Nuzzling her shoulder, the lion sighed into her shaggy fur. Then they continued on, walking this time.
A while after slowing to a walk, they came to a particularly wide river. They waded across and passed a few scrubby bushes to find that a fire had eaten this part of the forest. Trees stood, blackened and dead, brown grasses singed and crumbling. It was easy to see that these woods had sat untouched since the fire, and the scent told them that the fire had ended many moons ago. The lion turned to Halleff, stopping at the side of a fallen branch.
He spoke calmly, “We won’t fight, won’t move a paw. We will stand and wait it out. No one can ever force us to harm one another.” The she-bear nodded, relieved to have a plan that seemed sensible, and they continued together, stepping gingerly through the dead forest. Halleff thought about what he’d said. No one can ever force us to harm one another. Suddenly, from behind, a cracking sound emitted from the ground. She turned her head to see the hardened soil breaking apart, it’s cracks quickly stretching closer.
“Raoen…?” She whispered, fearfully, not taking her eyes off the moving mound under the earth. The lion, too, was watching the same thing, but now there were three moving mounds, one behind them, and one on each side. The sound became deafening, and he roared angrily.
“Pharus’ snakes!” As he said it, the three giant serpents broke from the dirt, their tongues licking devilishly at the air. Halleff and Raoen dug their claws into the ground, and took off faster than ever before. Around them, the fragile dead trees plummeted to the ground, their weak roots shaken by the monstrous snakes. Around them, smaller snakes slithered out of the ashen grass until the ground looked as if it were wriggling itself. They weren’t the deadly kind, luckily, for Pharus did not want them dead before they even had a chance to fight one another. The serpents had disappeared underground again, but the bear and lion could hear their skin hissing against the dirt as they quickly slid through it. Ahead was a single hill, barren except for one tree that, strangely, was tall and alive with bright green leaves. Halleff blinked at it, surprised, but ran straight for it.
Raoen yowled, leaping into the she-bear’s side. She fell, and, knocked off balance, tumbled with much speed. Near where she had just been running, another tree had been felled by the great snakes. It would have landed on her if it hadn’t been for him. She gave him a most grateful look.
“To the tree!” She motioned with her ears to the only living plant in these parts, then got to her feet and bolted up the hill at the side of the lion. What they found at the top was not at all what they’d expected. Scrambling to get away from the snakes, they did not have time to slow before suddenly plummeting down onto the hard ground of an enclosed arena.
Halleff awoke, splayed out uncomfortably on a cold compacted dirt floor. A few stars lit the sky, and as she lay there, the events of the day slowly came back to her. She leapt to her feet, human now, after her eyes strayed to the side to see Raoen’s body, curled up a few feet away. Moving toward him, she feared he was dead, until she saw his side moving up and down gently. Crouching at his side, she laid her hand on his cheek. The young woman glanced around to find out where they were, but all she could make out were high stone walls encircling them and strange sharpened wooden poles protruding from the ground. The man’s groan brought her attention back to him, and she sighed as his eyes blinked open. He sat up, and Halleff thrust herself into his arms, for the first time realizing that they were completely bare. It hardly mattered.
“I’m scared.” She whispered into his neck as his hands held her tight against his own body. “We’re in the arena, aren’t we?”
A sudden, hollow voice boomed off the walls around them, “That’s right.” Raoen’s head snapped up, his eyes searching the stands. A cloaked figure stared down at them, bright yellow eyes piercing through the night. Pharus laughed cruelly, slowly clapping his hands as he moved between the seats. “You escaped my serpents…” They couldn’t see his whole face, but could easily imagine he was smiling wickedly. “But you didn’t escape me. I suppose you knew you couldn’t.” He moved forward again – or more so glided – down the steps, to the edge of the stands. He pulled a heavy dark blanket from the floor and threw it effortlessly to Halleff and Raoen. The man reached for it and dragged it up over their naked bodies, glad to have it, and disgusted that the demon had seen them – particularly Halleff – bare. When they looked up again, Pharus was gone. His voice reverberated back to them, though.
“Have a fantastic last evening together, lovers.” The creature’s words had a hint of sarcasm in them, but quickly turned into a deadly snarl. “You fight in the morning.”
The two stayed silent and still for a long while, until they were sure Pharus was really gone. It wouldn’t be their last evening, Halleff was sure. They had their plan and it would work.
No one can ever force us to harm one another. Raoen leaned down to kiss her on the mouth. He brushed the hair from her face, watching her eyes. The young woman lifted her chin, smiling despite their situation. Brushing her black hair back, she leaned back from the man, feeling the muscles around his shoulders. He moved closer to her, setting his soft lips on her neck. Halleff sighed shakily, hands moving up to grip his blonde-red hair. That night, she fell asleep against his chest, warm underneath the blanket.
When she woke up in the morning, the black bear found Raoen sitting up, watching her with vacant eyes. How unusual. He was always the heavy sleeper, always the last to wake. The lion got to his feet and shook out his mane. Halleff stood and lumbered over to him, then sat by his side. They said nothing for a few moments, until the she-bear stood, sniffing along the perimeter of the arena.
“There’s no way out until the fight is over.” Raoen said plainly. He stood; eyes focused on the dirt, but did not move. She turned to him, and spoke quietly,
“We’re going with the same plan, yes?” The lion’s head lifted slightly, and in his eyes, Halleff saw a flicker of something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He nodded slowly.
They paced in silence while Pharus’ many snakes slithered into the stands, twisting up around the chairs. The three largest serpents hissed madly, twisting their raised heads back and forth, waiting for blood to be shed. Their sharp tongues were quite fearsome; it was as if they were jabbing with spears at the sky. Soon Pharus himself appeared. His dark cloak seemed to suck up the little light there was on that early morning. Through the seats, Halleff could just make out his spiked red tail sliding along behind him, showing that he was truly a demon and dragon mix-breed. He took his seat, and blinked. All his snakes quieted down, stretching their necks to peer down into the arena. Suddenly, the demon opened his mouth frighteningly wide, showing jagged teeth that glinted like polished metal in the sunlight. Pharus let out a terrifying sound, akin to screeches and snarls mixed with strange words. He lifted his arm and pointed to the animals below, his hand concealed behind the cloak sleeve. It was clear enough the monster wanted them to begin.
Halleff stood opposite the lion, watching him nervously. The sound that emitted from Pharus’ mouth repeated over and over, as if it were a little monster itself, trapped inside her head. On the other side of the arena, Raoen leapt forward, quickening his gait. Her eyes went wide – this was not part of the plan! He gained speed as he ran around the edge of the stands, eyes never leaving Halleff’s. At maximum speed, he dug his claws deep into the dirt and, with powerful legs, pushed himself up into the air. Almost before it happened, the bear felt as if she was strangled, could not breathe. For she knew what was coming next, suddenly recognized what Raoen was aiming for. His handsome body flew through the air, deep brown eyes shut tight. She watched in horror as he impaled himself on a wooden stake. The lion’s enormous, muscular form now lay on the ground, the pole protruding from his back. Unsteadily, the bear bounded to his side, licking frantically at his face. His eyes opened slightly, the light quickly leaching from them. She stared back into them as they fluttered shut, his last breath rattling from his chest. The young woman squeezed her own eyes shut, collapsing at the side of her mate’s body. Blood pooled on the ground, dying the dirt a dark maroon.
Halleff hadn’t known that their plan never could have worked, but Raoen had. Living in this world longer than she, the man had experienced a time when two creatures refused to fight. Pharus had killed them both – slowly and painfully - and gave their souls to the High Mountain Lord. Raoen would never have let that fate become the she-bear’s.
She stood, staring into the face of Pharus, and let out a roar so mighty and mournful that it could have shaken the horrid cloak from his very form.
Halleff turned her head down to the lion that was no longer her beloved Raoen.“I hate you! I hate everything about you!” She swallowed, kneeling to bury her head in his mane. Nuzzling his cold ears, she whispered, “Because you make me so hopelessly in love.”
 True Sparrow · Fri Nov 27, 2009 @ 11:57pm · 0 Comments |
