Bear and I III

Chapter 6

It had been dark yesterday when they met a bevy of ladies. Rick had retired to his tent and let Max stay outside. It looked like he was doing a good job of winning the women over to his side.

Rick was getting dressed in as light a clothing he had which meant shorts, a short sleeve tunic, and simple sandals. Stepping outside he found Max was down to two very little girls doing their very best to climb him and he was just lying there letting them.

"Dire Bear, teddy bear." He didn't know any longer. Since he didn't dare bother Kate in her yurt, he left her area and headed for the lake that he had almost drowned in.

As he walked he saw his very first man in this area. He wasn't alone since he had a scantily clad woman next to him who had the biggest tits he had seen in a while. Those puppies were straining at what little she was wearing. However, it looked like they were having an argument.

Rick went the opposite direction to get away from them in case he was part of their argument. Walking to the lake's edge he saw another scantily clad woman standing at the edge so he chose to join her.

But before he reached her he saw five swans in the lake swimming. One of them was totally amazing. This swan had the shape of a swan but it had muted orange, soft pink, pale blue, and just a touch of a subtle purple for feathers in addition to the normal white.

Rick stopped next to her. "That's the most beautiful swan I've ever seen and I've gotten around."

"That's Kate," Lanie told him since he thought she was beautiful last night.

"That's Kate?" Rick's eyes opened wide as he watched her swim around with the others and then dunk down under the water and come back up again. "May I ask a question?"

"No, she does not have a mate," Lanie said, thinking that might be his next question.

"Good to know but I had a question about last night. Where I was the sun was down but it hadn't set yet here. So do you know where we are in the land?" Rick questioned her.

"Sadly no. I was born here much like all the women. Most of us have never left here or if we have we haven't gotten far so I can't help you. Kate might know. Her parents used to be in charge here before they left on a mission. They've been gone a while now. …So how do you like being a bear?" Lanie looked at him and if Kate didn't want him she would snatch him up in a second. She would easily mate with him, have his children, and live happily ever after. But she was no fool. He had eyes solely for Kate.

"A bear? Powerful, magnificent, thankful that my God thinks highly enough of me to grant me the chance to be a bear. I know Druids can shift to animals but I'm a Ranger so I can't do that." Rick couldn't imagine not being a bear.

"Kate is a Ranger also. Most of the rest of us are Druids, though," Lanie told him.

"Really." Rick was drawn back to watching Kate as the beautiful swan, swim around.

"Your bear friend seems nice. I never would have guessed looking at him." Lanie had stopped looking at Kate and Rick and was watching the bear lying there being climbed by two little girls who were giggling and having fun.

Rick turned to look. "Max is a teddy bear when you give him the chance. Just don't cross him. He has power and could probably rip this place to the ground and no one here could stop him. Oh, and don't say the word wizard." Rick said that word very softly. "He hates them something fierce. I'm not really sure why. We have met so very few of them but he does."

"I'll keep that in mind. I'm going to go get breakfast." Lanie left him.

+x+ [-O-] +x+

Kate had spotted Rick at the water's edge, watching her, and talking to Lanie till Lanie left him. So she swam over to him, shifted as she got out, and walked over to him.

"OH-MY-GOD!" Rick watched her get out and spun around so he wasn't watching. What little she was wearing was soaking wet and clung to her, leaving nothing to the imagination. He saw the size of her breasts. Her nipples looked hard and if that wasn't bad enough her shorts showed off her vulva bulge. His cock was waking up as he had watched that dream get out of the lake.

"You don't like me?" Kate was hurt. He had called her beautiful yesterday. Now he wouldn't even look at her.

"You are still the single most beautiful woman I have ever seen. But you're practically naked and I don't trust myself," Rick blurted then blushed.

"I'm wearing clothes." Kate looked down at herself. "OH!" What she was wearing was what she always wore around here only now it was plastered to her. "You don't like my breasts. I know they're small but they're..." Kate stopped talking when suddenly he spun around and put his arms around her.

"Don't ever think thoughts like that. I don't ever want to hear you say a thing like that again. Am I clear?" Rick held her tight so he didn't have to look at her. However, holding her wasn't helping all the much, either. Though she was wet so that helped a little.

Kate didn't get it but he was holding her tight so maybe that was something. She even put her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder since he was taller than she was but not by a whole lot.

"I'll go change, would that help?" Kate queried.

"Very much, yes." Rick let go of her. He felt her let go of him.

"All right. Do you want to meet me for breakfast?" She had questions for him.

He would love to spend time with her. "I would like that very much, thank you."

Rick watched her walk away and turned around so he didn't see this. Her shorts were showing off her beautiful ass cheeks perfectly and he was getting an erection that needed to go away. "OH, BOY!"

Kate watched two girls crawling all over that huge bear that was just lying there and letting them have their way with him. They were giggling madly and having a lot of fun. She was amazed that these two innocent little girls had adapted to him so easily. He certainly looked dangerous to her.

Kate took off her wet clothes and dried herself and then found something else to wear. It was the same thing but dry. She also needed shoes that weren't wet.

Dressed in dry clothes, she stepped outside and almost ran right into Rick. "Oh!"

"Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't know where breakfast was."

"This way." Kate began walking and realized he was walking right next to her, looking at her. "You don't like what I'm wearing?" He looked uncomfortable for some reason.

"On the contrary, I love what you are wearing." He especially loved watching her breasts bounce under that flimsy top she was wearing. "I'm just not used to walking next to such a beautiful woman." Rick tried to cover himself and stopped watching her walk.

"Oh." Kate kept walking. Stepping inside they both noticed the place was a little busy but there were still places to sit. "We have lots of fruit that most of us eat. There's also a little sausage. We killed a pair of goats yesterday so we have some goat meat now."

"Fruit for breakfast is perfect, thank you." Rick made his choices after Kate did and followed her to a table. He couldn't take his eyes off her ass as it swung from side to side.

He sat down across from her which meant he was looking at her beautiful face with hair still damp and her breasts straining at what she was wearing.

"You make a magnificent swan. I've never seen or heard of any swan with your coloration," Rick remarked and took a bite.

"Thank you." Kate felt her face starting to get warm. "Mom was a black swan with feathers that were dark purple, deep burgundy, navy, and hunter green. She was beautiful. Dad was an elf."

"You're half-elf?" Rick raised an eyebrow and looked for the telltale signs of Elf.

It did help explain why she was so thin and why she had such long legs. Only now that he could take his eyes off her breasts did he see her eyes and her ears. Her hair was really long, much like an elf would keep it.

"My dad was a Snow Elf. He had gorgeous, thick, all white hair and Mom's was a beautiful black so I got a little of both." Kate ran her hand though her still damp hair. She needed to brush it soon before it got tangled.

Rick could barely stop looking at her. "Well it's lovely. Snow Elves used to be a very proud race before they were enslaved during the Dwemer. It's said they have an aptitude for Magic."

"Dad had great power. Don't tell anyone but I think Mom cast a spell on him." Kate smiled at him and Rick was ready to melt, seeing her smile for the first time. "You know about Snow Elves? Dad taught me to speak and read Elf."

"I have a few books stored away if you want to read them," Rick offered.

"Yes, please. All I have for books are the ones my parents left behind." Kate would kill to read a new book, any new book.

"Your parents aren't here?" Rick questioned since she was talking like they were dead.

Kate looked kind of sad. "My mom got an assignment from her God and Dad went with her. I was 18 years old at the time and they left me in charge. They've been gone almost six years now." She missed them something awful. She wasn't even sure why they'd left her in charge. She was still just a kid in her eyes.

"Twenty-four, I'm twenty-six," Rick said.

Kate shook her head. "Not till November which is a few months yet."

Rick reached out and gently covered her hand with his. "They'll be back. I have faith."

+x+ [-O-] +x+

"Your book," Rick mentioned. He walked to his tent and felt Kate right behind him. Once inside he dug out his little piece of cloth and unfolded his black hole. Kate saw all of it including what was inside it.

"What is that thing? Even Dad didn't have one of these." Kate looked down and saw lots of things including more than one book which had her catching her breath.

"It's called a black hole. It's a different dimension which allows things to be stored inside. In turn it takes up only a tiny amount of space in this dimension. That makes it simple to carry around a lot of things easily."

"Let's see…. Which book was it?" Rick muttered as he went through what he had stored.

"May I read some of the others? I'll take very good care of them. I promise." He had books she didn't have, she was sure of it.

"Certainly, catch." Rick started throwing up book after book to her till he thought she had enough of his books in that small pile. "I have a number of scrolls as well if you want to read them, too."

"This is fine, thank you." Kate didn't know how to thank him for this. Books were valuable just as they were no matter what was inside them.

+x+ [-O-] +x+

Kate had watched him fold it back up into this tiny little square and he was helping her carry some of the books to her yurt. "Set them down anywhere." Kate found a place for hers.

"You have a few books yourself." Rick picked one up and saw that he hadn't seen this one before.

"I have a few. Do you want to read them?" she offered. "You can read mine while I read yours. I owe you for use of your books."

"I accept. But now I need to go check on Max. If he stays this size for too long he'll eat all this place has." Rick wasn't joking much. A Dire Bear needed a lot of food and Rick was betting hunting here was minimal.

Rick left her yurt and since Kate was curious by what he meant by that she followed behind him. "Hey, buddy, still having fun I see." He still had two little girls trying their best to crawl all over him. "Can you reduce down for me, please? You get nice and small and maybe you can go running with your new friends. They might like that." Rick knew he liked being large. He was a Dire Bear and wanted to be large and intimidating. Yet going for a run and play was irresistible.

Kate covered her mouth with her hand as in just a couple of seconds Max the massive bear was anything but. He was still a good size but not nearly as huge.

Next she watched as the bear snorted at both girls and took off running with both girls giggling and taking off after him at a dead run.

Rick turned around and saw Kate standing there in a bit of shock. "He's a teddy bear," Rick told her as he walked past her and headed to her yurt. He planned to stay there.

"I guess he is." Kate was still watching where they went till she couldn't see them any longer. She found Rick sitting on the ground inside her yurt, looking at one of her books. She didn't even think anything of it and searched his books till she found one that was written in Elvish.

Kate interrupted him. "You speak Elf?"

"Common like we're speaking, Elven, Giant, Centaur, Orc, Dryad, any animal I wish pretty much, Troll and Goblin. I tried Dragon but couldn't get the hang of it."

"Wow." Kate was impressed. "I only speak Common, Elven, Sylvan, and Pixy. Mom taught me that one, not that I've ever seen a Pixy."

"Fae? I can't say that I've ever met one. I don't know much about them, either," Rick commented. He opened his book, leaned back on several of her pillows and started reading.

+x+ [-O-] +x+

Kate had a man in her yurt and he was just sitting there reading. What she didn't know was what to do now. Men were an unknown to her. However, she was soon engrossed in his book that was written in Elvish. She was absorbing each and every word.

Rick had started out reading but he kept stopping to take a peek at Kate. She was sitting there reading. She was so gorgeous and she was wearing so little.

Each time he looked up she was sitting in a different position and each one was just as alluring as the previous one. It was making reading nearly impossible for him. Then he looked up and she was sitting with her legs together with her feet on the ground. God help him, her shorts were showing off more than he needed to see and keep his sanity. Then she shifted which shifted her shorts.

Rick put down his book, got up, and walked over to her. And then he touched her shoulder till he had her attention. "Bathroom?"

"OH! Um..." She needed to think. Having him sitting in her yurt was distracting and seeing his chest in that tight shirt and those shorts wasn't helping. Now he was eye level and she saw a bulge in his shorts. "Out, turn right, and just keep going. You'll find it. It's men only."

"Thanks." Now she was watching his ass move away from her. It had her adjusting how she was sitting. She had an ache in her groin that she wasn't used to feeling.

Rick eventually found it, took care of business, and was thankful there was no one around. His release was very helpful. Kate in her innocence was killing him. Not that he had a lot of experience himself but he knew the joys of women and Kate was all woman.

+x+ [-O-] +x+

They both went back to reading and kept assuming different positions. Each was driving the other to distraction. It wasn't until Max showed up at her opening and growled that it got both of their attention.

"Dinner? Dinner!" Rick scrambled to his feet and put the book aside. He was close to finishing so he marked his place carefully while not damaging the book.

"I'll meet you at the kitchen." Kate watched his ass leave her yurt so he could feed the now small Dire Bear.

Rick still had lots of meat so he brought some out and gave it to Max. "Where are your two friends?" His two little girls weren't in sight. He listened to him growl. "Parents. Got it. Let me know if you need more." Rick left him to it and made his way to the kitchen. He saw what was available and took only what he was interested in, trying not to take too much. He was hungry but didn't want to eat too much.

He found Kate sitting alone and sat down across from her. "May I ask a question?"

"Sure," she replied. She stopped eating and waited while looking at him.

"Are all the women here swans?" She was beautiful as a swan and she wasn't alone.

"Yes, we're called Swanmay. Only women can join our order and be swans. We protect wilderness areas from evil as well as the mountain areas and our home. I still need to find this portal that you used to get here. My parents never said anything about it."

"Sounds similar to Bharrai and what I do except I travel far and wide. I try to stay away from the bigger cities," Rick admitted. "Most of them stink and I'm not overly comfortable in large groups like in a city filled with thousands of people."

"I've never been in a city. Dad told me about some of the Elven cities and they sounded nice. Lots of levels made out of stone and they all were really good with a bow. Mine's handmade and Dad taught me."

"I have an Oath Bow," Rick said. "If you speak the correct words it will select that target as your sworn enemy and you get bonuses against him. But if you don't kill the target you can't change it for 24 hours."

"Like favored enemy." Kate understood that.

"That's right. Someone told me while at the lake that you were a Ranger," Rick admitted.

"Mom taught me. She was a Ranger Swanmay while Dad was a Sorcerer and a powerful one, too."

"I like Rangers." Kate felt her face getting warm. "Have you reached Second Favored Enemy?" Rick watched her nod. "How about Improved Combat Style?" Rick saw her shake her head.

He offered to help her advance. "I can teach you if you'll let me. After that is Woodland Stride and Swift Tracker. I don't know Evasion yet which is next."

"I don't know those two," Kate told him.

"Woodland Stride. Let's see, you can run through thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and uneven terrain at a full run instead of having to slow way down to prevent damage. With Swift Tracker, you can walk at your normal speed while tracking and not be forced to stop and take a better look to know where the tracks lead.

"Evasion is the ability to prevent damage with great agility. I haven't learned that one yet."

"I'd like that, thank you" Kate felt her face getting warm again.

"Are you bow or two handed weapon fighting?" He only knew bow so he might not be able to teach her.

"Bow, I'm the only Ranger here," Kate said. "The rest of the women are Druids."

"Excellent! We can get started tomorrow. This is going to be fun." It also meant he had a reason to stay close to her and he really wanted to do that.