The Beast Within

Laresa parted her lips, taking him in her mouth with skill that only a Djinn with centuries of experience could possibly possess. In one smooth motion, she engulfed his entire length, the tip slipping into her throat and her lips pressing into the iron-gray curls at the root. Her throat, lips, and tongue all caressed his organ, the sounds of his groans lost in the howl of the wind and the booming of thunder.

Laresa's saturated tresses whipped against Bear's legs as her head bobbed over his cock, one of her hands curling around him to grasp his slick buttock, while she rested his heavy balls in her other hand and caressed them. Despite the whirling of the wind, the scent of Laresa's arousal tickled both their noses, mingling with the smells of wet earth and ozone.

A burst of flavor brought a fresh rush of saliva to Laresa's mouth, as a drop of pre-cum seeped from him. She moaned around him, savoring the flavor while continuing to suck him with quick strokes.

Bear's hands reached under her arms, pulling her upward, and off his throbbing cock. He popped free of her mouth as she rose from her knees, and she immediately pressed her lips against his in a hungry kiss, as soon as she could reach him. Their arms wrapping around each other, their slick flesh met, and they released their pent up desire into ardent kisses.

Bear grasped her buttocks in one powerful hand, placing his other hand on her back just below the shoulders. Dropping to his knees, he pulled her with him to the whipping, dripping grass below. He lowered her to the ground, supporting her easily in his arms. As soon as her back touched the earth, Laresa parted her legs wide, the hunger in her expression illuminated by bright flashes of lightning.

The feeling of Bear's cock sliding into her hot, wet embrace was beyond compare. Both had been denied this pleasure for far too long, and the groans that escaped them as he settled into her depths overcame even the cacophony of the storm's raging.

Laresa's breasts bounced from the power of his thrusts, and only his tight grip on her parted thighs prevented her from sliding away from him across the slippery grass. Popping her eyes open to watch him penetrating her wet heat, Laresa was almost surprised not to see the pounding rain hissing into steam against her burning flesh.

Laresa's pleasure mounted quickly beneath his powerful assault, even as the storm continued to batter them with its full strength. The hot pressure behind Laresa's mound reached a painful intensity, growing larger and larger, filling her body with heat that seared her. A blinking strobe from the overhead lightning illuminated Bear's face for a moment when Laresa's eyes were open, and she knew that he too was near the point of no return.

Bear's cock slammed into her a final time, the sounds of his release lost in the noise of the storm. The bubble within Laresa burst at the first hot spurt of his semen into her depths, the power of her orgasm causing her back to arch until only her bottom and the top of her head supported her. Laresa pinched her nipples tight as Bear continued to pulse, filling her abundant pools of cream.

As they reached their peaks, so to did the storm. Nature unleashed its full fury around them, illuminating their trembling bodies in an endless series of strobes from the flickering electric bolts. The thunder rattled them with its power, and the rain was so heavy that it obscured the climaxing couple from each other despite the bright flashes of light. A tree a short distance away exploded as one of the storm's fiery forks of power reached down for it from the heavens.

The intensity of their orgasms sapped the strength from both Bear and Laresa. They collapsed to the earth, spent beyond the ability to move – still joined by the bridge of his throbbing organ buried in her tightly clenched depths. The lightning slowed, and the rain slacked off, allowing them to hear each other panting and gasping for breath, if only barely despite their faces being mere inches apart.

The storm moved on, leaving in its wake an exhausted couple, who only rose from their place in the grass with great effort. Even then, it was a while before Laresa could summon up the strength to transport them back to Bear's teepee.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Laresa blinked her violet eyes, feeling quite strange to be awakening outside her ring. Upon learning that she did not truly sleep while in the outside world, Bear had wished that she be able to do so if she desired. Waking up lying next to Bear, with her head cradled in his arm, was quite a pleasant new experience for the Djinn.

Slipping from the furs, so as not to awaken him, she found that not everything was perfect with this new arrangement. She stretched for a few moments, attempting to work out the kinks in her muscles, only to cheat and use her magic when the exercise didn't help fast enough.

Feeling better, Laresa decided that a special treat was in order, after the previous night's lovemaking amidst the storm. Calling forth her power, she manifested a plate of sizzling bacon, eggs, and well-buttered toast. As an afterthought, she created a cup of coffee as well.

The smell soon roused Bear, who opened his eyes and sniffed deeply of the intoxicating aroma. Sitting up, he said, "Good morning, what is this?"

"Something special I've discovered in my travels through time. Try it," Laresa said, handing Bear the cup of coffee.

Bear's eyes opened wide with the first sip of the beverage. "What is this potion?"

"It is called coffee. It is common enough in many places, especially in the future. It will help wake you up too. Do you like it?"

Bear sighed and took another long drink, "Very much." Nodding toward the steaming plate, he said, "If this is as good, you will spoil me, Moonhair. I will soon be as big as the bear for which I am named."

Smiling at him, Laresa responded, "I think I would like spoiling you, although I prefer you fit and handsome." Just enough suggestion crept into her voice to tell Bear exactly what she was thinking of when she said it.

Taking a bite of the bacon, obviously savoring the taste from his expression, Bear said, "Do you regret our joining?"

Laresa shook her head. "Not at all. I find it difficult in recent days to forget that one day you will pass on, or I will pass to another Master, but I am content."

"Perhaps this is your beast – the one from your vision," Bear suggested, taking another sip of his coffee.

The vision returned to Laresa now with perfect clarity. Bear was correct; the beast was her dissatisfaction with slavery to the ring. She assumed that the strong emotions the vision had roused within her had prevented her from seeing what seemed so simple now. It was her heart that all the people she had encountered over the centuries clawed at, whether they had meant to or not. Every attachment she formed would one day end, and there was nothing she could do to prevent it.

"I believe you are right," Laresa agreed. "The vision told me nothing of how to face this beast, however."

"Some visions reveal truths, others bring wisdom. Perhaps another vision will grant you the wisdom to confront your beast, or you will discover it through knowing the truth of it," Bear suggested.

Laresa smiled and said, "And what of your beast? Have I tamed it?"

"Perhaps I better understand it," Bear replied with a somewhat sheepish smile. "I would be pleased to have your touch continue to soothe the beast within me."

Moving close to him, Laresa said, "And I would be pleased to do so."

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Knowing now that he was still in control when he transformed into the great black grizzly, and that his passions would not trigger the transformation, Bear ended his seclusion to some extent. He went among the people more often, interacting on a purely social level in a manner not seen since his first transformation. Much of his time was still spent in his teepee and by himself in the wilderness, however.

Or so the people of the village thought.

In truth, he and Laresa became as husband and wife. Laresa found that by sleeping outside her ring, her strength remained for longer periods of time. Often, it would be weeks before she needed to seek the refuge of her ring to recharge her powers. Laresa could sense that Bear's family, the only people who knew of her, did not entirely approve of the arrangement, but this was tempered by their joy at return of Bear's once jovial nature.

Bear asked no more of her than Laresa was willing and able to offer. He desired no children, still having no desire to sire one that might eventually carry his burden as protector of the tribe. He gave her free will, allowing her to make her own choices, where the ties that bound her to the ring would allow. Having Bear at her side allowed Laresa truly to appreciate the simple and joyful life she had attempted to have with Nathifa. He satisfied her needs, and she took great pleasure in satisfying his.

Each evening, she shared in his meditation atop the hill, although no more visions came to her as they had the first time. When Bear returned to the waking world, they would make love as they had that first night in the storm, in the grass beneath the stars. Laresa was truly content, as she had not been for a very long time.

The seasons turned, and Laresa once again used her magic to increase the bounty of the confederated tribes. Storm Cloud's father came to Bison Heart shortly before winter, sealing again the covenant between his tribe and the confederation. Whether he did so in acknowledgement of Bison Heart's honest desire to help, or necessity because of a lean year for his people was questionable. Regardless, the joined tribes regained the strength lost with the rebellious tribe's earlier departure.

Laresa still struggled with her beast, knowing that Bear would one day pass from the world, while she would continue on. Before, with Clint, James, and other Masters, such thoughts had never entered her head. She couldn't even truly pinpoint when the change had occurred. Laresa looked upon it as an irritating flaw, while Bear contended it was growth of her spirit. Those words always brought with them a feeling of conviction, as though it were not merely his opinion, but an undeniable truth. He sounded so sure that Laresa actually had to fight the urge to search his mind for the source of that steadfast belief.

Sitting across from Bear before his fire, on patches of earth cleared of snow and warmed by her power, Laresa waited for the shaman to return to the waking world from his meditation. She smiled, her bare nipples stiffening, as she saw Bear's breathing increase in pace, a signal she knew meant he would soon slip out of his trance. Wetness gathered within her as the other signs of his awakening slowly manifested.

Bears eyes opened, and his brow furrowed. "Someone comes."

A mischievous grin spread across her face as Laresa said, "Two someones will. Whoever is going to intrude won't know we are here." She summoned up her magic, hiding them from the eyes and ears of any who might come near.

The scream of a bird of prey overhead caused Bear and Laresa to look up. An eagle circled overhead, steadily descending toward them. As they followed the spirals of the majestic bird, a coyote approaching through the snow also met their eyes.

Laresa stood, immediately seeing that the coyote's paw prints appeared only a few feet beyond where it was now, with only pristine snow beyond. "This is something unnatural."

Bear stood as well, knowing Laresa was correct, as such was the nature of the vision that had come to him in his meditation. The coyote paused, looking upward at the descending eagle. The canine waited as the eagle flared its wings, buffeting the air as it came to rest upon the ground nearby. Once the eagle's talons sank into the snow, both animals blurred and became men.

"Grandfather," Bear muttered.

Laresa's eyes narrowed when she recognized the other brave with Nathifa's son. "We meet again."

The man who had been a coyote nodded his head in acknowledgement, but it was Eagle Soaring who spoke. "Painful truths I must bring to you, Dark Beast – Moonhair."

"We await your wisdom, Eagle Soaring," Bear said reverently.

Laresa said nothing, instead staring hard at the other man. She had a distinct feeling of being manipulated, and she did not like it.

"Calm, Moon in her Hair, the truths we must give unto you will bring great pain, but are necessary for you both to fulfill your destiny," Eagle said to Laresa.

Seeing Eagle's eyes misty with tears, Laresa's anger cooled somewhat. At least Nathifa's son appeared to like this no more than she did. Speaking to the other man, she said, "Who are you to know our destiny, and how are we to know that you do not attempt to make it for us?"

Eagle started to speak, but the other brave lay a hand on his shoulder and took a step forward. "Force you to accept the truth, I cannot. Show you the truth, I can. Your must choose your path, for good or ill. I believe your wisdom, and compassion, will set your feet on the right path."

"Dark Beast, it is of our blood that our people shall survive great troubles in times to come. The fruit of your loins, and of those who come after, will one day preserve the ways of our people, when strangers come to cast us out of this land," Eagle Soaring said to his grandson.

Turning to Laresa, he said, "Moon in her Hair – friend of my mother – truths have been revealed to you as well, in your vision. In time, they shall lead to wisdom, and wisdom will lead you to your destiny."

The transformed coyote spoke next, "You must choose in wisdom. See what the future may hold."

Both Laresa and Bear saw the visions then. They saw themselves, hand in hand, and beyond them, a terrible scene of devastation. White men with guns ravaged the plains, the mountains, and all the sacred places, driving the people out, grinding them into the dust. The people retreated, forced into parcels of land where they scraped out a meager existence. Then the dress, the language, and all the ways of the people faded, until nothing remained. Those few who survived assimilated within the white man's world, their proud history utterly forgotten.

Then the image of Bear faded away, and the vision of Laresa screamed. White-hot chains wrapped around her body, all coming from her ring. They held her tight, with no hope of slipping free, and both watchers could see an eternity of pain and slavery spreading out before the Djinn.

The vision dissolved, to be replaced by another. In this vision, Bear and Laresa released each other's hands, with tears in their eyes. Beyond, the white men came again, but this time some of the people clung to the old ways, preserving their heritage. Leading them was a man in who Bear and Laresa could see the blood of Nathifa, of Hawk, of Eagle Soaring, and of Bear. Others took up his cause, and the ways of the people were not lost. Though their old life was gone, they held on to their traditions, and their proud history, preserving it for generations to come.

Bear faded, as before, but the chains that bound Laresa cooled, the metal links weakening. The image then vanished, replaced by reality once more.

Laresa's eyes flashed with anger as she stared hard at the two men before her. "I have been to the future, and I know what will be. I cannot change the future; it is one of the rules that bind me. If I try, I am forced back into my ring and across the face of space and time."

Coyote endured her gaze without flinching. "The future is fluid, Moonhair. Your power cannot change it, but free will can."

"Lies," Laresa spat out, and then turned to Bear, "The second vision has already come to pass, Bear. I have seen it. The people are cast down, but the old ways are remembered. Even far in the future, they remember their proud heritage, and pass it down to those young ones who feel the spirit of the people within them. Your family does not approve of us, and that obviously extends to those who have passed from this world."

"Would that your destiny lay with Bear," Eagle countered. "Through you, my grandson has regained himself. With great joy have I watched you share your lives. With great sadness I tell you that it must pass."

"Bear, this cannot be." Laresa's eyes misted over. She could feel the conflicting emotions flowing from Bear, and her voice broke slightly as she said, "Tell me you do not believe this." Despite her strong words, they rang hollow in her heart. Deep inside, somehow, she knew the vision was true.

"Never have I known a vision to be untrue. Nor have I known a falsehood to pass Eagle Soaring's lips, Moonhair," Bear replied, his voice tightly controlled.

"Bear, don't say that. I am happy with you. The future can't be changed. We can't change it. All we have is now."

"You know what you must do," Eagle said sadly.

Bear took Laresa's hand. "I cannot endure knowing that I will bring you pain."

"You bring me only happiness," Laresa argued.

"You bring me great joy, Moonhair, but my time is but a ripple in the pond of your life. What once I have gone to join the Great Spirit? Even should these visions prove false, what then, when I must leave you?"

"I don't care." Sobs shook the silvery-haired Djinn as she felt Bear summoning up his resolve. "Please..."

"Never will I forget you, Moonhair." Bear took a deep breath.

Knowing what was to come, Laresa sobbed, "No!"

Bear said softly, "I wish for you to go seek your destiny."

The moment the words passed his lips, Laresa knew them for what they were – a lie. Bear wanted nothing more than to spend his life with her, but he believed the vision and could not endure leading her into eternal slavery and pain. Still sobbing, Laresa dissolved into a misty vapor, returning to her ring. At the same moment, the ring vanished once more into the fabric of time.

Bear fell to his knees, crying out in anguish until his voice grew hoarse.

"This had to come to pass, Bear. You will preserve the ways of the people, and have set Moonhair on the path that can free her," Coyote said.

"I do not thank you for this vision," Bear growled.

Coyote responded, "Nor will Moonhair thank you for sending her away. This too shall lead to the growth of your spirits, however. In time shall you both know that this parting was necessary."

Eagle's voice was thick with emotion when he spoke. "We go now. Though the future remains unclear, within that future shall you meet again with Moonhair."

Closing his eyes tight, Bear refused to acknowledge the words. His soul screamed in pain.

Men blurred once more into beasts, and a coyote loped away, even as an eagle soared into the heavens.

()o~~~~***~~~~o()

Six years later...

With a final push and scream, Sweet Water delivered the babe into the pale light of the moon and stars above. "It is a girl," said the woman acting as midwife, wrapping the child in a blanket.

Looking upon the babe, and the smiling woman to whom the midwife handed the infant, the years replayed in Bear's mind. Upon returning to the village, Bear had once more retreated within himself. When Sweet Water fell ill, he treated her as he did the others in the village, with a clinical detachment, seeking only to make them whole.

Sweet Water's illness had proven virulent, forcing Bear to remain with her for days on a near constant basis. With stubborn determination, he battled the fever that ravaged her with all the skill and magic at his disposal. After more than a week, her fever broke, allowing Bear to nurse her back to health.

Having a new appreciation for life after her brush with death, Sweet Water poured out her heart to Bear as she recovered. In an attempt to rebuff her attempts to open his heart to her, he had told her of Laresa, hiding nothing of his feelings for the Djinn.