Can You Hear Me?

A Chance Encounter

It was summer vacation, and my parents had rented a cabin in the mountains. I was bored; there was no reception here, so I couldn't connect to the internet. Needless to say, using my cell phone was also out of the question. So, I'd started taking long walks.

The cabin was in a clearing, man-made of course, and surrounded by forest. My folks liked coming to places like this, to 'get away' from the 'hectic everyday life' they led in the city. I'd been dragged along, as I had been since I was born. I'd tried to get them to let me stay at home this time. Their argument pretty much came down to the fact that they didn't trust an 18 year old to stay alone for a month. They ignored the fact that I'm a straight A student, and that I've never gotten into any kind of trouble in my life. Geez, I'm on the school's chess team! I don't even date. Not because I'm ugly or anything, I've been told often enough that it's quite the contrary. I'm tall, just over 6' 1", and slim, and I work out regularly so I'm not a weakling, either. I have shoulder-length light brown hair, green eyes, and a small sprinkling of freckles over the bridge of my nose.

Even though girls hit on me, I wasn't interested. I don't think I'm gay, since I don't really look at other guys that way either. I just... wasn't interested in anyone. Yeah, I still had urges, like any normal teenager, but my hand was my partner when it came to this. Hell, I didn't even fantasize when I jerked off.

And it wasn't like I was going to be throwing some sort of wild party. I'm a friendly enough guy, but I don't have anyone I could call friend. I prefered being by myself. I read a lot, when I wasn't messing around on the computer.

You are very beautiful.

I startled. Had someone just spoken to me? As far as I knew, I was alone. I looked around me, at the trees lining the path I was walking down, at the brush on either side. I didn't see anyone. "Hello?" I kept my voice down, I don't know why. I guess I didn't want to appear foolish, if someone were there.

Can you actually hear me? My, this is an interesting turn of events.

Frowning, I peered into the foliage.

*chuckle* You are as unobservant as you are attractive.

I spun around, looking behind me. No one. Bringing my hand up, I twacked my head a few times. I was hearing things. Wasn't that the first sign of dementia, or schizophrenia, or some other ~ia?

Oh, you are precious. Here, allow me to help.

There's a rustling right next to me. I swear, I'd looked there! The bush I'm standing by parts, and what appears to be a dog, no, a wolf, steps out. It was a freaking big wolf, too. It looked... amused. And somehow sad, too.

There, is that better?

I scrambled back, hands held in front of me. "Wh-what...? H-how...?" Eyes wide, I look around again, trying to find whoever is playing this tasteless practical joke on me. There's no one to be seen though, so I turn back to the wolf. "A-are you... talking to me?"

Do you see anyone else here? *chuckle* The wolf sits down and holds out a front paw. I believe this is how humans introduce themselves? I am called Aenwis. And what would your name be, my handsome lad?

It takes me a moment; I'm still not believing this, after all. But the 'voice' seemed to be in my head, and the wolf's actions reflected the words. I crouched down in front of the beast and gingerly took the proffered paw, ready to pull back at the first sign of aggression. "Ah... I... I'm Matthew. Matthew Reid. Or just Matt..." I release the paw quickly and stand once more, taking a step back. "Are you... actually talking to me? Wh-what are you? Well, I know you're a wolf, but... Wolves can't talk. Can they?"

*chuckle* Not regular wolves, no. Though to tell the truth, I am not in actuality a wolf. This is only the form I chose to take, for the time being.

"That... doesn't really answer the question. And how are you talking to me?" I was still wary, though I couldn't sense any aggression in the 'tone' of the 'voice'.

Since this form is not suited to the complexities of the human languages, I am speaking directly into your mind. I find this mode of communication more honest. Words may lie, not so this way. You would be able to sense it were I telling an untruth. The wolf stands up once more and approaches me. I decide to stand my ground, to see what it wants. I'm fairly sure it's a male, by the touch of the 'voice'; it feels masculine. He sniffs me slowly, walking around me as he does so. I brace myself for a muzzle up my ass as canines are wont to do. But it doesn't happen.

Your clothing dilutes your scent. Perhaps you would remove them? No? Ah, well perhaps later then. Come, please follow me, Matthew. There is something I wish to show you. He walks back into the brush, and I find myself following as instructed. It wasn't like he was exerting his will on me, I was curious, now. I've always believed that there was something more to this world, something we didn't see, because we'd blinded ourselves to it. Was I about to be proven right? Was that why I could see and hear Aenwis? So, I followed him. It wasn't like I had anything else to do, or anywhere to be, so why not follow a talking wolf into the woods? Well, it made sense at the time...

Why are you here, Matthew? Humans do not often go this deeply into the forest, at least not alone. Or unarmed. Yet, you carry no weapon, not even a blade. Aenwis turns his gaze to me as he walks. You are different.

"I am?" Well, I'd always known that... I shrug and tell Aenwis about the cabin my parents had rented for the summer. "Guess I wouldn't really be doing that much, if I was back home. Probably taking long walks in the city, instead of the woods." I grin at the wolf, laughing softly. "I've never been afraid of the woods. It's almost like the forest welcomes me, you know? I've watched a mother cougar and her young, and she didn't even bat an eye at me, 'though I know she knew I was there." I smile, remembering. "I've even had deer walk right up to me and let me touch them..."

Have you? Very interesting. His 'voice' seems almost satisfied, and a touch excited.

Suddenly, Aenwis stops.

We are here. I look around. It doesn't really seem any different than the rest of the forest. We're standing next to a rocky outcropping with brush in front of it, but that's the only thing around here, apart from the trees, and we're overlooking a small glade. Look closer, Matthew. There's a tone of... anticipation? in the wolf's 'voice'. I do as told, and shake my head. "I'm sorry Aenwis, I don't see anything." Do not use your eyes, Matthew, use your... soul. Search within yourself and open your mind, then look again. It sounded silly, but I decided to humour my new acquaintance. I'd done some meditating in the past, and I used the techniques learned from that to 'go within myself'. It takes me a few moments since I hadn't done this in a long time, and there's a huge wolf standing next to me, but once I find myself centered, I open my eyes again. And gasp! The forest had changed, somehow. I can't really describe it, it was almost as if I had been seeing it in monochrome shades before, but now it was in full technicolour. This time I'm sure I feel excitement coming from Aenwis.

You cannot know how happy this makes me, Matthew! I'm barely paying attention to Aenwis' words, so captivated am I by this 'new' world surrounding me. Somewhere in your heritage, an ancestor must have lain with one of the Old Ones. Or perhaps several ancestors, considering how strong you are. While not common, it did occur, usually without the human's knowledge. But through the generations, the Old Blood gets diluted, and the humans forget. Now there is a touch of sadness in Aenwis' tone. The world has changed, and since we could not, we were left behind. Oh, we are still here, but we keep to ourselves now, those that have not gone into a deep sleep A few have attempted to follow the humans into their cities. For all we know, they are still there, but they have never returned. Humans no longer believe in us, and have lost their ability to see us, or to feel the energies of the natural world around them. Instead, they surround themselves with artificial structures, walk on artificial paths, breath air full of contaminants. He shakes his head, as if to rid himself of these thoughts, these memories, then turns to look at me. I am glad that at least one human can still see. To know that our blood, though thin, still shows.

"Are we in a... different world, or plane, or whatever right now?" I was mesmerized by the sheer beauty surrounding me. A butterfly flew by, and I nearly had to shade my eyes.

No, this is the same world, but now you see it for what it is, without the filters of your humanity clouding your brain. *chuckle* There is no such thing as an alternate plane. The world is the world. Once, humans saw it as you do now, but they have blinded themselves to it when they started to live *against* it, instead of *with* it.

Aenwis starts to walk again, down the slight incline to the clearing below. I follow him, still mostly overwhelmed by my surroundings. Once we reach the clearing, his form seems to shimmer, then fade. I can't look directly at him, it hurts my head as my eyes refuse to focus and my brain tries to make sense of something it can't. When I venture another look, Aenwis is gone. Or should I say, the wolf is gone. Instead, I'm facing what I can only describe as an... an elf, though it transcends that. Not the small Santa's Helpers type of elf, more like the ones in Tolkien's books. He's taller than me by several inches. He has long, steel-dark hair that flows down the length of his back. So slim was he that if he were human, he would have been considered emaciated, although no bones show through the skin and his abdomen isn't shrunk in. Not that anyone would ever confuse him for a human! His every limb appears just a touch longer than it should be: arms, legs, fingers, toes, neck. His face is also long, and narrow. Poking up from the sides of his head, through the silky hair, are delicately pointed ears. His skin is the colour of moonlight, and almost seemed to radiate from within. And his eyes! I felt like if I looked in them too long, I would drown. They held the reflection of a timeless soul, seen through the dark window of the pupils. The iris is the same steel-grey as his hair. He was, by far, the most beautiful being I had ever seen. He was also quite naked.

"Dude! Put some clothes on!"

The dark gray eyes regard me. "Why? This is my natural form, I do not wish to cover it." Aenwis' voice sounded the same out loud as it did in my head. "No other creature wears clothing. I am not human. I do not subscribe to the humans' ideology of modesty."

I fidget a bit, trying not to look directly at him. "It... it makes me uncomfortable..." I, for one, did subscribe to that ideology. I also found myself attracted to Aenwis in a way I'd never been to anyone else before. I was glad I was wearing pants, right now.

"Is it that you find this form unattractive?" The arched eyebrows formed a frown. "I can go back to being a wolf, if you wish." Aenwis started to lean forward and his body shimmered. That wasn't what I wanted!

"No! No, please. I... I'm sorry. I..." Aenwis stops himself at my words, and gracefully slips into a sitting position instead, legs crossed. That really doesn't help my situation... "You're gorgeous, Aenwis. And... Well... it's kinda sorta giving me a hard-on..." The last was said softly, barely audibly.

He smiled at me, having heard the muttered words perfectly, it seems. "And this is what is making you uncomfortable? Then remove your clothing. You will not be as constricted that way." He said this as if it were the most natural thing. Well, I guess for him it was. He must have sensed my embarrassment. "Ah, you are young, and have not yet learned to control your body. And you are afflicted with blinders... But you find me attractive, as I do you. Is there shame in this?" He seemed to really be trying to get his head around this. He musn't have talked to a human for a while... I kinda felt sorry for him, and then realized that who I should feel sorry for was myself. I gritted my teeth and shuffled for a bit and then I took my shirt off. And then my shoes, and my socks. And my pants. But I just couldn't bring myself to take off my underwear. I busied myself folding my clothes and piling them neatly on a rock, but that took barely any time. I could feel Aenwis' eyes on me, and I flushed. The loose boxers did nothing to hide my affliction.

"If you fear being seen by anyone, rest assured that there is no one for leagues. And I will do nothing to harm you, Matthew." No one around, except Aenwis. And I obviously wanted him. A thrill ran through me. And then a thought occurred to me; was he who I'd been waiting for? Why I wasn't attracted to anyone else?

There was the faintest shifting in the air around me, and the next thing I knew, Aenwis' arms were around me. I couldn't help the moan that escaped me. He was so warm! Some sort of energy flowed through him, and through me. It felt... right. "Aenwis..." He lowered his head and was breathing in my scent. I need you. I moaned again. This was going too fast. Wasn't it? Did I really care? My whole body was alive with lust for the first time. Aenwis' mouth traveled up my neck to my jaw, sending shivers through me. I have waited a long time for you, Matthew. So long... I realized he was trembling. Or was that me? I tilted my head to the side, baring my neck to him, my throat. I've been waiting for you, too... I don't know how I did it, instinct maybe? As soon as my mind touched his, when I 'spoke' those words to him, I was filled with a sense of home. The need for words became redundant after that. Our minds linked together, and I knew him, had always known him, and I loved him. It was the same for Aenwis. There were no lies. And there was no shame...

But there was need.

He lowered me to the ground, and I removed my underwear, throwing it to the side. We touched each other for the longest time, letting our bodies familiarize themselves just as our minds had. My hands, my fingers, caressed his smooth glowing skin, his silken hair. He did the same to me. Aenwis bade me to lay still, and he proceeded to taste every inch of me. He took his time, his mouth traveling slowly over my face, then my torso. When he suckled on my nipples, my back arched and I found myself in the throes of orgasm. He seemed amused by this, but also pleased at my response to his touches. He continued on down my abdomen, licking up my spilled seed. He spent some time around my groin and inner thighs before moving to my balls. These he paid particular attention to, knowing exactly what to do to give me the most pleasure. Indeed, with our mind-link, I couldn't hide anything from him; knowing what we were each feeling, how every little touch affected us, was more than I had ever thought possible. He reacted to my pleasure with pleasure of his own. In this way, he brought on my second orgasm, experiencing it just as much as I did. Moving up once more, his tongue and mouth made short work of the results of my bliss.

We continued in this way for what seemed like both forever and not long enough. I lost count of how many times I came, my whole body now an erogenous zone, but still I was ready for more. Aenwis' mouth continued it's explorations, ending at my groin once again. This time, his soft lips caressed the shaft of my cock, sending shock waves through me. He wrapped them around the head and ran his tongue over the slit, lapping up the precum that seeped from it. My hands cupped the sides of his head gently, thumbs stroking his temples as he took more of me inside his mouth, down his throat. Though I came again several more times, my body was never drained of energy, Aenwis having shown me how to tap into the Earth's to replenish my own. I felt more alive than ever before. After another breathtaking orgasm, my lover lifted himself back up, releasing my cock with one last suck. He lay atop me and we kissed tenderly for a long while.

As one, we switched positions. It was my turn to explore his body. I may have been a bit more hasty than Aenwis, not having the power of restraint he did, but still I tasted every part of him that I could, nuzzling and licking, suckling and mouthing. When he reached orgasm, my mouth would find the splatters of his seed on his soft skin and eagerly lap it up. I tried to copy the path he'd taken, and ended my travels at his own cock. A shudder ran through him, and through me, as I paid homage to it. I drank down his essence each time he came, his ambrosia filling me with more energy, replenishing me.

With our wordless communication, he let me know what he desired, and I complied. I moved back on top of him and his long legs lifted to wrap around my waist, lifting his hips off the ground. I worried for a moment about causing him pain, but he assured me that I would not and that our bodies would provide what was needed. And indeed, as soon as the tip of my cock pushed against his entrance, I had another mild orgasm, the results of which provided enough slickness for me to slide into him without effort. Absently, I wondered how I could still be producing ejaculate after coming so many times. His answer was an amused chuckling thought, and a reassurance that all was fine.

I started to move slowly, sliding easily in and out of Aenwis. He leaned forward a touch and our mouths met once more. It felt like we'd fused into a single being, every sensation coursing through both our bodies simultaneously. I could feel my cock inside him, from his perspective, and it was wonderful! Even though I'd never done anything like this before, it allowed me to find exactly where it felt best, and to give us what we wanted and needed. For now, it was a gentle love-making.

We continued in this way for what seemed like hours, though later Aenwis assured me it had been much, much less. The gentle pace allowed us to explore each other's minds. I could still feel sadness in Aenwis, a longing for something more. I didn't understand it but I tried to give him everything I could, reassuring him that I was here, and I would not leave him, that I needed him. This seemed to reassure him but did not banish the feelings entirely.

The orgasms we shared were no longer enough. Our needs grew, and our bodies responded. Our minds took a backseat to our lust and his legs tightened around me as I began to thrust harder and faster. Oh, the ecstasy! I could feel us building up to something massive and it drove me to further lengths. Our kissing became as hard and passionate as my thrusts and I clung to my lover's body for all I was worth.

I'd thought I had experienced powerful orgasms before; I was wrong. We entered a state of ultimate bliss as the waves of pleasure coursed through both our bodies, linking us in an irrevocable way. I was his, and he was mine, and we were one.

When we came down, I found nirvana. The perfect balance of our minds and bodies after I'd emptied myself inside him for the final time brought about a peace the likes I had never felt before, even during my meditations. We relaxed against each other, not letting go, but no longer moving. I don't even know if I was breathing anymore.

Gradually, we came back to the world. The sounds of birds and insects were heard once more, the tickling of the grass against my skin, the stickiness of Aenwis' semen plastered across our abdomens. Our bodies disengaged slowly, as did our minds save for the barest of contact. I knew I would never be alone again, and it filled me with joy.