Past Loves Ch. 01: Bearah and Hanui

All characters and persons involved in sexual activities in this story are over the age of 18.

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1: Summer camp of the River People. Modern day Southern France: 15,000 BC

Bearah and Hanui

The sun filtered down gently through the thick lush canopy of broad leaves, casting sapphire shadows across the bare arms of Bearah as she strolled casually through the forests. She took a new path through the underbrush, eyes cast downwards in her search for hidden scraps of mushroom, roots or other edible plants. All around her, the sounds of the forests chittered and whistled their way through the afternoon. An occasional squawk or brief flurry of activity signalled the startled presence of some small furry or feathered creature. She ignored them for now, she wasn't hunting right now but gathering.

With the hot, humid days of summer slowly giving way to the earlier nights and chiller mornings of autumn, Bearah had her work cut out gathering enough food to feed not only herself but the rest of her small tribe. Thankfully they had plenty of hands to go around, herself and several of the other younger adults scoured the lands to find edible plants to fill their bellies. While at the same time, others, often older folks would haft spears and string bows for hunts, waiting in patient silence in undergrowth for larger prey.

Someday soon, Bearah herself should be invited to join the hunt too, but she thought that she would probably decline. Her father had been killed three summers back by an ill conceived attempt to take down a mighty stag and she had no desire to follow in his footsteps. She was happy gathering and maybe catching the occasional fish down by the river. A calmer, more serene existence than the endless boredom and occasional exciting moments of the hunt.

Besides, Bearah felt that she wasn't well suited for hunting. At twenty-one summers old, she was slighter than many others in her family, with long slender limbs, tanned a light brown by the time spent in the summer sun. Her hair was just as dark though, and all bunched up like everyone else's in a thick mass of wiry dreadlocks behind her head, held in place by a single length of leather cord. But she had also adorned parts of it with small shells with holes in and the occasional bone bead, which she carved whenever she had a spare moment. She also didn't feel that she had much of a future in motherhood, her hips and breasts being very small in comparison to a lot of the other women of the tribe. But she had a good set of teeth, bright and well kept, hidden behind pretty but not-so-full lips. And she had good eyes, sharp and quick, pale blue and currently lightly highlighted with an ashy fatty mixture with which she adorned them.

As her hands moved through the brush, shifting aside brambles and dense grasses in places, Bearah kept her eyes peeled for something special, for tonight was a special occasion. Not only that morning the hunters had brought down a mighty boar and the elders had decreed that this was a fine opportunity to celebrate the joining of Bearah's sister Omaya to Kay, a young man who she had been 'involved' with for some time.

Bearah smirked as she thought of Omaya and Kay's young entanglement, their attempts at secrecy, hidden glances and disappearances. She remembered being filled with the passions of new coupling. But such things were very hard to keep a secret in a tribe that only numbered around 30 people. For just a moment Bearah felt a touch of sadness wash over her that she herself had not yet found a permanent partner. There had been some come and go, visitors from other tribes and those met at trade meets, she had her fair share of attention from potential partners, being an attractive and still young woman who had as yet avoided breaking any limbs or catching anything unpleasant from the waters. Perhaps, as her mother suggested, she didn't try hard enough, but Bearah herself just thought that she hadn't met anyone yet worth trying for.

Finally Bearah halted in her search, as her eyes fell on just what she had been looking for. A small briar patch in which a fat juicy looking cluster of early fruiting blackberries hung on a stalk, and around them several more, enough for a delicious garnish for tonight's feast. The young gatherer quickly picked the several dozen fruits that she could reach and placed them all carefully into her wicker basket along with the rest of the day's harvest, before quickly orientating herself with the sun and heading back towards the home camp.

By the time Bearah reached home the sun had almost set, and she was quickly welcomed in with her full pouch of gathered food from the forest. They had been settled here for a little under one moon cycle and had come up from the coast to exploit the autumn growing season. For that reason the huts and tents which made up the camp had yet to completely set into the surrounding landscape and she still had to pick her way carefully between half-built huts of wood and leather towards the central food pile.

As she approached, Bearah saw that a group of hunters were standing and kneeling around the food, separating pieces by size and type for preparation in the day's feast. In the centre of the clearing stood a large pile of wood, stacked into what would be the central fire pit, behind which Bearah could hear someone cursing and muttering as they attempted to get the fire going. As she arrived, Bearah was greeted by her cousin Shea and her uncle Grun.

'Bea, good hunting today, from everyone! We've done Omaya proud!' Grun said jovially as he clapped her proudly on the shoulder.

'Yea I got lucky,' Bearah replied, returning his familial affection with a small hug, 'These blackberries are early this year but they're just right, they'll go great with the sweet roots that Omaya found yesterday.'

'For sure my girl, and did you hear? My little Shea here caught his very own hare in a trap, a fine buck with plenty of good meat on the legs!'

Grun released Bearah and clapped his son tightly across the shoulders with every evident feeling of pride. Shea himself blushed and grimaced slightly under his father's affection but shot a sheepish grin at Bearah all the same, holding up the large male hare as he did so.

'Oooo, that's a good catch Shea,' Bearah praised, 'Make sure you keep the best bits for yourself, yeah?' She winked at him and he winked back cheekily.

'That new hunter from the river tribe showed me how to make the trap right,' he mumbled quietly, as he turned to start skinning his catch.

'We've got a new hunter, uncle?' Bearah asked as she looked around for the new face. She hadn't seen anyone that she didn't recognise on her way in.

'Ah yes!' Grun cried out, as he gestured towards the fire pit where a steady stream of smoke was now drifting up into the circle of quickly purpling sky left between the trees.

'This is Hanui, a fine hunter from the river people, she joined us today and helped us fell the mighty boar that will be tonight's feast!'

Out from behind the wood stack came a woman, who was tucking her fire starting implements back into her back pouch as she did so. She was a little shorter than Bearah, around the same age, but clearly much stronger, with defined muscular arms and very well toned legs showing beneath the mid-thigh length bearskin shift she wore around her waist. Her hands looked powerful and calloused as they picked up her spear haft from the ground beside her before she looked up at Bearah.

As their eyes met briefly, Bearah felt a strange moment of excitement, a fluttering in her stomach, the woman had the biggest darkest eyes that she had ever seen, deep and warm, like charcoal. Her face was broad and unmarked, framed by a thick mane of dark hair, as was her smile, which had an adorable wide gap between the two upper front teeth, which she had clearly indirectly widened by running thread through them.

'Hello,' she said, as she reached out her hand to Bearah, a universal sign of friendship. Her voice was light and carefree, but with a deep undercurrent, like cool water beneath a warm stream.

'I'm Hanui, you must be Omaya, congratulations.'

'I...' Bearah stammered for just a moment, why was this woman having such a compelling effect on her? Oh dear.

'No... I...'

'No no Hanui,' uncle Grun butted in, 'this is Bearah, elder sister of the young betrothed, and one of our finest family finders of fungus and fruits, ha ha!'

'Oh I'm sorry,' Hanui grimaced, showing her cute teeth gap again, 'I just assumed... you look so young and happy so i thought...'

At this Bearah blushed harder than before and realised that she was still holding the woman's hand. Quickly, but gently she let it go, allowing her fingertips to linger for the briefest of moments on the rough but still soft surface of Hanui's palm.

'I'm happy to meet you Hanui,' she managed at last, 'you've picked a good day to join us, it's going to be quite a feast later, especially if you've brought us a boar.'

The new hunter smiled and looked over to where some of the others had started processing the carcass.

'Yea she was quite a beauty, it took a while for me to catch up with her, but when i did, she knew that there was no getting away from me.'

At that moment Hanui's eyes fixed directly onto Bearah's and she felt her stomach quiver again as she stared once again into those deep warm depths.

'Mmhum,' Bearah replied, subconsciously biting her lower lip for some reason as she cast her eyes downward towards where Hanui's leather-clad feet sunk into the dry earth, she was definitely blushing now and embarrassed to admit it. At that moment one of the butchers who was working on the boar called out to Hanui, they had found several of her stone microlith spear tips embedded in the beast's neck and wanted to return them to her as a trophy.

'It was nice to meet you,' Hanui said with a wide toothy smile as she turned away from Bearah. 'I'll see you again later at the joining,' and with that she turned away

'I hope so...' Bearah managed to stammer out before she too turned away and headed back to her hut.

For the rest of the day, Bearah was mostly taken up with dealing with Omaya, her sister was giddy with excitement and could barely sit down for a moment as Bearah and her mother attempted to properly clean and dress her for the ceremony. As the sun fully set, Omaya was fully decked out in a beautiful white wolf cloak and various bleached bone adornments in her hair. Her face was painted with red and black patterns and her mother got very emotional as they placed the ornamental deer antler crown on her head.

But although Bearah's hands were always busy, her mind kept drifting back to the somehow enchanting woman that she had met earlier that day. Hanui's smile, her hair and the sun on her strong smooth arms kept flashing through her mind. It was a strange, alluring and quite pleasant distraction, and as Omaya started babbling on about being excited for the dance, Bearah found herself wondering what it would be like to dance with Hanui. What would it be like to be held in those arms? To be spun and flung through the air, like a leaf? To feel the warmth and closeness of the other woman's body as the heat from the fire and the exaltation of the drums drove them both to sweat and gyrate.

Bearah shook herself out of her reverie for a moment, blinking away the fantasy. Both she and her mother spent a little time fixing each other's appearances before the ceremony. Mother was decked out in a cowl of rabbit hide, with long cords of leather hide wrapped around the arms and legs in spiral patterns. Her face was painted in the traditional long dark streaks of charcoal and ochre, making her look almost frightful, a warning to unfaithful or abusive partners. Bearah herself was allowed to wear her favourite fox fur stole, soft and brightly coloured, the dark orange fur setting off the bright blue of her eyes, which were rimmed once again in dark circles of fresh black charcoal. Her cheeks were painted with the flowing whirlpools of blue from crushed bugs, and her hair was let down into a long flowing waterfall of darkness.

Whatever else happened tonight, Bearah felt that she was ready for it.

It was a wonderful ceremony, Omaya was smiling and giggling as June the Shaman bound her hand to the hand of Kay, the man to whom she was now joined. Kay had smiled kindly and a little nervously as the whole tribe had looked on, before being led by Omaya into the new hut which they would now share. Then the feast began.

The central fire pit had been stirred to a roaring blaze and even in the cooling night air, the warmth from it radiated on everyone's skin and reminded Bearah of hot summer days. The roast boar that Hanui had brought down was completely butchered and has been roasting slowly over the fire for the past several hours. By the time it was done everyone's mouths were watering at the delicious smells of cooked meat filling the camp. All of the food gathered that day had been prepared and was laid out on various pelts and wide leaves.

Bearah sat by her mother, and from where she sat, she could see Hanui highlighted in the hot yellow flames a little ways across the circle from her. As she ate, Bearah found her gaze occasionally shifting back to the strong dark eyed hunter as she too ate and spoke with several other members of the tribe. Occasionally she would laugh loudly and with what seemed genuine amusement and Bearah found herself smiling along too at the sound of it, even though she had no idea what the joke had been. Every now and then, Hanui would look up, and catch Bearah looking at her. At this Bearah would feel that same clutch in her midriff, which would only tighten further when the big hunter smiled and even seemed to blink her eyes slowly at her a couple of times.

As the meal wound down, the young couple re-joined the party and as the various pelts and leaves were cleared away, everyone heard the sound of drums starting low but unstoppable on the edge of the clearing. They were slow to begin with, just an occasional thump every couple of heartbeats, and then another of slightly lighter sounds joined, a tighter skin on a smaller trunk. Then another joined and another. As people stood they could not help but start to feel the rhythm of the music starting to pulse through the tribe as the tempo increased.

The dance had begun. People across the clearing began moving inwards towards the fire, feeling its heat on their skins, and the closeness of each other's bodies adding to it. Feet stepped and stamped, arms began to raise and hair was tossed energetically. And then, as if responding to something beyond themselves, the drummers paused for just a second, before diving back in, hitting a stride and a rhythm which forced all who heard it to dance.

The music was intoxicating, Bearah found herself lost in the sound of it just like everyone else, her hips moved and swayed and as the heat rose, she discarded the fox fur stole around her shoulders, leaving them bare and glistening in the heat of the fire. Her legs were free and slender, flowing like snakes and her head tossed from side to side as sweat started to glisten on her skin. She felt part of herself slipping away, the part that was shy and embarrassed. The part that did not say what it felt and hid away inside herself.

Across the fire she glanced and saw those dark warm eyes looking upon her once again and felt that thrill once more, Hanui stood still and quiet on the edge of the firelight watching the tribe move around her but her eyes were fixed now firmly on Bearah and rather than shying away or casting her eyes downwards, she felt herself matching those eyes, the two women lost in an endless gaze of swirling smoke and licking flames. Just as Bearah spun for a moment and looked away she lost sight of Hanui, the darkness of the forest only filling where she had been standing. Had she imagined that gaze? Was it merely a desire played out in the imagination?

She was so lost in the dance that she was not sure what had happened when she felt a strong rough hand take her by the waist and curl her around like a stone in a sling. For a moment all was still as Bearah stared once more into the endless warm depths of Hanui's eyes as the other woman held her loosely but firmly by the hip, her body also swaying gently to the music. Bearah could see the sweat beading on her forehead and the small cocky smile working its way across her full sumptuous lips.

'Hello sweet thing,' Hanui breathed softly as the two of them continued to flow around the fire, their bodies barely touching.

'I have seen you watching me, I know what you feel because I feel it too. I feel the fire on my skin and the force of those wide blue eyes. There is a desire there I think?'

'Yes...' Bearah breathed softly, drawing away for just a moment and swirling around her hunter, touching her lightly on the shoulders and hips as she went. She was no longer afraid, she could say what she felt.

'Yes Hanui, I want you, I want your hands on my body, I want your lips on my skin, I want to stare into your eyes and get lost there.'

The two of them were now locked in a dancing embrace, Hanui's hands placed solidly on Bearah's hips while Bearah's smaller, more subtle arms ran up the small of Hanui's back. Their breasts were pressed tightly together and even through the fur clothing Bearah could feel their firm weight pressed against her own petite frame. She could feel Hanui's breath, warm and shallow on her face and neck as the two of them rotated around the fire to the rhythm. She could feel the strength in Hanui's arms roll and dip her to the beat of the music, she let herself be tossed like a leaf on the wind and gasped softly with each move.

She didn't know how long they danced around the fire. It could have been mere moments or half a night, or all of it. All that Bearah knew was that one moment she was twisting in hot sweaty gyrations with this entrancing new woman and the next she was being led by the hand away into the dark beyond the circle of the fire. But she was not afraid, she could feel Hanui's rough but soft palm against her own and she giggled softly as she was led carefully but quickly into the privacy of a small hide tent on the edge of the camp.

There, the two of them collapsed down onto the piled furs which lined the floor and finally, at long last Bearah felt Hanui's soft full lips meet her own in a long, yearning, passionate kiss. Their mouths locked together as they embraced fitfully on the bed of furs, rolling softly back and forth as if to the still beating rhythm of the distant drums. Bearah felt Hanui's strong fingers work their way up the back of her head, embedding themselves in the thick tousled tangles of her hair. At the same time, she worked her own hands downwards, seeking and grasping at the plump roundness of Hanui's backside. She heard Hanui let out a small moan and felt her back arch into her as Bearah squeezed and gently pinched the ample flesh she found there, struggling with the leather knot which held the Hunter's clothes in place.

She was lost in the moment, totally at peace with the ecstasy of the feeling of the other woman's hands on her skin, the feeling of her lips and then teeth softly kissing and then nibbling playfully at her neck. She let out her own small moan of pleasure as Hanui's teeth bit down a little harder, making her quiver with anticipation. Bearah finally found the secret to the knot which held Hanui's fur clothes in place and with a few twists and pulls the rough garment fell away.

There was just enough light coming in from the distant fire for Bearah to see Hanui's glorious body by. She took in the wide powerful shoulders, with the firm muscular arms. The browned glistening flesh of her breasts, larger than her own, both round and wide with their hardened tips of sensitive nipples. Bearah lowered her head as she gazed upon them, unable to resist suckling and nibbling lightly on the tender harness of Hanui's exposed nipples. She felt her lover twitch and moan appreciatively as she did so and felt Hanui's hand on the back of her head flex and pull lightly on her hair.