Rustle 1

"Maybe I could let you have just another five minutes," she whispered, laughing.

He laughed, groped her breasts in his fists, and kissed her hard once more.

"You get dressed and I'll change. Are we carrying food with us, skipping dinner, or stealing something from town?" he asked.

"Not sure yet," she said. "My tummy's all queasy."

"You're probably pregnant," he told her, laughing.

"I need to get a talisman made," she told him. "I'm not ready to be a mother yet."

"No?" he asked, sitting on the cave floor.

"No," she replied. "I want you all to myself for a bit longer before we have a child to steal your attention."

"I'm more worried that the child will have yours," he countered.

"That too," she said, smiling at him and tousling his hair. "Get changed."

"Yes, mistress," he replied, rolling onto his side.

He settled the low-land gorilla in his mind and began to transform. Either the change was getting easier - or he was just getting more used to his stomach roiling as it did when he began to change shape.

~~~ Plans ~~~

Russell opened his eyes to find Mara sitting beside him, rubbing his forehead and fluffing her fingers through his scalp.

<"Not so scary now?"> he asked.

<"You are still fearsome,"> she replied. <"Knowing it's you makes it a bit easier.">

She leaned forward and kissed his powerful maw, shuddering at the terrifying smile he gave her.

<"I'm so glad you found me, my beast,"> she told him.

<"I'm thankful you want me near you, beautiful,"> he replied.

<"Always,"> she assured him.

He rolled onto his four hands.

<"See if you can sit on my back like a mount,"> he told her.

She tentatively sidled up beside his hip and tried to climb onto his back. She had to pull up the bottom of her dress to spread her legs wide enough to fit onto his massive hips. She ended up almost sitting on his ass. It was surprisingly comfortable. She could have ridden side-saddle and kept her skirt down but his powerful body felt amazing between her thighs. He began walking around the cave and she quickly learned how she'd need to adjust as he walked.

<"Ready?"> he asked.

<"Yes,"> she replied. <"We need to make sure to grab a pack or something to carry things in.">

<"Agreed. Lean forward and wrap your arms around my shoulders or neck. I'll need to climb a bit.">

Lying flat on his back, the two of them barely fit out of the mouth of the cave. Moving from the ledge to the ground unseated her, but he caught her easily and held her to his chest with his left arm as he crossed the stream. On the shore, he returned to all-fours and she took her seat once more.

As they traveled through the forest, he had to focus on not standing up - and not climbing obstacles too quickly - but they soon worked out a rhythm that worked well for both of them.

<"This trip is much easier this time,"> she said, laughing.

<"You weigh nothing,"> he replied. <"This is almost effortless. We could range for miles like this.">

Russell froze as he caught a mass of movement in his peripheral vision to the right.

<"Quiet,"> he ordered Mara.

He stopped next to the large tree that was near and held still. A family of deer sprinted past them, only registering the couple's presence after they had passed them. The slight scare increased the group's already furious flight.

"Leave them!" someone yelled. "Marcus says there's a wagon coming. You can hunt later. If we're not there to help with the attack, he'll skin us both."

Soundlessly - or at least much quieter than the two men he was tracking - Russell followed after them. They disappeared over a ridge and Russell reached behind him to grab Mara, hug her to himself, and climb a medium-sized tree to see what was going on.

Just below the ridge, hidden behind a stand of saplings and bushes, a handful of men stood with bows and swords.

"Just like usual," the biggest man said to the others, "Vic and I will leap out. The archers will shoot one of the guards so they know we've got the area covered. It doesn't have to be a kill-shot. Stay out of sight. Kill any resistors. We'll take what we want, regroup here, and head farther into the woods until things quiet down enough for us to strike again. Everybody clear?"

Russell looked to the right - south and a little east if he remembered correctly - and saw a pair of wagons approaching in the distance. Each wagon had a guard but it was easy to see that the thieves would have a pretty easy time of it.

He looked around, spotted a good place to tuck Mara, and set her on a wide branch. Her eyes widened, when she realized what he was doing, and she shook her head. He ignored her and quickly climbed back to the ground. He looked back up. Mara was furious - but at least he knew she'd be safe.

He galloped down over the ridge before any of the men had begun to move. Two of the archers had broken necks before anybody even knew he was there. He grabbed the head of the last archer in his fist and twisted, hearing the neck snap. He let go of the man's head and he dropped like a stone. Russell turned to face the three with swords.

"What the fuck is that?!" one gasped.

"Who knows," yelled the leader, "just kill it."

The man charged Russell. The ape's hand shot forward, and he grabbed the man's hand, wrist, and sword pommel in his left fist. He swung the right fist at the man's face, and he nearly knocked his head clear off of his shoulders.

"Fuck!" the other man yelled, turning to run.

"Stand and fight!" the leader ordered.

"Fuck you!" he screamed, running away.

Russell picked up the dead man and threw him at the leader - and then took off after the runner. The leader dodged the corpse and swiped his sword at Russell. The ape-man caught the man's movement in his peripheral vision and reached out with his right rear leg and closed it around the man's throat and face.

If Russell had bothered to look back, he would have seen the man's eyes shoot open wide - just before they disappeared inside of the palm of his foot - which was more like a giant's hand. The man's corpse banged into the ground a half-dozen times before Russell let him go so that he could get to the fleeing man faster.

When he stopped hearing footsteps, the idiot looked behind him - and discovered that his pursuer was airborne. The brigand was still facing the wrong direction when his spine snapped in half at the neck as the ape landed on top of him. Russell picked up the body, backtracked to grab the sword that the man had dropped, and carried the corpse over to the hidey-hole with the others. He went back for the swords after he got the bodies moved.

He had just reached Mara, perched on the large branch, when the wagons passed the point where they would have been ambushed. Russell held his finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet. She quietly punched him in the face. He snorted at her and gave her a frown. When she shuddered in fear, he wiped the aggressive look from his countenance.

<"I could have died!"> she told him.

<"You were safe here,"> he replied.

<"I could have fallen.">

<"Only if you moved.">

<"How would I get down if something happened to you?">

<"Seriously?"> he asked her. <"Did you not just watch me butcher six men without breaking a sweat?">

She huffed at him.

He shrugged and started climbing back down the tree.

<"What are you doing?!">

<"Giving you some time to think,"> he told her.

<"Please! Get me down, Rustle,"> she begged. <"I'll hush.">

<"You don't have to hush,"> he said, climbing back up to retrieve her. <"I just couldn't stand the idea of you getting hurt and I wanted to stop them before they attacked. We don't want anyone to see me.">

<"I know,"> she said, grumpily, <"but you could have warned me.">

He didn't answer. She was already mostly over it. She would probably be completely over it by the time they got done sorting through the loot from the six dead men.

In the end, they had enough stuff to carry home that they decided to trek back to the hide-out to drop everything off before they made their trip to town. They left the six naked corpses in the place where they'd waited to ambush the wagons.

~~~ End of Chapter 1 ~~~

(This story has 3 chapters.)