Rustle 2

"I look forward to running into you again," he said, climbing onto the wagon, releasing the brake, and urging the mule to move them on their way.

"Parchment and inks," she called out as he rode away.

He waved his hand in acknowledgement.

The pile of goods to be transported to the cave was more than could be handled in one trip. Russell transformed to his gorilla-form and stashed half of the tools in the trees above. The rest, Mara put into the bag or held onto as they traveled. Once he had dropped her off, he headed back to grab the rest of the gear they had acquired.

She had lunch waiting for him by the time he returned. They talked as they ate. Mara was inclined to prepare some things for the trader for the coming week. She needed a worktable or desk to complete those tasks.

In ape form, Russell managed to use a saw to cut a log into three of the lengths she wanted for the table and then he got the pieces turned into rough planks. Between the skills she had gotten from her father and the gorilla's strength, they were able to get the work-table built - along with a stool for her to sit on. They also crafted some wooden shelves for her to store her components on.

After dinner, they traveled to the trader's camp, finding it without too much trouble after following the merchant's instructions. Russell hid in the trees and prayed his help would not be required.

Fortunately, the off-duty guard who was working at the site was one of the two that Mara had spoken to earlier in the day. With his assistance, Mara found a trader with ink and parchment who traded them to her for half of her silvers. As she left, she handed a silver to the guard, thanking him for his help. His eyes widened a little but he took the coin and thanked her.

Under cover of the forest once more, Russell and Mara made their way through the trees, back to their home. As Mara worked to prepare their dinner, Russell changed into a porcupine and shed a handful of quills for Mara to use for writing.

Mara lit the lantern she'd saved from her home, sat at her new work-table, and made her first spell scroll - a scroll of minor healing. The young witch smiled each time she looked at the quills Rustle had given her. She loved how they felt in her fingers. To her, the scrolls were the result of both of their skills and abilities.

Russell used Mara's blade to cut his arm and then she used the newly-crafted scroll on him. It worked perfectly. She was so excited that she leapt into his arms and began kissing the life out of him.

He pinched the lamp wick (to put it out) while being savaged by his lover, and then carried her to the bed and began pulling their clothes off. When he finally had the two of them naked, he threw her onto the bed and shoved his face between her thighs. She screamed at him, pulled his hair and ears, but he mauled her sex with this face until she came hard and lay back gasping for air.

At that point, he picked her up, took her place, and pulled her on top of him. He gripped his cock, lined her up with it, and slid her into place. By then, she was back to herself and she began riding his stiff prick, telling him how much she loved him and hated him at the same time. He laughed and took his time nibbling and sucking her breasts as she fucked him.

When he knew she was close, he grabbed her ass in his hands and slammed her onto his cock - over and over again - heedless of her screaming through her orgasm - until his balls clenched and he emptied them inside of her.

She bit and kissed his face again and again, repeating her words of love and malice. He held her close and told her how much he loved her tight cunt and wondered, aloud, if her throat would be tighter. She bit his jaw again and then snuggled against his neck and fell asleep.

~~~ Upgrades ~~~

Mara showed Russell how to use the carpenter's plane and soon he had the work-table turned into a much nicer surface for his redheaded witch to use for her craft.

Russell built a table, for them to eat at, and two chairs. He added more shelves - of various sizes - and built wooden racks for drying and storing the animal skins they had collected.

She decided that she needed to ask for an axe, a shovel, and a pickaxe for Russell - in addition to more supplies for her to use to make her spell scrolls and other trading goods. The otter-man suggested that a stew-pot, a tea-kettle, and an iron grill would greatly improve their ability to prepare meals. She quickly added plates and spoons to the list - as well as some small pottery jars for her to use to store her spell and ritual components.

By the time they arrived at the trader's camp, Mara had a couple bags of items to trade - and a large list of items she was seeking. Russell was once again in his ferret form. He clung to her neck as the trader introduced more and more of his associates to her. By the time they sat down to eat, two other traders had joined them and Mara had almost all of the items on her wish-list packed into bags for the trip home.

Mara ate some stew with the men. They watched closely as she shared her bites with her ever-watchful companion. It did not miss their notice that his head had been 'on a swivel' the whole time the two of them had been in the camp.

As she bid them goodnight, the ferret wrapped itself around her neck and laid its tail over the mouth of the drawstring bag around her neck that held the coins she had acquired - in addition to the bags of goods that she was leaving with. She put the axe, pickaxe, and shovel onto her shoulder and grabbed the bags.

"You need help?" the trader asked, "or is your mate waiting in the trees, watching again?"

"He's always near," she told him. "Once I get this stuff into the woods, he can help me with it. Thanks again for your help."

"Glad we could manage to fill your list. I have a feeling you'll have several eager friends waiting if you stop to visit next week."

She gave them a nod and began trudging up the hillside, through the brush, into the trees.

Behind her, she heard one of the apprentices ask if it was safe for her to head into the forest as dusk was giving way to full dark. The trader's response was that she had resources that weren't readily apparent and that it was best to always take her at her word - if she said she was good, then she was good.

Mara kept watch as Rustle transformed, petting his back and stroking her fingers along his forehead. She was almost excited to see the massive gorilla again when he awoke and looked at her. She knew - if anyone looked into the trees - and saw her kissing the enormous monster - they would think her insane. That thought made her giggle into Rustle's mouth and ruined the kiss. He picked her up and tossed her into the air, catching her as she plummeted back to the ground - or so it felt like to her. She punched him again and again as he kissed her with that ugly face of his. When he nuzzled her neck she giggled and whispered for him to hurry and get her home.

They got everything transferred in one trip but they traveled slower than normal because of the long-handled tools that Mara was trying to hang onto as they went. She heard Rustle's stomach growl as he moved through the woods on the other side of the bluff where they'd first met. She caressed his shoulders and told him she'd fix him a larger breakfast to make up for his abbreviated dinner.

As soon as the bags and tools had been dumped onto the floor of the cave, he pressed Mara's body against the cold wall and began lifting her dress. Her eyes shot open and she yelled, "Change first, Rustle!" He looked down and realized he was still in his ape-body. He gave her a peck on the lips and set her back on the ground.

Once he had returned to his human form, she pulled him to his feet, pulled her skirt up, wrapped herself around his body, and told him to start over. He pressed her to the wall - holding her by her ass - and kissed her as she reached down, lined his stiff rod up with her entrance - and ordered him to fuck her hard.

He grunted and groaned as he mashed her against the frigid stone wall and pounded his cock into her. She raked her fingernails down his back and bit his collarbone and jaw as she moaned in ecstasy at how powerfully he was taking her.

She screamed his name when she came and - when he didn't fill her - she began kissing him and pleading with him to give her his seed. She had finally made herself an amulet against getting pregnant and she dared him to nullify her witch's talisman and knock her up with an entire litter of his pups.

Her wanton words and sexy sounds brought him over the edge and he roared as he slammed her onto his cock one last time and began blasting his gooey jizz inside of her. As the heat of his ejaculation splashed against the outer defenses of her womb, she came again - wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him as all the remaining energy was sapped from her body.

Russell carried her to the bed, lay back with her on top of him, and pulled the cover over them. He was asleep almost before she regained consciousness.

~~~ Caught ~~~

The cave was becoming more and more like a home and workshop. Russell used the pickaxe and prepared enough rough-cut stone to actually build a decent-sized cooking area. Once the rugged furnace had been fired up, the hearth held the heat better and the fuel burned more efficiently. Overall, that made the living space warmer and cozier.

The new kitchen was farther back in the cave as well - which helped prevent a large amount of the heat from escaping out through the falls. Once Russell built a crude plank door, the space held the heat even better. The only problem with that was that they lost the light that came through the cascading waters. During the day, they left the door off. At night, it gave them a little more peace of mind that no person or animal would just come traipsing into their home.

Russell had contemplated digging into the wall of the bluff where he and Mara had first met - to give them a shelter that was closer to the trader's camp - but the redhead was against the idea. For one thing, she didn't like that it was just earth - and not stone. For another, she thought it was too accessible to unwanted guests. Russell asked about a treehouse instead. While she wasn't overly enthusiastic about the idea, she liked that notion much better. Her only suggestion was that whatever he built needed to blend in with the tree so that it wasn't obviously man-made. He agreed with her assessment and said he'd try to come up with a workable solution.

When they arrived at the trader's camp that week, the friendly guard was on duty again. He pulled Mara to the side and warned her that some of the people who had gone after her initially were trying to stir up the city officials to hunt her down. He told her that the city leaders had been extremely happy about the brigand activity being reduced in the area and they were ignoring the people's requests. He told her that he thought that the mob's current plan was to hire sell-swords or out-of-luck adventurers to go after her. She asked him if she was allowed to defend herself if she was attacked and he assured her that she was.

After that discussion, Mara quickly made her usual trades, bought some food stores to bolster the game they'd brought in with their hunting - along with a few more pots and pans - and then they headed for home.

When they got to the trees, Russell told Mara to keep walking towards the bluff. Meanwhile, he ducked into a shadow at the roots of a large tree and waited. The two of them kept each other up-to-date through their telepathic link. He had just informed her that he'd decided he was jumping at shadows when two men moved past the location where he was hiding.

He quickly scurried up the tree he'd been hiding beside and made a circuit near the top to determine whether or not there were any other teams tracking them. Once he was satisfied that there were only two men following them, he alerted Mara to what was going on.

At that point, she was at the bluff. He encouraged her to cross the first stream and continue on through the woods. He climbed down the tree and took off after the hunters. He followed them, watching for a chance to separate them - but they were talking constantly and watching one another closely.

They had almost reached the bluff when one stumbled over a tree root. Russell decided to try to take advantage of the moment. He leapt onto the man's back, climbed his shirt, and used his teeth to tear a gash in his jugular vein.

When the man cried out, the other man swung his hand and knocked Russell into the air. By chance, he collided with a tree trunk and was temporarily dazed. When he came back around, the second man had him by the scruff of the neck.

<"I'm caught,"> he confessed to Mara.

<"How?">

<"He's holding me by the nape of my neck.">

<"Is he looking at you?">

<"Yes.">

<"Can your hands touch his sleeve?">

<"Barely - not enough to grab on.">

<"Point your paws at his face. I'm going to try something.">

<"There is fire sitting in my right paw - just a tiny flame!">

<"Throw it at his face.">

He tried - but the man dodged it.

<"He ducked out of the way!">

<"Throw the next one at his chest. I'll keep sending them to you - just keep throwing them at him until you're free. If he drops you, run for the stream.">

On the third throw, enough of a flame hit the man's shirt and caught that he threw Russell to the ground. Russell wanted to attack but Mara had told him to run - so he did. He heard the man chasing him and turned just in time to see an arrow appear in his chest.

The man looked down at his chest to see where the pain was coming from. How the fuck had that ferret shot him with an arrow?! As he collapsed to his knees, the redheaded witch stepped out of the shadows on the other side of the stream and glared at him.

Russell jumped down the ridge and into Mara's arms and nuzzled against her neck.

"I love you, too, sweet man," she told him. "Change to your ape-form. We'll hide in the trees until you're awake and then we'll strip the bodies and find someplace to hide them where they won't be found."

When Russell woke up as the low-land gorilla, Mara was already dragging the first dead man over to join the second one. He shook his head at her impatience.

Once she had the two of them looted and stripped, they carried them to the thieves' hidey-hole and left them for the constables to find. He had convinced her that these two should be found. Before he left, however, he had used a large tree branch to beat the two bodies until every bone was broken and there was little left but mangled meat. The only part he didn't destroy was their faces. He wanted them to be identifiable - but he wanted whoever found them to report the severity of their injuries - to try to dissuade future parties from accepting the bounty being offered by whoever it was that wanted his lover hurt. The upside of the deal was the Russell finally ended up with a pair of boots that fit his feet.

<"How was I able to cast fire?"> he asked her as he traveled.

<"You're my familiar. I can send spells through you. We have to be fairly close to each other, but I was just across the stream.">

<"So, if we found somebody that was trapped, I could crawl in and you could send healing spells through me to the person?">

<"Yes.">

<"That's pretty amazing.">

<"We've never had a reason to try it before now.">

<"I'll try to make sure we don't have a reason for me to use the fire-spell like that again. I should have stayed in ape form.">

<"The traders love my little ferret,"> she snickered.

<"We'll find a real ferret and train it,"> he told her.

Mara climbed onto his back, gathered her bags around her and they headed for home. Once they arrived, Russell set the door in place and transformed.

When he was human again, she shoved him onto the bed and sucked his manhood into her mouth. He gasped for air. His hands went to her fiery hair and he held on for dear life as she licked and sucked.

"Gods! What are you doing?"

<"Tasting you, husband.">

"Fuck! It hurts so good!" he exclaimed.

She didn't let up until he had cum and she had swallowed all of it down. He tried to reciprocate but she just snuggled into his arms and pulled the covers over. He was asleep in moments.

Mara stared at the face of her beast-man. Tonight was the closest she had come to losing him and she didn't know what she'd do if that happened. He always worried about her - trying to keep her safe - but she had never felt so powerless than when she stepped from behind the trees and saw the hunter holding him in the air, preparing to draw his blade and end his life.

She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

~~~ Cottage ~~~

The next morning, Russell transformed into eagle form and took off. Mara cast Shared Sight and "rode along". He first went to see if the bodies had been discovered. They were still there. If anyone had found the corpses, they had not moved them. Their next priority was to find a different way to enter and leave the trader's camp.

From the south and west, the forest was the only way in. Although they hadn't had any problems up to that point, the fact that it was so close to the city - and familiar to those who seemed to be after Mara - made it less and less optimal.

To the north was the city - with the gate some ways to the west of the camp. To the east - across the road - was a marsh. For now, at least, that didn't seem like a good approach. It might be a good spot for a hidey-hole - since Russell (in his ape form) could climb through the trees carrying Mara and not worry about the water below. It would make it hard for others to get to them without a good deal of difficulty. Mara didn't think they should build even a temporary residence there though.

That left the southeast - which was the road to the city. Mara suggested having Russell transform into a horse or mule. He flew down the road, looking for where they might store such a beast if they acquired one instead. Mara had made enough money from her trading that they could probably buy a horse and a wagon, if they wanted - but they would need a place to keep them.

A couple miles down the road, he found a farmstead. There was a grassy path that led from the west side of the road to a small cottage halfway up a slight hill. Whoever lived there had a shed with a wagon inside and a paddock that held an old mare. Russell flew up above the cottage and looked back towards the falls. Mara grabbed a shoulder-bag and packed him some clothes - with some food for them both - along with some trading goods. She tied a small bag of coins around her neck and set off. Russell landed in a tree, found a comfortable spot, and began transforming.

Mara was still several minutes away when Russell regained consciousness.

"What are you doing, up in that tree, young man?" a female voice called out.

Russell looked down and saw an older woman - who seemed to be gathering wildflowers - staring up at him. He wasn't sure how to explain how he'd gotten there - or why he was naked. He looked away nervously.

"What happened to your clothes?" she asked

<"Are you close?"> he asked Mara.

The woman glanced across the meadow, nodded her head in that direction, and asked, "Is she with you?"

Russell ducked his head so he could see what she was looking at and - seeing Mara - said, "Yes."

"Well, then, get yourself down and we'll go to the house and have some tea," she told him.

She turned towards the house and began walking that way, leaning on a staff that was somewhat taller than her.