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Subject: {ASSM} Lay Lines 1/4 Summer Solstice 2007 (Man and Muse, MF(wolfess-anthrowolfess-humanF), rom, summer-solstice, sex, nobest) TBD
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Date: Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:10:07 -0400
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Lay Lines - Working Post/Spotlight
---

I needa break.

I'm gonna tell you *why* I need that break.

If you've been paying attention, you already know I've put out a call
for a loosely organized festival about celebrating the summer.  I
called it, sorta traditionally, 'Summer Solstice 2007'.

So I have this idea for my own story.  'How about a little ley line
sex'?  Nothing fancy.  Just some normal het slammy-bammy-oh-AH! stuff
hidden inside some sort of hokey druidic wanna be ritual.

Hell, I thought to myself.  I might be able to push a Man and Muse
story past the 2k word mark with this one.

Ecstasy!

Uh huh.

Right.

So I start....

I do this real nice, *intense* 'she's angry with him they sort it and
make up' scene.

OK.  The stage is set. Everyone knows what's inevitable.

And I'm at about 1350 words.  Short.  Terse.  Just the way I like it.

They find the ley line.  All they have to do is wait until near
solstice, go back, do their ritual things, orgasm, maybe fall asleep
for a bit, then go home.

No problemo.  Might stretch a bit, hit 2500 words but that's ok.

Then...  Well, there's a complication.  Esu makes an offhand comment.
Right!

Story trundles on.

Waitaminit!   I can't be at 3k words with no sex scene in sight.

It's true.

More scrambling.

A sigh of relief...  What?  One of MY sex scenes taking 1600 words?!
Well....  OK.  It was a ritual.

But.

And this is a big one.  I've written the sex scene and the afterglow
scene that was supposed to end the planned story.

The story has mutated.  That scene is now nothing more than part of
the background to a larger story.

sigh...  Snicker all you want to folks.  It's not that I'm angry about
this.  It's GOOD to feel things flowing this way.

It's just...

Well, I'm at 5700 words and moving along nicely.  Of 36 posted Man and
Muse stories, only 12 have been longer than 1000 words.  The largest,
at 3200 words or so INCLUDED another story, so effectively the largest
Man and Muse has been about 2300 words.

Want another perspective?  In six years the 'official' total word
count for Man and Muse is around 31,000 words.  I have more in one
unfinished story than I've written in some years.

Get my drift?  I've already written almost two and a half times as
many words as the largest story written in six years of writing these
things and it's not even near finished.

OK.

I'll take a deep breath.

I'll relax...

I've posted over 300 works and this one isn't anything like what I've
written before.

I have to admit though...

I think it's one of my best.  Not my smoothest, it was never intended
to be smooth.  I just think it's one of the best stories I've written.

And you folks will be the first to see it.

Thanks for listening to my vent.

And remember...

You've been warned!
---

MF(wolfess-anthrowolfess-humanF) rom summer-solstice magic sex nobest

note: Mahika appears as a wolfess, then an anthrowolfess, at the
beginning of the story.  There is no bestiality in this story, just a
brief mention that it happens.  Also, as part of the story, Mahika
briefly shifts to her wolf form, then to her furry form, then back to
being human.  Again, the situation is not sexual in nature.
-----

Summer Solstice Festival 2007
Lay Lines - A Man and Muse Story
----

"You stupid, secretive, concealing..."

Nonplussed, I stared at the furious wolfess as she continued.

"Self-serving, ignorant, idiotic..."  Mahika never stopped glaring at
me while she took a deep breath and continued to vent her fury... "You
NEVER told *ME* you..."  

She spluttered to a stop.

"Told you what?"

"That you're a dowser, you...   you...   MALE!"

Egad.

"I forgot about it.  Haven't thought about it in years."

"Forgot?!"  Her voice deepened, and changed to a snarl that rumbled
through my bones before she visibly got herself under control.  "He
forgot."  She sighed, stalked over and glared at me some more before
giving me one of the best sneezes of disgust I've ever been given.
"Outside.  Porch.  Now.  It's past time you *unforgot* and learned
some facts of life."

* * *

We settled, sorta.  I was settled, slightly turned and resting against
one arm of the folded hide-a-bed.  Mahika, uncharacteristically, had
changed to her anthro form, grabbed a chair from the kitchen, faced
the back of said chair in my direction and settled facing me.  I
suspected, but wasn't about to ask, that she had chosen her
anthrowolfess form because she knew she could more effectively glare
at me with it.

Whatever.  I'd known I was in deep, deep trouble as soon as she'd
sneezed at me.  I hadn't angered her that much since...  Never mind.
Later.  We'd sorted that out years ago.  This was now.

"I'm glad you enjoyed your vacation."

I was cautious.  "Thanks, love."

Her sneeze in return was milder, but still more emphatic than I wanted
to hear.

"You looked pretty confident at Stonehenge and Woodhenge.  Not many
folks have the confidence to improvise the way you did.  Shocked me. I
wasn't expecting you to do that.  Bad enough that you took what the
guide said for granted.  I expected you to be quite a skeptic, even
after he used his rods."  I watched her shudder as she fought down her
obvious anger.  "You.  Never. Mentioned."  Her anger took over and she
stopped speaking to glare at me.

I stared, thinking furiously.  Something here wasn't making sense.  "I
haven't dowsed in...  Hell, Mahika, I don't know how long it's been.
Twenty to thirty years maybe?  I don't know.  Last time was at the
house, to find a water line, if I'm remembering correctly.  I suppose
I could have done some quick dowsing a few times since, just to show
someone I could do it, but it seems unlikely.  I know too well that
most folks think it's nonsense.  Even for me, it was just another tool
I seldom used unless I had to.  I usually never remembered I could do
it.  If I had, there were a few times dowsing would have made my work
a *lot* easier."

She sighed and turned inward.  "A tool.  He thought it was a tool."
She refocused on me and I could *feel* the banked anger.  Better, but
still not good.  "Right?  A tool?  Nothing special?  You never
realized you could do anything else with the ability?"

I thought about it.  "No...  All I ever thought I could do was dowse
water, or things related to water, such as water pipes.  First time I
ever tried was to dowse for a water pipe, as sort of a 'what the hell,
see what happens' thing.  Took a long time for me to accept it was
something I could do reliably.  Started with bent coat hangers,
eventually experimented and found out I could pretty much use anything
as a focus."

I stopped, stunned into silence as I remembered something.  "Oh, shit.
Why didn't I ever put it all together back then?..."  I trailed off,
lost in memories of one of the strangest experiences I'd ever had.

Then, after I'd seen some of the implications of that event, I
confronted Mahika with some questions of my own.  "You've kept an eye
on me since about the sixth grade, right?"

She nodded.  "You've known that a long time."

"Right."  I wasn't going to make an issue of my sometimes spotty
memory.  "And you've known about the beam through the bedroom
incidents for years, right?  I've spoken of them several times since
we became partners."

"Your point?"

"Not sure I have one. Just questions.  'How did you manage to miss all
those dowsing incidents when I was in my teens?' And 'Since it's now
obvious there's a link between being able to feel things like those
'beams' and being able to dowse'..."  I watched as she stiffened
slightly.  "How come you never made the connection and asked me if I
could dowse?"  I held up a hand to stop her in case she was going to
reply immediately.  "I'm curious is all, not accusing you of being as
blind to the obvious as I am."

Her lips twitched slightly in acknowledgement of the oblique hit.

"You're quirky enough as it is.  I know of the link but it never
occurred to me that you wouldn't also know it, and knowing it, mention
dowsing to me.  No mention equaled no ability."  She shrugged.  "I've
never met anyone who was capable of *forgetting* they could dowse."

I gaped, trying avoid the implications of her statement.  Then I shook
my head and gave her a 'go on' gesture.

"Missing the times you dowsed was easy.  I checked on you rarely,
usually when you were doing something that generated a 'call' that any
Muse could hear and track.  I would check briefly, sometimes longer,
maintaining my watch until I was certain no other Muse had tried to
claim you, or if one *had* tried to claim you..."  She grinned.  "I
'discouraged' them from taking further interest in you.  They seldom
tried twice."

I winced.  I'd met the Greek Muses with Mahika at my side.  That
meeting had been 'prickly', to say the least about the tension between
them and Mahika.   If I'd ever doubted that Mahika was far older than
they, far more experienced...  That meeting would have removed those
doubts.

"And that's enough wandering around the subject."  She smiled at me
and that smile made me very, very cautious.  "I think I'm as angry
with myself as I was with you.  That doesn't mean I've forgiven you
for shocking me as thoroughly as you did."

Suddenly she grinned and it was the kind of grin, coming from her,
that made me visibly wince.  She laughed.  Deeply.  It was an *evil*
laugh, filled with promises of retribution.

Her eyes narrowed.  She grinned at me...  "I've *never* met a mortal
who could so take a personal miracle for granted that he could
*forget* about being able to do it."

"Ouch."  I acknowledged the hit.  I wasn't going to let her get away
without a counter attack though.  "I believe you mentioned 'quirky'.
You telling me you don't factor that in when thinking about what I'm
capable of?"

She sneezed.  This time it was her 'I'm fond of you but don't push it'
sneeze.  Then she studied me while I studied her.  We both knew she
had more to discuss with me, but I was now content to let her get
there without my getting in the way.  I relaxed.  This wasn't going to
be like that other time.

She must have spotted the change in my attitude because she got up
from the chair and came over to snuggle with me.  "You're not bad for
a hack."

"Mmm." I was busy using my hands to relearn her body.

"And you're going to be very busy for the next few weeks if you want
to satisfy me."

"Mmm!"

"Finding a ley line."

"Mm...   HUH?"

My hand had reached her vulva and I was busily teasing her fluids out
to lubricate my fingers.  I was thinking sex, and soon.  She was
thinking...  What?

She reached and gently pushed my frozen hand.  "Don't stop, love."

"Oh.  Right."

"Goof.  If I'd known you were a dowser I would have made you find a
ley line years ago.  Oohhh..."   I'd brushed her clit lightly.

"So?"  I paused and thought about it.  "Why?"

She reached down and teased my balls.  "Idiot.  When you stop thinking
with this, you might figure things out.  I'm not complaining.  Just
observing a fact of life.  Ley lines are, for lack of any better
description, lines of energy.  Energy that can be directed, if one
knows how.  And..."  She slowly ran a claw tip along the underside of
my penis.  "Sexual energy is one of the strongest energies known."

My hands drifted, sliding over her fur, pressing and teasing the
places I'd learned gave her pleasure.  "I think I've put it together.
Few weeks.  Ley lines.  Sex.  You're figuring I can find a local line
so we can have our own private Solstice celebration.  On it."

"Right."  She shifted until she was facing me.  Our eyes met, we once
again reaffirmed our love for each other...

Then she kissed me as hungrily as I kissed her while our arms pulled
us together.

* * *

"Love.  I feel like an idiot out here."

"Keep searching."

"I am.  It only looks like I'm pretending to be..."

I froze and I stared at my 'wand'.   The pressure against the side of
my thumb was unmistakable.  I rotated my hand from side to side
slightly.  The wand remained frozen, pointing in the original
direction.  Barely daring to look up I whispered.  "I found one.  I
really, really found one.  Here.  Incredible."

Mahika came over and reached, gently pulling the wand sideways before
she let go.  It swung back and locked, without any side to side
drifting.  When she spoke, there was a soft reverence in her voice
along with a wistfulness.  "Incredible, indeed.  You mortals never
cease to amaze us.  We are power and that makes us insensitive to many
forms of power.  Yet...  You, standing outside, are able to do this.
You can find power.  Find power we would never know is there."

I looked away, embarrassed by the longing I heard in her voice.  I
noted some landmarks so we'd be able to find this place again.  Then,
casually,  I did a little twirling motion that left my wand safely out
of the way when I reached to wrap her in a hug.  "Solstice, my love."

She came out of her mood and hugged me.  "Solstice."

* * *

A few days later I was thinking about things and studying a topo map
of the mountains where I'd found the ley line.  "Mahika?  Got a few?"

"Coming!"

I waited and did some more thinking.  When I felt her hands on my
shoulders I smiled and leaned back.  "I forgot to take a compass with
us, love.  But, if I'm remembering things right, that line..."  I  put
a ruler on the map, then pointed at a spot a few miles away from where
we'd discovered the ley line.  "Goes through this campground
somewhere."

She kept massaging my shoulders while she thought about it.
"Campground.  Means people."

"True."  I touched the map again.  "It also means we can take all the
camping gear and set up the tent for privacy.  Worth checking out,
anyway."

She kissed me.  "Point.  I don't want us to be interrupted."

That weekend we went to the campground.  I was glad nobody was there.
Explaining my actions would have been an awkward task.

I smiled when Mahika shifted into her lupine form and stretched
luxuriously.  She is a true child of the mountains, just as I am, so I
understood her need, shared it in fact, to get into the wild and
relax.

I watched her for a bit then sighed and began my search.

The campground was large for the area and I was starting to feel the
need to go back to the original location for another bearing when my
wand twitched.  I paused, backed up, then moved forward again, slowly.
Yes.  Not as strong, but it was there.  I scuffed the dirt to mark the
strongest indication, then found a large rock and set it.  It was time
for the topo map and a compass.

I wasn't surprised when Mahika ambled over to the table and shifted
back to her human form.  "Found something?"

I nodded absentmindedly.  "I think so.  If I can locate the first site
closely enough, I can get a bearing for the section of the line that
goes through the campground.  If I find that, I should be able to
locate a second point here."  I shrugged and looked up.  "At least
we'll know which camp sites are on it."

She looked thoughtful.  "Good.  I'm remembering something the guide at
Stonehenge said."

"Oh?"

"What he said about the couple.  She could sense the lines, he
couldn't.  He couldn't until they linked hands."

"Ah!"

"I walked all around that rock.  Didn't feel a thing.  But...  If it
works for us together, I might be able to feel the strongest spot on
the line, through you."

I gazed at her, then laughed.  "No loss in trying, is there?"

She grinned back.  "No."

To keep it short, that's what we did, and it worked, sorta.  The
results, which surprised me, indicated that the power along the ley
line acted like a standing wave form, with peaks and valleys.   We had
several choices for our campsite and that made me thankful.  I didn't
know how active this place would get but I figured that if we got
there a few days early we'd find at least one of the sites open.  It
also helped that the Solstice was not on a weekend.

* * *

We arrived a day early, and I groaned.  There was a family camped in
the space I really wanted.  The 'second best' site wasn't too far away
from them so I looked at Mahika and smiled lopsidedly.  "We'll have to
keep it down to muffled grunts, love."

She laughed.  "I brought the gags."  Her look was subtly challenging.
"Unlike you I assumed we'd have company, instead of dreaming
otherwise."

I winced, then let her see it.  "Touch.  Do us both a favor while
we're here?  No shapeshifting."

She giggled.  "Takes fingers for what I have planned."

"Bitch."

"Yep!"

I pulled in the space, parked the van so it would block our tent from
view of the family, then together we started setting up.  Mahika dealt
with the tent and and organizing it for our stay.   I dealt with
everything else, including the stove and ice chest.

By the time we got settled in I had most of lunch cooked and she had
the tent arranged the way she wanted it.  Part of that arrangement
made sure our bedding was centered on the ley line.  I shrugged to
myself, then smiled when she settled at the table.  "Lunch is
almost..."

My eyes shifted sideways and down.  A dog.  A bitch from what I could
see of it, was staring raptly at Mahika.  She was also flicking her
eyes sideways at the food on the table.  I looked up slightly and saw
four children running our way, followed by people I assumed to be
their parents, who were smiling and walking more slowly.

All of them were calling the dog, but she industriously ignored them.
"Love, I was going to tell you that our lunch is ready but I don't
think I need to."  I tilted my head towards the bitch.  "She has
impeccable timing."

Mahika laughed and looked at the children.  "Hi.  She always greedy?"
She got a chorus of responses, ranging from embarrassed to giggling
agreement.  "May I pet her?"

They gaped, then nodded.  "Sure, go ahead.  She's friendly!"

"She have a name?"

One of the girls giggled.  "We call her 'Wolf' because of the way she
eats!"

I laughed.  "Nothing wrong with that.  It's a good name."  I filled a
plate and set it near Mahika.  "Your lunch."  She started eating and
the eyes got more imploring.

I filled my plate and settled to eat.  By then the parents had
arrived.  "Normally we wouldn't care, but she's already eaten half of
their lunches.  She doesn't need more.  She could eat everything you
have and still be looking for more."

Mahika nodded and smiled.  "I know the type.  And we're not bothered.
More...  Amused by her focus."

Their relief was obvious.  "We usually keep her leashed when there are
others around.  Sorry."

I waved my hand that had a fork in it.  "Don't worry about it.  As far
as we're concerned she can roam free as long as we're here.  I'll
remember to secure our food better than I usually do though."  I
looked at them directly and smiled.  "I would anyway but now I *know*
there's a thief nearby."

They froze, then relaxed and laughed.  She said it first.  "Thank you
being understanding about it.  Some folks aren't."

"Not a problem.  I used to backpack this area about thirty years ago,
usually with one or both of my dogs.  You might say I've been in your
position a few times."  I looked at Mahika and she nodded slightly.
"Anyway, we're here for a long stay, to relax, and we brought plenty
of food."  I'd noticed the worn, 'minimalist' aspects of their camping
gear.  "You folks would be welcome to share our lunch, or any other
meal, with us."  I held up a hand while I looked at the mother and
spoke softly.  Hopefully the kids wouldn't hear me.  I didn't think
they would.  Mahika had them wrapped in her spell and they were
ignoring everything else.  "It's no problem.  We've been where you are
and we enjoy sharing.  Leave it at that.  OK?"

She jerked as if stung, then glanced over her shoulder at their camp
site before she looked at her husband.  He shrugged, then turned to
me.  "You won't mind if we contribute to those meals?"

"No.  I have to warn you though.  I'm our cook."

He nodded.  "I don't have a problem with that."  He held out his hand.
"John and Martha."

I shook it.  "Tom and Mahika."

"That doesn't sound like a common name."

I chuckled.  "It isn't.  It's more of a title.  I can't pronounce her
real name.  Her heritage *is* early American though, so after we
talked it over she let me choose something I could pronounce."

Mahika looked up when I gave my explanation, then laughed.  "He's not
telling you everything."  She looked back at the kids.  "Any of you
know what my name means?"  She got head shakes of denial.  She held
her hands next to her head, using her fingers to make ears.  "It means
I'm a member of the Wolf Clan."  She 'rrred' softly and got an
enthusiastic licking from Wolf.  She winked at them.  "Maybe that's
why Wolf likes me so much.  We're spiritual sisters."

I winced, then caught the expressions on their parents' faces.  It
looked like that casual admission wasn't a mistake after all.  They
were as rapt as the kids.

I went back to finishing my lunch.  Mahika had finished hers and had
everyone spellbound with whatever she was telling them.  Somewhere
along the line the rest of the food had been shared and everyone was
eating while she talked softly.

When I finished eating I quietly cleaned up, then grabbed my hiking
stick to wander off and drift through some memories.  If Mahika
noticed my quiet departure, she gave no sign and I was thankful.  I
needed some time to myself.

* * *

Dinner was over, everything was put away and we were sitting in our
portable chairs before we headed for bed.  I looked over at John and
Martha's camp.  "Wasn't that a bit of a risk, telling them that you
and Wolf are spiritual sisters?"

Her hand found mine and we interlaced our fingers.  "No."

I waited.

"You know who I am.  Think about it.  Wolf told me how they feel."

I sighed, then without any energy noted:  "Handy, that.  Wish I'd
remembered."

"Yes."

She stood, then turned and pulled me to my feet.  "Martha agreed to
keep everyone out of our hair if we're in the tent with the door
sealed.  We've things to talk about."  I saw the glint of forest green
in her eyes.  "Privately."

* * *

Before I could settle Mahika handed me my hiking stick.  "Pinpoint the
line.  It's important."

"OK."  The job was quickly done.  We helped each other undress, then
she settled me on my back with my crotch centered on the line.  My
head was towards the nearest energy 'peak'.

"Good."  I could see her grin in the dim light.  "Martha's a screamer.
The kids don't know the details about sex but they don't panic at loud
moans and shrieks, either.  From Wolf I got the impression the kids
think her shrieks are funny and a sign of how much she enjoyed making
them."  She touched my chest lightly.  "I think we should be quiet,
but not worry about it if we get a little noisy."

She straddled me, settled herself on my penis,  and bent forward to
kiss me tenderly. Then she pushed herself upright and smiled... "Let's
begin."

She touched my forehead with the fingertips of each hand, then lightly
drew them around my eyes, along my nose, then traced my lips.  "The
time for thinking is over.  It is time to feel.  Taste each breath as
you inhale.  Feel the power as it enters you with each breath.  Savor
it.  Learn it. Then..."

Her hands started moving again.  They flowed over my chin, then to my
neck, along my throat, and finally they drifted over my heart, where
she stopped and placed her palms against my chest.  "Inhale the power.
Fill it with your love..  Fill it with your need.  Make it part of
you.  Make it *you*.  With each breath feel the power fill you, then
gather it gently, and place it in your heart."

She went back to my forehead and repeated the stroking.  Her caresses
grew lighter, slower, yet more intense.  Lighter...  Then I *knew*!
She wasn't stroking me.  It was the power as I guided it.  I could
feel it!  My eyes snapped open in astonishment and I stared at her.
She smiled gently.  "Shhh...  Let it happen.  My time is not yet."

Shaken.   Marvelling.  Almost totally lost in the ecstasy of
*knowing*...   I nodded slightly and went back to feeling the power
fill my heart as we gathered it in.

Her hand was over my heart when I gasped, reached, and stopped her
from moving.  "Enough.  I can't...  I'm full.  Ready to burst..  I
see..."  I paused and gazed into where I felt her eyes must be.  "I
see nothing."  I reached and held my hand near where I *knew* her face
was.  "How odd.  I feel your spirit.  It runs free.  I feel the wind.
I smell the forest as you run through it."

I felt her hands gather mine in.  "Good.  We have more to do."  She
held my wrist with one hand, then touched my fingertips with hers.
Then they lifted until only our little fingers were touching.  She
traced from there, down my arm, over the nearest nipple, then
continued until her fingertip was at the base of my penis.  Five times
she did this, once for each finger and my thumb.  "Reach, my love.
Gather the power.  Gather it and let it flow through you, then hold it
here.  Let it mingle with your essence.  Feel it become part of you.
Take it.  Concentrate it.  Add your needs.  Add your dreams."

I moaned with each stroke of her fingertips. My nerves were...  I
didn't know what they were.  I could feel 'something' as we drew some
sort of raw power into me.  I wanted to scream at the intensity of it
all.  My hips arched, bucked.  I felt my penis expanding, getting
ready to...

She let go of my hand and I fell back.  I gasped, then moaned my
frustration as I was almost overwhelmed by a sense of incompletion.  I
felt her grab my other hand.  "Now, my love, we give you balance.  We
do it again from the other side."

"Again?"  I was gasping for breath.  I was sexually supercharged,
ready, with a few driving thrusts, to explode.

"Trust me."

"OK."

We repeated the process and this time, even though I could feel my
sexual need building even further, I felt a balancing, a clarity that
let me control it instead of it controlling me.  When we were done
Mahika bent forward and kissed me.  I felt her sliding along my penis
as she moved.  I felt the little spasms of her muscles as they reacted
to the changes in pressure.  But, oddly, I was content to enjoy them.
There wasn't the driven need to orgasm that they had always triggered
in the past.

She leaned back and smiled at me.  "No more words, love.  What we did
for you, we now do for me. Then..."  She laughed softly.  "Why then we
put it all together and see what happens!"

"Umm."  It was all I could manage to get out.

I reached with both hands and touched her forehead.  I traced the path
she had traced for me.  I marveled at the texture of her skin.  I felt
the quivering responses each time my fingers flowed over her.  I felt
us become one.  I knew when it was time to lift my fingers away from
her skin.

She moaned, and her moans changed as I traced without touching.  'Had
I reacted like that?'  Her vagina was quivering, milking, spasming.
The contractions had a frantic feeling to them.  Urgent.  Demanding.
But with the control I was given, my body refused to respond in the
way it was supposed to.

Finally her eyes snapped open and she grabbed my hand, forcing it to a
halt.  I waited.  I was lost in a timeless now that had no sense of
anything else.  Her breathing slowed.  It steadied.  Her internal
spams slowed. Eventually they became gentle quivers as she shifted to
keep her balance.

She let go of my hand and touched her fingertips to mine.  I steadied
her arm with my other hand and slowly stroked the power into her. Each
stroke started with a rising moan that changed to gasped 'ahs!' of
sexual excitement as my finger neared her clitoris.  She hadn't said
but I figured it was the best place to stop.  It seemed I was right.

Her frantic grab at my hand stopped me before I could start another
stroke.  Focused, fully into the ritual, I switched hands and repeated
the process with her other hand as the focus.  The frantic preorgasmic
muscular contractions slowed.  Her breathing steadied.  She still
moaned with each stroke but the moans were steadier.  Longer.
Remembering how I had felt, I knew she was savoring the tension.  Her
body was hers again, and it showed in the way her movements slowly
changed from frantic selfishness to a sharing that started to tease me
and remind me of my need for release.

Her eyes slowly opened and we looked at each other.  Our hands found
the other's and our fingers intertwined themselves.  She was the first
to speak.  I was too busy savoring the new closeness I felt.  "You
ok?"

I took a deep breath and considered the many levels I heard in her
question.  Finally, inventory taken, answers considered and rejected,
I kept it simple...  and the truth.  "Yes.  You?"

Her eyes closed and she put on a dreamy, content smile.  The only
answer I got was a drawn out  "Mmm..."  It was enough.

Eventually she came back from wherever she had gone.  "Now we put it
together."  She pulled my right hand to her chest then let go and
pressed it flat.  She let go of my left hand and placed her right hand
over my heart and held it there.  "What our left hands do isn't
important.  Although..."  I heard the giggle she suppressed.  "If you
use yours to help hold me steady, I'd appreciate it."

I smiled and touched her side, shifting until I felt comfortable while
supporting her.  "Now?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  "Now?  We do what we
always do.  We give what's in our hearts into the other's control. You
stroke from my heart to my clit.  I stroke from your heart to the base
of your penis. The pacing doesn't matter.  This isn't about timing.
It's about doing what feels right. Together we bring who we are
together, sharing it all, until...  Well, until whatever happens,
happens."

I left my hand where it was and thought about what Mahika meant to me.
I remembered all the little things we did to show each other our love.
Then, suddenly I felt the need to move and I slid my hand down her
body.  I didn't go straight for my goal.  My path curved.  It circled
randomly before it resumed.  I detoured to one side, then arrowed
straight for her pubes.  When I reached her hood I stopped, then
pressed and rubbed from side to side gently.  I was rewarded with a
moan and frantic internal spasms that wanted one thing.  I waited.  It
wasn't time to make another trip.

Mahika moved.  I felt her fingertips press over my heart, then lightly
brush each of my nipples.  Her path wandered on its way to my groin.
As she neared her goal I felt a pressure unlike any preorgasmic
pressure I'd ever felt.  Something was building.  It was building
fast,  so fast my moans changed and became a sustained grunt that
drove my hips upwards.  My purpose was forgotten.  When her fingers
touched  the base of my penis, a barrier broke.  My hands grabbed her
waist and jerked while my hips drove my penis into her.  I felt an
orgasmic surge that was far more intense, far more *driven* than the
mere release of my semen.

Something touched something.  I felt it happen.  Mahika clenched with
an irresistible power that should have been painful.

My penis, and something else, expanded to meet that force...

And overcame it.  Her clench was brushed aside.  I wasn't to be
denied.  Everything I was, aided by the power I'd gathered, surged
into her.

Yet, at the same time, she wasn't to be denied either.  Even as her
physical pressure was brushed aside I felt her essence surge along my
penis with an orgasmic fury of its own.  Each time, after each pulse,
she surged into me, firmly establishing her own presence within me.

Then, pressures equalized.  We merged.

I became we.

We felt.

We orgasmed.

We slowly detumesced.

We felt our muscles slowly stop spasming until they contentedly
grasped our never intruding penis.

* * *

Afterglow.

Aftercollapse, really.

Hands wandered, gently.

Bodies shifted.

Tongues lightly touched, then cleaned mingled juices.

Muscles quivered, but were too tired to do more.

Satiated smiles that shared so much, including gentle amusement and a
promise that this would happen again, someday.

Finally, sleep, to remember, dream--and recover.

* * *

Solstice day.

We ate an early breakfast.

I felt refreshed, ready to do almost anything.  I quivered with an
inner eagerness to *do*. 

Mahika touched me lightly.  "Anyone home?"

I laughed. "And he's bouncing off the walls.  Did last night really
happen?"

"Yes."

"Damn.  Something happened."  I was awed.  Reverent.  "I can *see* the
ley line.  It's obvious.  Look at the plants along it.  Can you see
how eager to live they are?   Look."  I stepped to one side, until the
power that flowed along the line flowed through my legs.  "It's like
standing in a river.  I can feel its gentleness caressing me."

Mahika looked at where I had pointed, then at me.  Her smile was
wistful.  "No.  I can't see it.  I can't see the obvious."

"Oh."  I was crestfallen.  Then a memory surfaced.  "Wait.  Stay where
you are.  Maybe..."

I knelt and reached for the power I could see.  When I stood again I
pulled some of it with me.  I don't know how I did it, I just did it.

I formed it into a sphere that bobbed lightly over my open palm.  "See
anything yet?"

She shook her head.  "I can feel...  Something."

"Umm.  Nothing to lose by trying..."  I tossed the ball of energy at
Mahika.  "Now?"  I watched as it slowly floated in her direction.

"No.  Something...   Oh!"  When it got to within a few inches of her
face she gasped in delight and her hands flashed up to capture it. She
looked around, then unerringly stepped to place herself in the line of
power.  To my amazement she didn't kneel, she simply stretched out a
hand and gathered some of the power to her.  "You're new to this."
She grinned and tossed the ball of energy to a point halfway between
us, where it hovered.

Power, rippling with the colors of the rainbow, flowed from her
outstretched fingers to the sphere.  It rotated, becoming a shimmering
rainbow.  "Try it."

It took awhile but eventually we were playing, raptly involved in a
game with no rules that built a shimmering rainbow of shared power.

A female voice broke into our game.  "Why aren't you two exhausted,
and sleeping in?  And...  What sort of shadow game are you playing?
Looks like it's fun, whatever it is."

I jerked and a bolt of power would have hit Martha if Mahika hadn't
drawn it to herself.  We turned that into a link between us because it
felt right to do so. Mahika grinned at me, then waggled a finger in my
direction before turning to Martha and her husband.  "Good morning.  I
hope we didn't wake you up last night.  Things got..."  She giggled.
"More intense than either of us expected."

That got a smile in return and Martha reached for her husband's hand.
She blushed.  "We were awake, and busy.  Your howls were...  Intensely
inspiring."

I glanced at Mahika and she shrugged.  "Howls?  I remember screaming,
once."

John spoke up.  "Howls.  One male, one female.  The sense of
completion was unmistakable.  You carried *us* into our orgasms before
we expected to have them."  He grinned.  "It was intense, and we're
not complaining."

He gestured to an open area.  "Whatever game you were playing, our
kids liked it so much they invented their own version.  They also..."
He studied them and shrugged.  "Seem to be as absorbed by it as you
were."

I glanced.  Froze.  Started to step in that direction.  Froze again
and looked at Mahika for guidance.

The children were in a line.  That line was along the ley line.  I
could see the energy shift as they played with it.

"Mahika, love.  Do you see what I see?"

"Yes."

"I was afraid you would."

She walked over to John and Martha.  "I think I have some explaining
to do.  You deal with that."  

I sighed.  I didn't like it but she did have a point about who should
deal with what.

I sighed again.  This was going to be an interesting experience.

* * *

I studied the kids for awhile.  I didn't want to take their joy away
from them and most importantly I didn't want to scare them.

On the other hand, there were two people available who already knew
how to handle the situation, if they could see what their kids saw.

Hmm.  *If* I had things figured out, the solution was easy.

I walked to the point on the line that was nearest John and Martha.
"Mahika?"  She looked at me.  "Bring John and Martha over here,
please."

She looked startled, then nodded and talked briefly.  They were
puzzled, but they followed her over to stand in front of me.

I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, centering myself.  I
noticed their eyes widened, then narrowed before their postures
shifted and they held themselves respectfully.  I chuckled.  "Relax.
I'm no Mystic Master.  I'm not a Shaman, either.  Nor am I a Druid,
Mage, or Priest."

John chuckled but Martha bored in.  "What are you, then?  And what did
you do to our children?"  Her voice had a worried edge to it but there
was no challenge to her words.  There was, to my embarrassment,
respect and awe.

I gave her the simple truth.  "I am a writer, and a dowser.  That's it
as far as I know."  I gestured at the kids, then held up my hands,
palms forward with my fingers extended.  "What happened to them was
accidental, something that happened while we were distracted.  Would
you like to share what happened?  If so, touch palms with me."

John answered for both of them as they eagerly reached to place their
palms against mine..  "Of course we would!" 

As I gathered the power, and let it flow through me to contact them, I
simply smiled and said:  "Share in your children's joys."

Their gasps were answer enough that my suspicions were correct.  I
could get others, if they were sensitive enough, to see the energy
available.  However, in this case, I wasn't about to teach them any
control.  No, there were far more *meaningful* teachers available.
Their children.  "Go to them and share."  I felt the pressure on my
palms decrease, then they frantically grabbed for my hands and held
on.  "Relax.  I can maintain the energy link while you move."  I
studied the play some more and then chuckled.  "Your eldest has the
gift, I think, but she doesn't realize it yet.  She could do the same,
if you ask her to.  Now..."  I deliberately pulled my hands away. "Go.
And do what it is that parents do best."

They did exactly that.

Mahika and I settled in our chairs to watch them.  After awhile I
noticed that Wolf was playing with them, but she had to play her own
game.  It was obvious that she couldn't see the energy everyone was
using.  On the other hand she was still enjoying herself.

"Love?"

Mahika turned to me.  "Yes?"

I gestured.  "Think you could give Wolf the ability to see things, and
explain the situation to her?  I think she'd enjoy it more..."  I
trailed off suggestively and for once, I was the one who quirked my
eyebrows up in question.

She blinked in surprise, then turned to study things.  "Animals are...
closer to the natural things so I suppose she could be given the
ability."

I nodded.  "But?"

"There is that. Explaining how to manipulate it is going to be a
problem.  She's not pretending, she's playing the game she sees.  I
think...   Don't distract me, ok?"

"OK."

What followed, was, to say the least about it, comical.

Wolf skidded to a stop and shook her head.  Then she got a puzzled
look to her body language.  She shook her head, then shook it again.
Then she tensed and her head snapped around to look at Mahika.  Then
her ears perked and she eagerly ran over. 

From the way she approached I assumed Mahika had offered to play.

I watched while she created a ball of energy, then held her hand about
a foot away from Wolf's nose.

Then she reached and touched Wolf's forehead.  "Sister.  See what your
pack sees."

Wolf sneezed in obvious surprise and jerked her head back.  Then,
cautiously, she reached forward to sniff the ball of energy. Something
made her flinch back slightly, but she didn't retreat.

Mahika spared me a glance.  "It tickled.  Create a ball of your own,
then let her see it."

"K."  I created the ball, held my hand out, then...  "Wolf!.  Hey
grrl."

Mahika grinned at my pronunciation.  "Old habits?  Never mind.  Now
toss it to her.  Gently."

"Catch!"

Wolf jumped and grabbed, and when her jaws went through it, yipped in
surprise.

"I'm working with her.  I'm trying to get her to imagine catching and
holding a ball.  Get rid of that one and let's try again."

Eventually Wolf figured out how to 'grab and carry' the ball of
energy.  By the time we finished I was laughing so hard my tears were
flowing.  Wolf, on the other hand, was tossing her 'ball' in the air
and 'catching' it as she made it fall towards her.

Watching her run with a ball of energy wrapped around her nose was
quite a sight and I wished we had some way to photograph it.

Mahika came over, wrapped an arm around me, then buried her head on my
shoulder and let go of the mirth she'd been holding in.  "We did it.
Wolf's ecstatic.  But, it's time I diverted her into a new game."

"Wolf!"  She skidded to a halt.  Mahika gestured towards the kids. "Go
play!"

I could see the shocked amazement, then the shivering joy when Wolf
figured out what Mahika meant.  'She could play this new game with her
family!'

* * *

It wasn't much after noon when John and Martha gave up.  They grabbed
a couple of chairs from their campsite and joined us in the shade.

They watched the kids for a bit then Martha turned to us.  "Thanks. We
thought that what you did for the kids, then us, were a couple of
miracles.  What you did for *Wolf* though..."   Her eyes glistened
with tears.  "What do you call something that makes *miracle*--sound
so ordinary?"

I shifted slightly and Mahika caught my movement.  "Shush!"  John
laughed and I settled back.  "Good."  She went on.  "I'm not going to
let you spoil this, for *any* of us.  Not even *yourself*"

I sighed.  "Yes, Dear."

She grinned at me but said nothing more.  Except...  "Share the
truth?"

I jerked upright, no longer relaxed.  She was suggesting we add John
and Martha to the select few who knew about our true relationship and
who she is.  Thoughts raced through my brain while I considered it.
"Yeah.  Wouldn't be fair not to, now would it?"  I looked at John and
Martha.  "Sorry.  One of those 'married couple' conversations."  I
held out a hand and mimed pouring something out.  "It's *her* story to
tell."

Mahika laughed, then stood, reached for my hand and drew me out of my
chair.  "No, Love.  It's definitely *our* story to tell."  She drew me
away a few feet and then turned to John and Martha.  "I could tell our
story, true.  There are things in it that will stretch your limits of
belief.  Suspend your disbelief as you, and you alone, *see* who we
truly are."  She smiled.  "Your children, and Wolf, will see what they
have always seen.  You, on the other hand, will see the truth as only
a few of our friends know it."

She paused, then went on.  "May we be your friends?"

John was looking at us intently, eyes narrowed.  "The link between
you.  It ripples with power.  And..."  He looked at the ley line then
turned back.  "As difficult as it is to see, it still...   It looks
different."    He locked eyes with his wife.  "Dare we?"

She didn't answer him directly.  "What happened here.  Will it last?"

I let Mahika handle this.  "It won't last.  But, you can repeat the
experience without us, if you have a ley line available--and Marie is
with you to establish the link again.  It takes a sensitive.  Even I
needed Tom before I could see and handle the power in the ley line.

"What happened?  You and your family have been allowed to see a
different reality.  A reality that flows within and alongside the
reality most humans call 'normal'.  Let us be your friends and we will
show you part of a *third* reality, the one Tom and I share."  Her
eyes grew sad and Martha's gaze locked on her.  "Unfortunately, it's a
reality we must ask you to keep to yourselves."  

They gazed at each other for minutes.  Mahika, relaxed and calm, eyes
filled with fifty thousand years of wisdom and experience, stood there
while Martha probed intently, obviously searching for something,
somewhere.  Finally she turned to John.   "Yes.  And we *must* keep it
secret."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  "Love?  Remember my
request when we got here?  It no longer applies."   I gazed off for a
minute then straightened my shoulders.  "I'm ready."

John and Martha's eyes widened when Mahika blurred into her true form.
The white wolf settled on her haunches at my side and began telling
our story. 

* * *

"Fifty thousand years ago, give or take a few thousands, or more,
there was a male who  was more than the rest of his small tribe.

"He dreamed, and he shared those dreams with others.  It was a time
before words, before language as you know it.  He 'spoke' with
gestures.  His gestures were simple, but they were shared...  and they
evoked memories.

"He built new things with those memories.  He spoke of times past.  He
spoke of the present.  He dared to speak of a future, and to the dim
wonder of those around him, he asked questions with no answers.

"He thought, wondered--and he made his people do the same.

"He was 'Shaman', perhaps the first one ever.

"Shaman also loved.  But, his love was not that of the people.  He
lived with the wolves.  He also mated with the females of the pack and
they loved him, in their way.

"So it went for many years.  But he wanted more.  He wanted someone he
could fully share with, because he also knew he was more than a wolf.

"He thought.  He dreamed.  He yearned...

"Then, without realizing what he was doing, he called forth in his
heart and created his dream companion in his mind.

"I was born and this is the form he gave me.

"I am a true daughter of your people, but I am both more, and less,
than you are."

Mahika shifted into her anthrowolfess form and stood behind me.  I
felt and saw the power swirl and envelop us.

Then, calmly, Mahika smiled at John and Martha.  "I am an elemental
but I am most comfortable when performing the duties I was called
forth to perform.  I was created to help a mortal create, to be his
lifelong companion, his lover--and more."

She rested her hands on my shoulders in a silent signal I knew well. I
took over.  "Before there were Greeks, before there were gods and
goddesses, Mahika was.  For convenience, when talking about her to
others, I name her  'My Muse'.

"Of course she is more.  She is my companion, my inspiration when I
need it.  We are not adversaries.  We are companions, lovers.  We are
mates.  As mates, we love.  With love there is sex.

"I too, like the man who created her, 'walk the way of the wolf'.  My
love ignores shape to see the inner truth.  Human.  Anthrowolfess.
Wolfess.  I love the Mahika that *is*--and I joyfully mate with all of
her forms."

I smiled and chuckled...  "There is more to our story.  Many, many
years more."  I shifted sideways slightly and drew Mahika to my side,
then pulled her into a hug.   "If I sometimes perform miracles, it is
because I live with one and she makes me realize that *everything*,
and *everyone* is a living miracle.  She also, as a Muse, regularly
reminds me that we humans can create miracles of our own."

I gestured towards the kids and Wolf.  "There are some miracles to be
treasured.  As are you."

I gazed at John and Martha with a calmness that had its roots in my
sense of self.  After a time I took a deep breath and sighed.  We had
to go back to the reality most people think is the only one.  "Mahika?
Time to be 'ordinary' again. I'm afraid."

She hugged me, let go, then shifted back to her human form and
curtsied.   "Thank you , friends, for letting us share a small part of
who we really are."

John nodded slowly.  "You're welcome."  He turned to his wife. "Should
*we* tell them?"

Martha laughed and I detected a note of relief in her laughter.  "Oh,
it's nothing like *your* story, I'm afraid."

I chuckled and started getting the stove and food ready.  "Well, we'll
be happy to hear it but I think we'd better listen while cooking a
late lunch."

"Oh!"  I'd caught them by surprise.  "I bet the kids are hungry by
now.  I know *I* am!"  That was John.

Martha stood.  "I'll be right back."  She headed off to get some of
their food.

It wasn't long until first Wolf, then the kids joined us.

Martha and John had resettled and I smiled at them when I noticed they
had joined hands.  

John started speaking.  "We're children of flower children."

One of the kids spoke up suddenly.  "Ahhhh, Dad!  You're not going to
tell them *that* old story, are you?"

"Of course I am.  Or don't you want them to know the reasons *you*
were able to play like you did today?"

His eyes got big.  "Oh!"

"Exactly."  He grinned at him.  "Shush!"

"Anyway, that's how we met.  Our parents were really into Wicca,
Druidism, Shamans, totems...  And I tell you, we were sick of it.  By
the time we were in our teens, we wanted to be more in contact with
reality.

"So we rebelled.

"Do you have any idea how hard is to rebel when your parents smile and
tell you it's ok, just be the person you think you should be and we
love you anyway?"  He shook his head and laughed, then looked at his
wife.  "We got married as soon as we were old enough.  Then our
parents got together and did their own marriage rituals over us."

He turned and looked at the ley line.  "Funny.  I couldn't put it into
words until just now."  He looked at us.  "Our parents play a shadow
game with power.  Like Wolf did until you opened her eyes.  They
*believe* but it's based on faith.  Not knowledge."  He fell silent
and we waited.

"No.  Power is a shadow game to them.  Everything they do is based on
their dreams.  I can see that now."  His eyes grew slightly haunted.
"They have what they have, and it works for them."  He looked at his
wife and her eyes were stricken and glistening with unshed tears.  "We
can't tell them differently, can we, love?"

She flinched, then nodded in agreement.

John looked at their children.  "Promise me you won't tell them about
this."  He focused on his oldest.  "And you, young Lady.  I need more
from you.  No matter how much you want to help them, don't.  Sometimes
it isn't right.  Do you want to take away everything that gives their
lives meaning?"

She shook her head rebelliously.  "But..."

"No!  I mean it.  They believe the power is theirs to call and use.
They already *know* that's true.  We know better.  *You* know better."
He went over, knelt and hugged her.   "Maybe they do deserve to know
the truth.  But they already have the joy of knowing.  Let's not take
that away from them, OK?  It's not a game to them.  It defines who
they are."

She finally nodded slowly.  John kissed her forehead.  "Good.  Growing
up can be painful.  I'm sorry I can't take away the pain."  He smiled
at her.  "Grownups are responsible, too.  Can you promise not to tell
anyone except me and your mother when you find a ley line?  It's
important we keep them secret for now.  Don't even tell your brothers
and sister."

She looked at him.  "They're babies?  And babies can't keep secrets?"

John simply nodded.

She hugged him.  "OK.  I promise."  She giggled.  "I won't even tell
Wolf!"

John laughed and resettled in his chair.

I broke in before he could continue.  "Lunch is ready.  Let's eat."

* * *

The kids and dog were off taking naps and the four of us had resettled
to relax and let lunch digest..

"You don't look like rebels."  I was smiling.

John laughed and Martha giggled.  She went on.  "Oh, we are.  Most
ways we're straight enough to be rulers--to the great despair of our
parents, of course."

She sobered quickly.  "Most of our rebellion consisted of trying to
stay close to nature but without all the 'mumbo-jumbo' our parents
seemed to think was necessary.  We also spent time in the libraries,
then on the net, researching the reality of the faiths they lumped
together and used to create their rituals."

She looked at her husband and smiled.  "We didn't toss everything out,
but by the time we finished we had a pretty solid understanding of
what we kept."

John nodded at her and turned to us.  "That was some sort of Solstice
ritual last night, wasn't it?"

I shrugged.  "That and a demanded apology."

Mahika choked a laugh into a subdued snort and I mock glared at her.
"Well, it was.  You going to deny it?"

She laughed.  "Nope.  And a very good apology it was, too."  She
paused then went on.  "For a down payment!"

I grinned back then turned to John.  "You see?"

"I do.  We're here because we enjoy camping and so do the kids.  Plus,
we just wanted to give them a chance to enjoy nature and while we
didn't emphasize it's Summer Solstice today, we didn't hide it,
either.  Nor did we avoid mentioning that for some people it has a
special significance."

He chuckled.  "We didn't know what was going on, but it *was* obvious
last night that for you folks it was something very special and
intense."

He waited a couple of beats, then went on slyly.  "We've never heard
anyone howl like wolves when they orgasmed and it intensified our
feelings of being part of nature."

He looked at Mahika.  "We talked it over, after.  We both had the same
vision.  We were in a forest clearing.  A moon was out and there was a
sense of being on four feet.  It felt *right* and I think you know
what I mean.  Thank you."

Mahika looked at me and lifted her eyebrows.  I smiled back and
nodded.  We knew what John meant and I also knew Mahika had noticed
the same thing I had.  "John.  You're welcome."  She laughed gently.
"I think I know why you saw what you did.  Look closely and see where
the ley line is."  He glanced, then froze when he realized the line
went through their tent.  Mahika laughed harder.  "The four of us
resonated last night and being the stronger of the two pairs, our
vision overwhelmed yours!"

I was chuckling when I stood and reached for Mahika's hand.  "Now, if
you will excuse us, we're going to enjoy the rest of the day in our
tent.  What you do is up to *you*."

I was grinning.  "See you folks for dinner?  A *late* dinner?"

Martha laughed.  "Maybe!"

* * *

I had implied we'd be making passionate love to each other.  Reality
was different.  We cuddled and returned to sharing the afterglow.

At one point a thought struck me and I turned to study Mahika.  I
looked at the lines of power that radiated from her body.  One looked
thicker, solider.  It made me wonder if my suspicion was a reality.

There was only one way to find out.  "Love.  Unintended consequences
just caught up with you, I think."

"Oh?"

I reached to point out the line in question.  "There.  That's your
link to Wolf, isn't it?"

She looked, then smiled.  "Yes, it is.  So?"

I hugged her.  "I know you can cut it anytime you wish.  But, I think
you have a problem.  I also don't think Wolf will *let* you cut it."

"What?!"  Won't let me..."  I felt her awareness surge outwards,
seeking Wolf.  There was a long silence...  I felt Mahika stiffen,
then she sagged in shock.  "That bitch!"

I laughed.  "Yep.  She is.  She's her creator's daughter, isn't she?
She's immortal now, too, I'd bet."

I held Mahika close and cried tears of happiness.  "I'm glad I was
here when you found your true companion, the *one* who will spend the
rest of eternity at your side."

"Happy Summer Solstice...

"Mahika , my love."
====

Because I loved you
Lay Lines - Part 2
A Man and Muse Story
---

We'd hiked the short distance to the nearest peak so we could watch
sunrise.  We were settled on a blanket with Mahika spooned in front of
me.  I had my arms wrapped around her and she had her hands on mine
where they were clasped together.  

As the sun rose I was gently nuzzling her neck and drifting through my
memories, reminding myself of how special she was and how we had spent
so many years building the relationship we now wore as comfortably as
we wore our nakedness together.

"Love?"

"Mmm?"

"The day you entered my life."

"What about it?"

I kissed her neck and tongued my way to her ear.  "I've always
wondered, ever since you told me your natural form is a wolfess..."

I kissed her lightly on her available cheek.  "A cat?"

She relaxed into me and squeezed my hands.  "Let me tell you a story,
my love."
----

I Began With a Dream
by:  Mahika,  as told to Thomas Galahalt
----

The woman danced on a nameless shore as waves from an unnamed sea
caressed her feet.

The translucent robe she wore did not hinder her movements.  Indeed,
the woman used the robe as an essential part of her dance.

Together, they flowed across the sand, telling what was obviously a
story.

It was a story the watcher, also a woman, for all her age, for all her
wisdom, could not understand.

"Mistress Wolf."  The frustrated watcher allowed herself to break the
silence.  "I see.  But, sadly, I do not understand."

The dancer didn't pause in her movements.  "Clio.  Surely you have
taken the time to observe my past?"

"Of course."  Clio allowed herself an amused smile.  "I am, after all,
the Muse of History.  Even your History, Mistress Wolf."

The nameless dancer stopped dancing and faced her guest.  She was
laughing gently.  "Indeed.  So you are."

Clio smiled.  "I observed your creation. I watched while you and your
creator lived together.  I observed while you and he shared sex with
each other."

She sighed.  "I saw, but I was unable to understand.  And... History
is meaningless without understanding."

Her reluctance to speak more was obvious.  "Even a goddess can have
limitations.  One of mine is that I need words to guide me.  I need
words that explain."  Clio took a deep breath and looked away while
she spoke her next words.  "I need *your* words, Mistress Wolf, if you
will gift me with them."

There was a long, timeless silence that was finally broken by the
rustle of a robe being removed and tossed aside.

When Clio turned back she faced a white wolfess who was looking back
over her shoulder at her.  "Walk with me for a ways, Clio, that you
may receive the gift of my words."

* * *

Once they stood side by side the wolfess looked up and gazed into her
companion's eyes.  "Touch me, Clio.  Mesh your fingers in my fur and
feel my movements while I take us back to my beginning, and I remember
for you."

The wolfess waited while Clio reached and settled her fingers in the
Nameless One's fur.  Then, calmly...  "Step with me."

They stepped, and they were in a mountain forest.

"There.  We see what was.  His name, in his own tongue, is Shhmmm.
'Shh' means 'One who walks unknown paths and returns to tell of them'.
The sound is their imitation of the sound of the wind blowing through
leaves or grass.  It's their way of saying a scout who explores the
unknown should make only those sounds that are natural and will not
draw attention to themselves.  'Mmm' is from the sounds males make
prior to sex, as an inquiry to see if the female is ready.  Loosely
translated, it means he is a male scout for the tribe.  A female scout
is named 'Shhooo'.  'Ooo' is derived from a female's moan of satiation
after sex."

The man was moving slowly, making studied gestures and murmuring
almost inaudibly.  The gestures were pleading, and obviously a call of
some sort.  A few wolves were scattered in the small clearing, asleep,
grooming themselves or grooming each other.  One wolfess was settled
on her haunches, in front of him, tracking his movements.  Something
in her posture made it obvious he was the most important thing in her
life at the moment.

"The wolfess is Grrouw.  She is his mate, although they don't think of
it that way.  Shhmmm and Grrouw are lesser members of the pack, scouts
who wander and report to the alphas when something of interest is
found.

"His movements are a mix of the sounds and gestures he uses to
communicate with his own people and the ones he and the pack use to
talk to each other.  The concepts expressed are basic, ones essential
to their survival."  She laughs softly, gently.  "Shhmmm is
frustrated.  He doesn't know what he wants, but it has nothing to do
with survival.  He's trying to explain that need to Grrouw even though
he doesn't know what it is he needs.  Grrouw is used to his
frustration and has taught herself to ask simple questions that help
both of them.  For her, her questions help her see his concepts in
ways she can relate to what she knows.  For him, her questions help
him go beyond what he knows to express his feelings and desires as
combinations of what he does know and understand.

"I'll translate what he's saying. 

"Grrouw.  My first choice wolf.  I always desire you.  Always share
kill.  We are not same.  I have other needs, seek other female to
share kill, nest.  I want.  (There's a long hesitation while he seeks
for a way to explain what he desires.)  I see inside, things that have
not happened yet.  I want one who will be commanded by you who sees
the same way I do.  I feel it inside.  I want one like you but also
like me who sees this way."

She tilts her head and looks sideways at Clio.  "Look past him, to the
edge of the clearing.  See the 'fog'?  It isn't fog.  It's something
more.  Shhmmm never knew it and I can't show it to you, but when he
made his plea for a companion, he was standing in a line of power.

"That 'mist' is  a dream manifesting itself.  Watch the pack."

The mist shifts, gathering itself slowly.  It condenses and as it does
so it takes on shape and color...  Suddenly, the shape is solid and
familiar.  It is a white wolfess identical to the one standing calmly
at Clio's side.  Clio's hand involuntarily clenches in fur.  "Now, I
understand.  You are born of a mortal's need, to give him the gift of
completion that he couldn't get in any other way."

The new wolfess stands firmly, and if one looked closely, they would
note that the new wolfess and Grrouw gaze at Shhmmm in the same way.
The eyes of the new wolfess show the same love that is visible in
Grrouw's eyes but there is more.  Her eyes also say she understands
Shhmmm.

Suddenly every wolf in the pack, even Grrouw, jerks their heads in the
new wolf's direction.   Shhmmm's reaction is slower but eventually he
too is cautiously studying her.

"Wait, Clio.  There's something important that's about to happen.
Watch the wolfess.  When it happens, I'll translate for you."

Clio nods without turning away.

The new wolfess settles on her haunches.  Her gaze is steady, ignoring
the wary hostility of the pack.  There is a shimmering in the air and
when it is over, a female of Shhmmm's kind has replaced the wolfess.
She gestures in the language of the people and speaks a few 'words' of
their language.

"I am Mrrouo.  I am the one you have sought.  Will you accept me as I
accept you?"

The wolfess at Clio's side shakes herself slightly, getting Clio's
attention.  "Tens of thousands of years ago, yet yesterday in my mind.
I still love him.  I still marvel at the leap in his thinking that led
to my creation."  She looks up and her eyes meet Clio's.  "Destiny?
Chance?  Luck?"  She looks back at the couple who now stand together.
The female is calm, the male is shaking with the suppressed eagerness
of one who isn't quite ready to fully believe his most cherished dream
has come true.

The Mrrouo from the future turns her head to watch the couple in front
of her.  Her gaze however, is on something in the distance and she is
watching her memories as much as she is watching what is before her.
Her next words are murmured, meant more for herself than her
companion.  "It doesn't matter, does it?  It was a miracle."

She looks up again, and her lips curl into a wolf's amused laughter.
"Step with me, sister.  I remember--and you have seen it already."

* * *

There is a long silence while I spend time absorbing her story of her
creation.  Then, I hug her again.

"Mrrouo.  Does your name have a meaning?"

Mahika giggles and I join in with chuckles of my own.  "Of course it
has a meaning.  'M' because I am born of a man.  'Rr' is derived from
the people's sound for 'wolf'.  'Ouo' is to show I am a female who is
both human and wolf.  Roughly, then, 'a woman, born of a man, who is
both human and wolf in nature'."

I felt her sag slightly.  "My name is a direct translation of Shhmmm's
desire.  I was born knowing it."

I waited for awhile, content to let her answer my original question in
her own way.

"I first appeared as a wolfess because Shhmmm's thoughts about his
mate being in that form were stronger than his desire for a human
mate.  I was too new to life to understand that I could change my
appearance to anything other than the one that was most strongly
desired."

"K."

"With you,"  She touched my hands and pressed them into her,  "you
were already in love with someone you saw as your mate.  You didn't
need me in the same way that Shhmmm did.  I first manifested as a cat
to let the two of you get used to me and accepting of my presence. You
didn't try to run me off, and your bitch accepted me because you
did--and because I was clearly subordinate to her."

She leaned back, snuggling herself into my embrace.  "Then, I waited
until the time was right to reveal myself."

She turned her head, inviting a kiss.  Her last words before our lips
met were...

"I could no longer suppress my need to be near you.  I didn't want to
hurt you or your lover, your current mate.

"So, the simple answer is: I became a cat...

"Because I loved you."
====

End: Lay Lines (Lay Lines 1/4)

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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