Attracting the wildlife

[Lovely]

May 15, 2010
4:30pm


Savy was relieved when the small group finally stopped to make camp for the night, they'd been walking for hours, it felt like all day, and they were very deep in the woods now. She was also thinking they were lost since she hadn't seen any trail markers or sign of a real trail for some time now. Of course being with guys who were stereotypical in this way - she got the 'we are not lost' reply when she questioned where they were. If they weren't so far out, she probably would have turned around and gone back but she knew it was safer to stay with the group. They'd finally stopped at a spot near the river and they could follow along that to get out, though they'd be miles from where they left the truck. "Hey guys.. I'm going to the river to splash a little cool water on my neck." She told the others as they started to set up camp, she got some grunts and comments about not getting eaten by a bear and she sighed. "Yeah, thanks." She shook her head, it sucked being the only girl on the trip.. the others had all backed out at the last minute. She set her pack down on a large rock where it wouldn't get wet as she bent down near the edge of the river. She splashed a little water on her face and neck, it was a warm day and a long walk.

Even here in the deep woods the sound would be startling in its mechanical nature. The pull and lock of the rifle was distinctive above the the sound of the water she knelt beside. The eye of its owner was squinted behind the sight, the barrel pointed disturbingly in the direction of the girl who was obviously not armed. "Don't move," he warned her, wondering if she'd be wise enough to listen.

She turned her head at the sound of something to the side and she saw the man with his gun pointed at her. The fear was instant and shone in her widened eyes and expression but she didn't move other than the initial turn of her head at the sound. Wonderful, the bumbling idiots had set up camp on some crazy ... what was the word? .. hermit's land and he was going to shoot them!

"Right. Now back away from the water very, very slowly and don't take your eyes off me," he muttered. He was aiming at something she hadn't seen. Her friends had joked about bears but they were a very real threat. He feared if she looked and saw it, she might scream. The last either of them needed was to draw its attention from its fishing. "I'll get you water that's safer to drink," he offered.

"Umm.. you told me not to move?" She was confused, watching him with his gun and bent down over the water the way she was she didn't yet see the bear. She licked at her lips, obviously scared he was going to kill her but also having other twisted thoughts.. she watched too many movies and read far too many books. She moved slowly, keeping her hands out so he could see them and trying to turn to face him as she moved away from the water, she only took a step or two before she stopped.

[Lovely]

He grinned. "I changed my mind. Probably a good idea if she doesn't see you either way. She's looking for food and it might be you. Move quick or slow, but come away from the water. What are you doing out here, anyway? Not exactly safe, is it?" He kept the rifle pointed toward where she'd been, not at her, though he pulled back from the sight enough to watch her. She was downright exquisite and he thought perhaps he'd come across a mythical woodland fairy, though they likely new more about bears.

She? Savy didn't think she wanted to know, remembering the warning the boys had given her. Her blue eyes still showed fear but it was less of him and more of what she thought was behind her. Savy pointed toward her back pack, not really sure what she should do. Wouldn't running draw attention? She hadn't heard or seen the bear when she knelt down by the water, it hadn't even been a minute before she heard the noise from this guy. "Camping." She didn't know if she was supposed to move toward him but he said away from the water so.. she grabbed her pack and turned again to move away from the edge of the river, though no closer to him since that wasn't away from the water. She went slowly, trying not to make noise and waiting to hear the sound of a gun shot behind her as she headed back toward where the boys had set up camp.

He shook his head and aimed toward the bear, clearly amused by her and her explanation, however brief. "Are you all high? Or are you just lost? Nobody comes out this deep... usually," he said, training the sight carefully toward the bear. The shot rang out and a large branch overhanging the water's edge fell between them and the creature, startling it to move further downstream for now. She wouldn't be deterred long, wanting to find the schools swimming through the upper stream currents that would bring her past them. "Alright. Go. Back from the water. Where is your camp?"

His comments were lost to her retreating back, she was already away from the water and heading the direction of camp, as she assumed he was going to shoot the bear. She was walking slowly, trying to be quiet but was moving away from him, she thought she heard him say something but didn't make it out. The moment the shot rang out, she started running, hearing something crash, her mind thought the bear was charging after her - definitely too many movies and books! She barely kept herself from screaming. The shot was heard by the guys back at camp which wasn't all that far from the river, the sounds of them yelling for her and charging through the trees toward the river was heard ahead of her. The crashing and shouting continued as she ran toward it, replying to her full name as well as her nickname being called. "I'm here!" She barrelled into the thick arms of her boyfriend as the others gathered around asking what had happened. Savy was breathing heavy and couldn't answer the flurry of 'wtf' right away.

The man with the rifle came up behind her slowly as she and her clan of numbskulls whooped and gathered, drawing more attention to themselves. "Don't all thank me at once," he scowled, sorry for her soon-to-be loss of her not-so-bright friends.

Savy pulled her head from where she'd burried it in her boyfriend's chest and gave a breathless. "Thank you." The sincerity shining in her gaze even if she was too shaken yet to fully express it in words. She heard the gruff 'what are we thanking him for?' coming from the others and her boyfriend's arm tighten around her. There were just the four guys and her.

[Lovely]

He lowered the rifle by his leg and leaned against the near tree. He'd heard the question clearly enough and grinned at the young upstart. "Saving your Maid Marion here from the locals. There's bear out here boys. One about made dinner of her. Ready to fight her off again when she comes back?"

Savy tilted her head back to look up at her boyfriend, her head nodding to the stranger's story. There were alot of grumbles and each of the boys blaming one of the others for them ending up here. Savy rolled her eyes and shook her head as they all sort of acted like jerks rather than trying to deal with the issue. "There's no way we can make it back to the truck before dark." She pointed out which started some more grumbling.

Her boyfriend regarded the stranger a moment. "What about you? You must know a short cut or have a cabin or something.. otherwise you wouldn't be out here.. maybe we're not that lost." He reasoned and hoped, the guy was out here after all and had helped Savy.

The man frowned, shaking his head, "Not anywhere near here. I'm out on a hunt, just me, Betsy here, and a few good tracking skills. Just happened to collide with your girl at the right time. Lost me a good bear skin, but I'll have another chance." He looked around the dimming canopy. "Nope, not making your truck before night. Sorry to break it to you, but it looks like you're stuck out here until morning. Think the bears are bad, wait til you have the wolves at night."

Savy shivered at the thoughts of bears and now wolves coming into their camp at night. She decided that she officially hated camping! Her fingers dug tighter into her boyfriend's shirt and she felt his fingers stroking through her hair gently to try to soothe her.

"You didn't have to say it like that.. she's shaken up as it is, you don't need to upset her more." He spat at the stranger, mad that he spoke so casually of the situation.

"We're not armed.. where did you make camp? Can we at least join you or have you join us? Dude we honestly just went farther off the trail than we thought.. we're not like hunters or professionals or nothing.. if you couldn't tell?" One of the other guys spoke up, thinking he did not want to tangle with any bears or wolves.

"Looks like that means I'm staying with you, then. I don't have a camp. This is my camp, more or less," he said, tugging the collar of his jacket with his thumb and finger, and gesturing with the rifle he kept low to keep them more at ease. The boxes of shells rattled in his pockets when he moved to reach up to a branch overhead and pull himself into the upper level of the tree which seemed to be an effortless task. He perched there a moment and looked back toward the river, then back to where their camp was set up. "Good as any spot for a lookout. Oh, and here," he said, unhooking the canteen he'd promised and tossing it to the ground by the girl. "Water, safe to drink. It's bear-free."

The one that had spoken up sighed with relief and reached to pick up the canteen to hand it to Savy, figuring she should get it since she was shaken up. "Thanks, dude.. we so owe you.."

[Lovely]

"Thanks.. I'm alright." Savy gently refused the canteen. "I wasn't thirty.. I was hot. I was just trying to cool off a little after walking." She smiled faintly as she glanced up to the tree. "Thank you again.. maybe if you're ever in our neck of the not-woods you can come by for drinks or grill some steaks...?" She offered politely and sincerely, he had saved her life after all. She gently pulled away from her boyfriend and stepped over to the tree, holding the canteen up for him to take it back. "I'm Savanah." Her boyfriend did his best not to show the jealousy that flared up in him, but it likely filled the air around him.

He dropped back down from the branches and smiled, shaking back a few unruly locks that had found their way in front of his sharp eyes. "Robin," he said, taking the canteen from her gently with a nod. She truly was thankful, though he sensed the annoyance in her boytoy beside her. Jealous of him? Oh, that was too cute to ignore. The boy who'd been gracious didn't earn quite the challenging glance.

Savy smiled in return, it was hard not to with how Robin's face changed with his smile, she got the urge to squidge his cheeks, it made him seem warmer and a little goofy. He was still an attractive man even if he was a little older than her.. not like the usual guys that caught her eye. "It's very nice to meet you... though I may never camp again." She teased with a slight laugh as she slowly relaxed a bit from her scare. Her boyfriend was behind her glaring slightly but trying to be polite, since they guy had saved her life.

The more gracious of the boys spoke up again. "Are you hungry, man? Ahh we have food.. hotdogs and chips... crap! Won't the smell attract the animals?"

[Lovely]

************************

9:45pm


The small group of hikers had taken the advice of the older and obviously more knowledgeable man who'd saved Savy from the bear. The camp was made, though it wasn't much since they'd not planned on or brought the proper gear for camping. The trip had been meant only as a day hike and they'd be back in their trucks before dark. Despite the grumbling and some unease, they'd made the best of what they did have and had settled down for the night. Savy and Dusty had both made brief trips over to the tree where Nance had taken up his watch, offering him food or drinks when they did. The gesture had been made out of gratitude and kindness from them both but for Savy it was also an excuse to spend a few moments with the man. She felt strangely drawn to the man, despite the fact that he was older than she was and that she had a boyfriend. She told herself it was because he saved her life, but was that really all it was? Her visits had been brief and not nearly long enough to really discover anything except small things she liked about him, the way he smiled, his eyes, his voice.. She was thinking about those things as she drifted off to sleep next to her boyfriend, who's arm was wrapped possessively around her waist. The ground without a sleeping bag wasn't the most comfortable but it had been a long and tiring day for them all, the group didn't chat much and all fell asleep early. Dusty had a smoke, which he'd also offered to Robin during one of his trips out, and dozed peaceful with a slight smile on his face.

Robin's smile brightened with the herbal offering. "Been a long time. Thanks," he said, taking in the sweet smoke with a wealth of cherished memories as he watched the young man shuffle back to the camp and drift into peaceful slumber with the girl and the others. "Too long," he muttered to himself as the last of the smoke faded from the final exhale and the tiny ember snuffed itself out against the paper in his fingertips. Too long since he'd eaten a 'proper' meal and the smoke refreshed that memory with a vengeance. The hunger wasn't all that had woken, he realized, drawing his sleeve over his mouth and nose. The scent of the bear still lingered but wasn't enough to mask the scents from her and the others. Damned be the arm around her waist, he thought, and how simple it otherwise would have been to slip silently away with her into the deeper woods to show her more things to fear in the wild that she was wholly unprepared to face. Robin chuckled to himself with a better thought. "Two birds, one bite... sure to get my point across," he thought out loud as he stood and started to quietly pace around the camp, figuring the best way to strike and watching her as she stirred slightly under the other man's clamped but weak protection.

The smoke and voices hadn't gone unnoticed by his brothers. As he paced, several pairs of unfriendly eyes began to beam beneath the shadowy growth around their clearing. As quiet as Robin's foot falls, thick, woolly paws padded around the group in a similar circle as each of the creatures emerged and followed suit, picking out their best 'seat' and waiting for the leader to signal that the music had stopped. Robin glanced to them all, his lips wet and dripping as he stopped by Savy and her dear, unfortunate friend. A disapproving glance met the creature that stopped by Dusty's side. He lifted his hand, motioning that the boy was off limits. That he had a better plan in mind for him shone in Robin's grin and nod as the creature obeyed and sought another target. He looked to them all and gave another nod as he darted forward, pulling the boy beside Savy fully from the ground like a child's doll and holding him aloft, waiting for the scream... the end of the music and beginning of his fun.

Savy stirred in her sleep a few times, disturbed by her dreams of man she'd barely met and the hard ground beneath her, she didn't wake until she was jerked. The arm wrapped around her so snugly was yanked away and she was moved with it but left behind as he was lifted into the air. Savy heard him scream and rolled to her back, her eyes wide and frightened before she even knew what there was to fear. The scream was more high pitched than one might expect from such a 'tough guy' as her boyfriend, sounding more like a woman. The sound had Savy yelping in surprise as she stared, finding herself in shock over the sight that faced her.

Dusty was a bit more slow in waking, he'd relaxed himself quite a bit with the smoke he'd shared with Robin. The loud scream was enough to wake the others who began to make noises of their own, Dusty stirred and blinked in confusion. What the hell? He didn't scream but sat up, looking around to try to make sense of what was happening.

Robin appeared absolutely giddy, tossing the flailing boy up further in the air by the arm then snapping him like a bull whip to land painfully on the hard ground by his feet. Robin's words seemed to utter something about liking his meat tender as the guttural tones contorted with the shape of the man's face that stretched itself into a form resembling the wolves that tore at other slumbering members of the camp. He focused on Savy, waiting a brief moment for her panic and all-too-alert terror to set in and ensure she understood what was about to become of her beloved human companion, his teeth bared and ready.

Her shock was not only because of the insanity that seemed to play out in front and around her but that Robin was part of it. She'd trusted him and it was like someone punched her in the stomach to see him attacking. Her head shook ever so slightly to try to deny what she witnessed, her heart pounded in her chest. Her eyes only left him as she glanced to her broken boyfriend but returned to see his face contort into a wolfen shape. Terror and panic filled her, her eyes welling with tears but something else also seeped in - anger for the betrayal. "You son of b*tch! I trusted you." She hissed the words and despite what she'd seen, she lunged at Robin, her hand closing around the strap of her bag pack - the intent to bash him with it.