Healing the Storm

[Maira]

The cool mountain air was soothing to Storm Runner. Her human side was in turmoil so the black she-wolf had taken over to make sure that they were fed and safe. Jezza had gotten them to Cedar Valley, her sister Emily had tried to help but in the end had given in and had contacted the local pack to ask where Jezza might be able to run without intruding on their territory. Once Emily had that information the sisters had driven out to the mountains and Jezza had forced Storm Runner to the surface as soon as she was out of the car.

Since being forced out, Storm Runner had lost track of how many nights had passed but she was truly enjoying her freedom. She hunted as she pleased, slept and ran at whim, and just generally lived as a wolf while her human side slumbered. When the wolf came across the mountain lake one night on her wanderings, she spent a lot of time exploring the surroundings. It seemed that there was a high number of animals visited the lake and there were also a few potential den sites that would require only minimal digging out to be suitable long term homes. She wasn't sure how long her human side would be dormant but she was growing tired of wandering and the lake area seemed an ideal place to settle in and wait.

It was nearly morning when Storm Runner discovered a very strange scent. Whatever the being was it smelled mostly human, male even, but there was also an intriguing underlying combination of water, stone, and horse? If the smell had been purely human it wouldn't have mattered how ideal the lake site was for a home territory she would have left. There was no point risking being shot just to have a comfortable den. But because the scent wasn't purely human, and because horses were rarely anything threatening, Storm Runner's curiosity got the better of her. Still, she would wait to choose and make her den until she knew for sure that the strange male wouldn't hurt her.

[Demeter]

Something was going on up at the high lake. As no one had heard from the elemental whow atched over that body of water for several months now, Kamen feared that the flighty female had fled to a warmer place. Normally, he was content to keep an eye on the high lake from his own body water as it was fed from the other lake. But everything was buzzy about something new at the lake. So, Kamen thought to check things out in person. He wondered if some displaced elemental had stumbled across the abandoned water.

After checking to make sure that his little farm was locked up tight and the animals secure, Kamen stripped out of his clothing. Whole stowing away the jeans and light sweater, Kamen considered his options for getting to the high lake. There were no roads up to the lake and he didn't want to hike, the form similar to a merman's was to awkward to get up the river and falls and a fish would be beaten bloody. The snake would take too long and that left the horse. Grinning, because it was his favorite form, Kamen shifted into the shape of a large white horse before wheeling left and starting up through the forest.

On the way up, he stopped to speak to several other elementals, all of them filled with gossip about someone knew in the forest. Many of the Dryads were chattering about a wolf. Cautious, for a wolf may see a horse as its next meal, Kamen entered into the clear space of shore. He glanced at the lake; all seemed fine before looking around. There was definatly a new smell here. He swung his head around until he found the wolf. She was sitting by a pile of boulders, half hidden by the rocks.

Unlike any normal horse, Kamen slowly made his way towards the wolf.

[Maira]

She had been prowling around the lake for a few days, sort of settling into a routine despite her lack of a permanent den, when she finally ran into him. She had been half-heartedly tracking some small rodent for her lunch when she caught his scent. She was already half hidden by a group of boulders so all she did was crouch down a little and she peered in the direction she thought she heard him coming from. The scent of horse was stronger today but she could still catch the other various smells lingering underneath, including that of a human male. When he finally stepped out of the trees and into clear area near the shore of the lake, Storm Runner tilted her head curiously. Since when did horses have lip and nose rings? That sight convinced the black wolf that whoever he was, he likely wasn't going to harm her and she slowly picked her way out of the pile of boulders.

Once free of the rocks, Storm Runner stopped and waited to see what the horse's next move would be. She was curious about him and wanted to learn more, but she just didn't think that even walking slowly right up to him would be the best plan. The last thing she wanted to do was be perceived as a threat. Horses in general were prey animals but as Storm Runner was a lone wolf at the moment and not in a pack, and the horse was much bigger than she was, he actually would probably have the advantage if it came to a fight.

[Demeter]

Kamen wound his way acround the shore until he was fairly close to the wolf. Though still strong in this form, his sense of smell as not as powerful as a true horse and the wolf had been upwind. Now that he was closer, Kamen stretched his neck out and inhaled. Below the scent of wolf was the very faint smell of human. She was a shifter.

Kamen relaxed after learning this and shifted back into his more human form. Pale as snow, he slipped into the lake until he was waist deep. Still staring at the wolf, he tested the water and found it just as pure and clean as the last time he'd checked in. And there was no displaced elmentals lingering here, which meant the wolf was the new being.

Remaining in the water, Kamen studied the wolf as she studied him. "The weather looks to be taking a turn for the worse. If you want more comfort than a few boulders can provider in wet weather, I live at a small farm near the lower lake. If you promise not to disturb my animals too much, I'll leave a path into the barn open for you. Or, should your human half desire something other than my barn, you are always welcome in my home."

He kept staring at the wolf; the scent of human was so faint on the wolf and he wondered what had happened to make her retreat so far into herself.

[Maira]

She really had no idea what to make of him. First he was a horse then he was human looking, though she quickly realized he wasn't human at all, and when he started talking to her while he was waist deep in the water, Storm Runner was even more confused. Was it his horse side that was able to smell Jezza asleep inside her? Storm Runner could barely smell her human half on her anymore. Or maybe the strange human look-alike had some powers of sensing the true nature of a person or creature that had alerted him to Jezza's sleeping presence. However he had done it, the fact that he was talking to the wolf and including her human half was very disconcerting.

Now knowing with almost 100% certainty that the man wouldn't hurt her, Storm Runner padded to the edge of the lake and sat down while she watched him for a moment before answering, **The offer of your home is very welcome but I'm not sure when she will wake up and I understand if you wouldn't want a wolf in your home. I am content to live as a wolf in the woods if your animals would be bothered by my presence but if you think they wouldn't mind, I would greatly appreciate somewhere to go if the weather turns too bad.**

As if to emphasize the man's words about the weather turning, an cold wind ruffled the fur on her back and tail. Even if the man offered her a place in his barn or home, she still needed to dig a den soon. Just because she was welcome now doesn't mean she always would be and once the ground froze she wouldn't be able to dig a den nearly as easily so it would just be more practical to do so before the weather turned for good. Plus, there were bound to be some nicer days here and there throughout the winter and it would be nice to have somewhere of her own to spend time.

[Demeter]

Kamen smiled and if he was startled by the method of communication, he didn't show it. Most elementals were capable of telepathy as they were connected to the very earth and all things in it. "I wouldn't mind a wolf in my home but I understand the need for solitude. Should you want somewhere warm and dry and something more than simple minded cows, chickens or pigs to keep you company," Kamen emerged from the water and, shifting once more to a horse's shape, shook the water from his body. He glanced towards the wolf. "I'll leave you to the lake. If you need anything, just ask the forest. You have more friends here than you think."

He left the lake's clearing then and carefully left his scent for the she-wolf to follow to his home by the lower lake. As on the trip up, he stopped to speak with the elementals that inhabited the forest, letting them know that the wolf by the upper lake meant no harm. He told them that she was a shifter seeking solace from something in her life, at least, that was the only reason he could figure for the human part of her to be buried so deep.

He returned to his home, shifted to the shape of a man and dressed. After releasing his animals from the barn, Kamen went around to the rear of the building and slid a panel free from the wall. After securing the door to the rear stall, Kamen returned to the barn and prepped the area for a possible visitor. Years ago, he'd blocked off this last stall from the others. Sturdy metal wiring seperated it from the others and offered shelter for all kinds of animals in the winter months.

***

It wasn't long before the weather turned nasty. A few weeks after his trip to the upper lake, the first snows started to fall. The flakes didn't stick around but that was a sign to start hunkering down for the winter. His dairy stock will be well fed through the winter but the pork, beef, and what chicken stock he felt was surplus had either been sold off or butchered for his own use.

In those few weeks, he'd gone back up to the high lake and noticed the signs that the wolf was still there. There'd also been indications that she'd sheltered in the barn on a few of the nights since then but hadn't approached the house yet. As he stocked straw and hay into the main barn, Kamen wondered if she would remain at the lake through the coming winter or if the human would wake and return to her home. He was curious about the shifter.

That night, as he settled down to read and eat his dinner of hearty beef stew, Kamen listened to the howling wind outside of his snug little home. This storm would be worst yet and he knew it wouldn't be long before the wolf had to make a move. Either the woman within the wolf had to wake soon to make it off the mountain before travel was impossible or, should she stay through the winter, she would have to find a place to offer shelter should the woman turn back.

[Maira]

Living by instinct took over Storm Runner's daily habits pretty quickly after her run-in with the strange man. Only on the coldest of nights did she seem to come out of pure wolf mode to remember he had spoke to her at all and had offered somewhere warm, at which point she had taken him up on his offer to spend nights in his barn. It was mostly warm enough but the company left something to be desired. As she was only using the barn as shelter though and not actual social interaction she didn't let it bother her.

One morning after she returned home from the barn she found that her den had been hijacked by other forest creatures and she spent the rest of the day trying to dig out another one at one of her alternate site choices. At first it seemed to be going well but the deeper she tried digging the more resistance she found from the cold hard ground. Frustrated, Storm Runner decided that instead of wasting all of her energy on digging frozen ground that she would just have to utilize the barn more and slowly dig out a new den little by little. Maybe she would even be able to find a spot closer to the man's house that wasn't as froze since he lived farther down the mountains.

She took her time making her way down the mountain, scouting for den sites along the way. She didn't find anything that wasn't just as frozen as the one she had left and by the time she got to the barn, Storm Runner was even more frustrated. She was just about to slip inside the building with the other animals when she smelled something that made her mouth water which made her realize she hadn't been hunting in a few days. Weighing her options of going for a hunt now before turning in for the night, going hungry and going hunting tomorrow, or testing the lengths of the man's offer of hospitality, Storm Runner opted for the third option. If he offered her food she would happily take it, if he didn't then it wouldn't be her first night with an empty stomach and at least she would know where he stood.

Changing her course, Storm Runner padded from the barn and followed the man's scent to what appeared to be a little wooden cabin butted up against a rock cliff. She wondered just how something that small was supposed to have room for the man as well as her, in either wolf form or human form, but picked up her pace anyway. The wonderful smell being blown around by the increasing winds was making her stomach rumble eagerly at the prospects of a nice hot meal. Only when she reached the cabin did she realize she had no idea how to let the man know she was interested in coming inside. Scratching at the door like a common dog or yipping to be let in both seemed rather embarrassing, especially considering the weather, but she wasn't sure entirely how far his telepathic range extended. Hoping for the least amount of embarrassment, Storm Runner felt around for the man's mind and was happily surprised to find it. Not wanting him to think she was spying on him, she wasted no time in sending to him, **Would you mind a little company tonight?** The words might have been a bit cheesy, but they were the only ones she could think of quickly that served both the purpose of letting him know she was waiting outside, and also kept any embarrassing story of being kicked out of her den by a family of possums from being brought up just yet.

[Demeter]

The voice of the wolf coming out of nowhere did startle him. He burned his mouth on a hot bite of stew. Yelping slightly, Kamen crossed to the door and opened for the wolf. "Please, come in, dear and get out of this cold." Once the wolf was across the threshold, he closed the door and slid the bolt back into place. He turned to find the wolf staring at his pot of stew.

Able to take a hint, Kamen hunted up something slightly larger than a soup bowl and dished some of the stew up. "It seems rude to serve you on the floor like a common dog, since you are, in fact, not a dog. And my dining chairs aren't made for wolves." Kamen glanced from wolf to the low table in front of the fireplace. "Coffee table?"

When she gave her consent to that idea, Kamen gathered the bowl of stew, along with a second bowl of cool water and a placemat. He laid out the meal for his guest before retrieving his own meal from the dining table. He sat on the floor next to the wolf. "Carefull, it is really hot. Wasn't paying attention again and forgot to turn the stove down."

They ate in comfortable silence and once the dishes had been emptied and cleaned, Kamen looked at the wolf. She'd chosen to settle onto once side of his couch. This part of his home was still exposed to the elements but the fireplace had been carved from the rock of the cliff. Kamen took the spot next to the wolf. "I suppose we should formally introduce ourselves. I'm Kamen, a water elemental."

[Maira]

She hadn't meant to stare at the stew pot, but the smells wafting from it to her sensitive nose just drew her attention like a strong magnet. The man had caught her staring and while she hadn't meant to, the resulting offer of food was very welcome. He had given her a large bowl on his coffee table and even though it was very good, it was also very hot and she had to eat more slowly than she normally would have. Of course, given that she was in the company of a person and not other wolves, it was probably best she was eating slowly.

After the man picked up her empty bowl and took it and his own to the kitchen, she looked around for somewhere to rest for a while and while near the fire would have been ideal, the floor looked incredibly uncomfortable. She hoped he wouldn't mind, but she jumped up onto one end of his couch and laid her muzzle on her front paws to watch the warm fire as it danced.

When he came back and took a seat beside her, she listened as he spoke and blinked in surprise when he told her he was an elemental. She had always had a feeling elementals were real, but she hadn't thought they would ever take human form. Even on her wolfish face her surprise must have been obvious because Kamen smirked a bit. Not wanting to seem rude, she answered him, **The wolf-me laying here on your couch is Storm Runner. My human side is named Jessalyn, though she prefers to be called Jezza.** Then, so as not to seem ungrateful she added, **Thank you Kamen for the warmth and the food, both are a comfort tonight. I spent last night in your barn and when I returned to my den some other forest creatures had moved in. I tried to dig another but the ground is too frozen to get deep enough.**

[Demeter]

Kamen smiled at the shifter. "Everyone is looking for warm places to sleep now. Many of the earth elementals in the forest have already gone to sleep for the winter. I won't, thought, because of my farm and because we water elementals don't get time off in the winter. The water is rarely ever still below the ice," he looked towards the fire. "Barn or house, you and Jezza are welcome to stay. If she can't handle the stay, or if you do find a new den, just know that you will always find a warm meal here."

They talked for a few more hours before each turned in for the night. In the morning, Kamen rose and dressed early. He went from bedroom to living room and smiled at Stormrunner, still curled on the couch. Noting the chill in the air, he tossed a log on the fire and stirred up the embers. He also took the time to tuck a blanket around the wolf. That done, Kamen pulled on his workboots and heavy coat. Before slipping outside to tend his animals, he paused and looked back at Stormrunner. He took a moment to tie a sturdy length of rope onto the handle, making it possible for Stormrunner to come and go.

He stood outside, looking at a frost-covered world. He could feel the small spikes of ice melting into morning dew. Winter was definatly settling into the mountians. Before long the passes would be closed and his farm would be isolated. Shrugging, because he truly preferred it that way, Kamen headed for his barn. And after those chores were done, he headed into his workshop.

There was a chunk of obsidian on his worktable that had been taunting him for a while now. Difficult to work with, he'd waited to see what was hidden in the black stone. He now knew what was at the heart of that rock was a black wolf looking for shelter and to ease her heart. Setting out the special tools needed, Kamen sat at his worktable and pulled the stone close to him.

Hours later, he lifted his head. He was hungry and his back hurt. Grumbling, Kamen returned to his house but found it empty. Stormrunner must have woken and left at somepoint, he thought. He wondered if she would come back. After eating some leftover stew, Kamen cleaned out the back bedroom, just in case.

That night, when the temperature dropped, he found her on his doorstep, looking miserable. As Kamen stepped back to let her in, he said "You should just give in and stay here till the spring thaw."

[Maira]

Stormrunner hadn't meant to falls asleep on Kamen's couch but the warmth of the fire coupled with a full belly and an evening of good conversation had relaxed her so much that when he finally wandered off to bed she had just drifted off. After her very restful night, the black wolf had slipped out of the cabin and had taken to the forest around his farm in search of a site for a new den. She found many spots that would have made excellent dens, but every time she started trying to dig them out she ran into teither frozen ground or bedrock just under the surface.

By mid-afternoon Stormrunner gave up her search for a new den and instead ran further up the mountain, toward her lake, to hunt. She didn't want to disturb the animals at or around Kamen's farm so she made sure she was well out of range of the local animals. The only problem with running so far so late in the day was that by the time she had caught, killed, and eaten her meal the sky was already darkening. By the time she got back to Kamen's cabin she was chilled down to her bones and when he suggested she give up and just stay at the cabin she was ready to do just that. He was offering her a better "den" than the one she had lost and she could just as easily use his cabin as a home-base for her wanderings as she could a real den.

As she entered the cabin and bee-lined for the fire she answered him, **So long as you don't call me Fluffy and start feeding me dog kibble I think i'll take you up on your offer.** As she reached the fire she turned, sat on her haunches, and gave Kamen a wolfish grin with her tongue lolling out one side.

*****

The coldest part of winter had come and Stormrunner was imminently grateful for the arrangement she had with Kamen. Not only was she guaranteed a warm dry place to sleep, but now that game was sparse she also had a guaranteed source of food. Above all of those things though, she was most grateful for the companionship the man provided, especially since Jezza had been silently sleeping for so long. If it hadn't been for Kamen's presence, Stormrunner was almost certain she would have lost her human side entirely and that she would have become pure wolf. It wasn't the same as going feral because the two halves of her weren't fighting for dominance; Jezza had willingly surrendered their body to Stormrunner.

But now, months after she had gone silent, Stormrunner was beginning to feel Jezza start to return. At first she wasn't sure if the change she felt meant what she thought it did, but then Jezza started dreaming again. One night after coming back to the cabin from her daily wanderings, Storm runner told Kame of the change in her human half. **She's dreaming again and sometimes it seems like she's even watching through me. I don't know how long this may take but I'm hoping this means she will be making an appearance soon.** This last, Stormrunner told Kamen in hopes that he would prepare for the possibly very upset and completely naked woman that might soon take the wolf's place in his cabin.

Less than a week after giving Kamen the head's up, Stormrunner was woken in the middle of the night when she felt something inside of her shift. She sighed with relief and then grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch with her mouth and pulled it over herself before drifting back to sleep. Stormrunner had a feeling that it wouldn't be her waking up on Kamen's couch in the morning.

*****

Jezza whimpered lightly as her human body replaced that of the wolf's after so long. Somehow though she didn't wake from the Shift and she kept right on sleeping until morning. What finally woke her was the sound of somebody rustling around in the kitchen accompanied by the smell of bacon cooking. With a yawn and a stretch, Jezza came to full awareness and realized that she had only the vaguest idea of where she was. It took her a moment but with help from Stormrunner's shared memories she quickly learned what she needed to know about the past few months. Including just who's couch she was laying on. With the sharing of those memories came the resurfacing of her own, and the grief behind why she had run to her sister in the first place hit her anew. Unlike before, Stormrunner refused Jezza's attempts to shift and leave the pain behind. With grief choking her voice, Jezza cursed her other half, "Damn wolf!" and rolled over onto her stomach to bury her face in the couch as the tears fell and her body shook with sobs.

[Demeter]

Kamen listened to the woman's sobs with one ear. He'd noticed that his canine friend had returned to her human form overnight. He's action in the kitchen must have woken her and he left her to her misery. Whatever she was running from must be a doozy, he thought as he at his breakfast standing at the counter. Before going out to tend his livestock, he stopped at the couch. "Coffee's hot. Help yourself to whatever is in the fridge. There's some clothing that should fit in the second bedroom," he said before heading out.

He tended his animals and retired to his workshop. He spent the hours between breakfast and lunch working with the obsidian wolf he was carving. At lunch, he went into the house and noticed that the woman was on the couch. He repeated the process of cooking food, soup this time, and telling the woman that the coffee was hot and to help herself to whatever was in the fridge, he headed back out to the workshop.

At dinner time, Kamen changed his routine. With a full coffee cup in hand, he crouched in front of the couch and waved it under her nose. "Jezza, you have to get up," he said, "you can't hide forever. Whatever you are running from won't get better if you just sit there."

Stormrunner hadn't told him what they were hurting from but he knew that it had to bad. He waved the coffee under her nose again. "Come on, Jezza, get up. No offense, but you need a shower. Your choices are to take one under your own power or I dump you in a tub of water and scrub you myself."

[Maira]

Despite the man's offers of coffee, food, and clothes Jezza just didn't have the motivation to get up off the couch. She spent a good portion of the day sleeping, trying to block out her memories with dreams. Only her dreams weren't any better than her memories. She couldn't shut out the visions of her red-haired little boy or his red-haired papa. They ranged from happy visions of playing in the park to reliving finding them beaten and bloody, ravaged by the rival pack that had been intruding on their pack's territory.

Whenever the man tried talking to her, Jezza couldn't help but cringe away and curl tighter into a ball. From Stormrunner's memories she knew he looked nothing like her lost mate, but Kamen's voice had a strange similarity to Mason's and it just made her heart ache to hear him talk. By the evening meal she was so lost in her efforts to shut out the memories and dreams that she didn't even hear Kamen's last attempt to get a reaction from her. When he finally gave up waiting for that reaction and disappeared for a while she didn't even notice. Only when he grabbed her up off the couch was Jezza shocked out of her oblivion and she just stared at him dumbfounded. What the hell was this pale man, Kamen it must be, doing carrying her through his cabin?

[Demeter]

Kamen retreated to gather his supplies. If the woman wasn't going to shower herself, he'd do it for her. He gathered towels and some of the clothing the female elementals tended to leave at his house for safe keeping and dropped them in the bathroom. He returned to the living room where Jezza remained on the couch. He gave her one last chance for her to get up on her own before he did it.

When she just remained prone on the couch, lost in her memories, Kamen picked her up and carried her through his house to the bathroom. In the bathroom, he gave Jezza a look before just dropping her into the tub filled with hot water. When she came up sputtering at him, Kamen just shrugged his shoulders and tossed a bar of homemade soap into the tub. "Clean yourself up, Jezza, and then come out for some food. Your body has different needs then Stormrunner."

Kamen strolled out of the bathroom and sat in the living room, waiting for Jezza to come out. When she did, with wet hair and a scowl, Kamen smiled at her. "Can I get you a sandwich or some soup?"

[Maira]

The unceremonious dumping into a tub of hot water and having a bar of soap tossed at her had been enough of a shock to distract Jezza temporarily from her worries. At Kamen's instructions to get clean and then come out for some food, Jezza just glared at him and waited until he'd retreated before she sat up fully in the tub to scrub herself clean of the dirt she'd accumulated while in wolf form. The longer she stayed in the hot steamy bathroom, the darker Jezza's mood got and by the time she was finished washing, her skin was scrubbed nearly raw as if in an attempt to rid her body of the memories of Mason's touch and little Olwyn's snuggles.

When she finally emerged from the bathroom, hair still wet and eyes red from crying, she scowled at Kamen where he sat on the couch. The smile he gave her as he offered to get her food took her off guard and the scowl slipped from her face to be replaced by a look of genuine surprise. Then her stomach growled loudly and she looked at the floor sheepishly before answering, "I suppose food would be good, thank you."

The clothes Kamen had left for her in the bathroom were a bit looser on her than she would have preferred, but she had a feeling that had to do with the fact that she was also much leaner than normal. Living as a wolf for however long had been a huge changed for her metabolically and it showed in the loss of her curves and the slight protrusion of her ribs, hip bones, and other boney areas. As she waited for Kamen to return with the food, she stare absently into the fire watching it dance in the stone hearth. It was a hypnotizing sight and Kamen's entrance into the room startled her a bit.

Looking up just as he held out a play with a sandwich and a bowl of soup on it, Jezza gave him a small smile to show her gratitude before tucking into the sources of the heavenly smells that were accosting her nose. In short order, Jezza had polished off both the sandwich and the soup and she felt surprisingly better. With a cynical smirk she asked Kamen jokingly, "What did you put in that? It was fantastic and I feel almost normal for the first time in a long time."

[Demeter]

Kamen blinked. "Nothing special. All of the stuff in the sandwich came from this farm. As for the soup, secret family recipe. Crack open a can of campbell's chicken noodle," he said as he sat down next to her. "I'm not going to pester you about why you are hiding out in the high mountains during what promises to be a horrible winter but this isn't a free ride. Now that the wolf is sleeping, you've got chores in exchange for room and board."

The look on the woman's face was just a bit comical and the first time she'd tried to collect eggs from his chickens had caused Kamen to double over with laughter.

Eventually, Jezza just fell into the rhythm of farm life. 
He wasn't sure what she did between meals and chore times. He was either in his workshop or out checking the water sources if the forest. The cold didn't bother him like it would others. After all, his strength was in the ice and water. But even he could be driven inside for the worst of the weather. 

In early late January, a blizzard howled into the mountains and stayed for several days. Kamen would go out to care for the animals in the barn but most if the time was spent in the cabin, huddled near the fireplace. He had a generator but it was only used for essential things. 

On the second night of the blizzard, as they were getting ready for another freezing night, Kamen stopped by Jezza's room. She answered his knock while wearing a heavy blanket over her shoulders. "Don't take this the wrong way but if you get too cold, my room is right down the hall. Two bodies would create more heat then just one."

He saw it, the quick flare of interest before he retreated to his own room. While he wasn't interested in a relationship with emotions attached, as he considered himself still very married to his missing wife, a physical relationship wouldn't hurt. And Jezza was an attractive woman now that her curves had filled back out. He cocked his head when he heard her voice. Was she arguing with herself? 

He listened further and determined that she was actually arguing with the wolf and how being with him in that way would be a betrayal. So, there was another personal at the center of her issues but she'd run away from the person but still felt very attached. Kamen glanced at the sculpture of his wife; he understood how that could be but sometimes a person just had to be with someone. 

Making up his mind, Kamen left his room and travelled the short distance to Jezza's. He didn't bother with knocking in the door, he just let himself in. Closing the door behind him, Kamen stares across the room at Jeeza. She was sitting up in bed, wearing the t-shirt he loaned her for sleepwear. He crossed the room and when she didn't say anything, he lifted the covers. 

She still didn't say anything as he climbed into the bed and scooted close to her. He lifted a hand, used it to cup her jaw. "Is it really a betrayal, Jezza, to seek a little comfort on this cold, dark night?" he asked before leaning down to kiss her. When she didn't protest, he took things farther. 

[Maira]

Her time at Kamen's cabin and farm after waking up was good for her. The food was more than filling and she soon regained her more healthy, curvy shape instead of the extra lean animal that living as a wolf for months had turned her into. She also learned a bit about farming. In winter it was luckily only collecting eggs and feeding and caring for the various animals but considering those were skills she never had before, they were a bit challenging until she got the hang of things.

During her free time, Jezza would go for hikes and after she promised not to disappear into herself again, Stormrunner even agreed to go for runs and hunt. Mostly the pair just worked on getting Jezza in a better state of mind. The activity helped, as did the time alone with her wolf so they could both try and work through the feelings of their loss. Jezza was angry at how easily it seemed that Stormrunner had moved on from the death of their mate but when Stormrunner pointed out that she'd had months longer to process everything, Jezza just snarled at her about rubbing her weakness in her face.

When a blizzard came blowing through in January, the inability to get out and move was hard on both the wolf and the woman. Even the first day was a trial and Jezza kept pacing between the fireplace and the windows that looked out over the storm ridden-mountainside. By day two she had given up pacing to the window because the view just made her more anxious. She'd never been trapped like this before and it gave her entirely too much time to dwell on things. Her attempts at distracting herself from the weather and the small size of the cabin involved the few books Kamen had in the cabin and a long lost past-time of drawing.

She'd been in her room for a while already when there was a knock on her door, in a rush she flipped closed the pages of the legal pad she'd found and asked Kamen for and then she hurried to the door, a blanket around her shoulders to keep her warm. His words were simple and logical but just the thought of sharing a bed with anybody besides Mason made her throat tighten. At the same time, however, Stormrunner surged to awareness and her eagerness to share Kamen's bed shone through Jezza's eyes. When Kamen didn't have anything else to say, and he turned and went to his own room, Jezza stared at his closed door blankly for a few moments before going back into her own room.

The argument between Jezza and Stormrunner that ensued when she refused to follow the man down the hall to his bedroom was probably the biggest fight the two had ever had. Jezza wasn't done grieving for Mason and felt like she'd be betraying him, but Stormrunner was missing companionship and didn't like Jezza being so alone either. It went on and on like that, the pair of them arguing in circles. At some point Jezza had shed her blanket-turned-shawl, spread it on the bed and crawled in under it.

She was shivering, wishing the sheets would hurry and warm up, when her door opened and Kamen let himself in. Sitting up in surprise she watched him as he walked toward her then lifted the blankets and scooted into bed beside her. When he scooted closer, cupped her jaw and told her it wasn't a betrayal to seek comfort from another, Jezza didn't even know what to think let alone what to do.

Kamen started with gentle caresses and it wasn't until he kissed her along her jaw that Jezza snapped out of her shock. In that instant, her demeanor changed and with a barely contained snarl she took charge, swinging a leg over him to straddle his hips. Her kisses here rough, her nips were more like bites, and her fingernails left long red welts on his skin even through his shirt. She never broke Kamen's skin, but she knew he'd likely have marks tomorrow. He tried to touch her, to caress her and she snagged his wrist and pinned it. Only that didn't last long.

Before she knew what was happening and could fight it, Jezza found herself on her back and her own wrists being held. Kamen leaned in close to her and whispered softly, "We are not betraying them, they would understand." Jezza's urge to run was strong, she nearly managed to wiggle out from under Kamen, but Stormrunner stopped her. **I want this, Jezza, please I need this!** Between the plea from her wolf, and the now tender caresses and reassurances of Kamen's words, Jezza gave in and let him make love to her.

He was so gentle and so attentive, Jezza couldn't help but reciprocate when her body started to respond. Even as tears slid down her cheeks, missing her mate, Jezza let herself be comforted by this man she was growing to know and care for as a friend.

After their third round Jezza stumbled from the bed and her room, a blanket once again wrapped around her shoulders, as she hurried to the bathroom and then went to the kitchen to get something to snack on and drink. When she left, the blanket knocked the legal pad off the bed-side table and sent the few loose pages sliding across the floor. Of the three drawings, two were of a small boy-child with eyes the same shape as Jezza's and the third was of Stormrunner and another bigger wolf.

[Demeter]

Kamen heard the flutter of paper hitting the floor but he didn't move until Jezza was out the door. Once the last bit if her blanket was out the door, Kamen leaned over the bed and snatched the papers up. As he looked through the papers, Kamen started to get an idea of just what she was running from. When Jezza returned bearing plated sandwiches and a bottle of water, Kamen set the papers aside and helped her back into bed. 

From the way she glanced between the sketches and him, he knew that she'd seen him but he didn't say a thing. When he finished off his sandwich, he politely waited until she'd finished hers before making love to her again. He didn't even mention it for the next few days. He spent the length of the storm introducing his body to hers. 

It wasn't until the storm had passed and they were pitching out the barn that he even started to consider asking. His live stock was out, rooting about in the fresh snow. While Jezza broke up fresh bales of straw, he tossed down hay for the cows and filled grain pails. Once the morning trails were done and they were back in the house, Kamen brought it up. "How old was your little one?"

When she just stared at him, he gave her a little grin. "I put one and one together when I saw the sketches the other night. My boys, Emil and Filip, were three and seven months when they were killed. My daughter, Katerina, was ten when the Nazi's came and took her. The rest of my family were either killed if they were male or taken if they were female."

He reached out and covered her hand with his. "We are not all that different, Jezza."

[Maira]

She hadn't realized that he even remembered seeing her drawings that first night of the blizzard. Not until he brought it up days later, that is. When he asked how old her little one was, Jezza just stared at him blankly. When he went on to tell her about his own children and family, tears sprang to her eyes. The comfort and distraction that Kamen had provided her with their lovemaking suddenly wasn't enough anymore.

Jezza had known he'd had a wife, knew that the man still missed her, but she'd had no idea he was also a father. Somehow knowing that detail about him, knowing he too had suffered the loss of a murdered child, just increased Jezza's grief. His hands on hers, and his comforting words that they weren't that different, were just too much for her and the tears slid down her cheeks unnoticed by her. She withdrew her hands from his and hugged her arms tightly around herself.

A sob caught in her throat and after she managed to swallow it, and the lump now in her throat, Jezza told Kamen in a quiet, hoarse voice, "Finlay was two when the rival pack came into our home. He and my mate, Mason, were home while I was with our pack. They were sleeping when the other wolves slipped in and ripped them apart like they were prey." She was shaking with emotion, she hadn't meant to tell Kamen -what- had happened, only how old Finlay had been. But now that she'd started she felt she may as well tell him the rest. Taking a steadying breath she added, "I found them when I got home. The moment I got home, before I even made it in the flat, I knew something was wrong; I could smell the other wolves. When I opened the door I could smell blood and death. Our bedroom was closest to the door and considering how strong the smells were that came from there I knew that Mason was gone. I panicked and ran for Finlay's room. The smell of death wasn't coming from his room and the smell of blood was less so I hoped he was still alive."

Her tears were flowing even more now and Kamen stepped to her putting his arms around her. She flinched and tried to pull away at first but he just held her tighter. Her voice, straining not to choke u, squeaked out the last part of her awful story. "He -was- still alive but his body was so torn that I wasn't even able to force a shift on him to heal him. He was so far gone that he never even stirred when I picked him up out of the puddle of his own blood. He died in my arms and never even knew I was there. The last thing Finlay ever knew in our world was pain and hatred."

Jezza's words and her memories were finally exhausted and her body slumped against Kamen's. Burying her face in his chest, Jezza cried herself out. The guilt that had come with losing herself in his body days before was completely absent as she wept and he held her close. She was crying for her lost son and mate, in the arms of a man she barely knew, and for the first time since they had been taken from her she didn't want to join them.

*****

It was the realization that she wanted to keep living, even with Finlay and Mason gone, that finally helped Jezza open up to Kamen and really try to get to know him as more than just a housemate. Winter passed eventually, but not without two more blizzards. Between the first two, Jezza and Kamen had returned to their own beds, after the second one they both realized that their physical chemistry was worth enjoying even without the excuse of being confined to the house by a blizzard.

During the third blizzard is when Jezza began to suspect that their bedroom activities had been more fruitful than just stress relief and fun. Seeing as how the roads between Kamen's home and the town were impassable with snow until the end of April it was a while before she would be able to confirm anything.

Jezza's nausea and sensitivity to smells had been happening for almost two months before Kamen made plans to go into town to drop off some of his artwork at the gallery and get some supplies. While he was packing things up Jezza was pacing anxiously. She had meant to tell him about her suspicions before now, but with her not hiding in the wolf anymore Emily expected her to come down off the mountain for good and if she did then Kamen wouldn't be part of her life anymore. She wasn't sure she could do that though, but she also didn't know if Kamen even wanted her to stay anymore.

She finally couldn't contain her anxiety anymore and after he placed an especially heavy looking sculpture in his truck, Jezza blurted, "Do you want me to leave?" The startled look on Kamen's face only prodded her anxiety to higher levels and she added, "I will if you want me to, but I really like it here with you and I'm not ready to deal with my doting sister."

After a moment of stunned silence, Kamen asked her what had brought all of that on. Unconsciously her hands strayed to her abdomen and she whispered nervously, "I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant..."

[Demeter]

Kamen just barely managed to conceal his sigh of relief. She'd finally said something about it. He'd begun to suspect something a few months back but hadn't said anything. Even though he'd tried to be careful, he hadn't always manages to pull out in time during their couplings and in the months that she'd been here, Jezza hadn't had a single period. 

And it wasn't just that. He'd picked up on signs that Jezza herself might not have noticed. Her breasts were fuller and her waist had thickened, just a little. Not to mention that she could just sit down for two seconds and be asleep or the mood swings and munchies. 

He might have assigned all of it to her body's reaction to her grief if they hadn't been sleeping together. He had 't said anything to her because he wasn't sure but if they were thinking the same thing...

From his spot in the bed of the truck, where he was tying down the sculpture crates, Kamen grinned down at her. "I know. I was starting to wonder if you were going to say anything to me."

While she gaped at him, Kamen jumped over the side of the truck to land next to her. "A couple of millennia of leaving and being surrounded by five women in various states of pregnancy for somewhere around eight years has taught me to notice somethings. Such as your breasts being full and sensitive."

He took the bop on the head with grace. "I didn't want to say something because I wasn't sure how you'd accept it. I don't know how you feel about having another child so soon to losing Finlay so I decided not to bring the subject up until you said something. Though, I would have mentioned something if you hadn't said anything by the time your sister reclaimed you."

He hugged Jezza, drawing her in close. "What you want to do is ultimately up to you but I wouldn't mind if you stayed around. I like the help and the company. Consider this an open invitation to stay as long as you like."

He gave her rear a pat. "Now lets get on the road before your sister and my busybody manager hunt us down. We can stay longer for you to make an appointment and talk with someone."