9/17/99
Note: This is rather tame compared to the other SRU stories and I took a
few liberties with this one. I hope that I don't piss anyone off with it.
There is no sex on this one so if that is a deciding factor for you, pass
this one by. Please let me know what you think of this story, whether
you like or dislike it. I have other stories that I'm working on and
hopefully will post in the future.
This story may be posted to any sight that doesn't charge a fee. All
others must get my permission before they even attempt it.
SRU: Hunting Season
By: BillieJane
After a steady stream of customers had left for the day, the Wizard sent
his shop back into the realm between and relaxed for a few minutes. It
had been a very productive day. More than a few mis-satisfied
customers, he thought with a snicker.
" I know, I'll take a day off. I haven't had one of them in at least a
hundred years." So, with a snap of his fingers - totally unnecessary, but
satisfying none the less, he popped out of site. A whisper of his voice
could be heard addressing the large wolf sitting by the register. "Guard
the store well, or I'll see about having you bred when I get back." The
wolf groaned and covered its muzzle with its paws, hoping that nothing
happened before the wizard got back.
*********
Rick had been sitting on stand for over an hour and was getting more than
a little chilled. His feet were getting cold from the dew-soaked ground and
the sun wasn't even peering through the dense trees yet. At ten thousand
feet in Colorado, it was more like late October than the beginning of
September. You could even see a light dusting of snow up on the higher
peaks.
'Why do I let myself get talked into these situations', he fumed to
himself. ' I know a better spot where I'm much more likely to get an elk,
but -noooo- I have to let Mike talk me into setting up over here on the
north side where the sun isn't going to shine till after noon.'
Grumbling some more to himself, Rick decided that he had had enough
and moved out very slowly for the top of the mountain a couple hundred
feet above him. It was a very slow journey though as he wanted to make
sure he was as quiet as possible. He had done this just the day before and
moved so slow and quiet that he had actually walked within twenty feet
of a four-point Buck before it noticed him and bolted out of sight.
'Too bad I didn't have a buck tag, that animal would have fed me for a
couple of months.' He thought. 'Just as well though, I enjoy being able to
watch the wildlife without having to shoot it.' Rick was like that though.
He would much rather walk around the woods with a camera than a rifle,
but something inside him cried out every so often and he broke down and
went hunting with his buddies.
As he neared the top of the slope, which had taken him nearly an hour,
he spotted movement off to his left. Slowly dropping to one knee and
turning to face the movement, he was rewarded by the sight of a cow elk
standing with its head behind a tree less than fifty yards away. With his
finger on the trigger, he cocked his muzzle-loader and aimed at the animal.
'Wait for the head to appear, need to make sure itÕs got no antlers before
you shoot.'
An eternity later, his heart pounding loud enough that he was sure the elk
could hear, it took a step forward. Rick's eyes lit up as he realized that it
was indeed a cow and took careful aim and slowly squeezed the trigger.
********
The wizard re-materialized with an audible 'pop' in a meadow on the
sunny south side of a mountain in the wilderness of Colorado. He had
decided it was far too long since he had visited an old friend of his, the
Elk King. A mythical creature most thought, yet it had been the wizard
himself that had created this being. 'Such a long time ago that was'
thought the wizard. ' Now that was truly a work of transformation art.'
Now the wizard was back and as he took in the sights, he reached into
the neck of his robe and produced a whistle. He blew it three times and
waited. No sound was produced as he blew on it, yet less than five
minutes later, an enormous Bull Elk strode into the clearing. Sighting the
wizard, it charged, running at full gallop until it skidded to a halt with the
tines of its antlers less than six inches away from his head.
Then the mass that was the elk began to change and become a strong man
of American Indian decent. The age of the man was timeless. He could
have been in his late twenties or his late fifties, just the same. As his
change completed, he grabbed the wizard in a bear hug and squeezed. It
had taken several decades for the transformed young Indian lad to come
to terms with his new roll in life, but once he had, the two had become
friends.
"Well met my friend, it's been too long", said the wizard.
"You have stayed away for so long, that I thought you had forgotten
about me" replied the elk king.
"Business has been booming as of late, and I haven't had much time to get
away."
"You lie like a fur trapper, you old coot. You know that you can slip
away at any time. You could even be back before you left if you wanted
to."
"So true, but then I never could get one past you. I wonder why", the
wizard replied, the last mostly to himself.
" Come, let us re-acquaint ourselves." The elk king said, and pulled the
wizard across the meadow to a sheltered area. They talked more as they
walked and soon both were engrossed in telling each other tall stories that
could neither be proved or disproved. They were talking about an hour
when they heard a shot just over the top of the hill.
Instantly both were on their feet. The elk king transformed back into the
impressive sight that he was when in elk form, and the wizard hopped on
his back. Then they were off to investigate.
The smell of Pyrodex was still in the air as they crested the rise. Looking
down the slope into the trees before them, they saw a hunter reloading
his muzzleloader. Less than fifty yards away the ground was torn up by
something running off directly downhill. Instantly, the thought came to
the wizard that the smell in the air was that of the elk kingÕs current
mate.
"We may still be able to save her, my boy, lets be off." Casting a quick
spell of immobilization at the hunter, the two set off down the hill after
her. Leaving a bewildered and frightened Rick unable to move and
surprised to see an old man in a bathrobe riding on the back of the largest
elk he had ever seen.
********
Sometime later, Rick felt the sensations returning to his limbs. As he
stiffly got up from the position that he had been stuck in, he heard an
angry voice behind him.
"Get up very slowly Rick and put that muzzleloader down." Growled
the voice behind him.
He slowly turned to face the voice after dropping his rifle to the ground.
Once he was turned around, he noticed it was the same old man in the
bathrobe that he had seen riding that Bull earlier.
" How..."
" Because I'm a wizard, Rick. Right now I'm a very pissed off wizard.
That elk that you shot was the mate of the elk king. He is a very dear
friend of mine and he is extremely distressed that his mate is gone. You
see, unlike other elk, this one takes one mate and they mate for life. You
have just killed that mate. Now I want some answers, and since I CAN
read minds, I want to know the truth."
Rick sensed that this old coot meant business and decided he would be
truthful.
"A wise choice Rick, now on to the questions. First, have you ever heard
of the elk king?"
"I think that I may have heard some of the older hunters around here talk
about that, but I figured it was just a legend."
"Yes Rick, it is a legend. Didn't you know that most legends are based on
fact?"
"I do, and I also know that a lot of legends are extreme versions of what
actually happened. Blown so far out of proportion that they little
resemble the facts they came from."
"Good answer", replied the wizard. "This time however, the legend is as
it always was. The facts that were, still are. That is why this is called Elk
King Mountain. You have violated a place that I hold sacred and that my
friend calls home. You, by your own thoughts could have just watched
her walk off and never taken the shot. So by your own admission, you
decided to take another life purposefully."
"I have the right", replied Rick. " I have a legally obtained hunting license
that gave me the right to take the life of that animal to feed myself."
"If feeding yourself were an issue, I would not be standing here talking
with you right now. I have every respect for a man to feed and clothe
himself, but you do not need the food. You have a good job and make
enough money to buy the food that you need to survive. This is a sport
to you. You are not going to starve without the meat from that animal
that you killed."
"You have no right to dictate to me what I can and cannot do. Get off
your high horse and look around. The world is beginning to fall apart.
This food is a safety measure for me to ensure that I have enough food to
last when the supermarkets shut down."
The wizard just stared intently at Rick for a little while. " You don't
really believe that do you Rick?"
"No, I don't. I lie to myself about this as a way to get out and be with
my friends. I think that if I have the chance, I can always say that I didn't
see anything. Yet I never do. I take that shot and feel guilty about if for
months afterwards. I would really like a chance to apologize to your
friend the elk king."
"There is something that you can do to make it up to him Rick", replied
the wizard.
"Oh. What's that?"
"I wasn't going to give you a choice in the matter, but after that
admonition, I will. You now have a choice. Either way, a life is required
to make amends for the life you took."
"Ok, let me have the choices."
********
The elk king walked with the wizard back to the place where the wizard
had appeared that morning.
"I can't thank you enough for this, old friend. This gift is too much for
me."
"Just remember, as soon as mating season is over and she whelps, she'll
be able to transform back and forth as you do', replied the wizard. "As
far as I know, this ability may carry over to your offspring. That would
be interesting to see."
"Indeed it would. And if she lives as long as I will, then there will be a
new tribe in these parts. That ought to piss of the government."
As they reached the spot where the wizard had appeared, they stopped
and shook hands.
"Well, she ought to. I put the same spell of aversion on her that I did on
you so that no hunter will be able to find her. Goodbye my friend. I
promise I'll visit sooner next time."
Then calling out, the wizard said "Goodbye Rikki, I hope you enjoy
your new life."
He snapped his fingers and vanished.
The elk king turned around slowly and viewed his new mate. She was the
most striking cow he had ever seen. As he shifted back to bull form, he
started feeling more than a little randy. The pheromones she was giving
signaled her time was near.
'At least I'm no longer alone', he thought as he approached his new mate.
********
One last time the wizard re-appeared with an audible 'pop', this time
back in his shop. As he glanced around, he noticed that the shop was in
more disarray than when he left.
"Wolf, where are you?"
A whimper behind him caused him to turn as the wolf limped up to him.
A small gash on its leg.
"I see you decided to defend the store this time. Well, that's a first. Still
they got off with six items. I think that we start looking for a mate for
you tomorrowÓ. Saying this the wizard leaned over and passed a hand
over the wound. When the hand was removed, the wound was gone.
The wolf let out an eerily human sigh and crawled back to its bed. The
thought of suckling pups on its mind.
The End
This is my first attempt at a story for this sight and I know it's not
exactly orthodox. The idea came to mind and I ran with it. Please let me
know if you like it or not.
BillieJane
(
geocities.com/westhollywood/heights/2671) (
geocities.com/westhollywood/heights) (
geocities.com/westhollywood)