Primal Love
In a primitive world, several sentient species existed. But they fell into two categories in which nearly all creature can be divided: those that hunt, and those that are hunted. Among the hunters were the wolves and other canines, and the large cats. The herbivore species largely consisted of rabbits and their kin, and deer.
Due to the fact they must always be on the alert, the prey species had little chance to settle down and develop very much. The hunters, on the other hand, particularly the wolves, had formed tribes and even small villages, enjoying the great bounty nature had provided them with. The felines were disorganized and not fully developed. But the wolves and other canine species had become quite civilized and would one day likely inherit the world. They maintained their fierce resolve and proud strength, while at the same time they had developed new concepts, like mercy.
They'd realized other creatures knew pain as well as themselves, and they killed only what they needed, and they did it quickly. They'd even started to make it a universal rule: never cause unnecessary suffering. And more often than not, they opted for feral species rather than the anthro, sentient races when they could.
It was a strange relationship that existed between them and their anthro prey. A wolf would only attack a deer half the time, and only under certain circumstances: if he was hungry enough, if there wasn't a feral prey to be found- and they never attacked a mated doe or buck, or a very young one.
Still, aside from this unspoken truce between the two races, there was very little, if any, communication between them. Eventually, as in all worlds with such situations, the two races would grow until they'd be forced to either integrate into one another's society, or annihilate one or the other. More often than not, it is the first moved pebble that starts an avalanche...
*****
Lykou wandered through the woods, no specific destination in mind. He wasn't hungry, at at least not in the traditional sense. He was suffering, however, a growing tension, a combination of several strange feelings inside him. His thoughts had been wandering all over the place. So he'd gone to do what he did whenever he had such problems: he practiced his tracking. It helped to focus his mind on something simple, something basic and instinctive.
Of course, since he was in no need of food, he was not about to actually attack anything. But he liked to stalk deer and see how close he could get. This time he was giving himself a challenge- instead of stalking a feral deer, he was trailing an anthro one. Normally, if he were really hunting, he would be in great trouble for doing this, should his tribe learn of it. With an abundance of feral deer about, anthro hunting was completely off-limits. But since it was only practice, and there would be no killing, he had nothing to worry about.
His hormones weren't making things any easier; they were a large part of what was creating the tension he was feeling, though he didn't know it. The wolf was still young in his adolescence; he was strong, lean, energetic, and always exploring the world around him. His light grey fur was kept clean and shiny; he'd learnt well before the other young wolves how to keep fleas to a minimum. He'd tragically lost his parents to a clash with the felines when he was still young, but various members of the tribe helped raise him. Still, he'd largely learned his skills on his own, which gave him a strong independence that stood out amongst the tribe's youth. For all his abilities and potential as a very efficient killing machine, he was very peaceful by nature. Oftentimes, he loved to just sit and watch other wildlife, observing nature as he lost himself in thought.
But though he understood the basic concept, he'd yet to get involved with a female. In fact, he was somewhat solitary compared to the other wolves; in this aspect, he lagged behind his peers. Whereas one or two of the others his age had already engaged in mating, he'd never even developed any close bonds to anyone. He sometimes felt lonely, but he also knew that there was something different about himself. He had strange feelings he couldn't explain, which he knew weren't quite the same as the ones the other youth experienced, or at least not in the same way.
Lately, he'd been spending an even greater amount of time out of the tribe grounds than usual just to either get his mind off the strange feelings, or to try and make sense of them. At the moment, he was trying the former. He'd finally caught a glimpse of his fake-prey, a young buck about his own age. The deer was lounging by a rocky wall with a small waterfall. He had been watching a fish in the water, but he was now alert and looking around nervously.
*****
Kuna thought he'd heard something in the bushes nearby. It was barely even a hint of a sound, but being potential prey made one exceptionally aware of his surroundings. He kept his eyes wide open and didn't move, barely even breathing. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to tell which direction the sound had come from, so he didn't know which way to run.
His heart raced, and one panicked thought ran through his mind: that he was about to be killed and consumed. Fear coursed through him as the thought sunk in. He'd sometimes wondered what death would be like, and hoped it would be quick and relatively painless. He'd also hoped it wouldn't be for a long time, and at the claws of the more merciful canines, rather than the often needlessly violent tigers or leopards.
After a few brief moments, he calmed himself enough to think more rationally. The fear wasn't gone, but its haze faded enough for him to think more clearly. He wasn't necessarily a goner, he knew. Unless it was more than one hunter, he had a good chance of escaping. He was a particularly fast runner, and more clever than his feral kin.
Another thought occurred to him; he had heard stories of wolves hunting purely for the sake of stalking, leaving their would-be prey alive. He hoped for his life this was the case, as it had been such a nice day until then. Dying would have ruined it all.
This struck yet another, oddly cynical thought. It seemed like life was out to harass him. He loved to just relax by his favorite waterfall, listening to the soft splashing of the water and trickling of the various streams that branched off from the main pool. But without fail, something always interrupted his serenity; sometimes other deer would come and make noise with their mindless chatter; sometimes, like now, he'd suspect he was being hunted. Or his stomach would grumble and he'd have to go forage, or it'd get dark and he'd have to return to his night-den, or some other inconvenience.
And he, too, was struggling with the building tensions of youth, very similar to his would-be hunter. This was the only spot he could ever seem to let them go, if only for a short time, in his favorite relaxing spot. And now it didn't seem safe. He was so frustrated, a tiny part of him almost wanted for the predator to strike and get it over with, so he wouldn't have to put up with it anymore. (Every living creature has this part of themselves, of course, to varying degrees; the more sentient one is, the more prominent it is. Luckily, evolution has ensured that no matter what, it never becomes more than a nagging little voice in the crowded room of the mind.)
After several painfully slow minutes passed, he started to slowly relax again and wondered if he'd imagined the sound. He knew he shouldn't second-guess himself, but the tension was distracting him again. He let a silent sigh out and began breathing regularly again, looking down into the water beside him. Eventually, he rolled onto his stomach and begin fiddling with a pretty green stone in the water as he got lost in thought again.
*****
As soon as the buck had relaxed again, so did Lykou. He'd held his breath the moment he'd slipped, and let it out slowly, almost in sync with Kuna's sigh. Once he was sure the buck was thoroughly lost in thought again, he crept a bit closer, to get a better look. He stopped in mid-step when he got a better look of the position the deer was in. He blushed slightly in spite of himself as he saw his bare-furred butt displayed so... almost invitingly. And there it was again, that strange tension growing from inside him... and downward. He gulped slightly and tried to think of other things, quickly, to stop the hardening sensation he was starting to get in his nether regions.
He'd never been close to an anthro deer before, having only fed on feral creatures hitherto. He knew they didn't wear protective garments like his own kind did, and though his own kind tended to wear protective garments, they sometimes went nude around camp and always when bathing. But seeing the nude body of the buck stirred him inside. He had, occasionally, found himself eyeing the tail-ends of a few wolves, but not like this. Somehow, the feeling felt... stronger, with the deer. And it only further confused his hormone-surged mind.
Same-gender attraction and even, occasionally, mating was fairly uncommon, but not altogether unheard of. It wasn't exactly frowned upon, either, so that wasn't what bothered him. That he was so strongly attracted to another entire species is what threw him for a loop, as he'd never heard one iota of even the tiniest mention of such things amongst other wolves. Never had he heard of a wolf, or even any other species, having attractions to a member of a different species.
Lost in his mental struggle, he slipped again, but didn't quite stop himself quickly enough this time. He fully stumbled out from his hiding spot, and the deer's head bolted up. The buck stared straight at him, and for a brief moment, their gazes locked. They both froze.
*****
Kuna watched the wolf... watching him. Thus far, he'd never actually -seen- what a predator looked like. Or at least, the whole thing. Oh, sure, on one or two very close calls, he'd seen a paw here, a streak of fur there, but never had he seen one face-to-face. From what he'd heard described by the others, this one was a wolf, or at least some kind of canid; the large, pointed ears, the long muzzle, thicker tail, etc. It was actually sort of haunting, almost chilling. His heart skipped a beat and he slowly gulped as well. He knew that he was in a poor position to flee and would almost certainly be caught. He cursed himself for slipping into such a defenseless position.
But he noticed an odd gait about the wolf that didn't imply what he'd expect of a hunter about to pounce for the kill. It seemed almost... embarrassed. And, more importantly... it wasn't attacking. He wanted to ponder this fact a bit, but instinct kicked in and he sprung up, then darted away quickly, all other thoughts left in the dust.
Luck, however, was not on his side this day. No sooner had he left the wolf behind than he spotted a familiar striped tail lurking in the bushes up ahead. A tiger. Luckily, it looked as though the feline was looking the other way and hadn't noticed him yet, as the tail was pointed toward him. Still, because of the way the woods were laid out around him, he had only two choices: he could keep going forward and almost definitely be hunted to exhaustion and/or his ultimate demise by the cat; or he could go back and hope the rumors about wolves were true.
Given his choices, he stopped in his tracks and turned around. He hurried away from the tiger, but slowed back down as he approached his old relaxing spot. Shivering with all of his nerves at twice their capacity, he edged around the cliff-face, hoping the wolf had left.
*****
Despite feeling awkward and embarrassed, as well as none-too-relieved that there were no other wolves around to witness the incident, Lykou grinned slightly. He felt almost like laughing a little, but didn't want to make any noise, in case there was other wildlife nearby he might alarm. It started to become difficult when he imagined what he'd probably looked like to the poor, bewildered buck, with a startled expression on his own face and a slightly-exposed, specific bit of flesh poking from the corner of his loin cloth. .
He straightened himself up and started quietly ambling around the pool of water, musing things to himself as his partial-erection subsided, feeling too silly to let other tensions interfere further for the moment. He hopped and skipped across some stones in the water, nearly slipping a few times, working his way to the other side.
When he was finally across, he strolled casually around the corner and nearly bumped right into the very buck he'd thought he'd just scared halfway across the forest.
*****
Once again, Kuna nearly went pale in shock. Now he was closer than ever to what should have been certain death, with eyes as wide as saucers. Had he not already been coming down a little from his previous adrenaline-rush, he'd probably have had a heart-attack. But the wolf had just a surprised look as he did, and again it made him wonder.
They both stood stock-still a bit longer, each wondering what they would do. Their noses practically touched, and had it been any other predator and prey, the stillness would have ended very quickly. And perhaps bloodily. But in this case, it lasted a bit. Each was only barely breathing, and found themselves feeling increasingly awkward and mystified.
Kuna couldn't tell whether his limbs refused to move simply out of fear, or because of the nagging curiosity about the wolf. He had a feeling it was a bit of both. He kept expecting the wolf to strike any moment, and at least then his instincts would allow him to move, even if it'd do no good at this point. But no attack came.
On the other hand, Lykou had nothing to go on at all. He knew sometimes prey got so scared when it was cornered that it wouldn't move at all. But somehow this was different; with feral deer, they'd eventually try to flee, even if it was too late. And usually, then, he'd have specific, carnal intentions in mind. In this case, though, he had nothing to go on. He just continued to feel more and more awkward, until finally he did something he thought was incredibly dumb, given the circumstances: he spoke.
"Er..." Not much, but it was a pseudo-word, anyway. And perhaps one of the most basic, primitive words ever devised. (Awkward silences go back to the dawn of civilization, after all. When one learns to communicate, filling silences is a must.)
The deer jumped slightly, but didn't bolt or flee... which came to just as much a surprise to himself as it did the wolf. Was he trying to... say something? Neither had ever heard of one species ever coming into such contact with the other before, much less communicating. He started to tremble again.
"...hi?" Lykou supplied lamely. He had no idea why he'd said it, but he didn't know what else to do. He didn't even know if the deer would understand, but it was better than nothing. Wasn't it?
Kuna's ear twitched and for the first time in several long seconds, he blinked. It WAS trying to talk to him. The idea sent almost every part of his mind reeling and trying to figure out what planet it was now on. The only part that remained was, of course, the logical cynic in the mental balcony. "...you're not going to eat me, are you?" he asked point-blank, with a surprising lack of stuttering or any sign of intimidation in his voice. Those parts of him were still trying to pull themselves together again. Nothing in his instincts or experience was prepared for this.
The wolf blinked this time and then slowly shook his head a little. "N... no. Er. No. Didn't... didn't plan to. Um."
"Oh. Er. Good." Kuna said and fell silent again. After a few more silent moments, Kuna's nerves started to wake back up. He started shaking once more and he could swear parts of his body were trying to abandon him. His instincts had finally caught up and the only reason he was still standing there was because his limbs couldn't seem to agree on which way to take him. His curiosity screamed at them to calm down, but they were too busy shouting at one another to hear.
Lykou watched the buck in front of him seemingly having a sudden nervous fit, and, without even thinking about it, grabbed him gently by the arms. "Whoa, you o...k...?" he trailed off in mid-sentence as he realized what he was doing, further confused at his own actions. He was treating Kuna as if he was a kindred spirit.
At first, the touch nearly sent Kuna bolting again, but he managed not to dart off. And then a strange thing happened. He actually relaxed a little and felt oddly safe, if only for a brief instant. "Um. I... I think so. Er. I've never... been this c-close to, er..."
"M-me either..." Lykou looked Kuna up and down, as the buck did likewise to him, it being the first time they'd both had a good look at anything besides the other's face since they'd run into each other. He then remembered his hands and removed them from the buck's arms. "Uh. Sorry."
"S-s'ok," Kuna mumbled weakly, then glanced away for a brief moment, a faint blush creeping across his cheek. He then murmured even more quietly, as if to himself, "Felt kind of nice..."
The wolf perked up a little, startled at the comment. The deer had underestimated his large ears, apparently. "It... it did?"
"Er," Blushing hotly, the deer flicked an ear and took a nervous step back, glancing in the other direction. For a moment, it almost looked like he was ready to run again. "D... didn't think you heard that. Heh..."
Lykou blushed a little as well and smirked faintly. "Heh. Hunter's ears."
Kuna nodded and twitched slightly at being reminded that he was speaking to a predator.
Suddenly a low rumble of thunder rolled through the sky and the both jumped a little, caught off guard by the universe now reminding them of its presence. For the past several minutes they'd forgotten everything around them. The sun was already setting and a storm was moving in. They both felt the familiar cool breeze of a strong tempest brewing in the clouds.
"Oh great," Kuna said, eyes rolling up to the sky as he eyed the grey clouds with contempt. For a moment he forgot he was talking to a wolf. "I'm too far from my den. I'll never get back before it hits."
Lykou nodded, also glancing skyward. "And I'll never get back to camp in it, either. I'll have to find some place nearby to rest for the night, or until it passes."
They both paused, then looked back at each other. Eventually they seemed to make some mental connection. "I know it's strange, but..." Lykou began.
"Yeah... I... I think I trust you though. I mean... you haven't killed me yet, after all," Kuna added, smiling nervously.
Lykou smiled back. "Heh. That's, uh... good."
The buck winced as some lightning flashed through the sky. He didn't like lightning. At all. "I think there's a small cave on the other side of the hill."
"Alright, we can stay there. Better hurry," Lykou said, then led the way.
Once they arrived at the cave, they settled just inside it and prepared for a long, strange night. Neither was prepared to sleep. Lykou wasn't tired, and Kuna was too riled up and unnerved at the thought of spending the night with a hunter.
As they sat in silence, the rain gradually started and built up to a steady downpour. Luckily, the cave was above ground-level and they weren't flooded. Still, it was cold. Ly's fur was a bit thicker, so it didn't bother him as much, but Kuna shivered. And Ly noticed. "Cold?"
Kuna nodded and mumbled irritably. "Damn rain..." Another thunderclap, accompanied by a bright flash of lightning that lit up the whole cave briefly, caused him to jump and shiver even more.
Lykou shifted around a bit, pondering something. Finally, he gave in and moved down next to the buck, on the side facing the exit of the cave. "I kinna like storms. But I can tell you don't..."
The deer looked up nervously at Ly and shook his head. "N-no. Always frightens me. M... m-my mom and sisters died in one," he whispered sadly, then looked back down at the ground.
"Oh... I'm so sorry. What about your da-... er," The wolf tried to cut himself off, but was too late. He immediately regretted the dumb question.
The deer looked away with slightly narrowed eyes. "What you think?"
"Sorry, wasn't thinking. It... wasn't a wolf though, I hope?"
Kuna shook his head again. "No. Striped-beast."
Ly was slightly relieved that at least it wasn't potentially a member of his tribe that'd been the culprit. But he still felt bad. "Ah. Sorry to hear that."
"Meh. It was when I was little. I'd just rather not think about it."
"Of course," Ly looked outside for a moment, then sighed. Another silence fell over them. Eventually, Kuna broke it, although uncertainly, and with a hint of humor.
"Um. Earlier, when you first popped out of the bushes..."
Lykou couldn't help but blush and snicker some. "Oh, yeah. Ehehe..."
"I have to ask... if you weren't planning on killing and eating me, then... why were you stalking me?"
"Just practice. You guys are more of a challenge than your feral kin..."
Kuna tilted his head some. "Really? Huh. So rumors are true. Your kind don't hunt us two-leggers?"
"No. Er. Well. Unless we have no choice..." Ly mumbled, fidgeting uncomfortably. Then he noticed the worried look on the deer and quickly added "Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't. I'm not even the slightest bit hungry right now."
The buck gulped and nodded slightly, eyeing Ly nervously. "Ah. G-good..."
"Besides, er... I... kinna like you," The wolf smiled sheepishly.
Blushing suddenly, Kuna turned on Ly, startled. "Y... you do?" He thought a moment, then recalled a fact he hadn't registered in his mind when he first saw it, but had seen the first time he saw the wolf- his earlier erection. "Oh. Er... -oh-.... Ehehehe...um. I noticed earlier you... oh... you mean..."
At first, Ly seemed puzzled by his reaction. But then when he remembered earlier, he blushed even harder than the buck and splayed his ears, laughing nervously. "Oh! Nono, didn't mean like... er... I meant, um..."
They both sat in yet another awkward moment, but this time full of nervous laughter and mumbled erms and ums, rather than silence. Finally Kuna managed a sentence.
"Do I somehow remind you of some female you know or something? Hehe..."
Ly nodded a bit too enthusiastically and laughed. "Er, yeah, that's it. I was thinking about her when I was watchi-, I mean tracking you earlier."
"...watching me? You were... watching me?" Kuna asked, curling up a bit as his cheeks and ears tinged pinker. Partly, he felt strange and embarrassed. But he also felt a strange, almost giddy feeling, and sort of bashful.
"No! I said track-... I wasn't... I..." Ly stammered, becoming increasingly embarrassed himself.
Kuna couldn't help but giggle a little, and buried his muzzle under his crossed arms, propped on his knees. Despite the species difference, it was good to know he wasn't the only male to find other males attractive.
"Um, I, er..." the wolf mumbled on, lost for words. "Ok, I admit it... I like males. Though I've never been attracted to one of you before... eheh..."
"I do too, actually. About males, I mean," Kuna's voice was a bit muffled, because he refused to take his muzzle out from under his arms.
"Really? Hehe, small world..." Ly said, half-laughing from pent-up nervous tension.
Another, louder thunderclap sliced through the giddy, awkward moment. Kuna instinctively clenched up and shivered. The wolf looked at him sympathetically, then smiled weakly and moved closer, wrapping an arm around him. "Hey, it's alright. We're safe in here."
Kuna unfolded himself a bit and nodded, still shaking. "I know. Just... yeah," he murmured, then yawned a bit.
"Hmm. Looks like you could use some sleep."
The buck shook his head. "Can't sleep with this kind of weather. Plus... er, this whole... thing... still has me weirded out."
"Oh, heh," Ly thought a bit, then gently tugged at Kuna. "If it'd make you feel better, I can, uh... erm.... H-hold... you..."
Kuna quirked a brow at the suggestion and gave the wolf a look, but on the next lightning bolt, he clung to him and curled back up. Laughing quietly, Ly held the deer in his arms gently and cuddled him. Both felt a bit strange about it, but in a good way.
*****
Hours passed, with no sign of the storm letting up. Kuna was starting to feel oddly safe and secure in the wolf's arms, and very comfortable. He almost dozed off several times, but the thunder kept waking him back up. He stirred at noticing his head had slipped from Ly's shoulder down into his lap. They were both drowsy, though neither slept a wink.
The buck blushed as he noticed the stiff tent in the wolf's lower garment, and then even more at feeling his own... tension in his lower regions. He hadn't relieved said tension in a couple days, as he seldom got a decent chance. But he didn't make any comment or move.
Ly noticed his blush, though, and then what was causing it. "Oh, jeeze, um.... Er... sorry..." He laughed embarrassedly as the buck sat back up. Then he noticed the deer's own problem, which was far more noticeable for his lack of clothing. "Oh... you too, huh?"
Kuna nodded bashfully and smiled sheepishly. "Ehehe... um... guess we should... er... take care of things? Er...."
The wolf nodded. "Yeah. Er. Hey, you think.... Maybe...?"