A Love Laid Bear

Hana heard doors opening and saw others coming out of their houses, seeing what was going on.

'I could have given her a higher dose! Maybe then she would have had a chance!' he yelled, breathing deep and shaking with anger.

Hana moved over to him. 'Kahru..?' she said, putting her hand against his back.

'Why couldn't I save her..?'

She put her arms around him, hugging him gently from behind while he wiped tears from his eyes.

Several men had gathered at Kaku's house, then carried Gremma to a clearing next to the village. Kahru saw Kaku look at him when he followed the men.

'Thank you for trying.' Kaku said softly.

'I'm so sorry..' Kahru whispered.

Kaku gave him a nod and continued to the clearing. The men build a funeral pyre and laid Gremma on it. Durma spoke a few words, and Kaku lit the pyre as a farewell to his wife.

'You did your best.' Hana whispered. 'It couldn't be helped with her age.'

'I know, but it's so frustrating.' he said, breaking her embrace to turn around. He saw the tears rolling down her cheeks and wiped them with his thumbs. 'I just wish I could have been here sooner.'

She nodded, showing him a soft smile. 'Thank you.' she whispered, then hugged him again.

He caressed her back and head, her presence giving some comfort to fight his anger and sadness.

***

He woke up suddenly, disoriented for a moment before realising where he was. A headache stung his head before fading away.

'Damned..' he said, crawled off the bed and splashed water in his face to wake up. Outside he went to the remains of the funeral pyre.

One of the men said they had just buried the remains of Gremma at the burial field in the back. Kaku had stayed with her until then and was now sleeping. Durma walked up to Kahru and his men and put his hand on Kahru's shoulder.

'She was very old, but you have given us at least a little hope.'

Kahru nodded. 'I don't want to lose anyone else.'

'Hana has checked up on the others already, looks like they're getting better. Most are eating more now.'

'Glad to hear that.'

'Hana will bring you breakfast, so take some rest.'

When Hana came to his house she showed the notes she had taken and he felt better, seeing the temperatures go down and hearing the patients were eating more bit by bit. He used the rest of the morning to teach her writing, and after eating lunch at her house they made their round, seeing two of the patients getting more active.

'Congratulations. You've saved our village.' Durma said, shaking Kahru's hand firmly.

'I'd rather wait to see everyone really getting better.' Karhu said, trying not to show the discomfort in his hand.

'I have faith all will be well now.' Durma said. 'I don't even know how to thank you. If there's anything you want, tell me.'

'I don't have any idea.'

'Just let me know when you do. I'll try my best to give it to you.'

***

During the next days all the patients became active, felt better and started eating more than the soup. Kahru told them to keep using the medicine until another ten days had passed to avoid the chance of relapse. He had received so many hugs one day, Hana had to massage his sore back.

'One thing's for sure, you bears sure can hug.' he said, moaning a little while Hana pressed her hands up his back.

'And that's just when we like you. You don't want to be hated.' she chuckled.

'Remind me to be nice to you.' he groaned while she pressed on his shoulders.

'I could never get mad at you now. Not after all you've done.'

'That's a relief.' he said, enjoying her soft after massage.

Hana made good progress at writing and reading and they spend a lot of time together. She took him to a river a bit farther away from the village where they went to get fish.

'I'll show you how we do this.' Hana said and took off the wrapping from her breasts and her loincloth.

The sight of her uncovered body made his heart beat stronger. Despite her clothing covering a little more of her body, without it he suddenly felt something stir inside his chest that made him feel hotter.

'Come, join me in the water.' she said.

'Okay.' he said and let his robe fall down, walking into the water behind her in the hopes to cool off.

He walked in far enough to have the water reach his stomach.

'Now stand still so you won't scare off the fish.' she said and moved a bit back to the bank.

He watched her wet fur cling to her, her short tail covering only part of her curvy buttocks. The stir in his chest was joined by a stir in his abdomen. She turned around, bending over a little to peer into the water. Her round breasts kept their nice shape, nipples showing partially between the fur. He had seen human women, learned about their basic anatomy from the books, but this humanoid bear girl was something else. All the time they had spent together he hadn't really watched her and noticed her curves.

A big splash startled him.

'Got one!' Hana said, a proud grin on her cute face as the fish she scooped out of the water flapped it's body on the bank.

He smiled at her. 'Well done.'

'Now you try.'

'I don't know if I can.'

'If you can't, no food for you.' she said, grinning deviously at him.

He sighed. 'Fine. I'll take a shot at it.'

She watched him as he missed the fish, cursing each time, and laughed. His face was serious and it made her feel comfortable. He tried his best at everything and she wanted to experience more things with him. A cheer from him grabbed her attention.

'I did it!' he said, pointing at the small fish on the bank, struggling to get back to water.

She chuckled at the wide grin on his face. 'You call that a fish?'

'Hey, a fish is a fish!' he said, then splashed water at her.

She laughed and splashed water back at him, moving closer until they were both laughing hard and ran out of the water. They sat down, chuckling.

'That was fun.' she said.

He nodded. 'Yeah..' he said, thinking it would be great if they could continue like this.

The flapping of her fish reminded them they wanted to eat.

'I'll get the fish, you set up the fire.' she said.

'Deal.' he said and watched her get back into the water, her movements attracting his attention and stirring up his blood. He knew what it meant, the effect she caused to his body, he had learned about it after all, and his old master had told him about the half canine woman he had lived with, before she passed away and took him on as a pupil. He had seen the love and sadness in his eyes when he talked about her.

He shook his head and got up to dress and make a fire. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go through the hardship of losing someone he loved dearly.

Hana had snatched several fish and Karhu skewered them to roast at the fire. While waiting for them to be done she asked more about the books and he told her they contained knowledge from another world, far more advanced than them and how each master only revealed enough knowledge to protect all life in this world to prevent the abuse that destroyed the world the books came from. He told her how he learned to control the cloth of his robe with his thoughts, and that only few people could do it.

'You master was a good man.' she said.

He nodded. 'Yes, he was. The people from villages nearby loved him. When he left one night without saying farewell I knew he wanted to hide the pain he felt of leaving forever.'

She pulled up her knees and hugged them. 'I can't imagine saying farewell to mother or father. Or to the village.'

The smell of the fish made her stomach growl and he chuckled. 'Let's say farewell to hunger.'

He had gathered a few herbs to add to the fish and they ate until they were full.

**

When they got back to the village they saw a couple of the females walking about to their delight.

Durma hugged Karhu, slapping his back. 'They're all going to be better!' he said. 'We'll have a feast tonight to celebrate.'

A fire was lit in the centre of the village and benches were placed around it. A couple more fires outside the circle were used to grill meat and fish and everyone was present. The women who were only just feeling better were served by their men, and the ones who felt good served their caring husbands and Karhu as thanks for saving them. Hana and her mother laughed at the attention he got from every female in the village, stuffing his mouth with meat and fruits before he barely swallowed it all down.

Durma stood up and clapped his hands to get attention. 'I want to thank Karhu for giving us a second chance to life, despite the fact that we blamed him for no reason and tried to kill him. From now on, I pledge our village to him, that he may call on us in times of need.'

Everyone cheered, causing Karhu to blush. Hana nudged him to say something and he stood up reluctantly.

'Thank you, all.' he said, clearing his throat. 'When I heard the reason for.., coming, to me, I understood why it all happened and I never tried to blame you for it. If I had been in your place I might have done the same thing. I'm glad I was able to help. although I deeply regret one loss.' he said, choking on his words as he looked at Kaku. Kaku gave him a gentle smile and nod. 'I'm also glad I got to meet this fine bear clan and its people, making my life a little richer. Thank you.'

They all cheered as he bowed and he felt embarrassed as he sat down, receiving a big hug from Hana.

Durma stood up again and tried to calm the crowd. 'There's another thing I want to announce. Since Hana has reached maturity, we will have a suitor competition in five days!'

There was another cheer and Karhu looked puzzled at Durma. Durma explained. 'This is a tradition in the village since long ago to keep our people strong. When a female comes of age, all eligible men compete with each other for her, the winner becoming her husband. It has become a feast since then.'

'Ah.' said Karhu. 'I see.' He glanced at Hana who received shouts from several young men.

***

His stomach still suffered from the amount of food stuffed into him by the women of the clan. With some difficulty he got up and walked to the bowl with water. 'Damn..' he said and sank his face into the cool liquid. When he had to breath again he stood up. He leaned on the log, knowing what he had to do. He sighed deeply, wishing things had been different.

'You're leaving?' Durma said.

'Yes.' Karhu nodded. 'I need to go back home. You've got all that you need now to finish the treatment, so you won't need me around.'

'You're welcome to stay, you know?'

'Thank you, but I have to attend to my own home. See if your men have fixed my fence as good as new.' he said with a wink.

Durma gave a laugh. 'If they haven't I'll send them back and do it over until you're satisfied.'

'Karhu!'

Hearing Hana's voice call out his name gave him a guilty feeling.

'You're leaving already!?' she said, hurrying up to him after her check on the patients. 'What about this?' She held out the thermometer she had used.'

'Keep it. It could be useful in the future.'

She looked down. 'You really have to go?'

'Yeah.. I have my own home to attend to. My vegetable garden will be overrun by weeds by now.' he chuckled.

'I would have liked to learn more.' she said, fiddling with the thermometer.

'You can always come by, and I'll lend you any book you'd like to.'

She nodded. 'Okay.'

Durma hugged him tight. 'You're always welcome here, and if you ever need us.. You still haven't asked for anything.'

'I know, maybe I'll come up with something later.'

Hana, Durma, Kama, and several others including Kaku waved goodbye as he went on his way home. He looked back before he would lose sight of the village and saw Hana still standing there. He gave her another wave, which she returned, then continued on his way home, a tightness filling his chest.

***

The bear men had done a good enough job on the fence. The garden only had few weeds so that wasn't too bad either. He unpacked his cases and made a note on which things he needed to refill, then sat back into the pillow filled chair in his living room with a mug of wine from his own garden.

'Home..' he said, glad to be back, but not really happy.

***

'Friends,' said Durma, standing on a log on the clearing. 'I'm happy we can have this competition in good circumstances. And I'm proud to see my own daughter become a full woman!'

The village cheered while Hana didn't know where to look. Every single young man had come to compete for her. Her mother nudged her. 'Well, what do you think? Any favourite?'

Hana shook her head slightly. 'I don't know..'

'I can see we have good, strong young men here. With them the future of our village is secure.' Durma said, receiving more cheers. 'I wonder who I will call upon at the end, because I think the competition will be fierce.'

Several fathers slapped their son's backs, cheering them on.

'Now, it's time to get things started.' said Durma, then noticed a movement in the crowd at his left.

'Excuse me.' Karhu said as he broke through the circle.

Hana's heart jumped at his sight.

'Karhu!' Durma said. 'I'm happy you came to watch the competition.'

'actually..' Karhu said, scratching the back of his head. 'I came here to claim my reward.'

'Oh?' said Durma, then spread his arms. 'What can we do for you?'

Karhu cleared his throat. 'I want to take part in the competition.'

Hana grabbed her mother's hand as everyone went silent.

'Wait,' said Durma after a moment. 'You want to take part in this suitor competition?'

Karhu nodded, glancing for a moment at Hana. 'Yes. That's the reward I claim.'

Durma looked at his wife, who gave him a quick smile. 'Well, do you know what you have to do?'

'Not really, but I'll take the challenge.'

'But he has that magic robe!' a young bear said.

Karhu stepped forward and let his robe drop to drape his arm, revealing a regular tunic. 'I will lay down my robe and compete with my own strength.

A wide grin formed on Durma's face. 'I guess we're having the first suitor competition with an outsider. And not even a bear!'

The crowd cheered at the surprise. Karhu recognised the bear moving closer to him as Bast.

'Well, it's a surprise, but I'll have to tell you you have no chance. I'm the strongest around here, and Hana is a very good mate to have.'

Karhu nodded. 'I know, but I have to do this.'

Bast slapped his hand hard on Kahru's shoulder. 'This is going to be interesting.'

**

'The first challenge is to provide food for the mate!' said Durma. 'So go and bring back something that will satisfy her!'

The young bears grabbed their spears and went out to the forest to catch prey. Karhu received a spear from one of the women and a rope from another. 'Go and bring back something she can be proud of.' they said, smiling at him.

He thanked them and went on his way. The men spread out to hunt for the wildlife inhabiting the forest. He wasn't sure what he could do but he walked around, looking for any sign of a deer or boar. He heard a shout and the dying call of a deer nearby. Getting curious he moved closer and saw a young deer run away. He watched where it ran to when he heard footsteps.

'Hey, got nothing so far?' he heard a familiar voice ask.

He turned to see Bast carrying a doe on his neck.

'That was fast.' he said.

'Well,' Bast said. 'I have to admit I got lucky by catching one with a young. 'Although it got away.' He grinned. 'Maybe you'll get lucky and find a squirrel.'

'Funny.' Karhu said as Bast went back to the village with his catch.

Karhu heard the young one's call to it's mother and felt bad for it. He had to catch something though, and by now the forest would be clear of other prey he figured he'd have to do with what he could get.

He found the fawn soon enough, frozen in fear and staring back at him, confused about what had happened. He raised his spear to throw it.

'Well, the hunt looks great this time.' said Durma, nodding satisfied at the catch brought back my the young men.

'We're just missing Kahru's catch.' said one of the men.

'Well,' said Bast. 'One mice won't make much of a difference.'

The men laughed.

'Is he even fast enough for that?' asked another, receiving more laughs.

'Hang on, I think he's coming.' someone said.

They watched as Karhu walked up to the village, carrying the fawn in his arms. When he entered the circle they saw it was still alive.

'Sorry.' he said, holding it tight. 'I just couldn't kill it. It's just so young and innocent.'

Hana moved up to him, carefully petting the nervous fawn. 'Then let it go and live it's life.'

He moved back, then let it stand down on the ground, releasing it from his embrace. It ran away, stopping once to look back before continuing. 'Good luck.' he said as it ran to the forest, receiving approving nods from the women.

Durma cleared his throat. 'Well, since everyone did come back with prey, we'll go to the next task, fishing. If there's no wildlife to catch, there's food to be found in water.'

This time all the competitors had to go to the river and catch as much as they could within a certain time. The young males picked their spots along the river and went about swiping fish out of the water. Karhu looked around for a spot he could use and saw a opening in the bank. Cutting two big branches from a bush, he used them to stand in the middle of the river and coerce the fish to swim into the enclosed space. He blocked off the opening with the branches and scooped out the fish with more ease out of the water. Some still did get away, but he managed to catch a dozen fish. He killed them quickly and laid them on a mat made from the branches he cut so they wouldn't fall out of his arms as he brought them back.

'Interesting.' said Durma, looking at the catch of each competitor. 'You all did very well. So then we'll get on with the next task, making sure the mate stays warm.'

The crowd cheered and Durma gestured at the forest. 'Go get firewood.'

The young men grabbed their axes and hurried to the forest to cut down the nearest tree. Karhu looked helpless as he had no axe.

'Shit.' he said to himself.

'Here.' Kaku said, handing him an axe. 'I'm too old to use it anymore.'

Karhu gave him a smile and a nod. 'Thank you.' he said and went into the forest.

The others were well underway to chopping down their trees, but when he looked up at several he found birds and squirrels among them. Feeling guilty of taking away their homes he looked around further. He found an old dead tree and decided that one was safe to take down. He took a deep breath, then started chopping.

He was last once again when he came back with the wood.

Bast grinned. 'You're just no match for a bear.'

Karhu pulled up one corner of his mouth. 'I doubt humans ever will.'

'Since we have food and heat, all we need to worry about is dangerous creatures.' Durma said. 'So let's get to the part where we prove we can defend the ones we love.'

The eight competitors were separated in pairs and moved to a circle drawn in the clearing. Karhu had a feeling what the next task was going to be.

'Let's see who's the strongest.' Durma said.

'Shit.' Karhu said, looking at the big bear he was paired up with, knowing he would lose badly to him.

'No lethal moves! Now fight!' Durma said.

Parents cheered for their sons as Karhu watched the other three pairs growl and roll on the ground. He looked at his opponent and swallowed.

He grinned, showing his big fangs. 'You think you'll be able to defeat me?'

'I doubt it, but I will give it a shot.' Karhu said, preparing himself for the assault.

'Willing to take on someone as big as me?'

'Yeah..'

'Since you're willing to take on any kind of threat, I will give up.' the bear said and bowed to Karhu. 'You have won.'