Sarah's Story

Sarah's Story by Felix (Not safe for work)
(Source: The Chakatheaven yahoo group)

This story is totally bizarre. It begins with a cat character in heat, and her attempts to alleviate the situation. It borders on trashy, but it's believable enough...for science fiction. The fact that the mother had knowledge of her sexuality made this story all the more awkward, her relationship to the situation believably embarrassing.
But then she jumps out the window and pulls a changing maneuver worthy of Clark Kent, which baffled me with its strangeness.
After this, it steadily goes downhill. First she kills a bunch of forest creatures, then she commences bestiality, with plenty of WTF to go around, including how she became pregnant a day after she had sex.
This story deserves a place in the WTF Hall of Shame next to that furry story about pedophilia someone posted at the Chakatheaven group. I mean, she sleeps with an animal, gets pregnant immediately after sex, and the animal's name basically means "I Smell Like Tuna Fish." And the ending took it right over the edge.

Weird Parts

Sara, already naked, got up and jumped to her window. She shoved it open bodily and rolled out onto the dome house's sod-covered roof. She changed as she rolled uncontrollably down the side, then dug her claws in to right herself. To a few startled stares, she set off at breakneck speed for the nearest tree cover. She tore through the neighbourhood...

This stretches credibility. She might as well change into a superhero costume as she's flying out the window. Point.

Her body was tired, but it still wanted, and stubbornly refused to stop letting her know it.
It gave her a brief reprieve when she stumbled over a rabbit warren; it left her alone long enough to let her catch one, then it came back. Because of that she was fiercer and crueler; she tore her rabbits to pieces while they still lived, and then crushed their heads under her paws while they tried to scream. When she found a pregnant doe, she went berserk and dug up some of the tunnels of the warren. When she exposed another rabbit family's kits, she killed them all where they cowered and didn't even eat them.
Disgusted with them and with herself, she backed away from the destruction and then turned and ran.

And this is where I stop liking this character. Just because you're horny doesn't mean you should kill a bunch of cuddly animals. That's what you do on a bad day, not a horny day. But I guess that's how this character behaves. I guess this kind of character worked in The Good Son.

When it was over, Salmon's climax and withdrawal hurt astoundingly much, but Sara had known to expect that from the porn she'd read. Cats of her kind had barbed penises too. Nevertheless, Sara gave the response that felt perfectly natural (and was now regarded somewhat as a cultural tradition), and swatted Salmon with her forepaw.
He bore it in good humour and gave her a few tender licks in reply before mounting her again – and then again, and again, and again... for among cougars, matings happened as often as fifty times in a day.

WTF? Wow. That sounds like absolute hell. I think she was better off slutting herself out back home.

No, no! She told him. You don't understand! Males of my kind can impregnate human females, but females like me can only reproduce with males of my kind, not humans or wild cougars!
How do you know that? he asked.
Well... Sara thought about it. You're right, no one's ever tried mating with a cougar before, she admitted. Goodness; I wonder what the cubs will be like.
They will be wise and kind, said Salmon Scent.
Sara gave him a look – he seemed serious, again. If their father was any indication, though, Sara had to admit the possibility.
Salmon finally joined her, and the two wandered into the darkened forest together.
What am I going to tell my mother? Sara idly wondered.
Sara ended up staying with The Smell of Salmon Just After They've Entered the River Mouth, and not going back to the village until the following year. There were search parties, but Sara didn't want to be found.
She and Salmon grew very close, both breaking their cultural norms as they did so – wild cougars usually have neither lasting nor monogamous relationships. Sara often went for days at a time without even remembering the village; when she did, she found that she didn't miss it as much as she thought she would.
Still, she knew that one day after the cubs were born, she would eventually go home.

That's it. I'm just arbitrarily giving this story 50 WTF points due to the screwed up ending and all the associated details.I think I'll be scarred for life.

Cheesey Story Checklist

Each item on this list earns a story 1 Cheese Point. Earning the maximum amount of Cheese Points will earn you the Golden Wedge! (Note: Additional points can be added only when the scene changes. Also, WTF points do not count for a trophy, but may be considered criminal evidence in some states)

Award one point for parental warning plot spoiler [Click For Explanation]:
0
Award one point for Copyright Spoiler [Click For Explanation]:
0
*Award one point for Lazy Narrator Intro. [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Yagermeister Influenced Intro. [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Title Cheese. [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Joe Is In A Room. (Bonus for Afterthought) [Click For Explanation]
1
*Award one point for No Return:[Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for POV Potpourri: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Quick Release: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mister Invincible: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mister Invincible - Category: Flawless: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mister Invincible - Category: Flawless Beyond Logic: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mister Invincible - Category: Invincible Ego: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mister Invincible - Category: Villains: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mister Invincible - Category: Law: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Mister Invincible - Category: Canon: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Mister Invincible - Category: Overkill: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Mister Invincible - Category: Straw Soldiers: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Mister Invincible - Category: Red Shirt Deaths: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Mister Invincible - Category: Herocentric Universe: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Mister Invincible - Category: Can't Take a Joke: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Mister Invincible - Category: "Love Story" Tagline: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Mister Invincible - Category: Planning For Yawns: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Mister Invincible - Category: Magic on Demand: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one point for Mister Invincible - Category: Slightly Wounded Hero: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for "This Looks Neat". [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Fandom Style Manual. [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for See Fandom Glossary. [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Redundantly Redundant. [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for CTRL+V. [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Pretty Nice. [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mega Recap. [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Doctor Standards. [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Info Dumptruck. [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for "What do you mean, `Fire is hot'"? [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Fill Dirt Dumping [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Rererecap [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for MSDS Unabridged [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Conversational Sow's Ear: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Always The Right Shoulder: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mary Sue: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mary Sue: Category: Wish Fulfillment: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mary Sue: Category: Everybody Loves Me: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mary Sue: Category: I'm So Sorry: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Mary Sue: Category: Canon: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Gee, Thanks Narrator: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for The J.K. Rowling: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for However, He Also Had A Gun: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Harlequin Romance: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Doctor Strangelove Dialog: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Patching: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Angry Lesbian Breasts: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Character Non-Descriptions: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Refer To Previous Description: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Refer To Movie: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for Concept Salad: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point for It's Lucky That: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Excessive Homage: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Temporal Salad: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One Point for That's Why I Prefer Amiga: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One King Trite-On: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Raping the Fourth Wall: [Click For Explanation]
0
*The Space Bus: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Surfer Novelist: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Don't Think of An Elephant: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Step 1: He Got In The Car: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Hmm, I wonder what Rosebud Is: [Click For Explanation]
0
*He Is Because I Said He Is [Click For Explanation]
0
*"Translation: Where's The Beef?" [Click For Explanation]
0
*Unsolicited Detailing [Click For Explanation]
0
*Scene Shifting Without Clutch [Click For Explanation]
0
*You Wore It Out: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Adam West Narrative: [Click For Explanation]
0
*The Rabbit's Waistcoat: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Character Disassociation: [Click For Explanation]
0
*MEANWHILE... [Click For Explanation]
0
*Michael Gondry prose: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Textbook Hero: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Cookie Monster Style Manual: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Oh, I Forgot He's Naked: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Fakedreaming: [Click For Explanation]
0
*"In English, "Tree" Means Tree": [Click For Explanation]
0
*CUT TO: CHAPTER 2, PARAGRAPH 1 [Click For Explanation]
0
*Target Audience Yo-Yo [Click For Explanation]
0
*Shirley, You Can't Be Serious: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Name Overlap Confusion: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Moviephone Prose: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Shaggy Dog Ending: [Click For Explanation]
0
*A Word From Our Sponsors: [Click For Explanation]
0
*I'm Bored: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Retief Dialog: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Pranks For Those With No Friends: [Click For Explanation]
0
*It All Depends on Jarjar: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Archie Bunker Dad: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Pancake Villain: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Present Progressive Abuse: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Attention Defecit Prose: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Peeping Tom Universe: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Mr. Tree Monkey's Ulcer: [Click For Explanation]
0
*My Little Pony's Dark Secret: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Grandpa Skywalker's Story Time: [Click For Explanation]
0
*One point if the author describes actions with vague adverbs such as "sensually" or "brutally":
0
*Award one point for overly long uninterrupted Q&A session/info dump:
0
*Award one point if characters get into a long, drawn out argument/debate over a plot hole:
0
*One point for POV Spoiler where the disorganized POV of the story lead to the author giving away the plot:
0
*One point for inappropriate punctuation, or comma usage in places that don't need commas. Example: "He let out a short, coarse, laugh."
0
Award one point for unprofessional use of numbers such as "he looked up and saw 2 men enter the room."
0
*One point for "Time (seemed to) stand still as..."
0
*One point for "As if on cue..."
0
*One point for unnecessary recap of events the reader has read.
0
*One point for over-explaining the self explanatory, or the obvious:
0
*One point for rewording an old adage to fit a new type of character/species/whatever, such as "A bird in claw is worth two in the bush."
0
*One point for trite expressions made literal, such as finding a drum, and a door nearby that is literally tighter.
0
*One point if it contains movie cliches:
0
*One point for pseudoscience Squared (The Twilight Effect):
0
*One point for excessive profanity that dulls the impact of profanity in the story:
0
*One point if the author kills a joke, pun or metaphor, or fails to understand the concept of a metaphor:
1
*One point for any bad puns:
0
*One point if there's an anticlimax:
0
*One point for a Mary Shelly ("I made my creation large so it would be easier to work on.")
0
*One point for Sex=1, Science=0:
0
*One point if alien biology is ninety to one hundred percent identical to earth biology:
0
*One point if popular song lyrics are quoted extensively:
0
*One point for character interactions and dialog in a description-less vacuum:
0
*Award one point for too many "saids".
0
*Award one point for any situation resembling the Kobiashi Muru:
0
*Award one point for American English names being used on all spaceships:
0
*Award one point for inertial dampers that don't work when the ship is attacked or hit by asteroids:
0
*Reader excluded from inside jokes:
0
*One point for the Christopher Walken (unconnected dialog):
0
*Extremely pointless mundane details:
0
*Award one point for He-Man nomenclature ("Get into the SkySled, Ram Man!):
0
*Turn based combat and/or any video game-like battle sequences:
0
*Pointless excursion into segment involving irrelevant side character or characters:
0
*A word is broken into two words when it isn't supposed to be:
0
*One point for recipe analogies. Example: "Add one part scumbag, one part moron, one part scientist, and you get Jeff."
0
*Award one point for inappropriate transition into action. Example: "He was a slim, muscular fellow, with raspberry hair and glistening white teeth, shoveling manure out of a barn with a pitchfork."
0
*First person narrative begins with something like, "You know, doctors say it's healthy for you to keep a diary..."
0
*Technobabble:
0
*Award one point for generic scenery descriptions:
0
*Award one point for narrator referencing unknown character not featured in story:
0
*Award one point for a character verbally finishing the narrator's thought, breaking the suspension of disbelief:
0
*Award one point for a Harry Potter millionaire (i.e. parents die and boy gets unlimited wealth, etc.)
0
*Award one point for characters doing exactly what is described in their elaborate plans, with no kinks in its execution:
0
*Award one point for adding a "you've got mail" to the dialog:
0
*"Dark as midnight", or anything "raven" in their description that isn't a raven:
0
*Award one point for vaguely defined setting, where you're not really sure what country or planet it is:
0
*Award one point for details about a character's employment (or lack thereof) as an afterthought:
0
*Use of the non-word "furred", or human equivalent such as "socked foot":
0
*"May you live in interesting times":
0
*"These aren't the droids you are looking for":
0
*"Nobody puts baby in the corner":
0
*"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."
0
*The guy who kills the thing or person trying to kill you is always a person you can trust:
0
*Award one point for a slapped on ending that really doesn't end the story.
0
*Award one point if the characters can hear capitalization in spoken words:
0
*Award one point if a figure of speech clashes with another identical sounding part of the sentence in a way that distracts from the reading, such as, "My relatives are strange, relatively speaking" and it's not done for humorous reasons:
0
*Award one point for referencing a popular internet meme (such as "I can has cheezburger") in the prose narrative:
0
*Award one point for inappropriate capitalization:
0
*Hero looks himself in the mirror and reader gets description dump:
0
*Puberty gives you magic powers:
0
*Conflict resolution via info dump (narrator says it's solved and it is):
0
*Size 14 description in size 5 shoe:
0
*Canon character recounts his/her adventures that we already saw in a movie:
0
*Award one point for Yagermeister Influenced Conclusion:
0
*The Military Has Gone Soft:
0
*"Note To Self: Remove author's notes from story":
0
*Simulations prepare you for everything:
0
*Inappropriately/untimely sexual moment:
0
*Instant Pregnancy (And they just had sex an hour ago):
1
*Plot sketching instead of actual story:
0
*Freudian slip count:
0
*Grammatical error count (a point for each one):
0
*Typo Count (a point for each glaringly obvious typo):
0
*Racial/cultural stereotypes:
0
*Saccharine tablet (gooey sweet paragraph) count:
0
Subtotal: 3


Furry Cliches (+1/2 point for each)
*Not Naked, Sorta [Click For Explanation]
0
*"Exactly Like A Bat" [Click For Explanation]
0
*Furpile [Click For Explanation]
0
*I Knew My Change Was Complete [Click For Explanation]
0
*Transformation Holiday: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Instant Sexy, Just Add Fur: [Click For Explanation]
0
*Furries get lavish descriptions. Humans get nothing: 0
*You always can identify what you've transformed into: 0
*Your doctor can always identify what you've transformed into immediately (the Health Channel doesn't exist): 0
*Protagonist knows that his transformation is done: 0
*Kinky scene involving protagonist exploring his or her transformed body (award a bonus point if it is actually sexual in some way): 0
*The transformed always knows the correct diet they're supposed to eat/what environ they're supposed to inabit: 0
*Starting immediately with a transformation without establishing the character's humanity before the change: 0
*The internet was right: 0
*Transformation is the only topic of conversation: 0
*Furries don't receive spam: 0
*Transformed people can still eat normally: 0
*Hero faces an unreal crisis that only people in the fandom care about and believe to be a crisis: 0
*Humans and/or simians are evil or otherwise cannot be trusted: 0
*"Assembled furs," "he saw a fur enter the room" and other generic animal character descriptions: 0
*Part of the story is written around commissioned art (add a bonus point if it is irrelevant to the plot): 0
*Character faces an existential crisis because they are told, or believe, that furries do not have souls. Or the church tells them they have no soul: 0
*A character "unsheaths" something on their body, and it isn't a sword: 0
*Characters named after what they look like: 0
*"The Christian church hates furries/The Christian church is evil": 0
*"Playing with nipples enough can cause an orgasm": 0
*Breastfeeding fetish (bonus point if there's some flimsy excuse for an adult feeding): 0
*Breast fetish (bonus point if overtly stated): 0
*Parents take bestiality marriage/mating unusually well: 0
*There are special classes for learning how to be the animal you've changed into: 0
*You can only get pregnant when you're in heat: 0
*Obligatory furry newscast: 0
*Obligatory magic power endowment: 0
*The Memory Warehouse/Hallway (or wall) of Furry Power: 0
*The president became a bald eagle: 0
*Using a synonym for animal features instead of actually describing the character (example: "Her feline ears perked up at the sound"):
0
*Literal bitches (female canines) literally acting like bitches:
0
*Character goes to the mall immediately after transformation. There is always a mall available for this purpose:
0
*After transforming, the hero automatically finds a new girlfriend:
0
*The news is the only thing on, or the only thing anybody watches:
0
Furry Subtotal: 0
Chakat cliches (Chakat stories only - when featured in a Chakat story, two cliches equal one to allow for fair scoring)
*Lifestyle "Shocker" [Click For Explanation]
0
*Diet Slut [Click For Explanation]
0
*I Don't Care About Nudity, Sorta [Click For Explanation]
0
*Chakat Greeting (award bonus point if it involves a hug): 0
*Chakat pronouns explained: 0
*Chakat telepathy: 0
*Bernard Doove Was Right: 0
*Chakats are always genetically superior, even in morality, wisdom, mental health, and common sense: 0
*It's all in Scientific Chakat: 0
*Chakat style imitation wedding proposal/marriage: 0
*Chakats don't care about nudity (probably because they spend most their time having sex anyway). Award bonus point if they contradict this laissez faire attitude with provisions for their own privacy or get embarrassed about their nudity: 0
*Excessive Chakat grammar, or, alternately, any usage of the uber silly non-word "shir": 0
*Milkwater: 0
*`Taur pads are the only furniture: 0
*Sexual preference such as "male phase" used as character description: 0
*"Tail high": 0
*PADD: 0
*Halter tops compose ninety percent of the clothing being worn by the protagonist(s): 0
*Humans First: 0
*Naked birthing party (add a bonus point if a naked human is involved):
0
*Births are never spontaneous, random, unwanted, uncomfortable and/or inconvenient: 0
*Nobody has a miscarriage or abortion: 0
Chakat Subtotal: 0
Unclassified Cheese Bonus (Described in review or "Weird Parts:" section): 1
Subtotal: 0
Kudos
*"Caught In A Plot Web" [Click For Explanation]
0
*Award one kudos if the character is introduced before their name is used in the story.
0
*Kudos for breaking away from canon (fanfiction only):
0
*Misc Kudos: 0
Total Kudos Deduction: 0
OVERALL CHEESE SCORE: 3
WTF: 60
Sleaze-O-Meter (One for every scene and/or dialog goes beyond the pale in trashiness): 10

Note for posting to Chakat Universe:
This story was written by Felix sometime around 2009 January.
It has nothing to do with Chakats or the Chakat Universe, as it grossly predates my 'First Contact' series (it even predates first contact between Felines and humans). It does, however, get a brief side mention in Chapter 10 of First Contact, so I'm hoping to get away with posting it here on those grounds. ;)
(In case anyone's wondering, I do consider this story canon in the Feline stories – Feline Chronicles, Tales of the Felines, the Feline Universe; whatever-the-heck I decide to call it.)
Sara's Story
This story takes place many years after the humans' world war cost them their dominion over the planet. There are numerous Feline cities now, scattered all around the world with nothing but natural terrain between them. A few have over 20 000 inhabitants, but the vast majority are small villages or townships of no more than 800. Sara grew up in one of the latter, near the east coast of former North America.
Sara's heat dragged on. She had spent most of it hidden in her room, refusing to come out. That was where she was now – she struggled in and out of dreams; she was hoping it would be easier to pass it in her sleep. It wasn't.
Two days now! she thought angrily to herself. That's all?! She tried to reach for the console in her desk, to make sure. Even that little movement, the feeling of the blanket across the skin of her arm, set her off.
She bared her teeth, set herself against the overwhelming urge to... mate! her body told her, throbbing her awake with a painful rush of blood. It was only painful because of what she was doing to herself – she saw no choice, now; it was too late to fix her social problems, to cheer up, be attractive, and find a mate. Now her first heat had come, and she bore it alone.
It was excruciating. She wondered, amazed, whether this is what it was like for everyone. "Maybe it doesn't hurt as much if..." she left the thought unspoken, even in her own mind – if you have a partner.
She sighed, and tried to get back to sleep. Finding she couldn't, she tried masturbating again, but it just hurt. Somehow her body seemed to know that it wasn't a real mating; it demanded more, to be penetrated. She tried ramming her fingers inside herself, but that hurt too – when she did it gently it was more excruciating.
"Damn it..." she cried, and let herself fall out of bed on purpose, hoping the floor would hurt her.
It did hurt, and for a fleeting moment that was all she felt, and then she was back in heat and the pain just mixed with that feeling. She cried, a wailing cat's cry.
"Sara?" her mother called up gently from below. She had her trap-door closed and it muffled the sound. "Are you alright?"
Her mother knew what she was going through, of course, but couldn't help her. She could possibly have found some male, somewhere, who would be willing to relieve Sara's urges, but Sara wouldn't have allowed it. Or she might have allowed it, then never forgiven her mother afterwards.
Sara had her own ideas about what would be appropriate for her; she was a culture of one – that was the problem.
"Y-yes," Sara murmured back. They were avoiding mind-to-mind communication; Sara thought her mother had no right to know these feelings of hers. Her body's urges, though Sara knew the whole house probably smelled of them by now, were hers alone and very private. She would share them only with the mate she didn't have.
"Do you want some food?" her mother offered.
At the question, her thoughts did turn to food – Sara was surprised. But she didn't want just to eat – I want to fucking kill something, she thought. I have to get out of here –
Sara, already naked, got up and jumped to her window. She shoved it open bodily and rolled out onto the dome house's sod-covered roof. She changed as she rolled uncontrollably down the side, then dug her claws in to right herself. To a few startled stares, she set off at breakneck speed for the nearest tree cover. She tore through the neighbourhood,
jumping over things and people and leaving her heat scent in her wake, but no one who caught it would be fast enough to catch her. She was going where it was safe; she was leaving this place.
Her energy waned not long after she entered the forest. She couldn't keep up that pace any longer, and slowed to her signature dejected wander – though today those steps carried far more anguished weight than usual. Her body was tired, but it still wanted, and stubbornly refused to stop letting her know it.
It gave her a brief reprieve when she stumbled over a rabbit warren; it left her alone long enough to let her catch one, then it came back. Because of that she was fiercer and crueler; she tore her rabbits to pieces while they still lived, and then crushed their heads under her paws while they tried to scream. When she found a pregnant doe, she went berserk and dug up some of the tunnels of the warren. When she exposed another rabbit family's kits, she killed them all where they cowered and didn't even eat them.
Disgusted with them and with herself, she backed away from the destruction and then turned and ran. By the time she'd climbed up the mountainside and found the cave she was in tears. She felt guilty about what she'd done to the rabbit warren, but more so she felt guilty at what she'd done to herself. Here she was, alone in a cave on a mountain that, she realized, she didn't even recognize. Alone and in heat; she had rebelled from everyone in her community, everyone at school, and not seen fit to even keep one friend.
She'd done all that for reasons she couldn't even explain. They'd never done anything in particular to her; she just... it wasn't even that she didn't fit, or couldn't – thinking back now, she didn't even dislike the community. The nameless little collection of structures and felines was her home; she'd been born there, she grew up there, and she wouldn't leave it for anything. It didn't make any sense! Somehow everyone she met grated her the wrong way, but when she thought of them all together it didn't matter. Somehow... Well, there's nothing I can do about it now, she thought, and sunk her head deeper into her forepaws.
And this is only the end of the second day... heat can last for two weeks! She tried to sink her head even lower, but the cave floor prevented her. And "end of the second day" was being generous, she knew, for the sun was still well above the horizon. She whimpered hopelessly and began crying anew.
Sara stayed in the cave. The sun was finally going down. She spared it a glance every few minutes, as if to make sure. It was a warm summer's day and the rock around the cave had soaked in that day's worth of sunshine, but somehow Sara felt cold. She had given up crying, and just lay there in her dishevelled feline form. The urges of heat were supposed to be worse this way; that was why most people passed their heat in human form (unless they wanted to get pregnant), but Sara didn't find it that bad. Perhaps she had finally gotten used to it.
She glanced up again at the horizon. The sun had moved a few minutes farther down, as it had the last time, and the time before that... Sara was just about to put her head back down when she got the feeling something wasn't right about what she saw. She looked up again – that cat wasn't there before! She was amazed that the cougar-patterned person had stood there, almost directly in her sightline, and she hadn't noticed.
She sprang up and snarled loudly at whoever it was. What the hell do you want?! She mentally screamed at him.
The cougar jumped back several metres in alarm. Cougar, she realized – it was a real, wild cougar, not a person! It sent her a confused muddle of emotions – she'd heard that cougars couldn't really communicate linguistically, but that they were still intelligible. Generally cougars and capital-F Felines left each other alone, but every so often they would encounter each other. There had never been any conflicts, though, so Sara was reasonably sure she was safe. But then, she was in heat... What if...?
She didn't finish the thought; the cougar's behaviour had changed. He was sniffing the air at the mouth of the cave, thrusting his head up, and up again. He was obviously aware of her heat scent. He stopped sniffing and looked directly at her – he sent something into her mind, in a way no Feline would have done. It was like a language made up of pure instincts and feelings. It arrived in a part of her consciousness far more basic than the part her kind used to communicate, and Sara had no trouble understanding it.
I came because I smelled your heat scent, he said in his manner of speaking. I came because it smelled unfamiliar.
Can you understand me? Sara asked him, not knowing how to send to him on the same level he used.
Yes, he said. (Actually what he said was more like, I don't know what 'understand' means, but I can feel you.)
Do you have a name? She asked. Do your kind have names? She wondered aloud.
Yes, sometimes, he said. My name is the smell of salmon just after they've entered the river mouth at the sea – it wasn't that his name was some word or thought that meant or described that scent: his name literally was that scent. Sara herself knew that smell; the sea was only forty kilometres from the village.
Oh, she said, suddenly feeling inadequate. Mine is Sara. I don't know what that means.
It means you, the cougar said, as if that were a plainly obvious fact and he couldn't understand why Sara didn't see that.
The two cats regarded each other in mutual silence for a moment. The cougar walked closer to Sara and circled around her. She stayed still until he was directly behind her; then she suddenly felt vulnerable and spun herself around out of his reach.
You are injured, he said with sympathy. Sara didn't understand the sentiment at first; she looked at Salmon Scent's eyes, wondering what he meant. He didn't offer her any explanation, but somehow looking at his face helped her work it out – he had felt her anguish when he'd discovered her, seen her cowering as if in pain. He could probably sense the hint of her pain on her mind when she spoke to him, too. But the reasons for her feeling the way she did were complex emotions – too complex for him to understand, so he interpreted it as some kind of "injury."
Sara didn't know how to explain that to him. Also, she thought belatedly, it was kind of personal.
Salmon Scent waited patiently, moving nothing but his tail.
No I'm not, Sara said finally. Not really. I... I am in pain, yes, but–
Why? he asked with surprising kindness.
I'm in heat, she admitted.
I know that, he said, prompting her to continue.
I'm alone, she said. Admitting that to him was a lot harder, even though the stranger was a wild cougar, who would probably tell no one.
The conversation stopped there. Salmon advanced toward Sara, undaunted when she backed off this time. He made a low guttural sound, and despite the species difference it aroused her on some level. In her conscious mind though, Sara resisted it fiercely. She was still in control of her self, her being, and she would not let a perfect stranger just... take her! She would not do this out of desperation; she would not let this creature have her at all, she resolved.
Sara growled at him, clearly expressing her resistance, but she didn't tell him mind-to-mind. He ignored her and advanced again, backing her against the cave wall. When Sara felt the stone with the tip of her tail, she snarled loudly and sidestepped out of the way, towards the cave mouth.
Salmon was quick; he got between her and the mouth of the cave before she could take another step. He snarled back, making his characteristic cougar scream. The volume of it initially startled Sara, but she held her ground and vocalized back. She reached out and tried to swat him with her paw; she did not hold her claws back, genuinely meaning to strike him.
He was quick again, but caught one of her claws across his nose all the same. Still, he came back, raised himself up higher, and held his ground. Sara crouched and tried to leap through him. He was surprisingly immovable for his size – she had thought he was smaller, but he was easily her match in strength and before she knew it she was knocked flat on her side. She looked anxiously at him, but he wasn't pursuing her; he just sat there in the seeming eternity it took to get to her feet again. She wasn't so sure she was safe anymore; that had really hurt.
She was half afraid to take him on again, but her stronger will won over and she hurled herself at his throat, mouth-first this time.
Salmon was unprepared for the audacity of the attack and topped backward, fortunately writhing himself out of her jaws before she could bite down – and she did try. He screamed at her in outrage and hit her strongly with his forepaw, catching her across the face. But, he'd held his claws in – Sara's face stung and she was momentarily stunned, but she was not scratched.
As she was knocked sideways he gave her a kick in her vulnerable underbelly and used the force to finish righting himself.
Sara found herself hyperventilating; she tried to wheel around and stand but she couldn't. The blood pounded in her head. She eventually managed to get herself up again, and tried several more times to escape Salmon and the cave, but each time he thwarted her, and sometimes he pushed her farther into the cave afterwards.
What is he doing?! she wondered anxiously, fearing every time she went down that she was about to be raped. But it never came – every time, Salmon would back off just enough to let her get up again, and though he did make a few attempts to position his hindquarters above her, he never seemed serious about it.
Finally, Sara's efforts gave out. She was tired, exhausted, and hadn't eaten enough since her heat began. She knew she would not be able to escape, and she knew that Salmon had no intention of letting her go. Why?! she raged at him, but he gave no answer. His stern face seemed answer enough – she thought she could read his eyes; I'm holding you here for your own good, they said, You won't last the entire two weeks of your heat alone and you know it. You want me.
It took a while longer, but Sara finally admitted to herself that most of that was her own mind's opinion. She had no choices left; if she tried to weather the rest of this alone, she would go insane (if the rabbit warren was any indication) and probably kill herself. Here was someone who was kind to her, who would help her when she needed it most, and best of all, someone no one else could ever take away from her. Someone no one else would be interested in – Salmon was hers, if she wanted him.
I guess that makes you my mate, she said so he could hear. If you'll have me, she said, and started sobbing uncontrollably. She hadn't felt it coming; the tears just overtook her and she lay down, trying to bury herself in her paws. It didn't work any better than the last time, but this time Salmon was there.
He approached her slowly and carefully, and didn't try to mate with her. He knelt down beside her and purred instead – Sara laughed to herself when she remembered; Cougars are the only big cats besides us that can purr!
Sara had never known anything more comforting. The wild big cat was loving and tender to her; somehow she realized that he had felt this way earlier, even as they fought one another. He cleaned her tear-streaked gold and white fur, and continued on to the rest of her body. His tongue felt warm and safe around her. When she'd stopped crying and was all cleaned, he lay down exactly parallel to her and looked at her, eye to eye.
I will have you, he said, not an intention, but an affirmation.
She nodded. You may, she said. I'm sorry I put up such a fight.
Salmon Scent did a surprising thing – he laughed. You're supposed to fight a mate! he declared, as if that were basic knowledge.
It was true, Sara had heard that couples often playfought as part of mating when they did it in feline form, but she hadn't imagined anything as intense and real as what she'd been through. She suspected that for Felines it wasn't, and that Salmon was speaking as a wild cougar.
Salmon gave her a loving lick across the face, which she wiped off on her paw.
"Hmmf," she said aloud.
I understand now some of why you were in pain, he said. It was difficult for her to interpret exactly what he'd said or meant, but he seemed to convey some of what she'd been feeling in the thought, so she believed him.
You'll have to promise to be gentle with me when we mate, Sara told him. I want you to be kind to me.
I am always kind, he said, being entirely serious. Again Sara got the feeling she hadn't gotten the full meaning, but she liked the way he said it.
Sara lifted her tail to one side. With her hormones the way they were, that was all the prompting he needed. The cougar got to his feet and positioned himself above her.
Will this even be possible between our two kinds? she asked, but he ignored the question. As his hindquarters began to brush gently against hers (very gently for what she knew of wild cats, Sara thought), she learned to just be quiet and enjoy the feelings.
For the first time in her life Sara got to lie still, let everything in her mind rest, and bask in the attentions of another. Salmon stayed gentle with her throughout, and when she felt the penetration the only part that hurt her was the urgency with which she needed it. She projected herself into him, both in the sense of her vulva and of her mind, and they copulated like two wild cats in a mountain cave.
When it was over, Salmon's climax and withdrawal hurt astoundingly much, but Sara had known to expect that from the porn she'd read. Cats of her kind had barbed penises too. Nevertheless, Sara gave the response that felt perfectly natural (and was now regarded somewhat as a cultural tradition), and swatted Salmon with her forepaw.
He bore it in good humour and gave her a few tender licks in reply before mounting her again – and then again, and again, and again... for among cougars, matings happened as often as fifty times in a day.
Sara lay there, completely unresisting, and took it – for the more her urgent feelings of heat were abated, the more enjoyable it became.
Epilogue
After Salmon finally tired, the two cats slept for several hours. Sara awoke first, glad to find that she still felt sated and that she was indeed in a cave far from home with a cougar she'd just met. Deciding that she ought to find out exactly where it was she'd wandered to, she started to get up – which woke Salmon.
Going somewhere? he asked in his way.
I should find out where exactly I am, she said. Will you come for a walk with me?
Yes, he said. But I know where we are – we are here.
He didn't mean it as a joke; as someone with no pressing concerns, that was indeed a good enough answer.
Sara scoffed and walked to the cave mouth.
Are you coming? she asked him. Salmon was looking her over from head to tail.
Your kind have two forms, do they not? he asked.
Yes, she said, wondering how he knew about that. Do you want to see my other one? she offered.
Please, he said, very curious.
Sara tried to change – and found that she couldn't. She tried again – changing was not something that held any difficulty for her kind; most did it several times a day whenever it was convenient; this shouldn't be happening– unless... no! she thought with unreserved alarm. That's not possible! Females can only reproduce with...
What's wrong? Salmon asked, startled and concerned.
I... I can't change, she said. My body won't let me. I'm.. I'm... she still couldn't believe it. I'm pregnant, she said.
Sara swore she saw Salmon roll his eyes. Duh, was how her mind interpreted his response.
No, no! She told him. You don't understand! Males of my kind can impregnate human females, but females like me can only reproduce with males of my kind, not humans or wild cougars!
How do you know that? he asked.
Well... Sara thought about it. You're right, no one's ever tried mating with a cougar before, she admitted. Goodness; I wonder what the cubs will be like.
They will be wise and kind, said Salmon Scent.
Sara gave him a look – he seemed serious, again. If their father was any indication, though, Sara had to admit the possibility.
Salmon finally joined her, and the two wandered into the darkened forest together.
What am I going to tell my mother? Sara idly wondered.
Sara ended up staying with The Smell of Salmon Just After They've Entered the River Mouth, and not going back to the village until the following year. There were search parties, but Sara didn't want to be found.
She and Salmon grew very close, both breaking their cultural norms as they did so – wild cougars usually have neither lasting nor monogamous relationships. Sara often went for days at a time without even remembering the village; when she did, she found that she didn't miss it as much as she thought she would.
Still, she knew that one day after the cubs were born, she would eventually go home.