Here is part 2 of Tarvor and Shera's story. I worked on this part quickly since I'll be back in college here shortly and may not have as much time to devote to the pair as I'd like. This is another long plot heavy chapter at almost 15,000 words. 

If you're here just to read some hot man on cougar action go ahead and Ctrl+F for 'tubers' that's pretty close to the start of the smut.

For people who are also interested in the emotional rollercoaster ride that is this chapter feel free to start from the beginning.

I'm not entirely happy with the plot for this chapter but I felt that this sort of confrontation was inevitable given the pair's personalities. In that sense the characters sort of drove this chapter the way they did, though I can't but feel it may be too far a departure from how the last chapter left. I did my best to make it a believable transition.

There are also some long talk-y bits I'm not entirely happy with but for all my effort I can't think of a way to better portray the interaction. Sometimes you just have to have two characters hash out their problems through paragraphs of argument. I did my best to throw in descriptions and actions to keep it from being boring. Stick with it, it's an important character moment.

Please enjoy!

***

Tarvor awoke before the dawn, as he did most days. Shera was still at his side, apparently still asleep. The shelter still smelled vaguely of the night before, the scent clinging to the heavy furs and pelts that formed the walls. It was not altogether unpleasant, a little reminder that yesterday was real despite the dreamlike quality the memories had gained in Tarvors head.

He reflected on what had occurred yesterday that led him to this moment and found it hard to believe. He had never heard of a sentient animal before, and he was a well-traveled soul. He 
had been from one side of the continent Montado to the other and seen the strange sites of the world. There were the beast races of course. The frogmen lived in the swamps of the west, and the satyrs, who he had met and traded with often, in the northern forests, not far from his own mountain. Priests had their miracles of healing and magic, but an animal becoming sapient and speaking with a human was something new.

It is an ill omen. It was a sour thought. Surely the day before had been one of the best days of his entire life. He had met somebody who he had instantly felt close with, someone who returned the feelings in kind. In a short time he had found, lost, and rediscovered a soul who shared his consciousness and his bed. Yet despite all the great things that had come from yesterday the daunting task that brought them together held precedence in his mind.

Something, somehow, had woken Sheras mind, filled it with all the information she would need to find me, and given her some sort of grand quest or mission that had to be carried out. Whatever had the power to do that would likely not do it without a great need. Furthermore Tarvor well knew that he was one of the best hunters and trappers in the entire world. He slept on the pelt of a Warrox, the most dangerous wild beast that walked the earth. Few had ever returned alive from a Warrox hunt, fewer still had faced one alone as he did those many years ago.

Whoever sent Shera to find him had likely picked him for a reason. Tarvor generally avoided human conflicts, he owed no allegiance to any of the kingdoms that dotted the map and stayed free of their wars and problems. If something had hand picked him and Shera to deal with something, it could very well be a problem on a global level. Something that he could not ignore even as secluded as he was. The thought filled him with a deep fear. He shivered though Sheras great furred hide had kept him quite warm under their shared blanket.

Tarvor was glad Shera was still sleeping and unable to feel the crushing anxiety and fear that he felt as the sun slowly rose from the horizon. She didnt need to be worried as well. He felt her stir beside him and tried to sequester his feelings away before she awoke entirely. He didnt know how to hide things from their bond but he tried his best to force any thoughts he didnt want her to feel from his head. He tucked them into the back of his mind and hoped for the best, though he couldnt know for sure if it worked without asking her, which would defeat the whole purpose.

At some point in the night Tarvor had ended up as the big spoon again, he felt Shera begin to shift and move as she shook the sleep off of her. With his arm draped across her chest he squeezed her tight and buried his face in the fur on the nape of her neck. It didnt smell anything like what he had smelled of her last night. This smell was musty and warm compared to the slick sweet smell of her sex. It was still pleasant though and he heard her murmur as he rubbed his face on her neck affectionately. 

The sun was nearly fully into the morning sky when he finally roused himself from bed. It was later than he would normally get up but today was special and he had all the reason in the world to stay in bed with the big cat. Still eventually he had to admit that there were things he needed to do today. 

Shera was being a big lazy feline and was taking her time about the whole thing, rolling over and going back to sleep several times before bothering to get up. When she finally did Tarvor paused his morning routine to watch her stretch her lithe form. She had jumped down from the raised platform of the shelter and stood in the morning sun stretching the toes of each paw. Taking the time to fully and luxuriously stretch each foot before moving onto the next one.

True to her species she made no rush of anything now that she had found the woodsmen she had set out to find three days ago. Tarvor watched and appreciated her form as she worked the drowsiness from her limbs. Her paws were big enough to hold and grip any sort of prey she might be stalking, easily larger than his own hands. As she stretched each foot a set of large imposing claws sprung forth from where they hid in the loose skin of her toes. They scratched the ground, leaving deep furrows in the dry earth. She moved from her toes and paws to her legs, leaning forwards and stretching her hind legs out straight behind her. She groaned and murmured as she did so, enjoying her lazy morning.

Tarvor waited excitedly for what he knew was inevitably coming, if she was anything like other cats he was familiar with. The whole reason he had paused in his chores to watch the big cat. Sure enough after stretching her rear legs she leaned backward to stretch her muscled fore legs and lifted her behind into the air, tail held up high exposing herself to the air. It wasnt a sexual exposure like she had presented him with the night before but nevertheless he couldnt help but appreciate the sight. He had been in the middle of preparing a breakfast of dried meat and bread when she had begun her routine but the food lay before him unheeded as all his attention was on her hindquarters and her two holes that he could so clearly see, tight and clean in the morning light.

In the middle of her stretch, however, she stiffened and suddenly dropped her tail to hide her parts from view. She looked sheepishly over her shoulder toward him but refused to actually meet his gaze. 

“I was thinking about last night." she began quietly. Her tone was uneasy and her eyes continued to shift away from his own whenever she looked at him. Tarvor was suddenly worried.

"I think I might have made a mistake.” Her body language spoke of shame, she sagged at the shoulders and her tail hung limply behind her. Gone was the lazy cat who had woken up, replaced with this much grimmer version. “I think maybe it would be best if we just forget that happened and try to focus on the task I was sent for."

Tarvor's heart couldnt get any lower, he had spent all morning worrying about what sort of immense danger awaited him. Some sort of horrible beast or underhanded human plot. A renegade god or environmental catastrophe. The thought of Shera by his side had been a comfort that he had taken solace in to help buffer against the fears of the future. He hadnt imagined that the greatest problem he might face today would come from Shera herself.

His hands felt numb, the dried meat he had been preparing only moments before slipped from his hands and fell into the dirt. He tried to reach out through his bond with her and see what she was feeling but he could barely sense her. She was guarding her feelings from him. He could think of no reason for her to do that. She was serious. Tarvor had been cut to the core.

His first instinct was to lash out angrily, but he had the presence of mind to hold himself in check. If there was a misunderstanding, or a possibility that he might change her mind, losing his temper might just ruin his chances. By the slimmest of margins he kept his voice level and reasoned.

“Why? You were the one who initiated the whole thing. What changed?” Tarvor asked forlornly, grief tinging his voice.

Sheras already droopy form sagged further. She wouldnt even look in his direction now.
“I just dont think it was a good idea, thats all." Shera mumbled something so quietly Tarvor couldn’t make it out. 

“What? It seemed a good enough idea to me. Why wont you give it a chance?" Tarvor pleaded.

“Because you arent a mountain lion!" Shera snapped. Raising her voice suddenly and looking at him fiercely before again dropping her shoulders to a sullen slouch. “We're different, even connected as we are. Too different. I cant do that."

Tarvor didnt know how to respond, the pain of her revelation was too much for him to bear. There was nothing to say, he couldnt become a male mountain lion for her if that what it was going to take. He was done. Instead of replying he simply stared aimlessly into the distance and tried to come to terms with the reversal of everything that had been wonderful about yesterday. 

He had felt so close to Shera, despite that she was a different species he had related with her in a way he never had with another human. For the first time in his life he found somebody that he felt he wanted to be around as much as possible. Now she was telling him that she didnt feel the same way. That he had been a mistake to her.

It tore at him. Tarvor very nearly left camp himself, just as Shera had done the day before. Going so far as to stand up and move toward his spear before deciding against it. He had hurt so badly yesterday when Shera had left. Even if she didnt care for him as he did for her, he didnt think it would make her feel any better if he left now. He found himself still wanting to keep her from the pain he had felt yesterday if he could. He still didnt want to hurt her. It was that thought that kept him inside the borders of the camp.

While he didnt leave physically he retreated into his own thoughts and left Shera to herself. He erected his own mental barrier against her, hoping to dull his side of the bond in the way Shera had barred her own. His feelings for Shera and his pain at her rejection was too big for him to handle head on, so instead he focused on the small things that needed  his attention in the short term. He couldnt even consider finishing breakfast feeling as he did but he set about completing the rest of the chores that he would do every morning.

He inspected both his spear and his shortbow to make sure they were in good condition. The spear was dulling so he ran a whetstone along its edge. The repetitive motion and rasp of stone on steel made the minutes pass at least, though to Tarvor it felt as if the world had stopped spinning. His bowstring was frayed so he fetched another one from where he kept his spares, he left the bow unstrung but stored the string in his pocket in case he needed it later. His fingers felt numb as he went through the motions of life.

Mindlessly he continued his tasks, when he got around to checking all the traps surrounding the camp to make sure nothing had been around that night he found a rabbit had been caught in a snare. The animal had been caught neatly around the neck and strangled itself at some point in the night. This sort of thing wasnt uncommon, but he would always wake up and hear it. He slept lightly out of necessity. However last night for some reason the trap had gone off and he hadnt been roused from slumber, it mustve happened while he and Shera had been otherwise preoccupied.

Thinking of him and Shera last night caused a fresh surge of pain when he was trying to avoid thinking about Shera at all. He struggled to tamp down his feelings and prevent anything from spilling over the bond. He looked over his shoulder toward the center of camp. Shera didnt seem to have noticed him, she was currently gnawing on the dried meat he had dropped earlier. 

She doesnt seem to be having any trouble eating. He thought bitterly.

He regretted the thought almost instantly. He felt shameful thinking like that about her. Her feelings might not have been real but his were, and he didnt think he could stop feeling for her so easily. It would be a painful process to let go. 

He stood in a stupor for some time, not bothering to move, simply standing and letting his mind wander away from him.  

This is stupid Tarvor. You havent given up at anything in your entire life. You killed a Warrox, youve faced countless beasts that any other man would have fled from. You have faced every challenge you have been given without fear, with cold hard determination. Youre going to give this up without a fight? Just roll over and go belly up? I guess it wasnt really all that important to you. 

Tarvor berated himself ruthlessly, but at the same time he came to realize that he didnt have to give it up. He was right. Just because she was having second thoughts about it didnt mean he couldn't at least try and change her mind. If she really didn't want to continue anything with him then he would have to accept it, but he didn't have to give up right away.

The thoughts put a new life into him, he stood taller and felt somewhat better. At least it was a glimmer of hope. For the moment all thoughts of figuring out what sort of divine quest sent Shera to him were unimportant. Right now he just wanted to see how he could win Shera back. Until he did the world could wait.  

He bent over and picked up the rabbit, loosening the snare around its neck, and resetting the trap. He headed back toward the center of camp, with a spring in his step, to where Shera was still trying to gnaw on the dried meat. He dropped the rabbit on the ground next to her.

“Here try this instead. It doesnt look like your teeth were made to eat dried meat.” Tarvor's voice was pleasant and level. 

Shera was somewhat taken aback by his tone, she was still hunched about the shoulders and her tail hung joylessly, though her ears perked up a bit when he spoke to her. He couldn't help but find the way her ears stood up, while everything else on her drooped, to be awfully adorable.  He fought the desire to reach down and rub them, it didn't seem the time for it.

The mental shield between Shera and Tarvor wavered somewhat when she spoke to him, though no emotions slipped through. "Thank you, thats kind of you. Im afraid I made a bit of a mess of this though." Her attention turned to the dried strips of meat she had been ineffectually gnawing at. They were tattered and covered with cougar slobber. Dirt stuck to them in wet clumps. They were nearly ruined.

Shera seemed embarrassed by this on top of the awkwardness that she had already started this morning, but Tarvor found it amusing instead. He had a goal, win Shera back, in the face of that a bit of shredded jerky seemed unimportant.

“Just a few more gallons of spit and I think you mightve managed to actually get that down. I have to chew it for a while myself and I have molars to help. Those pointy teeth of yours may be flashy but I dont think they were made for jerky." He laughed merrily. The thought that he didnt have to give up and accept that he had lost Shera as more than a friend had him in a great mood. A shred of a chance that he had latched onto with all his heart. 

Shera was confused that he was laughing at a time like this. She still felt awful and had no happy thoughts to bring her up. She ate her rabbit meekly but couldn't help but feel like Tarvor was laughing at her, and not kindly. His improved mood made her feel even worse at the moment.

Tarvor gathered up the strips of dried meat, they were well and truly ruined for eating out of hand, but he thought he could still do something with them. "I'll go wash these in the stream, get the dirt off of them, and I bet I could still make some stock out of them. Ill make soup tonight then.” He looked over at Shera paused contemplatively. A question occurred to him, "Can you eat soup?' he asked conversationally.

Shera paused with half a rabbit leg still dangling from her mouth, surprised. Tarvor seemed genuine, though she had thought he would be more upset with her. In a way she actually felt worse, knowing that he was unfazed by the conversation from earlier. She still couldn't feel his emotions through the bond so it could be just an act he was putting on, maybe he was hurting inside like she was. 

“I don't know. Im sure I could drink the liquid but the small bits of meat and vegetables might be harder. I guess we can find out." His attitude was contagious though and she felt herself cheering up in spite of herself.

“Thats the spirit. I know I said we would try and figure out why you came here today but instead why dont we just spend today getting to know each other better. I mean, we did only just meet yesterday even if it feels like Im closer to you than anybody else in the world.”
 
Tarvor noticed that Shera was being a little bashful again. He had intentionally aimed for a chink in her emotional armor by pointing out how close he felt to her but he didnt want that to back fire and make her feel bad. If she did then she might not spend the day with him after all. He had only meant to tell her that she was important to him. 

He changed tactics. "We can still be friends right? Were still bonded to each other even if you dont like me. It would be foolish to try and avoid each other.”

"I still like you!" Shera's voice came out suddenly and with force, hammering into his mind before he had even finished speaking. Harsher perhaps than she had intended. Emotionally charged as well. The cat stood at attention, her ears pointed forward, toward him, and her eyes wide. After her quick exclamation she dropped her voice back to a more normal speaking level and meekly continued. “I just dont think we can be like that anymore, is all. It wouldn't be right."

Then, as if she had never perked up at all, she was back to slouching and avoiding his gaze. “I still like you Tarvor, please dont think I dont." she belabored. 

Tarvor outwardly ignored the strange outburst, acting as if it had never happened. “Good, then it's settled. You can help me hunt this morning. I bet with you there we can catch something larger than a rabbit. I havent had fresh venison since the fall.” Tarvor had felt that something more was roiling under the cougar’s skin, even if she tried to hide it. While she didnt want to have an intimate relationship with him she obviously still cared for him somewhat. It was enough to keep him going for now, he might be able to work with that.

Tarvor busied himself with the rest of his morning chores. The rest of the traps around camp were undisturbed, his tools and equipment were oiled and sharpened if they needed it, and his food reserves were relatively plentiful. Though he did have to throw out a cache of vegetables that had turned. He wouldnt have to visit town in the near future for anything, which was probably for the best since he was still unsure of what to do with Shera when it came time to meet other humans.

While Tarvor bustled about camp checking this and that and generally making sure everything was in order, Shera lay quietly in the morning sun. Whether in a boding sense of ennui or just being a big lazy cat, Tarvor wasn't sure. Yet when it came time to grab his shortbow and spear and leave camp she padded along at his side without complaint. He reached down and rubbed her shoulders companionably, she purred a bit and rubbed on his leg as she walked.

The deer would be found in the forest at the base of the mountain, an hour or so from where camp was. On the journey Tarvor prodded Shera with questions. Most times innocent ones about her diet or wellbeing. Tarvor thought she might want her own shelter to sleep in if it would be more comfortable, though she seemed adamant that she was fine with just the one. Other times he would ask pointed questions like ‘Is there any way that you would change your mind about us?' to which Shera would often refuse to answer, or become curt with him.

Tarvor was willing to risk her ire however, the prize was worth it if he could get her to see him differently somehow, if he could be the male she wanted. Though nothing she said to him made that seem possible. 

Soon enough they were near where he knew deer congregated. He motioned for Shera to stop and began to string his shortbow. 

"Alright, there should be deer around here somewhere. If I was on my own Id just wander through the woods for awhile and hope to see something but I think we can come up with something a little more elegant if youre willing to help." he said.

Shera nodded eagerly, this was something she was good at. She would show Tarvor.

The hunter pointed to the north where the mountain rose away from them and swept his hand west until he was nearly pointing due south. "All along there, no more than a mile and a half from where we are, runs a ridge. Its steep and the deer dont normally climb over it so it should prevent anything from running that way. Behind us though is wide open all the way to the meadowlands south of here. The plan is this."

Tarvor drew on the ground with the butt of his spear to better illustrate what he wanted Shera to do. She would attempt to make a wide arc opposite from the ridge, making a ruckus and generally scaring any prey in the area. If any deer were in the woods they would head away from her in a panci, and hopeflly toward where Tarvor would be waiting. With the ridge behind him there was a good chance one of the scared deer would come near enough for him to hit it with an arrow, at that point the hunt was as good as over.

If there was anything in the area it was a good plan. 

***

Shera had no trouble grasping the gist of the plan and picked an area to run through that she felt would cover as much area as she could while still forcing deer toward the ridgeline instead of south to the meadows. 

Tarvor found a tall tree in a relatively clear section of forest and easily scaled it into its lower limbs. The vantage point would give him the best shot if something came nearby. He kept his quiver on his hip in easy reach and left his spear on the ground.

Shera watched him climb, concerned though he seemed more than capable. When he had reached a stable perch she took off from him with as much speed as her lithe feline form could bring to bear. 

Big cats like her were not marathon runners but she wouldnt disappoint Tarvor, and she could keep the pace up enough to accomplish her task. As she ran she yowled and roared out, trying to rouse as much game as she could with her ruckus. A predator tearing through the forest howling as she was would be sure to send any deer scattering, if there were any deer to be found at all.

Rabbits fled from the underbrush toward their warm burrows and squirrels quickly ascended tree trunks chittering at her angrily as she passed. She paid these no mind, it would be a small effort to catch one but her bondmate wished for venison and she would deliver. I can at least do this for him she thought to herself as she ran.

She had no idea how long she ran, and she had seen no sign of any deer but she crisscrossed the ground in an ever shrinking area, forcing whatever was there toward the ridge. Her flanks were slick with sweat and she was afraid that her stamina would soon lag without anything to show for it. She had just begun to think of another plan to try after a good rest when she heard a loud whoop from the direction of Tarvor. 

He was still shielding his bond from her, which she felt she deserved after the cruel things she had said, though she missed feeling his presence, but sound carried well in the calm air and she heard his voice easily.

She turned from her path and maintained her quick pace, now running toward her friend. When she came within sight of the human he was still scaling down from the tree he had perched in. She caught his eye and he gestured, waving his arm in the direction the animal had fled. She turned and ran after it, the scent of blood filling her sensitive nose. It was not difficult to track a wounded animal, thousands of years had honed predators like her to do just that.

Flecks of blood dotted the trail as she tracked the creature. She could feel that Tarvor had reached the ground and was now hurrying after it as well, though not nearly as swiftly as she. The specks of blood became dark stains on the foliage of the forest floor as the arrow worked its way deeper into the wounded animal. Soon the animal was lagging, unable to run any more, though still on its feet when Shera caught sight of it. She did not slow or hesitate in the slightest.

Her powerful hind legs tensed underneath her and propelled herself through the air onto the deers back. The animal had no more fight left in it, too much of its lifes blood had been spilled by Tarvor's weapon. She wrapped her jaws around its throat, constricting its breathing. Quickly and quietly it was over and the deer was lifeless underneath her.

If she were a normal mountain lion she would have started to eat the helpless creature before its heart had even fully stopped, but she was only half a pair. It didnt seem right to do anything before Tarvor arrived. So instead she sat and waited for him, she knew he would be coming along soon enough. Her tail twitched back and forth with excitement and pride, their first successful hunt.

Never before had she hunted together. Though she had often caught deer on her own, this was something different. The feeling of working in tandem with her partner was a special one. Each had their own role to play and because of it they had caught a buck, much larger than the young or sickly deer she would have been able to catch on her own. Together they made a fearsome team.

She shifted her feet awkwardly. Her mind turned toward the uncomfortable truth that they would never be as together as perhaps they could have been. It made her grieve the loss. Her morose emotional state had returned, the endorphins of the hunt wearing off. Yet when Tarvor came into the clearing she made sure to not let it outwardly show. He seemed so happy, there was no reason for both of them to be as miserable as she felt.

***

Tarvor was short of breath when he caught sight of the cougar, sitting proudly by the fallen deer. The deer had run a much longer distance than he had anticipated it would. His arrow had caught it cleanly in its chest, likely puncturing a lung. It was a testament to the beasts stamina that it had come so far, this was early spring and the antlers of the buck were still small and covered in their velvet but they wouldve been mighty had it lived to see fall.

He knelt over the corpse and murmured a prayer of thanks to the goddess of the hunt. He didn't really go in for religion like many of the farmers did, but he felt better about taking the life of another living creature if he thanked the being that helped create it. 

Shera looked at him oddly and he had to explain what he was doing. It was a simple prayer thanking the goddess for what he had taken from her realm and promising that it was necessary, and that it would be used well. When he told Shera as much she paused and seemed to roll the thought around in her feline mind before she too knelt her head over the buck and made silent prayer. 

The animal was heavy and it was over an hour back to camp at this point. The deer had run away from his camp when he shot it, it would have been luckier if it had run toward it but there is only so much control he had over the hunt. It would be easier to carry back if he cleaned it here and left the offal behind.

He produced a wicked looking hooked knife from his belt that was designed for this exact purpose and set about doing the dirty job. It wasn't pleasant work but Shera watched with interest, she was obviously used to the sight of blood and guts. It was interesting to her how you could disassemble a living thing if you knew which joints were easy to cut through and what could be considered waste and left behind.

She helped herself to the heart and liver, if the deer had died closer to camp Tarvor may have carried them home for his own use but it would already be a sizable job just getting most of the carcass to camp. The ground was strewn with wasted bits and blood by the time he was done. He poured water from a leather satchel over his arms, washing them clean, then did the same for Sheras muzzle when she asked him to. 

Pouring water over the mouth of a mountain lion and then rubbing it with your fingers to help clean it was not like anything he had ever done before in his life. Shera attempted not to but couldnt help but purr contentedly as Tarvor helped clean her. He wouldn't do as good a job as she could do later but it was serviceable and his hands did feel pleasant.

Just as he had finished and had prepared a load both for himself and a smaller one he figured Shera could carry in her mouth an unpleasant noise echoed through the forest. The birds that had been tweeting happily in the canopy nearby all of a sudden went silent. Sheras hackles rose and she let loose a low growl as she scanned the trees around them. Tarvor sheathed the small gutting knife and picked up his spear.

He knew the sounds that came out of these mountains, and that was not one of the friendly ones. A bear was close by, likely drawn by the smell of the blood that stained the ground around him. It wasnt a warrox, or he would have already been running, but it sounded large. 

It would be a better idea not to fight, but he also didn't want to leave his game behind. If it had been a smaller specimen or just a pile of fish he might've been inclined to simply leave it as a sacrificial token for the great predator, but this was his and Sheras first hunt and he was feeling foolish.

“Shera, what do cougars do when they see a bear?” Tarvor asked. His hands clutched the spears ash haft loosely, rolling it between his fingers, watching the long flat blade catch and reflect the light. He could now see an indistinct shape through the trees and hear the snaps and cracks of the underbrush beneath the bears massive paws.

“We run. We run fast. If we cant run then we die." Sheras voice was tinged with concern, verging on panic. She looked afraid, her tail tucked close to her backside. She kept glancing away from the creature coming towards them, looking to the nearby woods as if to run at any second. 

More than that however, Tarvor realized she felt afraid, he could feel her fear coming through their bond. She had either forgotten about shielding herself or maybe intentionally dropped it in the face of danger, either way his lioness was afraid and that made Tarvor very, very angry.

It was reckless, it was downright stupid, but nonetheless he would refuse to back down from any creature that threatened his lioness. He may not be her human right now, but he was damn well sure that she was his lioness.

The bear was clear of the trees, in easy sight of both him and Shera. Its shoulder was level with his eyes and its huge head hung low in front of it. Its brown eyes were fixed on him and Shera. If it felt confused being faced by both a human and a mountain lion, Tarvor couldnt tell. Its mouth hung open and a thin line of drool hung from its chin.
 
The hulking predator hadn't made any forward movement since it cleared the trees, it stood there eyeing them. It’s chest heaved with great breaths. Tarvor thought that there might just be a chance of getting out of this without a fight. The bear was far larger than him, and absolutely dwarfed Shera, but bears could be skittish. He may be able to scare it away if he was lucky.

Waving his spear over his head, he yelled at the top of his lungs toward the shaggy animal. Shera joined his cry at his side, though the fear that coursed through her had choked her throat and the roar came out shriveled. The bear answered Tarvor’s cry with one of its own, raising itself onto its hind legs, standing a full 15 to 20 feet tall. The air felt as if it vibrated with the pure force of the roar and any chance of getting out of here without a fight took wing like the birds that scattered from the trees. 

Now the bear advanced slowly, with purpose, towards the bonded pair and their felled game. Tarvor forced himself to relax and mentally prepared himself for the fight. This was not the first time he had faced a large animal, the spear had been well used before. Once he had even fought and killed a warrox, a beast which this bear would flee from just as surely as a mountain lion ran from it. There was always an element of danger though and you never faced an animal like this lightly. 

The bear broke its slow stride and charged toward them. Tarvor yelled for Shera to stand aside and held his spear in front of him to deflect the assault. Fear and shame flowed through the bond as Shera quickly backed off and kept her distance from the bear and hunter both. Shera may feel shame that she could not help in this fight but Tarvor could not hold it against her, her claws were sharp and deadly but they did not have the reach of his spear, and that was what would serve him well in this fight.

The bear’s charge had reached the tip of Tarvors spear, and the ponderous animal didn't slow. The woodsman cut a large gash across the beast’s shoulder as he jumped to the side to avoid the predator as its momentum carried it forward. The bear stumbled in pain, and the feeble attempt to claw at Tarvor as it passed missed its mark.
 
Tarvor leveraged his reach to his advantage, whenever the bear tried to get close he would poke and prod at its bulk, urging it to keep its distance. Threatening to impale it upon the long blade. He would dance like this until the beast tired, a multitude of small cuts adding up until the animal slowed enough for him to hilt his spear into its chest, piercing its heart.
 
The bear found that even though its long arms were tipped with razor sharp claws, it could not reach the sly human. Tarvor skipped and shuffled his feet rapidly to keep out of range. Kicking up dust and debris as he moved. The bear grew frustrated and began to swipe at his spear instead, cutting its sensitive paw pads on the blade, but Tarvor held firm and the bear could not knock the spear from his hands.

The ponderous beast was tiring as the fight wore on, blood matted its fur on its shoulder, where the first and deepest wound had struck true. Countless smaller cuts had clouded its mind with pain and fury. In a desperate gambit it stood on its hind legs to its full height, towering over the smaller human. It leaned forward and attempted to fall down upon him, to pin him underneath its bulk.

Tarvor was too quick and too experienced for that too work, he leaped to his right as soon as the bear began to fall. His spear tip however did not get out of the way in time and the point buried itself in the shaggy hide of a foreleg. Tarvor gripped the haft of the weapon tightly and attempted to wrench it free but it was fruitless. The bear continued to fall forward, it’s leg carrying the spear embeded in it. 

The weight of the bear tore the spear from Tarvor’s hands, knocking him off balance. The spear was still lodged in the animals hairy leg, a deep cut but not immediately life threatening. With a swipe of its paw the bear knocked the instrument loose and then advanced upon Tarvor. His spear lay beneath the bear, out of reach and useless.

Tarvor began to panic and drew the next best weapon he had, a knife. Not the short hooked knife he had used to butcher the buck, but a long knife, and sharp. Yet while his spear was greater than the length of the bears arm this knife was barely the length of its claw. Not nearly big enough to safely protect him. One way or the other the fight would quickly reach its gruesome conclusion. 

Tarvor’s experience kicked in and he began to figure out the best way to fight at a disadvantage. The eyes were the best target, the knife wouldnt stand a chance of piercing through the bears ribcage, and he wouldnt bet his life that he could slide between the ribs and hit the heart. He roared his defiance at the bear in wordless rage and prepared for the final charge. The bear may yet die from blood loss even were it to kill him and he took some sense of grim satisfaction that he may bring his killer down with him. 

The beast returned his roar, at this close range he could practically feel spittle that flew from it's mouth with the noise. Tarvor's knuckles went white on the handle of the dagger and he imagined the sort of swing that would be required. As the bear began to raise it's paw for a lethal blow Tarvor waited for an opening, praying it wouldn't be too late.

“Tarvor!" Sheras voice, thick with worry, sounded in his mind. He could feel that her concern for him was now greater than the fear she felt, she had gotten behind the great bear and with a roar launched herself up and onto its back. Her claws dug into its skin and she held on as tight as she could while the beast roared in pain and tried to unseat its unwanted passenger. 

His lioness was fierce, she had no hope of doing anything worse than annoying the bear. Her jaws could not crush its throat. Her claws were not long enough to do more than irritate it. Yet she fought with all she had to protect Tarvor. 

The hunter made the most of the opportunity. The beast had turned from him in its confusion, twisting and writhing to try and reach the lioness with its mighty jaws. It no longer stood guard over his spear. Tarvor deftly grabbed his weapon and ran toward the bears haunches, launching his spear before him. His thrust was well placed and he severed the bears hamstring cleanly, rendering one of its hind legs worthless.

Shera leapt free as the bear toppled in pain, unable to keep its feet with its now defunct leg. She circled the animal snarling and baring her teeth at it, hackles raised along her back. Tarvor wasted no time, the creatures belly lay towards him and as the shaggy animal bellowed in pain his spear punched through its ribcage, snapping bone like dry twigs, and pierced its heart. 

In seconds the animal ceased moving and lay lifeless, its powerful frame now finally still. Shera stopped snarling but her hackles remained raised and fear and anger mixed into a bitter concoction that flowed through their bond. Tarvor pulled his spear free and wiped it clean on the dead bears fur leaving a wide red mark on the brown hide.
 
He knelt and offered up another silent prayer, this one an apology for being forced to end the life of a noble and dangerous predator. After a moment Shera relaxed and did the same, the excitement and fear draining from her slowly. The bear was too big to even begin to hope to carry back to the camp, even the smallest part of it, it would have to stay here and feed the crows and wolves.

When the fear ebbed from Shera and her anger dulled, the only emotion Tarvor could still feel was concern for him. She ignored the still form of the fallen foe and ran up to him, frantically checking all over to make sure he wasn't hurt. He realized he was still blocking his half of the bond and she may have not been able to tell if the bear had managed to catch him with a claw or not. Worry emanated from her as the danger had passed. Worry for him. He let his mental barrier drop, no longer trying to withold what he felt from crossing the bond.

As soon as his own feelings of relief and satisfaction flowed into her he felt her elation at being connected to him again. Having not felt his presence really and truly since the early morning he felt overwhelmed as affection and care flowed into him. She pushed her face into his stomach and he held her head in his hands, magnifying the feeling ten-fold.

Tarvors skin prickled with the realization. "Wait a fucking minute, what is that?" He jerked his hands up forcing Sheras face to meet his. 

She pulled back and the connection immediately cut off, her walls had gone back up. She tried to back away from him but he advanced on her, still running on adrenaline from his fight. Sweat soaked his shirt and it clung to him beneath his leather vest. His heart was pounding every bit as hard as it was when the bear still drew breath.

He didn't bother to shut off his own feelings from her, his anger coursing red hot, fanned to a burning pitch by the bellows of emotion and adrenaline. "No you don't. You arent pulling away right now.” He grabbed her head again, insistently but not cruelly. He knew she could feel his overwhelming anger even more when they were touching and he used that to his advantage. She meekly allowed him to hold her head though she refused to meet his eyes which stared at her in emerald hued rage.

“I know what I felt, and I wont let you lie to me right now. You fucking care for me, and not like a friend. Dont try and deny it."

Shera was quiet and didn't answer for a long time, but it became clear that Tarvor was not about to let this subject drop. Her voice was as small as it could possibly be. A bare whisper in his mind. She hung her head, letting his hands support its weight and stared at the ground between Tarvors feet. 

“Yes."

He pushed her then. Forcefully. Hard enough to surprise her and make her stumble to keep her feet, not anywhere near hard enough to hurt her but he vented his frustrations. She looked up in shock, pained that he would do that, but while his face was still hardened in anger, tears had welled up in his eyes as well.

“Then why did you say that you didnt? Why would you ever say that to me?” The searing red fury that had overflowed him was tinged with betrayal and sadness now. "How could you come into my life, make me feel so good for one night, and then lie to my face the next morning.  What could possibly make you want to hurt me like that?"

Shera let her mental walls fall down once more, the time for that had passed. Her distress, sadness, and shame flowed into him, mixing with his frustration and confusion. "Because Im not a human. I didn't see a choice. I had to. For you."

The words rolled like thunder. Not because he wasnt a mountain lion then, not because he wasn't what she wanted, but because she wasn't a human. Tears flowed down Tarvors cheeks as the frustration and loss he had felt this morning rushed back into him unbidden. Released from the dam he had made when he decided to fight for her affection.

Shera spoke with more strength. Still quietly but now explaining what she had done with some degree of conviction. "I woke up before you did this morning, I know you thought I didnt, but I did. I lay in bed thinking about us and what would happen if we continued like we did last night.” Her voice broke and she spent several moments quietly collecting herself before continuing.

“You have to understand, last night I was so incredibly sad when I came back to camp. I had lost everything I had and then you showed up and said exactly what I wanted to hear, even if you didn't know it at the time. All I wanted was somebody to be close to, so I didn't have to feel like I was the only one, alone in a world full of people who didnt understand me. When you said that to me I knew instantly that I would care deeply for you.

“Later when I felt your excitement, when you held me, I made a bad decision. I forced the issue, I could have just let you roll over and pretend nothing happened but I was still lonely and I wanted to feel loved so badly. I pressed you into it and convinced you that you wanted it too. It made me happy for the moment but I realized this morning that it cant possibly work out for us."

Shera was quiet for a long time then. Her sadness slid across their bond. She cried. Tarvor was content to let her stew in the silence, he didnt need to say anything to get her to finish telling the story that led her to spurn him this morning. He understood fully well that sometimes it just takes a while to think of exactly what you want to say.

Eventually she continued. “What happens in 10 years? Mountain lions dont live as long as humans do and while Im still fairly young I'll be old long before you are. We could never have kids, or meet the neighbors. I can't even go into town with you because I'm an animal and people would never accept us. Maybe not now but eventually youd regret being with me, even if we lived happily for 20 years I'd still eventually grow old and waste away and leave you alone. How could I do that to you?"

Shera dragged her paw through the dirt in small spirals. Leaves and twigs crackling under her heavy foot.

Tarvor finished her story for her. "So you thought it would be better to just cut it off right then and prevent all that from happening?" The lioness nodded, regret and longing flowing through her, she would be denied what she wanted just so Tarvor could live happier.

“Well thats fucking stupid."

Shera snapped her head up suddenly at his words and stared at him, not kindly.

“I was doing it for you, how can you be so cruel as to call that stupid?” She spit.

His words had hurt her, but that was intentional.

“Because its fucking stupid. What would you do if I actually did meet a human woman? I'm literally the only person in the world you can talk to, we are bound together forever. Would you be able to live beside me while I loved another? Would you hold how you felt in check when she and I shared an embrace in the next room? What do you think that would do to you?” Tarvor ranted at her unrelentingly. “How could you possibly handle that? Wouldn't that just destroy you?"

Shera imagined how she would feel if that happened. Tarvor with another woman, their children, laughing and playing with each other. To them she would just be a dumb trained animal Tarvor kept around for some reason. She would go mad. Yes. She was forced to admit.

“So what makes you think, that I could possibly be okay if I were to hurt you that badly, even unknowingly? Would you just spend your entire life blocking your bond from me? Hiding how heartbroken you were? Just to maybe spare me some pain when you die? Everybody dies eventually and nobody gets to choose when. Hell, I dont even want kids, or neighbors, and when I go to town youll walk at my side and fuck whatever they think.”  
Shera sensed the shift in the conversation. “I thought you didnt care about me. You were really upset for a minute when we spoke but then you shut me out and walked around and when you came back you were all chipper and acted like nothing had ever happened.” Her voice was accusatory, hurt. “Like it was no big deal. I was sure then that I had made the right decision." She looked at him questioningly, waiting for his explanation. Her tail twitched irritably.

“I did feel terrible, and I blocked you out of spite, you were blocking me and I felt like returning the favor, even if it was petty. However what I realized, and what kept me going today was the fact that I didn't have to accept what you said without a fight. I had decided that I was going to try and get you to care for me if it took years. So it was not so much a loss to me then, as a delayed thing.”

Shera looked at his face, searching it for emotion. She was touched that he felt so deeply for him. For the first time she realized her mistake for what it was. She sagged with grief. Have I ruined us then? She thought to herself.

Tarvor continued “Now that I know why you did it however I'm incredibly angry with you."

Shera sagged even more, the cat couldn't possibly feel worse at the moment and Tarvor was about to heap more guilt onto her. 

He didnt relent. “You made a decision that was important to me without asking what I thought. You assumed that what I did last night was only because you forced me to and not because I wanted it. Im a grown man and I can make my own decisions and you arent allowed to choose what is best for me without even asking."

"However," Tarvor knelt down beside his lioness and held her face in his hands, forcing her eyes to meet his. “I forgive you. He threw his arms around her and buried his face in the scruff of her neck and cried tears of relief."

No matter how angry he was with her, it was a grain of sand next to the mountain that was the happiness that he hadnt lost her at all. If anything she felt more for him than he expected, even if she did make a bad decision. People made bad decisions all the time, you forgive them when they do.

Sheras heart instantly soared, rising from deep in her chest, breaking the morose chains that had been thrown around it. She had not expected it to turn out like this at all. Tarvor held her tightly and she purred loudly in his arms. At the very best, when she slipped and let him feel how she still felt for him, she thought he would take a great deal of time to get over it. That he was so accepting of her made her feel all the closer to him. 

She leaned her body into him and happily closed her eyes. Her body may not be able to cry but inside she was sobbing and she made no attempt to contain her emotions from their bond.

For a long time they held their positions, embracing on the forest floor next to the bodies of a bear and a buck. It is an atypical place for a couple to reconnect but they were an atypical couple.

Eventually though they were forced to separate, they were a good hike from camp, and they still had to carry their game back before night fell and the forest got more dangerous than it already was. Tarvor made a simple bundle of the haunches of the buck they had felled together, something Shera could grab in her teeth and drag along without damaging the meat. For himself he carried the rest of the carcass slung over his shoulders, his bow and spear bound to his back with leather thongs to keep his hands free. 

Shera led the way back to their camp, she remembered it every bit as well as he did. He couldnt help but watch her rump as it sashayed back and forth with each step. 

“Oh and Shera, one more thing. You hid from me this morning, but now I think its time to show me that ass." He cackled with laughter and Shera made that strange rolling growl that was a cougars laugh. The first one she had made all day.
 
She lifted her tail as she walked displaying her wares for her human. For her human. Her tight lips and puckered tailhole called to Tarvor invitingly. The day was young yet.

***

In camp Tarvor set to make the soup that he had planned since this morning. The lacerated jerky left over from Sheras failed attempt at dried meat made a passable broth, if a bit salty. The fresh venison combined with the vegetables that Tarvor had squirreled away in camp made the dish complete. The meat was succulent and flavorful. 

Shera enjoyed drinking the soups broth and ate a few bits of the meat that Tarvor had thrown in, though he noticed she hadnt eaten any vegetables. She probably isnt built to handle those Tarvor thought to himself I'll have to keep fresh meat around more often, she cant live on bread, dried meat, and tubers like I can.

All through their meal they couldnt keep their hands, or paws, or tongues, off each other. They were freed from the days restrictions and could happily show each other how much they cared for one another now that they were being honest with themselves.

Tarvor kept rubbing Shera all over, he'd touch the pads of her feet, behind her ears, her chest and belly where he found her nipples. He would slide his hand under her tail, when she wasnt paying much attention, to surprise her with a rub of her sensitive areas. She had been excited almost since they returned to camp, all through cooking and preparing the meal she had been receiving attention from his roaming hands and she loved every minute of it. 

Had he asked her to turn around and present herself to him while he whipped out his cock and took her right next to the fire she would have had no complaints. Unlike the soup, she would probably have even gone back for seconds as well.
 
For her part she felt equally driven to explore his nooks and crannies, the sun was still in the sky and likely wouldn't set for hours yet. It led to a different experience than what they had in the dark of last night. She would knead his leg or arm with her large sensitive paws and would sniff or lick whatever skin she could reach. She particularly enjoyed the feeling of reaching her head up and licking under his neck while he stood over her. She had to stand on her hind legs and have him help support her weight to do it, but the neck was a spot she enjoyed having rubbed herself and she liked thinking that she could please him by paying attention to the same place.

It was Tarvor who first brought up the idea for the rest of the days activities. They were not of the same species, and while they weren't complete strangers to each others needs and desires, they had learned some things last night, they didn't know as much about one another's bodies as they might. Tarvor had suggested they spend a long sensuous time exploring one another in every way they could, to find out exactly what each of them liked best. 

The only rule was neither of them was allowed to finish until both of them were satisfied they knew exactly what they liked. After all if he simply stuck himself in one of her holes and spent himself he'd likely lose his motivation to explore any further. Losing himself in the post orgasm bliss that always left him feeling completely spent. Though if she were honest with herself the same would likely happen to her were she to finish early.

In this she had the advantage since she could have any number of smaller orgasms without hitting the point of no return, but she knew by the time they were finished she would be every bit as eager as him to cum fully. 

Touching each other during dinner had been only the appetizer for the evening. Tarvor had learned that Sheras paws were very responsive to touch, having them rubbed wouldn't drive her to finish but was an excellent way to get her started. Shera, likewise, had learned that Tarvors neck and ears were a good way to get him excited, a fact she had stumbled on last night but became clearer today.

When dinner was finished each of the two took the time to clean themselves. Shera lavishing attention all over her beautiful body with her tongue, removing anything unpleasant that may have clung to her during the days activities. As she licked and groomed her belly she felt her own nipples pass under her tongue and a thrill sent shivers down her body to her sensitive areas. She continued to clean and rub them as Tarvor would surely be interested in those later as well, but doing so made her quite excited.

Sheras tongue began to invade her own folds, deep between her legs. She twisted her head down to both clean and pleasure herself. Some time would have to be spent down here to make sure everything was clean for whatever Tarvor decided to do, but she was getting rather involved with herself. Her tongue ran across her own tailhole and she shivered with pleasure, until Tarvor had pushed his finger into her puckered hole last night she hadnt considered it as something that could make her feel good. Now however she was aware of how nice some things there might feel and it received just as much attention from her slick tongue as her nether lips did.

Lost between her own legs she didnt notice Tarvor nearby until he touched her on the shoulder, breaking the trance. He stood naked before her, cleaned and fresh. The cold water he had used wasn't as exciting as her own warm tongue so he had managed to not get quite so, involved. He was however quite enjoying watching her pleasure herself, and no amount of cold water could entirely suppress his arousal.

The couple went over to the shelter, Shera practically shook with the anticipation of what was to come. She lay on the bearskin rug while Tarvor pulled back the pelt curtains from the walls to let more light inside. She laughed to herself at the irony of what was about to happen on the bearskin underneath her given the days activities, she kept laughing right up until the moment Tarvors tongue touched her small feline pussy.

Instantly she growled her delight and lost herself in the feeling of her partner exploring her folds. It was over in only a second however, as he climbed into the shelter beside her. 

“Just needed a little taste, I'd been wanting to do that all day. Its jumping ahead a bit though." Tarvor made exaggerated licks across his lips, tasting her fluids that clung to him. Shera watched his tongue and imagined that he had continued instead of stopping. She nearly attempted to press him to return his tongue to her slick entrance but she knew the joy there would be that much greater for the time spent in waiting.

The lovers examined and appreciated each others bodies. Tarvor began by running his hands across every inch of Shera. It was his turn and he was allowed to lay his tender fingers wherever he chose and Shera cooed and hummed to him, telling him which spots felt the best to her. 

He started with her face and muzzle, running his hand over the bridge of her nose and her forehead was pleasant but not erotic, her cheeks and the areas around her mouth however were too sensitive to touch and not really something she enjoyed having fondled intensely. He had much better luck when he rubbed her ears. They were large and light brown, the fur coating them was very soft, as soft as any fur on her body. He gently pinched her ears between his thumb and forefinger and rolled the pliable skin in his hands. Shera groaned and felt her arousal grow. She herself didnt realize that her ears would provoke this reaction, already this exercise was proving fruitful.

From her head Tarvor moved down her body, rubbing her back and shoulders caused her to moan with pleasure, though not to the same extent that her ears had. When he tried pushing down on her haunches like she might feel when mounted by a male Shera responded immediately, she purred loudly and her tail naturally moved to the side exposing her entrance to anything that might be so interested. She crouched into the traditional feline mating stance, low to the ground with her hindquarters carefully angled up for her male. Tarvor favored her with a quick rub across her folds, aiming to tease her further rather than provide any sort of satisfaction. He smiled to himself as her breath hitched and he felt her small moans in his mind. 

Tarvor licked her juice from his fingers as he continued to explore her body. He rubbed her shoulders roughly, massaging her heavily muscled frame, her loose skin sliding across the area easily. Reminded of what she had enjoyed last night he grabbed a handful of the skin at the nape of her neck and pulled lightly. Immediately her pleasure flowed through their bond into him.

“I'm curious, why does this excite you so much?" He still held her firmly in his hand while he whispered the question into her ear. His other hand played across the muscles of her chest while she remained crouched, presenting herself to be mated. 

“It's harder to move like this, my body naturally goes loose. Its how mothers hold their kittens and how males hold their mates." Her voice was soft and raspy, she liked submitting to him like this. While she was no doubt the stronger of the pair, in this position he had complete control over her and that excited her greatly and she told him as much. Tarvor likewise enjoyed the feeling of power and continued to hold the nape of her neck as he pushed on her side, encouraging to lie down so he could better reach her chest and stomach.

When Tarvor let go the fold of skin Shera felt she could move again. She squirmed onto her back rolling pleasurably over the bearskin rug, exposing her soft belly fur to Tarvor. From here he could just see her lips between her legs, to take her like this, while she was on her back, would be a much more familiar position for the human. He crawled around the cougar until he knelt over her tail, positioned above her, his erect manhood twitched excitedly, his tip poised only inches from her wet entrance. 

Shera craned her head to the side and watched Tarvor as he appreciated the sight before him. She had never considered being penetrated like this, it was a much more vulnerable position for her than what they had done last night. This too she found incredibly exciting and her liquid excitement flowed from between her legs, making her feelings known. Tarvor however had no intention of ending the game so quickly and was content only to tease and mime fucking his cougar. 

He placed his hands on her stomach, he could feel the small nubs of her nipples that lay hidden beneath the soft fur. He rubbed them sensually as he found them and ground his member across her lips and soft underside as he thrust himself across her. 

Shera was becoming far too excited being repeatedly teased so. She had reached the end of her rope and could feel orgasms threatening as her human’s cock slid back and forth between her lower lips. The slick friction rubbing and exciting her. She growled and placed her back paws against his hips, heaving him backwards away from her. She took her feet and stalked over to him. 

Tarvor sat flat on his bottom, his dick standing at attention, still wet with Sheras juices and his own precum. The cougar advanced toward him with her head low, growling lightly and baring her teeth. The bond told him she was being playful but her golden brown eyes told him he was much smaller than her and right now she was in charge. His cock began to shrink as he looked into the predators eyes and her snarling face which now stood bare inches from his own, yet when she lowered her eyes from his and slowly brought her feline mouth to his manhood he quickly firmed up again.

Shera licked at Tarvor hungrily as she had licked him the night before. She could taste herself on him but it was muted under the overwhelming smell of his own arousal. It entered her nose as she took deep breaths, savoring the aroma. It was a smell that was uniquely Tarvor's, the small of her mate, and she loved it. His cock twitched against her tongue and another hot drop of precum leaked from his tip. Shera looked up at Tarvors face, meeting his eyes as she delicately licked the liquid from his tip, causing him to give a little shake as the feeling rushed through him.

“I want to try something but I dont know if it will work, let me know if it hurts." She said to him, dropping her head so his member was fully engulfed in her maw. 

He moaned as the warmth enveloped him and he placed his hands on either side of her head, holding her on him. She used the full length of her tongue to wrap around him inside her mouth, being careful of both her teeth and the rough barbs on her tongue. She cupped his member in her tongue, doing her best to give it a sensual pressure. She moved her head back and forth slowly, feeling his excitement through the bond as his cock leaked more precum for her to greedily swallow.

Tarvor rubbed her ears as she sucked on him, causing her pleasure to rise in kind. Shera wanted to finish him like this, to feel his seed shoot into her mouth and run down her throat. It was a decidedly un-animal way to please a mate, which made it all the more pleasurable to her. However, like Tarvor, she didnt want the game to end before she had a chance to explore all the ways she might pleasure him, and him her. 

She let his cock fall from her mouth with a wet plop, it was dripping wet with her saliva. She could still taste him in her mouth and licked her feline lips, spreading the taste around.  From last night she knew she could excite him by licking his chest and neck but she was curious what other areas might enjoy a tongue bath. Giving directions through the bond she had him move around to help her better reach his intimate spots. Shera particularly liked to play with his balls, running her tongue across the salty surface. His scent was the strongest there and they both enjoyed the time she spent caressing them. 

Soon her sex was aching for attention, she could feel that the fur beneath her tail was damp with her fluids. She hadnt received much in the way of pleasure there except for some intermittent rubbing with no penetration. Now she wanted more than that. She had Tarvor lay on his back as if she was going to explore another part of his body with her tongue but her plans were far different. She straddled his chest with her legs, facing his feet, and positioned her haunches over his head.

He laughed. “Oh I like the view from here. Very picturesque."

She laughed with him, coyly “Oh well in that case let me help give you a better look." She squatted over him causing him to squawk in surprise. She held herself just off his head, and when he was slow to catch on to what she wanted she dipped further. She touched her sensitive entrance to his lips and held them there until he stuck his tongue out and met her lips with it. Tarvor took no further encouragement and began to hungrily lick at her folds, sliding his tongue across them and pressing it into her hot hole.

Tarvor enjoyed having his lioness be so forward with him, he could feel her need coming through their bond and he loved being able to fill it, and her. Her juices wet his mouth and face as she leaked onto him without inhibition. The smell of her was amazing, and her taste drove him wild. He brought his fingers in and began to happily explore her depths while continuing to rub the outside with his tongue. 

He pumped two of his fingers in and out of her opening, driving his mate wild. She began to growl and grind her hindquarters back and forth. He could feel her insides clench on his finger as a small orgasm coursed through her. A fresh glob of her arousal seeped from her depths and he caught it on his tongue, enjoying the sweet flavor. 

With the daylight and the intimate position he was in Tarvor could better explore her folds than he had the night before. Her outer lips were small and tight, a male mountain lion had a penis only about the size of one of his fingers, considerably smaller than his own. Yet they were soft and pliable and using his fingers he could stretch them wide and see her hot inner walls, they shone wetly with her arousal. Fur surrounded the lips, but the lips themselves were bare skin of a dark brown color, similar to her nose and the skin that covered the rest of her body.  He felt the fur on his cheeks as he continued to pleasure her, the soft tickling sensation was quite enjoyable. He could feel that eating her out would be one of his favorite sexual activities.

As he explored her he discovered that like human women she had a clitoris, a small nub hidden in the folds of her lips towards her belly. When he found the sensitive button he began to rub it with his tongue, gently at first. Shera let out a harsh yowl and he laughed as another orgasm shook her, stronger than the last. The game was nearing its, literal, climax.

“Did you know this was here?" He asked, his mouth full of her folds, forcing the words out between delicate licks. She quivered pleasantly in his mouth and purred. He could actually feel the vibration on his face. He moved a free hand to his own member and began to idly stroke himself as he pleasured her. Shera enjoyed watching.

She panted and moaned in his head. When the words came they were strained as if she was having trouble speaking. "I had no idea... oh god... dont stop." She forced her haunches down further, pressing her sex onto him. Without room for his fingers he pleasured her with nothing but his mouth. His eyes could only see her puckered tail hole, which would twitch and clench as he excited her other parts.

He continued to try and mouth words around her pussy, but she pushed it bodily into his mouth insistently, unwilling to let him ease up even for a moment. He instead tried to communicate with her in the same way she did with him, forming the words in his mind and pushing them through the bond. "Are you sure? I'm pretty confident if I keep going you're going to lose the game.” He moaned himself as she leaked more of her wonderful arousal onto him. “If you do I'm going to have to take my prize however I want." He stared at the underside of her tail and the hole found there. 

If she was surprised to hear him speak directly to her mind she didnt react to it. "Yes, whatever, anything. Just dont stop Tarvor.” She let out a loud roar as his tongue flicked at her most sensitive spot. "Just like that, just keep licking it like that until I'm done and you can do what you want with me."

Tarvor smiled and did as his lioness commanded, urged on by her words and the quivers he felt in her body. He kept the same pace and strength of stroke as he rubbed across his lioness’ button. He brought his hand to bear, doing his best to squeeze between his mouth and Sheras haunches. She pushed with such force against his face that this was quite difficult, but he managed to wet his fingers with her slickness and spread some of it to her delicate asshole.
 
When she felt him pushing at her tailhole while contuing to lavish his attention on her clit she started to completely lose it. She moaned louder and louder in his mind while roars of pleasure escaped her feral throat. His fingers rubbed across her rear entrance, spreading her natural lubricant until it was as slick as he could make it, then sliding a finger into her. She squealed with delight and felt the edge approaching as his tongue never ceased its caresses.

“I'm getting close,” she said to her mate "I'm going to...”
 
She couldnt finish her sentence as her body suddenly tensed in the largest orgasm of her life. Tarvors attention on that delicate area had sent her careening off the edge completely. Her body clenched, her ass stiffened around Tarvors finger, holding it in place, and she pressed her sex to her human's mouth, his tongue continuing its journey as she soaked him in her juices. She gasped and struggled for breath, the moment seemed to carry on and on, until eventually the waves of pleasure lessened and she stood. Tarvors tongue slipped from her folds and his finger from that tight hole as she did. 

She wobbled slightly as she moved off of her mate and practically fell onto her side, exhausted.

Tarvor had been fondling himself with his free hand while he had pleasured her, but now he wanted to seek his own release. Shera however was not quite ready, she lay on her side breathing heavily, pure pleasure coursing through their bond. It was a testament to the power of her orgasm that she was so physically shaken. 

While waiting for his lioness to recover, Tarvor cuddled up beside her and held her close. He was still incredibly aroused, having not yet come to finish, and while holding her he couldn't help but fondle her lady parts. Two days ago he would never have considered himself lying with a wild animal but now he found the prospect so incredibly exciting that he struggled to keep his hands off her. He rubbed her cheeks and neck with one hand, spooning up against her back, while the other felt her wetness and spread the gooey substance around. 

For minutes Shera lay there, enjoying the fleeing pleasure and her mates continued attentions. Soon however she was ready to help him finish. As she did last night she pressed her haunches back into him. Rubbing her rump against his erect maleness, letting him know she was ready. 

Tarvor reached behind her head to the nape of her neck where he grabbed a fistful of her skin. Her instincts forced her to go limp as his voice spoke into her head. Now that he knew that he could, he found something intimate about speaking directly to her. 

“Okay then, let me tell you how this is going to go." He gave a little tug on her neck, and forced her onto her feet, releasing pressure enough to let her steady herself before once again pinching firmly. His words were a harsh whisper in her mind. “You're going to assume the position and do everything I say until I finish."

Shera loved this new part of the game, she had her turn to force him to act how she wanted, squatting over his face and enjoying his tongue. She was excited to see where this would go when Tarvor was allowed to give the orders. She happily crouched low to the ground, her ass angled upward exposing her holes to the air. Her tail, held upright and out of the way, waved lightly with her eagerness.
 
Instead of positioning himself behind her however Tarvor lined up his member with her mouth, kneeling in front of her. “Open your mouth." He said sternly. Shera found that she wasnt so exhausted from her previous orgasm after all, she could feel her arousal building again. She held her jaws loosely and let her tongue loll from her mouth.

Tarvor moved his hips forward and placed his cock inside the mouth of the cougar, resting on her tongue. “Now, wrap it in your tongue like you did before.” To emphasize he gave a little pull on the nape of her neck and Shera felt her pussy drip a spurt of her fluids as he did so. This is amazing. She thought to herself. She wrapped him in her tongue, savoring his flavor as she tasted his precum, and waited.

Tarvor held her head steady with both hands, letting the skin on her neck go, and began to pump himself into her mouth. Using her face like a toy. Shera felt exhilarated, if she did not know this was just a game for them she might have felt offended, but in the nature of good fun she loved being used so. She felt her legs again begin to dampen as her pussy squeezed more of its juices out. Tarvor grunted over her, holding her head so she couldnt move while he quickly thrust into her. 

Rather than finishing in her mouth, which she hoped was where this had been going, he instead removed himself from her when his cock was slick with her spit. He grasped and squeezed the nape of her neck again, knowing how it excited her, reminding her he was in charge for now. “Dont move, stay still just like this, and keep that tail up.” His arms weren't long enough to maintain a hold on her neck the entire time they were intimate but she had the memories of how it felt and would pretend he still gripped her even when he couldnt.

Tarvor moved behind the lioness, surprised to see her dripping so badly after she had already had such a large orgasm earlier. It didnt really fit into the little fun he was having but he couldnt resist lowering his head to take a bit of her onto his tongue again. Pleasuring her with his mouth was easily one of his favorite activities and he loved the taste. He decided to use his tongue to do what he was planning to do with his fingers. He gathered her juices on his lips and tongue and moved his mouth to her asshole.

It was clean and tasteless he was glad to find, and Shera made a surprised squirm when she felt his tongue caress her rear opening. He made a mental rebuke and reminded her to stay still, he felt her enjoyment increase again as she realized what it was he intended. This was something vaguely forbidden and she was a kinky cat. 

With his dick still slick from Sheras mouth and now her asshole wet from his, the time had come. The cougar lay before him, her haunches turned up to him giving him an excellent view of the action and her hind legs held slight apart. She was otherwise perfectly still as he had told her to be, he positioned himself behind her and rubbed the tip of his prick across the puckered hole beneath her tail.

Shera let lose a small peep as she felt him begin to push inside. At first she reflexively tried to keep him out, her body reacting on its own, but she overcame her instincts and relaxed her hole. She felt so full as he began to slide inside her. The considerable amount of lubrication Tarvor had applied beforehand helped as he slid easily into the tightest hole the cougar had. He could feel the intense warmth of her wrapped around his cock, he continued to press in slowly but surely. 

After the initial resistance had been overcome it was a simple thing to slide in himself until he was fully hilted in Shera. He looked down and enjoyed the sight of himself disappearing entirely into her asshole. Her body was stiff and shook from time to time as she adjusted to his size, her tail tip jigged back and forth with her excitement.

Game or no game he had to be sure. “Are you okay? Are you ready?” He eased himself in and out slightly to emphasize what he was referring to. When she craned her head to look back at him and nodded he slowly began.

He pulled himself back from her ass, watching as her skin stretched outwards around his retreating member, when only just the tip of him was still inside her he pushed back in again. Slowly back and forth he moved, savoring the warmth and tightness of her rear hole. The lubrication lasted and began to seep evenly around him.  It became easier to move himself. He began to pump in and out of his lioness with stronger strokes, she would moan each time she felt his hips connect with her own.

Sheras determination to remain still and quiet, like she was ordered to, began to wane, she found herself twitching and groaning as he intruded into her tight space. Lost in bliss Tarvor wasnt about to correct her. She pushed back against him as he thrust forward, hilting him hard into her. The feeling was unbelievable, he was so big. She settled into a nice easy rhythm of pushing back as he rocked forward, she could feel her arousal building her toward a new climax, but slowly, slower than she could feel him building to his own. 

“Help me," she beseeched of him "I want to finish with you this time. Help me cum when you fill my ass." Her voice was heavy and alluring.

This was not a request one could easily turn down when balls deep in a lioness. He stretched awkwardly but he managed to slip a hand beneath himself and rub her nether lips while he fucked her backhole. He managed to find her clit nestled between her lips and rubbed it as best he could. Her ass was so tight around him, he could feel her clench her muscles trying to hold him in and squeeze him for all he was worth. 

He was pumping into her with wild abandon now, hitting her hips hard and slapping his balls against her haunches. His tension was building and he felt the impending explosion, he had been teased and aroused for so long he knew he couldn't hold it back. Instead he sought to pleasure Shera as best he could, awkwardly though he knew his reach was. She reacted as if he was the most successful and attentive he could be though, and her own arousal rose to a crescendo with him.

He felt her close to her edge and pumped into her ass harder than ever. Her body convulsed and her insides suddenly clenched down on him, breaking down the last of his reserves. He reached forward to the base of her neck and clenched down on it as her orgasm coursed through her. Intensifying the feeling for both of them. 

He made one last desperate thrust into her as he pushed himself as deep as he could and flowed freely. He could feel his aching balls clench with each jet of seed he sent into her. He saw spots and he struggled to draw breath. His hands rested on her hips, big handfuls of fur clenched between his fingers, constantly spraying his potent brew into her asshole.  

Her own fluids came pouring out of her and coated his balls which lay against her opening. Her pussy tightened in its joy and let her sexy juice smother his balls and her haunches liberally. 

They both gasped for breath, recovering from their shared pleasure. Tarvor pulled himself out of her, his cock quickly deflating. His cum leaked from her ass in a single thick line. Her asshole still slightly agape, stretched from the humans member. 

Shera purred and enjoyed the squishing feeling inside of her. She could feel his seed as it oozed down her backside. She shifted into a sitting position and felt more of it fall from her, she lifted her leg and eagerly cleaned herself with her tongue. Catching Tarvors leavings and enjoying his flavor. She cleaned the fur around her own sticky fluids as well. 

Tarvor gave his last order for the day and Shera made a low happy growl as she came over to him and cleaned his cock for him as well. Just as he loved the taste of her the lioness loved the taste and smell of the humans sex. She felt him start to restiffen in her mouth and they both wondered if they would have the energy to do anything else today.

The sun was still in the sky, they hadnt even eaten dinner yet, though in truth neither was very hungry. For food anyway. Tarvor caught Sheras eye and winked. She lay down and he cuddled up with her, his chest to her back and his semi-erect malehood pressed into her haunches. Soon she would purr and vibrate and push back against him starting the whole thing all over again, but for now they just enjoyed each others embrace and watched the sun sink in the sky.
