A Love Laid Bear

*Kahru, a young man who has inherited otherworld knowledge from his master, finds himself on the receiving end of an attack by a nearby living bear clan. They claimed he poisoned their wives but manages to convince them to let him help the sick.

When the chief's daughter offers to help him he teaches her a little of what he knows, and ends up learning something about himself.

*Literotica rules apply

*

He glared at the bears standing before him. They were unsure about attacking again or not, now that he had their chief and one of the others pinned down by their throats with the spikes created by his black robe.

'Evil magic..' muttered one, gripping his axe tighter.

'Yes.' Kahru said. 'Magic so evil I could slice and kill you all at once if you dare to hurt me.' He demonstrated by willing his robe to produce a blade and cut the handle of the axe in two with one thrust.

The bears took a step back but kept their eyes on him.

'So, now that I have your attention, care to explain why you attacked me and destroyed my property?' he said, letting his robe flutter like a fire made of black flames to impress them further.

'You know damned well.' said the chief, growling deep. 'You've poisoned our wives!'

'Excuse me!?' Karhu said. 'I did what!?'

'You did something at the valley!' said one of the other bears, baring his fangs. 'When our wives went there to gather they became sick that evening!'

'The valley!? I only went there to see if I could find certain plants! I did nothing there to harm your wives! I didn't even know you lived around there!'

'Then why are our wives suddenly sick after you've been there when that never happened before!?' the chief growled.

'I don't know! Did they eat something bad!? Did they find something unknown!?' Karhu said, then sighed deep. 'Don't you have knowledge of medicine?'

'My wife does, but the cures she tried didn't work, and now she's too sick to do anything! And they're getting worse by the day!'

Karhu weighed his options. His master, who had left him this special robe, also left him all the books of knowledge which included medicinal books. He had learned most common cures and might have a shot at helping this bear clan. Or he could continue the pointless fight.

'Fine.' he said to the chief. 'Maybe my knowledge of medicine can cure them.'

The chief eyed him suspiciously. 'How do we know we can trust you not to poison the rest of us?'

'You don't! But their only chance is my knowledge so you don't have much choice, do you!?'

The chief gritted his teeth, glancing at his men. 'Can you really cure them?'

'I can't promise anything because I need to know the cause of their sickness and check the books. I am not experienced in treating people, especially not your kind. I can only apply the most logical cure, so take it or leave it.'

The chief stared at Karhu for a few moments, then nodded.

Karhu withdrew the spike slowly into his robe and stepped back while the two bears stood up from the ground. 'I'm going to pack the things I'll need so I need help carrying the cases. And assign someone to fix the fence you broke.' he said, looking at the wooden fence they broke during the attack and gestured at a wooden shed build against the hollowed rock he used for a home. 'There are tools in the shed over there.'

He went inside, hearing the chief talk to his men. Inside in the room he used as library and study he gathered the books he thought he needed, then placed them in two leather cases with various ingredients he stored to make medicines. When he came out with the cases and a bag with some personal items he found the chief and two others handling his tools which they've never seen before.

'I'm ready to go.' he said and the chief told two of his men to carry a case each. Karhu could see the exhaustion in their faces. He understood they were desperate to find the cause of their wives sickness.

**

'Did you look around the valley?' Karhu asked the chief while they walked to their village.

'We looked, but we found nothing strange except your footsteps in the sand next to the stream.' he said, his voice showing he was still suspicious of Karhu.

'I'll need to see every area they have been the days before they got sick.'

The chief nodded.

'What are the symptoms?'

'They feel hot or cold, pain all over their body and lost a lot of weight.'

'What were they doing?'

'Gathering food, herbs, wash our clothing. They go there often.'

Karhu glanced at the loincloths they wore, thinking they don't need the amount of clothing he needed to keep warm.

**

After a long trek the group arrived at a collection of huts at a clearing in a forest. They were made from logs and reed roofs, forming a crude circle. The few bears walking around seemed older males, who stared at the human walking along the chief into their village.

'You've never see humans before?' Karhu asked.

'A long time ago we found one, dead.' he said.

Karhu nodded. 'Show me your sick.'

He was led to an older female who seemed the most sick. He checked her pupils, smelled her breath and took out a thin glass tube from one case, handing it to the chief. 'Here, keep this in your ear until I say you can take it out. Be careful with it so it won't break.'

The chief looked at the tube covered in markings and a black thin line in the centre. 'What's this?'

'A thermometer. It allows me to compare your normal temperature with hers.' Karhu said, sticking another tube into the female's ear and started counting.

The chief stuck it in his ear, feeling silly with that thing sticking out.

When Karhu reached fifty he took the tube out of the female's ear and held out his hand to the chief for the other. He held them side by side and saw a difference of four markings. 'Her temperature seems much higher.' he said and wrapped the tubes in a cloth, putting the bundle back into his case. 'I want to see where they've been before it gets dark.'

**

Karhu followed Bast, a younger male bear who had been at the valley for a moment that last day.

'There was nothing unusual that day?' asked Karhu.

'Not that I heard.' said Bast.

They searched the bushes where berries had been plucked, the high grass and the edge of the forest without result.

'How long were they here?'

'Soon after sunrise, until the sun was high in the sky.' Bast said.

Karhu looked around the grass field, imagining the bears going about their business.

'I'm going to take a drink.' said Bast and walked to the stream.

Karhu nodded, then turned around quickly. 'Wait!'

Bast looked back at him, puzzled.

'They must have drank the water during that time.' Karhu said, walking to the stream. 'Don't drink it, we're going to have a look first.'

He checked the clear stream, walking upstream along one edge while Bast walked on the other. At a spot with rocks blocking part of the stream he found what he was looking for. 'Bast!' he said, beckoning him to have a look.

'Looks like a deer leg.' Bast said, examining the broken bone with rotting flesh, stuck behind the rocks in the water.

'Let's go further upstream. We might find more.'

Soon enough they came upon what was left of several deer who had been slaughtered and left at the edge of the stream, their rotting remains half submerged in the water.

'We've found the cause.' Karhu said, holding his nose shut to keep out the foul smell.

They hurried back to the village where Karhu consulted the books and started mixing herbs and fungus according to the recipes in them.

'Can you make a light soup?' he asked the chief. 'We'll need it to feed to the females with this mix.'

'I'll have it made.' the chief said and went around to each house.

Karhu took the first batch of the mix to the house with the female he had examined before. Her husband was heating a pot of water and adding ingredients to it.

'Here.' Karhu said, handing him the sachet. 'Pour this in when the soup's ready, then feed her as much as she can eat and repeat it several times until the morning.'

The husband nodded and Karhu went back to his cases, collecting the rest of the mix and visiting each house, examining the sick and leaving a satchel and instructions on how to use it. He visited the chief's house last.

'If I'm correct, they should slowly get better with each day they keep eating. I'll gather more ingredients tomorrow.' he said and yawned. 'It'll take some time though before they're really cured.'

The chief nodded. 'There's an empty house where you can sleep. The one who lived there died from fatal wounds last winter. I'll have my daughter prepare it for your stay.' he said and went to the back.

Karhu took his cases and went to the house the chief had pointed out after checking up on his wife. A light could be seen from under the door and between the window blinds.

When he walked in he found the chief's daughter lighting a fire.

'Hi.' he said as she turned around. First thing he thought was how cute she looked. Her beige fur matched her mother's but she had the almost white muzzle and chest marking from her father. She wore a long loin cloth and wrapping around her breasts, with a couple of bright coloured feathers stuck behind her round ears.

She bowed to him. 'Thank you for saving our clan.' she said.

'Wait until I actually cured everyone.' he said, putting his cases and his bag aside. 'I haven't done anything to deserve thanks yet.'

She shook her head, trying to smile. 'You're trying for our sake after we tried to kill you.'

'Right.' he said, having forgotten the fight during the search for the cause and cure.

'You could have killed or left us after the attack.'

'I don't like to hold a grudge and let innocents die.'

'I have brought some meat and fruit, hope you like them.' she said, gesturing at the table behind her with a couple of bowls. 'And I brought fresh water if you want to wash.'

He realised how sticky he felt from dirt and sweat. 'Thanks, just what I need.' he said and let his robe slide from his shoulders, then used the large bowl of water on a log in the corner to freshen up.

'Let me help.' she said and soaked her hands in the water, then started on his back.

Her soft hands moved down his back and he closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling while she washed his back, shoulders and arms.

'Is that better?' she asked, using a soft cloth to dry him.

'Much.' he said. 'Thank you.'

'I'll grill some meat if you'd like some?'

'Please.' he said, wrapping his robe around his shoulders again.

He sat down on one of the cushions on the bench made from thin logs. 'I'm Karhu. What's your name?'

'Hana.' she said while she put slices of meat on the flat stone on top of the fire.

'And your family?'

'Father's name is Durma, mother's Kama.'

He saw her wipe her eyes quickly and a wet spot on her muzzle. He went to his cases, got a dry piece of cloth out of it and went to her, wiping her wet muzzle. 'If their health is good enough, the cure will help them get well again.' he said.

She turned to him and hugged him, whining softly in his neck. He held her and stroked her back. 'It's going to be okay.'

'I don't know what I'd do if mother died..' she cried.

'I won't let that happen if I can help it. So have faith.'

She pulled back and nodded. I wiped her muzzle again, making her smile softly until she remembered the meat grilling on the stone. 'Oh! Your meal!' she said and quickly turned the meat over.

He sat back down and waited for her to collect the meat and handed him the bowl. She smiled more as she saw him enjoying his meal.

'I'll come back in the morning.' she said as she went for the door.

'Thanks for everything.' he said. 'Sleep tight.'

She gave him a nod and left. He finished his meal and laid down on the large sack of straw used as a bed, closed his eyes and the memory of her soft body in his arms guided him to sleep quickly.

***

Sounds of water and wood woke Kahru up and he found Hana cleaning up the fireplace. 'Morning.' he said, sitting up and yawned.

She turned back to him. 'Morning. Did you sleep well?'

'Yeah.. Seen any progress with your mother?' he asked, walking to the bowl of water to wash his face.

'Not sure.' she said, looking down. 'I thought for a moment there was.'

He dried his face and gave her a friendly squeeze on her arm. 'Don't lose hope. I'll have to clean my gear, then I'll see if there's any difference with yesterday.'

She nodded and unpacked a batch of fruit. 'I brought something to eat, if you'd like.'

'Thanks.' he said. 'I could use a quick bite before visiting everyone.'

**

With cleaned thermometers Kahru went with Hana to her house, finding Durma sitting next to his wife.

'Has she been eating the soup during the night?' Kahru asked.

Durma nodded. 'Although not much.'

'Most important is that she did eat.' Kahru said and inserted a thermometer into Kama's ear, counted to fifty and checked it with the notes he had made yesterday on each patient. 'Her temperature has gone down slightly. She needs to keep on eating and she'll get cured if this keeps up. I'll need your help in gathering herbs to give her more energy, Hana.'

Hana nodded, daring to smile at the better news.

'Let's go see the others.' he said.

**

They all appeared to make a little progress apart from Gremma, the older female. Her temperature stayed the same and Kahru gave Kaku, her husband, a double dose of the medicine. 'Try to make her eat as much as possible, her temperature has to come down. We'll be back with more.'

Kaku nodded and started on a new batch of soup.

'You're worried.' Hana said as she and Kahru walked into the field to look for specific plants.

He nodded. 'Because she's older she's weaker than the rest, and if she doesn't show progress I'm not sure if she'll survive.' he said, opening the book he had taken from his case and showing her a couple of drawings. 'I need these, can you look on this side?'

'Yes.' she said and started on her search while he went into the forest to look for other plants.

Some time later he met up with her, glad she had gathered plenty of everything. 'Good work.'

Back at his temporary house he took out chopping boards and bowls out of his cases and arranged everything on the table.

'Can I help?' asked Hana. 'I've helped mother before when she made medicines.'

'Please.' Kahru said and instructed her on what to chop up and grind.

When they were done he had made several sachets and they distributed these among the houses. He measured Gremma's temperature once more and gave Kaku a double dose of herbs to give her strength.

'I'll come back later to check on her again.' he said before leaving Kaku.

At Durma's house he discussed the patient's status.

'The extra herbs should give them extra strength.' he said. 'If all goes well we can increase the dosage for the next couple of days and see some real progress.'

'Gremma?' Durma asked.

Kahru shook his head. 'I don't know. With her age..'

Durma nodded. 'We'll hope for the best.'

**

Kahru took a walk around the village to see if he could find more interesting plants and roots. Hana joined him, taking some of the fruit from the morning for them to eat in the meantime.

'You didn't know we lived here?' she asked as they sat down for a moment to eat at a field further at the back of the village.

'No, It hasn't been that long since I moved here after my master left the home where he taught me everything I know.'

'I heard the men talk about the tools you have. And I've never seen those thermometers before.'

'Those are things build with the knowledge from the books. His master has given these to him, just like the masters before. Also this.' he said, holding up his arm to indicate his black robe.

'They said it's evil magic.'

He smiled. 'Maybe it is. But what it is, is so far advanced for anyone but the masters and their pupils to know.'

'I don't think it's evil.'

He looked at her. 'How do you know?'

'Because I know the owner is a very good person.' she said, smiling.

He blushed a little seeing her cute face. 'I only inherited a lot of knowledge to keep safe. I don't know whether I'm good or evil.'

'I know.' she said, smirking a little.

He chuckled and tossed his apple core aside. 'You've never seen anyone else? Humans?'

'No. Nobody from the village has ever been far away. Maybe just one day walking when hunting.'

'I guess I'm the first person to have visited your village then. There'll be stories to tell for ages.'

'Yes. About how a strange saviour came to help us in our time of trouble.'

'I hope that'll be it.'

She laid her soft hand on his. 'I'm sure.'

He laid his other hand on hers and nodded, smiling softly across the field.

**

Kaku looked dead tired at the end of the day and Kahru told him to sleep, taking over the duty of feeding Gremma. He checked her again, cursing at the lack of progress.

'Please, Gremma.' he whispered as he poured a little amount of soup down her throat. 'You need to get better.'

She coughed weakly and he sat back. Hana walked in after checking up on the rest of the patients. He had taught her how to use the thermometer and note it down in his notebook. She had looked surprised at how the tiny piece of black wood left marks on the thing square leaves, but took her task seriously.

'I think it has gone down again.' she said, handing the notes to him.

He nodded as he checked them. 'I'm glad.

'Gremma?'

'Still not better.' he said, looking at the grey face. 'I've given her a stronger dose again.'

'Kaku?'

'Told him to sleep. He wouldn't be able to take another night staying up. I'll stay here with Gremma.'

'Then I'll stay as well.'

'What about your mother?'

'Father will not leave her side or sleep. He'll keep caring for her, even if I'm there.' she said, sitting down next to him. 'And I'm less worried now that it looks like she'll get better. I'll keep an eye on you.'

He chuckled. 'Thanks.'

Hana had expressed an interest in the writing he used and Kahru started teaching her the beginnings of the alphabet while they cared for Gremma. Hana told him stories about when she was little and Gremma helped her find feathers and flowers to put behind her ears.

'I'll bet you were the cutest girl in the village.' he said, smiling at the image.

She gave him a nudge and giggled. 'I'll see if Gremma can eat more.'

He was glad Hana was here with him. Being alone with Gremma, who might not make it scared him.

When Hana started to yawn he told her to get some sleep. She refused at first but when they compromised on her sleeping next to him so he could wake her up right away if something happened, she gave in. He watched her sleeping face, then tended to Gremma again.

It was late at night when coughs and rasped breathing grabbed Kahru's attention. He moved quickly to her, checking her dilated pupils and felt her fur soaked in cold sweat. 'Gremma! Hang on!'

Hana woke up at once. 'Gremma?'

Kahru held up Gremma's torso and head, trying to relieve her difficulty in breathing. 'Don't give up Gremma! Don't you dare die on me! You need to get better!'

'Gremma!' said Hana, stroking Gremma's cheek. 'Don't go!'

Kaku had woken up as well and moved by his wife's side. 'Honey. It's me, Kaku.' he said, seeing his wife open her eyes slightly. 'Stay with me.'

Gremma coughed a couple of times, gave her husband a gentle smile, then closed her eyes and stopped breathing.

Kahru looked into Kaku's eyes, then let him take her in his embrace and walked out the door.

'Damned!' he yelled, kicking half the leaves out of a bush. 'Damned! Rotten piece of..! Damned!'

Hana walked out of the house, seeing him stomp and kick another bush. 'Kahru..'

'Why couldn't I have been in time!? Damned!'