Snowdrift

I am a tall, lean, athletic 21 year old woman named Miranda. I've been a hiker since I was a teenager and started snowshoeing the last three Winters. I took a two week Snowshoeing/Winter hiking safety course the first Winter. It was comprehensive.

This is what happened last Winter. I'm recounting my tale as I breastfeed my infant son. Buckle up, people, it's a crazy ride!

Last Winter, at the start of the season, on a Saturday, I grabbed my snowshoeing gear: my snowshoes, snowboots, my parka, hat, mittens, wool socks, sweater, wool lined pants, gore-Tex outer pants.

I packed sandwiches, energy bars, beef jerky, small first aid kit, body glide, 40 oz of water divided between two water bottles. I inserted my water bottles in the bottle holders on the sides of my waist pack. I brought my knife in its sheath, as well.

I managed to fit most of this in my waist pack. I put my knife in my breast pocket.

I had the shuttle to catch to take me up to the park with its amazing trails. They were even more beautiful in Winter. The sun made the snow twinkle. It seemed truly magical.

I got off of the shuttle and headed to the main office at the entrance at the park. The Park Ranger, Rick, and I were on a first-name basis by this point. I greeted him as I was strapping on my snowshoes.

I was excited; it was a clear, windless day. It was still pretty cold but I didn't mind.

I waved goodbye to the Ranger Rick and he told me to have a safe hike. I said, "I will!" He's the one who gave the safety course to all of the noobs. He's a very skilled and knowledgeable hiker, snowshoer, and cross country skier.

I headed off to hike my favorite trail. It was fairly wide. It was 10 miles long but I was going to hike about four miles out and four miles back. I wasn't totally sure, yet. It depended on the weather and how long my water lasted.

I was trudging along, the trail was almost unhiked since the last snowstorm. I preferred this.

I noticed, up ahead, a little ways, a young man, about my age, sitting on a fallen

log off to the side of the trail.

He had naturally pale blonde hair. Unusual for my area of North America. He also looked like he was struggling or hurt.

I approached him cautiously. "Hey, do you need help?"

He looked up at me with gorgeous, large, blue eyes. He looked very kind, somehow. My heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, I have blisters," he said in heavily-accented English.

I took out my first aid kit, and Body Glide. I sat beside him and hauled his foot on my knees. I removed his sock and saw a couple of nasty blisters on his foot.

I had moleskin patches in my kit so I gently applied them and applied Body Glide to the rest of his foot.

His other foot was okay so I put his sock back on and helped him get his snowshoes back on. I noticed they were too small for his size and said so.

I then realized he didn't have any drink or food with him. I went a bit pale at this; it's easy to become dehydrated hiking in Winter. People will resort to eating snow out of thirst which drops the core temperature. Exacerbating hypothermia and snow has very little actual water in it.

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked.

"I'm Jacob (but, he pronounced it "Yacob.")

"Jacob. You can't go out snowshoeing in Winter without basic items. You can easily lose your life out here. You could fall down the side of a tree, with thick snow surrounding it, due to delirium, never to be seen again except as a well-preserved corpse during the Spring snow melt."

I took one of my water bottles out of its holder and handed it to him. "Drink," I commanded.

He drank.

I handed him a beef jerky (a high quality one.) "Eat," I commanded.

He ate.

"My name is Miranda, by the way," I said, as I shook his much larger hand.

I heard a croak behind me; I turned and saw Samson. My favorite raven. He always dropped by for a meal and to say hello. I smiled.

"Samson! I'm grateful to see you well. Your plumage is especially radiant, today. Here's your treat." I took out half of a PB/J and threw it onto the snow at the treeline.

Samson landed with a loud whoomp in the deep snow. He snatched up the food and began eating it. He called to his wife and she joined him in the meal.

I turned to look at Jacob who had been observing this scene with interest. "Is this a native species?"

"Yes; these are ravens; a member of Corvidae. My favorite birds. I love them all: crows, jays, ravens, magpies..."

I had a habit of feeding all these species especially in Winter and also on my snowshoeing hikes.

Some of the birds would land on me for their treats. They trusted me. They would follow me sometimes. I felt they were watching out for me in case of a bear or mountain lion or worse.

Jacob and I talked while we had a small meal and drank water. He was an exchange student at the local College; studying biology.

I worked in an office four days a week. I worked ten hours each of the four days to get Fridays off. I loved my three-day weekends.

I told Jacob all about my flock, as I referred to the wild birds. He was fascinated.

I gave him a piece of energy bar and I cawwed loudly; doing my best imitation of the corvid dinner bell.

A Gray Jay landed on a low branch about six feet away. The Gray Jay launched himself and landed on Jacob's head. Jacob froze, his pretty blue eyes, bigger from surprise.

I laughed at his expression and told him to hold the tidbit up toward the top of his head. The Jay grabbed it, ate it and then flew off.

Note: I made this all up from my imagination. I hope it doesn't suck! Or, blow.

We stood up. It was about 11am so there was ample time before sunset. Jacob was very large; about 6'4 to my 5'10 He was like a Greek statue, well-muscled but not overly so.

Samson reappeared with his wife, Ruth. I had named them, being the sentimental human that I am. Samson had a red legband and Ruth had a pink one.

They made a strange call in unison. It sounded like distress, to me. My heart started to pound; I was suddenly worried a bad human had hurt one of the flock or maybe a quadrupedal carnivore.

It was like their distress was contagious.

I looked at Jacob with my pale eyes filled with worry.

"Stay here, Jacob. Something is wrong with the flock. That's a distress call. I need to go investigate."

"No. I want to understand these birds, too. This ecosystem. Maybe I can help."

"Okay."

We turned and followed the ravens into the forest. There was a narrow deer type of trail. Our snowshoes made traversing it easier. The trees were more dense and shorter along this narrow path.

About a hundred feet in we came upon a clearing. It was a bit weird to me. There was a smooth obsidian slab in the middle of it. There was hardly any snow on it. The entrance to the deer trail closed with a soft rustling sound. I looked at Jacob and we shared a wide-eyed look. I gulped.

"What the hell?" I muttered.

Many corvids arrived; landed in the trees around the clearing. They expressed joy with their different voices.

Jacob and I approached the granite slab, curious. This seemed to be a sacred space for the corvids. There were vague bird shapes etched into the obsidian.

Jacob and I reached down to trace our fingers on the etchings. They looked incredibly old. I wondered who or what had placed this carved, etched, jet-black obsidian slab here.

An intense, arcane sensation coursed through my body and I gasped. Jacob gasped beside me. A need that was involuntary gripped my mind and body.

We stood and looked into each other's eyes. Jacob leaned over and kissed me, deeply. I kissed him back.

I moaned inside of his mouth. Our tongues danced.

He grasped my full breasts under my clothing; he unhooked my front bra clasp as he stroked and massaged like he was milking them. I felt strange.

As if by magic we were suddenly both naked as Jaybirds and held each other close to stay warm.

Jacob's long, thick, intact penis was bumping against my vagina. I spread my legs to give him better access. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around him. He thrust only his glans into me. I cried out in pain and pleasure.

I lost my language; I could only grunt and moan.

Jacob was completely overcome; we both heard a command in our heads that was not in any human tongue, that we needed to lay on the slab, mate, be as one, create babies. It was our destiny.

Jacob entered me a little more. I became slick; my fertile secretions began to aid him to thrust; to help his sperm find their target.

I had proven myself to an ambassador to the feathered kind; a defender and protector. A noble human. Jacob was a defender of Nature. Together we would create the next generation of the bird-human alliance.

I was at peak fertility in my cycle. The entity knew this. My body knew, too.

Jacob gently placed me on the warm slab. He laid on top of me; using his strong arms in order not to crush me underneath him. He was much larger than me. He was still inside of me. He reached down and massaged my clit. I arched my back.

I was wild with need; all pretense to modernity, gone. I felt like an ancient Neanderthal with my mate; doing some kind of potent fertility ritual.

Jacob stroked his penis up and down my secret place; inflaming my desire. I arched my back, again.

He was very large and it was hurting him a little, too.

The commanding voice told us we must mate quickly; the magic was only available for two hours. It was heightening Jacob's semen; his sperm. Increasing the numbers, the virility and their speed. The magic was making my egg ready. Enriching my lining. Making my cervix hospitable.

I would be impregnated within an hour; an accelerated process. I would be two months pregnant at the end.

It would be agonizing; I must endure this. Our babies would be strong and healthy. We would need to return in two years and go through the fertilizing process again. You must have at least five children. "Teach them all to help us,"

Jacob began to thrust firmly; withdrawing halfway and ramming fully home. He worked me; stretched me. He was able to totally fill me. Every inch of him. He was very big; it wasn't easy.

I wrapped my legs around his waist to make him work faster, harder.

We were both sweating from the exertion.

I began to orgasm, hard. Jacob picked up speed; smoothly gliding in and out. His whole, youthful body tensed as he ejaculated a tremendous amount, deep inside of me. Right up against my awaiting cervix.

I cried out in pleasure. My orgasm hit me; helped his seed enter me more deeply.

Jacob collapsed on top of me; we were both spent. I felt his sperm swimming; crossing into my uterus. The magic had heightened my senses. I felt the first, best, strongest sperm enter my egg. A sharp pain shot through my abdomen at this. It was so intense I leaned over the side of the slab and vomited onto the ground around it. Jacob held me close, trying to take away some of my pain. The slab glowed, faintly.

The magic allowed Jacob to feel what I was feeling and Jacob was groaning, now, too.

I felt my fertilized egg bury itself into my uterine lining and the pain was intense and sharp. Jacob and I writhed. The egg began to split; to change. It was dividing into twins. Twins ran in both of our families and the magic was fascinated and decided I should have twins. The entity said, "you must return here on the first day of your 38th week of gestation. Birth is treacherous for your species and I will help."

Jacob and I passed out. We woke up an hour later, disoriented, naked. We looked at each other in sudden realization. Jacob reached down and rested his hand on my slightly curved lower abdomen. Some magic was left so he could feel his babies; our babies, developing inside of me.

He felt the protectiveness of a raven father over his wife and clutch.

Jacob helped me up; found our clothes.

The flock, gathered around in the old cedar trees around the clearing squawked their approval.

Jacob found my waist pack and fed me what was left of the food I packed in. He gave me the rest of the water. I worried about him dehydrating but he shushed me.

We got our snowshoes on and hiked back out to the human path. I was already close to 8 weeks pregnant and felt sick, tired and dizzy.

I am tough so I just kept going.

About a mile from the entrance a weird man emerged from the treeline. He produced a knife and snarled at us. He said, "I'm going to fuck your girlfriend and you're going to hand over all your valuables, punk. I'm going to slice you both up!"

He began to advance on us.

All of a sudden, the flock, *my* flock arrived, with a cacophony of merciless caws.

The ravens launched their assault; Samson leading them. They mobbed the bad man, scratching and pecking at him.

The man screamed and swiped at the birds with his knife. He cut Samson who fell to the snow, a red stain appearing around him in the pale snow.

"NOOOO!!!" I screamed in despair and burgeoning horror.

Jacob flung himself at the bad man; joining the melee. He pummeled the smaller guy. The guy stabbed Jacob in his bicep.

Jacob grunted and knocked the jerk out with a swift punch to the face and then staggered back to me, carrying Samson's dying body.

I took Samson with a cry of dismay and we ran back to the slab; I thought the slab healed the flock. It was Samson's only chance. I didn't understand how I knew this. I thought it might heal Jacob's wound, too.

I placed Samson on the slab with his wife, ruffling her magnificent, opalescent feathers while standing nearby looking worried.

Jacob laid on the slab, too.

There was a faint glow; like bioluminescence. Samson squawked. Jacob groaned.

Their wounds closed as if by magic. I was stunned. Samson seemed to communicate with Jacob. Jacob nodded.

Samson flew off with his wife; Jacob stood and we went back the path. I felt very sick now.

We made it back to where the bad guy was and a bald eagle landed high in a pine tree across from us. The bald eagle gave a cry; a battle cry. He swooped down, low, over our heads and attacked the man. He began disemboweling the jerk; eating the apparently tasty human entrails. The man screamed weakly.

This was shocking to behold. Some gray jays came and pecked out the man's eyes.

The man was almost dead by this point but a family of coyotes emerged, quietly, from the forest and went after the man. They tore his flesh from his bones. The bad man gave one last, weak cry and was dead.

The coyotes cracked his bones for the marrow. Then a huge grizzly bear showed up and dragged what was left, deep into the forest.

It started to snow as if by magic and covered up the telltale red stains.

I turned and threw up off to the side; morning sickness combined with the horrific scene was too much.

Jacob scooped me up into his strong embrace and hiked to the entrance with the endurance of his youthful vigor.

He placed me in his modest car and drove me home.

He moved in with me a week later. He continued his studies and wrote papers on the importance of forest ecosystems and protection of wildlife; especially birds.

We got married a month later.

I grew as big as a house; our twins, a girl and a boy were big and healthy.

When berries started to appear on bushes in the forest, corvids would bring branches of them and place them on my patio. They were trying to help feed my babies growing inside of me.

This made me cry; my precious, wonderful bird family.

I left food out for my bird friends every day. They started to make nests, feed their hatchlings and teach them.

In the first day of my 38th week of pregnancy, Jacob drove us to the entrance of the park. We had packed two backpacks full of items for the birth and our babies. We packed baby slings; we would hike out with our newborns.

Jacob had attached the car seats in the back of the car, already.

The sun was just rising; we knew this would take many hours. I was scared. So was Jacob.

We held hands as we hiked in; no one else was around. It was too early.

I began to feel my first contractions as we hiked. I held onto Jacob as I breathed through them.

We reached the deer trail and began to walk to the clearing. My contractions were more intense. I was began to moan in pain. Jacob rubbed my back.

I stripped; my clothes made me feel too hot. Jacob grasped my breasts and worked them; he was helping to progress my labor. Jacob removed his clothing, too.

We approached the slab and the entity commanded us to climb up on it, so we did.

I got on all fours; moaning. The entity told Jacob to enter me; his hormones would speed the process up.

Jacob kneeled behind me and entered me. I groaned in pleasure. I contracted, squeezing him, hard. He cried out; the sensations were too intense.

Jacob orgasmed which made me orgasm.

He withdrew and held me while I began to sweat and pant. My water broke with a splash. It was clear.

My cervix began to dilate faster than normal and I screamed. My belly tensed. Our first twin began his descent.

His head began to crown. I was bordering on losing consciousness. Jacob held me up; the Magic transferred some of his strength to me.

Jacob moved behind me and grasped our first baby's head. He helped draw him out. I bore down and our son slipped from me with a gush.

Jacob made sure our baby was alive. Breathing.

I turned to my back; Jacob placed our son at my breasts. Our son rooted and latched on. This intensified my contractions for the most dangerous part of this childbirth; the birth of the other twin.

I sat up; kneeling, while I held our firstborn to my breast. I placed my other hand on Jacob's strong shoulder. We stared into each other's eyes. Borrowing mental strength; a bond that would last for our entire lives.

I bore down with all my strength; the second baby was sunnyside-up. I felt the contractions through my back and the agony was almost beyond my comprehension.

Jacob grasped my belly and felt for our daughter. He turned her. It hurt like hell.

Our daughter began her descent; slower this time. I was too tired; weak.

The Magic tensed my muscles; made me bear down harder. It used its own ancient power to give me strength.

I screamed as I birthed our daughter. Jacob helped her out like he did with our first.

He placed our daughter on my chest who rooted and latched to my other breast. The Magic made my milk come in faster. My breasts felt full; potent. Our babies got the colostrum and then the rich breastmilk.

I birthed my placenta. It was whole. I laid back on the slab, exhausted. Jacob put a folded blanket under my head and shoulders.

I relaxed while the magic healed me from the difficult birth; it replenished my resources. It gently shrank my uterus and healed the wound left behind by my departed placenta.

I stopped bleeding.

The Entity told Jacob to nurse from my breasts. The magic was too weak right now to replenish his energy.

The Magic made my breastmilk extra rich. Just a bit. Not too much.

I gently unlatched our babies and laid them on blanket on the slab.

Jacob kneeled in front of me. He looked exhausted.

I kissed the top of his head, tenderly. He smiled, then lifted his head. He kissed my nipples; I started to leak. His latched on, making sure not to use his teeth.

He massaged my breast and gulped my milk. He looked much better.

He switched to the other breast, repeated drinking my copious and nutritious milk. He gulped like a baby cow. It made me happy to feed him. I was worried about him.

I stood up, slowly, and Jacob took one baby while I held the other. We each put in a baby sling; warm and safe.

We slowly walked back to the car and put our sleeping babies in their car seats. Drove home.

Jacob and I had many more children and he got his PhD in wildlife biology with a special interest in ornithology. Eventually, I got a scholarship and got a degree to work for the parks. I worked with Ranger Rick until he reluctantly retired at the grand age of 80. His wife wanted to go RVing before they got too old and to visit their children and grandchildren.