Ursanthropy
15. The Question

A/n: Just another chapter today for my lovely readers. Oh and keep up your patience, because next chapter, tomorrow, will be a little more revealing. 💛

Doreen

I couldn’t lift a weight, as even the smallest one, was too heavy to push above my head. I couldn’t lift a sword, as I could only lift the hilt but dragged the point of it through the dirt.

Then Jack tried to get me to shoot an arrow with a bow. At first, I was glad that I could lift it, but the aiming and pulling at the string of the bow, which was really hard, made me close my eyes and release the arrow without looking towards my target.

“Shit, woman!” Jack had grunted, and when I opened my eyes, I saw the arrow lodged in the ground, right in between his feet.

He hadn’t been standing next to the target, which would give me the idea that I had at least made the arrow surge through the air a little distance. No, he was standing right next to me!

How that arrow even made that trajectory, was beyond my imagination, but it was there.

“Sorry!” I said. “I’m really trying!” I tried to explain, hoping that I wasn’t completely ruining this date. And I wasn’t lying, I was truly trying to listen to his pointers and explanation.

Jack

I know that this date isn’t particularly usual, amongst humans. But at least she is trying to climb out of her comfort zone, even though it annoyed me as fuck that my own mate couldn’t handle any weapon, I had given her to try out.

My hope was, that I could enthuse her with some sparring or some weapons training. Hoping to break the ice a little, between us, with something that is strange to do for her. But I have been wrong, I guess. Maybe I should have listened to Vic, and should have taken Doreen for a nice dinner somewhere, because this wasn’t working.

She couldn’t lift a thing, she couldn’t point the arrow, hell she didn’t even have enough strength to pull the bow string backwards far enough to make the arrow fly through the air!

Whatever mysterious thing is blocking her scent to me, is making her weak as well! How could it be that she has no strength at all?

And how am I going to train her, if she can’t even lift the forty-pound dumbbells?

I grabbed the bow from her hands, and took the arrow out of the ground. Then I walked back to the arena, and walked past it to put the bow back in the rack.

I turned around and nearly knocked her over, flinching me in surprise. Hadn’t I heard her walk behind me? Was I so distracted, or had she been so quiet?

But she didn’t see my surprise or confusion, instead she walked over to the rack and looked at something that was in front of her. I walked closer to see what it was.

Her gaze was tuned in to the thin daggers that we use to train our youngsters with. The simple, yet still sharp blades could really hurt someone. Maybe not kill one with the first simple blow, but putting some thin lacerations on a man’s body was certainly a possibility.

Her fingers traced the hilt of it, which was wrapped with a soft leather, to prevent the hands of the new trainees to be blistered within the first hour of training.

These daggers hadn’t crossed my mind before, which made me feel stupid. She is tiny, doesn’t weigh a thing, couldn’t lift a thing either, so why not train her as if I was training a young cub?

Besides, she is so light footed that her speed and agility were the skills that were going to have the highest priority. Strength and the build of muscle would come later.

Doreen turned her head to me, a bright twinkle in her eyes showing the enthusiasm that I was searching for, ever since we came here.

These stupid little blades have gotten her interest, finally I was getting somewhere!

“Why don’t we try with these first?” I said, while grabbing two wooden training swords. “I don’t want to bring you to the hospital because you poked your own eye out.” I said to her.

“Good idea.” She mumbled, switching her gaze between the sharp daggers and the wooden training swords I have in my hands.

Doreen

Jack had guided me to the area in front of the tent, and I tried to mimic his composure.

First, he had let me walk in circles, crossing my feet, but keeping my gaze towards my opponent, him. It was quite difficult to focus on my task, as I was looking at his face. Even though his appearance wasn’t arousing me, he was still really attractive!

After a few moments, he had taken off his flannel, long-sleeved shirt, showing more of his muscled body, as his black t-shirt was tight around his chest. He wasn’t going to make this easy for me, was he?

I shook my head, not wanting to focus on his sculpted chest, as we finally found something that he could train me with. He stood right next to me, showing me some moves of which he said were the basics of fighting with a sword.

With full interest I was astounded to how quick I had picked up the movements, and was proud of myself that I could follow his lead with ease.

But I was also really happy that I could finally do something on this supposed date, that wasn’t truly embarrassing to begin with. I mean, he knows that I have never done things like this, but those little swords, or large daggers, really peaked my attention.

He even stood behind me at one point, holding my arms and brushing up to me really close. I know that it was meant as a flirtation, and that he was determined to make me his, claiming me as he said so before. But I wasn’t going to let him get to me that easily, he has to work for it!

It was strange though that I even had the curiosity for these daggers at all, and I had truly been thinking that this date was getting nowhere. But now that I can finally do something that my body is able to do in the first place, I was having fun actually.

We continued the training, and I carefully listened to everything he said, and it was taking up all my energy to do exactly as he had told me to. He even smiled lightly when I hit the target with what seemed to be my best swing of the night.

Within an hour or so, I was sweating heavily and Jack said that we could have a break.

“How am I doing so far?” I asked Jack after taking a gulp of cold water, from the bottle I had brought along.

He sighed; he wasn’t sweating at all. In fact, he wasn’t even panting from the exercise! I know that I haven’t got the best condition, but what we have done so far, would be called a full workout in a gym.

He sighed again.

Was I disappointing him? Haven’t I given it all just now?

“You know I’m having fun, right?” I asked him with a light smile, while putting my hand on his shoulder.

He immediately tensed by my touch and balled his fists. The white on his knuckles was clearly suggesting that he was getting worked up by something.

I flinched back just a tiny bit, but then remembered him saying that he wasn’t going to hurt me, ever. He told me to trust him to keep me safe. So, I let go of the fear I had for his strength and composure, and I tried to regain a calm stature again and put my hand on his.

“Jack? Am I doing something wrong?” I asked him softly, almost in a whisper.

I truly don’t know what has gotten into him at the moment.

He took a few breaths, and lifted his head to me.

“You really don’t know, do you?” He asked me calmly and I looked confused. “What it is, that is causing you to feel so distant to me.” He said then, explaining himself.

Now it was my time to take a few breaths.

“No, and I wonder if I could ever feel the same way again, you know, like I did at the motel.” I asked him with a blush on my cheeks, referring to the whole horny feeling I had felt at that moment.

I know I have a ton of questions, about what I had seen and heard. But right now, I just had one question. One question as to why he was getting so worked up. It had been bugging me for weeks already, as I was thinking about the things he had said at Bertha’s apartment.

The thing that Vic didn’t want him to tell. The thing that had made me wonder why Vic, Bertha and Jack as well, made them so caring towards me.

We looked each other straight into the eyes, the brown glow in his, a shadow of sadness.

“I have plenty of questions to ask you, but they all don’t matter if you can’t answer me this. You promised me an answer, to one question. And I want you to answer this one in particular.” I said.

He began to sit up, straightening his back and turning his full attention to me.

“You might call me crazy, but I know there is something more going on in this town than you’d like to tell me. And I know I have my share of secrets as well, which I am equally reluctant to tell you. But I just have to start with this question, before I can continue whatever is going on between us.” I continued my drag of words.

“When we were at Bertha’s apartment, you asked me if I believed in soulmates. I don’t know why, but I got the feeling that there is more behind that question. That it goes beyond this strange attraction that we have towards each other; That the lack of feelings, which we had that moment, and not now, is frustrating you to say the least; That the connection between us, is hard to ignore, as if we are drawn to each other by an invisible force. Am I right?”