DISCLAIMERS:

Alternative Content Warning: This story contains scenes of a loving relationship between two women. This story is not for those under the age of eighteen.

Uber Warning: This story is an uber. The two characters are based off of the leading ladies of XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS.

Author’s Notes: I have been a enthusiast of this subject ever since I was kid, so I decided to write a fanfiction around it. All POSITIVE comments are welcome. Negatives I will simply ignore. Send your thoughts to startrek@ellijay.com.

The Hunt

By: Teagen2

I am the stupidest human being on the face of the planet. Not only did I make one huge mistake that got me into this mess, I made several more. I’ve always been rebellious, since I was a teenager, but this stunt was the craziest I’ve ever pulled. Being naive, I wanted to hitchhike two hundred miles to my friend’s house. The first one hundred were uneventful. It was the black SUV that did me in. Something told me not to get into the car with that man, but of course, I didn’t listen. He was truly wanting only one thing and that was not to be a gentleman. The snowfall began soon after. Nothing unusual in Washington though. My main concern was while he was pawing at me, he’d lose control and crash. Finally after an hour, I couldn’t take it anymore. After calling him a few choice names, he shoved me out of the car........in the middle of nowhere.

It was already nightfall and snowing. I lost track of the road. I had no way of seeing where I was going. I was deep in the woods. That’s all I knew. I had to stop. I couldn’t risk getting anymore lost. Not only did that bastard push me out, he kept what few things I had. Luckily, I kept my hat and parka on in the car. I planted myself under a low branch, which blocked the falling snow. I leaned back against the trunk and waited. I waited for morning.

I awoke sometime after dawn. My lips were horribly chapped. My whole body was cold. I looked up through the branches and saw the sun. I stood. Looking around, there was no road, no sign of anything....except miles and miles of wilderness. My stomach turned. I could be helplessly lost and no one will be looking for me either.

I figured the best thing to do was follow the sun. Go in one direction. I have to run into something sooner or later. I was in the process of doing that. I had walked a good five or six hours before the cold and the severe fatigue began to sink in. I was tired. I was hungry. More importantly, I was alone........or so I thought. I felt like I was being watched. I heard strange, animal like noises. They weren’t like any other noises I have ever heard before. I feared it was a bear when I saw a black shadow pass behind a stand of trees. I kept going, now driven by adrenaline.

I saw that the sun was getting high and I knew hunger would be a main concern. Hell, my last meal was breakfast yesterday morning. I was climbing up a small hill when I heard the distinct sound of a branch cracking. I looked around and listened. I ran the rest of the way up the hill. Just as I was pulling myself completely upright, I came nose to nose with the barrel of a gun. "Ahhhhhhh!!!!" I feel backwards onto my back. I immediately brought my arms up in a protecting gesture.

"What the hell?" I heard from the hunter. It was a woman. I looked up. She was a tall woman at that. "Where the hell did you come from?" I watched as she lowered her weapon and shouldered it by the strap. Her gloved hand reached down to help me up. I took it. She looked me over and saw the condition I was in. Shivering, dirty, I must have been a sight. "How long have you been out here?"

"All last night.......all day." I said through chattering teeth.

"Come on." I didn’t know exactly where we were going, but it didn’t take long. A snowmobile was parked a few yards away. She reached into one of the holders and pulled out a red thermos. Unscrewing the cap, she poured the contents into the lid. "Its hot chocolate. Sit here and drink this." Despite the fact it was piping hot, I down it quickly.

"What’s your name, Young Lady?" she smiled.

"May."

"I’m Jody." She looked at my parka. "Brown is a bad color to wear in the woods, Sweetheart. I thought you were a deer." I smiled even though I was downright miserable.

"Aren’t hunters supposed to wear red?" I asked. Jody looked down at her own clothing.

"Not when I’m hunting on my own land. There’s not a soul for twenty miles.....at least that’s what I thought." I shivered again. "Come on. I gotta get you to the house before you freeze to death."

After packing the cocoa away, she started the snowmobile. She explained that her house was about two miles away. She gave me her goggles to wear on the short trip. Her body in front of me provided warmth and protection from the cold air as we made our way to her home. As we did, I noticed nothing but wilderness. No roads, no signs of civilization at all until we pulled up to her house. It was a beautiful, large cabin. Another snowmobile and a 4x4 Jeep was parked in front. She pulled up parallel with the other machine and shut off the engine. "Here we are."

"Someone else live with you?" I ask, gesturing to the other machine.

"Nope. That’s my spare. I alternate riding both of them. Got to be prepared way out here.

Let’s get you inside."

I have to admit, I was spoiled by the ride. My legs did not want to move. I forced myself up. She grabbed her pack and rifle off of the snowmobile and moved towards the door. I looked around and saw a canoe on a rack. There were a few other outdoor accessories. I followed Jody into the house. As I entered the cabin, I was surprised to see all the luxuries of a regular home. There was a TV, VCR, stereo, and most surprisingly electricity. "Generator?" I ask.

"No, actually about 10 miles from here is a power station. I have regular ol’ power like everyone else. I like my privacy, but I’m not insane." I chuckle. "Take off your coat and wet stuff, I’ll go grab you a blanket. Sit by the fire."

I took off my jacket, sweatshirt, pants, shoes, and socks. I was a little shy at this woman seeing me in my underwear. She put a smile on my face when she came in with her hands over her eyes and tossed the blanket in my random direction. I caught it and wrapped it snugly around myself. "Are you decent?"

"Yeah." She removes her hand and looks me over again.

"You look hungry."

"Starving."

"You like macaroni and cheese?"

"Love it."

"Great. Make my own." She proceeded to heat it up and place it on a plate for me. After filling a plate for herself, she brought it to me fireside. "Here ya go."

"Thank you." I managed to get out before tearing into my meal. I ate like I have never eaten in my life. It took me less than two minutes to clean my plate. I looked up and Jody was smiling at me.

"More?"

"I’m sorry."

"Hey, its okay." She handed over her barely touched plate while she refilled mine. I ate this one quite a bit slower. I watched her as I took my bites. She really is quite an attractive woman. What was she doing out here living like a hermit?

I took in the living room. She had shelves filled with books, many of them having ‘outdoor’ in the title. "You like to read?" she asked as she observed me.

"Yeah. Kind of."

"Can I ask you something, May?"

"Sure."

"How in the world did you get here? Is there someone I should contact? I have a phone if you need it."

"No, I don’t......I uhhh made a bad decision. I was hitchhiking across the state and I got into the car of an asshole. He pushed me out somewhere along Burly Rd."

"Still, you walked a long way. You must feel like shit." Jody laughed.

"I do."

"You can stay here as long as you want. I’m grateful for the company, especially lovely company." she smiled. I couldn’t help but return it. No one has ever looked at me like that. I must say, its a nice feeling.

Jody left me alone to change into some of her clothes in the living room. They were a little big, but they were warm and comfortable, not to mention they smelled like Jody. It was a pleasant scent, one I found comfort in. As I waited for her to return with the blankets for my stay tonight, I walked along the books. One caught my eye almost instantly. It was a book I was very familiar with. The Bigfoot Casebook. I pulled it from the shelf and sat on the floor, near the fire. It was the same book I carried around with me, until that basterd stole it. As I fanned through it, I noticed several of the pages were dog-eared. I stopped at the first page that was marked. It was a sighting in Northern Washington. I realized that’s about where we are. "Good book." I jumped at the sound of her voice, dropping it and losing my place. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you." She placed the blankets on the couch. "You know that book?" She sat down next to me on the floor.

"Yeah. Its a book of reported sightings from all over the U.S." She smiled at me.

"So you believe in Bigfoot?"

"Oh yeah. I’m fascinated by it. Loch Ness monster, Jersey Devil, ghosts, you name it." Something dawned on me. Here is a woman that spends her life in the wilderness, in the middle of nowhere. If anyone knows, she would. "Jody?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever seen a Bigfoot?"

"I’ve seen a lot things in these woods, May."

"That’s not what I asked." She studied me closely for a moment trying to judge whether I was truly interested or just yanking her chain. She looked over absently, then looked back, making eye contact.

"Yes."

"Really?" My enthusiasm seemed to amuse her. "Is it everything they say it is?"

"And more........Goodnight, May." She pulled herself up from the floor.

"Oh come on, Jody........Tell me about it."

"Tomorrow, May. You need to sleep so your body can recuperate. I’m sorry I don’t have a spare room, but the couch is very comfortable. On really cold nights, I sleep on it."

"Thank you, Jody......Not just for the couch, but for everything. I wouldn’t have made it much longer out there." I was fighting back tears at that realization.

"Hey." she soothed. "Don’t think like that. You’re warm. You’re safe. I won’t let anything hurt you...Now get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning."

"Night, Jody."

I laid there staring the fire all night long. I managed to go to sleep for a short time. The sound of Jody moving around behind me in the kitchen woke me up. "Wake up, Sleepyhead." I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"You were right. This couch is pretty comfy."

"Told ya......You want some breakfast. Though I’d make French Toast." My eyes lit up.

"I love French Toast." I smiled.

"Good." The smell was all ready drifting over and making my mouth water. I took a seat at the bar and watched Jody cook. "There ya go." She placed my plate in front of me and like the mac and cheese, I dove in.

"Wow." I said between bites. "You’re a great cook, Jody."

"Thank you," She walked around and took the stool next to me. "and you’re a great eater." she teased. I just nodded my agreement. My mouth was occupied.

After breakfast, Jody turned on the weather. "Looks like another 5 inches at least." she commented. I debated on asking her about her ‘sighting’. Curiosity killed the cat. Was it worth it?

"Jody.....Are you going to tell me about when you saw Bigfoot?" She looked over at me.

"You really want to hear this. Don’t ya?"

"You bet." I smiled. "Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved the stories." Jody smiled warmly. She stood and went to her bookshelf. She pulled the book from the shelf. Like she had done it a million times before, she opened it to a certain page and handed it to me.

"Read it out loud." She retook her seat beside me on the couch, giving me her undivided attention.

Glancing down at the book, I saw the header on one story highlighted. Assuming that was the passage I was to read, I cleared my throat and began:

"December 5, 1992. Northern Washington.......On December 5th 1992 near the Cascades National Park area, Jody Huntington, then 22, came across very large prints in the snow. Being intrigued, she followed the trail on horseback for three miles until she found herself within a small valley. Her horse began to jerk and was clearly spooked by something within the area. Being a seasoned hunting companion, her horse Diamond, was never the skittish type. This worried her rider. Hearing the distinct sound of something moving through snow, she turned and saw a large, black figure walking up the hill in front of her. The figure was over 8 feet in height and covered with thick, black hair. Huntington knew immediately what was in front of her. Soothing her frightened horse, she coaxed it up the hill after the creature. By the time she got to the top, the creature was nowhere to be seen. Huntington searched for a second trail, but found nothing."

The passage ended. I looked up at her. Several questions flashed through my mind. Not all of them involved her sighting, rather an inquiry into her life. "Huntington." I said. She nodded. "I know that name. Not Huntington as in Huntington Outdoor Products." She nodded, confirming my analysis. "You certainly look the type." I smiled. She laughed at my statement. "Did you really invent that double seated tree stand?" Her smile widened.

"How do you know about that?"

"My dad was a really good hunter. He loved to hunt bears."

"Gun or bow?"

"Both. When I was eight, he took me to one of your stores and he bought one so he could take me hunting with him."

"Great."

"That is so cool." I commented. "Is this your vacation home?"

"Nope. Its my year round home."

"Why do live so far out?"

"Well I made a ton of money with that invention and some my mom invented before she died. I took the money, bought as much land as I possibly could afford, and built this house in the middle of it."

"How much land do you own?"

"Well in miles I have 20 square miles in each direction."

"Wow."

"Yeah." she smiled. "I love it out here."

"Gets lonely though I bet." Her face took on a contented look.

"It does." she said softly. I don’t know what made me feel a sudden temperature rise, but it felt ten degrees hotter. I also suddenly felt shy and looked away bashfully.

"Uhhhhh....Is this the only time you’ve....uhhhh." I was trying to draw the conversation back to the book, but it wasn’t working. I looked up and met her eyes. Jody was grinning at me.

I sat paralyzed as she moved closer to me. As she was leaning in, she simultaneously took the book out of my hands and tossed it behind her. I started to move backwards, but my body wouldn’t let me. There wasn’t a thing I could do.....or wanted to do for that matter as her lips connected with mine. It was the tiniest of kisses that lasted just a second or two. When she pulled her lips away from mine, there was not even an inch between us. Her tongue absently licked her drying lips causing me to feel even more heated. Jody was waiting on me. She wanted to know whether I really wanted her to kiss me again. I gave her my answer by leaning forward, initiating another kiss. This one was more passionate than the first. I practically sat in her lap as I moved forward, wrapping my arms around her. She pulled me back with her as she propped herself against the armrest of the couch. Our mouths opened and deepened our kiss. I felt Jody’s hand on the back of my head, pulling me in even closer. I don’t know what possessed me into lifting her flannel shirt and placing my hands around her midsection, feeling her heated skin. She groaned through the kiss as she felt my hands on her.

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard from outside. Both of us were startled and pulled away. Jody turned and looked towards her living room window. Wordlessly, she stood, pushing me gently off of her enough for her to move off of the couch. "Shit." she said under her breath when she got to the window.

"What?"

"Ahhh damn tree fell. Missed everything though." I joined her at the window. A fairly good-sized tree had fallen in Jody’s yard.

"Old tree?"

"Yeah.....She turned and looked at me. Her apology was in her eyes. "I got to clean this

up before dark....." Before she could say anything else, I asked,

"Can I help?" She chuckled and pulled me closer to her. It felt good to be in someone’s arms. I almost forgot how that felt.

Jody pulled her chainsaw out of her shed. As she cut the tree into logs, I stacked them into a large pile near her other timber. We both worked through the day and stopped for lunch, soup and sandwiches. Hoping that what happened on the couch wasn’t just a fluke, I kissed her again. She immediately responded to me. I was satisfied that she truly wanted me and not just ‘companionship’. Like before, we had to cut it short to finish our task at hand.

By late afternoon, there was little left of the monstrous tree. Scattered small branches were the only indication that a tree had even fallen. Now Jody has another stack of wood for the winter. "Its green, but it’ll burn." she commented as she looked at the neat pile I made with the logs. She wrapped her arm around me and guided me towards the house. "Thanks for the help." she said as she opened the door and followed me into the house.

"No problem."

As I turned around to kiss her, her face had a serious demeanor to it. That stopped me cold and also made me nervous. "What is it?"

"Sit down, May." she said softly. I took a seat in her recliner. She knelt down beside me. This isn’t good. "May," she began. "Is there anyone that is possibly wondering where you are?"

"No. I have no family except for my dad and we haven’t talked in years."

"What about that friend you were going to visit?"

"I never told her I was coming. She knows I travel a lot. I can go a year and not call her and she’s cool with that......Why? Do you want me to leave?"

"No, no of course not." She rubbed my hand in reassurance. "You don’t have a house? Apartment somewhere?" My head lowered in shame. I unwilling started to cry. "May, what is it?"

"I don’t have a home. I haven’t for a long time. I’m a drifter, Jody. I never stay in one place too long." She reached up and wiped my tears away.

"Where are you from?" she asked softly.

"Wisconsin." Her eyes grew wide.

"Wisconsin? You hitchhiked here from Wisconsin?" I nodded.

"I have a friend in Salem, but I wore out my welcome, so I was going to cross the state to my other friend’s house when I ended up here."

"I’m glad you did." she smiled.

"Really?"

"Really. I quite enjoy talking to someone other than myself. Besides, I like cooking bigger meals for a change.......I want you to stay."

"For how long?" I asked.

"As long as you want."

"Don’t say that. You’ll never get rid of me." I said, only half teasing.

"In that case.......As long as you want." she repeated, sealing that statement with a kiss to my lips. "Besides," She stood and climbed into the chair, pinning me underneath her and reclining the chair back. "I’m getting quite fond of you." she whispered. I wrapped my arms around her as she descended to my mouth.

It was a good ten minutes into Jody kissing my mouth, my neck, stomach, whatever she could expose to view without removing anything that I realized I loved this woman. I wanted to stay. Not once have I felt the ‘call of the road’ since I’ve been here. I want to stay with Jody. After Jody found it uncomfortable, she moved us to the floor in front of the fireplace. Exhausted from both the tree and our lip locking, we laid in each other’s arms. I thought this would be a good time to ask her. "Jody?"

"Yeah." she said almost a whisper. She was as tired as I am.

"Can you show me where you saw it?" I heard a soft laughing. "What?"

"You have a one track mind don’t you?"

"Joodddyyy." I drawled.

"Okay, okay.....I’ve seen it more than once, May." I raised my head from her shoulder.

"You have."

"Yes. There’s no guarantee we’ll see anything."

"I know, but I’ve always wanted to....please." A beautiful smile spread across her face.

"Now how can I say no to that?"

I couldn’t sleep for several reasons. I was excited about the idea of actually seeing a Sasquatch. The second reason was I was lying in Jody’s bed. She had wrapped her arms around me and had fallen asleep that way. I wanted to feel this way all the time, loved. I wasn’t about to fall asleep and miss any of it. My eyelids were beginning to droop. The hard work I did today was beginning to take its toll. I was going to fall asleep whether I wanted to or not.

It was cold, very cold, when I woke up. I opened my eyes and saw that I had kicked all the covers off of me. Jody was gone. I forced myself up and out of bed. Opening the bedroom door, I wandered into the kitchen. "Morning Sweetheart." she said from behind the stove.

"Morning." I grumbled. She looked up from her cooking and smiled.

"We need to go into town and get you some more clothes. As adorable as you look in mine, you need some that fit."

"Can’t we go out looking first? You promised."

"May, you are obsessed." she teased. "Fine. I’ve got check a trap about three miles from here anyway."

"Is that near where you’ve seen it?"

"Close."

I was as jumpy as a child on Christmas morning at the idea of going Bigfoot hunting. I swallowed my breakfast almost without chewing and was dressed and outside ahead of Jody. She closed her door and walked towards me. I looked down at her hands. "What’s the gun for?" I ask quietly.

"Two reasons. One, I don’t go out without a gun. Two, no one ever sees anything when their out looking for it. Rule of Nature. We’re rabbit hunting."

"Gotcha." I watched as she slipped the gun across her pack on the snowmobile.

"You want to ride double or you want to ride my spare."

"Double." I smiled. She straddled the machine and motioned for me to climb on. I did, wrapping my arms around her waist.

We traveled about fifteen minutes and came upon her rabbit trap. Jody cut the engine and got off. I waited in my spot as she walked over to the wooden box. After looking, I heard her swear. "What is it?"

"The damn thing didn’t work. Baits gone." I watched as she checked the mechanisms. Jody returned to the snowmobile and began to rifle through her pack. "Looks like its jammed." she uttered as she pulled out a tool.

"You like rabbit?" I asked.

"Sure do. Ever had any?"

"No."

"Well, I’ll have to cook you some then......IF I catch one." she chuckled. She walked back to the trap and began to tinker with it.

Losing interest in what she was doing, I began to take in my surroundings. There wasn’t very much snowfall last night, but the snow was still thick on the ground. The woods themselves seemed quiet, except for the sounds of small animals moving. Hearing a louder noise, I turned back to Jody. It was something else other than her. I looked past her into a stand of trees. If I wasn’t going crazy, I saw a shadow move. Looking again, I saw nothing. A branch shook several feet away from the spot I was looking at, yet there was no wind. Another branch, this one closer, moved in the same fashion. "Jody." I called.

"What, Hon?" she said without looking up from her work.

"There’s something in those trees." I said. She ceased her work and stood upright, looking where I was. There was a deathly silence in the air until she broke it.

"I don’t see anything, probably squirrels or something." I wasn’t entirely convinced. The branches that had moved were in a straight line from each other. No squirrel at play would do that.

"How much longer, Love?" I call.

"Just about there." Jody returned to the snowmobile and retrieved more bait. She reset her trap. Another crash of branches made me almost fall off. "Relax." she smiled, rubbing my back just before she sat. "It was just dead branches falling." Still, I wrapped my arms a little tighter around her waist as she started the snowmobile. The sound of the motor was comforting. There was something that was making me uncomfortable here and I wanted to leave.....now. As she headed for home, I didn’t dare look back.