Mates May Meet (Completed)

Yana Sheridan and Andy Thorinsen *

Yana Sheridan and Andy Thorinsen *

(I'll be honest. I don't know if Yana is a real name. If not... It should be. I like it. Edit... It is a real name! Its native American (Cherokee) meaning is "bear". At the moment I'm contemplating the shifter species I use in this story. Edit 2... Okay. I made up my mind. I can't wait for you to read this.)

Yana accessed her bank account through the ATM. She withdraw enough to get groceries and a few other essential things.

She stopped at the burger shop and took her order to the small park at the edge of town. Birds and squirrels greeted her openly. They graciously accepted the bread and nuts she offered.

She didn't like being in town. It didn't matter that the town was small. It didn't matter that the town had formed an acceptance of the animals in it's boundaries. Although there were a few such as mountain lions, bears, and skunks that didn't venture close many others did. Coyote, fox and deer could occasionally be seen in the area.

She still much preferred the nature around her property. She only owned twenty-five acres but it was enough for her. It was an inheritance from her grandfather.

Her sister owned the twenty-five acres adjacent to hers. But Yuli preferred city life and the tiny town of Kalac just wasn't enough. Yuli live over a hundred miles away. So Yana was slowly paying for the property to add to her own.

Yana spent the next few hours in Kalac paying bills and buying supplies. She was happy to pull into the driveway and drive the two minutes to her small house.

Technically, it wasn't a house. She had purchased the 5th wheel camper and now lived in it full time. She had to build a shed to accommodate her studio. It worked out well except when it rained or snowed badly. But she planed to build a covered stone walkway at some point.

She parked and distributed her purchases where they were needed. Being in town had irritated her so she needed to walk in the forest.

She could immediately feel the essence of the forest around her. The animals were there, keeping watch. She felt them.

One skunk in particular seemed to need to tell her that she expected Yana to cut down a tree on the east side of the property.

The skunk, Stella as Yana called her, said the tree was a danger to her den and needed to be dealt with. So Yana grabbed the bow saw. Stella seemed to think the dead tree was small but of great threat.

The images and emotions Stella had sent as communication were fairly accurate. So Yana cut down the tree. It was only a fifteen minutes task but the light was fading fast.

Yana sent images of cleaning up the mess in daylight. Verbally she told Stella and Dot (a doe, that also had been concerned about the tree) she would remove the tree in the next few days.

Later that night Yana woke with multiple animals trying to communicate with her at once.

Visual and auditory stimulation pressed into her consciousness. This was an unfamiliar situation. They had never initiated contact in this way before. It had always been mutual but in that moment they demanded her attention with an urgent sensation. She placed up her mental bubble that kept animals at a physical distance.

In her mind she saw a dark clouded sky light up with lightening. The trees swayed under the force of the wind. Thunder cracked in all directions. Limbs broke and fell from the trees. The sound of rain hitting the leaves, earth and all manor of surfaces was too loud.

She felt the animals response to the storm. But there was no storm howling outside. The sky was calm. No wind moved among the trees and the earth in front of the camper was only covered with a light bit of condensation.