Hair of Gold: Just Right (Urban Fairytales Book 6) by Erik Schubach Page A
Authors: Erik Schubach
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started getting chilly, and my brothers went behind some brush to change into their bear forms, and they lumbered to the fire and laid down. I snuggled in between them all, basking in the intense heat of their bodies and the warmth of their fur. I was safe, cocooned in my little nest, surrounded by my brothers... and I dreamed.
That was our life the next couple weeks. We covered less distance on days my brothers decided to stay in bear form to do some hunting to keep us fed. It wasn't because the hunt delayed us, it is that I was the pack mule when they did that, and had to carry all of our gear and weapons.
I paused and wiped the sweat from my brow on the arm of my tunic and narrowed one eye at Little Bear, who's grunts and growls sounded as though he were singing a familiar jaunty tune as we went along. I shook my head at him and threatened when I caught my breath, “I swear that I am going to make saddle bags fit for a bear on the first chance I get.”
He chuffed out a snickering laugh the best he could. I rolled my eyes, holding back the grin that was threatening to spread on my face and I reached over and grabbed a handful of fur on his ruff and pulled myself up onto his back.
He grumbled, and I shook my head. “Complaining will do you no good Little Bear. Come now, our brothers are getting ahead of us.” I resisted the urge to thump his sides with my feet like I would urge on a horse. Humorous it would be, but he's not above rearing up and spilling me off onto the ground behind him.
He hung his head like a scolded toddler and picked up the pace. As I rested my aching muscles, I wondered why I hadn't thought of this sooner. They always encouraged me to ride them when we patrolled our village so that we could cover more ground quickly.
When we stopped for a late lunch, at a river where Andrei and I showed our brothers the proper way to fish for trout. He just waded in and caught a couple with snaps of his jaws, and I stood close with a stick I had sharpened into a spear. I speared two of my own while our brothers, who looked like giant wet dogs with their fur slicked back and soaking wet got nothing but paws full of water.
When we returned to our improvised camp. I chuckled at them and threw the pack with their clothes behind a rock, knowing they would cheat and change back to their human forms instead of having to suffer from wet fur until the sun dried them out.
When they emerged with less fur and on two legs, I tossed the spear with our catch strung out on it toward Vlad and gave him a toothy grin. He moaned, and I said without empathy, “You know the rule, I caught it, you prepare it. Contrary to popular belief, just because I am a woman doesn't make me the cook and housekeeper.”
Pavel snickered, and I turned to him, cocking an eyebrow. “And you, funny boy, fetch some water from the river for him and help prepare lunch. Andrei and I will just sit back by the rocks here and relax.”
My big brother grinned at them too and said, “Da.” He sat with his back against the rocks, and I sat leaning my back against his broad shoulder.
I enjoyed playing with the lazy louts like this at times. Truth be told, I actually like taking care of my brothers since they work hard every day.
As we watched our siblings banter as they prepared us a meal, Andrei asked as he started whittling a piece of driftwood. “Little Kat, do you ever think about settling down? I mean having a family of your own? Children?”
I cocked my head and looked back at him. He seemed wistful. I hid a warm smile. He was thinking of the butcher's daughter again, Cordelia. Her family had recently settled in Chernivtsi, she always lit up whenever Andrei was around.
My three brothers fought over her affections, but Andrei kept her eye. He was amazed at the girl, that she didn't seem to care that he was a monster. I often chastised my brothers when they thought themselves monsters.
He had just recently started courting her with her parent's
That was our life the next couple weeks. We covered less distance on days my brothers decided to stay in bear form to do some hunting to keep us fed. It wasn't because the hunt delayed us, it is that I was the pack mule when they did that, and had to carry all of our gear and weapons.
I paused and wiped the sweat from my brow on the arm of my tunic and narrowed one eye at Little Bear, who's grunts and growls sounded as though he were singing a familiar jaunty tune as we went along. I shook my head at him and threatened when I caught my breath, “I swear that I am going to make saddle bags fit for a bear on the first chance I get.”
He chuffed out a snickering laugh the best he could. I rolled my eyes, holding back the grin that was threatening to spread on my face and I reached over and grabbed a handful of fur on his ruff and pulled myself up onto his back.
He grumbled, and I shook my head. “Complaining will do you no good Little Bear. Come now, our brothers are getting ahead of us.” I resisted the urge to thump his sides with my feet like I would urge on a horse. Humorous it would be, but he's not above rearing up and spilling me off onto the ground behind him.
He hung his head like a scolded toddler and picked up the pace. As I rested my aching muscles, I wondered why I hadn't thought of this sooner. They always encouraged me to ride them when we patrolled our village so that we could cover more ground quickly.
When we stopped for a late lunch, at a river where Andrei and I showed our brothers the proper way to fish for trout. He just waded in and caught a couple with snaps of his jaws, and I stood close with a stick I had sharpened into a spear. I speared two of my own while our brothers, who looked like giant wet dogs with their fur slicked back and soaking wet got nothing but paws full of water.
When we returned to our improvised camp. I chuckled at them and threw the pack with their clothes behind a rock, knowing they would cheat and change back to their human forms instead of having to suffer from wet fur until the sun dried them out.
When they emerged with less fur and on two legs, I tossed the spear with our catch strung out on it toward Vlad and gave him a toothy grin. He moaned, and I said without empathy, “You know the rule, I caught it, you prepare it. Contrary to popular belief, just because I am a woman doesn't make me the cook and housekeeper.”
Pavel snickered, and I turned to him, cocking an eyebrow. “And you, funny boy, fetch some water from the river for him and help prepare lunch. Andrei and I will just sit back by the rocks here and relax.”
My big brother grinned at them too and said, “Da.” He sat with his back against the rocks, and I sat leaning my back against his broad shoulder.
I enjoyed playing with the lazy louts like this at times. Truth be told, I actually like taking care of my brothers since they work hard every day.
As we watched our siblings banter as they prepared us a meal, Andrei asked as he started whittling a piece of driftwood. “Little Kat, do you ever think about settling down? I mean having a family of your own? Children?”
I cocked my head and looked back at him. He seemed wistful. I hid a warm smile. He was thinking of the butcher's daughter again, Cordelia. Her family had recently settled in Chernivtsi, she always lit up whenever Andrei was around.
My three brothers fought over her affections, but Andrei kept her eye. He was amazed at the girl, that she didn't seem to care that he was a monster. I often chastised my brothers when they thought themselves monsters.
He had just recently started courting her with her parent's
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