9/17/99
Note: This is rather tame compared to the other SRU stories and I took a 
few liberties with this one. I hope that I don't piss anyone off with it. 
There is no sex on this one so if that is a deciding factor for you, pass 
this one by. Please let me know what you think of this story, whether 
you like or dislike it. I have other stories that I'm working on and 
hopefully will post in the future. 

This story may be posted to any sight that doesn't charge a fee. All 
others must get my permission before they even attempt it.

SRU: Hunting Season
By: BillieJane

After a steady stream of customers had left for the day, the Wizard sent 
his shop back into the realm between and relaxed for a few minutes. It 
had been a very productive day. More than a few mis-satisfied 
customers, he thought with a snicker.

" I know, I'll take a day off. I haven't had one of them in at least a 
hundred years." So, with a snap of his fingers - totally unnecessary, but 
satisfying none the less, he popped out of site. A whisper of his voice 
could be heard addressing the large wolf sitting by the register. "Guard 
the store well, or I'll see about having you bred when I get back." The 
wolf groaned and covered its muzzle with its paws, hoping that nothing 
happened before the wizard got back.

*********

Rick had been sitting on stand for over an hour and was getting more than 
a little chilled. His feet were getting cold from the dew-soaked ground and 
the sun wasn't even peering through the dense trees yet. At ten thousand 
feet in Colorado, it was more like late October than the beginning of 
September. You could even see a light dusting of snow up on the higher 
peaks.

'Why do I let myself get talked into these situations', he fumed to 
himself. ' I know a better spot where I'm much more likely to get an elk, 
but -noooo- I have to let Mike talk me into setting up over here on the 
north side where the sun isn't going to shine till after noon.'

Grumbling some more to himself, Rick decided that he had had enough 
and moved out very slowly for the top of the mountain a couple hundred 
feet above him. It was a very slow journey though as he wanted to make 
sure he was as quiet as possible. He had done this just the day before and 
moved so slow and quiet that he had actually walked within twenty feet 
of a four-point Buck before it noticed him and bolted out of sight.

'Too bad I didn't have a buck tag, that animal would have fed me for a 
couple of months.' He thought. 'Just as well though, I enjoy being able to 
watch the wildlife without having to shoot it.' Rick was like that though. 
He would much rather walk around the woods with a camera than a rifle, 
but something inside him cried out every so often and he broke down and 
went hunting with his buddies. 

As he neared the top of the slope, which had taken him nearly an hour, 
he spotted movement off to his left. Slowly dropping to one knee and 
turning to face the movement, he was rewarded by the sight of a cow elk 
standing with its head behind a tree less than fifty yards away. With his 
finger on the trigger, he cocked his muzzle-loader and aimed at the animal. 
'Wait for the head to appear, need to make sure itÕs got no antlers before 
you shoot.' 

An eternity later, his heart pounding loud enough that he was sure the elk 
could hear, it took a step forward. Rick's eyes lit up as he realized that it 
was indeed a cow and took careful aim and slowly squeezed the trigger.

********

The wizard re-materialized with an audible 'pop' in a meadow on the 
sunny south side of a mountain in the wilderness of Colorado. He had 
decided it was far too long since he had visited an old friend of his, the 
Elk King. A mythical creature most thought, yet it had been the wizard 
himself that had created this being. 'Such a long time ago that was' 
thought the wizard. ' Now that was truly a work of transformation art.' 

Now the wizard was back and as he took in the sights, he reached into 
the neck of his robe and produced a whistle. He blew it three times and 
waited. No sound was produced as he blew on it, yet less than five 
minutes later, an enormous Bull Elk strode into the clearing. Sighting the 
wizard, it charged, running at full gallop until it skidded to a halt with the 
tines of its antlers less than six inches away from his head.

Then the mass that was the elk began to change and become a strong man 
of American Indian decent. The age of the man was timeless. He could 
have been in his late twenties or his late fifties, just the same. As his 
change completed, he grabbed the wizard in a bear hug and squeezed. It 
had taken several decades for the transformed young Indian lad to come 
to terms with his new roll in life, but once he had, the two had become 
friends.

"Well met my friend, it's been too long", said the wizard. 

"You have stayed away for so long, that I thought you had forgotten 
about me" replied the elk king. 

"Business has been booming as of late, and I haven't had much time to get 
away."

"You lie like a fur trapper, you old coot. You know that you can slip 
away at any time. You could even be back before you left if you wanted 
to."

"So true, but then I never could get one past you. I wonder why", the 
wizard replied, the last mostly to himself.

" Come, let us re-acquaint ourselves." The elk king said, and pulled the 
wizard across the meadow to a sheltered area. They talked more as they 
walked and soon both were engrossed in telling each other tall stories that 
could neither be proved or disproved. They were talking about an hour 
when they heard a shot just over the top of the hill. 

Instantly both were on their feet. The elk king transformed back into the 
impressive sight that he was when in elk form, and the wizard hopped on 
his back. Then they were off to investigate. 

The smell of Pyrodex was still in the air as they crested the rise. Looking 
down the slope into the trees before them, they saw a hunter reloading 
his muzzleloader. Less than fifty yards away the ground was torn up by 
something running off directly downhill. Instantly, the thought came to 
the wizard that the smell in the air was that of the elk kingÕs current 
mate. 

"We may still be able to save her, my boy, lets be off." Casting a quick 
spell of immobilization at the hunter, the two set off down the hill after 
her. Leaving a bewildered and frightened Rick unable to move and 
surprised to see an old man in a bathrobe riding on the back of the largest 
elk he had ever seen.

********

Sometime later, Rick felt the sensations returning to his limbs. As he 
stiffly got up from the position that he had been stuck in, he heard an 
angry voice behind him.

"Get up very slowly Rick and put that muzzleloader down." Growled 
the voice behind him. 

He slowly turned to face the voice after dropping his rifle to the ground. 
Once he was turned around, he noticed it was the same old man in the 
bathrobe that he had seen riding that Bull earlier.

" How..."

" Because I'm a wizard, Rick. Right now I'm a very pissed off wizard. 
That elk that you shot was the mate of the elk king. He is a very dear 
friend of mine and he is extremely distressed that his mate is gone. You 
see, unlike other elk, this one takes one mate and they mate for life. You 
have just killed that mate. Now I want some answers, and since I CAN 
read minds, I want to know the truth."

Rick sensed that this old coot meant business and decided he would be 
truthful. 

"A wise choice Rick, now on to the questions. First, have you ever heard 
of the elk king?"

"I think that I may have heard some of the older hunters around here talk 
about that, but I figured it was just a legend."

"Yes Rick, it is a legend. Didn't you know that most legends are based on 
fact?"

"I do, and I also know that a lot of legends are extreme versions of what 
actually happened. Blown so far out of proportion that they little 
resemble the facts they came from."

"Good answer", replied the wizard. "This time however, the legend is as 
it always was. The facts that were, still are. That is why this is called Elk 
King Mountain. You have violated a place that I hold sacred and that my 
friend calls home. You, by your own thoughts could have just watched 
her walk off and never taken the shot. So by your own admission, you 
decided to take another life purposefully."

"I have the right", replied Rick. " I have a legally obtained hunting license 
that gave me the right to take the life of that animal to feed myself." 

"If feeding yourself were an issue, I would not be standing here talking 
with you right now. I have every respect for a man to feed and clothe 
himself, but you do not need the food. You have a good job and make 
enough money to buy the food that you need to survive. This is a sport 
to you. You are not going to starve without the meat from that animal 
that you killed."

"You have no right to dictate to me what I can and cannot do. Get off 
your high horse and look around. The world is beginning to fall apart. 
This food is a safety measure for me to ensure that I have enough food to 
last when the supermarkets shut down."

The wizard just stared intently at Rick for a little while. " You don't 
really believe that do you Rick?"

"No, I don't. I lie to myself about this as a way to get out and be with 
my friends. I think that if I have the chance, I can always say that I didn't 
see anything. Yet I never do. I take that shot and feel guilty about if for 
months afterwards. I would really like a chance to apologize to your 
friend the elk king."

"There is something that you can do to make it up to him Rick", replied 
the wizard.

"Oh. What's that?"

"I wasn't going to give you a choice in the matter, but after that 
admonition, I will. You now have a choice. Either way, a life is required 
to make amends for the life you took."

 "Ok, let me have the choices."

********

The elk king walked with the wizard back to the place where the wizard 
had appeared that morning. 

"I can't thank you enough for this, old friend. This gift is too much for 
me."

"Just remember, as soon as mating season is over and she whelps, she'll 
be able to transform back and forth as you do', replied the wizard. "As 
far as I know, this ability may carry over to your offspring. That would 
be interesting to see."

"Indeed it would. And if she lives as long as I will, then there will be a 
new tribe in these parts. That ought to piss of the government."

As they reached the spot where the wizard had appeared, they stopped 
and shook hands. 

"Well, she ought to. I put the same spell of aversion on her that I did on 
you so that no hunter will be able to find her. Goodbye my friend. I 
promise I'll visit sooner next time."

Then calling out, the wizard said "Goodbye Rikki, I hope you enjoy 
your new life." 

He snapped his fingers and vanished.

The elk king turned around slowly and viewed his new mate. She was the 
most striking cow he had ever seen. As he shifted back to bull form, he 
started feeling more than a little randy. The pheromones she was giving 
signaled her time was near. 

'At least I'm no longer alone', he thought as he approached his new mate.

********

One last time the wizard re-appeared with an audible 'pop', this time 
back in his shop. As he glanced around, he noticed that the shop was in 
more disarray than when he left. 

"Wolf, where are you?"

A whimper behind him caused him to turn as the wolf limped up to him. 
A small gash on its leg. 

"I see you decided to defend the store this time. Well, that's a first. Still 
they got off with six items. I think that we start looking for a mate for 
you tomorrowÓ. Saying this the wizard leaned over and passed a hand 
over the wound. When the hand was removed, the wound was gone.

The wolf let out an eerily human sigh and crawled back to its bed. The 
thought of suckling pups on its mind.

The End

This is my first attempt at a story for this sight and I know it's not 
exactly orthodox. The idea came to mind and I ran with it. Please let me 
know if you like it or not.

BillieJane