I felt incredible hunger, wind in my
hair, dirt between my toes, and sun energy flowing in waves beneath my skin.
I yelled to Cici, who raced
through the treetops above me. “Do we feed off of the sun, too?”
“It makes us strong. But it’s
the blood that feeds us.”
We stopped at the opening of
a cave where she touched down and drew in a deep breath. “Bears,” she said.
“Hibernating. That's why the heartbeats are so slow.” She started to enter, but
instead of following, I froze. What was I doing? I didn't know how to kill a
bear. What technique should I use? Anxiety took hold and my feet left the
ground. Obviously, immortality couldn’t guarantee peace of mind.
Relax. Observe. She led me, floating through the air,
into the cave.
It was easy to see in the
inky darkness that before would have blinded my mortal eyes. Like a deadly
Goldilocks, I watched three fully-grown bears sleeping soundly.
Take a deep breath, sis. I took several, and touched down.
Cici shook one of them awake.
As she crooned softly, crooked a forefinger, and walked to the other side of
the cave, the bear followed like a giant, crazy-looking dog and I could feel
the power of her mind pressing on the animal’s. Be silent. Follow me. She patted the bear gently, almost apologetically, before sinking her teeth
into its neck. Do not resist. It didn't even put up a fight.
Well, that was pretty
impressive, but I couldn't do that.
You’ll develop your own
style. Follow your instincts.
I found myself at the second
bear's side. It woke up and glared at me. I didn't know what else to do, so I
punched it in the snout. “Oh! Sorry!” I bumbled, stunned by my actions. I felt
out of control, driven by the basest of instincts. My stomach growled loudly.
Suddenly, my teeth were in the bear’s neck, my hair mingling with its fur in a
big hairy mass. He put up a fight, but I easily pinned him to the ground with
my body. While squeezing a fold of the bear’s flesh into a mound between my
teeth, I felt my shimshana extend for the very first time.
Shimshana is what we are, but
it’s also the proboscis we all have that allows us to feed. It stretched out
from the center of my stomach, and I groaned in ecstasy as it unraveled its way
upward, caressing the walls of my throat before inserting itself into the mound
of bear flesh in my mouth. The muscles in my stomach area contracted as the
thick warmth made its way down before hitting my stomach with a sharp wave of
pain, as if I was eating for the first time in my life.
I felt something weird then,
something inside of me, like a light. It began in the pit of my gut and spread
through my entire being.
You’re feeling the bear’s
life essence. This happens whenever we feed. You learn things about, and
experience an intimate connection to, the source.
I knew all kinds of stuff
about that bear. He'd eaten a lot of acorns before entering this cave a few
months ago. He'd mated with a couple of female bears around that time, too. He
had affection for the other bears in the cave, although they weren't siblings.
I felt such epic love for the bear I wanted to cry. But soon, he lay limp on
the cave floor as my shimshana retracted quickly back into my stomach.
Amazingly, I felt no guilt, even though as a mortal, I’d freak out if I
accidentally stepped on an ant.
While considering this, I was
knocked face-first to the ground and claws raked deep into the back of my neck.
It was the third bear; awake and mad at what was happening to its buddies. I
turned as it swiped again, and this time its paw went right through me as if I
weren’t there. I opened my mouth and roared at the bear with all the rage I felt
from being attacked from behind. The inky red black shades in the cave glowed a
brilliant red.
Suddenly, the third bear was
lying drained at my feet, too, but I had no memory of how he’d gotten there.
Cici was gone. Full enough to float away on a cloud of contentment; I walked
out of the cave and into the
hair, dirt between my toes, and sun energy flowing in waves beneath my skin.
I yelled to Cici, who raced
through the treetops above me. “Do we feed off of the sun, too?”
“It makes us strong. But it’s
the blood that feeds us.”
We stopped at the opening of
a cave where she touched down and drew in a deep breath. “Bears,” she said.
“Hibernating. That's why the heartbeats are so slow.” She started to enter, but
instead of following, I froze. What was I doing? I didn't know how to kill a
bear. What technique should I use? Anxiety took hold and my feet left the
ground. Obviously, immortality couldn’t guarantee peace of mind.
Relax. Observe. She led me, floating through the air,
into the cave.
It was easy to see in the
inky darkness that before would have blinded my mortal eyes. Like a deadly
Goldilocks, I watched three fully-grown bears sleeping soundly.
Take a deep breath, sis. I took several, and touched down.
Cici shook one of them awake.
As she crooned softly, crooked a forefinger, and walked to the other side of
the cave, the bear followed like a giant, crazy-looking dog and I could feel
the power of her mind pressing on the animal’s. Be silent. Follow me. She patted the bear gently, almost apologetically, before sinking her teeth
into its neck. Do not resist. It didn't even put up a fight.
Well, that was pretty
impressive, but I couldn't do that.
You’ll develop your own
style. Follow your instincts.
I found myself at the second
bear's side. It woke up and glared at me. I didn't know what else to do, so I
punched it in the snout. “Oh! Sorry!” I bumbled, stunned by my actions. I felt
out of control, driven by the basest of instincts. My stomach growled loudly.
Suddenly, my teeth were in the bear’s neck, my hair mingling with its fur in a
big hairy mass. He put up a fight, but I easily pinned him to the ground with
my body. While squeezing a fold of the bear’s flesh into a mound between my
teeth, I felt my shimshana extend for the very first time.
Shimshana is what we are, but
it’s also the proboscis we all have that allows us to feed. It stretched out
from the center of my stomach, and I groaned in ecstasy as it unraveled its way
upward, caressing the walls of my throat before inserting itself into the mound
of bear flesh in my mouth. The muscles in my stomach area contracted as the
thick warmth made its way down before hitting my stomach with a sharp wave of
pain, as if I was eating for the first time in my life.
I felt something weird then,
something inside of me, like a light. It began in the pit of my gut and spread
through my entire being.
You’re feeling the bear’s
life essence. This happens whenever we feed. You learn things about, and
experience an intimate connection to, the source.
I knew all kinds of stuff
about that bear. He'd eaten a lot of acorns before entering this cave a few
months ago. He'd mated with a couple of female bears around that time, too. He
had affection for the other bears in the cave, although they weren't siblings.
I felt such epic love for the bear I wanted to cry. But soon, he lay limp on
the cave floor as my shimshana retracted quickly back into my stomach.
Amazingly, I felt no guilt, even though as a mortal, I’d freak out if I
accidentally stepped on an ant.
While considering this, I was
knocked face-first to the ground and claws raked deep into the back of my neck.
It was the third bear; awake and mad at what was happening to its buddies. I
turned as it swiped again, and this time its paw went right through me as if I
weren’t there. I opened my mouth and roared at the bear with all the rage I felt
from being attacked from behind. The inky red black shades in the cave glowed a
brilliant red.
Suddenly, the third bear was
lying drained at my feet, too, but I had no memory of how he’d gotten there.
Cici was gone. Full enough to float away on a cloud of contentment; I walked
out of the cave and into the
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