Woods Blair

[dimity_blue]

Another short, doesn't make much sense, AU bonding fic.

Woods Blair
By Arnie

Jim paused and sniffed the air, noting the strange scent again; faint but ever present. Extending his senses as much as he could without risking a zone out, he bent back over his campside fire and continued to cook his dinner. If there was someone there, they'd approach.

The smell faded, and Jim frowned. The heartbeat he could hear was still present - and excited. His watcher must have moved downwind in an effort to mask his presence. The snap of a twig gave him warning, and Jim straightened just in time to go flying under the tackle that fortunately knocked him away from the fire as opposed to into it.

"What the -"

Jim struggled to gain the upper hand while getting his breath back, but his attacker was determined, and finally Jim found himself pinned face down with his face in a pile of leaves, and his arms stretched out either side of his body.

Spitting the leaves out, he demanded, "What the hell do you want?"

Soft hair brushed against the back of his neck as he was sniffed. "Sentinel," his attacker whispered.

Damn. A Guide. And one in bonding heat from the looks of things.

Well, now that he knew what his attacker wanted, Jim could use the information against him. "Let me turn over," he murmured, as though the last thing he wanted to do was stop the Guide from bonding with him. "I want to see you."

There was a pause and the hair stopped tickling his neck. "You won't fight me?"

"Why would I fight you? I've been looking for my Guide for a long time now," Jim said, adding mentally, 'and you're not him!'

The weight on his back shifted, giving Jim the room to turn over. And he turned, slowly, then knocked his attacker away with a sweep of his arm.

The Guide hit the ground with a strangled yelp, then cried out in fury as Jim leapt on him, pinning the writhing creature to the ground and trapping the grasping hands either side of his head.

Gradually, the frantic thrashing stilled, and blue eyes stared up at him.

"How long have you been tracking me?" Jim demanded.

"I saw you arrive, I felt you. You need a Guide, man! C'mon!" The Guide wriggled again. "I can bond, I can help you!"

"You don't have a Sentinel already?" Jim was surprised. The Guide was strong, and his voice and scent were alluring, pulling at his senses, promising safety from zone outs, and the knowledge that Jim would never be alone again.

A flush covered the pale face.

"So you do have a Sentinel." He might have guessed that the Guide wasn't up for grabs. "What happened to him? Or her?"

"She's crazy, man! I couldn't bond with her!" As Jim focussed on the Guide's vital signs, the kid continued, "She'd kill me within a year - I swear she would. She's not sane!"

"So you thought you'd find a bigger and stronger Sentinel to protect you." Jim shook his head, disgusted at the motivation behind the offer to bond, but understanding the need to survive.

"You're my Sentinel, man, I can feel it." The Guide tossed his head to get the dark, curly hair out of his face, and flashed a grin up at the Sentinel. "You can feel it too, or you would've pounded me into the ground by now!" As Jim stared down at him, the Guide tilted his head back. "I'm not going to fight you, man. You need me. I can help you, keep you safe." The enticing voice softened, "I'll never abandon our bond."

Jim grinned and shook his head again. The kid had guts, he'd give him that, and that scent...it was calling him in, begging him, enticing him...promising him the world....

With a start, he realised that he'd leaned down and his nose was an inch from the Guide's, his Guide's, neck.

With a growled, "Claimed and marked, Guide," the Sentinel bit down on the exposed neck, and relished the shudder that ran through his prize, before breaking through the crumbling mental barriers and claiming his Guide's mind and soul.

The kid was right; Jim would never be alone again.

The End...for now.

15th November 2005.