Turtle Dove: A Lesbian Romance

by Marian Stack

  “Well of course, which one did you see?” Turtle asked with caution, as she looked around.

  “I think, no I know I heard something. Can we get out of here? That last thing I want to be is some damn bear’s chew toy.”

  “Agreed, now Miss Foster, I have begun to set up a shelter at the top of the hill. Do you think that you can manage the walk? If you use the stick you are holding onto and if I can help you by you leaning on me, well, we should be able to get you to the top. And then resting your feet will be a good thing.” Again Turtle spoke with both caution and fear of a poor reaction.

  “Well I’m certainly not staying here, so if you help me I will get to the top of this hill…that you can bet on.” Blair strong words convinced both women.

  The climb was slow going and somewhat dangerous as the narrow path was really only meant for one animal at a time, not two women walking side by side.

  During this slow process Turtle’s hand had been pushed away more than once from the much needed offered assistance, and so as pampered children often find out, when her brave front collapsed, and her guide no longer offered her a helping hand for support, she literally chose to crawl the last remaining yards to the top of the hill.

  Finally making it to the top she collapsed to the ground and heaved out, “I’m good right here… just toss me a few handful of nuts and berries every now and then, and I should be good until the morning.”

  Appreciating the entertainment in front of her Turtle just ignored the drama queen and simply stated, “Okay I’ll be back very soon. You stay and rest.” Turtle’s voice offered some sense of understanding, knowing that Blair was better off resting for a short while, while she did as she was asked and decided to return to their overnight camping spot to secure the tarp.

  “Jesus Christ, what kind of a person leaves an injured guest out in the wilds of the mountains without assistance? I mean…really.” Blair spoke to the ground as she attempted to rollover and sit up right.

  Hearing the controlled outburst, she turned around and noticed her guest doing the complete opposite as requested and returned to assist the pathetic woman crawling up the mountain. As she attempted to fully stand Turtle, gently placed her arm around Blair’s small waist and literally carried her the remaining way to the makeshift shelter.

  As she leaned back against the grouping of trees that made a perfect backrest she was amazed at how fast her guide was able to secure the tarps and somehow constructed, using bent tree branches, a very nice and soft under bedding. Completely out of character and sounding quite human and almost nice Blair offered Turtle a gentle compliment. “Who knew living without could be so comfortable.”

  Accepting the compliment Turtle offered her guest a nice returning smile but carried on with her tasks at hand.

  Now in complete silence, Blair watched as Turtle moved about setting the camp site for an overnight stay. First she dug a small hole in the ground to hold the fire and to keep it from spreading and or from going out. She then lit a small fire in the same manner as before. After the fire had set and the ambers were in full spender, she stood and stated that she was leaving to find some drinking water.

  “What…wait…? I will go with you…you can’t leave me here. There’s wild shit out here that wants to kill and eat me…right?” Blair’s voice was filled with unjustified fear.

  “You’ll be fine. I believe there is a creek just over to our right and if I’m right…anyways just hold tight and do not attempt to stand again. Trust me you will be fine. The smoke from the fire will keep anything that wants to kill and eat you at bay.” She had already moved several yards away allowing her voice to trail off as she moved quickly to get them drinking water.

  What she did not hear was Blair’s response, “Funny, just my luck, a guide who wants to be comedian.”

  Blair reached for the stick she had first used to defend herself against the wilderness noises and then as a walking stick and now was again a defending stick. She held tight as she kept her eyes glued to the spot that her guide had vanished from. She had begun to notice that every time Turtle left her alone the horrible feeling of being alone scared her beyond words. And then with each sighting of her guide, she instantly felt relief and safe regardless of conditions.

  Finally she noticed Turtle coming from behind the bushes with a container full of water.

  “Holy shit, you are amazing. Now give me that so I can have a drink.” Her voice was full of selfish demands.

  “Not just yet. I have to filter it as best as possible.”

  With her voice reeking with sarcasm, “And just how are you going to do that?”

  Hearing the sarcasm but choosing to ignore, “Well, normally I would just drink the creek or stream water but now with all the damage to this mountain and surrounding area, it would be better to try to filter this water as best as possible and seeming we do not have a proper filter or filtering tablets I will do it the old fashioned way. She reached into the gear bag and pulled out a small piece of cheese cloth that was part of the first aid supplies. She then, and with her guest watching with baited breath, began to pour the precious water from one container to the next through the cloth. Then turning to her guest,” I know you want a drink but I would love to boil this first to be sure. Can you wait?” Turtle inquisitively asked, expecting a thunderous negative response.

  Surprisingly enough Blair stated with zero aggression, “By all means, please do so.”

  The warm water and vegetable soup soothed both women’s threadbare moods.

  Afterwards Turtle suggested to Miss Foster that the time had come to remove the rubber booties entirely and begin the treatment for her damaged feet.

  Turtle’s first step was to mix the wilderness suave made from some wild mint leaves that she had found while gathering the water, a few teaspoons of medicated powder and with a few drops of the boiled water added to the dry ingredients the mixture was turned into a paste that would be applied to each foot.

  Understanding the sensitivity, she decided to take extra attention in caring for her guest by first spreading the salve on a flat stone that had been set close to the ambers for heating.

  Showing only signs of strength and knowledge with every movement, she knelt directly in front of her guest, then moved her body to find the correct positioning, sat backwards and rested on her heels, and softly asked, “Can I begin?”

  “Is this going to hurt or sting?” Blair asked in a childlike voice.

  “No. You should be fine. It may sting a little at first because of the condition of your skin but the mint should quickly soothe the sensation.” Turtle offered up a reassuring smile, and then offered her normal reassurance, “Trust me.”

  Blair gave in and leaned back against the resting place that her guide had so resourcefully constructed.

  Sitting up from her heels, but remaining in a kneeling position, and after using extreme tenderness and care she removed the one bootie that was already only half on. Continuing Turtle gently took Blair’s right foot heel and gently placed it in the very centre of her palm, and then with her left hand she slid her fingers in the warming salve and very gently began to apply the healing potion all over her foot. She, at first, only dabbed the salve all over the foot, but then to Blair’s absolute delight she began to massage her foot with gentle caressing movements starting with each individual toe ensuring that the healing salve was applied evenly between each toe and then moving her strong steady hand she begin pulling downwards towards her heel. Then keeping her right hand in place she then moved her left hand up towards Blair’s calf muscle and began to massage the stiffness out with a slow elongated pulling action.

  Turtle of course was completely unaware that this action was causing another.

  Blair’s breathing had gone from relaxation breathing during the procedure to semi controlled erotic breathing as the application massage continued.

  Completely unaware of the events, Turtle then gently placed Blair’s prepared right foot on the ground on the
blanket and reached for the other foot.

  Reaching for more salve Turtle asked, “Are you okay? Is the salve hurting or helping?” Listening for a response Turtle did not look directly up at Blair as she was engrossed with her task at hand.

  Blair rapidly attempted to gain some form of control as she attempted to speak, “Um. Yes… this is wonderful. Thank you. You have a very magical touch.” Her voice fluttered out of her chest in a rolling manner as she was unable to control the internal orgasm that was teasing her entire body.

  “Wonderful. I knew this was a good treatment, especially with feet in your condition. When I’m done you will need to rest and I will tend to the fire for a while and then bed down.”

  Moments passed and with the procedure completed Turtle stood to gather more fire wood and left Blair alone to give her some personal space.

  Once Turtle was gone Blair readjusted her sitting position to a full laying position, found the perfect spot to exhale and breathed out the words, “Holy shit” as shivers of exhilaration ran through her entire body.

  Spent from the day’s events she closed her eyes to rest. Soon after her body adjusted to her outdoor sleeping bed her exhausted mind drifted to the sensation of her hand brushing up against Turtles’ hard body breast. A smile grew across her face, as her mind recalled the sensation, as her body fell fast asleep.

  Although she had only been gone for a short period of time, she was very pleased to observe that her guest had fallen fast asleep next to the low burning fire. Turtle put the gathered fire sticks and twigs next to the fire pit then sat cross-legged next to her sleeping guest to rest and to gather her thoughts regarding their next move.

  This was her comfort place, sitting next to a fire with the stars above her head, but this time the only difference was of having a complete and somewhat unhinged stranger resting beside her.

  Staring off into the semi-darkness she allowed her mind to wander. She always knew she had spent too much time alone but she never looked at her life as having an overwhelming need for constant companionship or friendship. Growing up on her mountain within the confines of her parents’ business there always seem to be people dropping by to visit with first her parents then just her dad but she never really did have friends, and seemed to be fine with that. And all the while when the rafting business was running either with her father and then with Susan there was always strangers mulling around but whenever possible, and much to the dismay of her dear friend Susan, she often would prefer to enjoy her own space exploring the forest around her. She always knew that her and Susan’s agreement was that she was to eventually take complete charge of the business side of the rafting company and that Susan would go back to her globetrotting life style, but she never wanted or understood the money side of things, and selfishly deep down believed that Susan would always be there to keep the business going. She was her family, her only family left. And then she began to think and hope that Susan was okay and somehow looking for her and their guest, and then suddenly Blair’s screaming threatening words began pounding into her mind about being sued and losing the business. What would she do? Where would she go? Her family home and the business were all that she knew or all that she believed she ever wanted to know.

  Pushing out all the unwanted thoughts, Turtle turned her attention to her guest’s needs, better footwear. Looking around at what she could use she began to cut her guests’ rubber boots apart. Pulling her knife from its protected sleeve, which was firmly secured to the back of her personal rafting vest, she began by cutting the rubber top sleeve from the boot sole. She then removed and cut the crisscross strapping that formerly cradled the radio into eight even length straps. Then using some very thin strips of twigs she constructed and wove some long strands of strong thin ropes that would be used almost like a shoe string keeping the soles to the foot allowing support of the feet but allowing air to circulate. Pleased with her handiwork, she very carefully measured the new design sandals up against her sleeping guest’s stationary feet.

  Her next task in keeping her guest safe before she stopped for the day was to secure the fire, and check the tarps and ropes that secured the tarps. Satisfied that all she could do was accomplished she then looked towards the heavens and sent a silent ask to whomever was listening for safety and rescue for her guest.

  It was late into the evening and she knew that she needed to get some rest before they began another day of unknown challenges. She was very much a one day at a time girl, so worrying about tomorrow was not normal for her, but given the circumstances and her guest’s ever changing moods she was on edge about the weather and what may lie ahead.

  Suddenly Blair shifted her position and Turtle moved to give her space, and then waited for some kind of outburst, but thankfully nothing came from the beautiful woman but a deep expulsion of air caused from a soundly sleeping body.

  Finally feeling the exhaustion from the long day of everything, Turtle decided to lie as close as possible next to her guest for warmth and security, without invasion of space.

  As she slowly began to settle into a comfortable sleeping position her thoughts of the day’s events were all scrambled in her head and then without warning one thought clearly came to the forefront. Blair’s gentle touch when she was administering the sealing glue to her head laceration, and the notable and deliberate bush of her hand touching her bare breast. Then without noticing the movement, Turtle had reached for her head to investigate her injury and as she did she suddenly found herself begin bear hugged by her guest.

  Blair expelled another deep sleeping volume of air but did not awaken.

  Turtle with great stealth leaned forward to grab the blanket at her feet and pulled it up over the both of them, and then placed her arm around her guest shoulder and as her ears heard the low rumblings of the thunderous sounds way off in the distance, she instantly fell into a deep exhausted sleep.

  Chapter Six - The Cave

  The noise that came from the instantaneous pouring raindrops hitting the tarp with such damaging force that Turtle was immediately awakened from her sound sleep. She sat straight up in shock from both the noise and the fact that she had been dead to the world. In all her years of sleeping in the great outdoors, she never could remember sleeping so soundly. Her head and body swivelled from side to side as she rapidly surveyed their resting area for signs of danger, as the deluge of rain water streamed all around them. Thankfully the tarp was holding strong helping to secure some form of sanctuary but Turtle knew that it would only assist for so long.

  Suddenly and on-queue her guest awoke in an agitated and somewhat humorous mood.

  Blair sat straight up as if sprung from a device then screamed out in her semi-conscious state “Help me…I’m drowning...Get me out of this raft… I need a cup of coffee...” And then as rapidly as the outburst started it ended. She then remained petrified in the statuesque position, stunned by her own outburst.

  Turtle reached over understanding that her guest had also been sound asleep and with the sudden boom of thunder, well… it would have frightened anyone. So she grabbed Blair’s arm and held tight for fear she was going to jump up and run into semi-darkness and the pouring rain. “Miss Foster you are safe. We are not in any danger. You are safe.” She repeated as she squeezed her arm for reassurance.

  Blair turned to look at the person sitting next to her with her eyes wide open with overstated fear, then as moments passed and another crack of lighting lit the active dark morning sky and then within seconds another booming hammer of thunder hitting directly above their tiny camp shaking the very ground beneath their bodies she silently reached for the securing touch of her guide and gently held tight.

  “What the fuck?” Blair’s voice remained groggy from her sound sleep as she spoke out in a whisper as she blankly stared into Turtle’s eyes.

  Knowing what was needed Turtle released her reassuring hold on Blair’s forearm to adjust her body to begin packing, believing that once Blair gathered her thoughts she would t
ake notice and begin to help break the campsite down as rapidly as possible. However again not reading the situation and truly not understanding her guests’ level of fear, she noticed that Blair’s expression and still body confirmed her state of mind, so she stopped her repacking to encourage her guest to become an active participant in their quick escape.

  “Miss Foster… I understand that the last thing you want to deal with is more water, but here we are in the thick of things again. The storm is right above our heads judging by the rapid succession of the lightning to the thunderous bang. I know where we are and if all goes to plan we will be in the healing cave soon, but we will have to start now. Sorry that warming soup will have to wait until we can get to the cave. But as you can plainly notice making a fire is not possible. Are you alright with this?”

  “It’s not like I have much of a choice.” Her voice now sounded a lot more lucid as she twisted her body from side to side searching for her foot ware.

  As she searched her hand discovered the newly constructed sandals neatly positioned next to her side of the bedding. Immediately noticing the changes she asked, “What happened to my boots? Did a cobbler come by in the night?” Being a connoisseur of footwear she joyfully held up the footwear to admire the design. They reminded her of the olden day roman style sandals with the laces that wove up towards the woman calf. “Turtle, did you do this?” Understanding that the question was a silly one she purposely changed her voice to resemble a young child’s voice.

  “Yes. I was hoping that the style would help keep your feet dry but would allow for a comfortable waking shoe. Well the comfortable part should work well.” Turtle spoken words were offered with some trepidation as she suddenly realized that she reconstructed the foot ware without permission, although ownership of Blair’s entire outfit firmly rested on her behalf.

  “You are truly amazing. I think you have skills that even you are unaware of. Well done Miss Dove... well done.” Blair’s voice was filled with honest praise.