Whenever you wanted to get away from it all, the Fireglade National Forest was the first place you come. The woods were absolutely beautiful all year round, and the hiking trails were just long and difficult enough to be a great way to stay in shape. Unfortunately, nobody else seems to share your enthusiasm. As the city grows more and more bustling and modernized, nobody is interested in the forest anymore. You hardly ever run into anyone hiking the trails, and you can never convince your friends to accompany you on your treks. The solitude can be nice, of course, but sometimes you’d appreciate having someone to talk to. Thus, you joined a weekend hiking meetup club online in the hopes of finding other people who just want to relax and enjoy nature.
You’re standing in the parking lot at the entrance to the trails, and as you sort through your wallet to pay for parking, your heart sinks when you realize there doesn’t seem to be anyone else around. You had shown up a few minutes late… could they have already started without you? Eventually, though, you spot a bear woman standing next to her car, apparently doing warm up stretches. You think you recognize her as one of the people who said they’d be coming, though you didn’t know why she was alone. Didn’t half a dozen people say they’d be coming? Still, you tentatively approached her.
The bear was sporting an incredibly, one could say, robust figure. She was an odd mix of pudgy and athletic; she had the toned, muscular arms and legs of a bodybuilder, and yet, she still had wide bulky hips, and a big round belly she proudly showed off beneath her crop top. She was so burly, she could easily be mistaken for a man if it wasn’t for her huge breasts which her sports bra could barely contain. Combined with the fact that she was solid 2 feet taller than you, and she was well and truly an imposing figure. “You’re here for the meetup, right?” She smiled widely when she sees you walk up.
“Y-yeah, sorry I’m late,” you say, a bit confused as to why there aren’t more people here.
“It’s fine. I was just worried that I might have to go it alone again,” she said. She seemed sort of excited just to see you. “Last time I came to one of these things, literally nobody else showed up.”
“That’s terrible,” you replied.
“Yeah. I guess it didn’t help that it was in february. By then, people are already giving up on their new year’s resolutions,” she said, bitterly. “Folks just don’t appreciate the great outdoors, anymore. They just get addicted to the hustle and bustle of the city. The woods are too… quiet for them.” She suddenly looks a little embarrassed. “Oh! Look at me, flapping my gums. Sorry about that. Let’s get down to brass tacks - my name’s Suanne,” she said, offering her hand.
“Vincent. Nice to meet you,” you said, reaching out to shake her hand. Once again, you were impressed by her size; her hand was almost twice as large as yours, and her powerful grip showed off her incredible strength. By the time the handshake concluded, your shoulder was sore. “You know these trails?”
“Like the back of my hand. I’ve been coming here since I moved to this town,” she grinned. You decided to grab a map, although Suanne apparently didn’t need one. “I’m feeling the Hollow Rock Falls trail today. It’s absolutely beautiful at this time of year.” That trail’s about five miles long, up and down the various slopes of the forest. A proper workout, for sure.
“Sounds good,” you nod, but stand in place, confused, when the bear starts walking towards the trail. “Hey, shouldn’t we wait for everybody else?”
She frowns, turning to you. “Trust me, hun, they’re not coming. They’re probably all lounging around on their sofas right now,” she says. “Some people just want to convince themselves they’re the outdoorsy type, but when it actually comes down to, y’know, going outside, they just come up with excuse after excuse…”
You were a bit taken aback by her cynicism, but you figure she probably has a lot more experience with this than you do. “Uh… alright,” you said, and you hesitantly followed the bear as the two of you started down the trail.
You walk in silence for a while. Even though you were walking relatively briskly, with her long stride, you knew the tall woman could easily outpace you… but she seemed to intentionally walk slowly, so the two of you were side-by-side. Eventually, she spoke up. “So, let's get this out of the way,” she said. “Tell me; do you mind me flapping my gums during our trek? I like to chit-chat while hiking, but if you just want to listen to the birds, I can totally shut up.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I mean, chatting is sorta the point of the meet up, right?” You reassure her.
“Guess so,” she shrugged. “So, ‘Vincent’. How long have you been living in Perlshaw?”
“Three years,” you reply. “Moved here from Myrefall.” Myrefall is the town with the the highest population of anthros of any town in the state. A charming town, to be sure, but the longer you lived there, the more it seemed like a dead end.
“No shit? Me too,” she nodded, surprised. “Ugh! I miss it. Such a beautiful town. You didn’t happen to go to Rutherford, did you?”
“Nope. Granite Hills.”
“Ah. My little sister went there,” she said. “She still lives over in Myrefall, actually. She sends me photos from around town all the time, and it makes me sooo jealous!” Her belly heaves as she laughs.
“Hm,” you mumble, thoughtfully. “So… are you not liking it in Perlshaw?”
“Um. I mean, I don’t hate it here, but it wouldn’t have been my first choice. Just doesn’t feel like home, you know?” She said. “I don’t dislike humans, of course, but I don’t really seem to fit in with them. They always seem a tad nervous around big gals like me.”
“Huh. Well, I get along pretty well with humans, I guess. Pretty much all my friends are humans, at this point,” you reply, “but it can get annoying to always feel like the odd one out, just cause I’m a fox. I’m usually their only anthro friend, so they always treat me like I’m some kind of novelty, you know?” The dating pool was also quite limited, too, though you opted not to mention that.
“Oooh! I know exactly what you’re talking about!”
For the next hour or so, your hike continued on in much the same way, the two of you making small talk and learning a bit about eachother while you both enjoyed the same outdoors. As the two of you became more familiar, you couldn’t help but notice Suanne’s stories slowly getting a little more raunchy. And there was one ‘topic’ in particular that always seemed to come up:
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