A/N: This is my first part of the 100 Creature prompt writing challenge that I am currently taking. The prompt was number 58 (Centaur) and the pairing is MakoSei (Free!). I will admit that I don't know very much about centaurs outside of what is portrayed in the media (mainly Harry Potter and Narnia), even after reading the wiki page. So, some things are more than likely going to be incorrect or inconsistent.

Pairing: MakoSei

Warning: AU, mentions of blood,

Disclaimer: I don't own Free!

A victory roar sounded throughout the village as the Centaur army returned from their hunt. Loud galloping filled the air and the ground rumbled with their return as they charged down the dirt path. Glancing up from where he was picking herbs for medicine, Makoto saw the men and women bound into the village, carrying several deer and boars across their shoulders. A small smile came to Makoto's face as he saw a certain Centaur riding at the head of the herd, carrying the largest kill.

Placing the last of the herbs into the basket, Makoto stood up and made his way back into the village. Since he was one of the few healers in the village, he was forbidden from leaving with army. But that was fine with the healer. He had never really enjoyed battle and violence and preferred to help people as opposed to hurt them.

Plus, it meant that he got some space away from his mate, who could tend to be a bit...overwhelming during and after a hunt. And as he drew closer to the bustling army, it seemed as though his mate was just as over-the-top as usual, and he was not alone. He could hear Rin and Seijuurou boasting loudly as he approached the center of the village, annoyance tinged in their voices. The two redheads were arguing amongst themselves, as per usual whenever they returned from a hunt.

The two redheads were standing tall, chests puffed out in annoyance as they continued to argue with each other. However, something drew Makoto's attention away from the two's faces as he walked closer. He came to an abrupt stop as he saw blood staining Seijuurou's flank. And while that sight wasn't quite strange, as many of the other Centaurs had blood on their body as well, he could visibly see his mate limping slightly, trying to keep his weight off of his right leg in the rear. Without hesitation, he pushed his way through the other Centaurs in front of him. He watched as Seijuurou turned to look at him, bright smile on his face. Makoto gave a tight smile back before he grabbed the redhead's hand and dragged him through the masses. He ignored the chuckles and whispers that followed behind them.

It wasn't a strange sight for a Centaur to be dragging their mate away after a successful hunt. However, Makoto wasn't quite that blatant when it came to when he wished to...bed his mate. He definitely wouldn't make such a claim public. No, when Makoto dragged his mate off after a hunt, it was to patch him up. The leader, while very strong and wise, was also a bit hotheaded and quick to attack. That usually meant that he ended up being injured, nine times out of ten.

Forcing Seijuurou into their hut, Makoto walked over to the center table where he had several salves and medicines already prepared. He grabbed a couple bottles before making his way back to his mate, who had already situated himself on their bed. A wince came to his face as he moved around too much, causing the wound on his flank to open a bit more, blood starting to drip down his leg and onto the bed.

Sighing, Makoto moved himself down and placed a cloth underneath to stop any more blood from staining the sheets. He then brought over the pan of water that they always kept by the bed just in case and wet another cloth before wiping away the blood from Seijuurou's body. A hiss left the Centaur's mouth as the cloth touched his wound, making him squirm in place.

"Stop moving, Seijuurou. You got yourself into this mess," Makoto scolded lightly before he deemed the wound clean enough. Picking up one of the vials of medicine, he grabbed a clean cloth and pour a little bit of medicine in the center before dabbing the wound, frown coming to his face as he inspected the wound.

It didn't seem too deep, but it also wasn't a wound that could be made by slight impact. He wasn't ignorant to wounds just because he didn't participate in battle. "How did you get hit this time?" Makoto asked with a raised eyebrow, staring at Seijuurou.

A faint flush of embarrassment came to the warrior's face and he averted his gaze for a moment. "It was just an accident. You don't need to worry about it," he muttered, waving his hand in dismissal.

Laughing in disbelief, Makoto smacked Seijuurou over his head. Seijuurou let out a noise of complaint in response, but Makoto just ignored him. "If I didn't need to worry about it, then I have to constantly patch you up every time you do something stupid to injure yourself. Now, stop acting like you're so big and strong and don't need anyone to worry about you and tell me what happened."

Seijuurou stared at Makoto for a moment before smiling, laughing underneath his breath. "And you call me stubborn..." Shaking his head, Seijuurou scratched the back of his head. "Well, the buck that I had caught turned out to be much stronger than I anticipated. One of his horns ended up swiping me on my leg while he was charging at me. Looking back on it now, I'm not exactly sure why I didn't get out of the way, but that's what happened."

Humming in concern, Makoto continued to methodically fixing up the wound. Thankfully, the wound wasn't all that serious. Or at least, not as serious had it could have been. He had seen much worse injuries due to bucks attacking Centaurs. Not wanting to think about how things could have gone, Makoto returned to patching up his mate. He grabbed the roll of medical bandages before slowly wrapping them around Seijuurou's flank.

"You're not going to be able to take part in the next few hunts, even with a minor wound like this. I would rather you not end up in the medical hut because you reopened one of your wounds, like you did the last time you had a serious injury," Makoto said with a pointed expression.

Seijuurou looked as though he was going to argue, but Makoto's disapproving look shot him down immediately. The redhead had the decency to look ashamed, although Makoto was aware that that meant pretty much nothing, as in about a month or so, Seijuurou would end doing the exact same thing again.

But, Makoto supposed that was why he loved him.