as i slept i dreamed of a little filly centaur. she had a dark coat that was shiny even in the shadows. there were two things that i noticed most about her. she never left the shadows and she had bright violet eyes. i walked up to her and hugged her. mind you i'm still dreaming.
"mom, i'm hungry. can we hunt tonight?" the filly asked.
"yes phoebe we can hunt tonight," i had responded.
the little filly danced around in excitement. i laughed. that's when i woke up. i saw tim, laying under a tree watching me, with a small smile on his face.
"what?" i said as i watched him.
"you were smiling in your sleep. you must have had a pretty good dream," he replied.
"i dreamed that we had a little girl," i said as i remembered the little female centaur with the dark coat.
tim nodded as he thought about it.
"could be. but we have to get going. i told grandfather we'd be there in a little while. i don't think he expected you to sleep for the rest of the day and the rest of the next! my parents probably have a search party out there looking for me!" rose chuckled as she stood up.
she walked over to me and took my hands. she helped me into a standing position and then i stretched. she started towards the east. i followed.
she looked back towards me and said,
"if you're ever out here alone and you're trying to find my home which, hopefully you will accept as your own one day, just listen for the sound of running water and follow it."
i nodded nervously and continued to follow him. we came to a small clearing where i saw an entire herd of centaurs wandering near a waterfall. it was beautiful. rose looked at me as she walked towards another rather tall female.
"mother," i heard her say to her.
"ah, rose of darkness you're back. and with a friend i see. who might she be," calisto asked, eyeing me carefully.
"this is aeryn. she's my mate."
"well aeryn. welcome to the herd. how is life going for you?" calisto asked as she faced me full on.
sheesh, i thought, she's really flipping tall.
"alright," i said as cringed again at the sound of my own voice.
she looked at me seriously and turned to rose.
"rose of darkness calisto-marie chaser, may please speak with you for a minute. alone," calisto said.
rose looked at me quickly and then nodded.
i stood there while other centaurs looked at me curiously.
"she doesn't seem like she's one of us," i heard them whisper among themselves.
when rose came back she had a small smile on her face.
"what?" i asked.
"we're going to celebrate the coming of a new family member," rose said with a smile.
i smiled and everyone came rushing at me. all of them hugged me and welcomed me to the family. i couldn't believe that they accepted me so easily. when all of the noise and craziness died down i pulled rose aside.
"how is it that they are okay with me being with you?" i asked.
"well, they just want me to be happy. i've waited a couple of centuries for a mate and they think my patience is being rewarded. but my mother told me to keep an eye on you and your hunger. she thinks that you may become thirsty. she's gone off to gather some special fruit that is actually made of blood. my father discovered it a few years ago. he kept it hidden so that in case we had visitors who were blood-drinkers that we would have something for them. it was given to us by persephone. a very kind goddess," rose explained.
i nodded as i saw calisto re-enter the clearing with a woven basket full of the fruits. another centaur entered after her with another basket full of different types of fruits. the next centaur entered with a basket of bread. soon after came in yet another centaur. this one was male. he was even taller than calisto.
rose leaned over and whispered,
"that's my father's father. his name is archon. my father should be here any minute now."
i watched as my father-in-law-to-be's father walked into the center of the herd with pride. he didn't look like he tried to look down at the rest of the herd but with how tall he was he kinda had to. when he saw me he walked over to rose and i.
"now who might this be?" archon asked as he looked me over.
"this is my mate, aeryn," rose replied.
"ahh, your patience has been rewarded now hasn't it rose?" archon said as he looked his granddaughter dead in the eye.
"yes sir," rose replied keeping the same solid eye-contact that archon did.
when the tension broke an even taller centaur walked in, kissed calisto on the lips lightly.
"so where is the guest of honor?" he said in a cheerful voice.
"oh zax, why do you act so foalish?" archon scolded.
"oh father this is no time to be scornful. my daughter has finally found a mate and i bet a handsome one too," zax said.
zax was a bay. his human part was built and tall. he had dark hair and well tanned skin. he trotted over to rose and said,
"who might this be? a frined? i thought you said... ohhh. i see... well either way as long as you're happy!"
i looked at him and i couldn't help but smile. rose's father was very cheerful even though his grandchildren may end up drinking blood even though they may look like him.
"my name is aeryn," i said quietly.
"aeryn, welcome to our family," zax said.
archon spoke then.
"would somebody get the boar?" he said in a somewhat commanding voice. you could tell from the way he acted that archon was the leader of this herd. next thing i knew wood was being tossed into a couple of pits while two of the stronger looking males darted into the forest. when they came back they were dragging a dead boar behind them. they had already scewered the things and were working on hoisting them up and over each of firepits. someone lit a fire under one pig and another was keeping the fire going by blowing on the little flame. soon the baskets were being passed around while we watched the pigs roast over the flames. the smell of human food turned my stomach several times before i became used to the stench.
rose had been right about the fruit though. someone handed me a cloth made of deer hide. i looked up to see a colt who looked frightened to high hell and back.
"hi. what's your name?" i asked quietly so as to not to scare him.
"my name is chris," he said.
"thank you chris for this cloth," i said politely.
he nodded quickly and smiled. just then someone started to play a flute and a harp. the combination of the two was beautiful. i wiped my lips and someone kissed them almost immediately after. i sat back on my haunches in surprise for it was getting darker out.
"what's wrong hun? can't see? i thought your instincts are the same?" i heard rose laugh as she watched my face.
"well evidentally my eyes aren't the same as they were before the transformation," i replied as i laughed with her.
"even so they may not work the same but they sure do look the same. i love them," she said as she grabbed my torso and swung me around.
after a while the herd finally started to settle down to sleep. rose lead me to a semi-secluded area closer to the waterfall. i knelt down and made myself comfortable. rose settled down next to me. i rested my head on her shoulder and she put her chin on top of it. she started to hum then. and that's how i fell asleep: hearing my mate humming to me.
"mom, i'm hungry. can we hunt tonight?" the filly asked.
"yes phoebe we can hunt tonight," i had responded.
the little filly danced around in excitement. i laughed. that's when i woke up. i saw tim, laying under a tree watching me, with a small smile on his face.
"what?" i said as i watched him.
"you were smiling in your sleep. you must have had a pretty good dream," he replied.
"i dreamed that we had a little girl," i said as i remembered the little female centaur with the dark coat.
tim nodded as he thought about it.
"could be. but we have to get going. i told grandfather we'd be there in a little while. i don't think he expected you to sleep for the rest of the day and the rest of the next! my parents probably have a search party out there looking for me!" rose chuckled as she stood up.
she walked over to me and took my hands. she helped me into a standing position and then i stretched. she started towards the east. i followed.
she looked back towards me and said,
"if you're ever out here alone and you're trying to find my home which, hopefully you will accept as your own one day, just listen for the sound of running water and follow it."
i nodded nervously and continued to follow him. we came to a small clearing where i saw an entire herd of centaurs wandering near a waterfall. it was beautiful. rose looked at me as she walked towards another rather tall female.
"mother," i heard her say to her.
"ah, rose of darkness you're back. and with a friend i see. who might she be," calisto asked, eyeing me carefully.
"this is aeryn. she's my mate."
"well aeryn. welcome to the herd. how is life going for you?" calisto asked as she faced me full on.
sheesh, i thought, she's really flipping tall.
"alright," i said as cringed again at the sound of my own voice.
she looked at me seriously and turned to rose.
"rose of darkness calisto-marie chaser, may please speak with you for a minute. alone," calisto said.
rose looked at me quickly and then nodded.
i stood there while other centaurs looked at me curiously.
"she doesn't seem like she's one of us," i heard them whisper among themselves.
when rose came back she had a small smile on her face.
"what?" i asked.
"we're going to celebrate the coming of a new family member," rose said with a smile.
i smiled and everyone came rushing at me. all of them hugged me and welcomed me to the family. i couldn't believe that they accepted me so easily. when all of the noise and craziness died down i pulled rose aside.
"how is it that they are okay with me being with you?" i asked.
"well, they just want me to be happy. i've waited a couple of centuries for a mate and they think my patience is being rewarded. but my mother told me to keep an eye on you and your hunger. she thinks that you may become thirsty. she's gone off to gather some special fruit that is actually made of blood. my father discovered it a few years ago. he kept it hidden so that in case we had visitors who were blood-drinkers that we would have something for them. it was given to us by persephone. a very kind goddess," rose explained.
i nodded as i saw calisto re-enter the clearing with a woven basket full of the fruits. another centaur entered after her with another basket full of different types of fruits. the next centaur entered with a basket of bread. soon after came in yet another centaur. this one was male. he was even taller than calisto.
rose leaned over and whispered,
"that's my father's father. his name is archon. my father should be here any minute now."
i watched as my father-in-law-to-be's father walked into the center of the herd with pride. he didn't look like he tried to look down at the rest of the herd but with how tall he was he kinda had to. when he saw me he walked over to rose and i.
"now who might this be?" archon asked as he looked me over.
"this is my mate, aeryn," rose replied.
"ahh, your patience has been rewarded now hasn't it rose?" archon said as he looked his granddaughter dead in the eye.
"yes sir," rose replied keeping the same solid eye-contact that archon did.
when the tension broke an even taller centaur walked in, kissed calisto on the lips lightly.
"so where is the guest of honor?" he said in a cheerful voice.
"oh zax, why do you act so foalish?" archon scolded.
"oh father this is no time to be scornful. my daughter has finally found a mate and i bet a handsome one too," zax said.
zax was a bay. his human part was built and tall. he had dark hair and well tanned skin. he trotted over to rose and said,
"who might this be? a frined? i thought you said... ohhh. i see... well either way as long as you're happy!"
i looked at him and i couldn't help but smile. rose's father was very cheerful even though his grandchildren may end up drinking blood even though they may look like him.
"my name is aeryn," i said quietly.
"aeryn, welcome to our family," zax said.
archon spoke then.
"would somebody get the boar?" he said in a somewhat commanding voice. you could tell from the way he acted that archon was the leader of this herd. next thing i knew wood was being tossed into a couple of pits while two of the stronger looking males darted into the forest. when they came back they were dragging a dead boar behind them. they had already scewered the things and were working on hoisting them up and over each of firepits. someone lit a fire under one pig and another was keeping the fire going by blowing on the little flame. soon the baskets were being passed around while we watched the pigs roast over the flames. the smell of human food turned my stomach several times before i became used to the stench.
rose had been right about the fruit though. someone handed me a cloth made of deer hide. i looked up to see a colt who looked frightened to high hell and back.
"hi. what's your name?" i asked quietly so as to not to scare him.
"my name is chris," he said.
"thank you chris for this cloth," i said politely.
he nodded quickly and smiled. just then someone started to play a flute and a harp. the combination of the two was beautiful. i wiped my lips and someone kissed them almost immediately after. i sat back on my haunches in surprise for it was getting darker out.
"what's wrong hun? can't see? i thought your instincts are the same?" i heard rose laugh as she watched my face.
"well evidentally my eyes aren't the same as they were before the transformation," i replied as i laughed with her.
"even so they may not work the same but they sure do look the same. i love them," she said as she grabbed my torso and swung me around.
after a while the herd finally started to settle down to sleep. rose lead me to a semi-secluded area closer to the waterfall. i knelt down and made myself comfortable. rose settled down next to me. i rested my head on her shoulder and she put her chin on top of it. she started to hum then. and that's how i fell asleep: hearing my mate humming to me.