Oh wow, so this is what it is like being the youngest child with sisters.

Once they dragged me into Sena's family's living quarters, which was pretty much just a room with a window, a dresser and cupboard and a bunch of blankets for sleeping, she pulled out a set of brushes and tools that looked very similar to the ones my sister used to have for her horses. There was even a hoof pick, though we didn't end up using it.

Honestly, I got into it pretty quick. For years my older sister had asked me to brush her hair, so I wasn't a stranger to the task, and I had helped brush her horses at times so I had experience there as well. It was just kind of weird to combine the two.

Mira and Sena found my reactions to being brushed adorable, when I nearly fell asleep from it and kept making little sounds of enjoyment. I'm pretty sure that my general sensitivity in this world was also higher than average since, while Mira and Sena found it highly enjoyable and relaxing, it didn't nearly reduce them to a puddle of melted centaur like it did me.

Eventually they kind of ganged up on me. I think it was that sisterly instinct towards younger siblings. The one to pamper them, not the instinct to harass them instead. I always hated that one.

It was pretty awkward when Mira grabbed my tail and started to brush it, though, and it made me flashback to the extreme awkwardness that was Eris washing me earlier in the week. And the less said about having to brush Sena's and Mira's tails the better.

There are some places hands should not go excepting certain situations.

It got to the point where we were all sufficiently groomed, and I was too relaxed to move. So we started to just talk.

"Nilas?"

"Mmm?" I look up at Sena from my position on the floor with half-lidded eyes.

"What is it like living in the forest?"

"S'nice."

Judging by her expression, she was looking for more than that. Too bad, I was relaxed. She would have to deal with it.

"Come ooooooon." Oh god, the whiny voice. Help me. "Don't be meeean. I just want to know what it is like. We are not allowed to go near it."

I raise an eyebrow at that, propping up my chin on my arms. "Really?" I look between Mira and Sena and they both nod.

"Yes. Our parents say it is too dangerous to go near, and no one in the town goes near it besides the hunters and the workers. The closest we get is the river, and only when we have someone to go with us. Only a few centaurs even live outside of the town."

"So, you have to tell us all about it!"

Wow. That must really suck. The forest isn't even really that dangerous. Hell, I had yet to even smell a predator near our house let alone see one; and we were a ten minute or so walk into it. Not even being allowed to go just inside or near it? I understood wanting to protect children but the forest was not that dangerous! That sounded really stupid-and I sound like Eris.

...Huh. I guess I really am my mother's son.

"I am… not really sure how to start. What do you want to know?"

"Everything!" Sena punctuates her oh so helpful statement with exaggerated arm movements. Thankfully, Mira was there to be the smart one. "What does it smell like?"

I rub my chin as I think. An old habit from my last life when I had facial hair. "It smells… alive. Here in the town, you can smell the dirt, the people, the old wood. But, it smells...dead? Not exactly, but it does not smell as living; as natural. Nothing grows, and there are many scents that seem to clash badly. And there is so much of it so close together. It is very different to what I am used to. I can smell many more centaurs, though, which is nice. It is comforting."

The girls are both watching me with varying expressions of intense interest. It's kind of sad how amazing a forest sounds to them. Maybe later on when I can protect myself, I can take them with me one time…

"The forest, it smells alive. Every tree, every plant has a scent that flows together. It's… beautiful. You can almost feel it, like it is a single living creature. It is… hard to explain. I would like to show you it, sometime."

Sena looks ecstatic at that, like she is about to pounce on me for another hug. Mira on the other hand, looks a little bit hopeful but mostly just worried and apprehensive. "I… do not think that would be possible, Nilas. We would not be allowed to, and there must be a reason our parents say it is so dangerous. Thank you for the thought, though."

I frown, my ears drooping with it. "But… it is not really that dangerous? I have never smelt anything dangerous, mostly just rabbits and birds and such." And what a strange first encounter with one of them that was. Turns out there are birds in this world that have four wings. I remember some of the odd creatures from the story, I wonder how long before I run into one.

Mira still doesn't look convinced, and Sena looks dejected from what she had said. Damn it. How can they be so worried about the forest? Eris dragged a bloody heavy cart behind her without any strain, and Mikhael is built like a brick shit-house. I don't think a wolf or something would be much of a threat to a full grown centaur if they went with them. Then again, there was probably more than wolves in there…

Fine, whatever. Not my problem, really. Time to try and lighten this mood. "Ok, well. Would you like to know anything else?"

-

"You know, you did not really need to come along."

"Of course I did! What would you have done if you had gotten lost?"

"Ask someone for directions? I am sure there are plenty of people who know where it is." Ok, that was a lie. I probably would have been too nervous to ask a random person where the guild was, and would most likely ended up wandering around for a while. Not that I was going to tell Sena that.

The girl in questions huffs and crosses her arms. "Well, I wanted to come so there."

"And you left Mira all by herself." I smirk at her. "I thought she was your best friend."

"She said she wanted to stay behind and sew! You were there!" She does this adorable little stamp, and I can't help but giggle. It was cute watching her get all worked up, and I had a thing for pressing people's buttons.

"You are mean." She is whining and pouting now. "Maybe you should be Aelle's friend, instead. You are both big stupid heads."

"I am sorry, Sena. I am just teasing you." I smile at her. I did genuinely appreciate her coming with me. "I am happy you came with me. I, uh, do not like being around strangers by myself."

She practically glows at that, a massive grin stretched across her face and a light blush. "That is ok. I am older so I have to look after you!" Uhuh. She was really, but that was something I still wasn't used to. And we looked the same age, anyway. "Why do you want to go to the adventurer place anyway?"

"'Cause it sounds interesting. And I want to meet an adventurer."

"Why?"

"'I bet they have interesting stories, and I want to hear them." Should I tell her? Eh, it couldn't hurt. "And… I want to maybe be an adventurer one day."

Sena looks shocked and confused. "Why would you want to be an adventurer? The adults say it is really, really, really, really dangerous. And you are not supposed to do dangerous things."

"Well, do you not want to go inside of the forest one day? Even though adults say it is dangerous?"

"Um, yes? I would like to see it, even if it is dangerous. A little bit, at least. It sounds scary but fun." She seems torn between excitement and apprehension. "I like being scared a little bit sometimes. But only a little bit, and really dangerous sounds like the bad kind of scary, so-"

I cut off her rambling before she can get going any more. "Well, there are lots of places out there like the forest, which are dangerous and scary but fun and amazing to see. There are even amazing places that are not dangerous. And I would like to visit and see them all."

She still seems apprehensive, but not as much as before. I guess the furthest she has ever thought of straying from safety was the forest. The rest of the world may as well be the part of a map labelled 'Here Be Dragons' to her. I suppose I'm asking too much from someone who is just over a month old.

"So, you are going to leave?" Huh? Oh, oh no. She looks almost depressed, like a kicked puppy. "Will you come back?"

I smile at her and give her a small side hug. "Of course I would come back. And I will not even be leaving for a long time, anyway. I have to get older and much bigger and stronger first."

That seems to cheer her up. "Will you tell me about what you see?"

I laugh. The hope and excitement in her voice was heart-warmingly adorable, and her expression topped it off. "Yes Sena, I will tell you all about what I see on my adventures."

"Ok!" She grabs my hand, forcing me to pick up the pace. "Let us go then!"

"Whoa, hey, why so fast all of a sudden?" It takes a few moments for me to correct my stumble and start keeping pace.

"The sooner you talk to an adventurer, the sooner you can get strong and then go find things you can come back and tell me about!"

-

I don't think that even if I had been alone I would have missed the Adventuring Guild building, for the sheer fact that it was the only two-story building I had seen in the village so far.

It was also one of few buildings I had seen that had glass in the windows. Beyond that, it was an otherwise unassuming building. No banners, signs or the like to tell you what it was; just the large wooden board sitting off to the side with papers nailed to it. The infamous quest board.

Sena and I walk closer to get a better look. They seem to just be simple tasks. Gather a number of this, collect a number of that. Who knew fetch quests would actually exist.

Kind of weird, though, since some of these things were stuff Eris grew or could easily acquire. It'd probably be easier to just ask her, not sure why you'd go to the trouble of putting it here and hoping an adventurer felt up to it.

There was also one to hunt down some wolves that had been seen close by on the other side of the river. The person who wrote it made it very clear that if they weren't dealt with immediately, they would descend upon the village in a ravenous swarm and devour everyone.

Ha! Someone was really fucking melodramatic.

This time it's my turn to grab Sena's hand and pull her around. "Let us go see if there is anything around the back. If not, we can check inside. Uh, we are allowed inside, right?"

Sena goes to nod, then stops. "I… think so? I have not been told not to go inside."

"Fuck it, we will go in anyway."

Sena gasps. I turn to look at her in confusion, and catch her look of shock and horror; a hand covering her mouth.

Oh, fuck. I didn't mean to say that, it just slipped out.

"Y-y-you said a bad word. You could get in really big trouble for that."

"Uh, I-it was just an accident. It will not happen again, just please do not tell anyone ok? I am sorry."

Sena nods hesitantly. "Ok. But do not do it again." She shakes her finger at me. I have a feeling she was emulating her mother. "I am older so you have to do as I say."

I nod. "Ok."

Alright, I've got to start thinking before I say stuff. I don't even want to imagine what the reaction would be if I had done that near one of the adults, or god forbid, Eris.

We make our way around the side of the building, my ears picking up various sounds. What sounds like metal clanking against metal, grunting and heavy breathing, shifting feet, and a steady continuous thunk.

Jackpot.

Behind the building there is a large open area of flat-packed dirt that is most certainly a training ground. There are a number of large clearly outlined circles scattered around, a number of wooden posts and vaguely human-looking training dummies, and a series of archery targets and more wooden posts lined up in front of a stone wall that looks far too smooth for something built by hands.

I barely pay attention to this beyond a cursory look as something far more interesting grabs my attention. Namely, the two people currently making use of the grounds.

A fairly tall figure was wielding an almost stupidly big two-handed sword and doing what looked like drills of some sort; the blade flowing through the air in a way that was at odds with its size. Even in the heavy dull-grey plate metal that covered them from head to toe, the person moved almost gracefully as they fought off imaginary foes.

The helmet brought to mind a stereotypical Knight Templar with its bucket shape, and was covered in scratches and scars that marred the surface. The pauldrons were just shy of entering into WoW territory, and each one had some sort of eye-shaped gem placed dead centre in it. Similar gems were placed on the top of the gauntlets and in the centre of the metal plate that was part of one of those leather skirts that you would see in art and movies sometimes.

It was pretty damn intimidating, and judging by the way Sena is trying to hide herself behind me even though she is bigger, I can tell she agrees.

The second person is, while more unassuming, far more interesting to me. I knew I would have to work up the courage to talk to this one for sure.

He was probably of an average height and build and had short blonde hair. That's all I can tell about him since he's faced away from me. He was human, at least, since he had rounded ears. I had been expecting my first bow-wielding adventurer to be an elf, really. I wonder if that stereotype exists here as well?

He's wearing leather armour that covered his chest, back and shoulders, with a chainmail shirt underneath and leather glove-slash-gauntlets. Around his neck was a pile of fabric that might have been a scarf or a hood. He had more leather armour over a pair of brown pants. I think the technical term was greaves or something? I can't remember. Damn, it's time like these I miss the internet.

He has a short blade strapped to his waist, along with a quiver on his back that he was pulling arrows out of at a rapid and steady pace; launching them downrange far faster and accurately than anyone I had seen before.

So these were the effects of Jobs. It was a little unnerving, frankly. It was something that seemed just a little bit off from how things had been on Earth.

Sena and I circle around the man from a distance to get a better view. I notice that he has already put a decent amount of arrows into the distant target and that they were all stupidly close. I can see now that he looks fairly young for a human, maybe in his early twenties, with a slight bit of stubble growing in.

My train of thought is dragged down and brutally beaten and my mind skips a track when I watch the man pull out two arrows at the same time, pull them back, and let them go.

They both speed through the air, hitting dead centre on two separate targets.

...Ok, I call bullshit! What the fuck was that! I just… how...it…

…Holy shit, I need to learn me some of that.

We watch for a little while longer, before the adventurer finally runs out of arrows. With a satisfied grin, he slings his bow over his back and heads towards the arrow-filled targets. I take the chance to start approaching him, feeling that familiar anxious tension welling up in my gut; but I push through it.

When I get close, the man calls out to me without even looking back from where he was pulling out the arrows. Come to think of it, he probably knew we had been here the entire time. "Hey there, kids. What brings you two out here? I thought centaurs were usually wary of strangers."

They were? Information to store for later. Maybe ask Eris about it. I glance back at Sena to see she is keeping some distance from me and the man, and seems uncomfortable. Huh. She sees me looking, and her face hardens with resolve as she slowly walks over.

I don't miss the fact that her side is pressed up against mine and she has a grip on the bottom of my tunic, but I don't say anything; instead I gently take her hand in mine. I give it a gentle squeeze which she returns. She seems less tense, thankfully.

I force myself to stop stalling, fighting past the weight in my stomach. "Uh, this is my first time in town and I wanted to see this place. And meet an adventurer."

Finished retrieving his arrows, he turns to us, arms held out and smiling. "Well, you've found one. And a pretty damn good one if I do say so myself. So, what can I do for you and your little lady friend?"

I wasn't sure if that was a joke about how Sena was clinging to me or not. Best just ignore it.

Time to play the part of the curious, excited child. "I want to know how to be an adventurer; what it is like! And I want to learn how to shoot like you!"

"Is that so? Well, being an adventurer is really dangerous, kid. What's got you so interested?"

"I want to see lots of places. And I want to become strong. Very strong."

"Heh, is that right? And how strong is that?"

"I want to become a Demi-God!"

That silences the adventurer, his smile dropping as he looks unsure of how to react for a second. Finally, he breaks into a grin and laughs loudly. "Well damn, kid. You don't aim low, I'll tell you that. What's your name?"

"My name is Nilas."

The adventurer sticks out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Nilas. I'm Gavin."

I take his hand, giving it a solid shake. "Good strong handshake you've got. That's good, a man should have a decent handshake."

He claps me on the shoulder. "Tell you what, you and your friend can come inside and I'll tell you everything you want to know. How about it?"

I eagerly nod.

We start off towards the doors at the back of the building, Sena still holding onto my hand. Gavin calls out to the armoured figure, who was still practicing. "Hey Stein, don't overdo it again. I don't want to find you unconscious on the ground next time I come back out." He grins and winks at me, showing he was joking.

"This is Sena, by the way."

Sena flinches at that, and I give her a gentle, comforting smile; which relaxes her.

"Nice to meet you, Sena." Gavin gives her a similar smile, which she manages to weakly return. "H-hello."

It was a start, I suppose.