Archive of Our Own

"How the hell did I manage to get lost! I've been through this fucking forest a billion times, yet I still get myself in the middle of nowhere. Augh!"

Hearing the frustrated exclamations, Dirk stopped in his tracks. It sounded like a human, and from the tone of the words, it wasn't very happy. Using the brute precaution he always did, Dirk drew his sword from its sheath, nearing the noise as curses continued to be flung.

Peering through the tall brush, he saw a dark haired male stomping around in fury. As soon as its blue eyes caught Dirk, he sprung, thrashing his weapon. The human was smart enough to dodge the attack, but stupid enough to pair his back with a tree.

With his piercing amber eyes, Dirk stared down the human and questioned, "Who are you and what are you doing here."

The red color of rage the human's cheeks harbored left, only a soft brown remaining. Dirk recognized the human to be nervous, especially from the almost shaky tone of his voice as he stuttered, "I-I'm John. From the Amboyna Village. I, uh. I got lost."

Seeing that Dirk had his blade pointing at John's neck, he supposed that John had a reason to be so anxious. Harsh quality lowering Dirk's voice, he reiterated, "What are you doing here."

With the same continuity as Dirk, John's words came out quivering as he said, "It was my day off. I went t-to go out for a walk and I got lost. I don't have anything on me." As he says that, he raises his hands to show that he's holding nothing, a crooked smile on his face. He has large front teeth.

Deciding that John's not much of a threat, Dirk sticks his sword back into its leather casing. The guy's breathing hard, and Dirk puts some distance between them.

Dirk's second visual assessment finds that John doesn't look like he has too much muscle on him, and there are no visible weapons. The only thing Dirk can think of that the human could use against him were those outlandish chops.

It seemed that the human was regaining its composure, but Dirk wanted to have a little fun. To give him a scare, Dirk crossed his arms and inquired, "How dense are you to be wandering out here at such a late hour? I'm not even sure I should keep you from the wolves."

Dirk can see John's eyes widen and he smirks, his hooves shuffling while his sandy colored tail swishes. In a lighter tone, Dirk says, "You seem like a nice enough kid. It'd be a shame if one of those ugly hounds got their maws on you."

A sigh of relief sounds from John. He thought he was going to be cut in two or shredded to pieces by those creatures. His heart beats like crazy while he sees Dirk lay out on the grass, thinking, Holy shit, what the fuck is that thing. It tried to kill me and now it's going to help me. Run, John, fucking ru- "Do you have anything worth trading?"

Patting at his body, John realizes his nerves got a hold of him. He was now relying on instinct, tendencies that would probably do him no good. John's senses were trained for town life, not forest activity. If he was in his town, he could be eating "Bread. Or cake. But, uh, not on me. Back in the village, my dad runs a bakery. I guess I kind of run it, too, but I'm apprenticed to some other guy training to be-"

Picking at some grass, Dirk interrupts, "Mmm. Cake sounds pretty good." After collecting a few stripes of green, Dirk continues, "By the way, I'm Dirk. A centaur, if you haven't noticed. Thought I'd introduce myself to calm you a bit. You're shaking like a leaf in a storm."

Peering down at his hand, John found that he indeed was shivering quite a bit. Though it was getting nippy out, John's body wasn't trembling because of that.

As another afterthought, Dirk added, "I'm from a settlement over the Iron Mountains, by the way. Left because war decimated the place. It'd probably be fixed up by trees before anyone else tries to repair it."

While Dirk was rambling on, John decided to carry out a formal greeting. Approaching the centaur (that's what Dirk said he was, right?), John tried to bring serenity upon his body while he stuck out his hand, which was rigid and uneven at the same time.

To that, John got a quizzical look from Dirk. The centaur's words mirrored that attitude, Dirk asking, "What are you doing this for?"

Scratching his nose with his free hand, John clarified, "It's a handshake. You do it when you meet someone."

Rolling his eyes, Dirk took John's hand, shaking it firmly while he said, "I know what a handshake is, idiot. Centaurs are missing human feet, not human hands."

Once the two hands split, John had to resist the urge to shake off the pain that Dirk's strong grip caused. Still, some of it must've shown on John's face, Dirk commenting, "See, this is why we don't socialize with humans. Either they get all these bees in their bonnet over us being part horse and try to either enslave us or kill us, or they go on some rant about centaurs being gods. That's only when the human's not weak enough to run off."

The first words to come out of John's mouth that aren't peppered with waves of nerves are in an inquiring tone: "Us?"

With an almost haughty tone, Dirk replied, "Yes, us. The centaurs."

Laughing to keep on Dirk's good side (John didn't really like him so far, but then again, John was the one without a weapon here), John continued with his questions: "There's more of you? I've never seen one."

Reaching to pull out his sword (John would be lying if he said he didn't flinch), Dirk touched the blade with his fine fingers. John saw the bones move in the centaur's freckled hand, observing the pallor. While he caressed his weapon, Dirk spoke, "Of course. I'm not the last of this dying breed, though we're not faring well. We keep hidden, living a long, long way away from here." John couldn't help but detect the wistfulness when Dirk mentioned the distance. There's a bark of laughter, its mock having a sad side to it. "I shouldn't be telling you this. Hell, I should just cut you up now. What's worth keeping another ignorant human around."

John literally jumped at that. Dirk rose and so did John's fists. John wasn't a fighter at all, and luckily his skill wouldn't be tested. Dirk dismissed the idea of murder with "Come on. I'm not going to kill you. You seem okay, so there's no use in hurting you."

After exchanging exchanging looks for a moment or two, Dirk orders, "Now come on. The sun's going to set soon and I still need to check my traps." He turns, tail swishing while John watches the white-speckled palomino centaur in the red tunic and leather cloak head towards a leafier setting. A little note of solace plays in John's head when the sword disappears into its casing once more.

Catching up to him, John gets a look from Dirk, who is obviously at a higher vantage point. From this angle, down is the only direction Dirk can view John.

Eyes moving back to stare straight ahead, Dirk has his hand on the hilt of his sword, and dully inquires, "So what do you do in that town of yours."

John thought about lying to Dirk, but he wasn't that guileful. "Sometimes I bake with my Dad, but I'm not too good at it. Now I'm apprenticed to the village blacksmith." Even though he was a bit of a talker himself, John kept relatively quiet. He'd yet to decide if Dirk was trustworthy.

Hearing another odd chuckle sound from Dirk, John looked over while Dirk agreed with himself: "Heh, a baker. It'd be nice to be the son of a baker." As if on cue, Dirk's stomach rumbled and John realized how skinny Dirk was. Save for the muscle and broad shoulders, Dirk was on the thin side. If he didn't have the body of a horse, Dirk might even be considered lanky.

Spotting an opportunity, John seized it. Moving a bit closer to Dirk, John bargained, "You know, if you keep me from the wolves tonight, I could get you a pie or something." The human had to keep the smile from his face. It wasn't exactly a prank, but the rush still felt the same. Well, maybe it was a trick. It's not like Dirk could come into town and force John to give him the baked good.

The second gurgle of Dirk's gut pretty much sealed the deal, though Dirk confirmed it by saying, "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Set you up with some shelter and tea. Maybe some rabbit jerky. Pretty much all I got, but it's good enough."

Fuck, now John felt bad. Though he was getting a thrill from this, he wasn't going to rob the poor guy. Dad had taught John to be polite, and John wouldn't be this much of a dick. Refusing the last part of the offer, John said, "I'll be fine without the jerky. I already got filled this morning, so I don't need anything else in me today." Shit, that kind of came out wrong. John knew that magical creatures weren't too big on upholding the conduct of heterosexuality, but he wasn't sure about centaurs. Maybe that's why their population was dying.

With the first real open display of emotion, Dirk says, "Dude, you're gonna get me a cake. That's worth, like, ten rabbits. Worth as much as my house, even." There's a slight smile on his face while his hands make big gestures on each stressed word.

Even though that sounds terribly tempting, John still rebuffs Dirk with "I can't take your stuff. You're saving my ass here, so don't hand me yours." With a lopsided smile, John then turns to Dirk and says, "Besides, how do you know I'm not gonna rob you? You could be letting a criminal into your home."

Without turning his head, Dirk punches John on the shoulder and says, "You better fucking not be. If you do, I won't mind risking my safety to personally slay you."

John's only response to that is to laugh his way out of another situation in which Dirk joked with his life.

A minute or so later, Dirk comments something only a tad less violent: "If your stomach growls once, I'm going to shove rabbit down your throat." John can hear the humor in Dirk's voice, but he's still kind of worried.

Chortling once more, John agrees, "Fine, fine. I'll make sure this guy stays quiet." To indicate who "this guy" was, John takes his hand, tapping his own stomach.

To his surprise, John heard a laugh from Dirk.

While the guffaw died down, John's own smile grew, and then Dirk spoke. There were a few chuckles that slipped through, but for the most part, "You're pretty stupid, but you're still funny. Goofy, but funny," was clear.

Though the compliment was a little dual-sided, John accepted it. Chuckling along with Dirk, John gave a quizzical "Thanks?"

Nodding, Dirk's mirth simmered down and so did his pace. John figured he was walking kind of slow, and his efforts to catch up to him were foiled by their combined laughter. Now, the centaur was looking down on him, and the human added another question to the atmosphere.

"What?"

John ended up walking ahead of Dirk before he halted, too.

Again, John said, "What?"

"You walk slow as shit." He extends his hand. "Get on."

Though John didn't give Dirk an answer, Dirk didn't care about the other's opinion on the matter. Snatching the human up, the centaur quickly instructing "Wrap your arms around me and put your legs on either side of me." Then, they were off. Hollering, John secured his arms and legs around Dirk before he could fly away.

After getting over the initial pounding on his inner thighs and, ahem, dick, John was able to yell at Dirk, "What the fuck are you doing!!"

The words were nearly tugged away by the rushing of air, yet Dirk could still hear John. With a smile that was wider than any one John feigned prior to this excessive galloping, Dirk shouted back, "Getting us home before the sun sets!"

The wind whipped their clothing around, Dirk's jumping against his body while only minor wrinkles appeared in the exposed fabric of John's shirt. Their hair was similarly meddled with, Dirk's hair fluttering about while John's wild black mess went senile with freedom. John's face was torn in a look of terror and mild pain, while Dirk's was split in half by a wicked smile. It felt good to ride with someone again.

In due time, John's throat had be blown dry by the wind and his superfluous complaints. With similar looks to when they started, the centaur and the human came to a stop, a rabbit hanging in front of them.

Heaving heavy breaths, John's stomach kept inflating and deflating even when Dirk pushed him off. Of course, there was a curse from John, but that didn't deter Dirk.

Approaching the struggling rabbit, Dirk took his blade, and slit the animal's throat. Its coat wasn't too thick, so the centaur wouldn't have much use of it. Maybe he'd give it to John as a gift. And then he thought that maybe he'd quit it with the idiotic monologuing. The human was petulant and didn't conform to Dirk's obviously superior ideas, and was nothing but trouble so far. John didn't deserve any gift, even if the sticky boy was attractive. Slightly.

Aurgh.

With those inklings of John's supposed attractiveness, Dirk went about his regular process. Getting the carcass, making sure it didn't bleed too much, resetting the trap, stuffing it in a bag.

While Dirk was going about that, John was letting his lungs regain their composure. This time, his outsides matched his innards, sending him shaking on the ground. Well, maybe he was overreacting, but he was still out of breath. His first ride on a horse - or a centaur, whatever - had gone abominably.

By the time Dirk had finished, John had gone back to a normal breathing pattern, though he still lay on the ground where the centaur dumped him.

Looking at this pitiful display, Dirk looked down upon John, bagged rabbit slung over his shoulder. With only a stern "Get up," Dirk then switched his gaze to the sun. It was going down, and they probably had less than half an hour left.

Back to John, Dirk said, "Thanks to you, I can't get to my other trap." Still entranced by John's "looks," Dirk wasn't too mad. His anger would be fueled by the fact that John was a human, that he lost Dirk his meals. Though Dirk wasn't as enraged as he should be.

Sitting up and holding his belly, John complained, "Well I didn't ask you to throw me off your back like that!"

With his eyes getting heavier by the weight of loathing, Dirk teased, "What, do you want me to leave you for the wolves? After all this way we've come, it seems like it would be a waste. Me, putting up with your putrid screaming because you've never ridden on a centaur, or even a horse. You, ungrateful and panting because you got the wind knocked out of you. You'd be such an easy meal that the wolves could dance around you and you still couldn't outrun them."

Even though he was offended by this, John saw his position and gave up the act of trying to get Dirk to see his side in this. Rather quiet (he was hush this whole time, still not trusting Dirk), John said, "Fine. What do you want me to do."

Partially surprised by John's agreeability, it took Dirk a moment to formulate, "We'll go to my home and warm up. My bed'll be big enough for the both of us."

At that, John couldn't help but have a little blush rise to his face. The coloring was at all of what Dirk said. A bed, and warming up. John knew that it would be improbable for a man - centaur - living on his own to have two beds, and he knew that warming up meant building a fire. Still, it took a toll on John's words, he stuttering out, "O-Okay."

Dirk didn't get the reason for the botching of such a simple word, but then it hit him. Of course, sharing a bed. Humans had practically outlawed any case of homosexuality, it being a sin to their beliefs. What idiots.

With a sigh, Dirk stuck out his hand for John to get on his back again, and he promised, "I won't go fast now."

Since he didn't properly mount Dirk the last time, John didn't have much of a clue what to do now. Even so, Dirk had enough strength for the both of them to hoist John up, and the black haired boy wrapped his arms around the warm torso.

Like he swore, Dirk didn't speed, hooves clopping on the cooling ground leisurely. Though they were close to his home, Dirk kept his hand on his sword, ready for any attackers who might leap. While the caution was a just one, no predators came and the two objects of prey arrived at Dirk's home.

Almost falling off Dirk's back once more, John smiled in gratitude when Dirk caught his arm. Lowering him to the ground, John uttered a "Thanks," and inspected the structure.

From the outside, it didn't look like much. Built into the side of a boulder (Was it possibly the beginning of a mountain?), the wood that stood next to another similar post rose high, only a tad taller than Dirk's height. At the top was a thatched roof, though it didn't stretch very far. It was probably only there for extra protection from anything the sky might throw at the centaur, as the half-logs were positioned up against the rock.

Walking inside, John found that the wood had been cut in half, some substance he couldn't name filling the cracks. There was only one place that the paste didn't cover, a hole that he presumed smoke would leak out of. The smoke was produced by a small fire that hardly had any glowing embers left, all of the wood charred into coal.

Despite the fire's perished form, there was a stack of wood which Dirk was heading to. After placing his bag of kill on the ground along with his weapon, Dirk started to rebuild the flame.

Within minutes, the flame was reborn, John sitting on Dirk's bed (there obviously weren't any chairs) while the centaur floated around his home. What occupied John's mind was what Dirk used to light the fire. Instead of fumbling with flint and knife, Dirk had some metal contraption that sparked and lit the hay and kindling.

John watched Dirk get some water from a trough, two mugs of it. Still, the thought of that magic object took up John's mind. Finally, after Dirk had placed the mugs by the fire with some leaves in them, the centaur turned to John.

Looking away, it took John a moment to gather the courage to ask Dirk "What was that magic thing you used to spark the fire?"

In a mocking tone, Dirk points to his "magic thing" and questions, "What, that?"

With earnest voice, John looks at Dirk with confidence, giving a curt nod as he answers, "Yes."

Keeping his smile from his face, Dirk couldn't keep himself from letting a bit of condescension drip into his voice when he replied, "It's a fire starter, and it's not magic. When the metal rubs against the rough surface, it creates a spark. That fire fleck jumps onto the flammable starter and then you've got yourself a flame."

John heard the bit of amusement in Dirk's voice and pulled a little bit of a sour face. The way the other said that made John think that he thought he was stupid. He wasn't stupid! He was just sheltered. And maybe kind of believed in magic because there was a centaur standing right in front of him.

Though he was a little frilled about the way Dirk explained that too him, John inquired further: "Where did you get it?"

Turning back around and bending to get their drinks, Dirk plainly said, "I made it."

Now, that was the part that was uncanny to John. He'd only ever met inventors who'd done it by accident, so the fact that Dirk made this in circumstance, not incident, was the noteworthy aspect of the situation. Well, John didn't necessarily know that. So, to investigate further, John questioned, "By accident?"

While Dirk got the mugs of tea, he responded, "On purpose."

Damn.

Mulling that over, John accepted the drink taking a sip. It wasn't boiling, but it was warm enough to get help him heat up.

Dirk, meanwhile, had taken a sip and set it down, then going to the bag where his kill resided. Plucking it from the ground, Dirk draws out the rabbit.

Moving to get a smaller blade, Dirk goes to the stand by his bed (which is more of a hay and feather stuffed sack than a mattress), plucking out a dudgeon as he asks John, "You think your dad's gonna worry about you?"

Hardly having thought of his father with this whole discovery of a centaur and this supposedly magic but not really magic tool and his first horseback riding event, his dad didn't really cross his mind. Still, John wasn't too worried. After swallowing some tea, John said, "Nah. He's actually kind of smothering, but at the same time he wants me to become a man or something. One night won't hurt him or me."

Partially envious of John, Dirk couldn't but let out a "I miss the guy who raised me. Fantastic centaur," before he could stop himself. "Never mind," shortly followed.

Kind of intrigued that Dirk only had one guardian, too, John said, "No, no, that's fine. I only have one dad, so it's fine if you do, too." Despite the fact that John still wasn't too keen on Dirk, he wanted to hear what he had to say.

Before thinking, Dirk said, "He wasn't my dad. Just a guardian. You should be thankful that you still have yours."

Once again, John took inward offense. Outwardly, John apologized with a mumbled "Sorry."

Seriously, Dirk was messing up. He was totally off his game, what with not talking to anyone or anything but himself for the past few months. Trying to amend this, Dirk said, "Shit, don't be sorry. Here I am half a horse, yet I'm making an ass out of myself."

For that little play on words, Dirk got a chuckle from John. The smile that tugged at Dirk's lips was kept down. Though it would've helped Dirk to prove to John that he wasn't only a ball of threats and anger, his face remained blank as he went back to start harvesting the pelt from the rabbit.

As he went, Dirk said, "I miss him, that's all. Unlike you humans, we pick a sibling who train us in the ways of life. He did me good, even though I'm running away right now."

Since he felt that Dirk was going to keep talking and talking and talking (John found that Dirk liked to do a lot of that), the human asked, "Why do you have to run?"

Letting out a sigh, Dirk started to work from where he had cut the rabbit's neck, replying, "It's a long story that I'd rather not tell. Everything's messed up and it's not gonna go right, but what else is new."

Feeling kind of bad with Dirk's pessimistic view (not that John was forever the optimist), John asked, "Did your brother tell you that? If he did, he's wrong. It can always get better."

Not turning around so John wouldn't see his reddening face, Dirk defended, "Don't talk about my brother. He's gone and he doesn't deserve you talking about him that way."

A silence expanded between them until Dirk decided to push it back with, "…I learned that myself. Nothing's very good right now, and some things have to end badly." He pauses there, then adding "That's how other stuff has the chance to end well."

Once again thinking that over, John later decides to speak. When he does, he says, "Well, stuff in my town hasn't been very good, either. All those that would defend us are dragged to die somewhere else, and we're left defenseless. I'm only happy because I'm apprenticed to a blacksmith, and people these days always need weapons."

Steering the topic away from the melancholy of reality, Dirk says, "Oh, so you're doing that. Maybe instead of a cake you could hook me up with a new blade. Mine's getting kind of rusty." This is said while Dirk turns around, showing John his joking smile while his slightly bloody hands continue to cure the rabbit.

Rolling his eyes at the fact that Dirk thought he was actually skilled in the field, John says, "I doubt I could get you one of those, even if you are kidding. I'd probably slice my own hand off before I got it to you."

Giving a little chuckle, Dirk continues down the carcass with his knife and inquiries with a smirk, "Well, what can you make?"

Releasing a chortle, John says, "I don't know. Maybe a doorstop."

Moving closer to John, Dirk hikes up his shirt to reveal a dazzlingly red gem. The ruby was held in a dull silver ring, speared through Dirk's naval skin. While this whole display was slowly going down in John's mind, Dirk narrated, "My brother was a bit of a craftsman himself. This is something a little more delicate than what he usually made, so it took him a while to put together."

With all the time he's had to himself, Dirk thought about all of his past. There was a great chance that his brother was enamored with Dirk, the blonde centaur being rather good looking himself. Even so, Dirk and his brother never had any chance to act on the feelings that might have been, the older going off to battle and eventually die in war.

Right now, though, John was a little taken with Dirk. Not exactly smitten, but still a little doting. Concentrating more on the gradient of skin to fur, John kept staring until Dirk snapped him out of it with, "It's nice, right?"

Nodding, John said, "Yeah, yeah. A real piece of art." He almost wanted to reach out and touch it, see how warm the metal, the gem, Dirk was. That skin looked so soft and so coarse at the same time, just wanting to be -

Fuck. Dirk's shirt was back down again.

Turning away and swishing his wheat-colored tail, Dirk went back to fiddling with his meat, telling John, "Yeah. That's why I have to keep this thing covered. Well, it is winter, but I don't want anyone trying to disembowel me for a gem." As a little afterthought, he adds, "I considered pawning it myself. Thought about it a little more, and then I figured it was priceless."

Once again, the centaur turned to face John, who was looking up with his mouth sipping at his heated beverage. Working on the tricky feet of the mammal, Dirk asked, "You got anything on you?"

Taking a moment to process the question, John figured that Dirk was talking about body modifications, not a weapon. They already established that. With a shake of his head, John said, "No."

Finally getting that one stubborn toe off, Dirk says, "I've got two more. One's from a some absolutely idiotic bunch of humans, and the other is from a more desirable experience."

Though he was more interested in hearing about the humans, John politely questioned, "What's the other one?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Dirk replies, "Kinda hard for you to get to when I'm standing up, but I'll show you later." Remembering that, duh, he should probably tell John what it is, Dirk says, "It's an inking of a seagull from my Turning Ceremony. I got it for my ability to adapt."

Laughing and spilling a bit of his drink, John giggles, "Well why did you get a seagull? I don't see many gulls here!"

Even though Dirk got that it was a stupid joke, he scolded, "It's a bird that lives by the sea, you twit. It can go other places, but the ocean's the best."

Once again taking his time to think, John comes up with, "You've been to the sea?"

Finishing that foot, Dirk answers enthusiastically with "Of course! It's only a three day trip to get there and the same to come back. The food's plenty plentiful and the water's salty enough that I don't sink easily."

Salty water didn't sound too nice to John, but the idea of having food did. Laying back and closing his eyes as if he could dream the ocean to the two of them, John murmurs, "That sounds wonderful."

Focused on his meal, Dirk doesn't see John in his dreamy state, only says back, "Yeah. The ocean goes on forever. Well, as far as you can see. No one's ever gone to the other side, so no one knows if there's anything out there."

Still in his foggy minded haze, John says, "I've heard the world's flat. You'd probably fall off if you went too far."

Successfully getting one toe shed of its skin, Dirk goes to work on the next ones, saying, "Nah. That's a myth. The Earth is round."

With a happy smile on his face, John says, "Then the ocean really does go on forever."

The human only got to bask in that pleasant thought for a while, that while ending when Dirk said, "That's a myth, too. You'd end up bumping into the same land mass if you tried to sail all the way back around again. Still, someone's gotta find out."

Upon hearing Dirk burst that bubble, another one was blown with his last sentence. With his grin back once more, John said, "Maybe I could do that."

With a smile starting to blossom upon his own face, Dirk says, "You'd be insanely famous. All you would need is a huge ship and a ton of supplies."

Laughing, John comments, "I'd need to know how to sail one first!"

Harboring a chuckle of his own, Dirk says, "Yeah. Good point."

Relaxing himself a bit more, John puts one hand up in grandiose motion, the other securing his mug while he energetically says, "Hell, I've never even been to the sea! It's only spring after spring out here."

Seeing his opportunity, Dirk finishes toeing the rabbit and strikes with "You could come with me if I get some supplies together. Travel is more safe in groups, even if you are a bit of a beanpole."

After that, John's laughter stops. While the escape sounded sweet, John couldn't just abandon his place in the village. He had his dad, his job, and maybe even an upcoming wife. He was approaching the age, ripe at sixteen.

His whole daydream was interrupted, and John had to give the unsure answer of "…I don't know."

Fuck, Dirk knew he shouldn't have said that. He just met John - threatened him at that. Dirk already had one outburst. How did he think he could survive more than a week with the other? Months of no contact with anything or anyone he could possibly talk to, and he invites someone he hardly knows on a long outing.

Making his excuse again, John's laying body tensed and released while he partially fibbed, "It's just. I've got a lot of stuff back in Amboyna."

Fighting to convince John, the centaur puts in "I'd give you right back to your dad. Safe and sound after a week of relaxation, then back to doing whatever you do at home."

With one last push in his selfish direction, John pauses, then saying, "I think I'd miss my dad, too."

Stomach and heart falling together, Dirk walked with the two organs in his hooves, approaching the fire. Getting the metal he roasted his meals on, Dirk told John that "That's fine. If you can't go, you can't. I was merely suggesting."

Once again, hush started to span between the two, suffocating both of them while they both choked down their feelings. Trying to push this elephant gas away, John reminisced on memories he had yet to make, saying "It would be nice to get away, though. I've been in my town forever, and so has everyone else. Not a single sane person leaves unless it's for war, and they have to be a tad crazy then."

Finding a new place to persuade John, Dirk went to it, interjecting, "That's why you've got to go to the sea. The more things you see, the more educated you come." Once again, Dirk tacks on something, saying "Life's all about experiences."

Trying not to pay attention to the sea part, John comments, "You've got a really different view about life than a lot of people I've met."

While he continued to spear the the rabbit's limbs with the metal spears, Dirk says, "I've seen a lot of shit."

After downing a bit more of his tea, John questioned Dirk, "What kind of shit?"

Continuing to skewer the meat, Dirk looked up at John with a little bit of a forlorn look in his eyes, he answered, "A lot of shit. War, good men and women dying, and…and some good stuff." There, he stopped. Dirk didn't want to give away the memories that were dear to him. It was okay to let someone in on the bad stuff that's over with. The good stuff continues, and can be used against you.

Since he finished talking about himself for now, Dirk questioned, "Would you ever go to war?"

Thinking it over for a moment, John then replied, "Nah. Unless it was for someone I loved, I wouldn't do it."

Seeing his opening, he stated "So you're not in love with anyone."

Even though the inquiry was kind of out there, John shakes his head, saying "Not really. I mean, I love my dad, but that's more of a father son thing. Or, uh, guardian guarded thing. Brotherly, I mean." Pausing to laugh at his own stumbling of words, John continues, "So yeah. No special lady out there for me right now."

Of course. Lady. It was surely going to be a lady, what did Dirk expect? It's not like some hot village boy was going to poof into the forest and be willing to take a horse dick up his ass.

While John looks around, tea swishing in his mouth, Dirk agrees with "I can see that. It's more of an honor to serve among the centaurs, but I suppose human cowardice would inhibit that."

Eyebrows shooting up in disbelief, John's entire body moves forward, strongly saying, "We're not cowards! I mean, sometimes we run, but we're not cowards."

With the rabbit all hooked up to the metal, Dirk goes to place it over the fire, chuckling a bit as he does so. Smirk on his face, the centaur says, "Yeah, and that's why you have next to nothing in terms of muscle."

Not really seeing the sense in saying that, one of John's eyebrows drops, leaving the other quirked in disbelief. As he speaks, his hands move with his words, they being "What does muscle have to do with bravery? I'm sure there's very little connection between strength of the body and strength of the soul."

Now that he had the rabbit roasting, Dirk was back up, moving over to John. His height was useful in intimidating the human, but John still stood his ground, his uncanny body language active while Dirk said, "Well, there's a large connection between the two. See," At this point, Dirk held his arm up, flexing his bicep as he continued "I've taken on wolves with these things. Sure, had a sword and I got scratched up a bit, but," Dropping his arm, Dirk says, "I made it out alive, blood behind me." Now, the centaur switches his gaze from his own body to John's, eyes flicking up and down it, dubious. "Have you ever done such a thing?"

Though this was his home for the night, John was still going to stand up to Dirk. Legs stretching out to bring John to his full height, the shorter did his best to look Dirk in the eyes while he said, "No, but I know I could."

A breath of laughter came out of Dirk's nose, a smirk to follow it. Again with his condescension, Dirk instructed, "Make a muscle."

Flinging up his arms with ferventness, John exclaims, "It has nothing to do with bravery, or cowardice!"

Catching John's arms, Dirk holds the other by the wrist, now demanding, "Make a muscle."

Face turning red, John's breath sped up as his eyes darted between Dirk's challenging expression and his arms. They flicked up once to see Dirk's strong grip on his wrists and the human decided to comply.

Making a bit of a face as he did, John flexed his arms, and not much changed. Why couldn't he have started at the blacksmith's sooner?

Smiling in victory, Dirk releases John's arms and John releases a defeated breath. The two limp things flop at John's side, and Dirk bends down to get his tea, then turning around to get to the rabbit. All the while, Dirk's tail is swishing, satisfied with his win.

Plopping back down on the bed, John takes a large swig of his tea. The mug was almost empty, and so was John. He was hungry, but he wouldn't ask.

During the grieving of John's stomach, Dirk was rotating his rabbit. He had settled by the fire, laying down while he kept turning his kill.

Instead of voicing his complaints of his hunger, the ones about Dirk come out. It's a simple "You're kind of an asshole," but it's still something.

Still turning the small animal over the fire, Dirk defends, "I was just pointing something out for you. If you went through your whole life getting that wrong, you'd make a fool of yourself."

Defiant, John responds, "I'd rather be a fool than be a dick like you."

Chuckling, Dirk comments, "You know, you're just proving that hot people can be stupid right now."

With that, John's argument is pretty much blown out of him. Dirk…thought he was hot? But Dirk was a guy. He couldn't, like, be with him. There couldn't be two guys in a couple. Two guys shouldn't even like each other! Well, Dirk didn't necessarily like him, but John was taken aback.

After a bit of processing, John asks, "You…think I'm hot?" SInce Dirk didn't answer straight away, John went on, his eyes scanning the ground, hands moving as he reasoned, "Well, you can't like me. You're a guy! A centaur! One who…who I just met." Stressed, John puts his head in his hand, thinking of all of the cons of this situation.

Now that John was mostly mumbling to himself, Dirk interrupted, "I was kidding. Flirting for the hell of it."

Bewildered, John repeated, "You were…kidding. Flirting, but kidding." His head was out of his hands, and John was looking back at Dirk. With a more joking tone in his voice, John said, "You really are an asshole."

Detecting the humor, Dirk replied, "Yeah, the asshole who's keeping you for the night." Of course, Dirk meant keeping as in letting John stay over. Still, there was a bit of possessiveness in there. Maybe he wasn't fully falsely flirting.

Seeing as he had the rabbit close to the fire, Dirk was able to withdraw the meat earlier than usual. Taking the metal the rabbit was strung on, Dirk got up, walking back to John.

Motioning to John with his meal, the cooked meat pointed to the lower left corner of Dirk's bed. Rolling his eyes and moving over, Dirk then took John's place.

Taking an almost barbaric swig of his drink that he snagged as he laid down, Dirk then took a large bite of the meat. After a long day of eating only jerky and plants, a warm meal was very welcomed.

Upon seeing this sight, John's stomach gurgled. Peeking up from his feast, Dirk looked up at John with a rabbit-full mouth. Since it was meat filled, Dirk got out "Oo wan fhum?"

Despite how muddled the words were, John nodded, and Dirk swallowed. The eager shake of his head made Dirk act more quickly, ripping off a foot for John. The thigh came along with it, and John was glad to have something.

He didn't know whether to scarf it or savor it, so he did the latter. Even though it was kind of embarrassing, John made a few pleasured noises. God, having meat was a blessing. All of that bread made the rabbit taste like gold.

Letting out another chuckle, Dirk licked at his fingers, then asking John, "You really like this, don't you?" It was said in a tone that one would speak to a pet, and Dirk had always wanted one of those. Maybe a bird of some sort since they were pretty smart. He could use it for hunting, too, but then there was John. Who was a human. And humans can't be kept as pets.

Ecstatically nodding, John decided to just close his eyes and eat. God, he was in a world of fatty, savory flavor. A black world where only taste mattered, and taste was the law. With regulations like these, John would never try to defy them if it kept providing.

Smiling now that John couldn't see it, Dirk focused more on the human than anything else. That was his world right now. There was no black, save for the cracks of the house, and John's dark hair. Those were the only exceptions. Everything else was washed in the glowing light of the fire, curving over John's form to show his gentle skin. The childish roundness to his nose, the youth of his red cheeks. The vibrant blue of his eyes - that are staring right at Dirk. Boring into the black of his irises, encapsulating too many emotions that he didn't want to understand. Panicking, Dirk dove for his tea, knocking it over.

Staring at the stain, Dirk sighed. Picking up his mug, Dirk puts it on a steady surface while he says, "It'll dry when we're asleep." Again with the quick adding of another thought, Dirk says, "I'll sleep there."

Oh. The sleeping thing. John hadn't given too much thought to that. It didn't matter before, though. John and Dirk would've slept side by side, and John would be fine with that. Now, the two had to sleep side by side and one knew that the other was pseudo-flirted with him.

Despite his inner freaking out, John played it off with, "Oh, so you've decided to be less of an asshole."

After swallowing a bite of the warm meat, Dirk raised his eyebrows, countering, "Yeah, because I was totally this giant asshole to begin with. People are running from this asshole. It'll gobble them down and they'll be forced to go through the process of reverse digestion. My assholeness is monumental. There is no escape."

Since Dirk said this with a pretty much straight face, save for the brows, John couldn't help but laughing. The stupidity of that should've made the centaur crack up, but since it was a practiced skill, Dirk was able to keep strong…for a little bit.

In less than ten seconds, Dirk was laughing with John, and it was a sound that he hadn't heard in a while. All of the other laughs were nothing but breaths or low rumbles, though this one was nice and hearty.

John even had to open his eyes to see this. They had closed from his sounding mirth, but now they were peering at Dirk. The blonde had his own eyes shut, meal in his hand bobbing with his upper body. The dead and living shook due to one's glee, and John's own jubilance had died down, watching Dirk.

By the time he finished, Dirk had to wipe a tear from his eye. He noticed John staring at him a while ago, but didn't mind it. Instead, he commented, "That was pretty stupid, wasn't it."

Nodding, John kind of snapped out of it. Since Dirk was looking at him, John looked away and again that silence was back. It stayed quiet for a while until Dirk finished his rabbit, licking his fingers. John had emptied his mug of tea, and could only look around while that time ticked by. Inspecting the walls weren't much aid to his boredom, and there was no way that he could sneak any glances at Dirk. Despite being distracted by a mostly full stomach, Dirk was still alert, and John knew that. There was no way he would be able to spy on him in secret.

Though that battling between John's eyes and himself went on for a while, the walls sated him until Dirk had laved his fingers to clean off the grease. Wiping his hand on his shirt, Dirk let out a contented sigh, it then followed by, "Man, that was really good. Probably the best part of the day."

Not quite knowing what it was like to go most of the day with meager nourishment, John only nodded, offering an empty "Yeah."

The silence had been pushed away for a moment, but then it was back. Alas, Dirk was there to protect John once more, the centaur scooting close to the human.

Picking up John's foot, Dirk held it by the heel, thus getting the human flat on his back. John exclaimed a "Hey, what are you doing!" and Dirk only laughed.

Taking off John's flimsy shoe, Dirk looked at the skin, how it was darkened around the ball, outer end and heel. He seemed almost afraid to handle it, fingers ghosting over the different textures of skin.

John, of course, was crying out in gaiety, belly taking in deep breaths to not get so lost in his jubilance.

At first, Dirk didn't connect the two things. In a few seconds, he realized that the foot was a ticklish spot for humans. Especially the areas that took on a lighter color of skin. Upon finding that, Dirk abandoned all ideas of treating the foot like it was a fragile part of the body.

His fingers danced their way up and down the softer part of John's foot, and John could only giggle, trying to squeeze out warnings to the centaur. Instead, pitiful signals of John's jolly suffering came out as a disfigured, "D-Dirk, stop - it!" And a "I'm going to d- - die from you tickling me!"

Eventually, Dirk did cease his fingers' jig, looking at John with a bright smile on his face. Kind of breathy himself, Dirk said, "You humans are sensitive there, aren't you."

Yanking his foot from Dirk, John put his shoe back on. A little haughtily, John said, "Yes, we are. And, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tickle me." After a second of pausing, John said, "I could kick you pretty hard if you drove me to it."

Smirking, Dirk doubted that. His dubious view of John's abilities leaked when he sarcastically commented, "Yeah, and my hooves could hardly put a dent in your skull." When John didn't have a comeback, Dirk's lips grew wider, and he said, "Maybe you can cast a nymph's spell on me. Your giggling certainly classifies you as one."

A bit taken back, John squeaked, "I am not a nymph! Perfectly human."

Chuckling a bit, Dirk said, "Yeah, I kind of forgot your humanity because of you being rather nice."

At that, John's offense stopped. Disbelief riddled on his face, John sheepishly asked, "You think…You think I'm nice?"

As if it was nothing to him, Dirk's body stayed lax, saying, "Yeah. You're just as much of an asshole as me, but you're still nice. Better than most humans I've encountered."

John offers a little chortle, and not much more. Dirk keeps the conversation going. Now with his own uncanny expression the centaur questions, "What, has nobody ever told you you're nice?"

Looking down into his empty mug, John shrugs. He gives his explanation, still looking down: "Nobody in my town really makes friends. I suppose we're generally good to each other, not ratting anyone out or anything, but people stay by their families."

"What about marriage?"

That causes John to look up. He's staring at Dirk while the centaur continues "You have to have a spouse. Someone you can have a family with, even if it's small." Shaking his head and looking south once more, John mumbles, "I don't know."

Even though he's a bit agitated with John, Dirk's voice is perfectly placid as he says, "If you want to marry someone you love, then you need to get out and find them."

Disliking how Dirk, a person - centaur, whatever - he just met was giving him advice, there was a little bit of bite in his voice as he said, "It's not that easy."

Though Dirk detected that disgruntled edge, he still pushed, "Go to a different town for a day and find someone you like."

More fuming than before, John put more emotion than just distaste in his words. There were accents of anger at himself and Dirk as he said, "It's fine in our town! My dad has a good job, and I'm going into a career that'll ensure that I'm not dead on the streets the next day. If I have to marry a girl, I'll make sure that she doesn't mind if I go off and fuck whoever I want because I'm too goddamn young to marry."

Despite not being around any speaking beings for a while, Dirk knew that John wasn't only mad at him. Maybe if he goaded him enough, John would give in to coming with him to the beach. With a smirk in his voice but not his face, Dirk said, "That'd make Daddy real happy."

Disgruntled, John said, "He wouldn't know about it. I don't know about it now! It's the future. I don't know." As he went through his turn of speech, it started out with a spark and fizzled away into an unsure ash.

There was a bit of silence as John's shoulders slumped, Dirk observing him. Kindling a tender fire, Dirk offered, "You know, there's more options than getting married and living the same humdrum life that everyone else goes about."

Shaking his head left to right, John says, "Right now, I'm choosing the option to sleep next to a centaur and put it off for another night."

A weak smile was worn by Dirk, and he nodded while John laid down. Dirk got up, going towards the fire. It wasn't simmered out, but it wasn't the height Dirk wanted. After loading up some logs in his arms, he dumped it by the rocks that surrounded the fire. The unheated part of the metal that Dirk roasted the rabbit on was sticking out of the flames, and Dirk removed it. By now, the fat had fizzled off from the heat, and it rested in the dirt.

While that cooled, Dirk filled up the rock circle with wood and flecks crackled in the air. Once he stoked it, Dirk get up, stretching. He cleared their dishes, putting them near the trough. Off the wall, he picked a skin which would serve as a blanket for the night.

Walking to John, Dirk lay the pelt over John. His eyes were shut, and Dirk found that it wouldn't be big enough for both of them. Thanks to his acquired affection, Dirk didn't think he would mind.

Stepping around John, Dirk settled on the makeshift bed, next to the human. As he settled down, Dirk couldn't but help let his eyes roam over John. For a human, he was rather pretty. The only kind of the meaty, hardly athletic species he'd been forced to sample weren't very choice. Of course, John did have some flaws, but Dirk could let those go. The path of freckles across John's nose and cheeks, the curled, inky hair, and those blue eyes made up for it. Wait, blue eyes?

John's staring right at Dirk, probably observing how some creature John must've thought was fake a while ago was now letting his eyes drink in the fine nectar that is humanity.

Though Dirk expected John to say something in a negative manner, he only said, "Goodnight, Dirk," and shut his eyes.

Meanwhile, Dirk's eyes stayed open. He should've learned by now that ogling a human boy who he only met today wasn't really a good idea, yet, he continued to do it. Sleep didn't come easy to Dirk, and having a distraction from his usual nightly plagues lulled him into a state of rest.

Ironically, his little distraction woke Dirk later on in the night, a sleepy murmur of complaints and shivers tugging the centaur's lids open. John, despite the pelt covering him, was being chilled by the night air that the ailing fire failed to keep out.

Stretching, Dirk rose and clopped over to the fire, leaning down to nurse it back to its regular health. Illuminating his settlement in its resilient flame, Dirk knew it would build itself up once more with the nourishing wood as its supplier.

Yet, once the centaur settled beside the human once more, the warmth of the rekindling combustion had yet to reach their - no, Dirk's - bed. Still, John was shivering. The accidental contact with Dirk's heat caused John to shuffle closer.

Cheeks now covered with a brush of red, Dirk added more heat to their dozing pile.