Work Text:
The houseboat-warming party has just begun to die down.
Centaurs yawn, strum final notes on their banjos. They hum sleepily as they file out of the boat and stroll on their ways home. It’s time to get to bed… but for two partygoers, there is no home to go to; no priorities that cross their minds.
Splendib the tigertaur and the Mysterious Woman stand awkwardly to the side as the Herd shuts off fairy lights hanging over the deck. Quiet chatter and laughter as tables are folded and wooden doors are gently slammed.
The purple haired woman slightly turns toward the tigertaur. “Have I seen you before?” She questions him.
He’s startled. “Oh. Maybe. I, um, was in the front lines last week? You were there too, I recognize your hair.”
She turns away slowly with a quiet sigh. She fixes her gaze on the rising moon above.
“Sorry.” Splendib feels embarrassed for having brought that up. It had been too devastating to ever be brought up in casual conversation, especially not at an event like this, where centaurs (and humans alike) were working to remember what life was like before losing so much of themselves and their loved ones…
“I guess I should try better to forget about that too. I—”
“You sound just like a cataur, you know, ‘forgetting’ the things that are too wicked for this world to be used to.”
“Wh— I’m a tigertaur! And I do too face my fears,” he sputters. “Who even are you?”
She doesn’t respond. Splendib isn’t used to talking to anyone who doesn’t yap and yap any less than the cataurs he knows. “I’m Splendib,” he tries again. “And you are…?”
“Mmm. It’s been a while, I’m… not sure if I remember.”
“You can’t remember your own name?” Splendib scoffs. It’s silly, but… he definitely believes her, at least to some extent. “Maybe you’re just tired? I mean. You look tired, girl,” he shrugged and scrunched his face at the woman’s weary eyes; her deep, heaving breaths.
“No, that’s not it,” she chuckled and shook her head. “I am tired, though, you’re right about that.”
Splendib softens. It was almost refreshing to finally see the woman smile; she looks like she could be a different person.
𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧
“Why don’t you go home and sleep, then?” He asked, tilting his head slightly.
MW returned her gaze to the sky once again. “I suppose you could say that, well, I haven’t truly a home to go to.” This was partially true— while the Beartaur agreed to let her stay with him in his cave for as long as she needed, she felt that, especially after such a long and emotional journey across two different worlds, it might be polite to let him have a night to himself. He’d done so much for her already, even if their grumpiness rubbed off on one another often.
“Huh. How come?”
“It’s complicated,” she put simply. “And what about you? You must have a home someplace, right?” She nudged him gently and his ears drooped slightly.
“I do, yes, but…” he seemed to struggle to find the right words. “Hopefully not for much longer.”
MW peered at him, slightly surprised and a bit mystified, too. Maybe this centaur wasn’t as estranged from her as she thought. “And why’s that?” She asked.
“Well…”
Splendib peeked over yonder at a zebrataur who was helping Wammawink tidy up the last bits of the party decorations.
He’s loud; boisterous. His laughter echoes in the chilly night air, and the sound of his hooves clop-clop-clopping on the wood deck seem to shake the houseboat ever so slightly.
“Like you said, it’s complicated,” Splendib quickly refixes attention on his new friend’s face, grinning sheepishly.
She understands.
“You’re sure he makes you happy?” She begins to interrogate him.
“Well— we— of course he does!” His face turns red. He didn’t expect her to respond that way. And what would she know about him and Zulius?
“I believe you!” She smiles. “But just remember to take care of yourself at the same time. Don’t lose sight of who you are, and make sure you keep each other safe and communicated with.”
She seems to be more awake now.
Giving relationship advice to a couple she just met must be something she’s passionate about, Splendib thinks to himself.
“Whatever. You wouldn’t understand anyways,” he rolls his eyes, and when he looks back at her again, her expression hasn’t changed from the same warm smile as before... but maybe this time, more... nostalgic?
“Though- I mean, oh my goose. I’d better get going… But I hope we can, like, talk again sometime soon?” He shrugs.
She took a breath in. “Something… tells me we’ll be seeing one another much more often.”
“Okay, ominous… What’s that supposed to— Hello?”
The woman disappears suddenly in a puff of red smoke.
“Where the flonk… Oh, she’s literally over there,” Splendib sighs, watching her dart away into the dark forest.
Well, that was weird.. But… He’s got a lot on his mind now, and maybe for the better.