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One of the things Regect knew about his centaur companion was that the man hated having anything on his back. Especially another person, aside from Moe.
Regect had learned this early on in knowing Ze, as he had tried jumping onto the centaur’s back to annoy him. It took Regect being thrown a good few feet off of the centaur’s back and a swift kick to his chest to learn to never do such a thing again. Ever since then, Regect had not tried jumping onto his back again and just assumed Ze would rather die than let Regect use him to get around.
Regect would learn later on that this assumption was wrong.
In the beginning, when Moe had joined them, Ze had been hesitant about letting her ride on his back, coming up with excuse after excuse. Regect knew that Ze had a soft spot for the clown, so when the man eventually gave in and let her ride on his back, Regect didn’t think too much of it. The entity thought that the hesitation was a little strange, seeing as Ze usually gave in right away to whatever Moe wanted. Other than that, Regect assumed maybe Ze just didn’t like having anyone on his back at all.
Regect’s theory was proven right during a night when the mobs ran rampant. They had gone out for food, seeing as they needed something for dinner. The sun had already started to set, with mobs spawning every once in a while. Regect had been so busy trying to kill the pig he had seen with Ze that he hadn’t noticed the zombie behind them. It wasn’t until he saw, from the corner of his eye, a green hand reach for the centaur’s side, that he realized too late.
Ze flinched as the zombie climbed up his side and onto his back, seemingly too shocked to move for a moment. It wasn’t until the zombie gave Ze a harsh kick to the side, trying to get him to move forward, that Ze focused. Regect saw the panic on Ze’s face as the centaur bucked and reared up, trying to get the mob off of his back. Regect wanted to help, but he wasn’t sure how to approach the bucking centaur. Luckily, he didn’t need to do much, as Ze’s bucking eventually forced the zombie off of his back and back onto the ground. The same way that Ze had forced Regect off of his back so very long ago.
Except, instead of Ze kicking the zombie lightly in the chest as he had to Regect, Ze reared up and stomped right on the zombie’s chest, killing it near instantly. Regect watched in numbed shock as Ze stood over the zombie, chest heaving with too quick breaths. A need to comfort arose in Regect’s chest, making him slowly take steps towards the anxious centaur. He rose a clawed hand slowly, letting Ze watch his every move, and lightly placed it on Ze’s side. He softly pet at the fur there, trying to calm Ze.
The petting worked, and after a few moments, Ze’s breathing had returned to normal. The centaur had then quickly moved away from Regect’s hand, making some comment about how he was just surprised and that was it.
Regect didn’t buy it. He didn’t forget it either. The panic on Ze’s face hadn’t been normal, and Regect was starting to have suspicions that perhaps Ze hated having anything weighing him down.
When they had gone to a nearby village, needing to trade with the locals for essentials that they were running low on. When they where stocked up on items, Moe had the idea to put a saddle with a bag on Ze and have him carry the items. Remembering the last time Ze had something on his back, Regect expected him to come up with an excuse, and wasn’t surprised when Ze had. Moe, noticing Ze’s growing anxiety, dropped the subject and then asked Regect to teleport the items home. Regect had complied without much fuss, not wanting to admit it but being worried for Ze’s aversion for anything on his back.
Regect didn’t want to admit it, but he was worried that perhaps Ze had been hiding some kind of back injury that kept him from being able to carry too much weight. He knew that Ze often masked when in the face of fear or pain, and that perhaps he simply pretended he wasn’t in pain whenever Moe rode on his back. He was so worried, in fact, that he had started to look Ze over whenever he got the chance, trying to find any scars that could hint to an old injury. When he found none, he was left confused.
It wasn’t until after their night in the forest, where Regect had fallen asleep against the centaur’s side that he had started to understand. It wasn’t about the weight, it was about trust.
Regect understood that while Ze acted nonchalant and confident, he was actually very easy to scare. For him, being able to flee when he felt vulnerable was incredibly important. Having something weigh him down and make him feel as if he couldn’t flee was nervewracking. Regect realized this, as he had leaned against the centaur’s side without Ze being nervous in the slightest. Ze had allowed him to lay on him because he trusted Regect. He trusted that while Regect was around, he wouldn’t need to flee from anything.
So, after a few days had passed, Regect wanted to try again. He led Ze outside, back into the clearing with an excuse of needing to find flowers for Moe’s makeup dye. When they where finally back into the clearing, Regect cleared his throat and turned to Ze.
“I’m going to do something,” Regect started, nervous. “I need you to not kick me.”
Ze tilted his head, eyebrow raised in suspicion. “You better not be fucking with me.”
Regect didn’t respond, instead, slowly approaching the centaur. He went at the same pace he had when he had calmed Ze down after the zombie had climbed onto his back, not wanting to startle Ze by moving too fast. He slowly placed his clawed hands on Ze’s furred side, as he had back then, and slowly moved them up to the centaur’s back.
A held breath, spent watching Ze’s reaction closely.
The centaur didn’t move, didn’t startle. He stayed still as Regect slowly climbed onto Ze’s back. Regect tensed as he sat atop Ze’s dappled back, expecting for a moment that Ze would buck and he’d suddenly be sent flying, but it never happened. Ze stayed still as Regect’s body slowly eased, as Regect realized that Ze was letting him on his back.
“Well? Is this it?” Ze tried to look behind his shoulder to look at Regect, only catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye. Not that it mattered, Ze had grown to trust the entity.
“Yeah,” Regect gave a smirk, trying to seem as confident as he normally did. Trying to pretend that the trust he was being given didn’t mean the world to him.
A moment of silence before all the sudden, Ze took off towards the house, forcing Regect to hold onto the man’s torso as wind rushed past them.
“You asshole!” Regect gritted out, trying to hold on, his voice holding no real annoyance. Not when Ze was laughing as carefree as he was, without the slightest hint of anxiety.
“You wanted a ride!” The centaur smirked in return, his canter turning into a full gallop.
Regect couldn’t help the smile that arose on his face, even if Ze couldn’t see it, letting himself enjoy the ride and trust he was being given. He knew, down to his very core, that he treasured it. Treasured Ze. He knew that now, he wanted to know everything there was to this strange centaur who would rather hide his hurts than speak them aloud.