Chapter 33

On the wrong side of the river on an unknown planet.

In his sinus cavity at the back of his throat, Ureeblay could faintly taste rather than smell the dirty odor of the Muddy River on the slight breeze coming up through the trees down the grade to his left. The young man thanked his great-great-grandsire-heightened turtle senses, as he thought of his emerging group of perceptions, for his improved water awareness. Pulling the loaded drag around the surprisingly sharp, left turn in the Centaur Way, he knew the tributary was close, although quite a bit farther downhill according to those turtle senses. As the Way straightened out, the wide, grassy trail through the rising forest now headed directly toward the Warm.

Ahead, Ureeblay saw a good deal of late-afternoon sunlight flooding across a third of the trail as well as the trees along the left berm of the Way, signaling an opening in the forest canopy off to the right. As he approached the sunny trail section, just beyond the right verge in the shadows, his surprised eyes focused on an old, long, waist-high wall of amazingly evenly-shaped, limestone blocks running parallel to the Centaur Way. There was an opening in the center of the thick wall that allowed access to a wide and deep clearing in the trees surrounded by the stone enclosure.

In the middle of the corral, he saw Pegasia's rear end as she turned her torso and looked at him over her right shoulder. A big smile on her dark, exotic features, she stood by another waist-high stone wall that partially divided the center of the campsite, near-front to near-back. Part of him noticed she now wore a big, black leather vest covering the back of her torso, her long reddish-brown hair gathered at the nap of her neck with some kind of a tie.

Pegasia raised her right arm and waved as she turned her large, four-legged body around to face him. He didn't see her three-finger-wide intricate tattoo around her right wrist, and realized the markings were encased by a wrist and forearm guard made of black leather that extended up near the inside of her elbow with a stiff flap on the other side extending beyond the tip of her right elbow. She wore a similar guard, made of butternut-colored leather around her left wrist and forearm up to protect the just beyond the tip of her left elbow as well.

His eyes then noticed just past Pegasia there were two huge, filled, double baskets—the panniers Ureeblay figured—hanging over both sides of the center wall. From this distance, he could easily see the baskets of the panniers were just over one of his long strides from end to end and fashioned from long, finger-wide, woven strips of some kind of split, dark-brown wood. The result seemed very sturdy to Ureeblay, and it was obvious from the bundles wrapped in some woven material or stowed in closed-top, reed containers, and the other items inside the dark-brown baskets which he could see as he came closer, that the panniers could hold and protect a great deal of weight.

Ureeblay came to a halt, realizing his mouth was gapping as the missing honey-colored wolf, her pink tongue lolling out of the right side of her mouth, trotted out of the corral opening and started toward him. What the young man momentarily thought was a gray-dappled, tiny Centaur danced friskily along behind his travel companion. The youngster's black mane flowing behind its long neck, black tail held high and fluttering with its prancing strides.

This is not a Centaur, Ureeblay realized. While there were four legs on the barrel of the lower body, there were no arms on this creature. It didn't have a human torso on its otherwise Centaur-shaped, four-legged frame. Instead, coming up from its gray-dappled front hips, its strong, long neck was topped with a long, thin head angled down and forward.

The youngster's big, dark eyes were high up on either side of its gray-dappled head, with black-pointed, attentive ears coming up from its crown. The creature's head, although the hair of its flowing black mane was much longer, reminded Ureeblay somewhat of the head of one of those small burros he saw, and feasted on, at congregation three cycles ago.

That congregation site was the farthest to the Warm the young man had ever remembered traveling to the summer Welow Swongli gathering. During Sweet Water camp's journey there, he saw several different animals and kinds of birds and plants that weren't found in his camp's territory in the Cool. It was during the opening hunt of the congregation that the combined, chosen huntsmen from the clans stalked, killed, and brought back the gutted carcasses of quite a number of the dusty, grayish-brown burros.

As Ureeblay watched the approaching wolf and what could only be a small hoiho, his hungry stomach remembered the Warmishers at that congregation had fixed what they called barbequed burro. The flavor was wonderful, with a dripping sauce made of black-bean paste, herbs, honey, and some of those small, extremely hot, red peppers that left a growing heat, stinging and tangy, in his mouth. After several swallows of the delicious meat, Ureeblay's nose had started running and his eyes watered. He couldn't get enough of the spicy sauce.

The next day, Ureeblay had tried talking his mother into trading for some of the ground hot peppers, but she refused. Instead, on their return journey, he was surprised when his mother put him in charge of watering the pepper plants she'd gone out and dug up. Putting three each into two of her tough, woven-reed baskets of soil for the trip back to Sweet Water territory, those pepper plants continued to thrive in his mother's herb basket collection back in camp. Beside salt, hot peppers were another thing Ureeblay realized he missed not having on this side of the Toolie. He'd have to ask Pegasia about hot peppers.

The wet nose of the wolf, burrowing up his bare, stock-still right leg and heading under his kilt, startled Ureeblay out of his musings about food. Jerking his right hand off the cross bar, he swatted down at her muzzle, but the wolf was too quick. Two steps backward and she sat down on the short grass of the trail, looking up at him. Now that she had eye contact with the young man, the young wolf's rear and tail started wagging like crazy and the young man could see the excitement in her sky-blue eyes that, he decided, were almost the same color as Pegasia's eyes.

The wolf suddenly crouched and made an eager yip before bouncing back toward the baby hoiho that had stopped several strides away from the travel-drag and alertly watched the wolf and Ureeblay. As the wolf bounded up to the youngster, the small creature reared back, making a joyful-sounding whinnying before it and the wolf playfully gamboled around each other.

That was the same sound Pegasia made when she told me it was taboo to hunt or eat hoiho back at the river. It is a good thing hoiho are taboo, the way this creature trotted up close to me, it would certainly be easy to kill, the young man concluded.

The wolf and young hoiho playfully pranced half way around each other again before the wolf returned to the side of his travel-drag. Stepping close to his leg, she pushed her head against the side of his knee, obviously wanting scratched behind her ears. Ureeblay complied. Pegasia's young hoa pai slowly approached the young man standing harnessed to his travel-drag on the sunny, wide trail as he rubbed between the wolf's ears.

Ureeblay watched as the hoiho's large nostrils flared on both sides of its dark nose at the bottom of its long head. The small creature stuck its neck out toward him as he stopped petting the wolf, and it sucked in air to get his scent. Both of its long, articulated ears pointed directly at him with a black tangle of hair from the start of its mane hanging down between its expressive dark eyes. With the location of its eyes, one on either side of skull, Ureeblay realized it could look forward as well as to the sides without moving its neck.

The hoiho's lips slightly opened, the young man saw it had a mouth full of teeth. While the sight of the young creature struck Ureeblay as delightful, he hoped it didn't bite. For some reason, he wanted to touch the baby and put his arms around its neck. He could see how having hoiho as traveling companions would be ... inviting, fun even, although he didn't think this hoiho was old enough to be able to carry much weight, if any. The young man wondered how old it was.

Standing completely still, Ureeblay was aware of the weight pulling the harness down on his shoulders as well as the feel of short grass under the bottoms of his reinforced moccasins. Enthralled, he watched as, hesitant at first, the young creature stepped closer to him and stretched out its gray-dappled neck with its black mane hanging down. The hoiho sniffed at Ureeblay's right hand holding the cross bar of his travel-drag.

"That bold youngster," Pegasia called out from inside the stone corral to Ureeblay's right, "is one of the hoiho I told yah that yah'd see, Ureebay. She's a filly, and her name is Kicking Hooves, but she prefers that I call her Kix.

"Kix," the young Centaur woman addressed her hoa pai in a raised voice, and the youngster turned its head and looked over at Pegasia, who was pointing her right hand at the small hoiho, "this is the strong Welow Swongli warrior... Uur-eeebay ... Ureebay. I told yah about him. Yah smelled his scent, and he's a good two-legs. He is not—as many idle-hooves say of those acrass the rivah—a bad two-legs, which is fortunate, as we are part of his household now. Yah look ta me, Kix, and now, I look ta him. Fear not, my hoa pai, we will not be this warrior's next feast—ever."

Part of Ureeblay was surprised at Pegasia's words. So, he thought, some Centaurs think my people, the Welow Swongli, are a vile natured people, and would kill and eat them if given the chance. Another part of the young man felt pleased the young woman called him a warrior—a strong warrior at that. The remaining part of the young man was excited to be so close to this hoiho wanting to meet him.

"So, Kix, I tell yah now," Pegasia declared in a proud-sounding voice, "Ureebay is my protector, and, as head of ahr new household, he is going to be my lord and master—and not that terrible Mikaere yah didn't like.

"And, Ureebay," the young Centaur woman added, "Kix likes to have her head rubbed and scratched, as well as her hide curried. But I'll teach yah how to do that aftah we make camp acrass the rivah. Yah know," she added in a suggestive-sounding voice, "I've not been curried since my tira, my retinue, left the puni taiepa of the Kingi of the Limp Spears.

"But if yah're gonna put yahr hand up by her mouth," Pegasia called out, "keep yahr fingers and thumb tagethah and yahr palm up. She might think yah got a treat for her and bite at ah stray finger."

With that warning in mind, Ureeblay slowly lifted his right hand from the cross bar, gently moving it toward Kix's long head. The young hoiho's eyes opened a bit wider, focusing on his approaching hand as Ureeblay turned his palm up with his fingers and thumb together. Her ears seemed to refocus on him as her snorting nose sought out Ureeblay's hand and sniffed his fingers. The young man was surprised at the hoiho's active lips that softly brushed over his upturned fingers and palm. Seemingly content with his odor and not finding a treat, Kix snorted and nodded her head.

Gently touching her hide just beyond her slightly damp, black nose with his cautious fingertips, Ureeblay started to tentatively rub his hand up along her left jaw. Kix seemed to like the contact because he could feel the filly push against his touch as he rubbed a bit harder, now using his palm as well. The young man liked the feel of her hide; and, realizing he was touching a living creature, he felt a big smile form on his face. Out of the corner of his right eye, Ureeblay was aware of the wolf sitting back on her haunches, her wagging tail pushing the grass around as she watched her new playmate getting to know her young man and travel companion.

"Yah better stop that for now, Ureebay," Pegasia called to him, laughing, "or that filly won't let yah help me load this gear, wantin' to be scratched all the time and beggin' for yahr attention. I thought yah hoped to get us acrass the rivah as soon as we can."

Ureeblay looked away from Kix as he continued to scratch and rub the hide along her jaw above her nose. He focused on Pegasia, across the stone wall and standing near the center of the wide, deep camp that must have been here beside the Way in this oak forest for ages. He continued to be aware of his hand, rubbing along the filly's face and over the top of her long nose and that Kix was warm to his touch and alive.

From out of the shadows near the back right corner of the stone corral, two other, much larger, hoiho slowly moved forward toward the young Centaur woman. The one on the left was all black, and the other hoiho had roan-colored hide with a cream-colored mane and tail. Ureeblay got the impression that the roan was younger. Both hoiho seemed to be quite aware of his presence as they ambled up just behind Pegasia in their four-legged gait and stopped, their tails swinging slowly from side to side behind their rumps. He noticed that they kept Pegasia's body between them and him.

From his middle, Ureeblay was conscious that the two big creatures were focusing their attention on him, but their eyes seemed to look everywhere but right at him. A nickering sound came from Pegasia's throat, and she looked back at the black and the roan, making a nodding motion with her head, neck, and her shoulders to her left side, away from the wide stone wall dividing the corral in half.

The two, bigger hoiho, slowly moved away from the wall, coming around Pegasia's rump, their heads gracefully bobbing down and then up with each slow step. Her trail companions stopped beside the Centaur girl. Ureeblay saw that the black and the roan, while about the same size, were both taller at the front hips than Pegasia by several hand widths. He decided one of the two was likely the mother of inquisitive Kix, who, now that he thought about it, was probably still nursing from her mother's teat. He decided her mother was the older looking hoiho, the black.

As he continued to compare Pegasia with the two larger hoiho, the young man wondered if Centaurs and hoiho were related. If what Pegasia claimed might be true, and this Dauktaur she held in such high regard had created her people, it could be he had somehow taken the torso of a person—well, a two-leg, Ureeblay corrected his thinking—and placed it on the body of hoiho.

Then Ureeblay remembered the legend of Lost Spear. The young man figured it must have been a female hoiho that, according to Welow Swongli storytellers, Lost Spear had mated with, resulting in the birth of the first Hurstmon. As tall as both of these hoiho were, Ureeblay was certain that Lost Spear would not have been able to reach the hoiho's female parts to do what he was supposed to have done—many, many times, if you believed the tales—without standing on a big rock. Ureeblay didn't know of any Welow Swongli men tall enough to be able to easily mate with a hoiho without standing on a rock.

Not, Ureeblay figured, that any Welow Swongli men would think to mate with a hoiho. No, the big creatures would be seen as prey, like bison, elkan, red deer, and such. If all hoiho acted as these did, it was a good thing there were none on his side of the Toolie, he decided—they'd all be hunted out in a life time. The young man wondered what kind of man Lost Spear had been, if he'd ever existed. How did he get across the big river by himself? The legend never explained that, only that Lost Spear had finally mated with what must have been a hoiho.

The filly he was absentmindedly rubbing moved her head slightly and pushed her nose against the palm of his hand, sniffing him again. Then she stepped to his right, coming between him and the other hoiho and Pegasia in the corral. Claiming his full attention, Kix nuzzled her nose against his right shoulder twice before dropping her head and turning her neck, concentrating on sniffing at his sling in the trencher bound across the front draw poles of his travel-drag.

Seemingly content with what her nose told her about his sling and sling stones, Kix lifted her head and sniffed at the side of his head. Feeling her breath on his cheek, Ureeblay hoped she didn't think his ear would be good for a treat. The young hoiho made a nickering sound, and moving her head and neck, turned back along the right side of the travel-drag. The wolf got out of the filly's way, still wagging her honey-colored tail and her tongue lolling out of the right side of her mouth.

Ureeblay could hear the young hoiho blowing air out of her active nostrils as she stopped to smell the netted-over frame box protecting the fish skulls and big, supple fins and lashed across the drag poles behind him. He wondered what the filly's sense of smell made of the scents coming from the cleaned fish heads still holding the bladders filled with the mysterious oil that he'd seen easily burst into flame?

Ureeblay moved his right moccasin behind him and turned his body as best he could to his right. He felt resistance from the harness around his neck and the slight movement of his spirit hammer secured to his upper back as he placed his left hand beside his right gripping that end of the cross bar. The young man watched over the right shoulder of his leather vest as Kix carefully took another four-legged step along the side of the drag to the gear piled inside the great-great's huge shell resting on the load bed under his original vine net. That length of netting extended back over the rest of the young man's collection of supplies near the back of his well-maintained contraption.

Ureeblay realized the filly was using her nose more than her eyesight to explore his load as she sniffed down the right limb to the end of the drag pole resting in the short grass of the Centaur Way. Kix continued around the rear of his travel drag, bobbing her long neck and head down, sniffing here and there, her almost spindly-looking legs taking slow steps with the wolf following along behind her. Finally Ureeblay turned back around and looked across the old stone wall at Pegasia. It was easy for him to see in her exotic features the deep feelings she felt for her travel companions as she used her left hand to pat the neck of the big, black hoiho standing next to her, and she gazed affectionately at the creature's face.

With her left arm up and her hand moving against the black hide, it was easy for Ureeblay to see that the butternut-colored leather wrist and forearm guard was actually the part of the cuff and gauntlet of the glove she wore. As she scratched the black hide of her hoiho, he could see that only her thumb and index finger were completely enclosed in butternut leather and her other three fingers were exposed—possibly to give her more dexterity.

Quickly looking at her right hand again, down by her side, the young man saw the same finger-covering on her dark skin. Along with only two digits covered, and with the high cuff and gauntlet, this was a very curious design, Ureeblay thought. The Welow Swongli sometimes wore lined, leather mittens in very cold weather, and he knew some women from his camp wore fingerless gloves to protect their palms and the backs of the hands, depending on what chores they were intending to do.

A man's mother or woman, having the proper skill, often made soft, leather gloves with long, fringed gauntlets for their son or man to wear. He wondered if these strange gloves were intended to give Pegasia better handling and protection if she needed to use her borrowed war lance that he could see resting against the second, double-basket pannier supported on the stone wall behind the first.

Centaurs have curious tastes, he thought, and whoever made her gloves is a very good leather worker, too.

"Should I bring the drag in there," he asked the young Centaur woman, deciding he'd find out more about the gloves later, "and you can—well—introduce me to your other two friends? I'll rest the front end on that wall there and get out of this harness. After introductions, I'll help with your gear. I do want to get us across the river as soon as we can make it. I'm getting hungry, you know. I hope you are a good cook as well as a Daughter of Churon."

"Certainly, mate," Pegasia told him as she looked away from the black hoiho and focused her attention on him, "I've got manners, yah know. And these two, at least, have manners as well."

Her wide mouth formed a beautiful, amused smile that Ureeblay could feel from where he stood between the two poles of his drag. Absentmindedly keeping the heaviness of the front poles off the ground without any conscious effort with his two hands holding the cross bar and the harness over his shoulders and around the back of his neck helping support the weight, Ureeblay felt a foolish grin form on his face.

"I am so glad I decided to explore up the Muddy River and you decided to hunt for mussels today," he told Pegasia before he realized that he was going to say anything. "The wolf is a great traveling and hunting companion, and by watching her, I learned how to swim—but..."

"But—let me guess. Yahr, as yet, un-named daugg," Pegasia said in a teasing voice building into a chuckle, "isn't ah real-life, talking, beau-ti-ful, intellah-gent, dis-cerning, enth-ralling, Centaur princess of the mighty Foloi Forest Tribe, or a Dautaur of Churon? Who is now yahr sworn and accepted helpmate and the wonderful girl who has agreed to actually cook yahr supper—at least, tonight?"

A rush of emotions filled Ureeblay's chest at their easy, playful banter. Part of him wondered why he'd never had this type of effortless interaction with any Welow Swongli girl before. Then he remembered that at one time he had, but that was when he saw girls as just playmates like any other, but who had to squat to pee.

"Pegasia, you forgot to mention, mysterious, powerful, or ... ahh—" said Ureeblay, feeling his traitorous man part going half-firm in his clout in response to this exciting young woman. Sucking in a deep breath, he felt his ears getting warm.

"—Just listen to yahr sweet-clover words," Pegasia cooed, fanning her right hand next to her dark-skinned face as if to cool her blushing skin while she continued to rub the neck of the taller hoiho to her left with her other hand

"Trek along this flattery trail farthah and yah'll be making me swoon, mate. So shut yahr flappin' mangai, pull that mighty load yahr packin' into this corral, and come meet these two," she told Ureeblay, nodding her head toward the black she petted with her butternut gloved hand and the roan on the black's other side.

Ureeblay couldn't help but see the roan was moving its head back and forth as if it were watching Pegasia and him talking.

"Come greet them before they forget their manners and act like Kix," said Pegasia. "That happens and we'll never get acrass the rivah before morning. And I promised I'd show yah my bows and arrows, too, Ureebay. I know yah want to see 'em. Probably all yah've been thinking about while I was here talking to my hoa pai about ... well ... about you, my great protector," the young Centaur woman announced, her voice sounding completely sincere to his ears.

He could see the blush coloring the dark skin of her cheeks. Pegasia broke their eye contact, looking over at the black as she ruffled the hoiho's shining mane. She didn't look back at Ureeblay and now concentrated on fussing with the black's forelock between its ears.

Then her words sunk into his mind. A thrill went up Ureeblay's spine at what he thought she seemed to be telling him. His traitorous man part firmed up even more, pushing at the right side of his clout and against his kilt once again. He couldn't do anything to redirect what was happening without drawing Pegasia's attention to his state. Unexpectedly he remembered the young Centaur woman telling Kix that he now was her lord and master, and she was his sworn helpmate. Thinking back on her words, Ureeblay admitted that she'd sounded proud to make that announcement in front of him, saying the words without a teasing ring to her voice.

Suddenly he recalled when she'd asked for his protection. His mind's eye filled with the image of how she'd lowered the front of her large, four-legged body close to the sandy shingle next to Muddy River. He saw her fine rump slightly rise up as her reddish-brown tail lifted when she swore she would serve him in any way!

Then Ureeblay remembered earlier, while Pegasia told him about Mikaere, the young woman was adamant that she would never raise her tail for the young Centaur warrior she'd been promised to mate. Now that she was free of him, in fact, she'd announced that she would kill Mikaere, instead.

Raise her tail! Ureeblay guessed that must be one of the ways Centaurs said a girl or woman was willing to lift her heels for a man to take his pleasure in her willing body! Suddenly he wondered if all her embarrassing talk about his well-made spear shafts, and not handling his oldest shaft yet, was actually bold talk about his man part! He knew that Pegasia had taken several opportunities to blatantly stare at his crotch and look at his body. A few of those times his shaft was engorged.

If Pegasia did mean that she would serve him in any way, Ureeblay thought, he could see there was much more to their ceremony on the shingle when he accepted Pegasia under his spear than he realized at the time. The young man swallowed and decided that as head of his new household, he'd acknowledged everything that Pegasia's actions and words seemed to imply about their new relationship. After all, it was now his right!

Ureeblay recalled his sire telling him once that when the time came, if he didn't lead, those he was responsible for would not know when, or how to follow. With a shrug of his shoulders under the travel-drag harness, he accepted that, ready or not, this was his time. The young man gave thanks to the wisdom of his departed sire.

By Jaypai, the contrary one in the night sky, he thought, I will not hide my body's reactions from Pegasia anymore. After all, I am young man and I find Pegasia is a desirable young ... well ... woman—even if she has four legs and a tail.

What he was feeling was a natural part of growing up, and it wasn't as if he had to act on any of it, he told himself. He hoped he wasn't going to be embarrassed about her knowing about his responses to her presence anymore. By Jaypai, let her be embarrassed, the young man decided, taking a breath.

"You did promise you would show me your bows, young lady," Ureeblay found himself telling Pegasia as she continued to comb her fingers down through the mane against the right side of the black's neck. "I'll take a quick look at them here, then, after you feed me tonight, I will handle them. Yes? Give them a good inspection. It is my right, correct?"

"Sheee ... I, I am at yahr command," Pegasia told him, her voice sounding embarrassed, surprising Ureeblay as her hand stopped moving in the black's mane and her shoulders seemed to stiffen. He watched the young Centaur woman swallow and bob her head to the right, then to the left before taking a deep breath. Her shoulders relaxed as she exhaled.

"Yah can get a quick look at 'em aftah yah help me get some of this gear up on Flying Hair here, and secured," Pegasia told Ureeblay, and she raised her eyes back up at him again, holding his gaze with an open, poised look on her exotic, dark-skinned face. Her sky-blue eyes seemed deeper than the heavens above to the young man, and he grinned.

"She likes me to call her Fly," Pegasia said, while nodding her head toward the black hoiho and giving its neck a strong pat before dropping her arm to her side. Ureeblay wondered why one gauntlet was made of black leather and the other was crafted of butternut. The contrast was striking.

"And the well-mannered young stallion next to Fly," Pegasia told him, "is her two-yar-old son, Gambit."

"Your hoa pai are fine looking hoiho," said Ureeblay feeling the tension between Pegasia and him loosen up. "Not that I've ever seen any other hoiho before. And he prefers it when you call him, Gam?" Ureeblay asked, trying not to laugh as his body relaxed from the middle outward.

"No, Bit," Pegasia corrected him. "Why would such a fine fellah wantta be called such a silly name as Gam?"

They looked at each other, and then both started to grin.

"You're going to help me come up with a name for the wolf, aren't you," Ureeblay chuckled, and he pushed his groin against the cross bar and stepped forward to get the load on his travel-drag moving, aware that Kix and the wolf followed behind. "It seems that animal has introduced herself to your friends already."