Young Writers Society

Orren saw as some of his centaurs grabbed some humans as they ran off. Verdandi managed to grab the doctor and get her on her back. Good. The doctor's healing skills would be an invaluable asset as they tried to make their way back into friendly territory.

Some of those who they were leaving behind had not even woken up yet. For their own sakes, Orren hoped that, should the elves catch up, they did not wake. Better to die in your sleep than awake at their hands.

Orren turned though, and followed after the others, bringing up the rear. Ahead of them, to the west, the Kobol Mountains loomed. Within their valleys and hidden places, Orren hoped that he could lead those in his charge out of harms' way.

The centaur's strong, horselike body moved beneath her, and Mell fumbled with her arrow, her hands shaking; with each strong pound of the centaur's hooves, she felt like she was being thrown to one side, only the tight belt holding her onto Tin's back preventing her from toppling sideways. Mell looked down at Tin's flying hooves, taking note of how painful that fate would be. Squinting out at the elves, Mell tightened her thighs around the centaur's back to steady herself, once again fitting her arrow into the bowstring and lifting her arms; her face fell calm, taut with concentration as she pulled her arrow back, exhaling and imagining she wasn't riding a centaur facing backwards with only the strength of her legs and Tin's belt to hold her on.

Mell let loose one arrow, a smile playing upon the corners of her mouth as she pulled another arrow from her quiver and fitted it in the same fashion, relaxing her back and waiting for her fingers to cease trembling before she let loose another, watching as her arrow struck home and one of the elves fell. Her next arrow missed and she reached back fast to fit another one, sure to strike her target this time. Her heart beat fast, but she kept her lips drawn together, breathing slowly through her nose and defying herself to panic.

The centaurs carried she and the doctor rapidly from the scene, the head centaur charging fast after them as the elves swarmed in upon the camp of sleeping humans, and Mell watched with wide eyes as the elves began their slaughter, the pounding of her heart in her head muting whatever emotions the warm tingling in her arms signaled. She swallowed hard and did not let herself stare for long, an empty pain festering in her stomach as she fitted another arrow and cocked her head a little higher, skimming the scene of carnage and settling her eyes on the elves who pursued them. Mell let loose another arrow as they continued their flight from the scene, ignoring the weight wedged between her ribs, the sensation of dread spreading through her. Reach back. Fit. Let loose. Let the arrows fly.

"Good girl," murmured Tin. She could sense the woman's discomfort as she was thrown around on her back. Maybe 'discomfort' wasn't the correct word - scared was. Scared absolutely legless. Not that Mell needed her legs at that time, no. But Tin was impressed and maybe irrationally proud. The human fired shot after shot and most hit their target. If only they had more humans like this.

Off to one side a comrade fell with a squeal, leg broken on a jutting rock - Tin's heart was wrenched to one side but she had seen things like this before. Stupid, comrade, thought Tin. The centaur had been trying to carry to many supplies and hadn't been able to maneuver correctly on the rocky ground ahead.
"Stop shooting!" Tin shouted to Mell. "Rocky ground ahead, save your arrows!"
She swept past the fallen companion and hooked her hand into one of the quiver straps, hauling it onto her shoulder. Mell had stopped shooting and Tin briefly ordered her to hold on with all her might and wrap the band of the quiver around her too. She could feel Mell's heels digging into her sides and it hurt, but Tin would rather heel-digging than human-killing. Ironically. She pulled the quiver strap as tight as was safe under the human's arms and continued on, dodging and swerving.
"Good girl," she whispered to no one in particular, "Good girl."

Verdandi headed straight for the foothills where there was a small grove of trees. We could hide out there for a short period, she thought, so long as no one else is there now.

She could hear the arrows flying behind her, screams and noises of agony, and the hoof beats still coming in her wake. She would join, but her top priority was to get the doctor to safety and scout out a potential temporary meeting place.

She slowed once she approached; peering between the skinny trunks, she saw no living things other than some small mammals. "No elves," she murmured to Tara, who also looked and confirmed. She lowered herself slightly to let Tara off her back.

When Orren was nearing their spot, Verdandi went to meet him, keeping her eyes on both the clutch of trees, and the forthcoming allies. "Orren," she said quietly, "I'm worried."

"About what?" he asked.

"The ability of the humans to keep up. You saw what happened back there. Even if they'd have been awake, there would be no way they'd have been able to escape. And not all centaurs are willing to carry a human like Tin and I did..." Her soft voice trailed off and her face suddenly flushed. She turned back toward the grove, hiding her mild embarrassment about being such a softie on a battlefield.

Orren nodded at what Verdandi was saying to him. He had to admit that she brought up a good point. The elves were fast. Speed would be required at points in this journey.

While Orren knew that he could make the centaurs carry what humans they had with them if he so desired, he preferred not to. His kind was ultimately prideful. To insult that pride, even in necessity, could have consequences he did not want to deal with at the moment.

Slowing the pace was not an option, however. Until they were out of elvish territory, they needed to keep moving.

"Might you have a suggestion then, Verdandi?" Orren asked.

Verdandi looked out at the mountains, wide-eyed in thought. "Well," she began slowly, "this may seem a bit...crazy, but there is power in these mountains. They were formed by the thundering footsteps of the gods when they walked our world. You know this, Orren.

"What I would suggest is--and it would, of course, have to be with the permission of the humans, and the graces of the gods--that the humans could possibly be changed. It would require ritual, but more so friendship and trust."

She looked out once more to gather her thoughts, and then her gentle gaze turned back to Orren. "Maybe they could be blessed with greater speed, or tirelessness. Maybe, if they are favored enough, a human could become one of us. Once we have everyone together, we can talk about our options. And, of course, if anyone is against change, then perhaps something else can be arranged."

She noticed that Tara was watching with interest, and she smiled. "My only concrete suggestion is that we don't stay here for long. Reinforcements can't be far behind."

Orren thought over all that Verdandi had said. She would know more than he would. After all, she was a priestess. If there was anyone here who knew at all about this sort of thing, it was her.

But to take such a risk? Orren had seen the gods give favors such as these. He remembered it had always taken a day at least, no matter what the favor was. Sometimes the most minor of them had been somewhat painful. They would have to hole up somewhere, find a safe place, before attempting anything like that.

"Your plan is a good one, Verdandi," Orren said to her. He put a hand on her shoulder. "You are my second. I charge upon you now to help me get all of us to safer territory. Do you understand?"

When she had responded in the affirmative, Orren continued. "Gather everyone together, then. We shall hear this proposal of yours."

Tin flushed as she heard the preposition, looking from Mell to Orren and back. The human was listening intently, but was still pale from the run. Many of the humans were shaking their heads at the change, but some - like Tara - were intruiged. Seeing the discomfort of some humans, Tin's better half asked her to splutter out "But I can carry Mell for as long as needed - sure tirelessness or something would be very useful, or maybe strength or better aim but I could create a harness that can keep the human on me so that she is still able to shoot. I mean - I mean , it would be... painful, unnatural." Tin lapsed into silence, her mouth still working, and looked at her leaders for a reply. She tried to imagine having to be turned into a human, and shuddered. She was at least glad to get her opinion out.

Mell's lungs felt heavy from breathing so hard as she stood in the small circle of survivors, both human and centaur, her legs wobbly beneath her from the rough ride. More than once she had been convinced she would slide sideways off Tin's back and be crushed by those powerful hooves. She kept her head slightly above parallel, even as her shoulders slumped with exhaustion, pale.

They would go to the mountains. Perhaps the humans would be blessed with stamina or speed. Or turned into centaurs. Mell had no faith in the gods to look upon her with favor, nor did she desire their favor, if such penalty was the result. Become a centaur? The first thing Mell thought of was her fiance back home, the skeleton of a life she had left behind. If her fiance was alive, that is; he had lived on the outskirts of the city. He may have been drafted into battle like herself. The elves may have already slaughtered he and his family. Mell pressed her lips into a firm, thin line. If he was alive, though, and she became a centaur--Thomas.

Mell clenched her fists and she looked up in surprise when Tin suddenly started talking. Relief uncoiled some of the tension in Mell's stomach and she gave the centaur a thin smile before she straightened herself, lifting her head and looking past the centaur who had spoken to level her eyes at the head centaur. "Sir," she forced out, her voice dry. Her words fled for a minute, and she sucked in another breath. How did centaurs think? If she became one, how much would change? Her gaze did not waver. "I am human, sir. Whatever you and your herd should require of me, I shall not be a useless burden, but I will not be forced by you or your gods to become a centaur." Mell wanted to look away, but she held the centaur's gaze, lifting her head a little higher than necessary and standing rigidly, falling silent once more.

Verdandi regarded the group silently for a moment, and then spoke up. "Did I not say 'with the permission of the humans?' There will be no forcing anyone into anything. Tin, if you'd like to carry Mell, then that would be very helpful. But here, we're discussing options, and nothing is set. You are all welcome to give your input as well."

She huffed indignantly and then breathed deeply to calm herself. "This suggestion was made because there is one who may want to take us up on that. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, but there was never any talk of forcing anyone to do anything. You are free to do whatever you please."

Finished, she stalked off, wondering if she'd even have the disposition to help anyone anymore if all they were going to do was twist her words; then again, it was a stressful day, and everyone was at someone else's throat, herself included.

She curled up by herself under one of the shady trees, examining her limited amount of supplies, trying not to talk to anyone until the misunderstanding had blown over. There was a reason she was so shy, and she was constantly reminded of it.

This was unsatisfactory. Orren gave Tin a glare, but he knew better than to publicly reprimand her. That would do no good. While it would make him seem stronger in front of everyone else, in the end all it would do would be weaken his position as a leader. Tin would feel hurt, and less prone to offer independent suggestions that might prove useful in the long run. The humans might also be less likely to take up the offer that was set before them. That would do no good. It was a chance to get more centaurs, and Orren did not want that to be ruined. After all, once they accepted a favor from the gods, they could not simply give it back. Favors did not work that way.

For the moment, Orren went over to where Verdandi was. He looked down at her for a moment. She was somewhat weak of spirit, but he had seen her in strong moments. He had faith that she would pull through in such a moment as this.

"Get up," he told her. "I'll not have my second doubt herself. You are not at fault, so do not treat yourself as though you have been reprimanded. You are in authority here, so act it."

Verdandi grudgingly put her pack over her shoulder and got up, shaking her braids out, and she walked over to the group. Really, she didn't feel at fault so much as burdened by her new position.

"Well," she said, facing everyone. "Misunderstandings aside, we need everyone right now to come together and think of a plan to get out of this mess. Our aim right now is to get past these mountains. As I've said, the elves will be sending reinforcements any moment, and right now they don't know where we are, but they know the land better than we do, so they can find out. It's early, and they can move fast, but we can go faster. We can't stay here."

She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked carefully around; there was a small path hung low with foliage running between two hills, headed for the mountain range. "We can take this," she said. "But it's overgrown, so there are plenty of places for them to be hiding. The plus side is that there are fewer of us, and so even more safe places for us to make camp. Only thing is we'll have to always be watching every bit of our surroundings closely. Any objections?"

When it came down to it, Mell did not trust the centaur gods to respect her choices, no more than she trusted the gods of her parents; still, her face softened with a touch of guilt when the second centaur--Verdandi, it seemed--returned to them, clearly shaken from the conflict.

Mell lowered her head slightly, closing her eyes and warding off exhaustion as Verdandi laid out a plan to get into the mountains. It was a good one--the path would protect them, and, if careful, they should be able to hear any ambushes in advance. Mell scanned the foliage, her heart still racing and her mood on edge as she thought about the elves swarming in upon that camp, slaughtering those who had not been her friends but perhaps her allies. And now. She felt as if the ground beneath her feet was slowly dissolving away, small beneath the massive centaurs around her.

Taking a deep breath, Mell lifted her eyes and glanced at Verdandi this time, even managed a frail smile. It was no fault of Verdandi's, her suspicion of the gods. "You have no objections from me, ma'am," she breathed. Mell shouldered her quiver and gripped her bow tightly.

Tin blushed as Orrin glared, and grimaced apologetically at him. When the two came back into the clearing and Verdandi stated her prepersition, Tin nodded. "No objections." She said firmly. "But - ugh -" Tin looked at Orren and blushed deeper but decided to continue. "I scouted a - a ridge that we could walk along. Up further. We would have the higher advantage, even if we woudn't be able to see any better. It's thin, though. And could I also suggest a rotation? Since it's us centaurs that are carrying the humans, perhaps some of them could take a night shift and sleep at day? I'd be happy to take some of it, because Mell is light, and...?" Tin trailed off, expressing her last phrase as a question. She looked around her and lapsed completely into silence.

Verdandi considered Tin's words. "You have some good points. You're right that we'd have the high ground. Also, since most of us use bows, we could take out any elven followers before they could get too close since it's less dense there. However, it'd be hard to find a good camp. So we would have to utilize the night watches." She scratched her head in thought, and continued. "Since you have no objection to carrying Mell, and I'd be more than happy to carry Tara as well as take some of the watches, we could easily go either way. So in that case, let's take a very quick vote: the covered path, or the ridge. Just remember, we have to be moving as soon as we decide, and we have to decide now."

She knew she could just tell them which path to take, but she'd rather have the majority of the group more comfortable with which way they were going. She would be fine with either way.

"Since the elves will assume that we are like most sentient beings, they'll expect us to take the path of least resistance. That's why I would choose the low and hidden path to try to throw them off." She cocked her head slightly and raised her ears, prepared to listen. "What about everyone else?"

Then she waited patiently for the group's input, but kept listening for any movement that wasn't their own.