“Duubdaaduubdadiii”

“Woopdaboop bii baa”

“Traaliiladiii daa...”

“TRALIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

I sang happily, not for any real reason.

None at all.

I’m not bored.

No way.

I was just feeling good, just felt like singing.

...

Okay, who am I trying to fool.

I’m bored.

Out of my mind bored.

I know that the past few days have been more than just hectic for pretty much everyone.

And that no one really wants to “play” when they’ve got a wall to build

And trenches to dig

And spikes to set up

And..

Yeah, you get it.

Oh, and I have to add

They’ve really been doing a great job once everyone started working together.

And when I say everyone, I mean all the elders.

As they’ve made the wall extremely big and sturdy.

Making it quiet easy to hide behind.

But, well..

I have to admit that…

I don’t really do strategy.

I’ve mostly just walked around, trying to entertain myself.

And yes, I know there’s like a hundred thousand centaurs to entert-

Wait really?

Huh, yeah... There’s a ton of them right now

Who would have thought.

Anyway, I know there’s many of them, but their “games” are preeetty

Let’s just call it. Barbaric... Simple.

And you can only do so much simple until you realise your just repeating the same action over and over and over and over and-

...

At least miss silver isn’t that barbaric.

Maybe I should see what she’s been up to?

Hopefully she isn’t as busy as Mister Butler.

But she’s been acting more, eerm

Leader like?

It almost seems like she’s starting to lead people... Centaurs.

Maybe it’s just me.

“Hey, big guy. Wanna search for miss silver?”

I asked the big centaur who after our... Talk.

Has been sticking to me like glue.

Something I don’t really mind.

He looked down on me, then back up. Thinking about my question

But quickly nodding his head in an affirmative.

Well, I would expect nothing else.

He always goes with my ideas anyway, but it’s proper etiquette to ask someone when you wanna do something.

After all, I’m a genius socialiser so I totally know how to be nice.

I do!

“Then lets goooo! Or do you perhaps already know where she is?”

He nodded in a direction, pointing with his big head.

“Over there?”

Nodding in response.

Smiling wide while patting his side.

“Great job! You’re like a big, cute dog!”

He stared down at me with hate-filled eyes, a frown going comically big.

Makin me giggle loudly.

“Hahaha, sorry just messing with you”

Finding miss silver wasn’t that hard.

At least when you look for the biggest group

Like a big circle of bodies surrounding a single Centaur

Who happened to be miss silver.

Nudging my way closer. Pushing and shoving

I found myself behind her.

“Hey miss silver! Wanna do something fun?”

I asked loudly, making both her, and the one she spoke to, go quiet as they turned towards me.

“Oh, hi hoomen. Nice to see you. ”

“You too. Wanna do something fun? Have a race maybe?”

She smiled gently down at me, eyebrow raising.

“It would be fun, yes. But not now, hoomen, I’m busy.”

Making me mimic her action, looking at her funny with a raised eyebrow.

“Your busy? What could make you busy?”

“Defending stepp”

She shot back, smile holding the same gentleness.

I took a step back, feeling slightly amused.

“I know that buut... I mean, what could make you busy defending the stepp?”

“The swarm”

“I knooow, but what about it makes you busy?”

“Oh sorry hoomen, you language has many undertones that I find hard to understand. ”

“Uhuh.. what? No wait, no just answer my question earlier.”

I shook my head, trying to keep the conversation on track.

“Okay ehm. Centaurs defend stepp”

“Yeeees”

I slowly added, hoping that she would not just stop there.

“And the... Fooaun? Convinced me of importance of.. Stratety? To defend stepp in the best way. ”

My mouth dropped at that

Holy moly, he taught the Centaurs about strategy?

That’s..

That’s impressive actually.

“How did he do that?”

“He said God wanted us to co-parate and use every means possible to defend stepp”

Oh, okay, maybe not that impressive.

“Our petty games are mere distractions when we must defend stepp. The swarm is a threat we Centaurs have never met, so we must use means that we would have never used. ”

By using strategy?

Hehe

That’s pretty funny.

I wonder how they usually deal with big threats?

Or wait, why would they ever have to deal with big threats?

It’s not like they are defending anything out here

And now that I think about it, “Defending stepp” is such a vague thing to define.

Like, I understand how the swarm could destroy it but like

A human?

A single individual?

...

Eeeh, why am I even thinking about this? I don’t really care either way.

As long as stepp is fine-

Oh

I think their ways have rubbed off on me.

Hehehe.

“Hoomen?”

It quickly took me away from thoughts, shaken as I stared up at miss silver.

“Oh sorry! I was thinking. ”

“Hehe, yeah funny hoomen, you’ve been thinking a lot these days”

I have?

Wait what do you mean.

“What?”

“Oh hoomen, you doesn’t think I would not see? Wanna play? Never being alone? All this is a face, you seek something else. You want escape.”

I want to escape?

Sometimes their honesty can confuse me.

I don’t understand.

What does she mean? Is this like ancient Centaur philosophy or something?

And she seemed to notice the confusion on my face, as she said.

“Hoomen, stop being in the past. The wonders of the stepp is the present. I am here, you are here, stepp is here. Stepp is both past and present yet you can only see it now.”

She then looked up, gazing around the horizon. Doing a big circle to look around.

“And once we Centaurs work together, we shall make sure it also has a future. ”

But I looked at her with furrowed brows, one hand scratching at my chin.

“I don’t follow you there. I’m in the past?”

She looked back down at me, a gentle smile coating her entire face. Almost beaming with warmth, looking like a loving mother..

“Hoomen, your mind is in past. Not like the stepp, you are troubled.”

I stopped scratching, almost freezing at her words.

How?

How am I troubled? I don’t get her.

I don’t like the way this conversation is going.

“Nooo, absolutely not. I’m just like stepp! Always in the present. ”

Miss silver gently shook her head..

“No no no hoomen. You are in past, a past you let guide you. A past making you troubled, muddling thoughts.”

I took a step back, a small step. But miss silver followed suite.

I glanced down, thoughts racing in my head.

I’m not stuck in the past

I’m here, talking to you.

I’m having fun, or I mean. As fun as I can have

The swarm kinda ruins it, but I mean like..

I’m trying to have fun.

That’s me being in the present!

“Your being weird miss silver, I don’t understand.”

She shook her head at that, holding her arms at her sides as she looked down on me with

Pity?

“Hoomen, you lie to yourself. But you know lie is just a lie, even if you dont know you lie. ”

Words of wisdom that sounder wiser when you didn’t really think them.

Making me shake my head and respond

“I’m not lying to myself, I am living in the moment!”

“You and me both know that, that is a lie.”

Her smile glowing more, getting softer.

I stared up at her, mouth turning to a frown

Then looking down, avoiding her eyes.

Saying in a whisper

“But what if my past shapes my present?”

The centaur tilted her head.

“That is not something special to you. Everyone are formed by their past”

I continued staring down, whispering in response.

“Then how do you stay in the present?”

She shook her head, as if she were talking to a child.

“You think too much hoomen. You just don’t think, the past has no power over your present, don’t let it ha-”

I suddenly stared up, locking my eyes with hers as i interrupted the sentence.

Almost yelling.

“But what if your past still shapes your present!”

She looked down at me with a shocked expression, but quickly turned back to her gentle smile.

“No one has a past that shapes their present, they only think they have. You are no different. ”

Eyes still locked, I felt a tear starting to form. But I held it, grimacing in response.

“But mine does”

Miss silver tilted her head in response, smile fading as she stared at me with confusion clear on her face.

I whispered again.

“My past has always shaped my present, my life is my past. And there’s nothing I can do”

Silver armour glittering in the sun as the wearer shifted in place.

Looking down at the small human in front of her.

Glossy eyes on a sad face. But no tears forming.

Only grim determination.

“Hoomen, this is a new for me... I dont know what to say. ”

I stopped staring, looking down instead

Seeing two wiggling feet, with toes digging into the ground.

“Hoomen, maybe you want to talk to someone who can help? Our God is a great God, he would want to help defender of stepp”

I laughed bitterly at that

“Hehe, yeah.. I don’t think a god can help me with my problem. ”

The silver centaur looked around.

Looking at the big centaur to the side of the human girl

Then looking back at her.

“Then I dont know hoomen. I’m sorry but we Centaurs live free, I’m not used to someone shackled by their past”

I smiled at her words

Yeah.

No one can really help me with this.

Can they?

“But hoomen, we are friends. And you know, I’ll always be he-“

A horn booming in the distance.

Making the surrounding Centaurs reach for their swords

Eyes turning towards the source of the sound.

Spotting something far in the distance

A galloping Centaur, speeding at high speeds towards the army of Centaurs

Running unnaturally fast, probably using wind magic.

The silver Centaurs face turning neutral.

Saying to me, with a face fixed on the distant centaur.

“I’m sorry, hoomen, but we must talk later. Now we must defend stepp”

Then speeding off, running towards the distant Centaur.

I looked up towards the big centaur, saying

“We should follow her.”

He nodded in response, exposing his back to me.

Jumping up, we followed suit. Gaining on miss silver until we were on her side.

Behind us, a small army of a few hundred centaurs

The rest of the centaurs staying behind, near the walls.

How miss silver convinced the better part of an army of individuals to listen to the words of one Centaur

Is beyond me.

As we neared the distant runner, miss silver ordered the small army to stop.

Waiting for the runner to close the distance.

As he came close enough, he spoke to miss silver.

In a language I could not understand.

A few minutes passed, miss silver and the runner nodding at each other’s words.

Then eventually, she indicated to one centaur behind her and said something about “Fooauns”.

Who, in turn, sped off.

Then she turned around and looked at me.

“What is happening?”

I asked quickly, seeing a face of absolute firmness.

Steady like a rock, neutral like the sea.

But just before she opened her mouth, a glimmer of a smile touched her lips.

“The swarm is near, we must begin the plan and ready the defences. ”

She then looked over the rest of the Centaurs, speaking up

“The enemy is near, we shall defend stepp at all costs. Ready the others and make sure that everyone knows the plan.”

A loud affirmative echoed from the surrounding Centaurs.

Then miss silver said a few words in Centaurish, sounding like gibberish but ending with a word that’s used a lot by the Centaurs

A word that translated directly to “Stepp”

Making all cheer loud with their weapons drawn.

But I did not cheer

My face turning a shade of grey

It’s here

Okay.

I can do this.

We can do this.

Don’t worry

Don’t panic.