Lunch with Halona the centaur was…fun.

Surprisingly.

She proved to be very good company, and didn’t complain over the simplicity of the meal I managed to scrape together. Though that might’ve simply been hunger talking. I scraped together some basic foodstuffs like apples and salted meat from the root cellar, then got several jugs of water and milk from the ice room, which still had some ice in it, and put together a large, if simple, breakfast.

It was also good that it was so large. Halona was part horse after all, so she ate quite a bit.

As we ate we talked. I told her about my family and growing up on our ranch before the war, she told me about growing up among the Indian tribe as a half person, half domesticated beast. She had crouched down on the floor, her legs folded up beneath her body, so with me sitting on a chair, we were relatively the same height.

“So, what now, Master Ranger?” She asked after we’d had our fill of eating and talking of old homes. “Where to next? Or do you intend to stay and lay claim to this town?”

“Hell no!” I laughed, feeling better now with food in me, and having a chance to get my bruises looked over. I needed a bath and wash for clothes, but that could wait a little longer. There was work to be done.

“Then what?” She asked, looking at me intently.

“I’ll probably get a wagon from this town, fill it with some goods, hitch it up to Butterball, and head out east along those tracks till I reach the next town.” I answered, thinking through my options as I spoke. “After that, I’ll let the local sherif know what happened, then get some rest at an inn. Then I’ll hop a train east, and stay on it till I hit the coast.”

“A long round of traveling.” She observed with some interest. “Why travel so far?”

“Personal reasons.” I answered simply, not willing to be drawn into the whole mess of why I’d left home for a multi-month, and dangerous as hell journey east to basically nowhere, out of the blue.

“And when you reach the coast?” She asked, curious.

“I’ll keep traveling, looking for some adventure, I guess.” I told her, feeling a little sheepish at that answer. “I want to see some of the big world that God made, screwed up as it is these days. And I have the opportunity to do just that. So, maybe it’s a bit of wanderlust in my blood.”

“You are seeking,” she nodded with a smile, before she pinned me with an intense, knowing look. One that was also amused. “But also running.”

“Whichever works to keep moving.” I replied shortly, wanting to get off this topic. “What about you?”

“Me?” She asked, looking confused.

“Yeah, you.” I chuckled as I gestured to her. “What’s next for Halona the centaur? You’re free now. Will you be looking for a new centaur herd to join up with?”

“You mentioned something like this before, when you opened the corral.” She muttered, looking at me with curiosity once again. “You speak as though I am going to run off and leave.”

“Well, I mean, aren’t you?” I asked, confused.

“I was traded by the tribe that owned me to this town.” She stated, with a shrug. “The herd my parents came from is wild, and long since moved on. I am worth much in selling, buying or trading. I was raised to be a galloping companion. A load bearer and a partner. I want no other life.”

I stared, frankly confused, and a bit amazed. She was so proud of what sounded like, to me, being a high quality slave. However, as I thought about her words, it wasn’t really slavery. Or, it wasn’t just slavery. She spoke about being a companion, and partner, as well as a beast of burden.

It was odd. At least, to me. But then, I wasn’t a centaur.

“You don’t want to join some other herd and roam around freely?” I asked, curious. She actually laughed at that.

“Oh, I should be happy to be some half starved, half wild creature?” She shook her head, laughing as she kept snacking on the leftover food; most notably the remaining apples. “I don’t speak their languages, and I don’t know their ways. All that would be there for me would be lonely isolation from the women, and men who would likely pass me around like some kind of curious toy. No thank you.”

“Well, when you put it that way.” I muttered with a chuckle as I took another drink. I’d long since finished my own meal, but then, I wasn’t half horse. “So, what will you do then?”

“Travel with you, Master Ranger.” She stated with a smile, and a firm resolve in her eyes as she looked at me. “It sounds interesting, and there is nothing left for me here, or back from where I come from.”

I all but spit my drink out! I managed to keep it down, but barely. Clearing my throat as I set the glass back down, I eyed her grinning face carefully.

“I wasn’t looking to pick up strays, or more, er, horses.” I pointed out politely. I wasn’t fully sure of what was going on, but I wasn’t looking for a traveling companion. Or at least, not one that could talk back. I was fine with Butterball; he never said anything to bother me.

“Oh, I know, but it’s already far too late.” Halona laughed back at me, seemingly ignoring my attempt at polite rejection. “Among the tribes, you can trade, or claim spoils from a victory. You have won a great victory here, and I am among the spoils. I am happy to follow you and be your travel companion, as well as another beast of burden, as your people call horses.”

“You know I fought in the recent civil war to help end slavery.” I pointed out carefully. I wasn’t really rejecting a traveling companion out of hand, and I wouldn’t mind her company in the least. However, I was heading towards the Eastern Seacoast. Where there were lots of tall buildings and so-called civilization. I wasn’t sure how bringing her along into that would play out very well.

At all.

“I am no slave.” She replied, shrugging. “I am both companion and load bearer. Both human and horse. Galloping and running, this pleases me. Pulling things and carrying things, being helpful to my companions and partners, this pleases me as well. Being looked after the same way I have seen both the tribe and your people look after your horses, that also pleases me.”

“Uh, well…I mean, um.” I found myself floundering at her frank assessment of the situation, and her odd perspective of it.

“I am happy to follow with you, and be of use to you, as companion and load bearer, as partner and beast of burden, for as long as you keep me, Master Ranger.” She stated with a firm smile. “If I feel abused or neglected, I can simply leave. If you wish to trade me or sell me, I must agree with the offer, but if I do, then trade or sell me away. As you would any other horse.”

“Most humans, don’t really work that way.” I muttered, staring at her in utter bewilderment.

“I rather beg to differ.” She replied with another shrug and sadder smile. “If that were truly the case, a war would not have been needed to end the system of slavery here in the Union. And as I understand it, the institution of human bondage still persists in many other countries and lands beyond the Union, unto this day.”

“Unfortunately.” I replied sadly with a sigh. “On all fronts, you are quite correct.”

“A situation I suspect you will have to get used to.” She chuckled, happily munching on the last of the apples.

“What, slavery in other countries?” I asked, confused. “I mean, yeah, I guess I will, if I go to them. Or with you following me around? Cause I can get used to that too. But as a partner, and trail companion. Not really as a beast of burden.”

“I can pull a cart or carry a load, or person, just the same as any horse. Better than most in fact! And am happy to do so.” She replied, chuckling. “But no, that is not what I meant.”

“Oh?” I asked, curious.

“Yes,” she laughed, pointing at me. “What is the saying among your folk? Oh yes, I remember.”

She then looked at me with sudden seriousness. “The woman is always right, and the man must learn that he is always wrong, and simply do as he is told. Always.”

I stared back at her silently for a moment, and then we both burst out laughing.

After a moment, we had both caught our breath and eyed one another, before I sighed, giving in to the seeming inevitable.

“Well my dear, I don’t really know where I am going, but you are welcome to come along for the ride.” I stated with a mock bow.

“I will be pleased to help bear your load, Master Ranger.” Halona said with a smile and a bow of her head.

“You can just call me Jake, you know.” I pointed out.

“I know, but it is…habit, for me to refer to my owner as Master.” She replied with a shrug. “And yes, I know I am not a slave, but neither am I human. I have always been owned, since I was born practically, and it is what I am used to. It will take time.”

She looked at me with another mischievous smile; the kind women had that made all men nervous. “Besides, I like how it seems to make you squirm whenever I use the title. So, Master Ranger it is.”

I glared at her smiling face for a long moment, before giving up with a sigh and looking out the window. The sun was just approaching noon, and there was a lot to do.

“Well, we need to get back to work.” I stated, slowly getting back up and stretching.

Traveling with this strange, and fun, centaur woman was going to be interesting, but first things first. “We need to find a wagon and load it up with supplies and whatever worthwhile valuables are lying around this town, and then get out of here.”

“Why the rush?” She asked, curious, as she too stood to her full height and set about stretching as well.

“All the people who were transformed into, uh, man-wolves all ran off into the nearby woods right?” I asked as I got my hat and long coat back on, and began heading towards the door.

“Yes. Even the second group that arrived on the train this early morning.” She nodded as she followed behind me with rhythmic CLOMPS from her hooves.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t fancy being here if and when any of them ever decide to come back.” I stated firmly. “Or if all of ‘em decide to come back, all at once.”

She froze for a moment, then simply and quietly said; “Oh.”

“My thoughts exactly.” I said, walking out the door into the bright light of the day, feeling invigorated. “So let’s get what we need, and then get out of here. I plan on simply following along those train tracks until we reach the next town, then hopping on the next train heading east. So let’s load up and get moving. I don’t want to be here at nightfall, now that those cursed Furwraiths aren’t around to keep everything else at bay.”

“Yes, Master Ranger.” Halona said with a firm, determined voice.

That was a title I was going to have to get used to, but that was a concern for later. Both Halona and I were ready to work, so without any further delay, we got to it.