Unexpected Detour (Razgriz x Wingshadow)

Razgriz

Razgriz

Shall we write beautiful stories together?
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Jan 27, 2011
It was October 27, 5564 and Samuel Dellsman was traveling through space in his prototype ZSQ-99 PITV (Personal Intergalactic Traveling Vehicle). A self-made multi-trillionaire, he was the President and CEO of UniTravel Industries, the universe's leading manufacturer of intergalactic spacecraft. From personal 'spacecars' to gigantic dreadnoughts for the various militaries of the ever-expanding universe, they did it all. And Sam, having worked as an assembly lineman even during his time as the head honcho, earned the respect of his workers to the extent that productivity never dropped. He had, in truth, built the ultimate company through hard-work and clever words.

But, this was more than just a test-drive of the most advanced spacecar to be made to date; he was on his way to see his fiancee. Her parents had finally been convinced for him to come over and he dressed as sharply as he ever could, to make the best impression. His short brown hair was neatly combed and styled appropriately, his pearly whites were shining brightly, his toned yet somewhat skinny form dressed in a very stylish suit. Overdressed, maybe, but he wanted to look his best. His gold-colored eyes, speckled with bits of cobalt coloration, shone brightly in anticipation of the meeting of his future in-laws. His angled jaw and wide chin helped define his masculinity; however, the angled eyebrows he had made him look too serious at times even when he was trying to have fun. He was also slightly nervous; her parents did not seem to like her marrying a business tycoon such as himself. Apparently, they thought he was going to treat her as a trophy wife. No, they had it wrong; he loved this woman to death and wanted nothing more than to help give her a happy life.

He'd bought his fiancee a very nice ring to show how much he truly loved her, one that she was currently wearing: The ring itself was pure Colderic platinum, the very best in the universe. Mounted on Zvalderian gold sat a sizable Uretroan diamond, the rarest of its kind; the ring cost him a pretty penny, but if it was for his fiancee, he would spare no expense. He didn't spare expenses with his workers, so why do it with someone he wants to be with for the rest of his natural life? In the seat adjacent sat a bunch of Rwethren roses, the most beautiful in the universe; the fragrance was said to help couples realize their true feelings for each other.

As he activated the WOTS (Wormhole Opening and Travel System) and slipped into subspace to cross the normally trillion-lightyear distance, he decided to give his fiancee a video call and let him know he was on his way. As the space-time continuum seemed to form around his craft like a sleeve, he waited patiently for the love of his life to pick up the other end.
 
Samuel's fiance stat impatiently in her parent's living room looking out toward the landing area where she anticipated that her future husband would soon descend. Her white one-piece dress hugged her sculpted form in a flattering manner, accentuating her distinctly feminine curves. She had long blonde hair tied up behind her head in an intricate bun held in place with a pin, while on her finger she wore the ring which her love had bestowed upon her not so very long ago. In her mind at least, it had hardly been yesterday since she met him, the time they spent together was as blissful and yet fleeting as a midsummer dream. She eagerly awaited his arrival, and as her father tapped her on her left shoulder she jumped.

"Samuel's on the line," he said with a kind smile, realizing how much in love his daughter was as she had hardly gotten so worked up over anything before.

"Of course," she stood and accepted the earpiece and fixing it to place before speaking, "Hey love, what's taking you so long?"
 
Sam's expression brightened considerably when Rachel answered his call. His golden eyes sparkled a little as he responded with an old joke and his bright white smile, "Digging through the dirt". This was a reference to the name wormhole itself and the creature on Earth that actually dug holes in the soft mushy earth it called home. "It'll just be another couple of minutes. I got you a little something." Of course, it was a couple of minutes since he was traveling through a rift in the fabric of space-time. Travel through normal space would have taken him a LOT longer. He smiled wider and continued, "Rachel, I didn't think it was possible, but you look even more amazing than you usually do."

He then developed a fairly solemn expression and said, "So, Rachel, how is your father taking all this? Me coming to visit and all. He isn't giving you grief, is he?" He then said into the built-in microphone on the dashboard. He couldn't understand why her father didn't approve of him; he tried to be a respectable gentleman around their daughter, carrying himself well and presenting the image of the well-dressed, well-groomed man he was. He wasn't some trust-fund baby or penniless bum either; he'd worked hard to make his fortune, using his knowledge of physics, engineering and business to revolutionize intergalactic travel.

He distinctly remembered that her father accused him once of trying to make her his 'trophy wife'. It was only his exceptional self-control that kept him from blowing up at her father. To accuse his very character was an insult of the highest magnitude; he loved Rachel for who, not what, she was. And even though he may have tried to hide it beneath a veil of acceptance, Sam could tell her father did not like him.
 
"Why thank you," Rachel beamed at his compliment, "You look quite dashing yourself. I look forward to showing you off to my parents, as they are quite eager to meet you. You wouldn't believe how much effort they have put into getting the house ready. Can you imagine it? My own father was up on a ladder armed with a duster attacking the cobwebs around the house! Despite his exterior, I think he has come to realize how much I love you, Samuel. I'm sure he has some tough words for you when you get here, but deep down inside I think he has come around."

Rachel's father gave her a disapproving look, but she just stuck her tongue out at him in a playful manner, "Sorry, my dad is making faces at me again."
 
Sam's face turned red when she returned his compliment and told him she couldn't wait to have him meet her parents. "Hehe, thanks. I'm just trying to make a good impression on your folks. I really do want them to like me." He listened with increasing surprise on his expression as Rachel explained how her father was actually trying really hard to make the house presentable for him when he arrived; the news definitely caught him off-guard. "Well, I'll be on my best behavior, I want to show him that I genuinely love you for who you are and that the fact you're a flawless jaw-dropper is a very nice bonus."

He then chuckled when she stuck out her tongue away from the screen and then explained, "Heh, that's alright. I just hope he doesn't make them at me. But I'm glad your parents are at least giving me a chance. It definitely took some convincing, but I think they'll see me as a good man after tonight." He then sighed and said happily, "Rachel, I can't wait to see you again. I'm getting close to you now; I have to turn off the video now before I can re-enter normal space."

He then put his face to the monitor and said, "I love you, Rachel. With all my heart and soul." And with that, the video call ended on a romantic note. Little did Rachel and Sam know that this would be the last time they saw each other, perhaps for eternity. He was traveling through the danger zone after all; it was the most direct sub-space path from his previous stop to her house. And even though his design engineers warned him he shouldn't, he told them not to worry and that everything would be fine.

As soon as he switched off the video channel, his craft re-entered normal space unexpectedly. His body jolted forward at the sudden deceleration; the anti-gravity force column kicked in as expected. It was like an air bag without the bag, but able to stop the massive energy that came with suddenly dropping from subspace without the initial slowdown and without hurting the occupants one bit. "What the hell?" he stated; that wasn't supposed to happen. At least his craft still worked; maybe it just needed to cool down. He ran a diagnostics check and saw that the sub-space singularity generator was offline. A common problem that was easily remedied by letting it cool down. He was about to call Rachel and let her know what was going on when an alert displayed: STRUCTURAL FAILURE DETECTED IN PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. EXPLOSIVE DECOMPRESSION IMMINENT. BI-LAYER SEALING, PLEASE FIND NEAREST SUITABLE PLANET AND LAND FOR REPAIRS. ENGAGING ENVIRO-SUIT ENCLOSURE. ALL COMMUNICATIONS OFFLINE TO PRESERVE POWER, SUGGEST RE-ACTIVATING COMM ARRAY ONCE CRAFT HAS LANDED "OH COME ON!" Sam yelled frustratedly as the goo-like material seemed to grow out of the seat and enclose him in a bubble. This was another innovation of his company; suits that literally grew to fit whoever was in the car in case they traveled in space, even the family pet. They came with an advanced oxygen recycling system that took the CO2 people breathed out and converted it into breathable oxygen; however, this was only meant to last a day, two at most. He then pressed a button on the dash to activate a small beacon; what he didn't know was that the beacon launcher was inactive due to a faulty circuit.

Sam ran a scan of the current quadrant, looking for a place to touch down; his scans revealed a planet nearby. A quick scan revealed an Earth-type atmosphere and at that he quickly calculated a descent path that would ease the stress on the frame of the craft itself. As he approached the atmosphere he noticed a large debris field; there were humans here. That was good for him, that meant he could at least get a ride to Rachel's house. There wasn't a soul in the civilized world that didn't know his name, even if he didn't brag. He noticed that there were several heavy storms blocking certain paths as he descended further and further. He eventually touched down in a very deserted, wide open grassy plains-like area area, clearly frustrated at what happened.

He then opened the door of his spacecraft, his enviro-suit serving to protect him from potential atmospheric hazards. After running scans from the ESD (Environment Safety Determiner) on his wrist, he found no contaminants in the air and that it had the exact same gas mix as Earth itself. He sighed frustratedly; he punched in the spatial coordinates of where he was and found nothing. The map showed no data on this planet; hell it didn't show a planet at all. There was nothing reported here, and it was updated only an hour ago. So then what was up with the debris field when he entered the atmosphere? Very strange. What was worse was that no communications were available when he tried to reach Rachel or anyone for that matter; great, he'd landed one of the few dead zones in the universe.

He then realized how hot he was getting in this suit and decided to take it off. It was best that he didn't have to wear the suit for now; he pressed on a button on his waist belt and let the suit retract into a small cylinder for future use. He decided to grab the two other things that he needed: his Ruganeer Mk VI Phased Plasmite Pistol, a device capable of generating energy bolts up to 20000 degrees in temperature, and a golf-sized hypercube containing a tent and a few other survival supplies that he stuck into his pants pocket. If there was one thing that life taught him it was to be as prepared as you could be. He just grumbled in frustration, "So much for dressing up. This is fan-freakin'-tastic. But at least I'm not dead. Hopefully there's a town nearby; that debris means there has to be humans. The map must just be glitchy is all." Unfortunately, he had no idea where to go nor of the huge mistake he made by landing here.

(Lol, let's see what's behind door #1!)
 
The grasslands around him seemed to spread on in all directions without much apparent signs of life other than wildflowers and the occasional tree which dotted the horizon. A small lake lay about two miles off to the north while some rock outcroppings and perhaps a cave stood to the east. The land around him, however, was comprised almost entirely of slowly rolling hills topped with clumps of flowers which shook in the breeze as if waving a silent greeting to him. Perhaps they were, as this was the first time a human male had even stepped on this planet, let alone settled there. It was a planet devoid of human life, but that was not to say it did not have sentient life at all. No, he probably would have been better off without it, but there was nothing that he could do about it. In fact, some of it happened to be galloping toward him that very moment.

The sound of their approach was something to be feared, as a small hunting party arranged in a tight formation thundered across the silent prairie. They held bows in their hands, with arrows drawn and ready as their sharp hunter eyes scanned the horizon for game. They had noticed his ship's decent and had made a slight detour to investigate, having no idea what they would find. They were a hunting party of centaurs, considerably noble for the creatures on this planet but nonetheless dangerous. Their leader caught the scent of the man and signaled for the others to hold back a few feet as she went forward to investigate. She approached him at full speed, only stopping a few feet in front of him and holding the bow at the ready.

"You there," she said firmly, the large bright red feather in her headband which was a sign of her authority waving slightly in the wind, "What... Are you, exactly?"
 
(Lol, oh fuck XD)
Sam was quickly getting frustrated; his good clothes getting ruined as he tried to do what he could to make the craft space-worthy. Unfortunately, the tool he needed, a plasma torch to weld the faulty frame pieces together, was out of fuel. It required three reprocessed Zixanium full rods to function, something which he would discover was impossible to obtain on this planet. "Great, looks I'm stuck here. May as well try to get communications back up; I have to get a signal somehow. Though hopefully my beacon will at least led them in the right direction." Little did he know that no one was coming; only Rachel would suspect something was wrong. And that wouldn't happen for a while, not until people started talking about his disappearance a good while after today. He was so busy that he failed to notice the beautiful scenery

As Sam was trying to fix his craft, he heard the encroaching thunder that ripped him from his thoughts; he had no idea what it was, but he was hoping it was humans. He walked away from his craft to try and get a better look. At first he saw silhouettes on the horizon and thought they were humans riding horses. "Cliche, but it works" he then said; but before he even thought of waving them down, he noticed that he was wrong. Very wrong. They weren't riding horses, they WERE horses. Well, in some respect anyway; they had the upper body of a woman where the head and neck of a horse would be.

When the one wearing the red feather approached him, he put his hands up in a surrendering fashion; he was so taken aback by surprise he didn't even think to draw his sidearm he had holstered under his dress coat. "Centaurs? I thought these creatures only existed in myth!" he thought before swallowing softly, clearly intimidated. Even with the physiological and neural enhancements he had done to himself, he could tell that this centaur woman was a far superior creature to him in many respects. Still, he regained his composure and tried to put on a brave face; animals sensed fear and he didn't want them to think he was weak. Animals were less likely to strike if they thought their prey could fight back to some degree. He then spoke, his tone surprisingly calm and level, "I....am a human. My name is Samuel. May I ask your name, centaur?"
 
She looked down at him (for she was about the height of a large breed of horse) her piercing gaze failing to detect any malice in his face or demeanor so she slowly but cautiously slung her bow back around behind herself, "it seems you are a visitor of some kind, for I have yet to hear of this race of beings known as 'human' and I have led my people for many years but have not met with something such as yourself in a great many years... Even then, it would only be through the experiances of others, who spoke of the Great Times, the time in which our people could freely mate as they needed. Sadly, those times are far beyond us, but that is a different subject."

The centaur then answered his question in a polite yet prideful manner, "I am known as Talbor the Third, or Talbor the Lesser if you prefer. My father was Talbor the Great, the last of our male kind to pass from this world into the next."

After signaling to the others to approach, she extended her hand toward him, "I take your presence to not be hostile, so I offer my hand in peace."

The rest of the group then stepped into view, curious yet dignified they walked up to observe him. They all had a brownish colored coat, some darker while others closer to cream, and they all had bows strapped to their persons and feathers of different colors in their headbands indicating rank.
 
Sam listened as Talbor the Third explained her analysis of him; though he was confused about these Great Times of which she spoke. When she told him of her father's passing, he felt a strange pang of sympathy for her. Still, she wasn't hostile towards him; her account told him that her kind had never encountered a human before. Her pride told him that he should probably refer to her by her full name; one thing his business ventures taught him was to detect subtle cues about people's upbringings. Though it wouldn't help reveal everything about a person's culture, it helped smooth things over between him and his foreign workers and business partners.

When she extended her hand, he cautiously reached for it and grasped it, saying simply in a polite tone of voice "I accept your peace offer, Talbor the Third. I am glad you do not see me as a hostile presence. You have my condolences about your father's passing." He was careful not to say he was an ally; to them he was a stranger and would most likely be watched with extreme scrutiny. He noticed the others as they stood behind her and out to the sides; though they all had similar body shapes, the coloration of their bodies were distinct for each one.

When the formalities were taken care of, he then looked at her and said, "What you said......it leads me to believe there are no other humans existing on this world. If I may ask, is this presumption correct?" He wanted to be certain that he knew the exact gravity of the situation that he was in.
 
(sorry about the short post... couldn't think of much to add)

"Yes, that would be correct," Talbor replied, "What makes you believe it could be any other case?"

The other centaurs seemed to gain interest in the conversation at this point, looking him over carefully but saying nothing.
 
"I ask because there was an artificial debris field I saw before I touched down. Parts of things that humans made floating high above the surface of the planet; it led me to believe that humans had settled here. But it would seem that is not the case." He should have expected as much; this was clearly a world uncharted by humans or any other species that didn't already live here. "But then how did it form?" he thought to himself; he decided to think about it later. Right now, he needed to get his craft frame and sub-space singularity generator fixed; he then asked "Excuse me, Talbor the Third. Are the centaurs a space-faring race? I ask because my vehicle is damaged, and I need to get off this planet as soon as possible".
 
"I am afraid that I do not understand your question," Talbor blinked, her head tilting slightly to the side accenting the fact that she probably didn't understand half of what he said, "If by faring you mean we sail the oceans and seas, then to answer your question no we do not possess such arts. We are a nomadic race, moving from place to place in search of food. If you wish, you may speak with one of our sages to see if she may prove more enlightening than myself."
 
"Well, that's just great. Guess I shouldn't have expected anything less" Sam thought to himself, growing more and more annoyed by the second. He wasn't so much annoyed at the centaurs, it was more of an annoyance with the current situation. Why did it have to screw up here? All the tests they ran showed it should have run more than smoothly enough from the testing facility on Xethron to Rachel's house.

When Talbor suggested he visit their sages, he nodded and replied, "I would like that very much, thank you." However, he knew that he would be unable to keep up with them on foot; he then asked, "If I may ask, Talbor the Third, would it be too forward of me to ask to ride on your back for the journey? If I were to walk I would surely get lost and only serve to slow you down." He may have been able to run faster than the average human, but there was no way in hell he was going to keep up with a centaur if they were even a fraction as fast as their Earth counterparts.
 
(sorry about the delay, but it will be the last for me tonight. I'll post again in the morning and in the afternoon tomorrow.)

"Not at all, but you need only call me Talbor," Talbor knelt down to allow him to mount her, at which point she then turned to the others and motioned toward them, "Hold on tightly."

They nodded and all at once they started to gallop to the west. They ran at quite a fast pace, the fields bellow them seeming to blend together into a blur of green red, and blue as their hooves hardly even seemed to touch the ground. They practically flew across the prairie, toward a large clearing in the distance. A single central fire stood amid small portable huts made of skins. Spears, swords, and bows were leaned up beside them while freshly caught game hung on spits over the fire. There were about two dozen or so older-looking centaurs that rose to meet the hunters, looking more than a little puzzled at the human who rode Talbor.

"This is Samuel, a visitor from a faraway place," Talbor told the sages, "he wishes to speak to you if he may."

She knelt down once again to let him get off and stand on his own.
 
(Alright, see you tomorrow)

Sam nodded, saying "Thank you, Talbor" before mounting her; he jolted back slightly as she took off. He gripped her tightly as instructed, holding onto her shoulders as they seemed to fly over the plains. He noticed that they made Earth horses seem slower than snails. He had to keep his head down most of the time, since the wind blew so hard into his unprotected face; he could have used the suit stored in the small canister on his back, but that risked startling her and there was no telling if it would grow over her as well. He lifted his head when he felt them slow down; his well-kept hair was blown back, at least until he smoothed it down with his hands.

He noticed that Talbor was not lying; they truly seemed to be wanderers, at least as far as the movies and second-hand accounts went of roughing it. He noticed the large group of elders standing before them as Talbor trotted into the campsite; he got off and approached the elders to what he believed to be a respectable distance. He then gave a bow, acknowledging their obvious authority around here; he'd seen some of the other centaurs do it. He then stood back and spoke calmly, "Greetings, elder centaurs. As Talbor said, I am Samuel, a human. I come to you with a request for help: my star-traveling vehicle is damaged, and I would like to know if there is a place I may go to for repairs."
 
"Traveling among the heavily stars is not something done lightly, nor is it something which we possess the ability to assist you in. We have carefully observed the stars, and can learn a great many things about the world as well as ourselves. We suspected that someone like you would be arriving at our very village for some time, but we expected you to arrive before the passing of two hundred moon cycles (approximately twenty of this planet's years). I am grieved to inform you that we are yet unprepared for you, but we do have a spare tent for your use if you so desire it," the oldest and most sagely of the group replied, waving her divining staff in front of her toward the human, "Also, Talbor, please do your best to make this man at home. If he wishes to stay with us, you may take him for your own if you so desire."

"G-grandmother," Talbor coughed, "I realize that you are concerned about my lack of a proper mate, but this is hardly the time for us to consider such actions."
 
Sam listened as the leader explained that his arrival apparently had been foretold; he couldn't help but smile inwardly when she told him he was early. "So much for never being punctual, Dad. I was early, even for a prophesized arrival on a planet I never heard of. Suck it, old man." Though that quickly went away when she went to say that they did not have the facilities to help him repair his craft; he shouldn't have expected anything less, Talbor told him herself that they didn't fare across the stars.

When she offered a tent for him to use, he quickly said, "Thank you, elder one. Your hospitality is much appreciated." He would try not to be a burden; though a lump came to his throat when the elder practically offered him to her grand-daughter. Just when he was about to ask for clarification, the grand-daughter made everything quite clear for him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what? Mate?" he thought to himself; he wasn't mad, how could they know he was already taken? He then cautiously said, "Um, excuse me, Village Elder? I appreciate you letting me stay here, but I'm afraid I can't be your grand-daughter's mate. For you see...." he then held up his hand, showing the engagement ring Rachel had given him, "My heart and soul belongs to another." Little did he know of the centaur's prideful nature and their relative lack of ability to take rejection well.
 
"Are you saying that I do not live up to your standards?" Talbor seemed gravely offended at his statement, walking up to him aggressively and staring down at him with her piercing gaze, "Even if you wish to decline such a proposition, such matters should be held in private not declared in front of not only the village elders, but the entire village. It is a grave insult to both myself and my people to make a public declaration of it, and I will not tolerate it."

The centaurs around seemed to back away from the two of them, even the elders appearing somewhat intimidated at her ire.
 
(Lol, he done fucked up XD)

Sam realized the mistake he made when Talbor approached him; his body froze as she peered down at him, the anger clear in her expression. But, how the hell was he supposed to know that? The village elder had made the proposition, so he was just letting her know. "T..Talbor, come on, let's be reasonable. I just got here, I know nothing of your people, I was just letting her know. I didn't know it was rude to do that and I deeply apologize."

He then sighed and returned her gaze, his golden eyes peering intently into hers, "And it's not that you aren't up to my standards, you're a very beautiful woman. It's the fact I've been claimed by another. My species allows for solely monogamous relationships; to be with another woman would make me unfaithful to my betrothed. Even if we haven't been officially betrothed yet." His eyes widened at that last part; sometimes he really did have a motor-mouth.
 
"If you have not yet been betrothed, then it should not be considered unfaithful," Talbor replied hotly, "Your species must have a multitude of males for the choosing if you can be so haphazard with your choice of mates. Here, males are extremely difficult to acquire, some tribes only have one male among the entire population. Although they are officially only married to one female, the wife shares her husband with the others for the sole purpose of procreation. It is an old practice, one which we have no pride in practicing, but necessary considering our current state of affairs. My father was our only surviving male."

"If you agree to assist us in this endeavor, I will personally assure you that you will be treated with respect and cared for, and in time we may be able to send word to the other tribes to see if we can send a message to the Great Sleeping Succubus herself. She may be able to help you in your quest to the stars," the elder spoke up, "She is very wise and powerful."
 
(Looks like he's 'fucked' XD)
Well that was a different perspective; however, it wasn't really one he was entirely comfortable with. He'd always considered himself a one-woman man; though if this were someone else in his position, they'd gladly jump on the chance to make love to them. He couldn't believe how black and white she was making things sound; then again, he was looking at it from the perspective of his own culture. This was probably how they survived; and in truth things would probably be very similar if humanity was in the centaur people's shoes.

As Talbor explained the deal of helping them procreate for a chance to meet with this 'Great Sleeping Succubus', he had to pause; did he really want to risk ruining his relationship with Rachel? In truth he could probably wait it out; judging by the size of the game in the spits, there were animals plenty big enough for him to shoot. "Don't kid yourself, Sam. You probably wouldn't last one day here on your own."

Even though he was going to hate himself for it, he realized this was probably the only way of him making it off this planet. "Very well, I will assist you, Talbor." he then said, the discomfort and apprehension heavy in his tone, despite the intent gaze into her eyes.
 
Talbor merely nodded, "Apology accepted."

The elder then nodded to one of the younger centaurs who then rushed off to the north to carry the message to the next nearest clan and to start the chain message to perhaps reach the before mentioned succubus. What he didn't realize, however, is that this was merely the beginning of his troubles, as things would get much much worse in the days to come. With the present matter resolved, the hunting party began all at once to prepare for the afternoon meal. They started to take bits of meat and stripping it off the bones laid it on platters which they then placed in a circle around the fire. Several others brought out herbs and strong spices with which to season the meats and to provide some vital nutrients which the meat lacked. They all gathered around as soon as the preparations were complete and the village elder mumbled a blessing before they all started to partake of it.

Talbor took Samuel with herself and sat down beside the elder, motioning for him to join her as they ate. As the meal began, a few centaurs started to bring out large gourds of fermented juices and pour some for the elders and some of the other higher-ranking leaders such as Talbor, which she then took a small portion before offering it to Samuel. It was a tradition of sorts for a wife to offer her husband a drink, as a public sign of affection. However, until they grew older centaurs had a hard time keeping their liquor, and such drinking often led to certain other activities following the meal.
 
Sam breathed a sigh of relief when she finally acknowledged his apology; little did he know the trouble that was about to befall him. He watched as various centaurs began bustling with activity, preparing large platters of the meats that were roasting on the spits; when they started using their various herbs to flavor it, he could practically feel his mouth begin to water heavily. "Wow, these ladies know how to cook! Everything smells fantastic!" he thought; he tried to see if he could help out but everything was done before he could even lift a finger.

When Talbor motioned him to sit beside her, he knelt down on his knees like she did; they must have stronger legs than Earth horses, because if an Earth horse was on its knees like she was, they 'd have some very serious problems. Sam bowed his head, but kept silent, as the elders blessed the meal; while not a religious man himself, he felt it necessary to not make them any angrier with him. Sam graciously accepted the goblet of fermented juice when Talbor offered it to him, saying "Thanks" loudly enough for the others to hear; it looked like the red wine he sometimes drank with Rachel.

"Rachel, forgive me. I'm just trying to make it back to you." he thought before taking a sip; he nearly spit it back out. It wasn't that it tasted bad, it was just so damn strong. Luckily he had an unusually high alcohol tolerance level; after a moment though, the flavor went from bitter to a kind of nutty sweet. It was actually quite pleasant, and with that he was able to finish his cup while he sampled the succulent meats that had been prepared. Everything was quite delicious; little did he know that the herbs would have an unusual effect on him. They would boost his body's capability to produce enormous quantities of highly potent sperm and boost his sexual endurance to keep with even the most virile of centaur males.
 
Talbor actually smiled upon seeing his initial reaction to the wine, "I see that you drink wine from wherever it is that you come from as well."

She reached over and poured him some more, her attitude having gotten considerably more loose and friendly after drinking as well. As the centaurs around the campfire sampled the dishes and ate as much as they liked, they fell to chatting back and forth among each other and some of them turned in early for the afternoon as they often went to sleep early and woke up at the break of dawn to start the hunt once again. They were in a perpetual cycle of hunting, gathering, and traveling, and it was the only way of life they knew.

Talbor waited for Samuel to finish eating, but through her softened expression anyone could tell that she was starting to feel the effects of the drink... And perhaps something else.
 
Sam was actually feeling contented in all of this; maybe it was the wine but he felt a lot looser about everything. Maybe if everyone got drunk, they would forget the whole mating business. Then he wouldn't have to betray Rachel. He gladly talked with Talbor and the other centaurs as he ate, filling his belly with the meat and wine. After a while he noticed that the other centaurs were starting to turn in; he was feeling pretty tired himself.

Sam noticed that Talbor was looking a little tipsy by the time he had eaten his fill; perhaps she had a bit too much. Still, it was nice seeing her smile like this and she didn't seem particularly violent. "Should we turn in as well? Where will I be staying?" he then asked, not really sure about how all of this worked.
 
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