She stared into the distance as the light receded, her hand raised to block it. The trees stopped whipping, and the grass settled back as the swirling clouds slowed and then dissipated.
He glanced over at her. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "That was — did you see that light?"
He nodded. "The old wizard tower."
She swished her tail, and then slowly pivoted in place to face it. "I thought that place was abandoned."
He shrugged. "I did too. Maybe not? Trolls could be camping there."
She nodded in reply, brushing the dust off the top half of her outfit, a black-and-brown leather shirt with gold inlays. She glanced up at him. "I don't think we've met properly."
"No, we haven't," he said.
"I'm — " She paused. It was on her lips. She was sure it was. "I'm Mariette." That's right. That was her name. Why was that difficult?
"Garan," he replied slowly, as if he were testing each syllable to ensure it was correct.
"Hello, Garan, pleased to meet you," said Mariette. "I'm part of the — I'm from the village — I'm officially the — " She glanced to the left, down the hill, pointing. "I'm under orders to check this place out. We've had reports of — people going missing up here."
Garan nodded in reply. "We got similar reports back in — King's Seat. I'm part of the second division of — " He paused. He knew his codes. This was his job. "Anyway, the king sent me. The Magery detected something strange here, and they wanted to send someone they trusted to check it out." He crossed his arms and stomped a hoof officially.
"Well, sounds like we should pair up," she said. "We're both investigating the same thing."
He nodded, and took a few steps toward her. If he wasn't on official business, she'd have been exactly his type: A pretty girl, slender, with wavy yellow hair down to her shoulders, and searing green eyes. Maybe a little small in the bust, but she had a pretty face, and damned if that golden equine butt of hers wasn't the most impressive he'd ever seen. He really wished the centaur girl would stop swishing her dark tail: It was doing far too good a job of distracting him.
"So what do you know about what's going on here?" he said, lowering his pike to rest its hilt in the dirt.
"These megaliths are centuries old," she said, waving around at the giant rocks surrounding the top of the hill. "Built by the Old Mages a thousand years ago at a place that was supposed to be magically powerful. But after the Great War, it's just a ruin. Children come up here from the village to play. But a few weeks ago, J — J — " She paused. What was his name? "Anyway, a guy came up here and disappeared. His girlfriend came up looking for him, and she disappeared too. We've had — four — people? — from the village go missing up here, so I — was sent here to — investigate."
Mariette walked forward, tail held high, and to his chagrin he got a good view of what was underneath. That was going to make it a
lot
harder to focus.
"I didn't find anything, though," she said, waving at the megaliths. "This place is just as dull as it always was. It's just a ruin. And then — " She paused, wincing. Then what had happened? "Then you were here, and then there was — at the wizard's tower — a light? — "
She stood still, confused, and then brushed it aside. "Anyway, that's about it," she said. "What do you know?" She turned back around.
"We got — reports that the place was magically active," said Garan. He picked up his pike and walked toward her, his hooves thudding hard in the dark earth. "I didn't think much of it, but that — what was it? — that light, at the wizard's tower. You said it was abandoned, yes?" He glanced over at the tower on the far side of the valley, and it too looked like a ruin, with holes in the roof and crumbling stonework.
"It was. I'm starting to think trolls may have moved in there, though."
"Well, we'll — rout them," he replied, stomping his pike into the dirt again. "Trolls aren't much of a threat."
She nodded, twitching her large ears.
The clouds split overhead, with a shaft of sunlight falling on them and warming the both of them. Mariette smiled: If nothing else, it was a good day to be outside, and the soldier boy in front of her wasn't too shabby to look at. Short-cropped black hair, a dark brown coat, and that long, smooth, well-kept tail. He was easily a full head taller than her, too, which didn't hurt. If she wasn't on duty, he was exactly the sort of boy she'd happily pick up at a — a tavern —? yes, that was the word — and take back to her home, and let him give her a good solid railing.
Railing? In a — bed? She blinked, confused. No, that wasn't right. She was a centaur, of course, and it was far more comfortable to do it like the horses did. Maybe in a stables, for a bit of modesty, but honestly, if no-one was around, a field or a forest was just as good.
Mariette glanced up at the sun. It was still warm. She tugged at her sleeve.
She looked over at him. He looked too warm in his uniform too. "You don't mind if I —?" She tugged at her sleeve again.
He shrugged. "Why would I?"
She began to loosen the leather shirt. It wasn't very comfortable in this heat. Why had she put this thing on? Someone wanted her to.
Garan looped around, surveying the area, and noticed something lying in the grass. He leaned over and picked it up. "Huh," he said. "Strip of cloth? Brown? It's pretty shredded."
He turned around, holding it up for her, just as she finished slipping off the leather shirt. Bare, she stretched comfortably in the sunlight. That was a
lot
better.
She glanced at the cloth. It looked familiar. "Huh. I could swear I've seen that before," she said. She trotted over, her small pert breasts bouncing, and stopped in front of him, taking the cloth. "It was — I think it's part of — maybe someone's — pants?" She stared at it in wonderment.
Garan shook his head. "I don't get it," he said.
"What, why it's here, or why — pants?" she said.
"The latter," he said. "Seems like an odd thing. Maybe a clue."
She nodded, and put the strip of cloth in her —
"What's the matter?" he said.
She simply held the cloth at her waist. "I — I could swear I had something for putting things in," she said. "I guess maybe I don't. You'll have to carry it."
He took the cloth back from her, and stashed it into one of the pockets in his vest.
He slipped off the vest and dropped it on the ground. "You're right about how warm it is out here."
"Isn't it, though? Love being outside on a day like this. Warms you from head to tail. I can't imagine being indoors when it's this nice out."
"I'll say. There was this one time I was on a mission to — and then we — and I — well, anyway, I'd far rather be outside too."
She grinned. "You sure it's not just because there's a pretty girl here? I swear you sold — soldi — you boys are all the same when it comes to pick-up lines."
He grinned back. "Oh, it's definitely because of the pretty girl."
She flushed a little, but let it fade. She was a professional, after all. "Well, maybe after I'm done work, we can spend some time outside together. There's a great place in the vil — vil — that's near here that sells the best beer in the region. I'd love to grab a drink with you and then go for a good solid gallop."
