CHAPTER 6

Near the center of the village was a small hut with smoke coming from the chimney. From outside, it smelled like somebody had dumped the contents of a full medicine cabinet into a hot spring. He wrinkled his nose at the smell, and could soon taste it in his mouth. He had no idea what they were making, but it smelled terrible.

Leo paused at the door flap and casually knocked on the frame before entering. After a few moments of conversation, Zel appeared, a large smile on her face.

"There you are." She came over and gave him a hug, placing his face firmly in her chest and giving him flashbacks to less than an hour ago with Sofia. Zel's breasts were far smaller, however, her height mainly the result of her horse half. "I was hoping I would see you today."

"You look good." The hug ended, and he stepped back to appraise her. Her hair had been braided with beads and small shells, and her face positively glowed with energy. Being reunited with her own kind seemed to be very good for her.

"So do you, but... I think you need another haircut." She tousled his hair, and he scowled. Ever since he had used his magic while the two of them were fucking, his hair grew much faster and he could run faster and farther than ever before. He wasn't ready for the Olympics yet, but being able to jog without getting tired was a huge improvement for someone who had led a sedentary existence only a few months ago.

"Has it been three weeks already?" He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. There had been a fight between the others the first time he had announced that he needed a haircut. There had been much discussion about what hairstyle would look cutest on him, and in the end, it had been Naia who had just trimmed it down for him.

"It has, and it's been almost a week since I've seen you. How is the house?"

Mike filled her in on the others. Ever since Zel had moved out, she had become increasingly busy managing her new tribe, and he saw her less now than ever. Her responsibilities were vast, and he had the feeling that someday soon, she would be too busy to just drop by for a visit. The thought made him sad, but he couldn't help but feel immensely happy for how things had turned out for her.

He finished telling her about how Sofia and Yuki didn't seem to get along and she nodded knowingly.

"We've also had some of that here. Not all of the exiles quite see eye to eye with each other, and we've had our share of arguments."

"So what have you been doing to quell the fighting?"

"Not a whole lot, yet. Most of the squabbles are trivial, but I'd be remiss to believe they won't never get worse. There's always the threat of exile back to the old world, but my aunt has been really great at mediating disputes and ensuring peace afterward. I am learning a lot from her."

"I'm glad to hear it. Speaking of your aunt, what on earth are you guys working on? It smells like somebody made a perfume called 'Grandma's House.'"

Zel snorted. "We're working on a bunch of things. We've got a project from Ratu that's related to Dana's situation, but that's going to take some trial and error. We are also looking at accelerants for plant growth, as we would like to start cultivating better food at some point. There's even talk of importing game so that we can have meat on our diet again, but that's largely up to you."

Mike nodded, unsure what to say. The greenhouse didn't have any animals living in it, and he was unsure if there was a good reason for that. "I'll talk it over with some of the others. I don't see an issue, but obviously we need to be careful what we bring here."

"Absolutely." She smiled. "Other than that, your usual potions and experiments. We may have found a use for Dragon's Breath, but the jury is still out on that."

He smiled at the memory of his first meeting with Zel. The two of them had gotten some Dragon's Breath on them, and had rushed to a nearby spring to wash the burning powder off, which led to some fooling around. "I'm curious to see what you come up with."

"And I'm anxious to tell you. I miss you and the others, but..." she cast a glance over her shoulder at the busy village that was forming behind her.

"I get it." He took her hand and squeezed it. "There's no place like home."

"Yeah. This place has so much promise, and I look forward to exploring some of the secrets I wasn't able to by myself. Hey, do you want to see some of our new buildings?"

"I would love to." He continued holding her hand and walked amongst the centaurs as an exalted guest. He was greeted with smiles and more than a few waves, which he returned. While he didn't expect special treatment for giving the centaurs this land to live on, he certainly appreciated their gratitude.