Chapter 9

51 2 0
                                    

Even with my burst of energy when we first stopped, I still felt quite tired now. I stared into the dying fire before my eyes shifted to Teddy and Levi. A small smile pulled at my lips; they looked so cute curled up together. I chuckled. I doubt Levi was going to enjoy finding out that his tail was in Teddy's mouth. My smile faded, and I grimaced. Did I want that? Who knows where his tail had been. I sat up and scooted over to remove Levi's tail from Teddy's mouth. "There we go."

I lay back down to sleep.

*~*~*~*~*

The following morning I just wanted to return to slumberland, but the ground was hard and cold. I knew there was no way I was getting back to sleep. I groaned and sat up. "Ow."

"About time," Levi said, making me jump. "I am never letting him sleep on me again. Get him off."

I glanced over. "Come on. Isn't it nice to have a child-" I covered my mouth as I snickered a little. When Teddy slept with anyone, he was quite literally all over them.

"You should know that kids like this can produce strong kicks. Get him off!" he snapped in a low voice.

"Calm yourself," I mumbled as I lifted the sleeping child off of him.

"Oh, gross," he mumbled, looking at the drool spot on his fur. He got up and shook himself. "I'm going to find a stream to wash in. I'll be back."

I gave a nod and watched as he disappeared into the trees. I chuckled before shifting back until my back hit rested against the tree. I adjusted Teddy on my lap and stroked his head.

He wrinkled his nose before letting out a long breath. He smacked his lips and snuggled closer.

I smiled and rubbed his back.

*~*~*~*~*

Ten minutes later, Levi returned, still a little damp. He shook himself before moving closer. "The rascal is still asleep?"

I nodded.

"Are you good to start walking now then? We could cover a little bit of ground before he needs to eat."

I gave a nod. "Sounds good."

"Excellent." He transformed into human form and gathered the blanket into the bag, and helped me up. "Quit groaning."

"My bed is uncomfortable. But after this, it will seem like a high end mattress." I tried to stretch my back a little, but it was impossible with Teddy in my arms. I huffed, wishing to deal with the crick in my back. I followed Levi through the trees.

Through a good chunk of the next hour, he kept his eyes focused on the map, stopping here and there and looked around.

"We're not lost, are we?" I asked.

He quickly shook his head. "No, of course not."

My eyebrow shot up. "Really?"

He sighed and shut the map. "Okay, maybe..." He looked at me. "You have magic in you, right?"

I nodded.

"And you suppress it?"

"I guess? You mean 'pulling it closer?'"

"Some call it that, sure."

"Then yes. She said it was best-"

"To make sure that no one knew, making you more invisible." He stroked his chin. "If the people don't know you're human, let them feel your magic. Unless they examine it at the random touch, they'll just assume you're a centaur. Maybe a half or quarter, but that's fine."

Into the Centaur World (COMPLETE)Where stories live. Discover now