NOVEL SIMPLE 48. Freja and Courage
A troop of centaurs patrolling the road spotted the party and started trotting toward them. They paused to wait and Bonny looked around at several industrious beaver-kin cutting trees and floating them back to the city for construction.
“Centaurss are overssenssitive and do not like uss lamia. Watch what you ssay to them, Bonny.” Eloisss warned.
The patrol slowed as they got close. They all carried lances and were covered in leather barding and armor, with several other weapons strapped to their equine bodies. Most had saddlebags tied to their sides as well, though none had saddles.
“Halt! Who are you?” The leader was a huge stallion, close to eight feet tall. His front shoulder was almost level with Bonny’s head and his torso was another three feet or so higher. He was a dark red bay, his black points glossy and striking.
Bonny stepped forward and smiled, “Hi, I’m Bonny. We’re …”
The stallion ignored her, interrupting and pointing at Eloisss. “You! Why are you here?”
Eloisss slid up and put her hand on Bonny’s shoulder, ignoring the stallion in turn. “Ass exspected. We are not trussted here. Though the scity sstill dessiress our metal.”
“Answer me! Or return to the forest!” He stomped a hoof.
“Wait!” A shiny black centaur trotted forward. Her armor was also black leather, but had metal rivets dotting it, indicating there were probably metal plates inset for strength. “Don’t antagonize them, Chief.”
The stallion turned to the newcomer, “Don’t interrupt me!”
The black mare pointed to Bonny and Eloisss. “They are priests of Courage.”
“She visits my temple regularly.” Courage’s voice spoke up from Bonny’s shoulder. “Her name is Freja. She did well to recognize you. You may bless her, if you choose.”
Bonny turned to Freja, surprised. The mare was smaller than the stallion, but still tall. Her equine shoulder came to just under Bonny’s chin, with her total height around seven feet. Her hair, mane, tail, and equine coat were all glossy black, with 'feathering' around her hooves. Her human skin was a matte black except for a white star on her forehead. She wore her long, thick hair in a braid that fell to her withers.
Bonny flared her aura, her skin shining as she bolstered their determination and fearlessness. “It’s good to meet you, Freja. You are favored by the goddess.”
Freja started in surprise, then bowed slightly from her waist.
The stallion stepped close, towering over Bonny and trying to intimidate her. “If you are a priestess, why are you dressed so provocatively?”
“You are beautiful, Freja.” Bonny continued to ignore the stallion. She glanced at Eloisss and winked, then turned back to the black mare. “May I ride you?”
The stallion exploded in anger. “HOW DARE YOU?” He reared up and kicked, his forelegs striking out around Bonny’s head.
Freja stepped over and shoved the stallion, knocking him off balance and away from Bonny. “Don’t! This is my decision.”
She turned to Bonny and eyed the bunny closely, then started removing her gear. “You may. One moment.”
Lust spoke up, “She’s already undressing for you. You should fuck her tonight. Show her who’s dominant.”
Bonny glared down at the demoness, but didn’t reply. She turned to Eloisss, who was groaning and holding her head in her hands. “Can you explain what the danger is? And ask if we can get an escort to take us to the city.”
Eloisss nodded, "I will try."
The rest of the centaurs tried to talk Freja out of it, but she shook her head. “This is a challenge from Courage. I feel it.”
“She doesn’t look like a priestess of Courage.” The centaur chief argued.
“What do you know of courage? You avoid fights and hide behind me.” Freja responded, removing the last of her weapons. She turned to the party and held out a hand. “Bonny? Was it?”
Bonny nodded and hopped forward, grabbing Freja’s hand. The centaur lifted a foreleg for Bonny to step on and pulled her up, stabilizing the bunny until she straddled the centaur’s back.
Freja was wide, but Bonny was flexible and easily spread her legs to fit the centaur’s girth. She was sitting a little forward of where a saddle would go, and leaned forward to grab Freja around her torso.
Bonny leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “Giddy-up.”
Freja turned, “What?”
“It means you can go. I’m ready.”
Freja started at a trot, heading up the road toward the city. Bonny wrapped her legs tight and held on with her knees, shifting forward and back in time with the movement.
She had ridden horses a few times, both Western and English styles, but had never gotten the hand of posting. It was even harder without a saddle or stirrups, so she bounced at the rough gait. Fortunately, none of the brigandine rivets were under where she sat, or it would have quickly gotten uncomfortable.
After a few minutes, Freja sped up, shifting into a canter. Then, seeing that Bonny was still hanging on, the centaur leaned forward and accelerated more, transitioning into a full gallop.
They tore down the road, the wind whipping past, pulling at their hair. Bonny tucked her head to Freja’s back and held close, both leaning forward, almost flat.
Freja sped up even more, magic and stamina empowering her far beyond what a horse from Earth would be capable of. Bonny estimated they were running faster than 50 mph, maybe even at interstate speeds. After a few minutes, the centaur slowed, then dropped to a walk.
They were about halfway to the city already and there were small farms along the road and river, but most were fields of grain with no one visible. One farm in particular caught Bonny’s attention and she turned slightly to watch as they passed by. It was a dairy farm, with several white and black cows being milked. The farmhands were cow girls, with huge tits. Bonny giggled and wondered if they gave milk as well.
Freja interrupted Bonny’s thoughts, “I accepted your proposal to have the opportunity to talk to you alone.”
“That’s fine. I wanted to talk to you as well.” Bonny wrapped her legs around the centaur’s waist and scooted up, like she was getting a piggyback ride instead of a horseback one. “Is this fine or do you want me to walk?”
Freja laughed, “It’s fine. How did you become a priestess of Courage?”
“Eloisss, the lamia, was protecting me from an horde of goblins, but she got hurt. I didn’t have any armor, or even clothes, but ran in to heal her. Courage gave me a boon after we survived the battle. You’re the first person to call me a priestess though.”
“The six of you fought a horde of goblins and won?”
“Uh, four of us. The dryad and fairy hadn’t joined us yet. The fox, Kanae, hadn't either, but she helped in that fight. It was near Miu’s home, she's the cat kin, so some them joined in as well. Well, I guess we saved them, really. The fight wasn't going well before we got there.”
“You saved a village of cats? Just how many goblins were there?”
“Uh, a hundred? I think? Courage?”
The goddess materialized to their right side, appearing as a lion-centaur. A beautiful human figure from the waist up, and lioness below. She wore the same golden runed helmet and toga, but held a club across one shoulder, instead of the spear she had before. The unmistakable aura of divinity surrounded her. “A hundred is close enough, Bonny.”
“Courage! I didn’t know you could take other forms. You are so pretty.” Bonny let go and slid off the centaur without waiting for her to stop, then hopped over to the liontaur. “Can I pet you?”
“You may.” Courage turned to look at Freja as Bonny started stroking the divine half-cat.
The centaur had stopped and was staring at Courage and Bonny.
The goddess smiled at Freja. “Thank you for your conviction and prayers.”
“It is my pleasure, Goddess.” The centaur bowed from the waist, lowering her upper body to parallel to the ground.
“Courage, can I ride?” Bonny spoiled the moment.
Courage laughed. “Of course.” She reached down and pulled Bonny up, similar to how Freja had done earlier. Then waved the centaur forward.
They walked together for a while, the centaur darting glances over at Bonny and Courage, eyes wide when she realized Bonny had slipped a hand into Courage’s clothes.
“Freja, I have a request.” The goddess said, clearly ignoring Bonny’s hand groping her under the toga.
“Anything, Goddess.”
“Join Bonny. She has a hard road ahead and will need a shield. The lamia has done an acceptable job so far, but they will need more help.”
“Of course. I will resign my position when we return to the patrol.”
“Thank you." Courage stopped walking and twisted halfway around. "Bonny, I must go.”
“Okay.” Bonny slid off and hopped around to face the lion-centaur. “A kiss?”
Courage leaned down and kissed the bunny, then winked and vanished.
Bonny hopped back over to Freja and raised a hand. “May I?”
The centaur stared at her for a moment, before nodding and pulling her up. “How?”
“She needs me to do something, then something else. Then save the world from demons or something.” She sighed, “Are you sure you want to join us?”
“I seek challenge. It sounds like you have plenty and I would love to be part of it. I finished my required tour years ago, but remain in the patrol in order to fight the monsters we find.”
“Great. Uh, how do you feel about sex?”
Freja blushed. “I’ve never had sex. I’m a virgin.”
“Oh. Uh, you don’t have to, if you don’t want, but my companions and I do it a lot.”
“Well, I don’t think I would mind. I just didn’t want to settle for anyone when there are challenges to face.”
Bonny smiled, “Great! Do you want me to make it a challenge for you?”
“Can you?”
“Oh, yes! I think I can.”
A ghostly laugh, with an echo of divinity, rippled in the air around them.
