Chapter 21. Fathers talk

I hesitated for a second before Helayt sighed and bent down a little lower, mistaking my hesitation for her being too high to get on. I didn't a second time and jumped on as softly as I could. The last thing I wanted to do was bruise her after I'd just finish gaining some semblance of trust.

"So where do we stand right now?" I asked as I gripped the area were her human back combined with her equine. Grabbing her around the chest like I had done with Zeldi when I rode her seemed like a bad idea.

"You are sitting on my back." Helayt said back confused.

"Sorry, saying from my world. Let me try again, what is your opinion of me now?" I reiterated.

The dark mare gave a nod as she started to trot, getting a few odd looks from a few of the Centaurs we passed. It seemed either I was a weird sight or riding a centaur was not common. I didn't get these looks when I rode Zeldi in however.

"I'm choosing to believe you. Zeldi herself is being stubborn and siding with you over her mother and what you have said just now makes sense. As much as I want to keep her here and know this I will be trying when the time comes, if you are simply transported back there's nothing I can do. So we will help Zeldi and if your words are correct and she does come back to us in a moon cycle then we shall trust you more."

Got it. So not quite trust but preparation in case I am correct. I mean if the system decides not to force us back to the farm I would see that as an absolute win as well though I don't think it would end well for me.

We returned back to the house to find Zeldis father trying to baby Zeldi like she was a foul again to the amusement of the other two mares. This quickly stopped when we entered or more specifically when they noticed me on Helayt's back. Zeldi gasped and let out a squeal of surprise while the other three just stared in shock.

"You can get off now." Helayt said while giving the others a nod.

I didn't want to push anything so I did as I was told only to have Zeldi almost bowl me over when my feet touched the ground.

"Master Clovek Helayt has accepted you into the family!" She cried out dancing around on her hooves with me still trapped in her embrace. The girl had some strength.

"Ummm I don't think so. We just came to an arrangement around making your life easier." I got out between her spinning.

"He's either really oblivious or a very good actor." Yenem whispered though not quite enough that everyone couldn't hear.

Helayt responded by growling at the other mare causing her to Yenem to drop to the ground and apologize. "Sorry head mare, I meant no disrespect."

"Now, now." Daxel meditated. "Dearest Helayt I trust you as my head mare but could you explain why you have trusted him enough to ride on your back?"

Wait did I do something wrong? I've ridden on Zeldi's back a few times now.

Zeldi caught my eye and whispered. "Stallions will only let those they trust with their lives on their backs due to how vulnerable it makes them, mares on the other hand only let family ride them."

Oh. OH.

"So Helayt letting me ride her means?" I asked just to be sure.

"She views you as my mate and a member of our family." Zeldi answered forgetting to whisper.

"Yes." Helayt herself added. "To answer your question my husband he hasn't lied to me." She produced a ring that I hadn't noticed her wearing. "And everything he has said is either because he wants to make Zeldi's life better or to show he cares in some way."

"Ring of deception." Zeldi whispered again. "It lets the wearer know if what they're being told is truthful."

So there are magical items in this world.

"Because of that I will be considering him family as he is Zeldi's mate regardless of the situation and because he seems to be genuinely a good fit for her." Helayt continued before abruptly shifting from explaining to almost demanding. "That being said Zeldi looks like shit so Anna, Yenem. One of our daughters is in rags right now and I will not stand for it."

The response was immediate as Zeldi's two other mothers both perked up and gave Helayt their full attention including the adorable ear movement that Zeldi did.

"First Yenem get some food into the poor girl she needs a proper meal then grab at least three of your outfits and start modifying them to fit Zeldi. She may be similar to you in size but that girl has you beat in the tit department. Make sure they are durable ones as she won't have any use for any of your fancy ball dresses. Second Anna, we are going to be going through our supplies for anything they can use. If we can somehow get them to take back a few items it will be worth it to buy a new set for us."

Both Yenem and Anna nodded as Helayt then turned to Daxel. Unlike the mares where she had her ears forward she pulled them back and took on a more submissive attitude. "Husband can you please see if you can purchase some bulk food. I would like to see if we can do something about their future meals at present. Feeding them both now won't help them between now and the next moon cycle."

"Of course Helayt but the boy will be coming with me. I could use the extra muscle." The stallion replied with looking directly at me.

He definitely did not need the extra muscle to carry anything but I got the hint. "No problem, I'd be happy to join you."

That got a smile so I'll take it as a win.

"Zeldi you go with your birth mother. She will need you for size adjustments." Helayt continued. "How long till you return?"

I looked at the timer slowly ticking down.

9H 56M 32S

"Just under ten hours."

"Plenty of time then girls. Once we're done we can spend some quality time with Zeldi before she leaves." Helayt said with a clap that signalled for everyone to disperse to their respective job.

I followed Daxel as he left the house conscious about his back hooves. If Helayt can give me a bruise I'm pretty sure Daxel could break my ribs.

"Thank you." He said as we came to a place far enough away from the house that no one would overhear us.

"What for?" I asked.

"For bringing some hope back to us." He answered with a sad smile. "Zeldi's kidnapping had resulted in a gap between myself and Yenem that I haven't been able to bridge in a while. She expected I would rush to save our daughter and I did but the gap in time from when she left and before we knew she was gone ment I had no chance of tracking them. Returning home she never forgave herself or anyone else for letting her only daughter get taken and blamed herself the most for not researching more about producers before letting her go."

"It's not her fault." I tried to say. "Do you have any other children?"

"One. A boy from Helayt that is out there trying to make a name for himself to woo some mares. He's absolutely terrible at it but I think there are a few that think his attempts are cute."

I snickered at the thought. It reminded me of playground antics at school.

"Anna unfortunately has not had a child as when Zeldi was taken I couldn't bring myself to father another one in case they turned out to be a producer as well." He continued. "Too much of a risk."

"Does she want one?" I asked before hastily adding. "If you don't mind me asking. Feel free to ignore that question if you wish."

Daxel snorted. "She wants nothing more than her own. She was so baby crazy when the other two were nursing that even they got upset at her pestering. The only reason she wasn't pregnant herself is she joined my herd later and was told she had to wait."

I let that sit between us a while as I structured my response. "What about now?"

"What do you mean, what about now?" He turned my question around.

"I mean would you want to give her one now that Zeldi can return?" I hesitated slightly in my question.

"There's still the chance of a producer that I don't want to take." Daxel sighed. "Zeldi spoke of a pull that she needed to answer when she was first told of the farms for livestock so even if we kept the child hidden if it was a producer there is nothing we could do if she ran away. It would break this family if it happened again."

"What if there was a farm you could offer her that would not be as horrible as the stories? That her big sister was living happily at?" I didn't know what I was saying, the words seemed to come out of nowhere.

Daxel gave me a strange look. "Are you saying you would like a second one of my daughters?"

This time I was the one to snicker and it seemed to break the tension between us that had been growing in this conversation. "I think Zeldi herself would preach that more that I would. She has mentioned on multiple occasions that I need more producers for 'faster growth' if you would believe that." I made air quotes as I said it and he laughed.

"I'm sure she would love to be an older sister and potential sister wife." He went silent for a second before asking. "But would she be stuck on your farm as well?"

"Yes." I answered with a wince. "But I can bring all my producers with me each moon cycle not just Zeldi."

He gave it some thought before stopping me as we came up to what looked like a general store. "That would be.... Good I think. I guess I never thought of it like that." He then smirked at me. "Don't think that if this happens you will be getting her anytime soon Clovek. I know you deed owners don't age but you will have to wait until she's of mating age before we make that decision."

We don't age? Why do I not have a list of all the things that come with being a deed owner? It would have been very helpful when I started.

"But you are right." Daxel continued. "The chance of another of my daughters being a producer is extremely low so I shouldn't be taking away one of my mates dreams just because I'm scared."

He started moving again and I followed him into the store.

"Who knows maybe against all odds I will get another producer daughter. Wouldn't that be advantages to you to have not one but two Centaur sisters both lifting their tails for you?"

I felt the blush flare out to the tips of my ears as he laughed.