Chapter 8

So it's been a while for this story and I am so sorry. I had a huge writer's block, but I think I've got my mojo back. Anyway, thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, faving, and following, and once again, sorry for not updating in a while. I hope you enjoy this lil thing.

I stumbled down the narrow hallway of the lavish train car. Windows on one side of me, rich-looking wooden panels on the other, occasionally broken up by ornate carved doors, numbers painted black on a panel by each one. Lanterns dangled from the ceiling above, swaying with the unsteady motion of the train.

The business trip or whatever it was Vlad was dragging me on was in full swing. I had to pack a few shirts and extra collars into a bag so I could 'have something to wear'. Vlad brought along two whole trunks, both the size of full-grown satyrs and weighing about the same. They were full of clothes and accessories, extravagant and unnecessary.

The dining car, where Vlad demanded that I be for dinners only, was two passenger cars away from the livestock car, where I stayed. I was only supposed to leave the livestock car for dinners and if Vlad told me to otherwise.

I bumbled through the last door of the passenger car, and into the livestock car. It wasn't much, just simple wooden walls, barely nailed together, you could see outside if you looked between the panels. Straw was laid all around the floor to act as bedding for the cows, sheep and other myths that were being housed in the car. The wind whistled through the thin walls and straight into my bones, chilling me to my core and making me wish for a blanket or two.

All of the time spent indoors with fireplaces and blankets and shirts was making me soft. But even if I had never even gone inside, I'd still be shivering. The cows were all huddled together with the sheep, trying to keep each other warm.

Sighing, I nestled down into my designated stall and pulled the straw over my exposed skin and curled into a shaking ball.

The straw kept me surprisingly warm, for all that it's worth. It wasn't a blanket or fireplace, but it did it's job well enough. I was out like a light before too long.

"Kid."

I felt something touch my side. "Hey, kid." whatever it was prodded me again. "Deertaur, wake up." something it me in the stomach, hard.

"Wghuuuunnnmmmmm?" I moaned, batting at the poking thing. A gruff chuckle and another poke to my now aching side was the only response.

"C'mon, kid. Up and at 'em." Groaning, I looked up at the massive black centaur standing above me. I slowly picked myself off the ground and shook the straw out of my fur and hair.

Chilled air filtered in from the walls and the rocking of the train threw me off balance again. "Wha' time's it?" I groggily asked the centaur.

"Time for you to wake up." was the only response as he turned away and rejoined his herd.

"Thank you, that was very helpful." I muttered as I turned back to the door and made my way back to the dining car.

I nearly ran into a woman coming out of her room in the passenger car. She glared at me with a look of distaste before she retreated back into her room.

The glowing lights flickered with a bump on the train tracks and I continued toward the dining car, opening the door with a squeak and being jostled against the door when the tracks took a sharp turn.

Laughter at my clumsiness echoed from the humans sitting around their pristine white tables. Plates piled high with rich smelling delicacies and brightly colored vegetables.

"Daniel! Over here. I have your plate for you." Vlad waved me over to a table in a far corner, men in black business suits and women in elegant dresses smiling mockingly in my direction.

I staggered back to the corner and stood next to Vlad, who lifted a bowl sparsely filled with cooked potatoes and lettuce. I grimaced at the meal and grabbed a fork from the table.

"Daniel, these are my business acquaintances. This-" he motioned towards a man with dark skin and graying hair, green eyes shining through thick glasses "-is Damian Gray. He's my new partner in a venture I call Axion. His daughter is about your age I believe, Valerie, correct?"

Damian Gray grinned back and nodded. "She's in the car just ahead of this one, reading some books about myths, most likely. She's fascinated by you creatures. I'm sure she'd love an opportunity to meet a deertaur."

I gave him a vague smile and went back to eating. I didn't really care if his daughter was interested in me or not. I just wanted to eat my meal in peace, then go back to the livestock car and probably sleep some more.

"Daniel, when you've finished eating, why don't you go and find Ms. Gray." I narrowed my eyes at him and glared.

Swallowing the rest of my meal, I responded with a "Fine.", and walked into the passenger car where this Valerie person supposedly was.

The passenger car was luxuriously decorated with silky, peach colored walls and gold trim. The windows were tall and wide, giving a nearly endless view of the chilled mountain morning. Fog hung around the tops of trees, the sky was a gray, receding into the horizon and giving way to a vibrant orange sunrise. Mountains peppered with snow surrounded a valley of pine trees. Behind me, a solid wall of snowy rock rushed past. We were halfway up a snowy mountain, three feet on either side from sheer cliff face.

A young woman with chocolate colored skin and fierce, green eyes sat in a bench, staring out the wall of windows forlornly.

I assumed this girl was Valerie and walked up to her as gracefully as I could. Her bright green eyes flicked up to me and widened.

"Uh- H-hi. I'm Danny. I was told to-" I cut myself off when she stood up and walked around me predatorily, circling and watching my every move. Her green eyes narrowed and the way she held herself reminded me of a cat, judging her prey, preparing to hunt.

"You're a deertaur, right?"

"Y-yeah. What are you-?" She suddenly bent over, grabbing my front left leg and raising it to eye level, sending me off kilter. I lost what little balance I had on the slick tiled floors and went crashing down.

"I'm training to be a hunter. I need to know about my prey before I can hunt it. Deertaurs are so rare, this might be my only chance to see one."

Her voice was cold, calculating. She stared intensely at the bottom of my foot as if memorizing every curve and detail. "Uhmmm… That's great, but could you let go of my foot?" I tried tugging my foot away from her, but her grip was firm.

I clumsily clamoured up on three feet, nearly taking one of her eyes out with an antler. She didn't even blink.

"Okay, seriously, let go." I yanked my hoof out of her grasp and stumbled a little, setting it down on the ground.

Her face was thunderous. I took a few steps back before her hand shot out and snagged one of my antlers, dragging my head closer.
"Ow! Watch it!"

"Hold still. I heard a rumor about the spot between a deertaur's antlers and I want to see if it's true."

My eyes widened and I tried to scramble away from her, but the floor was once again working against me. My hooves slipped around on the smooth surface, not even moving me an inch.

It is gladly, not a well known fact about deertaurs that we have a weak spot. Like humans get ticklish and satyrs are really panicky sometimes. We have this spot, directly between our antlers that, when rubbed, feels better than anything ever. It's really sensitive, so anything that happens up there is really felt. If someone pulls a hair, I'd feel it like they were stabbing me. Others just touching it gently feels like heaven, but when it's rubbed it can put us to sleep or relax us so much that everything is forgiven. And I did not want to forgive this foot-grabber.

But her hand came down right on that spot, delicately and ever so easily. I stopped fighting and groaned, leaning into her hand. The world blurred and everything became unimportant. I thought I head Valerie laughing, but I just didn't care. My nerves were lighting up with pleasure and my eyes drifted shut.

Maybe Valerie isn't so bad after all.