I fetched all three of our clothes and items. When the guys woke up and were disoriented, I handed them their shit. They took it and smiled. They brushed themselves off and got dressed. Ash had a battleaxe and Alex had a sword. "So, are you ready to go to the settlement? Or have you changed your mind?" he said. They just shook their heads and they were ready to go. Since they had come in centaur form, they did not have any pants. Due to that, they just resumed centaur form. There was some real confusion when I refused to climb on either one of their backs. They honestly thought they were doing me a favor by offering it. "I'm really fine, guys. I can walk on my own." I really just did not want to deal with chaffing. "We just met yesterday, but I already consider you a friend. You don't have to feel like you can't ask us if you want to feel more like a herdsman." Alex said. I guessed it was due to them having a higher blood potency than me. "Faking being modest and humble is not endearing at all for us. Just ask us already." Ash added. "Thanks for the offer. I'm actually really fine though." I said politely.
That was all I had to say to them on the subject. We then walked over to the village. I saw that it was a village on the verge of growing into a town. There was a big set of buildings for development and a temple still under construction. When we got to the entrance, there was a couple of guards. "No shifters allowed!" one of the guards said. We stopped and looked at them. "Why not? We don't want to attack any residents." Ash demanded. The other guard shrugged and said "We are building a temple here in Zaruta Village and we don't any other races getting in our way." "We told those Progenitors of yours years ago when we came here. We leave you alone and do not come on your ancestral lands. You need to keep out." I was fine with that arrangement. "That is fine with us. We were challenged to a fight here. If we can't come in, that's not our problem." The guards narrowed their eyes at us and demanded to know what we were talking about. "Some shifters challenged us to a fight over some girls. They obviously did not hear about the rules. If you see them around, tell them you sent us away." I said.
With that done, there was nothing left to say to them. I turned and began walking away from them. It made the guards bark at me to stop. I looked over my shoulder at them. "What?" I asked. "You three are under arrest." one said. I said "You have no authority to do that. We haven't stepped a foot in the village." They looked at us in confusion and then annoyance. "Well, we need to speak to you about the fight you were talking about. We can't have disorder in the streets of a developing town." I shrugged. "That is not our concern. You already stopped the fight from happening. Just kick them out when they come." I said. Three centaurs came up to us. They had to have been the ones that challenge us. "So there you are. I was sure a Thin Blood would have fled by now." the leader said. His voice was familiar to him. I pointed at the guards and said "These good people won't let us in the town to fight. We're leaving." The leader looked at the guards in indignation. "Don't you have a arena to fight in!?" he snapped at them. The head guard said "Yeah. It's not for dirty shifters like you. We're busy enough."
A moment passed before the centaurs all got angered at them. I got in front of the twins to block their path. I looked at them and said "It's not worth it. You'll cause a war we can't win!" That got their attention and they stopped trying. The Trueleap members just mocked us. "Maybe Goldtail is weak and servile, but Trueleap will never yield to puny humans." "Just leave Goldtail Tribe out of it." I snapped back. "Spineless Thin Blood!" one of the lackeys said. "Coward!" chimed in the other. The three then went up to the guards who had long since drawn their weapons. "Let us pass so we can show those cowards what it really means to be shifters." the leader said. The guards had been amassing as well during our bickering. The head guard looked at the three of us and said "What are you three going to do? I don't think you are going to leave your... friends alone." I scoffed and said "Nice try. Why would we join them when they hate us and want to mount us? You just want an excuse to arrest all of us together. We are going to stay out of this and leave. Just remember that Goldtail Tribe followed the agreement."
Since there was no reason to catch all of us, he looked at the three trying to trespass and said "If you step a hoof pass me, you are under arrest." The leader of the group said "Trueleap Tribe goes where it wants. You are not going to stop me." The three of them passed the head guard in defiance and entered Zaruta. The twins wanted to follow and I told them to wait. The 10 guards surrounded them. "You chose this." the head guard said. The centaurs drew a trio of swords. "Are you guys seriously about to start a real war on the settlement because of one conversation with one mare miles away!?" I asked in disbelief. The gave me hard looks and I knew their answer. "No wonder all of you can't grow." I remarked. They tried to come back to where I was but the guards were in the way. "I don't know what started this problem, and I don't care. Since you six need to cool down, we'll take you to the stocks. All of you." I shook my head and said "We did nothing wrong. Besides, you have your hands full." The three Trueleap centaurs then began their attack on the nearest guards. We watched from outside.
