Ashrain

34. Wind's Bridge: Valley of Hooves

The group of travellers arrived at Wind's Bridge late in the evening. With Hongjoong switching between riding on Yunho's and Seonghwa's backs, they had kept up a brisk pace through the forests and snowy fields until they had found their way to the mountains shrouded in misty clouds. Between the tall giants covered in thick blankets of snow, the centaurs selected hidden paths that led them into the valley buried between. As the name suggested, the biting wind was mellow there as the village was protected from three sides and created a safe space tucked into the wilderness.

Since it was winter, the trees covering the spread of land between the mountains had lost all their leaves. They towered far above, their gnarly arms stretching throughout the canyon unlike any Hongjoong had ever seen before, as they carried thin sheens of snow. While they didn't stand too tight among each other, their intertwined crowns seemed to create a roof of snow sheer enough to let in light, but solid enough to store heat and not let any snow touch the ground. Hongjoong suspected it was magic as soon as they entered the woodland.

Through a tall gorge, the two centaurs had to walk behind each other to enter the area. Hongjoong once spied the guards of the village watching over them from the mountain passes. Their trained bodies withstood the coldness of the mountains as they gripped their spears by their sides and watched the newcomers. Nervous under their scrutiny, Hongjoong huddled tighter against Seonghwa. The centaur reassuringly squeezed his hand.

As they entered the hidden forest, Hongjoong spied people just like Seonghwa and Hongjoong. They carried baskets with fruit and kindling on their hips or strapped to their flanks as they lingered for conversation. Women with nothing but their long hair covering their bodies giggled next to their taller male counterparts. Nobody was hurried, and they did their daily tasks without a concern in the world.

In awe, Hongjoong started at the many different coats they wore. Most of them were specked in browns of all shades, but some had patterns, as Yunho did. Hongjoong spotted a child springing around on knobbly legs that were silky black, like Seonghwa's hair.

None of them shone in a white as distinct as Seonghwa's, and Hongjoong's heart swelled in his chest over the beauty of his lover.

"Our warriors are out training or hunting during the day. Most of the people you see around are the ones guarding the village or gatherers," Seonghwa explained in a low voice. Excited, Hongjoong peered over his shoulder to study the centaurs leaning against the enormous trees with their rough barks as they chatted among each other.

The centaurs lived out in the wild, and the trees were the roof they needed. Still, for some sort of privacy, they erected tent-like structures made of wood to retreat. Hongjoong spotted a mother with her young at the entrance of one of them, the foal suckling on her chest while she sorted berries on the side.

The tranquillity of a place so untouched was sacred. Hongjoong understood why the centaurs didn't want humans with their wars and their weapons here. So long as the centaurs stayed among each other, they had no concerns.

"We don't build houses because we are always ready to search for a new place to live. If humans came our way, we would peacefully leave this place and enchant a new forest to accept us. Since we are kind to nature, it's always keen to grant us shelter," Seonghwa continued as they walked among their people. Some of them stopped to whisper about them, most with glee in their eyes to see their people return. In a community such small, everyone must have known of Seonghwa's disappearance and was relieved to see him alive. Since they spotted the human on his back, however, they were apprehensive about approaching.

Hongjoong discreetly peered at a couple, a male centaur, and a female who stood under a tree next to each other to watch the little procession in their midst. Their tails swished around each other to intertwine and she leaned her smaller form against his. They looked natural in their similarities.