The Pompeiian Horse

10. KINSHIP

APRIL

A few days had passed since their visit to Mount Vesuvius. Ehren walked through the silent corridors toward the bustle of the yard table for the morning meal with his fellow whores. Every passing minute was easier to think of himself using that almost forgotten name. As he reached the group, Lamb scooted over to give Ehren space between him and Ox on the bench, his smile shy as usual.

Ehren hoped the kid would never lose that sweet quality. It would be a feat thanks the lives they led, but Lamb had entered The Zoo knowing his purpose; he had not been uprooted forcibly, and that must count for something.

"Seems like everybody had a rough night. You all look like shit," Tiger joked. Laughter mingled with groans and nods.

"Well, I-" Parrot started to say before Lion elbowed him. The bigger man did not try to conceal the action.

"Nothing happened to you last night," Lion growled.

The Larges stared at Lion suspiciously; the Smalls looked among themselves.

"What's going on?" Ox asked. "Did you do something to that chatty birdie?"

"Nope, but if I did, it wouldn't be your business anyway." The answer had been delivered in a casual tone while Lion selected fruits for his bowl. It had been a threat nonetheless.

"You know," Ehren used an even more casual tone, "I'm gonna assume you were truly well-fucked last night, and that's why you're a cranky bitch so early in the morning. Usually, your bullshit grows in size as the day progresses, but even lions had bad hair days."

"That's exactly what I love about you, horsey." Lion's grin was downright evil. "You're such a meddling nag it's really easy to have an excuse to punch you in the face. I appreciate that."

"You wanna go!?" Ehren sprang up, pushing the bench away from the table, regardless of the other four men sitting on it.

Ox put a steady hand on Ehren's arm. "You don't need to start your day like this."

Lamb touched Ehren's hand and murmured softly, "Please."

Both touches gave Ehren pause. He looked around the table. The Smalls seemed ready to bolt, and the other Larges were rolling their eyes, except Lion, who had a self-satisfied smirk and an arched eyebrow on his bearded face.

Ehren put his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "You're right. That asshole doesn't deserve my time." He sat back, and Lamb poured some porridge for him.

Lion nodded as if confirming something. "That's what I thought."

"What's that supposed to mean." Tiger furrowed his brow as he asked. He sat between Lamb and Rhino, closest to Lion's end of the table.

"There's always someone holding him back. One day it's gonna be only us, Horsey. Just you and me." Lion popped the piece of fruit he had just cut into his mouth, grinning smugly as he chewed.

Ehren grunted but did not take the bait. A part of him agreed with Lion's statement. The animosity between them caused Ehren to interfere whenever Lion opened his mouth, whether the words were meant for him or not. A waste of his energy, but Ehren could not stand the son of a jackal.

"My night was easy," Rhino commented. He looked at Lion defiantly as if inviting Lion to send an elbow his way. Lion ignored him. "These three codgers just wanted to watch me masturbate after they tried to fight me together." Rhino chuckled. "I played them like pesky little dogs."

Elephant pointed his wooden spoon at Rhino accusatorially from the other end of the table. "Why do I have the feeling you're keeping out some interesting detail of the night from that story?"