Trinket whinnied and lumbered over, her distended tummy swaying back and forth. Bryce put a hand on Zef’s arm to keep them still as he stepped forward, meeting Trinket as she whinnied again.
“Hey, beautiful. How are you feeling, girl?” She huffed and nudged at his raised hand. “Yeah, I bet you’re uncomfortable. Don’t worry. That baby’ll come soon.”
With a snort, she pawed at the ground, then stepped forward and pressed her head to his chest. He patted her neck soothingly, humming tunelessly under his breath as she settled. Her coat was shiny and freshly washed, and he knew her stall would have clean hay since she’d be foaling anytime.
“How about I give you a check?” Bryce said with a kiss between her ears.
Like Sparrow was jealous of the attention Trinket was getting, he trotted over, giving Zef a wide berth and knocked Bryce in the shoulder.
“Oh, now you’re okay saying hello?” He laughed and gave him some love too. “You both gonna be nice to Zef? They want to come meet you, but you better be on your best behavior.”
Pulling a carrot out of his back pocket, he walked back to Zef who was waiting where he’d left them. The horses trailed after, interested in the food. Bryce waved Zef forward, and they came, taking the carrot he offered.
“Go slow—” he tried to advise, but they were already wavinghim away.
“I remember from meeting Queen Charlotte,” they said confidently as they broke the carrot into several pieces. They extended two hands, a piece of carrot in each. “They will come to me when they are ready, and I am happy to wait. It is the Mantodean way.”
While the horses decided whether or not to approach Zef, Bryce gave Trinket a quick check. Her teats were swollen but not waxing yet, and a press to her rump near her tail showed how soft and loose she was. He lifted her tail with little resistance to check that her foal alert was in place.
“Well, that is rude,” Zef chided as they watched him inspecting her under her tail.
“I’m a doctor,” he said flatly.
“That is what they all say,” they teased.
After a good fifteen minutes, both horses were allowing Zef to pet them, and they whirred soothingly and fed them carrot pieces. They stroked Sparrow’s side as they gazed at the snowcap mountains in the distance.
“It is so beautiful here,” they said, and Bryce nodded.
“Yeah, it is.”
“I see why you want to stay here,” they said, and his hand on Trinket’s muzzle faltered. At his quirked expression, they elaborated. “Your five-year plan. To work for and eventually take over Mr. Morris’s practice. To serve your community here and build a life and a home. I told you I would read it.”
“Right,” he said, having forgotten all about the portfolio.
They pet through Sparrow’s mane, picking out a burr and tossing it to the ground. “It is your calling. This place. These animals. Your family. You fit here.”
“So can you,”he wanted to say. Instead he said, “Anyone can fit here if they want to.”
Those large eyes lifted to his. “You think so?”
“Yes,” he said honestly, hopefully.
He liked the Pentagram, sure, and he was enjoying his time there. But living there? That had never been the plan. He had a life here, set up and ready for him to step into.
Which begged the question: what about them? What about Zef? He wanted them to fit in his plan, but how?
Like they were thinking the same thing, their hands stilled on Sparrow’s mane as they gazed into Bryce’s eyes. Their brows furrowed, and their antennas curled up and pressed flat to their forehead.
Then they smiled sadly. “You will do such great things here.”
“And you’ll be around to see them, right?” he asked, or maybe he was begging. For a scrap. For a crumb. For a tiny morsel of hope that, when his time in the Pentagram was done, it wouldn’t be the end for them.
“Do you want me to be?” they asked so softly he almost missed it.
“You know the answer to that, baby,” he said, and they severed eye contact, ducking their head bashfully.
Bryce waited them out as they braided Sparrow’s mane to keep their fingers busy, but eventually, they cleared their throat and said, “I suppose I can brave another plane ride.”
