"Of course," I answered instantly, walking over to Keoni's side. He leaned into me instantly, and I wrapped an arm around his waist, holding him close.
The blood marker stopped in the middle of the forest, close to a lake. The portal spell I would use would connect to this spell to take us to the right location, and all I needed to do now was make sure Keoni was ready.
"We can go whenever you like," I murmured against his temple, and he hummed.
"Will you help me with something first?"
"Of course."
I told Touya we'd be heading out for a while as we passed by his desk on the way to wherever Keoni wanted to go, and Keoni led me to the cabin he'd moved out of. The only thing still there was the cart he'd used to move around before.
"Will you help me strap it on?" he asked, and I shot him a puzzled look.
"Are the stockings out of magic?" I stepped closer to recharge them, wondering how they could've run out so soon, but Keoni shook his head.
"No, that's not it. I just—I want to know how he'll feel aboutmeright out the gate. Does that make sense?"
I nodded, because if anyone could understand, it was me. Keoni didn't want to get along with his father only to get rejected when the man found out about his disability. He'd rather know before he developed a connection with the man.
"It does. I'll help."
Since we had to strap his back legs to his body first and I'd never done that for him before, it took a little time, but we worked it out.
It was strange to see Keoni attached to his cart again, and it was clear he wasn't very fond of it.
"This cart made it so I could walk around all these years, and I still don't like it very much. Is that wrong?"
"Before Draven made me this," I said as I raised my left arm, "I'd run through a bunch of prosthetics. Everything from a hook-hand to a plastic arm to a mechanical one. They were all helpful in their own ways, and I didn't like any of them."
Keoni smiled, then took my hand in his and ran the fingers of his other hand over my palm, then down my wrist to my forearm. "What about this one? Do you dislike it too?"
I had, in the beginning. When it'd still felt strange and other. But now...
"No. This arm is the closest thing I have to an actual arm. I can move it. I can feel it. It's muted, more like pressure than anything else, but I can stillfeelyour touch."
"I know what you mean. I feel the same way about the stockings. You know, we should give Draven a gift of some kind. He's done so much for us, and he rarely asks for stuff."
"You're right. I have no idea what we could get him, though."
I knew Keoni was simply procrastinating by talking about this, but I didn't care. Keoni was the only one who could decide when he was ready, and I wasn't going to push him.
"What about supplies for his workshop? He's always running low on things," he suggested, and I hummed. I made sure to keep Draven's workshop stocked up, but he did burn out of materials fast with all his tinkering.
"Let's have him make a list and we'll get everything he needs."
"Perfect!" Keoni agreed, then took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go before I chicken out. Can you do the portal from here or do we have to go back to your office?"
"Here's okay."
Keoni nodded, and I opened the portal right in his living room, weaving it in a way that would only allow him and me to pass through. The last thing we needed was for a curious centaur to sneak into the Sanctuary.
Keoni
"Whoa!" I glanced around as we stepped through the portal, breathing in the crisp air full of the scent of fresh leaves and mud. Trees were everywhere. I lived in a place full of trees, and yet it looked like a children's park in comparison to the grandeur around us.
Cedars and hemlocks rose into the sky in every direction, the chirps and croaks of birds and other fauna ringing through the air like a strange melody.
A steady thud-thud-thud cut through the forest music, and I glanced up just as a centaur stepped through the trees.
