The cold wind bit at Sallie's fingers, though she tried to position them for maximum contact with the centaur's body heat. With arms wrapped tightly around him, she could even feel his every labored breath and pounding heartbeat.

The day had grown to evening to night, and the centaur had yet to speak another word to her or slow his pace. With the dark of night blanketed around her and the trees speeding by, she would have been a fool to attempt to jump off his back. One, she couldn't see where she was going or spy any predator. Two, if jumping off such a large moving animal… er, creature… being wasn't crazy enough there was more than a good chance smacking straight into one of the passing trees. And three, how did she know that when she jumped, the centaur wouldn't just catch her and pull her onto his back again? Sallie supposed she should have every right to be frightened. And she would have been, if it weren't for the fact that despite his initial reaction to their meeting, he had been polite, tender, and showing her no ill will. If it weren't for the fact that his every action so far had been for the sake of her safety. If it weren't for the fact that he had reacted to the wolf howls with alarm.

Considering the alternative – being left to the wolves – Sallie had a sneaky suspicion she had gotten the better end of the deal.

Somehow Sallie had moved every part of her body (i.e. nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck and pressing her body against his back) against his for warmth. She glanced up occasionally, wanting to know where they were going (even though she could barely see) and if there was an end in sight.

Sallie had all but given up any hope of the centaur stopping, beginning to think that he would just gallop on for the rest of her life, when she thought she saw a warm glow ahead. As the glow began to grow larger, the centaur began to speed up. The glow seemed to come from some sort of opening in a large rock, large enough to easily be a manor.

As the centaur sped through the opening, Sallie gasped at the sight before her.

What she thought was a crude opening was in actuality what appeared to be a gate, lit on both sides by torches. There were other centaurs, these ones clad in armor and armed with spears, who wore shocked expressions as Sallie sped by.

Weaving through torch-lit corridors, they eventually came to an open area – a cavern, which was filled with other centaurs of presumably both genders and various age ranges. The centaur below her slowed his gallop to a trot, giving Sallie a chance to gaze at the surroundings.

A centaur in one corner was hammering against some metal, most likely some sort of smith. A few others were weaving what might be baskets. Two smaller centaurs, probably children, stopped their play to stare at Sallie. There were a few gathered around a cart of food, who stopped their actions when Sallie and the centaur passed and stared openly at her. Apparently this was some sort of centaur community. And the more centaurs she and the centaur passed, the more she realized the amount of stares they were attracting.

Sallie attention snapped forward when the centaur below her stopped without warning. Before them was… surprise… another centaur. This one was old, with white hair on his head and his coat fading into gray. His bright blue eyes flickered from the human to the dark-haired centaur.

The dark-haired centaur turned towards Sallie and gently lowered her to the ground. Sallie stood close to her centaur, feeling more secure with him near.

"And who is this, Oreius," asked the white-haired centaur.

"A summer sprite I found near the Lantern Wastes, Satium," said the dark-haired centaur, who evidently was named Oreius.

"My name is Sallie," she spoke and turned to Oreius. "And what do you mean by 'summer sprite'?"

The white-haired centaur named Satium nodded and approached her. He lifted her chin with a finger, closely examining her face. His eyes pierced into hers, and for the life of her, she could not seem to look away. Satisfied with whatever he was looking for, he released her and looked up and around.

It was then she noticed the other centaurs that had gathered around Sallie, Satium, and Oreius.

"This is no summer sprite, my friend," Satium said to Oreius. Oreius's expression was one of shock.

"But everything about her radiates summer! Her garments are the color of summer's leaves, her hair resembles many summer flowers, and her skin isn't white like snow, but like goat's cream. How can she be anything else but a summer sprite!"

Satium smiled softly, briefly gazing at Sallie. "This, my young pupil, is even rarer and more special than a summer sprite. This is a daughter of Eve."