The centaur was offering him a job as his stable boy! Derrick laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not here to work - this is supposed to be a vacation." Still, when the centaur picked up a brush and offered it to him, the teen decided to try using it. He was curious about the centaur, and hoped he might be able to get some questions answered. "Um, I've never done this before, OK? So if I mess up, I'm sorry."
The centaur whinnied a laugh and ruffled Derrick's hair. Hesitantly, Derrick reached out with the brush and ran it over the silky horsehide of the centaur's shoulder. It took a few tries before he realized the coat grew in directions, and when he brushed with the hair his strokes were smoother. As he got more confident, he increased pressure, and the centaur whickered approval. It was a bit of a stretch to reach the middle of the broad equine back, but then Derrick found a wooden box that he could stand on.
Brushing out the glossy coat was oddly satisfying. The centaur twisted around and placed a hand on his head, rubbing gently as Derrick continued to groom the equine chest and forelegs. Derrick found the gentle scalp massage very pleasant, helping a sense of contentment build. He'd never have thought brushing a horse, or something with a horse's body, could be so satisfying. Even when he shifted down out of the centaur's reach, the steady rhythm of movement kept the contentment going. Warm smells of sweat, urine, straw, oats and wood filled his nostrils, a wonderful mix.
Working his way back up the other side, Derrick sighed as the centaur's hands once again started their massage, pulling at his ears, rubbing his forehead and top of his skull, pulling at his jaw. It was a lot easier to reach the high spots now, and Derrick pressed his face into the warm hide as he worked.
Movement near the front of the stall distracted him, and he saw one of the odd stable boys enter with a bag of some sort of grain and some apples. It was the first time he had seen one of the grooms up close. Naked and dirty, the being was not really as human as Derrick first thought - his head was misshapen, too flat on the top and huge eyes wide set under heavy brows. Horse's ears pocked out of shaggy, matted hair. Patches of fur covered its skin, and it was definitely more equine than human sexually. The body was oddly proportioned, with elongated arms and legs. It regarded Derrick with a slack-mouthed grin, then put the grain and apples in bins set on the wall. It had a full horse's tail and mane, and Derrick realized it had hooves instead of feet. Now that its hands were empty, he could see they consisted of two long, wide, and flat fingers with similar thumbs. In truth, the creature was ugly and looked rather dim-witted, but seemed happy.
His centaur whickered to the groom, who shuffled out of the stall without a word. Derrick was glad to see him leave - he felt a little jealous of his centaur, and did not want to share. He could not remember ever feeling so... content. As he finished up in front, the centaur smiled down at him. Derrick felt a thrill at the unspoken approval. The centaur whinnied to him. "Stay with me. I want you to be mine."
What a wonderful thing! Derrick grinned, incredibly happy. The centaur turned him to face the wall across from them, and he was surprised to see another centaur and stable boy looking back at them. He frowned, and saw the groom mimic his expression. Wait. That was his centaur! This was a mirror. But, didn't that mean the dark-haired horse boy reflected back was him? He moved closer, the centaur stepping with him to keep hands on Derrick's shoulders.
After a minute, Derrick could see it was his reflection - mostly. The boy he was looking at was nowhere near as horse-like as the others. But he looked stretched out, older even. Maybe late teens, with longer arms and legs. His face looked slightly pushed out, his eyes too big, his ears pointed and too high. Or maybe it was his head that looked wrong. Derrick struggled to concentrate. What was wrong?
The centaur whickered again. "Stay with me. Be mine." He started to massage Derrick's scalp and forehead again, bringing back the sense of contentment. Derrick grinned at himself, mouth dropping open as the large, firm fingers pressed and rubbed. Something was still wrong. His head looked even more wrong now, and when he finally managed to focus for a while, he realized it was slowly deflating under the centaur's hands! Eyes widening, Derrick reached up and felt his face. It took a moment to realize that his index and middle fingers and ring a little fingers of each hand were stuck together. He tore his gaze from the mirror to look down and saw he had black lumps instead of feet, and thin patches of hair appearing on darker skin.
Twisting his head back, Derrick looked into the centaur's reflected face and saw a kind smile and friendly eyes. There was a promise of caring and love in the returned gaze. He felt a touch in his mind now, a kind of link just starting to form. He reached up and ran his hands over the centaur's muscled chest, eyes locked on the centaur's. Whatever was happening to him sped up, and he saw the joined fingers slowly merge into two digits on each hand. He was becoming a stable boy.
Was this how he wanted to spend his vacation? It was hard to concentrate, to think at all, but Derrick forced himself to focus. The idea of serving this centaur was so appealing. But there was something more here. The bond - it was not something that could be turned off. Derrick was already fighting to hang onto thoughts, yet he still stood there allowing his Centaur to slowly flatten his skull, shrink his brain, turn him into a semi-beast content to be a slave forever.
With a huge effort, Derrick suddenly pushed back, away from his Centaur. His back hit the mirror and he looked away, shaking his head to try clearing the heaviness. He was afraid his Centaur would grab him, force him to be completed, but when he risked a glance, the beautiful being was simply smiling down at him, waiting. There was no threat. His Centaur raised his hands in welcome, but did not approach. "Be mine. You are almost there." The words in his head were clear, even if the sounds remained equine. "Happiness. Contentment. No fears or worries. Love and kindness."
All true, Derrick was sure. His Centaur would not lie, could not lie. His centaur would finish the transformation, make Derrick into one of the stable boy creatures, give him knowledge to be an ideal groom, and take away all that he did not need.
Derrick suddenly remembered the dull-eyed, slack-mouthed expression of the other stable boy. The same look that was starting to appear on his face. Flat skull, smaller brain, simpler thoughts. If he finished up, he would not care that he was dimwitted. He would be able to serve his Centaur well. For two weeks? Or was this for the rest of his life? Did he care?