Behooved

by Cockatrice   

When Mark and his centaur partner Therion decide to get married, both must learn to navigate a complex maze of love, tradition, and trust.

Therion peeked over Mark’s shoulder as he walked past the couch. “What are you doing?”

“Writing a list of whom to invite.”

Therion drew back to his full height, puzzled. “You need to write a list for that?”

“Of course, I mean.” Mark was considering the question. “You don’t?”

“No.” Therion continued doing what he was doing before. “Everyone from the herd is invited.”

“Ahh, mmh.” Mark mulled over what his centaur boyfriend had just said. Unlike humans, centaurs were entirely nomadic and came together in herds, which had well-defined separations to other groups. It made it easy to have a clear line who to invite and who not. “It’s not that easy for us, you know. There’s different levels of closeness.”

“Mmh, I suppose.”

“But it’s not just family, but also friends,” Mark realized. “Do you not invite any friends from outside the herd?”

“No, we don’t.” Therion shrugged. “Only the herd.”

Mark looked at his list. “Are you fine with me inviting friends though?”

“Sure.”

“It’s pretty important for human weddings. Often the best man is actually a close friend, rather than a family member.”

Therion turned around and smiled. “I already said it’s fine.”

“And you don’t think it’s weird if my friends are there and your friends aren’t?”

Therion raised an eyebrow. “Not really. It’s a matter between two herds, no one else.”

“But then should I keep guests to family only?”

“You don’t have to. It’s our wedding, not just mine,” Therion continued. “Look at it this way: My friends from outside the herd don’t expect to be invited. But your friends from outside your family do.”

Before Mark had the chance to reply, the doorbell rang.

Mark looked at the time before he got up. “That must be the wedding planner.”

Therion made his way to the door with Mark following right behind. Once opened, there was another centaur behind it, wearing a suit.

“I am Saphis of the Okeiron Herd,” the centaur introduced himself.

“Yes, please come in.” Therion stepped aside. “I’m Therion.” He gestured towards his boyfriend. “And this is—”

“Mark,” he introduced himself.

Saphis shook Mark’s hand and hesitated for a moment. “Is it Mark or Mr Turner?”

Mark knew what Saphis was concerned about. While centaurs would always refer to each other with their first name, even in formal contexts, the same was not true for humans. Many centaurs struggled with this and even though Mark had just offered his first name, Saphis wanted to make sure. In their e-mails they did use Mark’s last name after all. “Mark, please.”

“Follow me.” Therion motioned. “Do you want anything? Coffee? Tea?”

“I’ll take a tea, if you have one,” Saphis replied. “Otherwise, water is fine, too.”

“I’ll make a pot,” Mark offered.

Therion led Saphis to a table that was high enough for a centaur to use while standing. Unlike humans, centaurs only really sat down when they were relaxing, like when watching TV and such.

Saphis got out his materials, including a notebook, pens and what looked like a catalog, most likely for planning the minutiae of wedding decorations. “How much have you already talked about the wedding?”

“In terms of planning?” Therion asked.

“Yes. Just trying to get a sense of how much there already has been decided on.”

“Almost nothing, really,” Therion had to admit. “I didn’t really know where to start and we decided early on to look for a specialist in mixed weddings.”

When Mark and Therion decided to get married, they knew that merging both cultures would be quite a task. They looked for advice on how to reconcile human and centaur traditions and quickly found Saphis through recommendations.

Saphis nodded. “A wise choice. All too often I come to a pair that has contacted me as a last resort, once their plans were starting to fall apart. It is difficult in such circumstances.”

Mark returned from the kitchen and set a small tray on the table, carrying a pot of tea, three mugs, and a small bowl of sugar. Then he sat down on a bar stool to reach the table without standing and gestured to the tray. “Help yourself.”

Saphis took a mug and looked at Mark. “May I ask how much you know about centaur culture?”

“It comes up occasionally.”

He saw Therion and Saphis exchange a look. “Umm, is there a conversation happening that I’m not in on?”

“I apologize,” Saphis said. “I don’t mean to presume, but in my experience humans tend to overestimate how much they know about centaur culture, mostly because centaurs don’t talk about it as much. Your partner would have a better idea of how much he hasn’t talked about.”

Therion smiled at Mark. “Especially wedding customs don’t come up often.”

“Fair enough,” Mark ceded.

“As I said, I apologize,” Saphis repeated. “I needed the information from Therion, but I didn’t want to talk around you.”

Mark smiled. “Appreciated.”

“Are you aware of the Panagápion and the Panthymion?”

“Yes, we talked about it.” Mark looked at Therion. “The actual wedding ceremony and, uh, the follow-up orgy.”

Therion and Saphis exchanged another look. Mark figured his wording had rubbed them the wrong way.

“I’m sorry.” Mark attempted damage control. “It was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. My bad.”

“Both the Panagápion and the Panthymion are equally important parts of a centaur wedding,” Saphis explained. “Neither is the ‘actual’ ceremony.”

“But only the Panagápion deals with, like, the wedding part.”

“Only in the way humans understand it,” Saphis clarified. “Both are binding rituals. The Panagápion binds two individuals. The Panthymion binds two herds.”

Mark looked down at his tea. “Didn’t realize how much we hadn’t talked about.”

“You are a great listener.” Therion took Mark’s hand. “But I cannot teach you all of centaur culture without living it, nor do I expect you to understand it all.”

“Right.” Mark smiled at his boyfriend. “Makes sense.”

“All right, so here is my approach.” Saphis brought the conversation back to the topic at hand. “I am not a big fan of compromises. You know the phrase: A good compromise leaves neither party happy. That is of course not what we want at a wedding.” He laughed. “So instead my aim is to merge both cultures in such a way that they enrich each other, rather than fight for space. Of course it’s not always 100% possible, but that’s the aim, at least. Does that sound good to you?”

“Can you give an example?” Therion wanted to know.

“Of course. A great example is the inclusion of children. Traditionally children are absent in a centaur wedding.”

“Wait,” Mark interjected. “They are?”

“Yes,” Saphis confirmed. “Children are normally not part of a wedding. They are being kept at a separate location, cared for by the elders of both herds.”

“Why?”

Saphis had to shrug. “Tradition. Originally, it most likely applied only to the Panthymion. But if you were already providing accommodations, over time it evolved to encompass the Panagápion as well.”

He pressed a finger to the table for emphasis. “And that is exactly the point. There is nothing about the Panagápion that would make it unsuitable to children. And human weddings include children all the time.

“So a solution would be that children, both humans and centaurs, can attend the Panagápion, but not the Panthymion. This way of merging both cultures does not take anything away. In fact it includes a group of centaurs that would normally be left out.”

Mark nodded. “I like that.”

“While we are on the topic of the Panagápion and the Panthymion,” Saphis continued. “In my experience it makes sense to keep the structure of both for a mixed wedding.

“The Panagápion can be adapted into a human style wedding very easily without too many changes. This means that for the human guests there is a wedding in a similar form they are used to, including an exchange of rings.

“The Panthymion would then be an optional part for the humans afterwards.” He folded his hands. “This is another example of merging both cultures without having to compromise on either traditions.”

Therion nodded as well. “Sounds good to me.”

“But these are just examples, so let’s get some specifics.” Saphis pulled out two empty pages from his notebook and handed one to Therion and one to Mark. “I want each of you to write down three things that are very important to you. Things you believe are a must for the wedding.”

“Oof,” Mark breathed out.

“Don’t overthink it. There is no right or wrong. Just write down the three things you think are most important for your dream wedding.” Saphis held up a finger. “And it’s crucial that you don’t talk to each other.”

Saphis gave the two boyfriends a few moments to gather their thoughts and write down their items.

“All right,” Saphis looked at the two. “Who wants to start?”

“I guess I can do it. Mine are pretty straight forward.” He started to count on one hand. “First thing is the rings.”

“Makes sense.”

“Second is having a best man.” Mark looked up. “I don’t assume centaurs have that?”

“Not directly,” Saphis confirmed. “But friends and siblings from a groom’s herd often support him in similar ways, so it can be easily adapted. The biggest change is to formalize it and assign the role to a single person.”

“And for the third,” Mark continued. “I couldn’t really think of anything, so I just wrote down ‘buffet’.” He laughed.

“But that’s a good thing.” Saphis nodded. “It shows you’re thinking about the guests. And centaurs aren’t the best when it comes to catering, so it’s great that you’re paying attention to that.”

“I suppose.”

Saphis turned to Therion. “And your list?”

“The first thing I wrote down is ‘guests’”. Therion smiled. “I mean, they’re like the second most important people after the grooms, right?”

“It is true,” Saphis agreed with half a laugh. “I like that both of you have picked something relating to your guests. It shows that you understand that the wedding is as much for you two as it is for everyone attending.”

Therion looked at Mark. “The second is the Panthymion.”

Mark smiled. “You really want it?”

“Yes.” Therion’s answer left no room for negotiation.

Mark figured, if it was this important for his partner, then they would find a way, even though he did not know yet how. “We’ll make it work.”

“And the third is the Synharmos,” Therion continued.

“What’s that?” Mark asked.

“It’s a dance of sorts. It holds the same significance in a centaur wedding as the ring ceremony does in yours.”

“We also have dances, just after the vows.”

“The Synharmos is not a dance in that sense,” Saphis clarified. “It does not follow a melody. It’s more of a silent choreography. Each step and movement has a certain meaning and herds often have a set of steps associated with them. Both partners compose a Synharmos that incorporates these elements from both herds to tell a story about their union.”

“But we don’t have that,” Mark pointed out. “So I’m not sure what I would add to the choreography.”

“That is one of the tricky parts about human-centaur weddings,” Saphis had to admit. “Luckily the Synharmos is much less formal than it used to be, mixed weddings or not. It is no longer socially acceptable to openly judge a performance.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Therion assured his boyfriend.

Mark smiled. “Okay.”

“Great.” Saphis grabbed both their lists. “And now, we’re doing something different.” He tore both pages into pieces and cast them aside.

Mark blinked. “What?”

“Don’t worry.” Saphis smiled. “We’re not discarding your wishes, but the goal of this exercise was not to create a fixed checklist. Instead it served mostly as a means for you to think about what matters most to you—and to communicate that to your partner.

“But there is plenty of wiggle room,” he continued. “If we find ourselves at a dead end.”

“Okay, so,” Mark glanced at both centaurs. “We’re keeping the buffet?”

Therion had to laugh. “Yes, we do.”

“Phew,” Mark flipped through the materials Saphis had given them before he left. Therion and him would have to go through these in the following days. He sat down on the couch. “That was a lot to take in.”

“But very productive, no?” Therion asked as he put away the tea set.

“It was.” Mark continued skimming over the pages before he put them on the coffee table in front of him. “Mind if I ask you a centaur question?”

“What’s a centaur question?”

Mark turned around and rested his head on the backrest. “Just, purely out of curiosity, was Saphis male or female?”

Done with the tea set, Therion approached the couch, his voice carrying patience. “All centaurs are male.”

“Yes.” Mark rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“If you’re asking me whether he’s a carrier or a seeder,” Therion sat down next to him, his upper body towering over Mark, and the lower body occupying the rest of the couch. “Then my answer is: I found it rude to check what’s between his legs.”

“You can’t tell otherwise?”

“Can you?”

“I’m not a centaur,” Mark pointed out. “I figured there are some subtle differences only centaurs pick up on.”

“No. The only difference between the two is their private parts.”

“I see.”

“Can I ask you a human question?”

“Umm,” Mark was embarrassed at the turnaround. “What’s a human question?”

“You humans are very focused on your genders,” Therion continued. “Would you have fallen in love with me if I was a carrier?”

“Oh, I… uh.” Mark had to think for a few seconds. “I think so? I did have a crush on you before I knew what equipment you were carrying, so…”

Therion leaned down to nuzzle Mark’s head. “So you’re marrying me for my inner values, mmh?”

Mark returned the gesture and smiled. “Among others, yes.”

“You said you wanted to tell us something?” Mark’s mother asked excitedly, once his father had set down and began pouring in coffee for everyone.

“Yeah, well,” Mark reached for a small book in his bag, and pulled out an invitation card. He handed it to his parents as the table was laid with cake and coffee. “Here you go.”

He and Therion had decided to split up and tell each of their parents separately, mainly so that both received the invitation at the same time. They wanted to avoid anyone feeling like they were less important. Therefore it was only Mark and his parents right now.

His mother took the card and opened it, letting his father read as well.

“You’re getting married?” She finally put the card down on the table. “That’s- that’s great.”

There was a brief awkward pause as Mark waited for more of a reaction. “You don’t sound too excited, though.”

“I am, we’re happy for you. It’s just…” Her voice trailed off.

“This is still about him being a centaur, isn’t it?”

“I do believe you are genuinely in love. I even believe he is, but…” She was trying to find the right words. “You know what they say about centaurs.”

What they say about centaurs.

Promiscuous, unfaithful and erratic. Driven only by lust, rather than love and commitment.

And those were the kind stereotypes. There were many people who thought of centaurs as uncivilized brutes lacking culture.

It was only in the second half of the 20th century that the view on centaurs improved enough for them to appear in more public areas of society, such as sports and music.

But it was a slow process. Mere 30 years ago marriages between humans and centaurs would have been unthinkable, not to mention illegal.

Unfortunately biases are like weeds—difficult to get rid off for good. And while Mark’s parents did not hold some of the nastier beliefs, there was still some misunderstanding going on, fueled by the media and history in equal measure.

“I know what they say about centaurs,” Mark countered. “But I would argue I have a better idea what centaurs are like.”

“Mark.” His mother gathered her thoughts before continuing. “We just don’t want you to get your heart broken.”

“Therion won’t do that.”

“I hope you are right.” She paused. “As your mother I’m just worried, but we trust you and wish you both the best.”

“But will you come to the wedding?”

“Of course! Of course we will come.” She looked at his father, amused, rather than hurt. “What a question to ask.”

Mark smiled again. Sure, his parents didn’t fully support his choice in men, but they weren’t petty about it.

“Just know that,” His mother continued. “No matter what happens, you can always come to us, okay?”

“Thanks.”

“And how is it?” The tailor asked.

“I like it.” Mark investigated his wedding suit in the mirror. “But I think the shoulders are a bit tight.”

“That’s fine for now,” the tailor assured him. “The suit will be made to measure anyway. For now it’s only about the model.”

“Well, I really do like it.” He turned to Therion’s reflection. “What do you think?”

“It’s my favourite so far,” Therion replied. “You look very handsome in it.”

“I don’t mean to intrude.” The tailor eyed the two men. “But may I ask a personal question?”

Mark hesitated but figured it wouldn’t be too bad. “Umm, I guess?”

“I have never had a centaur in my shop before,” the tailor continued. “So I was curious about your relationship.”

“Oh,” Mark let out a laugh of relief. “Therion is the other groom.”

“I see,” She nodded. “Congratulations then.” Then she turned to Therion. “Does that mean you are also looking for a wedding suit?”

“No, I’m sorry,” Therion declined. “Centaurs do not wear suits during weddings.”

“Ah, interesting.” The tailor thought for a moment then laughed. “That explains why I’ve never had one visit my shop.” She paused. “What do they wear then?”

“Nothing.”

The tailor was speechless.

“Well, except for a flower wreath,” Therion added.

“Ah, well, unfortunately I do not sell flowers.” She laughed again.

Suddenly the bell of the shop’s door chimed up.

“Oh, if you two excuse me for a moment,” the tailor turned to leave. “I’ll be right back.”

Once she had left, Mark looked at Therion through the mirror. “You sure you don’t want a suit?”

“After seeing you in one, a little bit less.” Therion smiled. “But yes, I’m sure.”

Mark returned the smile. “A shame. I would like to see you in one.”

“And I would like to see you in one more often.” Therion stepped forward and put his face next to Mark’s. “Do you think you can wear yours after the wedding too?”

Mark ran his fingers over the satin lapels. “I think it’s a bit too flashy for other occasions.”

“Aww.”

“Maybe for anniversaries?”

Therion gave Mark a kiss. “Now that’s an idea.”

Mark stared at the notes on the desk. Since the first meeting with Saphis, they’d stayed in regular contact, gradually working through the many details of the wedding.

This also included a lot of planning, be it wedding decorations and logistics of the event itself.

“Okay, so,” he tossed his pen onto the table and put his face in his hands. “Can we talk about the Panthymion?”

Therion, who was standing at his own desk, looked over. “Sure.”

“How do we want to do this?”

“What do you mean?”

Mark got up from the desk and wandered into the living room. He needed a short break from looking at all the paperwork. “The Panagápion is for centaurs and humans. We’re modifying it slightly to incorporate both cultures.” He paced across the room. “But we can’t do that with the Panthymion.”

Therion followed him into the living room. “Why not?”

“Because,” Mark blinked. “Humans don’t do orgies at any formal event.”

“The Panthymion is not an orgy.”

“Multiple people are having sex,” Mark pointed out. “How is that not an orgy?”

“Sex can be a part of a Panthymion and it involves multiple people, but that doesn’t make it an orgy in the way humans understand it,” Therion explained. “It follows strict rules, just like the Panagápion.”

“Like what?”

“For starters, the Panthymion is only done in pairs. There are no threesomes or more. And they always have to be between two people from the two different herds.”

Mark took a deep breath. “So it has to include humans?”

“There are some exceptions. Certain already bonded pairs, like the two grooms’ parents, are invited to participate, but that’s an archaic rule and not really enforced these days.”

“Great…”

“But the Panthymion does not need to involve sex.”

Mark looked up. “It doesn’t?”

“Where the Panagápion is about love, the Panthymion is about passion, but passion can take many forms,” Therion explained. “While less common, it is entirely acceptable for two pairs to bond over something else, like a shared interest.”

“Mmh.”

“It requires us to be a little bit more proactive, though.”

“In what way?”

“We will have to spend more time talking to our guests and trying to match them together, based on potential interests. It is actually one of the main functions of the Panagápion, aside from the wedding ceremony.”

“Right, we’ll still have to split the two, though.” Mark continued pacing, musing aloud. “Have a dedicated area for any sexual pairings and a more casual area for the others.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“And I guess we have to play platonic matchmaker before we take the vows.”

“Exactly.”

Mark exhaled. “As if we weren’t busy enough.”

“While we’re on the topic of the vows…” Therion began.

Mark stopped pacing. “Yeah?”

“What kind of vow did you have in mind?”

“Umm, I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it yet.” Mark was confused. “Why do you ask?”

“I read up on some vows humans use. They often use the phrase ‘Till death do us part.’” Therion wrung his hands. “I don’t know if I can make that one.”

Mark froze as countless thoughts began racing through his mind.

Was Therion trying to back out? Did he get cold feet? Was his mom right?

“Wh—” His voice was stuck in his throat. “-why not?”

“Because I do not know what the future holds,” Therion replied. “And neither do you.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have a saying. Never trust an oracle that claims he knows the future.” Therion gathered his thoughts. “I love you, I truly do, but if only people who knew they would always be in love got married, then there wouldn’t be divorce.”

“I mean yeah,” Mark tried to find the right words. “That happens, but the promise itself is important, isn’t it? Don’t centaurs make a promise too?”

“We do, but not one to stay together forever.”

“Then what do you promise?”

Therion moved forward and took Mark’s hands into his own. “The bond made during the Panagápion is about unconditional love. To support the other no matter what.”

“But that’s the same as a human vow.”

“No. Humans stay together even when their love has been extinguished. They only part when animosity has reached the breaking point.”

Mark shrugged. “Yeah, but that’s just how it is.”

“Not for us,” Therion explained. “If a couple realizes their attraction is fading, or their marriage isn’t working out, they break up before things get ugly.” He looked Mark in the eyes. “That is what unconditional love and support means. You let go of each other if the bond does not make you happy anymore, allowing each to pursue happiness elsewhere.”

“You’re saying you don’t have any messy divorces?”

“They exist, of course, but they are rare.”

Mark thought about what Therion had said.

“This is one of the reasons why humans falsely believe we are promiscuous as a culture,” Therion explained. “We aren’t. We are simply not shackled by faith to make promises we cannot keep.”

“I’m not religious,” Mark protested. “And neither are my parents.”

“But you were raised in a historically religious culture. It is hard to escape that.”

“So, are you trying to tell me anything with all of this?”

Therion raised an eyebrow. “I’m not trying to say anything I haven’t.” He took a hand to Mark’s face, caressing his cheek. “As I said before, I do love you, and if you asked me today, I would tell you we would be married until the day we die.”

Mark did not reply.

“But I cannot make that specific promise,” Therion continued. “As I do not know the future.”

Mark looked at Therion. He did not find any duplicity in his eyes, no hidden intentions.

Mark believed him. He trusted him.

Because he loved him.

The complex emotions in his chest erupted in a short laugh. “You are being very unromantic, right now, you know that?”

Therion’s voice remained warm. “Being honest isn’t unromantic.”

“I know, I know.” Mark hugged his boyfriend. “The vows can be customized. I wasn’t going with a traditional one anyway.” He looked up at Therion. “As long as your vow is honest, you’re good.”

“Where are the rings?” Therion asked, looking over the jewelry shop’s window.

“What do you mean?” Mark gestured across the whole display. “It’s all rings.”

“Wait, these tiny ones?”

“Of course,” Mark chuckled. “How big did you expect them to be?”

Therion hesitated, then held his hands a little distance apart, about the size of a throwing ring.

Mark couldn’t suppress a proper laugh. “How are you supposed to wear them at that size?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think you’d wear them.”

“But you’ve seen wedding rings before,” Mark pointed out. “My parents wear them.”

“I never noticed.”

“You never noticed?”

Therion nodded at the display. “If they are this small, I probably never paid them much attention. People have all sorts of jewelry.”

“Mmh.” Mark thought for a moment. “Do you want to get something else?”

“No. I don’t mind them. I was just surprised.”

Mark returned his attention to the display. “Any ones that catch your fancy?”

“I don’t know.” Therion’s gaze wandered over the different rings. “Are there some special meanings?”

“No. It’s all just personal preference.”

“Mmh. I’m not sure I’m the best to pick any then. They all look similar.”

“I mean, there are some differences,” Mark pointed out.

“Sure, but ultimately they’re all rings with various levels of decoration.” Therion shrugged. “It doesn’t mean as much to me as it does for you.”

“It’s weird you never noticed wedding rings,” Mark mused. “Like, you’re surrounded by humans all the time.”

“I guess so, but there’s a lot of cultural separation happening.”

“In what way?”

“Humans and centaurs tend to stick to themselves outside of work,” Therion explained. “And even in many work areas centaurs and humans tend to form their own little groups each.”

“Mmh.” Mark thought for a moment. “Have you ever been to a human event?”

“Like a party? No.” Therion turned to Mark and smiled. “Have you ever been to a centaur one?”

“Fair point.”

“For most of my herd it will be the first time attending an event with humans.”

“Well, same with my family, I suppose.” Mark exhaled.

“I guess it will be interesting if nothing else.”

Mark had to laugh. “Let’s hope it won’t be too interesting.”

“I think it’ll be all right. A wedding always brings two herds or families together, no? I think a little clash of cultures is expected.”

“If you put it that way…” Mark decided to change topics. “Wanna go inside or check out a different store?”

“Up to you.”

“Let’s go inside then. There should be more.”

Once inside, the two investigated the display at the counter.

It didn’t take long for the jeweler to approach them. “Good afternoon. May I help you or are you just browsing?”

“Uh, yeah,” Mark began. “We’re looking for wedding rings.”

“May I ask who is getting married?”

“Us both.”

“Ah, perfect.” She smiled. “Do you already have something in mind?”

“I’m not a big fan of too much decoration but I also don’t want it to be too plain.” Mark made a pained expression as if he was aware that he’s asking for a lot. Then he looked at Therion. “What do you think?”

“Same, I suppose.”

“Mmh, over here,” the jeweler led the two to a display in the corner showcasing single rings instead of pairs. “This is our display specifically for men’s rings. We also have some more pieces in the back,” the jeweler offered. “I suggest you browse these for now and I’ll come back in a few minutes with some more.”

“Sounds great.” Mark smiled. “Thank you.”

With that the jeweler disappeared, letting her colleague watch the store.

“Anything that catches your eye?” Mark asked his boyfriend.

“Not really, no.” Therion leaned in closer. “Is that one made of wood?”

“It looks like it.” Mark paused. “Do you like it?”

“I don’t know. I just thought rings are supposed to be made of metal.”

“You and me both.” Mark laughed. “I think it’s a bit too rustic for me, but if you want it I won’t stop you. We can get different models.”

“Mmh.” Therion shrugged.

The two men continued looking at the display until the jeweler returned with three small boxes in her hands.

“So I found these that I think you may like.” She opened the first box, containing two silver rings with an angular Greek meander pattern engraved on the surface. “These ones represent interconnectedness and have a mediterranean feeling to them.”

Mark could tell that the jeweler did not have much experience with centaurs. He knew that they had no particular connection to Greek or even ancient Greek culture beyond the language. While it is thought that there was an exchange of both cultures in ancient times, no Greek aesthetic or symbolism had any meaning to centaurs.

He looked at Therion. “What do you think?”

Therion shrugged. “I don’t mind them.”

“I have to admit I don’t like the angular pattern,” Mark took over.

“That’s perfect.” The jeweler did not miss a beat and went straight to the second box, revealing two gold rings with subtle floral engravings. “Maybe this one would be more to your tastes then?”

“Mmh, I’m not sure.” Mark thought for a moment. “I like it more than the previous one, but I think leaves and plants are a bit much, maybe.” He turned to Therion. “Do you like it?”

Therion simply shrugged.

“I also have to admit,” Mark continued. “I’m not a fan of gold. I think it’s a bit flashy.”

“We also have a goldsmith,” the jeweler offered. “So we can make any design with any material, if you wish.”

“That’s good to know. But as I said, I’m not big on the pattern.” He let out an embarrassed laugh. “I’m sorry if we’re being too picky.”

“You’re not being picky at all. A wedding is a once in a lifetime event, ideally. It’s perfectly normal that you want something that represents you.” She went for the last box. “Let’s see what you think of these.”

She opened the container to reveal two rings each with a differently colored band running down their entire length. One was a silver ring with a black band and the other a black ring with a silver band.

“Instead of being two identical rings, these complement each other by having opposing structures.” She smiled. “We call this particular design ‘Opposites Attract’”.

Mark took in the unique aesthetics of the rings. They were simple, but the high contrast kept them from feeling plain. They were masculine. And most importantly, they highlighted the differences between both him and Therion—not to set them apart, but to bring them together.

“They look good.” He turned to Therion. “What do you think?”

But Therion didn’t react. He was staring at the rings. “May I touch them?”

“Of course,” the jeweler confirmed. “You can try them on too, if you want.”

Therion took the black ring with the silver band between his fingers and investigated it closely.

After a few seconds he looked at Mark. “I like them.”

Mark smiled and turned to the jeweler. “I guess we have a winner.”

“So, like this?” Mark took another two steps forward.

Therion nodded. “Sure.”

He and Therion were currently practising the Synharmos. While this wasn’t the first time, Mark was still struggling.

“Sure?” Mark hung his head. “That doesn’t sound very convincing.”

“You can do your steps however you want.”

“But I want to do them right.”

Therion took a step forward. “There is no right or wrong. Your people don’t have a Synharmos, so you are free to invent something new.”

“I can’t even do most of your steps with only two legs.”

“I know. I’m sorry to put you in a weird position, but look at it this way. You can make up your own.”

Mark made a face. “But it all feels so arbitrary.”

“The meaning is whatever you assign to it.”

“Do your steps have meaning?”

“Of course.” Therion thought for a moment. “Ours are more defined though.”

“Do you have an example?”

Therion got into position and began taking a few steps back. “You see what I’m doing?”

“You’re moving backwards.”

“Yes, but I’m doing it in a very specific way.” Therion repeated the steps, careful to emphasize the movements of his legs.

“You’re placing your front hooves in the same spots where your back hooves were.”

“Exactly.” Therion stopped. “It’s called the retracing step. It is about looking back, acknowledging the past.”

“I’ve seen you doing it often during our practices.”

Therion’s voice grew subdued. “It’s become a popular element of Synharmos in the recent decades.”

Mark saw the sadness in his lover’s eyes. “Is it because of your world?”

Therion nodded.

A little more than two centuries ago, as industrialization demanded more and more fuel, a new source of energy was discovered. Special portals linking Earth to adjacent dimensional bubbles could be breached to tap into their power.

Unfortunately, the process released all the energy at once, allowing the equipment of the time to harvest only a fraction. The sudden discharge became known as popping as the bubble dissipated instantly.

But eventually a new type of dimensional drill was invented, one that was fine enough to merely pierce the bubble, allowing for a steady siphoning.

The target was a portal in the Aegean Sea. Once breached, it was found out that it contained another world, similar to Earth, but inhabited by centaurs rather than humans.

The practice of tapping into these bubbles was outlawed almost instantly, but the damage was done. Even after the siphoning was stopped, the world gradually lost its energy regardless. In the following years it began to shrink down to a fraction of its former size with a phenomenon called the Haze eating away at the edges of the world.

The centaurs, at least the herds that managed to escape the Haze, were systematically evacuated to earth, a process that was still ongoing to this day.

“Have you ever been there?” Mark asked.

“My parents went there every year.” Therion looked down. “I haven’t really found the time since I got out of school.”

Mark didn’t say anything.

“It’s beautiful,” Therion mused. “I want to show it to you one day.”

Mark smiled. “You think they’ll let me in?” He knew that humans visiting the centaur world was heavily restricted. The surviving communities tried their best to keep their home from turning into a safari.

“They have to.” Therion returned the smile. “You’re my partner.”

“Let’s hope they see it the same way.” Mark’s smile faded. “Have you ever seen the Haze?”

“The Peraiōn?” Therion used the centaur term. “I’ve never been to the edge, but it’s not a thing you can see anyway.”

“It’s not?”

“No. It’s not like a fog or something,” Therion explained. “The word Haze is just a misunderstanding from early reports. It’s not a substance or weather phenomenon or anything like that. It’s more like a blur. A change—or lack, rather—of topography.”

Mark furrowed his brow. “Not sure I follow.”

“Imagine a map,” Therion began. “And now begin blurring the edges. Things don’t vanish. They fade into the larger background. A road gradually dissolves until the flattened earth becomes indistinguishable from the surrounding soil. A settlement becomes a collection of featureless buildings, before it gets swallowed by the land around it.

“Any landscape, whether natural or artificial, becomes part of whatever is the default geographic feature. Forests start thinning, mountains flatten and the sea recedes until everything is replaced with an endless expanse of perfect grasslands. No lone tree. No rock. Not even a single blade of grass that rises above the rest.

“If it was a map,” Therion continued. “It’d just be a single rectangle of uniform green.”

“So the world isn’t dying,” Mark mused. “It simply loses definition. Does that mean it can be saved?”

Therion shook his head. “It is a death. The death of a world is absolute entropy. And absolute entropy is not destruction, but uniformity.”

“How long does it have?”

“They say in 200 years the area untouched by the Peraiōn will be no larger than a house. So you could say we’re about half-way.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Therion took a step forward and ran his hands down Mark’s arms until they held his. “It’s not your fault. And humans didn’t know better.”

“We could’ve tried finding out more about the technology before using it though.” Mark looked Therion in the eyes. “And we could at the absolute very least have treated your people better.”

Therion thought for a moment. “Maybe, but the retracing step is about reflecting on the past, not dwelling on it.” He took a few steps back to get into position. “Shall we continue?”

“You know,” Mark called into the living room while he was cooking. “We still need to talk about the names.”

Therion approached the eating table that was right next to the pass-through. “What do you mean?”

“Our last names,” Mark clarified. “Who adopts which name.”

“Ah,” Therion thought for a moment. “There’s not much to decide for centaurs. We always adopt the name of the herd we live in.”

“I see. Well, for humans it’s custom that one partner adopts the name of the other.”

“So I would be called Therion Turner? Or Therion of the Turner Herd?”

“The former I would guess. Humans don’t really live in herds.”

Therion didn’t reply.

“Alternatively I could become Mark of the Kalladonis Herd.” Mark glanced over his shoulder. “That sounds pretty cool actually.”

“But you’re not living in our herd.”

“Yeah, true.”

“On the other hand herds are becoming a little bit fuzzy anyway,” Therion ceded.

“Why?”

“In the past herds were the group you lived and travelled with. If someone left the herd you wouldn’t see them until your herds crossed paths again.

“Leaving one’s herd used to be an event of great importance.” Therion sighed. “But nowadays you can always stay in contact with your friends and family. And human work and living culture forces us to spread out anyway.

“Centaurs are stuck in a weird limbo where we lose our physical connection to our herd yet always have them available at our fingertips.”

“That’s kind of sad,” Mark mused.

“At any rate,” Therion tried to bring the conversation back on track. “I’m not sure Mark of the Kalladonis Herd is a good name.”

“Why not?”

“Because government agencies don’t really understand centaur names.” Therion paused. “Or refuse to understand. You wouldn’t believe how often I’ve been called Therion Kalladonis.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So that’s why I think keeping your name might make more sense for you.”

“Mmh,” was Mark’s noncommittal answer.

“Does that mean I’ll be called Therion Turner?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want.”

“But one of us has to change their name, no?”

“It’s common, but not required.” Mark reached two plates with food across the pass-through. “I don’t mind adopting your name, but you make a good point. It might be more trouble than it’s worth.”

Therion put the two plates on the table. “Maybe it can be your unofficial name, when we are with other centaurs.”

“I would like that.” Mark made his way to the living room and sat down at the table. “Do you think the others would mind, considering I’m not really living with them?”

“You’re living with me,” Therion pointed out, then shrugged his shoulders. “As I said, herds are becoming a bit fuzzy. I don’t think they will mind too terribly. You’re not just anybody. You’re my partner.”

“Fair enough.”

Therion picked up a piece of meat with his fork and took a bite. “Mmh, it’s delicious.”

“Thank you,” Mark smiled. “While we’re on the topic, maybe we should talk about catering for the wedding.”

“Okay.”

“You know,” Mark continued. “We need to decide what kind of food we want to have.”

“Ah.” Therion looked down at the plate. “Can’t we just use your cooking? It’s great.”

“I am not going to cook for 50 people,” Mark chuckled. “We need a catering service.”

“Will it be as good as your food?”

“I assume it will be better.”

Therion made a sceptical face, but didn’t comment further.

“Besides,” Mark continued. “I didn’t want to have only human food, you know.”

“You want there to be centaur food as well?”

“Yeah, why not? I figured we would have two buffet tables. One with human dishes and the other with centaur ones.”

“Mmh.” Therion mulled it over.

“What kind of food do your people eat at weddings?”

“Whatever we have available,” Therion explained. “We’re a nomadic people by nature. We eat what we can gather at the moment. We don’t have special foods for events.”

“It doesn’t need to be special,” Mark pointed out. “I don’t think anyone in my family has ever had centaur cuisine. Me included.”

“Fair enough.”

“Are there any centaur caterers?”

“I can take a look, but not that I know of. As I said, we don’t have special event foods.” Therion thought for a moment. “I could ask my herd to make some and bring it to the wedding. That’s how it’s traditionally done anyway.”

“Like a potluck,” Mark thought to himself.

“What’s that?”

“Exactly what you described. Every guest brings a dish to share with everyone.” Mark considered the idea. “I like that. I’ll have to ask the others in my family what they think, but most should be happy to participate.”

“Are they as good cooks as you are?”

“I’m not that great a cook.” Mark rolled his eyes. “You’re just too used to frozen foods.”

While the two continued eating, Mark eyed his boyfriend using only the fork. Centaurs did not use any utensils when eating, exclusively relying on their fingers. While Mark had already taught his boyfriend to eat with cutlery, Therion still had some trouble with using a knife when eating. As a result, Mark always cut the meat and other large pieces of food into strips.

“I assume the others in your herd aren’t used to cutlery?” Mark asked.

“No.”

“You think that’s gonna be a problem if we offer human food?”

“Ah, I think it’ll be fine. They’ll learn.” But then Therion’s face shifted to uncertainty. “Are there more complex utensils than a fork and knife?”

Mark had to laugh. “No, that’s as crazy as it gets.”

Therion continued eating, but then he remembered something. “What about your wedding cake?”

The two had discussed it early on. With all the talk about the Panthymion, Mark had felt the strange urge to get more human customs into the wedding, to balance things out. So he put his foot down about having a tiered wedding cake, the kind often seen in movies.

The weird part was that he didn’t even care about such a cake. He thought it was a little extravagant and he always associated it with bridezillas.

Since then he realized that his reasons were somewhat petty, so he never brought it up again.

Mark waved the topic aside. “Eh, it’s not that important.”

“But you wanted one.”

“We’ll have one, but just a regular cake, not a tiered one. Maybe it can be part of the potluck. There’s a few in my family who like to bake.”

“I have nothing against it. You can have one if you want.”

“But I don’t need one.”

Therion seemed disappointed.

Mark grew suspicious. “Why do you ask?”

Therion’s voice grew sheepish as he poked at his food. “I just kinda liked the idea.”

Mark blinked in surprise. Maybe the cake wasn’t important. But the fact that Therion cared? That was.

He smiled, then faked a serious face. “You know what? I changed my mind. I want a tiered wedding cake, at least three layers, and ourselves as tiny figurines at the top.”

The smile returned to Therion’s face. “Sounds good.”

“All right guys, Leon and I will be right back.” Evan got up and made his way out of the pub together with Leon. He pointed at Mark as he walked. “Don’t let him escape.”

Mark chuckled. It was only two weeks until the big day and today was his own bachelor party. While centaurs did not have such a thing, Therion used the occasion to hang out with his herd as well.

While Leon and Evan were about equally close to Mark, both were pretty much opposites. Where Evan was an extrovert, Leon was shy and quiet. This is why he picked Evan as best man. He knew Evan would handle the responsibilities better and he wanted to avoid stressing out Leon.

Apart from these two, there were also some of Mark’s male cousins and friends.

“Speaking of escape,” Mark began. “Can I recruit you guys for a special activity on the wedding day, before the actual event starts?”

One of his cousins raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

“Among centaurs it is custom that each herd makes flower wreaths for members of the other to wear,” Mark explained. “And since it’s flowers we have to do it on the same day.”

“So we’ll have to be there earlier?”

“Exactly.”

“Can’t we like, buy some?” One of his friends looked around the group. “Does anyone here even know how to weave a wreath?”

“They need to be hand-made for traditional reasons,” Mark clarified. “And don’t worry. Therion’s groomsmen will also be there, helping out with setting up all the decorations, so they can show you.”

Mark knew that centaurs didn’t truly have groomsmen, but members of the herd often helped out with organizational stuff, so it was similar enough. He figured the details were not as important right now.

His friend nodded. “Yeah, sure, you can count on us.”

The statement was met with general agreement.

Just in time, Evan and Leon returned, each with bags in their hands.

Mark slid back into his seat, wary of what was about to come.

While Leon sat down, Evan stood and raised a glass. “Mark, may I make a toast?”

“Can I stop you?” Mark quipped.

Evan looked into the round. “No.”

Once the giggling had subsided, Evan continued. “We have come here together to bemoan—” He paused and looked at his hand as if he had written notes on it. “-I’m sorry, I mean celebrate the end of your bachelorhood.

“You know you really surprised me with this one.” Evan made a dramatic pause. “I mean, I’ve always known you were a size queen, but boy oh boy.”

Mark shielded his face with a hand as the group erupted in laughter.

“But we’re nothing if not supportive,” Evan continued. “So we decided to give you some gifts that hopefully make your life with a centaur husband a little bit easier.”

Evan reached into one of the bags and pulled out four comically short pink slippers. “The first is a full set of slippers for your husband, so he doesn’t make too much noise when walking around at home.”

Mark smiled and took the slippers. He knew Therion wouldn’t get much use out of these as centaurs needed a hard surface to wear down their hooves naturally. And since they preferred using slip-on shoes outside, they would need to walk barehoof when at home.

But he knew it was a gag gift anyway, so he didn’t pay it much mind.

“The second—” Evan reached into another bag and held up a blanket that had a human outline woven into it. “-is a blanket you can use to claim some human space on the sofa, so Therion’s body doesn’t occupy all of it.”

Mark took that one too.

“Then we have—” Even pulled out two T-shirts out of the third bag. “-a T-shirt for each of you.”

Two of Mark’s friends were so kind as to hold them up, so everyone could see the front. One of the shirts showed a human stick-figure and was captioned ‘Centaur Husband in Training’ while the other showed a stick figure of a centaur with the caption ‘Husband Centaur in Training’.

Mark took the T-shirts and looked at them again. “I like these, actually.”

“They should even be the correct size,” Evan added.

“How did you know Therion’s shirt size?”

“Remember when we went to the lake?” Evan pointed out. “All it took was Therion to go into the water and you to be distracted for a moment.”

Mark had to laugh. “Ohh, I see.”

“And the last gift is probably the most important one.” Evan knelt down and heaved a 1 gallon bottle onto the table. It had an ill fitting label on it, as if it had been scraped off from elsewhere and glued onto the bottle.

Mark squinted at the label, then his eyes widened in surprise. “Lube?!”

“I have no idea what you’re gonna use it for,” Evan feigned innocence. “But the others insisted you need it.”

The group erupted in laughter again.

“But, like,” Mark examined the bottle.”Is it real lube?”

“Yeah, we got a bottle of distilled water and filled it up with lube instead.”

Mark shook his head in disbelief. “Thanks guys.”

After the group had calmed down a little bit and everyone was investigating the gifts, Mark looked into the round. “Any other surprises I should know about?”

“Up to you.” Evan shrugged. “We could go to a gay bar.”

Mark had to laugh at the suggestion. “You know. Therion probably wouldn’t even mind.”

“No?”

“Centaur culture is pretty open,” Mark clarified. “Sex is just sex and has nothing to do with faithfulness.”

Evan smirked. “Well, in that case…”

Mark waved off the suggestion, but some second thoughts lingered.

Therion and him had talked about it, explicitly in the context of the bachelor party. And they did give each other permission to ‘have fun’ as they called it. Mark was unsure, but he wondered what Therion would think if he saw Mark now.

Was Mark holding onto the ideal of loyalty that had been drilled into his head since he was a child? Would Therion think of him as a prude, that he had learnt nothing in the time they had been together?

Mark realized that he was hesitant to do something he had told his boyfriend was no big deal, yet at the same time he shied away from it, thinking it was wrong. Was he a hypocrite?

He took a deep breath. “You know what?” He looked at Evan. “Let’s do it.”

Evan raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“How was your party?” Therion asked as he walked past the couch.

Mark was already used to Therion walking around even when at home. Centaurs didn’t sit as much as humans did and spent most of their free time standing or walking. As a result Therion often found himself something to do when the two were at home.

“Good good, had some fun.” Mark looked up from the book he was reading. “You?”

“Yeah, felt good getting together with friends and family again.”

“And…” Mark put the book away. “Did you have some fun?”

“Yeah, I mean—” Therion turned to face his boyfriend. “What kind of fun are we talking about?”

“You know what we discussed before?” Mark tried to find the right words. “That we’re open to sex outside the relationship?”

“Oh, that kind of fun.” Therion returned his attention to what he was doing before. “No, I didn’t.”

“What?” Mark blinked in shock. “Why not?”

Therion turned around again and raised an eyebrow. “Did you want me to?”

“I just thought you would.” Mark’s voice began to crack.

Therion paused for a moment before approaching Mark on the couch. “Is anything wrong?”

“I thought we had agreed that we’re open.” Mark tried to hold back tears.

Therion sat down on the couch. “What happened?”

“We went to a bar yesterday,” Mark brought out between sniffs. “Some guy sucked me off.”

Therion took Mark in his arms. “That’s okay.”

“But why didn’t you meet someone?”

“It didn’t feel right,” Therion had to admit. “You seemed so hesitant with the whole openness. I figured I could wait until after the wedding to approach the topic more slowly.”

“Why are you not mad?”

“Do you want me to be mad?” Therion asked. “I’m just glad you had fun.”

“I’m not even sure I had fun.”

“Why not?”

“The whole time I was thinking about you, not the guy.” Mark swallowed the clump in his throat. “I just did it because I felt like that’s what you would want me to do.”

“What I want for you is to feel good.”

“Well, I feel awful.”

Therion comforted his boyfriend. “You shouldn’t.”

Mark moved closer to Therion’s chest. “Can you forgive me?”

“I can’t. Because I don’t think you did anything wrong.” Therion paused. “But for what it’s worth, I’m glad you chose honesty.”

Mark continued sobbing into Therion’s chest.

“Shh, it’s all right.” Therion pulled back a little to look his boyfriend in the eyes. “We’ll laugh about it tomorrow, okay?”

Mark put his head back. “No promises.”

To be continued.

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