The Centaur Ranch Pt. 02

That Sunday, Sean invited some of his neighbors to lunch. He was now confident that his taurs were tame enough to be seen; if something went wrong with the new males, the sac ring could certainly manage it. He greeted the men at the farm gate; they walked to the enclosure and Sean began to explain what he was doing there.

The farmers could not believe their eyes. They saw the pretty mares with their wombs round, the shed where they were milked, and treated themselves to some freshly milked liquid as it came in jets from the girls' full breasts. They saw also the males doing some parading exercises, and Sean invited them to a ride on their backs. The sheer audacity of it all was stunning; the farmers were amazed to see how well the centaurs responded to commands. Sean decided to organize a race. He would ride Ximbo, and each of his guests chose one of the other males. James was the judge; he whistled three times and the centaurs began to run. Linda was filming that with a camera, as she had thought of using the film to publicity purposes later on. The centaurs had to make five times the oval track where they were usually exercised. They accelerated to full speed, but Ximbo and Congo quickly opened quickly a wide distance from the main pack: after the first turn, it became clear that the contest was to be decided between them. The farm helpers were there, shouting to stimulate one or the other of the front row centaurs; the mares had also been brought to see the race.

Ximbo was half a body ahead for a good part of the race, but then Congo's jockey smacked his rump with the crop and the centaur rushed forward to escape the swat. He went parallel with Ximbo for some hundred yards, then passed him... Sean kicked Ximbo's ribs to make him run, and he went ahead by an arm's length... then Congo reached him... Their black bodies glistened with sweat as they ran as fast as they could. They were side by side as they began to run he last turn of the track. The audience was out of breath with emotion; the sound of the hooves hitting the ground was drowned under the screams and incentives of the supporters of each centaur. Then Congo breathed deep and made a last effort; he won a small advantage... then increased it... Ximbo tried hard, but he could not reach his adversary... and Congo arrived first by a half horse body, under a tempest of applause from the spectators.

"Very well, my friend!" Sean greeted him as he dismounted Ximbo. "You all have done very well in this first taur race in centuries," he went on, looking at the other males. They were panting, out of breath, their bodies still trembling with excitement. Pedro and Jorge took them by their collars to be washed and get some water. Sean went with James, Linda and the farmers to have lunch.

"This is the most stunning thing I have ever seen," said Francisco.

"Yes, it is," agreed Paulo. "Tell me, Mr. Parker, have you thought of selling some of those beasts? I would pay anything to have a couple in my farm..."

"The mares are to deliver in a few days," said Sean. "I will raise the foals and when they are ripe, yes, they are for sale."

"And that stallion that won the race?" asked Francisco.

Sean looked at him, amused.

"How much do you think he is worth?"

"Well, I don't know... maybe... ten thousand dollars?"

James's fork stopped in the air, midway from his salad and his mouth.

"You have guessed right," he said. "He is a trained adult, and ready to make colts if you get a female. We are expecting some in the next few weeks... so, it could be wise to have a stallion ready. And if they don't show up, then you can wait some time and buy one of the fillies that will be born soon."

"How long does it take for a centaur to be ripe for work and reproduction?" asked Bernardo.

"Ten or eleven months, counting from birth," explained James. "And - you know, the fillies can be taught to please!"

That piece of news attracted general attention. Sean told them about the delights of having a pretty black centauress in heat; Linda kept silent, as she did not know what the rude farmers would think of her sexual preferences. As the lunch was over, they sat on the porch for some coffee. Then Sean said:

"You know, gentlemen... I could sell the stallion that won the race, and maybe another one, too. This farm has given me much expense, and it is only fair that I get back some of the money I have invested." In fact, as a fine psychologist, he was foreseeing trouble as Congo had defeated Kumbo in the race. How would the relationship between the two males develop after that? Kumbo was not anymore the undisputed leader of the herd. It could be wise to get Congo out of the farm, and, as he did not want to seem prejudiced against him, selling one of the other could be a good move. Anyway, as James had spotted the new herd, he was sure to get some males to replace those two.

"Let's go and see them," said Francisco.

"All right," said Sean. "But don't let them notice that we have decided this among us. They are gullible, but can get easily offended. After you have chosen the ones you want, please don't mention any price. Be sure to praise them, present yourselves as their admirers and friends. And," he went on, "they all have a controlling device, a ring on their sac, but I don't think they have noticed it yet, so please don't mention that either. Later I will give you the remote control to activate it if and when it becomes necessary."

They went down to the enclosure and Sean opened the stalls in the newly built area. The males came out and lined up as he whistled them to.

"Today is a great day, my friends," he began. "These gentlemen here are very impressed by your performance, and want you to help them in their farms. But I cannot let all of you go, as we also need your strength here. So I decided that two of you will go with them. Now please let them examine you! I am proud of all of you, and it is with a weight on my heart that I have agreed to their demand. But I have to, as you can certainly understand."

The centaurs were stunned to hear that, but they had not much of a choice. Francisco went near Congo and touched his arms, feeling the strong muscles beneath the black skin. He opened the centaur's mouth and was pleased to see all his teeth in good condition. He was used to evaluate a horse, and was especially interested in Congo's cock. He told the centaur to prance and let his front legs to rest on the fence; he went under and slid his fingers over the huge thing under his belly. Congo threatened to buck, but the man took them off in time to prevent that. He the ring around the base of the male's member, but, as Sean had asked, didn't say a word about it. He stood up again and said:

"I will take this one. He is one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen. I hope we will be friends. What is your name?"

"Congo, master," said the centaur politely

Meanwhile, Paulo's attention had been attracted to Kalango's finely shaped body. He performed the examination and was satisfied. "I would like much if you come with me and help me in my farm," he said. Kalango's face was beaming with pride as he agreed.

"Now, you two will be saddled and will ride your new masters home," said Sean. "You will become the leaders of their herds when fillies are brought in for you to cover. This should happen soon," he said. "Yoro, Moleke, Kiabo, please go to your stalls and take the rest of the afternoon to rest."

They went to the house as the farm hands prepared the centaurs for their departure. Francisco and Paulo filled checks for ten thousand dollars and gave them to Sean, who pocketed them with a smile, as he taught the men how to use the remote control to the sac ring.

"I will keep in touch with you about the females," he said. "Perhaps you can come back in a week or two and pick some. But I cannot promise that yet."

"Where do you capture them?" Bernardo wanted to know.

"Oh, this is a business secret," laughed Linda. "Anyway, we need the expertise of our friend, Dr. James Wilkins, to solve problems as they arise. I am not lying if I say that none of us would know how to deal with the taurs without his aid. So you will be better off if you wait until we have the females in condition for sale."

The men agreed. They went to the porch and bid farewell to Sean, Linda and James. Congo and Kalango had been saddled and brought to the house; their new owners mounted them and went off. The others were led to their cars and left too,

"You see," said James. "It is beginning to pay off... Those beasts cost us practically nothing, and now we have the first palpable results of our venture. The Indians should be paying for the seed some nice thousands of dollars in a few days. And I think our new mares are approaching... In a day or two we will be go for them."

As the new day dawned, Dara felt the first signs that her foal was coming. She lay down on the straw and closed her eyes. Soon her pussy was contracting and became wider, as the little foal pointed his legs out. She helped with her muscles and soon it all was over. Dara acted as any mare would: she ate the placenta, cut the cord with her teeth, and licked her baby clean. In these matters, she was entirely horse-like. The baby was a tiny centaur filly, black pitch in color, and she began to seek for her mother's breast. Dara gave it to her and watched as the minuscule lips sucked her full breasts. As Linda came into her stall to feed her, she saw the filly happily asleep on the straw, and greeted Dara:

"There you are, dear! Was it all ok?"

"Yes, Miss Linda," Dara said, as she cuddled the filly lovingly in her arms. "It is a filly..."

"We shall call her Kenga," Linda said. "May I touch her?"

Dara nodded. She felt very happy. Linda touched the filly's soft, baby-like human skin, and lifted her tiny tail to watch her even tinier holes. "From this hole a lot of foals will come," she thought for herself. "I have to go and tell everybody about this!" she said excitedly, and went out from the stall.

She let the taurs out to visit the new mother and her baby. Ximbo was very proud of his first daughter; the other mares stayed with Dara in turns, to help her and learn how to take care of the little one. Sean and James were pleased to see that all had gone well; Dara was very healthy, but they had feared some trouble, as it was her first time to deliver.

As the excitement over the birth had somehow decreased, the taurs went through the usual routine. The mares were milked, then washed themselves and were attached to the carts. They were picking fruits to make preserves, a light work just designed to keep them busy. The males were led to a place where tree stumps had to be removed. The bridge had been concluded, and today the work was to take out those stumps. Sean came to watch the taurs perform that task, which required force and a lot of tenacity. He could feel the musk of the males' sweat from a distance of fifty yards. He aspired the smell and felt a sensation of power: that meant that his centaurs were working hard for him, and he, as their master, would reap a nice profit from whatever they did.

As he arrived, Moleke had just been harnessed to a long, thick rope that went round the stump and back to his waist, where a leather stripe about one foot wide had been attached. Each centaur had a similar device on his body, and they were being wooed by Pedro and Jorge to pull out the stumps. Sean watched their muscles stretching under their dark mocha skin, tense with the effort; their wet bodies glistened under the sun, as they were applying all their force to pull out the stumps. He smiled to himself: "I would need a tractor to do that, but my centaurs, which cost me next to nothing, are doing the work with no expense for me!"

He heard a loud whine as Kumbo finally succeeded and took out his stump. He came near the herd leader and patted his bald skull: "Very well, my friend! You are stupendously strong!" And he gave him an apple from his pocket.

That afternoon, he called all the centaurs to the area in front of their stalls. He went to Dara and hung a bead on her collar.

"This bead means that Dara has given her master a foal. I hope that all of you girls will soon have several of these to your collars! Now lets greet our first mother," he said, and clapped his hands. The centaurs were amused at the noise they could produce by clapping hands, and Dara got a true ovation from them.

Then Sean took a pair of surgical pliers from his pocket and went to Ximbo. He held the centaur's nose in his hands and announced:

"Ximbo is our first father... I will give him a sign of my joy because he made such a fine foal. He will get the nose ring, a distinction we humans give only to the finest stallions. And I am sure that you will not scream, my friend! This can sting a bit, but you are a courageous, hardened male!" As he said that, he took the flask of anesthetic from his pocket and sprayed some into Ximbo's nose. Before the centaur could notice it, he placed the pliers between his nostrils and pierced the skin between them. The centaur did not feel the pinch; Sean introduced into the holes a golden, half-inch wide ring and pressed its sides together. The ring dangled from Ximbo's nose and came just over his upper lip.

The centaur touched it, puzzled. Then Sean clapped his hands and another ovation greeted the male. Ximbo grinned as he noticed that all the applause was for him. The centaurs were then dispensed and went to their stalls to eat and sleep; Dara was breastfeeding Kenga as the humans went up the path and entered the house.

"I have great news," said James. "The herd is about two miles from here. Tomorrow we have to go and fetch them. Is everything ready?"

"Yes," said Sean. "We have stalls and enough food: the vegetables we sowed on the fields plowed by the mares are already being reaped." He turned to James: "Do you have enough rings and serum for milk?"

"Yes," answered the scientist.

"I commanded five dozens of collars and badges," said Linda. "They will be greeted as they deserve!" They laughed at her joke and bid each other good night. The following day would be one to be remembered.

Sean woke up with the first beams of the sun and dressed himself. He was excited at the prospect of bringing the new centaurs into his farm. He ate quickly some bread and butter, had a cup of coffee and went out to saddle Kumbo. His psychological acumen told him that it was better to let the leader of the herd talk to the centaurs and eventually persuade them to come and accept the human's yoke.

"Wake up, my friend," he said to Kumbo. "Master James's instruments have spotted a big herd of centaurs not far from here. We are going to meet them and invite them to live with us. I need you to take me there, and, when we see them, to talk to their leader. Master James told me that there are many new females in this herd. Will you help me?"

Kumbo stood up and let himself be saddled. He was pleased at the news that new females would be brought in. They left the farm and walked east, towards the point that James had marked in his map.

Kumbo sniffed the air as he had done the day they had met the group of males, and soon he found the scent emanating from the centaurs. He walked his master the top of a hill, and, as they arrived there, Sean had to hold his breath. He was contemplating a sea of black bodies, tightly packed down there. Some hot discussion was taking place; he could hear the excited voices of the females. He kicked Kumbo's ribs and they began to go down the hill.

"It is full of snakes here!" said one of the girls. "One bit my foal and he died," she went on. Her thin voice was indignant. "And there are not enough fruits! We are starving!" said another. A hoarse voice was trying to calm them down: "We will go somewhere else and will find enough to eat," the voice was saying. Sean saw that it came from a huge male; his back was turned to them and he made gestures with his arms.

"There!" shouted a female pointing to them. "A centaur with two heads!"

The big male turned to Sean and Kumbo and began to laugh. "It is not a centaur with two heads, it is a human on top of a centaur," he said. "And the human is sick, he is so pale!"

It was Sean's turn to burst into a hearty laughter. "Hello, my friends! I am not sick, it is just that I do not have your wonderful, healthy coloration. I am called Master and this is Kumbo, my helper and friend. I couldn't help hearing you discussion about food and snakes, and I am pleased to tell you that I have a solution for that."

The centaurs gathered around him, curious to see one of their kind being ridden by a human. The male leader was clearly in a dire strait; his herd was getting indocile, and Sean took quick advantage of that stroke of luck.

"You could come and live in my farm," he said. "You will have a fine stable to spend the night, and enough food. Look at my friend Kumbo: he is well fed, isn't he?"

He patted Kumbo's shoulder; the tamed male was standing still, his head up, showing off to the others of his kind. Sean pointed to the collar on his neck:

"You will also receive a fine necklace like this, and no more snakes will threaten your little ones. But I ask something in exchange: you have to help us, humans, in our needs, and learn to carry us where we have to go. It is a fair deal, is it not, Kumbo?"

"Yes, master," answered Kumbo.

Sean waited for the effect of his words; he could sense the doubt in the big leader's eyes. The other two males approached and the three conferred in a low voice; the farmer let them take their time, as he examined with an expert eye the group of females. Finally, the leader came to him and said:

"We will go with you, human."

"Very well! Please take your herd up the hill, then. What is your name?"

"I am Matombo; this is Banto, and this is Kapanga," said the leader. He turned to the females: "Let's go! Up the hill!"

Sean made Kumbo turn around and watched as the males herded the girls together, each one at one side of the group, while Matombo marched in front of them. Sean was pleased to see them so obedient to their males; he prized docility, as it would be needed to make the centauress fulfill their new duties as beasts of burden, breeders and sex toys. He tried to count how many centaurs Fate was sending directly into his hands. There were at least thirty-five females, besides the three males. All seemed young and healthy, and his heart thumped quicker as he thought of all those tauresses being stimulated to produce cream, at three thousand dollars an ounce.

He evaluated quickly what he could ask for the females: if they had no flaws, he could sell at least one dozen to his neighbors, and he would still have more than twenty new mares. What could a fair price be? The stallions had been sold for ten thousand dollars; it could be reasonable to ask fifteen for each female, as she would give her owner several other centaurs for free. He made a quick calculation: if all went well, in about two weeks he could pocket safely around one hundred and eighty thousand dollars at practically no cost. It was just a question of ability and firmness. He smiled broadly and moved Kumbo to where Matombo was.

Sean could see the centaur's eyes blinking as he touched his arm and probed his muscles, feeling them flexible and strong under the black skin. He went on briskly: "Yours is a very fine herd, Matombo! I hope you will like your new home. Look there, this is my farm!"

They had arrived to the top of the small hill: the immense fenced area could be seen below with its fields, stables and the new buildings. Sean pointed to some black points that were moving slowly on a field: