A rustling sound of leaves shifting through the trees.
Suddenly, a centaur appeared before Lucien.
His hair was a striking platinum blond, with a bow and arrows slung across his back. His upper body was incredibly muscular, while his lower half formed the sturdy frame of a pale golden-maned horse.
His eyes were a startling blue, like clear, serene sapphires.
"Firenze the centaur extends his greetings to you."
With that, Firenze clasped his hands into fists, crossed his forearms over his chest, and bowed slightly toward Lucien.
The gesture made Lucien's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
He'd read about this in books—it was the centaurs' most formal greeting, reserved for welcoming honored guests or longtime friends.
And centaurs were notoriously cool toward humans, bordering on outright disdain, always keeping a respectful but distant attitude.
But this was Firenze, and they'd never met before.
Why the formal bow? And how did he know Lucien's name?
As for the somewhat over-the-top title Firenze tacked on afterward, Lucien had to bite back a snarky comment.
Good thing the Forbidden Forest was big enough for all these dramatic types...
It hit Lucien—centaurs were masters of divination, especially stargazing. So, had he seen Lucien in a prophecy?
What did the prophecy say about him?
"Lucien Grafton returns your greetings."
Lucien's mind was racing with questions, but he didn't skimp on the etiquette.
He lightly touched his chest with the hand not holding his wand and bowed slightly in return.
Receiving Lucien's response, Firenze nodded toward Luster as well.
"And greetings to you, too, the 'qilin' from another realm."
Lucien narrowed his eyes, dying to know why this centaur called Luster a "qilin from another world."
Was centaur divination really that powerful?
"Mr. Grafton, are you satisfied with your harvest in the Forbidden Forest tonight?"
"It's been alright—picked up a few unexpected bonuses."
Lucien was just one magical creature observation short of repaying his loan.
But he'd lucked out and run into that pair of unicorns, snagging some unique info on a pregnant one.
If he sent it to Newt, the magical creatures expert would probably buy it hook, line, and sinker.
"Might I have the honor of helping you complete your collection?"
"Oh?"
Lucien found the centaur's way of talking kinda amusing— all mystical and vague, like some shady fortune-teller.
Well, not shady, exactly. With divination skills like that, they basically were fortune-tellers.
Lucien chuckled lightly, rubbing his wand absentmindedly.
"You know what I'm up to?"
Firenze raised a finger to the starry sky overhead, his tone gentle.
"The stars have given me insight."
Lucien was even more entertained now. Total mystic vibes.
Gotta admit, prophecies and divinations had a way of making you sound all enigmatic—just a few cryptic words, and boom, instant aura of mystery.
"Your sincerity makes it hard to hold back, so I'll be direct."
"I need to observe a magical creature and take some notes. Would you guide me to one?"
Hey, the centaur had offered, so why not ask? If he said no, no big deal—Lucien could just hunt it down by coordinates.
But Firenze shook his head.
"No need for all that trouble. I can tell you directly."
Lucien's brow furrowed.
"Tell me? Tell me what?"
Firenze pointed again, this time at himself.
"I can tell you about centaur habits, racial traits..."
Honestly, Firenze's offer left Lucien a bit stunned.
Sure, centaurs were classified as magical creatures, but that was at their own insistence—even though wizards saw them as a sentient race.
Still, for Firenze to just volunteer all this info? It felt way too proactive. Lucien and the centaurs were total strangers.
What exactly had this guy seen in his prophecy? Did the stars really drop some major bombshell about him?
As he mulled it over, Lucien mentally pinged the system.
"System, since centaurs count as magical creatures, would getting info from them satisfy the loan requirements?"
[The firsthand data absolutely qualifies, as long as the source provides a rich enough sample.]
With the system's green light, Lucien figured it was good to go, but he wanted to check with the centaur anyway.
"If you're ready, shall I begin?"
At Firenze's question, Lucien pulled out parchment and quill, then nodded that he was set.
"Centaurs have the head, torso, and arms of a human, joined to the body of a horse..."
"The horse's coat comes in many colors, including..."
"Centaurs excel in divination, archery, astronomy, and healing magic..."
The quill scribbled furiously, automatically capturing Firenze's words.
The more Lucien listened, the weirder his expression got—because Firenze was going into insane detail.
He covered everything from how to raise foals, to centaur coming-of-age rituals, funerals, and more.
"As for centaur reproduction..."
Lucien cut him off quick.
"Whoa, hold up—no need to get into that."
The other creature logs had touched on similar stuff, and it all met the loan criteria anyway.
Feeling a tad awkward, Lucien checked in with the system again.
"System, is this enough material now?"
[Standards met. Would you like to submit the data and repay the loan now?]
"Hold off—I can still use it."
Lucien planned to duplicate a few copies: one for himself, one for Newt, and one for the loan repayment.
In under half an hour, he'd documented an entire species—probably the fastest ever.
Lucien stowed his parchment and quill, turning back to Firenze.
"My friendly centaur pal, why the big help? What exactly did the stars reveal to you about me? Any prophecies?"
"And why call me the 'Master of Qilin'? Does this little guy really look like a qilin? What's with the 'other realm' bit?"
As he spoke, Lucien patted Luster, who'd been watching the whole exchange like it was a show.
Truth was, Luster looked nothing like the local qilins—even Newt, who'd seen one back in the day, hadn't recognized him.
But Firenze had nailed it right away, which was baffling.
Firenze kept his calm, even tone in response to Lucien's questions.
"The stars told me this is a qilin, but not from this world—perhaps from a very distant one."
Lucien's heart skipped a beat at Firenze's words.
Divination that potent?
It could even foresee Luster's uniqueness?
Then... what about his own secrets? Could it "see" those too?
Suddenly, Lucien fixed Firenze with a stare, his ink-green eyes dark and unreadable, though his voice stayed steady.
"Friend, what about me? Did you see anything in the stars?"
Firenze lifted his gaze to the glittering night sky, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his handsome features.
"I dare not look."