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The Gift

Stephanie's Storyline, Chapter 5.3

copyright comidacomida 2018

Glancing back to Medved, I realized that he was staring at me, as if his head were in a guillotine and I had my hand on the lever. There was something seemingly vulnerable about the enormous Spirit, almost out of place in my impression of him. If nothing else truly conveyed his feelings, it was that gaze as he stood helpless, waiting for an answer I wasn't sure I knew how to give.

Stepping forward until I was right in front of the Bear, I stood up on my tip-toes and gave him a kiss on his furry cheek. I then went and did the same with Kyle and Anapa and then Tom. "I love all of you... in different ways, with different parts of my heart... but what I REALLY need right now is to be able to focus... please. I need to solve this thing involving Billy first."

Tom nodded sagely. "That is a perfectly reasonable request, and is a limit we should ALL respect."

Although the Rhino was directing his statement to everyone I saw the way his gaze lingered on Medved; it made me think that there was something more that they both understood which neither had said. Kyle, however, spoke up before anyone else. "Yeah. Totally... I mean, of course! If there's someone out there who knows something we don't then we need to figure out who, how, and why."

Anapa said something in Coptic and, based on his tone, I guessed that it was a question of some sort. Kyle immediately responded and, whatever was shared between the two seemed to satisfy the Jackal. He nodded, and sat back down, speaking simply. "Yes. He is brother. I help Hemet-netjer."

With agreements coming from around the room, Tom maintained his gaze on Medved and addressed the Bear in Russian. "Vy budete sebya vesti?"

My furry Guardian responded with a single word practically spat out like a bad taste from his muzzle. "Da."

Kyle's ruffled feathers began to settle once he refolded his wings against his body. "Stef... if we're gonna deal with this whole Mishipeshu thing we are lacking a LOT of information. I mean, sure, I knew the guy a few hundred years ago and even though Spirits don't change THAT much in a couple of centuries the world sure has and that's bound to affect how he gets by... I mean... Human sacrifices? Say what you want about the Water-Panther, but he wasn't into that kinda that kinda thing 'way back when'."

With the interpersonal relationships involving the spirits calming down to background noise I was finally able to focus on the mystery surrounding the apparent sacrifice of my brother and Kyle was right; the more we knew about Mishipeshu the more likely we'd be able to use that information to get more details for investigating what exactly happened. Once the room settled down (despite a few more subtle glances of Tom to Medved), I was able to pick up my laptop and begin my research.

The thing about doing research on the internet is that you have to be careful of your source. With esoteric knowledge like legends and myths you can never be sure exactly how much of it is accurate, how much is lost in the retellings over multiple translations and time, or how much is just made up to give a site more content. Fortunately Kyle was there to help me with some basic fact checking and I was very thankful for that. I browsed three different sites, keeping track of information by copy and pasting to a word processor for making notes and to cross check later.

Mishipeshu was an underwater feline that combined different features from a variety of animals; the different sites used different descriptions but I chose to go with the one that Kyle had provided since I figured first-hand experience far superior to legends. As Kyle had said, Mishipeshu was said to have a small stretch of land in Lake Superior called Michipicoten Island his home.

According to the stories I saw referenced the Water-Panther was said to be a lord of water, and was in constant opposition to the Thunderbird, who was the lord of the air. Kyle went further to explain that the time he met Mishipeshu he had been serving as an intermediary between the two forces of nature to help them with a cease-fire of some kind to benefit the nearby tribes. He didn't have much in the way of specifics to offer beyond that.

Each of the sites I looked at painted Mishipeshu is a negative light as a malevolent creature, a predator, and a bringer of death, misfortunate, and loss. One site noted that some considered the Water-Panther to be a helpful and protective creature but I was more inclined to consider him the former considering his apparent consumption of part of my brother's spirit energy as some part of a sacrifice. Beyond that, however, the most useful piece of information I learned had to do with Mishipeshu's connection to a specific, semi-precious metal: copper.

Putting my laptop away, I asked Kyle about that last point. "Kyle... what can you tell me about Mishipeshu and his association with copper?"

The Raven offered a shrug of his wings. "I know the tribes around Michipicoten Island used to mine copper everywhere but near the water for fear that they'd anger Mishipeshu. He and I didn't exactly talk enough for me to learn why he was so obsessed with it."

It wasn't what I wanted to hear but, at the same point, I couldn't fault Kyle for not knowing. That did raise another question though. "Do you know anyone who might know?"

My simple question got the attention of Tom and Medved. The former was particularly vocal about my question. "What do you mean by that, Nekh'dah? Do you wish the Raven to involve other spirits in this?"

That was exactly what I'd been suggesting but after hearing the Rhino's tone I started to second-guess my question. "Well... anyone-- Spirit or otherwise, I guess. Anyone who might know or anywhere we could go to find answers."

Kyle squawked quietly. "Yes."

The Rhino shot the Raven a dirty glance. "We do not need to involve other Spirits. It is not safe for my Nekh'dah."

Medved spoke up next. "Lapushka... you can do your work at home or on the road... we could return to Prineville and find our answers ourselves."

It was Medved's turn to get Tom's glare again. "That is just as unsafe! Until we know more there is no way to--"

The Bear fired back, speaking over the Rhino. "We will be there to protect her, Sentinel. If there is danger of a spirit causing her harm it will not get past us."

Anapa spoke up for a second time; I'd heard him the first time but, since I didn't understand him I tuned it out. Kyle, however, provided a translation the second time around. "Hey, uh, Stef? Anapa here says he may have a ritual that could help."

The Raven had earned my attention. "What ritual is that?"

The two exchanged a few more words before Kyle looked back to me. "He said something about it being a Ritual of the Rug, or something like that-- I'm not sure what the translation means, but he said it has to do with Maat."

I only knew a tiny amount about the Ancient Egyptian religion but that name was familiar. "Isn't she a Goddess of some kind?"

Anapa interjected before Kyle could respond. "Maat is truth. Is what is real."

The Raven elaborated. "Both, yeah-- there's an Egyptian goddess called Maat, but the word means truth and justice and balance, morality, and all that kind of stuff."

Tom shook his head. "Thaumaturgy always has a price. I do not approve of this ritual. You will do what you feel is right, Nekh'dah, but I do not believe it is wise to accept an offer of magic without knowing what it does."

I knew he was only being protective, but Tom didn't seem to like any of the options that'd been presented. "What do YOu suggest then, Tom?"

The Rhino crossed his arms over his massive chest, declaring "You learned much already on your computer. You can learn more if you need."

Medved shot right back "But how does that help us understand what happened in the here-and-now?"

Tom didn't miss a beat, answering with a grunt. "Stefanie still has a phone call from her parents which is owed a return call... not only would doing so give her a chance to answer question, it would also make her a good daughter."

I had to admit that he sounded a little like my grandmother, but he also wasn't wrong. Considering the proposed options I--