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The Gift

Edward's Storyline, Chapter 2.2

copyright comidacomida 2018

Although silence prevailed for the longest time, the beep from the coffee maker put an end to it. I was surprised to see that in the span of that split second, Tom and Medved were no longer grasped by the floor and the Ancient One was once again curled up on the armchair, feathery wings folded across its body as it continued staring at me.

I'd swallowed a bitter pill in that moment, realizing that I had far less power than I'd hoped to have in the situation. Knowing that, I checked to make sure Medved and Tom were okay before I started berating the Ancient One's treatment of my other guests. I looked at the Bear and Rhino as I spoke, moving to stand between them and the Dragon. "Are you two alright? Did he hurt you?"

Tom snorted. "Only my pride."

Rather than respond to my question, Medved simply shot a vengeful glare past me and toward at the Ancient One, gnashing his teeth as he spoke. "Which of you did that? You would dare attack Edward's Guardians?"

The rainbow Serpent settled his wings again and he let out a hissing sigh. "It was not an attack, Medved; it was a move toward peace to prevent Green from doing something... undesirable."

Medved scowled. "So it was you?"

The Serpent's body rippled and his rainbow wings faded back into his body, spreading out into red fur. The bored voice did not bother raising to meet the challenging Bear's tone "No. I did it-- for exactly the same reason as Ch'upikaq implied. If you had pressed your aggression then Green would take control and destroy you both."

Treboada, despite having supported the idea that the Old One was 'in charge', did counter that point. "Yeh both coulda stopped 'im tagetheh."

The red Dragon's nostrils flared and he blinked his Emerald eyes. "But we would not, for the sake of our own survival. Edward could survive without both of you; we can do what is necessary to provide all he requires."

Tom was very quick to counter that point, taking a seat on the back of an arm chair; it held his weight without complaint. "Except empathy or kindness or companionship. All you know how to do is use humans for your own benefit."

The Ancient One grimaced and I watched as his furry red form rippled with green scales and a faint impression of rainbow-y wings unfurled from his back until everything aside from the furry noodle Dragon disappeared again. Only then did he speak, but it was in the green Dragon's voice. "That is why we have Ch'upikaq... he cares enough for all of us, and it is all the weakness we can spare."

Medved looked ready to object but I beat him to it. "If you're not going to behave then I'll kick you to the curb. I don't care if you need my help or not, Ancient One, if you're gonna be a fuckin' creep I don't want anything to do with you. You can't bully the other spirits and expect me to accept you."

The furry Dragon's voice returned to normal. "This is why you are not the best one of us to handle humans. You lack empathy."

The green Dragon's voice returned. "And you lack any kind of drive. Or a spine. I do what needs to be done."

The coffee maker's ready-signal beeped, but I kept my back to it, addressing the Ancient One. "What's going on with you anyway? What the hell's the deal with the multiple personality disorder and why are you taking it out on everyone?"

The red Dragon was surprisingly complementary with his next comment. "Ah... and now we have come to the entirety of the matter at hand. Thank you for finding the correct question to ask, Edward."

I wasn't interested in compliments, so I pointed out the obvious. "That's great and all, but you didn't answer my question."

The Ancient One didn't so much as delay in clarifying. "It is a matter of requiring your aid. We are three spirits that inhabit the same essence, and not one of us could survive without the other two."

It looked as though the green Dragon was trying to manifest again but, like the previous time, their form shifted to combine all three, and returned to the red one. Regardless, the green's voice emerged from his muzzle. "Your mother was too weak to help us, so now that responsibility is yours."

There were a number of things wrong with that statement but I set that aside for the sake of getting a better understanding of the Ancient One's point. "And how exactly am I supposed to help you? I don't know the first thing about spirits."

The rainbow Serpent's voice spoke up from the red Dragon's muzzle. "We three have existed since before your kind... we represent the last of the Ancient Spirits, and are no longer able to survive apart... but, with the assistance of a Seer, we could survive as two spirits as opposed to three."

The green's voice spoke up immediately. "When you accept two of us we will, with your help, be able to consume the third. You will close the circle, and provide a soul with which we may merge. Sacrifice Red. He is indecisive and bossy."

The red Dragon seized control over his own voice once more. "You say that since you will be able to overpower Ch'upikaq without me because he is weak and passive."

The rainbow Serpent's voice was next. "If you understood the importance of compassion and empathy you would not call me weak. It is Green's aggression and sadism that truly causes us so much harm."

Before any of the Ancient Ones' personality could speak up, Treboada interjected. "As yeh ken see, Lad, each part'a th' Ancient One makes a problem fer th' rest."

My initial thought was to just make a decision and be done with it but, after I gave it a moment's thought I realized something: I had no idea what the significance of my choice meant for me or anything else. "So... what happens when I choose one of you?"

The red Dragon answered with such casual indifference that I was surprised at how severe the answer actually was. "That part of us will be irrevocably destroyed and you will merge with us forever."

"...forever?"

The green Dragon's voice was even more blunt. "Until you die, Human. You don't live forever. After that we take the energy created by your departing soul and try to separate again. It will work this time."

Despite everything that the comments implied it was his last statement that really caught me. "THIS time?"

Tom mumbled off to the side. "Most humans would have been more interested in the comment about their soul."

Medved grumbled back with a faint growl to his voice. "They have no call to demand this of him. It should not be his task."

While I didn't disagree with either of them, I still wasn't ready to believe that I could walk away from everything without issue. That, and I hadn't received the chance to resolve all of the lasting issues surrounding my birth, my mom's death, or what all of the spirits meant to and for me. With that in mind, I--