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The Gift

Richard's FA Storyline, Chapter 1.1

copyright comidacomida 2018

It wasn't easy, as one might imagine, adjusting to having two spirits living with me. Between the familiarity Jack had with me and my schedule and the general ignorance Anapa had toward just about everything it was a constant task to switch gears and accommodating their differences. Then again, I suppose it wasn't all that easy for Jack either; I could tell he was making an earnest attempt at understanding my boundaries and respecting limitations but he'd spent 18 years without them so the going was slow.

He'd had free reign in my life before saving my life and, suddenly, his access was restricted now that I knew he was there-- some great kind of a reward for a job well done, huh? It left an impression on me, and one I couldn't quite shake; he'd snatched me out of the grasp of death and I repaid him by pushing him away. I hadn't tried to, of course, but I couldn't help but feel a little like an ass for establishing limits when none had existed before. Then again, the idea of trying to go to the bathroom or taking a shower with a Gryphon present in the room just wasn't going to work.

Anapa hadn't been that much easier, of course, but it helped that we were both strangers to one another. He was polite-- incredibly so. The Jackal started each and every day with checking in on me, much to the chagrin of Jack, and worked diligently to keep me on any schedule I'd set for myself that he understood; it was like having a smart phone that didn't have an 'off' button for the alarm, and didn't always realize the difference between a reminder and an appointment. Still, I had to admire the change that had come over him once he'd realized the mistake that'd been made regarding my death, or lack thereof.

I'd be hard-pressed to say that a week brought a degree of normalcy to living them, but I can say that it decreased the weirdness-factor by quite a bit. Nine out of ten times when I went out on errands both Jack and Anapa would join me and most of the time they didn't cause any issues. They still occasionally had bids for one-upmanship between one another but it generally didn't bubble over into having any real effect on my life or those around me. The one thing that they were useful for however was making me aware that spirits existed, and you'd be surprised how big of a deal that is.

More than once I had to rely on one of my 'followers' to keep me focused on a random something-or-other so as not to stare at a random spirit; Jack had been very quick to point out that any spirits who realized I was a Seer could mean danger for me. At the same point, considering how he and Anapa were constantly battling for my attention I realized that any additional spirits would mean competition for them so it helped nobody for me to be seen acknowledging their existence. It was a strange tightrope to walk but I managed to keep my balance... right up until my first day of classes.

The morning had passed with about as much stress as I'd expected from my first term at nursing school, plus a little extra since both Jack and Anapa had chosen to accompany me. Class number one was an introduction to Latin-based medical terminology; it wasn't that bad thanks to my basic understanding of Spanish, which was rooted in Latin. The professor spent most of the class going over the syllabus and explaining the grading curve. I was able to pay attention about 75% of the time; Jack was positioned by the door behind me and to my right, standing, for lack of better description, like some kind of castle guard. Anapa was a little more distracting.

The Jackal was constantly moving around the room, stepping up close to various medical posters that identified muscle groups, the circulatory system, the composition of the human skeleton, the digestive system, the endocrine system, and numerous other visuals; he was murmuring quietly in his own language as he scanned each with intense interest. Even that wasn't enough to get more than an occasional glance from me but the largest distraction came from one of my classmates who, toward the end of the class, began shimmering a faint purplish color. I tried to maintain focus on the professor, but I kept looking back to him as his ears migrated to the top of his head, elongating as his entire body covered in light tan fur and a small, puffy tail popped out the back of his jeans.

By the time the class came to an end, that student was, as far as I could tell, a Rabbit-- well, as much of one as Jack was a Gryphon and Anapa was a Jackal. He leaned over to a pretty looking brunette next to him and whispered something far beyond my ability to catch; a split second later she slapped him, stood up, and stormed off. The moment her hand connected with the Rabbit's cheek I watched him get thrown back out of the desk and into the aisle, leaving my fellow classmate sitting there and rubbing his cheek. I looked away quickly before the Rabbit could see I was watching.

Based on a sound that wasn't a sound I was able to tell that the Rabbit was heading down the aisle toward me so I made absolutely certain my attention was in reviewing the class schedule. Fortunately, just as the spirit was getting close to me Jack did the same. "Thou art nearing my Ward, Scavenger... keep walking."

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as the Rabbit drew nearer but, thankfully, he stepped to the side, phasing through a desk to avoid a confrontation with the Gryphon. "Eh... he looks like too much like a romantic for my liking anyway... seen any raunchy perverts on campus worth Glamouring, Sentinel?"

For some reason I could tell Jack's fur was puffing up indignantly without even seeing him. "I am a Herald, Rabbit, not a Sentinel, and proud of my Duty."

The other spirit quickly made his way toward the exit but he shot back in dismissal "And I'm not a Scavenger. If you're worried about Scavengers getting close to your ward I'd say something to the Dog there and leave an honest Rabbit to his work."

Jack snorted but said nothing more. When I finally turned back to look at him I saw that he was still eying the Rabbit, who had departed. The Gryphon didn't look back to me until the other spirit was well out of view. "I am glad for thee, Richard, that he cared more for those with more libido than brains. Thou art safe from his kind."

Despite the oddity of his word choice, something about the way he made the declaration did make me feel better. I glanced over to Anapa, who seemed all but oblivious to the interaction, still looking at the many posters on the walls. I was hardly the only person in the room so I thought better of calling any attention to myself by speaking to the Jackal. Instead, I gathered up my things and bid farewell to the professor. "Thank you, Dr. Pierce. See you on Wednesday."

It was enough of a warning that Anapa caught on and distanced himself from the reference material, drawing back to me. He spoke quietly despite the fact that no other human in the room could hear him. "I like... walls."

He obviously had trouble conveying his enjoyment of the posters. I wanted until we were out in the hall, and I clarified. "The reference posters? The pictures."

The Jackal flicked an ear and offered a simple, succinct nod. "Yes. Pictures. On walls. I like pictures."

I hefted my books up, easing them into the crook of my arm as I walked toward my next class. "You can look at my books tonight if you want; there are a lot more pictures in them too. It's what I'm studying, after all."

There was a noticeable purplish glint in the Jackal's Amethyst eyes and he followed along without any hint of an expression. "Yes. Good. Sephmot, Hem-netjer."

The gesture didn't seem to sit well with Jack-- it never did whenever I did something for Anapa. "Thou art too kind to him, Richard. Just because he no longer seeks thy life-force does not mean he is no danger."

Considering I was just entering into my next class I didn't have an opportunity to respond to his severe impression, but I did offer up a shrug of indifference; Anapa hadn't shown himself to be any danger and was nothing if not courteous and polite. The Jackal was obviously trying to make himself useful with his attention and support so the least I could do was to offer him something back; it was common courtesy and, besides, I enjoyed doing things for people, which, I suppose, extended to spirits as well.

My second class of the day was thankfully devoid of other spirit visitors so I was able to focus, which was important considering the professor was an incredibly dull, monotone woman who would have won awards for her perfect imitation of an automated phone calling tree voice. The class was an introduction to bio-medical ethics and I'd heard it was a really deep-thinking class; I remember hoping that there wouldn't be many lectures because I had serious doubts about my ability to stay tuned in to her talking for any great length of time. The fact that we let out early was mana from heaven.

After my ethics class I normally had about an hour and a half until my next class but, seeing as we let out early, I had almost two hours. Several of the other students headed to the parking lot to go visit some local restaurants but I made my way to the cafeteria; college lunches weren't much cheaper than the eateries around the campus but I'd brought my own meal from home so all I needed was use of one of their microwaves. Jack and Anapa followed after me, engaged in some kind of argument that was going nowhere since they didn't speak compatible languages, but that talk ended for both of them the moment we stepped into the student center. Something was up, but I was focused on taking in the sight.

The cafeteria is located on the first floor of a two story building. The main entryway had a large open area in the central lobby that stretched up to the ceiling with walkways and railing to separate second level walkways from the open space it created. It took me a moment to realize why Jack and Anapa had fallen silent and by then it was too late: I locked gazes with two black-as-night Cat spirits. Four glowing Emerald eyes stared back at me and they smiled in unison. I glanced back at my two companions then once again toward the balcony, only to see that the cats were gone. "I--"

My voice came to a halt, echoing through the suddenly-still lobby. There were dozens of students present, the same as there had been seconds previously, but all of them were as still as an online mannequin challenge. The only movement in the building came from Jack, Anapa, and myself. The both of them spoke in unison. "Familiars."

A soft, airy feminine voice spoke up from beside me. "Not as familiar as we'd like to be just yet."

I looked to my right to see the female Cat standing barely a foot from me; she had a pair of tight-fitting acid washed jeans and a pink Hello Kitty blouse that left the black fur of her belly visible while accentuating her entirely humanlike breasts at the same time with the tightness of the cloth. She smiled at me. "Hello, Seer."

Jack was up in arms immediately, his blade in talons as he stalked forward. "What be thou about? What hast thou done? This is dark magic, playing with time!"

The Gryphon tripped as a chair slid in front of him and I saw the male Cat hop off a table from the direction the obstacle had originated. When he responded it was with a hint of the same accent Jack used, theatrically inserted with enough skill I almost thought it was his natural style. "Fear not, noble warrior, for we have done no such wizardry-- this is merely a communion with the grand Seer and his retinue."

Only once the Cat turned to address me without the accent or air that I realized it was all for show. "Been awhile since my sis and I met a Seer. We're so honored to finally meet you."

The ground rumbled and, before my eyes, an enormous hand made up of the tiled floor itself emerged, separating the two cats from me. Anapa stood by Jack, staff in paw with his eyes glowing. He spoke in no uncertain terms "No."

The entirety of my surroundings felt surreal, as if I were in a dream. Despite only having spent a week with Jack and Anapa I had learned that what I was seeing just wasn't possible... or so I'd thought. Either way, I had little time to dwell on it as some kind of epic, Hollywood-style-special-effects fight was about to start. I--