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How to Seer, Part 5

copyright comidacomida 2019

I spent my first several months in Cherry City staying close to my apartment. My job as manager was pretty straight forward; I made sure everyone paid rent and if they were late it was my job to provide the notice. Janitorial work, maintenance, and evictions were all handled by the central office so none of that was my responsibility which meant that there really wasn't a lot on my plate.

In addition to hanging around the apartment complex I spent a lot of time with my Spirits. Most of the days we spent together either as a group or, a few days a week, I'd spend time specifically with one or two at a time. Raven and I reminisced a lot about middle school and the first years of high school; he would tell me his impressions of situations that me and my friends got into from a perspective he wasn't able to share when he was Skin Riding Kyle. It turned out to be less of a feeling of betrayal and more of a sense of better understanding, so it went well.

As for Kon, well, the Yokai and I split our time between him telling me stories of ancient Japan and us binging anime series; he had an eclectic interest which included everything from modern teenage rom-coms to very mature blood-and-gore historic fantasy. Talapus and Mishupishu usually spent time with me together so everyone could understand one another and so I could start learning Algonquian and Mishupishu could pick up more English. As time went by they also took solo time with me so Talapus could converse with me personally and I could also get private practice talking with the Water Panther without the aid of a translator.

By the time fall was transitioning into Winter I started suffering from cabin fever. Seeing as I'd always been a wanderer the strain of staying at home all the time was starting to take its toll and I spent more and more time running errands at every chance. The property management company I worked for always told me that I only needed to be at my apartment for three hours a day and, just before Thanksgiving I decided that I'd make the most of that to actually explore Cherry City, and my Spirits were all supportive.

The first few outings were as a group and, as we all began to familiarize ourselves with the area eventually they turned into private outings I'd share with one or more of my companions; I had a term for them that we each used to make our time together more personal-- Mishupishu called them patrols while Tapalus liked to call them 'outings'. Raven, with whom I'd already shared a lot of history just called it 'hanging out', while Kon referred to our trips as 'deeto's; yet another Japanese word I didn't know. It was on one such 'deeto' that my first realization that being a Seer meant more than keeping Spirits (and myself) out of trouble.

The Yokai and I had just left the movie theater on Lancaster and were heading toward the bus stop. The one just outside the theater took an indirect route home while the one several blocks over was almost a straight shot back to Commercial St, so we strolled. It was a cool night but I'd brought my hoodie and the cold never seemed to bother Kon, so it was a pleasant walk. He was particularly lively. "I really enjoyed that movie, Billy."

He had the strangest way about him when he was expressing gratitude but I'd come to expect it by that point. "Me too, Kon. Thank you for suggesting it."

His eyes glimmered a soft Amethyst as he smiled, his three tails swishing appreciatively; we'd been around one another long enough that he knew he could easily fish for gratitude and, at the same time, I knew just how much it benefitted him and didn't mind. We continued chatting for another block before he slowed, eventually coming to a stop. "Billy?"

I stopped to, glancing back at him. "What's up?"

His eyes trailed down to the sidewalk and his ears drooped slightly, tails curling together as he spoke softly "I... haven't really spent so many years with a Human in a long time, and, these past four have been far different than anything I expected..."

Nodding, I motioned toward a path between two buildings. "me too... but we'd better hurry if we want to make the bus, you know. Whatever you have to say, you can say it on the way, you know."

Kon, as he was prone to do, changed over to Japanese as we made our way into the alley. He tended to make it hard to understand him whenever he had something important to say, and the way in which he expressed himself made the switch an obvious one. “Boku-wa kon'nafu-ni futatabi kanjiru-no-wa omowanakatta.”

His tendancy to do such things was both endearing and frustrating. "Kon, you know I don't--"

My words stopped when two shadows separated themselves from the alley walls. Two Latinos barred my way and I had to stop myself from my small town reaction of worrying about anyone who wasn't white. Second guessing my initial small mindedness however didn't work out in my favor that night as one of them pulled a baseball bat into view. The other one kept his hand in his coat pocket, inclining his head to me. "Oye, Gringo."

At that point there wasn't much I could do if I didn't want to be rude, or come across as some kind of freak... and having spent so much time as a freak in high school that seemed like a bad option. "Uh... h-hey... guys."

The second one spoke up, lightly tapping the baseball bat against his palm. "So... you wanna use the toll road, eh, Ese?"

"T-toll road?"

The first one likewise approached. "Yeah, Gringo... you came into our alley, so now you have to pay a fee."

I'd never been mugged before and, despite the awkwardness of the situation, the moment I felt the soft touch of the Spirit behind me I was suddenly at ease; it should have been frightening and yet it wasn't. "I... don't have any money."

A moment later, a swirling mist of orange and white flowed around me and into a nearby pile of knocked over trashcans. A loud clang caught the attention of both men and a moment later a fox launched itself out at them, releasing something that sounded like a combination of a screech and a lengthy bark; it was a hellish sound, and enough to catch their attention. They both shouted back and forth in Spanish and the one with the baseball bat swung.

The weapon was aimed perfectly to connect but in the split second before impact the Fox turned into Kon and the bat swung harmlessly through him. In that moment, Kon shouted "Billy!" before turning back into a fox, his muzzle clamping down on the guy's forearm.

My other assailant turned and ran, shouting something in Spanish that sounded like "Bruno", but the one with the baseball bat swung again with his free arm. Again, Kon returned to Spirit form before the bat struck and bit down again, but when he was a Spirit he shouted "No". The man swung again to similar effect and as Kon was a Spirit he continued "Tame". Again a miss, and the man swung frantically again. The actions repeated and Kon shouted "Ni!" before again returning to Fox form and biting down anew.

Whether by pure luck or a monetary distraction on the part of the Yokai, the man's next hit landed and finally detached the Fox from my would-be-mugger. He glanced toward me with fear in his eyes, raising the bat to strike, but Kon, no longer a Fox, launched himself right at him shouting all the words together like a war cry "Billy no tame ni!"

Rather than turning back into a Fox, Kon slammed into the guy but, rather than go right through or impact him, the Yokai disappeared right into him as if diving into water. The man's entire body went rigid and, after a second, an Amethyst glow appeared in his eyes. A few moments later I saw Kon superimposed over him until the disappeared completely. He spoke, and I heard both Kon's voice and the man's. "You're safe now. Go to the bus and I'll see you at home."

Something about the tone finally let a little bit of fear come through my otherwise strangely calm haze. "W-what are you going to do, Kon?"

His voice was icy in his statement, walking by me as he announced. "He would have hurt you. Don't worry about what's going to happen to him, Billy. Go, or you'll miss the bus."

"Kon--"

He walked out of the opposite end of the alley, pausing after a moment in what was obvious frustration. "I won't hurt him... I promise."

There was something in the words that made me think that the Spirit wanted to but, for my sake, he wouldn't. I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be grateful, or terrified. I left the alley, probably a little bit of both.