FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Gift

Richard's (FA) Storyline, Chapter 2.4

copyright comidacomida 2018

The Owl brought the discussion to a close. "Gentlemen. Most esteemed Lady. Please. There is no cause to fight and definitely not on my account. Abby. Phil. Your Warlock already has far more aid than most Humans in history; I would dare say he is in fine hands. Besides, if you were to just look at him you could already see that he is far out of his depth, and you are making him sink deeper by the minute."

When everyone turned and looked at me I immediately regretted liking the fact that the Owl was helping me get everyone under control. As the entire group fell silent I came to the conclusion that it was my turn to talk. "I think we should call it a night so I don't get hit by a car... thanks for the save, Jack."

The Gryphon brightened visibly, his 'ear feathers' lowering as his beak parted in a confident smile. He nodded to me, Topaz eyes gleaming in the streetlight. "Tis my duty and pleasure, Seer."

Pliny repeated that same eloquent bow as he'd used to start the conversation and as he straightened up he looked to me. "Rare is The Gift in this day and age, Seer. I hope for the sake of spirits everywhere that you put it to its best use."

What exactly can you say to something spoken with such weight? I went for the path of least resistance. "I'll try-- I mean: I will."

The Owl winked at me and about-faced, looking back to the parade. He gestured with the rod which had returned to his wing and, with the same precision as they had stopped in front of me, the members of the procession turned to face down the street and once Pliny was in place they continued on, the music starting up again from nowhere. Anapa was the first to speak up as the parade marched off. "He good, Hem'netjer. Good spirit.

I overheard Phillip speak aside to Sabrina. "See? There's hope for the Jackal yet."

She elbowed him. "Don't start."

A hint of the sensation of a talon resting gently on my shoulder brought my attention back to Jack. He spoke quietly. "Thou didst well, my boy. Well done."

I disagreed. "Other than almost getting hit by a car, you mean?"

He shrugged. "Baby steps, Richard. Baby steps."

* * * * *

Each of the spirits had picked out a specific place within my house where they felt most comfortable so once we got back home they could all go to their respective 'corners' and unwind, which was a good thing since I could tell that the Cats were starting to grate on Jack. Phillip had taken to the only padded chair I had in the house and practically lived in it whenever we were at home; Sabrina elected to occupy a spot near the book case near the living room's standing lamp. Anapa maintained his small personal area as the same one he'd chosen when I'd first invited him to stay; he chose the second of the living room's corners across from Phillip's armchair. Jack, of course, remained with me in my room.

The time spent on the street with the parade couldn't have been more than five or ten minutes but it felt like I'd got home so much later than usual that night. Rather than spend any real time in the kitchen I just grabbed some leftover ground beef from the fridge and combined it with some barbecue sauce and some bread. It was hardly a healthy dinner but I resolved to hit the gym harder to make up for it. Once we got back to my room Jack addressed that exact issue. "That is all thou art having for dinner, Richard?"

I sat down at my desk and began assembling my sloppy-joe-esque sandwich. "I'm tired and it's easy."

He sat down on the bed to watch me with what appeared to be the attempt of hiding a disapproving look. "The Cats are imposing greatly upon thee, my boy. While thou mayest allow them to be here, I caution thee against trusting them fully."

After my dinner came together I took a bite then sent it down before looking to the Gryphon. "And what about Anapa?"

Jack flicked an ear. "I trust him the same or less as the Familiars, but I fear for thee with the Cats far more than the Jackal."

Rotating myself so I could focus fully on him, I pressed for more information. "What are you afraid of?"

He looked straight at me and I saw his pupils constrict then dilate before his gaze fell. "With honesty, Richard? I fear that they may take thee from me."

The statement caught me completely by surprise. "What? How? Why? What do you mean take me from you?"

The Gryphon's tail thrashed back and forth on the bed in an agitated manner and he huffed, the feathers on his neck puffing up; I saw the pink flesh around his nostrils redden. "I do not wish to say. Tis not easy to explain."

I stood and walked over to the bed before taking a seat on it beside him; although the mattress didn't sink beneath his non-existent weight it bowed to mine, and the 'V' it created brought both of us closer. "Can you try? I need to understand how all of this works. If they're going to create trouble of some kind, I--"

At that point I realized that the redness to his nostrils was a Gryphon's blush. He closed his eyes, interrupting me as he blurted out. "Humans always seem to gain a closeness with Familiars that few spirits can match. I do not specifically fear that they will harm thee, though it is still possible-- my fear is that they will supplant me and that thou shalt cast me off in favor of the Familiars. I nearly lost thee not long ago... I cannot bear to think that it may happen still."

There really wasn't a lot I could say at that point; Jack had just laid his uncertainty and insecurity bare and there was no real way for me to follow-up on that in any meaningful way. I could try to reassure him, but how successful could I be without really understanding his reservations? I could agree with him that his concerns were valid to acknowledge his worries but that would probably only make him even more worried. In the span of a few seconds I realized the only thing I could possibly do was to be supportive and, more importantly, tell it like it was-- in the form of a question. "Aren't you my Herald?"

His ear feathers raised in response to my question. "Yes, Richard; I am thy Herald, but that does not mean that thou--"

I didn't give him a chance to doubt. "And are they spirits who have known me for as long as I've been alive?"

He blinked, eyes finally rising up again. I could see a questioning element to his gaze, as if he was trying to figure out where I was going with my inquiries. "Not to my knowledge, Richard. No."

Having spoken what I felt to be enough on the matter, I asked the final question that I hoped would help me drive home my point. "And have either of those Cat spirits saved my life after I was electrocuted?"

His 'ear feathers' slowly lowered as the rest of the feathers on his neck and shoulders puffed up. I could tell that I had reached him on at least some level and his next statement wasn't quite as downcast. "No... they have not."

I smiled. "You are though... or have. On all accounts."

He smiled back. "I am sorry Richard, for subjecting thee to such foolishness. I know in my head that I am thy Herald and thou art my ward... but my heart knows I cannot stand the thought of losing thee-- four spirits cannot share a Human."

It was a poignant statement, but I couldn't connect the dots when it came to what made him worry so much. "Jack, I'm not going to--"

He raised a talon. "Thou art still learning, Richard. Thou mayest believe one thing now but, given time, thy mind may change. Make no promises to me and thou shalt have none to break. Speaking on this further is good for neither of us. I--"

He'd obviously had the concerns on his mind for awhile and it had been eating away at him. Whether I hadn't noticed it or whether he hadn't shown enough of it until that moment I couldn't say, but I did know what I could do. Reaching for him, I--