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The Gift

Daniel's Storyline, Chapter 5.1

copyright comidacomida 2018

The trip home from the studio cafe was one of the longest trips of my life. My mind kept running but going nowhere, kinda like a rat on a hamster wheel. Thanks to a combination of a vivid imagination and a very tenacious memory he images I'd seen in my head played over and over again, each time reminding me that every single Spirit involved was within arm's reach. Oddly enough, nobody said so much as a word until we got back to the apartment.

I was walking up to the apartment door when Kon piped in. "Okay... so the best way to handle this is to give each of us at least fifteen minutes alone with you."

Herne was very quick to shoot the idea down. "Fifteen minutes? We are not running a train on Daniel-- to do this justice it should be an hour at least."

The Fox didn't relent, and I felt my ears reddening in actual embarrassment as I stepped into my apartment when he said. "Why would you need an hour? You're an Elk. Cervids cum in like, ten thrusts. Get serious here; if you had fifteen minutes you'd be able to breed him a dozen times at least."

Whether Kon meant to be silly or insulting I wasn't sure, but Herne certainly didn't appreciate the statement. "Perhaps... if I were interested in 'breeding' him, yes, but that is far from the--"

The Yokai spoke right over him. "Yeah, yeah... whatever. You can go second then. If we get an hour then I'm going first."

Talapus slid through the door between the other two, tail flicking in my direction as he grinned. "Tell me the truth, Danny... you enjoy Spirits fighting over you, don'cha?"

The Coyote was obviously having a laugh at my expense and I wasn't about to humor him. "Hardly, Talapus... are you being serious? Life is insane with all of you bickering all the time. To be honest, I'd really just like some peace and quiet and have everyone getting along instead of always fighting."

The Trickster passed by me, his 'modern' style clothing disappearing, replaced by a simple loincloth and a leather arm band as he dragged his tail along my calf then knee. "If it were that big a deal you would have chosen already. Oh, maybe you couldn't figure out just ONE spirit to keep, but I bet if you really wanted to it'd be possible to send at least one of us away. It would make things a lot easier for everyone."

I frowned, even more embarrassed. It was hard to tell what bothered me the most: his chiding tone or the fact that there might have been some truth to what he said. There was no doubt in my mind that I was purposefully keeping everyone around but it wasn't because I liked watching them fight over me-- I just didn't want to disappoint anyone. "That's not it at all... I just don't like the idea of shooting someone down."

With Kon and Herne still arguing in the entryway, Aiden appeared super-imposed on the TV screen and crawled out of it like some kind of burglar coming in through a window. He adjusted the sleeves on his jacket and then pushed his shades back up on the bridge of his muzzle. "So... you're just gonna lead everyone on then? Or are you hoping everyone's gonna solve the problem for you?"

It was the first time the Bat had actually said anything even close to resembling an accusation or an objection. It surprised me so much all I could answer back was a "Huh?"

He stepped forward, creating a triangle of conversation when he stopped an equal distance from me and Talapus. Aiden motioned to the Coyote. "He's right, to be honest, Daniel. You're just going to cause more problems by refusing to solve this one. Haven't you seen any teen romance movie ever made?"

The Bat had a certain way about him where it was hard to tell how much of what he was saying was honest advice and how much was humor; the 'every teen romance movie ever' came pretty close to making me smirk, but the topic was enough to keep me grounded. "What do you suggest then? I mean, it's okay to criticize and all, but if you're gonna do that then isn't offering advice a more productive way to critique?"

Aiden responded with a faint shrug of his wings. "Depends on how much you want it to be your decision and how arbitrary you wanna be. I mean, right now it looks like everyone's expecting some private time with you--"

Talapus interrupted, licking his muzzle. "I know I wouldn't mind some a that."

The Bat continued. "Well, one option would be to send away the spirit that pleases you the least during that time."

The Coyote snorted. "Sure... that's cuz you know he's a size queen and you're the only spirit with a bigger one than me."

That objection was enough to stop my follow-up question dead in its tracks as my brain tried to reboot. My actual question was lost in the exchange and the one that replaced it made me hate myself just a little more. "It... is? H-how do YOU know?"

Kon's voice surprised me; I hadn't even realized that he'd walked up behind me until he spoke. "Spirits just know these things. Besides, he's a Glamour Spirit-- he can change a lot of things about himself just because he wants to."

Aiden flicked one of his very large ears before responding. "That isn't true and you know it, Kon. Besides, it's Tricksters and Yokai like you who change yourselves the most... Glamour Spirits only make small changes, and as a matter of relevance."

The Fox smirked. "Well, your 'big' change is 'relevant' to Danny, isn't it?"

Herne, who had also entered the apartment silenced everyone with the simple clearing of his voice. "It comes to my attention that this cannot be delayed any longer. After understanding what truly lays in Daniel's head and heart, the only possible answer I can conceive of to resolve this deadlock is--"

Kon interrupted him, grinning as his tail swished back and forth. "To each take Daniel as our own, make sweet, sweet love to him, and see who bonds with him most intimately and emotionally."

It was the Elk's turn to flick his ear. "No. While that would have created a lasting emotional connection, that is too far out of Daniel's scope... if he is dedicated to the idea of following through with this idea of having us as a harem, the only solution is to fuck him wild and with such unrestrained abandon that his only recourse is to choose the most compatible spirit or spirits in order to save himself rom being subjected to it in a series of four in the future."

Talapus' tail wagged faster. "Now we're talking. I'll take him first."

Kon gave him a shove. "Think again... I already called first 'shot'."

Something about the Fox's emphasis on the last word made it sound even dirtier. Aiden crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't think any of us have a choice in the matter-- it should be Daniel's."

The Bat's statement was obviously invested in his earlier statement that I needed to take a more active role in dealing with them. Herne nodded before I could speak. "Agreed. It is the best way to handle this."

Talapus snorted, mimicking Aiden's stance. "Yeah? Well what if we don't agree? That's two versus two, so--"

Kon obviously didn't mind switching sides. "That's fine. Danny gets to choose."

I was surprised that the Fox would give up so easily. "Really?"

The Yokai nodded. "Sure. Make it really easy. Choose me first, or I walk. For good. Forever. You can have me all to yourself and I get you before the rest of them, or you just made a decision that makes it easier for everyone."

The ultimatum blew my mind, making it hard to figure out how we'd gotten to that point. I glanced around to the other spirits, who looked as surprised as I felt. Another thought entered my mind. "Well... what about just skipping the one-at-a-time thing and all five of us could--"

Herne laughed; it sounded halfway between humor and scorn. "I was wondering when you would get around to that, Daniel..."

Nobody really offered any input aside from that, making me realize that I really was on my own in the decision. Taking a deep breath, I looked around at the Spirits and the four sets of eyes on me and I--