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The Gift

Daniel's Storyline, Chapter 3.4

copyright comidacomida 2018

When the Coyote walked back through my door he was the same Talapus I'd known; he did not look cartoony and he was dressed in a way that was much more familiar to me. I also noticed that he didn't have that sign in his paw. He smiled when he saw me, bowing his head. "So... apology accepted?"

Not sure I wanted to know what that was about, I focused on a much more mind-twisting thought. "He could see you? Is DAVE a Seer too?"

Talapus went back to take a seat at his usual spot on the sofa, offering a simple reply. "Nah... he's just a regular human."

That didn't really help explain what I'd witnessed. "...but he can SEE you?"

The Coyote shrugged, glancing toward me as he sprawled out, feet up on the coffee table. "Eh... our relationship is complicated."

I let the tone of my voice speak for me than my words. "Your... 'relationship'?"

Nothing else seemed to get answers out of him but, for some reason, the open-ended inquiry worked like a charm. He sat up straighter. "Oh... no... it's nothing like that, Daniel. I used to live with Dave and Mike before you moved in here."

That was something I hadn't known, but he still didn't answer my question so I tried again. "And how could he see you?"

A wide grin split Talapus' muzzle. "Well... see... when Humans give out the right kind of spirit energy--"

I could tell that he was going to go into one of his vague, half-answer stories but, surprisingly, I got my answer. More surprisingly, it was actually from Aiden. "They probably used an Ouija board and somehow ended up contacting him."

The Coyote glanced at the Bat, ears erect and one eyebrow raised. The other two spirits also took an interest in the statement and it was Herne who questioned him next. "You are familiar with Manifestation techniques?"

Aiden shrugged. "Well... I've HEARD of them, yeah... but actually I just kinda put two and two together-- you know... a Human who could see spirits but not hear them... at least, I'm guessing that was a good enough reason for the sign and the whole cos-play thing."

It was Herne's turn to look confused-- the first time I'd recalled seeing him that way in fact. "Cos-play?"

Kon apparently got a kick out of the fact that there was something the Stag didn't know. "Ah... don't worry about it, old man... unless you plan on becoming an otaku, fanboi, nerd, geek, gamer, or furry it probably isn't that important."

We were getting way off track so I tried to bring it back to my line of questioning. "What is 'Manifestation' exactly?"

Herne strolled over and leaned against the wall next to the television; since my living room was built around the TV it meant that whether we were sitting on the sofa or either of the two chairs put the Elk right in front of us. He motioned to Talapus. "He was able to make a Human see him because he used spirit energy to appear before one. It is very difficult to do unless there is a connection in some way."

I was finally able to appreciate making progress in a Q & A. I took a seat next to Talapus, facing Herne. "What kind of connection?"

Kon picked up the discussion, taking a seat next to me on the other side from the Coyote. "Usually it's emotion based. For example, if I were a Spirit that enjoyed tormenting Humans and gaining strength from their fear-- which I'm NOT, I might try to find a Human who is in an anxious frame of mind. One example would be someone who's afraid of the dark-- a Spirit like that might show up and feed off of their fear when that Human is walking down the street alone at night."

Talapus rubbed his muzzle, mumbling under his breath. "And you've never done anything like that... sure."

Heedless of the comment, the Fox continued. "Once the Spirit gains enough spirit energy they use it to allow the Human to see them, at which point they take a horrific form and REALLY send the Human into neurotic fits. Sure, it will tire out a Spirit to do it, but the return they get is way more than what it costs."

It was explained simply enough that I got the basics. "Sounds simple enough, I guess... but Aiden said something about a WeeJee board, right?"

The Bat sat down in a chair. "Ouija. Yeah."

The correction sounded exactly like what I'd said but I didn't bother nit-picking. "Okay... so how does that work exactly?"

Unsurprisingly, Talapus took the lead on that one. "Humans are able to dedicate spirit energy to Spirits-- like how you do with sandwiches. There are lots of ways to do it though and gifts of food are just one of them."

I tried to connect the dots. "So... they used one of those boards to give you a gift of some kind and... ask you questions?"

The Coyote nodded. "Yeah... that actually pretty well sums it up. They gave me spirit energy in the form of gifts and questions and that helped me Manifest. I answered their questions, so that empowered me further, and I also got a really strong reaction out of them. Mike took it pretty well but Dave... well... Dave didn't."

Herne scowled. "So you saw another opportunity to get more spirit energy from him by terrorizing him in the parking lot?"

Talapus rolled his eyes. "No-- well... not exactly. I was able to terrorize him and serve Daniel at the same time. Win-win."

Kon nodded, obviously impressed. "Wow... a two-fer. Nice."

The Coyote grinned. "I know. Right?"

The two shared a high-five; to be honest, it almost felt like a 'bro moment'. Being right on the edge of understanding what was going on left me just a little uncomfortable, but, thankfully, Aiden's awkwardness helped just a little. "So... you get spirit energy by frightening the Dave guy off and get spirit energy from Daniel for... what? Vanquishing his foe?"

Talapus laughed aloud at that then leaned forward and ruffled the fur atop his head. "You're so cute. No, Batty-- Humans really enjoy watching people they don't like get what's coming to em. Daniel wanted someone to teach Dave a lesson so, wish granted."

The Coyote grinned at me and I watched his eyes drop for a second; I looked to where he'd glanced and saw that there was a Arabian Nights style oil lamp resting in my palm. Even as I moved my hand the 'genie lamp' disappeared in a wisp of smoke, but the reference wasn't lost to me. It was just witty enough that I--