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The Gift

Richard's FA Storyline, Chapter 1.2

copyright comidacomida 2018

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 demanded of everyone that the fight end IMMEDIATELY. "OKAY-- ENOUGH!"

All four spirits immediately focused entirely on me; out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of the male Cat hook the leg of a chair and kick it in Jack's direction. It wasn't with enough force for it to be an attack but was obviously meant to make some kind of point, but it was intercepted by a small pillar of tile-covered concrete that arose from the floor and Anapa declared my last words in a calm-but-forceful tone. "Okay. Enough."

The Jackal lowered his arm and his staff and the strange constructs that had emerged from the floor submerged once again. Both cats immediately came to my side but Jack was already stepping forward; his sword was in his talon but with a quick twist of a wrist and a flourish it returned to its scabbard on his hip. "Richard... tis unwise to interact with every spirit seeking council with thee. Thou hast no way of knowing which mean thee harm. For all we know, these two are--"

The female Cat hissed dismissively. "Just relax, Herald. We don't want to hurt the Seer any more than you do!"

The male agreed. "We just want to meet him! We haven't had a Warlock in over a century! Neither of us have done anything to give you any reason to be so defensive of him. You have no right to--"

Jack interrupted him. "Thou seek to do more than meet Richard, knave. No spirit is content to just meet a Seer, and Richard is my--"

It was readily apparent that the temporary peace was already fragile enough so I pushed my way into the discussion. "I should get a say in this, don't you think?"

Both Cats nodded eagerly and the male added "Exactly. Just because you're his Guardian Spirit doesn't mean--"

I held up a hand and turned to regard the felines. "My name is Richard. This is Jack, and Anapa."

Jack didn't so much as blink when he was introduced; despite not losing eye contact, Anapa at least inclined his head. He moved his balled paw to his chest and then extended it to me, explaining "Ri-chard is Hem-netjer. I help Hem-netjer."

The female Cat motioned to herself, and then to the male. "I am Sabrina and this is my brother, Phillip."

Phillip smiled warmly before spacing his feet shoulder-width apart and bowing forward at the waist. "Charmed."

I could tell that Jack was about to object again so I beat him to the punch. "The whole spirit thing is still new to me. I owe it all to Jack, who saved my life."

Phillip reached over and pulled a chair from a table nearby, turning it backwards before sitting down on it with the back jutting up between his legs. "Well, that's lucky for us then-- if not for his intervention we wouldn't have been able to meet you."

The Gryphon's wings puffed out and ruffled, settling down against his back. He spoke in monotone. "How fortunate for thee... obviously."

Ignoring his gruff dismissal, I instead continued toward a reasonable interaction. "One thing I have had a chance to learn is about Accords... it's the reason why Jack isn't protecting me from Anapa as well."

The Jackal obviously had trouble understanding everything that was being said, but his Amethyst eyes glowed purple faintly and he attempted to add to the conversation. "Accord. I help Hem-netjer... no hurt."

I nodded to Anapa then looked back to the two Cats. "I will do my best to make sure Jack gives you the benefit of the doubt if you promise not to harm me."

Both of the newcomers looked to one another and nodded then looked back to me. Their Emerald eyes glowed faintly as they intoned in unison. "What ye send forth comes back to thee so ever mind the law of three. Follow this with mind and heart: merry ye meet and merry ye part."

Sabrina continued on her own to say. "I mean you no harm, Seer/ I take joy in your presence, with or without the others' quiescence."

Phillip waited for her to finish before he spoke. "I mean you no harm, Seer. I give my word to you that my purpose be not untrue."

Even as I measured the strange semi-rhyme with which they each spoke their own piece, they completed the strange, almost ritualistic 'promise' to me as they intoned together again. "Now in this may the Accord fulfill: An' it harm none, do what ye will."

I felt a strange pulling-sensation followed by a moment of vertigo and, as my blurry vision cleared I realized that I had somehow ended up three or four feet away from where I'd been standing-- I was back right where I had been when time stopped; it wasn't stopped anymore. Oddly, none of the spirits had snapped back into place and I tried to figure out what had just happened. Sabrina put things into focus for me. "We didn't stop time, Seer-- we just connected on a different reality for a short time."

Phillip clarified. "Less than a second. Nobody else knew what was going on because they weren't part of it. It's like sharing a waking dream."

Jack snorted; he appeared to be a little more at ease but I noticed that he still had a talon resting on the hilt of his blade. "T'would be courteous in the future to ask for permission first before Glamouring a Seer and his retinue."

Phillips' fur started to raise but Sabrina stepped between him and Jack, speaking in a calm tone. "It was a mistake, Mr. Gryphon. I'm sorry. Among Familiars the Communion is a common way to speak with a Warlock or a Witch without mortals around us judging our Chosen or making accusations of witchcraft."

I opened my mouth to speak but a split-second later, as a guy with pair of ear buds passed by me, I realized exactly what Sabrina meant; I was in the middle of the student center and if I started talking to the spirits everyone would think I was crazy. I closed my mouth and made a subtle motion toward the lunch room. All four spirits followed after me. Phillip, who had most of his attention on me, smirked wryly. "Starting to see the method to our madness, are you, Seer?"

As I stood by the college's courtesy microwave waiting for my lunch to heat the two Cats engaged Jack in conversation. It was obvious that they wanted to speak with me directly but the Gryphon was still playing gatekeeper. I didn't really mind, especially since the two siblings had been responsible for turning my understanding of the world on its head a mere day after it had already gone upside down in the first place. At the very least it gave me a chance to get a better look at them.

Despite being a sleek, black-furred Cat woman with glowing Emerald eyes, Sabrina seemed in all ways as if she could have fit in as a college student. She was dressed like she was from the 90s, but other than that she wore pretty much what I'd expect from an eighteen or twenty year old who was either proud of her body, or had a self-esteem issue that needed validation by getting guys to drool... or both. She looked like she was in excellent physical condition and her movements reminded me of a dancer or a gymnast. During a moment when her brother was talking she shot a glance my way and smiled; I blushed when I realized I must have been staring and focused instead on the male Cat.

Phillip looked like he'd had a harder life than Sabrina. Just about the same height as his sister, he was relatively short compared to a Human. The Cat had a nasty tear on one ear, making the tip hang at an odd angle and his tail had two distinct kinks in it. His black fur was matted in sections and he had a long coat on that looked to be more about hiding sections of mange than any real fashion statement. Other than the coat, he also had on a linen shirt on and it was tucked into knee length cloth breeches. All-in-all, he looked almost like one of the pictures of the American Minute Men from the revolutionary days mixed with an alley cat.

When the microwave went off I took my leftovers out and walked to a corner table where I could sit with my back to a wall. It wasn't so much a defensive reflex as it was a desire to be able to see everyone else in the room-- it's not paranoia; it's an interest in people-watching, and I'd been doing it for as long as I could remember. It also gave me a great chance to pull out a pen and paper. Glancing to Jack, I gestured with my head to a chair next to me; although the Gryphon didn't bother pulling it away from the table he was, nevertheless, able to take a seat in it quite naturally.

When the rest of the spirits were likewise settled I set my food off to the side for a minute so I could write something down on a scrap paper I'd readied. I switched off between writing and eating; to anyone else in the cafeteria it would look like I was doing homework while having lunch, but to the spirits, I was using Jack as a mouth piece. I had plenty of questions and I had plenty of comments and the not-quite two hours until my next class would give me some time to figure things out.

Putting pen to paper, I--