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The Gift

Edward's Storyline, Chapter 6.1

copyright comidacomida 2018

My first handful of days with the Spirits weren't what I'd call laid back or relaxed but they were a vacation compared to the next day. They spent the early morning basically falling all over one another attempting to come up with a plan for dealing with the attention of a Spirit they obviously didn't think was any good for me. Treboada spent his time arguing that I needed to learn more about how to channel my Spirit Energy; Tom thought it was important to take me somewhere safe where she wouldn't be able to find us; Medved argued that we all needed to work together because if we were going to stand a chance then I'd need to become a better Weaver. The only Spirit not arguing for or against something was The Ancient One.

Red had occupied their form on the way home, and Ch'upikaq took over in quiet contemplation as the others continued their argument of 'the next steps'. He winged his way into my bedroom right behind me; it was late-- really late, and I just wanted to get some sleep. He settled down on top of my dresser, folding himself up into a pile of coils. The Ancient One didn't say a word as I changed out of my work clothes and headed into the shower. It wasn't until the water was running and I was reveling in the easing power of flowing water that the feathered serpent spoke, and his voice was surprisingly clear even through the sound of the shower. "I am glad you are not harmed."

The statement didn't really seem here nor there-- it was the kind of a statement you'd expect from someone who wanted to start a conversation but didn't know the best way to start. I pushed past that and focused on what I wanted to start about instead. "Sure... no thanks to Green. What was THAT about anyway?"

It's hard to explain how I could tell The Ancient One had joined me in the bathroom, especially since I had the light off, and the only illumination came from the door connected to my bedroom. My shower had a frosted glass which meant if I had enough light I wouldn't have been able to see anything other than blurry blobs, but I wasn't even facing that way... but I knew the Spirit was there. Red's voice spoke up from outside the shower. "While you may believe that Green knows no ethical stance or moral compass, what you witnessed was proof that he has a sense of fairness based on cosmic balance."

As expected, if Red was explaining something it wouldn't be easy to understand. "Cosmic balance-- right. So that's, what? Two Spirits in Human bodies and a Raven Spirit wearing a Human suit facing off against me and four Spirits? Is it a sword, spear, whip, black powder pistol, club, and weaponized car against a baseball bat, a knife, and more guns than enough guns to fill a pickup?"

Red's response was, as I should have expected, underwhelming. "Now you are just being overly dramatic."

I sighed, running my head under the water for several seconds so I could regain my composure. When I pulled back I spoke my mind. "The only thing that really made sense about tonight was trying to save someone getting shit-kicked in an alley. Everything past that kinda went into the 'I have no idea what the fuck is going on' category."

Glancing out of the frosted glass of the shower I saw slowly swirling length of red furred body give way to shimmering scales and rainbow wings; the next voice to speak was Ch'upikaq. "I can understand how overwhelming this must be, Edward. You are being exposed to an age-old battle between Spirits. You are seeing a big picture when you have not even had the opportunity to understand a single brush stroke."

I felt combinative enough to contradict what the rainbow Serpent was saying. "Oh, I doubt you have even the faintest idea of how overwhelming this is."

The moment a large Serpent's head poked through the glass of the shower stall I stepped away reflexively, pressing myself back against the tile on the wall as far from it as I could go. Ch'upikaq blinked the thin membranes that served as his eyelids as he looked at me. "You may be surprised at how much empathy I am truly capable of, Edward... and I believe I can help put things into perspective if you would let me."

Although I was still perfectly content to remain belligerent, I was also curious. "Yeah? And how's that?"

Ch'upikaq's tongue flicked through the humid air before he responded. "If you will let me touch you, I can show you."

Before I was able to answer the rainbow Serpent withdrew his head back through the frosted glass, and a red blob replaced the multi-colored one. "You could not do as sufficient a job with your visions as I could with a reverie."

Red gave way to rainbow as Ch'upikaq countered. "There is no perspective from your point of view. You are to impartial for--"

The furry oriental Dragon interrupted the Serpent. "There is no such thing as too impartial. Distance is required to fully understand. Those in the midst of an event will never comprehend as much as one who is able to observe from a reasonable distance. To think otherwise is to risk injecting logical fallacy into--"

Rather than the form change again, Ch'upikaq apparently chose to speak out of Red's maw, interrupting him in the process. "Something that defies logic and should be felt if it is to be understood. Logical fallicy is not always a bad thing, Red. There are times that emotions impart far more understanding than cold hard logic."

Rather than make a big deal of it, the Dragon responded simply. "I disagree... but, I suppose, in this case the answer is not for us to decide."

I brushed my wet hair back out of my face as Ch'upikaq's head once again slid through the glass door of the shower and he stated simply. "I agree... this is something Edward should choose for himself."

Oh, I'd been put on the spot plenty by the Spirits already so I was more than prepared to throw a monkey wrench at their plan to pass the decision my way. "What about Green? Don't you think that he'd be able to explain things to me too?"

I wasn't sure whose voice answered, but I was left with the impression that they both agreed on the point. "No."

Ch'upikaq was also quick to add "Besides, he has overexerted himself... he is... resting."

Having taken the upper-hand in the decision-making I complicated it even more. "And, while we're on the topic, isn't it fair to assume that Medved or Tom or even Treboada could explain things? Hell... everyone could just as easily work together to explain it. If it's that complicated I bet I'd benefit from learning about whatever you have to teach me from multiple sources, right?"

Red took over entirely, his stoic, furred snout peeking through the glass at me and his serpentine eyes stared at me with an almost bored expression. "That would do not good for you, Edward. It would only overcomplicate an already complicated lesson."

He was right, most likely, but, like Ch'upikaq had said, sometimes logic wasn't the answer. Waving him back with one hand I turned off the shower with the other. Reaching for a towel, I--