FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Gift

Daniel's Storyline, Chapter 1.4

copyright comidacomida 2018

Herne came to a stop, lingering on the asphalt rather than stepping up onto the sidewalk. "Daniel, you are making a mistake if you plan on sending us away. You may think you know what you want, but you still do not know what it is you need."

I felt my work pants unzip themselves or, more specifically, Kon's intangible fingers do it. "Oh shush, you stupid Elk... I know exactly what Daniel wants, and it's exactly what I think he needs about now. Am I wrong?"

His question was directed at me so I chickened out and invited all four spirits inside to cover up my cowardace by suggesting a movie night. I stepped away from Kon, suddenly very self-conscious with so many eyes on me. "Well... maybe not right now... I mean... tonight we could always just--"

Kon padded his way toward me, easily closing the distance with a paw held out in my direction. "Oh relax, Hiro, it's not like--"

Herne snorted, raising his hand and clenching it; I jumped in surprise as the concrete of the walkway rose up and encircled the Fox's ankles, securing him in place. The Elk's voice came out as a surprisingly effective growl. "I will not allow you to intimidate or impose upon the Seer, Yokai."

Kon's tail twitched and then each of his ears did in turn before a scowl caused all of his whiskers to droop. "Let me go. I haven't done anything wrong. Hey-- you two... you see what he's doing to me?"

His question was directed toward Talapus and Aiden. The Coyote just smirked. "Well, you WERE coming on a little strong. I think you needed someone to slow you down a little."

The Bat, on the other hand, outright shrugged. Giving the complaint no apparent merit, Aiden went off on a tangent. "Listen: doing the whole Alpha Male hyper-sexualized type thing works in some movies-- real action and drama stuff, but did you stop and think that maybe you might be in a romance-kind-of-chick-flick?"

Kon rolled his eyes. "I don't even know why I try."

Herne, having not been stopped by the other spirits, stepped closer. "Daniel... go inside. We will be along shortly."

I hesitated. "You're not gonna hurt Kon, are you?"

The Elk looked to me, ears up, eyes attentive with a hint of confusion, as if the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. "Would you want me to?"

The Fox's attention went from Herne to me then back to Herne, then to me one more time. "Come on, Hiro... tell him to let me go... please?"

Even if Kon hadn't asked me to set him free I certainly didn't want the Fox to get hurt. "Relax. Everyone... come on-- tonight was going so well... do we really wanna fuck it up that bad?"

Herne's questioning gaze turned a little more severe. "That was YOUR doing, Daniel. You could not control yourself in the face of temptation, and the end result is a lack of temperance. Being ruled by your base desires rarely ends well."

Kon huffed. "Says 'the God of Fuck'."

The statement got a response so intense from Herne that I was downright scared to be near the Elk. With clenched teeth and glowing Emerald eyes, Herne twisted his arm and the concrete of the ground rose further up the Fox's body. Kon squirmed, letting out a yip in surprise as he was encased up to the thighs. Staring down at him, the Elk's voice was strangely soft, rumbling in a deep bass. The words that came out had a sense of certainty to them. "I can end you, Yokai, and if we continue along this path you will only have yourself to blame."

Aiden, off to the side, let out a whistle, raising his sunglasses as he blinked in awe. "Damn, dude... that's downright cold."

Herne's gaze went to the Bat and Aiden silenced immediately, returning his glasses to where they'd been on his face. The Elk spoke simply and to the point. "You are still young, Glamour Spirit. You do not fully appreciate the way of things, or the importance of a Seer. I will not let a Yokai's greed or a Trickster's misdirection get in the way of something so rare."

I stood there like some deaf and dumb mute with my hand on the doorknob leading into my apartment, staring at the three spirits like I was watching a movie. The uneasy peace in the household had started falling apart and, I realized, just like Herne said, I had to accept some of the responsibility for that. "Wait."

All three Spirits looked toward me when I spoke. Herne responded. "Yes?"

Without any reasonable objection or topic to use for changing the discussion I continued standing there like an idiot for what was probably on a few seconds but felt like forever. Fortunately I eventually found the perfect distraction. "Where's Talapus?"

The Coyote's voice came from within my apartment. "I'm getting you a TV dinner ready. You didn't eat anything today at work. We can't have our Human passing out from hunger, now can we?"

I pushed the door open immediately, stepping into the apartment. Talpaus was in the kitchen and was holding one of my 'ChowDowns' in one paw, standing beside the microwave as if trying to figure out how it worked. I blinked and, for a moment, I saw the packaged meal hovering in the air on its own, but the Coyote reappeared as quickly as I'd noticed him missing. I objected. "Hey! I thought I had to invite you in!"

Herne spoke up from behind me. "You have already invited us in, Richard. You would have to withdraw your invitation. Until then we can come and go as we please."

Kon added to the discussion. "And I'd really like to go inside now, if that's okay with everyone."

There had been a simmering sense of competition and disagreement going on between the spirits since I first met them and, to be honest, it was starting to be unbearably uncomfortable. "Herne. Let Kon go."

I wasn't required to restate my request; I didn't have to clarify or respond to an objection. The moment I told the Elk what I wanted the concrete faded back into the ground, returning to how it had looked before Herne had done anything, and, with that, Kon was free. The Fox pirouetted, his two tails swirling around him like some kind of gymnastic ribbons. He smiled my direction and moved to step closer but the hint of an objecting bleat from Herne was enough to change his physical expression of thanks into a simple. "Thanks. Now you can see why I call you Hiro."

The non-sequitor didn't help. "I... can?"

Aiden lingered at the doorway, offering a fang-y smile. "Yeah, dude. 'Hiro' means 'hero' in Japanese. Kon's Japanese, right?"

The Fox made his way into the apartment, followed by Herne, who maintained his vigil on the Yokai. As he passed me, the Elk added. "Do not remain out here all night... especially with the Bat around."

Raising both paws, Aiden offered Herne a friendly smile. "Relax, big guy. I make a way better sidekick than I do a villain. I'm just here cuz I've never actually seen a Seer before... I think this fuckin' rocks."

Something about the Bat's over-the-top simple outlook made me smile. "Well... until recently I've never seen Spirits before."

Aiden smiled wide. "Hey... well a movie night's a good idea, Dan-- good choice. It's a great way to get to kick back and get to know us casually."

It was good to know that at least ONE of the spirits agreed with me, and I ushered everyone in, an invitation extended to Aiden well before I'd realized that I had only THOUGHT about the movie night; I hadn't ever brought it up. Herne, who was still waiting beside the door for me, spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "Glamour Spirits are able to instill inspiration and ideas in mortals. I told you to be on guard."

Despite realizing that Herne must have been right, and wondering how something like that worked, I, nevertheless, still liked the idea and, besides, I had committed. I motioned around the living room. "Okay... well, everyone take a seat and I'll figure out what we should watch. Movies have a way of bringing people together and, if nothing else, it'll be a great way to spend the--"

Aiden flopped out on the sofa and ran a single paw across the remote. I fell silent as the television turned on and began cycling through over two hundred channels... which was a little strange since I only had access to 60-something. He flashed me a toothy grin. "Come on, man-- you can't get by with such a small selection. Now you got unlimited access to new releases. Did you know most cable companies upload digital movies onto their lineup while they're still in the theater? All you gotta do is remove the limiter. So... what'll it be?"

Glancing around the room, I--