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The Gift

Richard's (FA) Storyline, Chapter 3.2

copyright comidacomida 2018

I hadn't expected Anapa to go anywhere so that reveal caught me by surprise. "Do you know where he went?"

The Cat shrugged indifferently in response. "I don't keep track of him, but I suppose Sabrina and I can seek him out with a scrying incantation if it is important to you."

Having only just recently woken I was already reeling from all of the moving parts that struck me during the first part of my day. Taking a steadying breath, I nodded to Phillip. "Sure. I have a phone call to make but if you and Sabrina can see about tracking Anapa down I'd appreciate it."

Both cats perked up immediate at the request, their eyes gleaming a bright Emerald with far more illumination than simple a reflection from the light shining through the window. They gathered up a collection of items that hadn't been there a moment before and scampered off to my bedroom with their arms full. Sabrina lingered at the doorway, glancing back toward me. "Don't worry, Warlock-- we won't make a mess."

To be honest, I hadn't been worrying about it until she spoke up but I didn't get a chance to follow up with any further statements because Jack stepped up beside me, staring down the hall after the cats. "I fear that thy trust in them may be well-founded."

I glanced toward him, wondering if I'd heard him correct. "Wait... You think that they'll succeed? Wouldn't that be a GOOD thing?"

He offered a faint shrug, his wings rising then lowering with the motion. "Yes, my boy, with regard to thy desire to find the Jackal... but as they do thy bidding they gain in strength. Tis every Familiar's wish to follow the direction of their chosen Human. When thou provide them with a task tis the same as giving thy energy to them... assuming they are successful."

The way he added on the last few words gave me a moment's pause. "And... if they fail? What then?"

Jack shrugged again, still looking at the open door to my room. "Tis hard to say, Richard. I am no expert on Familiars, but I would assume that they would suffer from reproach as they condemn themselves for their failure. Perhaps they may suffer for it, or perhaps they shall lose energy that they might otherwise gain? At the very least I am certain that they would castigate themselves in an attempt to regain thy favor."

It had been a long time since I'd heard anyone use that word and, when I'd heard it the term was related to a sect of medieval monks who ritualistically harmed themselves to make up for their sins. "Castigate? You mean punish themselves? You don't mean physically, do you? Do spirits do that kind of thing?"

Another winged shrug was followed by the Gryphon extending an arm to me. "Tis not unheard of, my boy. Many find it centering, or a way to tip the imbalance of their failure, or at least a method by which to learn from their failures."

At first I didn't know what I was looking at but, as I slowly extended my hands to his fur I noticed that the metal armor that usually clothed his forearm was missing and there, amidst the fur and feathers I could clearly see a half dozen lines cut into his flesh perpendicular to the bone. I was only just beginning my time as a nursing student but I was able to identify that they were made with a sharp object. "Did you do this to yourself?"

The Gryphon swallowed audibly; I could tell talking about them left him uncomfortable. He motioned to each with a single digit as he counted them off. "The first was an assassination while the second was sickness but the third, fourth and fifth were all accidents-- a fall from a high place, buried by falling rubble, and being thrown from a horse."

I was so caught up in the surprise of seeing the self scarification that I hadn't even noticed that I was holding Jack's arm. It was hard to come up with anything I could possibly say, but, eventually I managed to piece together a thought. "Why would you do something like this, Jack? Why hurt yourself?"

He went to pull his arm back but I kept hold of it and he relented, leaving it in my grasp. He looked away, speaking quietly. "As I said, my boy, tis a matter of learning from my mistakes. The emotional pain is bad and to bring physical pain with it doubles the learning and lessens the heart ache... tis also a Guardian Spirit's only way of recapturing some small amount of spirit energy we lose when we fail in our appointed task."

The explanation felt wrong for a number of reasons and I couldn't figure out where even to begin. Rather than standing there tongue tied I pressed my finger to his arm. "What about this one? What about the sixth?"

He slowly rotated his head to look at me; I could almost empathically feel the shame I saw in his eyes and he cleared his throat before speaking. "Ah... that one-- that would be... ah... electrocution..."

The realization struck me like a bat. "This is from me?"

He shook his head, feathery cowl puffing up. "No, my boy... this is from me failing you. Had I been faster or more aware I--"

Running my thumb across the scar I shook my head, unwilling to accept that my Guardian would do such a thing, especially because of me; I wasn't dead. If anything, he was my hero. "You didn't fail me, Jack. You saved me."

The Gryphon let out a faint wheeze, all of the fur on his body going on end and his wings snapped out almost as if by reflex. I felt a faint wriggling beneath my thumb, almost as if I were holding a worm down. Quickly pulling back I was left confused as I saw five scars, not six. His response was a whisper. "Thou... thou hast cast out my shame..."

I looked up at him, his Golden eyes gleaming down at me as if he'd just figured out for the first time that I hadn't died in the bathroom. I opened my mouth to speak but I was caught off guard when his talons went to either of my shoulders and he pulled me closer, enveloping me in an embrace that included arms as well as wings. Held close to him, my head was awash with a thousand thoughts all fighting to surface, but each and every one failed to.

After being lost in the hug any sense of time was pushed from my mind and, when he slowly pulled away, every last one of the thoughts followed suit when he concluded the closeness by pressing his beak to my lips. It was a kiss, of that I had no doubt. I remained stunned, frozen in response to the intimate expression of closeness. It was pure and immaculate, devoid of tongue or any other 'sloppy' expression of lust.

My empty brain quickly filled itself with a new jumble of thoughts and questions. He was kissing me. Why did he kiss me? It was definitely an expression of adoration, but it was also as 'proper' as anything I'd expect from him. Did he think of me 'that way' or was it just another difference between how Humans and Spirits interacted? He'd known me since I was born. Wasn't that like kissing a family member? I enjoyed it, though. Did I enjoy it? Why did I enjoy it so much? Did I enjoy it that much?

Yes, I realized, I really did, and I found myself melting in his grasp. The run-on list of thousands of thoughts came to a halt the moment Sabrina's voice broke the silence. "We have found the Jackal."

Phillip followed up with an irreverent "Should we come back later?"

Sabrina tittered, but she elbowed her brother regardless. Jack quickly disengaged, his feathers puffed up again as he cleared his throat, fidgeting. "Ah... well... I... um..."

Seeing as he was a loss for words and I felt more than a little embarrassed (and confused), I quickly set aside the plethora of mind-numbing questions and I--