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How to Seer, Part 16

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Whenever I had date nights with my spirits we always made it a point to travel by foot. It wasn't that the local mass transit for Cherry City was bad or anything, but it was impossible to really talk and interact on a bus-- although it was hard enough with a physical companion in such close quarters it was twice as bad (if not more) since everyone else would think I was talking to myself. So, with as much out of necessity as intimacy, all of my spirits and I were used to walking to and from our chosen date night locations. That dinner out with Mitch was no exception.

The biggest difference that night was that we were walking home arm-in-wing, pulled close to one another in intimate discussion. Anyone on the street might have mistaken my posture to be hunched against the chilly night air with my hands in my jacket pockets but, no; I was actually enjoying the quiet conversation of years past coupled with the soft, warm, tickling sensation of Mitch's feathers against my arm. An unseen obstacle had been overcome during dinner and I was finally able to acknowledge the Raven spirit for who he was, rather than who he'd been when I first met him.

There was an intimacy which had eluded us for the longest time and, as we passed the entrance to an alley between the circles of light cast by street lamps we came to a halt. There, between the two sources of illumination, shadowed by the half-darkness of the city streets, we looked into one another's eyes and I smiled. He did too, and we leaned forward to press lips to beak. I didn't know exactly how kissing would work but what I DID know was that Mitch was someone with whom I would feel comfortable expressing familiarity and fondness through such a gesture. I'd be left waiting to find out the mechanics of it, however, as we were interrupted.

The sound of an old metal trash can falling over in the alley pulled our attention away from one another and toward a figure laying on the ground several yards away. It took a few seconds for my eyes to get used to the darkness but, as I peered closer I saw a man dressed in ragged clothing hunched over inside what appeared to be a lean-to made of cardboard. An old, ratty coat was only half on him with his bare arm holding onto what looked like a spoon capped with tinfoil. His face was lit by a small flame flickering beneath the spook's end and his features were caressed by vapors, eyes half-closed.

Although I wasn't ready for what I was looking at it was pretty apparent right away that I was witnessing a man inhaling some kind of drug. Aside from that not being something I ran into a daily basis, the situation was even stranger because there was some kind of slow-motion blur surrounding him-- whether it was the vapor or something else, I couldn't decide at the time but, as I watched, the man slumped back against his cardboard 'castle', knocking it over as he fell. The spoon fell from his hand, a discolored, black, bubbling liquid spattering the street near where it landed.

Struck dumb and immobile by what I was watching, I was only able to act again when I heard the sound of the man wheezing. Not knowing much about drugs, the only conclusion I could come to was that he was in danger. What had he taken? The whole situation reminded me of those Hollywood flicks where people cook heroine on a spoon before injecting it but I hadn't seen a needle. Even as I went to take a step forward, however, Mitch reached out to stall me. "Don't... it's not safe."

All of the stories I'd heard during drug prevention classes talked about second-hand smoke and contact highs from things like pot but we were in an alley; surely enough that was decent ventilation. Looking back to the concerned Bird I offered reassurance. "It's fine. I'll hold my breath... he needs help."

Mitch gave me a gentle pull back from the alley, taking a step back to encourage my movement as he did so. "It's not the drugs I'm worried about, Seer..."

None of my Spirits called me 'Seer' except when we weren't alone, but there was no way that unconscious man should have given him any reason to worry. I didn't quite get it until I heard a low, bone-quaking rumble from the direction of the alley and when I looked back to where the man had fallen I had an entirely new reason to freeze in surprise, alarm, and fear. Looming over the unconscious, rasping man was a shape easily the size of a pickup truck. It stood on four legs, with forest green scales covering its entire body and large, sweeping wings pulled tight against its massive form. The only word that could possibly describe it was 'dragon'.

The huge reptile was focused solely on the man, eyes gleaming and glinting like glowing Amethysts as spittle and saliva leaked freely from between its sharp teeth. Even as I stood there, watching dumbly and immobile, the dragon lowered its head, and began feasting. Despite its teeth gnashing and tearing, it was still a Spirit, which meant that it dealt no physical damage, but the effects were obvious to someone with The Gift. I watched as it tore into him, pulling what Spirit Energy it desired from the man and, in return, his body convulsed and twisted, responding almost as if it WERE being eaten but, to anyone not able to understand the truth, it possibly could have looked like an overdose.

Despite Mitch's warning I couldn't do nothing. "Hey!"

The Dragon continued feasting, ignoring my call. Somehow encouraged by its lack of response, I took another step forward and, again, Mitch offered a warning. "Billy... this isn't a smart idea... I don't know if I can protect you..."

It wasn't that I was actively ignoring Mitch, I just couldn't stand idly by while a man was being eaten by a Spirit. Raising my voice even louder, I practically shouted. "I can see you! Stop that!"

The Dragon immediately opened its mouth, licking at the ephemeral trailing rivulets of the spirit version of blood that coated its muzzle. It was, at first, confused, looking as though it were trying to parse what it was looking at and, when I, the skinny little Human at the end of the alley tracked the exploratory swaying of its head from one side of the alley to the other, comprehension started to dawn on its face, replacing confusion with surprise, and then what almost looked like a bemused, entertained smirk.

It spoke, and its voice echoed around the alley and through my skull. "Oh ho? What has I here? After many decades, does I seeing a Seer?"

Not only was its size imposing but its voice alone was enough to make me very quickly second guess my interference. Had I made a horrible mistake? I didn't have the luxury to change my decision at that point and so I swallowed the hesitance and pushed on. "Leave him alone... unnamed spirit!"

I had almost called the Spirit 'Dragon' which could have been considered a name, or at least a title, but I kept my wits about me and selected a much less personal identifier. Even that seemed to amuse him. "You has The Sight. Who is you and why does you speaking to I little Human man?"

The Dragon stepped over the man and took a few steps closer, but 'a few' steps to him was sufficient enough to eat up a good portion of the distance between us, and Mitch quickly interposed himself, taking up a defensive position. The Raven Spirit's primary feathers glossed over, becoming like iron and it was apparent that he was ready for a fight. What he'd said earlier about questioning his ability to defend me made a lot of sense and, considering the size of the prospective opponent, I'm not sure I was ready for one.

Addressing the Dragon's question, I offered a simple answer which would avoid providing him too much Spirit Energy. "Like you said, I'm a Seer... and I'm talking to you because I don't want you to eat that man over there."

The Dragon rotated his head, seemingly unconcerned about turning his back to Mitch. A few seconds later, the reptilian spirit looked back at me. "Oh... I eats and I feasts... why does you caring, Human-Seer-Who-Doesn't-Wants-I-Eating?"

There was something about the way he described me that made it sound as much like a descriptive title as a lengthy form of address, and I wasn't the only one to notice. Mitch took a step back, pressing his wing against me. "He's old... very old. And powerful. You need to go, Seer... now."

The Dragon's eyes narrowed; at first I thought it looked like a sign of aggression but, after a moment, I realized he was squinting to get a better sense of me. I felt, rather than an emanation of danger, a sympathetic wave of curiosity. His words were a request, not a command. "Wait, Human-Seer-Who-Doesn't-Wants-I-Eating. I doesn't want you going."

Mitch responded "Well I DO want him to go... you're a danger to him and that's not okay."

The large spirit let out a snort. "Bah. I is not being danger. If I being danger then you already being dead."

It was a hard statement to argue against but I stuck to my guns. "You're eating that man over there... I'd call that dangerous."

Once again the Dragon followed my gesture, craning his head back to look at the unmoving man laying amidst the cardboard. The head slowly came back around to look at me and I fidgeted when he blinked, first a set of clear membranes, and then his scaly eyelids. "He chases the dragon... if you chases the dragon, sometimes you finds I."

It took a moment for me to translate what he was saying, not just because of his strange speech pattern, but because of the term he'd used-- I'd heard it before. "You mean... you're eating him because he's doing drugs?"

The Dragon didn't exactly answer my question. "Stay. You being staying with I. I talking to Seer and Seer talking to I. I has not seeing Seer in many decades. You talks with I and then you goes one way and I goes other."

It sounded like he was proposing some kind of discussion which would end peacefully, but could I trust him? I didn't know. "How do I know I can trust you?"

At first I thought the Dragon was growling but, after a few spasms from its large body I realized that it was a laugh. "Silly Human-Seer-Who-Doesn't-Wants-I-Eating, I makes Bargain with you."

It was quite the proposition.