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The Gift

Daniel's Storyline, Chapter 1.5

copyright comidacomida 2018

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 sat down next to Herne and attempted to explain myself to him. "Uh... Herne? Just so you know, I didn't plan to--"

I was interrupted by Aiden, who passed the remote to me; I still wasn't sure how he was able to actually move it, but he did. "Hey, Dan-- what'cha think about something high octane and action packed? That new comic book movie just came out, or-- Oh! We can watch the remake of that '60s gods-and-mortals fantasy movie... I bet everyone here'd get a kick outta that!"

Pausing just long enough in trying to reconcile with the Elk, I accepted the remote control. "Uh... something new? How new?"

Aiden offered up a fangy grin. "Remember the late show last night? Yeah... if you want you can go ahead and put that on here at home right now if you want."

To be honest, the idea of watching a movie wasn't quite as appealing as it had first sounded; maybe what Herne had said about Aiden putting the idea in my mind had some merit. At that point I just wanted to have some time to get back in everyone's good graces-- I'd chickened out when Kon had offered himself; I'd shrugged off Talapus' attention; more than anything though, I disappointed Herne. I had to make that right. "Okay... let's watch that."

I quickly navigated the menus and pulled up the movie from the selection of pre-new-releases and pressed start. I reached through Aiden to set the controller back on the end table and returned my attention to Herne, who was stretched out casually on the sofa next to me, turned three-fourths in my direction as he observed me, Green eyes gleaming. He pushed me further off-balance with a straight-forward question that was easy for him to ask but not so easy for me to answer. "What is it you want out of all of this, Daniel?"

Although I had a good idea what he meant I bought myself a little extra time to figure out the right kind of answer by asking "Out of what?"

His gaze left me with the impression that he saw right through my ploy. Regardless, he chose to humor me and elaborated on his question in an eerily direct way. "You are one of very few Humans who can experience spirits. What do you want out of this special ability? What do you want out of The Gift?"

Even with the extra time to come up with an answer I still found myself at a loss. "I... uh... I don't know."

The Elk didn't settle for that answer, and his follow up question that included the blunt use of a word that sounded almost profane coming from his muzzle. "Do you just want to take every chance you can to fuck?"

The question led itself to an obvious answer. "No. Of course not, I--"

Herne interrupted me with a bland dismissal. "That is not how it appears from my point of view, Daniel."

I couldn't stop blushing and, although it frustrated me that he called me on it, I was more displeased at myself than at him. "But I didn't. Kon and I aren't screwing right now, are we? No-- we're not."

The Elk blinked; he didn't seem very impressed by my attempt at self defense. "And you consider that a personal triumph? That should be the status quo, Daniel, not a victory. You should respect your value more than that."

Although his point wasn't lost on me, I still didn't completely get it. "What do you mean, my value? Guys these days who have tons of sex--"

Herne didn't let me finish. "You Humans here have many coins among your currency, do you not? Coins of different colors and sizes?"

I wasn't sure where he was going with his interruption. "Yeah... sure. We have, like, quarters, and dimes, and pennies, and stuff."

Aiden decided it was a good time to interject. "And fifty cent pieces, and silver and golden dollar coins too... and then there's the bills, which--"

Herne raised a hand and the Bat fell silent. The Elk continued. "Which of those coins is worth the most?"

Aiden and I spoke at the same time. "The dollar coin."

The Elk's next question was another easy one. "And the one worth the least?"

The Bat had apparently lost interest in the line of questioning and returned his attention to the television, which was finishing up the play through of production companies. That left me to answer it alone. "The penny."

His next question was more personal. "If I gave you a dollar coin would you appreciate that gift?"

I shrugged. "Sure... I mean, of course. What does that--?"

Herne pressed further. "What about a penny? Would you like to receive a penny from me if I gave you one?"

Pausing at the newest question I tried to figure out his point. "...I guess."

The Elk cocked his head aside, mindful of avoiding hitting me with his antlers. "You sounded less certain of your answer about the penny."

Of course I did; it was just a penny. "Well... you can't really buy much for a penny. It's not that valuable."

"Why is that?"

His questions were getting a little more difficult-- not because they were hard, but because they were so easy. "I guess, uh, because you'd have to pay one hundred pennies to buy something for a dollar but if you had a dollar coin it would only take one."

He blinked, eyes still unmoving as he stared at me. "Pennies are more common than a coin that is worth a dollar?"

I nodded. "Yeah... I guess so. Most people have tons of pennies in their pocket but not a lot of dollar coins."

As if I'd finally gotten around to answering what he wanted to know, Herne stood and stepped away from the television. "Enjoy your movie, Penny... I will wait until you are ready to be a Dollar before we continue our discussion."

The metaphor didn't make a lot of sense and I found myself both insulted and intrigued. Glancing around to the other spirits around me I stated "I'll be right back."

I followed Herne into the back of my place and pressed the issue in the hallway. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He said nothing, simply standing there and staring at me. As the silence stretched on I tried to start up the discussion again. "You said I'm a penny. Why?"

Herne let out a breath through his nose, eyes gleaming faintly in the dim light. "If you were intimate with just one person, how important would that be to your experiences in life and with that person?"

I shrugged. "Pretty important, I guess."

"And if you were intimate with a hundred people?"

I grinned. "I'd be a fuckin' stud!"

He scowled, turning around before walking off. "And a penny."

I suddenly realized what he meant. Much more aware and much more self-reflective, I made my way back to the living room. I joined the other spirits at the television, watching the movie but not really paying much attention to it; for once there was too much on my mind.