The Gift
Daniel's Storyline, Chapter 7.3
copyright comidacomida 2018
The Dog had a point, but I still felt like I needed to help. "What happens when-- when Emmett... passes?"
Shrugging, the Spirit continued on. "No idea... I got no more answers about th' afterlife than anyone else. That's a question for a preacher, not a Spirit."
He obviously didn't get what I was asking. "No... I mean... for you. What happens for you when Emmett goes? Do-- I... uh... do you have some place to go? Is there someone you can--"
He came to a halt again and turned to face me with an expression that was impossible to read, and not just because of his jowls. With as much certainty and direct openness as any of his other answers, he simply said "I'll die too."
Some part of me deep inside had already figured that out, but it was something else entirely to hear it spoken. I wanted to say something, but I knew that it wasn't my place to interfere. I stayed where I was, feeling uncomfortable at the silence. Bart made it easy, offering just a nod of his head in farewell, and continued on alone.
The busses were still running at that hour and it was a long way back to my place so I took a seat on the bench at the edge of the park. I checked my watch and saw that I had at least twenty minutes to wait; the thought of sitting alone with my thoughts as my own company really didn't appeal to me... especially not after what I'd gone through that night. Unfortunately, the only other option would have been to walk home and that prospect was even more undesirable: in addition to still being a victim of my brain in overload, I'd also have to hike dozens of blocks across town and that much physical activity didn't sound like fun.
So, there I was, sitting on the park bench, stuck in my own head. Somewhere ahead of me a few blocks over Kon had disappeared and somewhere behind me a man and his companion Spirit were dying. Considering that, it felt like the night should have felt more significant or special or exceptional an I couldn't help but wonder why it felt so normal? Thousands of people in the neighborhood would continue their life as if nothing had happened and they'd never realize that anything had. Kon would be forgotten, and even Emmett was as easily ignored as any name showing up in the obituaries.
A voice spoke up from beside me, faint, but still distinct in how easily I'd recognized it. "Life isn't always fair, is it?"
I jumped, quickly recoiling from Kon. Raising my hands defensively, I paused once I realized that the only presence there was a faint, ghostly outline of a normal, every day four legged fox looking up at me with eyes glimmering with spectral Blue light. His single tail folded around to cover his paws. When he saw that I wasn't about to respond, he added "That's what you were thinking about, wasn't it? No matter how bad it gets for any of us individually life still goes on."
The voice, I realized, didn't come from the fox, instead, it echoed in my head like someone talking into a tin can connected by string to another. The fact that he was there in any sense was a surprise and it took a minute for me to put a sentence together. "Kon... you're still here?"
The fox laid down on the bench, resting his muzzle down on his forelegs and his tail. "In a manner of speaking. My time is done, and I am using the last of my Spirit Energy to manifest now."
My brain still hadn't kick-started; I had a ton of questions I wanted to ask, but only the most important snuck through the mental block. "You're... not here to hurt me... are you?"
Raising his head, the four legged Kon cocked his head to the side, his eyes squinting up in an anime grin as he smiled. "No, Daniel... I do not want to hurt you... I never did... I was just angry. Angry at the world and angry at myself. You were just an unfortunate casualty of that, and I am truly, deeply sorry."
As I stood there and Kon didn't try to kill me my brain slowly popped out of neutral and before long I was able to actually think. Following that, a more important question came to mind. "What did that paper thing do?"
His smile disappeared. "We are no longer connected. When I gave you The Gift it opened a pathway between us that would allow me to draw as much Spirit Energy from you as I wanted... even enough to kill you if I desired. At the time, I had considered it the most likely end to our association, but, looking back, I am glad that it has ended this way."
The frank honesty and openness that he explained the situation didn't help me feel much better, and I had to double check. "You... were going to eat my soul or something?"
His whiskers drooped slightly and he looked away. "That is not quite right, but it is close enough. Yes, Daniel... when we first met all I wanted was to hurt everyone and everything... but, that is different now. I am done being angry, and I am done hurting. I am almost ready to rest."
Something about his statement made me pause. "...almost?"
His gaze returned to me. "Unfinished business. You see... when I gave you Spirit Sight, it connected us and, now that I am fading and you are shielded from my influence; when I am gone, you will lose The Gift."
His final statement echoed in my ears and whipped up my thoughts into a tornado. "I... won't be able to see Spirits anymore?"
Whether my expression or the tone of my voice gave it away, Kon was obviously able to tell that I was worried at the prospect, which was an understatement. Since Spirits had entered my life things had become crazy, that much was true, but the thought of living the rest of my life without them was like having to switch to a black and white TV after being introduced to the wonderful world of color-- there had to be SOMETHING I could do.
As if reading my thoughts, Kon smiled again. "There is something you can do."
"What?"
He slowly stood, and stretched out his forelegs by crouching down and sticking his butt into the air. He then stretched his hind legs by leaning forward with his weight on his forelegs, and only then did he elaborate. "When a Human dies and their soul leaves their body they leave behind a great amount of Spirit Energy... many Spirits seek out dead and dying Humans in an attempt to collect it for use. What Humans don't know is that this works the same for Spirits and, if a Human is present when a Spirit fades, they may be able to harvest it for their own use."
I wasn't sure if I was hearing what I thought I was hearing, so I repeated it back in my own words. "I can take your energy so I can keep The Gift?"
Kon padded past me, pausing only long enough to rub up against my leg, almost like a cat; he didn't actually touch me, but the gesture was the same. "You could, yes... or empower your creativity and do something with your life. You could use it to save an ailing Spirit, or gift yourself with bountiful luck... you could even use it as a parting gift to thank the Spirits who helped you learn that there's more to life than living. It isn't my place to tell you that you need to keep The Gift... I just want to make amends."
"...amends?"
Kon turned around and sat down on the sidewalk, looking back at me as a whitish-Blue light began to eclipse him. "I am not an evil Spirit, Daniel... but I've had evil done to me, and somewhere along the way I forgot that there is good in the world too. In your own way, you helped free me from that... and we had some fun along the way."
The light had grown so bright at that point that I could barely make out the Spirit's outline. It was so indistinct, in fact, that it almost looked like there was a second figure present... a fox and the silhouette of human woman. The light got even brighter and I was sure I heard the disembodied voice of a girl speak in Japanese. As he faded from view, Kon's voice responded; it sounded tired, but content... happy even. Whatever he'd said ended up drowned out by the jarring honk of a loud horn.
Blinking my eyes twice I saw that I was standing in the street and the bus had stopped in front of me, headlights right in my face. I quickly stepped back onto the sidewalk, shaking all over from the strange waking dream. The embarrassment of almost getting hit by a bus overtook that initial discomfort and I was left wondering why I'd been standing in the street in the first place.
Everything that had happened that night faded as if I were forgetting a dream... right until I stuffed my hands into my jean pockets and the right one encountered something other than my wallet. Pulling my hand back out I saw that I held a small, slightly charred wooden sculpture of a Fox. I realized right away that is wasn't real... it was made of Spirit, and only then did my memories of everyone and everything come crashing back down.
I could feel the power strumming through the Spirit matter, but I knew that, regardless of how much power it held, it wasn't infinite. Kon had said that there were many things I could do with it, but how could I choose just one? Climbing onto the bus, I could tell that the substance that made up the carving was already starting to fade. Purchasing a ticket, I went to the very back and sat down, looking at the carving.
Although I didn't really know what it did there was some kind of natural understanding as to how I could make it work. Closing my eyes, I leaned forward, holding it with both hands in front of my lips, and I--
The way I see it, Daniel didn't use the Gift the way it should have been used - he was only really interested in being a horndog with the furries.
Aiden, however, selflessly protected Daniel. That deserves repayment. And, I think that the Spirits will know what has happened. Can not one of them "re-Gift" Daniel if they so desire? And if so, then he can set to giving energy to Herne and Treboada in whatever manner they all wish.
Anyway, I say 4.
-TGU.
P.S. I am, not really a gambler...so 5 is not a viable option. Your Monty Hall shenanigans have no power on me!! ;)
I'll mark you down for 4.
-TGU.
2) -- pleaded that it not be the end. "Please... let me keep The Gift. I don't want to go back to not seeing and I don't want to forget."
3) -- regretted that I had handled things so horribly. Maybe The Gift wasn't meant for me, but I could still set things right. "I want Herne and Treboada to get their lost Spirit Energy back."
4) -- cried, realizing that I wouldn't be able to apologize to Aiden personally if I wanted to save him. "Heal Aiden. Make him well again."
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5) --** HIDDEN. Viable option only if Daniel has Spirit + Intuition + Willpower >14 otherwise a bad ending will result. This is a big gamble.**
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Since we have arrived at what will be a major decision, I will provide two pieces of insight: First, attributes for Humans behind the curtain can range from 0-6 (though Spirit can go up to 8), so the highest combination possible for three attributes is 20. Second, Daniel has an Intuition of 5. Will his Spirit + Willpower equal or exceed 10? Time to vote.
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Voting is now officially underway, and will be open until midnight (pst) on Friday, December 7th.
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1 is selfish. Daniel is beyond that
2 Possible. Daniel would keep his sight
3 Just needs patience. Herne and Treboada will return in time anyway, with good thoughts to them
4 As 3. Aiden is safe. The dog said so
5 Wildcard...............14-5=9...9/2=4+5 Is Daniel that powerful?
............................
The Dog is at peace. Kon is at peace. The rest will recover in time, with Daniel's good thoughts helping them along.
5 I feel is too edgy.
I choose 2
I've got to admit, I really enjoyed the final scene with Kon. I didn't realize that it was he who gave Daniel the power to see Spirits. I thought it was something that he had as a Seer, just like those in the other stories. The fact that that Gift was a double-edged sword is utterly frightening, but fortunately, it would seem that the real "soul" of Kon won out in the end and chose to make amends.
I can comfortably eliminate (1) because even though it would be truly wonderful to have such muse, what can it give Daniel? Fame? Fortune? Yeah sure, but that all feels empty without those who are most important to you to share with them.
I can also eliminate (3) because depending on what Daniel does, if he retains the Gift, he can easily, over time, replenish Herne and Treboda with the Spirit energy they expended fighting to save Daniel.
Similarly, I'd eliminate (4) as Bart told Daniel that Aiden is resting and safe. I imagine Aiden will heal in time, and if Daniel simply threw and insta-heal on the bat while sacrificing his ability to ever see him again, it would be pretty hard on both him AND Aiden.
That would have left me with (2) for Daniel to retain the Gift so he could continue to interact with Herne, Talapus, and Aiden, who have all become family in their own right. It would have been an easy choice were it not for your damnable "Mystery Box" (5) option.
So we know that Daniel has 5 points for Intuition with a Spirit Range of (0-8) +1 if 10 votes come in for option (5), and a Willpower Range of (0-6) -- leaving 10 points to be made up between the two.
If it was strictly a mathematical odds calculation, it would be a poor wager statistically, though I'm not running numbers, I'm just eyeballing it.
However, I DO feel that Daniel's Willpower, through the most recent decisions, has likely reached higher levels perhaps in the top half of the bracket (4-6 range), which means that with 10 votes, Daniel's Spirit range could theoretically be 3 at the lowest (figuring max Willpower).
Okay, let's face it, I suck at stats, so don't use my numbers! :P
I'll leave it at this, I'm willing to go with (5) if there are enough folks that want to do it here on SF to "Quorum" our 10 votes for the bonus.
Otherwise, I'll go with (2), so for the time being, I'll wait for others to state their thoughts and cast my vote before the deadline.
Or at the very least:
function(vote);
<If sum of option[5] votes from {SF, FA} == "9" then cast(option[5]) from {Cetacea}; else cast(option[2]) from {Cetacea}; fi>
That being said, you have also missed an important fact that has been touched on above: Just because Aiden is safe does not mean that he is free to reenter Daniel's life-- if Aiden is in Slumber then he may remain that way for decades, if not centuries, effectively writing him out of the story completely... and there's no guarantee he will awaken at all, a la "spirit coma"... so it's STILL a valid thing to consider...
So you rotten scoundrel ... Slugworth gets his Everlasting Gobstopper after all, eh?
All three risked their lives to save Daniel, though it was Aiden who did so first.
I don't think Daniel will be "okay" if he gives up the Gift. The altruistic thing to do would be to save Aiden, but then Aiden simply goes on his way, and Daniel, through all his trials, is left with nothing -- unless you're implying that there's the opportunity for that to change if he does something very special by giving away the Gift to help another Spirit.
"So shines a good deed, in a weary world."
Fortunately, you are not too late, and I will add your vote to 5.
If we pick 2 and Aiden does not recover within a short time, could Daniel and the other spirits 'channel' or otherwise generate/give some of their energy to help Aiden recover faster?
Is Treboada in option 3 supposed to be Talapus? Or did I miss a crossing between Daniel's and Richard's story?
Second answer: I posted this after being awake about 20 hours-- good catch, and the name has been corrected. :)
You have just as much information for your vote as Daniel has and, yes, there may be some thought-provoking points in the final two posts of this Chapter, but right now you have just as much info as he does... but it bears considering that Daniel is of average intelligence, so even if you readers have some great magical work around, it may just not occur to him unless you guys help him out.
I suspect that if we vote for 5 and it fails, Daniel would wish for too much and it would fail since the energy from the totem would be stretched too thin each way. Or, he'd not be able to make up his mind and it would fade naturally.
Given that Aiden will eventually recover (even if it may take centuries), I'm tempted to vote for 2. It'll suck without the bat, but it'll suck a lot more without any of them.
I think if it were my life or one of my real life friends, that's what I'd go for. But for the story, I'm going to pick 5 because that holds more curiosity for me.
Also, can we still vote on FA and SF?
Your vote is recorded for 5.
I will think on my vote before the deadline. But honestly? looking back on the chapters, I think Daniel could survive option 5, people voted on giving Daniel spirit points, 6 at least, His Willpower wasn't his worst trait, so I guess it was 3 maybe? plus with 5 Intuition and I think he could have a score of 14. This is not my vote, I'm just saying option 5 could be possible.
So I did a bit of research on the journals where spirit bonuses could be granted.
Daniel only got 1 vote for spirit energy on the chapter 7 prep on SF, and he only got 2 votes on the chapter 6 prep on SF. He did not receive any votes on FA.
Therefore, he only has 3 spirit energy points, or at least only 3 that we know of. If he has spirit energy that we did not vote on, there is a possibility he used some of it to help Bart. Also, sex with two spirits probably drained him (heh) spiritually.
If his intuition is 5, and if his spirit energy is only 3 points, sadly this means he only has 8 points and would need the full 6 of willpower to ensure success. However, if his highest attribute is intuition, which is 5, his willpower is at least one lower than that (at most 4), so 5+4+3= 12.
Therefore, it is very risky to vote for option 5.
Quite a powerful chapter you've backhanded us with here, Although it was nice to see Kon again...however brief. And SCORE! I KNEW he got 'The Gift' from Kon! Somebody owes me money! I had a nasty feeling Daniel's sight would fade with Kon's passing, but I did not think for a second his memories would also fade...that's just horrible, man.
So Anyway, voting time!
1) is out immediately - The spirits could even help inspire him. 3) seems pointless, I think that would happen if they were to just hang around Daniel anyway...
2), 4) & 5) are the only viable options, and they each run their own risks. If we pick 4) then he loses his sight (but Aiden lives). If we pick 2) then Daniel retains his sight (but Aiden would die/be comatose for an indefinite amount of time).
And then we come to 5), another super-risky option that could spell doom for Daniel. I thought you loved us readers, Comida? You don't do things like this to people you love.
I'll break my thoughts down here. You've mentioned that Daniel has an intuition of 5. I also happen to know, IIRC, that Daniels Spirit rating was the second highest out of all the human protagonists. Assuming that the stat 'Spirit' is simply a representative quantity for Spirit Rating/Essence, then I'll put it to you that It's not TOO much of a stretch to assume that Daniel should have a relatively HIGH Spirit stat. I'm thinking somewhere around 5-6? I cannot be sure, of course...
This would mean that Daniels Willpower stat would have to be 4-5 to make up the difference, which I should think he would have by now - you've put this poor boy through hell and back and he's still here somehow, so...yeah. This doesn't even include the bonus +1 Spirit that Daniel will receive if 10 people vote for option 5, so this is looking better and better!
Before I vote, I'm gonna ask for your confirmation that Spirit = Spirit Rating/Essence? And stupid me, I've literally just realised that I have no idea what option 5 even is...
Incidentally, a Spirit with an Essence lower than 15 cannot provide "The Gift" to a Human... so there is that.
Finally, you are correct about not knowing what Option 5 is. Nobody does.
This is a rather difficult choice to make, even before you factor in the hidden statistics lurking around Option 5. You HAVE graciously gifted us with 1 variable, but then you've been a mean doodie-head and omitted the remaining 2. Not only that, but you've fully omitted the entirety of what option 5 even is!? With less than 3 weeks before CHRISTMAS!?
If you go through the trouble of redacting an entire option and then essentially LOCK it behind statistical requirements then whatever is hiding behind it has to be amazing!
According to the two most recent Chapter Preparations, Daniels Intuition was his highest stat, no? You've confirmed that his Intuition is 5 as of this most recent chapter, which implies Spirit and Willpower were below 5 before the Chapter 7 Preparation. BUT! You also allowed us to contribute to the stats of the characters. By a strange twist of fate, I myself voted +1 to Daniels Willpower, and Zept voted +1 to Daniels spirit.
I know his Intuition is 5. I'm confident his Spirit should be at least 5 if he does have the second highest stat - Assuming it hasn't fallen since Kon...vacated. I'm now much more confident predicting his Willpower to be somewhere around 5 too. Even if I'm a little off with my predictions, there is still the bonus 1+ to spirit to hopefully rectify that.
Sod it all, I'm voting for 5). I've investigated all I could, and tried to consider the best option here. They all have pretty nasty downsides to them, so I'll make a calculated gamble and go with 5).
So yeah, mark me down for 5 please, Comida. And please, remember my heart is delicate :')
I may not make it to new year at this point...
:(
Do I need to get a doctor's note from you saying you've cleared a health exam in order to continue reading? :)
Incidentally, I just captured a shiny Rhyhorn. I think I'll call it Comida :D
I'd like to be the first to thank you for sparing us another tragedy! That said, Option 4 is not what I would consider a happy ending, although I'm happy Aiden will hopefully be okay now. Option 4 actually makes a lot of sense for to Daniel to choose when I pause to think about it, even Daniel's character bio states he is benevolent...If a little too horny sometimes.
I still have hope for a good ending, however. It's a fact that Herne is rather strong, Daniels strongest spirit I believe, so maybe, just maybe...
NO! It most definitely is NOT of ANY consolation! Even if Daniel forgets, his spirits will remember!
And for god's sake - It's Christmas in nearly 2 weeks!!
Unless of course I've overlooked something, in which case I will happily retract that and wish you get EVERYTHING you want for Christmas, nudes or otherwise!
[s]Please no I was joking don't hurt or kill anybody else they've all suffered enough including me so please[/s]
Kon... no mocking poor Revak... he's having a crisis of faith.
[I]*holy confetti*[/I]
You're horrible.
[I]"I know." *tail swish*[/I]
>:(