The Gift
Achievement: Three for One
During his first year of Daniel spent the first several months performing at a lot of clubs throughout Cherry City and then, after over half a year he was finally booked in Eugene and Portland, at which point he realized that he'd need an actual band name, which was when he came up with the idea of "Three Tailed Fox", an homage not only to the fact that he played live with three different local musicians at each venue but, more importantly, Kon.
Despite playing gigs at over a dozen different locations, his favorite was always The Leeside, a night club in downtown Cherry City-- not just because it was close to home, but because of the building itself. The dancing and drinking hall had opened in the late 70s after the owner rennovated what was then known as the Historic Lee Theater Building. While the owner kept much of the structure unchanged, it was updated from a play house to a night club and was one of the few places Daniel played that had dressing rooms.
It was a special night for "Three Tailed Fox" because it was the one year anniversary of the night when The Azure Fox had appeared and saved not just Daniel but, in the Human's eyes, Kon himself. Life had changed irrevocably on that night for Daniel and the trajectory it took him in the weeks sent him in the new direction he'd followed ever since; he had stopped drifting and had begun following his dream.
That night's show was Daniel's last in Cherry City for three months; a headlining agency based out of Salem had taken an interest in his show and had added him to a fall festival tour of several local acts that would perform all over Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Northern California. He was excited, but also a little scared.
Having just putting away his guitar, Daniel paused when he felt a calming hand come to rest on his shoulder. "Stop worrying, Daniel... you are ready."
Turning around, the Human looked up into the calming Emerald eyes of Herne, the Stag Spirit. There was a time not long prior when the Elk's very gaze had intimidated him but Daniel had come to see so much more in Herne's gaze than condescending judgment; the Spirit cared. Smiling in response to the encouragement, the young man nodded. "I know... I just want everything to go well."
Reclining on an old three cushoned couch against one of the room's walls, Talapus looked up from his busy-work; the Coyote had been crafting a dream catcher over the course of the prior week. It had taken Daniel some time to come to terms with Talapus' idiocyncrasies, especially his dedication to the craft-- other Spirits would just have created something complete by willing it but, for some reason, Talapus was obsessed with MAKING what he wanted, and the dream catcher was the most recent example of that.
Although it disappeared each time he set it down, the Coyote could always call the dream catcher back to being and start up right where he'd left off. "Since when haven't things been going well, Daniel? You've got this, and whatever you don't have, you've got us, and we have it handled."
His Spirits often helped put things in perspective. Smiling, he reached up to rest a hand atop the back of Herne's "Yeah... I guess so."
The Elk's second hand joined the first, taking hold of Daniel's left shoulder while the first remained in place. "If it would help you relax, we can always plan on spending an afternoon jamming."
It was a pasttime that Daniel had always enjoyed, but that increased ever since his Spirits had joined him at the cafe where they'd written his first real song. Since then he'd increased his song list by ten more, and in recent months those original songs had become the focus of his performances. It had been a long road but Daniel had stuck with it and was finally starting to realize his dream.
Talapus sat up, setting the incomplete dream catcher off to the side; like so many other Spirit objects it disappeared in a wisp of glowing smoke. "That sounds like a good idea. Spending a few hours together back at the music cafe would be a good thing for everyone."
Herne nodded. "Dinner tonight... a few drinks... head back home--"
A wide grin split the Coyote's muzzle as he interjected quickly. "Some 'quality' time--"
The Stag continued "--and tomorrow we can help you focus on creating rather than spending your time obsessing and worrying."
Daniel had to admit, it did sound like a good plan. Glancing first to Talapus with a grin of his own he stated "I like the idea of quality time...." and then patted Herne's hand "... AND a jam session."
Closing up his guitar case, Daniel was almost ready to leave. Glancing one last time around the dressing room he looked to his two companions "Where's Aiden?"
Talapus smirked, his tail languidly swishing back and forth as he gestured casually toward where the performance stage was located "He was wandering through the crowd during your sets to see if there were any talent scouts out in the audience."
Herne sighed. "That Bat..."
The Coyote's tail slowed, and he guiltily dug the tip of one of his foot claws into the carpeted floor. "Well... I MIGHT have taught him a glamour..."
The Stag's ears went up immediately. "What kind of glamour would a TRICKSTER Spirit teach to a GLAMOUR Spirit?"
Aiden's head popped in through the door, showing off a fang-y smile. "Influencing the minds of unaware Humans. It's a really cool trick!"
It didn't take Daniel long to put two-and-two together. "So... you were out looking for talent scouts and you were planning on tipping the scales in my favor?"
The Bat stepped the rest of the way through the door. "What? Nah-- you don't need any help with that, Danny... sure, I was LOOKING for em, but I was ACTUALLY testing the glamour on shy guys to see if I could convince them to go hit on people they were secretly crushing on from afar."
Talapus' tail started up again. "It sounds like Danilen needs to cut down on your intake of 'teen rom coms', batty."
Aiden responded by sticking out his tongue at the Coyote before looking back to Daniel. "There's also someone waiting to speak with you. Uh-- two someones, in fact."
The Human paused on his way to the door to stand face-to-face with the Bat. "The owner? Front-end manager? Book keeper? Who?"
Aiden's response caught everyone's attention. "Another Seer."
For once, the other spirits were stuck dumb long enough that Daniel was the first to speak up. "Another Seer? Are you sure?"
The Bat grinned. "Well, unless it was just a coincidence that he was talking to the Spirit standing with him."
Although Herne was obviously far from convinced by his own objection he played the devil's advocate. "It could have been a coincidence."
Aiden shrugged, but it was more in asardonic way than non-comittal. "SUre... I guess that's possible... and maybe it was a coincidence that he said hello to me and said he was hoping to talk with Danny?"
Talpaus stepped away from the sofa and approached the rest of us, smoothing out his deerskin vest, whose appearance, Daniel had learned, indicated that the Coyote was ready to travel. "Well... let's go see what this is about then."
Herne nodded slowly, with more reluctance. "Seers are not as common as they once were... to have seen three in one year..."
Aiden hopped up and down in place enthusiastically "Is pretty damn cool!"
The Elk wasn't quite so enthusiastic. "Assuming this new one doesn't mean trouble."
The Bat shrugged. "Well... he had a Blue Eyed Gryphon with him, so I figure that must mean he's a good guy."
Letting out a breath, Daniel nodded, and opened the door, heading out to see what interacting with a fellow Seer was all about. It was the first time Daniel Serrit met Richard and Jack Ford, but it was the start of a very meaningful friendship.
-TGU.
Clan/Family Spirits may often identify themselves by the name of the Human line they follow and it stands to reason that a Bound Spirit may take the family name of the Human to whom they are Bound-- hence, Jack Ford.