The Gift
Achievement: The Spirit Healer

Richard glanced at the chart in his possession, covering his mouth with his free hand as he let out a yawn.  Although ten hour shifts weren't as bad as twelve hour ones, the shortage at the hospital meant that he was working upwards of fifty hours a week.  Fortunately, the night shift was coming to a close and his last order of business was to see to the transfer of an open heart surgery patient from the operating theater and into observation in ICU.

It was hard for him to believe that he was finishing up his second year working at Cherry City General Hospital but, despite the overtime, he had never been happier.  It wasn't at all abnormal for senior nurses to grab all of the ideal work schedules but Richard didn't mind working overnight; since his introduction to the spirit world nearly four years prior, the young man found that the late suited him... and his companions.

Guiding the still unconscious patient into the large elevator via the gurney accompanying him, Richard backed in through the double doors so he could rotate around to access the buttons.  Once the doors were closed he glanced to the Gryphon who took up a spot to his right.  "Thank you for your help today, Jack."

Jack beamed, his 'ear tufts' rising happily as his Golden eyes glinted at the show of appreciation. "Tis an honor and a pleasure to aid thee, Myn Lykyng."

More than anyone else Richard had ever known, the Gryphon had a fondness for pet names, and, although he had at least a half-dozen he'd come to use with the Human, 'Myn Lykyng' seemed to be one of his favorites.  In the time they'd been together, Richard had come to understand the various dialects of old and middle English fluently, and he occasionally conversed with his furred-and-feathered lover in kind.  Looking to Jack, the RN smiled.  "Ic thancie de, astin min."

From Richard's left, his other companion, the Aztec Jaguar Balam let out a faint snort, followed blandly with "You already thanked him, Richard."

For as personal and outgoing as Jack was, Balam was equally aloof and reserved.  It wasn't that the Jaguar wasn't invested or involved, but he had a different way to approach their relationship.  There were times over the past four years in which Richard felt true and unadulterated adoration from the feline and, he realized, keeping the Human on track was just another way for Balam to show he cared... he WAS a Spirit Guide, after all.  Smirking, Richard fired back at the Jaguar. "You say all the time it is always good to appreciative and give thanks more often than not."

Balam crossed his arms over his chest indignantly and flicked an ear, but Richard caught sight of the faintest hint of a smirk on the Jaguar's muzzle as he stated "Yes. I did say that."

The human smiled wider. "And it's good advice.  Thank you."

The big Cat let out a huff, but Richard could detect that it was as much to hide a chuckle as anything else; Balam's Topaz eyes gleamed, not just in humor, but in response to the Spirit Energy the Human had offered up.  It had taken some time, but Richard had become far more familiar with it, not just controlling the way he used it, but helping control its ebb and flow in sources far more varied than himself.  Balam was an excellent teacher and, according to the Jaguar, Richard was an excellent student.

Richard opened his mouth to continue, but the elevator came to a stop and the door opened.  He gave a faint nod of his head to both Spirits, an indicator they'd worked together over the years to imply 'to be continued'.  Although both Spirits had the capacity to speak without being noticed by other Humans they both just glanced to one another and shared with Richard a nod of their own; Balam smirked while Jack's beak parted in a full on grin.

Heading down the hallway, pushing the gurney ahead of himself, Richard approached ICU, the door opening for him once the staff card on his belt got close enough for the microchip in it to transmit authorization.  It was a relatively new technology for the hospital that they were able to afford after receiving an award of grant funds barely a year prior.  It took some getting used to, but it had turned out to be an invaluable quality-of-life improvement.  He came to a stop once he caught sight of the APRN who would be receiving the patient.

It had been a busy day, and Richard was glad to pass the paperwork on.  With a brief overview of the patient's needs, the young man said his farewells and made his way back out.  The hallway was busy, but Jack and Balam continued walking beside him, ignoring the other Humans, who passed through them as if they didn't exist.  Heading for the elevator, Richard was stopped by a reminder from Balam "You are on call today, are you not?"

The Jaguar was right, of course.  Richard let out a long sigh. "Oh... right."

About-facing, the young man made his way toward the call room, where he'd be able to nap.  Jack spoke up as the two Spirits followed after him.  "Tis been quiet as of late, Hertis Rote... tis my hope that thou mayest find time to rest."

The Gryphon was right in that regard, Richard realized; although he'd never had trouble sleeping the pace at the hospital had been busy enough that there just hadn't been much time for it.  Then again, the Human realized, it hadn't left much time for other important things either.  Coming to a stop, Richard glanced around and saw that the side hallway was empty, so he spoke quietly to his companions.  "I can rest later... it's been three days since I saw to the 'Other Patients'."

Both the Jaguar and the Gryphon took special note of the term that the three of them had come up with together; to the Human patients Richard was a Nurse, but there was an entirely different collection of those in need who saw him as a healer.  Balam looked to Jack, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone "Gather them up from the top three floors I will collect any on the bottom three."

The Gryphon nodded, then slowly reached out and ruffled my hair with a talon.  "Thy grace and generosity knows no bounds, Myn Lykyng."

Smiling, Richard tool hold of his wrist and stepped closer to him, raising his head and pursing his lips as Jack's beak came down to join them.  It was only a quick kiss, but its effect on him was immediate as his feathers and fur puffed out in gratitude.  A moment later the Human felt a furry body press up behind him, and the velvety muzzle of a Jaguar snuffle the back of his head. "Go, Richard... we will see you again soon."

Slowly disengaging from the Gryphon, Richard about-faced to embrace Balam, whose teeth were showing in a smile full of adoration.  The Human touched his lips gently to the waiting muzzle, feeling the Jaguar's whiskers tickle his cheek before slowly pulling away and promising.  "Soon."

Jack took to wing, letting out a powerful flap before launching himself right up through the ceiling.  Balam, on the other hand, slowly padded away, glancing over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner. "I will find it hard to wait."

Each Spirit was truly unique and each had an aspect to their personality that Richard found irresistible, but in different ways.  Truly, he felt blessed to have them in his life, and, with a smile on his face, the young man made his way toward the call room, a small, almost dorm-like staff room consisting of a small table with a few chairs and two sets of bunk beds.  It lacked in comfort to be sure, but it was good enough when it came to trying to grab a few hours of sleep while on-call.  Richard, however, was not going there to sleep.

A call from down the hall actually meant that he wasn't going there at all.  "Richard!  Hey!  Richard!"

The voice belonged to LeAnne, an older woman who worked doing triage in ER.  She waved at him as she came hurriedly down the hall.  Turning to face her, he offered a smile. "Hey, LeAnne... what's up?"

As usual, she managed to indirectly get to the point in a relatively quick manner.  "Oh, thank god you haven't gone home yet. I have a patient downstairs who doesn't speak English and we're having trouble again with the interpreter line.  I think he's Mexican, and you speak Mexican, right?"

The elderly lady wonderful, caring, and gracious; she loved everyone, but she wasn't very worldly.  Richard corrected her patiently "Spanish... yes.  I speak Spanish."

Grabbing hold of his arm, she dragged him down the hall, continuing to talk his ear off during the short ride down to the ground floor in the staff elevator, and then got to the point as they neared the ER intake. "I just need you for a few minutes to make sure we go through the intake questions... once we get him admitted I'm pretty sure Jorge can take over."

Nodding, Richard followed her into the room and she spoke slowly to the man sitting in the chair, cradling his right arm which appeared to be wrapped in a plad shirt covered in blood.  "This is Richard.  He's a nurse here and he speaks Spanish."

The man let out a soft sigh, looking from her to me before he mumbled out in broken Spanish "I'm sorry.  Only little Spanish."

It only took me a handful of seconds before Richard realized what the confusion was.  The young man glanced back to LeAnne. "He couldn't use the translation system because he doesn't speak Spanish."

She seemed confused by what Richard was saying but he didn't give her a chance to ask any questions as he looked back to the man and spoke to him in Nahutal, one of the most common native languages in the Yucatan Peninsula.  "Hello, Sir.  My name is Richard, and I'm here to help."

His face lit up immediately and Richard spent the next fifteen minutes translating for him.  In addition to the man explaining that he'd been injured at work, he continued conversing for seemingly no reason other than to finally have someone to speak with.  Richard was able to appreciate that immensely, having spent the time learning to communicate with Balam and seeing how much good it had done for the Jaguar-- the young man's ability to speak Nahutal, in fact, was due to that time with his Spirit Guide.

What had originally been a request for 'a few minutes' of his time turned out to be almost a half hour; it wasn't exactly Richard's job, but he was dedicated to helping those in need regardless of the capacity.  With that in mind, he made his way back up to the third floor, returning once again to the call room.  Jack and Balam were waiting outside for him.  The Gryphon spoke up immediately. "Ah, Richard!  Tis good thou art here... the Other Patients await thee within."

Balam was a little more enigmatic in his greeting. "All went well?"

It was as if the Jaguar knew that Richard was up to something and, unless the young man was mistaken, Balam was probably well aware of what had kept him.  "It did.  Yes."

The Jaguar bowed his head in reverence.  "Thank you for helping him, Seer."

Richard laid his hand on Balam's shoulder. "Of course."

The three entered into the call room together, which was a good thing since it was far busier than usual.  Richard benefitted by his companions' presence as a dozen other Spirits immediately took note of his arrival, each speaking over one another in greeting, acknowledgement or supplication.  Of those twelve, two were regulars, helping him in a way similar to that of hospital staff being present for the benefit of the healthcare providers. 

One of his aides was Menk, a Sloth Spirit, who sat atop one of the bunk beds.  A faint glimmering green cloud of glowing dust filtered down from him and onto one of the first year physicians asleep on the bottom bunk.  The Sloth offered a wave to Richard before motioning to the sleeping Human. "You won't be interrupted, Dr. Weaver."

Richard was no doctor, and his last name wasn't Weaver, but it was the persona that he'd adopted when working with Spirits; all of his 'staff' and his 'patients' knew him as Dr Weaver because he was their one and only source for help which, according to Balam, made him a Weaver-- a Human who interacted with and helped Spirits.  It was as much a part of who he'd become as his profession of being a Registered Nurse; in fact, if he had to admit it to himself, he was just as good at helping Spirits as people... if not better.  "Thanks for the help, Menk."

The Sloth smiled, eyes glowing Green at the Human's acknowledgement.  It had taken awhile for Richard to learn the careful balance of caring for his staff and his patients without taking away from Jack and Balam.  In the end, he had not only succeeded, but he had managed to exceed the expectations that any Spirits had on the matter. 

Carefully utilizing the various Spirits in capacities that suited them, Richard was able to magnify their Spirit Essence gain several fold-- Menk, for example, got just as much Spirit Essence for 'helping' Richard's coworkers sleep as the Sloth got from Richard's thanks.  It was bonus-duty for the Sloth since he kept Richard's coworkers out of his way while he helped the Spirits he had come to call his 'Other Patients'.  Other spirits in the hall earned Richards thanks by keeping look-out for any incoming coworkers who would be disturbing the sanctity of the call room that doubled as his spirit healer office.

Glancing around the collection of Spirits, Richard reached into the breast pocket of his scrubs and pulled out a pair of glasses.  He didn't need glasses to see and, truth be told, they didn't exist in the physical sense; they were created from pure Spirit Energy through a powerful ritual of coalescing taught to him by Balam some months prior.  The glasses helped him see aspects of Spirits that were normally hidden.  Most importantly at that moment were the respective levels of spirit 'health' among his patients, and that drew his attention to a Lion.

Richard didn't waste any time, taking a seat as he called to his first patient.  "Cecil... come join me, please."

Although it was the first time the Human had met the leonine Spirit, the Lion had no doubt about whom he had addressed.  Richard didn't know the Lion's name, or if the Lion even had one, but the act of providing a Spirit a name empowered it with Spirit Energy all the same; it was an easy way to provide some basic first aid before he could address the situation completely.  The Lion, mane shaggy and patchy, took a seat in a folding chair right across from the Human.  "Thank you, Dr Weaver."

Richard said nothing at first, simply taking the time to inspect the Lion.  Cecil, as he'd been recently named had all of the signs of being a warrior. His scant clothing looked to be out of the Romanic or Grecian period (Richard was no historian, so he wasn't sure which), and the Lion's tired, amber eyes glowed with a faint, pale Gold light.  That was a start.  "You're a Guardian Spirit?"

Cecil nodded, his limp mane half bobbing with the gesture even as several strands fell out, dissolving in the air.  "I was."

Although Richard had only been working as a healer of Spirits for a few months, he'd run into the situation before, and had a ready fix.  Holding his hand out, palm up, he spoke softly. "Cecil... I can help you, but I need to know something first."

The Lion's eyes immediately rose to look at his, the faintest embers of an inner fire daring to be stoked.  He placed his paw willingly into the Human's hand.  "Anything, Dr Weaver."

He compassionately covered the paw with his other hand, sandwiching it between his two palms. "If you wish, I can provide you the Spirit Energy you need to reinvent yourself... perhaps you could become a Naturae Spirit, or at least give you enough that you could spend some time as a Scavenger--"

The disgusted expression that oozed across the Lion's muzzle at the word 'Scavenger' was all Richard needed to see, but he patiently let Cecil speak.  "Dr Weaver... I have always been a Guardian Spirit... I-- I don't think I'd know how to be anything else."

It was the answer he was hoping to hear.  "Then I can still help you, Cecil."

The faintest spark of hope within the Lion's eyes blazed brighter.  "You can?"

Richard nodded. "This hospital has one of the best recovery rates among its Human patients in the state... but it wasn't always that way.  Do you know why?"

Cecil was quiet in thought for only a moment before he scratched the bare-furred portion of his chest next to his toga. "I... haven't seen Nihili here... does that have something to do with it?"

The Human smiled; the Lion was astute.  "Correct... and did you notice the four Guardians stationed in the hallways as you made your way up here?"

The leonine Spirit was quick on the uptake.  "Those Spirits serve you, Dr Weaver?"

Richard slowly let go of Cecil's paw.  "Not exactly, Cecil... those Spirits serve this hospital, and keep the people here safe from Nihili."

The Lion licked the back of his teeth and Richard could see the gears working in his head. "How... how can you support so many of us, Dr Weaver?"

The Human's smile widened. "I don't, Cecil... you see, every time the hospital here is featured in a magazine-- every time it gets a positive safety score or a good grade from a review committee I know what that is... it's the effort that the Guardians put forth to keep this hospital safe."

It must have clicked in his head; Cecil jumped up. "There is more than enough Spirit Energy to go around!"

Richard nodded. "I did the math... if this place doesn't get any more famous, I should be able to help channel enough Spirit Energy for almost a dozen Guardians."

That caught the Lion by surprise.  "A... a d-dozen?"

Looking down to his hand, Richard closed his fingers and focused on the technique he'd learned from meditation with Balam and Jack and when his fingers opened, a small security badge made of pure Spirit Energy had appeared.  It bore the name 'Cecil'.  "Can I count on you?"

Rather than answer, the Lion strode forward and picked Richard up in an enormous hug.  Both Balam and Jack took a step forward, but Richard's smile was enough to get them to ease back and let the Lion disengage at his own pace.  Cecil, once he let go of Richard, accepted the badge. "You can, Dr Weaver.  Thank you.  Thank you SO much."

Laughing, Richard extended his hand and placed it on Cecil's shoulder, providing just a little more Spirit Energy for the Hospital's newest Guardian Spirit.  "Thank you too."

Although the Lion departed quickly thereafter, Richard still had plenty of patients, but his smile remained.  Being a Spirit Healer wasn't exactly where he saw himself back when he first started college but he didn't mind the direction his life had gone.  Glancing around the still-filled room, he realized that he was exactly where he could do the most good, and that brought him the most joy.