Survival 101 - (The Newspaper Part 3 (Sid) )

Survival 101 - The Newspaper - Part 3 (Sid)
March 18th 2006
Blog Entry 11

"All in!", a man in a casino five minutes north of Bolder said as he pushed the chips on the green carpet.

In fact, it was the fifth time in a row that he bet all his fortune at the table, and people were gathering. The clerk behind the table and the roulette was beginning to show impatience, his left brow twitching uneasily. But the man putting his life savings at stake seemed to take no notice, smiling broadly up at the clerk and the ladies around him. Because this man, who called himself Sid, liked the attention he was getting, probably just as much as the feeling of putting all he had at risk... and winning it right back.

The problem was not that he lost. The problem was the he never lost. When he did, it was because he had asked Lady Fate to take it easy at the beginning of the night so not to arise suspicions on himself. Half way through the night though, he would usually lose himself to the winning sensation, and by then, security would have their eye on him, until they got tired of seeing him take the casino's money. They never had any proof of him cheating, but it was best not to take any chances.

And it was about to happen again. Two men in black walked into the crowd and put a hand on each of Sid's shoulders, asking him to follow them to the exits. Sometimes he argued he wanted to finish his betting, sometimes he didn't. This time he did, but it did not last very long as he was escorted back to the parking lot.

He walked back to his car with his head still up high as if nothing had happened. Then again, he was used to it by now. It was almost like a game. He was about to unlock the door of his car when he saw some unwanted scratch on the paint above the driver's door. He thought them to be made by a key at first. People sometimes got offended when they lost their bets, even more to someone who never lost. But these marks looked like they could have been made by a whole set of keys at this point. He looked up when he heard a high pitched squeal, and soon, noticed a shadow circling above him and his vehicle. He did not have to look twice to know who the hawk belonged to, though not too amused with the marks it had made on his car in order to get noticed. The crying of the bird alone would have been enough. Perhaps its owner had thought it to be funny to break the paint right off the metal... In the end, Sid somewhat shrugged it off. He could fix it, or pay to get it fixed. He was not short of money.

And if he were, he could always win the lottery.

-----------

Back in Boulder, the group of Urathas and the Mage stood by the side of the road in front of Mike's home.

Leaf smiled with triumph at the pack and the woman, "She's found him. He's on his way right now."

"How long?", Ryan repeated himself. Time was wasting away, and the more it went, the more he feared for the very worst.

"Thirty minutes... Maybe forty-five at most, depending on the traffic."

Ryan nodded silently, contented but not happy with more minutes wasted away at staring at an empty house and the grey sky.

Somewhere within the pack of Urathas, the question was risen as to how Elation, the hawk they had seen, could be of any possible help. Animals were not stupid, but they had little time to waste with humans, mages, or Urathas, unless extremely well trained. And if she was, well, here came the fantasy story again. The story of the Hermit and its highly intelligent bird who only answered to its master. So Leaf explained it was a spirit host who answered to him, and with which he could communicate telepathically. Better yet, if need be, he could see through the animal's eyes, which he had done to find his friend.

Damien and Miguel seemed to send a glare toward the mage, before showing a cornered smile. It was like looking at two brothers who looked completely like the opposite of each other, only their mannerism was so similar it was comical. A Uratha's primary job was to keep the balance between the Spirit World and this very world. Elation was an exception that would need to be sent back, apparently.

Leaf stood surprised by the ignorance showing on the pack of wolves in human skins. Were they not aware spirits could possess living beings? Well, they probably did, but not like Elation. Ah! What inferior beasts Urathas were! Could they not see such things at all? And when they did, they wanted to destroy it. It only proved his point furthermore. When Damien's voice rose dangerously, his words were cut right off by a spell sealing his lips tightly together. His eyes gleamed with such ferocious rage that even Alice and Ryan stood back. Not that the comments being made did not affect them, but it was clear, from the smile on Leaf's face that the Mage was only playing games.

Where Urathas were not aware of everything Mages could see, this one was unaware of the dangerous situation he was into. Only when Miguel joined in with Damien that his smile, as well as the humor in his eyes, vanished completely into worry and understanding.

Leaf had lived in the woods most of his life. Humans, Urathas, Mages... it mattered little. A little teasing had never hurt, but this one had pushed the wrong buttons, and now he came to realize it. With Damien and Miguel's eyes blaring and their bodies in a stance of fighting, he found himself stepping back and raising his hands defensively, soon glancing past them at the woman and the pack's alpha for help. It never came. Maybe Ryan shrugged him off as he usually would - let the smart mouth get out of this one on his own, he sure deserved it. Alice showed little care for what happened to the native american. She didn't care, or was too busy concealing the pain below her left breast that had struck again...

Leaf made a quick motion in the air as if trying to catch the wind, letting Damien's lips go free for him to speak, then hurried to sit down cross legged, chanting something in another language while he made quick circles in the grass with a bone. Meanwhile, Damien and Miguel raged for him to stand and care to repeat what he had said, dare challenge their class again. But before they could do anything at all, a soft light surrounded Leaf. It circled him, then shaped his body into that of a canine, until it looked like an identical replica of a wolf. The beast stood on four legs, walked up to Miguel, then licked his right hand in a friendly way.

Miguel's glare turned deadly for a moment, the pupils of his eyes dilating dangerously... then back to a smaller, more natural black circle. He rose his left hand where the newspaper had been rolled up, and struck it down on the wolf's head, "Don't you dare do anything like that again!", he spat, but his features had already relaxed and seemed a little more friendly.

The wolf yelped, but not in pain as much as surprise, then the body shaped itself back into that of a human. Leaf bowed his head before both Damien and Miguel especially, as they had been the one who had seemed to be the most affected by his comments, "I apologize. I meant nothing of it, really. It won't happen again."

"It better not", Damien replied dryly, but his features had also relaxed.

More words could have been exchanged, but a flapping sound startled them before it could be done. Elation landed on Leaf's shoulder, perching herself comfortably. Then there was the roar of a warm engine coming from the north. A car pulled over into the driveway slowly, coming to a complete halt about three feet from Ryan and Alice. It looked expensive, scarlet red, and would have probably glistened nicely had the sun been out on that day.

A man stood out, closed the door, and smiled at the group, or more precisely, at the friend who had called him to this place. Leaf returned the grin, gripping his good old friend's hand into a long time no see shake. When he glanced back at the small crowd pending introduction, he smiled once more, and introduced himself as Sid. That smile could have made the hearts melt, it was clear. He wore a white, long sleeved shirt that showed little to no ruffles on it, but was not tucked into his black pants. His brown hair was not quite neatly combed, standing up, but it was in no way close to Miguel's messy hairstyle. That smile, the cockiness of his posture, showed he knew he looked good, and he knew he could get away with a lot because of those looks. Alice returned a similar, lust filled smile, while the men seemed to either snort in jealousy or seemed to care little.

Leaf briefly explained the situation to his friend, handing him the cursed newspaper. Sid looked through it quickly, stopping at the obituaries, just as the Urathas had. Only his gaze did not go blank, nor did his eyeballs go white under the eyelids. Instead, he nodded his understanding, pointing at the paper, "It's a hidden mark for a Cabal", he explained more to Leaf then to the others.

"A Cabal?", one of the Urathas repeated.

"A group of mages", Sid let them know, which, it seemed was like a pack of Urathas.

"The name on it shows Awakened Sight. I heard of them before, but never found myself having to deal with them. I think they're supposed to be residing somewhere in the woods North West of Boulder. At least, that's what I heard."

So it had been a hidden sign. Well, they were not about to sit back and wait for another one. Already, as Sid departed after another warm smile and bidding farewell to them and Leaf, Ryan lead them to the woods where they would find Awakened Sight in hopes to get more answers.

To be continued....