Chương 57: Calm Before the Storm

Derek After hearing Tala twist Abe around her little paw, I turned away. I pretended to examine the roof damage very intently and absolutely did not laugh. Movement caught my attention while I avoided looking at the two lovebirds as they bickered and tried to blend in the surroundings. Luke was approaching, "Hey, Abe. Got a minute?"

"Sure." Abe sounded relieved to have an excuse to escape Tala's interrogation.

"What's up?" Luke walked closer before kneeling down, his expression troubled.

"I just... I wish I could've done more. I'm a vet. I should've been able to do more." His voice cracked.

"I might be able to do a lot, but I can't compare to the druids who have healing classes." Abe looked confused, "So you didn't get any healing abilities?" I was curious as well. I'd just assumed he'd be some type of healer.

"Basically, I'm a primal class who specializes in controlling beasts." Abe looked like that made no sense and I had to agree. The Gaia System didn't make a lot of sense to me. I'd ended up with the rogue subclass Expert. Whatever, I thought dismissively. The only thing I'd gained was a few passive abilities. It was kind of disappointing if I had to tell the truth. Abe reached out and touched Luke's hand with his paw.

"You did your best. You've helped countless animals in your life. Keep doing that. That's all anyone can ask." Then Luke's eyes went wide. Although I didn't see it, something must have happened because Luke suddenly said, "Whoa. What the.."

"A blessing," Abe said simply.

"For the work you've already done. For the animals you've saved. Use it well." Luke looked like he might cry.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." He paused, glancing at Pierre.

"Wait. Do I have to wear Twilight clothes now?"

"What? No. Why would…" then Abe's head swiveled toward Pierre.

"Pierre, what have you been telling people?" Pierre looked entirely too innocent.

"Just explaining the blessing process!"

"The Twilight thing was to keep you humble. It was the price you paid for your gift," Abe said. Even to me though, it sounded like he was making it up on the spot.

"So what price does he pay?" Pierre asked, losing his smirk.

"He's already paid with what he does every day for animals," Abe said.

"As for the offering, when he uses my gift. Well, that's between me and him." I just looked at the two of them. While I wasn't always the best judge of people, Abe was starting to look more… Hell, I don't even know how to describe him.

"If you have a problem with it," Abe threatened, "I can take back your blessing!"

"You can't. We're bonded for life now. It says so in the divine contract," Pierre said with utter sincerity. Yep, he's a liar too, I thought as I looked at Pierre. Damn, am I the only one around her not full of shit? Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"There's no divine contract you mangy mutt," Abe lashed back. I watched them argue while Luke examined his hands with wonder. I really wanted to know what gift he'd been given. I also watched Mort steal another piece of debris while muttering about planetary nutrition. All of this was under the watchful eyes of the Moon-Eyed People. Goddess, what are they taking out of this conversation? I wondered. I caught Abe's attention.

"Hey. When we're done with the repairs and the chaos dies down a bit... Can we talk? About blessings?" Abe looked relieved to have a straightforward question.

"Sure. No Twilight required. But I want a discount on all of your work."

"Lies!" Pierre shouted as he walked away, clearly not happy that he alone had to wear the Twilight clothes. What had been a symbol of his blessing was now a scarlet letter, letting others know not to mess with Abe. Pierre continued, "It's all lies and slander! Twilight is essential to the blessing process!"

"Ignore him!" Abe shouted back. I pulled out my tablet and added one final note to the assessment.

'Recommend soundproofing, and maybe therapy.' Then I deleted the last part. Abe probably wouldn't be able to afford therapy after I showed him the bill, even with a discount.

"Derek?" Kathy approached, her druid robes swaying.

"When you do the repairs, we'd like to help set up proper wards. Defensive enchantments. Early warning systems."

"Sure. I'll build them into the structure. What kind of range are we talking?" Even though I had no idea what she was talking about, I could definitely bullshit my way through the conversation.

"Quarter mile perimeter to start," Kathy said, clearly pleased that I was taking her seriously.

"We can expand later."

"Take the time you need. We can't have this happen again," Abe said. He was looking at where the bodies of the animals had been. I glanced at the trucks which had pulled up. The druids had only needed two trucks for the animal's bodies since they were so small. It was a strange and surreal situation.

"No," I agreed quietly.

"We can't." However, at least I'd done my part last time. This time I'd do even better. I turned away from the trucks, needing to focus on something I could actually fix. It was what I was good at, and fixing things was always better than standing around doing nothing. As for Abe, he was looking at Tala, indignation clear in his posture. Apparently, she had said something to him telepathically. Tala ignored him and continued grooming herself on a fence post, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

Mort was stealing everything not nailed down, and some things that were. The Moon-Eyed People were still watching everything with disturbing intensity. Just another day in post-apocalyptic Arkansas. I looked at Luke, who was still staring at his hands with wonder, flexing his fingers like he could feel the new power flowing through them. A blessing for service. For helping animals his whole life. Pierre had gotten his for... what, exactly? Being annoying? Making Abe laugh? I still wasn't clear on that one.

And I was considering asking for one too. But for what? I was a contractor. A builder. I fixed things. That was my skill set. But in this new world, was that enough? Could Abe even bless someone for construction work? Maybe something to make the builds stronger, more resistant to supernatural damage. Or wards that I could integrate directly into structures instead of relying on druids. Or hell, maybe just the ability to see structural weaknesses the way I could smell fear in wolf form. I didn't know.

That was the problem. I didn't even know what was possible. After a few more seconds, I sighed and pushed such thoughts aside. I had work to do. I grabbed my tape measure and started measuring. Unfortunately, that was when my work was stopped once again before I even had a chance to start. It was like the moment before a thunderstorm. Pressure changed and every hair on my body stood up. Then the notification appeared. Fuck these notifications, I thought. Still, I knew I had to see what they had to say.

GAIA SYSTEM ACTIVATED. Global Announcement. Mana Saturation: Sufficient for Tertiary Assimilations Integration Status: Low Mana Areas and Individuals with Low Mana Affinity MESSAGE FROM GAIA. Incursions Incoming! Wait! What? That sounds bad, I thought. Is that for our area or for the world? Shit. What's the world coming to? I continued to grumble while I got started measuring the door frame. Abe would need a new one. This one was toast.

Not only was it burned, but it was also splintered from where they'd tried to get in. While I worked, I tried to decide what power I should ask for. Apparently, I would need it sooner rather than later because of the incursions. But come on, at least tell us if it's just one wave of incursions or if there's going to be multiple incursions. Would it kill you to give us more information? I complained as I wrote down the measurements.