Chương 77: Distribution of Blessings

Derek was next. Although I knew I shouldn't be annoyed that I didn't have complete control over the blessings, I was. Then again, that was why I became a prepper in the first place. I wanted to control my life. It made me wonder, Do I want to control the lives of others? Am I getting a god complex? Not wanting to think about it, I brushed the thought aside and focused on what I should give Derk. He showed up every day, did good work, charged fair prices, and treated me like a person instead of a deity.

That deserved recognition. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I nodded to myself and sent the blessing along his thread. I'd decided to focus on what Derek valued most. Unfortunately, I didn't get a dramatic reaction, which sort of killed my buzz. The only response Derek made was a pause in his hammering before he made a quiet, "Huh." You just had to destroy my mood. Whatever. Maybe Claire will show more appreciation. I doubted it, though. Claire was complicated. She'd never admit to being a follower.

In fact, she'd probably shoot me rather than admit to it. However, the thread was there. It might be thin, but it existed. Still, when the chips were down, she'd chosen to protect the supernatural community instead of just reporting on it. That was worth acknowledging, even if she'd never thank me for it. I reached out carefully along her thread and sent the blessing.

I focused on what Claire needed most, which was the ability to protect her territory and the ability to bridge the gap between human and supernatural worlds. The power flowed away from me, traveling miles to where Claire was probably filing reports and pretending supernatural politics weren't her problem. I wondered what she'd do when the notification appeared. She'd definitely curse. She might even try to ignore it out of pure stubbornness, but she'd accept it eventually.

Finally, I turned my attention back to Ignis. I'd actually been unsure about what to do with him. His parents were world-ending threats and I didn't want to accidentally piss them off. Still, I wanted to give the little blow-hard something. The baby dragon was still in the garage, organizing his Temu jewelry. His thread practically glowed with enthusiastic devotion. He believed in me completely and without reservation or complexity. He thought I was amazing and wise. It was adorable and slightly terrifying.

Plus, he was a baby dragon who'd been separated from his world and his kind. If anyone deserved a boost to help them grow, it was Ignis. I sent the blessing along his thread, focusing on growth potential.

"Great Trash Panda!" Ignis's voice roared from the garage.

"I can feel something happening! Am I evolving? Is this what evolution feels like? This is amazing! Luke! LUKE! Come look at this!" I heard Luke laugh.

"Yeah, buddy. You're evolving. Let's see what options you got." I smiled, finally feeling the satisfaction of a job well done. It felt good, like it was what I was supposed to be doing all along.

"Generous today, aren't we?" Tala observed from the railing.

"They earned it," I said simply as I waited for the shoe to drop.

"Pierre wasn't the only one who deserved recognition."

"True. Though I notice you're very carefully not looking at me." I froze.

"Uh."

"Don't 'uh' me. You just blessed several people. I'm sitting right here. Your divine wife and companion. And you're very obviously avoiding the question of whether I get anything."

"I wasn't avoiding," I started to say before I was interrupted. I didn't even get the chance to wonder how she knew what I was doing.

"You were absolutely avoiding it. I can feel you avoiding it through our bond." She hopped closer, tail swishing.

"So what's the problem? Am I not worthy? Not devoted enough? Not meeting your divine standards?"

"That's not," I stopped, realizing I'd walked into a trap.

"You're already part of the pantheon. You're a spirit animal and a divine messenger. You have your own powers." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"So do Pierre and Ignis. Didn't stop you from blessing them." She has a point. Damn her. I hated when she talked sense, at least when I wasn't for my benefit.

"I just," I struggled to articulate why blessing Tala felt different from blessing the others.

"You're already so much more than they are. You don't need my blessing to be powerful."

"That's not what I asked." Her voice softened slightly.

"I asked if you thought I was worthy." Oh. This isn't about power at all.

"You're the most worthy," I said quietly.

"You've been with me since the beginning. You've guided and protected me. You've put up with my stupid ideas and my worse execution. You've earned recognition more than anyone."

"Then prove it." She sat up straighter, meeting my eyes.

"Bless me. Not because I need it. Not because I asked for it. But because you want to acknowledge what we are to each other." Yeah, you're not asking for it. You're demanding it, I thought. Of course, I didn't say that. I barely even had the courage to think it. Still, I looked at her through divine sight, really looked, and saw what I'd been avoiding. Tala was powerful, yes. She was a divine messenger, a member of the pantheon, and a spirit animal with abilities most creatures would kill for.

But she'd never received a blessing from me specifically. She'd never been recognized as a follower in her own right, separate from her role as companion and guide. She wanted that. She needed it, maybe. She wanted acknowledgment that she'd chosen this path and that her choice mattered. I reached out along the bond that connected us, the one that had been there since the beginning, and let power flow through it. It was not a blessing exactly, but was more like… Hell, I don't know.

I just sent the power without trying to direct the outcome. The energy settled around her. The moment it did she closed her eyes.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome," I said, although I was still a little unsure what I had done. With the others, I knew, or at least had a clue. Maybe because Tala was a divine being, I wasn't able to see, well, much of anything. It was kind of annoying after being able to sense a lot more with the others. She bumped her head against me affectionately while I waited. I was curious what she'd choose.

"Well?" I prompted when she'd been staring at nothing for several seconds.

"Shut up. I'm reading." She was quiet for another moment.

"Huh.""'Huh' good or 'huh' bad?" I was starting to get a little nervous. Pierre and the others made their decisions much more quickly. Even Claire and Shelly, both females, hadn't taken this long to make up their mind."'Huh' interesting." She glanced at me.

"Did you influence these options?"

"Nope. The specifics are all system-generated based on who you are."

"Sneaky. I like it." She went back to reading.

"Give me a minute. These are actually pretty good. Hard to choose." I waited, patiently for the most part, although I did wobble back and forth like a bottom heavy bowling pin deciding if it wanted to fall over or not. Despite my impulse to take her by the shoulders and shake her until she made a decision, I resisted the temptation. This was important. Whatever she chose would affect not just her power but how she saw herself, how she related to me and the others. Finally, she made her selection.

I felt the power shift, settling into place, transforming her in ways I couldn't quite see yet.

"What did you choose?" I asked, curious despite myself.

"You'll see." Her smile was mischievous.

"Eventually. When it matters."

"That's not ominous at all," I muttered, annoyed with my wife. I thought about muttering something about females, but decided not to.

"I learned from the best." She hopped onto my head, settling into her favorite perch.

"Now, are you done playing generous deity, or are there more followers you're planning to bless?" I considered for a moment.

"I think that's most of the people who've earned it. I'll get to them a little later."

"Good. Because you're running low on divine energy. I can feel it." She was right. The blessings had drained me more than I'd expected. I wasn't anywhere near dangerously low, but it was definitely enough to notice.

"I'll recover," I said.

"The followers are still praying."

"Just don't go blessing random people because you feel generous. You can't afford it yet."

"When have I ever done anything recklessly?" She didn't even dignify that with a response. She just looked at me.

"Okay, fair point," I said, just glad that she hadn't complained more than she already had. We sat in comfortable silence for a moment and watched as Derek continued his work on the roof. I could hear Ignis excitedly explaining his evolution options to Luke as Shelly came out of the cabin. For some reason, she didn't seem happy. In fact, she looked pissed.

"You blessed her, didn't you?" Tala observed.

"Yep," I muttered, already regretting my decision. Why is she so mad? I wondered.

"She's going to kill you," Tala said. She actually sounded amused.

"Looks like it," I agreed. Fucking women. Don't give them something and they get mad. Give them something and they get mad. Fudge me! I watched Shelly scan the porch, spot me, and start marching over with murder in her eyes. Immediately, I activated Mask of Many Paws and turned invisible just as Shelly reached the porch. She yelled at the empty space where I'd been sitting.

"Coward!" From the safety of invisibility, and a new hiding spot, I watched her storm back inside, muttering about raccoons and boundaries and revenge. Tala was laughing so hard it made me want to take back my blessing. Still, for the life of me, I had no clue why Shelly was so pissed.