Whoa... (Windra come here! Open to others, I guess...)

[Anonymous]

There was a lot more to the world than Caj knew.  Sure, that was a simple fact, considering that he'd never left his town.  He never really was told why, aside from the fact that "bad people" were out here.  Bad people?  Like what?  He mentally shrugged.  As it was, the young shaman hadn't seen anyone, and it was probably just as well that way.

He sighed, shifting a bit in the light hide tunic he wore.  The place was getting brighter as he headed out of the treeline and looked out over some plains.  He shrugged, and walked along the trees, looking around.  It was odd.  There were few spirits out here, and they all seemed to shy away from him, a rather odd thing for him, considering that they probably knew he could talk to them.  He kept walking aimlessly, unsure of where he was, not that it mattered too much to him.  He would rather find out what the heck had happened to the spirits around here.  Then again, with his skill, it was unlikely that he'd be able to do much.  As it was, he'd only made a pact with one spirit in his own town that he'd kept indefinitely.

Caj sighed softly as he slowed his somewhat quick pace to a simple slow and leisurely walk.  He looked around attentively for spirits.

[Anonymous]

This is ...

There was no mistaking it. No denying it. How could one oversee the obvious? A single flight across this field had shown him facts that could not be dissuaded ... and yet a nagging sense of displacement taunted his mentality with dread. If this was ... then how?

This must ...

The same terrain. The same soil-smell. The same psychic-spiritual reading. The same constellations, albeit some had moved and others vanished. The same animals, though many exhibited magickal and mythological properties ... but mice, turkey vultures, red hawks, they still flew the skies. Deer, moose, water buffalo hung about to graze. Once he had spotted an elephant. Another, a stalking tiger. It had to be. Another planet would not lay claim to the same animal species that it had. There were even humans. And other things, yes ... But humans were the majority here.

Earth. This has to be Earth.

But it was ... different. Cleaner. Calmer. More tranquil. More imaginary. More ... illusive, illusionary, creative. A far cry from the pollutant-filling smokestacks and traffic-jammed highways, there were no cars, no factories, no Love Canal toxic dumps. It was nature. Nature doing what it did the best. And not being interfered with. Despite himself, Leise admitted that it reminded him of the olden days when Natives reigned and white man had not yet come, and could not help by smile mentally. His beak was fixed - it could not crack something to show happiness.

But if this was Earth, then where was she? She could not be far. Her aura was strong but at the same time distant, like an echo rebounding loud and clear across a great abysmal plain. She was but a shadow cast upon the wide expanse of a world that was not what it should be. This whole place seemed out of ... time? In the past? No. It felt older. Could this possibly be the future? But ... if Earth still existed, then Naira was alive. She had to be, or else Leise would not be flying low over the ground, his wide wings flapping silently against a breeze that was not there. He caught a nonexistent thermal and drifted up, the visage of his persona flickering in and out of view while thoughts played gamed with his concentration.

Ducking low, he did not notice the being on the ground. Even when his talons went right through the shaman's head.

[Anonymous]

Caj had paused to relax and look around a moment as he saw something out of the corner of his eye.  It had gone quickly, but it certainly went either over or through him.  He looked up, hoping to see what the thing was, and he saw it - an owl.  He smiled a bit.  The lack of air fluttering around him from such a close encounter led him to believe something relatively simple.  That had been a spirit.

"Hello spirit!"  He called after the owl, either hoping to get its attention, or at the very least let it know that he was alert to its presence.  He didn't really notice the occasional flicker - his eyes could see the own quite well regardless of what state he was in, as he had gained the visual acuity to notice spirits as well as any other object.  Unfortunately for him, though, that often led to him to wonder if some people he saw were merely spirits or not.  He mentally shrugged, refocusing his attention, wondering what the owl would do.

[Anonymous]

"Hello, Spirit!"

At first he had no idea that the vocal was intended for him. The owl simply tilted to one side, attempting to get a new vantage on the local area. Mice and other rodents scattered whenever he came near. A few lesser avians - pigeons, small sparrows - cowered in their haven-like nests in dead cavity-trees. How unusual. Normally, Leise' presence would go undetected. He had no form, corporeal or otherwise. And no aura. His appearance was intended solely for Naira and none else would, or should, pay him mind but the others of the Mimiteh Tribe so long ago. Those old Natives had bonded to spirit guides, and were thus capable of seeing those Bonded to every other member. Often they were used to communicate with one another great distances. But the Mimiteh Tribe was long dead, the only successor being the one person they scorned and attempted the life of - the one who was currently missing, who's scent and feel had faded from this plain but was definitely lurking somewhere else.

So intent on his search, lost in his ponderings and musings, Leise did not realize that the cry of, "Hello, spirit!" was for him. Not until he wheeled around to reconcile the area he'd just crossed over - had he missed something? A hidden portal? A stray footprint? Only instead of evidence of another person's passing or the entrance into another realm, his blackened eyes met with those of a peculiar human. The Homo sapien's orbs followed Leise as he moved. Cato found this so startling that the image of his presence flickered in and out of view, ultimately vanishing - he had no idea of this fact - though his wings could be heard fluttering, his voice noted loud and clear ...

You shan't be able to hear my words, called the owl, out of sight out of mind. Those of ordinary nature are not intended to do so, hoo! Certainly not an average Earth human. It was not meant to be insulting, certainly. But it was very ... curious.

[Anonymous]

Caj felt a small twitch in his mind somewhere, and wondered what exactly it meant, but as his hazel eyes met the spirit's black eyes, he simply smiled.  It knew he was there.  And as Caj paused to glance about a moment, he heard the spirit quite clearly, and grinned.  "I can hear you quite well, Spirit."  He said, addressing the owl.  "And average?  Well, as far as I know, I am anything but average."  He added.  "I deal with spirits regularly, and so it is somewhat necessary to have eyes, ears, and a mind capable of understanding the ones that many cannot see, hear, or understand."

He smiled as a faint breeze blew against the trees, causing a soft rustling which was calming to him.  It was nice to hear that, but he had to leave the forest for other places to find and deal with more spirits.  His attention focused once more on the owl again, and a moment of wondering went through him.  Usually spirits just seemed to know that he was a shaman.  This one either had been distracted, or didn't know.  "Have you never met a shaman before?"  He asked, wondering if the spirit had.  Perhaps that would help answer his curiosity without being too direct.

[Anonymous]

How could this hume hear him? Perhaps he was a little 'off'. In the past, Leise had encountered many a creature who's mental prowess was strong enough to not only detect 'ghosts', but enabled them to keep tabs on the undead Gravelings that so loved to cause morbid scenes of macabre death and rampant destruction. These 'psychics' often lived strange lives right up to their unpredictable and unfortunate deaths - as most of them were deemed 'troublesome' by the powers that be, and condemned to a fate that would forever wipe them clean from the slate so that the fine line between living and dying could and would not be transcended. There were many secrets to be kept from the citizens of either side of the boundary. Reapers and Reavers, they knew their place and kept largely silent. Humans were mostly oblivious and it was preferred for it to be that way, as they tended to overreact in manners less than savory. A psychic was a risk, for they liked to leak information. Was this man a psychic?

To see, to understand ... , repeated Leise, his tone low and strange, bemused with an ardor of wisdom. But do you understand what you think you understand? Much can be misinterpreted if not read correctly. Such as I ... more 'manifestation' than spirit, though I have been dubbed a 'Spirit Guide' by many. He didn't bother to explain. Why should he, unless the stranger was eager to pry?

It came as some shock when the announcement of 'shaman' dropped 'pon Leise's sensitive ears. He nearly lost that ethereal thermal and plummeted to the ground, not that it would loosen any of his metaphysical feathers. What were the chances? The bird of pallor hues slowed his circling, drawing nearer to a line of trees until he was positioned above the highest one, whereupon sharp talons stretched out and latched onto the bark, his claws leaving no marks where they touched tender wood. Leise was high enough above ground to keep many of his features out of clear visualization: Caj would have to guess what most of the owl's body looked like right about now, going only by hints of coloration dabbled here and thither.

'Twas a shaman who brought me into the realm of the living and the dying, said Leise, his head twisting on an angle that looked painful. The wise Wakanda of days when Native Americans roamed the lands. Perhaps one of the only few noble souls of Mimiteh. Pity her death could not be prevented. But typhoid was a rampant, terrible disease in those days when the common cold could inflict fatality.