losthunter | The Stories We Keep Secret

Hunter followed Cynthia into her house, into a large fashion studio inside the house, where she worked on all her designs. They had privacy here.

One of the first things that Hunter spotted was that she had his drawing of one of Kendra's aspects hanging in the art studio.

"You bought my art?" He smiled.

"It spoke to me."

"I knew her as Kaylee. She came into my life when I was struggling the most... I was living with an abusive step-mother. And working two jobs to pay for my university classes. It was Kaylee who changed my life. She gave me the support to follow my passion for fashion," she continued to explain.

"And now, you have a little more than just fashion..." Hunter guesses.

Cynthia pauses for a moment. Before nodding. "Yes. I just have this magical touch when it comes to my designs."

Once they're inside, Faris moves a little, so he can keep an eye out over Hunter's shirt collar. Not enough to see what his host sees, but taking note of other elements in the house.

Interesting. A different name for the same woman, recognizable from one of Hunter's paintings of the aspects. And a similar story to that of Hunter, a magic-based change in her life with lasting effects.

"You are not with your step-mother anymore?" Hunter can guess by how happy Cynthia is right now. It is not the face of an abused person.

"No. During one of my first fashion shows, I met Phillip. We talked for hours and hours... way past midnight. And before I knew it, we were spending more and more time together."

Cynthia smiles. "We are getting married this December."

Hunter sees the signs of love on the woman's face. Love was always important to Kendra as something to protect and foster.

"And did you ever get to say goodbye to Kaylee?" Hunter asks.

"No. She just disappeared out of my life." Cynthia pauses softly. "I honestly didn't much thought into it, until your painting showed up."

Edited 2017-06-26 23:49 (UTC)

So her presence did not linger in this woman's life, as Kendra did with Hunter. Faris wonders what the difference is, between them. Perhaps that Kaylee's magic achieved its intended purpose? This woman met her mate through the gift that was given. Faris doesn't know much about magic and curses and spells, but he knows that Hunter did not partake in the human ritual of kissing in the allotted time.

Hunter is wondering something similar. But this is just the first person he has spoken to. And maybe the others had a deeper connection with Kendra.

"Well thank you for seeing me. And for supporting the Foundation by purchasing my painting." Hunter tells her.

"I hope I was able to answer some of your questions."

"A few of them." Hunter gives Cynthia a card with his contact information, just in case she wants to stay in touch.

Shortly after saying goodbye, Hunter is walking away from her house. Checking his PINpoint for the next address.

"What do you think so far, Faris?" He asks quietly.

"Her experience was different than yours," Faris answers thoughtfully, shifting around so that his head is on Hunter's chest, rather than speaking behind his back. "It does not seem as though this Kaylee intended her to learn a lesson, as Kendra did with you."

"That was something I noted too. She was given her gift to help her out of a difficult time... and I am glad she did. But there was no lesson for her to learn."

Hunter checks his list. "We are seeing Marcus next. Maybe there is more of a connection between my experience and his."

He has to use his PINpoint to travel quickly and efficiently from the upscale neighborhood they are in, to one that is more middle class.

"Yet Kendra's intended experience for you was also one of courtship, was it not?" Faris questions. "It is too soon to determine if such a thing is shared among all your candidates, but it is a similarity regardless."

"It was one of her hopes for her."

"But we have to talk to the others to see if that continues."

They reach the home of Marcus, and Hunter gives Faris a moment to shift into a better hiding spot before he rings the doorbell.

Marcus, a well-dressed man, answers the door. He greets Hunter with an one-arm hug, which is a little surprising. But Hunter returns it all the same. They move into a quieter area of Marcus' apartment, where they can talk.

Once again, Hunter sees one of his paintings hanging in Marcus' apartment. Another nice little reminder of how popular his art has become.

"You bought my painting..." He smiled.

"It reminds me of Kevin." Marcus answered.

"Kevin?" This is the first time Hunter had heard Kendra referred to as a male.

"He was there for me, during a time when I was questioning my own identity." Marcus sat quietly for a moment. "I'm transgender. And Kevin helped me through the transition of finding me own identity."

"He also gave me the gift... of changing my appearance to what I desire."

Faris doesn't recognize the term 'transgender,' but he must stay silent, and sets the question aside to ask Hunter later. Regardless of the unfamiliar word, it seems significant that the aspect of the oracle in this instance is being referred to as male. The K'da isn't an expert on humans, but he had assumed that all the young ones that they met on their quest were female. Puzzling indeed.

"So you still saw aspects of Kevin in my portrait?" Hunter asked softly.

"Yes. In the eyes..." Marcus looked at the portrait for a moment.

"It was really nice to have him as a friend. Supporting me. Especially since I was uncertain about a new relationship I had entered into. Kevin told me to be truthful. And I was... and my boyfriend accepted me. Still does."

"It sounds like he makes you happy." Hunter notes softly.

"My boyfriend accepts me no matter who I am. Or what appearance makes me happy. He allows me to be me."

"And Kevin... did you see him again?"

"No. He disappeared from my life. When I saw your painting, I knew you were painting him, even though the painting depicted a young girl. I was hoping you were here to tell me that he is doing okay."

Hunter pauses. "Kevin has passed onto his next journey."

"Oh..." Marcus was quiet again for a moment.

K'da don't show affection and support the same way that humans do in many ways, but one thing that they do have in common is the comfort of physical contact with one another. And while Faris is not certain if this is an appropriate interaction, he feels that perhaps it is worth it to make the suggestion anyway.

He doesn't completely come off Hunter's skin, just raising his forepaws enough that Hunter will feel their weight against his sides and back, similar to the sensation of a hug. Both in reassurance to his host, and to suggest a potential course of action to mitigate the bad news for Kevin.

Hunter is grateful for the gesture, the sensation of a hug from Faris. He also gets the suggestion that the K'da is trying to make.

He moves over to Marcus, wrapping his arms around the other man. "I'm sorry to bring this bad news to you."

"I knew Kevin as Kendra. And she was important to me."

Marcus returned the hug. "How did he... she change your life?"

"She opened my eyes to new possibilities. A new life." Hunter feels that since Marcus spoke about magically changing his appearance, he could talk a little bit more about his experience. "Kendra changed my appearance to what you see before you now. To help me learn about accepting others."

"She didn't change you back?" Marcus sounds a little surprised.

"No. My path took a different route."

"I could change you... if you wanted." Marcus gently touched Hunter's face. Hunter took his hand, guiding it away from his face. "No. Thank you. I am happy as the man I am now."

"So am I..."

Hunter let the hug go. "I am glad we had a chance to talk. Here... my card, in case you would like to stay in contact."

It was once again time to leave. Hunter gave Marcus one more hug before departing his apartment. And back on the streets, where he can talk freely with Faris about what they had both heard.

"I do not understand what is 'transgender,'" Faris says, once they are alone. He gets from context that it was some kind of change to Marcus's appearance, but little else.

"A transgender person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex, and are more comfortable identifying as the other gender."

"In Marcus' case, he is a transgender male. He identifies as a man."

"And apparently... Kendra appeared to him as a male too."

Faris has heard of such people, though it is rarely remarked upon. "It is intriguing that Kendra chose to appear as such," he agrees. "It is not likely that it is dependent on the preferences of the one she worked her magic upon. Though Marcus is attracted to other males, you are as well, correct?"

"I am now. But at the time I met Kendra, I was mostly dating females. I felt that it had been expected of me."

Now that is more puzzling to the K'da than the conversation he overheard. "But it did not make you happy."

"No. It didn't. I always felt like I was pretending too hard to be someone who that other people expected." Hunter sighed softly.

Sometimes, the more Faris learns about humans, the less sense they make. "You have learned from your experiences. That is all that can be asked of any person."

"Yes."

"But Marcus too had been helped through a difficult situation, without being required to learn any sort of lesson."

"Correct, to the best of our knowledge." Faris pauses for a moment. "Does this trouble you?"

"A little..." Hunter admits.

"But I have not decided if that is a negative or not. I consider my learning experience to be the best thing in my life."

"One may learn just as much from defeat as from victory, perhaps more," Faris agrees.

"It makes me wonder why I was chosen to learn a lesson, while the others were given their gifts because of their situation."

"Perhaps, I will learn more when we meet Rachel."

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