The Stories We Keep Secret

[losthunter]

Hunter has received a few phone calls after completing his memorial to Kendra, and getting the opportunity to display the artwork in his dimension. His goal of finding the other people who might have had Kendra affect their lives had been successful. And now he is ready to go speak to them personally.

But first, he didn't want to go alone. And at the same time, he didn't want those he was meeting to know that he didn't trust them. So he called Faris to join him in the adventure. Hopefully he would be able to put more of Kendra's memory to peace by doing this.

Comments

[losthunter]

"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."

[poetwarrior]

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.

[losthunter]

"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.

[poetwarrior]

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.

[losthunter]

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.

[poetwarrior]

"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.

[losthunter]

"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."

[poetwarrior]

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?"

[losthunter]

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

[poetwarrior]

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

[losthunter]

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

[poetwarrior]

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."

[losthunter]

"Yes."

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

[poetwarrior]

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

[losthunter]

"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."

[poetwarrior]

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

[losthunter]

"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."

[poetwarrior]

"Perhaps. We must collect more data before drawing conclusions."

[losthunter]

"We have to go to Vegas to meet with Rachel. But that is one nice thing about having a PINpoint." Hunter pulls it out to activate another portal.

The bright lights and sounds of Vegas might be a little overwhelming to Faris. It is a lot louder than New York is.

[bed]

[poetwarrior]

It is certainly a big change, and Faris has to take several moments to adjust. It's easy to see the glare of the blinding light through Hunter's clothing, and of course the noise is chaotic and confusing. But a K'da poet-warrior must be adaptive, and he focuses on the heartbeat of his host to center himself.

[losthunter]

Hunter follows his directions until he gets to a beauty salon. Unlike the other people that he had visited, this place is a lot more public. But the person he is meeting is currently working, finishing an unique hair style for one of her clients.

It is a little bit of a wait until Rachel is free, and guides Hunter to a back room where they can talk privately.

She doesn't have an actual copy of his painting, but pulls out a news article on his art exhibit. "So you know Khelzie. I am so glad to meet someone else who knows her. I thought I was the only one."

"No. There is actually a few of us who had our lives touched by her influence. But I knew her as Kendra."

"Interesting." Rachel takes a sip of water. "I was struggling with the fact that my adoptive parents had kept me isolated from the rest of the world. And everything I was told and learned was adapted to keep me fearful of exploring other places, or meeting other people."

"Khelzie was one of the first people I had met, when I ventured out on my own the first time. She really supported me, when I was not certain of what to expect. And she introduced me to the man who is now my husband."

"It sounds like you had met her at the right time." Hunter observes.

"Yeah... and then she just supported my dream of being a hair stylist. And also gave me the magical touch, so I can make beautiful hair creations."

[poetwarrior]

The theory about the witch's gender presentation is proven wrong, which is something of a pity, but not terribly disappointing or surprising. Faris takes note of yet another name used that begins with the same sound in this human language, something that has remained consistent thus far. And once again, Khelzie's gift to this woman led her to find a lifemate.

[losthunter]

"And was there any goodbye between Khelzie and yourself?" Hunter asks.

"No. My shop got busy with new clients. And the last thing she told me was to keep on styling and enjoying my life."

The bell of the shop rings, signalling another client for Rachel to go see. "Speaking of which... I should go."

"Here. Take my card. Just in case you want to stay in contact."

After leaving the hair studio, Hunter walks down the streets, until he can reach a place to activate his PINpoint and get somewhere quieter.

"That makes three..." He comments.

[poetwarrior]

"Yes," Faris agrees. "There are common experiences thus far, chiefly that of finding a mate with the help of the oracle. However, it may be significant that in each case, she also departed unexpectedly with no farewell."

[losthunter]

"It is important for your hosts to find a mate? Or are they more adaptable, like humans, and each one decides if it is important to them or not?" Hunter asks, mostly to distract himself from the one common thread.