Memories of Yule in France came flooding back to him. He had met the man….(was he really a man after all?)
Now somehow he stood before him, claiming to have ‘known’ his mother in every sense of the word and inferring….
"I've been watching for a while, Jimmy," Melek shrugged. Then his voice was more amicable. "You really do look like your mother, you know. She was beautiful and talented. But now it seems as if you're a little.....stuck."
“Stuck?! Oh really? You know, I’m probably just dreaming, hallucinating after the sweat, and not eating. I’m just going to wake up and you’ll be gone and Mark and I will go back to my aunt and uncles and then I will go home.”
“Hmm….I really don’t think so,” the tall, bald figure that was Melek shrugged. “You see, Indigenous people were and are so close to Creation that shapeshifting often just comes naturally to them. It's similar to we Celestials like me…but not quite. You seem to have inherited at least one of my forms. Lovely, I really must say.”
The bastard seemed rather chuffed after making his last claim, as if the predicament that Jimmy now found himself in was not only amusing but completely natural - and worst of all, expected.
Jimmy didn’t like what Melek was inferring. That he had indeed been the unknown, and forever absent ‘father’ that David Two Horse, the only many he had ever known as his Papa, stepped forward to replace. Had he stalked his mother? Then had he seduced her when she was at her most vulnerable?
The whole idea that he had been created not out of love but out of something more sinister welled up angrily inside of him. Jimmy lumbered forward toward Melek as best he could, his arms serving in a way that they never had before, their expanse dragging on the rocky soil. He could at least sense the sheer size of this form, and the fact that although he could speak as he always had, his mouth was now filled with much larger teeth. It was all he could do to resist lunging forward and attempting to take a bite out of Melek.
“You’d better explain what you mean by that. I came up here to find out about myself, not banter back and forth with your arrogant ass!”
“Careful,” Melek clucked admonishing Jimmy, “You did all that difficult spiritual work before you got here and the ceremonies yesterday. For all that hard work and contemplation, you should be happy that you actually achieved your goal.” Melek gave an elaborate, almost Gallic shrug, “Why mess it up now? You are what you are, and I find it ironic that the stage name that you chose pretty much sums it up beautifully. Why not have a bit of fun with it along the way? That is, once you come to know how things work a little better, of course.”
“What I want,” Jimmy’s voice was terse and angry, “Is to shapeshift back out of this….form! I didn’t ask for this, and I sure as hell don’t want it!”
The Celestial’s face cracked a bemused smile. “Oh, but you will go back, don’t worry. However, I really wouldn’t be much of a father if I did all of the work for you, would I?”
’So this guy actually was his real father.’ Jimmy bristled inwardly with Melek’s admission. Before he could let loose another barrage of emotions punctuated by “less than spiritual” expletives, Melek spoke.
“Give me a hint then you son of a bitch!”
“Your family on both sides have known the possibility,” Melek ignored Jimmy’s latest outburst. “Just think about all of the ways that you could help both the Mohawk and the Oceti Sakowin - all of the Nations through what you can do- what you are. Imagine what that could mean to you and Jocelyn…”
At the mention of Joie’s name, Jimmy’s anger broke loose at last. “If you hurt her….” He growled, surprised at the depth of the rumble that came out of his own chest.
Melek wrinkled his face and scoffed. “Now why on earth would I do anything like that? I adore the girl and her family. Watched her, her sister, and even her mother grow up. Actually, I think she is absolutely the perfect choice for you, my son.”
“NO! You don’t get to call me that!” Jimmy snarled. “You were never a father to me! You abandoned my mother and David Two Horses was a good man! He stepped up and raised me as his own son! He insisted on making sure that I knew that. Where the hell were you?”
“Where I had to be,” Melek said simply, offering Jimmy no further explanation. “I just thought you should know that there is a lot more to life than being the center of attention - not that I ever disliked being that. Sometimes being underestimated has a clear advantage.”
By now the sun had come up over the ridge. The birds and other creatures of the forest didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary with a dragon and a Celestial arguing on the ridge. The songs seemed undiminished, almost as even louder than they had been before.
“I cannot stay like this,” Jimmy said.
Melek shook his head. “No, you can’t. As for that ‘hint’ you asked for, you will remember once you come to accept the fact that you are Oniare by blood. Once you remember that and embrace it, you’ll be able to revert to your human form. Just be careful who you allow to become aware of who and what you are. People still fear and will try to slay dragons.”
Jimmy blinked. By the time he opened his eyes, Melek was gone. Looking down, Jimmy realized that he was still in dragon form, his scales and leathern wings glowing in the growing sunlight.
Re: Revelation
Memories of Yule in France came flooding back to him. He had met the man….(was he really a man after all?)
Now somehow he stood before him, claiming to have ‘known’ his mother in every sense of the word and inferring….
"I've been watching for a while, Jimmy," Melek shrugged. Then his voice was more amicable. "You really do look like your mother, you know. She was beautiful and talented. But now it seems as if you're a little.....stuck."
“Stuck?! Oh really? You know, I’m probably just dreaming, hallucinating after the sweat, and not eating. I’m just going to wake up and you’ll be gone and Mark and I will go back to my aunt and uncles and then I will go home.”
“Hmm….I really don’t think so,” the tall, bald figure that was Melek shrugged. “You see, Indigenous people were and are so close to Creation that shapeshifting often just comes naturally to them. It's similar to we Celestials like me…but not quite. You seem to have inherited at least one of my forms. Lovely, I really must say.”
The bastard seemed rather chuffed after making his last claim, as if the predicament that Jimmy now found himself in was not only amusing but completely natural - and worst of all, expected.
Jimmy didn’t like what Melek was inferring. That he had indeed been the unknown, and forever absent ‘father’ that David Two Horse, the only many he had ever known as his Papa, stepped forward to replace. Had he stalked his mother? Then had he seduced her when she was at her most vulnerable?
The whole idea that he had been created not out of love but out of something more sinister welled up angrily inside of him. Jimmy lumbered forward toward Melek as best he could, his arms serving in a way that they never had before, their expanse dragging on the rocky soil. He could at least sense the sheer size of this form, and the fact that although he could speak as he always had, his mouth was now filled with much larger teeth. It was all he could do to resist lunging forward and attempting to take a bite out of Melek.
“You’d better explain what you mean by that. I came up here to find out about myself, not banter back and forth with your arrogant ass!”
“Careful,” Melek clucked admonishing Jimmy, “You did all that difficult spiritual work before you got here and the ceremonies yesterday. For all that hard work and contemplation, you should be happy that you actually achieved your goal.” Melek gave an elaborate, almost Gallic shrug, “Why mess it up now? You are what you are, and I find it ironic that the stage name that you chose pretty much sums it up beautifully. Why not have a bit of fun with it along the way? That is, once you come to know how things work a little better, of course.”
“What I want,” Jimmy’s voice was terse and angry, “Is to shapeshift back out of this….form! I didn’t ask for this, and I sure as hell don’t want it!”
The Celestial’s face cracked a bemused smile. “Oh, but you will go back, don’t worry. However, I really wouldn’t be much of a father if I did all of the work for you, would I?”
’So this guy actually was his real father.’ Jimmy bristled inwardly with Melek’s admission. Before he could let loose another barrage of emotions punctuated by “less than spiritual” expletives, Melek spoke.
“Give me a hint then you son of a bitch!”
“Your family on both sides have known the possibility,” Melek ignored Jimmy’s latest outburst. “Just think about all of the ways that you could help both the Mohawk and the Oceti Sakowin - all of the Nations through what you can do- what you are. Imagine what that could mean to you and Jocelyn…”
At the mention of Joie’s name, Jimmy’s anger broke loose at last. “If you hurt her….” He growled, surprised at the depth of the rumble that came out of his own chest.
Melek wrinkled his face and scoffed. “Now why on earth would I do anything like that? I adore the girl and her family. Watched her, her sister, and even her mother grow up. Actually, I think she is absolutely the perfect choice for you, my son.”
“NO! You don’t get to call me that!” Jimmy snarled. “You were never a father to me! You abandoned my mother and David Two Horses was a good man! He stepped up and raised me as his own son! He insisted on making sure that I knew that. Where the hell were you?”
“Where I had to be,” Melek said simply, offering Jimmy no further explanation. “I just thought you should know that there is a lot more to life than being the center of attention - not that I ever disliked being that. Sometimes being underestimated has a clear advantage.”
By now the sun had come up over the ridge. The birds and other creatures of the forest didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary with a dragon and a Celestial arguing on the ridge. The songs seemed undiminished, almost as even louder than they had been before.
“I cannot stay like this,” Jimmy said.
Melek shook his head. “No, you can’t. As for that ‘hint’ you asked for, you will remember once you come to accept the fact that you are Oniare by blood. Once you remember that and embrace it, you’ll be able to revert to your human form. Just be careful who you allow to become aware of who and what you are. People still fear and will try to slay dragons.”
Jimmy blinked. By the time he opened his eyes, Melek was gone. Looking down, Jimmy realized that he was still in dragon form, his scales and leathern wings glowing in the growing sunlight.