Chương 39: The First Domino

The next few minutes were a blur. I barely remembered nodding politely to them and wishing each of them good luck as they left the cabin. After everyone but Tala had left, the cabin felt quiet. Too quiet. It was weird, but I actually missed having them around. Normally, I couldn't wait until visitors left. Even Shelly. Despite this, I was already missing them for some reason. Pierre, Luke, and Shelly had headed out to warn the supernatural community about Raven's video.

Pierre wanted to tell the others about how he got a gift. As for Luke, he was stopping by his own home first to look for those tacky shirts. Shelly thought the Grove Council needed to prepare for whatever chaos was coming. Everyone needed to know that the world had just found out about them. Claire had gone to talk to the sheriff and the local police. Someone had to explain that yes, there really were 'goblins' in the woods, and no, people shouldn't go looking for them. I didn't envy her that conversation.

Hell, her conversation was the one I'd hate the most. All of the responsibility with no actual power. That has to suck. Which left me alone with Tala. Who was pointedly ignoring me. She sat on the kitchen counter, methodically cracking walnuts while glaring at me. Each snap was a little louder than necessary. Each shell was placed with deliberate precision into a small pile. She hadn't stopped looking at me once since the others left.

"Tala," I finally said. Crack, went a walnut.

"I know you're still mad about Bambi," I tried again. Crack, went another walnut. Dang, she's eating a lot of walnuts, I thought. I guess that is how females deal with things though. However, I was wise enough not to say that. Instead, I said, "But we should probably talk about…" Crack, followed by a piece of shell that went flying past my ear.

"Okay," I said.

"Silent treatment it is." I wasn't sure whether she intentionally missed me because she cared or if she was just too upset to aim clearly. Either way, I wasn't going to push it. She flicked her tail dismissively and turned her back to me. I sighed and waddled over to my recliner. The cucumber juice was still smeared on it. I'd deal with that later. Right now, I had bigger problems. Like the notification that had been blinking in my vision for the past twenty minutes. I'd been avoiding it.

Partly because I was terrified of what it would say. Partly because once I looked, it would be real. The system had chosen something for me, and I had no idea if it was good, bad, or catastrophically worse than anything I could have picked myself. But I couldn't put it off forever. Finally, I sighed and peeked through my fingers, as if that would have any effect. EVOLUTION COMPLETE.??? Granted.

Gifts Merged: Child of Chaos and True Namer Merged Gift Obtained: Incidental Causality Active Gifts: Mask of Many Paws and Web of Wisdom Other Gifts/Abilities: Locked MESSAGE FROM GAIA. It's for your own good. What the…, I thought. The system still wasn't telling me what I'd evolved into. As for the merging of two gifts into one, I was pretty sure that was supposed to be an upgrade. However, I really didn't care too much either way. Hmm, I wonder, I thought. Can I tell her I lost the power that made Bambi a god?

Afterall, I don't have the gift Child of Chaos any longer. But even as I thought it, I knew the truth. The gifts had merged. Incidental Causality was Child of Chaos and True Namer combined. I hadn't lost the power. It had gotten stronger. Yeah, definitely can't lie about that. The temptation was real, but I managed to suppress that feeling. It felt too much like lying. There were a few things I hated in life, and liars, manipulators, and con artists were three of the big ones.

"So, where is my character sheet?" I murmured to myself. The others had said they saw their classes. I was still shown???. Is that the entirety of it? I wondered. Wow, talk about minimal information given. Since there was nothing else to look at except my new gift, I clicked on Incidental Causality. The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. INCIDENTAL CAUSALITY. Divine Gift You are the First Domino.

Your genuine small actions create cascading consequences far beyond their initial scope. The more authentic and casual the action, the more profound the ripple. Words spoken with true intent carry weight and can reshape fate itself. Note: This gift cannot be controlled strategically. It requires authenticity. Smaller actions generate larger cascades. Names, promises, and blessings become binding when genuine MESSAGE FROM GAIA. Clear as crystal, right? I stared at the screen for a long moment."

Incidental Causality, Divine Gift," I muttered absently. Crack. Tala was still ignoring me, but I saw her ear twitch. She was listening, and something about what I said was interesting. In fact, she wasn't just listening to me, she was glaring at me. Even more than she already was.

"A merged gift," I said, more to myself than to Tala.

"And I have question marks for my evolution." Crack. Harder this time. However, it was followed by, "That's… interesting," Tala said finally, breaking her silence. I guess curiosity kills more than cats, I thought. Then I looked at her. She was still facing away from me, but at least she was talking. I decided to tempt her with the rest of the information.

"It looks like two of my powers merged into one gift. It says, 'You are the First Domino. Your genuine small actions create cascading consequences far beyond their initial scope. The more authentic and casual the action, the more profound the ripple. Words spoken with true intent carry weight and can reshape fate itself.'""So, basically, anything you do can lead to unknown but powerful effects," Tala said, summing up my gift.

"Yep, that sounds about right," I agreed. She was quiet for a moment, staring at me with an expression I couldn't quite read. Then she started laughing. Well, chittering, but it was pretty much the same thing.

"Of course," she said.

"Of course your entire divine power is about accidentally causing problems you can't foresee and can't undo."

"I prefer to think of it as 'creating meaningful change,'" I said.

"You felt sorry for a deer," Tala said, hopping down from the counter.

"One deer. You touched her because you felt bad. And what happened?"

"I resurrected her," I said quietly.

"You created a goddess," Tala said while stalked toward the cabinet where Shelly had stored the cucumbers.

"A goddess of reincarnation. From roadkill. Because you felt pity."

"I didn't know that would happen!" I tried to object. She's not going to start throwing cucumbers at me again is she?

"Exactly!" Tala was getting worked up now, stalking toward me.

"You didn't know! You just did it! Because it felt right in the moment! And that was before you got an upgrade." At this point, I discovered that, yes, she was going to throw cucumbers at me again. I dodged them easily, which surprised me. Either her aim was getting worse or I was getting better at dodging. Idly, I wondered if I had gotten a physical upgrade in addition to the powers.

Whatever it was, it allowed me to evade her throws as she tore off paw-sized chunks of cucumber to fire at me as she chased me around the room.

"I don't have a divine gift!" She definitely seemed pissed that I had something she didn't. Wow, jealous much? I thought. However, I had to admit that I was surprised. I would have sworn she'd already possess a divine gift. She continued fussing at me for a while. I mostly nodded and agreed with anything she said while my mind wandered. Finally, she ran out of steam. Actually, I think she just ran out of cucumber pieces.

Eventually, she jumped onto the armrest of my recliner, but I could still see that her whiskers were twitching. Then she said, "And what about Pierre's clothes?" Before I could answer, she continued on, "What else have you done that I need to know about?

"That's it, at least as far as I know," I said. I mean, I'd only recently learned about Bambi. There just might be something else I had caused by accident. She sighed, and seemed to lose all her remaining anger. Thinking it was safe, I moved closer and took a seat in my thoroughly cucumber-covered kiddie recliner. Shaking her head, she walked up to me and poked me in the chest with one tiny paw.

"Do you see the pattern, Abe? Do you see what you are?"

"A disaster waiting to happen?" I answered, trying to turn it into a joke.

"That sounds about right. Anyway, every small thing you do matters. Every casual word. Every moment of genuine emotion. Every thoughtless action taken with authentic feeling."

"That's exhausting to think about," I said.

"That's your life now." Tala sat back, tail swishing in agitation.

"You're not just some raccoon anymore. You literally can't do anything without it potentially reshaping reality." I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Seizing the initiative, Tala continued, "I hate to admit this, but the power is perfect for you. Small, genuine actions creating big consequences? That's literally what you've been doing since you became a raccoon."

"So you're saying I was already like this?" I was genuinely curious.

"Think of it this way. What would have happened if you hadn't fed the baby raccoon?" Tala asked me. A chill ran through my fur, "That's creepy to think of," I said. What would have happened? I wondered, Would I have died for real? We sat in silence for a moment. Then I finally said, "I guess I need to figure out what this power actually does. I can learn how to use it and try not to accidentally create any more goddesses."

"Good luck with that," Tala said.

"Given your track record."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I replied with overenthusiastic appreciation.

"You're welcome," Tala replied sarcastically. Before I could think of anything clever to say, a new notification appeared. And then another. And another. Fudge me, what now? I thought. I was a little worried about opening the notifications. Then I gave myself a mental slap. If everything I do cascades, whether I like it or not, then I'll just have to be me. Whether those cascades help or hurt, at least they will be because I am being who I am. Whatever ripples I make, I can live with.

With that, I looked at the first notification.