Second Sight (Part the First)

She sauntered into the dimly lit lounge feeling listless after her whirlwind day at work and caught the bartender's eye. It was relatively quiet, and with a simple nod she knew Moe would bring her the usual slightly dirty vodka martini with extra olives. She waited patiently while he shook up her drink thoroughly so that there would be tiny shards of ice. Her mouth watered at the thought of the olive she would bite into first and she licked her lips in anticipation.

"Keepin' the tab open tonight, hon?" Moe's question floated across the bar above the jazz song playing softly.

"Can't tonight, Moe. I have another crazy day tomorrow so it'll be just the one this time."

Moe shrugged noncommittally as she handed him her card to run.

She scanned the room with First Sight and took a sip of her drink.  Then she allowed her eyes to unfocus and slowly tracked the room with Second Sight. She couldn't remember when it had first begun, but now she found herself using it unconsciously to gather more and more information about her surroundings. Sometimes Second Sight showed her odd things about people or left trails around things. She couldn't always interpret the meaning of what she saw either.

Tonight her eyes found a shimmer hovering above the man sitting at the other end of the bar, turned half way in his seat so he could watch the game on one television and still chat with Moe.

Moe startled her out of her musings by handing her the bill and her card, so she asked him

"Hey Moe, who is your new friend?"

"That's Lucas, he's kinda new in town...want me to introduce you?"

"Uh, you know I've had a long day..." she trailed off.

Moe decided for her; "Hey Luke, c'mere and let me introduce you to one of my regulars. Samantha, this is Lucas, Lucas, Samantha..."

As they shook hands, their eyes locked and she slipped into Second Sight again. This time she couldn't deny seeing far more than a mere shimmer. Her eyes force-focused into a startling image of a lone wolf. Though she could see his ferocity, there was also contentment and good nature there.

"N-n-nice to meet you," she managed and she shook her head and refocused her eyes.

"What just happened?" He asked, trying to catch her gaze again as he pulled up his barstool.

How could she explain to him that she saw his wolfish nature in the actual form of a wolf, with its tongue lolling out of the side of its mouth?

More importantly, how had he noticed that anything was different about her greeting?

She shook her head and said "I'm not sure...I've had kind of a crazy day."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He seemed genuinely interested.

She laughed and took another sip of her drink.

"Not really." She felt a little nervous. Something about his candor made her feel quite sure if she started talking she'd want to tell him the absolute truth. "Are you a big sports fan?" she asked, indicating the tv.

It was his turn to laugh.
"My buddy bet me lunch on this game so I'm only watching to see if he owes me. Otherwise I'd probably never keep up with any games."

His grin was reminiscent for a moment of that wolf again and she ducked her head to concentrate on eating her olive.

Why did she have to see weird shit? Why couldn't the meaning at least be more clear?

She felt him looking at her and felt herself blush.

Out of nowhere she heard herself ask him "Do you like wolves?"

He started and then turned his full attention on her, forgetting his bet, the game, his drink and Moe.

His eyes burned into hers and he asked her in a low voice "What have you heard? Who are you?"

For a moment she felt threatened, but she felt her eyes slip into Second Sight again and in his countenance she saw fear like a cornered animal and her heart melted a little.

"I haven't heard anything, I promise" she said and returned his gaze. "Perhaps we could talk somewhere a little more privately?" She gestured toward a nearby booth and she saw his shoulders relax a smidgen.

He followed her stiffly and slid into the bench across from her.

She allowed herself a moment to take in his scruffy sandy brown hair, his unshaven beard and the crease in his forehead worn in place by worry. Handsome in a wild and rugged sort of way, Lucas looked to be in his early 30's.

"What do you know about me?" He hissed tensely across the table.

How could she just come right out and tell him about Second Sight? And why should he believe her, anyway? Half the time she didn't believe it herself...

"I sometimes get these visions...or flashes...I must sound crazy to you. I don't usually even know what it means, so most of the time I just keep it to myself. I'm not sure what even made me ask you..."

His frown deepened as she talked and she trailed off again. He looked fearsome in her First Sight, but fear-full in her Second Sight and she was torn between her instinct to shut up and protect herself and her instinct to reach out to him and comfort him.