Chapter 2

Seth: ‘Hello, Robbie. I am a Waabanow and I can speak to you and hear your thoughts.’

Robbie took in this strange message ... paused ... and then burst forth with a rapid-fire series of thought and images.

Robbie: ‘HowCanYouTalkToMe? Aren’tYouLike [an image of a young girl, presumably Spotted Bird]? DoYouHearWhatIAmThinking? WhatHasHappenedTo [Spotted Bird’s image]? IsShe [an image of a dead rabbit]? TheyTookHerAway. ButThen... ‘

Seth: ‘Easy, Robbie, easy. We don’t need to rush our talk. I can hear you and see the images you send me. I can hear and see them more easily if you slow down a bit ... She is hurt and sleeping, but not dead.’

R: ‘This is such a slow way of blatting – what did you call it ... talk? But I can slow down for you, if you can’t keep up. I do not want to be not understood.’

Seth smiled.

S: ‘Thank you, Robbie. I’ve found that very large animals, like me, or a wolf [he sent an image] or a hawk [another image] blat more slowly, while smaller animals are faster.’

In fact, Seth subscribed to the theory that the reaction times of small animals is related to their metabolism. That was why they seemed to dart quickly or why they could change direction so often and easily. Why they seemed to ‘cut it close’ when avoiding a predator or a car.

R: ‘I don’t understand how you can talk to me.’

S: ‘Robbie, does an eagle go into a rabbit’s burrow and take it out? Or do you do that?’

R: ‘I do of course.’

S: ‘How do you know how to do that? I don’t mean what you actually do. But how do you know how to do it? Did you study something? Did she [image of Spotted Bird] show you?’

R: ‘I ... just know what to do.’

S: ‘It is the same for me, in blatting to you. I just know how to do it.’

Of course, Seth was not telling all the details of his skills or how he acquired them. He learned his ability to speak with animals from another Waabanow and it took a long time – it was not an ‘instinct.’ But it was an easy way to explain it to Robbie.

R: ‘So ... well ... that’s good. What do you want to blat about?’

S: ‘Robbie, I think you saw what happened to Spotted Bird [image of Spotted Bird]. Can you tell me about it?’

R: ‘Yes, I saw it all. They were all over the store, you know?’

S: ‘Sure, I know what you mean.’

R: ‘Then they each opened one of the cans and drank from it. Then they came to the front where Bird was. They talked with her back and forth, and I could feel that she was getting scared. She reached under the counter and then the shortest one hit her. [He sent an image of one of three young men reaching over the counter while Spotted Bird was fumbling with a shotgun.]’

S: ‘And you were doing what?’

R: ‘After he hit Bird, I bit his other hand. He moved his arm fast and sent me flying across the store. I was mad, but I was scared, too. So I hid under the soap shelves – you know, where the real smelly stuff was. I tried to eat some once, and it was horrible. One time, I tasted it; it tasted like the stuff that Bird had at home in her toilet room.’

S: ‘So, you were under the shelves ... could you see what happened then?’

R: ‘Yeah. One of the men dragged her out from behind the counter. She was not awake ... sleeping like, but she wasn’t asleep ... I could tell. The man hit her on the side of her head. Then another man ripped off all her clothes, and the third man grabbed a silver thing from one of the shelves and tied her up with it.‘ [He sent images of a man stripping duct tape from a roll and then wrapping it around her face and then her hands.]

It was almost comical to watch. Robbie froze, and he seemed to roll his eyes back almost into his skull. He didn’t move for almost five minutes, which is a huge amount for a ferret to be still. Even when they were asleep, they had little muscle movements. Robbie didn’t even seem to breathe.

Finally, he sent Seth three images. Full face of three young men – or late teenagers.

S: ‘Robbie, this is fantastic! These are the three men that hurt Spotted Bird? Are you sure?’

Robbie gave Seth a look. What a look! That look said: How can you doubt me? And why would I make that up? And a look of such pity that Seth could even ask the question.

Seth had to laugh.