Walking home from the pet store, the feeling of being watched still lingering, Leo's attention was drawn to a flickering streetlight in a deserted alleyway—a dissonant note in the evening's symphony.
It wasn't a normal flicker, the kind caused by a loose connection or a dying bulb. This was erratic, pulsing with a strange, unnatural rhythm.
The air in the alley felt charged, heavy. The usual scent of damp concrete and urban decay was overlaid with the faint, electric tang of ozone—a scent Leo was beginning to associate with spiritual energy.
Curiosity, that treacherous and persistent emotion, pulled him closer. He peered into the gloom.
And he saw her.
A young woman stood directly under the malfunctioning streetlight. She had brightly colored hair, a collection of strange-looking gadgets hanging from her belt, and she was holding a forked stick—a dowsing rod—with the intense concentration of a bomb disposal expert.
She was muttering to herself, her voice echoing slightly in the narrow space.
"The dowsing rod is twitching! It's definitely a Class 2 spiritual anomaly!" she whispered excitedly. "Perhaps a poltergeist trying to communicate via electrical currents! I knew it! This is bigger than rogue squirrels!"
Leo blinked. It was the same fervent, jargon-filled tone he'd read on the UPS forums. This had to be one of them. A fellow 'Spirit-Weaver'. A kindred spirit.
And she was completely, utterly, hilariously wrong.
Leo focused, activating the Codex. He saw the truth of the situation instantly.
It wasn't a poltergeist. It was a small, confused pigeon nesting on the power line above, its own recently awakened spiritual energy creating a minor, harmless feedback loop with the electrical current. The pigeon wasn't communicating; it was probably just trying to sleep.
Class 2? Poltergeist? Leo thought, a weary amusement washing over him. It's a sleepy bird. She needs a better hobby. Or maybe I should just let her believe it. It's certainly entertaining.
The woman—EctoElara, he presumed—began to wave the dowsing rod in a complex, circular pattern. "Be gone, restless spirit! Find your peace! I banish thee with the power of… uh… positive intention and focused energy!"
The pigeon cooed softly. The light continued to flicker.
Leo sighed. If she kept this up, she was going to attract more than just his attention. This kind of overt display was dangerous. It was messy.
He looked at Milo, who was watching the scene from his shoulder with an expression of profound, intellectual boredom.
This human is truly deluded, Milo's gaze seemed to say. A mere cat can outsmart her 'spiritual warding'. Perhaps I should teach her how to properly chase a laser pointer. More effective than that silly stick.
"Alright, fine," Leo whispered to the cat. "Let's give her a hand. Subtly."
He gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod towards the streetlight.
Milo understood immediately.
He didn't move. He didn't make a sound. He simply… focused.
From his perch on Leo's shoulder, he sent out a tiny, precise pulse of his own spiritual energy. It wasn't an attack. It was a gentle nudge. A spiritual 'purification'.
The pulse traveled up the lamppost, hit the feedback loop, and stabilized it.
The flickering stopped.
The streetlight now shone with a steady, unwavering, and intensely boring light.
The alleyway was silent, save for the distant city hum.
Elara froze, her dowsing rod held aloft.
She stared at the perfectly normal streetlight.
She stared at her now-limp dowsing rod.
A slow, triumphant smile spread across her face.
"Aha!" she declared to the empty alley. "As I suspected! My advanced spiritual warding techniques have purged this manor—this alley—of its malevolent energies! The poltergeist has retreated! Another victory for the Urban Paranormal Society! My dowsing rod never lies!"
She pumped her fist in the air, a gesture of pure, unadulterated, and completely mistaken triumph.
She then pulled out a small notebook and began scribbling furiously, muttering about "unpredictable spiritual fluctuations" and the "successful application of vibrational alignment."
Leo watched from the shadows, a deep, soul-weary sigh escaping him.
Right. Your dowsing rod and my cat. A powerful combination. He shook his head. Good. Let her take the credit. Less paperwork for me. And fewer questions.
He turned to leave, melting back into the evening crowd.
He had come to the park seeking normalcy and found a world teeming with secrets. He had gone to the pet store for supplies and ended up an accessory to larceny.
And now, he had just secretly cleaned up a paranormal mess created by a pigeon, all to avoid being noticed by a fellow magic-user who was armed with a stick.
He walked away, leaving the baffled, triumphant woman to her notes and her dowsing rod.
He wasn't just a pet owner anymore.
He was, apparently, the city's most competent, and most secret, paranormal janitor.