Taylor sat with Dani at lunch. She enjoyed being one of the few students who could penetrate the glamour that hid the Latina witch's cat features and hirsutism from all but her fellow magicals. It was always fun to be in on a huge secret.
"So," Dani said as she speared a tater tot with her fork, "how's your shaman training going, Taylor? If I'm going to be a powerful bruja, you should be something muy tremenda y mágica yourself."
Taylor's face lit up. "It's been amazing, Dani! When I went to sleep, I found myself in a dreamscape savanna in a hyena body. Then Shaman Kweli found me, and, after a quick lesson on shaping the Dreamworld to get us into our werehyena forms, we got down to business. First shi taught me how to awaken myself to the spirits." A sly look came over the blonde shaman's face. "Turns out orgasmic meditation's one of the most effective methods."
"¡Ay dios mío!" Dani laughed flusteredly. "Sounds like I'll be getting quite a bit of action with you soon."
"Oh, I can promise you that, beautiful!" Taylor winked. "After helping me see the spirits clearly (and, yes, that does indeed mean shi fucked my brains out), Kweli introduced me to the spirit of hir mom."
"You mean a fantasma?" Dani asked in wonder.
"If you mean a ghost, not quite," Taylor answered. "A ghost is a restless spirit that won't move on. Kweli's mother has properly crossed over to the afterlife. Shi actually gave me a really nice crash course on the Summerland, the werehyena afterlife. After that, Kweli showed me how to contact a spirit. You have to call out with authority (and manners) and present an offering, usually food and drink. The key is to be very respectful, almost worshipful. You can't let the spirit walk all over you, though. That's why, as important as they are to several shamanic rituals, shamans have to be careful about using drugs. I actually spoke to a gazelle spirit! He told me all about Jessica Tang becoming Persephone von Karnstein. Did you hear about that?"
"Sí, I did," Dani nodded.
"Then Kweli warned me about evil spirits like this giant bat guy called Popobawa. Not all spirits are benevolent, you see. Then she taught me about the complicated metaphysics surrounding intelligent spirits of trees, rivers, and stones before summoning one. After that, the dream ended. After I got home, I just had to practice! So I went out into the backyard with a carton of milk and a bowl of cornflakes to introduce myself to the local spirits."
"And did they answer?" asked Dani.
"Yep," Taylor nodded. "A cougar spirit named Sholeetsa came to me and welcomed me as a new shaman. She also warned me that some spirits are friendly with the werewolf pack Selena's family belong to and my pack'll have to watch out for them."
"Really?" Dani said warily.
"Yeah," said Taylor. "She told me lots of other things, too. Once I get a chance to talk with Selena, I'm gonna have so many things to tell her. Like how there's a werevixen with a magic belt and a Werebrush looking to create a new skulk in town, or how there's a succubus population in town, or how a mermaid who may be trapped in human form just arrived in town. I'm really beginning to feel like a real shaman!" Taylor's face was practically glowing with happiness.
"Muy, muy cool!" Dani smiled. "I'm glad your finally a real shaman. You know, my offer to start up our bruja coven with Jinx still stands."
"I'd really like that," Taylor smiled, biting into her pizza. "My life is amazing these days, and I haven't even learned everything there is to know. I can't wait for tonight!"