John Watson sat across from his dæmon, the cat staring back at him. Kirjava knew the situation they were in wasn't John's fault but couldn't help but blame him for it. If he wasn't so damned heroic, they would still be on the front line, fighting.
Even when they were younger, when John was still called Will and Kirjava was invisible, he had tried to save people. Growing up, after being adopted and moving to the most bizarre places, he knew he wanted to be an army doctor. But what we he to do now? He had been forced to leave the army and couldn't afford a place to live on army pensions.
Kirjava jumped onto his bed and nudged his side. 'We need to get out. We need to find a flatmate.'
'We need to find a flat first.' John chuckled. Kirjava scratched at his hand and moved to the window. He opened it, letting her out into the city. Being one of the very few people in the universe with a dæmon, he had to act like Kirjava was a normal cat, albeit a rather large and strangely coloured one.
His hand hovered over his laptop before he left. His therapist had told him to write everything down that happened to him. Shaking his head and ignoring the laptop, he walked outside.
Meeting his dæmon in the park, they sat down on a bench, Kirjava curling up on John's lap. John watched people passing, enjoying seeing the dæmons that were invisible to everyone else. Between the ages of 15 and 18, he had lived in a monastery with his adopted parents and sister. The monks had taught him to see the souls of other people, a trick his step-mother Mary had perfected long before him. However, he had learned a trick she never could.
John could make someone's dæmon solid, like Kirjava had become after their adventure to the land of the dead. He had done it for his stepparents and adopted sister and used it in the army; if he solidified their dæmon, Kirjava would attack the unprepared creature, making it easier to defeat the man.
'John! John Watson!'
He turned to look at the man, frowning when he saw him. Was he supposed to recognise this man.
'Stamford, Mike Stamford. We were at Barts together.'
Of course, he recognised the pig dæmon trotting at the man's side. The swine looked at Kirjava enviously because she could be seen, a luxury for dæmons of this universe.
'I heard you were abroad somewhere getting shot at. What happened?'
'I got shot.'
Kirjava whispered something in his ear and he nodded, scratching the back if her head to make it look natural. He answered most of the man questions on auto-pilot, not really paying attention until the man mentioned Harry.
'Like that's going to happen.'
Harry's dæmon, Fillani, was a dog and always fought with Kirjava. The problem was, unlike John, Harry didn't have an extended connection with her dæmon, meaning Fillani had to stay with her all the time.
'I don't know, get a flatmate or something?'
'Come on, who'd want me for a flatmate?'
Mike chuckled and his dæmon dug it's nose along the ground. Due to not 'properly existing' the ground wasn't disturbed in the slightest
'You're the second person to say that to me today.'
'Who was the first?'