[16:23] * jacquez tells bas a story

Once upon a time in the city of Cascade, there was a sentinel. He was good at being a sentinel, with eyes like a hawk and ears like a bat and the strength of two jaguars. But he was lonely, because none of the people in his city understood his eyes or his ears, and none of them were as strong as even one jaguar. And so the sentinel decided to go on a quest, to look for a person who could be his companion.

"Where shall I go?" he thought.

"I shall go to the woods, where there are hawks, and perhaps someone there will understand my eyes." So he went to the woods and he looked about with his hawk-eyes, but there was no one there except some campers from Toledo.

"I shall go into the caves, where there are bats, and perhaps someone there will understand my ears." So he went into the caves and he listened with his bat-ears, but there was no one there except some researchers from Little Rock.

"I shall go to the zoo, where there are jaguars, and perhaps someone there will understand my strength." So he went to the zoo, but the only ones there who understood his strength were the jaguars, who hid from him in fear.

So the sentinel thought and thought, and finally he said "I shall go to the university, for perhaps someone there will know where to find someone who understands my hawk eyes and my bat ears and my strength of two jaguars."

And so he went to the university. And the first person he spoke to laughed, and the second person he spoke to giggled, but the third person he spoke to told him to go down to the basement and open the carved door.

So he went down to the basement, where it was dark as night, but not to his hawk-eyes.

And he walked down the hall, which was silent as a tomb, but not to his bat-ears.

And he found the carved door, and he pushed on it with the strength of two jaguars.

And it opened.

And inside there was a man who looked up at him and smiled, but the sentinel was disappointed. The man had glasses, so he did not have hawk-eyes. The man had not heard him coming, so he did not have bat-ears. And the sentinel could see he did not have the strength of even one jaguar.

"Can you tell me where to find someone who can be my companion?" asked the sentinel, clinging to that last hope.

"Only you can find that," said the man, "but perhaps you should not look for someone with hawk-eyes and bat-ears and the strength of two jaguars."

And the sentinel was frightened, for the man had seen into his heart.

"Perhaps," said the man, "you should find someone who complements you. someone whose gifts are your weaknesses, and whose weaknesses are your gifts."

And the sentinel thought about this, and then he said "Where shall I find someone like that?"

"Oh, I don't know," said the man, "but perhaps, while you're looking, you'd like a friend."

"I would like a friend very much, for I am lonely," said the sentinel.

"I will be your friend," said the man, and he held out his hand. The sentinel reached out and shook the man's hand, and it was warm and strong like the shoulder-muscles of a wolf. "I'm good at friends," the man said.

And the sentinel felt as though he might not ever be lonely again.

the end.