The conversation following introductions had been short, mostly focused on creating a training schedule. The only concerning part was that Instinct hadn't awoken at all during the conversation. It was to the point that Hal was beginning to get concerned that something had occurred to prevent Instinct from waking.
Those concerns were alleviated for a minute when Hal exited the stone room, and Instinct awoke almost instantly. But, the following conversation between the two created nothing but unease.
>Did you sleep well?< Hal asked excitedly.
>I... Don't know.< Instinct responded in the most confused tone he'd ever used.
>You don't know?< Hal repeated Instincts words for clarification.
>I can't tell what happened.< Instinct said before continuing with further explanation. >I can remember everything that happened as if it occurred to me, but I can also remember experiencing nothing.< Instincts voice was stable, hiding if he was concerned about the words he was saying. But, Hal was far from calm about the statement.
>was it like you'd been sealed again?< Hal asked, worried he might have done something while unconscious.
>No. Similar, but different.< Instinct said flatly. >When I was bound, I could see the world vaguely, but I couldn't interfere. This was more like a part of me was in control, but another part knew nothing about what was happening.< Instinct sounded more curious than anything else while speaking. Like the concerning events had little to do with him. But Hal didn't comment on that.
The conversation continued between the two for a while, but neither obtained or offered any new information. After some time, they agreed that, while concerning, it would have to be something they dealt with in time, rather than at that moment.
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"HAHAHA," I couldn't help but laugh at the part of my own story. And, based on the surprised reactions of those on the other side of the flames, I hadn't been gentle with my tone while doing so. "I almost feel bad for my brothers whenever I talk about this," I said in a level tone. "You see, what Instinct experienced in the stone room is what I lived until the day they woke me again." I gave a simple explanation, but seeing the confused response to my words, I provided more context.
"Hal and Instinct both have memories of the moment "Hal" bound Instinct." I lifted my fingers in air quotes around Hal's name. "But that isn't the truth." I let that hang for a moment before continuing, attempting to keep my audience involved in the long story I had to tell. "The first action Hal ever took was crying because of hunger."
"But, then how does he remember binding Instinct?" Someone asked.
I chuckled at the question. "That's the exciting part. That is my memory. It's the exact last thing I can remember before I fell into what I call the mental abyss between the two of their minds." I let the concept sink into my audience's minds, checking to see if anyone had questions before continuing. "Both my brothers are pieces of me, but it wasn't a fifty-fifty split between to two. Each received around thirty percent of myself. The remaining portion is what made me, me. And, because of that, I lived as three existences for quite some time. A part of me felt like it really was Instinct. Another part was convinced it was Hal. The final portion knew only one thing. That the space it was in wasn't comfortable." I stopped talking, not for dramatic effect, but because even I needed to take a break from storytelling on occasion.
"Does that mean that, in the stone room, Instinct fell into the mental abyss?." Asked a voice from across the flames.
I admired how the flames danced so wonderfully.
"No." My tone became much more serious about this. "What Instinct fell into was a crack in his own mind. If he'd fallen into the abyss alongside me, he wouldn't have ever come back out. Either Hal would have gained near-complete control of our body, or a mix of Instinct and the remaining portion of me would have come to the surface."
No one asked a question about this. Nor did they comment in any other way. So, we sat like that silence draped over the camp sight like a silken sheet for some time.
When I finally broke the silence, I did not mention what I had been talking about, only continuing the story as if I'd never mentioned the mental abyss.
"as you can imagine, with both Instinct and Hal awake, training under Fairgarth and Torren didn't go as smoothly as they'd hoped it would."
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"You've done this before. Why are you losing control?" Torren asked Hal, who lay on the ground of the courtyard clutching his abdomen. "This isn't even as complex as what you were doing when we met. You are trying, correct?" Torren continued questioning, making no moves to assist Hal.
"YeS," Hal coughed out. His attempts to catch the breath his failure had knocked out of him continuing to fail.
"Then what are you not understanding? Instinct seemed to pick it up instantly when I showed him, and he was asleep when we met. But, you keep getting beat about like a disobedient horse." Torren seemed curious rather than reproachful about Hal's failure, but he still didn't make any effort to help Hal get up.
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"Fletch!" The voice of Farigarth entered Hal's ear, and soon the man himself came into sight.
"It's Felch, Fairfart. What do you want?" Torren asked the other man.
"I was coming to see how you were fair when it comes to the boy's training. But, judging by his current predicament, I'd wager it's not going well." Fairgarth said while walking around Hals prone form.
"No, it's not. He's barely managed to succeed in the basics of body reinforcement. He's nowhere near what he was pulling when we met him." Torren said, his voice taking on more of an exasperated tone. "Instinct, on the other hand. I show him something one time, and he's mastered it within minutes. I don't get how they both say Instinct wasn't awake back then." Torren's voice was a mixture of curiosity and doubt. "What about you? How's your side been going?" Torren directed a question to Fairgarth.
"Curiously, I have encountered precisely the opposite predicament," Fairgarth said, nudging Hal with his foot. "Hal is the most competent pupil I've had the pleasure of instructing. Instinct has nearly blown us both up on more than one occasion." Fairgarth stopped poking about Hal, who finally managed to sit up, and walked over to Torren. "Honestly, I haven't the slightest idea what to do about this. I was hoping you'd come across a solution, but, alas, you have failed to do so." Fairgarth spoke in a mocking tone while shaking his head back and forth.
"Of course, I haven't, you twit." Torren retorted in irritation. "I'm no teacher, unlike you. Why haven't you figured something out, oh great leader of the rune society?" He continued sarcastically, glaring at Fairgarth while speaking.
"I am great, aren't I." Farigarth ignored everything else about Torrens words for a moment to draw attention to the sarcastic compliment.
"Yea, really great. So great that your subordinates only leave you with jobs involving large scale destruction. Remind me, what's your assistant's name, cause everyone knows she the one in charge of the rune society." Torren's words dripped with thinly veiled provocation.
Fairgarth didn't rise to the challenge. Instead, focusing on the positive part of the statement because he knew it irritated Torren.
"Lesshrah is indeed a talented subordinate. I am quite delighted to be capable of leaving the administration to her." Fairgarth said with a mocking smile.
"Oh, you leave it to her; that's how you phrase it? I thought she took over after the fourth time; your actions almost lead to a rebellion." Torren said, a massive smile spreading across his face.
"IT WAS ONE TIME!" Fairgarth bellowed, dropping his pompous wording. "What about you? Didn't you bust in on your king and queen during coitus because you thought they were being killed?!" Fairgarth yelled his own provocation for the first time.
With that statement, both began screaming at each other relentlessly—neither one words making sense to Hal or anyone else who might have been listening.
"They are incorrigible, as always." Hal jumped at the sound of THe Old Man's voice beside him. "We'll let them Fight it out for a bit, then we'll see about the issue you've been having with their training." The Old Man said while looking over the pair of arguing men.
Hal looked at The Old MAn curiously but didn't question what he had planned. Hal knew that THe Old Man would only talk when he felt like it; questions wouldn't speed that up.
It didn't take long for the two men to stop screaming at each other. When they did, THe Old Man called them both over to hold a little discussion about Hal and Instinct.
""We don't know what to do."" Both men spoke at the same time when asked how training had been going.
"Hal is worse than average at spirit usage, but Instinct is a natural-born talent," Torren said.
"Instinct could maybe light a fire with his mana, anything more complex explodes. Hal casts anything I show him within three attempts." Fairgarth said
The Old Man looked at the two men with a flat gaze. When he spoke, he used a matter of fact tone as if what he was saying should have been obvious. "Why not just have them work together then?" The Old Man said.
The sound of the children inside intruded into the courtyard as everyone starred at The Old Man in silence.
"Hal, Instinct, have either of you tried to control only a portion of your body while having the other control the rest?" The Old Man turned to ask the two boys.
Hal shook his head no. They'd always transferred full control over to the other, never keeping hold of anything during the transfer.
"Why not give it a try, see how it goes." The Old Man suggested.
>What do you think?< Hal asked Instinct.
>I don't think it will do any harm to try.< Instinct said flatly. >I'll focus on the left hand, try to hold onto everything else.< Instinct instructed.
Doing what he was told. Hal focused on trying to stop Instinct form taking everything but the left hand.
At first, it appeared like it had worked precisely as intended. Unlike previous times the two swapped, where the process started at the ears and eyes, Hal's hand was the first thing to change, switching to a green hue with his black nails growing into claws. Then, in his excitement at the successful attempt, Hal lost focus.
Rapidly, the green skin spread from Hal's hand up to his arm and neck onto the left side of his face. In a panic, Hal focused again on stopping Instinct from taking control. But not before one of his ears grew in length, his left eye changed into a slit pupil, and half his face turned green.
Seeing that half of the boy was distinctly Hal, and the other was clearly the green of Instinct, The Old Man gave further instruction. "Try walking like that."
Hal waited for Instinct to take a step before trying to do so himself. And that first step worked fine, if only because Hal was already leaning on his right leg. When Hal attempted to take a step after Instinct had planted his foot on the ground, the co-operative switching of balance between the two legs proved difficult.
The boys quickly lost balance, and in losing balance, Hal lost focus on maintaining half of his control. By the time the boy's face hit the ground, Instinct was entirely in control of the body, with Hal sitting in their mental plane.
"Well, it'll take practice, but I think you two can reach a point where combat is possible like that." The Old Man's voice seemed to contain desperate confidence. As if he had no other choice but to believe his own words.