It was impossible.

"I shall demonstrate it once more." (G.Q)

A chilling quiet filled the room. The walls, ceilings, and even the very ground seemed to draw inward. Silent excitement was building up. Reaching an invisible apex until-!

"ΔℜΕ∃ΤĪΗΨ"

A chorus of inaudible voices immediately responded with an unmatched zealousness and reverend. They clamoured for attention like raving animals, each trying to outbid the other. The contest grew, and grew wild, until an aura made itself known.

True silence filled the room once more.

Sitting crossed-legged, Ignavus' grip on his knees tightened.

It was truly impossible.

Imagine the following: A person demands you speak a language you have never heard before. You, rightfully, refuse this insane demand stating its obviously impossible nature. Unfortunately, the person carrying the demand is insistent, and not only do they demand you do it, but they offer you something you simply couldn't refuse.

Respect.

Ignavus took a slow, deep breath.

Out of everything he has ever been tasked with doing, this was by far the most difficult. The Yalery language was quite the notorious beast. It was a language that didn't follow any rhyme or structure. In Yalery, words held no inherent meaning, and sounds seemed to be mere figments of the imagination. When "speaking" Yalery, a Yalery wasn't actually speaking. They were merely shaping their Will and expressing it to others. This Will may be interpreted through whatever means the receipt was capable of.

To put it simply, anything was capable of understanding the Yalery language, but only Yalery were able to speak it. They were the only creatures able to manipulate their Will in such a brazen fashion. It was also for this reason Ignavus struggled to grasp the art. No two persons shared the same Will. Having a demonstration on what to do did not help him much.

'I can do this, I can do this, I can do this!!'

In Ignavus' eyes, he didn't have much of a choice. Things had only gotten so much worse since the spoon incident. The relentless babying suddenly doubled overnight. It got to the point Ignavus had to beg just to be allowed to sleep alone in his own room! He needed to show them he wasn't so inept, so helpless. If things kept their current pace, Ignavus might find himself wearing a stupid dress again. Any hopes he harboured about leaving the Palace dashed.

A dreadful future.

'Right, now'

Exhaling, Ignavus prepared himself. He only had one "word" to say. A simple greeting. Directing his Will would be a difficult task, but he was accustomed to it. Feeling a familiar presence within him stir, Ignavus deepened his concentration. Despite their current scabbles, they had work to do. Failing here wouldn't be good for either of them.

'Gently...'

Unlike the act of creation or alteration, speaking Yalery required a high amount of adjustments. They weren't trying to change reality but merely express themselves.

It required finer control.

"GRE∃⊥ȲΞ!"

Time elapsed.

A chorus of inaudible voices responded once more, although with a notable shift in tone. Gone was the reverend replaced by a simple adoration. Not a word had been spoken, but none were needed for Ignavus to understand. Those... those fools were praising him. Telling him his attempt had been amazing and encouraging him to do it again.

"Improvement." (G.Q)

"Ah! What a splendidly cute voice!" (C)

'Damn it!'

He failed again. He hadn't gotten the full word.

Quickly masking his disappointment, Ignavus tried to push forward.

"How... how do I sound like you?" (I)

As much as Ignavus tried not to let it get to him, his voice when "speaking" Yalery was simply ridiculous. It was bad enough how he sounded speaking the common tongue, but when adopting the Yalery language, the issue seemed to have grown even worse. The cutesy nonsense had to stop.

"Eh? You don't need to change your voice; it's perfect as it is! Besides, I don't think you want to sound like, you know, that person..." (C)

Ignavus' mother briefly glanced at his Aunt before returning her gaze to him.

"A Will is a reflection of oneself." (G.Q)

The statement held in the air.

Unquestioning as its absolute like nature.

Its meaning was clear.

"Oh, guess what time it is!?" (C)

Suddenly, a sounding happy declaration was made.

"Hm... Let us go." (G.Q)

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'Go? But, we just started?'

Staring at the two, Ignavus couldn't help but wonder. This was only his fifth attempt today; normally, he would be given at least twenty before they finished a session.

A feeling of unease slowly started to gnaw at him.

Ignavus had noticed a bit of a worrying trend since they started this training some few odd days ago. With every passing day, the number of tries he'd been given were gradually reducing. Initially, he started with thirty tries. Yesterday, he only did twenty-two.

'They're giving up on... me'

A pit suddenly formed in Ignavus' stomach.

'No! What am I thinking!?'

Shaking his head, Ignavus rapidly dispelled the negative thoughts.

'They... they probably have something planned. I-I just don't know it!'

It wouldn't make much sense for them to dramatically drop down.

After swiftly reassuring himself, Ignavus released the breath he had been holding. Usually, Ignavus would take a nap following this specific evening session on a normal day. Therefore, as long as he wasn't headed for a nap at this moment, he could stay calm, confident that they still had faith in him.

"Are, are we doing something special today?" (I)

A short silence filled the room.

Seeing the lack of an immediate response, Ignavus quickly added,

"I-I'm all good to go for a few more tries!" (I)

The ground around Ignavus lightly trembled as his mother stood up. She took a step forward, bringing her tail into Ignavus' range, where it promptly scooped him up and into her hands.

"Nothing special is happening today." (G.Q)

Ignavus' heart fell.

"We, we just started. A few more tries, and I-" (I)

"Let us sleep." (G.Q)

Sensing the tone of his mother, Ignavus frantically searched for support, meeting the eyes of his Aunt. If anyone would side with him, it would definitely be her. She was always pushing him when training. She wouldn't tolerate this.

"Don't you know sleeping is the favourite pastime of our kind, my little niece?" (C)

"But! But-!" (I)

"Let's go rest." (C)

Clutching of the fabric of his mother's, Ignavus debated his next course of action. He could either argue the matter or accept it. If he argued the matter, it would make him look immature, but if he didn't, it would be the same as accepting that he was too inept to learn a single "word". Looking at it, it was a lose-lose situation.

"Okay...." (I)

Deciding on the less damaging option, Ignavus relaxed his body.

"Great!" (C)

As they made way towards the now-opened door, Ignavus mumbled out to no one in particular,

"I can walk by myself pretty well." (I)

"Back so soon?" (B.N)

Walking into the familiar clearing surrounded by twisted red trees, Ignavus met his dastardly double.

"What's it to you, huh?" (I)

Laying on her side with an oddly bored expression, "Boss" Navy fixed her golden gaze on him.

"You know... you always manage to put us in a worse position." (B.N)

Wincing slightly, Ignavus immediately fired back,

"W-Well, at least, I didn't scare Vul away!" (I)

A pout made way on "Boss" Navy's face. She rolled herself to her other side, avoiding Ignavus' face.

'Ugh! Why did I say that?!'

Walking over to where "Boss" Navy was laid, Ignavus sat beside her.

He had gone too far.

"Did you manage to find him?" (I)

Silence.

Letting out a sigh, Ignavus pondered about what to do. Days had passed since they last saw Vultur. After waking up, the bird had completely disappeared from their sights.

"Want to search for him?" (I)

After waiting a hot minute and receiving no response, Ignavus did, admittedly, start to get annoyed.

"Just so you know... I'm not apologising. You started this." (I)

The silence continued.

'Ugh, why is she behaving like this now?'

Glaring at "Boss" Navy's back, Ignavus' rant picked up in pace.

'It wouldn't kill her to just be mature for once! Really, she's behaving like such a-'

"Child? Maybe you have forgotten, but we are one!" (B.N)

In a short but quick mumble, "Boss" Navy muttered,

"This is all your fault." (B.N)

"Boss" Navy sat up and turned around.

"If you weren't so selfish, none of this would have happened!" (B.N.)

And, like that, an argument that had persisted for days resumed.

"I-I'm not selfish! This is all your fault!" (I)

Standing up, Ignavus pointed an accusatory finger.

"You went behind by back and tried to steal Vul from me!" (I)

"Boss" Navy similarly stood.

"I only did that because I knew you wouldn't share! If you went with Vul, he would've never come back here!!" (B.N)

Ignavus shoved "Boss" Navy, causing her to fall, but not before she grabbed him. They tumbled to the ground and entered another struggle.

"Why do you keep doing this to me!" (I)

"Doing what!?" (B.N)

Ignavus came out on top in the struggle. Pinning "Boss" Navy down while she tried to shove him off.

"Don't pretend you don't know!" (I)

This delicate equilibrium lasted until "Boss" Navy managed to squeeze a leg between them and kick Ignavus off. The surprising, powerful kick threw Ignavus, resulting in him landing on his back. "Boss" Navy quickly got up prepared to continue until she noticed Ignavus still lying on the ground. His arms covering his eyes.

"You... you can't keep taking my stuff." (I)

Sensing the sudden change in mood, "Boss" Navy approached the prone Ignavus.

"You know... I-I always thought..." (I)

A short quiet descended between the two.

A shaky voice finally spoke,

"I always thought that they would be able to recognise me, you know?" (I)

A rueful giggle sounded.

"I, I know it was not the cleverest thought, but I still..." (I)

Truthfully, Ignavus knew his reaction to seeing "Boss" Navy and Vul getting along was beyond reasonable. He justified his poor reaction by stating that since the perpetrator looked guilty, they definitely were. Looking back, the thing that had irked him most was how "Boss" Navy appeared so happy. Why did she get to be so happy? They were supposed to be the same person, right? Why was he feeling this alone? The final nail in the coffin was the spoon incident.

Given the opportunity, he couldn't even do anything.

Ignavus has lost everything. He has truly lost everything. He lost everything due to becoming Navy. It was all Navy's fault.

"Boss" Navy wordlessly watched Ignavus mutely sob.

She watched as his body trembled. She watched as his chest unsteadily rose and fell. She watched as he fought tooth and nail not to cry.

"I get lonely." (B.N)

A calm voice spoke,

"I get very lonely." (B.N)

Unhurriedly, it continued,

"I get very lonely when you leave. I get very lonely when you don't come to visit. I get very lonely when I sleep alone. I get very lonely when Vul is not near. I get very lonely when I can't sense Mom, Aunt Cura or Marie. I get very lonely when we can't play with our friends." (B.N)

"Boss" Navy made way to Ignavus and kneeled beside him.

"I get very lonely." (B.N)

A light hand caressed Ignavus.

"I don't know why I feel this way or what to do about it... but I do know we can figure it out together." (B.N)

Stopping her hand's movement, Boss Navy laid down next to Ignavus.

She laid down next to him until his body stopped trembling. She laid down next to him until his chest rose and fell steady. She laid down next to him until he fought tooth and nail not to smile.

"That sounded so... not amazing." (I)

A light laugh was shared between them.

"Sorry... about all that." (I)

"Hehe, me to." (B.N)

Ignavus sat up.

"I promise. Next time I won't let it get this bad." (I)

"Boss" Navy stared at Ignavus for a split second before stating,

"You better not!" (B.N)

The unexpected sound of beating wings stole their attention. Coming to a landing a short distance away was a white feathered bird with golden trims. The identical pair shared a glance before both getting up and dashing.

"Navy, or is it Navys... I was just thinking that maybe we could all be-" (V)

Without letting the bird finish, the pair tackled him.

"We missed you!" (B.N)

"If you ever run away again, we won't forgive you!" (I)