[center][h1][b][Color=goldenrod]Ja[/color] [color=8D918D]&[/color] [color=silver]Vik[/color][/b][/h1]
[h3][I][color=red]No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity…[/color][/I][/h3][/center][hr]

[Color=silver][I]If he's not in his room then where could he be?[/I][/color] Viktor was pondering where Ja might be as he ventured into the kitchen. He wanted to speak to him as he'd been so reclusive since the incident at the docks. His eyes scanned the kitchen, seeing no trace of the bushy-haired teen in what Viktor considered to be Ja's secondary dwelling. 

Not finding him here meant he'd have to venture outside. Considering the task, Viktor made his way to the refrigerator to grab a leftover sandwich in plastic wrap Daphne had informed was his to take. 

[Color=silver]“Where did she put it?”[/color] Viktor thought out loud. 

Within a few moments of looking, the enhanced young man surely picked up on the sounds of movement. It was very subtle, as though small items were being slid across a wooden surface. Suddenly, an upper cabinet door opened, nearest the fridge. Inside, a rather large bag of flour had been pushed aside, and in its place was a peculiarly familiar dark bush. A blink of an eye later, it grew the face of the very teammate he’d been looking for.

For a moment, his golden eyes regarded his slightly older teammate and friend. A small, somewhat somber smile was his offering. Viktor met his gaze, silently questioning his place in the upper cabinet.

[color=goldenrod]“Mhoro, Vicky.”[/color] Ja carried his voice calmly, as opposed to his typically energetic delivery.

[Color=silver]“There you are. Greetings, Ja.”[/color] Viktor shut the refrigerator door, opting to forget the sandwich he had been searching for. He took a step back to leave room for his friend to comfortably venture down if he chose. [Color=silver]“You seem to be in better spirits. Did your [I]meeting[/I] go well?”[/color] Viktor was curious, and so he would pry as he normally did.

A tip of his head to the side, almost like a shrug, was his first response. [Color=goldenrod]“I have learned more about the nature of my…well…nature…Why my abilities of the Red behave somewhat as they do…what I am destined to become…”[/color] His answer caused Viktor to raise an eyebrow.

[Color=silver]“Destined to become…”[/color] He echoed. [Color=silver]“So you have control of it?”[/color] His leading question was deliberate. [Color=silver]“The Red Beast?”[/color] He specified further.

Ja shook his head, slithering out of the cabinet. It was oddly similar to a snake as his body appeared to spill out of a tunnel that seemed to go deep behind the cabinet wall. Once out, he slid the bag of flour back in front of his secret burrow.

[Color=silver][I]Interesting.[/I][/color]

[Color=goldenrod]“As I told Pei in the past, such a question is ignorant to how the wild interacts with humankind. Not everything can be controlled by people, nor should it be. It is a matter of learning how to coexist peacefully with it.”[/color] The nature boy was rather unusually serious, sliding past Viktor to look into the food preserver.

[Color=goldenrod]“If your question is; ‘Will the beast cause more problems?’ It…he…I shouldn't, at least not while we are home.”[/color]

[Color=silver]“Apologies.”[/color] Viktor replied rather flatly but Ja would find the word a quite rare utterance from him. Viktor slightly leaned back onto one of the counters and crossed his arms. [color=silver]“Our last conversation about [I]him[/I] wasn't the friendliest. I don't wish to repeat that. I come seeking understanding and… I also want to apologize for something else.”[/color] He blurted out the last bit as quickly as he could. A statement that made even Ja's gluttonous urge pause.

[color=goldenrod]“For what, Vicky?”[/color]

[color=silver]“For not approaching you about your… division. Kila and Ja. The two aspects of yourself are something I never addressed out of concern for the mission rather than the concern for you.”[/color] Viktor sighed. [color=silver]“It was an abnormality that I ignored due to your capability and effectiveness. I failed you in a sense, especially with the surfacing of a third aspect of you… and I am sorry for that.”[/color]

Having pulled baked potatoes out of the fridge, Ja stared off into the distance for a moment. At first, his expression was clouded with confusion, looking down at the food in hand before looking back up at Viktor. Then, there was some clarity.

[color=goldenrod]“The…side of me that is ‘not bad but different’…Like you told me before.”[/color] He slowly nodded. [color=goldenrod]“I wasn’t sure what you meant before…but…there are…dreams that I’ve had— nightmares too. Dreams that I am not sure are simply stories of my sleeping mind…Stories that instead might be…memories…”[/color]

[color=silver]“Memories of the other two?”[/color] His question was rhetorical as he gave Ja a few curt nods. [color=silver]“Make sense to how I’ve thought about your relationship with them. One actor, two spectators. They see things play out from a limited perspective that is also manipulated by their biases and natures. For instance, if I berated you right now. You, Ja, might react to it with confusion and sadness that I could be so upset with you. Kila might be disagreeable and dismissive of my misplaced aggression. The Red Beast… He should have a different name by the way… he might see me as a possible threat or challenge. And I stand by what I said previously. You, Kilamanjaro, are not bad, and neither are your other two counterparts. I haven’t met the Red Beast… but I would like to, despite everything that’s happened.”[/color]

As Viktor rambled on, Ja seemed to lean back further and further. At first, he said there were two parts of him…which he could understand but now three and… [color=goldenrod]“What are you talking about? I…yes, there is me, and when my instincts take control…But…you are saying other ‘two’…I have heard Kila before…but that is what BSF had been calling the Red Beast…The reports that they tried to hide from me…unless…”[/color]

Ja took a seat on a stool. [color=goldenrod]“…my head has been broken worse than I thought…”[/color]

[Color=silver]“I wouldn't say broken. A mind divided might be better. The transitions and memory syncing are almost seamless, especially if you don't know of Kila.”[/color] Viktor clasped his hands behind his back and started pacing in front of Ja as he continued. There was no point in him being surprised by Ja's ignorance of Kila. It simply made things more interesting for Viktor to explain.

[Color=silver]“[I]He[/I] was the one who defeated me in the outdoor training area. He is also the one who was initially grabbed by the squid, as well as went on the Vegas mission. His personality is more rigid, expressions more serious… but he doesn't seem to share your power of animal mimicry. I haven't figured out why but that'll come with time, I guess.”[/color] Viktor shrugged.

Sometime amidst his explanation, Ja took a bite of one of the potatoes, not even feeling the need to heat it. Things slowly started to connect, but it was as clear as the look on his face that it was a lot to take in. 

Was he always like this? Did something happen when he was taken to Buredunia? Did he…divide, while there? As he’d learned later, most children weren’t raised to fight for their country as soldiers…That it wasn’t right. That it was too traumatic, especially for young ones. Ja had seen as much— wore the memories as eternal reminders on his body. The countless missions he’d been on flashed before his eyes. The pain…the suffering…

His head started to spin and the potato shook in his hand but a firm touch grasped his upper arms. The potato slowly steadied in Ja's hand as Viktor was now standing in front of him. 

[Color=silver]“Ja. Calm yourself. Focus,”[/color] Viktor coached, his expression slightly etched with concern. This is exactly what he didn't want to happen to Ja. To break his mind with such a revelation. However, the recent surfacing of the Red Beast forced his hand. [Color=silver]“I can help you… talk to Kila if you want.”[/color]

Although he was brought back to the moment, the Prince of the Red frowned and his bottom lip wobbled. Talk to Kila? What would that even mean? What did you even say to…well…yourself but not you? His mind wanted to default to Iwisa’s training…but…did Iwisa know? She was the smartest person he knew. She had to have known…why didn’t she tell him? Or his Amai even…?

[Color=silver]“He's… He's a good person, Ja. Different, yes but he's gotten along with the team just as well as you,”[/color] Viktor assured, though he had no idea what was going on through his friend's mind. All Viktor could do was try to support him but was he capable of such? [Color=silver]“And if it means anything, I'm here to assist you. All three of you.”[/color]

For a moment longer, Ja stared into the distance of thought, but he looked back up to Viktor. Someone who [i]was[/i] willing to tell this truth to him, even though it hurt his head to think about. That the team had all been trying to tell him subtly in their own ways. The bushbaby feared that things would be the same as they were before he’d joined the team. However, this team was different. Knowing that much brought a small smile to his face.

[color=goldenrod]“Thank you, Vicky.”[/color]

Viktor gave him a nod and removed his hand.

[Color=silver]“This is a difficult thing to come to terms with… and I'm not sure what the final solution between you three will be but I believe you all should at least know what you know now.”[/color] Viktor pulled out his phone and held it up. [Color=silver]“With your own, you can leave a video message for Kila. Say whatever you want but let him know who you are. Who Ja is. Then tell him to find me. Simple?”[/color]

Although there was clearly still some hesitation on his part, Ja slowly nodded for his friend to start recording…