Feyd and Ray sat on their beds in a dimly lit room. They had checked into this inn just a few minutes ago.
Ray stood up to go close the opened window that was letting in a chilly breeze when he heard Feyd speak.
"So... How was the interrogation?"
Ray shrugged and turned back to face Feyd. A cold breeze swept his hair slightly as he responded:
"It was fine. My tricks worked, what about yours?"
A slightly sour expression appeared on Feyd's face as he recounted his experience with Albert.
"This large, middle aged man came to interrogate me with the most terrifying aura I have ever felt! He then asked me..."
Ray nodded his head as Feyd said his story, occasionally comparing his interrogation with Feyd's. Feyd's eyes began to twitch as he realized he had been assigned a much, much scarier interrogator than Ray. He cursed his luck silently at the unfairness of the situation.
"He then turned towards the door and began asking about you"
Ray pasued for a moment in slight shock. Though it was something he had expected he didn't think the interrogator would be able to sense it so precisely, and even ask Feyd about him. A trickle of unease burrowed into his heart at the thought of the interrogator becoming suspicious of him.
"Hehe... It might've been because I tried perceiving into the room"
Feyd thought for a moment before he had a eureka moment, "Is that why you were sweating? Cause you were scared?"
An awkward smile bloomed on Ray's face as he averted his gaze. Feyd chuckled slightly at the sight.
"Anyways did he ask anything about the bandit camp?"
Feyd nodded immediately, "I was about to bring this up actually, he asked me whether I saw a crystal sort of a thing from the vice leader's body, you know anything about that?"
Ray nodded slowly as he turned his head to the window, towards a certain direction.
"Yeah I know what that is, it's something pretty useful, especially for you. I buried it in the bandit camp so we can retrieve it whenever"
Feyd's eyes lit up slightly in excitement for a moment but they quickly turned gloomy. Ray noticed it immediately as he asked with some concern in his words.
"What, sad you woke up half dead in a ditch while I fought Steam Cannon?"
Feyd didn't respond immediately. He seemed be thinking deeply, his expression slightly vacant. Ray didn't disturb Feyd's thoughts, instead he turned around to face Feyd, leaning onto the window sill with his elbows.
A faint breeze blew into the room, the streets quiet as can be. The moonlit houses and dark alleys were desolate, yet in a peaceful and calm way. The dark, dreary night made Ray feel an endless placation putting his worries at ease.
And after a few minutes Feyd slowly spoke, "To be honest, I'm worried about what happened back there. No, more specifically about WHO is causing this".
Ray became worried after hearing Feyd's words. He had always been curious about what had happened to him during the fight with Steam Cannon.
"What do you mean? Did someone take control of you?"
Feyd shook his head.
"No, I suspect it was my past self"
"!"
Ray immediately became alarmed. He knew how it felt to be under the arrangements and influence of someone else, cough cough Eribos, so he could guess how Feyd must be feeling right now.
"Are you sure?"
"Well logically it's the only thing that makes sense, since I don't have any connections with anyone who can take control of me. Also I could... Feel it, when I was taken over. I felt that it was my past self"
"He made some arrangements within me to attack something called an 'aberrant' the moment I sensed one. I'm not so sure what they are, but Steam Cannon was one"
"He also tried to do something more, something that seemed beneficial. But I had to use whatever he was trying to do to be able to knock out Steam Cannon and save us"
Ray slowly nodded his head, understanding what had happened. However he grew increasingly more concerned for Feyd as he listened on.
"Anyways all this has made me question my 'instincts'. Ya know, the thing that made me wanna go after into the military and be able to dodge attacks"
Feyd looked past Ray at the rising moon despondently. A few moments of silence followed his words, though it wasn't an awkward one.
"Well then what do you wanna do now? Join the military or try something else?"
Feyd answered almost immediately, showing he had already reached a conclusion. He had simply wanted to inform Ray and talk about this with him.
"Obviously I still join the military. So far this Instinct is the only lead I have to my past self, except for dodging attacks in combat, which isn't exactly useful in this situation"
"I'll try to find out what's going on for now, and also the instincts aren't necessarily harmful. Maybe my past self thought the 'take over' would do more good than harm"
Feyd smiled somewhat cheerfully while speaking. Ray grinned back in return before passing for a second, an somewhat hesitant expression revealing itself on his face.
"What's wrong?", Feyd asked.
"Hmm well, aren't you scared of your past self? He could be plotting to take over you, or something similar?"
Feyd paused for a moment before slowly shifting his gaze onto Ray. Ray's hair shifted in the wind softly while the cool air brushed past Feyd's face. Moonlight came directly through the window, the moon directly behind Ray.
"Is this about me, or you...?"
Ray felt more shocked by this than even the revelation that Feyd's past self was scheming against Feyd, or something similar.
"H-How do you know? No no, wait, more like how can you remember anything about it–!"
Ray's voice raised as he spoke, almost reaching a shout by the end. He had barely managed to cover his mouth in time, thoug still restless and in shock.
"Well... I just kinda noticed it ya know? Ofcourse I forget it quite soon, like when you dissapear strangely, or I happen to over look it? Sometimes I can remember for a longer time, like right now"
"I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but you have something within you now don't you? Maybe like me?"
Ray stared at Feyd absolutely shell-shocked. His widened eyes remained opened wide even after several seconds.
Feyd scratched the back of his head awkwardly before continuing, "I just always felt you were kind of sad, and wanted to let me know something. One day I focused on that feeling and followed my instincts and felt something within you".
"I soon forgot you, but then later I had that feeling to check on you more frequently untill the time I could remember became longer"
"Maybe it's the lingering effects of my past self, or something like that, but this gives me the chance to tell you this– I know you're going through something, and although I can't help much since I can't even remember your troubles, know that I KNOW about it deep inside me"
Feyd stared intently at Ray, his eyes glowing warmly with reassurance, comfort and comraderie, maybe also soothing console. The chaotic jumbled mess that was Ray's mental state quickly untangled itself. A bright glimmer shimmered from within his dull red eyes, now no longer dark.
Some black streaks on his hair turned back to white, something Feyd had only just noticed. To everyone the streaking of Ray's hair couldn't be distinguished from the usual, making it seem as though it was always that way, Feyd included.
'I see... He has found out'
A slight smile crept up onto Ray's face, that slowly began to widen and curl up.
'I was going to apologize for my actions... Apologize for giving up... Apologize for leaving him alone'
'But that's not what he would want me to do. He would want me to resolve myself, and no longer give up from now on. So I'll do that, and never let him give up either'
The small smile turned into a wide grin. Ray' eyes squinted slightly as the dimples of his face outlines themselves. He felt truly happy.
Maybe before he wanted to give up because he felt no one was truly there for him, for the real troubles he was facing. Or maybe it was something else, but just knowing there was someone out there, who was over coming the odds and looking out for him? THAT gave him the drive to pull himself together, and continue forward.
He could not dissapoint Feyd, and most importantly, he couldn't dissapoint himself again.
Feyd smiled in response to Ray's grin. He had felt that Ray wanted to say something even more, something extra, after the fight with Steam Cannon but now all that had dissapeared.
"Did you also want to say something more?"
Ray's grin steadily became a silent smile, "No, nothing of the sorts".
There was a lot Feyd wanted to discuss with Ray, and many things Ray wanted to discuss with Feyd. But they felt the current silent yet comfortable atmosphere was a rare luxury they should enjoy.
Feyd decided some matters himself while going to sleep, resting his aching body. While Ray waited patiently for Eribos to bring him to the void within. Though after an hour of unrequited waiting Ray too soon went to sleep.
The two Elves enjoyed a rare night of peace, and solace.