Dyasen found himself growing mildly irritated as the girl floundered through her observations. He knew it would be difficult for someone new to this to understand, but for the world’s sake, she wasn’t getting anywhere.

“It seemed like you made people lose interest in you… is that it? Can you redirect people’s attention to something else?” Her eyes brightened. “Maybe you can manipulate the direction of people’s focus, so they have to think about something else.”

“No. Not even a little bit.”

“Then what-”

“Okay, fine, I’ll just tell you,” he huffed.

Nora gave him a triumphant look.

He frowned. “You weren’t doing all that on purpose, were you?”

Her expression turned indignant. “All what?”

“Nevermind.” All your moronic bumbling.

“Okay, Clank, can you PLEASE tell me what’s going on?” Pepperjack’s voice asked suddenly, causing Dyasen to almost jump in his seat. He’d asked them to be quiet while he had this conversation, and up until now, they had. “I’m trying to put it together from what I’ve heard, but I can’t figure out the context.”

Dyasen actually found himself chuckling at that. “I bet it sounds a lot funnier on your end. With context, it’s just sad.”

“What?” Nora demanded, scowling.

“Nothing.” “Alright, it’s not actually that bad. I shouldn’t be so rude, but it’s just… it’s kind of…”

“You’re rude to me all the time,” they pointed out.

He rolled his eyes, but he wasn’t sure how to respond to that. An apology was probably in order, but he could barely keep his thoughts together right now with the conversation juggling.

“What in the world are you doing?” Nora was glaring at him now.

“I just remembered something I forgot to do. It… has to do with someone else, and they did something kind of funny. That’s all.” He was grateful she wasn’t using her ERA, but she was still forgetting to not ask questions. Eh. Practice will make perfect.

“I… what? Are you saying-”

Dyasen cringed. “Shit, was that- did that sound like I was responding to you saying I’m rude to you?”

“Was that not what you were responding to?” they challenged.

“No! I was observing someone here-”

“Well, are you going to tell me about your ERA or not?”

“Hold on,” Dyasen told the girl, raising a finger. “I really don’t want to forget this. Sorry.” “I was observing someone here who keeps screwing something up.” He really felt like he should add an apology, but again didn’t know how to think it. And he was afraid of trying to think about how to word it, because they’d hear everything.

“Oh. I’ll leave you alone, then.” They still sounded a bit put off.

“Thanks. I’ll talk in a bit and explain everything.”

“Okay, sorry about that,” Dyasen said, eyes focusing on Nora’s again. “I just wanted to give myself a way to remember it. One of those little mind tricks, you know?” He chuckled.

“Do you want a piece of paper?”

“...oh, that would’ve been a better idea, wouldn’t it?” he said, trying to look sheepish. I’m a little bit of an idiot, he told himself. Sometimes I make stupid oversights. He really didn’t need the words at all, since he was already feeling exactly that way. All it took was the bare minimum of energy to make that feeling spread to his outward appearance.

“Probably.” She shrugged. “Anyway, you were going to tell me about your ERA.”

“Right.” He shifted in his seat, rolling his shoulders back. “Basically, I have to convince myself of something- well, specifically, something about my own state. Like, how I am, or how I come across to others, or… you know.” He rubbed his forehead. “And then I put my energy into it — it’s an Internal ERA. I’ll explain that later — and that belief actually becomes reality.” He paused. “Well, insofar as people perceive me to be that way. I couldn’t actually… make myself ten times stronger or something.”

Nora furrowed her brow. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“Have you ever had someone tell you that you can become something if you just believe in yourself?”

“Not really.”

“Oh.” He frowned. “I would say that’s sad, except most people find that sort of thing extremely irritating, so I’ll remain neutral.” He rolled her eyes when her expression didn’t change. “Well, for me, that actually works. If I convince myself that I’m, say, not very interesting, I can make myself actually not very interesting, and other people won’t be interested.”

“But if I know you’re doing it, will I be able to resist?”

He shook his head, grinning. “That’s the beauty of it. I don’t have to convince you of anything. I just have to convince myself, and then that’s how I am.”

“So… your entire power — ERA — revolves around lying to yourself.”

“......yes.” He tilted his head to the side, making a face. “Well, only for a little bit, though, before it becomes the truth.”

“But only in a weird…” she waved her hand in the air… “technical sort of way.”

“I suppose,” he admitted.

She leaned forward, and for the first time, he saw some semblance of excitement or even ambition in her dark brown eyes. “So if you were doing that, and I asked you whether you were doing it, it might cause it to stop.”

For a long second, he just considered, trying not to let his expression change. That idea scared him a little more than he liked to admit. Because she was probably right. If he were to tell someone that he was using his ERA, that would mean he wasn’t actually whatever he told himself he was. But she’s given me no reason not to trust her, and maybe… that’d be useful in a pinch. “Maybe that could be useful,” Dyasen finally echoed aloud.

“Well, I should probably get back home,” Nora announced, pushing her chair back and standing up. “My aunt cooks dinner around this time.”

“Right. Bye,” Dyasen said, still thinking about what she’d told him.

She crossed her arms, clearly waiting for something. When he didn’t say anything, she asked, “So… where should I meet you tomorrow?”

“Hmm?” He looked up. “Oh. What do you do during the day?”

“I’m a farm hand. It’s just turning to spring, so we’re starting to plow the fields, and we’ll plant the crops a little later.” A slow smile grew on her face, something Dyasen didn’t like at all. “The best place to talk would be out in the field, wouldn’t you say? You could even help with the work.”

Dyasen groaned. “Nooo.” He tilted his head back, scowling at the ceiling.

“Please. You work as a mercenary for the Sheer, and carry around a sword. You’ll be fine.”

“Physically and emotionally fine are two very separate things.” I’m utterly pitiful, and I probably can’t even use the sword I carry around. That was actually somewhat true — he wasn’t terrible with it, but he wasn’t really a fighter like Hexis or Jade — so convincing himself he was useless with it wasn’t that difficult. The harder part would be convincing himself he was good.

Nora let out a long sigh. “I don’t know why you’ll struggle so much, but fine, we can meet afterward.”

Dyasen rolled his eyes. He’d mostly done that just to see if she would pick up on it, but she hadn’t, and he didn’t like feeling useless. I’d be fine. Farm work is nothing compared to what I sometimes have to do. And I’m decently skilled with the sword.

“I’ll come help with your work,” he told the girl with a dramatic sigh. “And if you want to disable my ability by asking me about it, you do actually have to pick up on it first.”

She blinked, realized what he meant, then let out a frustrated huff and stomped out of the inn.

She hadn’t told him where to actually meet her, but he’d figure that out. First, he had an apology to make.

He just didn’t want to do it right this second.

Raising a hand, he called over the server who had seated them earlier. “Can I get a room for the night?” he asked. “Possibly the next few?”

“Of course,” they said with a nod. “Follow me.”

Once he’d gotten to his room and handed a few coins to the server, he took a long, deep breath, rolling his neck. It actually felt good to be standing, so he continued to do so, crossing his arms and letting his eyes wander across the wall of the room. “Hey, Pepperjack?” he thought finally.

There was a moment of nothing before they replied, “Yeah, Clank?” They sounded a little hurt still, but also hopeful.

“I’m sorry. For being rude, and for putting you off earlier. I was really in the middle of-” He cut himself off, letting silence fill his head. Excuses weren’t needed right now. “I’m just sorry. And I will try to get better.”

“Thanks,” Pepperjack answered finally. “And sorry if I’m too much sometimes. I know you didn’t really choose to have me in your head.”

He chuckled aloud. “Well, you didn’t choose whose thoughts you got to pick up on. So I guess we’re just stuck with each other.”

“I guess so,” they said, sounding a little happier.

Dyasen paused, taking a deep breath. Pepperjack had gone quiet, indicating that they thought that was all that needed to be said. But it wasn’t, and Dyasen knew that.

Nora knows my real name, and we only just met. Sure, it hadn’t exactly been his decision to tell her, but the fact was, this near-stranger knew it and Pepperjack was still using a lie.

“Who’s Nora?” Pepperjack asked almost hesitantly. They could guess what he was about to do, and they probably didn’t want to ruin it.

“Doesn’t matter. But… I just wanted to tell you. My name’s Dyasen. Dyasen Nosvyenar. And nobody except you has ever called me Clank.”

A moment of silence. This wasn’t even really that big of a deal, but Dyasen sort of felt like it was, and apparently Pepperjack picked up on that. “Cool,” they said finally. “It has a nice ring to it.”

“Thanks.”

“But can I still call you Clank?”

He scowled at the wall as snickering filled his head.