PRIVATE we ain't any different but we just ain't the same

[KANEMARU.]

AIKAWA KANEMARU.

Kanemaru shifted slightly as Vale hopped over onto his rock, giving both of them some space, but otherwise seemed perfectly fine with being basically in each other's personal space. If it were anyone else, he might have been irritated; but Vale was quickly becoming the closest thing that Kane had to a friend on this forsaken island of crazy cannibalistic animals, and he was oddly determined not to fuck it up.

It surprised a grand total of absolutely nobody that Vale had clocked that Kanemaru was a made due to his avoidance of the conversation. He pretended not to be bothered, but his feathers had fluffed up slightly.

"I don't like talking. It's a waste of my time," ignoring that Kanemaru had been the one to strike up this conversation, and willingly, no less. "Dissecting is more fun."

He turned his head, mentally debating what Vale had said. It seemed redundant to say that antisocials were more trustworthy in the same sentence as saying they'd always pick themselves over anyone else, but then, what did Kanemaru know? He'd never met another psychopath before. The only other animal Kane had ever spent an extended period of time around before Vale and Xanti had been his mentor, and his mentor had been a complete and utter narcissist. An insane one, perhaps, but a narcissist nonetheless.

"I'm not feral," Kane snapped, shooting a warning glance in the raven's direction. His feathers ruffled, both figuratively and literally. Didn't like the insinuation that he was undisciplined. He knew discipline. It'd been forced down his throat from a young age. Why'd they think Kane avoided groups like the plague?

Big groups like this were too much trouble that Kane wanted nothing to do with.

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

Vale squinted. Sometimes xe forgot the fundamental reason why Xanti was a made psychopath: trauma. That reaction from Kane looked like a trauma response. “I think I picked the wrong word. You’re not feral.”

“With me, you’re collaborative. But it’s not a communication style or skillset you’ve developed, right?” The raven shrugged with both wings. “You don’t have to tell me why. The why doesn’t matter. The why is irrelevant.”

“The interesting question is: how can we establish trust and communication? Because, unfortunately, collaboration requires talking.” Vale sounded a bit more amused than xe probably should be, but, well, Vale was a bit too playful for xyr own good sometimes. “For better or for worse, you’re the only earth elemental we have. If we don’t collaborate today? In a few months, the cult will starve and infighting will erupt.”

“I know you don’t give a fuck about cannibals eating cannibals, but I want you to give a fuck, because cannibals are your best shot for accomplishing your goal. Cannibals don’t have to be smart to kill and eat whoever you want them to kill and eat. They’re prosocial hunting hounds willing to kill prosocials for their pharaoh. Isn’t that funny?”

Vale tilted xyr head. “And you don’t even need to learn how to bother manipulating prosocials. Meteor loves doing that shit, it’s his favorite thing. Hell, if I need to, I can do that shit for you.”

“But you’ve gotta communicate with me.” Vale did a double hop in place. “I’m communicating with you, right? Total honesty. Because, really, helping you achieve your goal helps me achieve my goal. If you want to vibe in nature and live in your cell when I don’t have the time to escort you, that’s fine, but it’s counterproductive to your goal.”

“You can’t undo the damage to nature alone. Hell, I can’t accomplish my goal alone. Meteor can’t. Xanti can’t. That’s why we work together.” Vale hesitated and added, “What you need is a coalition of psychopaths with complimentary skills and synergistic goals. I’m trying to teach you how to communicate, so we can all prosper.”

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[KANEMARU.]

AIKAWA KANEMARU.

Kane paused, momentarily struck dumb. He spent so little time around living creatures, his only long-lasting interaction for the longest time had been his mentor; and seriously, fuck that guy. Spencer never respected any of his boundaries. Thought he knew best. Expected utter perfection, as if that was a realistic expectation to have. Forced it down Kanemaru's throat that he was a waste of time and valuable resources for so long that one day Kane just snapped and killed him. "You said you were a God, but look at you, bleeding red like the rest of us."

Kane licked his lips.

It hadn't really occurred to Kanemaru that he could manipulate the cannibals. So far, he'd just done what they asked him to do because he was a captive, and he'd rather be a healthy, comfortable captive than a malnourished, tortured one. He hadn't really thought about getting them to do what he wanted. There was a lot of things Kane wanted. The cannibals could help. But how? How?

Communicating wasn't Kane's forte. He was good with words, sure; had to be, per Spencer's 'teaching'. He'd spent his early years constantly absorbing knowledge on anything and everything he could get his paws on. Had to be the best. Had to make Spencer proud. Never worked, mind, but that was different; didn't have to make him proud anymore, he was fucking dead, and good riddance. He'd do it again, too, in a heart beat.

"Alright," Kanemaru agreed slowly. His feathers relaxed. He shuffled slightly closer to Vale, swivelling his head around to stare at xem, swirling golden optics unblinking. "I understand the honesty for honesty thing. I get it, it's like a... A trust-building exercise. And it works, I suppose, because I trust you." That felt weird to say, but thinking about it, he did. Vale had said xe wouldn't hurt him, and he hadn't. The why didn't matter, like Vale said; the gore-beast had kept xyr word. "What else do I need to know?"

[VALE]

graphic gore ★ genderfluid ★ three eyed raven

As Kane relaxed, Vale waited patiently. Though, once the fox beastie came around, Vale bobbed xyr head and tapped xyr feet. After Kane spoke, Vale nodded in agreement. “Haha, you get it! Now think. Why do you trust me? You’re antisocial. How you decide someone is trustworthy is how a fellow antisocial decides that you’re trustworthy. Right?”

“But prosocials are illogical fucks.” Vale scoffed. “Earning prosocial trust is simple enough: imitate their social norms with a smile, and then you’re one of them. Easy as hell.” Though, Vale rolled xyr three red eyes as xe continued. “Leading prosocials, though? Ugh! Complicated and Boring! I could read a whole library with advice from old psychopaths to young psychopaths seaking leadership and still not know what the fuck to do when a goddamn baby shows up in a gift basket.”

The raven thought about it, titled xyr head right and let as xe let xyr mind wander. Xe stopped paying so much attention to Kane—clearly, the inquisitor figured the fox wasn’t about to attack—as xe considered.

“Really, that’s the main shit. You gotta learn how to collaborate, which means maintaining trust and communication. You don’t have to get Meteor and Xanti to like you, mind, just trust your goals align with theirs and, therefore, you can be an ally that won’t slit their throat the moment it’s convenient for you. Simple, eh? Psychopath gonna psychopath, but a psychopath that knows what he wants and how to get it is trustworthy in pursuit of that goal. At least to other psychopaths.”

Vale fluttered xyr wings. “Again, prosocials are illogical emotion idiots. Don’t give the non-psychopath cannibals a reason to think you’ll kill ‘em and play by the social rules. That should be easy, Meteor designed the social rules they follow, and he’s a psychopath. Easy and logical. Nothing like a narcissist’s social rules! Those fuckers never make a system that works, only a system that feeds their god complex.” Vale cackled. “You do that long enough and you earn trust from Meteor and Xanti? Bahaha, maybe you’ll get out of that cell and become my cannibal boyfriend!!”

YOU NEVER TRUSTED ME ★

BUT I’M OVER IT NOW

[W]isker

[KANEMARU.]

AIKAWA KANEMARU.

That made sense to Kanemaru. In his experience, prosocials were closed-minded and unobservant. As long as you were 'normal' they'd accept it, which Kanemaru was confident he could at least pretend to be. Pretend to be into all the funky Deities bullshit Vale had spouted earlier. Pretend to give a crap about their traditions and way of life. That sounded... Easy. Boringly so, mind, but who was he to complain?

He supposed, then, the hard part was going to be Meteor and Xanti. In hindsight, maybe Meteor would be Kane's biggest obstacle. Who really knew, though. Maybe the lazy cheetah would surprise him. Maybe Meteor wouldn't actually care all that much. He didn't know them at all, but he had to try. His goals seemed more in reach now than they had been for as long as Kanemaru could remember. Odd, perhaps, that being captured and taken as prisoner had lead to that... But circumstances were a semantic Kanemaru cared little for, to be perfectly honest.

He paused when Vale brought up the boyfriend thing again. For a moment he'd forgotten about that. Still wasn't sure how to feel, really. Kanemaru didn't really see himself falling in love with anyone, but maybe xyr determination was amusing, if he thought about it. And it was a sort of ego boost he didn't mind getting every now and again.

"Sounds... Easy enough," Kane hummed in acknowledgement, settling down onto his stomach and folding his front paws beneath him, wings folded against his back. He had assumed optimal resting position: loaf. "I can do that."