I had kind of dropped the story when, on a whim, I saw that it was still getting traffic, if only a little. So I thought why the hell not. I also didn't entirely drop it from lack of feedback. I kind of didn't know where I was going with it until recently, this isn't really an important chapter in terms of any sort of plot, but it's something I really enjoyed writing about them learning to coexist in the same body. I can barely share a ROOM with someone, so I think I know where he's coming from.

David had been having some difficulty teaching Noah the things that he himself had been taught not too long ago after emerging frim his tank for the first time. Now it was the first time going to school while sharing a body.

~Noah, you have to let me have control of our body while we're at school. And maybe you'll learn some things too. Later you can meet Kyle and Jessi and the rest of the Tragers.~ He hadn't been able to see the Tragers much before leaving for school the next morning and Noah was still getting used to accessing David's own mental faculties, so he often missed things that David saw, heard or felt. He wasn't sure that Noah knew of them.

~Tragers.~ The voice whispered back in his mind.

~Our family. You'll see them later.~ David approached the steps of the school, distractedly avoiding running into people as he communicated with his passenger. Or was he the passenger? He shrugged the thought off. They both shared the body.

Walking into homeroom, he dropped his backpack on the floor next to his desk. Looking around idly as he waited for attendance to be called, he looked next to him at one of his classmates. Parker, his name was.

~What is that?~ Noah inquired curiously, looking through David's eyes.

~It's another person. It is a "he", not "that".~ David attempted to train him out of seeing others as objects.

~How do you know?~

~How do I know what?~ The question caught him by surprise, he wasn't quite sure what Noah was asking.

~How do you know it is a "he"?~

~It's something you learn. Humans establish sexual identity according to their genitalia and certain defining characteristics.~

~You can't see anything but it's head. All covered in these things.~

~You'll learn. Now stop distracting me, I need to listen for my name.~

He sat in his English class as the group discussed a story. He had chosen not to participate in the conversation. The idea of symbolism was lost on him. He did not understand how people could derive such grand interpretations from small and seemingly inane objects, and he had to admit that he was somewhat skeptical of the validity of these claims of what the author was thinking. Did they ask the author himself? In the same way, they could never guess that the cause of the occasional twitches of his fingers and feet were due to the fact that he was sharing a body with another consciousness. They think they know things that they do not, and he was somewhat annoyed by that. As he tapped his fingers on the desk that he sat in in the back of the room absently, he thought of something.

~Noah. Do you want to try something?~ He tentatively called to the center of his thoughts where he felt Noah's thoughts buzzing, bored with the lecture.

~Try... Make an attempt or effort to accomplish a task. I want to try.~ Noah's thoughts centered their attention more on his communication with David, clearly interested.

~You can have the right side. I'll take the left...~ David concentrated, relinquishing control of part of his body. He was unsure even how to go about such a thing but his efforts were assisted by Noah's effort to gain control of the side of his body that he attempted to disconnect from.

He didn't even need to ask if it worked, success was immediately felt with a sense of unity but also seclusion and lack of control as he was now unable to feel that side of his body. And yet it moved on its own, the hand rubbing the desk and flexing its fingers.

~Don't do anything big, it'll draw attention.~ David cautioned him, hoping he didn't start flailing his arm around and dancing his right leg. Startlingly, his right eye moved of its own accord, turning at a drastically different angle from his left. Quickly he moved his left eye in the same direction so as not to draw the attention of any onlookers. ~Move with me. The two halves are supposed to function symmetrically.~ He slowly moved his left eye back to the front, and Noah followed him, keeping both eyes looking in the same direction. ~If we practice, we can stay like this sometimes. I feel bad keeping you separated from your own body.~ Noah did not respond, idly dragging the right hand's fingers across their cheeks, but his understanding and excitement at the idea was clear.

"David? What is your opinion on the representation of the tree?" His head snapped to the front of the room.

~Noah, I need to talk. Let me have the other side.~ He stammered a little, only having control of half of his body. "Uh... Tree..." Finally, Noah relinquished his hold on the other side and he rifled through his thoughts for potential associations with the characteristics of trees. Finally, settling on an adequate answer, he looked to the front again. "I think the tree stands for an idea of growth in the character, and maybe the healing of past wounds both emotional and ethical. Maybe the character has advanced in such a way that they were able to develop as a person and move past the limitations set by their old selves." He kept careful control of his inflection as he rattled off the nonsense answer. He was also careful to remember to stop for breath, a necessity for most people.

"Very good, David. Growth... And... Development" Mrs. Grover said slowly as she wrote the words on the board. David almost laughed out loud. They believed him? Most people were so silly sometimes. The bell rang suddenly as it signaled the students to move to the next class.

~Are you ready to try walking?~

David and Noah walked down the hall after the last bell, on their way home. They drew some attention but largely ignored it as Noah got used to walking with only one half of the body under his control. Their hips swayed comically as the feet fell out of sync every now and then.

~Okay, stop.~ David thought in frustration. The two halves stopped, the left foot slightly ahead of the right foot as Noah got distracted and forgot to move the foot in time with the rhythm of walking. He had taken a less travelled route back home so that they could practice. The Tragers all drove home after school and he had declined a ride so as to avoid people while he and Noah attempted to synchronize their walking. Noah waited for his instructions, itching to move some more as the fingers of their right hand tapped on their right leg impatiently. ~Okay, ready? You, me, you, me, you, me, you, me...~

They continued in that manner as their walking became more regular, the rhythm balanced and steady. ~Good! You, me, you, me...~ Noah's consciousness vibrated with the praise as they continued. ~Now try moving the arms. You, me, you, me, you, me, you...~ Their arms swayed accordingly, their pace of walking finally normal and consistent. ~Once we get better at this, we can stay this way as long as we act the same.~ They continued walking on their way home, even breaking into a brisk run for a short time before they almost tripped and decided to take it slower. Approaching the door, both hands reached to grasp the doorknob. ~Let me do that...~ David opened the door and retreated to the room he shared with Kyle, sitting on the cot.

~I think there's a better way we can do this.~ Noah's interest was piqued, but his communication was much less verbal as he had been without a means to communicate through more than emotions and concepts that were still invariably understood by David. ~The brain is nothing more than an incredibly sophisticated organic computer. Maybe having two of us sharing could be incredibly beneficial. If we allocate processes to each of us subconsciously, we'll be able to act more in sync with each other... I'm coming in.~ He reclined back on his cot, staring at the ceiling. Slowly he slipped into unconsciousness as he receded inside his mind, in order to meet with Noah.

The inner mental construct of where Noah spent his time when not controlling part of the body would set David on edge if it were not for the fact that it was simply impossible for anything to be lurking in the shadows. It was a twisted and warped version of the closest thing to a womb they had both been placed in, the walls rusted and decrepit and all of the tanks that weren't his sat derelict and unkempt, while his remained in perfect condition. Noah stood, still naked and covered in the pink fluid next to his open tank, looking at David with his head cocked to the side quizzically.

He didn't make any effort to explain his process of thought to Noah, since the other could easily access those thoughts and ideas. David reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of jingling tiles. The bag appeared to be made up of a soft blue material, it felt like liquid. He crouched on the floor and motioned for Noah to do the same as he emptied the bag onto the floor. The tiles were of course mental constructs as well, a tangible representation of mental faculties. David pocketed the tile labelled Speech for himself, nodding toward Noah that it was okay to pick through the pile. This would prevent them from overlapping or both focusing on the same thing redundantly.

They continued for several minutes, sorting through more and more little wooden tiles. After the allocation had been thoroughly gone over, David stood up and wiped his hands on his pants from the dirty floor. "Now we just have to practice. I'm going to wake up now. You take the right side, I'll take the left." He stepped back and sort of waved, knowing that the gesture was understood even though Noah would not reciprocate it. Concentrating on waking up, he sank into the floor and there was a brief blackness before he awoke.

~Remember, Noah. We're lefthanded, I'll control our dominant hand so whenever we have to pick something up, I'll take care of it. Once you get more used to physical movement we can switch sides from time to time.~ The typical nonverbal confirmation of understanding arose from the other consciousness as they ate at the table with the Tragers. David used their left hand to eat while Noah drummed their right hand's fingers on their side, fidgeting with their pockets. ~I don't mean to hog the dominant side. I just want you to get used to how our body works before you start dumping food in our lap.~

The Tragers could be seen glancing in their direction as they silently ate. Tonight Jessi told him that they were to resume their training sessions since he had to break in his new body still. He was curious to see how well he and his roommate would do trying not to be bludgeoned by Jessi's fists.

"Okay. Let's start from the top because we're not sure if your new body can handle any sort of manipulation." Jessi stood outside his window, as if they had been carrying a conversation. Kyle woke up but reclined back in his tub as he noticed that Jessi was there for David. He reluctantly pushed himself out from under his blanket and followed her out the window. He sort of mentally nudged Noah into wakefulness. "If I have to do this, you have to do this." The comment was received with a hum of irritation but otherwise compliance. The right side of their body became alive as they worked together to pick themselves up from the cot. "We can probably start with some running, maybe some climbing and jumping. Those kinds of things. Are you ready?" Without waiting, she runs off into the dark. As he sets off after her, the toe of their right foot gets caught behind their other foot and they fall in a heap to the ground.

~This isn't working. Use of one eye between the two of us is hampering our depth perception and we're still having difficulty coordinating our extremities.~ They both watch Jessi disappear down the street, briefly illuminated by the streetlamps before disappearing again. ~I have an idea. Take full control of the body.~ David for the first time ever relinquished full control of the body that he shared. It was a strange experience watching it move without his willing it to, and the happiness from Noah at having full control reverberated through both of their minds as he took over the left side as well as the right. ~If one of us focuses on computation while the other controls the body, not only will that solve our current issues but we should be able to increase our performance and multitasking ability. Now you have to control both legs. Left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right...~ Noah slowly gained speed as he began to chase Jessi who was looking behind her curiously, wondering what was taking David so long.

His plan worked even better than he expected. Not only did it simply resolve the problem, but he was able to provide Noah with a complete analysis of their surroundings as he was no longer concentrating on reacting to them. Their instantaneous communication allowed Noah to focus on everything at once without losing his concentration on the goal at hand. The continuous input of their relative position compared with their surroundings and obstacles allowed for almost flawless alacrity and maneuverability, no doubt an incredible benefit to counterbalance the occasional inconvenience of having to share a body. The two of them together caught up to Jessi, avoiding the fences and trash cans, among other obstacles in their way with newfound precision as David calculated the exact angles of movement, weight distribution and other factors, relaying the information to Noah instantaneously.