Thinking

Dillon managed to look and even feel somewhat calm as he stayed close to T and his mess of an other half. He knew he often looked like a scared insecure kid, as what he now suspected was Isaac often insisted, but he stood tall with a calm expression and hoped he looked at least his age, if not more mature than that.

He stayed quiet and let them talk. He took it all in and did some thinking on it, not wanting to interrupt, but finding that it did give him some ideas.

His other frowned, "I wouldn't have done it. I just wanted you. If I had killed them you wouldn't listen to me anymore."

"Listen to what?! What the hell do you have to say that requires you beat the fuck out of me, huh?"

Other T furrowed his brows, but he looked almost, uncertain.

"I...don't know."

"You don't-" T let out a chuckle, but the laugh was born of rage, "You mean to tell me, you tried to fold me the very second you saw me, and you don't know why?"

Isaac had done almost exactly the same thing. He hadn't said why or even really acknowledged it. Did he... regret it? Did he have no idea why he did that either? Did he think if he didn't acknowledge it, then it was like it never happened? Why had it happened? In both his and T's case, that had happened. Why?

After that, Isaac wasn't ever violent again. Dillon had assumed it was because he was trying to lay low and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike again, but maybe not. Or... maybe that was exactly what it was... until Isaac had time to cool down and actually think? And that was why he finally let it go and revealed himself?

"I was doing some thinking while I was in here, T. See, me? I'm a amalgamation of all of those feelings of rage, pain, sorrow, all of that shit. All wrapped up in a big ass ball. I'm here to better you. I'm here to wrench all of that shit out of you."

Was that exactly what Isaac was as well? No... that didn't seem right. Isaac and Other T had many similarities, but they didn't seem the same. They were the same general concept maybe, but they'd both come from completely different people. Maybe Isaac had aspects of himself that he didn't know about, but... he didn't think he had an ounce of rage inside of himself. It seemed almost pathetic somehow to admit, but almost didn't think he was capable of actual rage. Anger, sure. Frustration, pettiness, bitterness, even a bit of violence maybe, but... not rage.

It got him thinking about what exactly was there on the dark side of his heart. What was that other voice in his head really like? He was petty. He was bitter. He was grudgeful. Selfish. Judgemental. Snarky. Cocky. Angry. In short... he was an asshole. He tried to picture sorrow and pain there. He knew it had to be there, but it just didn't seem to fit. Oh, he realized. That's because it's on this side.

Was Isaac all of that? He didn't act that way when he left, but... well, maybe he was just smart enough to hide all of that. Maybe he was smart enough to be a wolf in sheep's clothing beyond just pretending to be Dillon.

The more the other two talked, the more personal it got. The more painful. Other T was pushing very specific buttons only he would know about. By the time they were on the othet side of the hall, away from the cell, it was obvious T was angry and thinking about a lot.

Dillon sat down on a cushioned waiting room-like bench against the wall that hadn't been there until now and gestured for T to join him. Somehow, he didn't think he should try to talk to T or try too hard to calm him down. Maybe it was a good idea to let him work through his thoughts, or maybe it was a terrible idea to let him stew in it and overthink. Dillon stayed quiet anyway. He handed T a bottle of cold water and took one himself. He didn't think he had anything helpful to say, so he didn't bother. He just... sat with him. He'd be patient.

He did some more thinking while he waited, even slouching in his seat. What was Isaac doing out there? Had it been a mistake to let him go? What were they going to do with Other T? While they talked and Other T started to sound somewhat sane and reasonable, he was actually considering letting him go as long as he agreed to leave, but then he continued, proving that he would just go straight back to the same shit. All that happened was that he'd had a bit of time to think about that. It hadn't changed the fact that it was still what he wanted to do. Maybe some more time could make him change his mind? Like Isaac? No... No, he obviously wasn't like Isaac. He couldn't use one of them as an example of the other.

He looked at T who was still steaming, though the drink seemed to have helped a little. Maybe he was calming down.

Isaac and Other T were what was lurking under their skin. He certainly wasn't proud of Isaac, but... T's did seem rather... extreme. Was that... something he'd be able to deal with if it came up from T directly? It didn't feel fair to judge T that way.... Isaac was good at hiding it, but now he felt pretty sure Isaac was actually a huge asshole. Dillon knew he wasn't an asshole. He wasn't. It existed in him, but that didn't define him... right? He should assume it was the same for T. That thing behind the glass was not T... but it did come from him. It felt naive to assume it wasn't ever going to surface at all, but... well, nobody was perfect.

Finally, he sighed. "I guess we're both kinda fucked up inside, huh?" It seemed like T was calmed down enough, so he started talking. "I wonder if we're all gonna wind up with one eventually. Maybe we got ours first because... we have it worst? Two impatient bastards, I guess." He sighed again. "Isaac seemed pretty nice when he left, but... Now that I'm thinking about it, I'll level with you; I bet he's an asshole. He's just... a lot less direct than a certain somebody over there. If the whole pretending to be me think tells us anything, I think we can assume he's a good actor. Maybe we shouldn't have let him go, but..." He shook his head. "I don't think he'll do anything too bad put there... At least... I hope he doesn't. If they're similar enough, I bet he'll be back soon enough anyway."

Somehow, he still believed that Isaac really did leave to do some thinking. Nefarious plotting or soul searching, it was anyone's guess. Either way, he knew Isaac would return sooner or later. It just made sense. Unless Isaac was more independent than he was giving him credit for, how could he stay away for long?

He let out a heavier sigh, looking down the hall again. "What are we going to do about him? The rules of this place are still so uncertain... I don't think we can guarantee or count on anything." There wasn't much they could do without constantly keeping an eye on Other T that Dillon thought could keep him contained. "You think maybe..." He shrugged to himself. "Maybe I can try to talk to him. I... I don't know what I could accomplish with it, if anything, but... I dunno, maybe we'll get a different result if someone other than you talks to him."