Maranda took a pair of chairs out of her storage ring and sat them outside of the sand pit. They both took a second to get the course, rough, and irritating sand (that gets everywhere) off of their bodies and sat down facing each other.
Taking a second, she pulled out a pen and pad for note-taking, then said, "I know you have 'instincts,' every creature does, but yours seem different. Could you go into more depth about what just happened?"
Vasili nodded and explained, "I have brought it up, but my instincts feel almost like voices in my head, not the 'kill everyone around you' type of voice, but almost like intrusive thoughts. But it's deeper than that. I asked the Lion instinct for help because the Dragon was sleeping-"
She interrupted, "When you say 'sleeping'?"
"He was literally curled up in a face-to-butt Dragon sleep within my mind."
Her face blanked with the imagery. It was unusual, to say the least.
Vasili continued, "The Lion wanted to help you because you are family. But he is prideless, so I think he was going a bit too 'dad mode' for you."
Maranda spoke softly, "So, it sounds like your instincts are more than a part of you. They are almost like personas in a way?"
He shook his head, "No, no, no, I wouldn't say that at all. The Ram has picked up on more subtle things than I can count. They aren't 'states of mind.'"
Vasili was slightly frustrated because he couldn't explain it, "Ah, it's almost like they are different people inside of my brain. I don't know how else to explain it, but Lion was effectively in control of my body. But, it was still me moving 'myself,' kind of like Dance Dance Revolution???"
She nodded and then flashed her 'intent' at Vasili, pushing Essence into it but receiving no reaction.
Vasili exclaimed, "See? The Ram knew you weren't serious. He could tell your heartbeat wasn't increasing naturally."
Her jaw would have dropped out of socket, but she managed to keep an impassive face. That level of fidelity is something that takes years of dedicated training.
Collecting her shock, she nodded and sat the pen and pad down on her chair as she stood up.
"Please stand back up. I am wondering where your instinct came from, did you Metamorphize with it? Has it developed any since you have become an Alpha? Press against my hand." She stuck her hand out and held his own, gesturing for him to start pressing.
Vasili stood up and pressed against her body, slowly increasing the pressure. Maranda put both of her feet on the ground and started to lean into the shove, with Vasili showing no reaction.
"How hard do you want to go?" He asked.
She frowned and began to cast magic, "Robur sanguinis!" Instantly, she doubled in strength as Vasili began to shake slightly, his arm under load.
Taking a deep breath, she started to use her Essence, channeling it to her muscle groups. A red haze took over her form, coating her entire body as it grew from seemingly nowhere. At this point, her eyes were blood red and she was pushing so hard that she was digging into the floor, despite her even distribution of weight.
Vasili felt the challenge that she was presenting, a force resonating from within in a new way. He responded by calling her check. Then, energy began to flow into place with the assistance of the Ram, showing how he'd push.
Vasili smiled and reveled in the sheer power of his body. Flexing slightly, he shoved the Alpha Vampire away, her boots damaging the floor as she slid.
He spoke up, "I feel so strong. My blood pressure must be in the hundreds, but my body is like a well-oiled machine." He flexed his other arm, doing a bicep pose as her eyes focused on his rippling muscle. It wasn't the largest bicep, but the mass was lean, like a predator's should be.
After a few seconds of appreciating himself, he remembered the questions she asked, and then answered, "When I woke up from the smoking chair, that was when I felt them for the first time. My eyes zoomed in and I felt odd at first, but the euphoria was intense. Then when we went downstairs, the Dragon was helping me establish dominance. But that isn't what I was trying to do. That has happened a few times, the instincts have a real mind of their own, with their own values and beliefs. Like Dragon, he wanted to make people fear him, but Ram understood that we were a social society, so he put a stop to it."
As Vasili rambled, he pointed out, "Actually, Ram seems to be the main instinct. He is in control the most out of the instincts. But it's weird, Ram seems to be 'less' developed than Lion and Dragon in terms of personality."
That thought made him question some motives, because the Ram was much more in favor of self-preservation, even with overwhelming strength.
He asked Maranda, who was sweating bullets and trying to stand her ground, "Do you think my brain could be a Ram's brain? Is that a thing?"
She stopped pushing, her heartbeat exceeding the 60 BPM max she allowed, and answered, "I have heard of Chimera's having different personalities, but never so 'organized' as your own." She breathed deeply, trying to catch her breath, "Most Chimeras are dominated by their instinct, much like packless Werewolves, and sireless Vampires. They give into their instincts and are usually killed by Hunters or their own."
She nodded, "You may have a Ram's brain, but that isn't bad. As a matter of fact, it might be the reason you didn't instantly attack everyone in the room, which would have gotten you killed." Her smile haunted him as she patted him on the shoulder and sat back down.
He sat back down and felt his arm, it wasn't sore at all. He leaned in with a glint in his eye and asked, "Do you have anywhere I can test how strong I really am?"