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"I'm telling you, that's bullshit! There's no way that can work on me!"

Xavier scoffed. As a professional stage hypnotist, the large gator was used to hearing those sentences quite frequently, with slight variations from time to time. In his experience, there were only two kinds of people that had trouble believing hypnosis was real. The first kind were usually reluctant to admit there was a part of their mind that could get vulnerable, because that implied admitting everyone could get vulnerable and some point, and "vulnerable" wasn't a thing everyone did naturally.

The second kind of people who found it hard to believe in hypnosis did so due to the opposite reason - they loved "vulnerable" and dreamt of "vulnerable" every single night. They were very likely to be great at "vulnerable", but they struggled trying to understand they deserved "vulnerable" just like any other person. Instead, they seemed to wrap themselves in all kinds of silly excuses not to get hypnotized.

Needless to say, both kinds of people usually were difficult to tell apart, but Xavier enjoyed doing so. What group did the specimen in front of him belong to?

It wasn't difficult to tell.

"Why are you smiling? I just called you a fraud." The hyena facing Xavier was almost a head shorter than the gator, but it didn't seem the height difference mattered to him. "Is that your way of admitting it? That you're a fraud?"

"It's my way of telling you I don't care," the alligator replied, still smirking.

Slate - that was the hyena's name - was merely a friend's friend, someone he'd been lucky or unfortunate enough to meet at the party. All about him screamed "tough guy", from his black denim jacket and the skull-shaped buckle on his belt to his predictable, troublesome demeanor. Xavier had a way of dealing with that kind of people, and the usual outcome was slowly approaching, with Slate being completely unaware of what was going to happen.

The only reason he'd postponed the hyena's downfall so much was because it was so much funnier to watch them drop from a higher distance. And Slate looked like the kind of subject that was just_begging_ to be pushed down. Xavier had an eye for that kind of stuff.

He also noted there weren't many people around them right now. Curious witnesses would gather round as soon as the alligator brought out the pocketwatch, sure, but by then Slate would be sliding down into a more agreeable state and a much deserved apology. Perhaps it was the right time to start with the unscheduled show, Xavier thought.

"Well, you know there's only one real way of settling this, right?" he said, throwing the line.

Obviously, there were other ways of settling such a trivial debate, but there was a proper way of dealing with Slate's stubborn, rude type, and Xavier wanted to have some fun.

"So you're gonna swing that stupid watch in front of me and then what?" the hyena asked, raising an eyebrow and flashing a confident grin at Xavier. "Command me to obey? Make me your slave?"

Very specific. Our tough boy is probably into that. And he's probably right, too, but we can't let him know it, the alligator thought to himself.

"It won't get as far as that," he said instead. "I could just dip you into a shallow trance and see what we can do from there. If I'm a fraud, then your point is proved. If I'm not, you can have a good time and experience something new. What do you say?"

Slate raised an eyebrow, staring at the alligator. There was a small hint of hesitation on his face that he made an effort to hide.

Regardless, Xavier was perfectly familiar with the thought process going on in the hyena's mind. Slate was probably now struggling between proving someone wrong and allowing himself to experience the "vulnerable" he was likely to crave. The conflicting ideas would make him doubt, but Xavier knew how heavy pride could be. Stubbornness was the biggest stone in mankind's pathway.

"Alright. That'll shut your mouth," the hyena agreed, to no one's surprise. Xavier smirked and positioned himself behind Slate, a hand on his shoulder. The gentle touch made the hyena recoil a bit. "Er... but don't do anything weird, okay?"

"What weird could I do with this stupid watch of mine?" the alligator asked, his grin widening.

He brought out his classic, golden pocketwatch and let it dangle in front of Slate's eyes. Xavier couldn't see his face right now, but he was experienced enough to know the hyena's gaze was adjusting to the dangling timepiece, slightly cross-eyed and probably making a huge effort to hide how much he secretly liked that scenario.

"Not feeling sleepy yet," Slate said. His voice trembled slightly.

Nobody had noticed them both yet, so Xavier decided it was better to get it done quickly. Witnesses would probably enjoy what came afterwards more than a long, boring induction.

"Good." The alligator began swinging the pocketwatch in wide, long arcs. Its golden luster easily captured Slate's eyes, which began to follow the movement back and forth, hesitantly at first.

Fortunately, Xavier knew how to get rid of hesitation.

"I want you to focus on the pocketwatch, Slate. Exactly. Just like that."

"What do you mean 'just like that'? It's not like you're watch..."

"Take a nice deep breath in for me. I want you to breathe through your nose, hold it for a second and then let it out." There. Xavier thought, slightly irritated. There's just so much backtalk I can tolerate. "You don't need to take breaths that are any longer than you want. Just find the appropriate rhythm for you and follow it. What matters is that you're breathing nice and comfortably, following the pocketwatch as you do. Back and forth, Slate. Good."

He made a short pause. This time, it didn't look like the hyena had anything to add. His chest rose and sank slowly, following Xavier's directions. That was a good sign.

"And as you breathe and follow the pocketwatch, I'm going to speak and you can listen." The alligator said, his voice naturally dropping to his deep, low hypnotic tone.

He felt Slate shiver under his scaly hand. Another good sign.

"There's something that you're thinking right now and you're completely right. You're thinking that there's no way a pocketwatch can make someone sleepy. You're thinking making people believe a swinging trinket like this holds any power over their mind is a fraud. You're probably thinking I bring plants to my shows. And if I'm right, you can nod. There. See? I told you I knew what you were thinking. Don't worry, Slate. You can just keep following the pocketwatch as it swings right and...

... left. Capturing your attention. And what you're

thinking right now is that it isn't actually capturing

your attention. You're just following it naturally and

consciously. There is no magic involved, no dreamy

state that I have imposed on you yet. Your attention is

perfectly free, and your mind is completely aware

that you're the one asking your eyes to follow the

pocketwatch, to move left and...

... right. And you're listening to my voice. You're in

control of your own thoughts. You're breathing nice and

deep as you relax. Your body is slowly getting loose and

comfortable, which is a natural reaction of your breathing in

and out. You can perfectly rationalize everything that is

happening right now, Slate. Nod if I'm right. Gooooood.

See, I knew you'd be thinking just that. Nothing weird is

going on and yet it feels so good. Take another deep breath

for me. Follow the pocketwatch back and...

... forth. That's right. I don't need to say your eyes

are getting heavier, because you already know that.

It's a natural reaction that takes place after

following a swinging object for a while. Your

eyelids are getting heavier. Nod if I'm right. It's

okay if you begin wondering whether, after so much

time listening to me, my words hold any power over

you by now. It's a natural question to have and

the answer is you're going to nod again. That's right.

And again, Slate. See? It's okay, though. You can let

your neck relax now. Just let it rest, but keep your

eyes on the pocketwatch.

And as you rationalize the fact that my words hold power

over you because that's what listening to me for so long does,

things get much simpler. If I ask you to take another deep

breath for me, you simply do. It's the natural outcome that's

expected from you when my words control you. Your eyelids

are getting heavier after watching the pocketwatch for so long.

Your mind has gotten used to my voice after listening for a

while. Your body is relaxed. Your thoughts are fading. You feel good.

Everything makes perfect sense, Slate.

Now, I'm going to say the word "drop" in a few

seconds and then you'll be blank. Just like that.

A blank Slate, doesn't that sound like a natural

thing to be? Your mind is going to shut off

momentarily and then you will let me do the

thinking for a while. It's easy to do that now that it

all makes sense, as you follow the pocketwatch back

and forth. You understand "natural". You understand

"perfect sense". But most importantly you understand

"Blank Slate". And that's exactly what it's going to

feel like. Good?

Good. Then drop for me."

Slate's body unraveled like a ball of yarn and Xavier held it with one arm to make sure the hyena wouldn't hit the floor. Luckily for them, no curious bystanders had gathered round as of now. All of them seemed to be at the other end of the room, although what had kept them so distracted was a mystery to Xavier. The alligator, at least in that regard, knew as much as Slate did.

Not that it mattered anyway.

Slate's glassy eyes were staring into the distance, his jaw slack and open as drool trickled down his chin. Xavier had suspected it was going to be easy, but he hadn't expected the hyena to drop so hard. Now that he had the tough boy under his control, there were plenty of things he could do with him...

... but he was getting ahead of himself. First, some mandatory backtalk was in order.

He gripped the back of the hyena's head with one firm hand and pulled his ear closer to his jaw. Slate let out a soft, almost inaudible moan as his limp body was moved around like a rag doll.

"How about now, Slate?" Xavier whispered, a crooked grin on his face. "Feeling sleepy yet?"