---
By the time afternoon rolled in, the clone had proven the basics.
Walk. Eat. Speak briefly. Be seen. Be normal.
Kai kept it moving, not because the mountain required that much of him every hour, but because he required the practice. He needed the strange double-body haze to become familiar before the real trip began. Better to nearly choke on broth now than on a bee negotiation later.
So he trained.
He held the clone in a seated council posture while the original body stood and stretched on the ridge.
He sent the clone through a short patrol route while the original body scanned the forest line with Antenna Sensory Boost, trying to learn how far his command-assist would stretch before the clone's movements began feeling puppet-like.
The answer was encouraging.
Not perfect. But encouraging.
