[Temenos truly is a kind person. He has every right to admonish Lobelia, more so for knowing his words won't nettle him as bitterly as they might others, an easy target if ever there was one. Even so... Lobelia sees that hand over Temenos' heart and smiles a little more brightly. Sympathy even for a devil, or is it pity? In either case, he's as thankful for it as one can be.]
Oui. He was the one who had me convinced that I would never find such a thingโ I was resigned to that fate, but he's a strange man, you know. He insisted on dashing every hope I had, and yet he refused to let me give up.
[He hadn't understood Vergilius well enough to see the logic behind his reasoning at the time, and really, it never was a logical decision to pull Lobelia back from the brink. It was a mistake on Vergilius' part, Lobelia would argue, but there's no taking back the past. Memories cannot be rewritten.]
La mort c'est la libertรฉ. I owe him my eternal gratitude for guiding me this far. In a word... it feels satiating.
[But he has Temenos here now, and so he's curious, genuinely:]
Hmm. Strange, indeed. I couldn't claim to understand him, myself. The most I know is that he had no intention of actually letting you be the end of him, and yet now you two stand side by side.
[Maybe Vergilius had simply intended to put Lobelia out of his misery and give him that happiness in death. Whatever came next was a bridge to cross later. Again, Temenos would never really know unless he asked, but...that's one mystery that he doesn't mind remaining a mystery.
Interestingly enough, he nods in agreement with Lobelia's answer, a small smile on his face.]
In a similar vein, it makes me feel whole. Like...finding the missing piece of a puzzle.
[What Temenos doesn't know certainly won't kill him... but Vergilius might. Lobelia can think of no one more easily embarrassed than that man, but that might simply be because he knows all the right buttons to push. In any case, Lobelia knows better than to bring that fact to light, so he'll turn the spotlight fully onto Temenos instead, playful laughter preceding his words.]
It sounds like you've found your vรฉritรฉ as well, Temenos.
[He seems pleasantly amused, unable to hold back another bout of laughter.]
I had a feeling you might. We're not that different, after all! Fรฉlicitations, pรฉcheur.
[How is he not supposed to laugh? He pegged Temenos as a bitch in sheep's clothing from the very start, so seeing the path he's taken is highly gratifying. Speaking of which:]
Heheh! And I would have taken great pride in doing so, I'll have you know. I would think of it less as ruination and more of a gentle nudge in the right direction, however. There's no shame in being true to oneself!
[There was a bad bitch brewing in Temenos all along and Lobelia knew it. It's about time he embraced that.]
Still, let me assure you that it was never my intention to kill your beloved. His short temper was a useful tool, but I hadn't anticipated him... well, attempting to eat me. That was never part of the plan.
Edited (wAIT let me add something) 2023-06-21 04:20 (UTC)
[Honestly, that just kind of annoys him even more.]
I don't know what you could have possibly expected when you chose to jab salt into the proverbial wound of the Avatar of Gluttony.
[Of course he was going to try to eat him??
Still, that precisely what Temenos was getting at when he said Lobelia had almost ruined the truth that he had discovered for himself. The other stuff, however...]
But I suppose I shall begrudgingly give you an ounce of credit for opening my eyes to some matters. I suspect we'll both be different people on the other side of all this.
[What the "other side" looks for Lobelia, though, he cannot say.]
Heh! I understand my folly now. Even geniuses are wont to make a mistake every now and then.
[At least he can admit that he made an error in judgment? Still, there was no one more suited to the task than Beelzebub, so it is what it is. With such little room for error, Lobelia wasn't willing to take any chances when his own death was a necessity.]
As it stands, my only intention is to serve the one who illuminated my path. That is as immutable a fact now as it always has been, so I would argue you are the one who stands to change the most.
[But knowing what commonalities they share, Lobelia has to issue a well-intentioned warning.]
You aren't out of the woods yet, Temenos. Flirting with death will catch up to you eventually. Now that you've yet one more thing to lose, you'll take heed and watch your step, won't you?
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no subject
Oui. He was the one who had me convinced that I would never find such a thingโ I was resigned to that fate, but he's a strange man, you know. He insisted on dashing every hope I had, and yet he refused to let me give up.
[He hadn't understood Vergilius well enough to see the logic behind his reasoning at the time, and really, it never was a logical decision to pull Lobelia back from the brink. It was a mistake on Vergilius' part, Lobelia would argue, but there's no taking back the past. Memories cannot be rewritten.]
La mort c'est la libertรฉ. I owe him my eternal gratitude for guiding me this far. In a word... it feels satiating.
[But he has Temenos here now, and so he's curious, genuinely:]
What does happiness feel like to you, Temenos?
sorry for the wait on this!!
[Maybe Vergilius had simply intended to put Lobelia out of his misery and give him that happiness in death. Whatever came next was a bridge to cross later. Again, Temenos would never really know unless he asked, but...that's one mystery that he doesn't mind remaining a mystery.
Interestingly enough, he nods in agreement with Lobelia's answer, a small smile on his face.]
In a similar vein, it makes me feel whole. Like...finding the missing piece of a puzzle.
no subject
It sounds like you've found your vรฉritรฉ as well, Temenos.
[He seems pleasantly amused, unable to hold back another bout of laughter.]
I had a feeling you might. We're not that different, after all! Fรฉlicitations, pรฉcheur.
no subject
He lets out a heavy exhale in reply.]
I'm sure you are well aware of how closely you can to ruining it, yes? Not that I expect an apology.
[He wouldn't accept it, anyway.]
no subject
Heheh! And I would have taken great pride in doing so, I'll have you know. I would think of it less as ruination and more of a gentle nudge in the right direction, however. There's no shame in being true to oneself!
[There was a bad bitch brewing in Temenos all along and Lobelia knew it. It's about time he embraced that.]
Still, let me assure you that it was never my intention to kill your beloved. His short temper was a useful tool, but I hadn't anticipated him... well, attempting to eat me. That was never part of the plan.
no subject
I don't know what you could have possibly expected when you chose to jab salt into the proverbial wound of the Avatar of Gluttony.
[Of course he was going to try to eat him??
Still, that precisely what Temenos was getting at when he said Lobelia had almost ruined the truth that he had discovered for himself. The other stuff, however...]
But I suppose I shall begrudgingly give you an ounce of credit for opening my eyes to some matters. I suspect we'll both be different people on the other side of all this.
[What the "other side" looks for Lobelia, though, he cannot say.]
no subject
[At least he can admit that he made an error in judgment? Still, there was no one more suited to the task than Beelzebub, so it is what it is. With such little room for error, Lobelia wasn't willing to take any chances when his own death was a necessity.]
As it stands, my only intention is to serve the one who illuminated my path. That is as immutable a fact now as it always has been, so I would argue you are the one who stands to change the most.
[But knowing what commonalities they share, Lobelia has to issue a well-intentioned warning.]
You aren't out of the woods yet, Temenos. Flirting with death will catch up to you eventually. Now that you've yet one more thing to lose, you'll take heed and watch your step, won't you?