[When Stahn releases him, Leon steps back as well, half a stumbling step and then he meets Stahn's eyes, startled by the speech he's giving. It's... certainly a lot to absorb, but in a lot of ways, he can't say he's surprised by it. Isn't this how Stahn had always been? Of course he still believes in him. Of course he wants Leon to live.
Of course he swears he won't leave him behind, even though that's not Stahn's choice.
Leon's out of anger, though. He's tired. He's beaten down by everything that's happened here, on top of everything that happened back home. He's been trying so hard to put a brave face on things, to deal with them with poise and grace and handle them as they come but he just...
Can't anymore.
So he meets Stahn's eyes, and his expression is just weary. What else can he possibly do, when he knows that Stahn's wrong? Not through any fault of his own, of course; Leon's beginning to believe that Stahn doesn't have character faults in that way. He's an idiot, and he's airheaded, and he's too giving and too quick to slack off, but he's trustworthy. Dependable. He'd never leave a friend behind.
Isn't that why this is the worst after all?
So Leon breathes out a short huff, almost a dry, humorless laugh.]
It is not a matter of belief. [Leon already believes in Stahn.
He wouldn't have reached for his hand if he didn't. The fact that he died hasn't changed that he believes in him. The things that have happened in Cerealia have done nothing to shake his faith.
But that's not the fact of the matter.]
In the end, you will have to. [In the end, Stahn will have to leave him behind--don't they both know that?] Our world needs you and Dymlos both. There is no way they can win alone. [Rutee, Philia, Woodrow--everyone else as well, they're strong, but they need Stahn, the core heart of the group.
And to go home means to leave Leon behind, even if they're given the choice.]
Do not pretend otherwise. It helps neither of us to do so.
[Even if Leon lives while he's here...even if he tries to embrace his new life (which is so very hard), it's incredibly hard to do so when he has no goal to live towards. He intends to get Stahn home to save their world, of course. But that's just taking them closer to that separation, and then Leon's choices will be...to be alone, or to go back to being dead.
He can't even say he's angry about it--not anymore. He doesn't feel much of anything towards it.
He just knows that it's the truth, and it has to be acknowledged, and it can't be ignored.]
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Of course he swears he won't leave him behind, even though that's not Stahn's choice.
Leon's out of anger, though. He's tired. He's beaten down by everything that's happened here, on top of everything that happened back home. He's been trying so hard to put a brave face on things, to deal with them with poise and grace and handle them as they come but he just...
Can't anymore.
So he meets Stahn's eyes, and his expression is just weary. What else can he possibly do, when he knows that Stahn's wrong? Not through any fault of his own, of course; Leon's beginning to believe that Stahn doesn't have character faults in that way. He's an idiot, and he's airheaded, and he's too giving and too quick to slack off, but he's trustworthy. Dependable. He'd never leave a friend behind.
Isn't that why this is the worst after all?
So Leon breathes out a short huff, almost a dry, humorless laugh.]
It is not a matter of belief. [Leon already believes in Stahn.
He wouldn't have reached for his hand if he didn't. The fact that he died hasn't changed that he believes in him. The things that have happened in Cerealia have done nothing to shake his faith.
But that's not the fact of the matter.]
In the end, you will have to. [In the end, Stahn will have to leave him behind--don't they both know that?] Our world needs you and Dymlos both. There is no way they can win alone. [Rutee, Philia, Woodrow--everyone else as well, they're strong, but they need Stahn, the core heart of the group.
And to go home means to leave Leon behind, even if they're given the choice.]
Do not pretend otherwise. It helps neither of us to do so.
[Even if Leon lives while he's here...even if he tries to embrace his new life (which is so very hard), it's incredibly hard to do so when he has no goal to live towards. He intends to get Stahn home to save their world, of course. But that's just taking them closer to that separation, and then Leon's choices will be...to be alone, or to go back to being dead.
He can't even say he's angry about it--not anymore. He doesn't feel much of anything towards it.
He just knows that it's the truth, and it has to be acknowledged, and it can't be ignored.]