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Utterly self-indulgent
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Leo stared up at the portraits as the man next to him explained – solemnly, almost religiously – who they were. The likeness was surprisingly close. Well, maybe it shouldn't be surprising, considering how Damson had reacted when they met. One of the portraits looked exactly like him – although the woman, he was pretty sure was supposed to be his daughter. (It was strange, seeing her smiling. He'd never thought about how rarely Ruki smiled before... A small pang of guilt ran through him, which he stubbornly ignored. There was no point in feeling guilty about what he'd done a lifetime ago.)
Still, the portraits were a lot more accurate than he'd expected. It was a good thing he'd put together a disguise. The blonde hair and blue eyes were the main features they'd latched onto, so he'd turned his hair black and his eyes brown. What with his hair being long now and his also wearing “normal” clothing for the trip, the difference was more than enough that they didn't suspect a thing.
He nodded in absent-minded agreement to what the man was saying, still looking at the portraits and mostly ignoring the tales of... his exploits. The feeling was... Leo couldn't come up with the right word. Uncomfortable wasn't right, not really, though it wasn't exactly wrong either. Here was a town which was immortalizing him (and Ruki, and maybe other blonde-haired blue-eyed Ellehemaei) for being... whatever he had been. A dangerous killer who thought himself a protector, he thought bitterly. The boy had the right idea of it, more than the rest of the town seemed to. That was the sort of person to hate, not to admire.
On the other hand... some part of him liked it. The thought of being idolized by an entire town, virtually worshipped as a legendary figure – it was appealing. Tempting. What would happen if he dropped his disguise, right here and now? Revealed himself as their Storm Prince, standing in the town square as lightning blazed--
Leo shook his head sharply. Not like that, he thought. He wouldn't be praised as a figure of violence and death. He was a teacher now; he didn't need to be a god.
Leo stared up at the portraits as the man next to him explained – solemnly, almost religiously – who they were. The likeness was surprisingly close. Well, maybe it shouldn't be surprising, considering how Damson had reacted when they met. One of the portraits looked exactly like him – although the woman, he was pretty sure was supposed to be his daughter. (It was strange, seeing her smiling. He'd never thought about how rarely Ruki smiled before... A small pang of guilt ran through him, which he stubbornly ignored. There was no point in feeling guilty about what he'd done a lifetime ago.)
Still, the portraits were a lot more accurate than he'd expected. It was a good thing he'd put together a disguise. The blonde hair and blue eyes were the main features they'd latched onto, so he'd turned his hair black and his eyes brown. What with his hair being long now and his also wearing “normal” clothing for the trip, the difference was more than enough that they didn't suspect a thing.
He nodded in absent-minded agreement to what the man was saying, still looking at the portraits and mostly ignoring the tales of... his exploits. The feeling was... Leo couldn't come up with the right word. Uncomfortable wasn't right, not really, though it wasn't exactly wrong either. Here was a town which was immortalizing him (and Ruki, and maybe other blonde-haired blue-eyed Ellehemaei) for being... whatever he had been. A dangerous killer who thought himself a protector, he thought bitterly. The boy had the right idea of it, more than the rest of the town seemed to. That was the sort of person to hate, not to admire.
On the other hand... some part of him liked it. The thought of being idolized by an entire town, virtually worshipped as a legendary figure – it was appealing. Tempting. What would happen if he dropped his disguise, right here and now? Revealed himself as their Storm Prince, standing in the town square as lightning blazed--
Leo shook his head sharply. Not like that, he thought. He wouldn't be praised as a figure of violence and death. He was a teacher now; he didn't need to be a god.
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Gods, gods, I love Leo so MUCH. That last line. That last LINE!
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STILL loving this so much.