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[immortalpoet]

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@

red gaze

✖

NAME

Vergilius

CIVILIAN_NAME

Red Gaze

TEAM

Brimstone

HOUSING_NUMBER

11

❤

Comments

[followyourstar]

Yeah. It definitely made an impression at the time, too. Everyone came in as if they knew exactly what to do, Faust taught me some of the basics of command, and then everyone died right in front of me.

And then, just as I thought I was gonna be next, you came in.

[immortalpoet]

That's the contract. Everyone is incapacitated...so the guide steps in to save all your sorry behinds.

[But he can't interfere before that. Unfortunately. And when he did...]

Those troublesome people, though...I think they were ready to ambush you.

[followyourstar]

You think so? I don't remember anything that led up to them cornering me in the forest, so I wouldn't know.

[They still wonder sometimes just what they were doing all the way out there in the middle of nowhere.]

[immortalpoet]

...

[He glances away, something hard in his face. The Serpent and her lackeys...]

[No. This wouldn't be the last he would see of her plans.]

Either way. They were sent home with their tails tucked behind them. So we don't have to worry about them for a while, one hopes.

[followyourstar]

And a little lighter than before.

[For the ones who lost their limbs anyway. Though they looked like the sort who could probably afford to get them replaced.]

I wonder how we'd do now. It feels like we've gotten a lot stronger since we first encountered those guys.

[But if even one of them is as strong as the Big Brother was...]

[immortalpoet]

It's their master your have to worry about.

[...]

But that's a question for another time. [He stops, turns - there's a dingy little bar, nestled in the side of the street shops.] We're here.

[followyourstar]

[A hole in the wall. Out of the way, probably not well known...]

I don't know why, but it does seem like the sort of place you'd pick.

[Maybe it's just too hard to picture him at some of the "trendier" places out there.]

[immortalpoet]

I don't like to go to the flashy places. Too much noise.

[He gestures - "come along" before going ahead. He'll beeline to the bar, order himself something strong. He'll make sure to save a spot at the bar for Dante, next to him.]

Do you think you ever were a bar kind of fellow?

[followyourstar]

[Too much noise... That's a feeling they understand. They'd gotten used the Sinners' presence ages ago, but even they sometimes needed a moment to themselves when things were getting too lively.]

Maybe.

[They take a seat beside him, assuring the bartender they'd be fine before leaning on the bar with their head in their hand.]

I think if I was, we'd have similar tastes. There's something about the quiet, simple places.

[immortalpoet]

The quiet, simple places.

[He repeats. Well, what Dante was before....]

[...]

[They seem to enjoy it now, at the very least.]

That's right, though. No one to hound your thoughts. I imagine it must be a nice break from your overall chaos, too.

[followyourstar]

It can be. [They admit with some guilt]

It's not that I don't enjoy being around everyone. But that space is nice.

[A space to just be Dante. Whoever that is.

They wonder if T Corp's Director felt the same when he went along with the four of them during the Timekilling Time investigation. They still can't say they like the guy, but he had to have had some reason besides the Distortion for running around with them in disguise, right?]

What about you? Is it just the flashiness that turns you away from other places?

[immortalpoet]

You can think your own thoughts without input. I can understand that.

[The life of a Manager is one of being hounded for, constantly. Especially so now that people actually rely on them.]

[The question makes him let out a huff.]

You could say that. I've never been one for luxury. And I'd rather a place where people won't be staring me up and down.

[Like some kind of object.]

[followyourstar]

[There's a faint twitch of the lips at that. No one staring you up and down... They know the feeling.

But he does tend to attract a lot of attention back home, now that they think on it. Even in that tent...]

I keep forgetting you're famous back home. Well, maybe "famous" isn't the word for it.

[immortalpoet]

Infamous, probably.

[A rub of his cheek as he pauses. That's the problem with being a Color. So much freedom, and also none at all.]

I never was one for the celebrity life.

[followyourstar]

You don't seem it.

[The way he holds himself, the way he spoke to Siegfried that one time... Yeah, even if he hadn't just told them he didn't like eyes on him...]

What's it like? Being known like that.

[immortalpoet]

...It feels like a film of slime you can't quite wash off of yourself. It has its benefits, of course.

[But...]

That's all you become, in people's eyes.

[followyourstar]

Just a title...

[But while Dante clings to theirs like a lifeline, Vergilius wants little to do with his own.]

This place has to be a nice break in that regard. Nothing like that to worry about here.

[LILITH's weird brand deals aside.]

[immortalpoet]

...Yes. Oddly enough, as much as I hate it, it offers its own freedom.

[A hum.]

No hounding. No assuming. You're simply one of many. As it always has been.

[followyourstar]

Normal.

[Blending in seamlessly without a single wandering eye, being able to walk around without someone staring at you... They can see the appeal.]

Think you'll miss it when we go back?

[immortalpoet]

...

[He could lie about it. But he feels like he can be honest for Dante.]

Yes. I will. More than I probably expect to.

[followyourstar]

[Surprise is writ plain on their face. They hadn't expected him to be honest about it.

...Well. If he's going to be honest...]

I'll probably miss it too.

[immortalpoet]

...You?

[Now that earns Dante a quizzical look. He straightens, his eyes fixated on their face.]

Why would you miss it?

[followyourstar]

[They can feel him stare at them. Somehow it feels like a great weight upon their back. Uncomfortable.

Their eyes remain locked on the surface of the bar, expression pensive.]

I don't know. Maybe I like feeling normal too. And the people here aren't so bad either.

[Some a little odder than most. Some a bit quicker to anger. Some gentler, and quiet. Some excitable and full of personality. But that's the sort of people they're used to. That's the way people seem to be.]

[immortalpoet]

[...]

[He misunderstood. He assumed Dante meant he would miss Vergilius being like this, "normal" and...]

[That was rather selfish of him. Jumping the gun. Why would he think Dante would think about that? They had their own worries and wishes and wants, and...of course. A life free of that albatross of responsibility. He can't blame them.]

...Free of burden. It's understandable. To stand with others as equals.

[followyourstar]

[It feels like the air's changed. The way he paused before his reply... Had they said something wrong?]

I-It's not a burden, really. That's a bit...

[They rush to correct him, even though there's less to correct than there should be.

They've said too much. Dante keeps the Sinners on their path, and Vergilius keeps them to theirs--a rule that follows them both, even to this world. Even to this moment. They strayed from the path, and as always he reins them back in. For better or worse.

For just a moment, they had let themself forget...]

Not that being able to treat one another as equals isn't nice, but... I know it can't last forever. I haven't forgotten.

[So he doesn't need to worry.]