[IC] DATE

[goddamnemperor]

[ he steps out of his room, dressed casually, save for an golden hawk pinned to his shirt ]

[ he also seems to be playing with something in his hands ]

Comments

[drfeelgold]

[solemnly]

What was he like?

[goddamnemperor]

[smiles]

Awful. He ran away when we were born. Presumed dead.

[drfeelgold]

You mentioned once that he'd gone blind and gone off into the desert. Did you ever get to meet him again?

[goddamnemperor]

No one can hide from me.

[hesitates] We met. He... was upset with my decision. I was upset with him. It was not the touching reunion either of us had pictured.

[drfeelgold]

Where is he now?

[goddamnemperor]

He's dead. He died in my arms.

[drfeelgold]

I'm sorry, Leto.

[goddamnemperor]

Don't be. No one knew better than I, what my father deserved and what he wanted. As it happens, they coincided.

[drfeelgold]

Still. He was your father.

[goddamnemperor]

He was a man.

And his death was his wish, not mine.

[drfeelgold]

I wish you could've had more time with him.

[brief pause]

What you were saying before, about emotional connections- those aren't easy for a lot of people to make. Probably not for the same reasons as you but... I think we all get a little afraid, of becoming known to someone, becoming vulnerable to them only to- only to lose them. It... doesn't make you a lesser person, to ever feel that way.

[goddamnemperor]

[laughs]

Oh, no. What I would give to be a lesser person. But it is forbidden. Those kind of attachments, feelings... they will arouse the Worm. It will destroy me. Piece by piece. What then, of my ambition, of the Golden Path? Who will lead mankind out into the future?

[drfeelgold]

[said kindly but firmly]

Nature abhors a vacuum. If you don't, someone else will.

[goddamnemperor]

By then it would be too late. I have faith in nature, but mankind has been known to overrule it.

[drfeelgold]

It has. But it can also surprise you at the final hour, too.

Leto, I and a lot of other people, we wouldn't want to see you destroyed. But we also wouldn't want you to lose yourself. You still deserve to have something for yourself, after everything you've given up, and everything that has and will happen. You deserve something more for yourself.

[goddamnemperor]

While I do agree... I can never accede to it. I'm sorry.

[drfeelgold]

[gets up on his hind legs, putting his front paws on Leto's leg for balance]

Don't apologize. What you're doing, it's for everyone. I just... wish you could be counted amongst 'everyone' as well.

[goddamnemperor]

As do I.

[drfeelgold]

Well, at least you've got tonight right? I'm sure it'll be some-

[was already starting to sit back on his haunches, only just now noticing the two very distinct muddy paw prints on the front of Leto's pant leg]

- aw, crap.

[goddamnemperor]

[laughs]

[drfeelgold]

[more than a little chagrined]

You know, on that list of 'things you've never done before', becoming a four legged animal is not something I recommend investigating.

[goddamnemperor]

I will bear it in mind.

[drfeelgold]

Have you... given any more thought to that?

[goddamnemperor]

... I can't give you more than what I have said I can.

[drfeelgold]

It's not for me or anyone else, it's just for you. If you want to. If you think you can.