[ Contrary to how utterly callous as J is with his words, the demon is shockingly attentive in his observations of the man striding alongside him. The flinch is caught in his peripheral vision, affording him the pleasure of sweet schadenfreude and a hint of intrigue. Not over Matt's emotional pain. Although, that too is something of a victory for a creature shaped by a demonic society that functioned on concepts of fear and manipulation. Two linchpins vital in determining how a demon might perceive another of its own kind. These methods are a tale as old as time for J, predating even his some seven hundred years of life.
It's the information that sets his eyes keenly on Matt as so many delicious facts float through his mind the way a savory aroma rises to the roof of a watering mouth with a deep, anticipatory inhale. Matt is too easy a read for his own good. But for J, that's entertainment in of itself when it teaches him more about his fellow Kenoma than pointless, space-stealing words. Actions speak so much louder.
After Matt settles into his chair, J does reach over to touch his shoulder with a gentle squeeze. Like a parent suffering a pang of guilt for their heavy-handed choice of words in excessively scolding a child, J leans in to reassure him. How he missed this with Makoto. Remarkable as the boy had become once he'd (so quickly) come into his own, there is something decidedly wondrous about holding someone's tremulous emotions in the palm of his hand. Cradling their most vulnerable self, like a small animal, full of equal parts trust and dread, then hushing their fears away. ]
Don't worry yourself too much over what I said, just now. [ It's a far cry from an apology, but J isn't one for admonishing himself. Still, that he goes out of his way to comfort Matt should be enough for someone hungry for that consolation. And he thinks Matt might be. ] I know what you meant.
[ That should do it, he thinks. With the minor reassurance safely delivered, J retrieves his hand, reaching to use it to pull out a chair in order to sit down and join him at their table. ]
Perhaps the beliefs here aren't too dissimilar, considering how many things resemble parts of our own worlds. [ With that comes an upward tick of lips as he smiles over Matt's enthusiasm. J's lived long enough and been summoned across the varying continents of Earth to have seen mankind throughout the ages. So much of Earth's culture seems almost copied and pasted upon Horos, in a strange chimera of different points in history. ] But even if that much is true....
For better or worse, I doubt a whole mountain's worth of flowers could neutralize the forces at work here. [ The other realms bit does catch his attention as being slightly more feasible. Demons can travel across different worlds by means of portals or travel to different places with a demonic rune, so the idea isn't a foreign concept to him. Dispelling two opposing forces, though? That sounds too much like fighting the dichotomy of nature itself, or the stubborn minds of warring factions at each other throats. Which seems a little on the nose, if you ask him. ]
And which would you say describes our present situation, Matthew? Better, or worse?
i believe this is the first time its been used here, just for you
[ Contrary to how utterly callous as J is with his words, the demon is shockingly attentive in his observations of the man striding alongside him. The flinch is caught in his peripheral vision, affording him the pleasure of sweet schadenfreude and a hint of intrigue. Not over Matt's emotional pain. Although, that too is something of a victory for a creature shaped by a demonic society that functioned on concepts of fear and manipulation. Two linchpins vital in determining how a demon might perceive another of its own kind. These methods are a tale as old as time for J, predating even his some seven hundred years of life.
It's the information that sets his eyes keenly on Matt as so many delicious facts float through his mind the way a savory aroma rises to the roof of a watering mouth with a deep, anticipatory inhale. Matt is too easy a read for his own good. But for J, that's entertainment in of itself when it teaches him more about his fellow Kenoma than pointless, space-stealing words. Actions speak so much louder.
After Matt settles into his chair, J does reach over to touch his shoulder with a gentle squeeze. Like a parent suffering a pang of guilt for their heavy-handed choice of words in excessively scolding a child, J leans in to reassure him. How he missed this with Makoto. Remarkable as the boy had become once he'd (so quickly) come into his own, there is something decidedly wondrous about holding someone's tremulous emotions in the palm of his hand. Cradling their most vulnerable self, like a small animal, full of equal parts trust and dread, then hushing their fears away. ]
Don't worry yourself too much over what I said, just now. [ It's a far cry from an apology, but J isn't one for admonishing himself. Still, that he goes out of his way to comfort Matt should be enough for someone hungry for that consolation. And he thinks Matt might be. ] I know what you meant.
[ That should do it, he thinks. With the minor reassurance safely delivered, J retrieves his hand, reaching to use it to pull out a chair in order to sit down and join him at their table. ]
Perhaps the beliefs here aren't too dissimilar, considering how many things resemble parts of our own worlds. [ With that comes an upward tick of lips as he smiles over Matt's enthusiasm. J's lived long enough and been summoned across the varying continents of Earth to have seen mankind throughout the ages. So much of Earth's culture seems almost copied and pasted upon Horos, in a strange chimera of different points in history. ] But even if that much is true....
For better or worse, I doubt a whole mountain's worth of flowers could neutralize the forces at work here. [ The other realms bit does catch his attention as being slightly more feasible. Demons can travel across different worlds by means of portals or travel to different places with a demonic rune, so the idea isn't a foreign concept to him. Dispelling two opposing forces, though? That sounds too much like fighting the dichotomy of nature itself, or the stubborn minds of warring factions at each other throats. Which seems a little on the nose, if you ask him. ]
And which would you say describes our present situation, Matthew? Better, or worse?