[Themis knows that Emet-Selch would reject any amount of touch at this present moment outright. He aches to comfort the other man in a more physical way, but that is not what he needs. Touch is something rare, something coveted when it occurs, and so rather than make contact he decides to show his support in another way.
One hand continues to curl around his mug, while the other slides across the table and remains palm-down. It is not an ask, nor is it an offer. It merely is.
A physical representation of his words to follow.]
He was right to do so. There is a single fact that you have overlooked, one which will reorganize and refocus the entirety of what has happened.
[He takes another long sip of the coffee. When he finishes, his voice grows resolute. Firm, direct, a voice of reason.]
You did none of those things. You have revealed nothing, and your secrets remain yours. The individual that was present within the Simulation was a version of Emet-Selch, Redeemer of the Convocation of Fourteen, but he was not you. The individual named Hythlodaeus that was present was not the same Hythlodaeus that has arrived in this world. The grand design of their lives was much the same as his and yours, yes, but the differences between the two of you are vital. What intimacies shared between you may not apply to you at all.
[Themis makes eye contact. His are clear, beseeching Emet-Selch - Hades - to take heed of what he says.]
Byleth pointed you to come to me because I experienced everything in that place. As you have said yourself, I know you better than almost any other. I knew you when I had lost my own name, when I had lost everything but a duty to a people I could not recall. So know, that when I say you are not him I mean it with all of me.
[One side of his lips quirk up into an aborted smile. It is not a happy smile. There is the faintest tremor in his voice when he speaks next.]
Did you know that he barely spoke to me? I loved him, as I love you, and instead of your fond acknowledgement he barely gave me the time of day. And Hythlodaeus? I do not believe he spoke more than a dozen words to me during the entirety of the years we spent within that place. We lived within the same household, and still it was thus. They wore your faces, endured your histories, but they were not you.
[He closes his eyes and takes a breath. His shoulders shake, ever so slightly. Never had he acknowledged out loud how it had troubled him so, so very much. How those so dear to him could be so cold. But this is not about him.
The feel of the mug and the table is grounding. He steadies. His eyes open again, and once more they meet with Emet-Selch's familiar golden. The traces of old hurt have been washed away once more. Themis knows that he was not at fault.]
Byleth knows that you are not him. He will not reveal anything he has remembered to anyone who does not already know. He may seek out your friendship because he knows it to be worthwhile, if you are open to such a thing. But he will not push for what he has not earned. Just as he has not attempted to do so with me, despite my having a very real history with the one whose memories he has lived.
[He has to stop himself from continuing. Let Emet-Selch absorb what he had said.]
no subject
One hand continues to curl around his mug, while the other slides across the table and remains palm-down. It is not an ask, nor is it an offer. It merely is.
A physical representation of his words to follow.]
He was right to do so. There is a single fact that you have overlooked, one which will reorganize and refocus the entirety of what has happened.
[He takes another long sip of the coffee. When he finishes, his voice grows resolute. Firm, direct, a voice of reason.]
You did none of those things. You have revealed nothing, and your secrets remain yours. The individual that was present within the Simulation was a version of Emet-Selch, Redeemer of the Convocation of Fourteen, but he was not you. The individual named Hythlodaeus that was present was not the same Hythlodaeus that has arrived in this world. The grand design of their lives was much the same as his and yours, yes, but the differences between the two of you are vital. What intimacies shared between you may not apply to you at all.
[Themis makes eye contact. His are clear, beseeching Emet-Selch - Hades - to take heed of what he says.]
Byleth pointed you to come to me because I experienced everything in that place. As you have said yourself, I know you better than almost any other. I knew you when I had lost my own name, when I had lost everything but a duty to a people I could not recall. So know, that when I say you are not him I mean it with all of me.
[One side of his lips quirk up into an aborted smile. It is not a happy smile. There is the faintest tremor in his voice when he speaks next.]
Did you know that he barely spoke to me? I loved him, as I love you, and instead of your fond acknowledgement he barely gave me the time of day. And Hythlodaeus? I do not believe he spoke more than a dozen words to me during the entirety of the years we spent within that place. We lived within the same household, and still it was thus. They wore your faces, endured your histories, but they were not you.
[He closes his eyes and takes a breath. His shoulders shake, ever so slightly. Never had he acknowledged out loud how it had troubled him so, so very much. How those so dear to him could be so cold. But this is not about him.
The feel of the mug and the table is grounding. He steadies. His eyes open again, and once more they meet with Emet-Selch's familiar golden. The traces of old hurt have been washed away once more. Themis knows that he was not at fault.]
Byleth knows that you are not him. He will not reveal anything he has remembered to anyone who does not already know. He may seek out your friendship because he knows it to be worthwhile, if you are open to such a thing. But he will not push for what he has not earned. Just as he has not attempted to do so with me, despite my having a very real history with the one whose memories he has lived.
[He has to stop himself from continuing. Let Emet-Selch absorb what he had said.]