@rudebvster continued from here! ☾
Somehow, Susie was… good. She was such a kind monster. Ralsei had seen it in her actions so far. The way that she treated Kris, and the way she behaved towards the Darkeners, as if they were real monsters, secured that in his mind. Despite what the prophecy had foretold to him about who she would be, she was so kind. She made it seem so easy, when maintaining optimism could be such a chore for him.
All of this for him. Someone who was, in reality, little more than an object. Sure, he was the 'Prince of Darkness' in title, but… he wasn't real. Not in the way that Susie and Kris were. The prophecy had laid it all out for him clearly. He was meant to serve their story, to fall into line when those ancient words called him to. His job was dependability, and yet…
Yet Susie insisted that she didn't need it. She didn't need his help, despite what the writings had said. Despite what all of her behavior so far had led him to believe.
“Susie…” He hesitated. She'd insisted to him that he not emphasize the fact that he wasn't real. That they were truly friends, and that they would change the tides of the prophecy. These stopped his normal talking points in his tracks. He had to reach for something different from the shelf. Give something new a try.
He reaches out to settle a hand on her arm softly, the fuzz of his paws light against her arm. “I really do want to help you… You and Kris. You mean a lot to me.” He wasn't used to allowing himself to feel this much. To recognize his own wants outside of a choreographed rule. But even outside of this grand meaning assigned to them by the text, his friends meant the world to him. “Please. I… I know there's not a lot I can do, but there has to be something.”
