[ It's that grunt of pain that halts Rezo's hasty retreat. He whirls around despite himself, brow etched and ears alert for any further sounds of distress. ]
Zelgadis, don't-
[ Don't strain yourself. You need to rest. Rezo wants to say that, but it's clear Zelgadis's need to speak is overriding his body's need to recover.
And this time, what he does say takes Rezo aback. ]
...Is that how you saw it?
[ Rezo sinks to his knees, crouching on the floor in front of Zelgadis. The concern and dismay on his face gradually give way to utter bewilderment, because that's... Almost the exact opposite of how Rezo perceived the situation. Oh, he can understand why Zelgadis might say he had "everything." The Great Sage had money, influence, and admiration from all across the barrier lands.
But it had never entirely felt like Rezo's, dependent as it was upon his ability to keep playing the role of Great Sage. All it would take is letting the wrong person down, to let slip the hopeless cripple under the red robes, and everything Rezo had painstakingly built over the course of an exhaustingly long lifetime would crumple to dust.
Zelgadis had seen past that facade, hadn't he? ]
It wasn't- It was never a matter of you not being good enough.
no subject
Zelgadis, don't-
[ Don't strain yourself. You need to rest. Rezo wants to say that, but it's clear Zelgadis's need to speak is overriding his body's need to recover.
And this time, what he does say takes Rezo aback. ]
...Is that how you saw it?
[ Rezo sinks to his knees, crouching on the floor in front of Zelgadis. The concern and dismay on his face gradually give way to utter bewilderment, because that's... Almost the exact opposite of how Rezo perceived the situation. Oh, he can understand why Zelgadis might say he had "everything." The Great Sage had money, influence, and admiration from all across the barrier lands.
But it had never entirely felt like Rezo's, dependent as it was upon his ability to keep playing the role of Great Sage. All it would take is letting the wrong person down, to let slip the hopeless cripple under the red robes, and everything Rezo had painstakingly built over the course of an exhaustingly long lifetime would crumple to dust.
Zelgadis had seen past that facade, hadn't he? ]
It wasn't- It was never a matter of you not being good enough.