[ Leon isn’t sure what he expected either, honestly. It’s not a surprise that Luis is taking it so well, given everything else the guy’s been through and all but laughed off, but with the confirmation Leon can’t help but think back to his own experience in Raccoon City. How horrific that had been for him, even barely knowing anyone. How much worse would it have been if it had been his hometown?
How much worse would it have been knowing he was, in some part, responsible? ]
… I’m sorry. [ It’s all he can think to say. It feels woefully inadequate. ]
[Luis does laugh, at that, but it's more of a dry huff. What is he going to say? That he wished he'd stayed dead, so at least he'd be dead with them? It would be a lie - Luis is a coward, in the end. Just as big a fool as Don Quixote.]
There was nothing you could have done differently.
[ Leon nods in understanding, his own mind going to Marvin, to Elliot, to the man in the gun store and his daughter. Who but him remembers them? Who knew them as they were in life, not in their terrified final moments? ]
... You want to tell me about any of them? I get it if not, but. [ It doesn't hurt to offer to listen. Even if it might be weird, telling the man who was responsible for putting so many of them down. ]
[ Leon nods, mirroring the expression with his own smile - subtle and a little sad, like most of his are these days. ]
Father Méndez, right? His was one of the journals I found. He... seemed like he was a good man.
[ He looks away, trying to shove down the thought of him as a towering, inhuman figure, silhouetted by fire and smoke. ]
His house was full of photos. Mostly of the other villagers. [ All scratched out and drawn over with Los Illuminados's symbols, by the time he got there. ] He must've cared about them a lot.
Think I might've found that photo, too. [ he says, not beating any allegations about his magpie tendencies while on a mission. ] Was that where you grew up? The, uh. The house where I found you.
[ It'd fit the description. By the lake and mostly burnt down. And the old hunter's journal was there, too, he thinks. ]
[ Leon has a few ideas as to why that could've been. Respect for the losses, maybe. The famine that started some time after and only got worse when Saddler and his cronies rolled in making rebuilding take a backseat to just scrambling to get by, also. But it doesn't feel right to make guesses at a time like this, so he keeps it to himself, silent for a moment as he tries to think of what to say. ]
Must've been surreal, going back there after all that time. [ He thinks about all the little details he saw in that burned out building, rushing past to investigate the noise coming from the back room. The chemistry set on the table. The guitar on the mantle. ] Thanks for sharing this with me. I know this kind of thing isn't easy to talk about, but. I'm glad you're around to remember all of them better than I can.
[ Leon snorts, surprised by the tonal whiplash despite knowing for a fact he shouldn't be. ]
Don't push it. [ It's not like he likes you or anything. Really, though - his expression softens again after the initial scoff as something occurs to him. ] Look, I... Thanks. For saving me and Ashley. Whatever else happened leading up to all that, we wouldn't have gotten out without you putting us first.
[ He sighs, shaking his head and uncrossing his arms to lean back against the kitchen table, looking away. ]
I didn't think I'd get the chance to tell you, so. I won't waste it now.
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nothingbadeverhappensto) wrote2025-05-01 11:19 am
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How much worse would it have been knowing he was, in some part, responsible? ]
… I’m sorry. [ It’s all he can think to say. It feels woefully inadequate. ]
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There was nothing you could have done differently.
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I can still wish it hadn't had to be that way. That things could've been different.
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They were good people, once. They don't deserve to be remembered like that.
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... You want to tell me about any of them? I get it if not, but. [ It doesn't hurt to offer to listen. Even if it might be weird, telling the man who was responsible for putting so many of them down. ]
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I still remember the day the padre arrived to town. I was very small, but even still he was the biggest man I'd ever seen.
I asked him if he was a giant, like in the stories.
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Father Méndez, right? His was one of the journals I found. He... seemed like he was a good man.
[ He looks away, trying to shove down the thought of him as a towering, inhuman figure, silhouetted by fire and smoke. ]
His house was full of photos. Mostly of the other villagers. [ All scratched out and drawn over with Los Illuminados's symbols, by the time he got there. ] He must've cared about them a lot.
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[The only time Luis remembered him without it nearby was when he was giving Mass.]
He was still the junior priest, when I had my confirmation. But he took a picture of my grandfather and I to celebrate, when it was over.
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Think I might've found that photo, too. [ he says, not beating any allegations about his magpie tendencies while on a mission. ] Was that where you grew up? The, uh. The house where I found you.
[ It'd fit the description. By the lake and mostly burnt down. And the old hunter's journal was there, too, he thinks. ]
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[Ada.]
It surprised me a little that that part of the village was never rebuilt.
[His brow furrows a little.]
...I wish I could have asked them why.
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Must've been surreal, going back there after all that time. [ He thinks about all the little details he saw in that burned out building, rushing past to investigate the noise coming from the back room. The chemistry set on the table. The guitar on the mantle. ] Thanks for sharing this with me. I know this kind of thing isn't easy to talk about, but. I'm glad you're around to remember all of them better than I can.
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You can say you would've missed me for other reasons too, Sancho.
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Don't push it. [ It's not like he likes you or anything. Really, though - his expression softens again after the initial scoff as something occurs to him. ] Look, I... Thanks. For saving me and Ashley. Whatever else happened leading up to all that, we wouldn't have gotten out without you putting us first.
[ He sighs, shaking his head and uncrossing his arms to lean back against the kitchen table, looking away. ]
I didn't think I'd get the chance to tell you, so. I won't waste it now.