[Okay. He knows he shouldn't be listening. And he wasn't intending to listen. But he has incredible hearing. And the walls seem thin. And Taryon talks rather loudly. So every single thing Taryon tells Doty, Astarion can't help but to hear.
Taryon being suspicious of his intentions isn't a surprise. He had thought maybe he had understood his circumstance, after seeing his memory, but it still must be hard to trust someone like him after learning what your whole reason for being reborn as you were was to lure unsuspecting souls to their doom.
It made sense, but it still hurt.
But as he keeps speaking to Doty, as he hears the change of emotions as he goes through his train of thought, as Astarion realizes poor, gullible Taryon had of course been taken advantage of before... Astarion should remain quiet, but he obviously had issues with denying his impulses.]
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hear what you said. Vampiric ears and all but...
[He inhales.]
I know the word of a man with my past perhaps means as much as a piece of refuse on the side of the road, but I don't say this so you'll trust me as much as...as I would like you to know that I am fond of you for you. You don't have power. You don't have money--at least here, you don't, no more than I do. You're a strange, naive, gullible fool, but you're so earnest. Genuine.
When you're excited, happy, your whole being lights up. I don't know when it happened, but there came a day I knew I wanted to be around you just so I could bask in it, like the sun. Whether you were talking about your cheesy book, thinking up an idea as you tinker, beating a level in a game, or smiling because I was the one to inspire it, it didn't matter, as long as I was there to witness it. Meeting you made life here more bearable.
[A pause, a clearing of his throat. His voice had grown a little husky. Gods, he's telling him all this from a toilet. But it felt good to let him know that, even if Taryon told him he never wanted to see him again.]
no subject
Taryon being suspicious of his intentions isn't a surprise. He had thought maybe he had understood his circumstance, after seeing his memory, but it still must be hard to trust someone like him after learning what your whole reason for being reborn as you were was to lure unsuspecting souls to their doom.
It made sense, but it still hurt.
But as he keeps speaking to Doty, as he hears the change of emotions as he goes through his train of thought, as Astarion realizes poor, gullible Taryon had of course been taken advantage of before... Astarion should remain quiet, but he obviously had issues with denying his impulses.]
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hear what you said. Vampiric ears and all but...
[He inhales.]
I know the word of a man with my past perhaps means as much as a piece of refuse on the side of the road, but I don't say this so you'll trust me as much as...as I would like you to know that I am fond of you for you. You don't have power. You don't have money--at least here, you don't, no more than I do. You're a strange, naive, gullible fool, but you're so earnest. Genuine.
When you're excited, happy, your whole being lights up. I don't know when it happened, but there came a day I knew I wanted to be around you just so I could bask in it, like the sun. Whether you were talking about your cheesy book, thinking up an idea as you tinker, beating a level in a game, or smiling because I was the one to inspire it, it didn't matter, as long as I was there to witness it. Meeting you made life here more bearable.
[A pause, a clearing of his throat. His voice had grown a little husky. Gods, he's telling him all this from a toilet. But it felt good to let him know that, even if Taryon told him he never wanted to see him again.]
That's all. I can leave.