Devero's fingers on Koumyou's tighten. "It's not like that!" he protests. "You don't understand!"
He withdraws his hands and now it's his turn to surge up off the bed, to pace the few narrow steps afforded him in their closet of a room. As his emotions swell, the space starts to feel chokingly enclosed, but he keeps his head ducked and his shoulders hunched and tries to force down the knot in his throat.
"What happened to me is-- is a point of infection, not a cancer," he says. "A weakness that needs to be treated, sure, but-- but Koumyou, you haven't been there, not really. You haven't been able to see the good that Gov does. I have! I was part of it for-- for years!
"People are people, I get that," he continues, raking his hands through his hair. "And yes, as a society we've gotten smug and complacent. You're right about that. Valdana should have been detected and helped before she could h-hurt anyone, but it's not-- fair-- it's not fair to paint all of Gov with this cynical brush just because of a few people exploiting the system!"
He hasn't been able to look Koumyou in the eye as he's said all this but he does now, and there's anguish on his face. He's always been such a good son of the World Government, after all.
no subject
He withdraws his hands and now it's his turn to surge up off the bed, to pace the few narrow steps afforded him in their closet of a room. As his emotions swell, the space starts to feel chokingly enclosed, but he keeps his head ducked and his shoulders hunched and tries to force down the knot in his throat.
"What happened to me is-- is a point of infection, not a cancer," he says. "A weakness that needs to be treated, sure, but-- but Koumyou, you haven't been there, not really. You haven't been able to see the good that Gov does. I have! I was part of it for-- for years!
"People are people, I get that," he continues, raking his hands through his hair. "And yes, as a society we've gotten smug and complacent. You're right about that. Valdana should have been detected and helped before she could h-hurt anyone, but it's not-- fair-- it's not fair to paint all of Gov with this cynical brush just because of a few people exploiting the system!"
He hasn't been able to look Koumyou in the eye as he's said all this but he does now, and there's anguish on his face. He's always been such a good son of the World Government, after all.