[ snake gives him a good once over. listens. he hears the twinges of pain in raiden's voice, but he hears something else, too. the legend of solid snake looms over people, always there. he can't quite see the opal slope of his face, can't quite decipher every emotion passing through his eyes and the twitches in his face, but he picks up on the nuance of it all; that perhaps snake had placed too much on raiden's shoulders.
but he knows, too, that the man who had collapsed, arms wound 'round his ankles like a child, deserved to live, and to choose whatever life he wanted.
he's quiet. he listens. snake doesn't move a hair out of place, only blinking as raiden unloads. ]
That's your choice? [ it's a question he poses, a moment after consideration, of breaking down his own guilt and fears. it is not that raiden has disappointed him; only that snake has been unable to prevent this. unable to see this man through, to his complete freedom.
but if it is a choice he makes, to chain the beast within him to his beliefs and what he wants for the future— his future— that, too, is a worthwhile choice. ]
no subject
but he knows, too, that the man who had collapsed, arms wound 'round his ankles like a child, deserved to live, and to choose whatever life he wanted.
he's quiet. he listens. snake doesn't move a hair out of place, only blinking as raiden unloads. ]
That's your choice? [ it's a question he poses, a moment after consideration, of breaking down his own guilt and fears. it is not that raiden has disappointed him; only that snake has been unable to prevent this. unable to see this man through, to his complete freedom.
but if it is a choice he makes, to chain the beast within him to his beliefs and what he wants for the future— his future— that, too, is a worthwhile choice. ]