[Byleth's expression, as bland as it was, became impossibly shuttered. There was a distinct air that they had boldly leapt into waters turbulent with complicated emotions, and it had Byleth on the defensive backstep.
Because... technically, it was how he had incurred that damage. Yet, there was a lot he didn't know or understand about what had occurred. Jeralt had only been there for the aftermath, and what little Rhea had told him ("Sitri had begged her to give you the Crest Stone, because you were stillborn-") shed little light on what she had actually done. Did Sitri actually offer her heart to Byleth, or had Rhea sensed opportunity? Had Byleth actually been stillborn, or was that the excuse Rhea used to instigate the 'life-saving experiment'? Was Byleth's birth a happy coincidence, or had Rhea banked on his conception happening when Sitri and Jeralt fell in love? Was Byleth's existence solely because Rhea wanted a better vessel for her long-dead mother?
There was a lot. Most of it he had no idea how to process or think about, so he simply didn't. He pushed aside the large chunks he couldn't understand, and offered the small grains of information he did.]
...yes. I was stillborn, and Sothis's heart was given to me to resurrect me. That's why I am... the way I am.
[Strange. Bizarre. Alien. Lacking the ability to emote or understand his emotions in turn. No heartbeat. There were many nights where Byleth would contemplate the ceiling and wonder if he was resurrected or reanimated. Where was the line between those two distinctions?]
no subject
[Byleth's expression, as bland as it was, became impossibly shuttered. There was a distinct air that they had boldly leapt into waters turbulent with complicated emotions, and it had Byleth on the defensive backstep.
Because... technically, it was how he had incurred that damage. Yet, there was a lot he didn't know or understand about what had occurred. Jeralt had only been there for the aftermath, and what little Rhea had told him ("Sitri had begged her to give you the Crest Stone, because you were stillborn-") shed little light on what she had actually done. Did Sitri actually offer her heart to Byleth, or had Rhea sensed opportunity? Had Byleth actually been stillborn, or was that the excuse Rhea used to instigate the 'life-saving experiment'? Was Byleth's birth a happy coincidence, or had Rhea banked on his conception happening when Sitri and Jeralt fell in love? Was Byleth's existence solely because Rhea wanted a better vessel for her long-dead mother?
There was a lot. Most of it he had no idea how to process or think about, so he simply didn't. He pushed aside the large chunks he couldn't understand, and offered the small grains of information he did.]
...yes. I was stillborn, and Sothis's heart was given to me to resurrect me. That's why I am... the way I am.
[Strange. Bizarre. Alien. Lacking the ability to emote or understand his emotions in turn. No heartbeat. There were many nights where Byleth would contemplate the ceiling and wonder if he was resurrected or reanimated. Where was the line between those two distinctions?]