"I'm not my father," Lasha replied softly, "but I am his son."
He paused, eyes fixed and luminous in the low light.
"Someone had to be."
He paused, drawing his robe tighter, absently, with one hand.
His voice lowered, bitter.
"None of them know, Taras. None of them ever will. Not Andrei and his careless abandon, not Masha and her Paris contraband. Not my mother, who died with the luxury of her convenient truths."
Lasha glanced downward.
"Liadov had a word for me, once, before hypocrite. Chiaroscuro. 'Whereas I exist in uncounted shades of grey, Lasha, you are purely chiaroscuro. Light-dark. Never between."
His touched his lips, briefly.
"That's what he said."
A moment passed as Ilarion thought about that.
"I choose to believe him. He always parses things so palatably."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-09-08 08:45 pm (UTC)He paused, eyes fixed and luminous in the low light.
"Someone had to be."
He paused, drawing his robe tighter, absently, with one hand.
His voice lowered, bitter.
"None of them know, Taras. None of them ever will. Not Andrei and his careless abandon, not Masha and her Paris contraband. Not my mother, who died with the luxury of her convenient truths."
Lasha glanced downward.
"Liadov had a word for me, once, before hypocrite. Chiaroscuro. 'Whereas I exist in uncounted shades of grey, Lasha, you are purely chiaroscuro. Light-dark. Never between."
His touched his lips, briefly.
"That's what he said."
A moment passed as Ilarion thought about that.
"I choose to believe him. He always parses things so palatably."