teor dying and still thinking that julien is a good man, all while julien leaves the room and, in a way, leaves him to die, NOBODY TOUCH ME
part of me wants to think teor would still think the same thing if he knew — that julien making it out alive to see his mother and save his sister is the better outcome, compared to another life debt on teor’s shoulders at best and julien dying in that hole and/or losing the only thing that can save alba for the sake of, what, fighting the corpse of his dead father on principal and maybe getting teor out of an unwinnable fight? maybe a more self-serving person would resent the choice to put his family first, but i don’t think teor would — we’ve seen teor do everything he could to get cyd back from a different kind of curse. he was a world away but he did what it took, and for a brief, beautiful moment, it worked. and it was already too late for cyd by the time julien knew, but maybe, by turning away, julien just made sure it won’t be too late for alba.
julien heard his mother beg him to live and walked away because he thought he couldn’t make that promise. he heard his mother beg him again, those same words echoing in his mind, and walked away because he realized he can live — has to, even — and he will. he will not risk his sister fading away. he will not die in a hole where his body could never be returned to his mother. he sees teor in trouble and wants to help, because he’s a better man than he thinks. he wants to help but walks away anyway, for the sake of his family, because he’s a better man than he thinks. he put the things in life, the people in his life, that matter to him above that thinly veiled death wish that pushes him toward the pursuit of vengeance at all costs because he’s more than the uncaring facade he shows the world.
i think teor would believe he had the right idea, even if he knew that choice might have sentenced him to death. the choice was intended to be impossible and julien did the best thing he possibly could have for the people that matter most to him. i can’t imagine teor putting his own life above that or expecting julien to do the same. when julien said ‘good luck’ it sounded to me like he meant it, like he knew it wasn’t enough and he really did hope teor could somehow make it out, and i think teor would understand that was all he could do.
