For whatever reason, the Lion and the Unicorn are sworn enemies, so that's today's self-imposed prompt.
Terence doesn't mind any kind of animal that lets him be. He's not too terribly friendly with werewolves, but given that a certain pack of werewolves spend a good portion of the story absolutely hell-bent on killing him, can you blame him? This makes his relationship with Beowulf that much more ironic, and Beowulf is the first to admit it.
So, why does Beowulf side with Terence? How does Terence save Beowulf from becoming a complete villain?
Well, Terence goes through a fair bit of hell himself. He gets knocked down plenty of times, but always finds some way to get back up, even if he needs a helping hand. He even shows compassion to Scorpio, notwithstanding he has every reason in the world to hate Scorpio and he'd be totally justified in killing him himself. Beowulf sees a lot of his old self in Terence and is reminded anew of the good things in the world.
The big difference between Beowulf and Scorpio is that Beowulf has known love, whereas Scorpio only ever knew hate and only relied on hate to survive. Scorpio would do absolutely anything to preserve himself, even though he hardly has anything to live for; he's as good as an empty shell. It knocks him for quite a loop when Terence dares to show him compassion, of all things, and he resents how Terence refrains from delivering the killing blow.
Basically, when Beowulf takes a good look at Terence, he sees love all over again, and his belief in it is kindled anew.
Therefore, after Scorpio, Moloth, and the rest are gone and Beowulf is his own master again, he decides to follow Terence and give the side of goodness another try.
Granted, it's far from an overnight process. Terence certainly hasn't forgotten his history with Beowulf, and Beowulf still makes plenty of death threats to Terence's face even if he never follows through with any of them. Then the opportunity comes when each saves the other's life at great personal risk, and then it all snowballs from there.
By the end of Terence's life, the wall between him and Beowulf had been reduced to permanent rubble. Beowulf loves Terence enough to genuinely mourn him when he finally passes away, and he makes himself Daire's special bodyguard from that point on. Of course, he comes and goes on a whim, but he never strays too far, and the day finally comes when he decides once and for all that Daire is his true home.
That's one of the reasons why Beowulf gets along with Reid so well. Reid is practically Terence all over again, albeit with wonderful characteristics all his own, and both he and Terence hold a special place in Beowulf's heart. Once again, Beowulf sees love, hope, and strength incarnate, and most importantly, Reid knows perfectly well what Beowulf is and yet it's not enough to drive him away. He's definitely scared of Beowulf, but he won't run from him. Beowulf wants to be loved but he doesn't want to be taken for granted, so Reid fulfills both requirements nicely.
You could say Beowulf develops a hard shell that both Terence and Reid crack, almost by pure accident, and yet it's the good kind of crack.
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