a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance

[simulsimul]

universe list
canon
breached
confessed
dadly
future
grigori
mercenary
MEover
origin
reversal
titans


scenario list
canon: Kratos needs to stop running off
confessed: wing reflex
confessed: actual wingpull
confessed: turning Renegade
confessed: son meets father
dadliness: confrontation
dadliness: awakening
dadliness: illness
dadliness: a fundamental lack of understanding on the word 'abducted'
dadliness: updating parameters
dadliness: assassination assignation
mercenary: hiding in the library
mercenary: aftermath of librarian saviour
reversal: oracle destroyed
titans: storming the tower
titans: safety in the canyon
titans: night horrors


canon
- combo of Kratos and Zelos ending
- Zelos does the stupid thing, but not so far as his death, and is still the eighth member of the party to Derris-Kharlan.

scenarios
scenario one: Yuan tracks Kratos down at Dirk's.


breached
- canon right up until after Botta’s death
- no one uses Yuan’s name around Mithos so Mithos walks right into the Triet base with them
- cue an epic OH SHIT in which Yuan gets a lil bit beat up while covering the evacuation of the rest of the base
- until Kratos appears to intervene and have the Chosen group get Yuan out of there
- Mithos gets Kratos tho and he’s a bit mad cos, yanno, traitor and all
- time to be locked up and punished and need to be rescued
- kind of puts a crimp in the creation of the Eternal Ring plans
- mostly cos Mithos turns Kratos lifeless, with some armour to regulate his mana so he remains a seraph. can't have the seal becoming less powerful, yo
- it does mean he can only obey orders tho
- the first rescue fails miserably but at least no one dies and they know they need to reforge his key-crest
- the second rescue attempt (circumstances of canon-point under percolation) goes a little better, though Yuan almost gets killed by Kratos trying to attach the key-crest
- luckily that and the first telepathy in a while gets through and Kratos manages to break out a la Colette, and heal Yuan enough for Raine to get there
- after which, angreh father-son beatdown on Mithos.

scenarios
None yet.


confessed
- almost successful assassination lands Kratos as an injured stranger in Iselia (1-2 years pre-canon)
- recuperation leads to accidental-on-purpose 'holiday' in Iselia
- doubts result in a request for Dirk to make a key-crest like Kratos' own
- oracle room undergoes some stealth sabotage
- regeneration journey is slightly delayed, prompted by Genis and Lloyd being discovered at the ranch
- Triet is awkward. so very awkward. for the Renegades -- whose side is Kratos even on these days and why was he vanished for two years?
- initial overall journey similar to canon, save that Kratos is a bit less circumspect about advising Colette on how to cope with angel transformations
- there are more overt Dun Wanna Feelings
- then Luin, wherein things happen and the group is in town during the Desian attack. the others naturally want to fight but tis a mite difficult against an army and building-destroying magitech. luckily, angel on their side. unluckily, wingpulls in order to muster the power to cover the townspeoples' retreat
- questions and confessions ensue
- Colette rejects the key crest (for the moment) so there's still hopefully maybe ambiguity about Kratos's position re the last seal
- it wouldn't fit anyway, it's modelled for the hand like Kratos's is because he was a derp and did not specify otherwise, so Lloyd needs to make a thing to make it fit
- slow protective retreat toward Asgard.

scenarios
scenario one: Kratos confesses before Salvation; Raine wants to follow up.
scenario two: Raine's examination of an angel; and also Kratos realises how far he's put his foot in it.
scenario three: Kratos goes to taunt Yuan a little, and also ask for his help.
scenario four: in which Raine makes Kratos tell the children all the things, and Yuan takes too much amusement from it.


dadliness
- Kratos retires in Iselia under the name Irving to raise Lloyd after the death of his wife
- no exsphere. ageing occurs! so does a beard and a braid
- teaches Lloyd swordplay, but on the sly, to avoid the other villagers noticing. his daytime job is weaving
- Lloyd finds the box of their exspheres and wants details. after some prodding by Dirk, Kratos explains how exspheres are made and that one is Anna's life. Lloyd is too young yet, but when Lloyd comes of age (~15) Kratos lets him make his own decision re wearing it
- Lloyd chooses not to wear the exsphere
- Genis befriends Marble and Lloyd meets her, as in canon; this happens before the journey begins, with the fallout
- difference being that Colette is still in the village so they can't be too horrible, so they just demand Lloyd be turned over for a flogging
- Kratos stands in his stead because natch. luckily, they're only mooks and don't recognise the bearded weaver as anyone important
- gives Lloyd his guilt complex early tho
- the oracle happens much the same way except Botta doesn't quite recognise the weirdly familiar bearded swordsman
- he does when he's reporting to Yuan tho
      'there was an exceptionally skilled human'
      /brief physical description/
      /did x other faintly recognizable thing/
      and both he and Yuan are aware that Kratos has been awol for a while, so there's a moment of pure silence and dawning 'no, it couldn't be'
- but then obviously one of them has to go make sure
- cue an interruption just out of Triet.

scenarios
scenario one: Yuan feels the need to investigate; this results in Kratos injured and abducted.
scenario two: Yuan realises he can't kill Kratos with his own two hands; Kratos gets mothered.
scenario three: Kratos gets sick on the heels of his recovery. Yuan mothers him some more. Botta disapproves.
scenario four: Kratos recovers and makes an escape attempt. Sort-of.
scenario five: Kratos recovers more and talks to Botta, when not needling Yuan about his lack of preparedness.
scenario six: Sheena's contract takes a slight shift into undercover instead of assassination work.


future
- Aselia is Earth ~10,000 years in the past
- all is peachy-keen except the tree is now underground and the elvens/half-elves/some humans are in hiding in the centre of the planet, hidden thanks to the summon spirits
- Colette is working with humanitarian aid in various impoverished nations
- Zelos is a diplomat in West Asia / Middle East trying to keep the peace
- Yuan is a crotchety lecturer at Cambridge who's also HUGE into environmentalism
- Lloyd and Kratos are having family time in space
- occasionally the trio on Earth meet reincarnations of people they used to know
- but rarely at the same time and almost never in a position where they meet
- but then they start meeting them
- lots of them
- all in the same span of years
- they're starting to think something's hinky
- until the space-elves attack
- and then they know something is hinky.


scenarios
None yet.


grigori
- at some point significantly before canon, Kratos actually calls it quits
- the Church's institution calls him a fallen angel of vengeance
- really he's just going around trying to help people and avoiding being taken back to Cruxis
- assigns himself to the Chosen parties whenever he can, up to Colette
- ????? idk some kind of profit somewhere

scenarios
None yet.


mercenary
- when Yuan visits Kratos at the beach when Lloyd is 3 months old, he does not manage to escape before Anna and Lloyd return
- accidental attachment to this kidlet who likes pulling his hair
- three years later, Yuan can't stand to hold back while Kratos fights Kvar, so he throws caution to the wind to help
- Anna is still killed but they rescue Lloyd and Noishe and both are branded as traitors
- Lloyd is raised as a Renegade with Dad, Uncle Yuan and the extremely reticent Uncle Botta (how dare)
- meanwhile in Tethe'alla Yuan infiltrates the castle as the library archivist
- stays out of sight, mostly, but has a good ear around the politics thanks to recruiting Princess Hilda
- also happens to stumble on Zelos hiding in the library right after his mother's death
- look he's got a 'nephew' he can't just do nothing (even if all he meant was to recommend a book)
- unwittingly accidentally 'adopts' the Tethe'allan Chosen by virtue of being the only one who doesn't treat him like the Chosen
- sometimes Kratos brings Lloyd to visit and basically they're all separate pairs of exasperated bros
- by canon Lloyd and Kratos are wandering mercenaries, helping people on the sly while gathering intel to send back to the Renegades
- Yuan and Zelos are actively building resistance to the Church using inside knowledge
- the ninja are all Renegades
- Colette is escorted by Raine and by the priests
- yes the 'chain up the Chosen and drag her to every seal if necessary' priests
- she meets Lloyd randomly in Triet but Lloyd doesn't know her as the Chosen. they're a bit out of touch on the Journey of Regen timeline
- stuff happens and they keep missing each other up until Palmacosta, which is a warzone between the Desians (and Dorr as their figurehead) and the Renegades (with Neil as their leader)
- Colette wants to help; priests say no
- out come the chains
- Raine objects, but she has no exsphere so what can she do
- btw Genis got caught in the Iselian ranch and tossed in as a traitor to be made a host
- he gets sent to the Palmacosta ranch
- right after Neil manages to take the city, after Colette and Raine leave it, Botta takes the Palmacosta ranch and rescues Genis, among others
- Genis becomes his little shadow and is much preferable to Lloyd, in Botta's opinion
- Lloyd and Kratos are still trying to catch up to Colette to rescue her when they drop by
- Genis hears what they're trying to do and insists on coming along.


scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan accidentally adopts a Chosen instead of a book from a library.
scenario two: in which Yuan is accidentally-deliberately adopted by the Meltokio Castle Knights.


MEover
- Mass Effect crossover someplace in the realm of 15,000 years after TOS canon
- except started before then, cos elves are really from Feros, planet of the cranky telepathic plant
- got decimated by the protheans trying to assimilate them into their empire
- elves objected, got killed a lot, fled Feros and got stuck in Aselia's orbit
- kinda forgot a few things but planted a seed from the Ferosian mother plant on Aselia
- Origin hasn't forgotten tho, kinda has a grudge against grumblegrumbleprotheansgrumble
- the entirety of TOS happened, and then some
- Kratos, Yuan, Lloyd, Colette and Zelos are the only ones left, but tis okay, they have each other
- somethingsomething natural space disaster, Aselia is destroyed but they manage to move Yggdrasill onto Derris-Kharlan and do a quarian by becoming a roaming ship
- mana is a variant of eezo lbr
- Derris-Kharlan's too big to use the mass relays, but c'mon it generates its own mass effect field so they develop tech to do hops on their own
- they're in no hurry tho, i mean lbr primarily angelic, elf and half-elf population
- so they're just bumming around their local clusters doing thorough investigations on all the things
- so much eezo on their ship
- so much
- suddenly the Normandy running from a reapers comes along to hide behind them
- reapers start shooting
- everyone on Derris-Kharlan objects
- JUDGEMENT IN SPACE
- so much profit and judging of reapers.


scenarios
None yet.


origin
- Kratos tells Lloyd the dad thing in Triet
- dad and son feelings ensue
- they culminate at the Tower of Salvation in Kratos stabbing Yggdrasill in the back
- unfortunately he does not quite die but impales Kratos against a wall and goes berserk on the Chosen party to the point of Yuan stepping in to help
- that is, by threatening to stab Kratos in the back while he's vulnerable (with Kratos's permission)
- Yggdrasill calls his bluff and fails, and Yuan does the thing
- while Yggdrasill is distracted the Chosen's group nail him but good and he retreats
- luckily while heart-stabbing happened, Kratos's cruxis crystal is still intact, and between Raine's healing and Yuan's mana transfusion he survives long enough to be taken to the Triet base and a refresher
- stuff happens in some fashion or other up until opening Origin's seal
- as it turns out, the mana tranfusion has fused the lock, so to speak, and Kratos can't unlock the seal even voluntarily
- only way to get Origin out at this point is to let him fuse with Kratos, so Kratos becomes Origin
- stipulation of this: Kratos refuses to let go of his humanity
- luckily Yuan already has a literal bond with him thanks to the mana transfusion, so with him as his summoner Kratos can keep his humanity, and only use Origin's powers when Yuan summons them
- commitment like woah for a literal eternity
- but hey, they messed up but good and it's the only way they can reunite the worlds.

scenarios
none yet.


reversal
~ 2000 years in, Kratos and Yuan conspire to kill Mithos and succeed, sorta
- he's stuck inside his exsphere, possessing people
- but he manages to survive and while Kratos and Yuan claim Derris-Kharlan for their base, he takes most of the angels as 'fallen', as well as the Eternal Sword
- most of his bases are hidden behind dimensional slips created by the sword - Iselia included
- Origin refuses to trust either Kratos or Yuan with the job, anyhow, and they don't have a summoner
- instead they're forced to fight Cruxis, embroiling the worlds in an angelic war between Cruxis and the new organisation of Chayim
- the Chosen bloodlines are more important to Cruxis than Chayim, but Mithos seals the seals so only the Chosen bloodline can flip the mana switch. Kratos and Yuan need someone to do that until they can reunite them, so the Journey remains an institution, just without compulsory death at the end
- there is angelification tho, if only so Chayim gets more soldiers and so the Chosen can defend themselves against Cruxis
- Kratos sends Anna and Lloyd to Iselia, because even though enemy territory, it's the safest place there is for them
- Anna get word to Kratos that the Desians are using Iselia as a long-term cruxis crystal cultivation location, and that the sword is held there
- her spy succeeds but is intercepted, and Mithos locks down the dimensional slip to prevent exit and access by angels for ~15 years
- Lloyd grows up in a town with a heavy half-elf population and believing he's training to help the good guys
- he has his own cruxis crystal as a host, but doesn't tell his mother due to the faith-based propaganda encouraging hosts not to bring it up or risk the powers not taking
- he wants to help though, so he steals a key-crest to ensure he can fight
- Yuan and Kratos plan to assault the town and shrine but Mithos uses the sword to interrupt travel between worlds, keeping Yuan in Tethe'alla and forcing Kratos to attack Iselia alone.

scenarios
scenario one: Iselia is attacked by Chayim to claim the sword, with the sword already gone


titans
- Yggdrasill captures Kratos before Kvar finds Anna and Lloyd, but after Kratos makes an Eternal Ring
- Yuan figures hell no and raises the Renegades to try and take Derris-Kharlan, rescue Kratos and solve the split-world problem
- the attack fails. a lot.
- Renegades are wiped out, Kratos is still in Cruxis's hands, but Yuan manages to escape with the Eternal Ring
- Cruxis follows him to Triet base, which gets destroyed and the few remaining Renegades scatter
- Botta is still around tho, helping out how he can
- mostly Yuan just goes searching for Lloyd and Anna
- doesn't manage to find them before Kvar does tho, and Kratos hears from Yggdrasill that they're dead
- this is slightly inaccurate, cos Lloyd still winds up rescued by Dirk in Iselia
- where Yuan eventually finds him, not knowing that he's 'supposed' to be dead
- so Yuan settles in Iselia for a bit to watch Lloyd and the Chosen
- cuts and dyes his hair, the whole shebang
- learns how to carpentry, invents a new use of magic lightning and light can totally become a laserbeam amirite
- winds up being Genis's role model just because scholar and magic-user and half-elf who can pass but also takes no shit from people
- is one of Colette's companions on the Journey when it starts
- he's been challenging their understanding of the Church's institution this whole time lbr
- Sheena is still a thing because the ninja have taken over the Tethe'allan base, which has survived, somewhat
- a grilling ensues
- sometime just after the Asgard Ranch Yuan does have to drop the bombshell
- about how the Journey is just a front, he and his bestie are angels, btw his bestie is Lloyd's dad
- how they're out to topple the institution of religion
- forget sacrificing Colette for the Regeneration, when they get to the seal they can do that without anyone dying
- and then move straight on to rescuing Kratos in Derris-Kharlan
- then they get to the Tower and realise Yggdrasill has Kratos under a Prometheusesque punishment a la 'impaled on the Eternal Sword to suffer the Seed's pain and watch the Chosen get murdered'
- luckily this does not happen, as they manage to rescue him and escape Yggdrasill instead, barely
- retreat to Botta's hiding-place in Asgard so Kratos can recover
- and also find out that Lloyd is actually alive
- the Chosen group goes around to make as many pacts as they can while in Sylvarant
- they get up to Aska when Yggdrasill sends his angels to attack Asgard
- cue Yuan and Kratos being unstoppable battle gods together


scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan leads the Chosen's party to the Tower of Salvation to dismantle all the traditions ever, and find Kratos waiting for them in serious need of a rescue.
scenario two: in which being in safety reveals that Kratos is not precisely unscathed, but he's doing his best.
scenario three: in which Kratos is emphatically not okay, but with Yuan's help, could be.

Comments

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan hisses under his breath, and bears down, caught between overpowering Kratos and not exerting so much of his angelic strength as to break him. With one hand he shoves at Kratos's shoulder, pushing back and bracing his own weight in turn as he presses down. He reasons that if the blade is close enough Kratos will still -- they are both too experienced not to know what a wild blade can do -- and he's right.]

[He takes a moment to breathe his own calm in the abrupt still tension of Kratos settling. It wouldn't do to have any hesitation or catches in his movements.]

[And then Yuan reaches, and sets the blade-edge to Kratos's cheek, scraping gently as he drags it down, rasping across the stubble.]

Easy.

[Kratos is so tense he might well be forged of iron. It's wrong, Yuan being the steady one.]

[simulsimul]

[If only it were so simple. Even as careful as Yuan is, Kratos's body lifts once more before the blade touches, a slow and useless resistance to Yuan's weight. The seal's expectation of release is suffocating enough to stop Kratos's breath on that first scrape -- and, of course, nothing happens. No death. No release.

[Kratos manages to exhales again, shaky; he doesn't exactly relax, but he stops lifting against Yuan's weight -- at least until the next scrape. It goes like that, the seal expecting death and absolution every time the razor comes at Kratos's face; and every time, denied, the anticipation subsiding no further than hard wariness.

[When Yuan reaches up to rinse the razor Kratos shifts again, but more testingly, his wrists pulling taut against the handcuffs. It's only then that he notices the dull throbbing pain in them, the trickle of blood running down his arms. He hadn't realised he was bleeding, through the tense pressure of the seal within. At least the seal doesn't make him buck -- as if it, indeed, starting to realise that Yuan may mean no harm.]

[conductingresistance]

[It is obscenely sensitive, if this sets it off-- then again, Yuan is pinning Kratos down with a blade in hand. Hm.]

[But he's inexorable, continuing to shave Kratos bit by careful bit, compensating for the tension under him. Rinsing the razor off will probably trigger a renewed fight, but Yuan can probably get away with not having to do it very often. He leans up and away, legs tensing in the effort to make sure he can control Kratos even without his hands.]

[He catches the scent of blood before he sees it properly, and as such when he comes back to Kratos's level it's with a frown, looking for the source. Yuan hasn't cut him, so...]

[The handcuffs. Damn. Yuan's gaze lingers there, something forbidding and disapproving in his expression.]

[He'll have to patch Kratos up afterward.]

Can you resist it at all? You're hurting yourself.

[He doesn't wait, though, to resume his previous posture and begin the careful scrape of the razor again, making progress.]

[simulsimul]

I -- am.

[The words are ground out, tense like Kratos is tense, not through any fault of Yuan's. The fitful tremble is at least in part an attempt to keep from trying too hard to escape, meager though it is. Not much of a resistance.

[It had been like this in Iselia, too, with the cracking weight of the whips on his back and Lloyd's grounding hand over his, and the hard coil of the seal up his spine. Then, he'd been able to resist more; to breathe through it, remind himself that acting against the whip-masters would only make things worse, focus on Lloyd's young face and know that it was for him. Still, if Colette hadn't arrived when she had ...

[The seal doesn't care about his health. Only his life.

[Kratos shifts again, an aborted semi-resistance, as Yuan resumes. Those shifts become less frequent as Yuan progresses, until they subside entirely; though Kratos never relaxes. The whole way through, his heart beats against the seal's watchful readiness, despite the brewing ache in his muscles and the throbbing pain in his wrists. He cannot relax, like this.]

[conductingresistance]

[Apparently Yuan had done better than he knew, shaving Kratos in his sleep before. Especially while he was sick and minimally responsive. He presses onward without words, steady and even, favoring efficiency over lingering on perfection.]

[It seems to ease a little as Yuan goes on, as though there is some reassurance that murder isn't on his mind, but it isn't enough to be reasonable. Kratos is still a solid brick of tension.]

[Finally, finally, he's done with the part that actually requires a blade, and he reaches to drop the razor into the sink. His hands are empty when he settles down to the previous position, and for a long moment he just stares at Kratos.]

[Words aren't something the seal will understand. Kratos's certainty... maybe. Yuan reaches for the nearby towel -- the thing for which the rack was actually made -- and wipes what remains of water and soap off Kratos's face and neck. He is, unerringly, gentle, even with Kratos's throat briefly within his grasp.]

I am not going to kill you.

[It is a quiet, certain statement of intent; and even Yuan couldn't say himself if it is entirely directed at Kratos or the seal, inasmuch as the seal can be considered some separate entity.]

[He reaches to unlock the cuffs, still gentle as he pulls them away from the raw wounds left behind.]

[simulsimul]

[Even once Yuan drops his blade, the tension doesn't immediately fade. It takes another few breaths before the seal registers the lack of threat, as if there had been any threat at all. Kratos exhales and the tension goes with it, and he rests his head against the wall with another shaky breath.

[The back of his head hurts. He must have struck it while he was struggling. And his shoulders, his wrists, his back, his thighs ... everything hurts. A man's body isn't made to carry that much tension for so long. Especially not someone his age.

[Yuan's staring at him, and Kratos can't tell what's going on in his head. He can guess -- but he can't be sure, not like in the past. What Kratos doesn't expect is for Yuan to reach for the towel, to dry his face, let alone with such tenderness. There's a feeling there they've both ignored for centuries, and it aches, the brotherhood in that action; so newly regained, so raw. Even when Yuan's fingers brush his throat, the same place he'd gripped with intent to kill a few weeks ago, the seal is silent.]

I know.

[Kratos's voice is raw too, though the words are whispered. The scrape of the cuffs being removed from his wrists makes him draw in a breath; but it's lowering his arms which makes him grunt, more than half a gasp of pain, at the agony that flares across his shoulders. There's no way he's going to manage training this morning. Not like this.]

[conductingresistance]

[This entire undertaking may have been a mistake, given that shakiness.]

[But: there's very little tension, if any, where Yuan still has the potential to end him, were it not for that promise. So... perhaps. Perhaps there was some worth in it. And Kratos despite the age that shows on him still better resembles himself this way.]

[Yuan stands, stepping away because otherwise he's going to do something terribly emotional and demonstrative and it will be embarrassing for both of them. He starts the sink draining with one quick gesture, sets the abandoned razor on the edge of it. Hangs the towel. Little bits of business. A moment later, though, he bends to help Kratos up, easily supporting him.]

Let me tend to those.

[It is more imperative than request.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos sits there while Yuan fusses, watching him through his loosened bangs with some degrees of weary, resigned amusement while he stretches. Arms first; he can barely move them, being bound over his head like they'd been. Then his legs, ginger thanks to the ache in his calves.

[He doesn't attempt to rise until Yuan helps him up, and that strikes an ache all through his body which makes him grunt. Yes, leaning on Yuan is definitely necessary, at least until he's worked all the stiffness out of his limbs. Kratos takes advantage of that lean to shift his weight, to neatly pull Yuan into an embrace before Yuan can try to step out of it with augmented speed or strength.

[At first, he doesn't say anything. There's nothing, really to say. But he does wish, one of the few times he has, that he still wears the crystal; that he can still use telepathy. He wishes he can broadcast his gratitude the way they once had, without words, with pure feelings only. A hug is the best he can do.

[And, exhaled:]

I'm sorry.

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan doesn't flinch. He doesn't. The stiffness is only because he didn't expect the suddenness of Kratos's movement, that's all.]

[When he remembers what to do with this, Yuan softens, folds his arms loosely around Kratos in return.]

[He can't entirely say he understands. He wishes he did; but the time when they could speak without speaking is gone. Perhaps it's best that they re-learn it.]

[He can't think of something Kratos should be apologizing for, though, either. Yuan lowers his head slightly, not quite resting on Kratos's shoulder.]

How many times have I nearly killed you, Kratos?

[simulsimul]

Including or not including all the times during the Kharlan War?

[Kratos smiles into Yuan's shoulder while he asks. From this far on, looking back on those times -- there's something quaint about them, something nostalgic. Those were simpler times, in a way more honest times, even in the midst of trying to kill each other.

[He's fairly sure most of the assassination attempts were back during the Kharlan War, though. Mostly. He huffs a little.]

If you're about to tell me that you have more reason to apologise than I do -- they don't need to be exclusive. I abandoned you to propping up the worlds alone, while having to pretend to Mithos you were still loyal. That's what I'm sorry about.

[conductingresistance]

[How is it that wartime was simpler? It seems like it shouldn't be that way.]

[Surely Yuan can keep the contact just a little bit longer.]

I suppose I can accept that.

[Yuan wonders if he'd have done the same, in Kratos's position. Seized that happiness, for however long it could exist, no matter what the cost. ...it's a moot point, anyway. He lets his eyes drop closed, just for a moment. Only a moment.]

[Angels do not become tired. All the same, weariness sinks in, sometimes.]

...You're still bleeding.

[simulsimul]

[Sometimes, Kratos very nearly thinks about that decision, what it means -- abandoning his duty to the worlds to savour a few short years of happiness. For a man who'd had nothing but duty for so long, it feels like a betrayal if he does think about it too deeply. So he doesn't.

[Would the seal even let him grow old? He doesn't know that, either. Maybe, after all this is over, he'll get the chance to find out properly -- once he's let Yuan catch up.]

Mh. All over you, I expect.

[It seems like an attempt to return to the status quo, but Kratos hears the apology in it. He's seen and felt the apology, in the way Yuan tended him, in the way he helped him rise. Kratos squeezes gently and that alone makes the throb in his wrists heighten again; but he doesn't regret tightening the hug. Then he lifts his head with a sigh and steps toward the tub -- or limps, rather. His whole body aches, and his wrists are crusted with drying blood. Good thing the first-aid kit is in the cabinet near the tub, because he's seriously considering a bath today.]

I was going to help some of the recruits training. Now I think I'll barely manage to get through some patterns.

[conductingresistance]

It wouldn't be the first time.

[Yuan isn't actually meaning to refer to previous assassination attempts, but he manages to remind himself anyway. He grimaces, and when Kratos steps away Yuan has to unhook his fingers from Kratos's clothes as subtly as possible.]

Hot bath, and I'm binding those up first. Sit.

[He sets the water to running before retrieving and opening the first aid kit, assuming that Kratos will actually follow instructions. For the moment.]

[There might be an invitation in that last, not just a statement of plans gone awry. There's no reason for Kratos to be defining his plans unasked, anyway. Yuan picks apart what's unsaid and nods as he separates out the antiseptic.]

Perhaps I'd better watch to make sure you don't strain yourself.

[simulsimul]

[Kratos does, in fact, follow instructions -- for the moment. Gingerly he sits on the edge of the bath-tub, choosing not to contemplate how he's meant to get undressed, with how he's aching. Instead he holds out his arms to inspect them for himself. None of the cuts are fatally deep -- he knows what it takes to achieve that -- but they are ragged from the handcuffs' dull edges. It looks worse than it is; the cleaning is going to be the worst part.]

Hmh. Just as well; I'm likely to forget my limits.

[It's a concession to Yuan's need to pretend, a concession to the way they'd always said one thing and entirely meant another. It's comforting to know that much hasn't changed. Kratos holds out his arms to Yuan, and raises his brow.]

Though you may need to change your shirt before we go there.

[Blood splotches, Yuan. Just saying.]

[conductingresistance]

[They're ugly cuts, but not serious. Yuan is more concerned for the raggedness, rather than the amount Kratos is bleeding.]

[He sits opposite Kratos, one leg propped on the other knee and the kit balanced on his calf. There's a brief hesitation over method -- Yuan has lost any knack for this he once had -- before he dampens a piece of cotton with antiseptic and bends over Kratos's wrists, beginning with the left and pausing occasionally to blot welling blood away from the wound.]

Once I'm done with you.

[He doubts that Kratos has progressed to being worried by the sight of his own blood. Yuan won't terrify the rest of the base by turning up blood-spattered, but he's hardly going to strip right here, either.]

[Belatedly:]

This stings, doesn't it.

[simulsimul]

Hmh.

[It's a short breath of a laugh, cut off by a hiss as antiseptic touches open wound. It's not the first time he's been hurt since he became human, but the salves Frank uses are different to the pharmaceuticals the Renegades have at their disposal. The sting, the smell -- they're old, old memories, sterile and not quite comforting.

[Then Kratos laughs, short and wry.]

Yes, it does. How did you guess.

[conductingresistance]

Your reaction.

[It's as deadpan humorous as it is a sad statement on the reality of an angel's existence. Yuan tries not to turn senses off any more than is necessary for pushing through a bad situation, knows the risks and doesn't want to lose his already-tenuous grasp on what it is to be a person in this world.]

[But it's been a long time since Yuan was on the other end of anything like this.]

Mnh. How badly does it hurt?

[Will he even be able to run sword-patterns, with the cuts pulling every time he flexes his wrists? Restriction to unarmed patterns works; or Yuan can take him to medical once he's clean and refuse to explain.]

[simulsimul]

And yet you still felt the need to question out loud.

[Even though it had hardly been a question. Kratos hisses again, flexing his fist slowly to work through the throbbing tingles spreading through his hand and arm.]

On a scale you would understand? Hmh. I don't know. It's been a while since I've worked with painlessness existing on the scale. It's -- tolerable, at any rate.

[He sighs, rueful.]

But I probably shouldn't be carrying a sword. I'll only open them again.

[Which means he's relegated to leg stretches and jogging, and some slow bare-handed patterns.]

[conductingresistance]

You can hardly answer me any other way.

[A little harsher than he meant. Yuan switches his attentions to the other wrist, with a fresh bit of cotton and a carefulness which belies his irritated tone.]

And even out loud you're not helpful. I try to maintain my sense unless I need to push through something incapacitating.

[Try. Sometimes convenience and the desire to not have coconut in everything wins; though he could argue coconut is incapacitating. By Kratos's standards Yuan is certainly too accustomed to immortality.]

At least you have enough sense not to do that. But you'll stiffen up worse if you just leave it. Unarmed patterns, then. As many as you can stand.

[simulsimul]

[Kratos is going to ignore the first part. Instead he switches arms, keeping the cleaner one gently on his lap, upraised; the cuts still weep, but slowly.]

Well, it's certainly not incapacitating. I would probably be able to ply my trade, if more slowly than usual, and with some help -- using Lloyd for the movements which require strength.

[In Iselia, illnesses are judged by how long it takes to get back to work. Thoughtfully:]

I haven't done unarmed patterns in a while. There's hardly been time for swordplay.

[conductingresistance]

[It's probably for the best that Kratos ignores that much, yes. Yuan eyes the one he's just cleaned and ultimately lets it be. He'll be finished in a moment, and if there's anything left in the wound he missed, it should be flushed out.]

[He's almost curious, now, about Kratos's weaving, but reluctant to actually ask. That, too, Yuan lets be in favor of cleaning the second ragged cut.]

Curiously, that still doesn't answer my question.

[Spite. He's sure of it.]

Hm. There's time enough now, if you want.

[simulsimul]

I can't think of any baselines you would comprehend.

[It's been so long since wounds like this were anything other than a nuisance, easily healed by angelic regeneration without even the need for a healing arte. After a moment, Kratos shakes his head wryly, and lifts a shoulder in a half-shrug.]

I can do unarmed patterns, slowly. There's your baseline. I do need to pick up on those, at any rate, and some of your recruits could do well to learn not to rely so much on their blades.

[Offer accepted, Yuan.]

[conductingresistance]

[That doesn't sting. Yuan finishes up with the antiseptic, sets it aside, and pulls Kratos's hands toward him to peer a little more closely, scrutinizing.]

It'll do. And you're not wrong.

[He reaches for the gauze, and the wrist he cleaned first.]

I'm not collecting every recruit in the base for you.

[It's so good they understand each other.]

[simulsimul]

[The wrist he cleaned first has stopped weeping and started congealing, and while Yuan has it, Kratos reaches back to turn off the faucet with his freed hand. ... This turns out to be a mistake halfway through, and he freezes, shoulders hunching and momentarily paralysed by the cramp in his back before he pulls his arm carefully back. His tone, for all that, is just as casual as if it hadn't happened.]

How many recruits do you have, in the base?

[He's seen enough of them to use names and bark orders in the training-room, but he doubts he's seen all of them -- especially if there's any element of their being rotated in from training missions outside the base.]

We can always pick up some of the staff instead.

[conductingresistance]

[Do you think Yuan is just going to ignore that, Kratos? He frowns thunderously at Kratos's clear expression of pain, and pauses in his efforts to lean past Kratos and turn the water off.]

You aren't fooling anyone.

Right now, no more than twenty-five raw recruits, depending a little on whether certain parties have arrived as predicted. The skill levels of the others are more spread out.

[Browraise at that last, though he's more focused on a return to securely binding that first wrist.]

I think the chefs might object.