Kratos Aurion (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
simulsimul) wrote2016-11-02 07:40 pm
simulsimul) wrote2016-11-02 07:40 pm
a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance
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
- 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.
no subject
[That's important to clear up, in case anyone had a misconception that Yuan was about to be their friend.]
What I can do is have a word with Kvar, and ensure he doesn't come after Asgard before he can be dealt with. I have some extra leeway where Asgard is concerned, so it won't be questioned.
[...it looked very lonely. Yuan takes a steadying breath. The tone is painfully familiar. In a moment he slants his gaze toward Colette.]
Kratos is getting ahead of himself. The unicorn is one of two possible solutions to a problem you will face toward the end of your journey. Undine will be necessary either way.
[He's not going into detail yet.]
I'll deal with some things while you're traveling south, and join you at Thoda to speak to Undine.
no subject
Well, what problem's that, then? You're here to tell us everything we need to know, right? Why not that? Whatever's needed, we can do it, if it'll help Colette.
[Lloyd has a point; and Kratos has no real intention to hide the toxicosis. But it is getting complicated, and in the grand scheme of things it's a minor detail. Except -- except. Having to travel around the highlands more than necessary will waste time. Kratos glances sidelong at Yuan, and answers anyway.]
There's a very rare condition which can be caused by wearing a cruxis crystal. It involves the crystallisation of the host's body from the outside in. Left untended, it's inevitably fatal. Martel had the same condition, so it's likely that Colette will as well. The unicorn will be able to heal it.
[Lloyd blanches and steps back, his hand groping for Colette's.]
But she's -- she's okay, right? Right now, she's okay? Professor?
[Kratos holds up a hand.]
Right now she's okay, Lloyd. The condition is a reaction to the wearing of a key-crest in some people. The interplay of mana is what causes it. If Colette puts on the key-crest now, we will be able to solve the problem before it progresses anywhere. The alternative cure will take much longer and be far more difficult. I would rather not rely on it.
[Since it involves minerals only found on Derris-Kharlan.]
no subject
[It's a little brusque, but Yuan means it well enough. They have enough things to worry about without adding this; he shouldn't have said anything in the first place.]
We're prepared for it this time, after all.
[Yuan stops talking there, lest he say something more.]
[Raine looks distracted, frowning.]
I wonder why that reaction... hm. [Lloyd makes her look up and try for reassuring.] Yes-- apart from the transformation, Colette is okay, Lloyd.
[It will be easier to take coming from her, rather than Yuan, she thinks.]
no subject
[Lloyd starts, and then cuts himself off, looking frustrated. It's a choice between the people at the ranch and Colette, and he's finding he doesn't like the difference.]
You said there's another way to stop that from happening to Colette. What's wrong with that one?
[Kratos shakes his head.]
It requires a special key-crest which needs materials only found in Tethe'alla and Derris-Kharlan -- the seat of Yggdrasill's power. Or would you prefer to risk everyone's lives attempt to assault the Tower?
I don't want to risk the lives of everyone left at the ranch, either! They deserve our help now!
[Kratos doesn't take a breath. He just looks at Lloyd for a moment, until Lloyd's ardour cools and he starts to look chagrined; but when Kratos speaks, his voice is gentle.]
We will help the people of the ranch, Lloyd. But we also need to consider the people of the rest of the world, and Colette. To benefit everyone, we need to move with cool heads in the most efficient manner -- that means Undine and the lake before the ranch.
[He's speaking nearly as much to Colette, keeping an eye on her; because the choice of when to wear the key-crest is, ultimately, hers. If she refuses to do so to save him -- well. Kratos has to make sure she doesn't.]
no subject
Sometimes unenviable choices need to be made. If you try to save everyone, you may save no one instead.
[But there's a reason they're doing this, after all. Yuan's gaze drifts out the window at the other side of the room.]
I suppose that's why we're working together, isn't it?
[That they may temper the unrelieved idealism of youth.]
[Sheena unfolds, then folds her arms again, shifting not entirely comfortably.]
...I guess we don't really have the resources to split up, huh.
[If only they could do both. If she can really pull off this pact, though, it'll only help them save the people at the ranch.]
no subject
[Both he and Yuan should be there to talk to her, but the others wouldn't be able to take on Kvar without either one of them helping. And, on a purely personal level, Kratos wanted to be there when Kvar died. (The thought of the man stirred his latent anger in a way that took his breath away. It had been a long time since he's felt emotions so strongly.
[After a moment Kratos shook his head.]
I think both Yuan and I should be there to meet Undine, but you'll need me to take the ranch. Kvar is not to be trifled with.
[He nearly took Kratos himself, back on that fateful night. Kratos had been injured -- but he'd also been desperate, and pushed to a corner. One balanced the other.]
no subject
[Sheena subsides with a not entirely happy frown. There's really no two ways around it, even if she wants to take the ranch down. For the sake of Luin, and its people. Undine, then.]
[Yuan nods to Kratos.]
So I'll meet you at Thoda, and delay Kvar's advances until then. Afterward, a storming of the ranch which I will know absolutely nothing about, and will be far too distant to conceivably do anything about.
[It's true, Kvar is not to be trifled with. But they'll have Kratos; and Kratos deserves to have that.]
no subject
And we'll go to Thoda, and see how Undine wants to test us. Then -- I'll become the traitor to heaven once more, I suppose.
Don't say that!
[Colette's temper flares are, very often, predictable, and yet always a surprise. Kratos glances toward her and she's already stepped forward, her fists clenched in front of her and chin lifted with indignation all on his behalf.]
Don't talk like that. I may not know angels and Martel, but I still believe there's a goddess in all of us -- that still, small voice of conscience. If a goddess doesn't reside in heaven, then she resides there. And you can't betray that, not if you're trying to save people. You can't betray heaven, when it's within you as goodness. So don't say that, Kratos -- because you are a good person. You wouldn't be helping us, otherwise.
[Not for the first time, Kratos doesn't know how to answer; and, not for the first time, he can't hold that gaze. He looks away with a soft huff instead.]
Perhaps.
no subject
Let us be honest. The one of us who is closest to a heaven would have wanted a better world than this.
[It might be an attempt at kindness, to Kratos. Yuan cannot believe Martel would have wanted this world, even if it means Kratos turning aside from Mithos. Kratos tried. He did everything a teacher could be expected to do, save for stopping his pupil.]
[Fractionally, Yuan inclines his head to Colette. She's gotten Kratos to think, in her way, and that's no small feat when it comes to this topic.]
[In the mean time, he is moving on from any topic involving Martel.]
Unless there's anything else pressing, I should go.
[Moving on as far as possible.]
no subject
[This is soft agreement, since Kratos's glance away is a glance toward Yuan. He nods, just once.]
I think this is everything. We'll stay here tonight and meet you in Thoda; that should give you more than enough time to put roadblocks in Kvar's way.
[The trip will take a little while, after all. Colette steps forward again, her indignation faded.]
Um -- Thank you. I know this isn't what you'd planned. Thank you for trusting us enough to change what you meant to do.
no subject
[Yuan is halfway already turned to go when Colette steps forward. He doesn't turn back to look at her entirely, but he does incline his head briefly.]
Kratos speaks convincingly of how futile the other choices are.
[It isn't entirely trust. It's practicality, too.]
[Raine tightens her grip on Genis for a moment or two, till he squirms free of her. She lets him, eyes distant. She had meant to say something; but in the end, she hasn't. Perhaps it isn't the time. Perhaps she's afraid. In the wake of everything else, Raine keeps her silence. Still, the resolution to tell the truth is there.]
no subject
Man, I don't understand half of what that guy says. He talks like -- like he's a mirror, or something.
[Kratos raises his eyebrows briefly at Lloyd, arms crossed, not moving from the window.]
A mirror?
[Lloyd nods.]
Yeah! Like those mirrors in the shrine at Iselia, or the mirrors D-- uh. Like in the shrine at Iselia. They catch the light to make it easier to see in the dark, but they're always at angles, never head-on. You've gotta know the angle to create proper light.
[He makes a face, but he's grinning at the same time, head turned toward Kratos.]
Guess it's a good thing you know all his angles, huh?
[It's an oddly endearing assessment, and Kratos can't help but smile at it, half-hoping Yuan is still near enough to have heard the description.]
Heh. Well, most of them. You said you wanted to do some training -- I'll meet you downstairs.
[He wants to talk to Raine briefly first.]
no subject
[Knowledge of how Yuan works, however, cannot possibly be hereditary within the Aurion line. Yuan goes, and puts it from his mind. There's Kvar to divert, after all.]
[Raine nudges Genis after Lloyd, and waits for all of the others to have filed out, in their ways. She is, in fact, making to go after them, but something of Kratos's intent makes her pause, thoughtful, near him.]
Your friend didn't seem happy. You're absolutely sure of him?
[It may be in some small part a pre-emptive deflection.]
no subject
[How could Yuan be at all happy, when so much of the conversation revolved around how badly they'd failed the world and Martel? When so much of the conversation revolved around Martel? When Colette was there, a constant reminder?
[Kratos regards Raine for a moment, and then asks gently:]
Are you alright?
[He noticed what Raine never said. He just isn't sure why, or whether she needs the help with it.]
no subject
[Raine had been hoping he wouldn't. She eyes the door, wondering half-heartedly if she can get past Kratos and through it without being stopped; then she glances away with a quiet sigh.]
I don't know.
I'm...
[Frightened, of an unknowable future.]
...it's nothing. It simply didn't seem like I should add one more thing to such a number of uncomfortable revelations.
[That is also an excuse, even if it's true enough.]
no subject
[Kratos also knows it isn't nothing.]
Raine.
[He waits for a moment, until she looks back at him -- so he can hold her gaze.]
If there is something, anything, I can do, do not hide it from me. If not now, then in the future. Let me help you, as you've helped me. I stand with you.
[Some of the best and worst peoples he's known have been half-elves. Some of the best and worst people he's known have been humans. Raine is among the best, no matter what side of her lineage people look at.]
no subject
I don't...
If I find there is something, I'll ask. I... suspect it is simply a matter of finding both courage and time.
[It's so much easier said than done. She firms up her mouth and lifts her chin.]
...Thank you.
no subject
Of course. After you.
[So saying, he holds out his hand to allow her to precede him. She's helped him, in both ways he needed help and ways he didn't realise he did. Yes, he'll stand with her.]
no subject
[Peculiarly, it reassures her, that quiet demonstration of support.]
[She nods slowly, musters a small smile in turn, and precedes him out of the room. The truth seems less impossible than it was.]