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

BONDVERSE; warranted concerns

[simulsimul]

[After having accidentally gone behind Yuan's back, Kratos makes sure to consult him with anything that might be a burden on Yuan's time and effort. It isn't much different to how he's been handling mediating Yuan's favours, regardless; but as it turns out, there are staff members going to Yuan of their own volition, soon after.

[It's ... vindicating, to see the shift in Yuan's reputation, even just among the administrative staff.

[The situation with An-Hei is resolved in a fashion which pleases no one. The ollamh rules that, as the husband was killed during the war-effort, the money Yuan paid to buy Kratos, which went back into the war-effort, sufficed as recompense. The matter of damage to Yuan's property is quietly dropped in exchange for the An-Hei accepting this ruling, and Kratos is forbidden from going to the higher ledge of the market, if only for his own safety. Liability for future damage does not mean the An-Hei's rage is assuaged.

[On the positive side, these days when Kratos goes to the market, he gets to see the Marsyas family, happily adjusting. Every time, their eldest daughter has a bunch of flowers or a lovely toned rock to give to him -- 'for Commander Ka-Fai', she insists. Kratos makes sure to vase the flowers for the table in the living-room, but it's the rocks which suit the decor a little better with Yuan's rock garden; Kratos leaves them on Yuan's desk for him to decide their place. The inside gardens of Nidavellir no longer seem strange, but Kratos still has no concept of their form.

[Life settles. Trips to the market remain safe enough to ease any lingering wariness. Kratos finishes the press, with the result that the much-anticipated olive oil starts becoming a regular use during meals. Eating Tethe'allan food in Nidavellir is also no longer strange.

[The seasons change, and with it the weather; it gets colder, enough that Kratos starts noticing all the ways he's no longer quite so hale as he was. His leg stiffens more easily than it did, and the wind goes back to seeming as though it cuts right through him. He can understand enough of the languages to hear people talking about impending winter snows; the idea makes him shiver pre-emptively. The only time he's seen proper snow was during wilderness training at Flanoir. It's not an experience he's looking forward to repeating.

[At first, he attributes the tightness in his chest to the temperature and winds to which he's unaccustomed. It doesn't seem like much, and he doesn't notice much different, save that he wakes more easily overnight. This also could be a matter of temperature. The coughing suggests a mild cold, which isn't unanticipated, except that it lasts much longer than he expects.

[He doesn't, in general, notice much wrong until one day he finds it difficult to catch his breath bringing the shopping back from the market. He manages to get home, but dizzily, and his chest aches by the time he does. He has to rest for a while, leaning against the counter, conscious as he's never been of the transmission of air into his chest. Surely it shouldn't be this difficult, even for a cold.

[Groceries are put away, chores get done; but by the time Yuan arrives home the cough, if anything, has gotten worse ... and there's a definite wheeze in Kratos's breathing.]

[conductingresistance]

[Somehow, things begin to look up. The situation with An-Hei is resolved -- though Yuan would have preferred something that saw some genuine acknowledgement of what had been done to Kratos, he can admit that there was little chance of it, given that they are both soldiers. The solution given will suffice.]

[The weather turns. Yuan starts keeping a closer eye on Kratos, knowing well enough that Tethe'alla's a more temperate place. One or two colds are to be expected, and he isn't initially concerned when Kratos develops a cough, only takes it for the season and brings home a hot drink or two, to bolster both body and spirit.]

[Then there's the day he comes home and the cough is notably worse, where it's meant to get better if it's a simple cold. Yuan hangs his cloak and he can already hear Kratos coughing, and when it stops...]

[Hm. He tracks Kratos down with an intent focus, and this time doesn't hesitate about invading the kitchen, rather going straight to Kratos with a frown and listening intently.]

You're having trouble breathing.

[In which Yuan states the obvious.]

This isn't a cold any more.

[simulsimul]

[Kratos lifts his head from preparing dinner at the sound of Yuan's quick footsteps, not hurrying but certainly with more purpose than usual. He's watching in the mirror as Yuan enters the kitchen, his own face visible as a reflection; he looks worn and weary.]

It seems not.

[Even this is raw, and Kratos turns his head to muffle another wracking cough into his sleeve. Afterward he takes a slow, deep breath, and it rattles in his chest.]

Pneumonia, perhaps.

[Not fun, but not necessarily endangering, given he's in a civilian city and not out on deployment.]

[conductingresistance]

[Kratos looks worse even than he did when Yuan saw him this morning. Yuan shakes his head. His hands itch to do something, though practically there's little he can do.]

How are you feeling apart from that cough? Don't try to tell me you're fine.

[This last is added absently, almost automatically, since they're past the point where Kratos can pretend he's fine.]

If you're not feeling any better in the morning, I'm going to see about having a doctor look at you.

[Perhaps it is pneumonia, and recoverable, since Kratos is hardly very young or very old or already very ill. However, if it's something else... well, Yuan would rather know before Kratos approaches dying.]

[simulsimul]

[There's certain levels of 'fine'. Kratos huffs his exasperation, and promptly coughs again. The truly frustrating thing is that he doesn't feel congested; it's as though his body's coughing just to cough, and it isn't helping except to make his throat ache. It takes him a moment to catch his breath.]

Tired. I haven't been sleeping well. --A bit dizzy, when I was walking back from the markets.

[Honestly, aside from the cough and now the breathing problems, he doesn't feel that bad. He's handled weariness before. It's just that the breathing problem is a rather hefty difficulty.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan almost reaches out to steady him, pulls the half-made gesture back when it becomes clear that Kratos isn't in danger of falling over any time soon.]

Hm. It could be, but... I'd expect pneumonia to have a deeper cough, I think.

[He's run into it a few times, though in others. Yuan eyes Kratos a little longer.]

I'm not sure what else it would be, which is why a doctor may be merited.

[simulsimul]

[Kratos doesn't have a whole beyond secondhand knowledge here. People under his command have contracted it, of course. He'd seen the medical reports. He hasn't directly seen it himself.]

If you say so. I don't have much experience with it.

[Despite the rasp in his chest and his voice, Kratos is proceeding with dinner well enough, stoically upright, if moving gingerly. That's been usual for the last couple of weeks.]

You have another present on your desk, by the by.

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan wonders if it's worth fighting Kratos over cooking, but in the end decides against; Kratos hasn't fallen over yet.]

The point is that I'd rather confirm a diagnosis now than find out later it was something else, treated incorrectly.

[Also, pre-emptive and early treatment, rather than leaving it to set in, will minimize the amount of time Kratos is sick, which Yuan estimates they'd both prefer.]

--another?

[Yuan ducks out briefly to go and look, though he's alert to the sounds from the kitchen all the while.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos doesn't respond to the first part, because he has no objection. It's only practical. Instead, he follows up with the second, lifting his voice just a touch, but trusting in Yuan's sharp hearing to catch his words despite the hoarseness of his voice.]

Mnh. It looks like it matches the lining in the bathroom.

[Not said: the fact that he absolutely gave the girl some colours to try and match.]

[conductingresistance]

It does, at that.

[Yuan comes back turning the stone between his hands, the last edges of a faint smile about his face.]

I'm sure she couldn't possibly have known.

[Prime suspect number two is well accomplished at looking innocent. Yuan leans in the doorway of the kitchen to watch now, considering the shape of the stone and where it might fit nicely. Discarding it is never even a thought.]

You see them fairly often, don't you?

[simulsimul]

Clearly a happy accident.

[Blithely. Because that's all it could possibly be. Though Kratos is focussed on serving dinner, he nevertheless spares the time to watch Yuan smiling, and ducks his head to hide a smile of his own. This turns into another cough into his sleeve before Kratos lifts his head to nod, and picks up the plates to bring them to the table.]

They aren't far out of my way when I go to the markets.

[Even if he doesn't need anything from down that way. The plates they bought when first asking Acacius for information had survived, so there isn't much need for pottery. Still -- it helps ease the idea there's someone overhead who not only wants him dead but could likely achieve it, if Kratos isn't careful.

[Not all the Tethe'allan slaves are so easy with pragmatists, though fortunately most of them also seem reticent to hold it against Kratos, by dint of his former rank and family.]

[conductingresistance]

Clearly.

[If Yuan's agreement sounds sarcastic, well, he's almost always sarcastic. He settles at the table with Kratos and dinner, still with that faint not-quite-fading smile.]

[That understatement sounds telling, honestly. Especially since Yuan knows the layout of the markets just as well, and is well aware they don't need the extra pottery, either.]

Hm. Would you categorize them as friends, then?

[simulsimul]

[It's a question which makes Kratos blink as he sets down the plates and takes his own seat, eyeing Yuan thoughtfully.]

I ... suppose. What are you getting at?

[He's never really considered friends before; they're one more thing on the list of things he doesn't think about. Except with Yuan. Somehow, it's easier to think that way with Yuan than with some of his own people.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan himself isn't completely sure what he's getting at.]

Nothing in specific.

[It's good for Kratos to have social connections that aren't a; Yuan or b; trying to kill him.]

I... suppose I'm glad you aren't completely adrift.

[It's something of a question. It has not escaped Yuan's notice that they're both supposing things.]

[simulsimul]

I wouldn't be completely adrift even if they weren't.

[Yuan is an extremely solid anchor. Kratos isn't sure how or when that happened, except that it's been true since before Vanaheim was lost. In an odd sort of way, Yuan trying to kill him had been a mark of stability even back then. Since Kratos has come to Nidavellir, that's only become truer, if without the 'trying to kill him' part.

[Kratos regards Yuan for a moment longer, now wondering much the same thing in return. Kratos has arranged favours, but it's Yuan who needs to be able to follow through on the interpersonal connections.]

What about you? Have you found your interactions easier, of late?

[conductingresistance]

[...well, there is Yuan, of course. He'd discounted himself. In truth, he shouldn't have. Yuan exhales, and settles, looking down at today's Tethe'allan-style experiment.]

Somewhat, yes.

[Yuan sounds bemused by this. It's slow going, of course, and Kratos's machinations can't make up for Yuan's own deficiencies, but... in some places, there's a shift.]

It's... evident that you know what you're doing, in this regard.

[simulsimul]

['Experiment'. What experiment? This is entirely good Tethe'allan cuisine.]

Good. It sounds more relaxed from their side as well.

[Kratos chooses to ignore the second comment. All he's really done is set things up for Yuan to take advantage, and eavesdropped -- or provided some degree of insight to some of the administrative staff, as the case may be.]

[conductingresistance]

[Made entirely with Sylvarant-grown ingredients.]

It seems to be, as far as I can tell.

[And he's decent, at least, at reading people. When it comes to their dislike of him, anyway.]

[Yuan lapses into silence rather than say it's starting to make him believe change is more probable than he thought it was. After a moment:]

How do you find Nidavellir now?

[simulsimul]

[What's your point?]

Cold and windy.

[This is dry with what would be amusement if it wasn't promptly followed by another coughing fit. It is not, it seems, easy to eat, talk and breathe at the same time when breathing issues are already present. That's a pity, because Kratos would have liked to follow up with a proper answer.]

I'm looking forward to the winter festival.

[It's about all he can manage, if a bit croakily; it's truthful, and says something, he hopes, about his feelings on the city.]

[conductingresistance]

[He's just saying. Or not saying, as the case may be.]

[Yuan catches the humor, but he's visibly worried in the next breath, expression turning concerned as he leans over the table as though he wants to steady Kratos.]

It should be an experience. Especially for someone who's never been.

...perhaps I shouldn't be asking you to speak when you're already having difficulty breathing.

[simulsimul]

Perhaps it's for the best.

[Which is a pity, because Kratos is actually interested in this subject. But for discretion being the better part of valor, he leaves the topic where it is while he focusses on eating; and the rest of the evening is likewise slow, until Yuan exercises his authority to send Kratos to bed early.

[The night is not restful. Kratos spends it waking fitfully, coughing without apparent result; it's a strange and discomforting feeling, to have such a persistent urge to cough without feeling congested. He doesn't like it. He doesn't like the heavy feeling in his chest, and he doesn't like how it makes him feel dizzy when he drifts half wakeful.

[Halfway through the night, he stops having the capacity to tell that he doesn't like it.

[By morning, Kratos barely stirs at the sunlight reflecting off the mirrors to illuminate his room. He's hardly aware of anything, except the struggling effort to pull air into his lungs, and the weight in his chest which seems intent on pushing all of that hard-won air out again.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan would have checked in on Kratos first thing regardless, given how he was breathing the night before, but when he's well awake and there's no sign of stirring from Kratos he is concerned. To put it lightly.]

[When he leans into Kratos's room it looks and sounds like Kratos is struggling to breathe: the uneven rhythm, the way Kratos barely reacts to Yuan in favor of simply trying to draw breath. Yuan puts all propriety to the wayside and is at Kratos's bed in two long strides.]

Kratos.

[How aware is he? Yuan doesn't waste time waiting for him to respond, but gets an arm under his shoulders and lifts, supporting Kratos into a sitting position, reasoning that any breathing difficulty no matter the cause should be helped by not being horizontal. Now he examines Kratos more closely.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos's eyes do flicker open, and his head turns slightly in Yuan's direction, but his eyes are glazed and there's bare acknowledgement in his expression. He would be limp in Yuan's embrace, if it weren't for the tension in him trying to breathe; he doesn't make any motion to help himself up.

[But the air comes easier once he's somewhat upright; his next breath is shuddering, but deeper.]

Yuan --

[What, exactly, he means to say beyond acknowledging that Yuan had spoken is lost in the fact his next breath is still laboured.]

[conductingresistance]

Focus on breathing.

[Yuan perches on the bed next to Kratos, shifting till he can hold him up more comfortably. He presses his free hand to Kratos's forehead for a quick estimate of temperature, all his usual hangups about personal space buried under concern.]

Just nod or shake your head. Is this easier?

[A doctor is definitely the next thing on Yuan's list. He's weighing the pros and cons of carrying Kratos off versus fetching one; the former implies perhaps too much about their relationship to anyone who might see, but right now he isn't convinced that Kratos will keep breathing if Yuan takes his eyes off him.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos nods just once, slowly and weakly, and that's nearly more effort than speaking -- or would be, if not for the fact just that short word makes his chest flutter with panic at the lost air. But it isn't enough; Kratos rallies himself enough to speak again, short and soft, to try and explain the primary discomfort.]

H- heavy.

[He's flushed, warmer than he should be; but not so warm as most other illnesses common to the area. The fever seems more like a belated awareness of something wrong, on his body's part.]