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]

[Life isn't that convenient; but Yuan holds his tongue. Still, there's something he can't quite help but put in.]

Understood. However -- with respect, sir, any reprimand from a superior officer won't help much, except to make them more bitter, and less predictable.

[There is the very faint quirk of a bitter smile behind his blankness.]

I am... used to such things.

[This is as much commentary on the state of the world as much as it is response to General o Branain's pointedness. Yuan tilts his head slightly.]

Of course, I will report as ordered.

[simulsimul]

[O Branain's smiles, it has been said, are at odds with his appearance. He seems the sort whose face would break if it smiled; when he does, it's something like seeing a shark do so.]

There's more than one way to make an officer realise their stupidity than simply reprimanding them, Commander.

[They're approaching the quartermasters' tents, now, from which is issuing the sonorous sounds of one of the lieutenants in full tirade. From the sounds of it, someone tried to request a weapon to which they were not obliged.

[Inside, Kratos is standing still with his gaze down, but his head not lowered in submission; even still his bearing is deliberately made smaller, to avoid presenting as a threat. He'd requested a single knife for utility-work from one of the sergeants. Unfortunately the quartermaster's second had overheard and evidently does not think much of slaves stepping outside of their place ... let alone Tethe'allan slaves. (Let alone, judging by some of the man's expressions while speaking of Kratos's master, a Tethe'allan slave belonging to a half-elf.)

[The lieutenant sees General o Branain enter first and cuts off short to pay his respects. That's when Kratos glances up. Despite knowing this was a possibility, he explicitly hasn't been thinking about how he might react when it occurs.

[What happens is that everything about him shuts down; his expression, already impassive, flattens to blank stoicism. He plants his feet, instinctively shifting to a stance prepared for a fight, despite his lack of ability; his shoulders drop, his hands loose but ready. And he doesn't lower his head, his gaze set squarely on o Branain. Compared to the way he submits to Yuan, it's about the same difference a wary wolf has to a contrite puppy.

[O Branain, for his part, registers explicit surprise before anything else. Surprise and -- not quite approval, but more as if a lingering question has been answered.]

So you are alive. Of all the people to meet in one of my own camps.

[Kratos does not respond. But he doesn't move, either.]

[conductingresistance]

[The smile both concerns and reassures. Yuan suspects he'd like to see what o Branain comes up with to deal with such things.]

Understood, sir.

[But by then they're approaching the quartermaster's tent, and Yuan can sense who's there before he even processes the tirade, and he realizes abruptly that his day is about to go to several different hells, very quickly.]

[There is nothing for it but to brace himself. It's not as though he can make Kratos understand his thoughts from here. All the same, Kratos's reaction doesn't sit well with Yuan, and he wonders how many orders regarding Kratos he'll be willing to obey.]

[--those are dangerous thoughts. Yuan cuts them off.]

I was given to understand you were the one who gave the order to spare him, General.

...he's mine, now.

[Which should not require further explaining, given the braid Kratos wears. Yuan's gaze flicks to Kratos, willing him to do anything to demonstrate submission, instead of defiance. This is not the fight to have today.]

[simulsimul]

[O Branain lifts his eyebrow at Ka-Fai.]

You surprise me, Commander. I didn't expect you to be the vindictive type.

[Ka-Fai had tried, on numerous occasions, to murder the man, after all. For a Tethe'allan, living crippled under the house of someone who had tried to kill him so frequently must be akin to salt in the wound. It's a life satisfying to someone holding a grudge, but even still -- Ka-Fai hadn't seemed the type.

[Kratos, meanwhile, is aware of the fact that Yuan's gaze is on him. He can guess what Yuan cannot say; he's aware, even, that prudence dictates he should back down, display the same submission he's managed for -- nearly everyone in Nidavellir. He can't. He just can't. The fleeting sympathy for An-Hei is sharp, if this is anything like the man experiences.

[But he does make the attempt to lower his gaze, and sees a familiar hilt on o Branain's waist. Everything in him coils, condensing in, hunkering down against a blow. Or preparing for his own. O Branain, looking back, sees where his gaze is resting; and is unmoved by the potential threat.]

Ah, yes.

[He fingers the pommel idly, a deliberate gesture, both of possession and lack of care that Kratos is being insolent. To act as though a crippled Tethe'allan slave is a legitimate threat is laughable.]

It seemed a waste to leave it on a wall. It's a pity I haven't worked out how to ignite its fire-mana yet -- unless you'd care to tell me.

[It isn't a question. It isn't precisely an order. It doesn't matter. Kratos says nothing.]

[conductingresistance]

[Vindictive? Yuan's blank face goes bemused blank for a few seconds before his previous neutral good-soldier blankness, which he could stand to get better at maintaining.]

...it simply seemed like a waste, sir.

[The echo is honestly unintentional. At least Kratos makes an effort, though the tension in the room is still something Yuan can practically taste. He clears his throat very quietly, and makes an educated guess so Kratos won't have to.]

For a human to be able to do something like that, it would require a great amount of focus even in the midst of battle, or a familiarity surpassing that which most swordsmen are able to achieve. It's most likely, therefore, that the sword was forged with the bloodline-- a feat not easily replicated nor undone.

[simulsimul]

[Events seem to be progressing in a manner which causes Kratos to bunker down. Yuan's words make him harden; nothing in his body language shifts, but something in his eyes turns stony and unyielding. Transparent, in as far as blankness can be so; but diamond-hard.]

Is that so?

[O Branain's thoughtful surprise makes it clear that this isn't something he's heard before. He does not take his eyes off Kratos, or his hand off Flamberge.]

I suppose that's where all those tales came from, about bleeding on one's own blade. A pity; it will seem only half alive.

[conductingresistance]

[On the up-side of this fiasco, Yuan can read Kratos well enough to see even that further hardening.]

[Nothing else here is going right. Yuan draws a breath, assesses the assemblage of people again, and acts.]

I have some experience with atypical weapons. In this case, I think, there's nothing to be done.

[Someone better at interacting with people would hit the right balance of regretful and authoritative. Yuan does not; there's only a faint rasp of frustration escaping what control he has.]

Kratos, go. I'll speak to you later.

[It's ambiguous phrasing. Yuan makes a mental note about a knife, and also to tender Kratos some form of apology. Likely not what anyone else will think he plans. Good.]

[simulsimul]

[It takes a moment for the order implicit in Yuan's tone to sink in. Finally Kratos stirs and an almost conscious unwinding takes place, relaxing muscles and stance. His eyes drop and his chin lowers only last, his shaggy bangs hiding his eyes and face.]

Yes, Master Ka-Fai.

[Contrast to the last time he said those words, this time they're empty in a very deliberate fashion. Anything else, and they'd show anger, or even just passion. Kratos can't afford that right now. He feels somewhat aside from proceedings, the kind of distance he expects from the heat of battle.

[It's just as well. It's the only thing that enables him to move, leaving the desk and the intensely curious lieutenant to pass by Yuan's far side and leave the tent. He hears o Branain say:]

I'm impressed, Commander. It seems you've tamed an Aurion.

[O Branain had managed to make Aurion talk; he hadn't managed to tame him. He'd been delirious enough by the end that o Branain rather doubts he remembers anything about that stretch of captivity. Something to work with, perhaps.]

[conductingresistance]

[Clearly, the General does not hear what Yuan hears. Damn it all.]

[He doesn't know what this will be like later, and cannot spare the focus to anticipate the fallout for friendship. He watches Kratos retreat for a moment, then returns his attention to o Branain.]

[Tamed is not the word he would use.]

...yes. It does at that.

[It's close enough to an agreement, right. Yuan nods shortly, and tries to put the entire thing from his mind for now.]

You had questions regarding supply, before we were distracted?

[simulsimul]

[O Branain draws his thoughtful gaze from Aurion's back and glances into the tent, almost explicitly opting not to ask what the fuss had been about back when they entered.]

I still do, Commander.

[Most of these questions, to observers, seem like a superior drilling a commander on habits and processes; and it is, after a fashion. It's a discussion o Branain has with all the commanders who have never served under him before. But he's watching the people around them, more than Ka-Fai; content, for the moment, to do as he said, and instead gain some first-hand knowledge as to how a half-elven commander fits in with his regiment.

[Kratos, meanwhile, returns to Yuan's tent -- as ordered. The emotional distance carries him there, and partway into a random chore; then it fades, to be replaced by anger.

[It's anger at the sight of o Branain bearing Flamberge. Anger at the sight of o Branain. Anger at the fact there's nothing Kratos can do to avenge his sister, his city, laying within eyesight of here. The place where his sister died, within an hour's travel.

[But it's anger at Yuan, too -- that Yuan should divulge a secret of the bloodlines that Tethe'allans have spend centuries gossiping over, wondering about, vying to recreate. Not only that, but divulge it as if it doesn't matter; as if the connection is an incidental thing worth revealing to an essential thief -- when Yuan himself wouldn't bear even to let Kratos touch the Swallow. Kratos would have thought Yuan, of all people, would understand the sacredness of a legendary blade.

[It feels a lot like betrayal, and the simple chores to be had around the tent are not enough. It's the kind of emotion which makes Kratos need to move, to do something; but his usual retreats are now lost to him. He can't wield a sword. He can't even do unarmed patterns. The frustration and the loss are only fuel for the fire burning in him.

[Kratos leaves, making for the mess-tent with his head lowered but with a sharp intent in his stride which is entirely unbefitting a slave. More than one person diverts to move around him without quite realising who it is they're avoiding. When he gets to the mess, he goes in the back, to the meal preparation area, and to the enlisted man unenthusiastically trying to scrub a pot.]

I'll take over.

[It's brusque, almost an order. The soldier jumps up gladly and escapes before he even registers who gave it to him. Kratos sits down in his place, rolling up his sleeves and setting to with a vengeance to scrub the dirty pots. By the time the first is done, someone's left a stack beside him without attempting to disturb his work; and so Kratos sets to with these as well, channeling anger and bitterness and frustration into the strength in his arms and the conscientiousness in his hands, and the gleam of scrubbed utensils.]

[conductingresistance]

[Of course he does. Yuan returns answer for question, keeping as brisk and succinct as he can; they neither of them are in the habit of wasting time.]

[He is not, in the end, certain about what o Branain has made of him. He suspects it will be the harder for his race -- he's a disruption, after all. As though the problem is Yuan, and not the people who count him less than a person because they don't like his blood.]

[No one comes to query him as he heads back to his tent, afterward. This is, Yuan thinks, for the best. He's stewing faintly, and he will have some kind of discussion to be had with Kratos, or else some time of an uncomfortable lack of interaction, and he looks forward to neither one.]

[Kratos isn't in his tent.]

[Yuan observes the empty tent for some few breaths, determined that he is not going to yell at Kratos. The point was made. Kratos appeared obedient. A confrontation was prevented. General o Branain is gone. This is all that's necessary, and today must surely have been more difficult for Kratos. Where would he have gone...]

[Ah. Yuan thinks of stone counters, and the kitchen that is more Kratos's than his, and estimates that the local equivalents are not a bad guess. Perhaps the closest Kratos can get to something resembling peace, at the moment.]

[Not for the first time, Yuan wonders if this was all a terrible idea. He heads for the mess-tent anyway, ducking around and into the back rather than lingering to mingle and eat, and there, as he half-expected, is Kratos.]

[Within Kratos's potential line of sight, Yuan hesitates. Perhaps this is a battle best not fought right now, but he can't seem to let things alone as-is, either.]

[simulsimul]

[Time does not feel much in evidence, for a while. It's the good kind of feeling, of proper work, the satisfying kind with clear evidence of his efforts after he's done. Pot after gleaming pot piles up.

[The anger does not completely die; but it's exorcised, at least, reduced to embers liable to go out on their own, given the time.

[Then he feels a gaze on him, one he recognises from Nidavellir, and he turns his head ever so slightly to see Yuan hesitating. The fact that he does indicates that Yuan knows he's done something; but the sight of him reignites some of the emotion, burning low, controlled, but hot.

[Kratos lowers his head and sets to in the depths of the pot between his knees, his mouth drawn tight. It's an almost explicit act of ignoring.]

[conductingresistance]

[That's not at all promising. Yuan stops and considers.]

[They cannot have this out right here, right now. Not and have Yuan retain any semblance of command. There is no hope for a resolution, if he thinks rationally. All he's achieved is the certainty of something being wrong, hanging over his head.]

[Yuan clenches his jaw. Shakes his head.]

If you feel the need to go somewhere else, inform me. Otherwise, I'll see you in my tent later.

[This is loud enough for Kratos to hear, and little more. Yuan doesn't expect a response, given the bend of Kratos's head, and so he turns to go. There are other things that need doing. If this is to be the way of things, he'd best get used to it now, rather than later.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos makes no response, or even acknowledgement; he only continues the chores with emboldened passion, head down. The others present assume an order has been given, or perhaps a reprimand. There are some remarks, but they're easy to ignore; and there's no sign of understanding that Kratos might be taking liberties -- currently, at least.

[It's hours later before Kratos feels calm enough to give it up, and that includes the dishes from a meal. 'Calm', in this case, includes significant parts of 'exhausted'; but at least he feels as though he's accomplished something.

[The anger is gone, but the hurt still remains, compacted from the past half-week since leaving Nidavellir, right up to being faced with the man responsible for -- everything about Kratos's life now. Most of that is frustration and grief; the fear has eased somewhat, now that the worst has come and gone. But the hurt is for what Yuan did.

[Nevertheless, Kratos returns to Yuan's tent after his stint at cleaning, as ordered. His hands are raw and chapped from the hot water, but it feels oddly satisfying; like he's been working with a sword all afternoon, instead of being barred from it. Likewise, his back aches from being bent over the pots. It was worth it.

[He keeps his head down as he enters the tent, letting the flap fall closed behind him; it stays down as he stops just inside. He says nothing; he just waits for acknowledgement or order.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan is seated, with his blade balanced across his knees, when Kratos returns. It occurs to him that this is inopportune, and also that the cloth in his hand has been still, resting on the same inside curve, for probably the better part of the last half-hour.]

[He had almost expected Kratos wouldn't be back until the dead of night. Yuan looks up. He has no idea how to start this conversation; nor if it should be started, if there is any use, or what the bulk of it will dwell on. All he feels is the sense of something wrong and unsaid.]

Have you eaten?

[Regardless of the state of things, Kratos does not get to pass on taking care of himself.]

[But once he's spoken it's as though Yuan's mouth simply takes advantage of that to keep going; he swears he was at least half intending to let Kratos do as he willed, but...]

[But nearly all past engagements of significant emotion have required that Yuan prod.]

You have my apologies regarding today's inspection; had I been forewarned, I would have kept you clear of him. Can you speak your grievance quietly, or is it to be stony silence for the foreseeable future?

[Yuan's focus is down again, on his blade, not sure he even wants to see what's in Kratos's face. If anything.]

[This is pathetic, he's aware. A man grown, a competent commander in his own right, and he hangs on tenterhooks for attempting to help.]

[simulsimul]

[The sight of the Swallow isn't a surprise, but it is a blow; the kind which cuts too cleanly to stun. Envy isn't an emotion with which Kratos is familiar, and yet hear it is, in all its cloying bitterness. Yuan has his legendary blade, and Flamberge is left in the hands of a man who doesn't deserve to know its secrets.]

Yes.

[He'd belatedly gotten something from the mess-hall before he left. It wasn't much, and even now sits hard in his gut. He's weary in both body and spirit, and mind as well. Everything sits heavy. But, yes, he can comply, in speaking quietly.]

You told him about the mana of the bloodline.

[conductingresistance]

[...hm. Yuan doesn't quite follow. Are the trappings of the bloodline that seals Kratos's fate still so important to him?]

I made an educated guess that would lead him to believe there was nothing more he could learn from you.

[Granted, he knows smithing and he knows mana, so he was almost certainly correct -- probably was, in fact, given Kratos's reaction here -- but how can he break Kratos's confidence if it was never given, if this wasn't something they spoke of in the first place?]

Frankly, I don't care to test if the alternative would lead to an order I'd have trouble following.

[He keeps the casually treasonous talk very, very low, a rasp in his throat as he drags the cloth back along the inside curve. There's no whetting here, just cleaning, polishing.]

[simulsimul]

He doesn't have a right to know.

[This is still quiet, but faintly edged, even with Kratos's chin down. His gaze is up, watching past the fall of his bangs the methodical motion of Yuan's polish. The envy is hard, but weary too; and it isn't leaving. He doesn't want to feel like this. It's making it difficult to try and see things from Yuan's point of view.

[Yuan's words point there -- that there's an edge here they need to maneuver from. It's an important one. But still, Kratos can't shake the feeling that Yuan shouldn't have said that. At least he manages to keep his voice even, if faintly clipped.]

Efreet is one of the Aurion household's gods. Flamberge is legendarily a blessing from him, intertwined with our very beings. O Branain doesn't deserve to have his hands on that blade. He doesn't have a right to know anything about how it came to be -- any more than anyone has a right to demand how yours came into being, and how you got it, and why you care so much about it.

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan looks up again, regards Kratos for a long moment. There's a strange mix of emotions in his gut and heart, ones he doesn't entirely know how to identify.]

[A careful breath. Then:]

There would have been blood in the forging of your Flamberge. From multiple people, or it would have been bound to one; not, I think, enough to kill any one person, either. The commonalities survived the fire of the forge, and the sword will not respond to a hand it does not recognize. It is in his hands, and he will never know what it should be, only see the shadow of it cast on the wall.

[Yuan lifts the hand steadying his blade. It balances on one knee anyway, barely swaying, as he beckons to Kratos.]

Maodha mac Gabhann forged the core with a different alloy than the blade. It's denser; it makes the weight more than any average man could handle, but that's necessary to build the momentum that makes it an effective weapon. He forged it with no concept of how it would be wielded, only that it could be, someday. The blade he labored over days-- it needed to be all of one piece, for the best strength, or it might snap along a seam, but the shape he insisted on was not conducive to that.

It was longer than I was tall, when I first saw it, and it sang to me.

[simulsimul]

[The moment of silence feels bitter and cloying, like Kratos is suffocating in a cloud of it. He tries not to resent Yuan for having what he does not, for making light of it even in an attempt at preservation for them both; he isn't sure he succeeds.

[At first, Kratos does not quite comprehend what Yuan is doing. The matter-of-fact explanation of how the forging took place makes Kratos's mouth draw tight. It feels, like this, a lot like an attempt to show Kratos there's nothing special in Flamberge, if it can be reduced to a process.

[He realises this is not the case about the time Yuan beckons to him, and even then, it takes Kratos a moment to stir out of confusion and obey. It's a slow step, uncertain, because Kratos has never heard Yuan speak of his blade like this before -- in terms of how it is exists. Does anyone, save Yuan and mac Gabhann themselves, even know?

[-- Oh.

[The envy does not subside, but it lessens, at the realisation of what Yuan is offering. Enough that Kratos feels less like worn granite, and more like something he can bend. He lowers himself to his good knee, reaching out but hesitating to glance past his bangs for Yuan's approval before resting his fingertips on the handle. The leather is supple, smooth from use; close-up, Kratos can see all the nicks and scrapes and places where the bindings must have torn.]

Is it terrible to feel that I would rather Flamberge languish on a wall, than the alternative?

[The words come out quiet and weary before he knows he has words to say.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan nods, at that met gaze, a fractional inclination of his head which feels so much larger given the way Kratos looks at him.]

It's how you feel.

[Who is Yuan to judge how Kratos feels about his weapon, or what should be his weapon? He absently rubs a thumb over the edge of the leather, gauging its feel again. It shouldn't need replacing yet. It's the one part of the weapon that ever does.]

I'll admit to some satisfaction at knowing it's unlikely what I've accomplished can be repeated by most.

[He'd burn to see someone else holding it; but if it came to that, he'd have a deep and bitter satisfaction at watching that someone else fail.]

[Yuan offers one more thing, after he's thought about it a moment, reaching out and tapping the corner of the blade, right before it angles into the handle.]

This part, I will swear, has had more of my blood than any enemy.

[simulsimul]

[Not much of an answer, but perhaps the only answer available. Yuan, for all his prickliness, isn't the judgmental type; and it's possible Kratos judges enough for them both. He burns to see o Branain holding Flamberge -- but o Branain can just as easily use it to kill without fire. Yuan's blade, at least, would not bear being lifted by someone who should not.

[Kratos follows Yuan's indication, his hand sliding to the corner to feel it -- gently. He can see how simply wielding it would risk cutting Yuan's arm, if he's quick but incautious -- and battle is frequently incautious.]

Every weapon bites back at the unwary.

[His hand rests there as Kratos closes his eyes and exhales, making every attempt to push the bitter envy out of him. It doesn't work.]

I envy you. And -- perhaps resent, a bit. I know you made that choice for the looks of things, and yet I still feel that you lack the right to have made it. But -- perhaps you lack it less than others.

[conductingresistance]

So it does.

[Yuan watches Kratos, as he so often does, trying to make some sense of the emotions barely glimpsed.]

I begin to understand, perhaps, the trespass. But I will not risk you at the hands of those who would ill-use you, regardless if you must needs hate me for the tools I use to do so.

[They are soldiers. They understand that capture and interrogation happens. Yuan will still not gladly send Kratos that way again; Kratos is his, and his responsibility to protect, and perhaps even against the laws of his own country, if completely necessary.]

[Yuan doesn't know yet how many structures he would challenge because of this particular attachment. That, when he considers it more closely, could frighten him a little.]

[simulsimul]

Hate you?

[It's those words, more than any others, which make Kratos's face lift and eyes open, head canting in puzzlement even so.]

I don't hate you. I'm angry; that's not the same thing.

[And envious, and a bit resentful, yes. Still not the same things. He's hoping that articulating them will stop them from being such a weight.]

[conductingresistance]

[It seems abruptly foolish to mention that in Yuan's experience the two go together. His face blanks through bemused to neutral, and he glances down at his blade again.]

I don't know what the future will bring.

[He may trespass again. Which is as reasonable an explanation as the more honest truth.]