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]

[He's plenty downtrodden, Kratos. He's just seeing how far you'll let him push, so he knows how long the leash is.]

[Yuan shakes his head. He can't help but focus on the contract when Kratos picks it up, and it takes him a moment before he trails after Kratos.]

Anywhere would be closer to the oasis from here.

[He won't be sorry to see the last of the customs-house; but it also represents the last of his paths to Nidavellir. That home is... well. Was it ever his home?]

[The nostalgia says perhaps it was.]

[He takes the weight of the door rather than slip past Kratos; in the street, he falls to a step behind Kratos, watching Kratos's heels rather than his back.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos has no idea how to own a slave. The leash will be long, in some respects. ... He does not like having someone directly behind him, at his heels; he especially does not like, when he glances back, seeing Yuan's head so bowed. But he frowns and says nothing, for now, only turns to turn and strides briskly through the shaded streets. After a moment, he shortens his pace slightly, to make sure Yuan can keep up.

[Triet is built for desert living; the stone is baking but the streets are narrow and the buildings tall, so that they never once actually enter full sunlight. The Knights' compound is one large complex built on tiny stilts, over running water channeled from the oasis.

[That, at least, is like home, except that all the water is beneath instead of above; but it's not so different to an aquifer, if bigger, and Kratos can't deny the effect it has inside the walls. When they enter, there's a difference of at least a dozen degrees, and turns the hot if shaded outside into pleasantly cool inside. The windcatcher towers draw in air to filter past the water below and create some movement within.

[The courtyard, such as it is, is more segregated from the inside than is Tethe'allan custom; but it's effectively shaded by the height of the buildings and the windcatcher towers, with the plants receiving sunlight only at certain times of day and with judicious garden planning. Still, at least there are plants -- though many of them seem to be grown in pots in the halls. ... That took some getting used to.

[Kratos nods to guards and passersby who snap salutes, and ignores the stares which follow them. He does catch one of the runners and requests an attendant to his quarters. There's only one Knights' regiment in Triet, which makes him the highest-ranking knight stationed here; and that means he has the best room, nearest the gardens around the oasis and with personal access to the courtyard and the baths sectioned off beneath the building. His suite is, effectively, a sitting-room, an office, a kitchenette in the event he doesn't wish to attend the mess hall, a spacious bedroom, amenities ... he is, at least, afforded a guest room.

[It's obvious to anyone looking in that the promotion is recent: most of his things are still neatly in the corner, the room sparsely decorated but for the furniture that was already provided, elegant and trim in style -- luxuriously economical.]

[conductingresistance]

[He doesn't need you to pity him, Kratos. Contrarily, Yuan lengthens his stride, even if it's a bit of a strain.]

[There's more than a bit of flicking his gaze to the side to take in how Triet is built. He was shipped here from Nidavellir, and there wasn't exactly the leisure to stop and look around. He can guess at the purpose of many of the things he doesn't immediately recognize, anyway. Nidavellir has some similar structures to take advantage of the wind.]

[Triet's wind is a gentler thing, but the principles are the same.]

[Yuan's just as practiced at ignoring stares, and he focuses almost entirely on Kratos, none of the people around him, save for brief glances to calculate how much disdain he gets. He's not expecting attitudes to half-elves to be different. But he has to assess for himself.]

[At least the plants are familiar. Not the varieties, but the style in which they're kept.]

[All told, however, Yuan doesn't really unfold and look around until they're in Kratos's suite, and a minimum of other people are nearby. He takes in the furniture; the fact that Kratos really hasn't thoroughly unpacked. After a brief careful prowl around the space, Yuan tilts his head at Kratos from a moderate distance.]

Do you need your things unpacked?

[simulsimul]

[Kratos, for his part, is contemplating the contract while still essentially in the doorway; and also considering furniture, considering his belongings, considering how awkward it might be for the half-elven staff with whom he interacts closely. This city is a blending of Sylvarant and Tethe'allan; slaves aren't unknown, but they're not all half-elven, either, and not all half-elves in Triet are slaves.

[Not nobles. Not officers. But not slaves.

[Yuan's question makes him stir and look up.]

Hm? I suppose I do.

[It's an absent confirmation, not an order, but it doesn't occur to him that it might be taken as such. He's still leafing through the contract. He hadn't read it in its entirety before, which was perhaps foolish; but he was going to take Yuan regardless, if only to see what he might do for him.]

[conductingresistance]

[It's going to be awkward for everyone. That's what happens.]

[Yuan considers it, since it's not really an order; but he asked if it needed to be done, and there's a nervous, frustrated sort of energy fizzing under his skin.]

[And possibly Kratos needs reminded of exactly what keeping a slave entails.]

Very well.

[So after a moment or two Yuan goes to the stack of belongings in the corner, careful as he begins to sort through. It's possible Kratos will object to having someone else touch his belongings; but that, too, is something to establish now.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos looks up again, nearly startled as Yuan starts to do that. He opens his mouth to object, and then stops, running his fingers through his hair. It does need to be done, and far be it for him to deny Yuan something to do, except -- except he honestly doesn't know if this is something Yuan wants to do.

[And ... it would be helpful. He's hardly had the time, himself. Technically, he doesn't even have time now, but the sudden dropping of a person on him is hardly something he can afford to set aside.

[So Kratos stands where he is, watching Yuan sort with a torn sort of frustration on his face, and hand still in his hair. How does one treat a slave they're legally bound not to free? Damn it all.

[In the end Kratos is obliged to decide when there's a knock at the door. Without thinking, Kratos turns to answer it, since he's already standing near; and behind it is one of the half-elven staff members. ... Who surely won't miss the additional person in Kratos's suite. The additional half-elven person. Damn it all again.]

Commander.

[Kratos nods acknowledgement to the bow, a little nettled by the discomfort he's feeling for something which surely can't be his own fault.]

I need someone to fetch some extra clothes from the quartermaster.

[He indicates Yuan with a head-slant, and then glances over his shoulder.]

I don't suppose you know your measurements?

[It would be better for everyone if Kratos didn't need to send him off to be measured at the quartermaster's. Not until Kratos knows what he's doing.]

[conductingresistance]

[He can sense the conflict; but honestly, that's not exactly Yuan's concern. He hasn't been stopped, and there's a task to do, and it's better than standing here empty-handed and waiting on Kratos to make up his mind what is and isn't acceptable.]

[Yuan only pauses when another person appears, and he lifts his eyes with a consideration that is half thoughtful, half daring anyone in the room to say anything at all about their statuses.]

[When he's addressed, he shakes his head in the negative.]

I can guess given something to look at, but no.

[And this, too, is a careful sort of prodding, to see how the local staff, who Yuan will have to deal with every day, react.]

[simulsimul]

[The employed servant's face is curious but otherwise reserved, showing no sign of surprise or reticence. Kratos makes a mental note to see how many of the soldiers in the regiment keep slaves, and turns to the servant.]

Please take Yuan down to the quartermaster and get him some more appropriate clothes. I'll be here for the rest of the afternoon.

[Catching up on some paperwork, on his accounts, and generally figuring out how he's going to manage and what he'll have to change.]

[conductingresistance]

[Damn it. Yuan wonders if he can beg off regarding the job half-done.]

[He won't deny it would be nice to have more than what he's wearing now. He gives Kratos a look that speaks as eloquently as he knows how to of the fact that there are many tortures Yuan would rather face; but he goes with the servant, always conscious that though their race is the same, his position is indescribably lower.]

[They don't speak on the way there. Yuan suspects they simply don't know what to make of each other. He'd prefer that to being so far ignored that his presence isn't even acknowledged.]

[The quartermaster needs to measure him. Yuan suffers this as he must, always hyper-aware of whose hands are where, and mercifully the affair can be carried out without Yuan stripping. He is mostly silent, nodding where he can, speaking where he must.]

[He admits he's suspicious of approximately half of the clothing the quartermaster issues -- the fabrics don't look right -- but he's not in a position to argue or say what looks strange for Triet. Silently, Yuan re-traces a remembered path to Kratos's quarters.]

The quartermaster said these should be suitable for now.

[simulsimul]

[The look Yuan sends him makes Kratos regret the orders, before he checks himself. Yuan needs clothes, and for that he needs to be measured. It's the most practical thing. But -- he'll have to keep an eye on that sort of thing, in future.

[In the time Yuan is gone, one of Kratos's lieutenants comes up with something urgent to take care of -- effectively interrupting Kratos's working of personal accounts. By the time Yuan returns the lieutenant is gone, but Kratos is too deeply involved in writing some urgent requests and reports to properly pay much attention.]

That's good.

[Absent.]

The room across the sitting-room should have a bed already. You may as well change now; I'll be out as soon as I can.

[Damn idiots who do stupid things, anyway ...]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan isn't sure how to take the distraction, or the order. But he goes anyway, grimacing as he does.]

[The room Kratos describes does, indeed, have a bed. For the moment Yuan sets the allotted clothes on it, pausing to look around. It seems to be a spare room, not Kratos's room, but he's not about to get comfortable.]

[The clothes... the clothes. They are worse than he thought. in his haste to get away. Maybe Kratos doesn't know about this. Maybe he does.]

[There is negligible solid fabric. Yuan chokes down his sense of modesty for the moment to at least try them on, and they fit, but-- too well, really, and the sheerness does not comfort him at all. He also objects to the color -- the quartermaster shouldn't have tried to match his hair -- but that's the least of his concerns right now.]

[Does he dare go back out to see Kratos? No, he'd best. Kratos was distracted enough, and unused to owning someone...]

[Crimson around the ears, Yuan backtracks to where Kratos is.]

Commander.

[simulsimul]

[It takes Kratos a moment to finish the sentence and drag his gaze up. Even then it's a distracted flicker between one sentence and the next ... until Kratos's brain registers what he's actually seeing.

[His head jerks up and he stares at Yuan with a kind of horrified surprise.]

What are you --

[What. What. Kratos flushes deeply, then goes white at the implications that the quartermaster had this sort of clothing on hand. He also belatedly jerks his gaze away and gets up, sending the chair toppling back. In two steps he has his cloak of rank and pulls it around Yuan, gaze skirting, never mind that the colour of the lining isn't something Yuan is allowed to wear according to Tethe'allan custom.]

Change back into your other clothes. This is -- no.

[His voice is slightly strangled, but mostly just angry. This is not appropriate.]

[conductingresistance]

[...that makes a great deal clearer, actually. Yuan curls his fingers into the cloak as Kratos pulls it around him, satisfied in the weight and the warmth of it, and in no small part what the temporary gift of it means.]

[Perhaps he can trust Kratos.]

You may need to make your desires explicitly clear to the quartermaster, then.

[Because Yuan's word is less usable there without some backup proof of Kratos's intent. He knows how this works.]

...a moment. I'll change.

[simulsimul]

I will be.

[With grim intent. He nods shortly.]

Bring those -- things -- back with you. I'll take them back down to the quartermaster.

[In the meantime he'll hurry to finish up these letters so he can hand them off to a runner while he's seeing to the quartermaster. Kratos goes back to his desk to hastily finish the last, and seal them.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan changes in a hurry; though he's careful not to damage the previous clothing, since they're not really his.]

[He's not upset to fold them up and collect them in a stack, and he's about half as long as he took changing before he returns to Kratos, ready to go.]

Am I to accompany you?

[Since measurements have already been done, and Kratos said 'I'...]

[But, all told, he looks significantly more comfortable than he was a few moments ago, and his posture eases, though it still isn't precisely straight.]

You weren't aware of how common such practices are.

[simulsimul]

No, I wasn't.

[Briskly Kratos uses his finger to crease the last page with a flick, and promptly gives himself a paper-cut. He grimaces, sucks on his finger while sealing the letter one-handed, and straightens up.]

But I'll be fixing that, at least as far as my regiment.

[He might be hated for it. He doesn't care. He may not be able to order the slaves freed, due to Triet's laws, but he can damn well enforce Vanaheim's rights of liberty to those under the care of the powerful. Kratos gives Yuan a measuring look, setting the letters in the crook of his elbow so he can take the -- clothes. Finally he shakes his head.]

Stay here. You can --

[Damn. Hm.]

I'll have someone bring up something to for you to eat. In the meantime, you can ... have a look at your room. Decide if you want change anything about it. ... Continue with my unpacking, I suppose, if you wish. Familiarise yourself with my suite. Just don't do anything with my desk.

[He still needs to figure out the limits there.]

[conductingresistance]

[Gladly Yuan relinquishes the clothes. He's staring at Kratos unconsciously, wondering exactly how far the man's willing to go. How does he care? Especially about someone he's only just met? That seems exhausting.]

[Wait, hold on.]

That's to be my room?

[Just to check he heard correctly. The bed he already knows is nicer than anything he's ever been allowed to sleep on. It seems an unprecedented level of luxury. And to change things about it.]

[...one step at a time. Yuan looks away when he realises he's staring, nods assent.]

Understood.

[simulsimul]

[Kratos is arranging things more properly in his hands when he gives Yuan a baffled look.]

Of course. It's the only other bedroom in the suite; where else would you sleep?

[... Does he want to know what Yuan was expecting? He isn't sure, and there isn't time. Kratos shakes his head.]

Regardless. I'll be back as soon as I can.

[He has Words to say to some people, and he leaves the suite with Striding Intent. On the way down to the quartermaster's he snags a runner to a) prioritise the delivery of the letters; and b) have someone bring something easy to digest up to his suite. He explicitly states that 'easy to digest' does not mean cream, honey, or anything which might be construed as sensual. Fruit and bread and nuts.

[Then it's to the quartermaster's, and that's an awkward conversation. For her. For Kratos it's flatly stern. This isn't how he was planning to exercise his newly gained authority, but it's too important to not. He gets different clothes for Yuan, with spares to be sent up later. He makes it Very Clear that the quartermaster is not to send out such clothes as a default. In any circumstance. He does not ask who has asked for them -- yet. He's going to give the people in his regiment chances to do what they should have been doing anyway, before the breaches of privacy comes in.

[He just needs to figure out how, first. His new lieutenant -- Leda -- might have more ideas.

[Then Kratos returns to his suite, much more appropriate attire in hand, and enters briskly.]

[conductingresistance]

[Maybe he won't clarify, for Kratos. Or maybe he will, if there are some notions that he needs to be disabused of. Yuan doesn't know yet. Not knowing is terrifying and heady all at once.]

[When Kratos is gone Yuan turns his hand to unpacking, making guesses about where Kratos will want things based on function and practicality. What he has absolutely no idea what to do with he leaves where it is, but the pile of things will be much smaller by the time Kratos gets back, and the suite might actually look like someone lives there.]

[Food arrives while he's in the middle of that, and Yuan is hungry, but he finishes as much as he can before sitting. The table is low, the chairs... peculiar; he perches on the edge of one, nibbling carefully at pieces of food while he has the luxury of time. He doesn't often.]

[By the time Kratos returns, Yuan's still there, one leg drawn up and his chin resting on it. It isn't a relaxed posture, not really. About half the food has been eaten, and there's half a piece of bread in his free hand which he's neglected to do anything with yet. He startles straighter when Kratos appears, but doesn't get up.]

[simulsimul]

[It's not precisely the way the chair is meant to be used, but maybe Yuan's just not used to sitting in one. Kratos has no idea. He does survey the food and then nod approvingly; at least that was gotten right.]

Here; these will be much better for you. More spares will be sent up later.

[Though they will, perhaps, be alien to Yuan; lightweight cotton in dull colours, and draping, with enough fabric to cover arms and fall at least to knees. Sandals, at least for now -- given the lack of expectation Yuan will be going far in the sun. They're not precisely the same as the tunics and cloaks the knights wear, but they're more similar than anything Kratos has seen on Sylvaranti not already from the area. Kratos holds them out for Yuan to take, glancing around again.

[At a quick glance, the pile in the corner looks much improved, as well; and while there's some things he can already tell he'll want elsewhere, for the most part it's no worse than what he might have done himself. It'll suffice until he figures out the dimensions of the suite.]

[conductingresistance]

Thank you.

[Both automatic and heartfelt. Yuan sets the bread down and reaches out to take the clothing, thumbing through the stack of fabrics. He doesn't unfold and hold them up yet, but he can already tell there's more and better fabric than was in the others.]

[He doesn't ask how many spares. Whatever there is will suffice.]

[After a moment, Yuan puts the clothing down on the chair beside him. Hesitates, eying Kratos. And then picks up the bread he'd set down and makes to start eating again. He doesn't expect that Kratos will stop him; but there's still some expectation that he shouldn't.]

[simulsimul]

[He must have been hungry. ... Or possibly the clothes he already has aren't exactly objectionable to him. Kratos debates for a moment, then takes a seat in the chair opposite, resting his elbows on his knees. Commanders don't have spare time -- they have to make it.]

What, exactly, are you expecting from me?

[This is an earnest question from a man with an intent expression.]

And -- I suppose I should know -- what will others be expecting?

[He needs to know what people will assume before he can choose to dismantle or not.]

[conductingresistance]

[The clothes he's wearing don't make him look like he belongs in someone's bed. They'll do.]

[His eyes track Kratos instead of the food, and then he stops eating at the first question.]

[How the hell is he supposed to answer that? There's no answer for that. Yuan expects the worst, generally, and is that way pleasantly surprised when his life fails to improve or get worse.]

[At least he can answer the second question. Yuan finishes his piece of bread and puts his thoughts together.]

I can only give you Nidavellir's expectations, but many will be the same here.

If you're too visibly kind to me, people will assume we're sharing a bed. In general, I am not thought of in the same way as servants; I exist at your sufferance. I cannot pretend to be other than I am, and must wear the typical declarations of my status. You will be expected to mark me as your property; not to let me run amok; to provide a minimum standard of clothing and care, though most will look the other way for non-human slaves.

You will gain no end of trouble if you allow me to pretend to be your equal.

[This is all dry, faintly raspy, and Yuan chooses his words with the intent that they hit hardest, so that Kratos understands what sort of a world Yuan exists in. They are not from the same worlds.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos is frowning before Yuan is half done.]

People seem to be assuming that anyway.

[Of the first, since it appears that is the primary reason for the ... gift. But it isn't an amused remark; if anything it's an unhappy one. And what's that use of the word pretend? Kratos wouldn't ask him to pretend to be anything. His mouth thins.]

So I'm meant to let you pretend to be less than what you are?

[He doesn't like that. He doesn't like most of this.]

What do you mean -- 'mark'? What sorts of declarations?

[conductingresistance]

[Yes, well. That will happen.]

People will assume it less.

[But it seems Kratos begins to understand some things. Yuan gestures, to the braid across his crown which needs re-doing, fuzzed from travel.]

This braiding pattern indicates I'm a slave. Typically I would wear something impressed with your family crest, if you have one. Perhaps your name, if not. Jewelry, usually. Sometimes simply colors, but I think that's more common in Nidavellir.