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]

Kratos.

[Damn the fact they're in public. Yuan absolutely can't rush to him, or pat him down for injuries.]

[But he does go over slowly, at least; and he offers his hand down, bending to reach.]

What happened? Are you injured?

[...these are sensible concerns, and reasonable to have about a slave one has no emotional attachment to, aren't they? His usefulness will be compromised if he's injured, after all.]

[This is nothing to do with how all the panic has drained out of Yuan in an instant.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos exhales out as much of his overwhelm as he can, and it does not precisely help against the tremble of shock setting in. After even -- however long -- in Gnome's presence, he feels both too-light and uncontrolled. His hand overshoots Yuan's when he reaches up, so he has to grapple for a hold; and then when he tries to pull himself up he fails, his shoulders and sides reminding him that he'd tumbled quite a ways. Multiple times.]

I -- fell.

[No.]

Someone pushed me into a pit. -- Nothing is broke; just very bruised.

[This last is added on hastily, despite the fact his voice is strained with breathlessness at having to reach. Hopefully, also, his state of frazzle will excuse his forgetting to refer to Yuan with any kind of title.]

[conductingresistance]

Someone pushed--

[Yuan doesn't even notice the lack of title. His brows draw down and his voice has gone thunderous with his frown.]

[He grabs hold of Kratos, leverages a pull upward. Doesn't let go till Kratos is stable on his feet.]

We shall see if there is some healing to be had for you regardless. How did it come to be that you are back?

[He is going to ask, later, in private, if Kratos remembers anything that could point to an identity. But that is best done not immediately in front of other soldiers.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos is not at all stable on his feet. The brace saves that knee from giving in; but the other is exhausted by carrying all his weight, and resisting Gnome's natural gravity. It buckles so that Kratos has to catch himself on Yuan's shoulder, acutely aware of the soldier's watching-not-watching but without the energy to fight the urge to be subservient with Yuan.]

Gnome.

[Kratos's voice is rather dazed.]

He -- accepts your gift, and says that we are welcome to stay until the rain ends, as long as we don't attempt to go deeper. And that -- if I should fall again, 'someone will have a problem'.

[Somehow, Gnome liked him. This is ... only just setting in.]

[conductingresistance]

[...Gnome.]

[Yuan doesn't know what to do with that right now.]

That's... good to know. Your diligence is appreciated.

[Is one rock really worth so much, Yuan wonders. ...He's not going to question the weight of it right now, when it means Kratos is safe.]

Are you going to be able to walk?

[Because if he's going to have to carry Kratos, he's going to need a moment or five to school his face. And to figure out a way to carry Kratos that won't look damnably tender. For the moment Yuan only steadies him.]

[simulsimul]

[An exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Kratos is conscious of the soldiers exchanging wide-eyed looks, conscious of their attention. Can he walk? He doesn't know. He hardly feels present. -- Perhaps that can work for him.

[He takes a step, testingly, and it's not much better than as if he didn't have the brace at all; but he can manage, and sets his jaw stubbornly. No, he will manage. So they can avoid a more awkward situation.]

Yes, Master Ka-Fai.

[Another step, in the general direction of camp, and hoping Yuan will get in front so he knows where he's going.]

[conductingresistance]

Good.

[Yuan wants to follow, is the trouble; wants to check and see how much worse Kratos's gait is, how injured he truly is.]

[He regrets that he can't. But it is, nevertheless, a heart-lightening thing, to know that Kratos did not wander off of his own will. Even if he would prefer Kratos be uninjured.]

[So he takes the lead, keeping his steps slow for Kratos, and he turns his path toward the healers, where they will at least be able to check if Kratos actually has broken anything like ribs and isn't saying anything for it. Perhaps there will be more help to give, perhaps not. It is, at least, something.]

...if you think you are going to fall, tell me.

[simulsimul]

Yes, Master Ka-Fai.

[His voice is strained, but he closes his mouth after that, focussing on keeping his feet. He does not fall, nor think he's going to; but by the time they do get to the healers he's unsteady, and listing a little. It's enough that the healers immediately order him sat in a cot next to a sodden soldier with a twisted ankle.

[The verdict is no broken bones save one fractured rib, but whiplash and some deep-tissue bruising. Yuan is given strict instructions not to rely on his slave being capable of much beyond sitting up in the morning, unless he wants him crippled more than he already is; but it's safe enough for him to return to the commander's tent, unless the commander would prefer not to have him underfoot. If Kratos were less tired, the blunt asperity would be cutting.

[On the silver-lining side of things, the rain seems likely to continue for another few days; so it isn't as though Kratos has anywhere to go.]

[conductingresistance]

[Is it possible, that every iteration of Master Ka-Fai grates on Yuan more than the last?]

[...well, certainly it must be possible, for it does. Yuan settles him down and watches and listens attentively. There is a laundry list of hurts, but small ones; all the same, Yuan is not much fond of whoever inflicted them.]

[Especially since it could have been so very much worse.]

[Yuan promises not to push him much; but he will take him back to his own tent, thanks. His things are already there, and this cot will probably be needed by a soldier sooner rather than later. Truly, that's justification enough, isn't it?]

[On the way back he is silent, not trusting his voice, but he will steady Kratos where he needs to.]

[simulsimul]

[Now having sat, however shortly, Kratos is aware of all the smallest aches and pains. Every step, however steady ... ish ... hurts. Even his hands hurt, a fact he hadn't noticed previously, thanks to scrapes on knuckles and where he'd worn skin down on fingertips trying to climb that damnable slope.

[He vies not to need to lean on Yuan at all, by the time they reach the area cordoned off for Yuan; not really a tent, so much as a tent strung on line to create a private area. But when they get there, Kratos has to contemplate how to lower himself in a way that doesn't involve his knees simply buckling.

[Oh, well. At least all he has to fall on is his cot; and he does, with a soft, unintended grunt of pain, and immediately slumps.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan settles beside him, not quite touching, not quite hovering; but he has noticeably softened, nevertheless.]

Kratos. Do you remember anything of who pushed you? Was anything said?

[It is low and urgent. And Yuan would swear he does not know how to be gentle, but despite that there is something in his voice that speaks of yearning to be.]

[...He was afraid. Even if he can only admit that to himself, right now.]

I am-- pleased you have returned safely.

[simulsimul]

[Like drawn by gravity, Kratos lists to the side to rest against Yuan's shoulder instead. His eyes have already closed. But at that he exhales, and tries to think.]

No; nothing was said. I went to where the cavern opens up, just past that twisted pillar, and paused to try and think of the appropriate words. I heard a footstep, and turned --

[There had been a silhouette. His brow furrows.]

They were wearing armour.

[But that doesn't say much; in Tethe'allan territory, and in a place unmapped by Sylvarant, all of them had slept in armour.]

And I think -- their hair was brown to blond.

[With the light of the camp behind, there had been a shine too light to be brunet or darker ...]

[conductingresistance]

[And then Kratos is a weight against his shoulder, and Yuan's breath catches briefly for how much it says.]

[...what does he do with that? Does he need to steady Kratos? Yuan dithers, almost holding his breath, and eventually opts to focus on what Kratos has said.]

Damn. That is not altogether much.

[Brown to blond. Yuan will see if he can compile an appropriate list nevertheless, even if it must needs be a slower, longer hunt. This is not acceptable. Would not be acceptable if Kratos were Sylvaranti, and so he cannot simply accept it.]

You said-- of Gnome?

[simulsimul]

I think -- they were taller.

[This is mumbled. Kratos is still searching through his memory, trying to find more than that, with light behind and only a split-second's notice ... But his attention is drawn by that, and his breath catches at memory alone.]

Yes.

[This is whispered, awed and shocked and disconcerted all at once.]

He said I was his, and had manners, and brought a gift, and so we could stay as we needed, provided no one rushed downstairs shouting about pacts.

[The last stirs vague memories of readings, but he can't, in this moment, summon the details to mind.]

He was -- unexpectedly pleased by the stone.

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan has found what he wants to do, which is to put an arm around Kratos -- to steady him, truly -- but he has some trouble actually doing it. It is enough to be here. All is well, at least for now, even if Kratos will need some time to heal.]

He said you were his?

[That is the thing which draws Yuan's attention most. It does not make all that much sense. Until it does, and Yuan thinks about it, and reaches out very consciously with the sense that's usually only passive for Kratos, and oh, that's stronger. Huh.]

[Kratos always feels like stones in some way, truly. It's only shifted a little, that's all.]

I wonder what the stone carried to please him so.

[simulsimul]

Where it came from, perhaps. I told him its origins. Or the kind of stone it was.

[Things Kratos is not mentioning: that he apparently ate it.

[Yuan may not be embracing Kratos, but the way Kratos is growing slowly heavier speaks of a relaxation approaching complete trust. And exhaustion.]

Mnh. That my mana -- was his domain. Did you know?

[conductingresistance]

Hm.

[Yuan doesn't know what to make of that. ... Or of the fact Kratos is growing heavier on him. It's one thing to be curling into bed together, but this is very conscious and Kratos is being very trusting.]

[It's good. The fact that it's pleasant is also terrifying.]

[Yuan will master these things. He shakes his head faintly.]

You feel of stone; but I had taken it more for your mana signature than any concrete alignment.

[He hadn't, in truth, thought Kratos would have one of those.]

It is... more pronounced now.

[simulsimul]

The way he spoke ... he didn't seem surprised by it.

[It's very nearly a mumble, because while Kratos's mind is still somewhat engaged, his body is quickly becoming relaxed-heavy.]

Perhaps -- humans have always had alignments, and simply never knew. But that mana ...

[It's more pronounced, now? Kratos's brow furrows and he stirs a little, his eyes flickering without opening. When he thinks on it like this, with his eyes closed and the memory fresh, he can feel that cascading drum in the core of him.]

... I've never seen mana like that before.

[And this is a whisper. He's seen mana, mostly through Yuan spinning new artes, still unformed; but not like that.]

[conductingresistance]

[...Kratos is going to fall asleep on Yuan if he doesn't do something about this, isn't he.]

[Yuan does absolutely nothing about this.]

I suspect it is hard to surprise an earth spirit with earth.

[Said thoughtfully, as Yuan turns things over in his head.]

And you wouldn't have. For mana to be visible without any intervention, it must be very, very concentrated. Where you were is likely the purest, closest concentration of earth mana on this continent, if not our entire world.

[This last is judged by the fact that Gnome is here, not anywhere else. There is some very faint temptation, to see, to ask, to-- anything-- but no. Gnome said no visitors, and Yuan would be missed and gain nothing from it besides. Earth is not his strength. Still. Mana like that...]

[It must have been something.]

[simulsimul]

It was light, but it wasn't --

[Kratos's hand lifts slightly, as if he can somehow sketch it.]

There was no light in it, and yet it was -- brighter than anything around it. As if the surrounds were made more by its presence ... and it pulled everything toward it.

[How could something illuminate without being at least some portion of light? And yet.]

[conductingresistance]

[Instantly Yuan finds himself more affectionate. How, he can barely say; but there is something of Kratos's wonder which touches his own.]

Yes. That is how it is; mana is the truth and essence of the world. What you saw was truly earth. No less.

[There is some of that wonder about Yuan's voice, as well. Unconsciously he is leaning just a touch toward Kratos in turn, as though drawn by that same force. They may, perhaps, hold each other up.]

It is something few humans may observe.

[simulsimul]

I am ...

[What he is, Kratos doesn't know. There's half formed thoughts there; the musing that if he hadn't been in this position, slave to this man, then he may never have seen the wonder he did today. That he had never known, truly, the beauty and gravity of that which underpins the world. That he must surely be blessed.]

... I wish. I could feel it again. All the time.

[Sleepily wistful, not really thinking of the fact there must be drawbacks; but to be able to sense and manipulate that which enlivens the world ... surely. Surely there's artistry and fable to this.]

[conductingresistance]

If I could show you properly, I would.

[A low murmur of a promise. But Yuan has no idea how to show someone what mana is, how it feels to touch the pulse of the world.]

[Somehow his arm has slipped behind Kratos. Not really an embrace; but bracing him, making sure he doesn't slip front or back. That is all it is.]

Perhaps there will be a day you may see its like again.

[If Gnome has identified Kratos as his... Yuan is no great student of spirits, but he suspects Gnome wouldn't be averse to seeing Kratos again. In the future.]

[simulsimul]

[If anything, it encourages Kratos to lean into the crook of Yuan's shoulder and arm, sinking against him fully, such that Yuan has all his weight.]

Good.

[It's a contented mumble of a response, too sleepy to really be of thought; but there is the foggy reflection that there is a way, if he could only remember it ...

[But he won't get to do so tonight, because now he's asleep, and between the effect of the mana which had been around him, and the numerous tumbles, he's sleeping deeply.]

[conductingresistance]

[Kratos had fallen asleep on him before, of course, that night before, when they were both overwhelmed and emotional; but this feels different. It isn't emotional exhaustion, not really, and Yuan is more than conscious enough to watch it happening.]

[He's trusted this much. With Kratos unconscious Yuan is free to give him all the wondering looks in the world, and for no small amount of time he does just that, only observing. This does not happen; only now he has incontrovertible proof that it does, at least once.]

[And it is... nice.]

[Yuan stays there longer than he really should before slipping free, lowering Kratos to horizontal, and getting up to keep keeping on. Still: that side particularly feels warm all the evening long.]

[The rain keeps up for some time, which is probably for the best given they've some recuperating to do. Twisted ankles, mostly; one or two broken bones. Kratos's bruising. Yuan oversees everything, stalking the camp narrow-eyed when it seems troops are getting restless. He'll organize a quiet spar or two before he lets them wander further, and the excuse given is always that they don't know how far this cave system may go, they may get lost or injured or the ground may be unsteady--]

[There are some for whom this excuse carries less water. These are the ones who saw Kratos lifted out of the dark by the earth itself. Yuan does not know what to say to them, and so mostly avoids talking about it; but those are the soldiers who barely question the orders at all.]

[All the same it's a couple of days before they get moving again. Yuan judges this wisest, and by the time everyone is in motion again they are healthier and better rested, even if supplies are a bit lower than they were. Some hunting, at least, may potentially be done on the way. And it's good to have fresh air again, even that particular dampness that sometimes hangs in the air after rain. Yuan lifts his face to the sky simply to appreciate it for several moments.]

[And as they go, he checks Kratos's presence more often than he would have before. It isn't much -- quick flickers of glances, here and there, only enough to lay eyes on Kratos's distinctive auburn and then back to the path again. But the thought of not finding him -- it wells up no small amount of panic. Yuan will make sure he's with the unit.]