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

[simulsimul]

[I thought ...

[Kratos doesn't need to say what he thought; Yuan has already answered it. The thought of Mithos getting hold of a girl whose mana feels like that -- it makes Kratos's heart twist. If they're really so close to a host for Martel, then this is the only time to act. No wonder Yuan was at the tower.

[The thought jars something else loose, something Kratos hadn't even been considering; but it makes him huff with something like resignation, nevertheless. You weren't there for me.

[There's no blame in the thought; just acceptance. Even if Yuan had been there fore him, it would have only been to kill him, surely. (Except for how Yuan didn't.)]

Yeah, you're right.

[Lloyd's voice jars Kratos out of the mental conversation, reminds him again that there is more to conversation than what's in the head.]

Still -- I don't like it. Sometimes she seems like she wants to give up her life.

[conductingresistance]

[Don't be an idiot. Lloyd deserves to know his father. I would have stormed Welgaia for you if I had to.]

[In contrast to Yuan's fairly neutral expression, the mental admission, while brisk, has naked emotion in it. And also the sensation of a gentle slap upside the head, though Yuan himself remains as utterly still as he had been.]

Colette is... a very compassionate young woman.

[She's the sort of person who can't bear the thought that there might be something she could do; even if that something might end up being her own life.]

[simulsimul]

[The feeling which Yuan doesn't bother to hide makes Kratos's breath catch again, and he has to close his eyes for a moment in an attempt to figure out how emotions should be contained. Even still, when he opens his eyes against there's a smile on his face; though he isn't sure what it is, at first, save it makes his face feel oddly stretched in combination with the drying tears. It's been a long, long time.

[You already did, once. It's almost the clearest worded thought Kratos has had so far, and behind it is a strength of gratitude and a helpless collection of feelings which amount to I'm not worthy of you and I know you have my back and I remember when ...

[When they had worked together for the betterment of the world. When they had been brothers.]

You guys are talking when I can't hear you again, aren't you?

[Lloyd's expression is amused and curious and exasperated, and it makes Kratos huff self-deprecatingly again.]

I'm -- sorry. I ... I hope that Colette won't have to sacrifice herself.

[Lloyd grins.]

Well, yeah. That's what all this is about, right? To make sure no one has to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the world.

[... All this?]

[conductingresistance]

[Nostalgia's a powerful thing. It can't be like it was, but...]

[Then again, Yuan looks more like himself than he has in fifteen years. What he passes back is dismissive fondness; an of course in emotional form.]

Some things are faster by thought. Kratos has a great deal to catch up on.

[Which is all true, without giving Lloyd the full picture of exactly how deep the emotions between Yuan and Kratos are running. It does feel like old times, when they could bite sarcasm at each other and pass the truth of it where neither of them had to speak it aloud.]

I've already ensured that Colette has a key crest. The rest will be somewhat more complicated, but... not impossible.

[She's still at risk for the crystallization, but I'm keeping an eye on her. Shall I spare you details for now?]

[simulsimul]

I ...

[Kratos hesitates, finally pulling back from Lloyd, but only to touch his chest, where the sword had impaled him. He's nearly surprised by the feel of the scar under the shirt. It's been a very long time since he's had the opportunity for any details of the world outside the tower, on a scale smaller than the two worlds.

[But at the same time he still feels overwhelmed.]

I'm -- yes. Not ... yet. Just tell me that you have a plan.

[Even if it's one of your stupid, reckless plans. This, amused fondness, faintly hesitant while he still tests the idea of being able to broadcast this sort of amusement and have it be answered.]

[conductingresistance]

We have a plan.

[Yuan refrains from offering any more than that, though he's some little bit irritated by the low assessment of his planning skills. He has created plans that work before. Kratos, sitting before them, is the evidence.]

...It's something of a group effort.

[At your own pace. We aren't going anywhere, and we can afford the time for you to rest.]

[Yuan shifts in his chair finally, abandoning the stillness he's maintained so far; but it's only to shift the new ponytail with minor annoyance, not to actually go anywhere.]

[simulsimul]

Hmh.

[It's a laugh, sort of. There's a smile there, at least. But 'at your own pace' causes Kratos problems; he doesn't know what happens next. His gaze keeps being drawn back to Lloyd, but Lloyd can't sit there for Kratos to stare at him for hours on end. He could go back to sleep, but he isn't sure he wants to. He's spent so long being incognizant; as nice as it was to sleep, the idea of going back to it is rather less than appealing.

[In the end Kratos's gaze is drawn by the layered shift of Yuan's hair, and he remembers he never answered Yuan's question.]

I like your hair better this way.

[It's awkward. It's very awkward. Kratos doesn't know what to say or do next, and he winds up edging that sense of adrift confusion, combined with question, at Yuan. Maybe Yuan knows something to do.

[He does not see the face Lloyd is making at Yuan's hair, the frown and nose wrinkle. (It looks so weird!)]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan does see the face. He supposes this is to be expected. He's going to startle much of the group, and it was something of an impulse decision, but... it feels more correct. He fusses with the tie once more before flicking the long tail back over his shoulder.]

I'm not used to it loose any more.

[This with a bit of a frown, as Yuan's expressions go. Mostly in return for Lloyd's.]

Introductions could be made, if you're up for it. The others will be glad to know you woke up, at any rate, and Raine will want to get a look at you eventually.

[Healer, Yuan provides absently for context, mixing and matching the vocal with the mental with barely a concern for it.]

And we have... a great deal of catching up to do.

[The lighter things first, and no plan details, but something to ground Kratos in the here and now, perhaps. Calm and steady is also not what anyone would call Yuan's strength, but he tries it anyway, at least for a little while, projects something like patience and reassurance back at Kratos.]

[simulsimul]

I could --

[Braid it for you. It's an automatic offer before Kratos realises that he isn't sure he remembers how to braid, or that his hands are capable of such fine control anymore. The offer is mentally curtailed halfway by that uncertain confusion.]

... Never mind. I -- introductions?

We can introduce you to Genis's cooking, too! I mean, if you feel up to trying food again, after so long.

[Lloyd's voice turns a bit uncertain halfway through, but Kratos can tell he's trying. Even though he can't hear what Yuan hears, it must be obvious that Kratos is not precisely the father Lloyd expected to get. Kratos isn't sure he's ready for food, either, but flounders a bit in the face of trying not to disappoint his son so soon after regaining him.]

Maybe another time.

[Still, getting off the bed seems like a good start, even if Kratos doesn't know where they're going. He twists to swing his legs off the edge of the bed, while Lloyd scrambles off the other side and comes around to hover, a bit anxiously, while Kratos tries to decide whether he's prepared to try and stand up.]

[conductingresistance]

[I don't mind, if you want to try. You probably have a better conception of the patterns than anyone else here could.]

[And at this length it's a little difficult for Yuan to manage a complete braid on his own, though he can manage and will get used to it again.]

One thing at a time. Introductions first.

[Yuan watches the two of them a little longer, noting how Kratos moves, before standing and offering Kratos his hand. It's steady and solid by dint mostly of his will, and Yuan waits for Kratos to be ready to stand. He'll catch, if necessary.]

[simulsimul]

[Maybe later.

[After Kratos has a grasp of his own capabilities right now. He exhales, a conscious thing, and then takes Yuan's hand to get to his feet; and almost instantly sways.

[It's not a matter of general weakness. On the bed he was fine. The bed is solid. But being on his own two feet isn't much more secure than hanging from a dais, with a different distribution of weight. Nearly at once his body and mana object to the change with a sweeping dizziness that makes Kratos grip Yuan's hand harder and press his fingers to his head against the roar in his ears.

[So many parts of him expect his weight to be elsewhere, expect an extra weight of the Sword in his back; it takes some minutes for him to orient himself, lifting his head gingerly and blinking at the door.]

Mnh. This may take a while.

[conductingresistance]

[It's hardly urgent. Yuan steadies Kratos mostly because he was expecting to have to, returning the grip as much for reassurance as stability.]

Lean on me if you need to. As I said, we're safe here for at least a few days. You have time to recover.

[Though a few days are a little patch on fifteen years; at the very least, angelic regeneration should help some aspects. When Kratos is ready they head for the stairs, one step at a time, Yuan absently running a quick tally of where people should be. Genis is probably still in the kitchen, at the very least.]

[Raine, he discovers, is on the stairs; he places her mana only a moment before he sees her. Raine's eyes widen for a moment; then, in deference to the larger group of people, backs down, and waits at the bottom.]

[She tilts her head at them when they're at her level, a sideways study paired with a small smile.]

It's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?

[Yuan waits a moment to see if she's going to introduce herself, then himself adds,]

This is Raine. She's a teacher, as well as a healer.

[simulsimul]

[Kratos does indeed lean on Yuan, with Lloyd hovering behind them both as a backup, since there isn't room on the stairs for three abreast. Coming face-to-face with someone new nearly the instant they leave the room has Kratos blinking wordlessly.

[You're picking up strays, I see. It's a fond, unsurprised remark, a note on Raine's race. Yuan has not always been the most compassionate to his own people, given what he'd had to do to rise to the military rank he'd held so long ago; but Kratos is not surprised that he's travelling with other half-elves. Is she out?

[That is, should he pretend she's something other than what she is?

[Once more, Kratos nearly forgets that the spoken word is an option, and hesitates before answering Raine, long enough for Yuan to introduce them properly.]

I'm -- alive.

[This is not precisely a surprise, but given the circumstances, it's about as much as he can say. ... Except for one thing; because, as always, the fact that he still has a son is a downright miracle.]

Do you teach Lloyd?

[Almost before the question is out, Kratos hears Lloyd groan behind him.]

Man, do we have to talk about that?

[conductingresistance]

[She and her brother are 'out' among us, yes. To much of the rest of the world, they're elves. Yuan doesn't comment on the 'strays' thing, save with a passing trace of irritation that comes across mentally like a scribble on a page, rueful and unamused. With Kratos leaning on him he adjusts his grip, around Kratos' waist rather than holding his arm. He'll shift as needed.]

I do, yes. Along with Colette and Genis.

[Raine confirms this with only a brief pause. It's obviously not the question she expected. She aims a glance up the stairs at Lloyd, slightly narrow-eyed.]

...did you have questions about his academic progress? I'd like to take a closer look at you later, if I may, and we could speak about it then.

[Yuan chuckles dryly, short but genuinely amused. In the absence of Dirk, apparently Kratos is to get Raine's complaints about Lloyd's efforts in school. He draws Raine's attention; she shifts her gaze to him and stares for a longer moment.]

...I knew you'd been dying your hair all these years, but this is quite a difference. How did you...

[He's added length. Yuan declines to elaborate.]

[simulsimul]

It's what he's meant to look like.

[This, as if Yuan can't choose a different length for his hair, as if it answers the question of 'how'; which it doesn't, and Kratos knows it doesn't, but he doesn't know how much Yuan has told these people about angelic powers. Clearly they're fairly close -- Yuan can give him details on Lloyd's childhood -- but still, there's a depth of detail Kratos doesn't want to go into.]

I ... take it his progress isn't too good?

[Judging by Lloyd's groan. Despite himself Kratos does find himself smiling, but it's an unconscious thing which fades nearly as soon as he's aware of it, and at the idea of being examined.]

Am I still injured?

[He didn't think he was, but he might still have his pain turned off without realising. (If nothing else, his demeanor is faintly eerie; he doesn't breathe, except to inhale when he speaks.]

[conductingresistance]

[That's wholly unhelpful as far as Raine's concerned, but she seems more miffed than genuinely upset. Especially when Kratos brings up Lloyd's progress.]

Your son has a demonstrated talent for falling asleep in class. Standing up.

[She sounds just like she might with any other parent-teacher conference. While it's occurred to her to treat Kratos gently, in this case, reflex is taking over.]

[Yuan suppresses another quiet laugh. Lloyd learns better hands-on, as far as I can tell. Books are... not his preference.]

[Raine hesitates briefly at Kratos's second question.]

Would you be able to tell? Yuan has explained something of the powers an angel has, and I assume you've been removing as much physical sensation as you can. I did the best I could, naturally, but I'd like to be sure. And it seemed like there was something... odd about your mana.

[simulsimul]

Standing up.

[Kratos repeats it bemusedly, turning his head just enough to see Lloyd's sheepish face behind him.]

I get tired, sometimes. I work too! Sorta.

[Maybe they weren't the right books. Kratos does remember finding it sometimes difficult to concentrate on books, when he was younger; but he also remembers that the delivery mattered. Maybe it was similar for Lloyd. Do you have any books here?

[A question which is forgotten when Raine comes out with her answer regarding the healing, and Kratos blinks at her for a moment.]

I'm ... not sure. I -- don't think I have it turned off, at the moment.

[It's been so long that he's not sure how he'd be able to tell. As for the part about his mana ... he flounders, pushing uncertainty and question toward Yuan. How much do they know? What do I say?]

[conductingresistance]

[Some. You'd have to ask Botta. Between them all they have a few books with them, but the bolthole here has been more solidly furnished by Botta; it's his domain, at least to an extent.]

I don't know how he does it.

[Raine props her hands on her hips.]

[For his part Yuan shifts his grip on Kratos just enough to pinch his side, sharp without meaning to be injurious. That should answer one part of Kratos's questions. I had to explain a number of things. It's pointless to keep much back now, although I haven't mentioned Origin. They know, at least, that angels don't strictly need to experience most physical concerns.]

[It's at this point that Genis, having heard voices, rounds the corner.]

Hey, Raine--

[He stops, and his eyes go wide.]

Whoa, what happened to you, Uncle Yuan?

[This is what Yuan gets for undying his hair.]

[simulsimul]

[The question is answered in a resounding negative; Kratos doesn't even notice the pinch. Somewhere along the way, perhaps before waking, perhaps just after, he'd turned his pain off without even consciously considering it. Fifteen years of constant agony has made it automatic.

[I see. That's probably why-- Why his mana had seemed strange to her. Kratos is glad for the interruption, if it means he doesn't have to figure out how to explain that one; but the sight of the boy is nevertheless nearly a surprise.

[Raine's brother, Kratos remembers Yuan saying; and the resemblance is unmissable. But if he hadn't known the relation beforehand, he might have wondered, for a moment, at the blue shades in the boy's white hair. (Wondered, then rejected; then possibly wondered again. After all, Yuan has been living domestically of late, in the same village as this young woman -- but no. Yuan never would. He'd made that choice a long time ago.)

[The circling thought is cut short by Lloyd's voice over his shoulder.]

It's what he's meant to look like! Isn't it weird? It's so long. And flowy.

[conductingresistance]

I grew it out.

[Yuan provides this flatly. It is technically true, despite the fact that most people don't grow quite so much hair at once.]

[And you do have your sensations disabled. I just pinched you. Perhaps in the mix of things Raine won't even notice that her not-quite question hasn't been answered.]

We should take this somewhere a little more open, instead of remaining near the stairs.

[Genis is still staring a little, but then he shakes himself and actually properly looks at Kratos.]

I guess I should have expected it'd be a different color. You're Lloyd's other dad, right? I'm Genis.

[There's a ladle in his hand, which he notices again when he folds his arms.]

--Oops. I left something on the stove.

[He uses that as an excuse to dart out of the way, for his part planning to come back when nothing is in danger of burning any longer. His query for Raine, originally about the number of people eating, can go unanswered for the moment. He'll just put out extra dishes. It may be a little bit being awkward around the new adult. But definitely only a little. Maybe.]

[simulsimul]

[... Oh. That's not good. Probably. Maybe. Nothing here was going to hurt him, surely? Yet when Kratos tries to think how to turn it back on again, nothing comes to him; something that should have been second-nature is a blank. Possibly because it's second nature. Possibly because the thought of turning it on again fills him with dread.

[Luckily, Genis provides something else to focus on, even while Kratos lets Yuan lead him away from the stairs.]

Other dad?

[You didn't --? Yuan didn't raise Lloyd? Kratos had thought -- what with knowing his childhood -- this, of all things, makes Kratos feel even more discombobulated, and his chest feels tight with an emotion he can't quite recognise.]

Um ...

[This is Lloyd, hopping the last step and jogging around them, now there's space. He looks worried, but he reaches out to take Kratos's hand, siding close so they all fit in the passage.]

I was raised by a dwarf named Dirk. He rescued me from the attack that killed Mum. Uncle Yuan only found me a few years later.

[conductingresistance]

[You can't...? Yuan half-wonders, hoping he's misunderstood the nebulous thought. That isn't good. Understandable, maybe, after that long impaled on the damned sword, but it says worrying things for Kratos's control, and Yuan can only hope this isn't going to do worse things to him.]

[Yuan nudges Kratos away from the stairs and handles the next thought. I didn't know where to start looking for your family, and it took me a little time to get to Iselia. I was a fugitive at the time. Dirk had adopted Lloyd by the time I got there. Given the situation, there was nothing else I could do. So I stayed. And helped.]

[He thinks he helped, anyway. Nothing else he could do to help Kratos; nothing else he could do for the worlds, at that point.]

There are three others here. Colette and Sheena, and Botta. I don't know if you remember him.

[Yuan stops a little ways into the more open room, giving Kratos the chance to look around. It's comfortably furnished, for a bolt-hole; sturdy, but with the understanding that people could be here for a long time. Raine trails silently, watchful but not offering any input yet.]

[simulsimul]

[I don't remember how, is more a sensation of lostness, being caught out of time. Being impaled on the Sword had been both one moment and an eternity. Kratos isn't sure how he's meant to reacclimatise to being aware of time passing -- being able to change while that time passes.

[That potential difficulty is superseded by Yuan's explanation, anyway. Kratos absorbs both Lloyd and Yuan's words in silence, submitting to being moved. He feels -- something. He isn't sure anymore. He should be glad that Lloyd has so obviously been raised well, but at the same time part of him rebels at the thought that he was raised by anyone else. (Yuan doesn't count, apparently.)

[Belatedly: Thank you. For the fact that Yuan did stay, did help. For the fact that Lloyd knows him.

[Silently he looks around. The room has everything Kratos would expect from a home in Asgard; a surprising amount of space, for being inside stone, with furnishings to offset the hardness of the surrounds. There's a door opposite, with voices drifting out, and the mana of more people.

[Colette's. Martel. Someone else's which prods a familiarity more akin to remembering a dream, from that long-ago attempt to break him out of Derris-Kharlan. Genis's. Someone else he doesn't know at all.

[Too many people, half-remembered or unknown.]

Dad?

[Lloyd's voice makes Kratos shake his head and start to pull back from the entrance to the kitchen. To Yuan, he sends a feeling of being suffocated, overwhelmed; it's all suddenly a bit too much to try and approach that door.]

Can we -- stop. I just need to stop for a while.

[conductingresistance]

[Apology is what Kratos gets back, even after that thanks; not even a worded sentiment, just Yuan's sorrow for how wrong everything has gone. Rawer than even Yuan means it to be, and he looks away from Kratos. When he speaks his voice is just a little bit rougher.]

Of course.

[He passes Botta a quick thought, to keep everyone in the kitchen for now, and he loosens his hold on Kratos just a fraction. An out, not a cessation of support. Botta can't return it, of course; but Botta will do it.]

We aren't going anywhere.

[simulsimul]

[There are chairs in this area, fortunately; one even near a window. Kratos shifts toward that, and though his step is cautious and precise, it is at least more stable than it had been upstairs. He still feels almost as if he'll fall over at any moment -- but that's the lingering sensation of a different balance.

[He sits by the window, looks out along the ledge which looks over the cliff-side paths of the city proper. It looks different than he remembers, but he'd never been in this area of Asgard before. Too quiet, though. He can see the effects of the wind, feel it against the stone; then he belatedly realises that he's not feeling the boom of the wind, but the distant echo of the worlds against his soul.

[Abruptly he turns to Raine.]

You wanted to perform an examination.

[Now's as good a time as any, and if he can't even tell whether his augments are turned on or not ... there's no point in waiting, and it's better than getting lost inside his own head. Or -- out of it, as it were.]