Kratos Aurion (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
simulsimul) wrote2016-11-02 07:40 pm
simulsimul) wrote2016-11-02 07:40 pm
a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance
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
- 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.
no subject
[Kratos puts his head back down once Yuan has Raine's attention. He'd stopped breathing again, sometime while waiting for her to wake; he makes sure to inhale now.
[My mana's scarred, he sends over. I can't use it properly. We're hoping one of your artes might be able to unravel it a bit.
[Even a bit might be enough. He can work around a scar, as long as there's some measure of ability to flow. Even now, he can still feel where it's inclined to spark, whether he uses it or not, just depending on the closeness of Yuan's hand. Like lightning drawn out by something of the like.]
no subject
[Perhaps a little belatedly, Yuan moves his hand from where it sits, almost possessive, over that scar of Kratos's.]
[Raine rubs a hand across her eyes -- she has only just gotten up -- but she can hear the faint sound of water being boiled and makes a mental note to do something especially nice for Botta in the near future. She comes over to sit, cross-legged, beside the pair of them, gaze sharpening as she warms to the task.]
Scarred how? Can one of you give me more than words on the topic?
[She's still soft, inaudible to anyone not directly next to her. Barring becoming an angel herself, this will be the best she can do for quiet communication. And if they can pass her the sense of the problem that way, it may save some diagnosis time. As well as some discomfort for Kratos, who surely is not nearly as sanguine about her as he is about Yuan.]
[Her staff is briefly considered and discarded. If she's to work with his mana she won't want or need the extra power, more than likely.]
[Yuan fills some in with words, providing the sense of blockage and pressure as more impressions than anything else, flavored heavily with his frustration. Raine absorbs this with a faint crease between her brows, and turns her gaze to Kratos, querying mutely.]
no subject
[When Raine turns to him Kratos sends a mute agreement of Yuan's diagnosis, with some additions. The pressure, yes; the sense of something like debris, mana being diverted, mana being tangled. Yuan's prod which had loosened some part, but not others, and made it less stable. The tingle between his shoulder blades where his wings should usually be -- possibly an unintended casualty of that prod. (And behind it, very light, the unconscious awareness of the thud of the seal, distant but still lingering as a phantom in that scar.)
[He's as gentle as he can be, reserved, remembering Yuan's reaction from when Kratos had transmitted a present feeling to him. Raine isn't even an angel, and Kratos does not wish to overwhelm.]
no subject
All right. I believe I see the problem. I don't believe Resurrection will help, however, which leaves two possibilities. I can try to replicate Yuan's attempt, in my own fashion, which will be rather more neutral, if perhaps underwhelming. Alternately, we can work together. If I can identify the places where the... dam, for lack of a better word, is most likely to give, then Yuan can use my guidance to encourage it to do so. Using the Charge arte as a framework, I should be able to minimize disturbances.
[Raine will admit she feels a little silly, murmuring her theories to herself; but they do hear her, judging by the way she's being watched.]
I estimate the chances of success are better with the latter, but so is the chance it will hurt more than I can prevent.
[She'll do her own analysis before committing to anything, naturally -- she'll need to have her hands on Kratos in any case -- but these are the main options as she sees them.]
[Yuan remains silent, offering Kratos the choice.]
no subject
[The thought of having to feel that pain again makes Kratos tremble; but thinking logically, there's really only one choice to make. He could possibly abide his mana scarring in such a way; but not at the price it would bring. And it's a state he's endured for fifteen years already.
[Deliberately Kratos exhales, and then finally transmits assent, along with a query: What do you need me to do?]
no subject
I need you to relax, and try not to fight me.
[Because it is going to feel like an intrusion, probably, after everything that he's been through, no matter that Raine can bring her mana closer to truly neutral than anyone else in this room. She leans up to set her hand where Yuan's lately was, eyes half-closed and a faint glow about her as she reaches out.]
[She sees what they meant, and what she finds in his circulatory system is much as the mental impression led her to believe. It's somewhat of a mess; but the underlying system is still there, if she can only convince it to move again. It feels like an invasion on some levels: they have only just met, and while he is familiar in some ways, in Lloyd ways, this is beyond healer-impersonal into mage-personal with someone new.]
[Yuan lays his hand over hers and some things fall into sharper relief. Yuan is familiar; she's known him for years. It settles Raine to have his reach underlying hers, familiar in his prickly violet way. Where? he asks, and Raine shows him. She doesn't have the focus for words right now, really, but she can reach and touch those places where Kratos's mana is closest to moving, closest to doing what mana should and flowing with life.]
[It's halfway between a simple manifestation of mana and a more regimented arte, and it's so experimental Raine would want to write theses on it for ages if she thought she'd ever have cause to replicate this. Hopefully, she won't. She sends a soft pulse, the faintest warmth and easing, through her mana.]
[Yuan's static-threads mark her place. Here, he murmurs. Yes. I'll match you.]
[Together, they shove life at Kratos.]
no subject
[He makes sure to breathe, his face turned into Yuan's shoulder, hands gripping Yuan's tunic to avoid the risk of lashing out. The seal inherent in him hadn't responded to Yuan, but that was Yuan; but now it doesn't react to Raine either, and that's unexpected. Kratos's brow furrows, but he keeps that fact to himself, for now, so as not to distract either of them.
[Perhaps it's simply that the seal is used to influxes of mana. It doesn't see them as threatening to his life.
[Raine probes gently, but it still makes Kratos's breath stop. It takes him a moment to get it started again, to focus on it, to force himself to relax again. He doesn't quite manage it completely, but it's enough; and when Yuan's familiar spark joins Raine's, that makes it easier to not be quite so tense. Even still, his shoulders are hunched, and his fingers grip Yuan's shirt harder than needed.
[He tenses again at that semi-manifested arte, and this time there's pain on it, but only a sting, trickling. Different from the seal. Still not lethal. The soothing warmth of the healing semi-arte takes away the edge of Yuan's lightning feel.
[Then they push, and mana flares, and pain. Kratos bows violently into Yuan, his hands clenching on Yuan's back and body bucking to try and remove the source of that agonising mana. He screams soundlessly into Yuan's shoulder; mentally into Yuan's mind, and no one else's. Between his shoulder-blades blue light spurts, fragmented, sharpening to hard petals before shattering. It isn't his wings at full size, even passively -- it isn't even his wings stable -- but for a moment, they flare.]
no subject
[There is no sound to it: but pain jolts through Yuan's mind, resonating, and his breath hisses through his teeth as he fights both to keep Kratos still and from himself hurting Kratos in turn. For a moment he can barely think, can't hear himself, and is profoundly grateful for Raine's steady pale neutrality woven into the spaces between them.]
[She must know Kratos is in pain -- she can hardly not -- but she is calm enough.]
[What startles her isn't Kratos's rigid arch, but the wings. The blue is beautiful and sudden, even if the shape, Raine absently catalogues, is wrong, not as steady as Yuan's or Colette's. She wasn't expecting at all to jar wings out of him with that push, and she sits back with her mouth rounded in a silent 'oh,' her touch lingering only because she's still trying to sense how the flow evens out.]
[Yuan has exactly the opposite reaction, easing tangibly as he sees blue shards catching the early morning light, even if only for an instant. They are on the right path, and with any luck it will not be this bad for Kratos again. Easy, he is still murmuring in the back of his mind. I have you; it's all right. It will be all right.]
no subject
[He's still gripping Yuan. He's aware of it, distant; but he can't even begin to loosen his trembling fingers, right now. Not until the residual sparks travelling through him dissipate under Raine's softly neutral healing mana. Her palm is the only soothing thing about the core of him, the only reason he knows the Sword hasn't impaled him again; and the rest feels too raw to touch. But it's moving. In fits and starts, in some places -- still sluggish where his mana is still tangled -- but moving.
[It takes a little while, but finally Kratos manages to loosen his grip on Yuan's arms, accompanied by a scattered, vague apology, without even knowing whether he's even hurt him. The scream almost certainly did. That's worth an apology.
[Kratos reaches out to Raine next, with a wordless, desperate request for confirmation. Did it work and please say we don't have to do that again are both sensations in there; but over it is a layer of hazy pain, like an abused dog cowering, but hopeful.]
no subject
[But Kratos does feel... easier.]
[It's all right, Yuan repeats at that sense of apology, unbending white-knuckled fingers and smoothing his hand across Kratos's shoulder.]
[Raine for her part has the same sense Yuan does, that it's easier, and she tilts her head to the side and lets her eyes close again, focusing to check. The mental sense of Kratos's query seems so lost-- even if he were not Lloyd's father, she would want to help him, would be stopped only if he were an enemy.]
Your mana is beginning to circulate properly again, yes. There are still some catches, just on a preliminary scan, and I'll want to keep an eye on you and check to make sure it doesn't build back up, but for now I think it will be best to see if you can smooth out what remains yourself. If necessary we can nudge you again, but it shouldn't ever be this bad-- that appears to have been the worst of it.
[She hesitates to pull her hand away, but she's not actively healing him any more, either.]
You'll heal.
no subject
[Thank you is whispered at both of them, gratitude mingled with rawness. The ache from their mana combined is gone, but he still only stirs gingerly, unsure how movement might make his mana react while it's still in such a state.
[Something in him stings as he pushes himself up off Yuan's shoulder, but it's bearable; like a muscle stiffened and now complaining at being used. He presses a hand to his chest, almost experimental. It's been a very long time since he's moved, physically ... that can't have been helping. To Raine, but still including Yuan, he tenders a reserved suggestion, looking for her professional opinion -- Sword forms wouldn't hurt me, would they?
[It's something he needs to refamiliarise himself with regardless, but he could also use them to help re-establish the movement of his mana. Focussing on his sword may let him avoid the panic.]
no subject
[Raine considers the instinctive answer, thinks it over for conscious justification, and nods to both of them, a little more sharply now.]
Physically, you're as healed as you can be. Any tenderness or stiffness is something to be worked out, not a reason to abstain from exercise. Sword-work may in fact be helpful for you.
[She ignores the thanks, considering that she doesn't need it, and sits back on her heels before getting to her feet. Still murmured:]
Let me know if anything else goes awry. I'd like to look at you this evening and tomorrow morning, at the very least.
[Yuan loosens his grip on Kratos when he slumps, giving him some freedom to move, to test his tenderness or lack thereof. Something occurs to him, at the mention of forms. Ah. I retrieved Flamberge, by the way. It's here.]
no subject
Alright. Thank you.
[This is when Botta, entirely coincidentally, arrives back in the room with a tray of tea and some light pre-breakfast in the way of some stone-baked bread and butter. He judges, rightly, that it will vanish fast if the children wake up. The tray goes on the table in the corner, pushed aside the night before; then with a nod at Raine he vanishes back into the kitchen to start preparing something the children won't decimate in two seconds.
[Kratos ignores his movement, to blink at Yuan. 'Retrieved', Yuan says; as though Flamberge would have been at all easy to retrieve. Kratos honestly doesn't remember what happened to Flamberge. The last he saw of Yuan was throwing the Eternal Ring beneath the door before it came down between them. (His gaze falls, unconscious, to the ring on Yuan's finger.)]
I wasn't sure whether -- thank you.
[The rest of the armour is probably lost, and that's enough of a blow; but Flamberge is a very old family friend. It's ... good ... that he hasn't lost that.]
no subject
You're the father of my student, and an ally in our quest to salve the current state of our worlds. I would hardly do otherwise.
[Thanks are unnecessary. She nods to Botta in turn, and goes to take advantage of the bread and tea he's prepared.]
[Yuan only inclines his head briefly.]
It was the least I could do. Let me know when you want it, and it'll be in your hand.
[He couldn't save anything else of Kratos's. It's possible his gear is still somewhere in Welgaia, but equally possible Mithos destroyed it in a fit of rage.]
[Can you stand? Lloyd will worry, if Kratos is still flat-out when he wakes.]
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[Kratos takes a moment to take stock of himself, making sure to take a breath, and then another. He still feels a bit numb, in places, a bit tingly in others; but he's accustomed to assessing his state without the benefit of complete physical sensation. After a moment he nods.]
I'll take Flamberge now.
[He glances toward the window, brow furrowing slightly while he assesses his memory of outside the house; as he recalls there was a flat area just behind the window, out of sight form the main city, where he can refamiliarise himself with his sword. Lloyd would be able to see him just by looking out the window.]
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[Yuan slips out from under Kratos, and pulls him up after, grip firm on Kratos's forearms. He doesn't let go until he's absolutely sure Kratos is stable, and even then he waits another moment or two before actually stepping away. The children will be awake soon, I think. I see where you're looking. There's a ground that should suit, yes. You and Flamberge can get reacquainted.]
[With that said, Yuan turns, the faint mental thread of contact remaining even as he skirts the puppy-pile of children and vanishes up the stairs.]
[Raine glances between the two of them, thoughtful, like she has some sense that there's a communication she's missing; but she doesn't say anything, only sits down with her toast and lets her gaze track back to where Genis is dozing. She's pensive.]
[Ultimately the only one who has stirred before Yuan returns is Sheena, who shows no sign of slow waking, only sits up and stretches her arms over her head before getting up properly, freeing herself from the others without disturbing them at all. She ignores Kratos completely and heads straight for the kitchen, apparently only one thought on her mind.]
[Then Yuan's back, Flamberge carried in his left hand. He has it by the guard, not the hilt, and as he comes into the room sunlight passes through the translucent blade and casts a shadow like fire across the floor.]
Here.
[He offers the hilt first.]
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[Flamberge. Kratos's heart aches, and it takes a moment to realise that it's emotion, and not anything else; he reaches up to touch his face, just to make sure of his expression. A smile -- and tears. Good enough.
[He tracks the link, but only absently, as he moves toward the window. His step is a touch uncertain. He feels -- off-balance -- even more than before. Before, it had been a merely physical sensation of hanging which did, eventually, wear away; but now it's his mana confused, insisting things which are no longer true. Kratos leans on the sill, and gazes out at the broad ledge, and the sun just beginning to turn the tops of the mountain gold.
[When Sheena sits up Kratos shifts to watch her, only realising where she's going when he registers the smell of breakfast wafting in from the kitchen. He hasn't eaten yet. On top of everything else -- one sense at a time. He stays turned that way, frozen in a way only an angel can be when distracted by a long-running thought; but Yuan's arrival shakes him out of it, and Kratos's gaze is drawn immediately to the blade in his hand.
[Sprawled in his pile of blankets, Lloyd's eyes blink slowly open, and then widen, watching the flame-shadow appear to burn its way across the floor. He opens his mouth to shout a warning as it passes over Genis, but nothing happens when it does, save that it looks like Genis's blanket is dancing with flames. It's only after Yuan speaks that Lloyd's gaze snaps toward them, and then he stares in awe at the sword Yuan is giving his father.
[Kratos, for his part, doesn't notice. All his attention is for Flamberge, very nearly as dear a friend as Yuan, and just as old. It's with something near to reverence that he reaches out to take it, and it's as light as he remembers; he can feel the mana in it, a familiar signature which leaps to his touch.]
Thank you.
[His voice is rough. He must have said that a thousand times already, and yet he cannot say it enough. He doesn't need to ask whether Yuan is joining him; he turns, instead, toward the door at the back of the room.]
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[He inclines his head briefly to acknowledge Kratos, then turns to survey the children. They all look their own varieties of impressed; save Sheena, who hasn't quite re-emerged from the kitchen yet. From the corner with the toast, Raine's expression has taken on a more fascinated cast than impressed.]
Good morning. Kratos and I will be outside, running forms, if you need us. If you want to come outside, eat first-- give us some time, and make sure both of us can hear you approaching.
[When he's sure he's been understood, Yuan manages a small smile for the group of them, trying to be reassuring, before turning and following Kratos. Raine stands up to draw their attention and possibly inflict lessons on them, which he is happy enough to escape.]
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[The ledge is more than big enough for even the expansive knowledge of forms belonging to the angels, and the sun just hits the cliff rising above it. It's still cool in the shadow, but that will change fast.
[Kratos finds a place about the centre, unconsciously leaving space for Yuan beside him. He doesn't think, but his body finds the most instinctive of beginning stances. It feels natural, and yet not at once -- it's been so long that the moment he pauses, his mind goes blank, and he stands there for some moments instead, trying to remember what comes next.]
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[That's from Raine, murmured in some attempt to reassure her student as the angels step outside.]
[Yuan considers that there are many people he owes thanks. He puts that from his mind temporarily, though, as he watches Kratos settle into a basic stance and-- freeze.]
[The instinct is there, Yuan is sure. It just needs to be fetched. He steps into the place Kratos has left all unconscious for him, matching the stance. His hands are empty for the moment; the Swallow won't work for this pattern quite so well, but Yuan has watched Kratos practice, and in their time practiced with him, more than often enough to know what he's about.]
Next stance.
[That's sharper and without preamble, Yuan hoping to nudge something more instinctive in Kratos's mind as he himself shifts, stepping across and through to a mirrored stance. Basics. Things so long ago learned that they are worn into the mind and muscles much deeper than the Sword could be.]
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[Yuan doesn't stop, and Kratos doesn't either, with that lead to follow. Upper block with shield-arm, forward thrust, ninety-degree backslash, lower sword block followed promptly by an upper shield-block -- it's easy, as long as he doesn't think. He doesn't dare end it, but he doesn't have to. His patterns flow into each other, shifting only in style, and it keeps his mind blissfully blank.
[He doesn't focus on his mana, yet. He doesn't want to stall again. And even though he can feel something off in his movements, the familiarity settles in and becomes soothing. When he reaches the end of the pattern, without thinking, he starts it over again, his eyes unconsciously shut. He might need a reminder to breathe, to not just go through the motions but engage with his body.]
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[When Kratos shifts into a repeat Yuan glances over at him, and, after a moment, stops. He circles Kratos once with light steps, frowning slightly, before returning to his initial position.]
Breathe. You can't expect to keep a rhythm if you're outside yourself.
[Still a little brusque, though he means it well.]
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[By then he's stalled, pausing in the middle of a movement. Remembering to breathe is a conscious act, still.]
I'm -- not sure I can do both at once.
[He is acutely aware that this is not a problem a normal person, even a normal angel, should be having. Another few breaths, and then Kratos takes the first stance again. This time he explicitly exhales before he moves to the next with a corresponding inhale, and then the same again; he makes it four stances in before his mind blanks on the exhale and he stops again, holding the position and searching his memory.]
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Yet.
[Yuan circles Kratos again. Four thousand years and he's still not entirely equipped to approach this problem.]
You learned this pattern when you were still breathing, I assume. Again. Start from the beginning, and you can flow through it.
[He doesn't present the question about whether or not Kratos can. Only assumes it will somehow happen.]
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[But they both circle him, watching him, expecting; and Kratos finds himself watching Yuan warily, without meaning to.
[After everything, this is not what he wants -- to demean Yuan with mistrust. With a jerk Kratos looks away, and returns to his original stance. He starts with a breath, again, and proceeds with the pattern. This time, even from the start, it's obvious he's scattered, whatever peace he'd found lost by the memory of Yggdrasill treating him like ... like an inferior being. Like a traitor.]
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