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]

No; I covered that.

[Not so much everything else. Kratos takes back his cane to lean on it on his bad side, which fortunately is also the side with the possibly-cracked rib; so Yuan pulling his arm up doesn't hurt more than it has to.

[He also chooses to not comment on that other pointed remark, in favour of focussing on not utterly humiliating Yuan by collapsing on him in the hall of the Sylvaranti military headquarters. He submits to whichever route Yuan chooses to take, keeping his head down and his breathing as even as he can make it between steps, grimly willing himself onward.

[It's very slow. His good knee trembles but at least holds him; but by the time they reach Yuan's office his whole body is a never-ending flare of pain such that he barely sees where Yuan guides him once they're inside the room.]

[conductingresistance]

Good.

[It's painstakingly slow, and Yuan has to mind himself to make his own footsteps slow. He slips his other arm around Kratos's back almost absently, just as another stabilizing measure in case Kratos slips again, and directs him toward the office bit by bit.]

[Either they are exceptionally lucky or there are spirits looking in on them; if the latter, surely he would owe Sylph and Volt thanks for keeping their path clear. Once they're to his office he locks the door behind him with an absent twist of his wrist and guides Kratos to the nearest available chair.]

[It's impossible to miss the lines of pain on his face.]

You're not going anywhere for the rest of the day. Breathe.

[And what to do with him now? There are doctors nearby, since it's a military base, but Yuan's not certain taking Kratos to them is the best of ideas; there's every chance of a good doctor but there's the chance of one who will let a bias affect their work, as well. It's also possible Kratos is simply bruised, and that atop his bad leg and needing to walk has made it sit worse than it actually is. ...Or Kratos may have broken something to the point of internal bleeding.]

You know your own body. How badly are you hurt?

[He's hoping for some analysis of injury, given that men who are as skilled as they are must be self-aware. As an afterthought:]

Do not use the word 'fine.'

[simulsimul]

[Kratos sinks into the seat and focusses on breathing, his hand settling unthinkingly across his bad ribs. Even that relatively short distance has him out of breath -- although that could just be because of the bruises. He doesn't dare sink back into the seat; that would only hurt worse. Instead he leans on his cane, even seated.

[He exhales long at Yuan's question, letting his eyes fall shut. His shoulders slump a touch.]

Twisted knee. Bruises. ... Possibly a cracked rib.

[Nothing which should have been too terrible; frustrating and in need of attention, but not outright debilitating. Except, with this damned leg of his, it is.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan weighs what value he might be able to add to that diagnosis by himself looking over Kratos against the necessity of then asking Kratos to disrobe; the recollection of the salve in his desk drawer both compounds and solves the problem all at once.]

The rib, if it is cracked, there will be little for but rest and time. I have a salve that may help with the bruises, and I can wrap your knee, but you should stay off it as much as possible.

[Exactly as Yuan said earlier. Kratos will not be going anywhere. It puts something of a crimp in the rest of his duties for the day, but Yuan has managed before, and will manage again. He'd rather not drive Kratos to the falling-over point again.]

[He looks long and thoughtful at Kratos, considering the warmth that shadows the concern he's feeling; then Yuan dismisses it, and gets up to go to his desk, rustling through the drawers. In a few moments he has what he sought, and he comes back over to Kratos with the un-capped jar of salve in his flat palm.]

[simulsimul]

I can wrap my knee. There's nothing wrong with my hands.

[It's a very nearly automatic response, a reaction at the idea he can't at least help himself a little bit. As a matter of fact, he can salve his own bruises, too. He's been managing. He's been the on making sure the kit at Yuan's house remains filled and with still-good materials, after all.

[When Kratos hears Yuan's footsteps he lifts his head again, and without a word takes the salve. Then he sits for a moment, watching Yuan, before asking:]

Aren't you going to turn your back?

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan catches up to his own cognitive fault a moment later-- he'd just been planning, without thinking, to look after Kratos. Which he should have predicted would be rebuffed. Which is fine, really, he's not sentimentally attached to the idea of playing nurse to Kratos's stubborn self, but given how stiffly Kratos was moving, and the cracked rib...]

Not your hands, but your reach?

[He's thought about his modesty, thank you, Kratos. But-- usually Kratos isn't the one who cares, and while Yuan does appreciate the concession to his sensibilities, such as they are, it's a little odd.]

[Especially considering that Kratos has been 'pushing' himself enough that his leg buckled on stairs he can ordinarily handle.]

[Yuan does not turn around. His eyes narrow instead.]

I'd be happy to. What injury are you hiding?

[simulsimul]

[Kratos realises his mistake a split-second before Yuan speaks, about the time Yuan's eyes narrow. Damn it; he's overplaying his hand. He must be more discombobulated than he thought, though he's sure he didn't hit his head.

[Nothing about this situation should be throwing him so much, but it is.

[For one stubborn moment Kratos is inclined to hold out; but in the face of Yuan looming over him, and the logical consideration of the circumstances, Kratos has to reluctantly admit that the dice are thrown, and he's the loser.

[He drops his gaze, his jaw drawing tight; but after a moment he wordlessly pulls up his tunic. He can't manage it all the way, but it's enough to bare his side and part of his back. There are bruises already showing red from his tumble, but there are others too -- far too dark to have been caused by just the stairs, at various stages of healing. Some have an oddly specific shape: long, with straight lines; others are rounder, and mottled.

[There's one in particular which is spectacular, and not quite the same shape as the others. Kratos hasn't realised it, but it's showing in dual tones the faint shape of the engraving on the head of his cane.]

[conductingresistance]

[Is that--]

[Yuan reaches out before he can think better of it, hand on Kratos's tunic and nudging him just enough to see more clearly in the light. When Yuan realizes exactly what he's seeing his expression goes flat and hard, jaw clenched, and he draws his hand back as though he was burned, straightening and turning away.]

[Damn it. Someone, or multiple someones, has been beating Kratos, and Yuan didn't know.]

[His bearing is utterly rigid, but in contrast his voice has a low rasp of anger in it.]

How long has this been going on?

[If he asks why Kratos didn't say anything the answer is just going to make him angrier, isn't it.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos flinches at the unexpected touch, turning his face away but submitting wordlessly to the bid for a better look. Then Yuan steps away, and Kratos doesn't know how to feel. It's obvious enough what Yuan is feeling, even with just the view of his back Kratos has; but Kratos can't tell who the anger is for.

[And Kratos can hardly bear to lift his head to look at him properly, even with Yuan turned away.]

A few weeks.

[His voice is low, a touch rough but otherwise flat. His face feels hot, and Kratos realises belatedly that -- he's flushing. With shame. He's ashamed. And why shouldn't he be? He's meant to be able to handle this sort of thing, and he failed utterly. So much for Commander Aurion.

[But he doesn't have anything to say. An explanation wouldn't make it better. So he says nothing else.]

[conductingresistance]

Damn it.

[This is rough and quiet, but with no less feeling for the volume. Yuan had been trying to watch for something like this and he still missed it; and Kratos is paying for his failings.]

[He isn't sure he could turn to face Kratos now, if he wanted to.]

[Does it matter, if it's pride or stubbornness that's made Kratos keep this to himself? The end result is the same; and they have some strange overlap of determination where Kratos is concerned, anyway. Yuan doesn't ask why.]

[He does make an effort to pry his hands out of fists, though.]

I can't accept this.

[simulsimul]

[Kratos doesn't flinch, at that tone, but he recognises it, nevertheless. Disappointment, frustration. The recognition that things aren't going to plan. It's Yuan's second line which makes Kratos flinch, turning his head away again. He looks about as beaten as he did when he came out of the auction-house -- if not worse, in a way. That had only been weariness. This kind of shame isn't something Kratos has ever experienced before, and it feels a lot like defeat.]

I understand.

[His voice is quiet. It is unacceptable. What kind of signal must it send about Yuan to his antagonists, that his slave can't even defend himself? Kratos has bungled this badly, and the worst thing is, he still not sure what he could have done to ensure they didn't come to this situation.

[It's not the first time he's had someone tell him his conduct is unacceptable, but there had always been something he could do about it. Even when it was his training master, telling him to do better -- Kratos could do better. This is ... this is just pathetic. He tried, and nothing he tried worked.

[And for whatever reason, he's finding he cares about Yuan's opinion of him. Enough that the next words slips out, like it never would have for the people pushing him to be the best.]

Forgive me.

[conductingresistance]

What?

[That's genuine confusion. Yuan turns before he's thought better of it, before more conscious instincts can cut in and remind him there's a risk of unclothedness.]

[Kratos's posture says it all, really. Normally Kratos wouldn't have made that mistake-- but normally Kratos isn't pained and unhappy, either. Yuan comes back over, deliberating only briefly before crouching in front of Kratos. Better that than looming over him, and this way he can catch Kratos's gaze even with head bowed.]

No. There's nothing to forgive.

[His hands shift, reach, don't settle-- like he knows there is some comfort to offer but has no idea what it might be, or how to give it.]

I'm refusing to let you bear this on your own any longer. There's no reason for you to suffer when I can intervene. Who?

[simulsimul]

[... Yuan doesn't sound as though they're on the same page, and abruptly Kratos feels a pang of doubt that he understands at all. It's while trying to parse that confusion that Yuan kneels before him, and before Kratos can avoid his gaze, it's already been met. There's no condemnation in Yuan's face. Frustration and anger, yes, but not condemnation.

[Kratos's brow furrows, and he answers without obfuscating.]

Some youths at the markets. I don't know their names. I --

[An apology obviously isn't necessary, but Kratos still feels as though he's missing something. He's failed on some level, surely; why wouldn't the apology be necessary? Yet Yuan acts as though he's done nothing wrong. Surely there must have been something. Surely there's something he can fix.]

I don't understand.

[conductingresistance]

I'll go with you next time, then.

[There's no question there; but they're both confusing each other, apparently. Yuan tries to hold back the instinctive fury at Kratos's treatment, since it will be pointless here, but he's never been very good at containing temper.]

What don't you understand?

[It could be anything from why no forgiveness is required, to why Yuan's angry. He's not putting any misunderstanding past a pain-addled Kratos, and better to nip it in the bud now. Even if it needs a little extra patience when all he wants to do is turn and punch something.]

[simulsimul]

[Even accounting for how equitably Yuan's treated him, Kratos can see how much it's testing Yuan to keep his anger in check for patience. He doesn't want to waste that; but he isn't sure how to answer. All of a sudden, he isn't even sure what it is he doesn't understand.

[Yuan doesn't seem angry Kratos has brought it up, though. Only that it's happened. Perhaps bringing it up isn't as much a prod at Yuan's past as Kratos's feared. Perhaps it's more one of Kratos's than he thought.]

How did you --

[Damn it. Kratos looks away again, still feeling that flush of shame.]

How do you cope with this?

[Kratos doesn't know how to describe what he's feeling; he's hoping Yuan will understand. He's barely been hanging on for three weeks. How did Yuan survive like this for -- it must have been years. It must have been.]

[conductingresistance]

[How does he cope. Surely Kratos has noticed how ungraceful Yuan is at dealing with others; how readily he reacts even to things that weren't intended to wound. Yuan knows he does these things, and yet rarely finds a way to correct them even as he's aware of them happening.]

[He doesn't think he has a good answer for Kratos.]

Poorly.

[But that isn't really an answer. Yuan grimaces, and waits a bit to see if Kratos will look back at him.]

I choose my battles, when I can. There's no use in taking on the whole world at once-- it's exhausting, and pointless.

Some people matter. Most of them don't.

[Caring is just as exhausting as fighting. There's a reason Yuan hasn't done much for those who are his fellows by blood.]

I keep my expectations low, and therefore am rarely disappointed when the world fails to be kind.

[The failing of hopes, when constant, becomes a weight all its own. Yuan learned this lesson early, and began to settle only for what he was sure he could reach. ...He had been very, very certain about that bet, because there was no other option.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos does glance back, after a moment; because he knows he's asked a personal question, and at the very least Yuan deserves his attention for that. But -- what Yuan's describing sounds, honestly, like a kind of hell. Except the part about choosing battles; that, Kratos agrees with.]

It sounds as though you don't have any hope at all.

[And -- there's something odd, about the response. As if Yuan is placing responsibility on the world around him, instead of answering how he feels about what the world makes him suffer. It's ... interesting. It's different to what Kratos is used to -- having to shoulder the responsibility, always.

[... He's never thought about not shouldering the responsibility, before.]

[conductingresistance]

[There was a time when Kratos would have been right.]

Very little, I suppose.

But I still believe there is something I can do. Otherwise there would be no point to fighting.

[It's narrow, but it's strong. A plied thread, not a mass of untwisted fibers.]

And there's you, of course.

[The posture might be a little awkward, but Yuan isn't bothering to move. The conversation feels too important.]

[simulsimul]

[At first Kratos isn't sure how to respond to that. It's true that Yuan does have some degree of responsibility for him, given their unique circumstances; but that makes it sound like Kratos has changed Yuan's future in some appreciable manner. Kratos's brow furrows a little deeper.]

I'm not sure what you mean by that.

[Unless he means before -- when Kratos was still a commander of the knighthood. That would make some sense, he supposes; he made a convenient goal for Yuan to strive for.

[Equally confusing, the earlier admission that Yuan doesn't consider most people worth fighting for coupled with the refusal to let people judge him for his race. It seems like a bundle of contradictions. As readable as Yuan seems on the surface, it's as if the longer Kratos knows him the harder it is to read him.]

[conductingresistance]

[Damn it all, Kratos is going to make him spell this out. Yuan's eyebrows draw down as he frowns.]

[Softer emotions didn't always come harder to him. As angry as he is, it's a minor fight just to gentle himself, and another to find some way to say what he means.]

You said I-- changed your mind. Somehow, you believe that it's possible to make a change in others, and you are simultaneously proof of it.

[It's... more concrete hope than Yuan has entirely had before, especially given the presence of a plan.]

Further, you're--

[Damn it, what is he trying to say? Yuan shakes his head.]

Mine. My responsibility. I won't allow harm to come to you if I can prevent it. There are... things I can accept, even if I dislike them, because I cannot fight every battle. It becomes a weighing of which fights are worth picking, and what lines I won't allow to be crossed. For myself, there must be things I won't accept, or I will begin to accept everything.

[His explanation sounds wandering and uncertain even to himself, and he finds that his shoulders have come up and he's scowling. Frustrated again, Yuan sits back on his heels and studies Kratos's hands, unwilling to leave just yet but not quite managing to look him in the face all the same.]

[simulsimul]

[It occurs to Kratos that, as terrible as Kratos might be at recognising when he needs the help, Yuan is equally terrible at admitting he has emotions. And it's unexpectedly touching, the idea that Yuan considers him his; not that Kratos doubted the element of responsibility Yuan felt, but the possessiveness --

[Well, there's a reason rumours abounded. And yet Kratos finds it more comforting than not. He's always belonged to Tethe'alla; that's what it meant, to be a bastard of a high-ranking family. To belong to everyone. To serve everyone. It's alien, but comforting, the idea that just one person considers Kratos his, for no other reason than just -- because, apparently. Enough that Yuan considers defending Kratos to be worthy of being one of the few battles he chooses to fight.

[Kratos can count on his hands the number of times he hasn't felt alone. Including now, it seems as though at least two of them have been because of Yuan.]

I understand.

[This time, Kratos is sure of it; and he's smiling faintly, if self-deprecatingly.]

I should have come to you sooner.

[That seems, right now, the biggest mistake he's made these last three weeks. He might have avoided feeling so ashamed and helpless, if he'd only come to Yuan sooner. Kratos uncurls his fingers from the salve, and offers it to Yuan.]

... If it's not too much of an imposition -- I don't think I'll be able to reach most of the bruises.

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan wishes, in retrospect, that he knew what part of that explanation had made the difference. It might have been any of his fumbling words. But-- does it matter so much, when he's achieved his goal?]

[Well. It might be nice to be able to do it again. Still, one thing at a time.]

Yes, you should have.

[But there's no rancor about it, oddly, and no edge to Yuan's voice. It's a statement of fact, not a judgment.]

[And he takes the salve from Kratos with a minimum of hesitation. He always remembers what people might say, and the vast spread of rumors that surely his possessiveness has done little to quell, but there's no one to observe and Kratos knows his intentions.]

Then don't try to. Let me.

[simulsimul]

Alright.

[It's soft, a reaffirmation of the fact that Kratos is already letting Yuan help him. He turns on the seat so Yuan can reach his back, wrapping his arms around himself to pull up his shirt; but he only pulls it up, rather than pulling it off, in defence to Yuan's modesty.]

... There may be some on my shoulders, as well.

[It hurts to stretch like this, but there's some still covered by his shirt, and he can't pull it up far enough for Yuan to see them on his own. Not unless he actually wants to strip. That seems more trouble than it's worth, at this point and given that his front is fairly unmarked.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan leans up to reach him, rising up on his knees. It's a closer view of the bruises than his first, recognizing-only glance, and he finds he likes them even less now that he can mark the strike of the cane, the fall of a boot.]

[The salve, where he starts, is cool, but his hands are warm.]

I'll handle those next, then.

[And he's relieved Kratos isn't still trying to hide anything.]

I take it you'll still want to handle your knee?

[simulsimul]

[The cold makes Kratos's skin prickle, but Yuan's hands warm it soon enough. His touch is brisk and efficient, which Kratos appreciates if only for the fact that it might help Yuan remain comfortable. Yuan, it seems, is not used to any sort of physical closeness, no matter how pragmatic.]

Yes -- I can manage that.

[He'll need something to wrap it with, and the salve will be useful for bruising; but that can wait until Yuan is done. Kratos sits quietly, half-hugging himself to keep his shirt raised, and turning when Yuan indicates so all the bruises can be attended. He still hurts all over; but he hurts less without the burden of secrecy on him.]