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]

[It's more than enough to push An-Hei back a few feet, and for someone to, finally, push through the crowd to keep him back. Even still, Yuan's last words makes An-Hei laugh, a bitter, hysterical laugh with no humour in it.]

Yours?! That man should never have been allowed to live!

[Still, he's being pulled back, if only due to the strength of someone who knows him, murmuring something unheard into his ear. Kratos pushes himself gingerly upright, though his breath catches with the motion; it's enough to see An-Hei's feet, though he doesn't lift his head enough to see any higher.]

I'm sorry for the death of your husband.

[His voice is low, rough because of the pain in his side and the unfamiliarity of the language. All he gets for his trouble is a tearful string of abuse, though at least An-Hei's friends keep him back this time, one of them speaking to Yuan over the sound of An-Hei's grief.]

Just get him out of here.

[conductingresistance]

[There'll be no sense to be had here, and Yuan is not going to bother to translate any of what's being said unintelligibly for Kratos.]

[Yuan's eyes narrow.]

I regret that I'll be slower about it than any of us would like. Most people don't rush well with broken bones.

[This state of affairs definitely isn't tenable, but no rational appeal can be made here and now. Still, only the sight of Kratos, no interaction required, was enough to send this An-Hei into a screaming fit. Yuan can't let that lie, either.]

[Only half-turning, he reaches a hand down to Kratos, gaze more sidelong on the small collection of people than on Kratos. He can practically feel the weight of the regard of the various spectators at this point.]

[Very quietly:]

Can you stand and walk?

[simulsimul]

I'll manage.

[It's equally quiet, though that's in part because Kratos is having difficulty drawing a deep enough breath for anything louder. This isn't even close to the situation Kratos anticipated, when they conceived this plan.

[He manages to get his feet under him and get his arm through the basket, the arm he uses for the cane; but he does need Yuan's hand up, because that's also his bad side, and he can barely move it. It's hard to protect that side, when defending it would have meant baring his front and face, when he can't move the leg to protect himself.

[Kratos grips Yuan's hand and uses it and his cane to get to his feet, and the shifting grind takes his breath away. He grits his teeth and manages not to make a sound, limping to some degree of stability until he can release his tight grip on Yuan to press his hand back against his ribs to stop them grinding.

[He keeps his head down, his bangs hiding his face, as much because he can't stand up straight as to give the impression of subservience. His words next are very definitely for the latter, low and rough as before.]

I'm ready, Master Ka-Fai.

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan doesn't comment at the tightness of the grip. Nor on Kratos's posture, though he dearly wants to and no small measure of anger sits on his tongue, waiting to be vented.]

[He can't afford it. Not here.]

[But he does level the group around An-Hei with a sharp look, as though to drive home exactly how much of a threat Kratos isn't.]

[Yuan does consider that going the other direction, instead of past the man, is probably advisable, and he nudges Kratos's shoulder very gently to turn him. This puts something of a crimp in the plans to acquire extra, but it does give him ample reason to bring this issue to some kind of adjudication.]

[He can't be sure the result will be in his favor, but he can't expect Kratos to continue to bear this treatment, after all.]

[The pace Yuan sets is slow, but he'll stop and draw Kratos aside as soon as they are being watched significantly less.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos submits to the gesture to turn, though it isn't easy to do, and he doesn't even need to play-act to present the air of being downtrodden. There's something humiliating about this, he realises nearly belatedly, now that the danger is gone; but soon enough that he can feel the heat in his cheeks once more.

[His head stays down as he follows Yuan, focussing on moving, on not letting his knees buckle, on breathing. Breathing is a short, sharp thing, punctuated by jabs of pain in his side.

[He doesn't realise Yuan has stopped until he feels his hand on his shoulder, and then can only follow, unaware that the flush has been replaced by an ashen tone and his face is lined with a determined sort of suffering. Right now, Kratos can't peg why they might have stopped; they aren't in an area with vital foodstuffs, so it can't be for groceries. Instead he just looks at Yuan, leaning on his cane, hand pressed to his side, and waiting.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan's drawn him aside into an alcove, sheltered by the stone, out of the main stream of people and where passersby would have to actually look to see them. Now that there's the freedom for it he studies Kratos a little more closely, noting the pallor and the way his face is set.]

[And the expectant way he's looking at Yuan.]

[It strikes Yuan that if he demanded it, Kratos probably would try to simply carry on the shopping trip like nothing has happened, despite the shortness of his breath and the way his hand is pressed to his side. The thought jars him, unsettles him. He has no idea how this sort of loyalty even exists, much less why.]

[His stunned silence is, after more than a few moments, going to be noticeable. Yuan shakes himself mentally.]

...we're going home. I'll find some other way to deal with this.

[simulsimul]

We still need groceries.

[It's an absent, unthinking objection. Food is important, and they haven't even begun that part of this trip. Come to think of it, Kratos isn't even sure the kitchenware survived the fall. Hopefully it did; the basket is padded.

[Focus, Aurion. Yuan has said more than once that he's capable of doing his own chores. When it comes to broken ribs, discretion has to be the better part of valour. Kratos gives his head a slight shake.]

Alright. Where's the nearest elevator?

[He hasn't been paying attention to his surroundings. There hasn't been a need. It doesn't occur to him that they might use a rickshaw; the house isn't far, and he's already settled into the grim resolve required to walk the distance, broken ribs or not.]

[conductingresistance]

That hadn't escaped me.

[Though snappish, it has some lack of Yuan's customary irritation. At least Kratos seems to be coming aware of the present moment and why, exactly, Yuan is insisting they go home.]

I can handle it myself later. I'm not taking you anywhere but home like that.

The nearer elevator isn't much farther, and it shouldn't be too hard to acquire a rickshaw.

[It might not be the longest walk in the world, but if Yuan had ever had a sense of humour about broken ribs, it has long since departed. Probably somewhere in between the faint variety of Kratos's worn expressions.]

Don't think I won't carry you if I need to.

[simulsimul]

[It sounds almost forced, the snappishness, only because it lacks the prickle. It's strange, how alien that tone can sound without the prickles. Still, Kratos hesitates. The idea of taking a bumpy rickshaw with his ribs in this condition makes him have to restrain a shudder.

[Carrying is also not optimal, primarily because of the indignity and what it would say about them both and that the relationship is not precisely usual. Especially since Yuan is, right now, implicitly giving him the choice.

[After a moment Kratos grimaces.]

Rickshaw it is.

[He takes a moment longer to catch his breath, and then turns awkwardly to start moving out of the alcove, scanning the distance for the elevator.]

[conductingresistance]

[That's probably the better option, though it'll jar Kratos's ribs. It's that or walking, and Yuan doesn't care to make Kratos walk like this. Neither option is good. He nods at Kratos's assent, and then moves past him to lead the way, keeping his pace slow.]

[He wonders if it's worth asking about the strange duty of loyalty Kratos bears. If he'll get any more certain answers now.]

[...once they're home, he'll see to Kratos. Until then, it's quiet, with not much room for friendly conversation given the setting. At the outskirts of the market, as people thin, Yuan can see rickshaws. Some occupied, some for hire, and one of the latter he manages to hail, Kratos in tow. The ride is altogether short, though it feels much longer for watching Kratos sit and suffer quietly. As he does.]

[At home Yuan takes the basket, as though he's daring Kratos to argue, and offers a hand to help him down, mouth a flat determined line.]

[simulsimul]

[The rickshaw ride is not fun. Kratos keeps his hand pressed to his ribs and tries not to hunch in too much against the sway and the wind -- though it's hard to fight the urge, even knowing it won't help. It feels as if the wind steals his breath away, as much as the pain.

[He barely notices that Yuan has taken the basket, until he opens his eyes to find Yuan offering his hand. Kratos doesn't take it at first, not because he refuses, but because he can feel the pressure inside his chest, and it's making his breath shorten alarmingly. It takes him a moment to move and take the hand, lowering himself to the ground as steadily as he can manage with a bad leg and his body aching.

[Not quite steady enough; it jars a pained grunt out of him, despite his best efforts. Even still, he makes his slow, determined way to the door.]

[conductingresistance]

[Just watching Kratos is painful, though Yuan isn't examining whether it's basic physical sympathy or some emotion more complex. He opens the door for Kratos, sweeps past to set the liberated basket on the kitchen counter before coming back, not expecting Kratos to have gotten far.]

[There are so many things wrong with him.]

There isn't much to be done for ribs but perhaps wrapping them, and certainly I intend to make you rest.

[What the hell is the impulse to reach for Kratos. Yuan knows perfectly well he can support himself. ... Probably; he's collapsed before with ribs and aches, though there are no stairs here.]

[The result is that Yuan eyes Kratos with something resembling suspicion for more than a few moments before holding out his hand again, in mute offer of assistance.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos hasn't gotten far. He isn't paying attention to what Yuan's doing, either, focussed on getting inside the house. He does, at least, manage to get the door closed behind him.]

Wrapping them will be necessary.

[With the cane, and the way he needs to swing his bad leg -- there's no way Kratos can keep his torso as straight as needed, while leaving them unwrapped. Even resting, he needs to move his leg. The words come out breathless, low due to a shortage of air.

[When Yuan extends his hand Kratos only blinks at it at first. He's managing -- lumbering and slow, perhaps, but managing. But he's still hunched, he realises as he takes stock; so after a moment he takes Yuan's arm, forcing himself to straighten up. That act pulls from him a bitten-off noise of pain, but in the end, it's easier to breathe. A worthwhile exchange.

[With both Yuan and cane as support, Kratos continues slowly toward his bedroom.]

[conductingresistance]

I hope you don't think you're going to do that yourself.

[Because he won't get to. Yuan gives Kratos his steady arm and slow pace all the way to the bedroom, conceding that Kratos can probably himself walk and does not need to be carried to prevent further damage. Even when they're there Yuan persists, guiding Kratos over to his bed and making every effort to help him lower himself carefully, with a minimum of jarring or other pain.]

[There's really no point in bemoaning Kratos's state or their situation. It is as it is. What remains is what to do about it, even if Yuan does find many aspects of the way they find themselves arrayed terribly unfair. It's a good thing he doesn't expect fair.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos's next shortened breath may be a shadow of a laugh.]

If I did, would it matter?

[It's a novel situation and a strange thought, but with the way Yuan walks him to his bed, hovers to ensure Kratos sits with a minimum of pain -- there's really only one word for it. Kratos has never been mothered before. He would never have imagined it would be Yuan doing so, and the realisation is very nearly as breathtaking as the broken ribs.

[He studies Yuan for just a bit too long to be entirely casual, seated on the bed with his back straight and an expression just a touch too soft in his eyes, unrealised. Then, with the faintest shades of humour in his dryness:]

Are you sure you'll be able to handle helping me get my shirt off?

[conductingresistance]

I'd probably find it more difficult to help if you were fighting me.

[Yuan stands back, upright, for a moment, studying Kratos in return with only half his thoughts, considering what'll be necessary. As such he almost catches the softness but ultimately knows only that something passed him by, and he's significantly more occupied by Kratos's humor.]

[His shoulders go tense, but it's too important to stand on his dignity right now, even if his instinct is very much to avoid that particular aspect of this situation.]

You've had your shirt off before.

Stay where you are.

[Yuan departs briefly to return with bandages -- he does like to keep supplies on hand, just in case -- and a grimly determined look in his eye.]

[simulsimul]

[It's true. Yuan, for all his modesty, knows when to put his discomfort aside; and there's something endearing that he should strive to maintain it, besides. Kratos has no intention of apologising for the gentle humour. Yuan needs to see the innocent humour in things more often.

[Kratos spends the time setting his cane aside, and arranging his leg so he'll be able to lay down once his ribs are bound. Twisting to pile his pillows is, unfortunately, beyond him right now -- not that he doesn't try, just once, and carefully. The result is that all humour is gone by the time Yuan comes back, replaced by pale weariness.

[On the upside, Kratos has managed to get his arms through his sleeves and his shirt over his head by that point as well, tossing it in the laundry basket near enough to reach without bending. The old bruises show as medleys of green and yellow, but the new ones are already mottling dark, and Kratos's hand is ginger on them as he tests the broken bones.]

[conductingresistance]

[So there are bandages, and Yuan detours to detach two of the smaller leaves from a plant he keeps for just such a purpose. When he returns, he offers these to Kratos first. He likely should recognize these by now.]

It's better that you don't lose track of the pain entirely, or you'll over-reach yourself.

[This with the flat countenance of a man who has seen Kratos fall over enough to be utterly done with it. Still, the leaves will dull what pain there is enough that Yuan can wrap the ribs without causing Kratos utter agony, and hopefully Kratos can then get both some rest and some breath.]

[And at this point, Yuan's much more concerned for the dark bruises than for questions of modesty, and though he's faintly hesitant he sits on the edge of the bed next to Kratos, facing him and reaching out to probe gingerly at the line of a different rib. He's ready to pull back at a moment's notice.]

No shards?

[Floating splinters of bone sound like the worst possible way to end this day.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos translates that to mean 'if you fall over again I'm going to be even more prickly than usual out of worry'. The thought makes him smile, despite everything. He takes the leaves without complaint, and very carefully leans back on his hands to make room for Yuan, grunting at the grinding shift in his side.]

I don't think so -- but you may be able to tell better.

[Now that he's leaned back, his ribs have room to move, though he'd really rather they didn't; but it means Yuan will feel anything untoward. At least it's also easier to breathe like this, though he does so shallowly, and he can feel the looseness of his ribs enough that his voice is strained as he speaks.]

That didn't quite go according to plan. What's our next step?

[conductingresistance]

[With atypically patient care, Yuan feels his way along Kratos's ribs one careful touch at a time, finding the breaks and genuinely trying not to inflict more pain than may happen incidentally. He wants to make sure they're as aligned as they're getting, and that if there are splinters broken loose, Kratos can be careful of them.]

['Being careful' lacks something, as a plan for healing, but ribs are not particularly accessible for easy bandaging. Eventually Yuan reaches for the bandages, frowning.]

I believe you're correct. Breathe in as well as you can without hurting yourself.

[So he has some judge for tightness. As for the next step... well.]

I can approach his head of household, which no one will enjoy but may yield results. It would be better to find some accord that way, since if we must take it to an arbitration we can't necessarily predict the results, and must live with them.

The grocery shopping will come first, however.

[simulsimul]

[As gentle as Yuan is, every now and then Kratos's breath catches, though he manages not to make a sound. On Yuan's order, he takes a deeper breath, but carefully; a breath he'd take if he didn't currently have broken ribs. They hurt, but he manages not to let them catch, taking them slow.

[Something he's noticing more is the ache in his neck, running down his spine. He managed not to hit his head when he fell back, but he definitely did something to his neck and back. He closes his eyes so he can focus on breathing, but amusement briefly makes his mouth curl up, in lieu of an actual chuckle.]

Given that we don't currently have much for dinner -- yes. Is there anything I'd need to do for the other?

[conductingresistance]

Exercise patience, and be willing to speak as to what's been happening. You may need to bear significant impugnments of your character.

[He reaches around Kratos again and again, ignoring the closeness and the lack of clothing by dint of sheer will and more important things to do. The binding is firm and careful.]

[The bruises are none of them pretty colors. Not unusual, with bruises, but worrying nevertheless.]

I'd hope not, however. Is anything apart from your ribs paining you?

[simulsimul]

Hmh. That would be -- novel.

[Kratos has had plenty of people dislike him, but that was usually on the merits of his skills and character. Having people disdain him for perceived faults is practically alien.

[At that, Kratos exhales resignation.]

I jarred my neck when I fell. And may have bruised my back on something.

[Some stones, if not the ground outright. What's one more bruise, with the collection he's developing? Doing anything, even sitting or laying down, is going to be troublesome. At least the leaves have taken the edge off the pain.]

[conductingresistance]

Novel.

[Yuan shakes his head.]

Some day, I may understand you.

[When he's done with the bandaging, he tucks the ends in, then straightens. Almost automatically, without genuinely thinking about it, he sets a hand over the back of Kratos's neck, frowning with a distant stare as he tries to feel out the alignment of the vertebrae.]

Of course you did. 'May have'?

[...Perhaps it's just better if Yuan takes that as 'definitely did.']

[simulsimul]

In my experience, people generally dislike me because I have things they don't. Someone hating me for something I actually did is new.

[It's perhaps not much of an explanation, but it's more of an attempt at one than Kratos would have tried a few months ago. He opens his eyes at the feel of Yuan's hand on his nape, blinking in wordlessly impassive surprise; then belatedly moves -- slowly -- to sit up so Yuan can get a better reading.]

I was certainly hit by the ground, at any rate.

[His neck is stiff, and it radiates down to his shoulders; certainly there's some mild whiplash present, but no fractures or damage which can't be resolved with self-treatment.]