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
[So: not much different than the ordinary seal guardian, really. The main difference is that they are products of mana much like ordinary monsters, and reform with time in a waning world; Kratos, obviously, does not, but by the same token, he can choose to open the seal. It likely means his death, but ... there's a chance he dares not rely upon.
[He is surprised that she hasn't asked why again, that this is the only question she does ask. Probably the rest will come later. For now, he starts to shake his head in rejection of the idea of telling the others, and then stops and sighs.]
Perhaps. For the start, we need the girl Sheena. Her people are the only ones who still carry knowledge of the rite of pact, and she's the only one I know currently living.
no subject
Why? I can guess, I suppose-- it ensures your loyalty, after a fashion, doesn't it? -- but why you? Why set that condition, if it was intentional?
[There's the questioning he was likely expecting. She sounds rueful as she adds a few more questions.] I may as well ask why here, and why now, but you can be exceptionally stubborn about things you don't want to answer.
[The fact he's revealing this much at all seems, to Raine, like a minor miracle. He's equally likely to ignore half the questions she's asked, now that she's given him a choice in things to answer.]
...Sheena is not the most subtle of people. Telling her will result in the others noticing something is wrong, at the very least.
no subject
[His tone is patient, even with the lack of full context. It had been his student -- still essentially a teenager -- who split the worlds; it was Kratos's responsibility to ensure that essentially teenaged angel followed through on his pact. Even at that, Kratos has failed.
[Raine's right about the rest, though, and about Sheena. For a ninja, she's .. lamentably unsubtle. Kratos runs a hand through his hair with a sigh.]
What do you suggest, then?
no subject
[Even as she asks Raine is fairly sure she's not going to get an answer. Still, she does want to know.]
[What does she suggest? Raine gives this some thought in turn, though she doesn't come to as many conclusions as she'd like.]
I suggest you make up your mind how much to say beforehand, and explain it to everyone at once, to avoid the risk of miscommunications. It will certainly be necessary to explain the nature of the world-- worlds.
...Unless you want Lloyd to yell at you, it may be better to keep the part about your sacrifice hidden for now.
no subject
[At the comment about Lloyd, though, he can't help but smile, even if it comes with an exasperated huff.]
Yes -- I've noticed.
[Then he exhales slowly, and the smile fades.]
Lloyd will want to infiltrate the ranch again. I have no objection to this. Then we still need to open the fourth seal. That will give me time to consider what to do at the Tower of Salvation.
[It's the Tower that's the problem. They don't have the people to reunify the worlds yet; and going there after only four seals are open would only put Colette in unnecessary danger. But if Kratos went to change the mana flow himself, it would tip off Mithos, and Sylvarant might not have the time to wait for them to open the rest of the seals before the Tower.
[It's complicated. It's so very complicated. Kratos isn't really thinking as he says softly:]
... I may need to betray you.
no subject
Yes-- we won't be able to leave the ranch alone.
[Not that she would want to, really. She was hesitant at first, but... it's possible, even like this, to do something about the Desian stranglehold on the regions they pass through.]
Kratos. Don't make the mistake of thinking you're alone in this even now.
[If he has trouble making a decision, if he doesn't know what to do: there are others willing to help. All he needs to do is ask. Raine shifts her weight, gives his last words their serious consideration in turn.]
In order to maintain appearances, I suppose. Is there something you need access to that will be blocked if you're branded a traitor?
no subject
[Kratos opens his eyes and his face has become impassive, and with the soft glow of his wings behind him it makes him look stern and unyielding, as an angel should.]
The moment I'm branded a traitor, Cruxis will stop at nothing to take me. They won't be able to kill me, but they'll need to have me back under their control, which means I'll need to spend more time running from them than helping you. I won't be able to enter the seat of their power at will. And that's even if --
[He shakes his head.]
You were right; the seal ensures my loyalty. The leader of Cruxis isn't ... stable. I don't know what he might do if he feels I've betrayed him. It could make things worse. He would almost certainly move the sword somewhere else. He may even use it.
no subject
Everything is hardly specific.
[She falls back on lecturing, which is easy and familiar. Never mind the oddness of lecturing an angel.]
No deception can last forever. If you can narrow the amount of things you need before it's discovered, you can handle those first and then get out.
[Which should be obvious, now that she mentions it.]
If there's anything that can be substituted, leave that to us. Although if it's the specific place you need... hm.
[Raine hesitates, and frowns.]
Use it? Use it... how?
no subject
[Kratos shakes his head slowly.]
I don't know whether he can heal the rift between the worlds, with what's in his heart -- but I know he wouldn't. He would more likely take the Seed and leave, and let the worlds die, if he thought he had no other recourse. I cannot push him into a corner where he's likely to make that happen faster than he already is. And I cannot harm him myself. The seal prevents it.
And that's not accounting for the location. Yes, I will likely need continued access.
[Unless he can convince someone else to turn. Maybe -- no. Yuan has barely raised a hand against Mithos for centuries.]
no subject
Then it sounds like it will be necessary for you to fake a betrayal, yes.
That raises another difficulty regarding disclosure, however, which I'm sure you've spotted. Do you believe all of our number can react believably if they already know what you plan to do?
[Since the point will be putting on a show. Raine is sure she will have time, later, to sit down and be awed by the enormity of the task being revealed to her, the weight that Kratos must surely be carrying. Now is the time for analysis and planning. She will afford herself a little while to be overwhelmed later.]
I still believe that informing them all of at least some of the truth is important, but... it may present a problem.
no subject
[It's a simple, assured answer, the most assured Kratos has been through this whole conversation.]
Lloyd would never be able to pretend. He's much too honest, and I would not ask that deception of him. It would be against his nature.
[The last thing Kratos wants is to put Lloyd in a position where he must go against his nature -- a nature Kratos could never have hoped his son might have, regardless of who had raised him. To see his son again had seemed a distance dream, let alone to see him as such a kind, honest and fiercely faithful young man. Kratos would rather Lloyd see him as a traitor in truth.]
Colette is the same. She is more insightful, but she wouldn't be able to lie. Genis is young enough that perhaps he could. Sheena I don't know well enough to say for certain, but given her inability to act subtly, I would doubt her ability also.
no subject
In that case, what I would suggest is telling them enough of the truth to convince them of your desire to help, but not what it will require of you.
[Her expression is crimped, unhappy. She doesn't like the idea of lying to them about something so important, either; but she kept Colette's secret, and she will keep Kratos's, too, if necessary.]
You will need to release a certain amount, in any case, with the revelation of your nature. Willingly disclosing some things will make others less inclined to suspect you're holding something back.
[This tack, also, bears the possibility that after the crucial moments, when they have all had time to think, Lloyd especially may discern something of Kratos's intent.]
no subject
[It's a little bit grudging. He's already revealed more than he intended.]
About Cruxis, at least, to explain -- ah, damn.
[He presses a hand to his face and stills, thinking. He'd made a rash decision, revealing the key-crest; now he's locked himself into a situation where the key-crest will protect Colette at a stage where only one person could have given it to her.]
The key-crest will be a difficulty. She shouldn't have one.
no subject
No? Dirk is more than capable of crafting them, and Lloyd's demonstrated some skill with the engravings, as well. There's no reason one of them couldn't have noticed the... irregularities... Colette is experiencing and acted to provide it, is there?
[Raine is extrapolating a little, but it doesn't seem too unreasonable to her.]
no subject
[Kratos frowns, dropping his hand.]
It would put him in danger, however. There are some dwarves Yggdrasill courted for his cause -- not all of them remain in his service. If Yggdrasill thinks Dirk is one of those who fled Cruxis, it could cause him problems; and if anyone asks him, the ruse would be over. It's too weak to rely upon, and we would need the children to be aware of the ruse enough to lie about it.
[Which runs into the problem of giving them far too much information, and their ability to act.]
no subject
[Raine hadn't known there were, though on some level she'd assumed there must be; Dirk didn't spring from a boulder fully-formed and crafting fine art.]
...but in other words, it would be best if the key crest wasn't noticed. However, there's no practical way to do that. Even explaining to Lloyd alone...
[Lloyd would have questions which would be impossible to answer given the other informational restrictions.]
Mm. Perhaps we 'found' it by chance? My own was scavenged, after all. Coincidence isn't the best attribution to rely on, but it's better than ascribing responsibility to any person who could not or should not have done it.
no subject
[It's a quiet, a stop on her fumbling. Kratos appreciates her attempts to help him; he does. But the more she speaks, reaching the more Kratos is realising he badly he's hurt his chances of being able to help anyone or anything.
[He looks at her evenly, resigned.]
If you had before you two suspicions -- a nebulous and unlikely potentiality, and the other a man with a spotty recent record at best, and numerous opportunities to have gifted the key-crest ... how would you assume the Chosen received that key-crest?
no subject
I take your point. You're the more likely suspect. However...
If it is truly vital that this Yggdrasill not guess where the key crest came from, then we will have to find some other way around that. To do otherwise is to give up hope; and isn't that what Colette represents?
[It's an unfair weight to give to one girl alone, but that's why they're there with her. As much as they can be.]
You're free to call it foolish optimism if you like, but all the same, I intend to keep thinking.
no subject
[Kratos shakes his head slowly, closes his eyes; lets himself feel, in these moments, the air and the stone under his feet; the sense of Raine nearby, his own mana light-lightning. He feels them, and turns his attention inward; examines himself with a cool objectivity he has not used in ... ever.
[Can he do this? Can he stand up, at last, as he tried to do and failed -- can he make this choice to stand with this son at the beginning, instead of clutching the failing strings of a plan worn through until someone else is forced to make it for him? (Hasn't he already done that, with the act of being here, giving Colette the key-crest, living in Iselia to know these people, giving them his love and denying it to Mithos?)
[I'm sorry, Martel.
[Kratos opens his eyes.]
I'll stand with you. I've ... been running for a long time. I shouldn't, anymore. I will not.
[Lloyd isn't. It isn't right, to make him clean up Kratos's mistakes. Yet Kratos is still surprised to find his hands shaking; he fists them, as if that will help.]
no subject
[How odd, that they are effectively discussing the fate of the world some little ways outside Asgard. They might be doomed or saved, depending on what Kratos decides to do.]
...Then you'll fight with us?
[Hope might be a tangible thing, now.]
That would change the plans we've just been discussing substantially.
pls be ignoring the earlier comment about the seal preventing the thing
[Kratos's tone is firmer now, the choice solidifying. It makes his heart pound, that choice -- something he tried, not all that long ago by his timeline; something he failed at.]
He's -- expecting me to betray him again, I think. Now that --
[No. Best not say that. And then -- why not? Kratos hesitates, wrestles for a moment. Kvar, Yuan, Mithos; they all of them know about Lloyd, know why Kratos was gone, know why he came back. He's wondered, sometimes, if it wouldn't be better to tell Lloyd himself, and always shied away from it. But there have been times when something Raine has said, or the way she's eyed him thoughtfully, that has made him wonder.]
You know that I know you're a half-elf, and said nothing.
[It's a roundabout beginning.]
Is there ... anything about me ... about which you might be suspecting, and not mentioning?
what comment i saw nothing
[Raine looks him over with sharper eyes now, setting aside the broken-off sentence for now.]
There are... some oddities that cannot be marked up to your angelic nature, however.
[A beat. Maybe she's wrong. But there's more than a few.]
You're very patient with Lloyd. And there's something about the way you look at him, when you're sure his attention is elsewhere.
[...when was the last time she saw Lloyd with his hair weighted down by water? Raine frowns absently, thinking, but can't quite summon a good enough mental image.]
...you have the same eyes. I had begun to wonder if perhaps you were somehow brothers, but that doesn't fit with what Dirk says about how he adopted Lloyd.
exactly
[I always kind of wished I had an older brother ...]
No. We're not brothers.
[Kratos reaches into his collar and fishes out a chain, and on its end a locket; he takes one step closer to Raine to turn it toward her, and show her the picture inside. He hasn't shown this to anyone, really, but he isn't sure he can find the proper words -- and the picture speaks for him.]
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[Detail, of course, is a little difficult at this scale, but the child could easily be Lloyd. Raine straightens.]
...I see.
[Lloyd doesn't know. Of course he doesn't. How could he? How could Kratos explain this? Now, of course, with his true nature revealed, there are more options opened to them.]
Kratos. How old are you, really?
[Older than he seems, she knew for sure, but a concrete number...]
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I'm ...
[This is going to raise even more questions, isn't it? And yet after all else he's refused to answer, this is among the simplest, and potentially one that will have Raine leave him alone if only so she can mull over the implications.]
... about four thousand. I've -- lost count, a little.
[It's not exactly concrete, but it's the best he can do, and he's trying to be honest -- especially now these people are his only solid allies.]
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~finis