simulsimul | a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance

Entry tags:

a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Things Yuan does not like: the implications of being given to a knight-commander. Who trusts a half-elven squire?]

[But he doesn't know anything about the situation here yet. Maybe Triet's customs are different than he expects; maybe talk is just talk.]

[So he chafes with sand; and then he chafes with impatience, cooped up in the customs-house and nothing to do but wait. He's taught himself to read, but there's nothing to read, here.]

[Only goods.]

[So when other people actually show up he focuses instantly, focus sharp and assessing, before recalling himself and his position and flicking his eyes downward instead.]

[Kratos follows his peer into and then through the customs house, intrigued and indulgent at once, and perhaps it shows a little on his face -- a faint softening of his usual impassivity. At least, it's indulgent up until they enter the room with a single occupant -- a half-elf judging by hair. ... Chained to the wall.

[Kratos stares blankly at the man for a moment before his peer prompts:]

Congratulations, Commander.

[... This ... this is his gift? A -- person -- is his gift? A person?! Hard stone slams down over blank confusion and Kratos turns sharply to the other commander.]

What's the meaning of this?

[The commander looks startled at first, and then crosses his arms.]

You said you were curious about Sylvarant, and believe me when I say you're going to need someone to help get the sand out if you're going to be here for any length of time. Besides which, you're too uptight for your own good, and from all accounts half-elves are the only preference you have.

[The only -- spirits damn it. There's so much wrong with that sentence that Kratos doesn't know where to begin to unpack it, and instead he exhales slowly to keep his expression impassive. His peer takes the silence as an opportunity.]

It's not illegal here, you know.

[As if that makes it any better. Kratos's gaze is steady and piercing.]

[Yuan flicks his eyes up through his fringe when it's evident that they're more interested in talking to each other than him.]

[It's not getting him any less chained to the wall, but at this point he'll take the delay in the transfer of ownership when it's given.]

[...what's interesting, though, is the conversation itself. This happens; people talk in front of slaves like they're invisible, like there's no harm in saying whatever might come to mind. And there isn't, necessarily, harm here; but it means Yuan is now very aware that the knight-commander has opinions about having a slave.]

[That's... promising, if that anger isn't directed at him. That's stone-anger, cold fury, impressive and not to be gotten in the way of.]

[Yuan shifts just enough to make his chains sound, and subsides.]

[The chains rattling reminds Kratos that they are not, in fact, alone. He exhales again and turns to the -- half-elf, trying to sort out the flat anger, the shocked offense, the disgust. A slave. Where did he go wrong, to give people the impression he'd appreciate such a gift?

[--And that doesn't matter, in light of the fact that it's happened. Now he has to figure out what to do. He examines the half-elf with a gaze neither dismissive nor sultry; it's a brisk sort of thing, but one which intends to see what's there.]

Well? To your taste?

[Kratos gives his peer a very flat look.]

I don't have sex with those who can't consent.

[The commander looks surprised, then uncomfortable, then irritated in quick turns.]

Well, I paid good money for him, you know. Are you taking him or not? He used to be a blacksmith, or something close -- so he at least knows armor and equipment, if you don't want to use his hands in other fashions.

[And what will happen to him if Kratos doesn't? He sighs, pressing a hand to his face. Maybe he can free the man as soon as the papers are transferred.]

Yes.

[What's there is: underweight, probably, and his eyes are too sharp and too green even with the shade of his blue hair to mitigate it.]

[And his eyes are fixed on Kratos, until Kratos looks away.]

[It's easy to tell from here where allies and enemies lie-- at least temporarily. A master is a master, after all, but there's two sets of attitudes in this room, and Yuan will take the one that doesn't seem to think sex is on the table.]

[He bites his tongue against the urge to clarify. It might be fine, with the one he's being given to. Not, more than likely, the one with very set conceptions of a slave's role. Will the man just accept and get on with this fresh hell?]

[Even if it's better, preliminarily, than Yuan would have expected.]

[... Those eyes are arresting. Kratos glances at the half-elf before turning to the other commander to settle this.

[The transfer of papers does require a customs agent, and does not go as Kratos planned -- for a given definition of 'plan'. The slave (unnamed) is slightly underweight but not malnourished, which the commander claims makes him one of the better purchases available. Fine, then. Kratos can take care of his being underweight.

[It's the other parts that make him balk; the contracts he has to sign which prevent him from freeing the man outright. The customs agent looks offended at the very thought, and very pointedly and in simple terms starts explaining about the laws of Triet, the zero homeless population, the responsibility of the masters to care for those under their care, and so forth, and wouldn't a distinguished officer from Vanaheim understand the crime and disruption simply releasing ne'erdowells into the street would cause ...

[It's still slavery, and Kratos's mouth is pulled tight as he signs the various and sundry paperwork. He'll figure something out, and at least there's no laws on how he chooses to treat the man.

[Finally, finally, the customs agent leaves satisfied and the no-longer-even-an-acquaintance commander leaves looking miffed and irritable. Kratos throws the contract down on the desk with an 'ugh' and turns to the half-elf, crossing his arms with a sigh. And examining. Some more. Finally he asks:]

What's your name?

[It comes out more curt than Kratos meant. He modulates his tone to be gentler.]

What's your name?

[How did he get into this situation.]

Edited (thot) 2017-08-08 10:07 (UTC)

[And here Yuan was half-hoping, away from the customs of Nidavellir, that slavery would be less codified, not more. The paperwork is intimidating, and looks just as heavy as the chains.]

[Still a slave. Always a slave. Yuan's shoulders drop, slumping a little as much as the wall allots him.]

[He only looks up again when everyone save the disdainful master is gone. The atmosphere feels... faintly lighter.]

[For about two seconds, until Yuan bristles.]

I understood you the first time.

[Slave means neither deaf nor dumb.]

[...and apparently the remnants of his temper are conspiring to make him test patience early. He bites his tongue.]

Yuan.

[Kratos is slightly taken aback by the vehemence. He hadn't meant it like that -- though in retrospect, he supposes, he can see why the reaction. He doesn't answer for a moment again, in favour of examining the half-elf -- Yuan -- some more. He'd always thought slaves were beaten-down, pathetic creatures; but there's a wary, prickly kind of intensity in Yuan's green eyes. Not beaten-down, certainly not pathetic.]

Yuan.

[Strange syllables. After a moment Kratos nods.]

I had thought I'd be able to free you, once I had that in hand.

[He motions at the contract, his disdain showing in his tone and the faint tightening around his mouth.]

But there's laws for everything, it seems.

[... And maybe his intent was obvious, given the questions he was asking, but he doesn't want anyone to think he would willingly own another person. Especially the person he ostensibly owns.]

Congratulations.

[A little bolder, now that something of a softer heart has been established.]

[It's... strangely touching, to hear that a perfect stranger's first impulse had been to free him. Disappointing, maybe; but at least Yuan didn't have time to get his hopes up. He looks away, but to the side, not down.]

What are you going to do, then?

[Does it involve introducing himself?]

I don't know.

[What is he going to do? Leaving aside everyone thinking he has a fetish for half-elves -- which, apparently, they were thinking anyway -- he hasn't felt the need for extra help. ... Then again, he's only just been promoted, and this far out, there's no chance of an apprentice to lend a hand with chores. His lieutenant can only do so much, surely.]

I ... suppose I'm going to need some help with my new duties.

[Reluctant and slow, because he's trying to think. And ... and he needs to consider more than just his soldiers. Take off the commander's hat. Maybe approach Yuan the way he would Zelus -- no. Yuan's hardly a child.

[And, maybe, he should begin with the basics. Like his name. Kratos sighs at himself and presses a palm to his face. Idiot. He lowers his hand and picks up the key, and comes over to Yuan.]

My name is Kratos. Aurion. Do -- you have a family name?

[He isn't sure. But he'll go ahead and unlock those chains.]

[Oh, good, so they can both be pathetic.]

[Better than the alternative. Yuan eyes Kratos sidelong, still faintly wary, as the key is put to good work; when he's freed from the chains he steps away from Kratos to stretch his limbs out. There's only so much range of motion one has from being chained to a wall.]

[He does not stop watching Kratos.]

You need a family to have a family name.

[Years have not done much to make that less bitter.]

Ka-Fai sums up the district and lack of other ties. What am I to call you, and what do your new duties comprise?

[These last sound rote, dull, in contrast to earlier sharpness.]

[Kratos tosses the key onto the desk. Let the customs agents take care of it. He does examine Yuan's movement, searching for signs of injury or impediment; but there seems to be none. That follows, if he was a blacksmith.

[... No family. Kratos's chest pangs at the thought. Out here his family is distant -- but at least he has one.

[The dull recitation makes his chest pang again.]

I'm a regimental commander for the Imperial Knights stationed in Triet. We form the backbone of the forces defending the city.

[From monsters, rebels, that sort of thing. ... This did not answer the first question. Kratos opens his mouth and then closes it with a frustrated sigh.]

I suppose it would only draw undue attention if you called me by my first name. The same thing as my soldiers, then -- Commander.

['Master' is not even a footnote on the list.]

[He's fine in terms of movement, at least, and his posture is straight enough; but it seems like he corrects himself, from something straight-shouldered to a little more slumped. Unthreatening.]

Commander.

[A beat. A very shallow inclination of his head.]

I was a smith's aide. I have few skills that will be useful to you.

[At least, directly, in the soldiering and defending sense. He tracks the key as it's dropped, then eyes Kratos again.]

You say that like you'd prefer your first name.

I would.

[A touch brusque, watching narrow-eyed as Yuan goes from straight-backed to slightly ... not.]

I don't need nor want a -- slave, and I'm not your superior officer; and as an Aurion, I don't have a title beyond my rank as a knight. That means you should be my peer.

[Well, there's the social status difference; but Kratos doesn't have nearly the power a true noble would, and Yuan's lack of wealth is hardly his fault. At any rate, many of the subsistence bloodlines have lost out somewhat in terms of levying political power for their lead families. Wealthy, yes, sponsored, yes; not needed. Not anymore.]

And yet your rank as a knight is not inconsiderable. Would that we all had the luxury of dismissing such things.

[Yuan's lip curls, and his voice has a lower bite to it. He's still watching, still assessing. Seeing how Kratos responds to an insolent slave.]

You neither want nor need a slave, and yet here we are.

[Even a military escape would never have been his. If there were a war, perhaps. But not now.]

[Kratos blinks again, and his brow furrows as his mouth opens to contest that before closing again. Yuan's ... not precisely wrong. Kratos was expected to be a knight, but even if the Chetheses' contract with the crown is annulled -- as the crown is seeking -- he wouldn't be lacking for resources. No title isn't the same thing as no money.]

I suppose that's true.

[Thoughtful. He'll have to think on that a little more. In the meantime, his attention returns to Yuan.]

Here we are. Do you -- I mean, is there anything you brought with you from your last ... position?

[How many possessions is a slave allowed to have?]

[He doesn't know anything, does he. Yuan turns his hands over as if to shrug, displays his empty palms to Kratos. His wrists are reddened from the chains' pressure, but he doesn't seem to be taking note of it himself.]

[Very bluntly:]

Possessions do not have possessions.

[Kratos's gaze is drawn to the raw skin of Yuan's wrists, and without considering the preception he steps forward, frowning, to take Yuan's hand and rub his thumb across the raw patch. He's unconsciously gentle.]

Does that hurt?

[It doesn't look bad -- but if it's bruised, Yuan might not be able to tell yet, without even slight pressure.]

[--Kratos's hands are warm. Yuan's breath draws in and he goes utterly still.]

[He did not have good expectations. He's pretty sure this man won't live up to the bad ones-- but people don't touch him, in general. And kindly, not at all.]

[A hesitation. A bare nod of assent.]

It's negligible.

[Kratos's brow comes down further, and after a moment he releases Yuan's hand, oblivious to the stillness as anything other than a reaction to the 'negligible' pain.]

There will be a salve at my quarters.

[Which means they'll need to go there. After a moment's searching look, Kratos nods.]

Home first; I'll have one of the staff call in a tailor. Then food and attendance to -- any other physical needs.

[Medical or otherwise.]

[As soon as he's released, Yuan pulls his hands back, tucking his elbows against him. What the hell was that.]

[He eyes Kratos a little more in return for that searching look. What.]

...you recognize, of course, that I am one of your staff, now.

[Just. Making sure that's recognized. Because if a slave isn't staff, that usually means bed-warmer; and while Kratos seems disinclined, many others will assume it.]

[His exhalation isn't quite a sigh.]

I shall follow. Where do you live?

One of the other staff -- unless you happened to mark some tailors on your way in.

[Dryly. So much for slaves being downtrodden and terrified. Kratos can't tell if Yuan is fearless or simply masochistic; either way, it's something of a relief the man isn't cowering. Kratos picks up the contract and turns to lead the way out of the room, holding the door for Yuan.]

Closer to the oasis.

[Customs houses are, usually, in one of the outer rings of Triet. The Tethe'allan billets are in the inner wall, decentralised from one another around the main headquarters.]

[He's plenty downtrodden, Kratos. He's just seeing how far you'll let him push, so he knows how long the leash is.]

[Yuan shakes his head. He can't help but focus on the contract when Kratos picks it up, and it takes him a moment before he trails after Kratos.]

Anywhere would be closer to the oasis from here.

[He won't be sorry to see the last of the customs-house; but it also represents the last of his paths to Nidavellir. That home is... well. Was it ever his home?]

[The nostalgia says perhaps it was.]

[He takes the weight of the door rather than slip past Kratos; in the street, he falls to a step behind Kratos, watching Kratos's heels rather than his back.]

[Kratos has no idea how to own a slave. The leash will be long, in some respects. ... He does not like having someone directly behind him, at his heels; he especially does not like, when he glances back, seeing Yuan's head so bowed. But he frowns and says nothing, for now, only turns to turn and strides briskly through the shaded streets. After a moment, he shortens his pace slightly, to make sure Yuan can keep up.

[Triet is built for desert living; the stone is baking but the streets are narrow and the buildings tall, so that they never once actually enter full sunlight. The Knights' compound is one large complex built on tiny stilts, over running water channeled from the oasis.

[That, at least, is like home, except that all the water is beneath instead of above; but it's not so different to an aquifer, if bigger, and Kratos can't deny the effect it has inside the walls. When they enter, there's a difference of at least a dozen degrees, and turns the hot if shaded outside into pleasantly cool inside. The windcatcher towers draw in air to filter past the water below and create some movement within.

[The courtyard, such as it is, is more segregated from the inside than is Tethe'allan custom; but it's effectively shaded by the height of the buildings and the windcatcher towers, with the plants receiving sunlight only at certain times of day and with judicious garden planning. Still, at least there are plants -- though many of them seem to be grown in pots in the halls. ... That took some getting used to.

[Kratos nods to guards and passersby who snap salutes, and ignores the stares which follow them. He does catch one of the runners and requests an attendant to his quarters. There's only one Knights' regiment in Triet, which makes him the highest-ranking knight stationed here; and that means he has the best room, nearest the gardens around the oasis and with personal access to the courtyard and the baths sectioned off beneath the building. His suite is, effectively, a sitting-room, an office, a kitchenette in the event he doesn't wish to attend the mess hall, a spacious bedroom, amenities ... he is, at least, afforded a guest room.

[It's obvious to anyone looking in that the promotion is recent: most of his things are still neatly in the corner, the room sparsely decorated but for the furniture that was already provided, elegant and trim in style -- luxuriously economical.]

[He doesn't need you to pity him, Kratos. Contrarily, Yuan lengthens his stride, even if it's a bit of a strain.]

[There's more than a bit of flicking his gaze to the side to take in how Triet is built. He was shipped here from Nidavellir, and there wasn't exactly the leisure to stop and look around. He can guess at the purpose of many of the things he doesn't immediately recognize, anyway. Nidavellir has some similar structures to take advantage of the wind.]

[Triet's wind is a gentler thing, but the principles are the same.]

[Yuan's just as practiced at ignoring stares, and he focuses almost entirely on Kratos, none of the people around him, save for brief glances to calculate how much disdain he gets. He's not expecting attitudes to half-elves to be different. But he has to assess for himself.]

[At least the plants are familiar. Not the varieties, but the style in which they're kept.]

[All told, however, Yuan doesn't really unfold and look around until they're in Kratos's suite, and a minimum of other people are nearby. He takes in the furniture; the fact that Kratos really hasn't thoroughly unpacked. After a brief careful prowl around the space, Yuan tilts his head at Kratos from a moderate distance.]

Do you need your things unpacked?

a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject