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

[conductingresistance]

[There are some things Yuan isn't clear on, with regards to Kratos. He doesn't always know what he's doing, or what to offer.]

[He does know he's not about to let Kratos weep in the night without doing something about it, when he's right there. It doesn't seem like much, across their boundaries. But it's certainly something.]

[He breathes easier when they're leaving Vanaheim. Surely when they're gone, such things will subside, and they won't be treading such unstable terrain.]

[It doesn't occur to him until he sees Kratos's white knuckles in passing that it would be just as hard, leaving the city, even when Kratos knows it is not the city of his memories.]

[Yuan has more to do right now than allows for approaching Kratos; but when they have retired for the night he is quieter than normal, watching Kratos to see if there's any evidence of emotion lingering.]

[It's certainly not usual for one to be taking one's cues from one's slave, but Yuan is beginning to give up pretending Kratos means only that.]

[simulsimul]

[It's but the first camp of many as they move northward. From what Kratos has overheard, there's a risk of ambush. The thought makes his chest lighten and his gut turn over at once. There's no absolution to be found in a rescue, and the alternative is to see his own people die on the ends of the swords belonging to those with whom he lives.

[And he still needs to be back there. Flamberge is back there. The yearning makes him quiet, aside from the occasional heavier breath; and he's generally unaware of the fact that his cheeks remain wet. He keeps his head down.

[By the time Yuan arrives in the tent, it's set up in as far as is practical for one night's stop, and Kratos is seated on his trunk, staring blankly into the distance. His hand unconscious, is on his thigh, where it's scarred under the webbing of the brace.]

[conductingresistance]

[Hair shades Kratos's face, as it ever does; but when Yuan bends a little to see why Kratos is so still he can see the shine of tears.]

[He wonders if Kratos knows his face is wet. He wonders if there's anything, anything at all, he can do.]

[Words seem wrong. Yuan-- doesn't intend to kneel, really, it just happens to be the most comfortable posture for what he means to do, and starts undoing the straps of the brace. He's not going to comment on it. He's just going to help.]

[No one will see, right now.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos stirs with a breath, his distant gaze dragging back. He makes a noise as if he's about to object to Yuan's bending knee before him in such a way, then subsides. It's hard to tell whether he stops because Yuan's already done this for him and insisted, or because it expends too much energy.

[For a few minutes Kratos watches wordlessly, shifting only enough to help Yuan remove the brace. When he speaks it's a surprise even to himself, and his voice is low and dragging.]

I don't know how to endure this.

['This'. His feelings. His fears. His guilt and heartache and the fact of the sword, on the belt of that man. The tears haven't stopped flowing.]

[conductingresistance]

[It isn't worth objecting to; it's already done.]

[Yuan takes his time and care with the brace, doing his utmost not to hurt Kratos or work outside his range of motion too much. He sets the brace carefully to the side, making a note to take care of it later if Kratos lacks the wherewithal.]

[Yuan... doesn't know how to help, either; but when he sits back and looks up he sees Kratos's face, and he's reached before he meant to, brushing at Kratos's cheek like he can do a damned thing about tears. It's stupid. Yuan pulls back, and his voice is rough.]

I have never been where you have.

[He's been a slave; he has not watched everything of his country taken from him.]

All I can offer is this: one step. If you can take one step, that is enduring. One step, and then one more.

[simulsimul]

[Kratos's breath catches at the unexpected touch to his cheek, a touch so tender that it wrings Kratos's heart. He puts his hand to the same place, as if he can capture the fleeting warmth of Yuan's fingers and what it means.]

I don't know if I can take another step.

[Hoarsely. Of course, the act of not taking another step requires action on its own, doesn't it? He won't do that, he thinks. But -- he's paralysed nevertheless. It's almost worse.]

Can you --

[No. Yes. No. Damn it; he doesn't like asking Yuan to do this. But Kratos doesn't know how to keep moving, without it.]

Order me. For a little while. Tell me -- what you need me to do.

[Heavily. He can act, if someone depends on him to act.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan doesn't like this. But by the same token, he knows-- he can hear in the hesitations that Kratos also knows Yuan doesn't like it.]

[At least there is that much understanding.]

[All the same, he hesitates a space before nodding.]

Yes. I can do that.

[If Kratos has put his faith in Yuan, Yuan won't let it down. He will lay out as much of the road forward as he needs to.]

I ask that you ask me again, tomorrow night, if you still need direction.

[A check. Yuan will, himself, check. He won't fall into the trap of assuming Kratos will follow, or treating him as furniture. He cannot.]

And I do require that you tell me in the interim if you need food or drink or rest.

[simulsimul]

Yes.

[Part of Kratos doesn't want to have to think of things like that; wants to just slip into the oblivion of obedience and stay like that for a while. But there's another part of him which appreciates that Yuan ensures that process is in place.]

Yes. I ... food.

[He hasn't eaten or drunk anything since they stopped for camp.]

[conductingresistance]

Food.

[Yuan nods. He gets to his feet, and there's another traitorous-heart gesture before he can stop himself, a little brush of Kratos's hair back from his face.]

[He needs to not... do that.]

I'll get you something to eat and drink. Wait here.

[He reasons, naturally, that if Kratos needs food he probably also needs water. It takes a little doing; they have been long enough that the main meal has been cooked and served, but there are leftovers not yet cleaned away and Yuan snags enough for both of them, that it doesn't look strange.]

[It's simple fare, soup and bread, but it should be sufficient. Yuan comes back to Kratos with a tray, not expecting him to have moved.]

Do I need to watch to make sure you eat?

[Not judging, just asking.]

[simulsimul]

[He hasn't, except that his hand has lifted to brush his hair where Yuan had, almost automatic. He noticed the action, he did; and some part of him is aware of what it means. It's just -- very difficult to bring that to the forefront. Kratos has barely noticed that Yuan has gone, and doesn't notice that he's returned until he speaks.]

I --

[It doesn't sound judgmental, but Kratos is judging himself enough for that, bitterly deriding that he even needs this.]

No.

[He should at least be able to eat.

[conductingresistance]

Very well.

[Yuan busies himself around the tent, a myriad of little things that don't strictly need to be done right now, which might ordinarily be Kratos's lookout. Instead they're something to keep Yuan's hands busy, to make it look like he's not watching Kratos too closely. There are pauses in between for little bites of his own food, but doing something is Yuan's preference.]

[His gaze drifts back, even though Kratos says he doesn't need watching. It isn't that he doesn't trust Kratos-- he does, doesn't he? It's just... concern.]

[Sentiment. Yuan sighs at himself.]

[Eventually he comes back over, hands empty, to check on Kratos, to see if he needs to take the dishes; and he hovers aimlessly, a pace or two away, unsure what to do or say.]

Are you--

[What is he even going to ask? Yuan bites his words off in frustration with himself. It won't do; if anything, he need be firm for Kratos's sake.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos is not, it transpires, able to remember to eat. Oh, he has a few bites; but then it seems as if the inertia of despair drags his hand to a halt, and he's back to staring into space. He stirs only when Yuan returns, looking up with a breath.]

Mnh?

[... Oh. Probably 'are you done'; and, a glance at Kratos's plate reveals, he is not. He takes another bite. It's extremely unenthusiastic.]

[conductingresistance]

[...so Kratos may need watching.]

[Yuan hunkers down in front of him. It isn't kneeling, but it puts them on a level, so Yuan can look into his face and scowl briskly. His heart is not so much in it as it might have been, some time ago.]

Eat as much as you can stomach. Hunger, whether you're aware of it or not, will only make what you're feeling worse.

[This Yuan is well aware of, even if he has not quite been where Kratos has. His tone is cool; dry, but not unsympathetic.]

[simulsimul]

[It's -- certainly a unique response: saying much without saying anything. There is a part of Kratos which sees that scowl and he can feel there should be amusement at it; but at this moment, it feels more as if he's feeling the hole where amusement ought to be.]

... Alright.

[He understands the logic of it. He does. It's just -- difficult. Still, with Yuan crouching there and scowling at him to sustain himself, Kratos finds it ... a little easier to eat, or at least to keep eating, until his plate is empty after all.

[... Such a simple thing should not feel like an achievement.]

[conductingresistance]

[As long as the scowl works, Yuan isn't about to let up.]

[So since it's what's needed, apparently, he stays there and he watches Kratos eat; and when the plate is empty, he takes it from Kratos's hands, standing to stretch his knees.]

Thank you.

[All aggrieved dignity. He comes back to Kratos all the same, this time with the earlier set aside mug of water in hand; and this, too, gets pressed into Kratos's hand.]

Drink. Empty this if you can.

[simulsimul]

[This, Kratos can also obey, it transpires; and the order to sleep, also. The next morning he feels as empty, but -- less distraught. He's not sure which is better, really; but the orders established the night before are enough to get him moving.

[But he's quiet, and a little prone to stilling, mind all turned inward, without some direction; and this continues for some days as they travel. Flamberge is back there -- and he can't shake the feeling that he must be where Flamberge is. But: the one boon of all this paralysing introspection is that he remembers, finally, the news Aelius had given him, about Bia to the north. Where they're headed.

[Kratos doesn't know what he can possibly do with that; but it's knowledge enough to balance the feeling of leaving something behind. He doesn't -- quite stop feeling so empty, nor stop being so quiet; but it stops stalling him, and he's able to eat and drink without Yuan having to watch him, order him to do so. It feels a paltry improvement, but Kratos hardly has the wherewithal to contemplate how pathetic it truly is.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan does not relish ordering Kratos; so, as soon as it becomes evident it is no longer necessary for simple things like keeping him healthy, he stops.]

[But Kratos is still... wrong.]

[And Yuan does not have any measure of how to fix it; so he tries, instead, to at least look after Kratos. If he can do nothing else he can do that.]

[Other than that travel is travel: Yuan keeps to his duties, manages the travel and his people and everything else he must. Where he can he tries to draw Kratos into conversation. Anything to pull him a little further from that quiet dullness, which pains frustratingly more every time Yuan runs into it.]

[They travel north, and the quiet begins to become gnawingly unbearable, and yet Yuan is too much of himself to break it kindly.]

[simulsimul]

[It is not, precisely, a progression. Kratos -- doesn't know how to work past things like this. Even when it gets easier to rise, the malaise sticks.

[Until it doesn't.

[Yuan isn't nearby, initially. Kratos isn't even in the tent. It's a long-short camp: a set up between one place and another, but stalled while trying to figure out how to ford a river; and Kratos ... Kratos takes unconscionably long to realise where they are, and what, and the circumstances. It's a discomforting itch such that he's set out to find where Yuan is, at the river, to tell him there's something off here, for surely Yuan deserves that much, even if Kratos can't quite pinpoint what.

[Part of him is disgusted he is, after all, becoming so incapable that he can't immediately identify tactics he ought to know; and yet, afterward, he won't be sure he wanted to be.

[The ambush comes before Kratos finds Yuan at all.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan is at the river when the ambush hits.]

[He hears it first, the alarm called and metal ringing; then he abruptly has his own problems to deal with, and it is a good job lightning is never far from his hands.]

[Then everything is chaos as Yuan darts into the thick of things. He thinks to look for Kratos -- possibly in need of defense, possibly viewed as traitor, possibly dead or dying somewhere -- but he can't. He truly can't, not in this mess, not without making sacrifices of other people who have trusted to him.]

[So Yuan keeps his eyes open, and he fights first to protect, second to drive back. The Swallow's blades go redder.]

[When all is clear, there are more bodies lying still than he would like; but to his opinion, any of his own would be too many. Heart stone, he looks for Kratos among dead and living both.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos isn't near enough to be in the fighting. But on the edge of it, yes; and he hears the screams, and his first instinct is to run toward them. His first step reminds him that he is incapable of doing so; and then for a moment he's paralysed with a lack of what to do.

[His duty now, he reminds himself, is to Yuan Ka-Fai. So Kratos makes himself scarce, picking his way carefully to try and find a route to Yuan's tent, where surely Yuan will look for him first. And then: the tide of battle turns. He can hear the sounds of Tethe'allan calls for retreat, and turns without thinking; but from the noise and the screams, not everyone can. Kratos cannot begin to hide when he hears running footsteps, not knowing if friend or foe, or what constitutes which; but it isn't Sylveranti, running for an attacker to find and kill.

[It's Tethe'allans, blades still bared and faces streaked, and at least one of them injured with the other bearing their weight. They come around a half-fallen tent and see him and sword is raised before either of them recognise him.

[Kratos steps back, and it's an awkward step which catches on a body behind him and makes him almost fall, and have to catch himself on the tent behind. It serves to show a lack of threat; and then recognition does filter in, with widened eyes and sharp breaths, and a horrified choke as they take in his hair and clothes and the brace on his leg.]

C- Commander --

[Kratos jerks his head in a shake; there's other footsteps, people shouting. He can understand enough now to know the Sylvaranti are on the trail.]

Go; hurry.

[It's low so others don't hear it, and just as well: because hardly before he's finished two Sylveranti come bursting past that half-fallen tent, and they overlook him entirely. Maybe slaves are just that unworthy of notice. Maybe he blends into the shade of the tent canvass. Kratos does not know, save that it means they see the Sylveranti first, and shouts of discovery go up, and Kratos's gaze is on the sword impaled in the corpse he'd almost fallen over --

[There's no thought in the motion; just intent and adrenaline. He reaches for the sword and as the Sylverantis' backs are turned he uses it; first a sweep which cuts spine, and then a reversed thrust which impales. The fall of the second wrenches the sword from his hand and almost takes him off his feet; and the scent of blood is familiar, such that Kratos almost forgets where and when he is --

[Kratos shakes back hair and looks at the Tethe'allans, breathing hard; and they look back with fright and frazzle and no little awe which makes his chest tighten.]

Commander -- come with us.

[For a moment Kratos looks at them, and the trees behind them, and listens to the voices beyond the lines of tents and judges that, yes, they can escape; and he imagines him going with, to Bia in the north, where he was told she was --

[And he shifts to almost take a step toward them, and the brace grinds against his hip, and Kratos exhales out that want, startled to find tears on his cheeks.]

No. I'll slow you down -- you won't escape if I'm with you. Now go. Go.

[It's a command but they pause for a moment even so, and the injured one's gaze is apologetic before they turn and run, such as they can, toward the trees. Kratos swallows down bile and the taste of blood, and steps back until he does actually fall over that same corpse, landing hard on his back, enough to wind him. Surely no one will believe a crippled slave could have done what he just did ...

[There he stays, gazing dazed up at the sky, and trying to swallow down the veritable pantheon of emotions which had seemed so distant and aloof this morning.]

[conductingresistance]

[Eventually, chaos settles.]

[Yuan has so much -- too much -- to see to. There are fallen; there are names to take and tokens to retrieve, letters that will need to be written. Arrangements for bodies which can scarcely be afforded in terms of time and space and safety, here and now. Each one found and identified and laid out is another heavy weight.]

[It is fortunate the Swallow has given him strong shoulders.]

[Still: there is no Kratos.]

[Eventually, though, on his prowl through camp he finds them; finds the bodies, finds Kratos with them, and for a paralyzing moment he believes Kratos one of them. But he is not. Yuan settles, and after a bare moment to arrange himself he strides over to pull Kratos up.]

[There is still much to be done. But he can get Kratos situated for now, and continue with-- one less weight.]

Are you injured?

[simulsimul]

[It's almost a surprise to be found. Kratos doesn't immediately expect it, isn't entirely anticipating the strength in those shoulders to pull him upright. But he shakes his head, exhaling while he tries to find his equilibrium.

[He had killed today. It is never something he tries to hold close, nor something he vies to forget: but these lives seem more weighted than most. The words are almost out before he can swallow them. They aren't private; and Yuan's tone is brusque, as it should be for a master searching for a wayward slave.]

No, Master Ka-Fai.

[His head and neck hurt from the fall; but they will heal, and after a battle there is nothing to be spared for minor twinges. He is not injured.]

[conductingresistance]

[Something is-- off.]

[But Yuan has neither time nor space to contemplate it. There is a cursory looking-over in case Kratos is trying to hide some injury in some misguided attempt at saving trouble or emotion, but Yuan sees nothing immediately.]

[Only the bodies surrounding. Something prickles again, and Yuan just doesn't have time for it. Kratos is fine, and he can examine whatever the problem is later. Yuan nods shortly.]

They may need help in the mess tent.

[Cleanup is hungry work, and if sending Kratos frees up someone else, then it will be useful.]

Otherwise, keep to my tent.

[Where -- no. He won't necessarily be safe there, for cloth is little barrier to a good blade. But he will, at least, be easy for Yuan to find, which is for the moment near the top of his list.]

[simulsimul]

Yes, Master Ka-Fai.

[Kratos's head is bowed more than would warrant, if it were just them; but it isn't just them, and he can't bring himself to meet Yuan's gaze. Not now. Not until he can -- tell Yuan what he did. Because, of course, he will. It isn't a secret he can keep without it being poison. So: his hair hides his eyes.

[As he moves past the bodies, he glances down; and then he looks straight, swallowing hard, for he knows these people. He knows their faces; he knows their voices.

[He knows their names.

[He walks past them, back as straight as can be managed, and breath as even as he can do, and tries not to think of blood splatter on his clothes, or anything else. By the time he makes it to the mess tent Kratos is quite aware of the parts of him which ache for having fallen and twisted as he did; but nevertheless, he makes himself available, and wordlessly sets to whatever task is given to him. He makes sure, also, to remain where he might be easily found.]

[conductingresistance]

['Master' still weighs awkward. Yuan says nothing of it, but observes Kratos's progress for a moment -- no hitch in his gait but that which is typical, good -- and then he turns away.]

[Still much to do.]

[He has a handful of clan-tokens and a head full of whose they were by the time he makes it back to his tent that evening. Weariness beats down his shoulders and only now does it begin to show in a faint slump as he sets things down on his folded writing-desk.]

[As for Kratos...]

[Kratos brought food, it appears. Yuan rubs a hand across his eyes, tired and worn, but he is marginally brighter when that gesture is done. Not only for that thoughtfulness, but to see Kratos has eaten as well; the empty plate is telltale.]

[An odd day for improvement, though. But Yuan will take what he can get. For now.]

Are you -- all right?

[And it is close, but very different from the earlier are you injured.]