a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance

[simulsimul]

universe list
canon
breached
confessed
dadly
future
grigori
mercenary
MEover
origin
reversal
titans


scenario list
canon: Kratos needs to stop running off
confessed: wing reflex
confessed: actual wingpull
confessed: turning Renegade
confessed: son meets father
dadliness: confrontation
dadliness: awakening
dadliness: illness
dadliness: a fundamental lack of understanding on the word 'abducted'
dadliness: updating parameters
dadliness: assassination assignation
mercenary: hiding in the library
mercenary: aftermath of librarian saviour
reversal: oracle destroyed
titans: storming the tower
titans: safety in the canyon
titans: night horrors


canon
- combo of Kratos and Zelos ending
- Zelos does the stupid thing, but not so far as his death, and is still the eighth member of the party to Derris-Kharlan.

scenarios
scenario one: Yuan tracks Kratos down at Dirk's.


breached
- canon right up until after Botta’s death
- no one uses Yuan’s name around Mithos so Mithos walks right into the Triet base with them
- cue an epic OH SHIT in which Yuan gets a lil bit beat up while covering the evacuation of the rest of the base
- until Kratos appears to intervene and have the Chosen group get Yuan out of there
- Mithos gets Kratos tho and he’s a bit mad cos, yanno, traitor and all
- time to be locked up and punished and need to be rescued
- kind of puts a crimp in the creation of the Eternal Ring plans
- mostly cos Mithos turns Kratos lifeless, with some armour to regulate his mana so he remains a seraph. can't have the seal becoming less powerful, yo
- it does mean he can only obey orders tho
- the first rescue fails miserably but at least no one dies and they know they need to reforge his key-crest
- the second rescue attempt (circumstances of canon-point under percolation) goes a little better, though Yuan almost gets killed by Kratos trying to attach the key-crest
- luckily that and the first telepathy in a while gets through and Kratos manages to break out a la Colette, and heal Yuan enough for Raine to get there
- after which, angreh father-son beatdown on Mithos.

scenarios
None yet.


confessed
- almost successful assassination lands Kratos as an injured stranger in Iselia (1-2 years pre-canon)
- recuperation leads to accidental-on-purpose 'holiday' in Iselia
- doubts result in a request for Dirk to make a key-crest like Kratos' own
- oracle room undergoes some stealth sabotage
- regeneration journey is slightly delayed, prompted by Genis and Lloyd being discovered at the ranch
- Triet is awkward. so very awkward. for the Renegades -- whose side is Kratos even on these days and why was he vanished for two years?
- initial overall journey similar to canon, save that Kratos is a bit less circumspect about advising Colette on how to cope with angel transformations
- there are more overt Dun Wanna Feelings
- then Luin, wherein things happen and the group is in town during the Desian attack. the others naturally want to fight but tis a mite difficult against an army and building-destroying magitech. luckily, angel on their side. unluckily, wingpulls in order to muster the power to cover the townspeoples' retreat
- questions and confessions ensue
- Colette rejects the key crest (for the moment) so there's still hopefully maybe ambiguity about Kratos's position re the last seal
- it wouldn't fit anyway, it's modelled for the hand like Kratos's is because he was a derp and did not specify otherwise, so Lloyd needs to make a thing to make it fit
- slow protective retreat toward Asgard.

scenarios
scenario one: Kratos confesses before Salvation; Raine wants to follow up.
scenario two: Raine's examination of an angel; and also Kratos realises how far he's put his foot in it.
scenario three: Kratos goes to taunt Yuan a little, and also ask for his help.
scenario four: in which Raine makes Kratos tell the children all the things, and Yuan takes too much amusement from it.


dadliness
- Kratos retires in Iselia under the name Irving to raise Lloyd after the death of his wife
- no exsphere. ageing occurs! so does a beard and a braid
- teaches Lloyd swordplay, but on the sly, to avoid the other villagers noticing. his daytime job is weaving
- Lloyd finds the box of their exspheres and wants details. after some prodding by Dirk, Kratos explains how exspheres are made and that one is Anna's life. Lloyd is too young yet, but when Lloyd comes of age (~15) Kratos lets him make his own decision re wearing it
- Lloyd chooses not to wear the exsphere
- Genis befriends Marble and Lloyd meets her, as in canon; this happens before the journey begins, with the fallout
- difference being that Colette is still in the village so they can't be too horrible, so they just demand Lloyd be turned over for a flogging
- Kratos stands in his stead because natch. luckily, they're only mooks and don't recognise the bearded weaver as anyone important
- gives Lloyd his guilt complex early tho
- the oracle happens much the same way except Botta doesn't quite recognise the weirdly familiar bearded swordsman
- he does when he's reporting to Yuan tho
      'there was an exceptionally skilled human'
      /brief physical description/
      /did x other faintly recognizable thing/
      and both he and Yuan are aware that Kratos has been awol for a while, so there's a moment of pure silence and dawning 'no, it couldn't be'
- but then obviously one of them has to go make sure
- cue an interruption just out of Triet.

scenarios
scenario one: Yuan feels the need to investigate; this results in Kratos injured and abducted.
scenario two: Yuan realises he can't kill Kratos with his own two hands; Kratos gets mothered.
scenario three: Kratos gets sick on the heels of his recovery. Yuan mothers him some more. Botta disapproves.
scenario four: Kratos recovers and makes an escape attempt. Sort-of.
scenario five: Kratos recovers more and talks to Botta, when not needling Yuan about his lack of preparedness.
scenario six: Sheena's contract takes a slight shift into undercover instead of assassination work.


future
- Aselia is Earth ~10,000 years in the past
- all is peachy-keen except the tree is now underground and the elvens/half-elves/some humans are in hiding in the centre of the planet, hidden thanks to the summon spirits
- Colette is working with humanitarian aid in various impoverished nations
- Zelos is a diplomat in West Asia / Middle East trying to keep the peace
- Yuan is a crotchety lecturer at Cambridge who's also HUGE into environmentalism
- Lloyd and Kratos are having family time in space
- occasionally the trio on Earth meet reincarnations of people they used to know
- but rarely at the same time and almost never in a position where they meet
- but then they start meeting them
- lots of them
- all in the same span of years
- they're starting to think something's hinky
- until the space-elves attack
- and then they know something is hinky.


scenarios
None yet.


grigori
- at some point significantly before canon, Kratos actually calls it quits
- the Church's institution calls him a fallen angel of vengeance
- really he's just going around trying to help people and avoiding being taken back to Cruxis
- assigns himself to the Chosen parties whenever he can, up to Colette
- ????? idk some kind of profit somewhere

scenarios
None yet.


mercenary
- when Yuan visits Kratos at the beach when Lloyd is 3 months old, he does not manage to escape before Anna and Lloyd return
- accidental attachment to this kidlet who likes pulling his hair
- three years later, Yuan can't stand to hold back while Kratos fights Kvar, so he throws caution to the wind to help
- Anna is still killed but they rescue Lloyd and Noishe and both are branded as traitors
- Lloyd is raised as a Renegade with Dad, Uncle Yuan and the extremely reticent Uncle Botta (how dare)
- meanwhile in Tethe'alla Yuan infiltrates the castle as the library archivist
- stays out of sight, mostly, but has a good ear around the politics thanks to recruiting Princess Hilda
- also happens to stumble on Zelos hiding in the library right after his mother's death
- look he's got a 'nephew' he can't just do nothing (even if all he meant was to recommend a book)
- unwittingly accidentally 'adopts' the Tethe'allan Chosen by virtue of being the only one who doesn't treat him like the Chosen
- sometimes Kratos brings Lloyd to visit and basically they're all separate pairs of exasperated bros
- by canon Lloyd and Kratos are wandering mercenaries, helping people on the sly while gathering intel to send back to the Renegades
- Yuan and Zelos are actively building resistance to the Church using inside knowledge
- the ninja are all Renegades
- Colette is escorted by Raine and by the priests
- yes the 'chain up the Chosen and drag her to every seal if necessary' priests
- she meets Lloyd randomly in Triet but Lloyd doesn't know her as the Chosen. they're a bit out of touch on the Journey of Regen timeline
- stuff happens and they keep missing each other up until Palmacosta, which is a warzone between the Desians (and Dorr as their figurehead) and the Renegades (with Neil as their leader)
- Colette wants to help; priests say no
- out come the chains
- Raine objects, but she has no exsphere so what can she do
- btw Genis got caught in the Iselian ranch and tossed in as a traitor to be made a host
- he gets sent to the Palmacosta ranch
- right after Neil manages to take the city, after Colette and Raine leave it, Botta takes the Palmacosta ranch and rescues Genis, among others
- Genis becomes his little shadow and is much preferable to Lloyd, in Botta's opinion
- Lloyd and Kratos are still trying to catch up to Colette to rescue her when they drop by
- Genis hears what they're trying to do and insists on coming along.


scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan accidentally adopts a Chosen instead of a book from a library.
scenario two: in which Yuan is accidentally-deliberately adopted by the Meltokio Castle Knights.


MEover
- Mass Effect crossover someplace in the realm of 15,000 years after TOS canon
- except started before then, cos elves are really from Feros, planet of the cranky telepathic plant
- got decimated by the protheans trying to assimilate them into their empire
- elves objected, got killed a lot, fled Feros and got stuck in Aselia's orbit
- kinda forgot a few things but planted a seed from the Ferosian mother plant on Aselia
- Origin hasn't forgotten tho, kinda has a grudge against grumblegrumbleprotheansgrumble
- the entirety of TOS happened, and then some
- Kratos, Yuan, Lloyd, Colette and Zelos are the only ones left, but tis okay, they have each other
- somethingsomething natural space disaster, Aselia is destroyed but they manage to move Yggdrasill onto Derris-Kharlan and do a quarian by becoming a roaming ship
- mana is a variant of eezo lbr
- Derris-Kharlan's too big to use the mass relays, but c'mon it generates its own mass effect field so they develop tech to do hops on their own
- they're in no hurry tho, i mean lbr primarily angelic, elf and half-elf population
- so they're just bumming around their local clusters doing thorough investigations on all the things
- so much eezo on their ship
- so much
- suddenly the Normandy running from a reapers comes along to hide behind them
- reapers start shooting
- everyone on Derris-Kharlan objects
- JUDGEMENT IN SPACE
- so much profit and judging of reapers.


scenarios
None yet.


origin
- Kratos tells Lloyd the dad thing in Triet
- dad and son feelings ensue
- they culminate at the Tower of Salvation in Kratos stabbing Yggdrasill in the back
- unfortunately he does not quite die but impales Kratos against a wall and goes berserk on the Chosen party to the point of Yuan stepping in to help
- that is, by threatening to stab Kratos in the back while he's vulnerable (with Kratos's permission)
- Yggdrasill calls his bluff and fails, and Yuan does the thing
- while Yggdrasill is distracted the Chosen's group nail him but good and he retreats
- luckily while heart-stabbing happened, Kratos's cruxis crystal is still intact, and between Raine's healing and Yuan's mana transfusion he survives long enough to be taken to the Triet base and a refresher
- stuff happens in some fashion or other up until opening Origin's seal
- as it turns out, the mana tranfusion has fused the lock, so to speak, and Kratos can't unlock the seal even voluntarily
- only way to get Origin out at this point is to let him fuse with Kratos, so Kratos becomes Origin
- stipulation of this: Kratos refuses to let go of his humanity
- luckily Yuan already has a literal bond with him thanks to the mana transfusion, so with him as his summoner Kratos can keep his humanity, and only use Origin's powers when Yuan summons them
- commitment like woah for a literal eternity
- but hey, they messed up but good and it's the only way they can reunite the worlds.

scenarios
none yet.


reversal
~ 2000 years in, Kratos and Yuan conspire to kill Mithos and succeed, sorta
- he's stuck inside his exsphere, possessing people
- but he manages to survive and while Kratos and Yuan claim Derris-Kharlan for their base, he takes most of the angels as 'fallen', as well as the Eternal Sword
- most of his bases are hidden behind dimensional slips created by the sword - Iselia included
- Origin refuses to trust either Kratos or Yuan with the job, anyhow, and they don't have a summoner
- instead they're forced to fight Cruxis, embroiling the worlds in an angelic war between Cruxis and the new organisation of Chayim
- the Chosen bloodlines are more important to Cruxis than Chayim, but Mithos seals the seals so only the Chosen bloodline can flip the mana switch. Kratos and Yuan need someone to do that until they can reunite them, so the Journey remains an institution, just without compulsory death at the end
- there is angelification tho, if only so Chayim gets more soldiers and so the Chosen can defend themselves against Cruxis
- Kratos sends Anna and Lloyd to Iselia, because even though enemy territory, it's the safest place there is for them
- Anna get word to Kratos that the Desians are using Iselia as a long-term cruxis crystal cultivation location, and that the sword is held there
- her spy succeeds but is intercepted, and Mithos locks down the dimensional slip to prevent exit and access by angels for ~15 years
- Lloyd grows up in a town with a heavy half-elf population and believing he's training to help the good guys
- he has his own cruxis crystal as a host, but doesn't tell his mother due to the faith-based propaganda encouraging hosts not to bring it up or risk the powers not taking
- he wants to help though, so he steals a key-crest to ensure he can fight
- Yuan and Kratos plan to assault the town and shrine but Mithos uses the sword to interrupt travel between worlds, keeping Yuan in Tethe'alla and forcing Kratos to attack Iselia alone.

scenarios
scenario one: Iselia is attacked by Chayim to claim the sword, with the sword already gone


titans
- Yggdrasill captures Kratos before Kvar finds Anna and Lloyd, but after Kratos makes an Eternal Ring
- Yuan figures hell no and raises the Renegades to try and take Derris-Kharlan, rescue Kratos and solve the split-world problem
- the attack fails. a lot.
- Renegades are wiped out, Kratos is still in Cruxis's hands, but Yuan manages to escape with the Eternal Ring
- Cruxis follows him to Triet base, which gets destroyed and the few remaining Renegades scatter
- Botta is still around tho, helping out how he can
- mostly Yuan just goes searching for Lloyd and Anna
- doesn't manage to find them before Kvar does tho, and Kratos hears from Yggdrasill that they're dead
- this is slightly inaccurate, cos Lloyd still winds up rescued by Dirk in Iselia
- where Yuan eventually finds him, not knowing that he's 'supposed' to be dead
- so Yuan settles in Iselia for a bit to watch Lloyd and the Chosen
- cuts and dyes his hair, the whole shebang
- learns how to carpentry, invents a new use of magic lightning and light can totally become a laserbeam amirite
- winds up being Genis's role model just because scholar and magic-user and half-elf who can pass but also takes no shit from people
- is one of Colette's companions on the Journey when it starts
- he's been challenging their understanding of the Church's institution this whole time lbr
- Sheena is still a thing because the ninja have taken over the Tethe'allan base, which has survived, somewhat
- a grilling ensues
- sometime just after the Asgard Ranch Yuan does have to drop the bombshell
- about how the Journey is just a front, he and his bestie are angels, btw his bestie is Lloyd's dad
- how they're out to topple the institution of religion
- forget sacrificing Colette for the Regeneration, when they get to the seal they can do that without anyone dying
- and then move straight on to rescuing Kratos in Derris-Kharlan
- then they get to the Tower and realise Yggdrasill has Kratos under a Prometheusesque punishment a la 'impaled on the Eternal Sword to suffer the Seed's pain and watch the Chosen get murdered'
- luckily this does not happen, as they manage to rescue him and escape Yggdrasill instead, barely
- retreat to Botta's hiding-place in Asgard so Kratos can recover
- and also find out that Lloyd is actually alive
- the Chosen group goes around to make as many pacts as they can while in Sylvarant
- they get up to Aska when Yggdrasill sends his angels to attack Asgard
- cue Yuan and Kratos being unstoppable battle gods together


scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan leads the Chosen's party to the Tower of Salvation to dismantle all the traditions ever, and find Kratos waiting for them in serious need of a rescue.
scenario two: in which being in safety reveals that Kratos is not precisely unscathed, but he's doing his best.
scenario three: in which Kratos is emphatically not okay, but with Yuan's help, could be.

Comments

[simulsimul]

Mph. Out here, then.

[It's comfortable enough, in Lloyd's room, and while part of him wants to know everything about the childhood that he missed, he also feels like an intruder there. Out here, he can at least engage, and get to know his son's other father.

[He'd dropped his healing, but he's not sure he can manage to hold it while he's walking; so he leaves it, for the moment, and takes a hesitant step without pulling away, to see whether Yuan will let him walk while being supported.

[And, to Yuan alone: Don't let his agreement go to your head.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan isn't especially sanguine about letting Kratos walk, and so, after a brief pause, picks him up instead-- a little more carefully this time, and with attention paid to the injury instead of the abrupt panic of Kratos falling down the stairs.]

[He's expecting this to go a little poorly, but since Kratos is weak enough right now to fall over like that, he doesn't anticipate much of an actual threat. At Dirk:]

I believe you said something about cushions?

[This is much closer to polite than their introduction was.]

[Would I ever let something like this go to my head.]

[Slipping back into mental contact is easier than it should be.]

[simulsimul]

[Yuan doesn't let him go. Yuan, in fact, moves to his side to pick him up in a manner which should never have worked given how near to the same height they are. Kratos grunts in surprise at the action, and tenses, but he manages to resist the urge to object, especially since Yuan does it with such care that his wound barely twinges. Instead he grips Yuan's shoulder and suffers being moved.

Yes. Absolutely.]

Yeah. Just over here.

[Dirk moves around them to the living-area levelled off the ground, pulling some cushions out of a cupboard to lay them down near the wall, where Kratos can use it as a rest. He drags the low table out to give them room, but still be near enough to use once he's brought out the food.]

Make yourselves comfortable.

[conductingresistance]

[Kratos may have a point. Yuan would at least be happy to hold it over him, which is in the same neighborhood as letting it go to his head. What gets mentally transmitted is something like a low laugh.]

[The furniture seems to have been built with a dwarf in mind, but that's only logical. Yuan sets Kratos down with equal care where Dirk prepares the cushions, looking him over with some seriousness before straightening.]

...Thank you.

[This, again, is mostly for Dirk's benefit. Yuan lets go of Kratos, stiff and not entirely certain now that the immediate problem is more or less resolved.]

[simulsimul]

Ah, don't mention it.

[Dirk literally waves off the thanks without missing a beat at the stove. It's fairly clear these two are close, no matter how idiotic, and despite Yuan's rudeness Dirk can't find it in himself to hold it against him given the circumstances.

[Kratos leans back against the wall, trying to make himself comfortable; but his wound is troubling him again, and when he tries to channel the healing arte to his hand, his mana comes only fitfully. He grunts with discontent at that fact, and the fact that Yuan is hovering over him.]

You're looming. Sit down.

[A beat, and then more softly and grudgingly:]

I'm not sure I can keep up the healing arte without you nearby.

[His body cycling Yuan's mana into his own is going to take more time than he hoped, it seems.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan would have loomed more for the first; but for Kratos' second comment he relents and takes up a seat next to Kratos, one knee drawn loosely up and barely a finger's width of space between them. There's a lot he would do in the goal of preserving Kratos' life, especially now that his death is no longer necessary.]

[He might not admit to it out loud, though.]

I never had the aptitude for healing artes, but I'm beginning to wish I'd tried anyway.

[This is murmured, barely aloud, but Kratos will almost certainly catch it.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos huffs, vaguely amused by the thought of Yuan as a healer. Not that Raine particularly has a bedside manner, but there is some degree of understanding physiology involved. It says something that even Zelos is better at it than Yuan is.]

Don't strain yourself too hard.

[Yuan isn't quite as close as he had been before, but he's close enough that Kratos manages to bring the arte to life, soothingly cool against the wound. It feels different, though; more like dragging his mana through molasses, the way it had been earlier. Kratos rests his head back against the wall with a sigh.]

... This is going to take a while.

[They're hopeful, but still awkward. He isn't sure how to ask Yuan for anything more than the company he's already giving.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan doesn't even bother being offended; it's true he doesn't have the temperament for it. If he did, more than likely his mana would have been better suited to it.]

[Martel was. Martel did.]

I'm not you, Kratos.

[That particular variant of dry which passes for fond. He glances over at Kratos, sensing the slow drag of the movement, so unlike the way a normal arte flows, quick and vibrant in the rush of shaping it. Hm. Yes, Kratos' assessment is likely correct, but...]

If proximity improves it, do you notice a decrease now as opposed to earlier?

[When Kratos was leaning on him.]

[simulsimul]

Thank the spirits for that.

[A pause, as Kratos considers how to answer truthfully. This is one of those times he's not sure whether he's glad Yuan's observant or not; but even so, Kratos is worried the request might make things more awkward than they have to be.

[But it's not a request, precisely, is it? Just confirming Yuan's suspicion. Still, he's a bit grudging as he answers.]

... Yes.

[conductingresistance]

[The world can only handle one of him. Yuan laughs, short and quiet.]

All right.

[And, gingerly -- is it that he feels Kratos is fragile, or that Yuan himself isn't sure how he'll be received? Both, insofar as Yuan cares to examine it -- he edges over, settling in contact with Kratos. The sense of mana is clearer this way, it's true, and it's familiar enough that Yuan can actually relax a little ways.]

[He watches Dirk at the stove, but his mental attention is fixed on Kratos.]

[simulsimul]

[Nearly the moment physical contact is made, Kratos's mana flows smoother and more quickly, reacting to the quick blend of Yuan's light-lightning, which it still recognises as its own. The static buzzes over sleeves and fabric, but lessened from before, as if it's becoming accustomed to being in two people instead of just one.

[Kratos has to wonder how their mana will feel to each other after this, or how it might react between them -- a mana transfusion the way Yuan did it is unprecedented.

[But for right now, he lets himself lean once again on Yuan's shoulder, his head resting there with his eyes closed. He says nothing aloud, but his mind is almost in the motion of relaxing, an uncoiling of tension accompanied with an unconscious reaching out for company. The healing arte in his hand runs smooth and stronger than before.]

[conductingresistance]

[It's tempting, in some peculiar way, to reach up and pat Kratos' hair. Knowing he'd never hear the end of it, Yuan resists the impulse.]

[But Kratos' warmth is reassuring and familiar, and with his mana so strongly flavored of Yuan's it feels only natural for them to be resting against each other like this, and though he doesn't need to sleep there's a quiet urge to close his eyes.]

[The mental brush seems only like the natural followup, really. Yuan doesn't quite respond in explicit words, but he reaches back almost automatically, the rough mental equivalent of the gesture he so neatly resisted earlier. Reassurance, with a bare ghost of his customary irritation.]

[After some time:]

I can't predict how long it'll take for you to feel like yourself again. Is the healing arte helping with that as well?

[simulsimul]

[Kratos had forgotten what it felt like, to be able to call out in the silence of his own mind and know that someone would still answer. It's reassuring in a way he hadn't been able to remember, even with Yuan's edge of exasperation. Kratos's wordless response is an edge of amusement, gratitude, that quiet nostalgia of I missed this. I missed you. which could only be said silently.

[He doesn't exactly sleep. With a wound like this, he can't afford to turn off his angelic fortitude enough to do so. But Kratos drifts a little, until Yuan speaks, and orients his mana-sense inward without stirring.]

Yes; healing artes speed natural healing using the body's own mana. Since yours is dominant, the healing turns it into mine through the healing process. It's working as a conversion filter, of sorts.

[conductingresistance]

I'll take your word for it.

[Yuan knows some of the theory, of course; he didn't go four thousand years picking up nothing at all about healing. Still, it's the province of others, when it comes down to it.]

[He considers, again, that they were both very fortunate.]

We'll need you on your feet again sooner rather than later.

[If there's anything you need... It's the shadow of a thought, barely sent, and not at all reflected in Yuan's face, but it's there nevertheless.]

[simulsimul]

Hm. I wonder what place there is for two ancient military officers in a united future.

[Kratos has to smile a bit at the thought, though his mental tone is full of wistful uncertainty. He promised Lloyd to live, but -- what place is there, for someone such as him? As them?

[The uncertainty responds to Yuan's offer with a wordless kind of request, the feeling of if you have any suggestions ...? Yuan, it seems, has known what to do more than Kratos, in the past centuries; even when he's been incorrect.]

[conductingresistance]

Heh. Maybe not much of one.

[It's quiet, and vaguely rueful.]

...Reunifying the worlds won't fix everything.

[They made so very many mistakes. The traces of them will linger for decades if not centuries to come.]

[Yuan does not quite notice that he's leaning into Kratos in turn.]

[simulsimul]

No. I suppose the benefit of our experience may be of help there.

[If they can be trusted to provide a solution which would work, given how many of their solutions thus far made things worse.

[Dirk's heavy footfall and the sound of his throat clearing makes Kratos open his eyes and look up from Yuan's shoulder. The dwarf stands before them, looking just a tad awkward, with a bowl and a spoon in each hand. He holds one out to each of them.]

Here. Figure this might help.

[Kratos reaches out to accept the bowl, and in the moment when they're both touching the tin rim, a spark of static shoots out into Dirk's hand and makes him grunt. Quickly Kratos takes the bowl and sets it in the crook of his knee so he doesn't have to stop the healing arte while he eats. Shaking his singed hand ruefully, Dirk turns to Yuan.]

I dunno if you even need food, but y'may as well set an example for this idiot, since he seems to listen to you. A little bit.

[He pauses.]

I'm gonna set it down on the table there.

[It's close enough for Yuan to reach, without taking the risk of their mana objecting to the presence of someone new.]

[conductingresistance]

[...Apparently Kratos' mana is in more of a state of flux than his reaction to Yuan would imply.]

Imagine if we'd favored ice.

[With the dry comment, and a shake of his head, Yuan reaches for the bowl left on the table. He has to lean away from Kratos to do it, but he resumes the same general position in a moment or two, looking a little dubious.]

[The doubt is mostly for his own systems, not Dirk's cooking. Though he's heard things about dwarven cooking.]

...Thank you.

[There is a brief mental war between refusing to acknowledge eating, and the possibility of having a slight moral superiority. Eventually Yuan cups the bowl in one hand and turns his attention inward, altering his body's processes just a fraction to allow for it. He probably could do with the extra fuel; it's been a long few months.]

[simulsimul]

At least we'd be a commodity in Triet.

[The 'we' is unthinking, on Kratos's part; he barely notices that he used it. Dirk waves off Yuan's thanks with a grunt, stamping back to the other side of the cottage to focus on either his cooking or his forging; Kratos can't really tell.

[Not that he's paying attention, because he's busy being amused at Yuan's not-quite-silent wrestle between angelic dignity and getting one on Kratos. In this, Kratos does not mind being the butt of the joke; the result is amusing enough, and he chuckles even as he lifts his spoon, without explaining what the chuckle is for.

[The way his mana and health is now, he won't need to turn anything off just to eat -- it can only help him in every way. Except taste, but given what he's heard about dwarven cooking, he's not too unhappy about that.]

[conductingresistance]

What are you laughing at?

[Yuan has a feeling he hasn't been minding his mental tidiness as much as he could. In his defense, it's been a while since he had to worry about accidentally sending something he didn't mean to.]

[He prods the contents of the bowl gingerly with the spoon, gives some thought to the merits of his sense of taste, and ultimately tries the food without any kind of buffer or shield. It's been a little while, but it'll hardly kill him.]

We may be here a while.

[simulsimul]

He's known you for an hour and he has you pegged.

[Kratos's head turns just enough for Yuan to be able to see the amusement in his eyes without actually disturbing their lean against one another -- a rare enough sight, for the last several centuries.]

Dirk's food tells you that?

[It isn't so bad, from what little sense Kratos has of it; which isn't much. The texture at least isn't unpleasant, even if that's the only thing that matters with his angelic fortitude so active.]

[conductingresistance]

Hmph.

[It's less offended than it might have been at any other point in time. Still, Yuan doesn't intend to dignify that first with an answer. It's entirely unjustified.]

[Yuan shakes his head, not much, careful to avoid dislodging Kratos.]

Your inclination to do as you're told tells me that.

[Kratos is sitting and eating peacefully, instead of insisting on anything. The fact he relented says something about his weakness right now.]

[simulsimul]

I'm trying to avoid the both of you taxing my ears.

[You've already proven you'll both turn on me if you feel I'm stepping out of line.

[It's not a pointed mental comment, but a fondly exasperated one. Still, Yuan isn't wrong. It's hard for an angel to really be aware of their state of weakness while seated, when passive, but Kratos has all but sank against Yuan's shoulder in a fashion which would never have been necessary if Kratos weren't weak.]

[conductingresistance]

[It isn't pointed, but Yuan's distracted enough he only processes about half the words, and he's stiffened fractionally before everything filters through. You've already proven you'll turn on me makes no sense with the tone, and the intent passes mentally -- he has the words to rights in a bare second more -- but it does tell Yuan he's feeling guiltier than he thought about what's happened, if it can throw him off from that much alone.]

[He sighs, and relaxes again, resolving not to mention this to Kratos if at all possible.]

Self-preservation is self-preservation, no matter the reason. If it gets you to rest...

[simulsimul]

[Twelve hours ago, that would have worked. As strange as the feeling of mental closeness is now, they are nevertheless close, and practically sharing mana at this point; Kratos feels the flinch.]

You bruise my pride.

[But Kratos turns his head slightly, issuing an unspoken question through that same link; something on the lines of a combination of what was that? and are you alright?]