[The lack of response makes it plain that Saracen is handing over the situation to Kratos; and at least part of that is due to -- whatever extreme desire he has not to let his friends know what he can do. It's a desire Kratos both understands and condemns. He'd been wrong too.
[He knows, too, that Ghastly's said something legitimate, that he's being inescapably rude; but the juggernaut of action and intent is still too ingrained to turn aside. Kratos looks back at Saracen, eyes narrowed; takes a breath, and explicitly tries to relax. It's a bit like watching a coiled spring unravel, and doing so deliberately.
[I want to talk more about this, he says wordlessly, projecting to Saracen alone. You do your friends an injustice by vying so desperately to maintain their ignorance. That last phrase, 'maintaining their ignorance', is all tangled up with other things; layered like Saracen's time is layered, and made of things like regret watching the world turn and knowing he's formed it without the consent of others; and Lloyd's shock at discovering his father's identity; and the solid shape of the seal threading time and space together within him, dictating his actions against consent.
[It's difficult to rein that in, when he remembers the half-conversations they've had, barely making it to a whole one across several different timelines. I recognise that this is not my world, and you are not mine to condemn. But I will render to you the opportunity to discuss your capabilities with someone you cannot fool. I can't imagine you've had many of those.]
no subject
[He knows, too, that Ghastly's said something legitimate, that he's being inescapably rude; but the juggernaut of action and intent is still too ingrained to turn aside. Kratos looks back at Saracen, eyes narrowed; takes a breath, and explicitly tries to relax. It's a bit like watching a coiled spring unravel, and doing so deliberately.
[I want to talk more about this, he says wordlessly, projecting to Saracen alone. You do your friends an injustice by vying so desperately to maintain their ignorance. That last phrase, 'maintaining their ignorance', is all tangled up with other things; layered like Saracen's time is layered, and made of things like regret watching the world turn and knowing he's formed it without the consent of others; and Lloyd's shock at discovering his father's identity; and the solid shape of the seal threading time and space together within him, dictating his actions against consent.
[It's difficult to rein that in, when he remembers the half-conversations they've had, barely making it to a whole one across several different timelines. I recognise that this is not my world, and you are not mine to condemn. But I will render to you the opportunity to discuss your capabilities with someone you cannot fool. I can't imagine you've had many of those.]