PLEASE READ! This is in response to AnnamaeTezuka'a 100-Theme Challenge on Deviantart. I will be doing ALL 100 themes though I will try to do them along with my other in-progress stories. I will not be posting them in any particular order, excluding Theme #100, which will be the last one I post. Each theme will be posted as a separate story, and not all will be in the same fandom. I will try to keep it varied on the fandoms, but these will be mostly based in whatever fandom holds my interest at the moment. It also will take a long time to get each story posted as I am a wonderful procrastinator! ^.^'
Adriannu255: I woke up early and spent most of the day at my dad's office and spent it writing and typing this! I would have done more if we didn't have to leave when we did, though. So, enjoy the second installment of the 100-Theme Challenge!
Disclaimer: I do NOT of Tales of Symphonia. That honor belongs to Namco. I do, however, own Jacob! Yay!
Theme #76: Rainbow
Kratos smiled as he carried the brown-haired child outside, into the bright, early morning sunlight. The boy's mother was busy cleaning up the mess the child left at breakfast. Kratos chuckled as he recalled her shocked face as her hair became covered in milk and cereal…
"Dad!" Kratos turned toward the surrounding forest as a red-clad, brown-haired young man emerged from the trees. "So, Jacob decided to wake up early?"
"Da-da!" Jacob squealed happily upon seeing Lloyd return from his early morning training. The brunette swordsman had changed a lot over the past ten years. Now at twenty seven years of age, he looked almost identical to Kratos. After their journey, Lloyd had begun to train everyday to keep himself ready to protect his family should the need ever arise. He still retained his gravity-defying hair style, but he equaled Kratos in height and voice, and his hot-headed temperament had calmed considerably. He even began to study more and found that he actually enjoyed learning new things. He wasn't fanatical like Raine and Genis, but he was at least learning. Most changes to his personality happened in the months following Jacob's birth.
Lloyd jogged over and accepted Jacob from Kratos' arms. "How are you today, Jacob?" Lloyd asked happily.
Jacob just giggled happily and hugged Lloyd in response.
Kratos put an arm around Lloyd's shoulders. "He reminds me of you when you were an infant."
"Really?!" Lloyd asked, astonished.
"Yes, really," Kratos' smile became bittersweet as his memories rushed back to him…
-Flashback-
Kratos looked out the window of the inn. He, Anna, Lloyd, and Noishe had stopped in Ozette to rest and resupply. They were planning to stop at the small hut just outside of the village the next morning. That hut was said to be the home of the dwarf, Altessa. They planned to get him to make a key crest for Anna so that she could finally remove the Exsphere that was slowly killing her. Kratos already had the inhibitor ore needed to make it, they just needed a dwarf.
Anna was sleeping peacefully on the bed, trying to regain as much strength as she could in her current condition. Noishe lay curled up at her side also asleep. Kratos smiled as his eyes landed on the small two-year-old, brown-haired child. Lloyd was everything to the three of them. Anna and Kratos felt new-found joy in life with his birth, and Noishe, or Noshi as Lloyd called him, seemed to have formed a powerful bond with the infant the moment he first saw Lloyd. He hardly ever left Lloyd's side, and always loved to play with him.
As Kratos watched over his family, Lloyd yawned before slowly opening his eyes. He and Kratos simply looked at each other for a moment, before Lloyd held his arms out. "Da-da…"
Kratos walked over to the bed and picked up his son. "What are you doing, waking up so early, Lloyd?" he asked quietly. "It is not even dawn, yet."
Lloyd didn't answer, instead wrapping his chubby little arms around Kratos' neck in a tight hug.
-End Flashback-
"Well, he is my son," Lloyd's voice brought him back to the present.
Kratos blinked rapidly, pushing his memories away as Jacob wrapped his arms around Lloyd's neck.
"Aww!" The three males turned as Colette exited the house, having cleaned up the mess Jacob had made and washed the milk and cereal out of her hair. "I love seeing my boys like this. It makes me so ha- AHHH!" Colette cried out as she tripped over thin air and fell to the ground. She quickly pushed herself to her feet as her son giggled along with her. "Heh heh! Whoops!" The former Chosen never lost her clumsiness as she got older. Moreover, it seemed that she had passed it on to Jacob. They found that out as Jacob kept running into various obstacles (doors, walls, tables, etc.) without getting hurt!"
"Da-da, Mama, Papa Katos! Look!" Jacob pointed up to the sky. "It's so pwetty."
The three adults looked to where the boy was pointing and saw a beautiful, giant, two-headed bird with rainbow wings flying over the forests surrounding their home.
"Aska!" Colette and Lloyd exclaimed.
"That is Aska, Jacob," Kratos explained, "one of the Summon Spirits of Light, alongside Luna."
The Aurions watched as a double rainbow appeared and Aska faded away into the distance.
Jacob gasped, even more amazed, and his eyes widened.
"And that is your first rainbow," Colette answered his silent question shining in his eyes, taking her son and holding him close, "a double rainbow, at that."
Kratos looked at his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson, and smiled again, turning back to the double rainbow. He had been Jacob's age when he saw his first rainbow, as well.
Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this. I haven't written for ToS in a while. Please review! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! Flames will be ignored.
