"If I dodge to the left, that would leave my right open, wouldn't it?" Lloyd sighed in frustration, the sword he held collapsing to the moist ground below. "Dammit! Why can't I just fight with two swords again?"
"Because you promised yourself you would be better than Kratos, remember?" The brunette flinched. It had been such a long time since they had talked about him - Kratos that is.
He turned exasperated to meet the azure gaze of Genis as the young half-elf walked toward him. "Sometimes I think you try too hard," The smaller of the two boys carefully positioned himself on a rock near where Lloyd had earlier been practicing..
The swordsman frowned, ruby eyes glancing toward the sodden ground, where the Eternal sword lay sunken in mud. "I just want to make him proud, you know?" He let out a shaky laugh, retrieving the sword with a swing of his wrist.
Genis watched his friend sadly, brushing back white bangs. "I understand that, Lloyd, but sometimes-" But the swordsman didn't seem to be listening as he had already resumed his practice. "Sometimes we aren't who we think we are," he muttered softly.
Slash, parry, dodge, slash. It was like a dance, a secret rhythm meant to be his own. Lloyd let a rare smile cross his face. Maybe Kratos had been proud of him, before he left...slash, hit, parry, dodge. Or maybe everything had just been a lie, something he had made up along the line.
Pellets of water started falling from the sky, pelting the two who still stood stationary. No words needed to be spoken between the two friends as they silently trudged back to their camp. A simple tarp was set above the ground, a hammock sitting comfortably between two large twin oaks. Laid upon the dry leaves was a rolled up blanket, a pillow stuffed messily inside, next to which sat a pan and backpack.
Lloyd smiled softly, as he carefully laid back on the hammock, the small structure sagging beneath the weight of his armor.
"When you break that, I'm going to laugh," Genis snickered quietly as he too laid himself across his blanket on the ground, snuggling into the pillow he had scavenged from home. It still smelled of lilac, the scent reminding him of his sister, Raine. Genis frowned into the soft linen. Raine had left a year ago on her journey to find equal rights for half-elves, while Genis had stayed behind to help Lloyd collect exspheres.
The journey so far had been slow, as neither were willing to part with the lives they were supposed to leave behind. The half-elf glanced up through sodden bangs to see the brunette swordsman staring contentedly at him.
"What is it?"
But Lloyd merely shook his head, a knowing smile crossing his pale features. "You miss her, don't you?" It was more a statement than a question, one that Genis couldn't answer.
"N-no! Just wondering how she is, that's all..." He heard Lloyd chuckle softly and frowned. "I don't miss her, dammit!"
The brunette merely grinned, ruffling the others hair affectionately as he laid back on the hammock. The gentle rocking and tapping of the rain on the tarp was almost eerie in a way, which disturbed Lloyd even more than the silence that had crept over them.
"Genis?"
There was a muffled reply ,and Lloyd saw a head pop up in the darkness. "It's ok to miss people, you know."
Genis was taken aback but slowly nodded, drawing his knees to his chest within the warm blanket. "I know," he whispered back.. "I know."
Lloyd smiled, satisfied with his answer before falling asleep. Kratos was smiling, he was back. And finally, Lloyd was happy.
