"Why are you doing that?"
"Too slow. Try again."
"Cut it out!"
"Weak. Again."
"Again!"
"STOP IT!"
One miscalculated punch, and Atreus' footing was violently taken from him, sending the kid tumbling onto the ground. Timber splintered and crackled under his weight as the boy wheezed out blood, collecting it all on his left palm. What had he done? He had lost control again, and proven his father right once more. It was a trap, how did he not realize it sooner?! Tears began to form on his eyes, ready to roll down his cheeks at any moment. Mother, she's gone, he thought. He was alone with him. No friends, no sibling, just a father that didn't spend an ounce of effort towards learning more about his son.
Kratos wasted little time before snatching Atreus by his arm, forcing him on his feet and noticing the massive frown that had shaped itself on his face.
"Your anger. You can get lost in it. The path ahead is difficult!"
Whatever, Atreus thought as he tried to step away, but was quickly yanked back by the firm grip of his father. He was getting tired of his lessons, and treating himself like a stranger. He was really ready! There wasn't anything left to learn now. He knew how to read scriptures his father probably didn't, he was confident with the bow that his mother made for him, and he always had his journal he used to jot down any valuable information about the hostiles they fought.
He was ready to carry her mother's ashes up to highest peak in all the realms. That was her wish, and he was more than eager to fulfill it as soon as fate allowed it, but father was getting in the way.
"And you Atreus, are clearly not ready."
The resonating noise interrupted the conversation like a tidal wave washing over an island, putting worried expressions on both identities currently situated inside. The cabin wasn't just shaking, it was quaking unrestrained. Floorboards came off their screws, pots shook and dared to lose their balance, and the ceiling was on the tipping point of collapse. Any heat left between the two was left on a back burner as they turned to focus on the unwelcomed change in scenery, Kratos' grip on his son now with a more protective intent.
"What was that?!"
"Quiet."
Grits of dirt settled on the roof of their house slipped between the cracks as they produced the opening, any nearby light source quickly left to malfunction in the undeserving attention of nobody. Atreus thought it to be a giant monster stopping by their house, but Kratos had other, more frightening ideas left wandering in his mind. Before they could ponder the sudden mystery, their flimsy protection from the outside world, their wooden door, sounded off resembling that of the hasty knocks of a trespasser that just got robbed by dwarves.
"Come on out!"
The plywood creaked under their feet as they made over to the voice demanding permission into the wooden cabin, their reasons and motivation for coming here a total enigma.
"It's no use hiding anymore. I know who you are."
The timeworn spartan tried to get a look at the stranger right outside their front door, peeking between the cracks formed by the harsh winters that breezed through Midgard most of the season. Nothing was visible except for snow coated above the ground, making the presence of this stranger even more cryptic than ever before. Kratos knew better than to blindly open the door. Politely letting in a potential drunk mortal and having his son watch his brutal death wasn't one of the lines Kratos wanted to cross today.
"More importantly, I know what you are!"
"What's going on? Do you know him?"
There were two possibilities Kratos could take. Either confront this man with his son and potentially risk an ugly situation unfolding before the eyes of Atreus, or hide Atreus under the root cellar and keep him safe, but also risk him finding out about his past. The box was hidden well, but you never did now when it came to Atreus.
"Boy. Beneath the floor, now!"
"But you told me to never go down there. Who is that?"
"I do not know."
The timber let out a swift yaw as it snapped open, revealing a small hole for Atreus to crawl into.
"What's he talking about?"
"I do not know. Get in."