Okay, here is another. I just can't stop! Heh!
Disclaimer: Namco owns Tales of Symphonia.
Chapter 3:
The first thing Lloyd realized was the cool breeze that swept across face. It was sharp and shocking as the thin tendrils of wind tickled and caressed his tear-stained cheeks. He hadn't felt something so vibrant and cold for such a long time that he couldn't help but gasp and open his eyes.
He saw the ground beneath him, the dirt scuffed and grass flattened. He noticed that one blade of grass was broken; the tip curling slightly as it slowly began to brown and wither. Weird that he would notice something like that.
He slowly lifted his head and found himself staring into a pair of dark, brown eyes laced with a deep crimson. He realized the mercenary was gripping his shoulders, keeping him from falling to the ground. "Kratos?" He was shocked that his voice was back, though it was still slightly hoarse and barely above a whisper.
The mercenary didn't reply, instead his eyes shifted slightly to look at something behind him. Lloyd followed his gaze, still a bit light-headed.
He didn't know what his first thoughts were, nor did he recall what Kratos said. His eyes were fixed upon the impossible. Lloyd had never seen anything so…astonishing.
His first thoughts were that thousands of stars had drifted together, neatly fastening themselves sided by side to create a gently flowing mass behind him. But the longer he looked at it, the more the shimmering masses took shape. They were long and slender. Perfectly curved to fine points where single, diamond-like particles seemed to drip like dew from a leaf. He wouldn't describe the color as blue, for though it may appear so, it wasn't. Faint traces of a faded green flowed through the center of the 'feather' shapes as he decided they appeared like and slowly darken to a thick blue. The green shifted and rolled around, making it difficult to focus on, fading in and out with the dark sapphire crystals.
Kratos' soft, yet deep voice brought his gaze around. "They are wings."
"Wings? How do I have wings?" Lloyd asked stunned, by the prospect.
Kratos' face was emotionless; his eyes seemed to bore straight into Lloyd, though he didn't flinch. Kratos finally spoke again, "They are made of mana that has altered into a visible form." His voice was monotonous as if his mind was elsewhere.
Lloyd flinched as his eyes narrowed and focused on him. "Who are you?" his voice was edge with guarded firmness.
Lloyd merely shook his head, looking away from the man in front of him, but he felt Kratos take his chin and force his face back towards him. "Show me your hand."
Lloyd looked at him skeptically, but didn't make a move to do as he was asked. Why should he listen to this man? He had been doing that for his entire life and he was going to stop.
Obviously Kratos was the type to be taken lightly. Lloyd pulled his hand away as Kratos grabbed it. Lloyd growled, "What do you want from me?"
The mercenary smirked, though his eyes were far from laughing. "I would think you would want to know who you are." He saw Lloyd relax slightly and he held out his hand, "Show me your hand."
Lloyd glanced at his glove that covered his long-kept secret. He hadn't known how Kratos knew of the gem, however, he wanted things explained. If anyone could elaborate on what was happening to him, he seemed the mostly likely.
Reluctantly he removed his glove and slowly unwound the filthy rag revealing his exsphere. Weird, the gem seemed to be the same color as his wings.
"Where did you get this exsphere?" Kratos asked.
Lloyd shrugged, "I have had it for as long as I can remember." Speaking suddenly felt weird, mainly because he kept expecting to force it out like before. "I was told I was found with it before I was taken to the ranch."
Kratos made a sound that Lloyd took to be a muffled, 'I see.' He then stood and started to turn away. But Lloyd wasn't about to let him leave, "Hey! Don't you think you could…I don't know…elaborate on this whole thing a bit? The way you talked it sounded as if you knew something about me. Who are you exactly?"
Kratos paused and turned slightly, face hidden behind his hair. "Lloyd, I am…" He stopped suddenly as the door opened and Colette walked out, shortly followed by Raine and Genis. "Mr. Aurion, we are ready to go." She glanced around, "Um…did you see Lloyd?"
Kratos turned around, but the boy was missing. Kratos calmly made his quick glance appear as if he was shaking his head. "He most likely decided to leave."
"Oh. I had hoped to say good-bye to him too." Colette's face fell.
Genis didn't anything, but his face showed that he too was upset about Lloyd's sudden disappearance.
Lloyd watched from behind the house as the four made their way back across the bridge, his aquamarine wings moving gently behind him. Why hadn't Kratos at least tell him how to put them away?
Damn.
Lloyd waited until he was sure they were far enough away before slowly leaning his head against the weathered planks of the house and closed his eyes. Seriously, things haven't been going his way.
Lloyd straightened and looked back at his newly added appendages. He watched, fascinated that they seemed to move on their own. He was curious on how they would work, they didn't appear solid. He reached around and gently let his hand brush against it, his one finger passing through the it. He shuddered as a small electric prickle passed through down his back and strangely enough, through is wings.
Well that proved they were solid, but they definitely had feeling. He smiled. They were pretty neat, he had to admit. He looked up and his eyes widened in surprise. Above him where the trees broke off and created a circular barrier around the clearing, a perfect view of the sky could be seen. Millions of tiny glittering lights dotted the sky like tiny diamonds lying on black silk.
Lloyd had only seen the stars once, but never so brightly lit. He had hidden behind some of the stone blocks one time, wanting to get away from the cramped cells. It had worked long enough until the stars just started to come out then a Desian guard noticed him staring up at the sky. That was another couple of scars for his back.
He wanted a better look. He glanced from the sky to the roof of the house. He bit his lip. Should he try it? He shook his hair out of face and smirked. Better now than ever. Lloyd wasn't exactly sure what to do. He figured he might as well flap his wings. Closing his eyes he imagined his wings and concentrated on flapping them. He barely felt his feet lift off the ground as he was focusing so hard and when he opened his eyes he nearly fell from shock. He was hovering above the ground nearly level to the roof; wings still flapping at a smooth, steady rhythm, though a little quicker now.
Lloyd didn't close his eyes this time, but focused on his wings again and he leaned forward, hoping he would fly towards the roof. However, he had leaned a little too far and found himself spinning head over heels. He quickly waved his arms, trying to steady himself and bit his tongue to keep from crying out. After a couple of rolls, he managed to straighten himself, though he was breathing hard and his eyes were wide.
This was dangerous! He looked down at the ground, shivering at the distance he could have fallen; it reminded him of the cliff incident. He took a couple of deep breaths, slowing his breathing. He was going to do this!
He leaned again, though not nearly as much as before and flapped his wings again, though slower too. He grinned and nearly laughed as he felt himself moving through the air and hover above the roof. Getting use to the idea of it, he simply focused on slowing his wings and he felt himself lower on the roof. They weren't bad once you got use to them.
So excited about discovering how to fly, he nearly forgot why he had come up in the first place. Lloyd immediately drew in his breath as he looked up at the sky. The stars were like a glittering carpet as more and more slowly winked into view. Lloyd wasn't sure how long he stood there, staring up at the sky. It was so calm and tranquil that it seemed that it would last forever and nothing would ever break the moment. That was only until he felt like he was being watched. He quickly brought his head down to see a shadowed figure standing near the edge of the roof. "Lloyd."
Lloyd grasped his sword's hilt, but then he recognized the voice, "Kratos? What are you doing here?" More so, Lloyd was wondering how the hell he got up here.
Kratos walked forwards, stopping when he was about a foot away. His auburn hair hung limply into front of his face, covering on of his eyes as the studied Lloyd. He randomly wondered how he could see. He waited for the mercenary to speak, but when he didn't he spoke again. "I thought you went back with the others? With the Chosen, I mean."
Kratos nodded, "Yes, I did accompany the Chosen and her companions back to Iselia. However, I returned here to spend the night. Dirk has allowed me to board here for the night." He stared at Lloyd for a moment longer before speaking again, "May I ask what you are doing up here?"
Lloyd rubbed the back of his before glancing up at the sky, "I wanted to get a better view of the stars. I never got to see them at the ranch. They are so beautiful."
Kratos nodded, following his gaze, "Indeed."
They were both silent for a moment before Kratos spoke again, "To put your wings away, you merely need to think about it."
Lloyd looked over at him slightly surprised. Of course, he should have figured that out. As they vanished, he felt a slight tingling and then they were gone. Weird.
"How is it you weren't shocked to see them?" It had been bugging Lloyd that the mercenary was unaffected by what he saw. "And how do you know so much about them?" he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
Kratos looked down and met his stare, "I have seen them before." Lloyd, more than a little irritated by the subtle answer, by Kratos cut off any argument, "What are your plans now?"
Lloyd, caught off guard with the question, was speechless for a moment then he answered caught himself, "I was planning on finding my family, perhaps a name to put behind mine." Something tugged at him when he said that.
Kratos looked at him strangely, "Have you ever considered the possibility that your parents died when you were taken to the ranch?"
Lloyd nodded, "Of course I thought about it, but for some reason I don't believe they are. Or at least one of them, I had to have been with someone. But something tells me that one of them is at least still alive. Doesn't make much sense, does it?" he shook his head and sighed. Though he never said it, he actually meant that the feeling was stronger, more now than ever.
Kratos didn't say anything for a while. Finally he spoke, "Here, I want to show you something." Lloyd watched as the mercenary walked to the edge of the roof and jumped off.
Lloyd followed him wordlessly, wondering how he managed to do it so calmly. Kratos was waiting for him as he landed next to him, less than skillfully though Kratos reached out and steadied him. He waited for Lloyd to straighten before walking towards the bridge where the small stream babbled and trickled over small rocks and plants. He stopped at the edge of the bank and motioned to the water.
Lloyd looked at him questioningly before turning his eyes down to the water. His mouth opened when he saw his reflection. He had never actually seen his own reflection before; there had really been no point to allow the prisoners to have mirrors in their cells. His brown hair was nearly shoulder length, though it was ragged and uneven. From the lack of attention and care, it lifted and stuck out in some places. But what shocked him the most was that his bangs seemed fall over his one eye slightly, quite similar to Kratos'. As he stared at his reflection he saw out of the corner of his eye as another person appeared in the water. "Holy crap!"
Kratos' image was standing next to Lloyd's in the water and if it hadn't been for Lloyd's shocked face, he would have swore they were nearly identical. "How the hell—" He quickly looked up at the man next to him, "Who are you?" though even as the question left his mouth, his heart and mind told him he already knew.
He thought he saw the mercenary's mouth twitch slightly and could have sworn he was trying not to smile. Kratos continued to stare into the stream, "Do you not know?"
Lloyd stared at him hard. Was he…no, it couldn't be possible. Then again, a lot of impossible things have already happened to him, one being wings bursting from his back. He furrowed his brow, staring at the ground, aware that the mercenary was watching him. Even if that was possible, there were so many facts that didn't make sense, yet…
Lloyd glanced up, locking eyes with the man. He didn't know how he had arrived at this conclusion, nor knew why he had even thought of it as a possibility.
Kratos' face was tense. Lloyd noticed how his jaw was line was rigid; his eyes were softer and more readable. He looked sad, yet hopeful at the same time. His hand that rested on his sword was tightly gripped around the hilt. 'He is waiting' Lloyd thought to himself, 'Waiting for me to ask.'
He looked up to the sky again, the stars reflecting off his red-brown eyes. They seemed to blur and realized that he was crying. He hadn't cried for…he couldn't remember the last time he had cried. He wasn't sure why he was crying. He voice shook, as he looked back at Kratos. "Are you my…" he couldn't finish the question as his voice cracked and a tear slid down his cheek.
He felt Kratos grab his shoulders, tightening gently, "I am." Lloyd didn't know what happened next. One moment he was staring into Kratos' face, the next he was embracing him, silently crying.
He felt Kratos' arms wrap around him and pull him in closer as one hand gently rubbed the back of his head. Lloyd managed to stop crying for a moment, his voice slightly muffled as he spoke, "Dad?"
"Yes, Lloyd?" Kratos asked, his hand still caressing his hair.
"I forgive you."
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