She was bored.

She sat next to Noishe, scratching the animal's large ears as the adults talked. They had been talking for forever, when were they going to be done? She wanted to play. Her parents and auntie and uncle were all talking to new-grandpa. They were talking a lot, about a lot of stuff she didn't know, but it was very important. At least that's what they told her. Adults were always doing important stuff that meant they couldn't play with her. It wasn't fair.

Finally she got up and walked over to her father, pulling his sleeve.

"Daddy, I'm hungry."

He looked down at her but he looked upset about something; Mommy picked her up instead, smiling at her.

"Come on then, baby, I'll go get you something to eat, okay?"

"But what about Daddy?"

"Daddy will eat later."

She pouted.

Colette left the room with their daughter and Lloyd frowned, turning his attention back to the matter at hand. Well, a lot of matters actually, too many. He always had had ill sentiments toward Cruxis and the Church but this…

"I find it very difficult to believe all of this." Raine voiced their sentiments. "If it weren't for your wings I'd doubt any of your story at all."

"If you disbelieve me that is no fault of mine. It's not my concern what you do, my only concern is for them."

Concern for them? Lloyd snorted, crossing his arms and glaring at the man.

"Oh so now you're concerned for me? Really? You have a funny way of showing it." His teeth grit. "You've been working to try to get my daughter killed for some fake goddess and then you-?"

"I had no knowledge that either of you were alive." He responded flatly. "I thought you to have died with your mother when you were a child. I wasn't aware you lived, or that you had a child of your own."

"Oh but if she wasn't mine then it was just fine to have her raised for slaughter?"

"I do not intend to present my explanations as excuses, merely explanations. It does not in any way alleviate the severity of my crimes, however the only thing I am capable of doing as of now is putting all my efforts into protecting you and your daughter."

Lloyd glared at him, averting his eyes and then mulling over the facts. It didn't take him long, as a moment later he redirected his gaze toward the Cruxian.

"We don't need your help. We haven't needed it till now and we don't-"

"Except you do." Kratos stated flatly. "You have no idea what you are up against, and the last time you encountered a truly skilled foe your daughter only survived because the woman let you go."

Lloyd flinched, rounding on the man.

"You knew about that? Then why-"

"I heard about it only after, as any attempt on the Chosen's life is of interest to Cruxis. The woman was a member of a faction called the Renegades, who oppose Cruxis. They are the ones who will be after your daughter's life, while Cruxis will be after her body."

"In short, all three of these groups will be after Arie," Raine frowned, bringing a hand to her chin. "The odds definitely aren't in our favor."

She was silent a moment more.

"Lloyd, you should accept his help."

"What?" Lloyd snapped at her, outraged. "But he- how do we even know we can trust him?"

"You don't." she responded flatly, meeting his eyes. "But if you don't accept whatever he can offer you than there is absolutely no chance you can protect Arie. I know you're angry Lloyd, but you have to put your feelings aside for what's best for Arie. Isn't that your job as her father?"

She was right of course, he knew that, but just because he knew it didn't make this any easier on him. With a repressed growl he turned and walked for the door.

"I'm going to think about it. If you want to stay or go, I really don't care."

For a while he managed to ignore the entire situation, settling for playing with his daughter. The girl was more than happy to have her father's attention and was an effective distraction for him for a few hours. No one approached him, though he knew that the Sages and his wife were discussing things without him. That was all right with him, they seemed to understand that right now he would be no good in that conference. So it was that for a while he was spared from it, until night came and Colette approached them.

"Lloyd, it's time to put Arie to bed." She said softly, forcing a gentle smile.

He frowned but nodded, their daughter letting out a whine of distress.

"But I want to play, I'm not sleepy, Mommy!"

"But it's bedtime, you can play more tomorrow."

Colette lifted their daughter up and headed back inside, Lloyd trailing behind them. Inside the house of salvation, the Sages eyed him but didn't approach. Where the Seraph that was apparently his father was, he wasn't sure. Maybe he had left then. Maybe he had realized he wasn't welcome. There didn't seem to be a sign of him anywhere, after all.

For a moment he felt relieved, then almost instantly felt clutched by worry once more. What if he had been right? What if he really wasn't cut out to protect them on his own? That encounter with Presea still was a fresh wound in his mind. He hadn't been strong enough then, how could he really claim that he was strong enough now? What if he wasn't and Arie got hurt, then would it be his fault? Would it be because his pride got in the way?

Those questions ate at him well into the night, well past the time his family had fallen asleep. Unable to sleep himself, at some point during the night he had risen from the bed. For a while he merely paced, then settled for seating himself in one of the chairs against the wall, mulling over his thoughts. Time seemed to crawl by, he wasn't sure what time it was when there was a knock on the door. He tensed, eying it when he heard his voice.

"Lloyd? May I come in?"

He was back. Where had he gone? A slurry of emotions surged up inside him but he managed to respond.

"Fine." Came his flat reply.

Slowly the Seraph slipped in, his russet eyes scanning the room and settling on Lloyd. Kratos closed the door behind him and stood there a moment or two, then seated himself in another chair across from Lloyd. The dual swordsman eyed him but said nothing, so Kratos in turn said nothing. For a while the two men sat in silence.

"Are you the reason I have them? The wings?"

The question was so direct that for a moment Kratos was unsure he heard him correctly. He looked at the brown-haired man, meeting the eyes that were so much Anna's and his own that they in themselves were hard to look at.

"Why do you ask that?"

"Why wouldn't I ask it?" Lloyd replied flatly. "You're an angel, aren't you? From what I've gathered Mom was human, so are you the reason I grew the wings? Yes or no?"

Kratos frowned, his gaze breaking from the dual swordsman and drifting down to the exsphere on Lloyd's left hand.

"I'm not sure, no angel has ever produced offspring, it could be genetics or it could be the result of your exsphere, it was supposed to be part of an experiment that would form a Cruxis Crystal," he said. "Or given how different your wings are it could be a mixture of the two, there's no clear way of knowing."

"...Is my daughter going to change like this because of me?"

Kratos frowned again.

"You don't know that either?" Lloyd frowned as well, sighing as he looked over at the single bed in the room, where Colette and Arie were sleeping. The young Chosen's chestnut hair was fussed messily around her round face, her mouth slightly open as she breathed softly.

"She is...six, yes?" Kratos asked, his voice coming out softer than he meant to.

Lloyd glanced at him and then back at his daughter, nodding.

"Yeah, six. Seems like she should still be a lot smaller," he said. "Hard for me to think she's so big already."

A ghost of a smile tinted Kratos' face, his eyes warming just a bit as he responded quietly.

"I know the feeling."

Lloyd frowned, looking back at the Seraph. They sat in silence a minute or two before the red-clad man spoke.

"I understand you thought I was dead," he said flatly. "But I still can't understand why you would go back to Cruxis after that- don't bother explaining again. I heard you the first time. I just-...I just need time for this to sink in. I can't exactly afford to be picky with help right now, not if I want to save her."

"...I understand."

Lloyd bit his lip, his finger nervously tapping on the table as he looked at his daughter, his tapping keeping in time with the unnaturally loud ticking of the clock in his ears. Damn enhanced senses, even if he had been capable of becoming tired he wouldn't have been able to sleep.

"I was impressed by how strong you were," Kratos' voice invaded his thoughts. "When we fought before."

"Spent a lot of time training," he responded flatly. "Thought if my kid was going to go on some dangerous quest someday that I was going to have to be strong enough to go with her. Silly me, right? All that protecting just so I could deliver her to death in a handbasket."

"But you are protecting her."

"Yes, I am." He said, meeting his eyes. "One way or another I'm going to save her, her and Sylvarant. You can tell your boss that, I don't care who he thinks he is, if he hurts her I'll cut him down."

"Calm yourself," Kratos stated curtly, frowning again. "I understand how far you're willing to go, but you have to be smart about this. Being reckless will put your family in danger, you have to think about your options carefully and make your decisions with a clear mind. There is more to protecting someone then simply cutting down whatever comes at you."

"And I'll bet you're the expert on that now aren't you?" Lloyd snapped, not just a hint of venom in his voice.

"I failed," Kratos responded flatly, though his eyes misted a bit. "I failed exactly because I tried to simply fight everyone off. I don't want to see you do the same, you're under the radar for now- mostly. It's best you keep it that way as long as possible."

Lloyd frowned again, once again looking over at his daughter snuggled in the covers, mumbling in her sleep about pancakes or something or another. Kratos must have followed his gaze because he spoke again.

"She looks a lot like you," he said. "Especially sleeping like that. ...Your mother always talked in her sleep like that as well, she'd kick at night too, I could hardly ever stay in the bed with her all night."

Lloyd didn't say anything.

"...I should go-" he began, pushing his chair back as he got to his feet.

"No," Lloyd cut him off. "Stay. I can't sleep anymore, the least you owe me is to keep me from getting bored for a few hours."

The younger angel spoke in such a curt voice that for a moment Kratos thought he was joking but then noticed the slight fidget, the unsure expression tinted with a hint of hope, of expectation. Kratos stood a moment, meeting Lloyd's awkward expression with a frown before he quietly reseated himself.

"Very well."

Yay I updated something. Whoooo (plop)