Author ramblings: You might see in this chapter how this story ties into "Shards" it's a lot of work but I'm trying to tactfully weave them together. When I'm done with both stories maybe we can tell how well I did. :)
Journey to PalmaCosta
chapter 24
The boat ride was sad. Well it was sad for Syt and his family, now that they knew it would probably be the last they would ever take. Kratos and his family gave the fisher folk their privacy. They enjoyed their day at sea below deck, basked in the closeness that kept them all sane and happy. Anna smiled, and like six days ago drew out the comb. There was no Noishe to walk, or rather no way to walk Noishe, so Kratos sighed and endured his wife's grooming. Lloyd grumbled more then his father, but he too was put under the comb, and the Aurion family had a bit of a chuckled over Anna's new styles. She was experimenting, and becoming very good with her brush, he was just utterly lost. He couldn't even describe to Anna what he wanted done, couldn't see what was happening until she gave him a mirror. Oh he could slick back his hair, part it, but that was the bare basics. It was a little scary how skilled Anna was when it came to his hair, he had a suspicion that she sometimes played with it at night just so that she'd get ideas on what to do with it in the morning.
Sipping her tea Anna smiled, looked out the port hole to watch the sea. Lloyd scampered around at their feet, playful and energetic as always. That rabbit of his was taking a beating, one eye was already lost... Kratos reminded himself to get his son a new rabbit when the opportunity presented itself.
"And what are you sulking about over there Derris fa Gathsuun?"
He smiled at his pet name, he would have to think of something for her sometime soon.
"Nothing much, I think I'll go check on Noishe."
She made a noise, her mind lost somewhere else. Again he was forced to wonder what was troubling her. By the door that lead outside Kratos paused, fiddled with the handle. It had to be Luin, there was something there that she was bracing herself to face down. But what? Anna never hinted at anything dark in her past. But she never had told him much either.
"Anna," She turned to him, surprised at the sadness in his tone. "If something was troubling you, you would tell me, correct?"
"Of course... why are you asking me something like that?"
"Because you are not telling me something, and whatever it is you are omitting is troubling you."
"Of course not... I'm fine..."
"No, you are not, not fully. You do not have to tell me soon, but please tell me before whatever you are worried about happens."
"Alright... Later, not today, after we get back on land, I'll tell you."
He sighed, and left to go check on his dog.
Xxxx xxx xxx
Noishe was a bundle of cheer, and he meant that in the most sarcastic sense as possible. Green was the tint of a sick man, was the sign of someone fighting down vomit. Noishe was born green, in his Arish and other evolutions. A make shift lean to had been made for him, a rough chamber pot, but he was rarely there. Kratos found his pet hanging his head over the side of the rail, eyes closed in abject misery.
"I am sorry my friend, I had forgotten."
Noishe whined, cracked an eye open, and his tail twitched.
"I had hoped that this evolution of yours would not be prone to sea sickness. Although how a hawk managed to get sea sick is beyond me."
Noishe growled, or rather tried, it came out more of a whine then anything else.
"Do not worry, tonight we should be in PalmaCosta."
The tail tried to wag, but Noishe stopped, stood rock still, and then leaned as far as he could over the rail. Kratos left him alone, gave him what privacy he could on the small ship while Noishe battled his sea sickness.
Xxxx xxx xxx xxx
"Aye," Syt grimaced, coughed, then pushed side the meal Issia had cooked. "You're lucky my friend, no appetite left to you that you don't have to endure this."
Kratos smiled, glad that he had looked into the kitchen while Issia was cooking. He managed to slip in, and make Anna a sandwich so that she wouldn't go hungry tonight. Lloyd, from his father's lap made, a rude noise. He put his hand over his nose and mouth. Never had the seraphim seen so much onion and tomatoes in what was supposed to be minestrone soup. Though he did not have to eat he still had to breath, and smell the monstrosity in Syt's bowl.
"Poor Anna, does she have to eat like a normal folk too?"
"To some degree what I am has rubbed off, but not much."
"Your tike, he eats enough for the both of you! Poor guy, had to eat a bowl of this... I owe you an apology Kratos, never thought Issia would snatch the kitchen from the chief."
"She wants to prove her worth I guess."
Lloyd "ick"ed and squirmed. He wanted down, to run around. Kratos was not letting him wander around the mess hall, he was far too young to be on his own, and already some of the sailors on the ship were tapping into their ale freely. Kratos muttered a few words to his boy, and Lloyd settled down.
"How you do that? I need some lessonin' on how to calm 'em down that quick."
"He knows and respects me because I demand that respect. Also I am not very loud, nor is Anna. So he wont learn loudness from us, and we always discourage it when he gets too vocal."
Lloyd tugged his father's sleeve and the seraphim looked down.
"Daee wide?"
"A little later Lloyd."
"'K"
Syt smiled.
"How the heck does people so somber like you and Anna make someone that cheerful."
Kratos shrugged, was more interested in Lloyd, for his boy was tugging on his sleeve again.
"Daee, stowy 'night."
"Of course, come on, lets get going."
"Good night my friend." Kratos said in parting.
"Aye, rest well Ruian."
Xxx xxx xxx
Kratos took Lloyd for a ride on his shoulders around the ship. They made a full lap around the dock, while the sailors looked on. When the stars came out in full Kratos took Lloyd to the most private part of the ship, where in the distance they could see the lone captain stood turning his wheel slowly, the taste of winter was in the air, and it kissed the flurried sails and caressed them both. Lloyd shivered, snuggled to his father, and waited. He did not have to wait long.
"Look up Lloyd." Kratos commanded gently.
"Stars.." His boy smiled, as he always smiled at the stars.
"Yes, do you see that one over their, that red one?"
"Yep!"
"Do you want to hear a story about that star, and all the other stars that it's connected too?"
"Pwease Daee!"
"Alright, settle down, I will tell that story."
Obedient Lloyd settled down, leaned his head into his father's chest and looked up with raw love in his eyes. And for anyone who did not know him well they would have ben floored by the look that Kratos gave to his son. The found pride, the warmth, the love. Mithos would never have thought it possible for his old mercenary mentor to feel such things, Yuan would not have understood.
"That star is very special, it is called the crimson edge, it is the hilt of the double-edged sword that the angel of shadows wields. Tell me about the angel's Lloyd."
"Thwee angels!" Lloyd chirped.
"A little more, and we will get back to the story."
"'K Yuan, Martel, Mithos! Martel weas a crown, a sparkly star crown! Martel there..." Lloyd pointed off towards the western horizon at the empty sky. "Soon she there." Lloyd pointed to the eastern horizon. "She comes every spring wi' the birdies."
"Very good, keep going."
Lloyd beamed at his fathers praise, then his face became a scowl as he tried to remember more.
"Wen everythin turn yellow an it get weally weally hot Yuan comes. Blue star over heart." Lloyd tapped his chest to illustrate. Mithos... Mithos come when leaves tun wed, Mithos little kid, like me!"
"Not exactly." Kratos sighed, wished his boy had not said that. "Mithos was a half elf Lloyd, he is very lonely up in the sky. You have Daddy and Mommy with you, Mithos does not have anyone right now."
"Maybe someday I go play with Mithos! Make him happy like me!"
Kratos almost strangled, then stroked his son's hair while he forced himself to calm down. That was an image the Seraphim could do without seeing in his mind. Mithos would not be happy to see a human child, the only happiness Mithos would diverge from Lloyd's presence would be his boy in a torturing chamber.
"No Lloyd, you must never talk to anyone named Mithos, ever."
"bu why?"
"Because..." Kratos hesitated. "There is a boy named Mithos, a bad boy who hurt other people. I do not want him to hurt you. So if you ever see someone named Mithos, you come straight to me, understand?"
"'K"
"Lloyd this is very important. Try to remember alright?"
"Uh huh." Lloyd nodded and Kratos sighed. Lloyd would forget come morning in all probability.
"Now where was I..."
"The star! The red star!"
"Ah yes I remember.." Kratos loved teasing Lloyd like that, and Lloyd loved it to, it was a little game they played. "The red star is the hilt of the shadow angels' sword. It's the jewel a the very end of the handle. You see Martel, Yuan, and Mithos were once very nice people, and they did all sorts of nice things for others. They were light, and their shadow's name was Kratos."
"Like Daee!"
"Yes, like Daddy. He had the same name as Daddy. As a mater of fact it is Daddy in a way." Kratos smiled, and Lloyd looked at the star with wonder filled eyes. Now that he knew that it was Daddy's star it would mean a great deal to him. He'd never forget. "The Kratos up there is a Seraphim Lloyd, a guardian, and he is very serious."
"Not like Daee.. Daee neva serioussus."
"Oh Daddy's serious when he needs to be."
"Hmm." Lloyd leaned back, his arms were crossed in front of his chest. Kratos almost laughed at his boy, but managed barely to hold it in. "Sometimes.." Kratos coughed, looked away, and fought with himself so he would not fall down howling with laughter. He wondered, just for one wistful moment, if he was like this at Lloyd's age. So serious, so earnest...
"When he starts to come out, it gets cold. Winter is coming, the red jewel of the sword is a warning."
"Brrr." Lloyd cuddled with his father as another cold gust drifted by. Kratos could not feel the cold, but had come out dressed for it. He gently wrapped Lloyd in his thick fur cloak, the Aurion's only child smiled up a his father. "Late, your late!" He accused the star, Kratos smiled drew the cloak around Lloyd and held him till his Son's little teeth stopped chattering.
"Not really, he is on time, it is just that we are a little farther north then before, so we get cold faster then the star comes out, that's all."
"Ohh."
"And not all warnings come in time for us to prepare, sometimes we get a warning at the last possible second, but it is still valuable, and if we think fast enough we can always act on it. That is what the star teaches us Lloyd, to be prepared for winter, to be ready for times to get a little rough."
Lloyd did not look like he totally believed his Father on that account, time and experience would only reenforce his Father's words.
All too soon he would learn the full import of his Father's words.
"Do you know why the warrior comes out in winter?" As Lloyd's head shook Kratos smiled, lifted his boy up, Lloyd squeaked in joy. He still loved to be held, that never would go away it seemed. "Winter," he began, after setting his son in his arms. "Is the hardest time. It is pretty, the snow and ice are beautiful Lloyd, but it is dangerous, much like say... a sword. A sword is magnificent, silver in the sunlight, it is breathtaking to watch a warrior practice his craft. But a warrior always practices his craft so that he may protect others, and sometimes when he protects one person he has to hurt others. He leaves winter behind him, bits and pieces of a red winter..."
Lloyd sensed his Daee's sadness, and hugged him. Kratos smiled, rolled over a bit, and tousled his sons hair.
"That is why the star is red Lloyd, to symbolize the red winter of a warrior, and to warn other people that true winter is coming."
"Daee?"
"Hmm what is it?"
"Aw you a warria?"
"I was, not too long ago."
"You protect me an Mama!"
"Yes I do, and I always will."
"... Di you eva hurt someone else to protect me an Mama?"
Ice slid into the Seraphim's veins. He shuddered and Lloyd looked to his father with hopeful, innocent, eyes. He thought of Syt and his family, how close that had been. He thought of Urik, dead by Noishe's fangs. He thought of the assassin in Tethe'alla. The Desian stranger in Izoold. the guards who had tried to rape Anna in Forcystus' camp, he saw clearly their mutilated bodies. Most keenly though he recalled his blood rage in Triet, sometimes when he closed his eyes he could hear the mad raving of the beast that had snapped inside of him.
"Sometimes I do, but only when I must."
"Mama dosn like it."
"I imagine not, I do not either."
"Why..."
"Because sometimes you have to fight to protect those you love. And I would rather die, or make others die, then see you or Mommy in pain."
"I thoud killin' was bad."
"It is, never ever think it is right. There is almost always another way. But when there is not, then Daddy has to fight. Sometimes Daddy has to kill, even though he really does not want to."
"When I grow up I'll make it so Daee neva have to fight again, and everyone will be happy!"
"Tell you what," Kratos smiled, he felt tears sting his eyes but just barely held them back. "When you are all grown up Daddy will help you do that."