Unanswered questions

Chapter 3

Humming a tune the green haired woman scrubbed thier garments under the river. It was a chilling thing to him to now be on it's banks yet again. Her watchdog, a blue haired half elf, stood jelous guard over. He had nothing to say to them however, was entranced by the sluggish water lapping against the receeding ice. The heart of winter was fast in dying would yet again become spring, as it always was. He sighed at the by now familiar poke and turned, resisting the temptation to bring down a stinging smack.

"What is it bra- boy..." Kratos was fast becoming used to the all powerful stare that was part guilt, part hope. He was armed and armored by hate, used it as shield and weapon, but that woman made it as nothing with one of those stares. Rocks would tell all to those sad sad eyes. She smiled at him, for some strange reason and went back to her work humming that strange tune. Her watchdog bared his teeth in something that was most definatly not a smile, and went back to watching the threats in the area. Primarily him.

"I'm bored."

"A journey is not the world's meants to entertain you boy."

"Cutting all human rambly talk what does that mean?" Mithos frowned at him.

"Deal with it."

"Jerk."

"Is that the only insult you know?"

"Sh...shut up!"

"I'll take that as a yes." Kratos went back to staring at the water.

"It's the only insult I can say alright. My Sis would make me eat soap if I said anything else."

Kratos rose an eyebrow but kept any biting comments to himself.

Martel only looked at them and smiled.

xxx

"You traveled with the brigands." Yuan said slowly, as if trying to keep his temper in check.

"Yes," Kratos shrugged, set the groups sole knife across the skin of the bird he'd brought down earlier.

Mithos, possessive of his sling, was now learning that when he shared it with Kratos they got good dinners. So he was becomeing the most sharing half elf child in all of the world's history. The dead animal steamed in the cold air, Martel looked away, clapped her hands oer her brother's eyes, and Yuan spared her a sympathetic smile as the human proceeded to gut the animal. Kratos only looked at them in confusion, seemed oblivious to the blood that was gathering on his hands as he absently continued his work. But then after gutting your own spiece for a living killing a bird was probably nothing.

"You killed your own people then."

Kratos looked up and chuckled. "When someone lifts a spear at you you normally don't have time to check the slant of his eyes or the tips of his ears."

"You attacked our village." Yuan hissed.

"Ah so you finally get to the point." Kratos was still smiling.

"You're a bastard, you think the fact that our lives have been totally ripped apart is funny!"

"Don't make assumptions half breed."

Yuan gritted his teeth.

"Were you or were you not in the army that attacked our village?" It came out as a hiss.

"Army?" Kratos laughed. "If thirty armed men is what you call an army..."

"Just answer the question!"

"The group I was with only attacks human settlements, half elf settlements are considered disease ridden hovels and not worth the time of day much less the arrows used in an attack." Yuan's knuckles clenched, Kratos stared at the fists, bored. "So to answer your question, no, we were not."

"Why were you floating down a river half dead?"

"I was... set to be executed because I disobeyed orders."

"What did you do?" Martel asked softly.

Kratos let his gaze settle in the half elf child.

"Such a matter is not to be discussed before children."

There were no more questions after that.

xxx

"Why are we following the river?" Mithos asked, tugging on Yuan's cape to get his attention.

"Because the roads are dangerous." Martel answered.

"But why?"

"Because rats like to flock to rivers. Excuse me I meant brigands, not rats." Yuan gently worked his cape free of Mithos' grasp.

"There's little difference between the two." Kratos said coldly, he was garbed in a spare set of Yuan's pants and a blanket had been pinned together so that it served as a coat toga hybrid, he wore the same boots they had found him with. "Ms. Martel, why in the names of the Gods do you have any interest in chasing after the people who you think killed those in your village?"

"They weren't killed, they were taken hostage."

"We're going to free them." Mithos added. "Then we're gunna..."

"Go home, or what's left of it." Martel said, cutting off the child.

Mithos' expression said that there was little chance of them just going home.

"With a knife and a sling?" Kratos chuckled. "Well my oath will be soon fufilled."

"Oath?" Yuan frowned.

"A life oath, a life pledge." Martel explained what that meant and looking pained summing up the explaination by saying. "Kratos feels that he has to travel with us so that he can pay us back for the healing."

"So you're not going away?" Mithos whined.

"No, not yet." Kratos ran a hand though his wild hair.

"You're a barbarian." Yuan sputtered. "That's the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. You basically make yourself someone elses slave if they help you?"

"You've ehard very little then if that's the most disgusting." Kratos countered lazily. "And I'd curb my tongue if I was you, for what I am you are as well, half human."

"That makes me better then you, I'm half barbarian rather then a whole barbarian." Yuan spat.

"What concerns me." Kratos said to Martel, completely ignoring Yuan. "Is the practices of the brigands. We are not slave caravan, we don't have the means to support slaves so the common practice is to execute children, women, and the elderly, and force those who are of proper age into service of the organization." Kratos cocked his head to the side. "Taking everyone smacks of something rather strange... it makes no sense, unless they were digging thier own mass grave or something? Did you find a large pit with carrion was thrown inside?"

"No they didn't dig a mass grave!" Martel looked horrified. "The tracks went on for several miles, then there were wheels from a cart and we lost them when we came here."

"Considering the resources stripped from the lands for the wars." Kratos frowned. "That makes little sense. Ah well matters will solve themselves in due course if it is our fate to be the ones who are to solve them."

"How can you just be... 'oh well' about this?" Mithos flared. "Don't you care?"

"I am keeping my oath, that is all."

"Bastard." Yuan snarled, moving protectivly by Martel.

"As you will." Came the dispasionate response.

xxx

Like interlaced hands, like clasped interwoven fingers sheathed in crystal they stirred. Making promises to be kept, inter woven digits inter woven bodies all sheathed in the cold. Two slender frames were interwoven, the fingers tangled, they leaned against each other murmurring words to sooth away the shadows. He lay away from them, on the very edge where red tinted light of the fire. The stars glittered above him, lose scales catching the light, scales that perhaps belonged to some onyx behomithes back. He counted them as he always did, ignoring the giggle, the laughter. Smiling Yuan hugged Martel, the girl leaned into the older man and they began to speak in hushed voices.

"One-hundred and seven, one-hundred and eight..." He murmurred to the sky, hoping that sleep would come to him soon. There was a muffled rustle of feet scraping across snow, KRatos allowed the count to fall away, turned to the small slip of an elf who had come up to him dragging his blanket behind him. "What do you want?" Kratos snarled.

"I'm..."

"bored." Kratos finished icily. "Well be bored somewhere else."

"No..." Mithos flushed. "I'm lonly." The half elf said quietly. "There's no one to talk to."

Kratos looked over to the gossiping couple -despite what they said they were a couple in his mind- and to the small half elf.

"So it would seem, well I'm hardly a talker." Seeing the quiet desperation Kratos sighed. "But do as you will."

"You sigh a lot, you know that?"

Kratos looked to the stars, said nothing.

"What were you doing?"

"Counting the stars."

"Wow you must be really bored!" Mithos snickured. "Even more bored then me to be counting the dumb stars."

"Stars," Kratos whispered, his voice dipped to a leathal tone. "Are not dumb, and if that's your stance then feel free to go sulk somewhere else."

"Why's it you feel more for the stars then everyone else?"

Kratos said nothing, finding the constilation of the bloody hunter, a wolf crouched over a dear's carcus, Kratos found the antler he had been on and went down from there.

"One hundred and nine."

"Why are you being mean to me?"

"One hundred and ten."

"Hey, I asked you something! I'll.. poke you if you don't answer!"

"One hundred and eleven." Kratos hissed, his hands clenching.

"You don't scare me, I'm not scared of anything!" Mithos snapped.

"Then you are a fool." Kratos spat, the dark of the night sky seemed to have gathered in his eyes. "that or you are a corpse, or you soon will be." There was a long pause, Mithos sniffled and the human shifted in disgust.

"Why do you hate us?"

"Because you and your spiece are..." He bit his tongue. "You'll understand when you get older."

"People say that we hate humans and elves because it's natural for us too..." Mithos growled. "I can see why, because you hate us first! You... jerk! All human's are jerks!"

Kratos stared at Mithos, his eyes curious, no longer bored or jaded, but interested.

"If it's natural, why must you learn it?"

Mithos lost his anger, frowned.

"Did you learn it?"

Kratos shrugged, went back to staring at the sky. He tried to find his spot but was interupted by a poke. Frowning he swatted the hand, and was poked again, and again.

"I asked you a question!"

"Well guess what half breed, I don't do what you say!" Kratos snarled, standing. "Martel, do something about your brat!" He snatched up his blanket and to thier total amazement scrambled up the nearest tree. He wrapped himself up in his blanket, and made himself comfortable. Kratos igrnored the ice falling behind him, the dead branches, the broken hands, that now lay at the foot of the tree. He looked up at the stars from his perch, and cursed when he could not find his place and had to begin again.

REVIEW RESPONSES:

Lockea: Glad you liked the poke thing... I imagine Mithos will use it to his full advantage later on. Your answers about Kratos will come soon enough.

KasandShadow: Thanks, hope you enjoy the updates.

InuKratosStan: Poor all of them huh? we'll see.Will do, am continuing.

GameCubGril1:I'll do what I can.