Shards of Regneration

by Kasan Soulblade

Religion is a panel of fine stain glass window, but when that glass is broken it is among the shards that you must look. Each shard is a soul, and if you put them all together perhaps the truth will be seen and all illusions lifted.

9. Izoold

FallenStarAngel: If you want a more detailed list or something e-mail me, I think I've got time enough to give you some pointers. More Sheena in the later chapters, Izoold was a handful to write, I can't wait to get to PalmaCosta with these characters and see how much I can bend the rules there! Some of my fav. Scenes I've done as practice are there so I'll also get to see how many I can put in! And I understand about comp troubles, class and all it's hard for me to have time to write, and now that I'm gunna have class and work at the same time... Well you'll make do and I will as well. Till next chapter (or email)

Serrated Darkness: I may do a ficlet on Sheena (not romance I've done enough of that genre with my KxA fics) but I do have a twist planned for her summoning, and she will get a larger role in my story then in the game.

GameCubeGirl1: Lot's of links back and forth, though I thought of having someone remember Kratos and Uric I cut that out cuz it was too blantent (had to re-write the whole tavern scene) Ah well that's how it goes, thanks for the well wishing and I'll update when I can.

MissDarkness: Try DES, For Love of My Sister, and all my other fics. When I get these all done I may do some Zelda stuff we'll see.

ESSimeon: I read your profile, sorry to see you go MoonCanon! Well thank you for the praise and I hope you see this.

Meledoy of Shadow: I wrote longer this time mwa ha ha (48 pages)! Try GreyShaw's into the gray fanfic if you want long chapters... dear god one chapter was well over two hundred pages, it took me months to read that fic and it's one of my favorites (Also Jerm's and Zealprofit's work as well 30-40 page chapters were there norm and the shortest pieces were 50 chapters) I'm glad you enjoyed it, I'm writing this as I play, so I have to stop at key points to catch up with my writing/outlining of this fic.

Note to the readers,

College is tiring, I haven't much energy to update so I'm going to be doing so on a more infrequent bases… hopefully it will only get as bad as to be once a month mass updates but I can't make any promises however.Prepare yourself for a long one! Some Kratos and Lloyd bonding, and a huge insight and resolution that occurs with Kratos. Some Raine and Genis bro-sis development. Colette and Raine pwn a skeleton… Oh and as always a prank by Genis. My stance on what the reactions would be if KratosxRaine were to ever occur in the game(latter chapters will have the adult's response when one of the students blab not this chapter how ever). Hmm this has a few dark parts oh well…

Kasan Soulblade

Chapter 9

There was a howl like a nightmare given breath, a screech, and the wooden wall that covered the abandoned mine fell open. A slender beast, a strange hybrid of human and bird floated out from the mine shaft. Floated was the key word, because from it's torso down it was shriveled, bent, they could see hints of limbs and feathers that wove into a metal ring that surrounded the thing. It made the monster look like a parody of some classic Martel picture, where the angels were surrounded in circles of gold to represent the Devine touch of Heaven. On the lower half of the circle, woven in the metal was feathers and twitching warped length of flesh that were as slender as the rest of the thing. From the torso up it was a white feathered, it's arms were slender, thin, little more then bone and feather. It's neck was long, elongated, almost serpentine in as it wove the around and sized them up. It's long beak was the same ghostly white as the feathers, it snapped open and closed and let out a squawk that was not at all like the screech that they'd heard earlier. It stretched out with a slender hand, the claws were like twigs, brittle looking and slender, they twitched ever so slightly and the slicked back feathers along the beasts sides fanned out, showing their tips to look like they'd been dipped in rust. The things wings, that should have thrust out of the shoulder took the same route as the monster's legs. They thinned, shriveled, and inter wove with the ring of gold that surrounded the thing. Gens could almost feel sorry for it, it looked painful, very painful to live like that, trapped by that circle.

"Damn it we were almost out of the pass..." Lloyd growled, unsheathing his swords.

"It was to be expected."

"You're no...not getting away from me!"

Genis broke his gaze away from the monster and it's strangely compelling gestures, and looked at the girl in those weird purple clothes that was running after the beast. They didn't seem to be enemies so she must of been trying to catch up to it or something... He felt a blush rise to his cheeks, didn't she know shirts weren't supposed to be... open like that! Lloyd seemed to be having the same problem, he coughed, adverted his gaze, and she glared daggers at the swordsman.

"You have some sort of problem with the fact that I'm a woman?"
"No... I have a problem that you're here to hurt my friends!"

Genis began to tap the ball of his kendama against the sides of the weapon, finding the old rhythm it helped the words of his spell gather in his mind.

"Prepare to die!" The woman pulled open a small box slung to her side and came up holding...

"Paper? Paper cards? Man this has got to be a joke."

"She's acting serious enough, don't under estimate her Lloyd."

There was no other chance for banter. The monster snapped it's claws and pointed at Kratos in a commanding way. Suddenly a gust of wind shot from the things hands and knocked the mercenary off of his feet. Genis had been expecting that though, he chanted the spell as fast as he could...
"Eternal fury of the sun lend my your flame, Fireball!"

The creature pointed at the orbs of fire, another gust of wing made them flare wildly then go out as if snuffed by a giant's breath.

"What the heck, no fair!"

The creature only turned on him. He looked around desperately for Lloyd, hoping his friend could save him...

"Oh shit!" Lloyd was ducking, weaving, and just blocking the purple clad woman's hands that were clenching the cards in such the manner that they landed on exposed flesh rather then the hand. Genis glimpsed blood on Lloyd's hands and realized that those slips of paper must be more powerful then any of them thought.

Suddenly a shadow loomed over him, those slender claws glinted in the sunlight then game down in a hissing arch. He rose his kendama, gripped the string in one hand and thrust out with the wood and by some fluke of luck managed to catch the monsters\pard sa99 ' blow and block... And was sent flying back from the force behind the swing.

He landed on his back, nursing more bruises then before.

The beast drifted over him, ignored him.

He struggled to his feet, ignoring his hurts. He felt like he was being prodded, forced to get up by something he couldn't make stop jabbing him. Blinking back tears of pain he got up in time to see Raine lift her staff and catch the descending claws. Colette screamed as those claws curled, then those slender looking arms jerked to the side and Raine was thrown aside. With a soft cry Raine slid across to the earth, smashed into a waist high boulder. Her eyes closed, and for all appearances she was napping, partially propped up by that rock. Save for the small trickle of blood that ran the length of a lock of hair and fell to the earth...

"Raine!" Genis shrieked, and the beast turned on him, and suddenly he wasn't scared anymore, it was like he could never be scared again. The claws reached forward, flexed, as if to rip him apart limb by limb. "I wont let you hurt anyone again!" He screamed, he drew a rune in the air, muttered a few words.
The earth around the beast crunched, shuddered, then split. Sand and pebbles flew in all directions, pelted the monster, which blinked it's eyes as if to clear them from such a puny attack. Then the earth gave a roar, a roar that was echoed by something in the cavern... A slab of earth rose like a fist, slammed into the beast then split sending even more sand and rocks in the air. The monster rose, spun around in it's wild uncontrolled flight. Suddenly Kratos was there, he jumped off the broken jagged earth even as Genis' spell was fading and the bits of rock were melting back into the ground... He jumped up and with a two handed swing knocked the beast down... There was a crunch, like a bug getting stepped on, the first time came when Kratos' blade connected, the second was when the monster smashed into the last shard of earth.

"Go to her!" Kratos needed to say nothing more. Genis and Colette ran to Raine even before the second word was out..

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"More then a little paper cut huh?" A card hung in the air, twirled, then she smashed it with the cards in her hand and it flew forward right into his gut, it knocked him back a step, made him grunt in pain.

Refusing to show just how much it hurt Lloyd countered with a swing of his new sword, a line of blue paper flowed out from the woman's sleeve as she mimed the motion of his slash, followed the air where he blade passed thorough, and he could only cut through pieces of paper that turned to water under the edge of his blade. Some how those water papers were so strong that the edge could not get through. Man this was frustrating! His blade's edge was less then an inch away from her and so long as she could tell where he was going to swing -which she had yet to fail in that- his weapon would just slash into another bundle of cards. It was weird, almost like her hand was holding the edge of his sword, carrying it along the path his movement sent it yet pushing it aside.

If she wasn't trying to kill him -or beat him senseless, her attacks reminded him of Raine's smacks more then anything else- it would have been cool but...

She was trying to kill him, she was trying to kill Colette, he had to win this!

She lashed out with her free hand, and he barely managed to catch the blow before it smashed into his face. As a matter of fact his sword was exactly an inch in front of his face... Water dripped around the sword as the edge cut into a card. Suddenly he twirled the hilt... no rolled it ever so slightly, that inch turned into a half inch but now he was pressing the flat against the card. Water continued to leak out of the card like blood from a cut, it dripped down and chilled his hand, marred his reflection in the steel weapon. He only gave her a few seconds to realized they were locked, he could see her shift a little as if to step back. He shoved, put every ounce of weight into that shove and she slid back.

Her footing went on the rocky ground. She cried out in pain as he knees slammed into the hard earth. Purple hair fell into her eyes as she bowed her head in defeat. Sometime in the course of her fight the ribbon that had bound her hair had came loose and now it flowed around her. She looked up at him, waiting for what? For him to kill her? The idea made him sick, he didn't want to kill anyone!

"Throw down your umm weapons... and I wont hurt you."

She stiffened, glared at him, her eyes taking a steely hint.
"Corrine!"

He managed to think that he just made a mistake before the air above his head seemed to sigh. Then suddenly there was something clawing and biting at his head and face, ripping at his hair... He cursed, forgot about the woman and rolled around trying to knock the whatever it was off. Lloyd howled in pain as small teeth bit into his neck, reached up with his hands to rip the thing off of him.

It hopped off, and he caught a glimpse of yellow, purple... Then a flash of silver streaked across the ground, sent the thing flying.

It howled, there was a flash of smoke and only the woman stood before them, glaring at them with tear filled angry eyes.
\pard f1"I wont forget this, next time you meet you will die, all of y- ack!"

She hopped aside to avoid two silver waves that came from equally angry swordsman and a lightning bolt. Snarling something in a language Lloyd had never heard before that sounded like "baka" then she too disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Are you alright?"

He turned so Kratos could see him, his face was literally a bloody mess.

"No.. Ouch.. Stupid racoon..."

"Don't talk, it will only aggravate the wounds."

"Is everyone..."

"What did I just say?" Kratos did not raise his voice but his tone grew very sharp. Lloyd fell quiet in response. "Raine is coming around, Genis and Colette are with her, and as usual your friend Noishe has run off." Seeing the look of confusion Kratos clarified. "The wind beast that knocked me down attacked your teacher, she is alright, was just knocked out cold, though it was by luck's hand she's still here and not concussed or paralyzed. As it is I've already treated Genis and Raine best to my abilities, I have something in my packs that I can give to help you heal."

A screech rang out from the tunnel that was not wind, the sound caught on the edges of the cavern and echoed back sounding like a corus of demons. It made Lloyd shake, made him want to run. Kratos frowned at the newly revealed tunnel, yet didn't seem at all scared.

"I wonder what that woman in her foolishness awoke... we need to get out of here before whatever that thing is comes out or that woman comes for us again. Izoold's less then a two hour's walk from here and that is the only place that might be safe."

"Might be? Wait what about...?"

Kratos glared at him and Lloyd was suddenly more scared of the mercenary then the monster in the tunnel. "It's none of our concern, so long as it doesn't bother us we should leave it be."

Lloyd's eyes held protest enough, though he was too scared of Kratos to actually say something. But that didn't mean he wasn't thinking a number of things, if he had bothered to consult Genis on the matter and ask his opinion the elf would have called them stupid, Colette would have talked him out of it, and Raine would have dubbed his ideas as suicidal. He didn't talk to anyone though, didn't say a word. At first it was because he dared not talk under Kratos' eyes, then it was because he couldn't for the mercenary wound a length of bandage that looped over his head and was tied into a very firm knot at his chin after a few laps around his head.

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A storm nipped at their feet, the sky had greyed so that it was all but indistinguishable from the trail, and winds had howled blending in with the monsters cries. It had followed them down the path, and despite his words Kratos was beginning to wonder if they shouldn't come after the rains had died to tend to the situation. The monster's cry's faded behind them as they passed through the small gate marking Izoold's borders. It was waist high, little more then a surface gesture, because it was well known that the Desian's stuck to the other side of the mountain. The citizens, who were no where to be seen -wisely seeking shelter from the storm he presumed- thought themselves to be safe beyond the impassable Ossa Trail. It was an attitude, an arrogance based on ignorance, that grated on his nerves. He took point, lead them down the mud choked roads and to their weary questions only said he'd been there a time or two before and he knew his way around. He smiled at the old building, it was in decent shape, had not decayed too much since his last visit. He opened the door, and nodded at him companions, the wind's howls were too great for words to be spoken so he didn't waste his breath nor did they. They shuffled in, droplets falling from the edges of their clothes and making puddles at their feet even as they struggled through the massive puddle that was fast overtaking the street. Above him a white bird that looked more like an arch then any avian he'd ever seen was set to flight by the wild gusts. The winds made it spin a wild swirling rocking dance, yet no feather's stirred, no cries save the creek of rope straining against metal. The seagull sign that hung against the same named inn smashed into the side of the wall, strained against the roped that held it to a too short pole that jutted out from the roof. Kratos spared the heavens a glance, they had turned into a universally drear grey color and the looks of it the sky was going to be like that for a day at least.

"So.. co..cold..." Genis's small frame was shivering, though he had curled up as close to the fire as he dared. The innkeeper looked to say something, was going to give Raine a hard time. Kratos gently put a hand on her shoulder, jerked his head to indicate that she should join her brother and the Chosen in warming up.

"Rooms for my client, myself, and her three companions, and accommodations made for out beast of burden."

"We got a stable out back, but friend I be thinkin' you and your pointy eared tags-along can be goin' outside, now."

"You can think whatever you want." Kratos fingered the hilt of his sword. "Reality though will be quite a different matter."

"Listen friend... With our Desian problems you thinkin' me takin in yer pointy ears is gunna do my business a whole lotta good? It's gunna send me and my business to Hell in a damn nobleman's boat it is. So you, and your friends are staying outside." The man stood, fists clenched.

"I can have my knife in your vitals in less then a heart beat." Kratos whispered, it was a kind of whisper that would not carry far but held a great deal of power and authority to those who did hear it. "So... friend, how will you have it. You\pard f1're life blood on the floor along with your guts now or maybe having to close shop in a few months time."

The man paled, shrank back into his chair.

"I'm glad we understand each other, I want three rooms with a fire place, dinner for five people, and cooked meat for the animal outside." Kratos threw down enough gald to cover his order then joined the others at the fireplace in an attempt to, if nothing else, dry out.
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Dinner was bland, the conversation was lively, though not the type he favored. While he didn't mind the speculation... in someways he did. It hit somewhere close, hit a wound that he was ignoring and had been ignoring for forever it seemed. It was fine when he could laugh about it, jump into the middle of it and had someone else there, but now... Now he was alone with the rain slamming into the roof, with nightmares nibbling in him every time he dared close his eyes, and that empty ache inside that throbbed in time with his heart. He couldn't sleep, couldn't think, so he stared into the fire for an hour doing neither of those things. He stood suddenly, paced the room with no fear of waking anyone up because there was no one else there. Kratos had not come back after dinner, was entertaining himself doing what ever mercenaries did when left to there own devices.

He sighed, told himself that he should try to sleep, and laughed quietly as he heard his own thought. He was starting to sound like Raine. Thunder roared outside, made the windows shudder and the flash of lightning that followed made the shadows peal back to revealed the world in a brilliant purple tinged light for a heart beat. Then darkness came, and the rain that had been merely tapping against the roof began to pour down with such force that it threatened drown out the roars of thunder. He closed his eyes, and there was no solace in the dark behind his eyes, only crimson. He began to shake.

"Look at me, I'm shaking like a kid all because of some stupid thunder stor-"

There was another roar, he hopped back, tipped over the chair he had been sitting by. There was no hiding from it, from himself, he was shaking, trembling, so much so he had to sit though ever part of him wanted to run and keep running. Experience taught him what running outside would do, nothing, he'd go into the jaws of the storm and become so frightened that he would freeze like a cornered rabbit. How many times when he was little had he done that? Too many to count, and again would come the lecture about how he should know better, how a little rain and thunder shouldn' t spook him. Yet Dad wasn't here, Raine was, Genis, Colette and Kratos were. How'd he look running like a two year old from his own shadow? He'd just prove Raine and Kratos right, that he wasn't up to this. Shaking he managed to get to the bed, and not bothering with the blankets, he lay down and stared at the ceiling, ordered himself to stop being such a baby and pull himself together.

The shadows writhed, seemed to take flight from the storm's screaming light. His hands clenched as he clenched down on the impulse to run, to keep running. Gods he needed to go to Noishe yet he couldn't, he'd have to go outside and he couldn't face that... Not alone. And what if he were to ask someone to go outside with him? He rolled away from the ceiling, stared at the dying fire, better to stare at that then to see Raine and Colette's concern in his mind, to hear Genis' jokes, to see Kratos' scorn. ne
He was so wound up, so twisted up inside he didn't even hear the door open. Another flash of light made the shadows jump and for one second he could see Kratos...

Please just take my hop as me not noticing you, don't ask me anything, don't talk to me, just go to bed...

Lloyd closed his eyes, drew his arms around himself and tried to fake sleeping. He listened to the fireplaces grate squeak open, listened to the thump of wood being thrown in the fire, and heard a soft sigh of a collapsing log as the poker stirred the embers of the older wood and shift them onto the new fuel. There was a clatter of steel being put on a hook, the poker Lloyd assumed, then he could hear the man's foot falls go past his bed. From the other side of the room there was a creek, and Lloyd sighed to himself. He cracked open his eyes, stared into the starless darkness and held himself so that the shaking wasn't so obvious.

"If you're cold why don't you just curl up under the blanket?"

Lloyd didn't respond, merely clenched his teeth and stared at the darkness. He was unaware of how the lightning revealed his too wide eyes. His face felt cold, and looking at it Kratos could see the tension, could tell by the lines of the jaw just how tightly Lloyd was clenching his teeth. The few red scabs that remained, after a rushed treatment from Raine's hands, wept red, wept tears that shimmered in those rabbit kin eyes. As for the shaking, Lloyd was not as in control as he imagined himself to be, he was on the outer edge of his control, on the edge of breaking, and only a damned idiot would not see it. Kratos closed his eyes, closed them from the sight of the tortured boy... He ached to get up, walk across the room and take that child in his arms, hold and sooth away the terrors.

He could not, the gesture would not be understood, or worse it would be and lead to unnecessary... attachment.

To save his sanity he would have to keep them all at arms distance, dared not become close to them, not with death being so close. He could almost feel that grim presence hovering over them, since the first temple, since the seal of fire he had felt death settle into all their shadows. It would be safest for him and them if he kept his distance. Better yet if he drove them away from him, and herded the lamb to it's sacrificial alter with the most speed.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, got up, and the wooden planks under his feet creaked softly. The sound was lost though in the greater roars of water and sky fire.

He should leave, go through the door and begone, leave the boy to his suffering and abandoned in his pain Kratos would sow the first seeds of hate and distrust in that young mind.

It would be easy, only a flash of pain, like a knife in the heart, and the oftlinethin bond of friendship he had made with the young swordsman would be severed, and it would bring him no more pain, no more loss. So many foes had looked at him with hate, so many traveling companions, acquaintances. What difference would one more pair of eyes regarding him in hatred make? None, whispered logic, no difference.

Everything, came a muffled whisper from his heart, it would mean everything, and while there was pain in the path of keeping the heart whole there were rewards.

There were no chairs, no furnishing save the beds. A fireplace in the far end of the room was the only source of steady light. He went to that red light and sat cross legged as close to the flames as he dared, stared into them and did not turn to face Lloyd.

"Have you ever heard of a salamander Lloyd?" No response, he could feel Lloyd staring at him though, could feel the young man pull himself out of his fears by the prompting of the mercenary's voice. "They are the servants of Efreet, the great keeper and heart of the eternal Fire. They serve he of the Flame a million years, and Efreet in his kindness gives her servants this edict. Long have you served selfless, my eyes and ears you have been, your very selves had you given to stoke the flames so they never die, now I bid you rest, let your passions run yet one last course, let them mark the world of mere mortals so that they may see and then you shall find your sleep. He then scattered the eggs -the mortal forms of the deserving salamander- amongst the pulse of every tree, every facet of flint holds a salamander it is said... And so laying in the core of these things they wait so that they may rest. A salamander would appear much like a lizard to our eyes there scales it is said are the yellows, reds, and oranges of the fire, much like this one before us. Their eyes are the softest white of a fire's heart, as they stare at the world and the rest long denied them. And when they are freed and laid out amongst their bedding like any being they burrow into those beds, seeking slumber. Yet any beast touched with fire is forever restless, so the salamanders writhe and twist in their attempts to fall into the temporary oblivion of dreams. They can not sleep, may not rest just yet, so deeper they burrow and harder they dig shedding soft scales of grey that were once beautiful glimmering flames. You see they have worn down those scales, those multi-colored shards of themselves have been worn down to a dull grey and they drift across the lightest breezes."

Thunder roared, the rains continued to fall, yet Lloyd did not hop in terror, indeed if Kratos was much mistaken the young man had let go of the world to be enveloped in the thread of Kratos' tale. There was a crack, a shower of sparks sprang up, caressed the soot streaked brick with ruby fingers, then the fire settled into it'ain s old patters.

"Noisy..." He scolded the fire, letting his eyes close to slits. "Never at peace salamanders dig so fiercely that they are rather noisy creatures. The crackle is the voice of the fire, the squeaks and hisses and stirring of it's restless soul. Eventually sleep does come for them, they rest on a bed of their own scales and their many eyes wink out as do the stars in the coming of dawn."

"Dawn is a long way off.. Isn't it?" Lloyd whispered, the fear was coming back, but it was not as all consuming as it had been before.

"It depends on how you mark time, and how much you care for the time you mark."

"That makes sense, I mean if I understood what you said right it makes sense..."

"Let us presume you have it right and leave it at that." Kratos opened the grate, tossed another log on, and decided that it would hold for the bulk of the night. "Try to sleep Lloyd, you need your rest, tomorrow will be a long day."

There was a long pause, Lloyd shifted a bit, and Kratos was for once the object of a piercing stare. He turned, returned the scrutiny, silently gauged the young man even as he was being picked at by those dark eyes.

"Can I trust you ... with something private? Something that you wont blab to the Professor or Colette... or anyone... ever?"
"Why would you trust me?"

Rain fell, dripped along the sides of the building like tears, slammed into the ceiling with the rhythm only found in chaos. Thunder roared, not enough to set the windows to shaking, but the shadows did enough of that for the mercenary's taste.

"Because we're alike, the same, in this, the stars... And... because I need to tell someone who wont laugh at me or think I'm nuts or a little kid..." Kratos nodded, then waited in silence while Lloyd gathered his courage. "It's like this... Every time it rain's, ever since I've been really small I get this dream, where it's raining red and..." Lloyd shivered. "I'm drowning in red, the sky, the ground is red and it rips open, light comes and rips everything open, like silent lightning... but it's not silent, it screams words I don't understand... Then I start drowning, the sky screams and cries and the light comes down. I'm scared, I'm terrorfied even though that light doesn't touch me, even though I know I wont drown I'm scared, and it would seem better just to die then to... the fear... I want to run and I can't, I want to look away but the light burns everything into my head."

Lloyd shivered, turned away before he could see the disgust, the look that said louder then words he was being a little kid. The dream sounded so stupid now that he'd talked about it. He recalled once telling Colette about it, remembered her concern but he had ignored her urging to go to the priests about it. He had told Raine once too, or rather his Dad had in a hope of there being some sort of medicine that could do something about the nightmares. Raine had been concerned, talked about emotional trauma and how the dream was a side effect of some event in his life. Whatever that meant, she hadn't been able to help him, and he had come to the conclusion that no one would be able to. So he dealt with it, and when he wasn't strong enough he went to Noishe, because Noishe did understand, though he couldn't talk Lloyd would stay with Noishe through the storm. Lloyd had spent so many sleepless nights curled up with Noishe, eyes wide, watching the lightning, shaking with a fear he could never conquer. Lloyd's eyes snapped open in shock as the bed creaked, another flash of lightning and Lloyd could see Kratos was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Are you ashamed of your fear, so ashamed you close your eyes against my response? You should not be. Lloyd every being lives in fear of at the very least one thing, be it fear of the Desians, monsters, illness, or death. Part of what we are is fear, part of who we are is how we deal with this fear." Kratos reached out, smoothed Lloyd's hair with a gentle hand. Then perhaps realizing what he was doing the mercenary flushed, put his hand on his knee. "I apologize... I..."

"It's no big deal." Lloyd felt his eyes getting heavy. "So your telling me you're actually scared of something?"

"A few things, yes." Kratos' lips twitched. "Ironically I have a fear of heights, and... This goes no farther then this room."

"On my honor." Lloyd grinned up at the man.

"Hurmph, honor indeed... Worms and bugs..."

Another flash of light revealed that Kratos was almost the same color as Lloyd's tunic.
"Weren't there spiders in the Iselia..."

"Yes," Kratos shuddered. "There were."

"How'd you ever get the nerve to deal with it?"

"I tell myself over and over again that if I deal with this spider there will be one less I have to face down in the future."

"I can't exactly swing my sword at a thunder storm and make it go away." Lloyd protested.

"No you can not," Kratos' eyes bore into him. "But there are ways to fight fear, ways to deal with it, to make it so small that while it is still there you can work around it."

"It never goes away, ever?" Lloyd's sleep heavy voice was disappointed.

"Never, it will always be there, but when the time comes and you must face your fear you will defeat it." Lloyd made a soft sound of protest, he was falling into slumber's talons and being swept away. "You will find your courage Lloyd, and your strength, in time."

Lloyd had fallen into the dark behind his eyes, was already asleep before the first word came out.

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"We should just tie you two together." Genis teased as they picked their way across the water slicked bridges that lead to nowhere. Or rather that lead to the sea. Sailors were giving them strange looks, outsiders were rare to Izoold, and outsiders who were not merchants or pilgrims were rarer then hen's teeth.

"What's that?" Lloyd looked up from trying to read the writing on the side of a boat. Colette was leaning into him, staring at the water as if hoping to see a fish.

"I'd just be easier." Genis told them, he walked up to his old classmates with a grin. "I mean could you two be any closer?"

"So, what about it?" Lloyd shrugged, and Genis blinked, he'd expected an impassioned 'what's that supposed to mean' or at the very least a 'shut it'. "I like being with Colette, what's that gotta do with tying people together?"

"Genis is just being silly Lloyd."

"Guess so." Lloyd glared at the boat and gave it up with a sigh. "Man it's so boring, Kratos' run off saying he's going to look into getting us a ship and Raine's acting all... weird."

Raine was acting rather strange. She stared at the water, stubbornly clinging to the beach and refusing to put so much as a toe on the docks. When Genis had assured her that it was safe, sturdy, and even pointed out some of the structural strong points of the dock, Raine had merely stared at the water. It was as if she wasn't even listening. Through pale lips Raine had told them to 'have fun' and that she was going to lie down in their room for a little bit. Genis had started to go with her, but she'd asked him to look after Colette and Lloyd while she was resting.

"I hope the professor feels better soon." Colette frowned, then with a squeak pointed to something moving in the water. "Oh look look!"

"Is it a shark?" Lloyd was already leaning over the dock, cheerfully putting his face so close to the water that if it was a shark it wouldn't have any trouble eating him. "s20 Where... Oh I see it!"

Genis saw it too, a long slowly moving creature of dark green. He laughed, realizing what it was and joined Lloyd at the edge of the dock. When it came close enough he laid down on his belly and dipped a hand in the water.

"Ahh it's got me!"

And just when Lloyd was about to pull him back Genis turned and threw the 'shark' onto the dock. Lloyd yelped, hopped back, and slipped on the wet wood. A long strand of green, a slimy hybrid between grass and lettuce fell. Lloyd squeaked, scrambled back yelling to get it off of him, then as he managed to throw it off of him and crawl back a few paces away from it he stared. That stare turned into a glare.

"Genis that wasn't funny!"

The shark looked suspiciously like seaweed. Genis laughed and so did Colette. After a long annoyed silence Lloyd joined in. When he was done laughing at himself the swordsman firmly kicked the plant off of the deck, and watched it drift off only to tangle around the wooden leg of a nearby pier.

"Alright alright it was a good one Genis... Just don't do that too often OK? Man I really thought a shark did get you for a sec..."

"More then a sec." Genis laughed, "You should have seen your face it was great!"

"Ha ha... it was really funny..." Lloyd grumbled, his lips were curled though making his sarcasm fake.

"It was!" Colette was still smiling. "It was really funny Genis!"

"Hey who's side are you on Colette?"

"Side?"

"Ung never mind..." There was a ten minute span of silence, where Lloyd stared at the seagulls, then stared at the water, and then at the boats which all seemed to be out in the ocean with great net tails behind them.

"I'm-"

"Bored" Genis finished the sentence for Lloyd, well the partial sentence. "I hate to say it, but I think I am too."

"Watching the seagulls is kind of boring, they're pretty, but all they do is follow the ships." Colette sighed.
"It's official, Lloyd's boredom is catchy," Genis sighed, "now that we know that, now what?"

"Become un-bored!" Lloyd grinned, looked around and his eyes took on a light that meant trouble. "Let'\pard s explore!"

"No!" Genis yalped, images of an infuriated Raine dancing in his head. "We can't, there's an assassin, and if Raine ever thinks that we went out of town…"

"That could be a problem." Lloyd frowned, obviously he had forgotten about the assassin.

"What I we only go a little out of town, just past the fence, there's a nice beach there…" Colette's eyes were wistful.

"I dunno… That assassin might come back…"

"But you could protect us couldn't you Lloyd?"

Genis tensed, waited for the inevitable bragging that comment would bring. He braced himself to have to talk Lloyd out of it, arguments built on the tip of his tongue. And were lost as Lloyd shook his head and said in a quiet voice that he wasn't too sure he could keep them safe. Genis felt his mouth sag open in shock, Lloyd not bragging, Lloyd not saying he was the best….

"Who are you and what have you done to Lloyd?" Genis gasped.

"n Huh?" Lloyd cocked his head to the side, favored his old friend with a puzzled look.

Genis stared at the red clad swordsman. He was still wearing that long sleeve shirt with its thousand and one metal buttons. Those silly ribbons dangled from around his throat, flapped listlessly in the breeze less morning air. Those pants with those weird straps of leather that looped over Lloyd's shoulders and held them up looked as funny as ever. It was Lloyd; the person in front of him had Lloyd's features, his voice, and those dwarven craft clothes. Yet it did not sound like Lloyd was talking. Unable to shake off the shock by the sudden streak of maturity on Lloyd's part Genis didn't bother to explain to his confused human friends just what he had meant, brushing it off as 'not important' and they both went along with it.

"We could explore the town, the houses; look for weird places in town!" Colette chirped.

"Oh that's a great idea Colette."

Genis sighed his hopes that Lloyd might just be growing up a little were dashed. There was nothing different after all.

"Why don't we tell Raine where we're going before we get started?"

"Yeah," Lloyd became somber. "That's a good idea Genis. I really don't wanna be Raine'd again."

Xxx xxx xxx xxx
There wanderings proved only to add to their boredom. The few people not on ships glared at them, obviously not knowing that they were with the Chosen. Lloyd was actually the target of most of those glares, and it lead to a rather rushed walk down the muddy streets. At the end of the last lane of houses, with fisherman's wives and toothless men glowering at there backs they decided to call it a day and head back. That was until they came to the last house on the lane. The house sowed signs of not being inhabited for a long time, the paint was pealing, the broken windows were untended, and it had an 'empty lonely feel' as Colette called it. A small but sturdy fence had been built around the single story house. It was sturdy because Lloyd gave it a firm shake and then decided to lean on it and look at the abandoned home. Though choked with mud and weeds there were hints of what had once been a well organized garden in the front. Small rocks peeked out from between obscuring leaves like eyes from a mess of untamed hair; the plants themselves seemed to be mainly consisted of roses and other non-edible specie of flora.
"Wow those flowers are really pretty! I wonder why who ever planted them moved."

"The neighbor's maybe?" Lloyd growled, returning the glare of one persistent woman glarer with one of his own.

"So you really like that flower Colette, which one's your favorite?" Genis asked, "I like the blue ones that look like bells. I can't remember their name but in one of Raine's book they can be used for medicinal purp-"

"Woah woah woah… Raine's not with us so no studying."

"But studying is fun Lloyd!" Colette protested.

"Yeah Lloyd," Genis smiled up at his friend, who looked like he had just been betrayed and was feeling it deeply. "Colette's right, studying is fun."

"You know there are a ton of puddles here…" Lloyd gave him a meaningful look and Genis was about boast that he'd fry Lloyd before the swordsman could think to soak him…

"I like the white one.ain " Colette pointed to the only white rose amongst all the deep crimson ones. "It's really pretty."

"Yeah, I guess it is." Genis smiled at the plant, forgetting to make that threat.

"Huh, well we should probably get going before I get glared to death by the old woman over there. Let's go guys."

"Do you have a favorite plant?" Colette asked as they picked there way across the muddy streets back to the inn.

"I liked all the red ones." Lloyd grinned.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey look a medicinal plant!" Lloyd yelled with such enthusiasm that Genis turned before the words sunk in. A hand pushed on his back, gave him a little shove, and his boots slid on the wet ground. He fell down with a grunt, his blue tunic and pants now matched the road.

"That's for the seaweed gag, and just because it's all muddy."
"Well this is for… for everything! Aqua edge!"

Water slammed in to the back of Lloyd's legs and the swordsman fell with a loud thump. Lloyd once clad in red now was wearing a sticky brown. He got to his feet, and gave Genis a look that told the wizard he was going to be Noishe'd. Genis tried to dodge, but was sent flying right into the center of the street. Ignoring the shocked stares of the whole street the two boys rolled around. When Genis felt an arm sling around his shoulders he knew it was over.

"No no not that! Help, save me Colette!" The knuckle descended, ruffled his hair and dug into his head with pressure that both tickled and hurt. "Help! Put me down or I'll sp.. sprea…"

There was a splat and he was released. Hand dripping mud Colette struck a little pose, than ran as Lloyd staggered to his feet. Now armed with two handfuls of mud Lloyd went after the savior of the world, his only thought was to get even. Laughing Genis raced to catch up, he didn't need to pick up mud confident that his spells would be enough to save Colette.

Xxx xxx xxx xxx

Raine had yelled at the children when they returned covered in what she prayed was mud. They were all -all three of them!- so messy that the color of their clothes, skin, and hair, were a uniform dark brown. She shoed them out of the inn's kitchen, ordered them to go to the bathroom and clean themselves. They came back about five minuets latter, dripping wet; and the squeaks and chanting she heard from outside told Raine that Genis had 'cheated' with the cleaning. All three of them tracked water into the inn, waddled to the kitchen in their saturated clothes, snatched the lunch that had been left out for those staying, and then curled up by the fire. She had expected something like this from Lloyd certainly, and since Lloyd's favorite target in his mud fights was Genis she knew her brother would get caught up in it… but Colette? Raine was disappointed in the child, she had been hoping for a little more maturity.

Sighing Raine curled up in her chair, a book, Genis' gift, in her hands. She read as they talked, and years of experience allowed her to follow the conversation all the while not losing track of where she was in the text. They had covered the length and width of Izoold to sooth their boredom it seemed, she frowned a little as they talked about the hostility, and did not so lightly dismiss I as did her pupils and brother. If they were here tomorrow, Raine decided, she would give them test after test to keep them busy and indoors and out of mischief.

Colette went to her room, came back with a length of wood and floored pebbles. At the sight of the skip hop board Raine smiled. She had at first protested when she had seen Colette pack it, now she was grateful for the girl's foresight. They needed distraction, from the journey and each other, from time to time. A nice round of hop skip did wonders. Sipping on her coffee Raine poured over her book, made a few notes in a journal she kept just for teaching, and decided she had enough to serve as a test that would span several hours. Lloyd cursed, tugged on his hair and glared at the board and his latest move. Frowning at the language Raine almost said something, then bit her tongue to keep from laughing as the Chosen hopped one of her pieces over three of the swordsman's and had her hopping 'bunny' promoted to a 'rabbit'. That move warranted a few profanities. The teacher considered joining in there little game since she was done with her work, the door creaked open and he turned to see a very surly looking Kratos sweep into the room.

He stormed to the table where she was resting; and indifferent to the mud and filth he was dripping into the inn threw himself onto the chair across from her. She asked him what was wrong, as did Lloyd and a scared Colette, the man said nothing, only threw a filthy length of paper onto Raine's notes. Now Raine did glare at the man, she pushed to muddy parchment off of her teaching notes, whipped off the water as best she could then set the booklet into her lap.

He did not apologize; the intensity of his gaze prompted her to open what looked like a poster without complaint. She stared at the picture, the description, and paled.

"How many of these were at the dock?"

"Enough." The mercenary's voice was grim. "You three were indoors most of the day were you not?"

"No? We went out for a while, why?" Lloyd frowned, craned his neck but sitting on the floor as he was he could not see what lay on the table. Kratos thoughtfully helped him with that and threw the poster at the young swordsman. Something in the black clad's gaze must have scared Lloyd, because the boy rolled open the poster with no protest. "Well that explains a lot."

"Explains 'what'?" Kratos growled the man's expression was so fierce that Raine paled right along with Genis and Colette. They all scooted out of the way of those fire flecked brown eyes.

"There were some people glaring at me in town, we came back early because of it."

"At least you showed some sense."

"Hey, how was I supposed to…?\pard "

"Has the term thinking ever crossed your mind?"

"I don't deserve that Kratos!" Lloyd hopped to his feet. "What the hell's up? You've been acting like a totally jack ass ever since this morning!"

"What did you just say?" The mercenary's voice dropped to a whisper.

Lloyd didn't either catch the dangerous note in the man's voice, the slight twitch over the man's left eye, the clenching of the sword hand, or just ignored it, because the boy repeated himself.

"We are trapped here for a week at most until one of the more daring captain's return and can give us passage; we are little more then sitting targets while the Desians catch up with us."

"That doesn't give you the right to bite off my head because I didn't know. We weren't at the main docks, we were at the smaller ones by the inn." Lloyd countered, meeting those angry eyes with a total lack of fear that Raine silently admitted that she envied. "We didn't see the stupid poster, all right? If we had we would have come here and stayed."

"He's right Mr. Kratos, we didn't see anything bad like this, or we would have come back."

Raine saw the mercenary wince, he grimaced at being called "Mr. Kratos". Taking a deep breath the man seemed to compose himself. He slid a hand through his hair, and then faced the boy he had just insulted with a slight tinge of red about his cheeks.

"You are correct Lloyd, I overstepped myself, I apologize. My only excuse is I have been listening to excuses and whining all day long and my patience is running a bit short."

"A bit?" Genis mouthed to his sister in elvish. Since Kratos wasn't looking at him Genis must of figured it safe enough to say something, and saying his comment in elvish offered another level of protection. Raine smiled slightly, signed for him to keep his mouth shut.

"Yeah, gotcha" Raine could almost see the tension drain out of Kratos, and out of the room. Lloyd looked at the paper, a frown on his face. "So, now that they got descriptions of me everywhere, now what?"

"We damp the beacon." Kratos' lips curled. "Obscure the trail."

"I don't think I like that look." Lloyd looked frightened. "Matter of fact that's the same look you gave me before we spared for the first time…"

"Explain yourself Mr. Aurion." Raine told her fingers they could let go of the book now that Lloyd and Kratos weren't going to fight and she wasn't going to have to break it up.

He explained, and while simple the plan was a good one. Raine nodded, offered a few suggestions. Both adults then cheerfully worked out some of the kinks, ignoring Lloyd's vocal protests.

Colette giggled, turned to Lloyd. "I think it'll work Lloyd, and you'll get some new clothes too! Isn't that nice?" \pard line
"Man this is going to be funny!"

"No, I won't let any of you…"

Kratos only turned, gave Lloyd a long measuring look and the boy paled.

"I can have it done by tonight, but I'll need some more thread."

"Oh come on Kratos you can't be serious! Raine you can't be listening to this, it's not gunna work! Oh dear God's of Earth what did I do to get into this?"

Xxx xxx xxx xxx

"Well?" He could not completely hide the expectant note in his voice if he tried.
"I want my red shirt back! I want my pants, I want my swords, and I want this stupid thing-" Lloyd pointed to Kratos' spare cloak which he was now wearing. "Off!"

"It looks dignified." The mercenary smoothed down the flaps that served as massive shoulder pads. Lloyd was far too slender to carry the look. His arms swam in the pads and the cloak hung behind him, obscured most of him. The feeling of wearing the cloak was so strange that Lloyd kept turning around expecting that someone sneaking up on him. The tips brushed against the floor behind him and he felt like he was a little kid trying on his father's clothes. The short sleeve tunic was tight, pressed against his skin, the pants were much the same, and he was already missing the freedom of his baggy pants and shirt.

He was also missing the warmth that the long sleeve tunic gave him, with the chill water heavy air outside he was cold, well colder, without his long sleeve red shirt.

"Stop squirming." Kratos slid a hand through the young man's hair, mussing it up so that some of it fell into the boy's eyes. "I hate to say it, but the cloak is a bit large on you, I think I have a smaller spare in my packs though, I'll go fish it out." Kratos turned, dug into his packs looking for his smaller cloak. He didn't know why he had bothered to hold onto the tailor's mistake, but it was serving a good use. He looked regretfully at the arm covers that he favored instead of long sleeves, but the fabric kept sliding off of Lloyd's slender arms. He turned, cloak draped over his arm, to see Lloyd tugging on the tailored shirt.

"You honestly think this is going to work?"
"If you had agreed to the dying of your hair I would say it would most certainly work." At Lloyd's annoyed glared Kratos chuckled. "I am joking; yes it should, so long as you remember your role."

"Why do I have to act like a mercenary, why couldn't I pretend to be a scholar or something?"

"Tell me," Kratos gently draped the cloak over his 'apprentice's' shoulders. "What year did the Iselian's pass there non-aggression treaty with the Desian's?"

"Umm."

"How long was the Kharlan War?" The cloak's neck hooks were linked together with a slight click.

"Fifteen years?"

"Try fifty three years and you might be right. Tell me the answer to this; twenty percent of ten is…"

"OK OK I get it! So I'm dumber then a brick, don't rub it in."

"The answer is two, and since you are my apprentice I guess I should take charge of your education."

"What? No, Raine's bad enough! I don't want another teacher!"

"I believe the saying is 'tough luck'." Kratos grabbed Lloyd's wrist to stop the boy from pulling the hair out of his eyes. "Leave it alone Lloyd, or should I say Garr?"

"Why'd you have to name me for some hero from way back when?"

"Do you like Raine's attempt to name you better?"

"No!" Lloyd's face went pale. "Not Boltzman…" Lloyd shuddered. "Man I feel sorry for her kids, they're all going to be named after healers and weird philosophers and archeologists aren't they?"

"I imagine so."

"Well at least it's not as bad as your name. Ruian? Man I thought Raine was going to go all ruin mode on you after you told her the name."

"Ruin, Ruian, Aurion, I guess they do sound the same." Kratos shifted the pads on his cloak, centered them and the cloak with the ease of someone doing it most of his life. "Stand up straight and let me look you over."

Lloyd sighed, endured having his cloak tugged once more.

"It looks stupid…" Lloyd protested. "I miss my red."

"It makes you look older." Kratos corrected, his lips were curled into a gentle smile. "The color looks good on you despite not being red."

"Genis is going to not let this go. I'm never going to hear the end of this." Lloyd tromped to the body length mirror, frowned. "Ung we look like we're related. All of the nights talk at the inn's coming back now."

"Stop behaving a child Lloyd, you actually look like an adult now so try to act like one."

Kratos padded up to the mirror and now Lloyd could see them both. The mercenary looked alright in the sparrow tail cloak and skin tight black tunic and pants, he carried himself with a grace of someone who had power and it honestly didn't matter what he was dressed in. Lloyd felt like a little kid trying on his father's clothes, and he carried himself as he thought of himself. He was lanky, and despite having the clothes fitted down for his build they were too long. Kratos had suggested tucking the tunic into the first belt and it helped, a little.

Still it looked stupid.

"Can't I ditch the cloak at least?"

"No. It's common that an apprentice dress as much like his master as he can so that all know that he serves another."

"My swords…"

"I'll carry them; most apprentices of a warriors trade start with knife work anyways."

Lloyd' face scrunched up in thought. "You're gunna get a lot of attention if you're carrying my twin swords, your broadsword, and a shield. Especially all at the same time aren't you?"
"Your swords will be in my packs, as will my shield, do not worry I'll work it out so I can get them out if we run into trouble… Now then, come along Garr, your friends are eagerly awaiting our appearance."

"Whatever you say Ruian, um I mean uh master?"

"Master is more appropriate, though I do not like it in the slightest."

"You and me both." Lloyd grimaced, unwittingly making the exact same face as the mercenary. "How's "Ruian sir," sound? Thats20 's what Dad said a dwarven soldier calls his commander. Commander and apprentice are kind of the same aren't they?"

"Sir will serve, and no they are not the same..." Kratos sighed, rubbed at his temple with a hand. "I imagine most people do not know the proper etiquette around here anyways. Ready?"

"Yeah, I guess so. So after Genis goes nuts and teases the heck out of us then what?"

Lloyd didn't get his answer; Kratos opened the door and with a sigh stepped out of the bedroom and into the hall. There was a sigh behind him, a muttered prayer to the summon spirit of earth, then Lloyd stepped into the hall. Genis took one look at Lloyd, then fell to the floor howling in laughter, Colette smiled said it looked cute, and Raine went into a suspicious fit of coughing.

"Look Kratos has a twin!" Genis managed around his laughs.

"Shut it I don't look like Kratos!"

"You do look a bit alike." The blonde girl smiled. "But in a good cute way."

"Cute?" The mercenary coughed. "Chosen I am not in any way what so ever-"

"Especially the cape!" Colette continued, not hearing Kratos' protest. "It looks like butterfly wings!"

"Wha- butterfly… someone say that isn't…" Lloyd's face was turning red. "No, no way!"

The mercenary felt blood rush to his face even as he managed a more coherent protest then Lloyd.

"Colette does have a point." Raine agreed, her blue eyes twinkling with good humor. "It does resemble the wings of a butterfly."

"See." Much to Kratos' mortification the Chosen slipped behind him and set the flaps to… flapping. She slid her hands under the pads, rested her digits on his shoulders then pushed against the bottom of the pads. "See just like a butterfly's. Flap flap…"

"Chosen, that's enough." He shrugged off her touch and she left him alone, though the way she was eying Lloyd made the mercenary realize that Lloyd was now in serious danger. "Come, enough of this, Lloyd and I have some work to do and…"
His words were not heeded, and the situation which was uncomfortable as it was now got worse as Raine and Colette tried to figure out what type of butterfly the flaps resembled and Genis got control enough over himself to make even more jabs at the two blushing swordsmen. Things rapidly deteriorated from there.

Xxx xxx xxx xxx

"When will you two be back?" Colette asked him, looking at Lloyd who was talking to Genis, both were hunched over a book. Discussing one of Raine's upcoming tests no doubt. Kratos had yet to inform Lloyd that he was not jesting, that both he and the professor had agreed that the mercenary would tutor him. Kratos had assured the Chosen that they would be back as soon as they could, and she seemed content enough with his promise. She went to join Genis and Lloyd, and the studying swiftly turned into gossiping.

To Raine's query he was a bit more honest.

"Tonight at best, unless something happens, if we aren't back by the morning of the next day we'll meet you outside of town."

"Take care of him." Raine gave him a long look. "lain If he picks up one bruise or cut I'll…." Unable to 'properly' discipline him Raine had to make do with some other kind of threat it seemed. "Stick you in his place in my classes for a month!"

And that was a rather terrifying image to hold in his mind, especially after Lloyd had taken some pains to describe the school in Iselia. He suddenly pictured himself crammed into a small desk with Raine standing over him pointer in hand, or worse yet a bucket in each hand… Kratos shook his head, dismissed the image, there was no way she could carry it out anyways so he had nothing to worry about. Yet hadn't he thought that during the first Raine storm? He decided to ask Lloyd if Raine had ever done something like that to anyone in Iselia. That would be the best way to see just how safe he was.

"We might spar after words, we might not. I need to establish him as my apprentice, and the best way to do so is to make a show of it."

"What's the real reason you're going out for?" Raine had challenged him, and he had shrugged, watching the three youths talking he could see himself in Lloyd's place with three old friends… One who was now dead and the other two estranged. Sighing Kratos came to the here and now, dismissed the memories.

"To make him used to the disguise, to get used to it myself, and to gather news of what's going on in the Sylvast continent."

"Sylvast, I've never heard anyone ever call that continent by it's name save text books."

Kratos shrugged. "Would you rather me say 'the continent we aren't on?' lain that is a rather childish way to describe it don't you think?"

"It is," Raine looked out into the grey skies that seemed to bleed into everything and make the world a dull hue. The storm would be coming back by nightfall. "I don't know if you were aware but Lloyd needs to be back here before the storm breaks."

"I know, and I understand why, I will do what I can." Kratos ran a hand through his hair. "I know this already but you should know as well… At best we won't be leaving Izoold until three days have passed, I'm merely making contacts with the people here to see what captains are trustworthy and which ones might have sold out to the Desians."

Raine nodded, so she had expected that too, good, she was not as naïve as he had thought.

"Also, that creature in Ossa, this span of time gives us an opportunity to deal with it. I take back what I said about it not being our concern Ms. Sage, it has me concerned, I want to check up on some stories I've heard about people disappearing in the mines of Ossa. I think that young assassin might have woken whatever it was that was killing the miners, and if it finds its way out..."

"Its presence, even when it was slumbering, gave Genis a bad feeling. He's really sensitive about mana, more so then I am, and he told me that when we passed over the cavern he was scared to death. I don't like the idea of fighting… but I think we might have cause this time."

Xxx xxx xxx xxx

Kratos sighed, sipped at the wine in his glass and stepped on Lloyd's foot to keep him from saying anything. They had taken a shadowy booth at one of the more busy if less reputable taverns, and as the fishermen were coming in to get a drink and bite so too was coming in gossip. Lloyd wanted to go up, ask questions, he was loath to sit back and let the words lap against the ears.

"Hush, drink your water and let things come as they will."

Lloyd glared at him, annoyed that he wasn't allowed to have wine. Kratos had told him that it was either water or milk and the young man had hesitantly taken water.

The room smelled of tar, unclean men, and under cooked food. The chief could have done Raine proud, there was a person on par with her cooking skills, and the smells that came from the kitchen were enough to persuade Lloyd that he wasn't all that hungry. Tales of sea monsters, of whirlpools, and places where the tide did not stir and the very water rotted in it's stillness made Kratos nod his head. As he expected, the mana levels of the world were so low that the very moons could no stoke enough of the land's power to make the tide stir. This Regeneration had to succeed there would be no more time for another Chosen to brave the trials. The world would die before a hundred years had passed.

"Easy…" Kratos grabbed Lloyd's arm, kept him from leaping to his feet in outrage as one of the patrons described in drink slurred voice what he planned for his wife that night. "We are not here to play hero, merely to observe."

"It's not right!" Lloyd growled.

"And you gutting him, how right would that be? Look, you see that man in the corner wrapped in the felt blanket?" Lloyd nodded. "He's a guardsman, 'look' at him Lloyd. He has not had a drop of wine, and his eyes are open ever so slightly. He will deal with the bastard, where if we tried to do something we would be charged with murder, or attempted murder."

"He is kind of stiff huh? Not like everyone else, kind of at attention…"

"Exactly, it's the norm here, so close to two ranches Izoold dares not have an open militia of any kind, so they merely find another way to tend to issues. Relax; you are drawing attention to us Garr. Enjoy your drink and keep your ears open, we'll discuss what we've heard after we are outside.a99 "

Lloyd tried to do so, but he seemed very uncomfortable in his new role. Kratos leaned back, stretched, and with a hand called for a bar maid to come to their table. Seeing one of the woman nod, the mercenary caressed the hilt of his blade, scanned the crowds and decided he had gotten enough information for now. He smiled, touched Lloyd's arm and the young man followed his gaze to the door. The drunkard was leaving the building, and the guardsman was following.

"See?"

"Yeah, I guess so I was kinda nervous you know?"

Kratos nodded his understanding, and decided it was best to ask since he had the young man's attention. "Do you want to eat here or go else where for dinner?"

"Wha- I thought we were going back before nightfall…"

"Keep your voice down Garr. No, we are not, I'll explain over dinner."

"Anywhere but here… How can they eat that stuff?" Lloyd asked, pointing to a few of the patrons who were wolfing down what Kratos hoped was fish stew.

"The drink numbs the tongue and most of them are drunk enough that they will get sick soon enough so that the food will come up all on its own. And put your hand down, you are gawking is gathering us attention we do not need."
Lloyd did as ordered with no protest, absently rubbed at his exposed ex-sphere.

"A deicie for yer drinks and four sie coins apiece fer yer food if ye be eatin' here." The bar maid said in a cold tone. She squinted at them, saw there faces, or rather his face, and smiled. "I might be seein' a way ta git ye gentleman a discount however." She reached out, moved to stroke his arm.

"No thank you." His expression was enough to make her back up a step. He tossed down the coin for his drink though it was grossly over priced and in other situation he might have argued. A familiar sensation, a pricking between his shoulder blades, told Kratos they best leave. That they should make a fast retreat before trouble started, the patrons of the bar were becoming quiet, subdued, it seemed as if the tavern's champion was coming. Not wanting to expose Lloyd to any more of the charms of the seedier side of Izoold, Kratos bid the young man to come with him.

The mercenary stood, and Lloyd did so as well, nervously scanning the crowd. So he had picked up that something was wrong from Kratos' voice and posture. The mercenary smiled slightly, an eyes only smile that was tinged with a bit of sorrow. While Lloyd's response showed his lack of skill Kratos knew time would fix that. Pride touched him, satisfaction. The young swordsman had a fast wit if he was learning this quick. Hopefully he'd have that time to continue to learn.

"Hey there boy…" Came a drink slurred voice from the bar, a man reached out, pawed Lloyd's arm and Lloyd' froze. "That's a nice ring there Thao be wantin' it I bet when he hears of it."

"It's not for sale." Lloyd clenched his hand, shoved it behind him and Kratos grimaced. Damn it he should have ordered the boy to leave the sorcerer's ring with Raine. Of course it would gather attention, the band looked to be made of red crystal and the gem stone looked like a large ruby, no one in Izoold would be used to seeing such finery. Mentally berating himself for not thinking about something so obvious Kratos firmly steered his charge to the door. The door swung open with a loud bang, and the silence that followed that grandiose entrance set Kratos' blood to ice. It seemed as if the tavern's champion had arrived.

Lloyd froze, the wrong response, and in this case it might prove to be dangerous. Freezing marked you as prey. Gripping Lloyd's shoulder Kratos stood impassively as the drunk who had tried to take the ring crowed out that the 'runt' was walking out with something that was meant for Thao.

"Is it?" The man grunted he was more gut then muscle, but his frame was large, and imposing despite what his life of gluttony had done to him. The man stood a good head above Kratos and he had the charming scent of the tavern's food about him. Kratos winkled his noise in distaste as the mans sewer scented breath fell upon him.

"Ya gotta problem with me shortie?"

Kratos only stared up at the man; Thao looked away first, shivered at that cold impassive stare.

"Come Garr, we have other matters to attend."

"That's a nice ring there boy. I thinkin' I want it."

"It's not for sale." Kratos could feel Lloyd tense under his hand, he did not linelet go, prayed his touch would keep the young man from doing anything rash.

"I didn't say nothin' bout buyin' runt, I'm takin'."

A few stools scraped across the wood floor, a hand fell on Kratos shoulder.

"Best give it to 'im ol' man, less you want that kid o' yours in a pit somewhere."

Kratos spared the man who dared touch him a second of his time, and the thin slip of a man shuddered and released him, fumbled with his own knot. He'd be busy for a bit anyways, it was safe enough to ignore him for a moment. "Garr, go to the table we were at and wait."

He ripped off the peace knot off of his sword and knife. The white fabric drifted to the ground, brushed against his boot, and he was aware of the patrons staring at him. They were a line of bloodshot red eyes, only three men had gotten up to aid their champion in dealing with him. And while not bad odds…

"Kratos two more of them are behind us, they have clubs." Lloyd whispered, fingering the knot that secured his knife to its hilt.

While the odds were good he had a cause not to fight.

"I seek no fight, go back to your ale and leave us alone. The boy can not give up the ring, it's not for sale, just get out of our way and no one dies."

"You're a cocky one aren't ya?" The big man's small eyes narrowed as wine fuddled wits tried to piece together a coherent sentence.

"Garr, go to the table, now!"

"No way, and even if I could I wouldn't."

Kratos sighed, then drew his knife and casually thrust out behind him. There was a croak, the man who had been trying to sneak up behind him with a knife shuddered once from the force of the attack then fell to the floor clutching his gut and howling.

"My last warning," Kratos leveled the bloody knife at the tavern's champion. "Stand aside or die where you stand." The mercenary ignored Lloyd's look of disgust, ignored the young man's look of horror at the fact that Kratos casually handled the bloody knife and seemed uncaring that there was a man less then a step behind him shrieking in agony. Dying in agony…

The drunk charged, pulled a club from his belt and swung. Dodging the strike, taking Lloyd with him Kratos managed to throw the boy out of range of the fighting. People scattered like startled birds, and Lloyd slipped in some ale and smashed into a table. Wincing in sympathy Kratos had no more time to spare for his 'apprentice' he side stepped another swing, managed one of his wound and drew a line of red that ran the length of his opponent's arm. Snarling an oath the man aimed a two handed downward swing for Kratos' head.

Fool as he was he left his body completely open with that fool hardy move. Kratos slammed his blade into the drunk's chest, the steel was long, so long that if it had been his thought to do so he could have lined up the tip of the blade with his longest digit and the sharpened steel of his dagger would have ran from that point down past his wrist. It was certainly long enough to slip through a gap in a man's ribs and find his heart. Thao, if that was even the man's name, stared dumbly at the mercenary, looked down at the dagger, and the light of life fled his eyes.

From behind him there was a thud, he turned, saw Lloyd slump down onto his knees. It seemed as if one of the bastards had forsaken his club and had made do with a chair. A quick glance as the slashes that ran the man's prominent arm told Kratos why the club had been forsaken. The thin man's arm was probably so numb from the lack of blood he had discarded the thin handled weapon for something he could use. Grunting Lloyd managed to look at his foe, see the chair rise again. If that blow landed… a concussion would be the best scenario. There was neither time nor room in the tavern to work his sword into the fight, nor was there time to wrench his blade out from its sheath of human flesh. He ran, knowing he could not get there in time.

Lloyd crossed his arms in front of his head, as if to catch the blow. A blue light crackled around him, turned into a sphere of silver blue that held for all of a heartbeat. That was enough though, the chair skittered off of the wall of mana, and the ruffian gapped.
"Demon! Desian! I'll send your murderous hide to hell!" The man threw himself onto Lloyd; hand's locking around the boy's throat.

Shit, this was not what they needed right now, the other people were gathering up there courage, this was going to turn into a riot… He ran up to the human who was strangling Lloyd, pried of those hands and saw the black lines, the finger shaped bruises.

Grimly he shifted his grip on the man's throat, gave a sharp twist, and there was an audible crack. The would be Desian slayer'\pard cs10s head lolled in a way that only a man who's neck was broken would. Coldly he dropped the carrion to the floor, met Lloyd's horrified expression.

"Garr, get up!"

Shaking Lloyd did as ordered, rubbing at his throat all the while. Gasping for breath, hands still rubbing Lloyd, staggered back a step, caught himself on one of the tables and slumped against it in exhaustion.

Lloyd was out of the fight, there was no way he could expect the boy to hold against any foe right now.

Spying the last fighter trying to slip around and take him from the side Kratos drew his last knife from his boot and threw. It was obvious to him that his foe had planned to pin him against the wall and bludgeon him to deat, as it was the steel that imbedded itself into the man's throat became a major determent in that plan. The man managed to gasp, then stumbled and his corpse slid across the tavern floor to stop at his feet.

Well it saved him a trip at least; he bent down, ripped the knife from the man's throat, and then whipped it off on his glove. By far his glove was the cleanest piece of fabric in this hovel.

"I told you it would be best if you stayed out of the fight.\pard cs10" Kratos scolded Lloyd, then went to the where his last knife rested and wrenched his blade from its sheath of human flesh. He frowned at the blood, at his glove, then spotting a rag that had been abandoned by a barmaid who had wisely abandoned her post Kratos cleaned his blade. Well clean was the relative term since the rag was filthy, but it was by far cleaner then the tunic that lay on his dead foes back. "If you're going to lose control of your guts do so outside."

Lloyd managed to nod and bolted for the door.

"Any, who call us Desian again, will be met with a worse fate then this lot." Kratos announced, his voice so cold that several of those remaining could imagine the wine and ale freezing in their casks.

"Who's gunna pay for the clean up!" whimpered the tavern's owner, daring to peak from behind the bar he had so wisely dived behind. As almost all the patrons and servants of this hovel had ducked behind.

"Take it from them." Kratos snapped, and then went outside to see how Lloyd was holding up.

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"Take slow sips," Kratos ordered Lloyd, who was drinking a heavily watered down wine under the mercenary's supervision. "Half the glass will settle your stomach but the trick is to make it last a while."

Lloyd did as ordered, his hands were shaking though and he sloshed a great deal of the liquid about. Lloyd had been very skittish around him for an hour or so, and was now at least responding when the mercenary talk. Taking that as a sign that the boy was getting over his shock Kratos had decided to take the boy to a different inn. It was in part to avoid Raine's furry, to spare Lloyd the questioning of his innocent friends, and in part to feel the whole situation out. As horrid as it would sound to any other Kratos was pleased with this response on Lloyd's part, though it pained him to have to put Lloyd in that situation where Lloyd had to see someone die in cold blood. He would have been very worried had Lloyd taken the death in stride.

"The first time is always the hardest, to commit the act and to see it committed."

"Murder you mean?" Lloyd squawked, his eyes were haunted, rain pattered against the roof and thunder rumbled. Seeing Lloyd's pale drawn face the owner had ordered his help to tend them then leave them alone.

"You wear a blade you deal death, if you can not deal with that then stay behind in PalmaCosta." Kratos sipped his glass of water, stared at his pupil with an intensity that numbed by his horror the boy could not feel. "Genis said you fought the guards at the ranch, killed them. How is what I did so different?"

"I… I did it to protect Genis…"

"As I acted to protect you, I think perhaps it's not the act but the manner in which I carried out my actions. My cold blooded detachment in saving your life verses the hot blood of you passionately defending your friend. At least that's how you perceive it."

Lloyd nodded, took a sip of the wine and grimaced at the bitter taste.

"Something like that." Lloyd shivered. "It's just had, when... right in front of…"

"Lloyd, life and death are a part of us. The very breath we draw is a challenge to death, and so spurred by our audacity to challenge the great dark hovers about us waiting to snatch our last breath. It's startling to see death, terrifying, because it touches in you the fact that it could have been you. It could have been at your hand the man died, your blade, or it could have been you dying. To see someone die, to kill someone… it's a violation, a torment. The very core of life is to live, and by handing out death you defy that core… Every time your blade slides home it is as if it plunges into your own flesh, spills your own blood, and that blood gathers in the blade never to be forgotten. The weight of a sword is perhaps the heaviest of them all. I can tell you that my sword is the heaviest burden I have ever carried in my life, and that nothing will ever lighten that load for me. I despise drawing it, knowing I have to kill another being and add more weight, but that's what I do, it's my job. I've had years to come to terms with that, to… distance myself from that pain so that I can no longer show it, where you in your youth have not."

"I... don't like it… like this… but I think I don't have a choice." Lloyd took a deep breath, stared at Kratos as if expecting some negative response. Scorn? Anger? Kratos felt none of those things, but he let none of his true response show, he would let the young man pick his own path. "If I were to… I dunno throw my swords to the ocean; toss every knife and sword out to the sea then what? I can't protect Colette, or anyone else I care for… and that's why I picked up the blade in the first place… to protect Dad and Noishe, then Colette, Genis, Raine… I... it might be better if it's me doing it, rather then them… Not just because I'm good at it; or because I used to do it before I ever thought about it… but rather me then them."

Kratos said nothing, only sipped at his glass of water; he'd had enough wine for one evening.

"And it's really pisses me of that you can just say 'it's my job'! It… it shouldn't have to be anyone's job! It shouldn't have to be like that, where people are killed for no reason!"

"It is a fact Lloyd, it is what mercenary means, I protect those who pay me for that protection and sometimes to protect means to kill. We are put in that situation because hatred exists. Or at least that's what I was taught and believe. So long as hatred exists there will be fighting and death, they go hand in hand."

"I know that… And you can't do away with hatred, I know that too."

"Why not?" Kratos dropped his mask, showed his curiosity openly.

"Because you'd have to get rid of everything about hatred. It'd be like pulling a weed out but instead of yanking the whole thing out you only pull off the leaf that says 'bad anger;' and another that says 'bad hatred' and hope it kills the weed."

"Is there good anger, good hatred?" Kratos let his lips curl in a mix of scorn and humor. "Hatred and anger don't have any good in them; it is contradictory, like saying something is good-bad and bad-good."

"Can't it be though? I mean whenever I carve something it can look good but have a thing in it that look bad to me, but when I 'fix' I it looks worse because it does not have that bad part to make the good stand out."

lain Both of Kratos' eyebrows hopped in surprise, seemed intent on hiding amongst his hair.

"You might be on to something Lloyd, my recommendation, we continue this talk later tonight, perhaps as we journey, as it is you are hungry, and a bite would not hurt me either."

"I don't think I can eat… I'm still all…" Lloyd shuddered, then his stomach growled and he laughed quietly. "Double crossing…"

"And thus the God's remind us that emotion aside we are still human and need sustience." Kratos met the gaze of a waiter and a gesture on his part beckoned the girl forward. "Think on it Lloyd, don't ever stop thinking on it and you might become a better man then I am."

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"Thanks" Lloyd had muttered as he lay down on his makeshift bed of blankets and pillows on the floor. "For earlier and all that."
"For brutally killing a man in front of you? For shaking the very foundations of your innocence? By my actions I have torn down one of the key pillars of your morals, what thanks do I deserve for that?" Kratos had replied bitterly, his eyes closed in an attempt to seek slumber.

"For saving my life… and for making me think… Though my heads hurting right now so I guess my head's not all that happy about it…" Lloyd had laughed; he was facing the fire, sleeping on the floor as close to the fire as he dared so that he could sleep. It was his idea to help with his fear and Kratos had not begrudged him the chance to try that idea out. The other one about going to be nude however, to keep from running outside if he lost to his terror… ain Kratos had said he'd tie Lloyd to a bed it necessary to keep him indoors so that Lloyd wouldn't go to sleep in his bare skin.

Lloyd was asleep now, they'd talked a bit and Lloyd had fallen asleep during that discussion. He'd actually fallen asleep in mid sentence. Kratos stared listlessly into the night, into the red tinged shadows that hovered around Lloyd. He prayed to whatever gods there were that those shadows were not an omen. Through his shirt he caressed something small, metallic, he did not draw it out to gaze upon it, knew well enough what it was and what it looked like. He ran his fingers over it though over a locket that held the last of his legacy, the last of his peace.

He had once thought that it held the last part of him that could love, could feel.

It hurt, burned to learn that that was not the case. That despite the years and years of loneliness he could still feel, and as he looked at Lloyd's slumbering form he realized something else. He could still love, and to deny it was to deny himself.

"…your heart is in peril with this journey. Guard it close if you wish to complete your job with little pain... but open it if you wish to rise above all other men and be blessed with the God's greatest status."

There were no guards over his heart any longer, no guards left to watch over his soul and spare it yet again should he fail. He welcomed the pain, for it was not wholly pain but something deeper far richer was mixed with that pain, that agony. Tears burned behind his eyes, burned at him as had that revelation burned. Sleep may come to him, it may not, but dreams would come either way, and perhaps, just perhaps, they would not be bad ones. Stroking the locket under his shirt, feeling each link of the chain rub against his flesh he smiled. He was certain now, resolved, they would not be bad dreams, not at first. And when the nightmare did descend he would wield sword and shield against the horrors, not for his sake but for another. And if there was no higher blessing by the hands of the god's to give himself over, to defend, and be part of the life of another, he knew not of it.

"I will protect you…" He mumbled to the sleeping youth, he wondered why his eyes were feeling so heavy. "So long as I have breath you will not die." He closed his eyes, gave into the weakness of slumber.

His last thought was the image of a thread, a thin golden thread thicken, deepen and wind between himself and Lloyd, and that image barely brushed against his mind as he fell into slumber.

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The flame shook in Genis' hand, he was scared, so scared that he was trembling even as he walked. He was so sensitive; a shift in mana was as physical to him as a shift in the wind was to a bird. He'd explained it a time or two. To him mana words had a feel, place that was heavy with one aspect had a taste, a monster which was made by fouled mana and some animal merged together had a certain scent. He lived in a world separate from hers, and when they were alone he had strived to explain it. Mana had a look, a feel, it stoked all of the senses, told all, was all, or rather a part of all. That she could not understand. He spoke of threads, of weaves, and pulses that went through the heart and went to their own rhythm that touched all senses. It was when he abandoned the concrete descriptions, when he fell into the lull of his words and world that she became lost. She did not, could not, deny the reality of what he was explaining, to do that would be beyond cruel and destroy them both. Rather it was her; her comprehension of that reality was none existent. So Genis had learned a harsh lesson in his youngest days, that while she lived in one way he would live in another and there was no way for them to bridge that gap. In the dark of the night, or perhaps over some meal he had cooked, they would talk of this different reality, strive to understand and take humor in their failing. Now, more then ever she wished she could see as he did, know of it better so she could soothe the fear in him, the fear that his vision was inflicting on him. He dared no speak of it now, not with the others so close, but she knew in a way that only a bond to blood between them would allow her to know, what was wrong and what was causing that wrong. She could do nothing for this was not a monster in the closet that she could spook away with a light spell, not a nightmare that she could hold his hand through and banish with the warmth of a touch. Rather it was a nightmare, a waking nightmare and they were walking farther in.

"Genis, you can stop the spell, I'll make light for us." Raine whispered, giving his hand which she held in her own a gentle squeeze. He looked at her, and his far too wide eyes, he seemed so scared.

She smiled, understood, opened her hand and let the warm golden light form a small sphere in her hand, a soft steady golden light that forced the darkness and the monsters it was constructed of back. The dark seemed a malovent thing, after picking there way down the steep slope, descending down rapidly into the throat of the tunnel the shadows seemed to try to snuff out the lights that hung from the rafter's over their heads. They had walked, a path of rusted steel and kicked up the dust between those twin steel lines, had stumbled over shards of what looked to be splintered wood. At least at first, the deeper they went in the easier I was to see hands clutching at the ankles, to imagine the soft fall of dust and drops of water from stalactites tapping into stalagmites to be the impatient fingers of death tapping against the stone, the soft rustling of the Dark One's robes as he ghosted behind them. The lights deeper in were snuffed out, the walls once smooth turned harsh, jagged. Lloyd had called it, 'untamed' or rather had muttered a word in dwarvish and when Raine had pressed him to explain it he had muttered that response.

As her light fanned out, illuminate the cavern, no the tunnel, until they could see those jagged walls Genis waved his hand, cancelled his flame. Her light was steady, pure, the shadows did not dance to the motions of the fire, were driven of by that golden light and those that had the nerve to stay were highlighted in gentle hues. She had always wondered why her light spell would sooth his nightmares, and now at the feet of some great beast that seemed to cultivate nightmares for its own purpose she understood.
"Do you remember what I said earlier?" She said to Genis as she took point and he held onto her. She kept her voice down so that no one else could hear her. "About the thread and how to use it as a shield?"

He nodded; she felt it more then saw the gesture.

"Do that. Think of that, and I'll do it too, that way it's easier for you."

They were strange like that; thinking of the same thing sometimes made it clearer to both of them to understand it. They didn't talk it over, but somehow shared a singular awareness, a closeness so intense that it bridged that gap between them. She had heard of his phenomenon between twins, had heard of it from time to time between children and their parents, seen it once in Lloyd and Dirk when they'd finish each other's sentences. It did exist, she didn't understand it, but she would happily use it if it would help Genis.

Think of each strand and remember it in full, draw it around you and it will keep you safe and light the dark.

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Though she saw the path slope again, though her feet and his picked across the stone strewn path, she saw another time. Genis, happy, chirpy, was explaining the threads to her at the age of five. Explaining her thread to her at the age of five.

"\pard It's all green and golden; it's warm and fizzy like the neighbor's cat. It's got a slow steady thump to it and it's all tickle-ie when it moves and it's wound real tight around me."

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A latter time, she recalled a latter time when she had been hesitant about meeting Lloyd, about making him more then a student, making him a friend. He was Genis' friend, and a bad student in her class, perhaps one of the worst. She had been leery seeing the friendship between Genis and the headstrong dwarf's son, worried truth be told. Lloyd was a human, and while not all human's were bad. She had talked to Genis about it, had asked him if he had ever… looked at Lloyd with his special sight. He had nodded, said he always did when he was uncertain of someone and had proceeded to describe Lloyd.

"Red, bright red and dark red threads all wound up with each other, and their hot! Almost too hot, almost burning, but not quite that hot as to hurt, it's like standing right by a fire. It's where if you scoot an inch closer you'll get burned. And the threads, they throb and twist and writhe all the time, it's like they can't sit still and it gives me a headache sometimes so I don't look at him like 'that' a lot. But I've seen the thread when they are still, and it's more then just red, and dark red... There's more there then red, but the red moves around so much you can't see the heart of it. But when it was still, that one time, there was so much underneath; it was warm like all the rest of it, but not burning. It was steady, still, so still after all the movement it hurt, and there were flecks of red in a blue sky, like a night sky with red stars and I saw… Not just a weave but a world under that weave and it scared me a little." Genis had smiled. "But it was as amazing as it was scary and only scary because it was unexpected. It was like glimpsing into a… A place where every dream, nightmare, that ever lived, and I think somehow he draws on it and puts it somewhere we don't see, because it was so vast I don't know where he could put it all!"

Raine had blinked startled by the passion in her brother's voice, looked up from making a sandwich for her lunch, his sandwich sat on a plate before him and he had yet to touch it.

"What does red mean?"

"Passion, anger, energy, love, and loyalty."

"Sound's as if the passion's contagious, you haven't had a bite of my sandwich yet."

"Oh… sorry…" He lifted the bread, to check to see that she hadn't made a radish and jelly sandwich like she had done once before. Seeing it was the proper brown and purple of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich he took a bite.

"So what does that world in a weave mean?"

"I don't know, I've never seen it before, but it's really cool… umm I mean fascinating."

Raine had sighed, dubbed Lloyd safe enough to trust, but had decided that he was only safe in small doses. If things kept going as they were Genis would be talking like the restless boy, and that was something that Raine did not want.

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"Kind of like yours actually." Genis said, whipping the dishes dry that she scrubbed them clean. They were talking about there latest guest. Lloyd had come over to share dinner with his two friends and had dragged along Colette with him. Raine sighed, just grateful that the thoughtless boy had at least been considerate enough to bring some food over for his impromptu visit. There topic was again threads, or rather Colette's threads, Raine was again having her brother confirm her hunches with his strange gifts. Something that he never seemed to mind doing, she suspected that he liked to look at people and see their 'threads', since he had always –well almost always- described a person's weave as a beautiful if confusing thing. He frowned at a plate, rubbed it a few times more then necessary, a sign he was thinking deeply. "It's pink and gold, the same blend of your gold and pink. But green and pink are so… different."

"How so?" She gently plucked the dish out of his hand so he wouldn't drop it and hurt himself.

"Gold is love, it's a love between family members, something that ties them together, and you both have a lot of that. Green is, growth, it's always steady, slow sometimes, but always secure where pink is not. Pink is soft and weak… no not weak delicate, and rare. I've never seen anyone with that much pink before, but from what I saw I think it's really fragile, but I think it's like gold like the way red is like gold. It's just a different type of love. I can't tell you for sure, and I know I'm not making a lot of sense, I'm groping for an answer and I can't find it."

"There are so many types of love in this weave of yours aren't there?"
"Yeah it seems weird."

"No," Raine thought about it, recalled a saying from somewhere long ago. "No it makes sense I think maybe there are many different types of love as there are people."

"I think there's only one thing that I do know for sure." Genis smiled at her, the look in his eyes saying that she was going to be teased. "Lloyd's corniness is catchy!" Genis laughed, and then danced aside as she flicked her hand and splattered him with soap suds and water. The dishes were forgotten as they both relaxed and played like the youngest of children for a time.

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The tension eased out of Genis, she could see it fading away bit by bit, and she smiled, feeling faint warmth from inside as she reached for those memories stored away. She looked around, paid more attention to everyone, and was surprised to see that perhaps everyone was thinking of something else then the terror that hovered around them. Colette was holding Lloyd's hand, leaning into the swordsman who was muttering a few soft words, bits of a story to sooth away her terrors. Somewhere in his tale it seemed Lloyd had lost his own fear. Even Kratos looked far away, stroked something under his tunic, and seemed to be as distant from the terror that crouched ahead waiting for them in the ever-hungry dark.

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It was a dark tide, a whirlpool, pulling them onward, deeper and deeper in. It was a dread curiosity and a need, a challenge, which pulled them all forward. Shifting his blades around Lloyd peered into the dark beyond Raine's light. He was honestly a little disappointed. They'd been here in the dusty dark for hours and nothing; there were no monsters, no demons, no… anything. Nothing but a dented up box with wheels… a mining cart, yeah that's what Dad called them. The room itself was huge; he looked up and could see no ceiling, looked up and could easily imagine going to the highest point of the trail and digging down all of five feet and falling through the roof of this cavern. They'd been everywhere in these tunnels, walked through the starless night, the starless eternity, and Lloyd had wanted nothing more then to just turn around and run outside. He ached to feel the winds, see the stars and oftlineclouds and… anything but dust and stone!

Yet another way he was not a dwarf, as Dad would put it.

Sighing Lloyd glared at the darkness, man for a place where the monster had to be there was nothing there. He drew his sword, his left sword, and spun it in his hands. That got a glare from Kratos, he ignored the look, lifted his blade and slowly tilted it so that it would catch Raine's light and send a thin beam into the darkness. Nothing… nothing… dust, rocks, something white… Lloyd blinked, swept the thin strand of light on the white thing, it was a skull, a huge skull that just… sat there and decomposed quietly. Kratos frowned, frowned at the skull and gestured for Raine to come forward. What the heck, it was just a bit of bone and, and Lloyd lost his train of thought as Raine walked up to the skull with Kratos standing protectively in front of her blade drawn. The skill was three times as bit as Lloyd's and sported twin horns that made a knot at the base around the temples then swept up like Noishe's ears when they were pricked forward.
"Weird…" Lloyd moved to join the mercenary who poked the skull with his double edged sword. "What kind of animal has a head like…" The skull rolled to the side. Colette screamed, hopped back and Genis clung to her. It grinned up at them with its jawless smile, a smile that was a mix of human shaped teeth and teeth that made Lloyd think of a wolf.

"Guys don't do that!" Lloyd told his pounding heart to quiet down. "Well it looks like something came around and killed it so the cavern's safe right? No monster no…"

"Who daressss?" Rasped a voice that made the shadows dance and seemed to come from the skull.

"Oh shit!" Lloyd scrambled back, freeing both of his swords and pointing them at the skull. To his horror he saw that Kratos did not pull back. Even Raine was scrambling to join them, the light in her hands wavered in her shaking hands

"I dare!" Kratos snapped, how the heck was he not scared? "In the name of the spirits who guild this world I dare! It is you who dare beast of the Hell Fire, who desecrate this earth and terrorize its people by your shadow!"

"Kratos… ticking it off is not a good idea!" Genis yelled; he was shaking so badly that he could no cast a spell if his life depended on it. And by the way Kratos was going all their lives might depend on it.

"Warrior, champion of thisss world, I challenge ssstrong ones. Ssstrong one?"

"I can hope." Kratos lifting his blade in a quick salute then got into a half crouch half standing posture that meant he was going to fight.

"Here I thought I was the hot head!" Lloyd walked up to the older man. "You are so not getting into this without me!"

"This is not a game!"

"Challenge, ssstrong one?"

"Yeah, whatever." Lloyd spun his blades, looked around waiting for whatever it was to appear, he pointedly ignored Kratos' death glare.

"Lloyd!" Colette glided up to them; in her panic she had drawn her wings. "I'm coming too!"

"Ssstrong?"

"I'll do my best." Colette fluttered her pink wings and unhooked her throwing rings.

"Wa… wait I…" Genis ran forward. "I 'll help!"

"No you don't!" Raine ran after him, and they both froze as the skull rolled over to regard them.

"Ssstrong?"

"Ummm yeah… I… I'm… the best wizard in Iselia!"
"Oh Genis…" Raine sighed. "I'll fight you, if only to protect my brother and students."

"Begin…"

And the very earth shook, rolled away from the skull, slid off of it as it glided up until its horn's scrapped against the ceiling and gave it a crown of sparks. The shadows pulled back, but there was no light, but somehow they could all see. Out from the earth rose bones, they clattered and clicked, glided up and assembled themselves like some macabre puzzle coming together. A mad architect could build no more awful a structure then that bone and earth monster that stood before them. Then the air ripped around it, and there in each of its four hands lay a rusted, bent, and twisted, blade.

"Genis, Water spells! Raine Light spells; it's an unholy earth beast. Chosen, Lloyd, stay out of the way!"

"Ignoring you…" Lloyd growled, charged the beast's right side and learned that though the monster's arms looked like they'd tangle each other, they did not. He hopped out of the range of those behemoth swords, smashed his own blade into the thing's boney arm as it withdrew and cursed at the new nick in his blade.

"Spread!"

A jet of water shot out from between the stones of the floor, knocked the ftlinebeast from its feet. Kratos charged, smashed his blade into the breast bone, he cursed as an arm swung, tried to knock him aside. He avoided the massive sword by less then an inch, retreated.

Seeing the swords come screaming down, not seeing how Kratos could get out of the way in time, Lloyd did the most dangerous thing in his life. He tackled the mercenary, and all the monster's swords smashed into the ground where Kratos had just been standing.

"I owe you one." Kratos growled. Then seeing the monster turn towards the Chosen snarled an oath and shoved Lloyd off of him. Seeing the danger both swordsmen abandoned words and charged the beast. Silver streaks of light leading in front of them smashed into the monster's legs, knocked it over, but it managed to catch itself by making two of its blades into impromptu legs. There was a terrible fury and hatred that regarded them. Lloyd paled underneath those empty eye sockets, those utterly soulless eyes. What was up with Colette, she wasn't moving, only praying! She should run, he meant to call out to her. Kratos shook his head, and then charged the monster, and Lloyd had no choice but to follow and hope the mercenary was seeing something he could not.

He hopped back as the blades spun, carrying with them waves of darkness, once when he could not pull away he called on his mana shield, and was shocked that the force of his enemies strike sent him still in the orb of light flying. Kratos was having as hard a time as Lloyd, he was slower, only by a hair, but that slowness was making him have to call on his guardian spell more often. Water smashed into the beast, spread after spread and wave after wave of healing mana flew across the air healing numbing strikes of darkness.

"Oh Goddess grant me thy strength, angel feathers!"
The beast turned, looked down at the winged gnat that dared call upon a Goddess to challenge it. Three shrieking bolts of light, of holiness smashed into it's thin neck, there was a snap, and the whole frame shuddered. The blades went up, were lined up to slash Colette into pieces.

"No!" Lloyd broke away from Kratos' grip, charged in front of the kneeling Chosen and embraced her, held her in his arms, and even as the blades screamed down he called on his waning power. It was like standing against a storm, the darkness pierced the light of his shield, bludgeoned him with power he could not fight, and still he held onto Colette and the shield, not allowing either to fall.

"Photon!"

There was a loud crack, a flash of light and a sigh… An avalange of bone pelted his shield and then a blessed silence. He moaned, closed his eyes, and then was startled to feel warm hands grab him, reach through the shield… the shield he had let down in exhaustion.

"You idiot!" Kratos had him by the shirt front and was simultaneously holding him up and shaking him. "What in the God's name were you thinking!"

"Kettle calling pot black if you ask me…" Genis grumbled; he was leaning against the wall panting in his weariness like Noishe after a long run.

"Shut up boy!" Kratos' face was covered in dirt and bruised due to the waves of mana that had made it through his shield, it made him look fiercer then normal and Genis had the sense to pale under that visage.

"Could you… put me down now?" Lloyd whimpered, wondering if the mercenary was going to throttle him, he was shocked when Kratos embraced him.

"Don't you ever do anything that stupid ever again; I have too few… friends to lose any more of them by sheer stupidity."

"He… no biggie, just don't challenge monster mountains anytime soon…" Lloyd blinked, but didn't mind being supported for a bit, the world was spinning around so much and everything was hurting if Kratos did let go Lloyd'd probably just collapse on the nice soft looking stone floor.

"Wow, the world just ended, you got the stone man to show some emotion Lloyd!"

There was a smack and an oww… and everything was back to normal it seemed.

"Colette…"

"I'm OK… oww that hurt a little though… He was awful big I hate to see what kind of house he lived in before he turned into an icky skeleton."

Yeah, now everything was OK, Ok enough so that he let the dark behind his eyes catch up with him and he fell into slumber in the mercenary's arms.

Xxx xxx xxx xxx

"Drained down to nothing." Raine whispered, pulling her hand away from Lloyd's throat. "His pulse is strong, he's not going into shock, we'll just have to let him sleep it off. And you can stop looking so smug Kratos, he's alive, your training saw to that, now stop rubbing it in."

Kratos said nothing, did not glare, but by the look on him he had no energy left for glaring.

"I think between the two of us we can get him outside. Frankly I don't want to stay here any longer then nessicary."

"Agreed." Kratos pulled away from the wall he had been leaning against and joined her. "Genis, Chosen, get ready to move out."

Seeing that he was being obeyed, once Genis explained to Colette what 'move out' meant the two adults picked Lloyd up and carried him from the now ordinary cave. At the caves entrance, pacing nervously was Noishe. He whined at them in greeting, and seeing that Lloyd was comatose he ran to the boy's packs and pulled out something that looked like rope. Understanding came to Kratos first, the man gently tied Lloyd down to the dog, and they left Ossa, the adults taking turns in keeping Lloyd centered on his dog's back. At the foot of Ossa, where the trees made a thin line of forest that was less then a mile deep they stopped, the star light failed them as they traveled under the shadows cast by leaf and branch. At last after Colette had tripped for the seventh time Noishe refused to go farther and not having much energy to spare they merely threw down their blankets and went to sleep without fire or without deciding on the watch. Raine tried to stay up, she had enough energy to get through a first watch, and was startled to see Noishe begin to pace the length and width of the clearing. He looked at her, his furry green face was... some how stern, she could almost imagine him scolding her for not resting.

Ung that was ridiculous, illogical, her exhausted state must be causing her to ascribe such a human trait to an animal. She smiled, made a gesture to shoo the dog away. He stared at her, made no noise, only stared. It was as if he was trying to talk through that stare. Raine chuckled, ignored the animal and looked around to familiarize herself with the clearing. She rested her staff in her lap, turned away from the fire, away from her blankets that were singing a song of soft gentle song of the oblivion that was sleep. Not now, later, she promised herself. She looked about in the darkness, and was startled to feel something warm press against her. She turned, looked behind her, and Noishe looked down at her.

"Going to share watch with me Noishe?"

He only barked softly, licked her cheek, and then turned to regard the night about them. Somehow, while his licking her would have once made her angry the gesture of an animal's affection Raine blushed.

"You don't have to tell Lloyd I said this," she leaned against the warm furry chest and listened to that deep steady throb of the animal's heart beat. "But for a dog you aren't all that bad."

Noishe winked at her, wagged his tail, then again turned to stare into the night.

It came to Raine then that Noishe might not be a dog, might be as Lloyd put it, a 'special dog'. Certainly Noishe shared little traits with his other canine specie, his coloring and massive horse sized build screamed that he was indeed not a dog. Yet as Lloyd put it, he barked, howled, chased his tale, and played fetch. He acted like a dog and yet only by the farthest strain on the imagination was he a dog. For example, now, he was acting more human then dog like, and it was so easy to think of him as a human, but then come morning when he'd pounce Lloyd and bark and snatch the throw disk from Lloyd's pack and run into the woods with Lloyd hot on his tail...

How confusing, how fascinating! She'd had gone into 'ruin mode' as the children were fond of calling it, but she was just too tired. So with her confusing and strange companion she watched the darkness until at last sleep claimed her. And unknown to her while she slept Noishe went to her blankets, and fumbling with paw and tooth he managed to wrap the teacher in a cocoon of blanket. Seeing that she was comfortable Noishe wagged his tail, padded around the clearing, and until dawn made slow, near silent laps around those he counted on as his closest friends.

Xxx xxx xxx xxx

"Soooo evil skeleton of doom is gone, we zipped in there boom thwack, and a few spells from Genis, Colette, and Raine and poof it's gone!" Lloyd emphasized his sound effects by swishing one of his blades through the air. Kratos was glaring at Lloyd and the man firmly grabbed Lloyd's wrist to stop the slashing.

"You are making me very nervous when you do that."

"I'm not gunna lose my grip on my sword sheesh..." Lloyd sheathed his weapon and Kratos seemed sigh in relief, or it could have been annoyance, he always seemed so grouchy all the time.

"Anyways, you guys did great!"

"Well I am the best wizard in Iselia after all!" Genis chirped, after a full nights sleep everyone seemed to be feeling a lot better and that made her happy. Seeing Genis so scared at the tunnel it was hard to think of him, or any of them, being cheerful ever again. But the terror went away, under the sunlight it was hard to even remember what had been so scary. She skipped along side Noishe, who was trying, in his doggie way, to skip as well.

"It was nothing, really. My spell only achieved as much damage as it did by my focusing the energy on the skeleton's spinal cord and aiming the after blast along the supporting bones in the vertabre."

"Wha?"

"Oh what am I going to do with you?" Raine sighed.

"She means that she his it's weak spots with her spell and it fell apart." Genis sighed. "Come on Lloyd you're not that dumb are you?"

"I know what she was talking about!" Lloyd flared, then muttered under his breath. "Kind of..."

"That's OK Lloyd," Colette called, patting Noishe on his furry head. "Me and Noishe don't understand either."

"Ha, see you're not only confusing me your confusing Colette and Noishe professor!"

"And you are proud of this... why?" Kratos muttered, eyes sweeping every where, he did it so often Colette had to wonder if he missed anything at all. She considered asking him if he knew where all the dust and secret things were on the path but decided against it, and scratched Noishe between his big rabbit-y ears. Colette heard Kratos say to Raine about starting tomorrow with the switch and heard the professor's hesitant agreement. She wondered what they were talking about, then decided it wasn't important.

Colette pulled off a ring, Noshy's fetch disk Noishe perked up, he seemed a little hurt after Colette had said he was confused. Now it was forgotten with the promise of play in her hands. He barked, wagged his tail, and when she threw the disk he went after it with a yip of pure happiness. Noishe bounded after the disk, stopped, turned and began running back to them in terror.

"Monster!" Lloyd yelled drawing his blade.

"No..." Kratos frowned, then he paled. "Everyone down now!"

"What's going on?" Genis frowned at the sky not seeing, and niether did Colette.

The disk came whizzing back, Noishe ducked and it passed over him, trimming his head fluff in passing, and it was then Colette realized her mistake.

"Opps I think I threw the wrong disk..." She squeaked as Kratos threw himself on top of her, she heard Lloyd throw himself to the ground and heard Genis' wail as Raine protected him in the same manner. There was a buzz, a hiss, and then silence. Noishe came up to them, whined and everyone got up. Noishe was giving her an angry look, and she stammered out an appologie, Lloyd offered to carry the throw disk then and she gave him the green padded ring with a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry Noishe, I didn't mean to..."

"Bark!" He turned his back on her, then rubbed a paw over his head, even more fur came off of his head tuft.

"We don't need assassins." Kratos growled, looking at the tree where the disk was imbedded about half way in. "Just a few rounds of fetch and we'd all be dead."

"Bark!" Noishe bobbed his head.

"Noishe, Kratos give it a break, stuff like this happens all the time and no one got hurt so it's no big deal!"

"Yeah it's a Chosen thing." Genis chimed in. "Stuff like this happens all the time, it's Colette's holy aura that keeps us from getting hurt. No one, I swear no one has ever gotten hurt because of her clumsiness."

"What about the tree branch? I hurt Lloyd then!"

"Nah it was an old tree and was gunna happen anyway." Lloyd smiled, rubbed his head. "Don't worry about it, that branch was nothing compared to Raine, or anything else that's hit me on the head!"

"Yeah Lloyd's got too thick a skull to get hurt by a branch."

"Yep that's right and... Hey wait a second... what's that supposed to mean!"

"Nothing! Hey no! Don't you think about it I'll Spread you into next year!"

"Good then I'll throw you into the puddle you make for two years when I land!"

"Lloyd... that's highly illogical." Raine sighed, and the boys began to tussle around in the dusty road.

"Please, tell me they are not always like this." Kratos wasn't talking to Raine, but to Noishe, and Lloyd's dog almost seemed to sigh and roll his eyes.

"Whine..."

"Genis Sage and Lloyd Irving, we need to get to Izoold, and before we get to town I want you back in that disguise Kratos made for you."

"Aww man..."

"Now then, before you leave Lloyd I believe Mr. Aurion should give you a quick test to gauge your knowledge on the history of Mithos the Hero so he knows where to begin your lessons."

"Eep... Professor, please say fourth months fools... please..."

"Wow Lloyd you get two teacher's isn't that nice!" Colette chirped, not seeing the problem at all. She kind of wished she had two teachers too, she'd do a lot better in school if she did.

"It's the second month Lloyd, how could she say it was a fourth month's fools prank." Genis looked at Lloyd, giving him a funny sad look. "I don't know whether to pity you or be a little jealous." Genis looked at Kratos. "Oh wait now I know which one it is... It was nice knowing you Lloyd."

Xxx xxx xxx xxx

Kratos was giving him a pitying look, a long pitying look and with what guilt mixed in? Man this was vicious, cruel, and evil, he'd never forgive Raine for this. As Kratos' voice droned on and on about some stupid merchant's treaty a tingle crawled all over his hand, a warning, and he jolted himself awake. The first time it had happened he'd ignored it, let his mind wander and had been shocked. At first he had whirled on Genis demanding to know why Genis had shocked him. Now though he knew Genis wasn't doing it, and Colette would never do something like that with her angel powers so it left only one thing. He wished he'd be left long enough to ask the ex-sphere to stop shocking him, but he wasn't.

"Any questions?" Kratos gave him a look that said he better think of one now.

"No... I think I got it."

"Good, then you wont mind a little test will you?"

"Ye- I mean no..." Lloyd paled when those thing brows drew together in a scowl and his voice developed a squeaky note to it. "Not at all!"

Genis snickered, Colette looked confused, and Raine was giving Kratos a smug 'I told you so' look. He wondered if they had some sort of bet going on, where if Kratos couldn't teach Lloyd anything he owed Raine twenty gald or something. He wouldn't have been surprised if there was. As the first question fell off of Kratos' lips Lloyd started, this was not one of Raine's fact questions, but rather something different. He was asking Lloyd to put it together and put his own spin on it!

"Really Kratos, if Lloyd failed the basic fact test about Mithos, a history almost everyone knows don't you think that that's a little too advanced?"

"Ms. Sage, be quiet. I am lecturing, you may talk all you wish when you lecture, I only ask the same respect."

Genis gasped, Colette gasped, even Lloyd gasped, no one told the professor to be quiet, no one!

"I apologize," Raine's tone was icy, made Lloyd shrink back in his chair despite himself. "I'll take my pupils and get out of your hair."

"Thank you." Kratos' tone was also cool... it felt like they were fighting but neither of them had raised their voices, were trying to Raine each other, or anything that made Lloyd think of a normal fight. "That would help greatly."

Suddenly Lloyd was thinking of outside, or making a break for it, that it would be a thousand times safer outside fighting an army of Desian's then it would be to stay in this room. He watched Raine leave, could not get his mouth to not hang open if his life depended on it.

"Well?"

"Umm, could you repeat the question?"

"Good luck Lloyd." Colette called to him as she was being firmly lead away.

Kratos rose an eyebrow, but did repeat the question, and Lloyd stumbled a bit and managed his first answer. It was then he learned that he'd have to draw from the lecture, he had to use Kratos' examples to support his own opinions or Kratos would dismiss them. Kratos dismissed a ton of Lloyd's answers, at least at first, and after the first half hour Lloyd wanted to go back to Raine, her head smacks and bucket balancing was by far preferable to Kratos' mind numbing complex questions and counter questions. After the hour wound down Lloyd would have given every piece of gald he'd ever owned to go back to Raine, just when he felt his head was going to split Kratos cut off the lecture, dubbed him ready then went to Raine's room. Ice settled in Lloyd's blood as Colette, Genis, and Raine came out, and it made a pernament home in his heart when he saw the packets of paper, and all the paper's empty spots.

"She's gunna test me to?" Lloyd whined at the mercenary.

"She's going to test all of us... myself included." Kratos replied, taking a packet of papers without protest.

"Man this is not my day..."

"Since we will be going to PalmaCosta this is a good chance to study." Raine said cooly, putting the paper in front of Lloyd and patting his head. "Don't worry about it so much, it's more a way for Genis to keep in practice for his entrance exam."

"Well if it's to help Genis then OK."

"Thanks Lloyd." Genis smiled. "Maybe today you wont get an F this time."

"I hope so." Lloyd rubbed at his hand, which was now feeling all warm.

"Lloyd I'll do fine, no matter what he gets!" Colette chirped.

"Thanks Colette, you're the best!"

"And this is your standard of education in Iselia?" Kratos muttered to Raine, as he went over the test.

"In Lloyd's case, yes."

"We weren't able to go over the last two segments of your 'assignment'." Kratos pointed to the test. "If you could dismiss him from the seventh and tenth question?"

"I will, don't worry about it. But don't think for a second you're dismissed from it."

Kratos rose an eyebrow, his lips quirked in something too dark, too challenging, to be called a smile.

"I have yet to fail a history exam in my life Ms. Sage."

She laughed at that, startled Lloyd looked up from the questions. Raine rarely laughed, and he was curious what Kratos had said to make her laugh.

"Uh no they like each other!" Genis groaned softly, the three Iselian student had by force of habbit scooted close to each other, putting some distance between themselves and the adults of the party. To Raine they might have looked like they were cheating but they weren't they were gossiping like they would in the old days.

"No way!" Lloyd shuddered. "They hate each other's guts!"

"I think they like each other too." Colette smiled.

"No not like Colette, it's like."

"You mean like like... No, that's worse then two nights ago... Are you trying to give me nightmares Genis!"

"Could you imagine if they did... Kratos would be my... Well I don't know what he'd be but we'd be related! That gives you nightmares, what do you think it gives me?"

"Trama?" Lloyd chuckled, ribbed his friend, it was rare he had the upper hand on a situation like this, he wasn't going to let it go just yet. "Evil images to last a year?"

"Try a decade!" Genis gulped.

"I think it's nice that the professor and Kratos are becoming friend's don't you?" Colette asked, not really understanding what was being said.

"Friends that's OK, but boyfriend girlfriend relationship is not OK!"

"Oh!" Colette put it all together and smiled. "That would be so sweet, oh look Kratos is trying to hold her hand!"

"He's pointing at the paper Colette!"

"Is he?" Genis looked like he was going to get sick.

"Alright, that's it, stop it both of you! That's disgusting, we are not having this conversation!"

Raine, Kratos, Genis, and Colette stared at him.

"Um Professor..." Lloyd felt his cheeks going red. "Could we take the test now?"

"What's disgusting?" Kratos was giving him a look that said he better explain himself and fast.

"No..nothing... Could we just get this over with?"

"Lloyd, what were you three talking about?"

Genis shook his head and even Colette looked a little hesitant to have him say anything.

"No..nothing Professor Sage."

"You only "professor sage" ed me when you knocked over the mouse cage and the class pet got away."

"I swear that was an accident! Look you of all people don't want to know, really honestly you don't want to know!"

"Why wouldn't I want to know?"

Lloyd coughed, looked outside and found the sight of the still muddy streets interesting.

"Genis!"

"I don't know anything!"

"Colette..." Raine had a strained look on her face, never had Genis and Lloyd banned together so long to avoid saying something to her.

"Please Professor, I don't want to get anyone in trouble!"

"Well, it seems as if they don't tell you everything after all." Kratos chuckled, it was not a pleasant sound.

"Mr. Aurion, be quiet, alright, can I at least get out of you that this little secret of your isn't going to hurt anyone?"

"No, it wont." They said at the same time, wearing three similar expressions of relief.

"Well except for nightmares with me but..."

"What was that?" Raine gave her brother a look that said she was going to persue this if they gave her any ground to work with.

"Umm nothing!" Lloyd ribbed Genis when the adults shared a look of bafflement. "Shut it!"

"Alright, if everyone's ready?" She gave them a look that was silently commanding them to rat and tell the secret, Lloyd would sooner eat his own tongue before saying anything. "Let's get started."

Xxx xxx xxx

"I'm worried." Raine admitted, sipping her coffee, the mercenary was awake, the only other person in the room that was. She had the tests on the table, was grading them, and was receiving quite the surprise with Lloyd's test. While not A work it was certainly C work and she was rather pleased. "I don't know which concerns me more, that Lloyd's grade might be a sign the world's ending, that their all keeping this little secret so well, or the fact that Genis was saying 'please don't marry him' in his sleep earlier."

"You honestly think that they were discussing you and the mayor?" Kratos sipped his tea, going over his test now that Raine was done with it.

Raine found it strange that Kratos was sipping tea, it put in her mind images of old men and woman puttering around a fire talking about the latest gossip. An image that did not fit the surly mercenary in the slightest. She half expected him to enjoy drinks of a more... potent variety. But then she imagined most swordsmen to be hedonistic barbarians. Kratos' rather spartian way of living confused her, he seemed to take no pleasure in much of anything or anyone. For example he was drinking more out of force of habit, not really registering any contentment in his actions. He did not roll the liquid on his tongue, nor guzzle it, rather he seemed focused on the motions of drinking and little else.

"Who else could it have been, only that man has given Genis nightmares, Erik scares my brother, not that I blame him in his fear."

"From what I saw of him, and his son, I would not blame you or him in the slightest. I had to step in to keep that boy from harassing your brother and Lloyd."

"Genis didn't mention that, neither did Lloyd."

"They didn't see me do it, I overheard the bigot say something rather cutting about elves to his friends, say something about teaching the runt and freak a lesson, and I stepped in at that point. You may have noticed that the mayor did not see us off that morning, he was probably infuriated by the fact I gave his son a black eye for daring to draw a blade on me."

"I imagine so." Raine chuckled. "I wonder how he felt having a complete stranger defeat him, he's more cocky then Lloyd and they are or rather were fierce rivals." Raine's eyes went distant recalling the thousand and one 'accidents' she had to treat Lloyd for. "I hope he doesn't return to Iselia, I pray he doesn't, Ivan's been getting more and more vicious when he wins. The last time... was not pleasant."

"You have a talent for understatement Raine." Kratos finished his cup and set it aside. He moved to get up, yet Raine's intense gaze made him hesitate.

"Why are you teaching him? Not the swordsmanship, I understand that, but why the lectures? Why pay for his swords? You are... being very charitable to him. Very companionable, where you are not to anyone else."

"I like him." Kratos said slowly, as if fighting something deep inside to say those words. "He's a good person if a bit young and in need to do some growing up... but weren't we all at one time or another? Rare is a swordsman with a good heart, a good conscious, and I like that in him. I admire him, for seeing a path with no tangles, for seeing a road that I feel I have lost. He, reminds me of someone I lost, someone who died, who I failed to protect." Kratos rolled the cup in his hands, seemed to be talking more to himself then her. "Perhaps in teaching and defending him I can finally redeem myself for my past."

"If it's not prying..." Riane coughed, felt uncomfortable with those eyes boring into her. "Who does he remind you of?" It was cruel to ask that, tactless, but something told her that the answer of that question would mean everything. If he felt guilt, if he was so lost as he sounded, so pained. His judgement and actions might be skewed, if he was seeing Lloyd perhaps as a little brother or friend then Raine would intensify her watch on the two, would be very careful to make sure that the friendship between the two swordsmen would not poison and twist into something that would hurt her pupil.

He stared at her, his face haunted, tortured, for once his mask of detachment was gone and she could see for one second so much pain that it made her tremble. His response, his answer, only two words made ice slide down her back.

"I will retire to my rooms now." He said stiffly, the mask was back, and she looked up to see his uncaring expression. And had she not seen it down, just for a second...

"Kratos, he's dead, Lloyd isn't..."

"I know." Kratos said, and while he seemed to be agreeing Raine had to wonder if he really did. "I've known that for many years, but is it so wrong to be reminded, to recall?"

"It will hurt him if he ever thinks you consider him this way, he might reject you. He has a family, a strange one I'll admit." She smiled, recalled that after all she was an aunt to the boy. "He wont think of you the way you want him to, and it will hurt you to know that the only thing you'll be to him is a friend."

"It wont hurt me in the future, it does now." Kratos whispered. "Rest well Ms. Sage." And with that he left her room, and alone she swallowed down her tears of pity.

She picked up Lloyd's paper, ordered herself to finish the work, to not let this get to her. She could not read the writing, it was as if he wrote it in Dwarvish script. She lowered the paper, set aside the feather quill pen, Kratos' words echoed in her mind.

My son.

For once, in the first night since she had started teaching, she did not finish her grading the night of the test.