A/N: Fanfic update spree…. I will be going bonkers today updating because my uncle will be coming to my house any day now. He dubs all computers, books, paper and pencil, and all electronic centered activities as the anti-thesis of life. In lay man's terms… when uncle come no computer is turned on, no video game is played, no words are written, and the house is not lived in until he leaves. He will be here most of my winter break.
Further more my parent has discovered I am writing fanfic, my parent dubs it as a waste of time and so during the break I will be having to get another job as it is my parent's hope that I will be so exhausted I will only focus on original stories (I was told this to my face). The words "I'm only doing short stories with my original characters until I am out of college, I don't have the resources to manage a novel and classes" has yet to register and always has my parent pointing to my "Shards" story as a rebuttal.
I am farther slowed by the fact that the cracker who got into my computer is trying again. He keeps sending me e-mails with his virus, I guess the idea that I changed all my e-mail passwords, questions, disabled one of my accounts, and put in every anti-virus, anti-trojen, spyware, and firewall program I can get my hands on has yet to make him realize I'm not falling for the same trick twice. Regardless if you get an e-mail from me with an attachment and I don't tell you before with a warning e-mail I'm going to be sending you something then don't open it. Especially if it says something like "Spyaxe" or "anti-virus software" as it was the same con that got me stuck with the Spyaxe back door trojen/worm/malware bundle from Hell that destroyed every scrap of my new work and all that I'd transferred over. Don't worry I have a back-up disk this time, most of the loss was the notes for upcoming "Shards" chapters but I have that in writing so I should be covered. I'm just slowed down by a lot of circumstances lately.
BTW check out my Xanga site, I have a detailed bio for Kratos now up -not a TOS bio but a Shards, DES, River, bio, and I hope to have Yuan up as well...
I have not given up yet and will do all I can when I dare.
Shards chapter 21
"Before the Whirlwind"
There were no seedy taverns, no hidden places where those who wallowed in sin or hunted for information from those who lived questionable life-styles could linger. Despite this near surplus of morality, there were taverns that were nearly falling apart. Poverty still had its place in all societies, even the most morally uptight. The rough patrons of the town were all but gone, vanishing as if they had never been. The only remnants of vice lingering about the fringes of this outstanding show of humanity were the drunks who, so far-gone by drink, had none of their wits left. Because of this strained peace --this strained image of paradise that had been sculpted by laws born of fear -- Lloyd and Kratos found themselves the targets of hostile stares. In one instance, they had been ordered to leave a tavern because they were clad in an unholy color.
"It's like their all religious fananfics or something," Lloyd grumbled, rubbing the back of his head to stimulate his thoughts somewhat.
"Fanatics, and keep your voice down. We aren't out of hearing shot yet."
Lloyd nodded, tried to look confident, and radiate that subtle arrogance that was quiet, yet told others to back off. He must not have been doing a good job, 'cuz Kratos continuously kept giving him pointers. They walked down the stone paved streets, or rather the streets of smoothed stone; no mortal hand had smoothed that rock, but the foot falls of the people and the omnipresent touch of the winds. Squinting as powdered rock was kicked up and flew into his eyes, Lloyd muttered a few curse words he'd picked up at Koton's at the wind.
"Where did you learn language like that?" Kratos growled.
"Umm…" Lloyd winced. Saying he'd heard Kratos say those words was instant death so he tried a different route. "Well you curse!"
"Not like that," the auburn haired man rumbled ominously. "Not that vehemently over something insignificant."
"Well you can't get on my case for cursing because you curse." Lloyd thought that to be perfect logic. After all, Kratos couldn't weasel out of that no matter how smart he was!
"I can't, can I?" Kratos hissed.
Oh great, he was dead. Deader then dead. Panicking, Lloyd blurted out the first thing that came to his mind:
"Umm . . . hey, where are we gunna stay for the night?"
Graceful that save was not, but it was a save. The fierce lines around Kratos' mouth and eyes eased as he thought it over.
Sighing in relief, Lloyd was more then happy enough to be quiet and have Kratos forget about him for a little.
"The Fresco is low class enough for our disguises without lacking in basic comforts, plus they don't charge you an arm and leg for the night."
"An… arm and a leg… they take that as payment?" Lloyd squeaked.
"Of course not, it's just a saying. And, Lloyd…"
"Huh?" Lloyd shifted his swords around a little.
"We aren't done with our talk about your excessive profanity."
Great, just great…
X
It was scary going through the unkempt street. Part stone with gapping holes of dust, the whole road looked like a strip of diseased flesh. Wooden houses, some empty, some not, all in states of disrepair, stared at them with their flaky scale-like skin of paint and empty, shattered eyes of glass. Few of the windows were whole, and some of the houses even had marks painted on them, some consisting of Half -elf slurs written in bright red letters, while others were in the holy script of Martel, denouncing those of tainted blood…
Genis gripped Raine's hand. While this was no mob, the mute signs of hate left behind and in the open said so much…
The spirit of the town was obviously crushed in full, if even the act of cleaning or obscuring the marks had stopped. Hope must be dead if the vandalism spurred by hatred was left untended.
Colette took Genis' other hand and gently patted it while Raine gently rested an arm on his shoulder. That was enough: to know that he was safe – that all humans weren't like this. That was enough, and it was all they could give him for now.
"Where are we going, Professor?"
"To find someone who can tell us what's going on. There is something hidden here."
Colette cocked her head to the side, a small frown turning her bow-shaped lips down. "I think…" the angel's Chosen said softly, "that this is supposed to be hidden, that we aren't supposed to see this."
The wind sighed, a disquiet spirit that made the curtains rustle and caress the broken teeth of glass. The laughter of children, the talk of gossips, and so few people going off their porches to talk to their neighbors, made it all seemed muffled. Many people were openly staring at them, many fingering holy talismans and muttering prayers under their breaths to protect them against evil.
"No, Colette, we are not supposed to see this. But I think in order to help these people we have no choice."
X
The talk in the inn was muffled; everyone in the common room was on edge. At last the final straw fell upon strained nerves. The "straw" came in form of a young girl, and the beginning of the breaking was simultaneous with the child breaking a vase. With a loud, almost musical ting, the pieces of porcelain broke. The shards of the vase skittered along the wooden floorboards, the jagged edges of the vase pieces scratched across the wooden floors, and in that horrid silence, that oh so soft sound was audible. Silence fell: it was a silence born of dread. And in that choking silence, the pretty girl's tears and whimpered prayers pierced both the ill-guarded heart and the steel-hardened one.
"Help her, Lloyd," Kratos ordered, countermanding his old order that Lloyd do not speak to or aid anyone. While Lloyd did so Kratos tossed down some gald on the table to cover their expenses.
The younger swordsman blinked, looking over his shoulder even as he was going to the girl. For one second he could see past Kratos' icy facade, which revealed a mix of anger, disgust, and a writhing mass of other emotions -- none of which would be what Colette would call "nice" emotions. All of those feelings somehow were contained in that utterly still, yet expressive, expression.
Forgetting Kratos for a minute, Lloyd sank to his knees by the girl.
He gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders and that seemed to be what she needed. She held onto him like a life-line, and he held her feeling… well, a little strange. From a world away he was aware of someone yelling, snapping that the girl's taint -- her flaws – were contagious, a disease.
"Her humanity, her minuscule error…" a voice growled softly.
Yeah, that had to be Kratos. He was the only guy who used long-tailed words like minuscule in a disagreement.
"Come on, I'll help you pick up some of this junk," Lloyd muttered into the girl's black hair.
"Th.. thank you…" she whimpered, "but you shouldn't. He's right… I was wrong."
"For what, dropping something? Sometimes people are clumsy…" Lloyd protested.
"Only blasphemous dogs would not know of how the Goddess demands perfection from her Chosen people!" the girl's employer spat.
"Blasphemy is a very heavy charge inn-keep," Kratos hissed, his dark eyes blazing, making the patrons of the inn cringe back in terror. Lloyd could easily imagine the man fingering the hilt of his sword, turning statement to threat with a hard gaze and minuscule caresses. As it was, Lloyd wasn't going to waste his time watching Kratos scare a room filled with people He helped the girl to her feet and picked up some of the larger shards.
"Just throw them away," the girl whispered shyly. After all, swordsmen only saved the peasants in the stories, so to her this all must have seemed surreal and dream-like. "The pieces aren't worth anything now that it's broke."
"I bet the person who made it could…"
"When it's broke it's not worth it anymore. Thank you." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
"I'll escort you past these…" Kratos offered, waving a hand at the group of humans, all the while not calling them people. Lloyd had a feeling it was a sneaky insult, like the ones Genis used sometimes.
"Lloyd, wait for me here if you would."
When Kratos returned the two abandoned the cramped common rooms wove through the tables and people and made it through the swinging doors to the halls. They had ordered separate rooms, but Kratos signaled for Lloyd to follow him.
Baffled, but subdued by a strange feeling that made his gut writhe and his hands sweaty, the younger swordsman just followed Kratos' lead. He knew he was out of his depth. Lloyd could feel and see the tension of the Asgardians, and was helpless to do anything about it, to change the situation. To think that being surrounded by so many unhappy could make him feel so scared and sick."
"I know we ordered separate rooms, but I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone. You sleep heavily and if an assassin comes…" Kratos whispered, his dark eyes flicking about as if to see if the rooms around them were opened even a crack.
Lloyd nodded, drew his arms over his chest, and shivered. He felt cold – cold, scared, and strangely alone.
"Kratos… what's going on? Those people, everyone, they're scared to death."
"They are scared of death, and the ritual. Speaking of it makes them go pale and start looking for places to hide."
"You said," Lloyd hissed, "not to ask about the…"
"I know what I said." Kratos pulled out the key from his belt – the key he'd demanded from the innkeeper upon entering. "I said that it would be dangerous. I can safely deal with the consequences of my actions. You, on the other hand, are not skilled enough with blade or tongue to fight or talk your way out of a dangerous situation." Lifting the key, the mercenary turned it over so that the setting sun's light fell upon it and stained the lettering red.
"Humph… thirteen, it figures."
"Nice…" Lloyd ran a hand through his brown locks. He let the mercenary fumble key into lock. The man went in first then Lloyd followed, absently closing the door behind him. "What are we going to do?"
"Nothing. We are not in the business of being heroes, Lloyd. The bulk of heroes die inglorious deaths, and it is in our lives we must fulfill our duty to the… mechanics of this Regeneration."
"What about the others?" Lloyd protested. Something in his chest tightened painfully at hearing Kratos was just happy to let things stand, to do nothing. That hurt, though he didn't know why.
"Tomorrow I will hunt the Sages and the Chosen down and we will leave. This may be the capital for knowledge on the ruins of yore, but the library in Luin, or the Tower of Mana, will serve us just as well."
Lloyd nodded his head even as the sick feeling was getting worse. He eyed the bed with undisguised longing, spotting the glance Kratos chuckled.
"Go ahead, I'll take first watch."
"Thanks."
Lloyd went to the low lying mat, sat on its edge, and fumbled with the cape. He had to unbutton it from the collar of his, than unhook the clasps that bound the cape to the front and back of his shirt. It was a strange arrangement.
When he'd asked why the heck Kratos would do something like that, the man had said that having the hook in the back kept the cape from flying in his face when he tumbled, jumped, or ran.
Tossing the cape to the floor – well he was going to until Kratos gave him a glare of death from the corner of his eye – Lloyd snagged the ends of the stupid thing and gracefully caught it.
Snorting at the "I meant to do that, I was just playing" that Lloyd absently muttered, Kratos drew his sword, pulled out a whetstone from his pack, and went to work tending the blade.
Folding the stupid thing, he laid it on the end where he planned to put his head. Since the mattress on the floor didn't exactly have a pillow, he decided to make the thing useful for once. He bent and fumbled off his boots. The only other sound in the room was the steady scrape of stone across steel.
"Kratos…" Licking his lips, focusing on the boots, Lloyd gathered his courage. "Why can't we do anything about this?"
The stone stopped with one last discordant screech of steel across stone that made Lloyd's teeth clench. Silence fell in the room.
"It is not a case of can not. We are, after all, intelligent enough -I imagine- to be able to find out what is wrong here with a few days of constructive eavesdropping and questioning. Then it would be in our power to do something about it. It is a case of will not."
"Why not?" Lloyd pressed, wanting, needing, to know.
"Mercenaries…"
"I'm not a mercenary, alright!" Lloyd flared.
"Well—" Kratos rose an eyebrow, his tone taking on a hint of a chill to it. "—I am. I also consider it my duty to keep innocents from wandering into situations they are ill-equipped to handle."
"I am not a little kid!" Lloyd hissed. "You talk about saving people, of helping innocents! Well, isn't turning your back on a bunch of them just as bad?"
Kratos' lips curled into an open sneer, it seemed a feral gesture on his face. An animal's baring of teeth would have been gentler gesture.
"Going to play hero again, Lloyd? I thought Iselia had actually taught you something."
Lloyd winced; that shot hit the heart and set his whole soul to bleeding.
"How can you be so cold?"
"I am as I need to be, Lloyd."
"You're going to let these people die, because of the way they're acting, that's what's going to happen."
"They may be wrong."
"They aren't and we both know it… So you aren't going to do anything." Lloyd felt the sickness rise in his throat: a bitter hot taste that was going to fill his mouth. He swallowed it down, along with his disappointment.
"I will only act when it becomes in my -or in this journey's- best interest that I do so."
Lloyd worked the buckles back onto his boots, when they were secure he stood.
"What in Origin's name are you doing?"
"I'm going out for a walk…" Lloyd snatched up the cape and just buttoned the thing on. It sagged and made even more noise than normal when he walked, but he could deal with that.
What he couldn't deal with was staying in this room for a second longer.
Quick as a cat and silent as death, Kratos sprang to his feet. Lloyd felt Kratos' hands against his shoulder, felt the fingers dig into his arms like small claws. In less then a heartbeat, he was smashed against the wall, only a few feet from the door. Wincing at the hit, startled that Kratos would or could do that to him, Lloyd struggled in the man's grasp, but found himself helplessly pinned. Pushing down his fear, resisting the urge to close his eyes and shiver, Lloyd met Kratos' eyes.
"Let me go."
"Not until you listen to me, Lloyden. These people are in a siege mentality, everyone they don't know personally is the enemy. Lych is out there somewhere, it would be sui-"
Lloyd could feel something in his mind click, and the fear in him faded, and there came forth a realization, an understanding. He felt sick, disgusted, but managed to keep from shrugging off Kratos' arms and pushing the man away.
"Your son's name was Lloyden, wasn't it?"
Kratos' face went bloodless, his eyes widened in shock, and a tremble took his frame. It was as if Lloyd's sharp tone had been a blade, for the powerful mercenary seemed to be struck dead in that moment. For a long time Kratos didn't breath, for a long time he was stiller than any corpse Lloyd had ever seen.
"And that's the only reason you care about me, because I remind you of your son. The rest of the world could die, but you wouldn't care."
Kratos lifted his face, frustration, anger, pain, made the expression, cracked through the icy calm and showed just for a second a glimpse into a torture that very few could endure. With another shiver, Kratos bowed his head, his auburn hair making a jagged mask over his face. So weakened was Kratos that he rested it wearily on Lloyd's chest. The burden that was the loss of those he loved brought the mercenary down to nothing, and he shuddered with the force of a suppressed sob. Shivering Lloyd rolled his shoulders and Kratos pulled back, agony flashing in his black eyes. Kratos slowly released Lloyd, took a step back, and leaned against the door frame, staring with unblinking, unseeing eyes. Then with another shudder the man lowered his head, his auburn hair became a tangled screen that made his face unreadable.
"I… I'm… not your son…." Lloyd whispered in a tight shaking voice.
Slowly Kratos lifted his head, tears streamed down his face, his long hair fell into his face, obscured all but one eye that seemed like a damned thing that was looking and could not hide, like its twin.
"I can't be your son, both my parents are dead. Dirk... told me that they were both dead."
"You lost… your parents… I lost my child…" Kratos whispered. The thread that bound them seemed to scream in pain, wincing Lloyd looked away, stared at nothing in particular while he tried to control himself.
"I… I'm not… Don't you think that this would be everything I wanted? To have a family again?" Lloyd sobbed, any pre-tense of composure dissolving. "But I'm not… I can't be your son, damn it! It's impossible! You're too young, I'm too old, and it doesn't work out! It wouldn't make sense if it did work out!"
Crumpling at the force of his pain, Lloyd seemed ready to fall. Half holding, half supporting, Kratos drew the young man into his arms and held him while the tears and pain played out. They were so close now that there tears mingled, with the tears falling from Lloyd's eyes bringing feather light touches across his cheek and chin while his own tears fell upon Lloyd's head.
"If the matter of blood," Kratos swallowed, "is that much a concern…. Then I will never bring this up with you ever again."
"I want a promise from you," Lloyd whispered. "Something you'll never break. If I ever start looking for my blood father… don't hate me for doing that… please. Dad, my dwarf Dad…"
"I won't," Kratos murmured. "You have every right to look."
Lloyd bowed his head and sniffled weakly into Kratos' tunic.
"If you use my cape to clean your nose, I will do massive bodily harm to you."
"Heh…" Lloyd closed his eyes. "I could live with that."
"You wouldn't want to," Kratos mock growled.
"Heh, you'd never get a hit in, I'd so kick your tail." Lloyd gulped down his tears, managed a smile that Kratos returned.
Lloyd stiffened in shock as Kratos gently wove his fingers of one hand through his hair. He weakly leaned against Kratos, allowed the mercenary his petting. Dad, his dwarf Dad was well… too short to hug, and was shy about touching and being touched, like all dwarves were.
Going to Iselia, seeing all human children with their parents… It had hurt when Lloyd realized he couldn't have that closeness with his parent. Colette had been a double shock, mock pouncing, tackling, tickling. Even Genis had been pretty free with a torrent of pokes, pats, and the occasional attempted tackle and electric charged snatch at the hair. Being held by Raine when he was sick, even having her hover over him with her holding his hand when he was ill, had been different – in some ways totally shocking. It had woken the painful distance between him and his dwarf father: it had made him aware that as a human he needed to be touched, held – those were human things. The dwarf thing was a few curt words, an awkward pat, or a slight smile.
"I'm… not much of a so-" Lloyd began to protest weakly.
"Lloyd, hush." Kratos let the fingers of one hand tangle in Lloyd's hair, muttered a few words in angelic, and tightened his grip. The man tightened it up by a lot. Lloyd felt like he was going to hear bones snap, gasping Lloyd stiffened in pain, managed to croak out a few words.
"Kratos… I can't breathe…" Lloyd wheezed.
He was let go and with a faint hint of red about his cheeks, Kratos pulled the locks of auburn out of his night hued eyes.
"Gods, we're a pair of fools aren't we?" Lloyd coughed.
"Sentimental fools, is more like it," Kratos murmured more to himself than as a response. Then the man shook his head sharply, as if to banish some thought. "No, we are not fools. The only fools are those who kill their emotions off."
"Huh…" Lloyd shifted the hilts of his swords in discomfort, than went to the door.
"Where are you going?" Kratos sounded… hurt.
"I got some stuff I need to think about, and I wanna check on Noishe." Lloyd grimaced. "Lych might try the same sick trick again."
The younger swordsman was shocked when Kratos motioned him to wait and went to fetch his sword. Lifting the sheath from its resting place on the floor, the mercenary held it in one hand, and his long sword in the other. Cocking his head to the side, wondering why Kratos was getting ready to leave, Lloyd frowned.
"Where are you going?"
"With you, if you'll have me. I feel ill at ease with Lych about, and with the two of us together he might decide it's not worth the risk if he sees that his target has company."
Lloyd sighed. He had wanted to talk to Noishe by himself to get Noshy's permission if Kratos could be allowed to…
Oh well, some other time.
"Sure, why not." Lloyd dredged up a grin. "If he sees you coming Lych'd probably run the other direction."
"If he values his life, Lloyden," Kratos sheathed his sword; it made a steely undercurrent to the already ominous threatening note in the man's voice. "He better damn well."
X
Linar ran a hand through his indigo hued locks, while his sister Aisha smiled at their guests, and was as gracious as he presumed a Chosen would be. The blond haired human hardly cared for the points of his, his sisters, or even Harley's ears. Aisha and the girl named Colette were happily chattering away about religion. Linar smiled at that sight; it was rare for them to have friends because they were half-bloods.
They were half-breeds to the humans and half-weak-bloods to the Desian's whose offers they had turned down.
Harvey would have said and agreed to that, and once, not long ago, Linar would have too.
But there was always proof -- indisputable, inarguable proof, that such a close-minded hate on the end of human and half-elf might have a hope of fading. He was seeing another bit of it as the human child Colette and his sister happily compared and contrasted a few stories about angels. Not having much a taste for that kind of talk, the indigo haired half-elf pulled out a few notes on the Asgard Alter: the massive monolith that would be his sister's place of execution if he didn't do something. A shadow fell over him, over his papers, and he looked up, a scowl curling its way onto his face. The biting words he would have said to Harvey were banished as he stared at the silver haired woman who had so harshly chastised them for "testing" the "unstoppable" Breaker in one of the many ruins of Asgard.
"Um..." He pushed his glasses up and stared at the pointy eared woman, all words abandoning him. Those night sky colored eyes flicked over his face then settled on his notes with an almost predatory delight. "Can I help you?"
She smiled at him, sat down besides him and pulled out a long extensive sheaf of notes from her packs.
"I am conducting a study of the ruins around the world, while my friends and I are on this journey." Linar ignored the woman's face, gave the notes a quick glance, and felt himself ready to start salivating. They looked... very detailed.
"I was wondering if I could look..."
"N.. Not a problem, I am conducting a compare-contrast study of the Asgard Ruins to the Iselia monolithic temple but circumstances..."
"Oh, there are many circumstances, I completely understand, feel free to look at my..."
With trembling hands, both of the ruin obsessive, pointy-eared people had exchanged notes.
Though muffled, it was only a few moments before two eyes shone with Ruin Mode glee and there was a very intense conversation about history kicked up.
From across the room, Harvey and Genis looked at the two crazed people, at the oblivious Aisha and Colette, then at each other.
"The scary thing is... we're related," Genis whispered to the tall half-elf.
In sympathy, Harvey put a hand on Genis' shoulder, offered what thin comfort he could.
X
"That was not the ritual's intent; the dance was to give praise to the Spirit, not to offer a sacrifice..." Raine frowned, setting aside her Ruin Mode in order to fully deal with the problem before them all. They all sat at the dining table, food from Raine's packs serving as everyone's dinner. Genis had spent half an hour or so tossing together a quick meal that their hosts had happily dug into. Genis did not miss the quiet their hosts fell into the meal with; it was the trademark of those who were so lost in poverty that they regularly sacrificed meals to keep a roof over their heads.
"That all changed when this one--" Harvey shot a vile glare at Linar. " --went to the Ruin, went bonkers, and upset..."
"It was an accident!" Raine snapped. "We all get enthusiastic about something, Mister Harvey, and accidents happen."
Linar smiled shyly, shifted his glasses and sighed. "Ms. Sage, thank you, but your championing of me is sorely misplaced. I have caused a great deal of trouble. Now instead of appearing ever year, the spirit comes every month."
"And every month they sacrifice someone to it." Harvey said darkly. "See, what we were doing was right! And because we almost got caught their going to sacrifice my girl- erm my childhood friend!"
Aisha blushed and Linar chuckled sadly at the hesitant couple's antics.
"It's not over until it's over, hold faith that in the end everything will be all right." Colette's gentle voice cut through the growing panic and seemed to sooth it.
Raine nodded in agreement, smiled fondly at Linar, then Harvey.
"It's not over; never give up hope that the facts will fall in place and that we'll have the right answer in time." Raine lost her smile, frowning. "I wish Kratos and Lloyd were here: they know more about the summon spirits than any of us, but we'll do without their expertise for now. Now, we need information: first on what happens during the ritual, everything you know will be useful."
"But even if we stop it this time, what's to keep the spirit from blasting the town to the Underworld when it appears next time?" Linar protested quietly, he cringed back at his own words. He was shamed by the fact that to protect the town he was more or less going to have to sacrifice his sister.
"We have to keep the people of Asgard in mind." Aisha frowned. "If my completing the rite is the only way to save Asgard I'll do it."
"No." Raine closed her eyes. "I'll do it."
"What!" Genis cried out in shock, his cry was joined by the shocked Asgardians.
Raine sighed, ran a hand through her silver locks and opened her eyes. She looked into the shocked and horrified expressions of Linar, Aisha, Harvey, and Genis. Out of all of them, only one person seemed to understand: Collete, who nodded. She was no stranger to sacrifice, no stranger to martyrdom being that the faith she was raised upon was centered upon it.
"I am the only one suited for it, Ms. Aisha, and I have a similar build, enough of one that during the ritual we can pass for one another if need be. Further more the sacrifice demands a maiden and ah... well that bars Genis, Harvey, and Linar out of this race as they say." Raine felt a hint of fire creep onto her cheeks and she realized that she had yet to have the "talk" with her younger brother. "Colette is too important to sacrifice, and further more, what Linar was able to tell me about the ritual there will be some sort of athletic feat, and well dear, you aren't very nimble or graceful when under pressure."
"I'm sorry, Professor."
"It's not your fault dear, don't apologize," Raine replied absently. Saying "don't apologize" had become a near reflex for everyone in Iselia since Colette had been old enough to talk. "So unless you gentleman would like to change genders, I am the only one suitable for this."
"But..." Genis blinked rapidly. "I bet all you want to do is see this ritual!" He snapped, pain lost to anger in a heartbeat. "You don't care what happens, you don't care how dangerous it is, you're only doing this so you can get to see that stupid ruin up close."
"Genis..." Raine stood a hint of anger in her tone. "You know it's not like..."
"It is, don't lie!" Genis flared, then he wiped at his eyes. Startled by his tears, Raine lost her anger and moved to go to him.
"You know I care for you it's.."
"No you don't!" Genis yelled. "I hate you, leave me alone!" He turned on his heel and ran out of the room and into the shadows of the coming night.
"Colette, wait for me here," Raine said over her shoulder, then ran after her brother. He would not be safe here, not in this impoverished section of this town. Though he might be mad at her, and he might actually hate her... she could not leave him alone. And she never would, not if she could help it.
X
Noishe barked, wagged his tail, and cheerfully, without words -- save the occasional yip and whine -- showed himself to be fine despite Lloyd's worries. Grinning, Lloyd got the one up on his horse sized dog. He pounced before he was pounced; a pre-emptive strike was Kratos' words for it. Not knowing what pre-emptive was, Lloyd just bowled the green and silver hued dog over and then ran his fingers over the huge creature's belly. Now the yips were more plentiful. Noishe writhed under his "master's" cold fingers, and even though dogs couldn't laugh, he managed a sound much like laughter.
"Give it up! I'm so kicking your tail!"
"Grr... Yip!" Noishe let out a sharp kick as a Lloyd found his ticklish spot and went at it with obvious glee.
"He can't breathe, Lloyd," the black clad human chuckled from the darkness. "Let him go already."
Noishe only wheezed under his "master's" hands and Lloyd sighed, tickled the silver tip of the animal's snout, and then got off.
"What'd I tell you?"
"Yes... I guess you can beat someone at something." Kratos sighed, shaking his head from side to side so the auburn locks drifted into his black eyes.
Noishe only lay on his back gasping. When the heaving sides settled to a more sedate pattern the slender, silver hued limbs with their green streaks stretched to the stars. Yawning, Noishe arched as much as one could while on his back, and seemed content to stare at the sky. The only sound heard was the thump of his huge, fluffy tail patting the gravely earth.
"Asgard is just plain weird," Lloyd announced, and the dark of the coming night and budding stars in the sky were so moved that they went about their normal patterns as if nothing had happened. Kratos chuckled, his black tunic and pants made him appear to be a extension of the darkness, so for at least until he moved and drew attention to himself, Kratos was little more then a talking shadow.
"Not every place is Iselia, Lloyden."
"Yeah, but I mean I've seen mountains, and gullies, and this place is like both wrapped up into one. It's all rocky and grassy and steep and... well it's just weird."
"Unique," the mercenary gently corrected. And for a man who was naturally cold and distant, it was surprising that he was able to speak gently, to offer anything besides biting sarcasm and scorn. But that was just proof how close the two of them had gotten, how deep their friendship had finally become. "It is a one of a kind environment. In fact, there are several species that can live no where else but here."
"How'd you get so smart again?" Lloyd plunked himself down on the grassy bit of ground, not noting how Noishe had rolled over and was now quietly creeping forward on the tips of his paws.
"I get around, so I see a great deal, and that leads to the acquisition of knowledge."
"Long words, not again!" Lloyd whined, running a hand through his chestnut hued locks. "Kraaatooss, you're making my head hurt."
"Good," the man chuckled. "That's further proof that your brain must be growing and that it is pushing back against the confines of that all too cramped skull."
"Huh? Wait a second, did you just say I was dumb or something?"
"Perhaps I did."
"Perhaps I did," Lloyd parroted, adding a whiny sneer to the words.
"For that I will not warn you," Kratos said cooly.
"Warm me, about wha-"
"BARK!" With a battle cry worthy of a warrior's pet, Noishe threw himself forward and smashed into the surprised swordsman. There was a slight tussle and Noishe came out on top, and like always when victorious he set his tongue over the back of Lloyd's head.
"YUCK! Noishe, GET OFF!"
"Whine?"
"I have no objections; lick him to your heart's content."
"Hey why are you taking his... Eww.. Noishy, stop it already!"
Ignoring his disgruntled master, Noishe happily licked at the back of Lloyd's head, coating every inch of the boy's head in a generous amount of dog drool. Tail thumping a merry tune against Lloyd's leg, the dog crossed his paws and then set his head on the fluffy part of the mattress he had spent do much time "shaping". Kratos chuckled at the sight, staying safely out of range of that mouth, all the while listening to Lloyd crying out for help.
"Damn it, Kratos, this isn't funny! Help!"
Kratos snickered; his shoulders were shaking so much the "wing" part of his cape that the massive shoulder pads were hopping up and down. The motion wasn't too dissimilar to a bird flapping its wings.
"Come on, I saved you when he did this to you!"
Kratos very slowly set himself on the ground and began to laugh, it was not the bitter laughter born of scorn or disdain, and not the mocking laughter that cut into life's petty mechanics with the surety of a blade passing through tainted flesh. It was laughter, normal, warm, human laughter. Lloyd remembered one of the dwarven vows then, one that could easily apple -no, that was a food you ate- Apple... aples... applee... apply... Apply that was it! There was a dwarven vow he knew then that could easily apply to Kratos.
One who denies pleasure in full is prone to over indulge, especially when that "indulgence" is necessary for life.
As if to prove Dad right, Kratos seemed to have come down with a case of the giggles, and even glancing in Lloyd's direction made the man burst out with laughter. Okay, it was nice Kratos was laughing and acting more normal then Lloyd had ever seen the man act before, but now, when he was stuck? That wasn't fair!
Well, fair or not he was stuck, and he was going to be stuck until Kratos finally got some control over himself and stopped laughing. Despite himself, Lloyd pouted, and the childish expression on his face made Kratos laugh even more...
Shifting a bit, Lloyd knew it was going to be a long night, as if to agree Noishe smacked him with a paw and growled at him for moving.
X
Sobbing, he bowed his head and found some warmth and comfort when he perched his chin upon his knees. His tears were cold, the night was cold, and it felt like twin thin streams of fire that had turned to ice were threading down his cheeks. He cried like the child he was, and had he been a little more coherent he might have found some humor in how his crying seemed like a negative image of all the other children who came here by day. Earlier, Genis had glimpsed the tail end of a game; it was after Linar had found them and was leading them to his house, Genis had seen the children poking about the old storage shed, trying desperately to find a youth named Pete. There had been laughter and smiles in the sunlight and now in the thickening shadows of night it had all been replaced by his tears.
He shuddered as another wave of misery ran through him, his mind a mix of guilt, anger, and shame.
Why had he said such horrible things to Raine? But wasn't it true what he'd said? If she cared for him then wouldn't she not think about the ruins or even the people of Asgard were more important then him? But he was a horrible person wasn't he, for thinking that someone was more important than him? He was selfish and… and… well his extensive vocabulary abandoned him and he got trapped on the word selfish but perhaps that was because there weren't any other right words to explain.
"Genis!"
Lifting his head, wiping at his eyes, the small sorcerer cringed back into the shadows cast by the shed. That was Raine's slightly shrill voice calling out for him. She was going to be mad at him; she'd probably spank him or something. She sounded so mad…
"Genis!"
I'm not coming out, I'm safe here and I'm not leaving…
Footsteps came closer to him. She must have stopped at the shed. From the sounds of things, Raine stood at the door where he was cringing at the poorly kept wooden structure's back. He stilled his breath, scared that she'd hear even that quiet sound, tucked his arms round his knees and curled into a small little ball in his fear.
"Genis!" Raine's voice cracked and he could have sworn he heard her voice breaking like she was trying to keep from crying. "Oh Goddess, where are you…"
He lifted his head and uncurled just the slightest bit at the sound of her tears. She was crying now, he could hear her soft sobs.
But that couldn't be right: Sis never cried, not ever…
He uncurled, and like the youngest of children, he crept out of the shadows on hand and knee. He was wrong about one thing, Raine had stopped and leaned against the wooden side of the building. He could see her, through the dark made it hard; a normal human probably wouldn't have seen her. She was leaning against the side of the shed, her oak staff in one hand, the ends of her orange coat clutched together in the other. She shivered, started blankly at the air in front of her and then bowed her head to wipe her eyes.
Moonlight caught the small droplets on the ends of her fingers, making them gleam like bits of silver before they fell to the uncaring earth.
When you shed a tear cast it to the earth and the hope and silent prayer it holds will fly to heaven to an angel's ear…
So said the book of Martel.
He stood, pushed off the ground and leaned against the side of the building; he was still in the shadows, only a little, but she couldn't see him just yet. He was scared -only a little- which he would be Raine'd, but that fear was nothing compared to the pain he was seeing on Raine's face.
"Sis…" Genis whispered.
She turned, and her face, through red-eyed and tear streaked, transformed. All the fear, all of the masked terror, drained away into relief in a heartbeat, and despite having been crying –and not looking very pretty as she cried- her happiness at seeing him made her even more beautiful than Colette or any other person in the world. He didn't quite know how it happened, one second he was there, standing by himself, and the next she had knelt and was enfolding him in her arms. He nestled against her, snuggled in her embrace and even as he did so her slender ghost-white fingers from one hand were weaving through his hair even as both arms cradled him and held them together.
"I… I'm sorry I said… those horrible…" His words were punctured with hiccupping sobs as his tears tried to come up all at once.
"Shhh…" She gently rocked him back and forth. "You don't need to apologize, Genis, everything's going to be alright now…"
"I don't hate you… I really don't…" Genis bawled.
"I know… I know." She tweaked his hair, and at her playful gesture he felt some of the tears in him settle down and stop clogging up his throat.
She sat down and he settled in her lap as he had done when he was very young. She pulled her coat over them both and he said nothing. He leaned back even as she rested her chin against the silver locks of his hair.
"I promise everything is going to be alright," Raine whispered.
"But… I… don't understand…" He sniffled, the idea of her going somewhere dangerous, doing something dangerous made him want to start to cry again.
"You don't understand why I'm doing this?" She sighed, than her voice perked up and took the all too familiar teaching tone he'd heard every day since they moved to Iselia. "It's really not all that complicated. These people need to know the truth. We need to know the truth for the Regeneration. This "spirit" might be tied to the Seal, this could be the place that the Book told us to go and we need to know for sure. Plus… if we don't act Aisha will be killed, that is that."
"But we don't know them…"
"They're half-elves Genis."
"So, we don't know them!" Genis gulped. "If it were Lloyd, or Colette, or a human we didn't know, would you care?"
"Well it can't be Lloyd." Raine chuckled. "After all, there is no way he could be a maiden, and for Colette, yes I would care, and I would act."
"If it were a human you didn't know would you?"
Raine fell silent for a long moment, very still.
"Yes, I believe I would," Raine said at last.
And even through she held him and he knew that she loved him he knew something else.
Genis knew that Raine was lying.
"I won't get hurt, and you aren't thinking this through very well," she teased, ruffling his hair. "Are you sure you aren't a smaller version of Lloyd?"
"Only if you drop me on my head a few times."
She laughed softly. "Everyone in Asgard has to attend this ritual, and do you honestly think Lloyd is just going to sit and let some horrible demon try to eat me? He'll be there to help, Colette will be there, and so will you, so everything will be all right. And if it's a really strong and horrible spirit I'll just "Raine" it and it'll be so scared it will run away, just like that monster in the closet, alright?"
Genis nodded.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't need to be, you were scared and that made you lose control, it's all right. Just don't do something like that again."
"I promise."
And Genis had to wonder if she knew that he was lying now.
"You know… if it were Lloyd he wouldn't care. It could be a half-elf, an elf, a human, a rabbit even on that alter, and he'd try to stop the monster."
"Yes…" Raine sighed. "Well that's Lloyd."
And that wasn't them, it wasn't either of them.
In his sister's arms, safe and warm, he swallowed his tears and told himself not to cry. He wouldn't cry, not with Raine around, he didn't want to worry her anymore.
"It's going to be all right, I promise."
He wanted to believe, he really did, but the tears in his throat were proof that he couldn't.
He just couldn't...
"I'm sorry..." Genis whispered.
"Are you turning into Colette too?" Raine chuckled and Genis managed a sound that was vaguely like a laugh. And she didn't think anything of it, and his words were soon forgotten.