As usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

Dwarven Vow 72:
Beiridh caora dhubh uan geal.
A black ewe may have a white lamb.

19-

It was after dark by the time Kratos and Anna made it over to Western Boulevard. Anna initially showed some signs of feeling ill, but by the time they arrived, she had shrugged it off and insisted to Kratos that she was fine. The shop was closed up, but Kratos walked around back to find that the light in the workshop was on. He rapped on the door a couple of times as a warning before letting himself in, Anna following him and mumbling something about walking in uninvited. But her criticism wasn't necessary- the reaction they got was a warm welcome.

"Ohmigosh, Kratos? Anna? What an unexpected surprise- come in, come in!" Song jumped up from his perch, leaving the wheel and the clay on it spinning. Yuan said you were gonna be in town, but I didn't think you'd drop by! Let me get you some tea, maybe some cookies. How are you-?"

Song approached them with his arms outstretched as though anticipating a hug, but Kratos held a hand up and he suddenly realized why.

"O-oops. I've got clay all over my hands, don't I?" Song retracted his embrace, laughing as he moved across the room to find a rag. "It wouldn't be nice of me to sully those pretty militia uniforms, now would it?"

"Sorry about that," Anna answered with a smile. "We don't mean to intrude on your work time."

"Anna, darling, you're never a bother! Why, this is a special treat! Let me tidy things up here and then we'll head up to the kitchen to catch up-"

"We're not here for small talk," Kratos interrupted, stepping in front of Anna. "Where are Yuan and Adora?"

"Oh, them? Yeah, I guess I should've figured you weren't here to visit me." Now that his hands were clean, Song scratched the back of his head, responding with a nervous laugh. "They're upstairs in his bedroom. Yuan was reading her a bedtime story or something, and- bam!- they were both out like a light! He hasn't been getting much sleep these past few days, so I'm not surprised. Not that he actually needs to sleep, but-"

Kratos cut him off again. "Where were you today? The shop was closed and your place was empty."

"Aw, you came by to visit earlier? You should've told us in advance! Yuan decided he wanted to take the day off and visit the Great Tree with Adora, so I was like 'let's make a trip out of it!' I packed a picnic lunch and everything! 'Course, getting in and out of Meltokio was a longer process than we'd thought. Security is pretty high now, and being a half-elf doesn't exactly help… S-still, the weather was nice, and the tree was pretty. It's nice seeing something in full leaf at this time of year. Adora looked like she had fun. Yuan was right; visiting was a good idea."

"I see," Kratos broke in before Song's monologue could continue much further. He glanced away, continuing in a lower voice. "Yuan wanted to take her to visit her mother."

There was a moment of silence. Song sighed, a slow, resigned sigh as though he was having to drop any pretenses he might've been holding up. He held out a hand with a forced smile.

"Come upstairs with me, will you? I'll make us some tea and we can talk."

"Thank you. That would be lovely." Anna nodded, accepting his hand and starting up the stairs after him.

Kratos said nothing. He simply followed.

Lloyd was initially skeptical about the idea of a night out with Zelos and Genis, really wishing he could stay in and practice with his new sword. But when Zelos mentioned that his favorite dive imported real Dwarven whiskey, well. Lloyd was hooked before he even finished the sentence.

The three of them set out, with Zelos leading the way through the colorfully-lit streets, chatting away with his usual fervor. Unfortunately, he and Genis had already established some sort of conversation that was over Lloyd's head, and he could barely keep up.

"It just seems too good to be true," Genis was saying, of something Lloyd couldn't quite identify, given its fancy scientific name. "A Kharlan-War era lost arte? Even if we're talking about angels who've been alive since that time, I can't imagine why they'd use that arte, especially on a child."

"I know, but I can't figure out how else she'd have survived. This is the only thing that makes sense."

"Kratos didn't seem to acknowledge it. He said he didn't know what was going on-"

"Yeah, but you know how Kratos is."

"I do, but his propensity for keeping secrets isn't exactly something to stake a scientific investigation on… especially when Raine and Professor Low were so excited about it."

Lloyd stepped in between them before Zelos could reply again. "If it helps at all- and maybe it doesn't, because I have no idea what you guys are talking about- I've heard it's easier to disprove something than it is to prove something. 'Cause to prove something, it has to work every time, but to disprove it, it only has to fail once. ...right?"

Zelos laughed and draped an arm around Lloyd's shoulder. "Lloyd, I wasn't aware you were a man of science. I've underestimated you all this time."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that," Genis muttered. "Plus, in this situation it's just as easy to prove or disprove because we know next to nothing. Maybe if Zelos could remember more about the spell, then we'd have a better basis to go on-"

They had reached the bar by this point, and Zelos took a step forward to hold the door open for his friends. He protested as he did so, speaking pointedly at Genis as he passed.

"I can remember more about the spell! It'll just take me a minute, since it was so long ago. Let's see…" Zelos let the door close behind him as he entered and led the others to a table. "The spell required an immense amount of magical energy-"

"That's a given, I'd assume."

"-but it had to be channeled by only one person because there could only be one certain type of mana supporting the spell. Otherwise it'd be impossible to focus the way it needed to be."

"One type of mana?" Lloyd asked, leaning closer to Zelos. "Are you talking about, like, alpha-beta stuff?"

"No. I'm talking about individual mana signatures. Like, everyone has a slightly different type of mana, and-" Zelos began gesturing as he explained, but he stopped himself abruptly. "...wait…"

"Zelos? What is it?" Genis asked. He had taken a set of drink menus from the bar and was handing them out, but he couldn't miss the look on Zelos' face. "Did you remember something important?"

Zelos didn't answer him directly. Instead, he took a menu and hid his face in it, letting out a string of curse words. Lloyd flinched and tried to lighten the suddenly sour mood. "H-hey, now, you haven't had anything to drink yet. Don't get ahead of yourself-"

"I knew something about it was too obvious to be true. The mana signature isn't just the focal point of the spell, it's also the key. Once the spell is put into place, only activation by the same mana signature can disrupt the stasis."

"Meaning…?"

"I get it," Genis gasped. "Only the person who cast the spell can break it!"

"No wonder Kratos looked at me like I was stupid! I was yelling nonsense at him!" Zelos set the menu down on the table, pressing his forehead against the tabletop as well. "And I got the Professors all hot and bothered over it too. I just can't do anything right today."

"Th-that's not such a problem," Genis began. "Raine and Professor Low's studies will probably lead to some important findings, even if there isn't someone alive who can still cast the spell."

"And if it makes you feel better," Lloyd offered with a nod, "I still don't have the slightest idea what we're talking about."

Zelos picked himself up from the table with a burst of energy he hadn't had before. "The box, Lloyd! The damned box that some weirdo thought it would be a good idea to put a baby in! And now sweet little Adora is stuck with Yuan of all people, and Kratos is going to mess everything up, and it's all my fault…" He sunk down in his chair again with a sigh before finally raising his hand and addressing the rest of the bar. "Hey, is somebody going to come take our drink order already?"

"Sorry, Zelos! It looked like you and your friends were talking; we didn't want to interrupt…"

"Nah, you're good." Zelos waved a hand over one side of the menu. "These are your shot specials for today, right? We'll take one of each for the table."

Genis stiffened. "I'm not drinking any of those!"

"Your loss, then," Zelos answered with a shrug. "Get the kid an orange juice too, would you?"

"Me next!" Lloyd raised his hand excitedly. "I want a glass of 16-year Diurachs' Own single malt."

The bartender went to work on their order and Zelos leaned back, resting his head in his hands. "None of you guys are gonna do shots with me? Lame. Guess I'll have to drink 'em all myself-"

"Not all at once!" Genis interrupted.

"No, not all at once. How about this-" Zelos grinned and tossed a lock of hair over his shoulders. "-I'll tell you guys about my day, and every time I needed a drink, I'll take a shot."

Lloyd laughed. "Sounds good to me."

Considering the day Zelos seemed to have had, Genis wasn't so sure.

As soon as Kratos and Anna reached the kitchen, Song motioned for them to sit down and set some water to heat on the stove.

"Pick your poison; I've got vanilla rooibos, chamomile mint, lu'an melon seed, pu'er-"

"The mint sounds good to me," Anna replied. "Thank you."

"Of course! A perfect choice for an evening brew. You two can relax and I'll get the water boiling."

Relaxing wasn't high on Kratos' list of priorities, but he sat down anyway. Anna stood by another chair, but didn't sit down. She was shifting her weight and glancing around with an uneasy expression. It was one Kratos recognized all too well.

"Anna? Do you need some fresh air? We can open a window or something."

"N-no." Anna shook her head. "It's fine. I'm-" She stopped and put a hand over her mouth. "Song? I'm not… feeling well. Can you point me to the washroom?"

"Of course! It's at the end of the hall, just past Yuan's room." Song left the stove so that he could put his arm around Anna, guiding her toward the hallway. "Do you need anything? I can get you so-"

"No, I'm fine. You stay and talk to Kratos."

The silence she left behind was uncomfortable, and Kratos glanced away, not pleased to have been left alone with Song. "Sorry about her," he mumbled. "It's flu season. You know how that is."

"Influenza, huh?"

"Yeah. What can you do?"

Song offered no reply, simply turning back to the stove. Once he was sure that the topic had been dropped and they could start the conversation anew, Kratos spoke up again.

"Nor'este?"

"Hmm?"

"When Adora was born- it was during the siege of Nor'este, wasn't it?" He paused with a sigh. "I thought it was impossible for Yuan and Martel to have a child, because Mithos and I were always with them after their betrothal. But… no. There was a period of eight months when we were separated by an unexpected siege. Slim as it might've been, they had the time."

Song fidgeted with his hands as he spoke. "They weren't trying to keep it a secret. Martel wrote to you every day. But-"

"The letters were burned. I know. And by the time we returned… well... " Kratos was, by this point, resting his head in one hand, his finger massaging his right temple. "But one thing I don't get was why they didn't say anything beforehand. Martel must have known before we left Fort Fisher. Why wouldn't they have said something- if not to me, then to Mithos?"

"I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure," Song began, averting his gaze, "but Yuan said that Mithos was very nervous about the training camp. Do you remember that?"

Kratos thought it over silently. "...I do. Martel was his only family, and he had never been away from her longer than a few days. Even the idea of three weeks, not knowing what it would become, he was nervous."

"But Martel knew that the training was important to Mithos. Do you think she would've said anything that would change his mind about going?" Song seemed to have exhausted his patience and stood up from the chair, pacing back and forth in front of the stove as he kept an eye on the kettle. "The only things I know about Martel are what Yuan has told me. But even so, I know she loved Mithos more than anything. She wanted to do what was best for him, not to coddle him. That's what she counted on you for… and why she didn't want to go with you to Nor'este."

The kettle began to whistle, and Song turned his attention to the stove and pouring tea. Kratos allowed him to do this, turning over the information in his mind. Song placed a mug of tea in front of him and Kratos grabbed the handle with a reply.

"Yuan has told you a lot, hasn't he?"

"I haven't been his friend for very long. It's the closest I can get to being… well, being his friend like you are. You know more about Yuan than I can even dream about."

Kratos gave a laugh that was almost more of a snort. "You say that, and yet, when did he tell you about Adora? Long before he discovered the box empty, I'm presuming."

"Well, yeah, it did come up, but…" Song glanced away. "It was a sore spot. He and Martel had all those plans of rescuing Adora once the war was over and they'd found a cure that would save her life, but… when Martel died, any chance to save Adora died with her."

"Not necessarily."

Song was pouring his own mug of tea, but his gaze shot up to look at Kratos again and he tilted the kettle back upright. "You mean…?"

"Yuan kept a close eye on all the Chosens. He had to know early on that Colette was able to break Martel's spell."

"And risk a crazed Mithos getting his hands on Adora? The poor kid was so far gone by that point, there's no telling what he would've done if he'd found out-"

"And after the fall of Cruxis? After the reuniting of the worlds? He reburied the box by the new World Tree instead of asking Colette to break the spell. Why?"

Song set the kettle back on the stove. "I can't tell you exactly why. Maybe he was afraid for Adora's sake. Maybe he didn't want to bring her into a world where she wouldn't know anyone or anything… a world where her mother was gone. Maybe he didn't fancy the challenges of raising her as a single father."

Kratos frowned. "But he's not."

The statement caught Song off-guard. "Not what?"

"Single, for one."

Song forced a laugh. "Yeah, right. But it's not like a tree can pay child support or change diapers or any of that sort of thing."

"I wasn't talking about the Great Tree. I was talking about you."

At the sound of that, Song's attention immediately left the kettle and fell on Kratos. He accidentally let his hand drift from its spot on the handle and brush against the side, eliciting a yelp of pain. Song began spluttering a response as he ran to the sink and began pouring water over his burnt finger.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but it's not like that at all! Yuan and I, er, we're not… I mean… we're pals, y'know? Not that I wouldn't help him as much as I could with Adora, but it's not the same thing as having Martel around. I'm not Martel."

Kratos examined his movement before finally sighing and closing his eyes. "I take that to mean you haven't been honest with him about your feelings?"

"M-my feelings?" Song shut off the water and twirled around on his heels. "What the hell do my feelings have to do with anything?"

"If you're trying to hide the fact that you're in love with Yuan, you're not doing a very good job of it."

Song approached the table again, placing his hands on the tabletop in front of Kratos. "I can't help how I feel, but that doesn't mean I've gotta burden Yuan with that mess. He's my friend."

Kratos raised an eyebrow. "Burden him? Are you serious?"

"Yuan's a married man, Kratos. I'm no homewrecker."

A series of puzzled expressions passed over Kratos' face, each with a slightly different shade of exasperation. "You… you do know that Martel is dead, right? She has been for four-thousand years."

"That doesn't matter."

"You wanna try telling that to everyone Cruxis has wronged in the last few millennia?!"

Song was silent. He crossed to the other side of the room and leaned against the door, his mouth drawn up into a pout. Seeing that he wasn't planning to respond, Kratos began again.

"I'll be frank with you, Song- I don't like you. But Yuan does. For his sake and for yours, you can't keep living in the past. You have to be honest."

Song let out a laugh. "Honest? That's a funny thing to hear coming from you."

Kratos frowned. "I know I'm not a beacon of virtue in that regard, but-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Song had taken a seat on the table itself, leaning toward Kratos. "You said poor Anna was suffering from the flu, right?"

"I- yes." Kratos had a bad feeling about the direction this conversation was going, but he stuck with it. "Don't bring her into this."

"I'm not. I just think it's strange you're acting so casual about it-" Song shrugged, but he kept his gaze locked on Kratos. "-considering the risk for life-threatening complications from influenza is much higher for pregnant women."

The two men took a moment to stare each other down. Kratos didn't speak at first, trying to figure out if Song was bluffing or not. No, he wasn't the type to bluff, especially with something that serious.

"Alright, I get it." Kratos sighed, turning away. "It's not prudent to lie to a medical professional. But is it so obvious or are you just that good?"

"I wouldn't say it's obvious… yet." Song replied. "Why are you concerned? Is it me specifically, or are you trying to keep this a secret from everybody?"

"It's safer if we don't go around telling people," Kratos answered through clenched teeth.

"Uh, no, actually it's statistically safer for people to know, that way Anna isn't accidentally exposed to anything potentially harmful. There's a lot of foods, herbs, even spices that she really ought to be avoiding. Do you actually think about things like that, or are you obsessed with keeping an air of secrecy about you-?"

"Anna knows what to avoid in taking care of herself!" Kratos interrupted Song's statement, having to physically hold himself back. "I'm more worried about her safety when it comes to others. She could very easily be the target of violence, whether for her previous connections to Cruxis, for her connections to me, or even her connections to Lloyd. There are people around who're determined to stir up trouble, and I don't want Anna to be exposed to that when she's so vulnerable-"

His sentence cut off as a sound from the hallway echoed into the kitchen. It was a high pitched yelp followed by a dull thud, and Kratos flinched as he recognised the voice.

"Anna-"

"Hang on," Song spoke, stepping in front of Kratos and opening the door. Within less than a minute, Anna appeared in the kitchen, dragging the unconscious form of a man over her shoulder. Kratos recognised the man immediately, mostly from the wanted posters he'd seen, and cringed as he realised Anna must have as well.

"You'll never guess who was breaking-and-entering! This guy's been wanted for weeks. Though I… think I might've accidentally broken his nose when I punched him. It's bleeding everywhere; what should I do? Song?"

Song's face had turned white and all he could splutter at first was "m-my patient!"

"Huh?"

"Anna," Kratos began, taking the man's weight off her shoulder, "he wasn't breaking and entering. He's staying here while Song tends to his wounds. Song considers it an act of, uh, charity to care for someone who couldn't go to a hospital like normal. I should've told you, but I figured that- for Yuan and Song's sakes- the fewer people knew, the better."

"Oh…" Anna's eyes drifted from Kratos to Song, over to the unconscious fugitive in Kratos' arms, and then back to Song. "...oh. Oops."

"Oops does not even begin to cover it," Song growled, stepping in front of Anna and taking his patient from Kratos. "As a doctor, I'd kindly like you to refrain from making my job more difficult! Vulnerable, my ass!"

"I-I'm sorry, Song! I didn't know!"

Kratos groaned and took a step toward the hallway. "Anna, help him out here with the first aid. I'm going to go speak with Yuan- I'm sure that whole fiasco woke him up and I doubt he's too pleased."

"Try not to be too harsh," Song requested as he watched Kratos leave the kitchen. "He won't say it, but he's really hurting. Be nice to him, okay?"

Kratos' voice carried back down the hall as he walked.

"I can't make any promises."