/*Disclaimer: I do not own Tales. blah blah blah
I couldn't take it anymore, I wanted some action! So did Kratos! ahha. So, here we go. ;D */
Chapter 5
Kratos had always been known for packing light, but this time he was gliding around Sylvarant carrying nothing but his sword, and a sack of change. He wondered what had possessed him to be so cautious, but he had tried to leave as few clues behind as possible as to his whereabouts, and didn't want to risk having to explain his little excursion should he be sighted with supplies on his way out of Welgaia. He knew Mithos and Yuan wouldn't understand, and he didn't want to draw attention to himself while he was having these strangely emotional days. They would become suspicious of him, and he wouldn't have anything reasonable to tell them. All that had happened was a simple encounter with a host body, and now he was… he tried to think of a good way to put it.
"I'm getting soft now, aren't I?" he muttered.
It was hard to believe. Why did he feel so much less in favor of world peace than he had before? The price of human lives hadn't seemed so high before, and he couldn't understand what had changed to make him self-conscious. Given that Derris-Kharlan had never felt like a home to him, he still couldn't fathom why it had suddenly become so necessary to get out of there. But now that he was out, he felt so… free. He flew a little lower to look for a place to land, thinking he would do well to rest a while. His wings used his mana supply very gradually, but it wouldn't hurt to rest a bit and restore himself a little before he went on. Kratos didn't have any plans in mind, but he wanted to keep his options open for the following weeks. He descended slowly into a forest clearing, retracting his wings just before he touched down, so that he would feel the impact as his feet hit solid earth.
Something about these worlds had always felt nostalgic; he had assumed that it was because he had been born on one, but the fact that it had stuck with him for so long was truly astounding. He wondered if Yuan or Mithos had ever felt tied to the greens and browns of earth, or the pale blue of skies and water. The thought was almost laughable, Mithos holding dirt in his hand or Yuan taking a swim… he laughed out loud, and the sound surprised him. He couldn't even remember the last time he had laughed, or been truly amused by something. As he sat down under a large shade tree on the outskirt of the clearing, he wondered why his memory was so bad all of a sudden, and why he kept wondering about things so much lately. Something was so clearly different about him, and he couldn't understand it at all. The more he tried, the more confused he became. It was exhilarating, to feel all these things at once. Though, he felt very uneasy and out of place, especially when he tried to reconcile his new moods with the person he had been before. He had become something entirely different from an angel of Cruxis now… but he couldn't understand at all.
Kratos woke up, still leaning against the tree. The moon was large, and it glowed brightly against the tips of his pale fingers. He sighed, and looked up at the stars. He hadn't realized how much he missed them. In early days after his transformation, there had been a time when he had stretched out every night for half a century, just counting them. Just trying to number them, and memorize their patterns was enough to occupy his time in the beginning. He considered taking up that project again, but then looked down at the rest of the forest, suddenly remembering why he was there.
Kratos was surprised that he had fallen asleep, and even more surprised that it was already dark. The clearing was nice enough to spend the night in, but he still had no idea where he was. It was ironic, he thought, that he could be four thousand years old and still feel lost in a forest. Wishing he had been paying more attention when he landed, he started to debate whether or not he should look for an inn, or stay until morning. Why he had come at all, he couldn't justify properly to himself; since he had no business here it made no sense that he had acted on an impulse like that. He knew he was even repeating thoughts to himself, but because this rapidity of questions was overwhelming he felt unable to answer any of them. He decided to build a campfire first, and decide on a plan of action in the morning when he would be able to better learn where he was. It was true that flying around he might eventually discover lights, a city, and a town with a name which could accomplish the same thing- he wouldn't need sleep again for quite a while- but he found something appealing in the mystery of his location, and decided to prolong his stay.
Kratos began walking into the least dense part of the forest where he would be guided by moonlight, hoping to discover dry twigs and grasses to start a fire with. Again, it felt almost alien to him to be doing such a trivial task, but for some reason it was also quite enjoyable. He made several trips, all on foot, exercising his thick muscles and concentrating on the movement of his ligaments and joints. He felt strange thinking of himself as a human, after all this time as an angel of Cruxis. The two realities were completely different- the dignity associated with his title had made him into an eternal figure, set in stone and chiseled with iron, and here he was as an insignificant man doing menial labor, taking pleasure in his efforts. It was certainly food for thought, and he sighed heavily without realizing he had done so.
After he had a nice pile of thick logs and twigs, he went out for one last trip to see if he could find a flint stone. The moon was bright enough that he was sure he would see the reflective sparkle of that stone, should he happen to pass one. Of course he knew it would be much simpler to use his magic to start the fire, but he was in a mood to do everything the hard way this night. He was searching for a long period of time, carefully walking in a straight path so that he would be able to find his way back, and eventually came to the edge of the forest. He sighed, preparing to head back, when something pale caught his eye. He realized upon a second glance it was a building; it surprised him and he walked immediately out of the forest, moving closer in order to discover what it was. He was within five hundred yards of it before he finally recognized the construction- he had flown into the forest surrounding the Asgard human ranch. The one that holds A012. He cringed mentally, thinking of her vacant stare, and remembering her boldness at their encounter prior to that. He tried to remember what she had been yelling at him that one time, but all he could recall was that she had called him different from the Desians… he shook his head. What were the odds that he had flown here as opposed to anywhere else? Why here?
The last time he had come, the Angelus Project's host body had been kept in a jail cell; Kratos wondered if the Desians had heeded his suggestions. Had they been suggestions? He couldn't remember. The one thing that had impacted him from that day was her condition; it made no sense, but it was undeniably fact. He had been trying to avoid thoughts about the recent visit, but found that he could no longer hold them back. Those vacant eyes haunted Kratos, and he didn't like it at all. He had seen it before, and he knew what would cure her- the Desians would never figure it out, or care in the slightest what her condition might be. Nobody would be investigating it, so long as it didn't interfere with the crystal's ability to slowly absorb her life. Kratos found that he didn't like these thoughts at all. Though he couldn't fathom why, he suddenly had an urge to check if she had been moved back to the room he had stayed in the prior month.
It's been a day of impulses already, hasn't it? He released his sparkling wings against the night, and allowed the wind to push him forward, toes dragging in the grass. It felt so wonderful to have such control, and yet, it was strange to realize that he had had it all along. His abilities had not changed in a very, very long time. He chortled to himself as he lifted his body effortlessly into the sky. He peered into the windows of the second floor, hoping that all of the occupants would be long asleep by now- he was in no mood to explain himself at the present. He almost felt like laughing again… what would the humans think if they saw a man with wings glide past their window? But he quickly became somber again when he remembered why he was doing this, and he stopped suddenly, realizing he had gone the entire way around. He decided to circle one more time, in case he had missed the small room- he hadn't truly been paying attention the whole time anyway. On the opposite side of the building, he stopped suddenly, and approached a grimy window. It was wide open, and he stuck his head inside.
Then he saw her, standing in a corner by the bed. He felt a chill as his eyes adjusted to the dark; it was brighter outside where the moon was glowing, yet this room was facing away from its light. Like a cave, it was about ten degrees colder in the room than the outside air- or maybe it was just the intimidating nature of this encounter: she, seeming to stare directly through Kratos, and he staring back, unsure of what to do.