[ it's late. lloyd's finally down for the count. and since neither he nor kratos can sleep, there's no better time to sneak out and have a much overdue conversation. ]
[Well, that's not a voice that Kratos hears in the middle of the night. Not that he really expects anyone to call him in the middle of the night, but y'know. There's the sound of papers shuffling before he answers, he was doing some nerd shit or something.]
[ She steps away from the fire, confident Noishe will stay, and that Lloyd will stay with Noishe because she said so, and pauses between tents and fires out of the boy's line of sight to make a call. ]
Kratos? [There's a tired sigh, before she perseveres] It's Sophia. Are you.. Are you still in Kiichpan?
[There's some muffled words that might sound like "one moment", some shifting and some twinkly sparkle magic noises?? That's probably what that was. A few seconds later he's fished his medallion out of his shirt or whatever and finally answers. ]
Sophia-- yes, I'm in Kiichpan. I've been seeing to the injured, what can I do for you?
[For a guy who doesn't need sleep, he still manages to sound pretty exhausted. Must be running low on TP I guess shrug.]
[Boy it sure has been like. Five days of weirdo soulless zombie time. Pros: Not so many spontaneous fires erupting! Cons: it's been five days and trying to get him to do more than just react and take part in extremely surface-level conversation has likely been a struggle. At least he's spent half that time either asleep, or just staring at the ceiling and maybe?? asleep?
It's been a weird time.
When he does start to actually cue into like-- thinking and caring about things, there's a few things to figure out:
1. lmao where the fuck is he. He's just sort of tagged along wherever he was dragged with no further thought about it.
2. He is hungry and it is way too hot under the blankets.
The first sign of caring is probably the fact that he actually?? Pets Noishe? Gives him a good boy scratch on the neck until the dogmonster's foot starts thumping the ground in ecstasy.]
Hey, Noishe... [Everything from the past little bit is kind of a weird hazy blur. He was present, he remembers, but the lack of emotions means not finding anything important, so sorting through those memories is gonna be clunky and awkward for a while. But he knows Kratos has been around constantly? And Sophia. But Kratos first. He'll shove himself up from the-- bed? dog bed? floor? Wherever the fuck he crawled to pass out.]
Ah... Morning? [It's not morning but fuck if he knows that.]
[Yeeeah it's probably more like afternoonish. Welcome to Kratos's sparsely furnished house. To Lloyd's left he will find that lovely bookcase that the two of them (probably mostly Lloyd) built, beyond that is sort of a living room area with some sort of couch situation going on (he bought that earlier this week when he realized that actual humans would be staying here). To his right is a kitchen table with a couple of chairs, and a small kitchen where Kratos is doing things with food. Like y'know, cooking. Because humans eat food. And Lloyd and Sophia are humans.
Kratos looks up as soon as he registers movement, and looks a bit surprised when Lloyd greets him in a somewhat less monotone way than he has been for the past few days.]
Lloyd? Good-- ah... Well, it's actually getting a bit late. How are you feeling?
Coba is, apparently, Too Much on top of everything else that Sophia has been through in the last 24 hours since leaving the ruined city and arriving in Eagle territory. There is no rest to be found.
Yet, it takes her at least a cup of coffee and a short attempt to walk within the now closed (closed!) gates of Coba, packed with fellow refugees (the injured and the tired, and the apathetic) and frantic Coterie members of all medallion types, before she retreats to the room she's been temporarily granted to find her journal.
(Was it impolite to ask? It might not have been anything more than a polite nothing, said in thanks for helping Noishe and Lloyd. She knew the man had his own hands full with those two alone, and no doubt would be kept busy as a Salamander in the aftermath as well..
She talks herself out of writing twice, before, finally, putting pen to paper.) ]
Kratos? This is Sophia.
How are you, Lloyd and— [..how do you spell Noishe?] Noyshey doing? Were you able to travel with them yet?
[Joke's on you, Kratos is largely ignoring e v e r y t h i n g outside of taking care of Lloyd (and maybe checking in on Zelos???? Fuck basically everything right now, his boy comes first.
However, Lloyd does seem to be stable, if not a little creepy and void of emotion, so Kratos does feel like he can at least read up on the bullshit going on around them.
To be honest, he wasn't expecting to hear from (read from???) Sophia so soon, but he's not about to complain. The distraction from constantly worrying is a welcome one.]
Noishe, it's a bit of an odd spelling.
[Then why'd you name your DOG THAT]
We've stopped for the night in Tikal. If I was traveling alone, I might have made it back to Coatepec from Kiichpan, but that's not really possible with Lloyd and Noishe with me.
[ With Lloyd restored to himself, and then the later revelation of his curse, Haus Kratos has been a home full of energy and interaction between two humans, an angel and a protozoan. But calm still returns by evening's end, and that stays true even after the household returns from the hot springs together.
Indeed, for a few days, the relaxation earned from that visit carries over into sleep.
It's just a shame it can't last forever.
The darkness closes in, false safety from the threat behind pulled out from under her feet. Collision, a pillar.
Then, a fetid feline smile. Rasping tongue drawling venom words, heat washing across her face as talons sink into her throat, before fangs flash—
I KNOW YOU. I KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
Sophia sits bolt upright in bed, all breath punched from her lungs. For minute, she sits there shaking, as her body gasps for air and the world feels distant and cold, and her eyes squeeze shut, trying to put the memory behind her. It doesn't help. One minute becomes two, becomes five, before paralysis finally lifts from her limbs, and one unsteady foot slips off the bed to find the floor, soon followed by the other.
There's no point trying to sleep again now.
Sophia gropes blindly in the shadows at the foot of the bed for the faded shawl she'd bought in the market, wrapping it about thin shoulders to ward off the cold still lingering in her bones; the single thick plait worn for sleep rather than her usual braid arrangement swings across her back. It threatens to unravel but she can't quite find the energy to care.
It's a silent night, save for the faint whisper of doggy snoring from Noishe's bed. The door closes behind her and bare feet pad towards the kitchen, mind too disorientated to focus on more than the promise of coffee to chase the dreams away, unwilling to pay attention to the shapes in the dark.
Ironic, really, given the source of her nightmares. ]
[Guess who sits around in the living room all night reading books in the dark because he has stupid enhanced angel vision????? If you guessed Noishe you are wrong, he is a dog and can't read.
He also has enhanced hearing, so when Sophia gets up and starts creeping around in the darkness, ya boi over here is going to notice. Among other things he's noticed is that Sophia usually tends to have difficulty sleeping, but even then, she hasn't gotten up at this hour before.
He'd say something, but it's the middle of the goddamn night and she probably doesn't expect anyone else to be up, so being all HEY SOPHIA would probably scare the piss out of her. So instead, he'll just light the small lamp on the table as noiselessly as he can and just casually wait for her to notice the light. Is that less weird then just saying something? Who even knows.]
[Lloyd's not exactly someone to put things off*, and so since Kratos had suggested trying to teach him how to use the magic he'd ended up with, here he is. Outdoors, obviously. Away from flammable substances or areas that people frequently wander or too much tree coverage. Honestly the less things around, the better, with how little he knows what he's doing and how powerful he knows it can be.
(Which reminds him, he's gonna have to touch base with that mage girl again sometime**. In hindsight, she might have gotten burned just like he and Alphen had.)]
I hope this works kind of like the magic you use... [Yeah, he's a little worried that it will be different and this won't help him at all-- or that he'll end up burning off the skin of his hands and arms again. And while it's not quite so bad with someone readily available to heal him, he can't just stay in Coatepec forever. So learning how to at least not destroy himself with it is top of his list before daring to venture too far again.]
How long did it take you to get used to using it? [please don't say like forty years]
[*This is a lie, how long did it take him to make colettes fucking necklace.
**Anithe example of something that will be put off.]
[Kratos absolutely has a couple buckets of water on hand for just in case something goes wrong. You never know, man. Between that and his healing magic, he's pretty much ready for anything, or at least as ready as he can be.]
Hm... that was a long time ago. I don't think it was more than a few months, but it could have been faster if Yuan hadn't been teaching me wrong on purpose to mess with me.
[because he's a prick.]
Now, has the fire only been happening at random? It seems to flare up more whenever you're agitated, but is there anything else you've noticed?
So those rumours regarding a magic statue in Coba seem to have some truth to them; I passed on a request through an Eagle I know out of curiousity, and they delivered a 'gift' this morning that they said had been left for me in reply.
Be sure to let me know what you think of the taste.
—S.
[ spoilers: it's coffee. there's some ground beans in the cup for Kratos to try - not the local bitter raw mix, but a much smoother blend with rich flavour. Enjoy a nice thing! ]
After learning about KRATOS'S BETRAYAL (of getting him a tutor)
[No "hello how you doing how are the ribs and explosion injuries--" nope. Instead It's just Lloyd's voice over the Medallion, INCREDIBLY FLAT.]
You told Jinx to teach me math.
[ITS A STATEMENT.]
I'm gonna die.
[This might be the single most dramatic statement he's ever made, even with the dry delivery.] She wants me to bring thirty whiskeys to lesson one, and I don't know if she's testing if I can count or actually wants to drink them.
it's not betrayal he wants your brain to get smarter!!!
[The worst part of having a father who has enhanced senses and is incapable of sleeping is that there is absolutely no chance of sneaking in. (Or, perhaps, that's just the worst thing right now.) At least Lloyd hadn't been pressed too hard when he'd numbly stumbled in the night before, the hottest of messes-- But after falling face first into bed and passing out well into the early afternoon, there's definitely no avoiding having a conversation about what the hell happened?
He's still not a hundred percent sure. It just went downhill so fast, and his head is scrambled about it. But more time won't fix that.
He's still a little off looking in places- subtle differences in the shape of his jaw, the pitch black of scales at the nape of his neck, the small pores of heat pits just under his nostrils. But at least there's no weird vestigial remnants of those extra limbs, or anything else equally horrifying. (He'd waited to go home until those parts had faded, really, freaking out over it in the privacy of wherever he had been outside of town.) Maybe more, but his penchant for long sleeves keeps most of it covered.
Ugh. Okay. Can't put it off, shouldn't put it off, has no idea how to even start, but whatever. When he finally emerges, Noishe gives another one of his soft, crooning noises from where he'd been lounging on the couch, tail batting up and down slowly. Weirdly, he doesn't even have to really look around to know where Kratos and Noishe are, the ambiant changes in heat enough of a clue.]
...Hey. [Man maybe one day he will stop having weird crises and then Kratos having to deal with the fallout. But maybe that's also a parent's role? He has no idea. He's just gonna go over and rub Noishe's head, glad that the dogbeast isn't shying away from him.]
...Sorry the mask-testing thing took longer than we expected.
[Oh yeah, when your dad doesn't sleep and is just on constant alert, it's basically impossible to sneak in past him. Of course there had been a what the hell happened moment, but it had become quickly apparent that Lloyd wasn't in any shape for talking. The best he could do was help Lloyd to bed, heal any obvious wounds, and then wait, checking in on Lloyd a couple times every hour. Whenever he wasn't stress cooking or stress petting Noishe or something, anyway. Between this and the condition Sophia is in, Kratos has pretty much been in a state of constant stress.
Kratos was in the middle of one of his Noise petting sessions when Lloyd finally comes out of his room, looking at least a little less like hell than he had before. Kratos practically jumps to his feel when Lloyd enters the room, but refrains from doing much else until Lloyd is done petting Noishe.]
It's fine, you don't have anything to apologize for.
[He'll grill him about what happened in a minute. Once Lloyd is done petting Noishe, Kratos carefully pulls him into a hug, gently resting his hand on the back of his head. If Lloyd couldn't tell, Kratos is very relieved to see that he's okay. Okayish? That has yet to be seen.]
What in the world happened to you out there, Lloyd?
[Maybe it will be easier for Lloyd to answer once Kratos lets go but you know what deal with it.]
[ It would be fair to say that everyone feels uneasy, going after the second relic. Collectively, they've done as much as they can to prepare, and those joining Viper and Salamander on the boat depart in the morning.
Sophia isn't one of them, though she's done as best to complete her fair share of work towards preparations. And not for the first time since the coterie hall was constructed, she returns late in the evening to the house, disappearing into her room almost immediately.
She does emerge about an hour later, a leather wrapped parcel in one hand. Not looking for a late meal (though perhaps she should), but looking for one of the other humanoids in residence. Assuming Kratos is also home right now. ]
[He doesn't need a lot of the same sorts of supplies as other humans for trips like this, so he didn't bother packing anything up until like right now. He's packing some stuff up into a small bag when Sophia approaches him, and he looks up with a bit of an apologetic look. Aw balls was he making too much noise?]
[No one knows or cares or wants to know what teenage boys get up to in their rooms-- but regardless, when Lloyd walks out mid-afternoon, he's holding some sort of jar and looking quizzically at Kratos.]
Hey-- So I know the Salamanders like all kind of weird stuff to study-- do you think they'd want some poison? Or should I just like.... dump it outside?
[Good afternoon, Kratos, this is what it means to be a parent, apparently. Dealing with weird fucking contextless shit like this.]
[good afternoon, son. Kratos looks up from whatever idk book he was reading like a nerd, confusion clear on his face as he looks between Lloyd and his jar of ... Questionable liquid?? Poison???? Lloyd what are you doing in your room.]
[ The day had gone well. More than well, in fact, and anyone would have a spring in their step and a smile on their face when getting home at the end of said day.
Not so Sophia it would seem.
Shoes kicked off once past the front door, she doesn't call to the house - it's late enough that someone might be sleeping, and she doesn't wish to disturb Lloyd or Noishe - and instead she steps quietly into the lounge. Sinking onto the couch, she sighs, one hand lifting to over her face, as though light pressure to her forehead might alleviate an encroaching headache.
If anyone else is around right now, evidently she's too distracted to notice. ]
[For once Kratos isn't up reading on the couch in the middle of the night. Instead, when he hears Sophia come in (even her quiet entrance doesn't go unnoticed by his wacky angel hearing), he comes out of the bedroom where he'd been changing the bedding. Its not like he ever sleeps there, but Sophia deserves fresh sheets after such a busy day ok.
He is a bit surprised to see her looking so... blah. It had been a long day, though.]
A bit too much excitement today?
[he knows the drill, time to head over to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee.]
Perhaps that's an over simplification. And certainly, Sophia's by far has been mild in comparison to others. But those who know her MIGHT notice how her expression is closed off, little light meeting her eyes. Even as she smiles, as she directs others and offers her help, as she looks in on people close to her who are suffering far more, there's an concerning amount of aggressive compartmentalization under way.
A mask she can keep in placed until she returns home. Such as now, late even for her regular workload. If there's a slump to her shoulders, however, it isn't from tiredness - not entirely.
Said slump gives way to rigidity as she freezes on the path outside the house, where the door has been left ajar. And mud and..who knows what else trails in from the outside.
Very carefully, she moves closer, nudging it just wide enough that she can step over the mess, can move inside without alerting anyone else. Or at least, that's the plan, as Sophia steps with care down the hall. Were they robbed now, too? To add insult to existing injury? Surely there'd be no one waiting.. ]
[For some goofball reason, the incense hadn't brought Kratos back outside of Coatepec, but instead plopped him right back down in the spot he'd been struck down. That was problem number 1.
Problem number 2: his Cruxis Crystal wasn't working, and he couldn't find his stuff. With no medallion and no journal, he couldn't really communicate with anyone and tell them that he was alive and also lost in the forest. Well okay then.
At the very least, he could determine which direction he would have to go into get home. Just not how long it would take to get there. Spoilers: It took the better part of a week, thanks to only being able to function like a regular human. It's crazy how much stopping to eat and sleep can slow someone down. He wasn't good at remembering to do either, so that didn't help. Thankfully at some point, he'd run into Noishe, who Kratos was surprised to see alone but it's not like he could ask the dogmonster why that was and actually get an answer. It was thanks to Noishe that Kratos was able to find his way back at all, much less physically get there. Upon arriving home and finding the place empty, Kratos stumbled his way to his Sophia's room and crashed face down on the bed. Noishe sat his ass right next to the bed and kept watch, like a good boy.
As soon as Noishe hears Sophia enter the house, he excitedly bounds out of the bedroom door and does a happy doggy wiggle, wagging his big dumbass tail and definitely thumping a wall or something with it.
[Hey, when will this kid stop traveling around??? The answer may be never. But for now, he's in Coatepec, not bothering to knock as he enters Kratos's house-- mostly because Noishe is rushing in excitedly, tail pinwheeling as he runs, smelling like stanky sweaty Hot Dog, but happy to be where both his peoples are.]
Calm down, Noishe, it hasn't even been that long... [It's an affectioning chastisement, at least. And, while kicking off his shoes, he scans the home-- and seems surprise to see Kratos. In his own house. Which shouldn't be a surprise, but:]
-Oh, you're home. Hey. I thought you'd be with Sophia.
[cause you hang out with her basically all the time. At least Kratos being here isn't a bad thing? Even if things have been a bit more strained than usual. What with the maiming and the dying. And the reenforcment of Lloyd's dumb abandonment issues. And the talking to the relic spirit coming to light, and-- you know. Everything.
Absently he moves one hand to the other, rubbing the back of his palm where the bones still ache. He has no idea what to say, so he'll just talk like its normal.]
Sorry Noishe smells so bad. It's been pretty muggy out. You been okay?
[Acting normal is usually the best way to handle these awkward situations. Right? It's what Kratos always tries to do, at least. Whether or not he's successful is a different story.
The fuck was Kratos even doing at home? Reading? Sure, that counts as a hobby, he was doing that. He looks up from his book and then sets it aside, mostly to protect it from Noishe who has decided that getting all up in Kratos' face is the best way to greet him. He's able to ignore the smell of dog stank for now. Mostly.]
Hm? Sophia's busy, I'm just trying to stay out of her way. I've been fine, I suppose, how are you?
[IS THIS CONVERSATION AWKWARD?? BE$CAUSE IT SURE FEELS LIKE IT.]
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voice.
Hey. You got a minute?
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I have time. What is it?
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Voice; evening time on fire kaiju day
Kratos? [There's a tired sigh, before she perseveres] It's Sophia. Are you.. Are you still in Kiichpan?
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Sophia-- yes, I'm in Kiichpan. I've been seeing to the injured, what can I do for you?
[For a guy who doesn't need sleep, he still manages to sound pretty exhausted. Must be running low on TP I guess shrug.]
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voice; -> action aka are you trying to give her a heart attack today of all days mr aurion
PERISH (no please don't perish)
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ACTION days after the whole /gestures at city being destroyed thing
It's been a weird time.
When he does start to actually cue into like-- thinking and caring about things, there's a few things to figure out:
1. lmao where the fuck is he. He's just sort of tagged along wherever he was dragged with no further thought about it.
2. He is hungry and it is way too hot under the blankets.
The first sign of caring is probably the fact that he actually?? Pets Noishe? Gives him a good boy scratch on the neck until the dogmonster's foot starts thumping the ground in ecstasy.]
Hey, Noishe... [Everything from the past little bit is kind of a weird hazy blur. He was present, he remembers, but the lack of emotions means not finding anything important, so sorting through those memories is gonna be clunky and awkward for a while. But he knows Kratos has been around constantly? And Sophia. But Kratos first. He'll shove himself up from the-- bed? dog bed? floor? Wherever the fuck he crawled to pass out.]
Ah... Morning? [It's not morning but fuck if he knows that.]
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Kratos looks up as soon as he registers movement, and looks a bit surprised when Lloyd greets him in a somewhat less monotone way than he has been for the past few days.]
Lloyd? Good-- ah... Well, it's actually getting a bit late. How are you feeling?
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text; day two after kiichpan go boom
Coba is, apparently, Too Much on top of everything else that Sophia has been through in the last 24 hours since leaving the ruined city and arriving in Eagle territory. There is no rest to be found.
Yet, it takes her at least a cup of coffee and a short attempt to walk within the now closed (closed!) gates of Coba, packed with fellow refugees (the injured and the tired, and the apathetic) and frantic Coterie members of all medallion types, before she retreats to the room she's been temporarily granted to find her journal.
(Was it impolite to ask? It might not have been anything more than a polite nothing, said in thanks for helping Noishe and Lloyd. She knew the man had his own hands full with those two alone, and no doubt would be kept busy as a Salamander in the aftermath as well..
She talks herself out of writing twice, before, finally, putting pen to paper.) ]
Kratos? This is Sophia.
How are you, Lloyd and— [..how do you spell Noishe?] Noyshey doing? Were you able to travel with them yet?
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However, Lloyd does seem to be stable, if not a little creepy and void of emotion, so Kratos does feel like he can at least read up on the bullshit going on around them.
To be honest, he wasn't expecting to hear from (read from???) Sophia so soon, but he's not about to complain. The distraction from constantly worrying is a welcome one.]
Noishe, it's a bit of an odd spelling.
[Then why'd you name your DOG THAT]
We've stopped for the night in Tikal. If I was traveling alone, I might have made it back to Coatepec from Kiichpan, but that's not really possible with Lloyd and Noishe with me.
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Action; Few Days after returning from the hot springs
Indeed, for a few days, the relaxation earned from that visit carries over into sleep.
It's just a shame it can't last forever.
The darkness closes in, false safety from the threat behind pulled out from under her feet. Collision, a pillar.
Then, a fetid feline smile. Rasping tongue drawling venom words, heat washing across her face as talons sink into her throat, before fangs flash—
I KNOW YOU.
I KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
Sophia sits bolt upright in bed, all breath punched from her lungs. For minute, she sits there shaking, as her body gasps for air and the world feels distant and cold, and her eyes squeeze shut, trying to put the memory behind her. It doesn't help. One minute becomes two, becomes five, before paralysis finally lifts from her limbs, and one unsteady foot slips off the bed to find the floor, soon followed by the other.
There's no point trying to sleep again now.
Sophia gropes blindly in the shadows at the foot of the bed for the faded shawl she'd bought in the market, wrapping it about thin shoulders to ward off the cold still lingering in her bones; the single thick plait worn for sleep rather than her usual braid arrangement swings across her back. It threatens to unravel but she can't quite find the energy to care.
It's a silent night, save for the faint whisper of doggy snoring from Noishe's bed. The door closes behind her and bare feet pad towards the kitchen, mind too disorientated to focus on more than the promise of coffee to chase the dreams away, unwilling to pay attention to the shapes in the dark.
Ironic, really, given the source of her nightmares. ]
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He also has enhanced hearing, so when Sophia gets up and starts creeping around in the darkness, ya boi over here is going to notice. Among other things he's noticed is that Sophia usually tends to have difficulty sleeping, but even then, she hasn't gotten up at this hour before.
He'd say something, but it's the middle of the goddamn night and she probably doesn't expect anyone else to be up, so being all HEY SOPHIA would probably scare the piss out of her. So instead, he'll just light the small lamp on the table as noiselessly as he can and just casually wait for her to notice the light. Is that less weird then just saying something? Who even knows.]
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ACTION who knows when this happens
(Which reminds him, he's gonna have to touch base with that mage girl again sometime**. In hindsight, she might have gotten burned just like he and Alphen had.)]
I hope this works kind of like the magic you use... [Yeah, he's a little worried that it will be different and this won't help him at all-- or that he'll end up burning off the skin of his hands and arms again. And while it's not quite so bad with someone readily available to heal him, he can't just stay in Coatepec forever. So learning how to at least not destroy himself with it is top of his list before daring to venture too far again.]
How long did it take you to get used to using it? [please don't say like forty years]
[*This is a lie, how long did it take him to make colettes fucking necklace.
**Anithe example of something that will be put off.]
It is a mystery
Hm... that was a long time ago. I don't think it was more than a few months, but it could have been faster if Yuan hadn't been teaching me wrong on purpose to mess with me.
[because he's a prick.]
Now, has the fire only been happening at random? It seems to flare up more whenever you're agitated, but is there anything else you've noticed?
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1st March - Note next to Coffee Cup
Be sure to let me know what you think of the taste.
—S.
[ spoilers: it's coffee. there's some ground beans in the cup for Kratos to try - not the local bitter raw mix, but a much smoother blend with rich flavour. Enjoy a nice thing! ]
After learning about KRATOS'S BETRAYAL (of getting him a tutor)
You told Jinx to teach me math.
[ITS A STATEMENT.]
I'm gonna die.
[This might be the single most dramatic statement he's ever made, even with the dry delivery.] She wants me to bring thirty whiskeys to lesson one, and I don't know if she's testing if I can count or actually wants to drink them.
it's not betrayal he wants your brain to get smarter!!!
I asked her to tutor you. There's a big difference.
[IS THERE THOUGH...]
You're not going to die. It's just math.
...She might if she tries to drink all of those, though...
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After the Monster Mash w/Yuri and Flynn
He's still not a hundred percent sure. It just went downhill so fast, and his head is scrambled about it. But more time won't fix that.
He's still a little off looking in places- subtle differences in the shape of his jaw, the pitch black of scales at the nape of his neck, the small pores of heat pits just under his nostrils. But at least there's no weird vestigial remnants of those extra limbs, or anything else equally horrifying. (He'd waited to go home until those parts had faded, really, freaking out over it in the privacy of wherever he had been outside of town.) Maybe more, but his penchant for long sleeves keeps most of it covered.
Ugh. Okay. Can't put it off, shouldn't put it off, has no idea how to even start, but whatever. When he finally emerges, Noishe gives another one of his soft, crooning noises from where he'd been lounging on the couch, tail batting up and down slowly. Weirdly, he doesn't even have to really look around to know where Kratos and Noishe are, the ambiant changes in heat enough of a clue.]
...Hey. [Man maybe one day he will stop having weird crises and then Kratos having to deal with the fallout. But maybe that's also a parent's role? He has no idea. He's just gonna go over and rub Noishe's head, glad that the dogbeast isn't shying away from him.]
...Sorry the mask-testing thing took longer than we expected.
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Kratos was in the middle of one of his Noise petting sessions when Lloyd finally comes out of his room, looking at least a little less like hell than he had before. Kratos practically jumps to his feel when Lloyd enters the room, but refrains from doing much else until Lloyd is done petting Noishe.]
It's fine, you don't have anything to apologize for.
[He'll grill him about what happened in a minute. Once Lloyd is done petting Noishe, Kratos carefully pulls him into a hug, gently resting his hand on the back of his head. If Lloyd couldn't tell, Kratos is very relieved to see that he's okay. Okayish? That has yet to be seen.]
What in the world happened to you out there, Lloyd?
[Maybe it will be easier for Lloyd to answer once Kratos lets go but you know what deal with it.]
aw yeee get to use the hug icon
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Night before Departing For Plot Shenans
Sophia isn't one of them, though she's done as best to complete her fair share of work towards preparations. And not for the first time since the coterie hall was constructed, she returns late in the evening to the house, disappearing into her room almost immediately.
She does emerge about an hour later, a leather wrapped parcel in one hand. Not looking for a late meal (though perhaps she should), but looking for one of the other humanoids in residence. Assuming Kratos is also home right now. ]
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Ah, I hope I didn't wake you.
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Action!! Who knows when idk.
Hey-- So I know the Salamanders like all kind of weird stuff to study-- do you think they'd want some poison? Or should I just like.... dump it outside?
[Good afternoon, Kratos, this is what it means to be a parent, apparently. Dealing with weird fucking contextless shit like this.]
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...That's... Where did that come from?
[more importantly, does he want to know?]
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Night Time, After Embassy Opening Day
Not so Sophia it would seem.
Shoes kicked off once past the front door, she doesn't call to the house - it's late enough that someone might be sleeping, and she doesn't wish to disturb Lloyd or Noishe - and instead she steps quietly into the lounge. Sinking onto the couch, she sighs, one hand lifting to over her face, as though light pressure to her forehead might alleviate an encroaching headache.
If anyone else is around right now, evidently she's too distracted to notice. ]
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He is a bit surprised to see her looking so... blah. It had been a long day, though.]
A bit too much excitement today?
[he knows the drill, time to head over to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee.]
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Backdated to Before Eagle Broadcast, but After Resurrection
Perhaps that's an over simplification. And certainly, Sophia's by far has been mild in comparison to others. But those who know her MIGHT notice how her expression is closed off, little light meeting her eyes. Even as she smiles, as she directs others and offers her help, as she looks in on people close to her who are suffering far more, there's an concerning amount of aggressive compartmentalization under way.
A mask she can keep in placed until she returns home. Such as now, late even for her regular workload. If there's a slump to her shoulders, however, it isn't from tiredness - not entirely.
Said slump gives way to rigidity as she freezes on the path outside the house, where the door has been left ajar. And mud and..who knows what else trails in from the outside.
Very carefully, she moves closer, nudging it just wide enough that she can step over the mess, can move inside without alerting anyone else. Or at least, that's the plan, as Sophia steps with care down the hall. Were they robbed now, too? To add insult to existing injury? Surely there'd be no one waiting.. ]
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Problem number 2: his Cruxis Crystal wasn't working, and he couldn't find his stuff. With no medallion and no journal, he couldn't really communicate with anyone and tell them that he was alive and also lost in the forest. Well okay then.
At the very least, he could determine which direction he would have to go into get home. Just not how long it would take to get there. Spoilers: It took the better part of a week, thanks to only being able to function like a regular human. It's crazy how much stopping to eat and sleep can slow someone down. He wasn't good at remembering to do either, so that didn't help. Thankfully at some point, he'd run into Noishe, who Kratos was surprised to see alone but it's not like he could ask the dogmonster why that was and actually get an answer. It was thanks to Noishe that Kratos was able to find his way back at all, much less physically get there. Upon arriving home and finding the place empty, Kratos stumbled his way to
hisSophia's room and crashed face down on the bed. Noishe sat his ass right next to the bed and kept watch, like a good boy.As soon as Noishe hears Sophia enter the house, he excitedly bounds out of the bedroom door and does a happy doggy wiggle, wagging his big dumbass tail and definitely thumping a wall or something with it.
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Who knows when this is yolo
Calm down, Noishe, it hasn't even been that long... [It's an affectioning chastisement, at least. And, while kicking off his shoes, he scans the home-- and seems surprise to see Kratos. In his own house. Which shouldn't be a surprise, but:]
-Oh, you're home. Hey. I thought you'd be with Sophia.
[cause you hang out with her basically all the time. At least Kratos being here isn't a bad thing? Even if things have been a bit more strained than usual. What with the maiming and the dying. And the reenforcment of Lloyd's dumb abandonment issues. And the talking to the relic spirit coming to light, and-- you know. Everything.
Absently he moves one hand to the other, rubbing the back of his palm where the bones still ache. He has no idea what to say, so he'll just talk like its normal.]
Sorry Noishe smells so bad. It's been pretty muggy out. You been okay?
#YOLO
The fuck was Kratos even doing at home? Reading? Sure, that counts as a hobby, he was doing that. He looks up from his book and then sets it aside, mostly to protect it from Noishe who has decided that getting all up in Kratos' face is the best way to greet him. He's able to ignore the smell of dog stank for now. Mostly.]
Hm? Sophia's busy, I'm just trying to stay out of her way. I've been fine, I suppose, how are you?
[IS THIS CONVERSATION AWKWARD?? BE$CAUSE IT SURE FEELS LIKE IT.]
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end of august yolo
WOOOo
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