[open] thanks for the memories

[flamberge]

Who: kratos and you!
Which: interactive dream, open
What: in turn with the festive spirit, kratos' dreams are filled with memories of a warm and cozy place, but also of a place that feels frozen despite it lacking in snow.
Warnings: will add as needed!



a. past memories.

[as your vision comes into focus, you find yourself seated at a table overlooking the beach. a distance away sits a small, if cozy wooden shack. a warm breeze blows while there's not a cloud in the sky. the sound of the waves crashing against the shore ends up making it feel like a very serene scene.

then, suddenly, you feel something, or rather, someone settle into your lap. upon looking down, a small child with brown hair and matching eyes stares up at you with the most curious expression on his face. he looks no older than 2 or maybe 3 years old. suddenly, the child reaches out and grabs at either your shirt or, if you have longer hair within reach, tugs on that instead. cue the boy laughing excitedly.

another, softer laugh comes from the opposite end of the table.]

He doesn't bite, you know.

[when you glance over, you see that the one seated at the other end is one kratos aurion. his attire consists of a very casual turtleneck and slacks. he's staring at you with the softest hint of amusement playing both in his eyes and on his lips.]

In fact, Lloyd seems rather fond of you, Yuan.

[as if to emphasize that, lloyd laughs again and tugs at you harder! he does seem to like you, or rather, like this yuan that kratos seems to believe you to be.]

b1. an empty city.

[the place you find yourself in is unsettling. there's a stillness --a quietness-- in the air that makes it feel uncomfortable. everywhere you look, various technology buzzes down futuristic looking corridors. windows allow you to glance a glimpse of the outside. all that greets you is endless starry heavens, an good indication that you're out in space.

perhaps you find yourself in one of these corridors. perhaps you find yourself in a room without gravity and end up floating around for a bit. perhaps you find yourself in a room lined with books, documents and the like that clearly belongs to someone who just so happened to leave their door open. whatever the case, wherever you go, you find yourself surrounded by angels floating around. if you try to speak to them, they reply to you in an almost robotic fashion. no emotion can be seen on their faces or heard in their voice.

'ah, it has been a while since a non-angelic form was seen in the holy city of welgaia. aside from our leaders, the last instance was 800 years ago when the previous vessel of martel arrived.'

'lord kratos has ordered all unauthorized personnel to leave this area immediately in order to prepare for the chosen's ritual.'

'do you have authorization to be here? provide that documentation or return back to your sector.'

regardless of what you say or do, you can't get more conversation out of them. they seem lifeless.

eventually, either your wandering will lead you to a path that winds through an empty void or the dream itself transports you there. upon reaching the end of this path, you find a warp that leads to a room surrounded by that more of that empty space. in the middle of this room sits a throne.

whether you approach it or not, you'll soon hear the sounds of footsteps approaching from behind.]

You don't belong here.

[upon turning around, you find kratos coolly staring at you with arms folded across his chest. there's an unspoken question of 'why are you here?' behind that comment.]

b2. a past failure.

[perhaps you manage to stumble across one of the many teleportation devices scattered around welgaia. they transport you to and fo, from place to place. everything looks identical. it's truly a confusing maze.

by chance, you finally step on a warp that leads you to a room you've never seen before. what immediately catches stands out most about this room is what sits in the middle of it: a giant, translucent flower inside of which sits a woman. the woman lays there unmoving. perhaps you recognize this person as martel. is she sleeping or dead? either is plausible.

one other person seems to be there in the room with you. kratos stands a distance away from this flower and stares up at it with an unreadable expression. he spares a brief glance at you before looing back up at martel once more. after a moment, he speaks.]

I hadn't expected anyone to enter my dream like this, but I supposed that happening is only to be expected in this world.

[his voice has a hint of irritation to it. why did someone have to enter a dream of his when he's here, of all places?]

Comments

b1

[multidisciplinary]

[ When one is a small and curious child, one is less concerned with the eerie stillness of a place like Welgaia and more concerned with the multitude of beeping technological apparatuses with buttons begging to be pushed. And push one does, because one cannot resist the thrill of discovery—even when the only thing the buttons seem to do is summon more of those stern winged people.

But their emotionless, lecturing voices do nothing to stop Zelda from pressing more buttons, rummaging through more books and papers, and getting into whatever catches her eye. At first, she tried talking to the angels—they look just like the Goddess! Perhaps they know Her!—but she quickly tired of their unwillingness to answer her multitude of questions. Warnings about 'unauthorized personnel' and 'Lord Kratos' go ignored. Zelda is the Princess; she can do whatever she wants, thank you very much.

And that is the exact attitude she has about her when Kratos finds her in the throne room, the young princess inching perilously close to the empty throne. Upon hearing his voice, Zelda snatches back the hand she had been stretching out to touch the thrown and clasps both of them in front of her. ]

Yes, I do. I am the Princess. [ Said with the complete confidence of a six year old. ]

[flamberge]

[the identity of the intruder in lord yggdrasill's chambers takes kratos by surprise. an elven child? no one had mentioned anything regarding one being transported to welgaia for any reason and, even if there was a reason for a child being brought into the city, yggdrasill would not have allowed them to roam his chambers like this. it all begs the question of how this happened. very perplexing.

his curious expression gains an added eyebrow raise to it at her claims of being a princess. leave it to children to play make-believe with this degree of confidence. well, far be it from him to try to argue. going off personal experience, it's better to simply play along with these fantasies than attempt to fight against them.

thus, he'll coolly cross his arms as he responds, his voice a softer tone than before.]

I see. And how did her highness end up in this place?

[multidisciplinary]

[ Zelda knows that look—the raised eyebrow, the crossed arms. A curious princess encounters that look frequently, from her father, to the captain of the knights, to the head librarian. Most of the time, it means she has said, done, or gone somewhere that she wasn't supposed to.

But will she demurely accept punishment for her transgressions? Absolutely not. One must never apologize for pursuing knowledge, especially when said knowledge is restricted. Knowledge should be free to all! —According to the Queen, that is, and she probably didn't mean for her daughter to be twisting her words into a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Zelda straightens up and whips one arm out to point to the teleporter. ]

Sheikah technology. [ Obviously. ]

[flamberge]

[sheikah? kids come up with the strangest words, he swears. lloyd had been much the same to the point speaking with him sometimes felt like speaking in another tongue.

as his eyes follow to where her pointing leads, the meaning of that word becomes clear: the warp pad. an obvious answer to his question, if one that also leaves a lot of additional follow-up questions. kratos fully intends to see how many answers to those he can get. just, not here. yggdrasill is unlikely to take as kindly to a child ending up in his throne room.]

I see.

[he turns back toward zelda.]

Well then, let's use this [a pause.] Sheikah technology to go somewhere else, shall we?

[while posed as a question, kratos' tone implies that the question only has a single answer.]

[multidisciplinary]

[ Kratos, then, will not be happy when the answer he receives is not the one he wanted. Zelda knows at this point that she has ended up somewhere she isn't supposed to be. Usually when that happens, the next place adults take her to is somewhere private so they can lecture her.

So Zelda hesitates, dragging the toe of her slipper across the smooth floor. ] Go where?

[flamberge]

[having experience with kids means understanding thein body language well enough. she thinks she's in trouble, which isn't the case. she WILL be in danger, however, if mithos returns. leaving quickly is key.

none of that inner concern about her safety shows on his face. it's that same cool and collected expression as always. he does, however, allow his arms to fall to his side, with one hand casually coming to a rest on his sword hilt. his voice takes on a softer tone while speaking, as well. all this is in attempt to silently imply she's not in trouble.]

What sort of a place would her highness be interested in seeing?

[the choice is hers.]

[multidisciplinary]

[ This time, Kratos gets the reaction he wants out of the young princess. Upon seeing him take the same kind of relaxed stance as the palace knights do, Zelda relaxes as well. She's probably still in trouble for being in this room, but maybe this won't get back to her father...

In truth, the place Zelda most wants to see is right here. There must be something really amazing in this room if Kratos is trying so hard to get her out of it! But that's clearly not happening, so she considers where else in this strange palace she would like to go. ]

Can we go to the kitchens and get a snack?

[ Wandering around and pressing buttons while ignoring angels is hungry work. ]

[flamberge]

[ah, there we go. both the response and associated body language are precisely what he'd hoped for. it's good to know that he still seems to understand how children work. ...which is actually oddly nice to know.]

We can. [he'll hold out a hand for her to take. call it a precaution to ensure no running off.] What sort of a snack would you like?

[granted, their ingredients are... limited here on welgaia. most of the angels don't eat whatsoever. the only two that really use the kitchens are himself and yuan and, even then, that's not frequently. that said, kratos will do his best to make it work.]

[multidisciplinary]

[ Finally, Zelda hops down from the dais where the throne stands and trots over to Kratos. He can breathe a little easier now—no child's grubby handprints will mar Yggdrasil's throne.

Zelda takes Kratos's offered hand without hesitation. With the threat of punishment behind her, she's back to her usual bubbly self. ]

Cake! [ She decrees. ] Or patisserie, if that's all you have.

[flamberge]

[breathe easier he does. despite claims of him being a cold, heartless jerk (claims he very much agrees with), harm needlessly coming to an innocent child isn't something he'd allow if he can prevent it. no prints, no mess, no evidence: perfect.

with zelda's hand in his, he starts toward the warppad.]

As long as you don't mind the wait, I should be able to bake you one.

[cake ingredients aren't out of the question to find in the kitchens and baking one a child woukd enjoy shouldn't take too long.]

[multidisciplinary]

That is acceptable, thank you kindly.

[ Spoken with all the unearned confidence of a six year old born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Because a princess must always be polite! Respect your subjects and they will respect you in turn, her father teaches her.

Zelda swings their held hands back and forth as they approach the warp pad, grinning at it. Teleporting is so much fun! ]

Perhaps one of your servants could fetch me these schematics while we wait. [ She says in a mimicry of her father. ] I should quite like to have our scientists install some of these in the castle.

[flamberge]

[an eyebrow ends up raised at not only the request but how it’s spoken. perhaps there’s the faintest hint of amusement playing in his eyes. ‘fetch the schematics’? to say she mimics royalty well would be an understatement. that said, beyond mimicry is the intelligence behind what she says. few children can utilize big words correctly like this.

...or some young adults. he’s fairly positive lloyd wouldn’t be able to use schematics correctly in a sentence.]

I believe I can give you a rundown of how these function, if you’d like. The schematics themselves would be useless since a good portion of the materials needed to create these no longer exist.

[limited supply exists in their storage, but not much else.]