caughtinanetwork | Dream/Video, arrival in the plaza

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Dream/Video, arrival in the plaza

Dream

It's hard to say who exactly is the one dreaming - it seems like more of a memory, playing from behind the eyes of the one that lived it. There's a plainly dressed brunette woman playing with a small boy nearby, a toddler still really. Though both of them are dirty and a little tired looking, through the eyes of the person watching they're the most beautiful sight imaginable. The boy turns and toddles near, holding his hands out. The viewer lifts him up, earning a gleeful little laugh for his troubles.

"Ride?" the boy asks.

A deep voice responds, "All right, Lloyd."

And the dream cuts out as he starts to regain consciousness.

Action

Kratos opens his eyes, just barely finding the strength to sit up. If this is the afterlife, should he feel so weak? It's certainly not what he expected.

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[Lloyd stiffens, his head snapping up with shock.]

What do you know about my mom?

[The smile is gone in an instant, replaced with confusion.]

Yuan told you. I was there...

[There's no way that Lloyd doesn't know, is there? He has to know at this point, it doesn't make any sense!]

Yuan's never said a thing about my mom. What're you talking about? And stop avoiding my questions! How do you know my mom!?

[He might've been willing to drop the issue of Origin's seal and how exactly Kratos got hurt, but this? No way. This is about his mom. No way is he going to back down now.]

[Presented with suddenly having to tell Lloyd that he is his father, Kratos is at a complete loss for words. Instead of speaking he unclasps a locket from around his neck, hands shaking slightly with the action as he opens it up and hands it to Lloyd.]

This is your mother, Anna.

[It's that little boy. The one he just saw in that... whatever it was he had seen. And there's that woman. And...

And Kratos. Kratos smiling with the woman and with... with a little boy named Lloyd.

For a moment it feels like the world is squeezing around him. He can't think, he can't feel, he can't breathe. His mind can't process what it is he's seeing - or more importantly what it means.]

N-no.

[He shakes his head, letting go of Kratos and backing up a step.]

No, you're lying. That's not my mom. That's not me!

Edited 2012-04-26 03:05 (UTC)

[Though he deserves it and he knows it, somehow it hurts even more having Lloyd deny him a second time. He tucks the locket away and gently as he can manage.]

You may deny me if you wish, but do not say such things about Anna. She is your mother.

I don't know what my mother looks like! All I have is your word that that's her!

[Something like panic is welling up inside him, making his heart pound in his chest. Even his breath is coming more rapidly. Hyperventilating. He doesn't care.]

I can't believe you're my- You're not! You can't be! It doesn't make any sense!

[When confronted with an emotional situation, it's Kratos's natural reaction to disengage. Lloyd panicking forces him to stay in the moment at least somewhat. His voice sounds harsher than he intended it to when he speaks, making him cringe inwardly.]

Calm down, Lloyd. I have nothing to gain by lying to you about this.

[Nothing to gain?

If Kratos had been trying to help, his words do exactly the opposite. They stab deep into something inside of Lloyd, twisting painfully.

Nothing to gain from being his dad, from having Lloyd for a son.

He doesn't want Kratos to be his dad, but that doesn't stop the words from hurting. Father or not, he'd once looked up to the man, once sought his approval, felt warm whenever the older swordsman had spoken a word of praise. To be hit with words like that...

He only has one defense against the sudden pain from those words, and that's to let his temper flare.]

You're right, of course there isn't anything to gain! Not unless you're trying to convince me to follow in your footsteps and join Cruxis with you! Or maybe you don't want me trying to stop you, because if it's me dad who's trying to take Colette away, what can I do against him? That's all you care about anyway, right? It's not like you care about me, or anyone but Yggdrasill and yourself!

[He'd only meant that he had no ulterior motive, no reason to lie. He's barely conscious though, and it's no surprise that the words came out wrong. Hearing Lloyd of all people coming up with underhanded reasons that he might want to pretend to be his father...

It's unbearable. What happened to the boy that accepted the assassin from another world into the party with open arms? The prisoner that attacked them upon arriving in Tethe'alla? The one that always thought the best of people, who assumed good intentions by default - where was that boy now?

Glaring at him, shouting, and assuming the worst.

Kratos stumbles back, unable to conceal his shocked and pained expression before turning to go as quickly as he can manage. If he turns Lloyd into this, then it would be better if they never spoke again.]

[Lloyd will probably regret some of those words later on, but right now he's hurting too much to care what kind of damage he might have inflicted by lashing out like that. When Kratos stumbles away, he turns his back.

He doesn't care. He doesn't. He should've known how Kratos felt about him anyway. If the seraph had cared about him at all, he wouldn't have betrayed Lloyd in the first place. And if Kratos was his father...

No. No, that had to be a lie. With every fiber of his being, Lloyd fights back against that idea. It's too much. He can't handle everything that that would mean. His own father...

Wrapping his anger back around himself, Lloyd scrubs his eyes to get rid of tears that aren't there. It's easier to fume and call Kratos a jerk.

He never looks back as he storms away from the plaza.]

Edited 2012-04-26 18:18 (UTC)

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Dream/Video, arrival in the plaza

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