[It's a normal, nondescript day up in the mountains. Save that Aku, still licking his wounds from his defeats, is up there refining his telekinetic powers so that next time, those fools won't even be able to touch him.]
[Time either stood still or flowed far too quickly for Kratos, and it was with the latter that he could live every day in this village and still deem himself sane. Today, however, the former was plaguing him, what with both Presea and Svala away to attend to mundane duties.
In other words, he was bored.
It was when he realized that he was reading the same sentence several times in one of his books that he stopped what he was doing, dressed appropriately for battle, then left a note for Presea telling her that he'd be back soon before he left the house, seeking a companion to work off the sense of boredom and, dare he acknowledge it, anxiousness. Far too many thoughts and emotions have been showing their ugly faces and making him doubt himself and his purpose in both worlds. He knew at least one person could understand, and there was just one person he could trust with that.
Soon enough, Kratos found himself knocking on Yuan's door.]
[Yuan knew only too well what it was like to be bored in this place. He'd always had a hard time sitting still and while he was more prone to try and undertake action when he first arrived in Luceti, he still couldn't stand sitting inside the house all day. It's sad how a prison where experiments are performed seemed almost peaceful compared to the life he was used to.
All the better that there was a knock on the door, snapping him out of his thoughts. With no one else in the house but himself at the moment, he was the one to reach the door and answer it. One glance at Kratos' attire and weaponry told him all he needed to know.]
[But one look at Yuan, and he already knows what the answer to that is. He turns his head to the forest, silently choosing their battleground. At the moment, life within the village was too much for him, and he needed time away from it all, even if it meant facing the danger of an angry wolf.]
Do you really think I'd have anything planned? [Rhetorical or not, Yuan felt a need to answer that anyway. He couldn't just pass up an opportunity to act like the pessimist, after all. He opens the door further so Kratos can enter if he wants, before turning to head further inside.]
[Kratos opts to stay outside. He wouldn't want to just get in and then get out once they're ready to go. So, he nods, then crosses his arms and leans back against his heels as he looks out towards the forest. If they're lucky, they won't be bothered. Kratos has had enough of that these past few weeks.]
[A few minutes later, Yuan returns to the front door wearing his armor. He also pocketed a few of his spare apple gels, because he'd rather gulp those down than suffer the indignity of asking Kratos for healing magic if there's a need for it. He still won't carry his weapon around with him, though. He'll just teleport it to his hand when they've left the village perimeter.]
[Without a word, Kratos turns and leads the way down the path and towards the forest. It was kind of Yuan to agree to this, even though he was probably begging for some kind of distraction for the day. He'd have to thank him later. Maybe.
Once they enter the forest, Kratos makes sure his sight and his hearing are at the best of their ability. Colette had once said that hearing all of these things at once was slightly painful, and indeed, she was right. It's a bit jarring to hear the river, the footsteps of various animals, the sound of wings beating through the air, the wind sway through the trees, and the different little chirps and growls that the forest had to offer. That is, if one wasn't used to it.]
Keep your senses open. There is danger within these woods.
[He doesn't need to tell Yuan that, but he feels the need to break the silence between them, anyway.]
[It's just like Kratos to state painfully obvious facts. Who hasn't been warned about Moro these days? Cooro likes to go out and play with that beast, which is sort of miraculous, but Yuan knows better than to seek out that wolf. As long as it doesn't hurt Cooro, he'll avoid it like the plague. And who knows what else is out in the forest, these days?]
I wasn't about to let my guard down, if that's what you meant.
[Kratos wanted the silence broken? Well, it's broken.]
[Who knows? Yuan could've forgotten. He's so old. Heck, if it weren't for two different de-aging experiments, Kratos himself would still be left without any memory whatsoever of his earlier years, before everything went to hell.]
Your warning could be exactly what draws the danger to us.
[A moot point in retrospect, considering they're planning on sparring out here. But hopefully said danger will be clever enough to back away when they see the magic spells flying back and forth.]
[Oh, he's amused. But back to the path at hand. A few branches hanging a bit too low, but no big deal. Walking, walking... Oh here we go, a nice, somewhat circular clearing. And big enough for a spar, at that!]
[Meanwhile what they did not know, what they could not know was that Aku was in the mountains on the outskirts of the forest. He had legs. Legs for pacing. He was not at full power and he had been humiliated in battle by that fool Kain somehow managing to find a holy weapon. Did they simply give those things out in Luceti? In his world, only one blade in the entire universe could hurt him. Now they seemed to just be picking these things up at garage sales. Aku couldn't afford to engage in close combat. The villagers had unexpected abilities. Aku had yet to find any one of them that could take him on one on one, but when they worked together, they were too much of a nuisance for him to handle. He needed a better trick
( ... )
[Kratos' amusement didn't go unnoticed. He'll let it slide, though, in favor of assessing the clearing. It does seem like a perfect setting for a spar; sizable and no obstacles. He's feeling pretty fit today, so there's nothing stopping him from defeating Kratos this time. ... Well, he's determined to win, anyway.
He's just about to summon his saber to his hand when a loud rumbling reaches his ears. Instantly, he whips around to look up at the mountain range. A landslide? No... That looked far too suspicious to be a natural phenomenon.]
[Kratos had lowered his hearing as soon as he heard the rumbling, and good thing, too. He had been facing the mountains when the landslide happened, and he narrowed his eyes as it finished. No, that was not a normal landslide... It looked as if it had been pushed.]
Someone caused that. [And he knows for sure that there aren't a lot of people who can manipulate the earth like that. The spar gets pushed to the back of his mind, though he still weighs his options. Do the dangerous thing and check it out? Or stay somewhat safe here?]
[As impressive as that was, he let gravity do most of the work. A man-sized Aku slides down the mountain and manages to beat the landslide down. Then with a force of will, he pushes it all back up the mountain.]
[Yuan squints, only barely listening to Kratos' words. Enhanced sight can be a beautiful perk on more than one occasion, and this happens to be one of those occasions. He can just make out a shadowy figure moving down the mountainside to manipulate the rocks and earth again. Is it really a human, though? Something seems off about its physique.]
In other words, he was bored.
It was when he realized that he was reading the same sentence several times in one of his books that he stopped what he was doing, dressed appropriately for battle, then left a note for Presea telling her that he'd be back soon before he left the house, seeking a companion to work off the sense of boredom and, dare he acknowledge it, anxiousness. Far too many thoughts and emotions have been showing their ugly faces and making him doubt himself and his purpose in both worlds. He knew at least one person could understand, and there was just one person he could trust with that.
Soon enough, Kratos found himself knocking on Yuan's door.]
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All the better that there was a knock on the door, snapping him out of his thoughts. With no one else in the house but himself at the moment, he was the one to reach the door and answer it. One glance at Kratos' attire and weaponry told him all he needed to know.]
Another sparring session?
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[But one look at Yuan, and he already knows what the answer to that is. He turns his head to the forest, silently choosing their battleground. At the moment, life within the village was too much for him, and he needed time away from it all, even if it meant facing the danger of an angry wolf.]
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Just let me get my things.
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Let's go.
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Once they enter the forest, Kratos makes sure his sight and his hearing are at the best of their ability. Colette had once said that hearing all of these things at once was slightly painful, and indeed, she was right. It's a bit jarring to hear the river, the footsteps of various animals, the sound of wings beating through the air, the wind sway through the trees, and the different little chirps and growls that the forest had to offer. That is, if one wasn't used to it.]
Keep your senses open. There is danger within these woods.
[He doesn't need to tell Yuan that, but he feels the need to break the silence between them, anyway.]
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I wasn't about to let my guard down, if that's what you meant.
[Kratos wanted the silence broken? Well, it's broken.]
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[Who knows? Yuan could've forgotten. He's so old. Heck, if it weren't for two different de-aging experiments, Kratos himself would still be left without any memory whatsoever of his earlier years, before everything went to hell.]
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[A moot point in retrospect, considering they're planning on sparring out here. But hopefully said danger will be clever enough to back away when they see the magic spells flying back and forth.]
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[Oh, he's amused. But back to the path at hand. A few branches hanging a bit too low, but no big deal. Walking, walking... Oh here we go, a nice, somewhat circular clearing. And big enough for a spar, at that!]
We will train here.
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He's just about to summon his saber to his hand when a loud rumbling reaches his ears. Instantly, he whips around to look up at the mountain range. A landslide? No... That looked far too suspicious to be a natural phenomenon.]
What is...?
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Someone caused that. [And he knows for sure that there aren't a lot of people who can manipulate the earth like that. The spar gets pushed to the back of his mind, though he still weighs his options. Do the dangerous thing and check it out? Or stay somewhat safe here?]
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Do you see it?
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