#osovereign

ㅤThe water flowing along the stream felt cold as he dipped his hands in it; for a moment, simply watching as the quiet, gentle waves washed away grime and dirt and dried-up sweat. If only it could also cleanse the blood those same hands were soaked in, metaphorically so if not literally anymore; hands of children raised to carry weapons and slash throats. Everything he'd fought so hard to change, only to fail so spectacularly. The brother he'd sworn to protect with his life and gladly so, now left behind abandoned and traumatized and set on a path toward his own doom.

Was this the essence of a will made of fire? Was this the world of mercy it promised?

Hypocrisy.

ㅤHands clutched tight absently, the water still flowing just as freely. A metaphor to add insult to injury and remind him that, indeed, he was powerless; a tiny, powerless human, unable even to save his own family the very reason why now they lie dead and ready to rot. With a sigh, Itachi untied his forehead protector and brought it down, meaning to wash it as well. After days of hurried journey throughout the Land of Fire, meaning to go as far away as possible from his once-home, he might as well dunk his whole self in the stream. ...For more than just one purpose, yet such grim musings would serve him for nothing. Only give Danzo the satisfaction of yet another victory. No, he would live. He would live and, somehow, find a way to correct everything that was wrong for good. One day, he would-

ㅤ...-he'd figure it once he got there. At present, the priority suddenly became the presence he could sense approaching - paranoia immediately kicked back into overdrive as the iris of his remaining eye shifted to deep crimson. Paranoia that soon tumbled into territory of sheer bewilderment, however, the moment he calmed down enough to realize that... he knew this person.

ㅤHis memory never forgot a chakra signature, and this one in particular actually had a layer of fondness added to it. Of halcyon days spent in the company of a certain mystery man, of following him around so carefreely and pestering him with questions about matters no four-year-old should be concerning himself about. Having to spare a moment to wonder if his fever might have gone bad enough to make him hallucinate such a coincidence, Itachi nonetheless watched the older one's figure coming into view - hand still refusing to let go of the kunai it was tightly holding, in a clearly defensive stance.

❝I find it distasteful that demons seem afflicted with these feelings for mortal women. As a great demon yourself, would't you agree?❞

He'd said he wanted to learn the angelic language, and when Genis said he wanted to learn something there wasn't a lot that could convince him otherwise. Now that Colette was recovered from her latest bout of Angel Toxicosis, they'd been able to return to Asgard. They'd reached the inn, and they had some free time, so it seemed today was the perfect time to try and begin his studies.

The trouble was that Colette was spending some time with Lloyd. Understandable enough, Genis thought. He'd noticed that Lloyd had wanted to stick a little closer to Colette since she'd undone the most recent seal. That didn't leave Genis with many people he could talk to about his studies, though. Raine was knowledgeable, that much was true, but she was also busy. Likely looking over their supplies and making sure they had enough in their budget to keep going as needed.

So, that just left Kratos. The mercenary had made it sound like he knew a lot about the language. After all, just like Colette, Kratos had said he could provide instruction when Genis had expressed an interest in learning. Since it was just the two of them who weren't busy right then, it made sense to at least ask if it was a good time. So, Genis left the inn and headed outside to where he knew Noishe was being kept.

Asgard wasn't a very big place, all things considered. There weren't all that many potential places for someone like Kratos to potentially be. So, it just made sense to look for Noishe. Sure enough, after a bit of walking, Genis found Noishe. Lloyd had mentioned that Kratos also had seemed interested in his weird dog, and it looked like he really was if he was standing there and talking with him like Lloyd sometimes did.

Genis beamed, feeling hope for his studies skyrocket. He could have tried to write out what he remembered seeing of the book that had the seal locations in, but somehow he thought that trying to learn on his own wouldn't go well. Best to ask someone knowledgeable on the subject.

"Hey, Kratos?"

✧˚ · . ❝ @osovereign sc. ❞ ✧ ೃ༄

✧˚ · . Dealing with mortals let alone humans was a task the pink haired angel didn't find the most appealing. But without fail, anytime one would find themselves lost in her forest, she'd lend a helping hand.

And perhaps this man before her wasn't lost and she was being an obnoxious local but the vows her father drilled in her head would always ring loudly. Never abandon someone in need.

Ever since the birth of tree Lloyd named Yggdrasil the world had changed in many ways - topically, of course, Tethea’lla and Sylvarant combined so that Presea could make the journey to see Colette on foot if she liked, and in ideals too as people came together.

That is what she has heard, in any case; for Presea, in the months following the birth of this tree and the ushering in one the new world little has changed. She had been invited to live in Iselia a number of times but she cannot leave Ozette, something perhaps only Regal understands — and she cannot bring herself to leave Altessa either, something she herself does not even understand.

(She does not want him to die before she has learned how to forgive. This is the one thing Presea knows to be true.)

She keeps in contact with Colette, and through Colette learns of the others. Regal too has been visiting with plans to help revitalize Ozette and Presea, if not grateful, is willing to work with him for that cause.

There is another traveling partner she had worked with similarly. A being of Cruxis she had not thought about until she found him on Altessa’s doorstep.

"Kratos," she says - (only later does she realize her tone for this conversation has changed to how the others told her she had sounded all those years poisoned by her exsphere; clipped, monotone, emotionless.)

✧˚ · . ❝ @osovereign sc. ❞ ✧ ೃ༄

✧˚ · . She had always been in charge of meeting new promising recruits. Something she had always chalked up to being the King's way of putting her into place. "Any of these men can replace you", that sort of thing. Yet none ever had, who could ever hope to take the place of a being perfectly tailored for war? One that hadn't aged a day since enlisting centuries prior. It wasn't a well kept secret that she was more than meets the eye.