5th sin - [action]

[shiningbinds]

[Kratos is met with confusion when he awakens in the forest, clad in only the white pants and shoes given to men who arrive in Luceti.

What happened? He doesn't remember. There was the draft... both him and Yuan had fallen ill... but what after that? Nothing. Had he been killed? He's out here like this, so it was a possibility. Or was it? He has no recollection of being killed. So maybe--

--maybe he had been. As Kratos props himself up, he quickly realizes that he can't feel the ground beneath him. Shock floods him, and he shakily stands up. When he has to lean against a tree for a moment, he notices that he can't feel the bark, either.

He had been struck down. He doesn't remember it, but it had happened. And the penalty appears to be his ability to use his sense of touch.

It's disgustingly fitting, considering how many Chosen Ones he had led to become the exact same way.

The man allows himself to let the shock pass a bit before making his way back to House Eight. One may bump into him as he makes this journey, but while he'll be polite, he'll also act very rushed.]

[Yuan Only]

[After Kratos returns to House Eight and fixes himself up, he'll see if Yuan is actually home. He's probably caused the man... concern? Frustration? Who knows, with how complicated their friendship is at the moment. Either way, he should make his return known to the other man.]

Yuan?

Comments

[House 8 action]

[fortunefail]

Martel... She was here, wasn't she? [In fact, according to the tally he made back in January, she'd been here five times already.]

[House 8 action]

[shiningbinds]

[...so that's how the Malnosso played, was it?]

Yes. She's been here twice since I've arrived.

[House 8 action]

[fortunefail]

According to my journal, she's been here at least five times.

[Of course, he's been here far longer than Kratos. Still... If Kratos knows about two of those times, the other three likely happened as well. She arrived here five times and he can't remember.]

[House 8 action]

[shiningbinds]

And you cannot remember that at all? [Though he likely knows the answer already.]

[House 8 action]

[fortunefail]

None of it. [He has no recollection of the times he'd addressed Martel in his journal, but evidently he did do it. And she'd responded. It was really her.]

[House 8 action]

[shiningbinds]

...then that's what they have taken away. [He doesn't even wonder why the Malnosso would choose that, not when it's so obvious.]

[House 8 action]

[fortunefail]

Obviously.

[It bugs him, but not just because these are precious memories. It's also because he's wondering if perhaps he's better off without them. He's sure that having been reunited with Martel again must've been wonderful, but it also meant he lost her again. The fact that she isn't in Luceti now is proof that.

He still remembers how he felt after Dhaos was sent home, though now he knows why that departure hit him as hard as it did. It hadn't been just about Dhaos. If the departure of someone not quite related to Martel had been so painful, imagine how it must've felt the times when it was really her.]

[House 8 action]

[shiningbinds]

...shall I make dinner for us? We can discuss this further in the meanwhile, if you'd like.

[Kratos, you have no sense of touch. How is you making dinner a good idea?]

[House 8 action]

[fortunefail]

What's there to discuss? Unless it's a matter of life and death, I don't need to know whatever I've forgotten.

[Without further ado, he pushes himself past Kratos and into the hallway to lead the way to the kitchen.]

[House 8 action]

[shiningbinds]

I was merely giving you the option. [He follows Yuan to the kitchen.]