House arrest

[strength_of_tomorrow]

Who: Kratos, visitors, and his lovely guards
When: All week, Oct 7th - Oct 14th
Where: Pendilium, Floor 3, Apartment 4
Style: I'll follow!
Status: Semi-open, going to have to contact his guards first before you can "visit".

[To an angel as old as Kratos is, a week-long house arrest is essentially not a punishment at all. No, for Kratos, the punishment is in the company he is now forced to keep. There's nowhere to fly off to, he just has to deal with anyone that comes in that door. Non-violently.

This should be fun.]

Comments

[redcladidealist]

[Lloyd had already gotten permission from Serph, so there isn't any delay in letting him in when he arrives at the Pendilum apartment. The time between that conversation and now hasn't soothed his temper at all, so even before he's entered the apartment, Kratos can probably tell he's coming by the approach of his spiking mana signature.

Within moments of entering, he's standing face to face in front of the man, resembling nothing more than a little thunderhead.]

Kratos...

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[When Lloyd shows up, Kratos is genuinely surprised. He'd thought he would have been left alone for the most part. He should have known that having Angelo as one of his "guards" would mean something like this. He didn't want Lloyd to know what happened, he knew the boy would only get upset.]

Yes?

[redcladidealist]

[Yeah, a little late for that. And it didn't come from Angelo, though Kratos can't know that just yet.]

Did you really break that man's hands?

[strength_of_tomorrow]

Of course I did. He can't harm anyone now. Due to the nature of this place, we can't just expect it to be all right if we just keep a watch on him. If he truly does have a split personality, he should be grateful that he'll now be prevented from hurting anyone.

[Do you see this, Lloyd? There is no shame on this face.]

[beauchevalier]

[Angelo was on his duties of watching Kratos, but this was becoming boring and so he decides to speak with the man.]

You brought this on yourself you know, but I'm sure you're happy.

[strength_of_tomorrow]

Satisfied, perhaps. Would you think it adequate to just lock someone like that up? We can't keep a watch on them for all eternity. This way, if they do escape they're still no threat to anyone.

[Will he accept being locked up temporarily to ensure Lloyd's safety in the long run? Absolutely.]

[redcladidealist]

[Every word Kratos says, every lack of regret, makes Lloyd's face darken even more with anger.]

If his mind is really split like that, then you punished the wrong guy! You made someone innocent suffer for what the other half of him did!

[strength_of_tomorrow]

It was far preferable to the alternative. We cannot keep a watch on him forever. For all we know, next week half of us will be turned into kittens, and he could go free. I would rather one innocent person suffer than see a repeat of the past month.

[Thinking of it any other way is just childish and idealistic.]

[beauchevalier]

[He lowers his eyes and starts laughing.]

That man who tried to murder Lloyd, I don't accept that he's only being locked up. When I heard his message... I thought of taking care of him myself, but I'd be in the same position as you if I did. Unlike you, I'd rather not be locked up for a week or longer as I find it to be suffocating.

[strength_of_tomorrow]

A week is no time at all. It is worth it.

[He's been alive for four thousand years now. A week will go by in the blink of an eye. As far as he's concerned, he's only being locked up at all for propriety's sake. Anyone with half a brain can see that simply keeping watch on that maniac isn't adequate.]

[beauchevalier]

For you perhaps. As for our murderer, I might pay him a visit.

[He does have the words for the man, though he'd rather do it on his own time.]

[strength_of_tomorrow]

While "guarding" me? How will you ever find the time?

[His voice is dry, but not entirely without amusement. Really, there's no need for a guard. He won't go anywhere!]

[beauchevalier]

[He knows Kratos won't go, but he still has a "duty" to perform.]

I'll be changing shifts with others from the Defense Force of course. You don't expect me to be here all the time do you? Unless you miss my company that much.

[strength_of_tomorrow]

I will be fine.

[In fact, he's going to get up and take a shower right now just to cut this conversation short. He doesn't even sing in the shower or anything entertaining like that. Enjoy your duties, Angelo!

The flaw in Kratos's plan is of course that Angelo is guarding him and will still be there when he gets back, toweling off slightly damp hair. Well damn.]

...

[beauchevalier]

[The templar wants to shower about now, even though he did it earlier in the day or at least enjoy a relaxing bath. For now though he's playing with a deck of cards he brought and drinks a flask of wine hidden in his coat.]

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[Kratos? He'll just settle in a corner and remain utterly silent until spoken to. He is not the most entertaining of prisoners.]

[beauchevalier]

I could use a relaxing bath right about now, my body aches all over.

[Except he can't leave until later, so he's not pleased at all.]

[strength_of_tomorrow]

Go ahead. I'm not going anywhere. There's a tub in the bathroom.

[Angelo, you best not make him sit in there so you can take a bath...]

[beauchevalier]

You better not run or I'll tell Lloyd.

[He's very glad to have Lloyd has his roommate right about now. He'll also be going into the bathroom as he shuts the door behind him to bathe.]

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[Where would he run to? It's a small bubble, not to mention he turned himself in. He'll be sitting in exactly the same spot as he was when Angelo went to the bathroom when he exits, looking like he hasn't moved an inch. Truly, no one imitates a rock quite like Kratos.]

[redcladidealist]

[Lloyd bristles at that statement, as Kratos should well have known he would. He raises his voice, his mana spiking with it.]

No! It's not okay to sacrifice one person for everyone else! It's not okay to make him suffer just so we can all feel safer! If he's sick, then we need to help him get better! Did you even try to think of a way to save him? Or did you just break his hands the first chance you had!

[chosen_gigolo]

[It's a fairly simple thing for Zelos to get in to see Kratos. For one, he's a member of the defense force. It seemed the easiest way, signing up for a night of watching the stoic be silent.

Still, he has some words for the man this time around.

He knew Lloyd came down here to yell at his father, probably something about forgiveness and all the other good and idealistic things that Lloyd is supposed to believe in, that they all take comfort in him believing even when the more experienced know that's not how the world works.

Zelos sits for quite awhile before saying anything, shuffling the deck of cards Angelo had left over and over in his hands, sometimes playing solitaire, sometimes just rifling through them or flipping cards end over end through his fingers. It's a little jarring when he finally breaks the silence an hour and a half into his shift.]

You did the right thing.

[It's not comfort; the words aren't meant to make Kratos feel better. It's a simple acknowledgement that even though their experience is four thousand years different, they both know the evil of men's hearts first hand and will embrace it if it means the ones they care for won't have to.]

[strength_of_tomorrow]

"Save" him? He can be healed later, when or if his other half is under control - if he was even telling the truth about that. I did consider other options, but this was the safest.

[He doesn't flinch, even after Lloyd starts yelling. What does cause him some concern is the fluctuation of his mana.]

...Lloyd. Be careful.

[strength_of_tomorrow]

[For his part, Kratos prefers the company of Zelos to that of some of his other guards. He's fairly certain Zelos won't attempt to make useless conversation with him. They'll just go on ignoring each other like they always do unless Lloyd is in danger.

With that in mind, it's not surprising that he looks startled when Zelos speaks up after over an hour of silence. Is the other angel comforting him? Surely not. No, it seems more like an admission of fact than anything else.]

It was preferable to having someone else have to carry out the task.

[Or, even worse (and more likely), to no one having the guts to do it at all.]

[beauchevalier]

[Kratos might hear humming from the bathroom even with the door closed while he's also taking his time in the tub. Not having to talk to Kratos and enjoying a nice warm bath feels nice. However about a half an hour passes before he realizes his fun must end, getting out of the bath and drying himself off at first. It's soon followed with him getting his clothes on, then afterwards opening the bathroom door to see what the man is up to while he dries his hair.]

Still here and pretending to be a rock I see.