i just wanna know: who broke it?

[summonerd]

[Sheena'd thought she was all done with dimensional travel, now that the two worlds were united. But here she is, having fallen asleep in one world and woken up in a Tethe'alla that's just different enough from the one she knows to be constantly jarring. Her connections to Aselia's summon spirits dangle loose, snapped by distance - not even Origin's power could follow her here, it seems. That's more than a little unsettling.

It takes her some time, alone in a bizarro version of Meltokio as she is, but eventually she stumbles on a lead - an old scientific journal, a mention of the power of something called an Aegis being able to transcend space and time, at least in theory. And a little asking around tells her that Tethe'alla has its own Aegis, though no one's seen it for years. Well. Worth a shot, right?

Somehow she manages to talk her way into the Tethe'allan castle where the Aegis's core crystal awaits being woken up, with a series of smiles and her very best politicking - yes, of course she's got nothing but loyalty for Tethe'alla, of course she's skilled at this, of course it'd be a great honor.

(Zelos would be proud, she thinks, wryly.)

They're dubious, but her persistence wears them down, or maybe they're just desperate enough for a return of the Aegis's power to let her try, and the orange core crystal is offered out to her.

She takes a deep breath, and reaches out to touch it.]

Comments

[ilivedbitches]

Okay, Sheena's answer didn't make a lot of sense. Not from "around here"-- what the fuck does that mean? And "he's a friend of mine", like-- Maybe that one can make sense. Definitely strange that this 20-year-old acts like she's friends with a child, but maybe it was just a poor choice of words?

"He was supposed to be safe," Anna whispers around the fear that clutches her throat. "Dirk promised--"

She doesn't want to be scared, but the thought of anyone-- anyone knowing about her son, finding out what he is-- (A list of horrid things play on repeat in her head, things she almost wishes Kratos hadn't told her, things she would have been happier off not knowing but Anna refuses to embrace blissful ignorance. The world cannot be made better if you do not first confront its ugliness.)

Anyway.

She shakes those thoughts out of her head, literally. Cuts off her emotion bleed to Malos while she's at it, because something's going on on his end and it's making it harder to think. She pinches the bridge of her nose. Breathes deeply.

"No, sorry," she says. Panicking about Lloyd right now isn't going to do anyone any good. "I guess I'm just worried about him. But..." Maybe it's fine. Anna knows what a lying face looks like, and Sheena called Lloyd friend so genuinely, and Sheena did free Zelos. Someone like that probably isn't bad company for LLoyd. Hopefully.

(And if Sheena knows Lloyd, then maybe Anna can see him, again--)

They can fuss out details later.

"We should probably get out of the open," Anna says. There's a good chance she wasn't the only one who followed them this far.

[presidentheartbeat]

[Zelos keeps watching, observing and listening to everything he can. Whoever this Lloyd Irving is, apparently his single existence is enough to get these two to lose their entire train of thought and listen to one another. What a goddamn joke. Then Sheena addresses him suddenly, asking what he thinks, and he lets his disbelief out in a tiny little laugh through a small smile. She sure is devoted to making him feel like he has a choice, huh? Well, two can play this game--after all, it's one he's been playing for nearly half a hundred years or so.

He's working out the details of his reply when Anna beats him to the punch, stealing his attention away. Zelos raises an eyebrow at her, because that's... a pretty fair point. To be honest, Zelos is not very happy that it took him this long to figure out that someone was following them, but then again it's probably just something about Anna that he's not quite deciphering here. She smells like ether, a lot of it, but not quite in dangerous levels nor highly concentrated enough for him to be on alert for a blade or a blade weapon. So what's this?

Well... He doesn't like this one bit, but he has a role to play. The smile stays on his face as he shrugs, slowly lowering his sword from where he's keeping it raised to keep Sheena back but not dismissing it.] "She knows your friend, right?" [he says out loud to both women, though with his sights set clearly on Anna and mostly addressing Sheena and ignoring their assailant.] "I guess that's something, so I'll just do whatever my driver here says."

[Eugh.]

[summonerd]

[Oh, oops. Sheena didn't mean to make Anna panic about her son. She pulls a face, actually thinking about how to word this.]

I'm sure he's fine! It's a really long story. You don't need to worry about it.

[For all she knows, anyway. She huffs at Zelos's response, placing one hand on her hip. Please stop trying to get her to make these decisions, Zelos, she's at least self-aware enough to realize that she has zero fucking clue about how this world works.]

... Look, can you give us a second? [And with that, she's going to take Zelos's arm and tug him back a few steps, at least mostly out of earshot.]

It seems almost too convenient, but... she expected you to know Kratos's name, not me. [She shrugs, a little helplessly.] She's probably got a point about Mizuho, too. Seriously, your guess is as good as mine.

Zelos none of this is an answer

[presidentheartbeat]

[Though he remains stubbornly without dismissing his sword, Zelos at least switches it from active to a passive state, cutting off the ether flow and stopping the brilliant glow from the blade itself. He doesn't fight it when Sheena pulls him away, either. Zelos shoots Anna a blank look and then focuses his attention on his driver, posture casual and ready just in case he has to reactivate his sword and fight--nevermind that he has no idea how to fight, but.

Anyway.

It's only now that Zelos realizes that Sheena's inexperience with his world is going to be a pain in the ass if left unattended. Zelos sighs dramatically, bringing his free hand in the air to sell the picture, and smiles.] "My guess," [he begins, voice lowered to humour his driver,] "is that now that I've been stolen, everything as we know it is about to go to hell. Tethe'alla and Sylvarant were pretty much using us Aegises as deterrents, and without me in the picture, it won't take long for war to break out. Which means that Mizuho is definitely a bad idea--it's too neutral. Anyone could get a deal in and send assassins after you to bring me back and stop--or win--the war; especially the governments."

[He hums, pursing his lips as if deep in thought for a moment while he considers her next point. Well, might as well tell a half-truth. This can't hurt, right?] "I have no idea who Kratos Aurion is, but I can't deny that her urgency to tell us about him and her reaction to me not knowing him has me intrigued." [Zelos smirks.] "I guess you could say I'm curious to see who they're allied with."

DOUBT DOT PNG

[ilivedbitches]

Anna doesn't say anything when they walk a little back to confer-- that's like, a totally valid thing to do. Alarm bells are definitely ringing in her head, though, for another reason. "I'll just do whatever my driver here says"? Yikes. Blades don't just say shit like that without something being... wrong.

Anna isn't sure if it's on Zelos' end or the driver's end, though. She blames the driver on reflex, only to reconsider when Sheena pulls Zelos back to ask his opinion. Probably not abuse, then.

Except... Aegises keep their memories, don't they? Kratos mentioned that once.

Not abuse from... this driver, then.

Anna takes a long, shaky breath, quiet rage burning low in the back of her heart. Sometimes, she really hates humanity.

zelos make a decision challenge

[summonerd]

I didn't steal you, [she says, automatically, not liking something about the way he says it. The thoughtful frown she'd been wearing deepens as Zelos lays his thoughts out, and she crosses her arms; he's right. For all that she trusts her home, a Mizuho with unknown intentions that doesn't recognize her isn't the safest place for a pair of fugitives.] But you're right. If her people really want to end the war...

... Guess they probably can't make things worse than I already have, if she's telling the truth. [A little, self-deprecating laugh.] And I'm curious about this world's Kratos, too. [She nods, raises the volume of her voice so that Anna can hear, too.] Okay. For now, at least.

You think he wants to take that risk

[presidentheartbeat]

"Now we're talking! Besides, if something goes down then we can probably fight our way through, right? What could possibly be worse than escaping Meltokio Castle?" [Zelos cheerfully says, flashing Sheena a big, bright smile.

In truth Zelos is pretty curious about this, but... ending the war? Putting his hands into human matters? Fuck's sake, it's the humans who did this to themselves, not the Aegises. This isn't Zelos' fight. But, well, there's nothing else he can do with a driver who seems not to be making the connection between someone who wants to end the war and her handing them the Aegis. At the very least, though, he could find a way to manipulate the situation, steal some resources and information, and then get himself and Sheena as far away from Anna as physically possible.

Quickly and quietly Zelos bounces an idea off in his brain, files it away for later, and gives Sheena one hell of a fake reassuring smile when she makes her choice.] "Anything you say, sweetheart!" [Zelos says, chipper. He straightens up and dismisses his sword, features hardening a little as he looks at Anna out of the corner of his eye, smile still in place.] "Just don't take your eyes off her, and don't leave my side," [he adds, voice dangerously low.

Here goes nothing.]

[ilivedbitches]

Tentative trust? Anna will take that.

"Here, this way," she says, gesturing for them to follow. "I have a hideout we'll be safe in while we figure some things out."

She gets about three steps before she staggers.

The emotion bleed between her and Malos? Usually pretty chill, especially since law school brings a basically non-existent set of threats with it. So when accute horror washes over Anna so thoroughly she feels like she's gonna fucking drown in it, she definitely gets concerned! It's not until the emotion ebbs a few seconds later, breaking into confusion and a thousand other frantic and somewhat ugly things, that Anna is able to compose herself, wheezing a little for air, clutching at her chest.

"Shit," she says, hastily reaching up to tap a short message against Malos' chunk of core crystal in her chest. She didn't have the patience to learn morse code, but they worked out a few signals for urgent communication. She sends him the one asking if he's okay. He should respond with one tap for yes or two for no, or SOS if it's real urgent.

She gets three taps back.

What the fuck does three taps mean!!!!!!!

"Okay, cool," Anna says, voice tight. Malos' lingering horror hasn't exactly left her lungs. She doesn't take her hand away from Malos' core crystal, it's warmth comforting. "Fuck." She says, a second later. She turns back to the Aegis and his driver, knowing she needs to offer an explanation. "My blade's in danger," she says.

(Well, he might be, anyway. It wasn't an SOS, Anna, calm down, you can afford to be kind of slow, if you couldn't he would have said!)

"So, uh, perhaps if we could hurry."

(She will ditch them if they do not move fast enough.)

[summonerd]

Sounds good. [She guesses!! This is a mess of a situation. Hopefully it doesn't become any more of one; she's not sure she could deal with it. Her tone's uncertain, but she does obligingly stick close to Zelos, at least, as they follow behind Anna.

And then Anna freezes and doubles over, and Sheena has to stop abruptly not to walk into her.]

Are you-- [she starts, shooting Zelos a confused look, only to cut herself off as Anna starts to speak again. The fuck is happening.

This close she can see that there's something on Anna's chest that doesn't look like it's on a necklace - it wouldn't be strange if not for the fact that the only people she's seen with something like that, in the last few weeks, have all been blades like Zelos. And Anna... isn't, is she? That can wait, though; suspicious as she still is, Anna's terror looks real enough to Sheena.

Seriously what the fuck is with everyone being so possessive about blades! It's a little creepy!!]

Right, [she says, uneasy.] Lead the way.

[Once Anna turns to continue forward, though, she'll lag behind an extra step or two to whisper to Zelos, just loud enough for him to hear.] Can you be ready to pull your sword out again, just in case? This is... weird.

[presidentheartbeat]

[Anna's strange ether signature and levels are suddenly explained away the moment she draws attention to the core crystal on her chest, and--bingo. Zelos finds himself smirking at the sight, watching Anna's reaction to what must be heavy emotional bleed, the urgency she requests they follow her with. Even when it's out of his sight, Zelos still feels smug. Interesting... So that's why he couldn't sense her that well earlier; she's a blade eater. Rare as they may be, here she stands, guiding them to Architect-knows-where.]

"Of course, hon," [Zelos whispers back to Sheena, smirking still, eyes on Anna's back as she pushes forth. He then shoots her a quick look, if only to wink at her.] "I'll keep you safe."

[This just keeps getting weirder and weirder, he thinks as he redirects his gaze at Anna again, but there's worse fates than being caught with a blade eater and her blade. Zelos gathers ether around himself. He has enough offensive abilities in his pre-programmed arsenal to take care of the both of them and escape without needing the sword, but that'll depend on what happens at Anna's hideout. They'll get to that eventually--the ambient ether should tell him most of what he needs to know, once they're there.

For now Zelos does, however, notice them taking a little detour closer to Meltokio than he's personally comfortable with, but keeps his mouth shut. A hideout is a hideout. If push comes to shove, then they just kill Anna and her blade and take the hideout for themselves, then get on their way to the next best place Zelos can think to look for help.

He's got this.]

CHAOS BEGINS

[ilivedbitches]

They follow her the entire way, so, like, there's that at least. Anna was half expecting them to ditch her, especially as they neared Meltokio-- but she has to get to Malos, even if they leave immediately for another, more distant safehouse, where Jin and Lora are. They don't go into the main city, anyway, her current home sits well nestled into its outskirts.

Once her home is in sight she breaks off at a run, only caring a tiny bit about her companions following becuase, like, Malos may or may not be in danger? His side of the emotion bleed has calmed considerably, but--

She unlocks the door and shoves it open with her shoulder.

"Dad?" she calls. "Everything fine?"

Her response is a delighted if somewhat urgent shout of her name followed by her adopted father tackling her in a bear hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning her once. She laughs, exasperated, still somewhat worried. He's holding her way too tight for things to be absolutely 100% fine.

"Thank the fucking Architect," he mumbles into her hair.

"You... were worried about me?" she asks, surprised. "What was all that, earlier--"

He kisses her hair, briefly. "I'll explain late...er..." The words die in his throat as he sees who else is with his daughter. "Anna fucking Irving, tell me you did NOT go and free the goddamn Aegis."

HERE WE GO

[risingfalcon]

Lloyd doesn't know what to do when Malos stops talking, panic obvious on the older man's face, because he didn't think to question the presence of soldiers, really. He kinda just stares there, about to try a sad attempt at destressing the blade, but the door opens and Malos immediately scans the front, eyes widening when he sees the person that opened the door.

Lloyd lets out a chuckle when Malos launches forwards, throwing himself at whoever opened the door, but there is a nervousness that builds up in his stomach, causing his blood to pump, as process of elimination tells him that the lady that just called Malos "dad" is Anna Irving, and Lloyd is going to meet her.

But as he walks up to the door, he catches black spiky hair tossed up into a ponytail and a flash of purple. He can't stop the grin that overtakes his face, willing to give Malos and Anna a moment because that's Sheena! She found him, not the other way around!

His legs pump as he snakes through the doorway and throws his arms around Sheena's neck, eyes closed, a delighted laugh escaping his mouth.

"Sheena! Oh, Sheena," he squeezes her tight, ignores the frog that catches in his throat, "we were so fuckin' scared. You just disappeared, we didn't -"

He opens his eyes, looking behind her shoulder, and his heart drops into his stomach. His words end abruptly as his breathing runs off pace, shaking his head slightly. It can't be, it can't be -

(Yes, it could be, Lloyd's mind supplies. After all, Anna lives in this dimension. Because -)

Zelos Wilder stands a few feet behind Sheena, looking around cautiously. His hair seems more orange than red, his clothes a little bit different, but that's - that's Zelos. The way Lloyd's heart clenches proves it more than memories ever could.

WELCOME TO THE PARTY

[summonerd]

[Sheena insists on going ahead of Zelos as they head towards the safehouse, just in case it is a trap. The sight of a fuckin mountain of a man launching himself at Anna is not reassuring on that front, enough to make her tense, but it's immediately clear that it's fine. (Dad??? she wonders.)

And then Sheena catches a blur of red as Lloyd launches himself at her. She doesn't really have time to react fully, but she manages to open her arms a little before he collides with her, hugging him back only a little awkwardly as surprise and delight bubble up in her chest.]

Lloyd? [She lets out a soft, slightly disbelieving laugh as he talks. She's not sure why she's surprised, now that she thinks about it. Of course he'd come for her. That's just how Lloyd is, after all.] How'd you--

[Lloyd freezes midhug, and-- oh no. Oh no. She tightens her grip on Lloyd to keep him where he is, and her voice drops along with her gaze.]

He's-- it's not what you're thinking.

[Comes in fifteen minutes late with Starbucks] Dude where's my hug

[presidentheartbeat]

[On edge just because of how close to Meltokio Castle they are again, even if it's not really that close and it's just his anxious mind making things bigger than they really are, the ether at Zelos' fingertips is already crackling when Anna breaks into a sprint and leaves them behind. He manages to keep it down, swallows down fear where Sheena can't find it. And then she shoots him a look and insists on going ahead, and Zelos bites his tongue before he says anything, watching her go ahead anyway. Okay, Sheena. Alright. Fuck yourself up, then.

At the very least, Zelos guesses that he could get to analyzing from out here, so he looks around cautiously, taps into his senses, tries to discern and categorize each ether signature in the house. There's that odd, ancient, less concentrated signature from Sheena, though it feels a little like it's growing in intensity. Weird, Zelos thinks. There's a strong signature from inside--Anna's blade, most likely, if the match-up between both is anything to go by. So, that makes three people here aside from Zelos. Exactly as planned.

Except not quite.

Anna's blade rushes forward and hugs her so tight that it gives Zelos whiplash. Okay, that was sudden, but there's probably no danger in that right now. Then someone else rushes at Sheena, and the first thing Zelos feels is a shock of fear and surprise until it explodes into something joyous and sweet. Zelos turns to look at his driver and finds her hugging a boy in red clothes, laughing. He frowns at the scene--he'd only sensed three signatures. Then what the hell...?

Well, whatever. Sheena seems comfortable with him, so it'd be suspicious to act suspicious. The boy looks his way and freezes, and on instinct Zelos offers him a grin, gesturing with one hand at him and Sheena.] "Well, I'd hate to ruin your moment here, and seeing how Anna's blade is fine," [he says over the sound of Anna and her blade debating with each other, stepping forward into the house and past Sheena and her friend, nonchalantly gesturing over his shoulder,] "I think I'll just help myself inside."

[He barely pays them any mind, looking around cautiously and curiously, and approaches Anna and her blade. Zelos offers them a bright smile and a wave.] "Yo! Thanks for hosting us tonight!" [he cheers. Then Zelos points at himself, grinning.] "I've been stolen!"

[There's ether still gathered in his hands. Just in case he has to act to kill.]

I MEAN IF YOU WANT A HUG, ZELOS, MALOS IS OPEN

[ilivedbitches]

"I did not, she did!" Anna counters, extracting herself from her father's death grip so she can gesture at Sheena-- who is now being hugged by a very enthusiastic hey wait a minute. Did Sheena just say Lloyd? It's... hard to tell, when the boy's not facing her, but. A knot of anxiety forms in Anna's gut, anyway.

Well, Lloyd's not that old, though. He can't be.

"Malos... who's--?" Anna asks.

"It's complicated," Malos says. He reaches down and knots his fingers through his daughters', one part needing to feel her here, one part wanting to hold her back, just in case. "I can explain, but first--"

Malos says that much when Zelos approaches, interrupting.

Anna bristles, a little. Zelos' smile definitely feels insincere, and she's pretty sure for all the distrust he was throwing around earlier, his words are a mask, too. And she wishes he'd stop saying it like that. A person can't be stolen.

"Yeah, I can see that," Malos says, laughing. His emotion bleed is a little tighter than usual, worry underneath all of it. Anna's not sure if it's worry for her or for Zelos. She squeezes his hand as well as she can with scarred fingers. "Though personally, I wouldn't really call it stolen. Can't steal a person, y'know? Free 'em, maybe." Malos shoots Zelos a smile. "Good to see you out of there, though."

(They both, absolutely, notice the ether Zelos has gathered, but neither choose to comment on it. Zelos has every right to be nervous, they think.)

Zelos: [FEAR OF SINCERITY AND TRUST: ON] NO NEVERMIND

[presidentheartbeat]

[At least getting Anna and Malos' attention distracts Zelos of the very, very obvious feeling of being ignored and kinda discarded. He grins wider when Anna's blade addresses him--Malos, he managed to catch the name--and tries to hold it in place when he starts going off about freedom and whatnot.

Zelos hides his discomfort behind a flap of his hand. Keep talking, fucker, you're still not off the hook.] "Of course you can't--what you stole is an Aegis, silly old man," [he jokes, fake mischief ebbing off his smile. He doesn't let go of the ether in his hands, but steps back a little, at least just enough for the Malos+Anna and Lloyd+Sheena duos to see each other through the hallway again. ] "Now," [he says as quickly as he can to avoid being interrupted, spreading his arms in the air, palms up, but one hand each pointing at both groups,] "I get we're all getting all sweet and sappy in here, but we're kinda fugitives, sooooo if you could leave that for later that'd be great."

lloyd is Dying

[risingfalcon]

Lloyd's not stupid. He knows the way Sheena tightens her grip around his waist is less hug and more please don't do the fucking thing because each one of his friends have done this to him at least once. He wants to fight, wants to protest, because Zelos is right there and he wants to scoop him up into a hug, but the logical part of Lloyd's brain resonates with the words Sheena whispers in his ear.

It's not what I want to think.

It only makes sense, honestly, that the world where Lloyd still has a mother and a bonus grandpa is the world where Zelos is still alive. Lloyd wants to believe for a second that this is the world he's destined to live in, but he - he knows better. It's all temporary.

His eyes water on their own accord, he forces it back with a strong blink and pulls out of Sheena's grasp, looking away to will a smile onto his face. He'll think about this later, when he can afford to cry, but Sheena is here and he's not going to let his dumb fucking hopes get in the way of that.

"Thanks for warning me," Lloyd says, genuinely, placing an arm around her shoulders, turning to face the safehouse. "I'm really glad you're alright, too," he adds, and that's genuine too.

Anna, Malos, and Zelos are all talking at the door, and seeing his mom clearly, for the first time, brings all sorts of emotions to the forefront. Excitement, anxiety, and fear all mix in this gross combination of mind vomit, where he can't think straight - especially since Zelos stands right next to her, and Lloyd can't even run up and kiss him like he's dreamed about since that last day they had together.

It's like everything Lloyd has ever wanted, but the rest of his friends aren't there and everything is being hung over his head, like he's a pet to be played with but never truly rewarded.

It's fine. He'll live with it. He always does.

[summonerd]

[So much is fucking happening!!

Sheena squeezes Lloyd tight for a moment before he pulls back, in some kind of apology, then flashes him a smile in return. God, she'd missed him. This whole mess of a situation feels so much more manageable with him here.]

It's good to see you, too.

[Fuck, she should introduce him to Anna, shouldn't she? But she catches Zelos's words and that's. Hm.]

You still look like a person from here, [she says, tone bright but not necessarily pleased. It's a very dealing-with-Zelos kind of tone.] Good point, though. [If Lloyd was here, it's safe enough for Sheena, at least. She steps forward into the house, pulls Lloyd forward with her so she can close the door. Hoo. Now what? She looks between the four of them, not sure where to start.]

[theactingdad]

Malos watches Zelos laugh and flap his hand in dismissal of Sheena's comment, and that plus the whole "What you stole is an Aegis" thing? Hoo. Malos doesn't even know where to begin unpacking that. Or even if he can right now. He feels a spike of anger from Anna, chuckles lightly in the wake of it. Yeah. Yeah.

(Makes him kind of wish they'd tried to save Zelos themselves, sooner, but-- well, they couldn't do it like Sheena had. Being a blade eater immediately disqualified Anna from the list of people that Tethe'alla would consider letting attempt to resonate with Zelos, desperate or not. And obviously they weren't gonna let Malos try, either.)

"Well," Malos says. "It's-- pretty late at night, and we should be safe here for now, so we'll be fine if we stay put, I think. At least 'til-- I dunno. Tomorrow night? Then we can move to a safehouse further from Meltokio. Y'all look like you might need the rest."

They do, but this is mostly a pointed comment at Anna, who he knows hasn't slept since she woke up this morning. Wouldn't be the first time she'd gone a few days without sleep, but Malos would still like to avoid that if possible.

"Which means I guess there's plenty of time for us to catch up!" he says, brightly, his grin a little too sharp. Alarm flares through Anna, recognizing the tone of his voice and probably the signals he's sending along their emotion bleed, but--

Well, he's already squeezed her hand, let go of it, and then shoved her in Lloyd's direction, so.

"Hey!" Anna shoots back at him, glaring, frustration bubbling along the ether that ties them.

"What! You should talk to your alternate-universe son!" Malos replies, grinning.

"Alternate-universe...?" Anna repeats, face scrunching up. Her confusion sings a loud song in his chest, but he just waggles his eyebrows at her, and her curiosity wins out. She turns back around to Lloyd, studying him like she's not sure what to make of him.

"You're," she begins, then: "I... Architect, look at you! You're all grown up!"

[risingfalcon]

The excitement in his gut swirls dangerously close to the sheer nerve as his mom is gently shoved his way by a grinning Malos, and he can't stop himself from stepping forward to catch her in case she trips. It's a habit he picked up from being around Colette before she grew out of her clumsiness, and he can't quite shake it.

Alternate-universe son is a concise way of putting it, Lloyd ponders, attempting to calm his rapidly increasing pulse because Anna Irving is staring at him, her son from another dimension, the one with a mother he never got to grow up with. He straightens up his posture without realizing it, preens a little at her attention because Dirk's comments on his being grown were either irritated mumbles or Lloyd come get this thing on the top shelf.

Lloyd really wants to impress her. Even though his heart is pounding so hard in is chest he believes even people without his enhanced hearing could hear it, there is a desperate desire to know the motherly affection he never really got to experience, a childish need to be coddled and praised by his mom. And even though this isn't his mom, the Lloyd of this world is only seven, (don't think about how they haven't seen him, don't think about -) and his actual mother's consciousness lies within the stone in his left hand, he ignores it for just a second, taking a moment to breathe in the fact that this is Anna Irving, the woman he lost the chance to be around.

Lloyd starts to feel the tell-tale tickle behind his eyes and blinks again, willing himself to keep the smile on his face sincere and genuine, because it is, but it's scared, just a little bitter. He's already attached.

He wants to hug her, his heart is screaming for a hug because he can't remember what it felt like when his mother held him. But he doesn't know this Anna, doesn't know if she'd appreciate it, doesn't know whether or not "alternate dimension son" counts as stranger territory, so he holds out his hand instead, defaulting to a handshake.

"Hi," Lloyd says, and it's so soft, so tentative, betraying his hesitation. "I'm Lloyd, your, uh," he chuckles, "alternate-dimensional son."

I DON'T HAVE A TENDER ICON THIS WILL HAVE TO DO

[ilivedbitches]

He looks so... nervous? That's weird, kind of, though Anna guesses she feels a kind of kick-drum of nervousness in her own stomach, as well. It's been... a long time since she's seen her son, and seeing him all grown up like this is doing... a lot of things to her heart.

(What if she never got to see him reach this old? What if she never saw her Lloyd again?)

He reaches out his hand for a handshake and Anna almost laughs at the absurdity of the gesture. Maybe it's selfish of her, since he isn't her son, but, fuck, she wants to hold him again.

So she grabs his hand and then yanks him towards her, hopes he doesn't mind too much. She loops both arms around his back and squeezes him tight, holding her to him-- what the fuck, he's her height? Taller than her, by an inch or so? She can rest her chin on his shoulder and everything!! What does she do with this!!!

She settles for squeezing him as tight as she thinks she can without hurting him.

"It's good to see you again," she mumbles.

(She takes the guilt that bubbles up in her stomach and stores it somewhere where Malos can't feel it.)

YOU'RE VALID

[risingfalcon]

Lloyd yelps as Anna pulls him into a hug, eyes widening with surprise, but he's. He's so happy that he gets this, so fucking glad that she didn't shy away like he was going to continue to do. His arms wrap around her slowly, but his grip is tight, and he buries his face in her short hair.

He sniffles, but he can't hold back the tears this time. He just focuses on staying quiet, enjoying the way he's being held gently, with fondness and an immediate sense of intimacy. It feels like home, being hugged by Anna, and he's so overwhelmed with a strong combination of joy, peace, and loss that he trembles slightly.

"It's nice to meet you," Lloyd breathes out weakly, without meaning to, before he tenses. Fuck. Fuck! He didn't want to say it - didn't want to imply anything about his Anna, about how -

about how she died, about how he never got to experience this.

anna please

[ilivedbitches]

Oh, he's... definitely crying on her. Anna doesn't mind, but she is a little confused. She thought she was the one with the problems here, having not seen her son in five years, and all. But--

Then he says it. Nice to meet you.

He tenses and that says a lot, but not nearly as much as Anna's confusion-horror meets Malos' grim yeah-there-it-is, and suddenly Anna understands why Malos thought this was so important.

Has this Lloyd

never met

his fucking mother.

She pulls away from him and grips him by the shoulders, tight, urgent, as she studies his face the-- tears he is trying to hide. (That expression makes her heart turn, becuase she's seen it on Kratos, the fierce What No I'm Fine, Please Don't Ask-- and like. oh fuck. ohhh fuck.)

But she has to know.

"Come on," she says, shooting for something light and kind of joke-y soundy, but it's way too desperate to be read that way. She feels a warning from Malos, ignores it. "You- It's not like I'm any different from your mom, really!"

[risingfalcon]

Lloyd shouldn't have said anything, shouldn't have indicated anything was wrong, he could have - god, he should have -

She pulls away from him and he feels the desperate grip she keeps on his shoulders, hears the anxiety coating her words, but it fades, and all he can hear is the pounding of rain, why is it raining so hard? His throat is heavy with remorse, his eyes are welling up with more tears, and he's so close to sobbing he knows the best thing to do is to keep his mouth shut.

He stands in front of her, keeps his head down, and doesn't make a sound. He can't deny her the truth, but he isn't strong enough to tell her to her face. He hiccups slightly, glances up at her, and then averts his eyes again, staring at the carpeted floor, at anything other than her face, lined with disbelief. His left hand burns with the way he's rubbing it through his glove, but he ignores it, too distraught to trust himself in this situation with nothing to distract his attention.

HUG! THAT! SON!

[ilivedbitches]

His silence says. More than enough.

Anna just pulls him into another hug and squeezes him tight. She wants to say-- something, but she's not sure if there's anything she can say. So she just holds him.

Tears burn in the back of her eyes, horror thick in her throat.

(She wonders if her Lloyd even remembers her. Tries not to think about it.)

He's-- trying not to cry, isn't he? Fucking, of all things to inheret from his father.

She pets his hair. "Shh, shh," she tells him. "It's okay, you know? Better to let it out then bottle it up. I really don't mind."