Night 74: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[redcladidealist]

[From here.]

He hadn't seen any sign of Kratos all day. Lloyd hadn't thought his father had looked that badly injured after his ordeal in that chamber, but how did he know Kratos hadn't downplayed his injuries? Maybe he didn't even know the full extent himself. After all, who would have experience with what it did to a person to have the air sucked out of the room?

Maybe I just didn't see him. The thought wasn't as reassuring as it could have been. He knew how much he'd been trying to keep an eye out for the man, telling himself it was just so he could share his theory about the cards. It was still possible he'd been distracted at a crucial moment when Kratos passed by, so he stubbornly continued to deny the leaden weight in his gut as he settled into place to wait. He wasn't worried. Kratos would come just as he always did. He'd probably laugh if he found out that Lloyd had been (not worried) just... just concerned.

Okay, maybe Kratos wouldn't laugh, but still. He didn't need to see anything but Lloyd standing and waiting. Totally nonchalant. He could totally pull that off.

...dammit, he hoped they didn't catch him fidgeting when Kratos or Castiel finally showed up.

[For Castiel and Kratos.]

Comments

[freewill]

They were keys? Castiel didn't know why they couldn't look like normal keys. They'd already gotten a set like that, so why change things around on them? It didn't make any sense to him, but if Lloyd said that's what they were, then he would have to take his word for it. They'd be finding out soon enough, and so he nodded. "Good work on researching it."

So Lloyd also hadn't seen Kratos. Castiel glanced down the hall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, I haven't. Let's give him a few minutes." Kratos didn't seem like the type who would not make an appointment as important as this, but then again, he might not be in good enough health to come.

[redcladidealist]

Lloyd hadn't been expecting praise. Definitely not praise on his research. He hadn't even thought of it like that. It had just been something he thought was important to know. Even so, rare praise like that earns a small, surprised smile as he runs a hand through his hair, slightly self-conscious. "Thanks. I mean, I just wanted to know what they were." It hadn't even been all that hard. He'd just asked, and someone had given him an answer. That definitely beat having to hunt through a stack of books for a paper he didn't even want to write.

The smile fades at the lack of news about Kratos, though. If neither of them had seen him since yesterday, then he probably hadn't been out of bed. Was he-?

"I'm here." Kratos's quiet voice cut through the dark, and cut off Lloyd's thoughts before they could take on an anxious note. The teen snapped his head up and around in time to watch the older man close the distance between with brisk, self-assured steps. He looked all right, but... "Shall we be off?" If there was anything wrong, he wasn't letting it show.

[freewill]

Sometimes it was asking those questions that was the most important part of gathering information, and so Castiel still saw it as crucial. He nodded in return, but didn't say anything further, not until Kratos came along a few moments later.

It was difficult to tell how Kratos was really feeling, as he had the same stony expression as always. Not that Castiel was one to judge when it came to something like that, but it did make it difficult to determine how much they'd need to keep an eye on him as they continued their search.

"Let's go," Castiel agreed after a pause before he led all three of them into the Sun Room.

[To here.]