Memories Will Sustain You

Kratos gently sat his boy down on a pile of straw, taking one last gaze at his boy’s figure. He shrugged and proceeded over to a small group of bushes just a couple yards away and began picking several blackberries, while popping a few into his mouth in the process. He gathered a large pouch full and returned to the campsite, relaxing on the ground a couple feet away from his son, his dreams filled with a certain someone.

The sun awoke the duo the next morning at the crack of dawn. Kratos, used his awakening at this time everyday, went to the nearby river, kicking off his boots and shirt and diving straight in to try and catch something.

Lloyd yawned boringly and slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes and trying to adjust to the bright light. He noticed Kratos swimming in the river, and he quickly ran over and joined him, tearing off his tunic and shoes and doing a cannonball into the water, sending gushing water into the air. He swam to the surface, flicking the hair out of his face and eyeing Kratos.

“What’re you doing in here so early?” Lloyd wonder, swimming over to where Kratos was.

The swordsman rose to the surface, a slippery fish clutched in his fist. He pulled a small knife from his pocket and gave it a quick slit. The squirming ceased and Kratos pocketed his knife and set the fish in the grass to let some of the blood drain.

“Just getting some food ready. I’m sure you’re angry, am I right?”

Lloyd nodded, grinning. Being hungry was pretty much a guaranteed thing with him. He dove under and kicked his legs, his head darting around. He spotted a small one swimming along at a slow pace near the bottom. He swam towards it and shot his arm out, his fingers outstretched. The creature noticed Lloyd’s presence and darted off.

Lloyd frowned and went back to the surface, his head popping up against the blue. He climbed up over the edge and seated himself in the grass near the dead fish, watching Kratos grab two more fish with ease and began to clean them. Why was he good at practically EVERYTHING?

After a bundle of sea life had been caught, Kratos grilled them along with the berries to produce a new but satisfying fruity fish meal. Lloyd finished his entire serving and was ready for more, but Kratos had eaten what was left.

“Now that we’ve had a good meal, we can get to training, skip lunch, and go the rest of the day. What do you think, Lloyd?”

Lloyd sighed and fell back to the ground, supporting his head with crossed arms on the ground.

“I think I’m sick of all this and wanna go home, or at least go to some civilization”
“Oh, come now, you know we’d never be able to get anything done with all that in the way. Now, move it. We’ve got some more work-outs to do, then we need to work on those techniques of yours. Then finally get some more endurance training in. Let’s go.”

Kratos had Lloyd doing several different exercised for the next hour or so, then a small break before they went straight on to perfecting different attacks like Hunting Beast, Heavy Tiger Blade, and most importantly, Guardian.

After practically perfecting each ability, they ran another couple miles along the beach and then did some balancing exercises, seeing how long Lloyd could stay on a thing piece of wood before he dropped into the water below. Needless to say he was thoroughly soaked by the time they were finished.

Lloyd, every inch of his body dripping with water, returned flustered to the campground, stripping off most of his clothes and hanging them up to dry. He kept on only the thin, small shorts he wore beneath his other clothing and sat down in the grass, trying to relax. Kratos gazed at Lloyd longingly…

He lost himself for a moment, then shrugged and hurried on before he was caught staring. He threw off his armor and weapons and sat down in a meditative position, his legs crossed and hands laced in the air.

“Hey, Kratos…”

“Hmmm?” Kratos responded, one eye open and traveling towards Lloyd, wondering what he wanted.

“Look, this is kinda awkward, I dunno how to say it but… lately I’ve had these… urges.”

Kratos opened his other eye and soothed his body, definitely interested now. He swiped a stray hair away from his face and stared at his son, nodding. “Well, what about it?”

“You know, not anything wrong… Just these pleasurable, wonderful feelings. You know, kinda pleasing yourself… making you feel really good?”

Kratos smiled, knowing indefinitely what Lloyd was talking about. He nodded and breathing deeply, replied. “Yes, yes, of course. You know… there’s certainly nothing wrong with it. In fact, it is natural… for everyone, I’d assume. You understand? It’s not wrong, definitely encouraged.”

Lloyd smiled, nodding back in a reply. “Good… You know, I was worried I was a little strange. But I guess it would be natural… even for people together, you know?”

Kratos scooted forward a little closer absent-mindedly, a small, rock-hard feeling rising up in his groin. He needed a nice rub there and then, but wondered what Lloyd would think of it.

Kratos stood up and motioned for Lloyd to follow him. Lloyd hurried after him, catching up in a few seconds. Kratos took his thick hand and grasped Lloyd’s shoulder, squeezing it warmly.

Kratos bent down and whispered to his son. “Everyone does it, they just won’t admit it sometimes… Some people even do stuff together, if you know what I mean.”

Kratos smiled and pushed Lloyd forward, making him run another two miles before they could stop for the night. Plans for already forming in his mind… how was he going to get to his son?


(Hoped ya like it, either the next chapter or after that will be the final. Please review and thanks a lot for the previous reviews, they were great!!)