The stone house had been eerily quiet when Aang had left. Even with Sokka still there. It was enough to leave Aang unsettled and depressed. Whether everyone was really gone was yet to be determined, but Aang’s message to Atreus had been ignored so he was at least focused on taking care of the Sanctuary animals before worrying about anything else.
“Okay, right here, Appa.” He landed Appa just inside the Sanctuary border in a patch of grass and he slid off the back of the bison in a swoop of air bending. The Sanctuary seemed normal enough at first. But some shouting in the distance turned Aang’s head. Running towards the noise, he found a startling scene of Kratos at the bottom of a tree, calling up to a small bear moderately high up in the branches. The bear seemed determined to stay where he was and ignore everything but the leaves it was munching on.
“Oh!” Aang darted up to Kratos’s side. “Uh hi…sir. Are you having trouble here?”
Ever since he realized that Atreus was missing, no doubt another one of this island's annoying and repetitive tricks, Kratos had been attempting to keep the Sanctuary operational until his son was returned. It would be easier if the creatures present would do as they were told, but he already knew from experience that they listened about as well as their usual guardian.
When the bald arrow boy appeared next to him, Kratos looked down at the boy for a moment before turning his attention back to the bear in the tree. This one was somewhat his favorite of the creatures on the sanctuary, but it was nearly as stubborn as he was. He merely grunted an affirmative to Aang and put his hand on his axe, contemplating just cutting down the tree. He was not going to look a fool and climb up after it.
Aang was used to people talking a lot less than him so it didn’t give him too much pause. He just flashed a forced little smile and got closer to the tree trunk. He had no doubts that Kratos might actually cut down a tree to get what he wanted out of it. His voice was less calm than usual, but in his defense, it had been an unsettling morning.
“Hey, Tove, good morning. Did you want breakfast?” He reached up along the bark, tapping the surface to get the little bear’s attention. “Hungry?” This led to miming stuffing food in his face with his free hand. The bear looked down at him for a few moments and then went back to licking leaves with detached interest.
"We have an entire sanctuary to look after. Come down here now, bear. I will give you a fish." Kratos kind of took a cue from Aang, trying to get it down with food, but pretending to eat air wasn't going to work on the beast any more than it would work on him. He was sure of that much, at least. When that didn't work, he actually pulled the axe from his back and took a step forward.
"Unless you have another idea, I suggest you step away, boy," he intoned, giving the bear another look.
“Wait wait wait!” Aang got between Kratos and the tree, all five feet of him to Kratos’s seven. He raised his hands. “That will probably just scare and possibly hurt Tove and Atreus would be really upset. Let me try something else please!” A graceful wave of his arms and air wooshed up under Aang, pushing him up into the branches where he landed a little ways off from the bear. His feet touched down feather light. He snapped off a branch near him, covered in leaves, and slowly tip-toed towards the bear.
“Hey look what I’ve got? The most leaves on this whole tree, right here.” He waved the branch. It was definitely a lie. But Tove seemed more interested. Well, interested enough to stare Aang down and not go back to his leaves anyway. They stayed that way for a weirdly long moment and then Aang started to move down the tree. Tove apparently decided that process was too slow and jumped to a lower branch. It snapped under his weight.
If it bothered him just how much this arrow-headed boy reminded him of a younger Atreus, Kratos didn't bother showing it. But he did yield to the boy's insistence and watched the entirety of the event play out. He was impressed despite himself that the tactic with the leaves worked and watched carefully as the two committed to their stand-off.
When the branch snapped, though, Kratos dropped his axe and sprang into action. He noted the look of surprise that crossed the bear's features as gravity decided it was the stronger force, giving himself a quick understanding of where he needed to be to catch the small beast. Then, he spared a quick glance out of the corner of his eye to see how Aang was doing.
Aang felt his heart in his throat when the branch snapped. If it were a larger bear at risk, the fall wouldn’t be so bad but Tove was still very young. Instinctively, he reached out with his bending, but Kratos was faster. It was an impressive sight and Aang’s eyes grew comically big as he swooped down to the ground with a swirling ball of air underneath him.
“Wow, that was great! You’re faster than you look!” His expression twisted apologetically. “Not that you don’t look fast, just, you’re so big and--you know what, nevermind.” Embarrassed now, Aang walked closer to reach up and touch Tove’s paw. “How are you doing, troublemaker? That was probably a little scary.” Tove snuffled at his hand and licked him. Aang laughed. “Hey! I’m not your breakfast either.”
"I am a god," answered Kratos, both feeling that it answered just about anything and knowing he was much more comfortable with admitting it in this place than anywhere else. In addition, he ruffled the fur on the bear's head and had a soft smile despite himself. He turned his attention back to Aang and shrugged. "A god that doesn't climb trees," he amended, before turning back towards his home.
Stopping, he turned back around. "There are a great deal more beasts to care for and a hot breakfast, if you care to remain."
Aang laughed, delighted for a second even in this terrible day. Kratos had pet the bear and maybe even made a joke?! They’d rescued the cub without any harm! Everything was not great, but this Aang could appreciate. He skipped along at Kratos’s side, careful to keep an eye out for any other animals in trees where they weren’t really meant to be.
“I’ll help, of course, I’ll help. I—” His expression soured and he sighed. “I guess Atreus really isn’t here? I was hoping he was just busy with other people disappearing and didn’t get my messages.” He kicked a rock. “Almost all my friends are gone!”
"Not gone," corrected Kratos, moving the little bear to his shoulder as he continued walking towards the house. "Misplaced. This has happened before." He knew about the snow globe events, but still didn't know what caused them, how, or how they'd ended it. But he did know that this wasn't the first time people just suddenly disappeared and he was sure they'd hear from them soon enough, just like last time. And that was why he was patiently taking care of things at the Sanctuary until Atreus returned.
Pushing the door open, he announced "Head. We have guests for breakfast."
In response, a bearded head with a pair of short curved horns jutting from the forehead that was set upon a small table seemingly came to life, or rather it just went from motionless to chatty. "Ah, Aang, lad! Would you tell my brother here that he'd do a lot better taking me around with him to get a better understanding of this place? I'm too clever to be stuck here the entire time."
“People have been gone before too,” Aang responded stubbornly. He wanted to believe Kratos was right though so he sighed out a breath and squared his shoulders. “Whichever it is, we’ll do our best. That’s all we can do.”
He hadn’t been inside the house here much. Still, he wasn’t a stranger to it either so he didn’t drag his feet at the door. He did brighten as they came inside and the disembodied head said hello. The smell of breakfast helped too. “Hi, Mimir. I don’t think me telling Mr. Kratos anything would do much good.” Aang rubbed at the back of his head sheepishly before he got a calculating look. “But uh...if you need a walk around or something, I could take you?”
While Kratos set the bear cub in a rudimentary high chair at the table and collected a fish from a nearby cooler for it (he'd promised a fish, after all), Mimir's eyes lit up for a moment. "You have a fair point there, he doesn't listen to anybody. Or any head, if you follow. But aye, laddy, I'd be interested in touring around with you, if you've the mind to do so. I can regale you with stories and tales that'll curl your toes or make your hairs stand on end. Atreus has heard everything by now and repeating them only seems to pass the time for him, that boy's capacity for remembering things rivals my own!"
"Why there's a story with that, even. I can tell you about the time Kratos--" Mimir's story was cut off by Kratos placing a glass dome over Mimir before he started moving some plates to the table - eggs, bacon, some fruits, a few pastries. He raised an eyebrow at Aang as he did so, as if he were saying "Can you blame me?" without using the words. Mostly, he was just happy for the silence.
Aang was a chatterbox who appreciated other chatterboxes, so he was usually enraptured by Mimir pretty much every time he spoke. Currently, he was distracted by the bear cub in a high chair like a big furry baby, though. He touched Tove’s paws and scooted the fish closer when it slipped free of the bear’s grip. Still, he was smiling at Mimir’s rambling and snorted as it was silenced.
“I really can take him out for walks, to give you a break?” He grinned and perched on a chair like a cheerful gargoyle, already reaching for some fruit. “I...wouldn’t mind the company while I do my rounds,” he added in a quiet voice. It was going to be very weird around the Sanctuary without Atreus, even more so for Kratos. Aang stuffed a piece of melon in his mouth and talked around it. “Unless it’s weirder for you not having him around…”
"I do not mind. Take the head on your walks, he will certainly help pass the time," answered Kratos, scooping a full assortment of food onto his own plate. He left it unsaid that he understood Aang's need for company right now, the boy was used to having a group of friends around him most of the time and right now must be difficult for him. He briefly considered saying something encouraging, but instead pointed to the plate of cantaloupe.
"Pass the melon."
Aang’s smile grew slowly. He settled down more fully into his chair, less like a tumbleweed on the edge of a cliff, ready to blow away with the wind. This was still a very terrible day, but he was a soft-hearted boy who appreciated the moment. And he actually hadn’t eaten breakfast. He took a big helping of the melon for himself and then passed the bowl with a small, mischievous grin.
“I can’t wait to hear all his stories about you.” He dropped his attention to his breakfast and tried not to think about his missing friends for a few minutes. “Thanks for the food, Mr. Kratos.”
Kratos paused in putting some of the fruit onto a smaller plate next to his meal and stared straight ahead for a brief moment. With a soft grunt, he set the cantaloupe aside and nodded. "You are welcome, boy."