Kratos x Reader

Forty-Six

"Uhm... when will we find father?", Atreus asked.

The storm had calmed, taking the flying ice with it but leaving the cold behind.

Now, one was able to see the what lay behind the frosty mountains and the endless lands of frost.

The night was still high up in the sky, feeling like an enemy that tried to swallow the living beings of Helheim that were not supposed to be.

The deer walked calmly over a thin path of ice, as it turned its head and looked at the boy with a gaze that tried to seed courage and patience in his little chest.

It did not seem concerned nor in a hurry yet it understood the desire of the boy to return to the safety of his fathers company.

"You must be less impatient, lad.", the head was dangling from the side of the boy, facing into an abyss of ice and snow. "The creature knows where to go and only the gods know how far you had been walking before realising we got lost."

Angrily but also ashamed, the boy bit the inside of his cheeks.

"I'm sure it wasn't this way though.", he said in a silent voice. "We came from the other side of this mountain."

"Then why would the deer bring us here if this is the opposite side?"

"How am I supposed to know? It doesn't talk."

As if the deer tried to defer, it bucked its back and made the boy squeak in fear as he almost slipped off into a safe death.

"H-hey!", Atreus complained, digging his fingers deeper into the long white fur. "Don't kill me!"

A sound escaped the creature. It was like a deep breath or a huff but with a bit of imagination it also could have been a human giggle.

Surprised, Atreus leaned closer to the creatures head and took another look at its face.

Those eyes again.

He remembered them from the first time he had met the creature but he couldn't recall this strange human shimmer in them.

Had it changed after the first meeting?

Or wasn't it the same creature he had met?

With a soft breath, the creature blew air into the boys face to wake him from his thoughts.

"You're a strange thing. How are you so... so human?", the boy did not expect an answer, he just needed to talk to somebody. "You don't act like an animal. You're not a sacred one like the friends of Freya either. She would have noticed you. But... Why do I keep getting the feeling that you are a godly creature like (Y/N)? Are the two of you related or something? I've heard stories from father and know how weird the gods can be. Some have animals for children."

Suddenly, the deer stopped in its tracks.

"For a child that knows so little you ask a lot of questions.", a voice said, amused.

It filled his ears so suddenly, Atreus jumped in surprise, thinking it had been the deer.

However, the voice sounded male. It was deep, almost like a thunderstorm and the words sounded as if they had been spoken with nothing but hate and mockery.

Tense, the boy buried his hands in the soft fur before he dared to tilt his head and look into the eyes of a man that he wished would disappear.

A shock went through his body, fear made goosebumps grow.

Every inch inside the boy froze. It felt like he was burning from the inside, his own body refusing to listen to the commands of his mind.

The man in front of him smiled.

He was close. Too close.

How had he come this close and went unnoticed?

Frozen in fear, Atreus did not dare to speak. He just sat there, on top of the deer, his hands dig deep into the pure fur. He was shaking all over.

"Hello, boy.", the man said with a strange grin on his face. "Did you get lost?"

A small lightning danced through the blond hair of the man and made it rise into the air. He moved harshly, as if he did not need to care where to set his feet. Below his soles the snow cracked and ice broke.

Not managing to get a single word over his lips, the boy shook his head.

"A shy one, I see. You have something I need.", the man squeezed his eyes together, throwing a glance over to the deer. "It's impolite to steal something, you know."

The deer seemed like a statue made of snow. It did not move, even the movements of breathing that Atreus had felt below him had flattened. It was just standing in the snow, staring at the stranger.

Those strangely human eyes were filled with fear.

"I- I didn't steal it.", Atreus said, lowering his head so he didn't have to look the man in the eyes.

"Oh is that so? But this pretty creature is mine and mine only. It doesn't like strangers. Why would it be with you if you did not steal it?", the voice of the stranger shifted.

Now, anger was raging in his words, mixed with impatience.

"It- it wanted to help me-!"

"I don't care! Come here!", suddenly, the strangers hand chased forward.

It was a sudden movement, so quick and harsh that he couldn't properly react. Frightened, the boy raised his arms and squeezed his eyes together.

A sharp scream left his lips. But it was him that the man grabbed.

It was the deer.

Surprised yet in pain, it screamed out. Throwing its hooves into the air, it threw the boy off and tried to free itself.

But the strangers grip was harsh. So harsh that his fingers dug into the soft fur and the flesh below, causing a thin line of blood to drip down the throat.

Shivering and fighting in the air, the deer remained helpless. The horror in its eyes was something that the boy had never seen before.

"Now, show yourself, will you?", the man asked in an angry tone. "Healer."