Freedom | Older!Atreus x Reader

Quest for Tyr [III]

The day before was nothing compared to the pain you were in today.

Just opening your eyes was a task that seemed to take all of your energy, and your body was so stiff that the smallest movements hurt. Breathing, speaking, literally anything seemed impossible as you slowly sat up the next morning.

Atreus was by your side the second he heard you curse under your breath, gently helping you up and handing you a plate of whatever leftovers were scavengable from the night before. You ate slowly, listening to him, Kratos, and Mimir formulate a plan for the day.

"Earlier, I saw a mine down below, and Mimir saw tracks to another train we could take down there. Hopefully it'll be just as safe as the last one," Atreus smiled at you reassuringly during his last sentence, remembering how much you hated them.

You pursed your lips and side-eyed him. You were appreciative of the gesture, really, but heights just really weren't your thing and an old contraption that had your death written all over it didn't help.

You didn't take long to get back to traveling. You didn't feel like holding the trio back from anything they wanted to get done just because you were a little hurt. You could grin and bear it.

The pain was almost worth it as you saw more pretty views on the mountain top.

"Father..." Atreus interrupted the peaceful silence. "What if a war with Odin isn't just Tyr's to fight? What if it's ours too?"

"War is not the only way." Kratos responded.

"But we're gods. Better gods. We're trying to stop Ragnarok, to help people, and what if the only way to do that is war?"

"Atreus."

"I'm just not sure we should immediately jump to that conclusion." You said a bit nervously, "My home was— and still is— torn apart by war. It's not something you really want, especially when you've experienced it."

"Wh— I thought you were on my side!" Atreus whined, turning to you as he continued to walk backwards.

"I'm on your side with stopping Ragnarok." You shrugged, "I just really, really want to look for any way that doesn't involve war. It's not fun."

Atreus continued to argue with you as you came upon the rest of the train tracks, but you knew it wasn't a serious thing. He had a playful glint in his eyes— one he had often when he decided to mess around with people.

You watched in almost awe as Kratos lifted the train and realigned it on the tracks. It amazed you how he barely broke a sweat— he must have been an incredibly strong god.

Atreus was the first in. Then Kratos and Mimir.

They looked at you expectantly and you shuffled your feet, looking to find a solid way up into the creaky, wooden cart. You really, really didn't want to go in.

A hand appeared in front of your face.

"Here," Atreus helped hoist you up, keeping you steady as the train car squeaked once more under the added weight. He remembered your apprehension and patted your shoulder. "We'll be fine. We don't have much farther to go now."

"The Kraken hatchling gave you a stone." Kratos pointed out as the train began moving. His voice was a good distraction from your incessant urge to look out the window and scare yourself even more.

"The Kraken...? Oh, Dinner. Yeah, it's covered in algae. I was thinking we could show it to Brok and Sindri when we got back. Here." Atreus tossed it to his father, who pocketed the stone. "Okay, we came looking for Tyr because we don't trust Odin, right? If you think about it, war could— uh oh—"