Can't Get Away

An awkward silence falls, and Eina stares at Atreus with raised brows, "...You don't know what a familia is? Have you been living under a rock all of your life?" she asks.

Atreus raises his brows, "I-"

"We have lived in the forest alone for... Years. We only heard of this city through travellers passing by our home," Kratos interjects.

Eina stares at Kratos for a moment, "...Oh, well... Would you like to hear about familia's and their function?" she says, the smile returning to her lips.

Kratos and Atreus' eyes meet, and Kratos looks back at Eina, nodding. Eina nods back, pushing her glasses back with a finger, "Follow me, then. I'll try to give you as much information as I can," she says, turning and walking around the wooden counter. The elven woman leads Kratos and Atreus to one of the green sofas in the corner of the room.

The sofas give way to the three of them, with Eina sitting opposite of the father and son duo. Kratos sets Mimir to his side as to not crush the Celtic Faerie. Eina stares at Mimir with wide eyes and a small yelp flows from her when the severed head blinks, "Um... If you don't mind me asking? Why do you have... that?" Eina points to Mimir, her eyes still wide.

"What? You've never seen a living head?" Mimir cackles, nearly falling over as his jaw shakes, "Ho, close one there... My name is Mimir, ma'am. Smartest man alive at your service."

Eina stares at Mimir in silence, her mind seeming to overload. Her eyes fall over Kratos and Atreus, the latter merely shrugging. Kratos grunts, "He is an old friend, do not mind him... Now, what of these... Familias?" his rugged voice rumbles through the room.

Eina raises her brows, trying her hardest to ignore the severed head staring at her, "Of course. A Familia is a group of adventurers led by a god or goddess. The god of the Familia gives their children something called Falna, which is a sliver of their godly power. This Falna allows the children of that Familia to enter the dungeon and gain something called excelia, which in turn allows them to become stronger and level up..." Eina speaks fluently and concise, and it seems she's said these exact words hundreds of times before, "...That's the basics."

Kratos stares at Eina with a clenched jaw, and her heart jumps. The Elven woman has seen all manner of adventurers passing through, some even bigger than the man before her, but for some unknown reason, Eina feels a fear rising in her, a deep and terrible feeling of doom as Kratos stares at her with cold eyes, "Um... Did I say something wrong?" she says, her voice quivering uncontrollably.

"Father," Atreus calls.

Kratos leans his head back slightly, taking in a lung full of air through his nose, "I am fine," his deep and thunderous words booming through the room. The god feels eyes on his back but pays them no mind as he halts his thoughts from diving into the bloody ocean of his past.

"You just can't seem to get away from them can you, brother?" Mimir says with pity.

Kratos grunts, leaning forward elbow to knee. He stares at Eina, and she musters a quivering smile, "How many of these Familia's are there? Do they live in the city?" he asks with those same cold eyes.

Eina swallows a mouthful of saliva, "Y-yes, all of the functioning familias are stationed in the city, and they are forbidden to leave unless they are banished or there is a perfectly good reason for the vacancy. There are around ten major Familias, with some smaller familias scattered around Orario. Also, there are Familias that no longer exist, but that's not important to you I'm guessing," she says, feeling her composure crack.

"Which is the strongest familia?" Atreus says with a sparkle in his eyes.

Eina gains her smile back, happy to no longer be meeting the death stare of Kratos, "That would be a close tie between the Freya and Loki Familia with the Freya Familia being slightly stronger. They have the only level 7 in the city, but the Loki Familia has more level 6's under their wing," she says.

"What's the highest level?" Atreus asks with the same level of excitement.

"The highest level that any adventurer has reached is Level 9, but they died a long time ago..." Eina says, her pointy ears falling as she speaks, "...They were a part of one of the Familia's that were massacred during the three great quests."

Atreus suddenly leans over, pulling the notebook from his hip as Eina finishes speaking. He flips through the pages and scribbles in silence. Atreus lifts his quill after a moment and looks up at Eina with furrowed brows, "The three great quests? What's that?" she says.

Eina purses her lips, "That's a long story..." she says, "...I would love to tell you about it, but unfortunately, I'm on a time schedule... Do you have any other questions?"

"Wha-"

"That is all. We will return if we need more information," Kratos interrupts Atreus, standing from the sofa and replacing Mimir to his usual spot.

"Of course! I'm here nearly every day," Eina smiles and stands with Kratos, the pressure that seemed to devour her mind dissipating.

Kratos nods, "Come, boy," he says, and Atreus follows his father towards the exit. The boy looks back at Eina with a smile, "Thank you, Eina!" he says.

Eina smiles with her hands tucked behind her, "You're welcome!..." she suddenly furrows her brows, "...I don't even know their names," Eina mutters to herself as she watches the duo disappear from her sight. She will have to get to know them more, Eina thinks. It's not every day that a terrifying man and his son walk in with a talking severed head.

An orange, purpleish hue fills the sky and the bright sun peeks over the horizon of the city. Hundreds if not thousands of boots and bare feet pat the brick studded streets and the godly duo traverse through the crowded city of Orario along with them. Atreus puts a hand to his stomach and a deep growl shakes his very being, "Can we get food now? I'm starving," Atreus asks.

Kratos nods, seeming to be broken from deep thought, "...Yes, we will have to find a place to eat first," he says.

Atreus nods, and with the gnawing hunger and sudden fatigue plaguing his body, the boy begins to drag his feet as he walks. His father is not doing much better in the hunger department, but one would never be able to tell by looking at him.

The sun continues to be roped lower into the sky, and the orange and purple hue transforms into a deep black studded with countless twinkling stars. The duo still trudges through the street with Atreus attempting to read every sign he comes across. Despite his dour condition, the boy still manages to piece the new language together bit by bit, though he notes that he will need more time to study if he wants to master the language.

During his walking studying session, Atreus comes across a sign hanging from a large rustic building with warm light leaking from the many windows, "Ho- Hostess of... fer- fertility..." he mutters the words with furrowed brows while Kratos watches from behind, "...Hostess of Fertility! Father, I think this is a pub!" Atreus says, noticing a sign below the other with a crossed fork and knife.

Kratos nods, "Go on then. I am with you," he says.

Atreus nods with a smile and walks swiftly, the thought of eating apparently wiping away his fatigue. Kratos follows his son up the steps and through the door, his ears immediatly drowned with the chatter of the seemingly popular pub. Some eyes dart to the man and his son as they stand at the front, but fortunately, most of the customers seem to be distracted... or drunk.

Several waitresses run back and forth between the tables and a kitchen that can be seen through an open door. Kratos notices that there seem to only be women working in this pub, all of them extremely beautiful with green above-the-knee dresses and white aprons. One woman, not as drop-dead beautiful but still attractive in her own right stands behind the wooden bar before Kratos. She's massive, much taller than your average woman with a navy blue dress instead of the green and long brown hair tied in a ponytail.

Seeing as the waitresses seem to be busy, Kratos and Atreus take the liberty of sitting at the bar, the wooden stools hard under their backsides. The large woman steps in front of the father and son duo with a wide smile, "Ooh, newcomers. I haven't seen you two around here before," she says, "I'm Mama Mia, and I own this pub. Now, what can I get for you two?"

"Meat. For both of us," Kratos responds.

"Coming right up! Make sure to spend lots of money!" Mia says, her boisterous laugh nearly overtaking the chatter of the pub.

Kratos and Atreus wait for their food in silence, and Atreus turns in his seat to scan the pub with sparkling eyes. He notices that most of the people sitting at tables carry some kind of weapon and wear armor on their bodies. It seems these are the adventurers that Eina spoke of, at least that's what Atreus thinks. Though the boy is suddenly met with a set of big silver eyes staring at him.

Atreus scans the woman before him. She has silver hair that matches her eyes, that green dress that the waitresses wear, and peach-colored skin. The woman flashes an innocent smile at Atreus, "You're new here, aren't you? My name's Syr Flova... What's yours?" she says without losing her smile.