Found by Cruxis

An hour or so after the previous events at the Ossa trail, the group had managed to reach the eastern coastline, arriving at the small fishing port of Izoold.

"About time!" Anna panted in annoyance. She was hunched over with the tip of her sword stuck into the ground, her head resting on the hilt. After the heat of the desert, the fight with the mysterious woman and the actual trek over the Ossa trail to get to Izoold, the group was worn out. "I don't care how quickly you guys want to get to Palmacosta, I'm tired, hot and cranky and I am not going until I've had a lie down!" And with that the woman pulled her sword out of the ground, thrust it back into its sheath and made her way into one of the little wooden buildings, presumably the inn.

There was a short silence where the group continued to stare in confusion at the door of the inn over what just happened, until Kratos cleared his throat.

"I apologise...she is not fond of the heat...or moving, for that matter. I will go check on her. If anyone else wants to rest then I suggest you do so now; I do not know when we'll have another opportunity. If not, meet by the dock in an hour. We cannot afford to waste any more time." The auburn haired man spun around and walked swiftly to the inn, wanting to check on his wife's bad mood. As he closed the door, his angel hearing picked up the others' voices deciding how to spend their time, which sounded as if it was just going to be spent looking around the village. As long as they were careful and didn't get into trouble he didn't care - Raine was with them, so they'd be fine.

After being directed by the innkeeper to the room his wife was in, he knocked and entered immediately, gently closing the door behind him. Anna was laying on one of the beds on her front, head buried in the pillow and arms stuck underneath it. Kratos approached the bed and sat down, laying a hand softly on her back in comfort.

"Is something the matter?" he spoke as she shuffled a bit, contemplating whether or not to turn and face her husband.

"...thinks not parents..." Anna mumbled something, but with a face full of pillow that was all Kratos could work out. He figured it had something to do with what Lloyd had said previously however.

He sighed, "Anna, turn around." He ran a hand exasperatedly through his messy hair as the woman slowly turned, clutching the thin sheet she was under tightly to her. "He thinks we're not good parents..." she trailed off, looking down dejectedly. The man sitting before her let out another sigh and reached out his hand to stroke her hair soothingly. "He doesn't know who we are, love. He doesn't think that...he's just hurt, and confused." He stopped, wishing he could take away the pain that their son felt.

"It's our fault that he's like that though. He's never going to forgive us-" she stopped, her voice breaking as a lump rose in her throat and tears began to trickle down her pale skin. Kratos was himself at a loss for words. He shared the same fear that his wife had voiced, but did not want to let her know nor tell her he would forgive them when he quite likely wouldn't. Instead, he slowly slipped his hands beneath her delicate figure and lifted her to his chest, holding her there as she cried quietly and kissing her forehead sweetly in the hopes of comforting her. After a few minutes, silence fell as Anna slipped into a light sleep. Glancing around the tiny room, his eyes fell on the open window. From it, he could see the others in the group messing around on the short stretch of sand; the three friends playing around in the water whilst the professor watched on, a look of mixed amusement and bewilderment on her face. Warmth crept into his eyes as he looked on, chuckling softly to himself. It was a calming scene, he thought, but they would have to move on again soon. His expression became stoic once again at this thought, and he glanced back down at the beautiful woman in his arms, holding her tighter to him and resolving to hold her there until they did so. It was going to be an even more complicated journey than he had thought.

After the hour had passed, the larger part of the group were still sitting on the small beach, watching the waves lap calmly at the white sand as they glittered beautifully from the sun's rays.

"It's so peaceful here," Colette sighed contentedly as the others silently nodded their agreement. From behind them, they heard a door open and close, and footsteps growing closer before hearing a woman's voice address them. "Ready when you are guys!" Turning to face the couple, the rest of the party could see that Anna had brightened up a bit since earlier. She still didn't seem 100%, but it was a start.

"Looks like a nap did somebody some good then!" Lloyd teased as he stood up, the others following his lead, poking his tongue out at her childishly. Anna returned the gesture and the two laughed. "C'mon then guys, let's go!" Lloyd instructed, still chuckling at Anna and heading for the dock.

"Uh oh," Genis let out. They had reached the ships, however there seemed to be some kind of commotion going on involving a woman with cropped brown hair. "It's Lyla again."

"Who?" Anna asked. The younger ones proceeded to fill her and Kratos in on what had happened when they went into Lyla's house and told her that Aifread had gone back to his hometown of Luin. "I see..." Anna said.

"Hey! You guys!"

After Lyla had proceeded to rather aggressively negotiate with them and Max, who was apparently 'head over heels' in love with her for some reason, he agreed to give them passage across the sea, essentially because Lyla had bullied him into it. Said woman thrust a letter addressed to Aifread into Lloyd's hands and rushed off. Max sighed, his body slouching in defeat. "When you're ready just let me know guys." He shook his head and climbed onto his ship in preparation.

"Ready everyone?" Lloyd questioned. Everyone but Raine seemed eager to get going, so Lloyd turned back to Max. "Let's go then!"

Heeyy...back again guys...I'm actually playing the game through again so I SHOULD keep updating this time! Anyway sorry if it seems rushed towards the end, and that it's really short - my laptop's going to run out of battery so I just wanted to get something up for you extremely patient people! _

Thanks for all your reviews guys, I appreciate you sticking with me! Let me know what you think! ^_^

D.K-C