Siren: So, how about Muse and I are clearing out old flashdrives, and we found a bunch of half-written stories from waaaaay long ago.

Muse: (clicks) This file is labeled "Kratosyuanmakeoutsession." Funnily enough, I don't recall writing that one...

Siren: Ah, you always had a bad memory. Anyway, we found the beginning of this chapter and decided to turn it into our next project.

Muse: We haven't finished any of our other ones yet-

Siren: Shut up, Muse. Keeping looking through files!

Muse:(clicks)...This is an entire four page list of That's What She Said jokes.

Siren: Disclaimer!

(poof) Random Christmas Elf: Um, did you forget something?

Siren: Oh, yeah...Merry Christmas, everyone!

R.C.E.: Sirens & Muses don't own ToS. (hits Siren with candy cane) Get your shit together! (poof)

Muse: (clicks) This is labeled "A Metric Fuckton Of Awesome," and...is directions to a Lenscrafters.

Siren: Ow...my head hurts...that elf was mean...

In his travels, Kratos had learned to notice the little things. As he, Anna, and Lloyd stopped to set up camp at sundown, he noticed that the sky was clear. Not a cloud in sight. It would be a good night for stargazing.

After his wife and son had fallen asleep, Kratos settled on the ground, flat on his back, and stared upwards. In his head, he repeated the familiar names of the patterns in the sky. It was peaceful and silent, a nice break from all of the craziness that surrounded him sometimes.

"Daddy?" Kratos jerked his head around to see his tiny, toddler of a son walking towards him on shaky legs. "Daddy, you should be seepin'!"

Kratos sat upright and picked Lloyd up. "So should you," he said softly, brushing a spike of hair out of the boy's face. "Come on, bedtime."

Lloyd squinted and pointed a chubby finger up to the sky. "Whatcha always lookin' at?"

"The stars."

Lloyd tilted his head. "They're pretty. Can I look at them, too?"

"It's late, Lloyd, you need to be in bed."

"Just one minutes," he begged his father.

"…Alright." Lloyd crawled next to Kratos as he leaned back in the grass. The older man's arm curled protectively around the little boy.

"Daddy? Why you always lookin' at the stars?" Lloyd asked.

"Because they're beautiful," Kratos answered. "Simple and orderly, and so numerous a human being can never count them all, no matter how long he lives."

"Wha?"

Kratos chuckled. "I like the pictures they make."

Lloyd gasped in wonder. "There's picters? Where?"

"Look up there." Kratos pointed and said, "Do you see those three stars in a row?" Lloyd nodded. "What do the ones around them look like?"

"Um…" Lloyd closed one eye and stared. "Big ol' dots," he answered.

"Do you see the person?" Kratos outlined the picture with his finger. "He's holding one hand above his head and the other one in front of him."

"Oh, I see 'im! And he's wearing a pants thing!"

"A…what?" Lloyd tugged on his father's belt. "Oh, a belt. Yes, he is."

"Yeah, just like you!"

Kratos smiled. "That's Orion, an ancient hunter."

"What's he doin' up there?"

"Well, you see," Kratos began, "Orion was a great hunter."

"Like you?" Lloyd chirped.

"Sort of. Orion was hunting one day, with his dogs, when he came across a scorpion."

Lloyd poked his head up. "Wha's a skwerpin, daddy?"

"It's a…big bug that stings people. The scorpion stung Orion and killed him. The Goddess, who cared so much for the great hunter, lifted him up into the sky and placed him in the stars. If you look very closely, you can see his two dogs, a big one…" Kratos pointed them out to his son, "…and a little one."

"Wow."

"And way over there," Kratos added, pointing to the south, "is the scorpion that killed him."

Lloyd frowned. "I don' see anythin'."

"That's because he's on the other side of the world." Kratos shifted back to see his son. "They are in the sky at different times, so the scorpion cannot catch Orion."

"Good!" Lloyd snuggled against his father's chest. "Hey, Daddy?" he asked.

"What, Lloyd?"

"If I learn to hunt as good as Star-Guy, can I go up there, too?"

Kratos smiled. "Perhaps."

"And you'll havda come see me. Come see me up in the stars, 'kay, Daddy? Promise."

"I promise." Kratos lifted the little boy. "It's bedtime, Lloyd. Let's go to sleep."

"But I want to hear another story," Lloyd whined. "Tell me one more."

"Not tonight," Kratos said firmly, setting him down on the blanket next to his mother. "Maybe if you're good, I'll tell you some more star stories tomorrow night."

"There's more?" Lloyd's eyes widened in excitement. "Wow! How many, Daddy?"

"Eighty-eight."

"I can't even count that big!" Lloyd said, peering upwards. "Do they all have names?"

"Yes." Kratos watched as Lloyd fell backwards, his face still frozen in awe. "Alright, under the covers. Goodnight, Lloyd."

"Goonite, Daddy," Lloyd said. "Goonite, Star-Guy," he added, waving. "See you tomorrow!"

As the boy drifted off to sleep, Kratos didn't have the heart to tell him that come tomorrow, it would be too bright to see the constellations.