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Chapter 8 - Kratos/Anna multipart
Title: Currently untitled
Fandom: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Angst/Romance
Rating: PG-13; later chapters may hit R.
Summary: One woman's take on the untold love story between Kratos and Anna.
Chapter Title: 8 - Feeling Too Much
Chapter Rating: PG
Words in Chapter: 2670
Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.
Author's Notes: I'm not as happy with this chapter as I could be, although that might be due to the fact that I've read it so much that any emotion that might've been there is totally gone out of it for me, right now. Well, I guess if it falls flat, I'll just add it to the list of chapters to be revised. Sigh.
As soon as Kratos had returned to Derris-Kharlan, he teleported to his room and accessed the Desian database from the small, personal terminal in his room. It did not take him long to discover that Host Body A012 was scheduled to be moved to the isolation cells late that night, after a routine health check.
Kratos was very careful about erasing every virtual trace of what he had checked, even more so than usual. That he had accessed the information in itself was not suspicious. However, if a Desian noted that someone had checked Anna’s cell location within an hour of her escape . . . that was another story entirely.
Once he was satisfied no one would be able to follow his computer trail, Kratos took one last look at his room, then left it. Though he would not be returning here again if he could help it, there was nothing here he wanted to take with him. All that he valued was in Asgard Human Ranch.
Kratos spent the next while picking up the clothing, food, and water they would need for their escape, which he had hidden in various locations in his diary rooms. He did hesitate as he was leaving these rooms. He would have to leave his memories behind. He hoped Yggdrasill, upon finding him gone, would not destroy the contents of the rooms out of spite, but there was no way for him to be certain.
He almost left without taking anything from these rooms, but in the end, he picked up three volumes: the two that contained his memories of his life before he became an angel, and his current one, the one that held his memories of Anna.
Then he turned out the lights, left the room, locked all the doors, and teleported just outside Asgard Human Ranch.
* * *
He appeared in the small forest that surrounded the ranch, far enough away from the ranch that no patrols would find him. Setting down the pack in which he had placed his supplies, Kratos looked around and found a likely tree. He set to climbing it, and when he was high enough, took in his surroundings from high in its branches.
Once he was certain he knew which way he would have to leave from the ranch to arrive here, he climbed back down. He retrieved his pack and pulled out the Desian uniform he had hidden inside. Then, he buried his knapsack in a pile of leaves, twigs, and other forest leavings.
Taking one last look around for a stray patrol, Kratos stripped and changed his form. He dressed in the Desian uniform, then forced himself to spend ten minutes walking, saluting, and picking up and letting drop forest debris to accustom himself to the other body. Using this body was getting easier every time, but Kratos wanted to take no chances.
When he felt confident he could move properly in his other body, Kratos took in and let out a breath, still listening carefully to the forest sounds for any sign of Desians. He felt his heartbeat speed up. He would have one chance and one chance alone to rescue Anna. If he failed, he would never see her again and she would eventually die a painful death. He could not fail.
Breathing in deeply one more time, Kratos teleported for the last time into Asgard Human Ranch.
Arriving once again in the empty room, he made himself walk briskly out of the room and toward Anna’s cell. He could not walk too briskly, however much he wanted to race to Anna. He made certain not to be so intent on his goal that he ignored all else. That could be catastrophic.
He found he was tense. His shoulders had hunched and he felt shaky. Every time he passed a Desian, he expected to be pointed out as a fraud, as an outsider; he expected to be revealed.
. . . He had to stop this. No ordinary Desian was so edgy in his own ranch. Spotting a washroom, Kratos walked inside and to a urinal, where he made himself breathe deeply and slowly. There was not a chance of him being able to carry out the full charade and use the urinal, but if anyone entered the empty washroom, they would assume he had just finished.
He had to be calm. Normally, this was not at all a problem for him, but normally, his life and the life of the woman he loved were not at stake. Anna had awoken his emotions, but Kratos was beginning to think, for today only, she had done too good of a job.
He stepped away from the urinal and to the sink, where he washed his hands, giving himself more time to think. Until he had rescued Anna, he would have to become the man he used to be—cold, emotionless, and composed.
Remembering how it had felt was surprisingly difficult. He continued to breathe and to focus upon the centuries of time he had spent in such a way. He forced himself not to think of what was at stake, but the steps of what he had to do. He isolated each one and made himself think of them as simply tasks to be accomplished.
It did not work completely, but it was enough to calm him enough to step out of the washroom and to continue his purposeful walk to the cells. Within minutes he had arrived at the main prison area.
The guards on duty briefly glanced at his photo id, pinned just below his left shoulder, then ignored him even as he walked up to Anna’s cell and began keying in the code to open it. He kept his expression blank as the bars to her cell rose and he was face to face with Anna.
The expression Anna wore was one he had not seen for a very long time. Her face was full of hatred, as though she were wishing him out of existence and into hell.
This was simply one more step, he reminded himself. He had accomplished the first step, of getting to her cell and opening it. His next task was to lead her out of the ranch.
“Come with me,” he said in a slightly higher-pitched voice than his usual, “inferior being.”
He turned and began to walk, listening for Anna’s footsteps. He heard her follow.
His heart, despite all his efforts to remain calm, began to pound the closer they came to leaving. His plan was working. It was going perfectly.
That was the case until they reached the yard. When Kratos began to lead Anna outside, he heard her stop behind him in the doorway.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked him, her voice hard. “It’s not my time to work here. What are you doing with me?”
Kratos turned. “It is not for you to question me—inferior being.”
“Where are you taking me?” she repeated, louder.
“Give her a taste of your whip. That ought to knock any questions out of her,” a passing Desian advised, on the way to supervising a group of prisoners.
Kratos’ hand fell to the whip that was a part of his uniform. He hesitated.
He could not do it. He could not hurt Anna in such a way. Not if he had any alternatives.
He had to act, now, before his reluctance was noticed.
He raised his hand and struck Anna across the cheek, doing his best to make it more push than punch.
Anna stumbled and fell. Kratos stared down at her for a brief moment, guilt and self-disgust filling him as he looked at the red mark he had made on her face. Before he could berate himself further, however, he bent down and roughly pulled her to her feet.
“That should teach you not to question a superior,” Kratos said, making certain to add the cruel amusement he had heard in the voices of the other Desians. The self-disgust rose again in a wave; he pushed it down.
He yanked her along, heading for a side exit he had found while making his plans. Anna did not speak, but Kratos could almost feel her doubled hatred for him, burning into his back.
He could not let himself look back. He could not let himself look around. If he showed the slightest bit of uncertainty, he would be caught.
The door was only twenty feet away.
Anna began dragging her heels, as though she thought he was taking her away for some foul purpose—perhaps to execute her.
It was seventeen feet away.
Kratos pulled harder, putting just a touch of his additional strength into it, the strength that came from being an angel. Anna stumbled and nearly fell into him. He pulled harder.
A dozen feet.
As they came closer, Anna began to struggle harder. She did not scream or shout for help; she must have known none would be forthcoming.
They were six feet away.
Kratos gave her a jerk and walked a few more steps.
Three feet.
Anna tried to trip him; Kratos avoided it, turned, and forced himself to hit her again, lightly on the back of her head. Then he shoved her through the door, which opened for them.
They were through.
But they were not free. As soon as the door shut behind them, Anna stopped dead in her tracks.
“I refuse to go anywhere until you tell me where we’re going,” she told him angrily. “And what you’re going to do with me.”
“Anna, there is no time. I will explain later,” Kratos replied, softly and urgently. He reached out to grab her arm again, but Anna took a step back. The door behind her parted helpfully.
“Wait . . . you called me ‘Anna.’” She stared at him and tried to peer past the helmet that concealed most of his face. “You weren’t—sent by Kratos, were you?”
Kratos nodded briefly, grateful that no one was at that end of the yard to hear them. “It will take too long to explain. Walk with me, quickly. We need to get away from the ranch.”
“Right.” Anna started walking as fast as she could along the trail that led away from the door and through the woods; Kratos matched her pace.
Within minutes, however, he stepped off the trail. “Follow me.”
“All right.” She did so.
They walked in silence for a few moments before Anna spoke.
“Who are you? And how did Kratos get in contact with you?”
Kratos did not turn around. “I cannot explain now. In ten minutes, we will be far enough away from the ranch. Then I will tell you some of the story.”
“All right.” Suspicion tinged Anna’s voice. It seemed as though she did not fully trust him, something that was ordinarily good but could very well prove fatal to his plan.
They continued to walk along without speaking. Kratos strained his ears for evidence that the Desians had discovered Anna’s escape, but even when he used his heightened hearing—which also stemmed from being an angel—he heard nothing but the ordinary sounds of the ranch.
Once they had arrived in the location where Kratos had stored his supplies, he stopped and turned around. He removed his helmet and dropped it on the ground.
He took a deep breath to settle his stomach; at what he was about to say, yet another surge of adrenaline had shot through his body, and he was afraid all over again.
“Anna.”
She looked at him.
“I am not sent by Kratos,” he said and watched an expression of horror cross her face.
She started to back away. “But—but if you aren’t—did you lie to—?”
He cut her off. “I am Kratos.”
She stopped her backward motion and stared at him incredulously. “But—how? You look nothing like him, your voice is different, you’re too short, and that scar. . . .”
He closed the gap between them and gently laid his hands on her shoulders. He felt her flinch beneath his touch.
“Anna,” he said gently. “Do not be afraid. I am about to change my form. Be brave for me.”
She stared up at him, incomprehension in her face. He removed his hands from her shoulders, took two steps back, and took in another deep breath.
Then he changed his form as quickly as though he had flipped a switch.
The uniform that was a good fit on his second form was suddenly too short and too tight; Kratos barely noticed. Instead, he was completely focused on Anna.
At his sudden change, she had stumbled back a few steps. Now she was staring at him, eyes huge and both hands pressed over her mouth. Her face was pale.
“I will explain later. There is no time now,” he said again. He moved closer to her and tried to ignore the pang that shot through him when she backed away. “I am about to call an old companion. He will carry us away from here far faster than we could go on foot. Do not be afraid of him. He is a member of a species that is all but extinct, and I know you would not have seen his like before. His name is Noishe.”
Anna was only able to nod. Kratos saw that she was shaking.
Knowing all he could do for now was allow Anna time to get over her shock, Kratos whistled loudly. For a few moments, there was nothing. Then he heard soft but rapid footsteps as Noishe gradually came into view. When he stopped in front of Kratos, the large doglike creature whined happily and licked Kratos with the edge of his tongue. Kratos gave Noishe a few pats, then looked to Anna.
She looked as though she was feeling better; Noishe’s happy puppy behaviour must have set her at ease. She had dropped her hands from her mouth and some of her colour was returning.
“H-hello, Noishe.” Anna tentatively took a few steps nearer.
Noishe moved closer without the hesitation and began sniffing at Anna all over.
“Be good to her, Noishe,” Kratos told his companion as Anna started petting him, her movements careful and unsure. “This is Anna. Protect her.”
Noishe barked softly as a reply, then whined in pleasure as Anna, getting a little braver, began to scratch behind his ears.
Kratos felt better, watching the two of them, but knew they were running out of time. He walked over to where he had concealed the pack of supplies, brought it out from under its cover, and shook it off. He picked up the helmet from where he had let it drop, put it in the pack, then slung the pack over his shoulders. When he was done, he looked to Anna and Noishe.
“Noishe, lie down,” he said. Noishe obeyed instantly.
Kratos walked over to Anna. “Noishe will let us ride him. Even with two passengers, he will be able to move far faster than any pursuers.” He held out a hand to her.
Slowly, with a hesitance that had not been in her before, Anna took his hand. Kratos led her to Noishe, then knelt, straddling Noishe’s back. He put his pack in front of him, to make it easier for Anna, who had already done as he had asked.
“Hold onto my waist,” Kratos said and waited for Anna to do so. He turned around to look at her. “Are you ready?”
She put on a brave smile for him. “I was ready months ago.”
Kratos nodded, then faced forward. “Noishe, run south. Go quickly at first, then settle into distance running.”
Noishe rose, then began a smooth, even sprint through the forest. Kratos took one glance behind him at the black metal walls of Asgard Human Ranch, then faced forward.
After all, forward was the direction of his new future.
Fandom: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Angst/Romance
Rating: PG-13; later chapters may hit R.
Summary: One woman's take on the untold love story between Kratos and Anna.
Chapter Title: 8 - Feeling Too Much
Chapter Rating: PG
Words in Chapter: 2670
Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.
Author's Notes: I'm not as happy with this chapter as I could be, although that might be due to the fact that I've read it so much that any emotion that might've been there is totally gone out of it for me, right now. Well, I guess if it falls flat, I'll just add it to the list of chapters to be revised. Sigh.
As soon as Kratos had returned to Derris-Kharlan, he teleported to his room and accessed the Desian database from the small, personal terminal in his room. It did not take him long to discover that Host Body A012 was scheduled to be moved to the isolation cells late that night, after a routine health check.
Kratos was very careful about erasing every virtual trace of what he had checked, even more so than usual. That he had accessed the information in itself was not suspicious. However, if a Desian noted that someone had checked Anna’s cell location within an hour of her escape . . . that was another story entirely.
Once he was satisfied no one would be able to follow his computer trail, Kratos took one last look at his room, then left it. Though he would not be returning here again if he could help it, there was nothing here he wanted to take with him. All that he valued was in Asgard Human Ranch.
Kratos spent the next while picking up the clothing, food, and water they would need for their escape, which he had hidden in various locations in his diary rooms. He did hesitate as he was leaving these rooms. He would have to leave his memories behind. He hoped Yggdrasill, upon finding him gone, would not destroy the contents of the rooms out of spite, but there was no way for him to be certain.
He almost left without taking anything from these rooms, but in the end, he picked up three volumes: the two that contained his memories of his life before he became an angel, and his current one, the one that held his memories of Anna.
Then he turned out the lights, left the room, locked all the doors, and teleported just outside Asgard Human Ranch.
He appeared in the small forest that surrounded the ranch, far enough away from the ranch that no patrols would find him. Setting down the pack in which he had placed his supplies, Kratos looked around and found a likely tree. He set to climbing it, and when he was high enough, took in his surroundings from high in its branches.
Once he was certain he knew which way he would have to leave from the ranch to arrive here, he climbed back down. He retrieved his pack and pulled out the Desian uniform he had hidden inside. Then, he buried his knapsack in a pile of leaves, twigs, and other forest leavings.
Taking one last look around for a stray patrol, Kratos stripped and changed his form. He dressed in the Desian uniform, then forced himself to spend ten minutes walking, saluting, and picking up and letting drop forest debris to accustom himself to the other body. Using this body was getting easier every time, but Kratos wanted to take no chances.
When he felt confident he could move properly in his other body, Kratos took in and let out a breath, still listening carefully to the forest sounds for any sign of Desians. He felt his heartbeat speed up. He would have one chance and one chance alone to rescue Anna. If he failed, he would never see her again and she would eventually die a painful death. He could not fail.
Breathing in deeply one more time, Kratos teleported for the last time into Asgard Human Ranch.
Arriving once again in the empty room, he made himself walk briskly out of the room and toward Anna’s cell. He could not walk too briskly, however much he wanted to race to Anna. He made certain not to be so intent on his goal that he ignored all else. That could be catastrophic.
He found he was tense. His shoulders had hunched and he felt shaky. Every time he passed a Desian, he expected to be pointed out as a fraud, as an outsider; he expected to be revealed.
. . . He had to stop this. No ordinary Desian was so edgy in his own ranch. Spotting a washroom, Kratos walked inside and to a urinal, where he made himself breathe deeply and slowly. There was not a chance of him being able to carry out the full charade and use the urinal, but if anyone entered the empty washroom, they would assume he had just finished.
He had to be calm. Normally, this was not at all a problem for him, but normally, his life and the life of the woman he loved were not at stake. Anna had awoken his emotions, but Kratos was beginning to think, for today only, she had done too good of a job.
He stepped away from the urinal and to the sink, where he washed his hands, giving himself more time to think. Until he had rescued Anna, he would have to become the man he used to be—cold, emotionless, and composed.
Remembering how it had felt was surprisingly difficult. He continued to breathe and to focus upon the centuries of time he had spent in such a way. He forced himself not to think of what was at stake, but the steps of what he had to do. He isolated each one and made himself think of them as simply tasks to be accomplished.
It did not work completely, but it was enough to calm him enough to step out of the washroom and to continue his purposeful walk to the cells. Within minutes he had arrived at the main prison area.
The guards on duty briefly glanced at his photo id, pinned just below his left shoulder, then ignored him even as he walked up to Anna’s cell and began keying in the code to open it. He kept his expression blank as the bars to her cell rose and he was face to face with Anna.
The expression Anna wore was one he had not seen for a very long time. Her face was full of hatred, as though she were wishing him out of existence and into hell.
This was simply one more step, he reminded himself. He had accomplished the first step, of getting to her cell and opening it. His next task was to lead her out of the ranch.
“Come with me,” he said in a slightly higher-pitched voice than his usual, “inferior being.”
He turned and began to walk, listening for Anna’s footsteps. He heard her follow.
His heart, despite all his efforts to remain calm, began to pound the closer they came to leaving. His plan was working. It was going perfectly.
That was the case until they reached the yard. When Kratos began to lead Anna outside, he heard her stop behind him in the doorway.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked him, her voice hard. “It’s not my time to work here. What are you doing with me?”
Kratos turned. “It is not for you to question me—inferior being.”
“Where are you taking me?” she repeated, louder.
“Give her a taste of your whip. That ought to knock any questions out of her,” a passing Desian advised, on the way to supervising a group of prisoners.
Kratos’ hand fell to the whip that was a part of his uniform. He hesitated.
He could not do it. He could not hurt Anna in such a way. Not if he had any alternatives.
He had to act, now, before his reluctance was noticed.
He raised his hand and struck Anna across the cheek, doing his best to make it more push than punch.
Anna stumbled and fell. Kratos stared down at her for a brief moment, guilt and self-disgust filling him as he looked at the red mark he had made on her face. Before he could berate himself further, however, he bent down and roughly pulled her to her feet.
“That should teach you not to question a superior,” Kratos said, making certain to add the cruel amusement he had heard in the voices of the other Desians. The self-disgust rose again in a wave; he pushed it down.
He yanked her along, heading for a side exit he had found while making his plans. Anna did not speak, but Kratos could almost feel her doubled hatred for him, burning into his back.
He could not let himself look back. He could not let himself look around. If he showed the slightest bit of uncertainty, he would be caught.
The door was only twenty feet away.
Anna began dragging her heels, as though she thought he was taking her away for some foul purpose—perhaps to execute her.
It was seventeen feet away.
Kratos pulled harder, putting just a touch of his additional strength into it, the strength that came from being an angel. Anna stumbled and nearly fell into him. He pulled harder.
A dozen feet.
As they came closer, Anna began to struggle harder. She did not scream or shout for help; she must have known none would be forthcoming.
They were six feet away.
Kratos gave her a jerk and walked a few more steps.
Three feet.
Anna tried to trip him; Kratos avoided it, turned, and forced himself to hit her again, lightly on the back of her head. Then he shoved her through the door, which opened for them.
They were through.
But they were not free. As soon as the door shut behind them, Anna stopped dead in her tracks.
“I refuse to go anywhere until you tell me where we’re going,” she told him angrily. “And what you’re going to do with me.”
“Anna, there is no time. I will explain later,” Kratos replied, softly and urgently. He reached out to grab her arm again, but Anna took a step back. The door behind her parted helpfully.
“Wait . . . you called me ‘Anna.’” She stared at him and tried to peer past the helmet that concealed most of his face. “You weren’t—sent by Kratos, were you?”
Kratos nodded briefly, grateful that no one was at that end of the yard to hear them. “It will take too long to explain. Walk with me, quickly. We need to get away from the ranch.”
“Right.” Anna started walking as fast as she could along the trail that led away from the door and through the woods; Kratos matched her pace.
Within minutes, however, he stepped off the trail. “Follow me.”
“All right.” She did so.
They walked in silence for a few moments before Anna spoke.
“Who are you? And how did Kratos get in contact with you?”
Kratos did not turn around. “I cannot explain now. In ten minutes, we will be far enough away from the ranch. Then I will tell you some of the story.”
“All right.” Suspicion tinged Anna’s voice. It seemed as though she did not fully trust him, something that was ordinarily good but could very well prove fatal to his plan.
They continued to walk along without speaking. Kratos strained his ears for evidence that the Desians had discovered Anna’s escape, but even when he used his heightened hearing—which also stemmed from being an angel—he heard nothing but the ordinary sounds of the ranch.
Once they had arrived in the location where Kratos had stored his supplies, he stopped and turned around. He removed his helmet and dropped it on the ground.
He took a deep breath to settle his stomach; at what he was about to say, yet another surge of adrenaline had shot through his body, and he was afraid all over again.
“Anna.”
She looked at him.
“I am not sent by Kratos,” he said and watched an expression of horror cross her face.
She started to back away. “But—but if you aren’t—did you lie to—?”
He cut her off. “I am Kratos.”
She stopped her backward motion and stared at him incredulously. “But—how? You look nothing like him, your voice is different, you’re too short, and that scar. . . .”
He closed the gap between them and gently laid his hands on her shoulders. He felt her flinch beneath his touch.
“Anna,” he said gently. “Do not be afraid. I am about to change my form. Be brave for me.”
She stared up at him, incomprehension in her face. He removed his hands from her shoulders, took two steps back, and took in another deep breath.
Then he changed his form as quickly as though he had flipped a switch.
The uniform that was a good fit on his second form was suddenly too short and too tight; Kratos barely noticed. Instead, he was completely focused on Anna.
At his sudden change, she had stumbled back a few steps. Now she was staring at him, eyes huge and both hands pressed over her mouth. Her face was pale.
“I will explain later. There is no time now,” he said again. He moved closer to her and tried to ignore the pang that shot through him when she backed away. “I am about to call an old companion. He will carry us away from here far faster than we could go on foot. Do not be afraid of him. He is a member of a species that is all but extinct, and I know you would not have seen his like before. His name is Noishe.”
Anna was only able to nod. Kratos saw that she was shaking.
Knowing all he could do for now was allow Anna time to get over her shock, Kratos whistled loudly. For a few moments, there was nothing. Then he heard soft but rapid footsteps as Noishe gradually came into view. When he stopped in front of Kratos, the large doglike creature whined happily and licked Kratos with the edge of his tongue. Kratos gave Noishe a few pats, then looked to Anna.
She looked as though she was feeling better; Noishe’s happy puppy behaviour must have set her at ease. She had dropped her hands from her mouth and some of her colour was returning.
“H-hello, Noishe.” Anna tentatively took a few steps nearer.
Noishe moved closer without the hesitation and began sniffing at Anna all over.
“Be good to her, Noishe,” Kratos told his companion as Anna started petting him, her movements careful and unsure. “This is Anna. Protect her.”
Noishe barked softly as a reply, then whined in pleasure as Anna, getting a little braver, began to scratch behind his ears.
Kratos felt better, watching the two of them, but knew they were running out of time. He walked over to where he had concealed the pack of supplies, brought it out from under its cover, and shook it off. He picked up the helmet from where he had let it drop, put it in the pack, then slung the pack over his shoulders. When he was done, he looked to Anna and Noishe.
“Noishe, lie down,” he said. Noishe obeyed instantly.
Kratos walked over to Anna. “Noishe will let us ride him. Even with two passengers, he will be able to move far faster than any pursuers.” He held out a hand to her.
Slowly, with a hesitance that had not been in her before, Anna took his hand. Kratos led her to Noishe, then knelt, straddling Noishe’s back. He put his pack in front of him, to make it easier for Anna, who had already done as he had asked.
“Hold onto my waist,” Kratos said and waited for Anna to do so. He turned around to look at her. “Are you ready?”
She put on a brave smile for him. “I was ready months ago.”
Kratos nodded, then faced forward. “Noishe, run south. Go quickly at first, then settle into distance running.”
Noishe rose, then began a smooth, even sprint through the forest. Kratos took one glance behind him at the black metal walls of Asgard Human Ranch, then faced forward.
After all, forward was the direction of his new future.
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And YAY, NOISHE! ♥
Grindy-hop man!!!! *shot*no subject
Yay Noishe indeed! ♥
And I have no idea how I managed to forget about grindy-hop man!no subject
You shall not dis this chapter. It was awesome and made of win.
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Great chapter. You introduced Noishe into the Kratos/Anna escapade excellently, it flowed perfectly with the rest of the story.
As the others said, it was tense. Especially during the countdown to the exit of the ranch,I was expecting them to be caught just as they were a step from freedom. Thank God they weren't.
I was a little alte reading this since my Friends' page is giving me a hard time, but better late than never. ^_^ I really like this story, on a whole.
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Thanks a lot! I'm glad you're enjoying this!