snowblindrpg | [log] three's a crowd, maybe [closed]

Entry tags:

[log] three's a crowd, maybe [closed]

Characters: Lea, Zelda, and Link.
Location m11, building 61
Date: Day 008; late afternoon.
Summary: Link stumbles in on two exhausted travelers. He's lucky he knows one of them!
Warnings: n/a

[ Link had been traveling east in the hopes of coming across Zelda. He'd only deviated from the path to look for food or other survival gear. It hadn't taken long, but it was long enough for Zelda to tell him that people were meeting somewhere in the west. Navi's voice had all but resonated in his head then: if we go there, we'll meet her eventually! Head west again, Link!

The fairy might not be here, but the sense she'd given Link was. He'd started heading back the way he'd come. This time, however, his movements were slowed by hunger and a thorough search of the areas in the hopes of coming across signs of people moving that way. It was a bit galling to backtrack so much, but he set his jaw and headed back.

Time was marching on, though, and as cold and hungry as he was he decided to take shelter before the doors were at risk of locking. He shouldered his way into the building he recognised, stamping the snow off of his boots as he stood in the entranceway.

Probably not the brightest idea with others in there, but then he didn't know they were there, did he?

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[Zelda has never been a deep sleeper. Between prophetic dreams and seven years of needing to be ready to flee at a moment's notice, what rest she gets has always been light. That still holds true today, despite being kept up all night by two screaming tablets, despite the relative warmth she has curled up under her makeshift blankets. Her long ears perk up at the unfamiliar noise, her breath quickening when she glances over to see Lea still nearby.

Someone else has found them.

This could be a good thing. Her initial encounter with Lea is still fresh enough in her mind; she knows paranoia and distrust can hinder rather than help here. But the instinct to prepare for the worst has her quietly reach for her board of nails regardless.

She whispers to her traveling companion.]

Lea. We have company.

[With a nod of her head, she gestures to the door leading to the main hall. Does he want to take point, or should she?]

[Lea's a light sleeper, too; a decade of working for the Darkness Mafia will do that to someone. At least he and Zelda have reached the point where they can huddle together to keep the chill away and be comfortable enough to catch a little sleep. There's a lot to be said for body heat, after all. The screaming tablets kept him up all night, too, but he's managed to doze here and there since they decided to stay put today.

[The sound of movement beyond the room stirs him from that light slumber, though, and he's quiet, just listening. Footsteps, stamping feet. It sounds like just one person, but he can't be sure.]

I hear 'em.

[His voice is soft, and he sits up slowly, silently. Getting his feet under him, he reaches for the 2x4 with the nails in it, giving Zelda a pointed look.]

I'll go first, back me up, okay?

[He's not exactly the heroic type, but he's got a longer reach than she does, and since neither of them have anything resembling a ranged weapon, the benefit of distance is one not to be dismissed. Gripping the 2x4, he moves into the hall and heads cautiously for the front room.

[Peering carefully around a corner, feeling Zelda move up behind him, he squints a little in the afternoon light. He can make out one figure in the main room, but can't really tell much about them, the way they're backlit against the windows.]

It looks like just one person. [He glances at Zelda.] Think I should just go knock 'em out and we can ask questions later?

[Zelda remains a steady presence at Lea's back, her own makeshift weapon held low and at the ready. She can't quite join Lea in peering around the corner from her position (which might prove unfortunate here) but his proposed course of action gets a soft poke on his arm even so.]

Of course not. [This is no time to be playing games!] Watch them. What do they look like? What are they doing?

[The fact that she sounds like she's speaking from experience should not be considered creepy in the least.]

[ Unaware of his watchers, Link settles down by the stove in the kitchen and fiddles with the knobs. It doesn't look very hopeful for him and he sighs, taking out the shredded wood from the rotten 2x4 he'd picked up to start a fire. He also pulls out the can from his bag. His stomach was gnawing at his ribs by now, and while he'd never heard of 'alphabet soup' he was pretty sure he'd even eat it if an octorok popped out of the can.

He takes the can opener out and clacks the two handles together, still unused to it despite fiddling with it earlier. Hm... so the hook part should probably go against the top of the can, right?

As he clacks it against the can, his ears twitch at a noise. Was that someone talking?

Maybe he should wait and check the house first. After last night and this morning, anything could be here. He pulls up his length of scrap metal, holding it in his left hand like he'd held the Master Sword before. ]

[Lea sighs a little. His sense of humor is really lost on Zelda, it seems. But he dutifully turns his eyes back to the stranger in the main room. The figure moves to the kitchen, and Lea shifts his position a little, watching them play with the knobs on the stove. He can see the figure better now, a man with yellow hair and an odd green hat.]

It's a man. Not real tall, but he's got broad shoulders. Looks like he could deck you pretty good. He's just messing with stuff in the kitchen.

[Lea tenses when the man in the kitchen pauses and then grabs a length of metal, brandishing it like a sword.]

Er. Scratch that. Now he's holding up a metal bar and looking around suspiciously. [He glances at Zelda again.] Maybe I should'a knocked him out after all.

[There's only one of him and two of them, but Lea has to think a metal weapon trumps a couple of wooden ones, so he's not sure he's a fan of these odds right now.]

Thoughts?

[You must teach her your ways, Lea. The ways of sarcasm.

Zelda chews her lip at Lea's words. It's vague. Too vague to put her hopes on it being the person she's been hoping to find. And before she can contemplate the matter further, Lea alters his description.]

He's heard us. [Possibly. But better to prepare for the worst. Zelda lowers her voice further, speaking quickly.] One of us could reveal ourselves, glean his motives while the other waits in hiding, ready to strike should things go poorly. Or keep quiet, watch and wait.

[She can't see this mysterious intruder, so she'll defer to Lea's judgement on whether or not they can take him.]

[Sar-chasm: noun. Defined as: the gaping maw between the dry remark made and the person who just didn't get it.

[He gives a grim nod. Maybe those pointy ears are just that sensitive. He glances at the stranger again, then takes a half step forward.]

I'll go. I've got a longer reach than you, if he tries anything. Just... [He gives her a slightly unsure look.] Watch my back, okay? [Over the past few days, he's come to trust her, he really has. The first couple of nights were tense and uncertain, but even if she's not got much of a sense of humor, she's been helpful, kind, generous even. He's not sorry at all that they've met, and when he asks her to watch his back, he genuinely believes she will. And that's kind of new and exciting for him.

[He flashes a wry grin, then lowers the 2x4 to his side. It's still easy to bring up to strike or guard, but there's no sense looking aggressive. He steps into the doorway to the kitchen and draws himself up to his full height of just over six feet.]

Who are you, and what do you want?

[His voice is low, level, and firm, but not angry. He's not trying to be belligerent, but he's not tolerating any shenanigans, long-ears.]

[ Link turns smoothly on his heel and faces Lea straight on. His eyes flick over his body, taking in size, body shape, approximate weight, and if he was armed. It was an instictive check born of having to size up enemies in narrow dungeon corridors, and Link's gaze snaps back up to Lea's face as soon as he's done. He's unwavering and solid, the only tension in his arm where he holds his scrap metal.

Briefly, he considers that it's wonderful to see another person here. If he wasn't worried about a possible attack, he might even have reacted warmly. Impa and Navi would have preferred he be wary, however, and Zelda herself had told him to be careful here. He wasn't about to ignore the advice of three people he trusted above anything. ]

It's cold, [ He says, stating the obvious. It's why anyone would be in a house, according to him. ] And dark.

[Zelda keeps in place, well hidden behind the wall near the door. Lea said to watch his back, but she dares not peek outside so long as the intruder's attention is in this direction. Instead, she listens, keeping even her breath as quiet as she possibly can in order to take in every possible sound.

Of course, this intense focus makes the familiar voice resonate all the more when she hears those four simple words. She has to bite her lip to stop herself from gasping too loudly, her mind spinning with possibilities. She's tired, she's hungry, this could be a trick, she could be hallucinating--

--Or Lea might legitimately be ready to hit the Hero of Time upside the head with a nailboard.

Can she take that risk? No, she can't. Carefully, she sidles her way over to peer around the door, and...]

... Link?

[Her own 2x4 falls to the ground with a thud.]

The stranger makes a good point, all things considered. Lea keeps the 2x4 at his side, and won't raise it unless blondie here makes an aggressive move, but he's very guarded; no sense taking chances.

[When he hears Zelda speak, though, he turns to spare a glance at her. Wait, this guy is her friend from home? He stares at the stranger a moment, then at Zelda, then back at the stranger. What are the odds...?]

[ The scrap metal falls from limp hands as Link starts in surprise. Zelda? He'd found her?

A smile breaks out over his face at the sight of her. Thoughts of hallucinations and tricks are far from his mind. Even the presence of Lea is suddenly nothing when he sees her face peeping around the door.

He crosses the room in a few quick strides, and, if Lea would let him get past, reaches out to pull Zelda into a hug. His body language is desperate - motions quick, caution to the wind, eyes closing as he tries to pull her against him and hold her tight. ]

[He'll find no resistance in this endeavor, from Lea or Zelda. Zelda, for her part, in fact, goes almost frighteningly still, eyes wide and staring over Link's shoulder as he wraps her up in his arms. Distantly, she recognizes they were never afforded this kind of closeness in Hyrule.

... He's warm.]

You are really here.

[There's disbelief in her tone, because if Norfinbury's taught her anything, it's one thing to speak to someone's image over the network. It's quite another to see them in the flesh, living and breathing in front of you. Relief and guilt war in equal measure in her mind, leaving her paralyzed for a moment longer before she dares to lift her arms and return the embrace.]

You found me.

[It's not until the chill of the air cools her cheeks that she realizes she's been crying.]

[The stranger (Link?) drops the length of metal and it clatters to the floor almost too loudly against the silence, and when he moves forward, Lea tenses for an instant, a hundred thoughts flurrying through his mind. It's a trick, it's a trap, he's not real, he's an impostor, he'll kill you both--!

[No.

[Lea swiftly steps aside as Link reaches for Zelda, watching with a sort of distant curiosity as they embrace. If he's learned anything through his years of recon, tailing people and gathering information, it's how to read body language. Nothing in Link's movements spoke of malice or anything but relief and joy, and so he just lets him pass. Emotions are such curious things, he thinks, to make you fear the unknown and then rejoice at familiarity over the course of an instant like that. He wonders absently what that kind of hug feels like; he's sure he hasn't been embraced since he was a boy.

[He gives a faint laugh and sets the 2x4 aside, folding his arms.]

Should I give you two some privacy? I'm startin' to feel like a third wheel, here.

[ She's crying. Link has never associated tears with weakness, but it's still a surprise to see (or rather, feel) Zelda crying. His response is to hold her tighter. Words aren't his strong point, so he lets his actions speak to them more. He's here. He's solid, he's real, and he's warm.

Or at least as warm as someone can be in a place like this.

Lea's words make him open his eyes and lift his head. He doesn't let Zelda go, but he does distance himself slightly so that he's not quite clinging to her. Looking between the two, he gives another small smile. ]

You've been looking after each other?

[Her feelings regarding this eventual reunion had been complicated leading up to it, and they will be again once the moment has passed. But in this instance, she allows herself to revel in the sensation of Link's arms around her, the safety she feels within them.

In that moment, she can almost pretend everything is okay.

Lea's voice brings her back to reality, of course. She tenses, her cheeks going a shade of pink slightly dark than what is caused by the cold. Using the distance Link provides, she quickly wipes away her tears.]

... We found ourselves locked in the same house on the second night. We thought it best to stick together afterwards.

[Which has been something of a strange experience, all told, but not entirely unpleasant.]

[Lea's smile is friendly, a little wistful, when Link glances at him. He offers a hand to shake, hoping that's a familiar gesture in Hyrule, at least.]

Like she said, we just kind of wound up stuck in the same place together. Figured better to make allies than enemies in a place like this, you know? Name's Lea, nice to meet'cha.

[He's glad they found each other. It gives him hope that he might actually be able to find his own comrades from home. He gives Link a bit of an apologetic look.]

Sorry for, ah... posturing at you like that. We didn't really get a good look at you at first, wanted to make sure you weren't gonna cause trouble.

[ Link stares at Lea's proffered hand for a moment before he takes it. It's not that he doesn't get the gesture - he's a little reluctant to let Zelda go, even just by one hand. It was a little overwhelming to find her again. When they'd last met, they were just about to destroy Ganon. Adding days of wandering in the snow didn't make for a simple, sensible reunion.

But he did shake Lea's hand, his grip strong and firm through the gloves he'd been fortunate enough to pick up. Their words make sense - if he'd come across someone, he'd have stuck around them. Body warmth and company were good things to share here. For someone so roughly seperated from his fairy partner, the latter of the two was especially important to him. ]

It's ok. I'd have done the same.

[ And maybe been more gruff about it, too. He wouldn't have swung without provacation, but he didn't think he would've given the other person a chance to explain themselves before bearing down on them. The thought makes his cheeks heat in embarrassment. He'd always been a little too brash... ]

The atmosphere here does not lend itself well to trust, it seems.

[At least for people like them, who have had to fight to survive before. Maybe some of the more innocent victims of this kidnapping are having a better time of it.

Zelda seems reluctant to leave Link's side as well, though, as with all things when it comes to her, it's not quite as brazenly obvious. If nothing else, the circumstances here have forced her to re-acclimated to physical contact more quickly than she otherwise would have. She pauses, looking from Lea, down to the floor, then back up at Link.]

We should talk.

[Whether it be now or later, depending on if the boys would like to get acquainted first or not. But they should talk.]

[Lea lifts his hands when Zelda says they should talk. He's not sure if she means all of them, or if she just wants to catch up with Link, so he takes a small step back as if to get out of their way.]

If you two need to catch up, I can make myself useful elsewhere. There's still more of the house to check out, after all.

[ Link doesn't know if she meant all of them either, but he gives a little thankful nod of his head when Lea excuses himself anyway. It'll make things easier if that's what Zelda had intended - she'd looked right at Link when she said it anyway. ]

Talk?

[ They'd defeated Ganondorf, hadn't they? She couldn't have meant something at home. Link frowns. ]

Did something happen?

[She shakes her head.]

No, nothing like that...

[Actually, yes, something like that, but she doesn't think bluntly saying something like 'you should be a child right now' would go over well. Especially since Link's still holding onto her. Ahem. Fortunately another pause to consider how to explain doesn't seem too out of place.]

... From what I have seen on the network, our captors appear to have at least as much control over time as you do with the Master Sword, if not more. So... I would like you to tell me what you last remember before waking here.

[There, that's vague enough, right?]

[ He's still reluctant to let her go, so he doesn't step off for now. His brow furrows at her question, but... well, he won't question what Zelda tells him. She was the Seventh Sage and the one who knew more about the legends and powers of Time than anyone else. Why wouldn't he trust her?

So he just answers her question, plain and simple. ]

You used your magic on Ganon and then I struck him with the Master Sword.

[ And then it all got a bit confusing. The rest of the Sages sealed him, he thought, but he had had the peculiar sensation of being nowhere at that time. He didn't know if that was a result of their power or a result of this place working its own magic on him, but there it was. ]

[Deep down, she boggles at the amount of faith and trust Link puts in her. As a child she led him astray, instructing him to do things that would result in the loss of his childhood. As an adult, she deceived him, doing nothing to assuage his concerns about the Princess Zelda while masquerading as Sheik.

The fact that she still feels a need to lie only makes her feel even worse.]

I see.

["Merely" a discrepancy in time, then. Not some... dimensional timeline warping. Link has "simply" not reached the point where she sent him back.

This is fine.]

Our memories seem to line up for the most part, then. We were given a chance to have a conversation before I found myself here, but aside from that...

[Details, schmetails, who needs them.]

[ If Link could read thoughts, he'd be telling her that she was being too hard on herself. Fortunately for Zelda (or maybe unfortunately in the long run) he can't. All he can do is note the slightly sad way she speaks. He tilts his head and blinks at her, thumbs gently stroking her arms where he was gripping her, trying to silently tell her that it was okay.

He does wonder what the conversation had been, but something else flicks into his mind. ]

Was Navi there?

[Her shoulders rise and tense at the attempted gesture of comfort, a general sensitivity to touch combining with her guilt to create the opposite feeling of what was intended. Link lost seven years of his life because of her. How could that ever be okay?

She takes the subject change and runs with it.]

She was, yes. In truth, it is strange not to see her now.

[ If Navi hadn't been there, then maybe her lack of presence could have been explained by that; she just hadn't been with him at the time. But if she was there, where he'd been transitioning to, then it didn't make sense.

But what about this made sense?

He sighs softly. More than anything, he misses her. ]

I miss her.

[ Finally, he lets Zelda go. ]

I'm glad you're here, though.

I admit I would rather see you home, where it is safer.

[Zelda curls in on herself a bit without Link's arms around her, one arm crossed over her abdomen and gripping the other. She's thinking of a different home for him than the one he likely has in mind, but it's not like she has to point that out, right...]

But... among all the strange things and unfamiliar people here, I cannot deny the comfort found in seeing someone I recognize.

[What a long-winded way to say 'me too'.]

[ For someone so blunt and to the point, that long-winded speech is a little bit funny. Zelda gets a small crook of his lips in response to it - the same as an outright laugh from some other people. ]

Good.

We'll work together from here.

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[log] three's a crowd, maybe [closed]

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