Back to Kakariko

[in_to_shadow]

[A lazy day with nothing to do, and Sheik has found himself back to Kakariko like a moth drawn to a flame. He's cross-legged in the grass on the hill that the windmill stands on, leaning against one of the great stone sides in the shade with flute in hand - occasionally playing a melody, mostly just holding on to its comforting weight

Comments

[ir_reversetrap]

[Could she be any deeper in thought? As though a mind could only take feet and simply sprint across Hyrule's lands. The consideration is ridiculous, though, and the princess will be the first to admit it, though it's not likely she would share something so foolish out in the open.]

[Her attention is drawn. Not so much by a world familiar and yet not to her. Not so much by rustling branches of trees. Not so much by the shuffling of insects and birds. Rather, by a song, and one very near and dear to her. Her chin lifts and she directs her attention onto the source.]

[Is... this herself that she has come faced with? 'Herself' in one form of the term, that is. Her other half, she calls him. Though if she were to truly analyze herself, she'd know not what to categorize him as. He deserves better than that, however, and it is the parted lips and surprise evident across her face that Sheik is rewarded with. It's like looking at someone she has never met before, and yet she knows precisely who he is.]

"Are you... me?"

[Or perhaps she doesn't, as the case may be. An idiotic question in the eyes of some.]

[ OoC: Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate that quite a bit! ♥ As for... the prose... I don't actually know if that's a good thing or a bad one. I've heard people say it's bad, but... Anyway! Sleep well, and get lots of rest! ]

[in_to_shadow]

[A few months ago, the question would seem utterly bizarre. But knowing the nature (of sorts) of the relationship between some of the princesses and some of his doubles, now the question only causes a small smile.]

No, princess - [Slipping the flute back in to its pouch, he jumps down lightly -] I am very much myself.

[Curiously, he watches her. From her question, he can assume that she has one of those unique situations where his equivelant sleeps within her, and he watches for... what? A sign? Something to show that?]

[Softly, he asks,] You have not been here for long, have you?

((OOC: Generally purple prose isn't a good thing, I was just commenting that my prose was more... ah, flowery than usual. Oh well, doesn't matter XD Sheik's canon dialogue is pretty damn purple anyway XD))

[ir_reversetrap]

[He isn't her, then. She isn't him. There's a difference. He seems sincere, given his position, and any distrust she might have held before has instantly vanished.]

"No, then..."

[His inquiry catches her by surprise and her cheeks flush a pink. Her head inclines. She feels foolish by asking something like that.]

"It must be so obvious. I have not. Not long at all. Not long enough. All things evidently continue to surprise me."

[OoC: Well, I know now, which means I can watch myself and make sure I don't get too flowery. Or flowery at all. Thank you!]

[in_to_shadow]

[Sheik smiles gently, reassuringly, at her mistake, shaking his head.] A little. It's only that after you've been here for a while, you begin to get used to a land populated by doubles and duplicates.

[For a short moment, he scrutinises her. She's the exact physical double of the princess he knows - perhaps a little older, but the cast of her features is immediately familiar. He steps closer, enough so that the distance is not uncomfortable.]

From your question... He hesitates a little.[ ...Can I assume that my double sleeps within you?

((OOC: Oh! I was referring to my own post being purple, not yours! Your writing is fine, it's pretty ^_^ And heh, a bit of flowery never hurt anyone XD (It's when you start using phrases like 'cerulean occulars' instead of 'blue eyes' when you've got to worry *grin*) ))

[ir_reversetrap]

[She tips her head at him, blue eyes watching him carefully. His words ring clear to her soul, as though nothing has ever been more straight forward. She knows that isn't true, however. She knows she's had her own share of what is clear and what is not.]

[Zelda watches him carefully, taking in each possible flick of wrist, each step, each gesture, each movement. She can only hope to be as observant as he must be to pick off things so easily about her.]

"...That... Well, yes. Even if you and him are not the same people, I do not feel he has abandoned me."

[It is an implication that she relies upon the strength of his double to add to her own.]

[OoC: I thought your writing was lovely, though! I always worry about mine, especially here as I don't play here often. It'd be terrible if I turned everyone off. :[ And fortunately, I can't ever picture me using a term like... 'cerulean occulars'.]

[in_to_shadow]

[If his double is anything like him, he would never abandon her. But he leaves the words unsaid, and just smiles gently at her.]

How long have you been here for?

[The passage of time is oddly hard to measure, here. As far as Sheik can tell, it has been two months since he was first brought here, but it does not always feel that way.]

[Sometimes it feels like two days. Sometimes it feels like he has been here forever.]

((OOC: Thanks :) And heh, let's not worry about it? ^_^ So long as you're still using something that resembles the English language! XD You honestly need translations for some of the more... purple... passages I've seen on things like BRPS.))

[ir_reversetrap]

"Days... Months, perhaps?"

[She doesn't seem to know, though it's apparent she's trying to conjure up some type of educated estimate. She can only estimate perhaps around... four months? It sounds right, but it seems like some distant dream.]

"Some days--" [A distinct pause. She's tempted to call him by name, but it doesn't seem appropriate.] "--Some days it feels like it has been ages."

[OoC: Okay! Let's just do our very best! And you're right. There is some... pretty 'incredible' stuff on BRPS...]

[in_to_shadow]

[Sheik nods slowly. He can sympathise; he's not sure himself.]

It seems that time runs oddly, here - not only as a whole, but for different individuals. Events that may take place over days for some occur in only hours for others, and for some, not at all.

((OOC: Yeah ;_; I don't read it that often any more, but there's been some bizaaaarre stuff.))

[ir_reversetrap]

[She smiles kindly and tips her head to the side, simply to listen. He is likely as wise as she's thought herself to be--if not more so.]

"I see... So perhaps in the time I have been here that seems for quite a while, it may not be so long for you or someone else."

[She pauses for a moment and raises her eyebrows.]

"The song you were playing... Who did you learn it from?"

[OoC: I haven't read it in a very, very long time. I think I saw too many strange things and shied away.]

[in_to_shadow]

[He glances back at her, absently drumming his fingers against one leg in the tune of the lullaby.]

You did. Or, rather - [He hastily corrects himself -] the Zelda of my own time.

[Sheik smiles faintly, lost in memories.] I had met her just after Ganondorf's takeover. Ten years old, but so self-possessed - she told me that if we were to live side by side for the next seven years, then I was to call her Zelda instead of 'Princess', then she taught me the song.

She's like a little sister to me. [...And I miss her terribly, go the unsaid words.]

[ir_reversetrap]

[She cannot deny that it sounds remarkably like her. She has her own regrets and her remorse, however, for exactly how reckless she seemed to think of herself in that younger stance. Yet, a part of her is envious, as it seems perhaps she's forgotten how to be that determined and ambitious.]

"I see..." [She smiles fondly, as though they are her own memories as well.] "You two must have been very close. I imagine... that she felt for you the way I feel for my own. Appreciation and many things additional."

[Then her eyebrows furrow. The way he talks...] "What... Where is she?"

[in_to_shadow]

[He smiles a little at that. It may be an artificial closeness, fostered by virtue of each other being the only person near their own age for the vast majority of their respective adolescances, but Zelda (along with Impa) is the closest thing he has to a family.]

[The question catches him a little by surprise. Softly, half to himself, he murmurs,] The gap between worlds.

[And then, to clarify:] Ganondorf has the entirety of Hyrule within his grasp. The only place safe for her to hide and to wait for the Hero's awakening is then, logically, not in Hyrule. But still we must be close at hand... the Boundaries that lie between the worlds, between lands such as Hyrule and Termina, is an ideal place to hide.

Particularly when Ganondorf does not know of them.

[ir_reversetrap]

[Boundaries between worlds? It's clear that Zelda has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. Yes, she had her own hiding years, but she knows very little of what actually happened. He likely may know this, and if he doesn't her expression is probably painfully obvious.]

"I see... So... You are waiting for her then."

['Waiting for me,' is almost what she wants to say since that's sort of the way it is. It's far too easy to confuse herself, however, and she resists traveling down that pathway.]

"I was under the impression that... Well... If there are doubles of you, and doubles of me, then it would come as no surprise that there are doubles of him."

[in_to_shadow]

Waiting to be returned to her is more like it. She only has Impa there now, and she is frequently away, helping with the resistance movement.

[Sheik shakes his head. Impa would not abandon Zelda in his absense should time be progressing normally - her first duty is to the princess. It always had been, it always would be.]

...There are. At least, I believe so - there was a Ganondorf from a future time possessing the castle. But no one has seen anything of him lately... perhaps he has been returned to his own time as well. Perhaps the sheer number of Heroes here disuades him from action. [He smiles a little at that.]

[ir_reversetrap]

[She doesn't seem to understand. Zelda stares at him blankly, attempting to piece together his words. Was he stripped from her side then? And if so, then why has he stayed in this... vast land? Perhaps it is the case where he cannot yet return to her...]

"Impa would never let anything happen to her." [It's the most reassuring that Zelda can be, or hope to be. She can't very well say she understands, because she might not.]

[There is a great sigh of relief given.] "I feel as though I can be at a little more ease with the idea that the protagonists outweigh the antagonists. Thank you."

[in_to_shadow]

[He nods, reassured.] Impa protected her long before we ever met. I just do not like the idea of her being alone.

Still. She can defend herself as well. She is skilled in magic - as you'd well know.

[Suddenly, he's reminded of how awkward the conversation actually is - speaking about Zelda to someone to, for all intents and purposes, is Zelda. He shakes his head, smiling a little at the oddness of it.]

Be at ease, princess. [He smiles warmly at her.] No one would let harm come to you here.

[If nothing else, the sheer number of Heroes and Sheikah here would ensure that.]