An Unexpected Awakening

[silent_sheikah]

[Dawn spreads slowly over the Kakariko graveyard, the pale light filtering over the headstones as it always does, bringing illumination to the places of rest. It is a quiet, misty morning, the clouded skies impeding the progress of the sun to a sluggish crawl

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[silent_sheikah]

(What in the HELL?)

(Taking an immediate jump to higher ground, he assumes a defensive crouch, two throwing knives already in hand. His eyes narrow, taking in his double's appearance. Slight nuances register in his attire and manner, perhaps a younger version of himself? A duplicate made of shadow, such as Link fought? A memory, forced to remind him of something in this bizarre limbo?)

(Keeping one knife at the ready, he points the other at his doppelganger in both a warning and a question.)

(What ARE you?)

(Teehee!)

[silent_sheikah]

(The longer he watches this other person, the less they seem like any form of himself. He did not ever dress as such, and even years ago would have reacted to a potential threat by preparing to defend himself. Perhaps he was mistaken, and it is merely a Sheikah spirit of the past that resembles him.)

(Lowering the arm holding the throwing knife, he slides the blades back into place, although he does not move from his stance. This... spirit does not seem threatening, but he will not be caught off guard.)

(He tilts his head at the blond beneath him and extends his hand toward it in a more docile gesture of question.)

(What manner of a spirit do you call yourself? And why did you call me 'Mirror'?)

[sageamaranthine]

[With silence granted to her by both her training as a Sheikah and the soft earth, she moves across the graveyard of her ancestors. Many of these tombs had been desecrated...

[She stops when she sees an image in the mist. Making as little noise as she could, she readies her magic and edges behind the shed. It may look like her Hyrule, but that didn't mean it was; and if it were? Then it might only mean she's in danger...]

[silent_sheikah]

(He moves to the hidden stair to the temple, slightly unnerved that he can not yet sense the souls inside. Certainly the other dead would be More obvious now that he has joined them, not less-)

(A twinge in the center of his back makes his hairs stand on end. Something is watching him. He cannot tell who or what or where, but it is there.)

(He forces his body to continue its relaxed walk without pause, using the moment he turns up the stair and out of view to change direction, instead leaping off into the surrounding foliage and circling back through the graveyard. Two can play at this game.)

[sageamaranthine]

[It's moving, she can tell that much. She feels for the Triforce within her to tell her where. Coming towards her...Zelda wants to curse, hating that her body is not strong or swift enough to leap to the roof of the building.

[Still, she frowns and focuses her power, moving it to her ears to hear where it was, if it was drawing any weapons...

[If this was a twist of Nayru's hand, and she had been sent back, then perhaps Bongo Bongo was still alive...]

[silent_sheikah]

(With no knowledge of his targets location he circles silently, attempting to catch a glimpse of his pursuer. Upon a jump to a low ledge he finally spots a touch of pink fabric behind the shed, and moves swiftly, cutting back across the graves until he can fully see...)

(Your Royal Highness?)

(Abandoning all thoughts of speed against an attacker, he straightens and puts away his knives, moving to stand exactly twenty faces in front of her to kneel and bow, head lowered.)

(My deepest apologies, Highness.)

(But if the princess was indeed here with him... Slowly he turns his red eyes up to hers, despair beginning to mingle in their depths.)

(Highness please, how did you die? Have we failed?)

[forest_inexile]

[Dark Saria arrives in the graveyard, appearing much less paranoid than usual. Such places reminded her of home, and were soothing to her, definitely more preferable to the bright and lively atmosphere of the rest of Hyrule. However, as she walks among the graves, she freezes suddenly, spotting the Sheikah as he walks.]

[Of all the places for other people to be... Could she not at least find isolation in a place like a graveyard? But there's something intriguing about him. For what reason would he be wandering here? Curious, she speaks to him, though her voice is meek.]

...What are you doing here?

[silent_sheikah]

(Goddeses and Sages!)

(He should have been more on guard to be startled by something as simple as a voice, but he could not help the instinctive turn towards the threat, a knife in his concealed hand ready to throw. He stops almost at once, however, when he locates the speaker.)

(The Sage of the Forest? But, what has happened to her? Perhaps the sages had representatives in the land of the dead as well as the living?)

(Sliding his knife back into concealment, he bows low with a hand to his chest as is fitting to one of her rank, and then straightens. He may have interrupted her task in the graveyard or temple.)

(My apologies, sage. I did not mean hindrance.)

(Sketching another low bow, he backs away silently, intending to exit out the back.)

[forest_inexile]

[She stares at him, bemused by his behavior--and startled at the appearance of the knife. But what is most curious is how he says absolutely nothing. Why doesn't he? She wonders. And why did he bow? She had no rank, no title; there was no reason to.]

[She notices that he is leaving, and raises a hesitant hand.]

...Where are you going?

[silent_sheikah]

(He pauses, not knowing quite how to respond to that. He wasn't exactly going anywhere, he simply wished to be out of her way. Slowly he meets her eye and shakes his head, figuring some kind of answer was in order.)

(Perhaps the first question was really simple curiosity. The sage of the forest is a child after all, it would make sense that her demeanor would pass on even to... this form. He tilts his head at her a little, signaling curiosity.)

[severs_twilight]

[Standing beside one of the filled plots was none other than the Hero of Light and Shadow. He'd returned to Kakariko Graveyard without any clear intentions. Something about the Graveyard disturbed him profoundly, yet his feet kept carrying him back to the grounds of humble headstones and filled-unfilled plots.]

[He looked up, thoughts momentarily disturbed, when he caught Sheik's movement out of the corner of his eye.]

You.. might not want to head this way. [He warned, in a tone that was not unfriendly.] There're a lot of open graves at the end of the Graveyard. It's pretty dangerous, even if you're armed.

[silent_sheikah]

(The voice ahead snaps him from his musings, and he gives himself a mental chiding for leaving himself vulnerable. He steps close enough to view the speaker, then stops in his tracks. The... Hero of Time? No, not quite. The resemblance is striking, but his attire and appearance are off.)

(There were of course many tales of previous heroes, those the goddesses had marked for their calling. Was this one of their spirits, preserved in this realm? Cautiously he sketches out a bow of greeting and acknowledgment and remains where he is, stealing a glance over to the temple entrance. He is familiar with the dangers inside, but things may be different here, and to disregard advice from a hero did not bode well.)

So sorry for the slow reply!!

[severs_twilight]

[The bow made him hesitate. Was it common courtesy in this Hyrule to bow back when having received such a gesture...? At any rate, he hesitated again before he offered a small, awkward bow in return.]

[He noticed Sheik's eyes move to the Shadow Temple]

Someone told me that it's the seat of all of this Hyrule's greed, sadness and anger.

...Did you want to go in there?

[The fact that the other man hasn't spoken yet didn't put him off. The cowl over his mouth had to be sumbolic of something - silence, if nothing else.]

Hakuna Matata!

[silent_sheikah]

[He raises an eyebrow in bemusement when the other bows back - that had never happened before. The eyebrow lifts higher at the description, and he returns his attention to the temple. It had never seemed that way to him, but the dead could be many things, he supposed.]

[He looks back to the Hero and nods, taking a moment to scan around the old graves should any other legends pop out of the grass. A poe cackles from the back corner, swinging it's lamp, and he narrows his eyes at it in warning, taking a step forward at it and bringing him closer to the hero.]