World Tree MUSH

  Over the past days, Peak Province's alpine meadows have gradually given way to frozen cliffs and snowfields. Winter winds whip snow down the trail, dry powdery stuff that stings anything it touches, flung into faces and creeping in past even snugly-fit hoods.

  Layers, cloaks, and hoods are not optional here. It's easy to see why Zelda describes Snowpeak as so dangerous. The mountain kills the incautious. There's no two ways about it. It's just as much of a danger as the usurper hiding behind Hyrule Castle's walls.

  Here in the drifts there's nothing to mark the path. Travellers don't visit enough to warrant road-building and maintenance. Instead, great metal poles with red flags, blazoned with the claw-like sigil of the Gorons, mark the safest route, bolted into the stone beneath the ice and snow.

  The princess had laughed breathlessly in relief at the sight of the markers, thrusting a white-gloved finger at the poles' towering shadows, vanishing into the blizzard.

  "We follow these!" she had cried against the wind. "Goron way-markers! Gorons mine these mountains, and as a favour to the royal family, they marked the safest routes generations ago!"

  The hand moves to point at the 'trail,' which switchbacks up the mountain more steeply up ahead. "Come! We climb!" Zelda cries, voice cracking. "There are caves through these mountains! We may find one to strike camp in!"

  Of the white wolfos, the scourge of Snowpeak, there have been no sign. Their howling can nonetheless be heard on the shrieking wind. Without doubt Link can hear them. The others might, too. Perhaps they warn each other of the blue-eyed devil that killed so many of their brethren further down the mountain.

  The princess still walks beside her horse, today. Despite backed ears, he's wonderfully efficient at brute-force plowing a path through waist-deep snow, and the princess eases herself through them at his side, huffing and puffing as she clambers over and through the biggest drifts. She pats his neck and soothes him every time they power through a particularly deep drift, but she doesn't slacken her pace.

  The afternoon is mostly dim, drifts whirling down from leaden skies. Soon the sun will set. It's imperative that they find shelter before that happens. The temperature would drop to uncomfortably cold, anywhere else; but on Snowpeak, that drop is deadly.

  Hopefully, Rydia or Yumi can find something! Zelda's looking, too, but the princess is clearly too out-of-breath to turn her attention toward looking for a cavern opening in the whorls of snow.

    This is, by far, the most energetic and positive Yumi Tachibana has seen Zelda. And it's heartening in its own way. Just seeing the princess in such high spirits is enough for the girl to have a bit more spring in her step herself. It's kind of nice amid all the doom and gloom. Especially after seeing that city absolutely choked with evil vines. So when the time finally comes to hunt down shelter, she's quite happy to fan out from the group and start looking around.

    She's also a lot more bundled-up this time. She may or may not have splurged on more stout winter gear when she and Rydia went out and about. As they search for somewhere to dig in, the girl with the cream orange hair lifts her head up, to call after Zelda. "Oh, Zelda! I have a present for you, once we get settled in. You and Rydia both."

    The biting chill of Peal Province's frozen cliffs and endless snow are... Uncomfortable to say the least. Rydia of Mist has layered up and even still 'comfort' is not something found easily when travelling through a region known for the absolute extreme of conditions. The small girl trudges through the snow, wrapped in layer after layer after layer of furs and robes, some of them green some of them not, but over them she's wrapped herself up in her stylish new Wolfos hide cloak, holding the fur bundled close with her hands as her chocobo's taloned feet crunch repetetively in the snow.
    Where Zelda has somehow found energy and brighter spirits in seeing the old Goron way markers, Rydia has been... Sullen and withdrawn since her excursion with Yumi in breaking off from the caravan for some extra supplies before hitting the more brutal parts of the province. Her chocobo is unhappy, to say the least, the great bird weighted down by furs and blankets, but aside from some fussing he trudges on faithfully.
    The girl frankly seems like she's in her own little world, Zelda says 'caves' and 'make camp' and if Rydia says anything in reply it's lost to the howling winds. Only Yumi speaking up seems to make her snap out of her state, head lifting slightly with a little curious look as she huddles into her cloak and against her steed's long neck a bit more.
    "... A gift?"

  It may not be that she's particularly positive, but forward motion has agreed very much with the princess. Idleness is as damaging to her spirit as the things that have actually befallen her. She cannot bear to be idle when there are lives in danger or work to do, and it gnaws at her as surely as a poison.

  Indeed, the princess has been swift and purposeful in her doings since leaving Kaipo, confident in having a direction and plan. She doesn't show her anger at the situation, but one can sense it in the graceful deliberation of her motions. A blind man could see it in the clear coldness of her eyes, not unlike the ice that cloaks the mountain.

  There will be no quarter or mercy for Zant when she has the strength to challenge him outright. She will destroy him, utterly; there is no possibility, to her, of any other outcome. He has made an insult of the kingdom, and worse, he has slaughtered thousands of its people and condemned many more to die. That is unforgivable.

  Yumi's sudden call startles her out of her thoughts, and she turns, twisting around a drift of snow her horse had muscled out of the way, blinking. She's not kidding about the shelter, though. The force of the chill has her stuttering when she replies. The princess cups mostly-numb hands around her mouth to call back. Not too loudly, though. An avalanche would be terrible. "O-oh, you n-need not have done anything or t-troubled yourself, Tachibana Yumi!"

    "You already know what it is, sort of," Yumi replies to Rydia with a smile. She's hoping it will cheer the young summoner up. She's still doing her level best to find something they can use - a cave, a cliff overhang, even a particularly fortuitous outcropping that would shield them from the wind. As cold as she might be, the girl is trying not to let it show, either. But Zelda says something that draws her away from her search, if only briefly. Long enough for her to stand up straight and give the princess a beaming grin. "Well, of course I didn't need to. But I /wanted/ to~." But that can wait, of course; right now shelter is the most important thing. "Hmm. Maybe we could... no, but it seems like that might... well, maybe that over there... though we might have to... hrmn..." She's not much of a survivalist, but she can at least make the basic, educated guesses.

    Oh right. Rydia should be looking for a cave. Only NOW does the girl seem to be fully returning to her faculties as the life or death necessity of shelter kicks in and her sulking is put on the backburner. A mountain like this is no place for a child- it's no place for ANYONE really, and the faster the party can find a place to hunker down the faster Rydia might CONSIDER edging a little closer to a fire for another degree of warmth.
    She's not smiling to Yumi's answer though. In fact the girl gets a silent, level, stare as Rydia tightens her grip on her chocobo's reins, urging the beast to press onward.
    "Knowing her," She says to Zelda, "She'd stop to get it for you anyway."
    It's not necessarily a BAD thing. Rydia just seems to be in a bad mood. "We should press on, before we freeze."

  A little ways out, the drifts slump against the cliff, leading down and around the path to a small overhang; that shelter, in turn, runs down into a cavern deep enough to house all the travellers and their animals, but no so deep as to host a dangerous predator. The twist taken before entering it even protects it from the biting wind. It's about as ideal as it gets up here.

  Good thing there's caves!

  "Bother," the princess sighs, breath fogging in front of her. She has her violet scarf tied around her face to help conserve a little warmth, but it muffles her words. "Can one of you check down there?" She gestures forward, to where the snowy path leads down to the perfect cave. "I cannot leave this one to his own devices." She tosses her chin to indicate the stallion, though the movement is hard to discern through her layered clothing. "And if it is dangerous, I cannot trust that I can steer him away quickly enough, or that he will obey."

  Ultimately she's dealing with two thousand plus pounds of stubborn, angry horseflesh, and she can't trust that he will follow her commands one hundred percent of the time. She'll get there in time, through patient effort, but for right now he looks like he still doesn't trust anything that walks on two feet. His ears swivel back, and he huffs a great big breath of fog, scraping the hoof of a hind leg through the snow in an angry furrow and stomping the foot back down into the snow with a mushy /crunch/.

  It's hard to see it under so many layers, but the princess is shivering under it all as she holds the big horse steady. Fingers and toes aren't quite numb, but they're close to it, burning at the cold. Her jaw keeps spasming, and it's only by locking her jaw that she keeps her teeth from chattering.

    Ouch, Rydia. That hurts. The summoner gets a wounded look - but only playfully so. Yumi knows the poor girl's been in a funk since yesterday. She doesn't know what happened down there, but it upset Rydia, that much is plain. "I'll get it," Yumi calls out to Zelda, and quickly scurries off to do just that. It doesn't take long before she's coming back out, and her pleased expression tells the story before she can even speak. "It's perfect. Well-sheltered, room for everyone. We can bunker down there for the night, easily. Here, let me get some firewood and tinder, I'll start putting the fire together. Rydia, come on in, you can start warming up while I'm still getting the wood ready." She figures it's much easier for the green-haired girl to get in the cave and settled /before/ the fire is cracking and popping merrily away.

    It's a perfect cave, though Zelda will have her hands full dealing with that horse, Rydia hops off her chocobo to usher it along by leading rather than riding, once the right cave is found. "Wait don't just-"
    Too late, Yumi is headed into the cave to scope it out. She comes out in one piece though, but when she does, there's a dagger in Rydia's hand, just on the off chance the totally normal girl disturbed something within and had to come running out in a rush.
    Yeah, she puts that dagger away. "Mm."
    A nudge is all it takes to get her chocobo heading in, the beast being docile and trusting enough to follow her command. This leaves her with Zelda. ... And the horse. But she's already working on scootching herself into the cave for warmth.
    "You picked a hell of a steed, princess." She mutters at the beast's attitude. "... I wonder how bad he had it before you took him."

  Zelda stares after the vanishing form of Yumi as the girl slogs through the snow toward a potential cave. The waiting is the hardest part. Yet the queen is silent and still as a stone as she waits, aching from the cold, shuddering at the effort of hauling her exhausted and chilled body through Snowpeak's savage winter.

  It's not really a big surprise why nobody really lives up here. If the weather could be tamed, that would be one thing, but the region is so rugged and shot through with cliffs that nothing can even be built. Not safely. It's a wonder Snowpeak got built at all. The effort and expense must have been astounding.

  When Yumi comes back safe, the Hylian lets out a relieved sigh she hadn't known she was holding, breath fogging before her. She's quick to urge the giant horse on, letting him do the work of powering through the snow, staying close to his side to squeeze through loose snow. Ideally she would ride him, but there's no telling what might happen if she climbs aboard; she hasn't had a chance to evaluate him fully. More importantly, he is by far more useful as a pack animal. He can carry a tremendous amount of /stuff/, and the things with them are all supplies they need.

  Zelda finally pushes her way into the cavern with a breath of relief, shivering and shuddering as she sets to tying up the party's two horses, leaving the chocobos for Rydia to tend to. As best she can, she brushes the snow out of their coats, rubbing them down and soothing them quietly; the black horse has his ears pinned back the whole time, but that's not really much of a surprise.

  She looks up at the horse as Rydia mutters about the homicidal horse, arching a brow in skeptical study of the animal. "Well, he can carry quite a bit, so it wasn't just an emotional response," she points out. "Carrying goods doesn't seem to bother him in the least, provided I don't bind him too tightly." How bad did he have it before she took him in? The princess' shoulders jerk in a shivery shrug. "My question exactly." Zelda looks back down at Rydia, earnest and almost entreating. "Merciful Hylia, I couldn't just /leave/ him there."

  As though in direct support of her words, the big black monster's head swivels around, and he nudges her with that big velvety muzzle. His ears actually swivel forward for a few seconds!

  Then he goes back to sulking, one hind hoof drawn up to stomp the stone underfoot.

  Zelda reaches up and strokes the beast's nose, with a resigned sort of half-smile. "We'll make a friendly fellow of you yet, but rest, now," she murmurs; as he drops his head, she rests her forehead against his, as he snorts in seeming contentment as she reaches high up to rub at an ear. "See? He isn't completely unsalvageable..."

  Dainty ears flick back again as though to argue that.

  Zelda backs away, with a last pat at his neck. "I've worked with horses all my life. I will have no trouble controlling him, no matter what his temperament looks like." She jerks her cloak tighter around herself, shivering, leaning against the big black horse (who is at least nominally warmer than her) and waiting for the fire. She might help get that started, but her hands are too numb to handle flint and tinder. "It's all in the w-way you ask."

    Rydia's perpetual concern for anyone she considers a decent person hasn't gone unnoticed; one of these days, Yumi decides, she's going to have to sit and ask the girl about that. But having known her for this short a time, it would be rude just yet. So instead she'll just try to demonstrate to the younger girl it's unlikely she'll get herself killed any time soon.

    In theory.

    Thankfully, with their stock of firewood and tinder, the fire is easy to get started, and once it is, the teen crouches close by it, blowing a few times to make sure the fire catches on the larger logs. When she's sure it's going to stay, she finally stands up, and heads over towards Rydia's chocobo; it's there that they stowed most of the groceries until they got back, and it's there that her presents still remain. She doesn't have to dig much, easily coming out with a pair of small boxes, one pink, one green. The green is handed to Rydia, and the pink to Zelda.

    "This is Pocky. It's a snack from my world. Normally I'd be kind of sparing with sweets, but I figure up here, we could-" Yumi's stomach chooses that moment to growl. "...eheh... use the calories. Rydia, yours is green tea flavor. Zelda, yours is strawberry."

    Once inside the cave Rydia keeps in motion. It is her best chance of keeping warm without having to deal with fire, and if anything, the way her hands quake as she starts unstrapping the chocobo's harnesses and help brush down the horses- even attempting to help with the murderhorse- is a testament to the extreme temperatures of the mountain, but also the girl's hard working nature. Sure she could plop down and curl up under blankets and try to warm up, but there is still work to be done before she can do so. So she does it, helping through the process of making camp in the icy cave.
    "It was kind of you." She notes to Zelda about taking the stallion. "Most people would think he's more trouble than he's worth, but I think you can get through to him."
    A beat.
    "Maybe."
    As for Yumi, though... Yumi might not like the answer she gets, on the day she asks that question, if she ever does. Rydia keeps her distance even from the process of STARTING a fire; opting to bundle up more rather than joyously await the promethean gift. But when Yumi goes for the chocobo's saddlebags and the supplies, there is a curious look, up until she's presented with a box of candy, set into her quivering fingers.
    "... You got us pulled into a warzone for candy?" The girl's voice is flat as she heaves a tiny sigh. But, as seven year olds do, she proceeds to pull the box open... There is a stick of pocky in her mouth in the next moment. But when she hears the growl of Yumi's stomach, the pack is held her way in offering.

  That was kind of you, the Summoner says, and the princess shakes her head, looking away with furrowed brow. "No one should need think about that choice. Evil is not only the drama and flair of ancient legends, like the ancient evils that Her Grace once fought against." Her expression darkens. "Evil is alive, and it has many facets. Cruelty is one of them. Such evil lives in the hearts of we Hylians when given sufficient shelter and succor."

  "Besides that, it is foolish to punish a horse for high spirits. So he can think for himself. That is a quality that ought be praised, not punished, and rewarded when it is cleverly done." Zelda glances back to the giant black beast, chewing at his hay. Just the grinding sound of those great teeth is somehow hostile. "I hope only that he is salvageable. Vicious in temper he may be, but he is magnificent."

  She rubs at her jaw in contemplation and puzzlement. "I can only believe he belonged to a knight of some manner, though he is of no lineage I have ever seen. And if I ever find out who treated him so badly, I will promptly dismiss them from the kingdom's service. I digress... even the stoutest Hylian warhorses are not so tall. Look to Epona. She is a full head shorter than this fellow, and she is of powerful and quality stock. It almost looks familiar..."

  As Yumi sets to lighting the fire, the princess leans against her oversized steed as he ducks his head to the hay she'd scattered earlier. It looks like he's ignoring the rest of the world. It would probably behoove everyone to avoid that pile of hay like the plague.

  The princess is absolutely still during Yumi's efforts to coax the fire to life, and she barely seems to be breathing, eyeing the stacked logs worriedly. She knows not to disturb the air while kindling a fire.

  It catches, though, and she lets her breath out again, this time in exhausted relief. Getting out of the majority of her half-sodden outer layers is a struggle, and she lays each garment out to dry as she does. Finally the princess emerges from a number of cloaks and garments. She sinks down into a crouch beside the fire, holding her hands in front of it in grateful relief.

  "Oh, thank Hylia," she breathes, earnestly, still shivering and trembling. She touches a loosely-clasped hand to her forehead in supplication. "This D-Daughter of Hylia th-thanks You, Your Grace."

  That done, she wraps her arms around herself, scooting a half-step closer to the fire, accepting the box of Pocky as she does, just in time for her own stomach to growl an undignified reminder. The princess flushes and ignores it. "Thank you, T-Tachibana Yumi."

  "'Pocky?'" Her eyes drop to the thing she's holding, and she frowns, taking it in one hand and prodding at the package with another forefinger. "How s-strange. It feels a little like p-parchment, but it is t-too firm for th-that... what is th-this, T-Tachibana Yumi?"

  There's a slight pause, and when she speaks again, it's softer, more curious. "And how, in Hylia's name, does it--" She watches Rydia open hers, frowns, and opens hers the same way. The mediaeval elf person can't help it if modern materials like cardboard seem like strange witchcraft. "Oh."

  A stick is pulled out and eyed a little dubiously. It's candy, she can smell that much, but it's like no confection she's ever seen. There's something appealing about its bizarre simplicity.

  Crunch, nom nom nom.

  "That is..." The Hylian seems to be searching for words as she draws herself as close to the fire as she dares to approach. "Interesting. But not disagreeable." Zelda nibbles thoughtfully on another stick, considering it. "Is this common in your world?"

    Pout. "...I got us pulled into a warzone because people needed help," Yumi insists. "...and I'm still thankful you stayed with me through all that, by the way. You didn't have to, but you did." She finally settles into a seat of her own, close to Rydia for the moment. And maybe takes a tick of Pocky. Just one. Accepting an offer out of a gift she just gave Rydia to begin with is just a tad embarrassing, but... well, she is a teenager.

    That horse gets more than one look in the meanwhile. Yumi hasn't given up on befriending him, and she's been slowly testing the waters and trying to gain his trust pretty much every time it seems like a not-terrible idea. It's a tempting thought to bring him food, too. "The packaging? That's cardboard on the outside. It's made from wood pulp. Relatively sturdy, for what it is. The inner packets are a kind of... it's plastic, I think. I'm not really sure with plastic, but I think it's from some kind of oil or resin? It's good for packaging food, though."

    She can't hide the little smile at Zelda's reaction to the actual treat. "Pocky is pretty popular, yeah. They have a bunch of different flavors. It doesn't have a lot of nutrition, but the sugar'll give you energy, at least."

    Rydia was only able to open her pocky through sheer seven-year-old ingenuity. The outer cardboard case had a little tab so she pulled it. The plastic was in the way so she tore it with her teeth. Problem solved. There is a beat spent nibbling on one stick, brow furrowing as she taste tests this green tea flavor. It's a mellow and easy sweet. Maybe something she can get used to as she crunches down a stick and plucks another from the pouch. "... It's good. Thank you, Yumi."
    Seems she likes the gift.
    "I don't know a lot about horses." Rydia admits. "I could talk about chocobos all day, but..." But chocobos are just that much more common on the Blue Earth.
    But Rydia's eyes seem to lose their focus on the topic of the hidden cruelty in Hylian hearts. The kind of evil that can live quietly in the heart of any man, be they from Hyrule or no. Rydia is so distracted that she doesn't look to Epona when indicated. Her mind is elsewhere as she remembers, prompted by the black stallion's story, that in this world bad things happen to good people.
    "Unh." It's a vague sound of acknowledgement at best as Rydia bundles her Wolfos cloak about herself more tightly for the warmth, before her attention returns to Yumi, trying to explain cardboard and plastic.
    "Well what did you expect me to do? Ride off without you?"

  The thought occurs to the princess to ask what happened when those two left the caravan, but that's a story best saved for another day. Rydia's somber silence has been concerning. Of course, she's usually somber and silent, but this seems more so than usual.

  The stallion rolls an eye toward Yumi until the whites show, ears still pinned back against his neck, but mangling Yumi would mean diverting his attention away from the fodder, and it looks like he's just too hungry to do that. One must honour priorities.

  "Hm. It does taste rather sweet," Zelda observes, on the otherworldly candy. "I do not necessarily care for things so sweet, ordinarily, but the sugar is most welcome. We will need all of our strength in the nights ahead. Those on watch shall be responsible for keeping the fire burning. We ought have enough wood, and we can collect more as we travel, if need be." The princess demolishes another stick in slow motion. Another follows it into oblivion. She'll remember their noble sacrifice, at least until the next stick.

  "Make no mistake, fire is not just a luxury in these mountains." Zelda sighs in pleasure at the warmth. Oh, look, there goes another stick. Not that she's a glutton in any sense of the word. In fact the princess' portions of just about everything have erred on the side of 'a bird probably eats more than this.' Without riding as the others have been, she's been burning energy all the more fiercely, both in keeping up and in staying warm. "Tomorrow I will try to ride him. I will load some of the equipment from him onto Epona, and see if that might be any easier. I believe I can do so in a way that agrees with him."

  There's a long pause, and the princess eyes the horse thoughtfully.

  "Probably."

  Horses can't actually growl, but this one manages a sound suspiciously close to a growl.

  "...Maybe," Zelda comments mildly, over another stick of Pocky.

  "I mislike riding him so soon, because his trust is something that must be built back up... but the sooner we reach Snowpeak, the less chance that the mountain itself will kill us out of hand." She waves her stick of Pocky to indicate the mountain at large. "It is too cold by far for us to dally. Already we court frostbite and catching our deaths... a pity my sorcery cannot keep us warm," she adds, a little ruefully. "Although being able to light the way in darkness, I suppose, counts for something."

    "No," Yumi replies to Rydia without skipping a beat, "But I wouldn't have blamed you for staying behind. I know I'm getting into some dangerous situations, I'd never just expect people to follow me into them." At least she's not going in with some dense 'everything will work out fine' attitude? That's something. "I'm glad you like the Pocky, though. Both of you, for that matter." She looks into the fire thoughtfully as Zelda speaks, seeming a bit distant for a moment or two. "Mm..." Magic that calls forth light and warmth... that kind of sounds appealing, in its own way.

    The grunts and grumbles of the horse, however, tug Yumi's attention back to both Zelda and the beast himself. In fact, she peers at it suspiciously for a moment or two. '...I wonder. That was almost like...' After some consideration, she says simply, "Hold on, I want to check something. I promise I won't get /too/ close." She shifts to one side, comes up to her feet, and starts to circle around the cave, such that she's approaching the horse from in front - where he will feel least threatened. Of course, she still stops a good ten feet away. Any closer would go from 'taking a chance' to 'hello mister horse please break my face or my ribs or my limbs'. But as soon as she's stopped, she crouches herself down, making herself small. Nonthreatening. 'You don't need to be afraid of me, because right now you could easily crush me'.

    And then she... starts talking? It's a soft, gentle voice. "Hey, I saw that, a minute ago. It was almost like you understood what Zelda was saying. Like you reacted. I don't know if it was coincidence, or if you only know a few words, or... I don't know. But I'm hoping you're smarter than you let on. I know you've had a hard time. I know people've treated you terribly. And I know it's hard to trust anyone right now. But please, even if you can't bring yourself to trust us just yet... we'd like you to help us. We can't do this without you, okay? But we're not demanding your service. We're asking your help." A soft chuckle. "Or maybe I'm just some weird human making confusing noises."

    Rydia isn't always somber and silent, that's something of an unfair assessment. Her other setting is 'razor sharp tongue lashing'. 
    "Maybe you should just try riding Epona." Rydia suggests when the stallion *newr growls*. "My White Magic is only beginner level at best, I can't fix a broken back if he decides he's not happy with you on him. Remember, Zelda. Baby steps." The girl reminds softly. 
    "Lighting the darkness helps." Sorcery is better than fire. But Rydia's lips purse. "But with how cold it gets at night, I think that's best used in these caves. 
    Yumi, though, snags the Summoner's attention. "Anyone can do that with magic. If you know the right spell." She doesn't say its a *fire* spell, but she doesn't seem all that comfortable about it anyway. So it's a good thing the topic shifts towards Yumi trying to communicate with the surly beast. Rydia watches. She stares in what seems like rapt fascination, scootching closer until she's side by side with the girl, just as small, just as non-threatening. And she leans over and whispers in Yumi's ear... 
    "Yumi... You're trying to reason with a horse."

  "There are Sages who can draw on the powers of the elements, and a few of the most powerful among them served Hyrule as advisors and scholars," Zelda murmurs, taking up a long stick and poking at the bed of the fire, sorting a few embers into place to catch the bigger logs. "Most of them are dead, but if there are still any alive, they would make a valuable asset... if there were a way to remove them from Central Province."

  She sighs through her teeth, allowing just a flicker of frustration to show. "So many tools are lost to me, with the collapse of Hyrule Castle. I hope only that the libraries have survived. I do not even care about their use; I only hope that the annals and chronicles of Hyrule's past have survived. They are wholly irreplacable."

  "Hm?" Zelda looks on warily as Yumi circles around to address the horse, and Rydia scoots over to join her. Are these two really earnestly trying to reason with a horse? The princess is well-versed in just how intelligent they are, but they're still animals. They understand intent and tone more than they do context or sophisticated vocabulary.

  Still, there's no harm in it, so unless the horse reacts badly, she'll leave them to it. She does place herself on the other side of the campfire, though, ready to make a lunge for his halter if it becomes necessary.

  Her own healing is more than a novice's. Hopefully she won't need to use it.

  When spoken to, the horse lays his ears back, as expected. His tail lashes with a dry, whispery sound of hollow tail hairs slapping his own flank. One hoof drags over the stone before stomping back down in clear agitation. He raises his head and he stares directly at both girls, haughty as a king.

  He doesn't respond to the speech given to him, because he's a horse and his communication happens in other ways. But he apparently doesn't consider either girl a threat, scraping and stomping a hoof again, snorting almost explosively before plunging his nose back down to the fodder scattered for him. Even the scraping of his teeth seems hostile, and his ears stay back.

  "Congratulations," Zelda observes mildly from beside the fire, when the horse stoically ignores the two girls. It's better than a blatantly aggressive reaction, isn't it? "We'll win him over, yet. In time."

  She pushes herself to her feet, checking on her drying garments. Mostly, it's with the intent to put that robe on if it's not too wet, but she sighs in disappointment, prodding at it. Definitely still too wet. And cold. And heavy. Sodden garments are the worst.

  To Rydia's suggestion that she ride the less murderous horse, the princess glances to the smaller mare, rolling one narrow shoulder in a shrug. "Fair enough. I will reallocate our supplies once we are ready to move again. Epona cannot carry as much as he can, so it is no great loss."

  She does eye the two girls somewhat blandly when Rydia hammers home her point of reasoning with a horse.

    When Rydia leans over, so does Yumi. And the whispered observation prompts an arched eyebrow. "I'm also sitting next to a girl who can summon a dragon. Next to that, a horse that can understand language isn't too farfetched." Nevertheless, she shifts herself just a bit; it's subtle, but if anything goes wrong, she's in a better position to shield Rydia from it. But after some agitation... well, they've achieved 'not a threat' status. She can handle that for now.

    Sigh.

    Carefully, Yumi scoots back another meter or two, then finally pushes herself back up to her feet. "It almost seemed like he understood what you said about riding him," she replies to Zelda. "If he was a little sharper than he let on, I had to at least try." She offers Rydia a hand to help her up. "But at least we made some progress getting on... well, getting off his bad side. Every little bit helps."

    It's a tense moment. That stallion could easily leave Rydia and Yumi worse than battered, he could wholly break them if the communication attempt were to go awry in any way. It goes as well as it's going to get when he decides to ignore the both of them for the sake of eating his feed, and Rydia relaxes a slight fraction but...
    Rydia calls it as she sees it. She's an honest girl, and though she has her affinity for animals, monsters, and summoned creatures, she also knows them and their mannerisms well enough to know when actions are probably better than words, and this stallion seems to be one such case. "It just feels to me like he'sthe kind of horse you need to show more than tell." She murmurs before Yumi whispers back.
    "That's different." She replies pettishly, "Just because I know Goblin doesn't mean I can effectively communicate with everything I call." She huffs, accepting the hand up."

  While the girls debate over the best way to win the affections of her demon-steed, the princess rifles through her pack, sorting the things she keeps closest at hand. After a moment of things inside getting tangled, she sighs a little impatiently, turning it over and upending the contents onto the cavern floor beside her.

  It's a wild jumble of mostly mundane things. Rope. Flint. Tinder. A whetstone. Something folded up in a protective cloth, which might be a piece of clean cloth for polishing her sword. Several small squares of folded and string-tied oilcloth, presumably to keep something delicate dry through the weather. A linen bag of dried fruit that she's been picking at most of the day. A few small blades.

  Something larger wrapped in cloth falls out, on the top of the pile. This she takes carefully, almost reverently, and unfolds the cloth. Metal gleams in the firelight; a flicker of gold, and then a flash of blue.

  Hyrule's crown is a beautiful piece in terms of sheer aesthetics. It's fashioned to look like a spread of branches, fit neatly to the top of the head, with a large cut sapphire as its centerpiece. Delicate chain connects the two halves; but the leaves themselves are the point at which it goes from 'somewhat pretty' to 'beautiful.'

  Each leaf is not only carefully shaped, but even the veins are raised against their surfaces, the serration on each leaf and the precise shape of it suggesting it as a particular type of Hyrulean oak. Zelda carefully and meticulously straightens one where it's been slightly bent; reaching for the pile of her things to take a piece of soft cloth and polishing the gleam of gold as she keeps half her attention on the conversation.

  "I doubt that he understood the words so much as the tone of your voice. Horses are very intelligent, and they can be trained to do many clever things, but there is a limit to their abstraction. Their communication, and the things that they focus on, are much simpler." She twitches her head sideways to indicate the huge stallion. "I understand you want to make friends with him, but please be careful. He is not a docile farm animal, nor do I believe he ever was."

  She lifts the crown high, regarding it appraisingly. "He will be helpful, if he can be cured of his savage temper." The princess shakes her head, lowering the crown and carefully polishing the planes of its sapphire. "It breaks my heart to see an animal made to suffer so. There is no reason for it. Even a spirited horse will listen, if you find a reasonable way to make your desires known to him, and soothe him if he is made too wary by his personality."

  "But who knows? Perhaps somewhere in Hyrule, there are horses who think like we do. I would not rule such a thing out... but I am confident this one is quite normal." She looks to Yumi, tilting her head slightly. "Do you have horses in your world, Tachibana Yumi? I had not thought to ask."

    Whatever Yumi might have been about to say to Rydia is cut off, because /wow/ that's a pretty crown. She openly stares for a second or two, before shaking it off. "Don't worry, I know I have to give him his space. If it takes months or years, well... it takes months or years." She finally goes to sit back down, close-ish to the fire. "I guess I'm just... the kind of person, if they see a possibility, they have to check it. Especially when it's a way to help someone." Brown eyes dart to the horse. "Someone who's been mistreated, even moreso." She blows out a little sigh, drawing her legs up and resting her arms on her knees. It's a posture Zelda's seen before. "I figured I didn't have much to lose either way. And if he got angry... well, that's why I left so much room." There's a few seconds' pause. "We have horses. We've had them... I think as long as our recorded history, or almost. I don't seem to know how to ride them, though. Whatever I used to be, it wasn't a cowboy." A soft chuckle there.

    And because Yumi got distracted, Rydia wins.
    At least that's how the girl quietly sees it, for herself. But it's a sidenote when the muted glimmer of something wrapped in cloth catches her eye too. And when Zelda produces the crown in order to polish and maintain the glimmering heirloom, even Rydia falls into a state of silent staring as well, jade eyes following the crown for a long moment before she returns to the topic at hand.
    "Mm. But with some people you need to take it slow and not push, otherwise you risk getting pushed back even more." She gives more of that sage child advice before waiting a beat. "Or trampled."
    "I'm sure he'll be a lot of help. And I think he'll even learn how to calm down, over time, but it's not going to be an overnight thing. You need to earn that animal's trust *before* you think of climbing on his back because if he does not like you on top of him... He won't be afraid to show it. And in that moment, you can't show any fear when he does, because he'll be able to tell, and you'll be under hooves before you can panic."
    But then Yumi says something that catches her attention.
    "What's a cowboy?" It's an important question, but even more importantly: "Whatever you used to be?"

  Elegant in its simplicity, Hyrule's crown makes a statement about its ruling women. They are women who need no ostentatious displays of wealth to make their point. They prefer function over form, more concerned with function over form.

  This woman seems no different. As Yumi has observed, it is the welfare of her people that drives her, and it drives her absolutely. Her fussing over the crown seems more an effort to calm her nerves than it is to flaunt Hyrule's wealth; keeping it clean and in good repair is simply a show of respect on her part. It is a symbol, for her, of her responsibilities; not of any authority or wealth she might boast over others.

  "Mmm." It's a soft, thoughtful sound. "Take heart. I do not think he is so far gone that we need count in years. Months, though, perhaps. Weeks, absolutely."

  Zelda lifts the crown again, eyes hooding. It's not a perfectly round implement. In fact, the crown seems to be two pieces, connected by way of a delicate chain of gold, which she spends a moment sorting out. "So you do. I had wondered."

  To the matter of what Yumi used to be, Rydia asks the question she would have, so the princess tilts her head in anticipation of the answer. What is a cowboy? It sounds terribly strange.

    Yumi's expression pulls into a soft pout. "Why does everyone seem to assume I'm a lot less aware of what I'm doing than I actually am?" Huff.

    Wait. Rydia doesn't... oh dear. Rydia doesn't know. She forgot to tell the girl. "...eheh. Well, your first question first. A cowboy's an old job in my world, from a different country. They ride horses, and they herd cattle. Cows. The second question..." It's here that Rydia finally gets to see a genuinely sad look on Yumi's face. It's a smile, sure, but there's no mirth in it. "...My memories only go back about a month. Zelda and I first met a few days after I woke up at the bottom of a crater in Natsuto. She and... this other person. Robot person. I'm not sure. They told me there was traces of magic on the crater. I know what a tree is, I remember how to use a computer or ride a bus, but I've got no idea who I was or what I was doing two months ago. I remember my name is 'Yumi Tachibana', but the police can't find any records of a Yumi Tachibana in Natsuto. We're still waiting on final word from the rest of Japan. Getting records from other prefectures takes time, even with computers."

    There's a faint shrug. She rests her chin on her arms. For a second or two she looks like she's about to say something more, but there's a flicker of... irritation? Anger? Frustration? It's hard to tell. But she decides not to say it after all. "...that's about it."

    "You should still wait those weeks before you give it a shot." Rydia gives final warning, but drops the topic of trying to ride the beast horse from hell, for now. Because her focus is fully on Yumi in the next moment, her own lips drawing into a thin line. Rydia's expression is hard to read for a moment, and it's not because of the explanation of cowboys, that one she can understand easily enough.
    "All you remembered was your name?" She asks, voice smaller than a whisper. The silence that follows, from Rydia, is almost uncomfortable. It's clearly uncomfortable for her at the very least as she seems to be trying to piece something together in her head, very clearly lost in thought and not liking what she's coming up with as a result. She speaks again without thinking.
    "I'm not sure what's worse. Having only bad memories, or having none at all."
    She almost doesn't realize she's even said it. But when she does, her hand rises to quickly cover her mouth in shock and in degrees of sulking shame. "... Sorry." Mumbled shortly afterwards as she turns her head aside to try and find something nice and interesting on the frozen cave wall.

  "So, a herdsman, then. What a strange thing to call them." Zelda shakes her head. "There are not so many in Central Province, but the outlying provinces have many whose livelihood depend on herding animals. Ordon Village is known for the fine quality of its goats; the butters and cheeses made there are famous throughout Hyrule."
 
  She falls silent, focusing her efforts on polishing the crown; in studying the quality of firelight through sapphire. If she notices Yumi's sad look, she doesn't comment on it.
 
  "I intend to," Zelda points out, mildly. "I'm sorry; I misspoke. I have been distracted, the closer we draw to Snowpeak. I would not risk my progress with him so rashly. Only in greatest and most urgent need would I act thus. He is as a wild animal. I must warn his trust before all else." She smiles, faintly, but there's a melancholic edge to her expression, too. "We'll get there. He is not unsalvageable by any means."
 
  She lifts the crown, sighting the edge of a leaf, carefully and patiently tweaking it back into line. It's not really the best way to store such a priceless artifact... but it's still safer than wearing it, and still better than nothing.

  At Rydia's moody observation, Zelda looks to the amnesiac with an expression of concern. "I'm sure she didn't mean that, Tachibana Yumi," she says, gently. "Things will work out as they're meant to. Of that I have no doubt. Your memory, the injustice of Rydia's world, the fate of Hyrule..." The Hylian sighs, tired. "They will all work themselves as they are meant to... but I know the words are as cold a comfort as the wind outside."

    'All you remembered was your name?' The question gives Yumi pause for a few seconds. It's almost as if she's not sure what answer to give. Fortunately, Rydia moves on before she has to admit something that still bothers her. They touch on a different topic instead. One that Rydia brings up in a way that, surprisingly, doesn't seem to bother Yumi. "No, it's fine. It's... I think about it a lot. It's not that it's painful or anything, I just... I'd really like to know who I was, is all." And now she's thinking about it. A lot.

    "I try not to let it hold me back, though. Until I find out who I am, all I can really do is keep moving forward. If I can help people, I don't mind so much." Now she turns her head, laying it sideways against her arms. "I feel like maybe that's my 'clue', if that makes sense. More than anything else, I feel like I should be out helping people. Maybe if I do, it'll help me get in touch with whoever I was."

    But can Rydia really be faulted for her moody observations?
    Still, even she knows she said something indelicate, and is clearly probably chiding herself internally for it. The cave wall must be very interesting for her, right now.
    She only barely dips her head in a nod when Zelda clarifies her intent a little better. "Maybe." Her only murmured response to things working out.
    And while Yumi may not have her memory, she clearly has her conviction. But what does Rydia have, then?
    The Summoner picks herself up, standing and rubbing at her elbows for warmth. "I'll go check deeper in the cave, and make sure there aren't any predators. I'll have Whyt and the goblins with me." She says, abruptly as she surges off to the back of the cave and out of sight. It's not a deep cave though, she probably just wants a little time alone.

  As the two girls go back and forth, the princess falls silent, back to carefully polishing and reshaping the leaves of the crown. The lines of worry in her brow suggest she isn't ignorant of the things being said or the emotional undertones, though.

  But she is no peacekeeper. It isn't her place, nor does she really know either of these two that well. That they are both so young doesn't rest any more easily on her mind, having asked them to come along. She had no right and even urgent need only soothes her conscience so far.

  Rydia abruptly excuses herself to the far back of the cave, and Zelda's eyes follow her, expression worried. The Hylian doesn't move to stop the girl. There's no point. Rydia obviously needs her space. "Well," she says, very quietly, "there is nothing to be done for that."

  "Mm. If that is what you feel, you should follow your heart. There we are." Zelda sets her polishing cloth aside, lifting the crown and studying it by the light of the fire. "I understand how you feel, Tachibana Yumi," she says slowly, as though she were ordering her thoughts as she goes. It seems she has more to say, though, looking away from Yumi and carefully folding the crown back into its own protective cloth. "Already I am two and twenty, but I feel unprepared for the duties placed before me. I would have been ready to rule, to guide my people and protect them. But I was wholly unprepared for this. Hyrule was unprepared for this..."

  She closes her eyes and lets out a silent breath. "I do not think I will find peace until I have thrown the usurper from my throne. It is not principles, nor is it ego. It is for my people. I know how they suffer under his rule. He hates them, Tachibana Yumi. I have unwittingly done you a disservice in not explaining to you from whence the usurper comes; or why he, as a denizen of the Twilight Realm, bears such hatred for the world of light..."

    Yumi watches Rydia go. There's a soft frown on her face. But once the summoner has moved off alone, the first thing the older girl says is, "...she's got a lot of hurt she's having trouble dealing with. I'm worried about her." Not even a trace of offense at Rydia; just concern. "She gets upset every time one of us risks our life, whether it's for her or someone else. I... no, it's not my place to speculate." But it's not hard to guess. The horse isn't the only person here who's going to need a lot of help coming out of her shell. "...I don't think anyone could really be prepared for this, though," she says, finally turning to look Zelda's way. "I think it's more a matter of... how prepared you were for being totally unprepared. Being able to bounce back, get on your feet and act again... that's the trick."

    She turns to lay her head again, speaking more thoughtfully. "I'd like to hear it, if you're offering. But I'd help regardless, I think. Whatever the case, your people are suffering, and they didn't do anything to deserve it."

  In response to whatever demons Rydia struggles with, the princess only shakes her head, mutely, but whether in agreement to Yumi's observation or her assertion that it isn't their place to speculate, it's hard to say. She doesn't speak on it, though. There isn't much to say that would feel meaningful.

  Zelda's eyes are more eloquent than her words, in that moment. There's a deep sadness in them, and maybe a little dismay in her inability to ease the girl's pain. But there's also something more powerful beneath those emotions -- a hint, perhaps, of the greater divinity in her blood; Hylia's wisdom and compassion, and the pain when that compassion cannot be expressed.

  Her Grace had seen terrible things, and endured terrible pain in her day. So too have her descendants, in Hyrule's various times of crisis.

  "Perhaps not. If you had seen him sweep into the throne room..." The Hylian shivers, though it isn't all from the cold. "A fell, black wind had burst open the doors, or so it had seemed. It was only one of his beasts pounding the timbers until the barring gave way... but I knew, then, that Hyrule would not emerge unscathed from this conflict. I felt the premonition even as I held aloft my blade."

  "Would that I had endured some dream of prophecy beforehand and known of his coming. Perhaps this could have all been avoided... though, if that were the case, I would not have met any of you." She smiles, bitterly. "Every experience has a purpose. The goddesses see to that."

  Sighing, she wraps the crown more fully, tucking it reverently into her rucksack, and piling her other belongings carefully around the cloth packet. Her eyes stay on it, fiddling with a loose thread at the rucksack's hem. "To explain this, I must go back to Hyrule's beginnings. You would not know them, but they are necessary to establish the context of this tale."

  "When all was in chaos, the three goddesses descended from the vault of the sky. They were Din, Farore, and Nayru. In each was invested a part of Hyrule's making. Din created the red earth. Nayru created the laws that would bind the land. Farore created all life that would live by and obey those laws. Their work completed, the three departed Hyrule... at the point of their departure, they left a sacred relic, the Triforce, which would grant the wish of anyone to lay hands on it."

  "The resting place of the Triforce was a secret, and that place became the Sacred Realm, where it lay hidden from questing hands and impure hearts, for even the most well-intentioned wishes can wreak ruin." Zelda rests her legs before herself, knees slightly bent, arms wrapped around her knees. Her head she rests over one arm, eyes sliding nearly closed, but a slit of firelit blue suggests she's still watching the fire. "Wars were fought over the location to the Sacred Realm. Brother bared steel on brother. Greed stained the hearts of men."

  She lets her eyes slide closed. "A group of powerful sorcerors, called only by the oldest histories as Dark Interlopers, attempted to seize control of the Sacred Realm and therefore seize the Triforce for themselves. They made use of a relic of destructive magic, and their actions sparked a civil war that would rage for many years. Lives were lost and Hyrule was plunged into bloody ruin."

  "My royal ancestors prayed to the goddesses to end the bloodshed, and restore peace to Hyrule. I do not know who she was, but I know that she must have been desperate indeed to stem the suffering of her people. The goddesses heard her prayers, and at their behest, the four Light Spirits who watch over Hyrule's provinces intervened. They drove the Dark Interlopers out of Hyrule and sealed them into a different realm. Their weapon-relic was shattered into parts, which were then scattered to Hyrule's four corners, lest such a thing be misused."

  Her blue eyes slide open just a fraction; just enough to reflect light. "The descendants of these Dark Interlopers would come to be called the Twili... so named for the realm that they call home."

  And what is that realm?

  "...The Twilight Realm."

  "They were prisoners, Tachibana Yumi. Most of them are quite peaceable, I have been told, and are uninterested in retaliation against the very people who had beseeched the gods to drive them away. They were still being contained within the Twilight Realm, even though it was their ancestors who had wronged Hyrule. That is the argument of the usurper. His name is Zant. I am to understand that he seized rule from the realm's rightful princess, and instigated his own bloodshed and terror before striking out for the realm of the light... our realm." Her lips thin. "He compares the Twili to insects living out their lives in a cage... that they are prisoners regardless of their ancestors' actions."

  "It is a complicated situation, Tachibana Yumi." Eyes closing, she smiles bitterly. "The Author of Law has remained silent as to the necessity of this pain and suffering throughout my home. Hylia knows I have asked Her why... but I supose that doesn't matter. All that matters now is that the usurper has crossed a line. I will treat his people fairly, but like a diseased dog who can only lash out blindly, he is blinded by his own ambition and power. He must be removed."

  The coldness in her eyes suggests that her vengeance will be swift, terrible, overwhelmingly brutal, and intricately thought-out whenever it comes. "Putting aside what he has done to myself and my immediate family, he has murdered thousands in his insane quest for power, both in the Twilight Realm and in Hyrule. I cannot overlook that."

    Yumi... listens. There is so much, that it's all she can do. A tale of Hyrule's very creation. She at least sits up more properly, folding her legs and lacing her hands in her lap. And she listens. Her expression is thoughtful, thoughtful far beyond that which her years should bring her. She's mulling it over at every turn. An extremist tyrant, one who isn't even supported by his own people. What might be driving him is far beyond her to say. "...it sounds like stopping him would be a boon to both sides." She turns her head, looking Zelda's way, considering. "If the princess of the Twili is still around, she might be able to help us. And even if not, she still needs rescuing. Our first priority should still be Hyrule, but if we can pick up any clues along the way, it might help deal with him once and for all."

  "Stopping him would be a boon to both realms." Zelda's assertion is soft, and she slowly picks herself up, sitting up straighter. "The only question is how. He wields power beyond his means. What it is, or how he came by it, I do not know. I know only that it drives me to distraction to be near it. It calls to the blood in my veins; the blood of Her Grace, and in answer she sings a war-hymn."

  She rubs at her jaw, thoughtfully. "I do not know if the Twilight Princess is in a position to negotiate any aid. In fact, her current whereabouts are unknown, to the best of my own knowledge. I can only pray to the goddesses that she is not another victim of this man's madness and lust for power."

  "Yes," Zelda agrees, tiredly, to Yumi. "I would like to help her. Unfortunately, I can be of little help in that. Not until I have delivered my own people from their suffering." Tellingly, she taps at the crest on her right hand. It probably explains handily why she's been so restless once they've struck camp. "Unfortunately, I am of limited use until my own people are safe."

  The princess blows out a weary sigh. "The goals before me are not unlike the road ahead of us, Tachibana Yumi: Long, difficult, and dangerous. It must speak to how weary I am, that I am too tired to be frightened of the insurmountable tasks that lie before me. First, I must take the keep that is most likely infested by monsters, structurally unsound, and situated in one of Hyrule's most hostile environments. Then, I must build an army from a people who are frightened and in hiding, when they are not helpless spirits. Finally, I must throw down the usurper who has seized power by brute force and dark magic, knowing I have no hope of matching that dark magic."

  "Oh, merciful Hylia." Zelda lays her head down again, closing her eyes. "I wonder sometimes what the purpose may be. What it is that the goddesses, through all of this tragedy, struggle to teach me."

    "I'm not-" The words start to come out a bit sharply, but Yumi halts herself almost immediately. When she proceeds again, it's much more controlled. "...your majesty, forgive me, but I'm getting a little frustrated. I keep trying to make it clear that I know things will take time, or that we can't divert from the main goal, and then right after I say so, people keep immediately reminding me that things will take time or that we can't divert from the main goal." She draws up her legs again, turning to look into the fire. "I'm not suggesting we drop everything and go look for the Twili princess. I'm saying if we find any clues along the way, they might be worth following up on if we have the time." There's a pause, and that thoughtful tone reasserts itself. "If we do manage to find her, she might even be able to help push Zant out of Hyrule Castle. That's all a big if, I know," she adds. "But it's at least worth keeping in mind."

    She takes a breath, tilting her head forward to rest her forehead against her arms. "...I'm not sure what the goddesses might be trying to teach you, but if I can offer something... don't run yourself ragged. Don't try to be everywhere at once. If you exhaust yourself mentally and emotionally, we won't be able to help you, because you won't be able to direct us properly. Don't be afraid to give us a direction and let us take care of ut, if you have to. I can't speak for anyone else, but if I'm helping deal with something, I'll make sure it's handled in a way you'd approve of."

  "No. You did not say that." Zelda shakes her head, immediately seeing the sense in the half-formed accusation and the more controlled explanation that follows. She rubs at her face in weary gesture. "Tachibana Yumi, forgive me. My thoughts have been a tangle since the start of this goddesses-cursed mountain. You are right. I am of no use to you or any others, as distracted as this."

  "...I need more sleep. When we reach Snowpeak, I intend to take a long rest while I determine what Hyrule's next action will be. I'm certain that will help me to feel more myself. I have been in some state of exhausted or half-starved or both since fleeing Hyrule. Being in one place, and regular meals, will no doubt go a great way in restoring my wits." Going hungry can play havoc with one's judgement, and lack of sleep will do much the same.

  "We will have supplies enough to do that much. We will have all earned such a rest by then." Straightening, she turns to carefully retrieve her harp from her things, plucking softly at the strings in eerie, discordant harmonies that suggest the ancient and the mysterious. "If the goddesses are good, there will be a sacred spring nearby, some manner of pool both deep and warm enough that I might use it to call to them. I can make my prayers without the use of water, but... it is awkward, like walking when you cannot feel your foot."

  It's not for lack of trying to sleep. The princess tends to bed down early enough to guarantee what should be a restful night's sleep, at least by time alone. Instead, she wakes looking even more haggard than she had the night before. She usually winds up volunteering for the midnight watch when the nightmares inevitably waken her.

  She sighs, fingers sweeping down the strings in an eerie string of notes fit to raise the hair on the back of the neck. "I think I will take the midnight watch again, Tachibana Yumi. I will be awake at that time anyway. For now, I should rest soon."

  It doesn't take her long to set out her bedroll and climb into it, but she still clutches her harp loosely, apparently intent on playing herself to sleep. Or, maybe it's just something to do with her hands. "Ah... I should have asked earlier. Have you any questions about anything I've told you? Or anything else, for that matter."

    So, with Rydia further off in the cave, and Zelda taking the midnight watch, that leaves Yumi to stay on watch for now. "Sleep well," she replies, giving the princess a nod. "As well as you can. I'd bring a sleep remedy from home, but... well, they only work for getting there." She smiles apologetically. "They don't stop nightmares once you get there." The girl opens her purse, then, and pulls out a bottle of water, from which she takes a quick drink. "If the Gorons live in conditions like you say, and there's Gorons up here somewhere, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a hot spring /somewhere/ on this mountain. Here's hoping." Zelda asks one last thing, and to that question, Yumi turns and cants her head. "Hm? Oh, no. Nothing comes to mind. If I think of anything, though, I'll definitely ask."

  "Thank you." The harp continues on for a few moments, though it falters at mention of the Gorons. It's not a reaction of startlement but of distraction. Zelda is silent as she consults her memory. "A hot spring? That's possible. I should like to know of its location, if one exists. They have great medicinal value, aside from being suitable for my prayers."

  "Part of me hopes to see a Goron. I should like to know if Death Mountain still holds... and I should like you to meet one." The princess manages a brief flicker of a smile. No questions? "All right. Good night, Tachibana Yumi. Goddesses watch over you..."

  With that small and distant good-night, she sets her harp aside safely away from the fire, and shrugs the blanket of her bedroll over her shoulder and up to her chin.

  Even so close to the fire, it's not warm, or maybe she's just bone-chilled after valiantly slogging through snowdrifts taller than her at her horse's side. She certainly looks exhausted. Even by firelight she seems a little pale and a little haggard. If the goddesses are good, she'll be too exhausted to suffer her usual nightmares tonight, and get some quality rest in.

  Soon enough, Zelda's breathing slows into the rhythms of sleep.

  It looks like her demon-beast has even bedded down on the stone. A point for Yumi. He trusts her on some level if he's willing to sleep in eyeshot of her. Score!