World Tree MUSH

  Thanks to Goron allies and offworld help, Zora's Domain has been safely thawed. As it turns out, there was nothing sinister at play: It had been a last-ditch effort to defend themselves against Zant, freezing themselves into stasis and counting on future intervention. A risky move, and a desperate one.

  Unfortunately, their early skirmishes with the usurper had cost tem a number of their Sages, royal guards, and the life of their own liege, Queen Rutela. She's since been succeeded by her son, the young and somber Prince Ralis. He'd welcomed their offworld allies, and now that Zora's Domain is up and running again, he's thrown a feast on their behalf.

  Stone tables laden with food and drink are set up around the upper basin atop Zora's Domain, in the shade of smooth, arched stone. Unsurprisingly, there's plenty of fish, both cooked and raw; allegedly the best in Hyrule. The wine is also good, with more than a few bottles from Castle Town; those whose bottles hadn't burst in the freeze.

  Curious Zora are ever-present to ask questions of the offworlders and chatter at them, including the young prince. Artisans are proud to hawk their wares, and maybe make a sale or two. Zelda hasn't made an appearance yet, but she probably will soon.

  Mist shrouds the entirety of the Domain, keeping it cool and pleasant. The muted roar of waterfalls is a constant sound, powerful enough to be felt in the stone itself, but not loud enough to drown conversation. Torrents of water flow over the many cataracts and cliffs on their way to the largest rivers on the floor of the grasslands below.

    For once, Yumi isn't being her friendly, outgoing self. Normally, she'd love to be up and chatting happily with the Zora, asking all about them and answering anything they want to know; but she'd been out of Hyrule for a bit and only just come back prior to the feast, and while she's putting on a friendly face, she's never been very good at hiding things. The senshi has been relatively quiet, and she's just kind of grabbed her meal and parked. At least she's eating! If Yumi ever turns down a meal, that will be the day she's really bothered by something.

Lucianne has been sticking with Zelda and the Hylians over the past period, but is glad to see Yumi again. She notices how quiet Yumi is, however, and with her own fish she's taken a seat across the table from Yumi. "So what's his name?" She asks, cheerfully; waltzing blatantly into assumptions, though whether she genuinely believes that's likely is hard to tell. Despite how misty it is, her eyepatch remains perfectly dry.

    Lex and Lightshard 18 are hanging at the edges this time. Notwithstanding Lex's own contributions to the fight against the Twilight monster, the drain from her prosthetics is making it still harder to stand social events like this, even after the help she got from Zelda.

    Still, Lex frowns when she sees the state Yumi's in when she walks over to get some food. She hesitates a moment -- Yumi is a relative stranger -- but the desire to help soon wins out. She grabs a plate of fish, walks over to Yumi with Lightshard 18 in tow, and then ... comes to a sudden stop as Lucianne jumps to that conclusion. "Uh, wait, whaaaaat?" she says, furrowing her brow.

    Mist. Mist everywhere. So much mist.
    Whyt must be having the time of his life.
    Rydia on the, other hand, is clutching her cloak a little tighter to herself as she eyes the fish on display for consumption. "... Some of it is raw." She comments as she joins the others.
    "IS raw fish safe to eat?" She mutters before frowning.
    "Yumi, are you alright?"

  There are music and entertainers, too, but it's a lot more low-key than the Goron festivities. Woodwinds and plucked strings provide a more subtle undertone to the constant drone of waterfalls.

  The fish is really good, though.

  Somewhere between one quiet conversation and the next, Zelda has made an appearance. Somehow, despite wearing her crown and her royal gown (and looking like she'd rather not be), she's managed to move without attracting much attention.

  She's right behind the group involving Rydia, Yumi, Lex, and Lucianne, in fact.

  "Safe, but how pleasant an affair it is really depends on one's taste. I prefer my fish to be cooked, personally."

    "Huh?"

    It takes a second for Yumi to register that she's being talked to, and another second to actually grasp what Lucianne is asking. "O-oh! No, it's not that." But both her and Rydia are worried - and Lex too, to judge by the look on her face - so the redhead just shakes her head faintly, then says, "I'm fine. Just something on my mind, is all." Pause. "And yeah, it's perfectly safe, as long as it's fresh," she adds, grinning. "Remind me to take you to a sushi place back in Natsuto some time. Our country's pretty well known for that kind of dish."

    Still, she's been brought out of her thoughts enough to start eating properly, and wow it really is good. "So how are things looking?" she asks, glancing Zelda's way.

"Well if you want someone to talk to, I've got two functional ears." Lucianne answers with a smile, and then digs into her fish. "Doesn't your country also specialize in cooking poisonous fish? I saw something about that on this your tubes thing." She asks next, before glancing to Zelda, getting up and inclining her head. "Your majesty." She offers, before sitting back down. "This fish is good, though. I think I've had better, but I wouldn't know when, and this is certainly close to the best I've had."

    As Zelda approaches, Lightshard 18 turns to face her and greets her with a silent "nod" (by tilting herself forward) shortly before she speaks up, but Lex is actually startled. "Uh." She laughs nervously. "B-basically, what they said," she says, nodding to Zelda and Yumi. "But, um, they're good either way!" And then she notices which way Lightshard 18 is facing. "... You saw her coming, didn't you."

    "Yes," says Lightshard 18 innocently. And then she pauses, and looks between Lucianne and Zelda for a moment.

    Lex shakes her head and sighs. "But, uh, yeah, I also have two functional ears," she says. A half-smile forms. "Good thing I didn't lose that one."

    Rydia narrows her eyes.
    Raw fish is edible, both Zelda and Yumi say. She's having trouble believing it. Or maybe something about Yumi's demeanor is why the small Summoner is so skeptical. It's hard to tell for a moment before she reaches for the table... Plucks up a bit of raw fish.
    And shoves it in her mouth.
    "So what is on your mind anyway?" She presses with a full mouth.
    Rydia of Mist does not dance around bushes. Not even while eating. She doesn't even 'your majesty' to Zelda, the girl is about as formal as a brick. Then again, since when does she have to be formal with Zelda?

  "Grim," Zelda offers, but she seems unsurprised by that. "It will take a season or two to undo the damage done by drought. In the meantime, I am blind to the more subtle effects; without direct observation, I cannot know how areas like Castle Town have fared beyond assuming the worst."

  It's honestly probably not that far off from the truth, really. Hyrule's seen better days.

  The princess shrugs one shoulder, reaching up to adjust her hair. Even that small gesture seems somehow practised; almost regal. "In the meantime, I can trust the Zora to keep my secrets. They have always been a strong ally of the royal family..." Her expression falls. "I mourn Queen Rutela's loss. I knew her, as a child."

  Somewhere between one sentence and the next, a glass of white wine has appeared in her hand. A slight tilt of her head is given to Lucianne; acknowledgement and greeting in one, but her attention is slides back toward Rydia.

  If she notices or cares about Rydia's crass lack of royal manners, she says nothing. Knowing how Zelda is, it's probably a relief to have one more person who's not bowing and scraping to her.

  Summer-blue eyes flick back to Yumi, in the meantime, and the young woman arches a brow. "Perhaps we can help."

    Yumi gives Lucianne and Lex both a nod and a smile. "I appreciate it. But if anything, it's something I need to talk to someone back home about. I'm alright, though." There's a brief glance Rydia's way, and then Zelda's; there's an answer in there for the two of them as well. "As far as Hyrule, though, a season or two might be a little rough, but at least they'll pull through. I'm sorry to hear about the queen, though," she adds. "I wish I could have met her. She sounds like someone you respected a lot." She trusts Zelda's judgment in that sort of thing. "How are the Zora holding up after being thawed out? Back home, you freeze someone, it causes a fair bit of damage even if they survive it."

"If you're sure." Lucianne offers in response, and then she goes back to listening and considering the sitation; eventually sighing and giving up on providing any insights of her own. "On an unrelated note, the full moon is coming up and by helping out I've been making some money. I can finally catch up on a duty I've been unable to perform." She offers, before adding. "Anyone know where I might be able to buy some good firewood?"

    Lex's attitude towards Zelda is somewhere between 'as casual as she is around anyone else' and 'even more nervous than she is around most people she's only somewhat familiar with'. "If you're -- heh." She gives a sidelong grin to Lucianne; she was about to say the exact same thing. "But, uh. Yeah. 'A season or two' is better than 'permanent awful'. And, yeah, Yumi said everything I could've said."

    She frowns. "Firewood?" she says. "Well ... I dunno. I've ..." She furrows her brow. "... never actually had to worry about anything like that, now that I think of it ..."

    "Me neither," says Lightshard 18, who is technically a few weeks old. "... Also, Ms. Tachibana, I have to ask. Is your title 'Shinewander', or some translation thereof?"

    And Rydia knows full well she can get away with a crass lack of royal manners, to boot. She's still narrowing her eyes at Yumi as she gulps down her fish.
    "Got an axe?" She decides to aside to Lucianne. "Get an axe and you can get all the firewood you could ever want and then some."
    "Anyway hopefully by the time that 'season or two' passes we'll have killed Zant." She says matter of factly before frowning.
    "... Excuse me, I have to go find Whyt." The Summoner suddenly decides and scampers off.

  "It already is." Zelda flicks a hand southward, in the dirction of the plains. "Summer is still upon us, and so is the three-pronged danger of fire, monsters, and the Twilight. What one has not ravaged, another likely has. It is imperative I recapture Hyrule Castle as soon as possible. It may be necessary to import crops for a season or two, until the fields recover."

  She tilts her head a little, eyeing Yumi thoughtfully on the issue of the Zora queen. "I did," she says softly, with a smile more melancholy than anything else. "And I wish that you could have. She was a wise ruler. Prince Ralis is as worthy of respect, though, and has also overcome staggering personal losses."

  A sip of wine as she mulls over the issue of thawing. "Quite well, all things considered. There are still a number of excellent healers who survived. I'm to understand they've had their hands full, but they're not in any immediate danger of being overrun." She considers for a second or two. "Yet."

  "Firewood? Yes, but you may need to travel downhill a ways. Most of the regional wood is cedar, and prices are fair. It should be well-seasoned, with so little rain, and burn cleanly." She sips her wine, either ignoring Lex's nervous study or simply not acknowledging it. "At the moment, the situation is 'permanent awful' until such a time as the usurper may be removed from my throne." Her voice is cold; it warms after that quiet but steely declaration. "I am too short on resources and time not to plan for the worst. Anything less will be a pleasant surprise."

  ...Meanwhile, Rydia is probably just about the only person who can get away with being so intentionally crass. She does lift a hand to Rydia, though. "Stay out of trouble," she comments, wryly.

    "Duty?" This draws Yumi's attention back to Lucianne, a curious look in her eyes. A duty that involves the full moon and firewood? That sounds interesting. And Rydia actually has a good idea. "I don't have an axe, but I do have a sword as big as I am. If you want I could help you get some yourself. I don't know a lot about firewood, but I can swing a blade, at least."

    Lightshard 18 asks a question that has the magical girl blinking softly in confusion. "Huh? I don't... really have a title. The other girl like me back home, she says we call ourselves 'senshi', at least in Japan. But I don't have a magical girl name or anything like that."

    And Zelda seems to approve of the new ruler of the Zora, so that's promising. "That's good to hear. He's been through a lot, and now he has to lead his people besides... he must have a really strong heart."

"It's not about acquiring wood. It's ... uhhh." Lucianne sighs as Rydia walks off, and glances towards the others to quote in a manner Yumi has heard before, "One Tenth of your earnings shall be spent on sacrificial fuel, with which you shall light a fire every full moon." A pause, "I hadn't been able to do that yet because I hadn't been making any money. But this is something I must do." She nods to Zelda's advice, "Thank you. To be honest, the fairness of the prices does not matter much, how far my money stretches is less relevant than how much I spend."

As for the future of the Zora, she eventually settles on. "I hope that peace, prosperity and stability return to this realm soon; and I will do my part to accelerate it in so far as I can. A good ruler of this people will no doubt help."

    Lex wilts under Zelda's firmness. This is not the first time she's done that. Not will it be the last time. "Y-you know what I meant," she mumbles. "I mean, uh. Got it." She frowns at Lightshard 18, and her face is a carefully painted picture. "Uh, Shard, Yumi's, like, literally not from a world that even looks like ours."

    "... 'Shard'?" says Lightshard 18. "Do you know, I think I kind of like that better than, say, 'Eighteen.' Let's go with 'Shard' for casual address. Shrug." She turns back to Yumi. "But it was just an idle thought that's been on my mind since the first time I witnessed your transformation."

    "Uh ... okay, Shard." Lex shrugs. She seems curious about the ritual Lucianne feels the need to follow, but all she can really do is nod agreement with the closing remarks about the Zora kingdom.

  Although Zelda glances between Lucianne and Yumi, she doesn't comment on the issue of duty or prepraration. It sounds like Lucianne has everything well in hand. Fire, however, is not her favourite thing from a ritual perspective. Water is much more her speed.

  "Not just lead his people, but lead them out of this." Zelda flicks a hand toward the south, where Hyrule Field still burns. The various palls of smoke hanging over certain areas are extremely visible from up here. "It's a taxing situation for any leader... but I digress. Yes, Prince Ralis has a very strong heart, however sickly he may seem."

  To Lucianne's declaration she only shakes her head. "It will depend on the Zora, but I believe they are in safe hands."

  Fortunately for Lex, Zelda's animosity seemed less directed at Lex and more directed at Zant. Yeah, she really doesn't like that guy.

  Her eyes flick toward the position of the sun, thinning her lips. "I've rituals of my own to conduct, but in due time. I must investigate Lanayru Province; if I can but reach the Light Spirit here, I will have at least some of the information that I need."

    Yumi listens to Lucianne with a thoughtful expression. "You know... your principles, your vows, you almost sound like a paladin. An actual avowed paladin, a knight in service of a god. I know I kind of fit that image, but I'm just a girl trying to do what seems right. You actually kinda seem like you could be one, though."