World Tree MUSH

  At this time of year, every other province in Hyrule is shambling it's way toward spring. The end of winter is a much longer time coming in Peak Province, but one can scent the promise of snowmelt on the wind. Over the past week, the weather's been astonishingly mild; the sun's been out, and some of the snow's even begun to melt.

  Today finds the princess engaged not in prayer, as she is often wont to do when left to her own devices. Instead, she's set up archery targets in the courtyard. That's not all. She's also dragged an iron arrow rack from the first-floor armoury to the yard, which was quite a horrible racket and something of a triumph for the willowy princess; she'd had to rest after that, leaning against the rack and panting.

  That hadn't stopped her, though. After that she had fetched bow and quiver. She's been here since, putting arrow after arrow into the marked wooden targets and butts.

  Zelda is elegant even in these martial pursuits. She draws each arrow to her pointed ear, eases an eye closed, holds her shot for precisely two and a half seconds, and releases.

  /Thwhack/, goes the target. Sometimes she even splits her own arrows. It isn't as distant as a longbow Target, but what she lacks in power she makes up for in accuracy. The princess is a fantastic deadeye shot.

  Not a single arrow has missed, yet.

  Following the weird sound of arrows punching into wooden targets would lead Link out here.

I probably coulda moved that for ya if you'd asked, y'know. At the least, I coulda helped. The mental voice of the Sacred Beast chimes in, as he meanders into the courtyard. The comment isn't judgemental, or you're-really-not-fit-for-this as much of his early behavior had been. At this point, it's just a friendly pointing-out that it didn't HAVE to be quite that difficult, even if it wouldn't have been as easy as if he had proper hands to work with.

He pads over to where Zelda is standing, avoiding the lane of fire and the side she's holding the bow from. Link sits down there, at a respectable distance, and eyes the target.

Looks good. Splittin' arrows is a good trick, but right now it might be a better idea to fix a small target with some string or somethin'. He nods towards one of the split arrows, Wouldn't normally say so, but since we've got money problems and I don't see any pots 'round here, we probably want all the arrows we can get to be reusable, y'know?

What we do over in my village, He goes on, is we tie a string 'round an acorn or a walnut or somethin' like that, and hang it from something. Tree branch usually. Then we take shots at that.

'Course it's round, and it ain't always backed by anything, so mostly the challenge is just hittin' it more than spearing it through.

Link looks up at her, How do ya do with movin' targets?

  Another arrow punches into the wooden target, but this one flies just a little awry, burying itself in the outermost edge. Zelda looks up, momentarily startled at the voice in her mind -- proof positive that she had been concentrating wholly on the task before her. In too deep, maybe, but she knows the power of her allies. She's as safe here as she'll be anywhere.

  Zelda tilts her head just far enough to see the contrasting marks on Link's wolfish face. It must be some kind of sacred motif. Some of the stitching on her ceremonial dress echoes those patterns.

  "It wasn't too heavy for me to move. Besides, you looked comfortable in front of the fire. I didn't want to disturb you for something I could do on my own." Zelda reaches for another arrow, throwing a brief glance over her shoulder at Link when he warns against splitting arrows. "Fear not. I learned fletching when I learned to pull a bow. I can make an arrow that flies true."

  It's not very princessly or regal, but it's a functional, usable, dependable skill. She seems to be full of those; but whether they're skills she's picked up from personal desire or from the Triforce of Wisdom, it's hard to say. There is precedent for her ancestors to know archery; arrows of silver or light were often the thing to put down the ancient evil.

  In a single practised movement, Zelda nocks the arrow, draws it to her ear, and holds it, easing one eye closed. "Oh, that's a good idea. I hadn't ever thought to do that, although I usually had proper targets, in the castle..." She releases her arrow. It buries itself in the first ring outside the target, quivering.

  "I'll do that, if I can find an acorn or walnut. I saw the remains of an orchard downslope, in the valley below. It was likely associated with this property. The trees may still be alive, and with a little luck, and some work, they may provide us with some supply of nuts or fruits."

  She readies another arrow, drawing the string again, exhaling hard at the strain of holding her draw. "Splendidly, if you may forgive me for sounding arrogant. I could shoot from horseback better than any of the soldiers... including the Captain of the Guard himself," she murmurs, releasing the arrow, "much to his chagrin."

  "I miss archery from the saddle. I'd welcome the chance to set up a course, maybe outside the orchard... it would be good exercise for Epona, too. There's no chance I can use that big black I had rescued, yet. I still need time to gain his trust. He'll not accept me on his back, yet, nor would I violate his trust in trying."

  Also because she likes not being mauled, and he would probably react by trying to maul her.

  "Poor thing. I almost wonder what he went through, before... but then I decide I most likely don't want to know." Something in her expression goes hard and cold as she readies another arrow. "Such wanton mistreatment, or even willful neglect, would only anger me. Does anger me," she adds, blue eyes flashing; the colour of a summer sky when thunderstorms loom on the horizon. "Aye, mayhaps the beasts are not as intelligent as we, but that /does not/ give us the right to torment them."

  She releases. Her arrow actually misses the target, buzzing past the wooden butt to ricochet off the stone. Zelda lets her breath out, still angry, but a little calmer.

  The mistreatment of others, especially defenseless beings like animals, is a sore spot. Zelda is compassionate of all life, not just Hylian, and to see it so grievously abused is enough to make her blood boil. She may be compassionate and merciful, but it doesn't make her weak. It just makes her summon the inner fire needed to step up and take action.

  Zelda lets out another annoyed huff of breath and closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath in through her nose; lets it go through barely-parted lips. Another one follows. "To answer your question: Yes. I am a fair shot from horseback; and I have the skills to control a horse to compensate for my lack of range. I do not wield a bow as long as the soldiers' or knights'. I don't have the strength."

Link tilts his head to one side while Zelda surveys his face closely. The distant formation of a question drifts along the edge of his thoughts, but he never quite comes out with the, 'What?' implied by his entire expression and body language. It's neither standoffish nor as hostile as he used to get in this form, which is certainly an improvement of control at the very least.

He blinks.

Don't doubt that you can do it, He replies, don't mean it wouldn't be easier to have done it together. I reckon we're going to be encountering a lot of problems along those lines goin' forward, so may as well get used to the back and forth. You don't quite know how you work with people until you've moved heavy things with them.

Or assembled something with 'em.

The wolf nods his assent at Zelda's response. We don't really have proper targets out in the country, at least not as I suppose you reckon 'em. We put together things outta what we have. I guess they must come out about the same overall, but sometimes ours are awfully funny-shaped.

Different places, He thinks, different solutions. We're ringed by trees, so usin' nuts and seeds that ain't too edible for little things like that is pretty useful. If y'want to pull a trick on somebody, you can stuff somethin' with deku seeds, or hang one of those as a target. 'Course, there's advantages to doing it that way for serious too. Ain't no denying somebody hit a deku seed if it bursts.

Another affirmative nod, in answer to Zelda's explanation of her skills. Well, if you want to ride Epona for that she's mild-tempered enough. Plus I can talk to her if need be, but eh, doubt it'd be needed. She puts up with a lot of rambunctious characters.

On the topic of the skittish horse, the Sacred Beast issues a faint sigh. Might be neglect, might be he got caught up in the recent going-ons. I find that people are usually more likely to be thoughtless than harmful on purpose. Not everybody, but most.

Another sigh, this time heavier.

Well, it's good to keep sharp. I'm gonna be rustier'n a nail in a stream by the time I get back to me. Least with swords ol' rattlebones practices with me in my mind every now and again.

  "Oh, all right. I'll ask, next time." Zelda wrinkles her nose. The expression is shockingly un-regal. "But you really did look too comfortable to disturb. You need your rest as much as I do, though; it takes a lot of energy to maintain that big frame of yours."

  She raises her bow, nocking another arrow and drawing it back to her ear. Her draw is just a little slower, this time, and her arm is trembling slightly as she holds her shot. The princess is slowing down, but she still has plenty of fight left in her.

  "A good signal flare, too." Zelda releases her arrow. The point lodges into the middle circumference of the target. The shaft quivers. Straightening, Zelda regards it critically, lips pursing briefly. "Hypothetically, a particularly talented marksman could use one as a signal by throwing it into the air and shooting it. A difficult shot even for a deadeye shot, but the resulting flare would be visible for leagues."

  Exhaling softly, Zelda nocks and draws another arrow. Her arms are definitely trembling by this point, and she gives a faint grunt of strain at holding her shot. She waits three and a half seconds, this time; when she releases, she slumps a little.

  The arrow quivers at the target's centre.

  "Inside, yes?" Zelda suggests with a sigh, rolling her shoulder. "I can't hold another shot, and the sun's on its way down. It will be cold soon."

You ain't wrong, but there also ain't much that I can do, so I spend a lot of time lazing around if there isn't somethin' close by that needs urgent killin'. Link thinks, his sideways glance rising slightly to observe more closely the pulled shot Zelda is performing at that moment. Once the arrow flies he asks, Any chance you can put some of your magic in those arrows when the time comes? I reckon that if you could, you'd be able to knock Zant silly. Prolly too much to hope that it'd tear him in two, or you woulda done that already I suspect.

He tilts his head slightly, We do use 'em kinda like that sometimes, but since the wood is so thick we usually just follow the sound. Nice and loud. You can chuck 'em at animals to scare 'em off without getting too rowdy with 'em. They don't like the sound, y'see. 'Course you can't do that if you're ridin' a horse most of the time, or the horse'll panic.

Epona's decent used to it, but it's been a while.

Anyhow there ain't many people who can make a shot like that. If I didn't have to worry 'bout anything else, I might be able to. Rusl, the same. In the middle of a tense situation, nah. You prolly could, from the look of it.

I'm good at ringing' within a specific target zone, but not so good at landin' the bullseye every time. At a gallop or still though don't make no difference for me. I'm well and used to movin' while shootin'.

The Sacred Beast rises, and leads the way inside, Yes, yes. Actually some merchants were sellin' bomb arrows, when I was out on my own. Made me wish I could do some shootin'. That'd make a good signal flare!

  "Magic? There is no need." Zelda strides for the target, plucking arrows out and replacing them into her quiver. Her bow she strings over her shoulder, tucking her hands into her pockets as she trudges for the door to the entryway. "I can summon arrows wrought of light. They are the scathing will of the goddesses themselves... but I do not do so except at great need."

  Her face twists, not quite a scowl. "It would not. Did not. I met him in battle and I lost, Link. He overpowered me; it was no contest at all. Yes, maybe it's so that I was frightened and exhausted at the time, but I still tried my hardest... it threw me as the gale throws a leaf. I dared not risk it again."

  "I would imagine a horse would need quite a bit of traning to desensitize them to that. I've heard those things go off. They're obnoxiously loud, and blindingly bright." Basically, the two things one never wants around when handling a horse. "The Royal Guard didn't make much use of them. But I read in the archives, once, that the Sheikah, a tribe who used to protect and serve the royal family, used them extensively."

  She holds the door open for Link before letting it fall shut. It closes with a great ringing boom through the repaired halls, and her footfalls echo on the repaired stone floors. Snowpeak is on its way to elegant once more, and having the structure sound again is a good start.

  Looking over her shoulder, Zelda opens the door to the library, holding it open for Link and letting it fall closed. "Why, thank you." It's a teasing remark in response to his appraisal of her archery skills. She must be getting more comfortable around him; showing something other than the facade of the queen. "Bomb arrows. Yes, I suppose that would make a blatantly obvious symbol."

Does it take too much outta ya? Link asks, for once not regarding that particular brand of magic as witchy things. At least, not outwardly. He pauses on the way in to let Zelda catch up with her arrows. He regards her quizzically and replies, Don't really expect you to go fight him by yourself, just reckoned that if you shot him in the ass while I clobbered him it'd probably be a real problem for him. Way I've seen you fight, you don't last so well. But I've only ever seen you fight with that magic of yours.

Isn't that kinda strange, though? They spread their realm over here to get their foot in the door, and I ain't ever seen them go outside a place covered in that gloom. But he could deal with your magic, from the Goddesses? That don't app up. But I bet that's why you think he ain't acting alone, isn't it?

If that's so...

He slips in the door while he has a chance, It kinda suggests that it was somebody from Hyrule that threw in with him, doesn't it? If their magic and our magic are separate, and they need to spread theirs to be here... I wonder what happens to them if they try ta leave the gloom?

The Sacred Beast seats himself by the hearth in the library, his expression puzzled and distant. He whines, Can't say I've ever heard of Sheikah, but I've run across a lot of things that don't have nothin' to with anything I know about. But does any of that sound like somethin' in particular to you?

Or is this one of those things we really needed the old library for? Oh-- and you're welcome. Just bein' honest with you, though.

  "It can," Zelda explains, mildly and matter-of-factly. "More than that, it would be arrogant to assume the goddesses will always fulfill my requests. I do not ask unless there is pressing need for them. They are powerful; so too is fire, and you do not answer every trivial problem with fire, yes?"

  The princess leans her bow against the wall; hangs her quiver on the peg her cloak hangs from. She smiles thinly at his appraisal of Zant's power. "You see now why I think he has help. There is no logical way he should have been able to overpower me in a direct contest of will. Not with the full might of the Golden Goddesses and Her Grace behind me."

  "Maybe. Maybe not. The key is being able to cross between the realms. I can think of few who would. Even I lack that power, although I understand how one would theoretically use it..." She shakes her head. "My point being, he is a poorer excuse for a sorcerer and scholar, and there's absolutely no logical reason why he should be able to do what he does." The princess wrinkles her nose again. "In short: That spineless worm is cheating. I'm certain of it. I need only find out /how/."

  Because once they find out how, or rather whom, they have found their real enemy.

  Kicking off her boots, the princess kicks back on her bed, sighing and folding her arms behind her head. One foot bobs in invitation to Link, just in case he wants to actually be somewhere halfway comfortable. "Mmm. No. There's nothing to be done about them, really. What's lost was lost." She closes her eyes. "We just have to make do with what we've got left."

  "Well, for what it's worth, I hope I get the opportunity to spar with you when you're returned to your normal self. You seem skilled... I'm sorry I didn't get to see you in action last time. I'm afraid I spent most of the time sleeping."

I suppose I see your point, Link replies, but I think that maybe in this situation y'may be leaning too conservative. I guess you would know better, but as long as you're using it 'cause you decided you need to and not just 'cause you want to, it doesn't seem to me like it'd be s'pecially arrogant. And speakin' truthfully, if I had infinite fire to work with I'd probably find ways to make fire my answer to a lot of puzzles.

Puzzles. Specifically puzzles. Not problems. Puzzles. This is some very specific phrasing.

He nods, I s'pose so, but it seems to me like the 'cheat' he's usin' is making one place indistinct from the other. We can't exist properly in the field that he spreads, so maybe he can't exist completely properly in the field we spread. Only... This seems to bring him up short for a moment, but then he looks up inquisitively towards Zelda.

If it works both ways, and we can stay sorta the same in their realm, d'you reckon that some kind of God of his realm is supporting him like the Goddesses of ours are supporting us? That IS how that works, ain't it? It's an innocent enough question for as overall disturbing as it actually is. Now that he's sat down to think about it, Link is connecting the dots pretty rapidly.

Maybe that's why he was named Link.

In answer to her invitation, the Sacred Beast jumps up along the foot of the bed, circles so that his head is facing the fire, and settles down.

A non-committal, shrugging thought rolls off of him.

It is what it is. I could spar you like this if you really wanted, but I'd really have to pull my bites. Or just headbutt you. Haven't really thought about how to 'spar' like this. Anyhow, it ain't no big thing.

His head lifts, and he glances sideways at Zelda, Say...

If he can curse us, d'you suppose YOU could curse his people?

  "I think in this situation it would be better to be conservative than not; a wise person does not tempt fate, or the patience of the goddesses," Zelda observes, softly. Shifting her weight, she lies on her side, curling an arm under her head and letting her eyes close. "I'll play it safe. That's my nature... it's worked out for me so far. I'm still alive, yes?"

  She seems to consider his words for a few long moments. "Very good. Honestly, you're giving this more thought than I expected you to." Her eyes open to half-mast, regarding the fire absently. "One could reasonably make that inference. That is, in fact, what I am somewhat worried about. And by somewhat worried, I mean that I am terrified of that possibility. This... power, this god, whatever it is, is like fire. I felt the burn of its touch."

  "I cannot stand as its equal as I am now. I need help, and the only thing I know of that would be of some assistance in this is the Master Sword." She grumbles, a little. "Much as I'm loathe to admit it, though, I cannot wield that blade. Not effectively. It would permit me to hold it, as a daughter of the Goddess Hylia, but only its chosen hero can unlock its true potential."

  "If you think that might help," Zelda comments, on the matter of sparring. "I wouldn't mind the exercise, if nothing else. It would also give me some insight on fighting a four-legged foe. Zant's beasts are effectively quadrupedal; it would be useful against them."

  She hardly expects them to stop hunting her. At his look, though, she only tilts her head, shrugging one shoulder. "How do you think I was able to hold that beast off, up in the bedroom? That is to say, why do you think the thing didn't kill me once it had me in its clutches? My very existence is anathema to those creatures. They're from the Twilight Realm. I'm from the realm of the light." She lifts a hand and flexes her fingers, half-heartedly. "It burns. It didn't burn enough to put it down without all of your help, but it burns."

Yes. Link agrees, neutrally. It may well be that playing conservatively is, in fact, fundamentally against his nature. The Triforce of Courage does not often present itself, but when it does it is always in the hands of someone who has what it takes to act aggressively in a situation that is very often less than optimal at best. In this regard, they're not very compatible people. Which is /probably/ the point, and the reason that their actions are usually separated in some way.

The Hero goes charging off on his lunatic quest, and the Princess arranges things around him. Quite possibly in the most completely literal sense possible.

It's a good thing, He muses, that this legendary weapon is a sword and not a bow. If it were a bow I'd be unpracticed, but rattlebones seems to be settin' me up for this particular job. Y'know, his armor and weapons are damned strange. Wonder when he was alive. S'pose the fact that I wouldn't know has a lot to do with why he's so stirred up, though.

Regarding sparring, he shakes his head, No more so than any other way. I just don't reckon I'll be back to normal for a while yet, so if you want to get exercise that way then you may as well try me while I'm a beast. It's a little different, but the patterns are the same. It was easier with Midna. She'd sit on my back and... well, I don't know, I couldn't see her. I reckon she jousted. Her hair turns into a big hand.

A grunt of discontent leaves the Sacred Beast. If our realm just kills them, why is theirs so much less harmful to us? Ain't that a bit strange? And why would they even want to conquer this place? It's like...

It'd be like if I took off to go conquer Zora's Domain. He gripes.

  Zelda seems to consider Link's statement for a few moments before answering it. "It could be no other way. It is fate, and prophecy. The Blade of Evil's Bane is meant to answer the challenge of evil, and the Chosen Hero is meant to wield it. He is always schooled in swordplay of some form. That I happen to have the capacity to claim it is incidental."

  Turning onto her other side, the princess closes her eyes. "Might as well." That, to the issue of sparring. It does no harm to try.

  She doesn't immediately answer his musings on the Twilight Realm, either. Her thoughts are slowing down; her entire presence seems more low-key. She devotes the entirety of her energy towards the business of living life, and when that energy fails, the princess gets sleepy like a champ. She seems to be headed that way. Not quite yet. Soon, though.

  "I don't know." She shifts, lying on her back again, though she moves her legs to give him a little space; leans a foot against him because she runs out of room. He's a very big canid. "Principality. He compared his people to 'insects in a cage.' He hates us, Link, and I honestly don't think he's thought that far on it."

  She curls up against her pillow, tucking her chin over a folded arm. "It doesn't really matter. It still falls to us to stop him. To me. I loosed that thing on Hyrule. It's my responsibility to stop him."

  "All of this..." Zelda's admission is given softly. "Thinking about all of this, all of the time... it's exhausting. Having my people liberated, my kingdom reestablished... that will be reward in and of itself. I'm tired, Link," she murmurs, closing her eyes. "I'm so very tired. I should sleep. But... will you stay with me for a little while? I don't think I feel very much like being alone right now."

What kind of weapon would you use? Shooting blunted arrows at me is still pretty dangerous. Though, I can take that kind of a beating. Link doesn't add 'if I need to', sensible though it might otherwise be. This perhaps only highlights the key difference between Wisdom and Courage. There is a certain amount of bull-headed stubbornness needed for each, and the quality of it changes wildly between the traits. Tradition in one, and pushing past tradition in the other.

So you're saying that rattlebones is teaching me because I had to be taught? I s'pose that makes sense, but it makes me feel passin' strange about it all.

A glance is cast towards the shifting about. Link shakes his head, Don't worry about it. My hide's thick, I can barely feel it. You could give me a good kick and it'd probably only startle me awake. The statement is matter-of-fact, pointedly not disparaging. He's just that tough, there's nothing else really to it. He huffs frustratedly at the topic of Zant, and the Twilight King's motivations.

But he's not from this realm, objects the Beast, what's the point in hatin' somethin' you don't have any reference for? Sounds like he's just stupid, and tunnel-visioned. Then again, I s'pose that describes me a little too. But y'know, most of the time, when somebody is like that...

Somethin' pretty bad happened to them to start with to get 'em that way.

Link lays his head down and shuts his eyes.

Does matter. You can learn a lot about a man by why he does things.

Anyhow... I wasn't plannin' on goin anywhere, unless y'wanted me to. I'm tired too. Can't say I know what else to talk about, though... some things are just so big, they eat up everything around them. Like a flood. There's things other'n the flood, and land under the floodwaters, but that don't mean much while they're still high.

  "I have some training with a rapier, and Rydia has given me one of her knives, but the bow will always be my focus," Zelda admits, quietly and slowly. She's winding down. "I find it oddly satisfying. That moment of calm, just before the release of the arrow... my thoughts quiet, in that moment. Everything is still."

  She falls silent, listening to him in companionable silence. For a moment it almost seems like she might have fallen asleep, warm before the fire and wrapped in her blanket. She doesn't bother to speak; thoughts slow, foggy. Yeah. I know. But I wonder if it would help. Even guessing why, the things he does makes no sense to me. Her mental 'voice' is faint.

  I think... There is a brush of wordless tired thanks against his mind, raw emotion, and he can probably feel the abject exhaustion fraying the edges of it. She wasn't kidding. Looks like she really does run herself ragged. Good night... Link.

  Silence.

  Then, there's one last, faint thought as the princess shivers and pulls her blanket close. He might see a flicker of a half-smile if he looks over at her, but he might not.

  He doesn't need to see it. He'll feel it in the last brush of her mind before she succumbs to her own exhaustion.

  Thanks.

Sometimes, people don't make sense. Link grants, blearily. Ain't worth worryin' about for the moment. Get some rest-- good night, Queenie. And don't mention it.