A/N: o.o I-am-so-sorry for taking so-god-damn-long with this. After I posted the last chapter, I didn’t even make an effort to even think about this one, but now I’m going to make a point of it.
Also, there will be a few new characters in this chapter that I must say before they come in, are not mine, but suit the plot and I have made sure it’s all fine with my friend that they be included. So, credit does not go to me for them. -nods fast-
X3 I hope you like this long chapter o.o I stayed on for nearly five hours to just start it off .___.
The village and it's inhabitants do not belong to me in anyway shape or form and are copyrighted by my friend. If either of us find any proof that someone's taken their atributes and things like that, expects us to find you and slaughter your cattle in your sleep...
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The faint chirping of birds accompanied the bright, early sun as it filtered through the thin white curtains that blew from the slight breeze allowed entrance by the bit of the window Ani had opened that night. The top comforter on her bed spread had been carelessly tossed off the end, clinging to it only because of the short, wooden chest that was at the foot of it.
Only a thin sheet was left overtop of her form, curled up save for one leg that dangled free off the side of the bed. She held tight to the pillow, practically smothering herself with it, keeping it and herself at an odd angle at the very edge of the bed.
A knock on the door just a few feet away from her only caused her to turn over, moving more to the center of the bed, sheet going with her.
“Ani, are you up?” Link’s voice came, barely reaching her.
She let out a tired groan and rolled over again to fall face first against the wood of the floor. “Ow! Shit...” Ani blinked, rubbing her nose that felt like it was bleeding again and rounded up the thin sheet around herself before she moved to answer the door. “What, Wa-chan?”
“I was just wondering if you were awake,” he responded, “Zelda said we could go somewhere today.”
Her face lit up from slight pain and tiredness, and she opened the door a crack to poke her head out, free hand holding the sheet tight to herself. “Like... where?”
Link shrugged and looked down the hall, “We haven’t decided yet, but if you hurry up and get dressed then you can still have a hand in choosing...”
She blinked, looking at the floor momentarily, then back up at him, “I dunno.. Who all is gonna come?”
“Well, me, you, Sheik... I don’t think Zelda wants to come. Or can’t, rather. She said she has things to discuss with the sage’s...”
“God, I’m never included in those...” Ani muttered, but shook her head to get herself back on track. “Uhm...,” she leaned her head lightly against the door frame, staring blankly past Link, “Uh, yeh, sure... Wait-is, uhm...” she trailed off again, and closed her eyes, blinking quickly a few times after that, making her eyes open wide. “Um...”
“Is Dark Link coming?”
She nodded.
“I guess.... if what you said was right, then I guess he’d have to, yeh?” he shrugged.
Ani took her hand off the door to rub her left eye and nodded again. “Yeh...”
“Right, I’ll... leave you to change and all” he swirled his index finger in the air before walking off, back downstairs.
Why was it so hard to ask that?
“I dunno.... I don’t.. Really like saying his name...”
Dark Link?
“Yeh, it’s just... I dunno... he should have his own name, he’s his own person, after all...”
You are a strange one...
“Shut up...,” Ani shook her head and moved to the dresser in the far corner of the room, dropping the sheet near her bed.
After she was dressed, the same clothes she originally came in, tight double shirt, baggy pants and sneakers, Ani ran down the white stone stairs and met everyone in the dining hall. Everyone save for Dark Link...
She blinked for a moment after sitting down and looked around at the other three, “Where’s he at?”
Sheik shrugged, Zelda crossed her arms and sank back in her seat. She turned to Link with an eyebrow cocked, blinking a few more times, but he just shrugged as well. “Well that’s no good... if he’s gone off again, then he might be back under their control...” she bit her bottom lip.
Zelda sighed and began picking at her food with a fork, “Yes, well... that aside, where is it that you would like to go?”
Ani just rolled her eyes and shrugged, putting her elbows up on the table and resting her cheeks on her knuckles. “I dunno... what are our choices?”
Sheik sat up a bit in his chair and counted off on his fingers, “So far we’ve been debating on the Market, Kakariko, Lake Hylia or just the field.”
“The field would be boring, so would the market... I dunno about Kakariko, there’s not really a whole lot to be done there, ...right?” she turned her head slightly to look at Link.
“Not really, just some shops, the shooting range and the graveyard...” he answered, taking a bite of food.
“Yeh, so... Lake Hylia?” she shrugged and sat up, moving to start on her food as well.
Link and Sheik nodded their approval and Ani turned to look at Zelda as she forked a bit of food. “So what’s with the whole sage meeting that I’m not invited to?”
Zelda cleared her throat as if she were getting ready for a big speech and set her fork down, “I just have to inform them that Dark Link will be staying with us, the fact that Ganondorf has no control over him while he is around you, that sort of thing.”
“Uh-huh... and... why aren’t I going?”
“Do you want to?”
“Not really, I’m just curious...”
“Well, really, it’s to do with the fact that your powers still have not truly been awakened yet, though Sheik has told us that your aura has increased which must count for something...”
Ani nodded again, poking at the corner of the table while she listened. “Right. That’s all well and good, but,” she pushed her chair back with her rear end and stood, setting the fork down on the side of the plate, “I’m gonna go find DL...”
“DL?” Link repeated.
“Yeh... that’s what I’m gonna call him from now on, ‘cause... I don’t like saying his full name...”
“You gave him a nick-name?” Sheik asked, staring after her as she walked down a separate corridor.
She called back "Yeh" , poking her head back around with a quick smirk and nodded, going back down the hall.
The corridor was one that lead to an open courtyard, set up much like that one that Link had first met Zelda in when they were both younger, except this one was a fair amount larger and more open, the walls a tad lower, and there were a few trees here and there.
Ani stepped in and stopped, stretching her arms and standing on her tip-toes before walking on, taking a seat on one of the white stone benches.
And when did you decide to change Dark Link’s name?
“I’m not changing it, just... that’s what I’m gonna call him... no one else has to...”
Interesting...
“What’s so ‘interesting’ about it?” she made on odd face and mocked Lirin’s voice during the quote.
Nothing, it is just interesting that you don’t like saying his full name...
“Right...” she sighed and laid down on her side, using her left hands as a cushion against the hard stone. “...I’m still tired...”
Why don’t you go back and have a nap until it’s time to go?
“Naw... I’d still be tired when I woke up...”
Your choi-
“Who the hell are you talking to?”
Ani nearly fell off the bench with a yelp, belt held tightly to the side of it to keep her face from hitting another type of flooring. She looked over her shoulder to see Dark Link, arms crossed and head tilted slightly to the side.
“N-no... uhm... myself,” she blinked, sitting up straight and trying to regain her composure.
He scoffed, “Really... Anyway, I came out here to make sure if I have to go with you fools to Lake Hylia.”
Fools, nice...
I told you it wasn’t the best idea...
Shh
“Well, I think it would be kinda smart, ya know?” she stood up, stretching again and cracked her back. “‘Cause, like... Lake Hylia’s at the complete other end of Hyrule, so your mind control thing,”-he grunted-“might be restarted and that wouldn’t be good...”
“Why are you so concerned about it? Has nothing to do with you...” he retorted, looking away from her.
She frowned and crossed her arms, still keeping her eyes on him, “I’m so concerned about it ‘cause one, it wouldn’t be good for you to go off on a rampage again, two, you wouldn’t be in control of yourself anymore, and three-,” she stopped herself, losing the frown and blinking.
“...Three?” he cocked an eyebrow at her, turning back.
“...Never mind. I over counted...”
He rolled his eyes and turned around, walking out of the courtyard, “Fine, I’ll go...” Annoyance rang on his tone and Ani dropped her gaze slightly.
Don’t think on it, that’s just how he is...
“Yeh...,” she nodded and walked after him.
~~
It didn’t take much longer for them all to get ready to set out for their trip. According to Link it would take around half a day to trek on foot, that being cut in half if they rode on horses. Ani had asked a few times about ‘warping’ with the ocarina, but apparently it would only take one person, which confused her slightly.
They were set up with their horses in a similar fashion to the one they used while going to Gerudo valley; Dark Link in front this time, to make sure he didn’t try and pull anything, Ani in the middle, and Link and Sheik beside, just a bit behind so they could see the both of them clearly.
Oi... Six hours? That’s like a trip from my father’s house down to North Carolina...
You realize I have no way to compare them?
Sorry, but it takes the same amount of time... fuckin’ ridiculous...
Whatever you say... Lirin sighed, falling silent again.
Ani did the same, coming back from her mind to look around. It was odd, being in this set up again, after what happened the last time... slightly uncomfortable. Dark Link being at the lead made it even more bizarre and unrealistic to her, but that wasn’t the biggest issue with her at the moment.
It was the fact that they always slapped her in the middle...
She turned to Link after scratching the back of her head, “Hey... why do I always have to be in the middle?”
“I dunno,” he shrugged, “Sheik said something about it being safer...”
“Doesn’t having no one behind me sort of defeat the purpose?”
Link just shrugged again and looked forward.
“Hmpf...” Ani shrugged as well and let her mind wander again, past thoughts and just to songs that had been stuck in her head for the longest time to occupy herself. Her stomach rumbled only an hour into the trip and she wished she had eaten a great deal more at breakfast instead of just picking at it, uninterested.
Maybe that was one reason why she felt a bit more tired than usual... she lacked any sustenance.
The hours passed on slowly, and the sun rose a bit higher for every one. Even with the horses it felt like the trip was taking forever, and there was no real way to make it go any faster since if she fell back asleep, she’d probably just fall off the damn thing and slow them up even more.
After what truly seemed like an eternity, the entrance to Lake Hylia was within sight, part of the fencepost rising over the next hill. Ani sighed and cleared her throat with a few small coughs she tried to silence, but was unsuccessful.
“Finally,” she muttered after her wave of coughs was finished.
“Ya alright?” Link asked, turning to her as he picked up the pace of his horse slightly.
She nodded, coughing once more and did the same as him, as did Sheik. Dark Link had already done so, and she assumed that was why Link had in the first place.
What is there to do at this place?
“Swim, fish... get freaked out by the Laboratory guy in that one house,” Ani rubbed her eyes again, taking hold of the reins and slowing down just a bit so questions wouldn’t be raised from Link and Dark Link about her talking to herself again.
Lovely... But are you really going to go swimming in your clothes?
“Wouldn’t bother me any... done it before...”
Mm..
“Besides, I haven’t gone swimming in forever, so I’d gladly take this opportunity.”
I see...
“Have you ever gone swimming?”
No, there was never time... I... never learned...
Ani blinked, shaking her head slightly before picking up her pace again. She was falling behind. “Well that’s ok... it’s not too hard to learn,” she shrugged. “Heh, I still have to hold my nose...” she looked off to the side, embarrassed.
“Hey, are any of y’all gonna go swimmin’? Or what?” she called to them once she caught back up.
Dark Link didn’t respond, and Sheik shrugged.
“I was thinking of going fishing... the poor guy’s only got me as his customer,” Link laughed feebly and Ani nodded.
“I might join ya after a bit... if... shit, I don’t have any rupees...”
“It’s fine, I’ve got a lot,” he smiled. Again, she nodded, remembering clearly.
They all jumped their horses and waited on the far side of the fence for Ani to join them, Dark Link going on a little farther than the others, obviously wanting to keep his distance. “Shit... this is why I hate fucking horses...”
She turned the horse around, leading it back up the hill a bit before even attempting to gain speed and squeezed her legs around the horse’s middle quickly. It bounded towards the fence and Ani clenched her eyes shut, trying to keep herself steady and balanced. She felt herself rise and fall twice, the second time the front of the saddle hit her oddly in the thigh.
“Mother fucker...” she leaned her head down, forehead against the horse’s neck as she held tight to the spot, other hand around the reins once the horse was at a full stop.
Link and Sheik moved their horses up towards her, “What happened?!” they both asked at the same time, Link sounding far more concerned then Sheik who, frankly, sounded bored.
“Thing... hit me. I’m fine,” she pointed to the saddle and sighed, sitting back up straight, one hand still holding tightly to the spot where she had been slammed by the saddle. “I’m fine,” she repeated, shooing them off so they could get back to where they were and set up for their break.
Once at the edge of the lake, they all dismounted and Link let Epona run off, the other three having to tie their horses down so they wouldn’t run away.
“Alright, so... Link’s goin’ fishing, I’m goin’ swimming, then fishing... what’re y’all gonna do? Just sit there an be boring?”
Sheik shook his head and crossed his arms, “I was going to relax and lay back,” she nodded and turned to where Dark Link was standing only moments before.
“...Huh? Where’d he go?” she side stepped slightly, leaning to the side to see around Sheik and spotted him walking down behind the scientists house towards where the waterfall from Gerudo Valley poured in. “...What’s he doin’?”
Sheik shrugged and walked off towards the edge of the lake to lie down. Ani just shrugged, mocking him, and walked to the edge as well, pulling her sneakers off and setting them by the sign just next to the large building’s door, putting her socks into them as well. She zipped off the bottoms of her pants and folded those up, putting them near her shoes before she went near the water at all.
“...Think it’s cold?” she asked Sheik as she heard the clinking of Link’s hook shot in the background. She looked to where it came from and he was already on the small cutaway piece of land that housed the fishing shack.
He didn’t voice a response, hands behind his head and eyes closed.
“Mm...” she knelt down, blinking at it before poking it with her right toe. It was comfortable. “HN,” Ani stood up again and waded, looking around a bit until all of herself was submerged but her head.
You alright, Lirin? Not to freaked out from the water?
I never said water frightened me, I just do not know how to swim..
Alright, alright... you wanna take over? Shouldn’t be to hard and there’s barely any current...
Lirin didn’t reply, but Ani knew she was contemplating it as she went under, holding her nose as she had to. She opened her eyes when she was nearly half way down, remembering that there was no chlorine, and almost let all of her air out-it was beautiful.
The sun nearing its highest point shone down into the water, giving the ground a pearly sheen that reflected onto every surface. It was only around the third island across the way that there was practically any shadow at all.
She swam up quickly to catch a breath and went back under, swimming towards it. It took longer than she anticipated and was forced to come up two more times for air before she made it all the way across.
Ani leaned up onto it, pulling herself out halfway so she could look at the branchless, leafless tree that raised one question; the origin of the scratch marks.
“Hey, Lirin-chan?”
Hm?
“You were here a while back... do you have any idea where those marks came from?” she pointed at them like a child would point at something they wanted.
There was another long pause from Lirin, but at least she responded this time. Vaguely...
“Where, then?”
I’m surprised it still even exists... but that must have been thanks to him...
“Him?”
Ryo’s griffin...
“Ryo had a- Wait, you told me shit about Ryo before!” she let her arm drop limply to the ground as she awaited Lirin’s retort.
None came.
“Oh come on, you could at least tell me who she was...”
One or the other.
“Damn, fine, the tree.”
It was around the same time I was killed... Before I faded off completely, I saw Takuri swipe at one of Ryo’s sisters, but missed, scratching the tree instead. I am quite certain Takuri is no longer living...
“...Wow,” Ani picked her head back up to scratch her head, “But how’s it still here, then?”
I do not know... but I suppose it isn’t as crazy as it appears...
“How do you mean?”
Again, no response.
“Come on!”
...
“Fine... be that way... Now, d’ya wanna swim or not?”
No thank you...
“Your loss,” she shrugged and dived back under, going as far as she could until she felt pressure around her ears and went back up for air. Each time she tried to go deeper, but was thwarted by needing to breath. Growing bored, she broke the surface again and turned to look at where she had last seen Sheik.
He had moved during the time she spent at the third island, going a bit further back from the water and away from the lab. Ani looked over to her left and saw Dark Link, sitting by the edge, seeming content in his own way. Even so...
She held her nose and went under again, moving towards him. The amount of air she took came up short and she was forced to resurface a little farther from him than she originally intended.
A piece of her hair stuck to her forehead at an odd angle, which she fixed before she even attempted speaking.
“You alright?”
“What’s it to you?” he grumbled.
“Just wondering, God, you don’t have to get snippy...” she snorted before moving closer so her feet touched the ground and she stepped out of the water, walking past him. Once up a little ways on the hill, she shook off, bouncing up and down to dry herself as much as possible before she moved back to stand next to him.
“It’s nice here...” she trailed off, wondering why the hell she had said that of all things.
“Whatever...”
She rolled her eyes, scoffing silently as she sat down. “...Thank you... for getting me out of there...”
“I didn’t do it for you, I just don’t want that bastard in my head...”
“Still... I’m grateful... so... I dunno, if you ever need anything...”
He sighed, lying back on the grass, eyes closed. For just a moment he looked peaceful...
“I don’t need anything from someone like you.”
A small sound escaped her lips, but she closed them, sighing, and looked back out to the water.
Are you going to let him treat you like that?
Ani was the one to stay silent this time, bringing her legs up to hug them and let her forehead rest against her knees.
Don’t think on it... I told you he’s only out for himself...
She just nodded.
Minutes passed between them, all spent in silence, only the sounds of guay’s and the rushing of water and seemed more like a trickle just next to them.
“I’m, uh...” she started after what seemed an eternity, lifting her head up, “Gonna go fish... I don’t know the range... on however this works, so... first sign... just call me, ok?”
He didn’t respond.
“Fine, whatever,” she muttered under her breath as she stood, agitated.
She moved back towards Sheik, poking him lightly to see if he was asleep.
“Yes’m...?” he murmured tiredly, not opening his eyes.
“Sheik, when we get back, can you change my bandage? It’s gonna get gross otherwise...”
“Mm-hmm...”
She rolled her eyes and went back into the water, climbing back out once at the fishing shack. One more time she stretched and opened the door to come face-to-back with Link.
“Hey, Wa-chan,” she said as she wrung out her hair.
He turned around and smiled, reeling the lure back in before walking over to greet her properly.
Movement behind the counter caught her attention and she turned to face the owner with a blank stare. She raised her right hand, as if she were going to swear to something, “Het, Itchy-man.”
He seemed taken aback.
After a short introduction, Link payed the fee and Ani moved to where Link had been when she first walked in, fishing rod in hand.
“Alright, I haven’t gone fishing since I was six, so I’ve gotta relearn everything,” she said to herself, shaking her head.
“It’s not too hard,” Link shrugged, casting.
“I should hope not,” she cast out as well, sitting on a flat rock. “How long’s it usually take you to get a bite?”
“Depends. It’s never the same.”
“Ah,” she set the handle of the rod between her knees and held it there as she rubbed her eyes as her vision blurred momentarily. She scoffed to herself, remembering the last time she had gone fishing and she dropped her pole into the water-they never got it back.
“What’s funny?” Link asked, keeping his eyes on the pond.
She shook her head, a faint smile on her face, “Nothin’... just... thing.”
It wasn’t too much longer before Link was reeling back in with a large fish attached. Ani groaned. She hadn’t even gotten a nibble yet. “...I think the dude gave me a sucky lure...”
“He won’t exchange it...”
“I know...,” she mouthed, rubbing her eyes again before repositioning so it was more comfortable. She cast out a few more times, each in a different spot, but still she didn’t get any bites. “...You’re cheating, aren’t you?”
“What?” he turned to her, looking confused.
“Nothing, never mind...”
Perhaps he’s just naturally good at fishing?
“No, really?” she muttered under her breath, throwing a glance to Link to see if he heard. Apparently not...
After nearly forty-five minutes of sitting completely still and watching Link reel in practically every fish in the pond every five seconds, her eyes felt heavy. “I think I’m gonna quit... maybe Sheik had the right idea, napping...”
“He fell asleep?” he reeled in another.
“I guess, he was tired when I asked if he could change my bandage when we got back...”
“It should be close to healing all the way by now... it wasn’t too deep.”
“Deep enough.. Still bleeds from time to time,” she shrugged and stood, cracking her back. “Good luck with your crazy fishing,” she waved feebly to him and walked back over to the owner at the counter and gave him back the rod.
“No luck, miss?” he asked, an oddly southern accent carrying on his words.
She stared at him for a second and shook her head fast before answering, forcing her words into the southern accent as well, “Naw, not really...” she turned from him and exited, moving towards the edge of the lake and yawned. “...’Least the day started off good...”
Well you can’t expect much with such a negative person around...
“Enough, Jesus..” she lightly rubbed her temples, closing her eyes as she let her feet dangle into the water, kicking gently. “I just wanna get back to the castle as quick as possible and go to sleep...”
That’s all you ever want to do...
“Well there’s nothin’ else to goddamn do here...”
Lirin stayed quiet after that.
Ani just sighed and leaned to the side, laying so that her head was propped up by her arm, using that as a pillow, her feet still dangling in the water. “‘M gonna take a nap...” she rubbed her eyes after closing them. It only took a few minutes for her to drift off.
A faint voice. Light taping against her. “..Hunh...?” she moved her hand, but nothing else.
“Ani, come on.. It’s time to go..” Link said, tapping her shoulder lightly with the tips of his fingers.
“ Mm..,” she sat up, rubbing her eyes again and opened them half way. “...Wha’ time is’it...?”
“I dunno, but Sheik said we should head back now...”
“Oh-oh, ok...,” she nodded, pulling her now cold feet from the water and stood up. She still looked half asleep.
“You ok to ride?” he asked as he removed his hook shot.
She shook her head and he just nodded.
Despite her being half asleep, she still let out a yelp as Link held her, sending out the hook-shot towards the nearest thing it would catch and brought them to the shore.
“...Woah..,” she blinked quickly and shook her head, holding it with one hand.
Link just laughed and put it back away, calling for Epona. She, Sheik and Dark Link untied their horses and mounted again, but some debating from Link granted her a ride with Sheik so she could sleep on the way back.
He tied her horse and his reins together, and Ani mounted the horse in front, Sheik sitting behind her. It wasn’t as comfortable as she first thought, the saddle being rather small. It took them a few minutes to get situated, but eventually they all got back on their way.
When they jumped the fences again, Ani braced herself by holding onto the horse’s neck, clinging tightly with her eyes clenched shut again.
She still wasn’t very comfortable with riding...
After that, it wasn’t so hard for her to get comfortable and again she fell asleep, waking several times during the trip back from the horse stepping awkwardly and such, but only for a few minutes at a time.
~~
The sun was starting to set when they rode across the drawbridge, Ani waking up when the sound of hooves on wood came to her ears.
“Mm...” she rubbed her eyes and sat up a bit, Sheik placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her steady.
They kept silent as they rode up to the castle, and they dropped their horses around at the castle stables, coming back around to the front entrance.
“I wanna get back to bed...” Ani mumbled, rubbing her eyes again.
“That’s all you’ve been wanting to do today...” Link muttered behind her as he adjusted one of his belts.
I was about to say that..
Ani shook her head and yawned, putting her hands in her pockets as they walked down the halls. The four split up, Link going off to grab some more food, Sheik going towards the library for some obscure reason, and she had lost track of Dark Link entirely.
“Mm... sleeeeep,” she let her head fall against her door as she opened it, nearly falling in. She didn’t bother to close it, or take her shoes off when she flopped on it, practically sinking in face first on contact.
Can you even breath?
“Hmpf...”
Get your head out of the pillow... I know you’re not tired enough to fall asleep, all together you’ve nearly gotten eighteen hours of sleep. How can you still be tired?
“I get tired from to much, too...”
Then get up and move around, at least. Tire yourself out even more so you can go to sleep at a decent hour...
“..Suuure. Let’s do all the things that you wanna do,” she sat up, rubbing her eyes and moved around to a sit, staring blankly out at the hall past her door, slouched. “...Right now?”
Right now.
“Fine...” she stood, stretching again and cracking as many joints as she possibly could, rounding a corner. “I’ll just walk around and be fla until there’s something better to do...”
She wandered around, circling about some halls and having to backtrack more often than her actually getting anywhere. At one point she came to a corridor with some small pillars acting as a sort of fence, the spaces between them emptied to act as windows.
Ani poked her head out of one of them to look down at the courtyard she had found earlier that day, where Dark Link had snuck up on her. “Hm...,” she yawned again and turned around, heading back down past her room and down the corridor she had ventured into that morning, stopping in the dining hall to stare at Link who was going in the same direction as her, a roll of bread shoved in his mouth.
“Where’re you goin’?” she asked after holding back a small laugh.
He pointed to the corridor, taking a bite of the roll, “Down there,” he said once he was finished chewing and placed it back in his mouth.
“Ah, me too,” she nodded.
Link just shrugged and started walking down, Ani right on his heels. They stepped out into the fresh air to find Dark Link, back turned to them as he sat on the same bench Ani had early, shoulder leaning slightly against the tree. Link just ignored him and finished his roll, walking to another corner to unsheathe his sword.
Ani blinked for a moment before taking a seat beside Dark Link, “You gonna train, Wa-chan?”
“Yeh, might as well,” he shrugged, readying himself in a stance.
“Special,” another yawned escaped her.
Dark Link grunted and readjusted himself slightly against the tree, “If you’re so tired why don’t you just go to bed?”
Because some one wants me off my ass... she thought irritably at Lirin, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“I’m not tired enough to,” she shrugged, crossing her arms.
“Look tired enough to me...”
“Yeh, well...” her words trailed off as Sheik stepped into the courtyard as well. “Dude, what is this, the new hangout?”
Sheik just blinked at her for a moment before shaking his head, “I’ve just come to train with Link...”
“Yeh, you do that...” she crossed her legs as well, pulling them up onto the stone bench as she sat like a pretzel.
Link and Sheik turned to each other, Sheik drawing a thin bladed short sword that immediately clicked in Ani’s mind-it was similar to a katana. She uncrossed her arms, holding onto the underside of the bench as she leaned back to keep herself from falling as she watch.
The two remained motionless for quite some time before Sheik sprang up, disappearing in a small puff of smoke and reappearing behind Link, swiping with his short blade. Link spun about, pivoting on his heel and shoving the blunt side of his blade out to block Sheik’s attack.
It was interesting, but still Ani found herself zoning out and tapping out the beats to a song as she hummed the tune and the word’s went by in her head. All sounds other than her tapping, the tune and the words in her head were drowned out from the distraction, until a new sound came.
“So this is the Sage of oblivion?”
“Waah!” Ani tripped forward, falling on her knees but was up again as quick as she fell, whirling about to face the owner of the new voice.
Standing at about five ten was a hylian girl looking around sixteen or seventeen, two piercing’s on either ear, the left one of a minuscule triforce, the right a silver medallion that looked oddly familiar.
A black, skin tight shirt showed off her near flawless form and Ani’s eye twitched at her bust size. In the center of her chest on the shirt was the triforce, all three of the triangles colored to the corresponding goddess.
The sleeves stopped just below her elbows and switched to a transparent fabric, black as well, that went to her knuckles. The girl’s hands were covered by black gloves with holes at the knuckles for her fingers to protrude, and a square cut hole on top of each.
A pocketed belt similar to the one Link had around his torso was tied around her waist, keeping up black trousers that were far baggier than the rest of her clothing. They were tucked into brown boots, also similar to Link’s, but much shorter.
Her eyes appeared red, but had a slight golden shine to them, perhaps a trick of the light. Black bangs, one side falling shorter than the other, nearly covered her right eye. The rest of her hair was a distinguishable brown, tied back with some black twine, the rest falling against her back.
“What the fuck?” Ani stared at her, but the girl just sighed, holding her hand out to her side.
“I guess now I’ll have to kill you,” a blue substance formed around her hand out of nowhere, swirling around and she closed her hand at something still invisible. The blue, smoky mesh blazed quickly, ebbing away into a sword, her hand around the hilt.
The blade curved slightly, and at one pointed dipped into itself, making a sort of curled hole, while the hilt, black, was considerably shorter. It had a silver winged bracer, much like the master sword, except it pointed downwards, and on the very bottom the triforce was inscribed.
“Wait,” she stopped a moment to look away, blinking before turning back to Ani and pointing at her. “You are the sage of oblivion, right?”
Who does she think she is?
Ani stared at her, dumbfounded. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dark Link get up, probably angry that he hadn’t sensed her arrival, and no doubt Link and Sheik were behind her, staring, just as dumbstruck.
“Would it change anything if I wasn’t?” was the only thing she could think to say, blinking quickly and taking a step back.
“You’d live,” she answered quickly, looking down at her sword and tapping the blade lightly with her index finger.
Ani winced and muttered “Damn” which obviously the girl had heard, as she raised her head just after she said it.
Instead of raising her sword at Ani, however, she turned to Dark Link, pointing again, “...You’re Dark Link, right? You outsiders all look the same to me...”
Outsiders?
The same repetition of the word came from behind her, and she found herself even repeating it in her mind.
She heard someone step closer behind her, and then Link’s voice, “Who the hell are you?”
The new girl blinked, staring over Ani’s head at him, “Why should I tell you? I’m not here to kill you... yet- wait,” she jammed the tip of her sword’s blade in the ground and counted off on her fingers, muttering, “Sage of oblivion, Dark Link, Link... aaaaand Zelda.” She lifted her head up and blinked at Sheik, pointing a finger at him. “Are you Zelda?”
Ani held back a laugh and turned to look over her shoulder at Sheik’s reaction.
He was staring, visible eye wide for a moment before he closed it, shaking his head. “No.”
“Aw, but Ganon said you would look like that...,” she looked up at the sky for a minute as if it took a lot of concentration to remember, “and that Zelda was a cross-dresser or something...”
Ani couldn’t help but snort at that, but she quickly covered her mouth and turned back to face the girl again. “Ok, that’s all well and good, but, uh.... oh... never mind...”
The girl blinked, looking back at Ani, “What, am I confusing you?” she tilted her head, “It’s really simple, I’m here to kill you on Kage’s orders, ‘cause apparently you annoy him...”
“That Kage dude again?!”
Link made a confused noise behind her and mumbled to Sheik, who mumbled back, sounding rather peeved.
The girl nodded, “Yeh, but it’s really a waste of my time,” she ran a hand through her hair, “Suck weaklings, I really shouldn’t have been called on this...”
Ani blinked and turned to look a Dark Link, a hard glare on his face as he idly cracked his knuckles just by clenching a fist. “Weak?” he repeated, and she turned back to look at Link and Sheik. Link looked nearly as angry as Dark Link, as did Sheik. “...Mm..” she muttered, not really caring as she turned back, blinking up at the girl quickly.
She stretched, giving an agitated sigh before picking her sword back out of the ground. “Oh well, a job’s a job, at least I’m getting paid,” she prepared for an attack just as another new voice reached everyone’s ears, this one a male.
“Imari, stop!”
Everyone turned to look at this new comer clad in simply, from what Ani could see, a faded black cloak, hood-less it seemed. A large piece of brown hair curved down on the right side of his face, covering nearly half of his eye, both a bright emerald. His hair was long, reading about mid-back.
“What, can’t I have some fun? I’m getting paid for this...” the Imari girl asked, narrowing her eyes at the male, turning back to Ani who took a step back, forgetting all humor in the situation.
“You can’t kill them,” he protested again, much to Ani’s relief.
What in Din’s name is going on?
Ani ignored Lirin for the moment, listening to the two talk amongst themselves.
“But I want to,” Imari said as she stood up, turning fully to face the male.
“I know, but you shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because... Master said not to, she needs to talk to you. She said to bring the girl... and him,” he pointed at Dark Link through his cloak.
Ani broke in at that point, raising her hand hi to gain their attention, “Wait, wait, why?”
The male just ignored her and narrowed his eyes at Imari, “Put your sword away...”
She sighed, frowning, “Fine, be mean... just tryin’ to have fun...” she turned to Dark Link and Ani, letting loose an annoyed sigh, “Alright, you’ve got to come with me, my master wants to speak with you.”
Sheik stepped forward to speak, “How can we trust you?”
Imari turned to look at him, staring blankly for a moment before a smile appeared on her face. “Oh! You’re one of those Sheikah people! I thought those things were dead.”
Ani side stepped slightly, away from Sheik when she saw his eye twitch and his fists clench. “Most are...” it sounded like he was gritting his teeth as he spoke.
“Oh well, things die,” she turned back to Ani and Dark Link, “Alright, it shouldn’t take to long for you to talk with Master...”
Ani raised her hand feebly again, blinking, “Uhm... right, why are we going?”
Imari shrugged, “If I knew that, I’d tell ya.”
“Tch,” for the first time, really, since Imari came, Ani turned to look at Dark Link. He seemed a great deal more agitated then usual, which made her eye twitch slightly. Seeing him made... kind of scared her. “This is ridiculous. I’m not going.”
“Ack, wait! You’ve got to ‘cause of the thingy!” Ani waved her hands in the air wildly.
Imari tilted her head at Ani, “Thingy?”
“It’s ... this thingy... bah! I can explain later,” she shook her head and sighed.
As if Ani hadn’t even spoke, Imari turned away, back towards the male and glared, grumbling something about getting paid.
He sighed, shaking his head, “Just... get them to the village,” he disappeared in a small puff of smoke similar to the one Sheik had used during his and Link’s short spar, expect his was completely silent, no way of detecting it had ever happened if you didn’t watch it occur.
Imari turned back to them, running a hand through her hair again as she sighed. “Right, I have to kno-“ she rushed past Ani, knocking her on a specific point at the back of her neck. She fell forward, dropping to her knees. Before she fell entirely, Imari moved back around to Dark Link, using the same tactic as she had on Ani to knock him unconscious, picking them both up and practically flopping them onto her shoulders.
She turned to Link and Sheik, a sarcastic look on her face, “I’ll return ‘em,” and she disappeared the same way the male had.
~~
A powerful stinging sensation was the first thing to send Ani back to consciousness. She reached up to touch the spot on the back of her neck Imari had jammed her sword hilt into and winced, letting her hand fell back beside her. “Ugh...” she groaned, sitting herself upright before she opened her eyes, having to blink quite a few times so that her vision cleared.
Where ever she was, it wasn’t the most well lit place, but at least she could distinguish objects and colors and such. The walls were tan in color, flapping slightly around the wooden bars that reached up and connected together at the high ceiling.
There were some crates lined up here and there, but the most noticeable thing in the entire place was the amount of weapons. For the third time that day, Ani’s eye twitched, and she turned to look at one cornered she hadn’t examined before, jumping slightly as she saw Dark Link, looking as angry as he had what seemed like only moments ago.
“Where’s that chick?” she practically whispered, her throat feeling oddly sore.
“Hell if I know,” he answered, closing his eyes and frowning.
“...Fine...” she muttered, crossing her arms and turning away.
Christ, he’s so moody... she thought irritably.
One of the flaps at the front moved more than the walls around them, which caught Ani’s attention immediately as Imari stepped through, holding a bowl of food in her hands, mostly consisting of fruits and things.
“Oh, you’re awake,” she said plainly, walking over to set the bowl of food in front of her. “Pity, it was just getting quiet around here...” she added under her breath, “Children are so noisy...”
Ani scoffed, lowering her gaze towards the bowl of food to pick at it and see what was edible to her picky taste buds.
The flap moved again, and the male from before stepped through, cloak no longer on. Instead, it was a skin tight sleeveless black shirt with the same triforce pattern as on Imari’s shirt. He also wore similar pants and boots, only they were a bit lighter, more faded, like a dark grey.
“You’re always noisy, Imari,” he sighed, crossing his arms.
She stuck her tongue out at him before standing back up.
“Where are we?” Ani asked, picking out a slice of apple, taking a bit out of it after she spoke.
“My village,” Imari pointed around the room as she replied, which was thoroughly uninteresting save for the great deal of swords and other weapons.
She nodded, chewing the apple and swallowing before she spoke again, “Right. And where’s this master person of yours?”
“She’s busy right now, she’ll be here in a minute,” Imari ended her sentence unnaturally quick, and moved her hands to cover her long pointed ears as best as she could.
Ani blinked and turned to look at the male who just sighed and looked away, rubbing his temple with his index finger.
A shrill shout of “Imari!” answered Ani’s silent question quick as yet another newcomer rushed into the room and jumped up on Imari’s back, clinging tightly and squashing her face into her back.
This one’s hair was shorter in the back, spiked in quite a few places, most of it being a bright crimson while all of the spiked tips were black. Her eyes appeared violet, but like Imari’s with the red and gold, that could have been a simple trick of the light and angle.
Like the other two, Ani had spotted before the girl had basically tackled Imari without knocking her down, she had the same triforce insignia on the front of her shirt, which was short sleeved. The neck and sleeve hemming was black, the rest of it being a very light grey, nearly white.
Her trousers, similar to Imari’s, were a darker grey, like the male’s, but still a shade lighter. Her boots were the only real things setting her apart from the others, them being black and seeming more like simple shoes rather than boots.
“Your back!” the girl cried out again, tears rolling down her cheeks onto Imari’s shoulder. “I missed you so much...”
She sighed and turned her head, narrowing her eyes slightly, “Get off my back, Kainato... you’re not the lightest person in the world...”
The Kainato girl snorted, her tears stopping almost immediately as she stared at the back of Imari’s head, eyes narrowed. “You can carry five sacks of potatoes on your shoulders and still have strength, so don’t tell me to get off!”
“You weigh more than five sacks of potatoes...”
Kainato’s expression changed from irritated to hurt, and she turned, now looking angry, to the male. “So why are you two alone in here, hmmmm, Ichri? What’d you do to her?!”
Ichri snorted, walking over to her, “We’re not alone in here, and we have guests,” he hit her on the head with the side of his hand, “So behave.”
She let out a shriek of “Ow!” as yet another stepped in to join them.
The new woman sighed, placing one hand on her hip as she shook her head, “I leave you alone for five minutes and you all start fighting?”
Kainato leapt back off her back and bowed slightly before the three of them sat back in the corner, muttering their apologies.
The woman, apparently their master, turned to look at Ani and Dark Link, nodding to them. “Welcome.”
Her hair was short, just a bit longer then Kainato’s, and a vibrant green. Amber eyes peeked out from behind her bangs, and though she was smiling, there was a look of seriousness that couldn’t be overlooked in them.
The woman’s triforce symbol was different then the other three’s, what with it being gold at the three points, black in the center, and two upside down triangles, black as well, attached to the sides of Din’s piece.
A white piece of thin, nearly transparent fabric floated around her shoulders, hardly touching her at all. That caught Ani’s attention the most as she scrutinized this master of their’s.
Her shoulders were bare, the sleeves a cut away with what appeared to be small beads, the color indistinguishable in the light. The sleeves that ran down all the way to her fingers, the fabric narrowing ‘till it was only around her middle finger, as well as the rest of the blouse was turquoise. There was a detached bit of fabric around her neck which was green, matching her long skirt that covered all but the tips of her shoes, which matched her skirt.
She turned towards her three disciples and nodded towards Ichri, “Would you please take Kainato and yourself outside?”
He did as he was told, tugging lightly on Kainato’s ear to drag her outside, as she made a much bigger deal out of it than Ichri had initially intended.
Ichri and Kainato now out, the woman turned back around to Ani and Dark Link, gesturing for them both to move closer as she and Imari sat in the center of the room.
“My name is Ishi, this is Imari,” she waved her hand at Imari and Ani nodded, Dark Link remained silent. Ishi stood up again, moving towards a bookshelf that Ani had managed to over look, “I already know your names..”
She turned back, sitting with two books in her hands, both large, black, and worn, the pages looking yellowed. Ishi gave them both to Imari, who immediately flipped one open.
“I read this before!” she turned to look at Ishi, “When I was little.”
Ishi nodded, removing the second book from under the one in Imari’s hands and handed it to Dark Link, who leaned back against the wall as he started reading.
“I need to give you information would otherwise be unable to obtain...”
Ani scooched a bit closer, snatching another small piece of apple which she quickly shoved into her mouth.
“The keeper of the fourth quadraforce, the quadraforce of oblivion, is Dark Link...”
DL?!
I suppose it does make sense... That would explain why their control over him falters whenever you’re near; the two powers of oblivion react to one another and negate it entirely.
Ani stared at Dark Link, a look of confusion that she would usually wear plastered across his face as he gazed back at all of them. He scoffed and looked at the back of his right hand, ignoring them all again.
“It’s true, but I’m not quite finished...” Imari and Ani’s attention flitted back to Ishi. “The sage of oblivion, or Ani, cannot awaken her power without his,”-she pointed to Dark Link-“and the goddess’s help.”
Imari blinked, tilting her head at Ishi, “How are they supposed to find the goddess if she’s dead?”
“True, she is dead,” Ishi averted her eyes, observing everyone before allowing her eyes to fall back on Imari, “But she was reincarnated along with the eighth sage... into you, Imari.”
“What?!” Ani half shouted, covering her mouth partly from her volume, and partly because she thought she heard Dark Link about to speak, but when she turned to look at him he still seemed pretty caught up with looking at his hand.
Ishi just nodded, patting Imari’s shoulder as she stared at the ground, eye’s wide. “Now Ani, Dark Link,” she stood, smiling as she gestured towards the door flap, “Please go ahead and enjoy yourselves. I’ll send Kainato to fetch you at dinner where we can discuss this more.” She straightened her skirt and walked out, leaving the three to themselves.
“Um... I-Imari?”
Imari turned her head slightly toward Ani.
“Are you... gonna be ok?”
She nodded slowly, but otherwise kept still.
“Mm... well... we’re, uh... gonna go for a bit...”
Again, she nodded.
Ani sighed and stood, straightening her shirt and pants as she glanced over at Dark Link who was just standing. “Should we take the books?”
“We’ll get ‘em,” he shrugged, stepping past Imari and out of the room.
Lovely attitude...
She shrugged, following, looking back at Imari once before leaving entirely.
Close twittering of birds caught her attention and Ani nearly fell back as a guay flew right past her face, rising back into the sky and then ignoring her entirely. Despite nearly tearing her nose right off her face, the small encounter made her gaze around even more than she normally would.
Stony structure’s rose a few stories, some shorter than others, some higher. The buildings were all set apart on vast streets where people gave her and Dark Link odd looks as they passed by, some of the adults scurrying away with their children, most of which had the same triforce mark as on Imari, Ichri and Kainato’s clothes, as well as a small hoop earing in each ear.
Ani picked up her pace , slowing back a bit once she caught up with Dark Link, her arms crossed as she recoiled from the looks. Others, more the older set, just went about their business, but something set a good number of the parents off about them...
There was an opening past a few more buildings where some trees lined a way next to a river to their right. Just behind that was a towering stone wall that she couldn’t see the end of, past the roofs of the structures.
“Do you think this whole place is closed in?” Ani asked, looking around and trying to smile at people so they’d maybe calm down.
“That would explain why she called us ‘Outsiders’,” he responded, walking down the path as if he knew exactly where he were going.
“You’ve never been here before?”
He shook his head. “I don’t even know if this place is still in Hyrule,” he stopped, looking to his right and rounded a corner, going back to the left once he passed the building. Ani followed quickly behind.
After rounding a few more corners, Dark Link slowed a bit, looking more around the area, as was Ani.
In front of them was what appeared to be another town entirely, two sets of large wooden fences coming from either side and stopping just before they touched to create a frame-less doorway that groups of people came and went from at a time.
Upon entering, it was obvious what this other section of town was. A market. Stands, shops and stores were set up all around, with hundreds of people crowding around and shouting prices, or walking out of stores carrying their freshly bought materials.
A lot of the children, Ani found, were touting weapons.
“Man, what is this place?” Ani asked, stopping to look around again, but sped back up once she realized Dark Link was much farther ahead.
It was a little ways into it that the stoned streets (having odd colored patterns around some places) branched off in three directions. The far left it seemed consisted of mostly weapons shops, some books and pet shops here and there, the center a food area, and the right an open space lined around the walls with more small booths.
“It’s kinda weird... like Kakariko and Castle Town mixed together... except a lot more concerned with weapons...” she bit her lip, turning her head in all three directions the road split. “...Weird...”
“It’s not all that weird,” Dark Link scoffed, crossing his arms and shifting his weight slightly as he looked towards the weapons area. Ani turned to watch his head move as some people passed by, the vast majority carrying weapons they had just purchased. “Most of those weapons are for stealthy attacks... save for the swords and all,” he shifted his weight more to the side, “Didn’t Imari mention getting payed?”
Ani blinked, turning from one person holding a sword with an intricate hilt design. ‘Uh.. Yeh,” she nodded.
A smirk crossed his lips and he closed his eyes, letting his head hang slightly. “They’re assassins.”
She stared blankly for a few seconds, blinking, thinking it over. She did come out of nowhere... both her and Ichri were neigh undetectable until they spoke... and now all of the stealthy weapons. “Jesus Christ, you’re right!”
“Hey!”
They both turned around, Ani looking confused again, until she spotted Kainato in the distance waving her arms. She rushed up, running faster than Ani thought she could ever hope to achieve and put her arms behind her back, looking off to the side. She seemed disgruntled.
“Master wants you two to come back and eat with her now. I’ll lead you,” Ani nodded, walking right after Kainato turned around.
The trip back didn’t take as long as the initial wandering, and despite the obvious size of the area, they were back within a good ten minutes.
Smells of meat and fresh fruits wafted out of a much larger building than the one they had first exited, another, smaller building attached to the side of it.
“Dinner’s ready,” Kainato said, waving a hand towards the door before walking into the smaller, side building.
Ani pushed the door open lightly, nearly starting to drool as she saw the amount of meat laid out along a wide wooden table, Ishi sitting at the head of it, and Imari just a spot down from her.
“Ah, good,” Ishi said, standing to greet them. “Kainato took less time than I anticipated. Come, come, sit,” she nodded, opening her arms at the table before sitting back down.
Ani nodded, moving to the seat just across from Imari and Dark Link sat beside Ani-an empty chair separating them.
“I do believe you already know of him...” Ishi glanced at Ani and Dark Link before lowering her head slightly. “Kage?”
Ani nodded fast. Dark Link grunted.
“Good, well... knowing of him isn’t really knowing about him, now is it? If I may ask... do you know where he is taking up current residence?”
Ani looked around the table, watching Imari eating, her disposition from earlier changed to quite content. “Uhm... I sort of do...”
Ishi’s gaze turned to Ani.
“I know... he’s in my Temple...,” Ishi brought her hands up, interlocking the fingers in front of her mouth and nodded, “But I don’t exactly know just where it is... It’s behind the castle some amount of distance...”
“Ah,” Ishi nodded and sat back up, placing her hands in her lap. “Interesting that he would choose there... without your powers awakened it shouldn’t have any power.”
Ani let out a sigh and slumped back into her chair.
“I said shouldn’t not doesn’t.”
Ani closed her eyes tightly for a second at that and sat back up, nodding.
“At any rate, even a vague location is a good thing.. I’ve known Kage for a great deal of my life, and he can be quite... unpredictable.”
Ani furrowed her brow, jutting her lip out slightly as a thought occurred, and she raised her hand, index finger pointed towards the roof, “Is Kage... stronger than Ganondorf?”
Ishi scoffed, turning away, a hand over her mouth. It took her a moment, but she turned back, straight faced again and nodded. “Yes, a great deal...”
Ani nodded, dropping her hand into her lap, turning to look down at the empty plate in front of her. Sighing, she reached over and grabbed the nearest forked and stabbed some meat on a platter in the center of the table, forcing it onto her plate as quickly as possible. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dark Link doing practically the same thing. It must have been hours since their last meal, possibly a day...
While she stuffed her face, Ani didn’t catch a lot of what Ishi said, getting enraptured with how good the food tasted, and how much there was, as well as side conversations with Lirin.
After what only seemed like five minutes, the other three got up from the table, leaving Ani to finished up. She blinked, looking around the room and sighed, gulping down the last bits of meat on her plate and draining the water from a glass.
Imari and Dark Link were both outside when Ani came to join them. Imari stood up from crouching on the wall and took out her blade again, smiling feebly at the both of them. “Well, I did say I’d-“ and in another flash of speed, she had knocked the two out again with the hilt of her blade, finishing her sentence just before Ani blacked out entirely, “Return you.”
~~
The same stinging. The same blackness from before. Ani moved a hand to the back of her head and scratched, wincing as she sat up on something comfortable, cushy. She opened her eyes to see Link and Zelda hovering over her, and her herself in a small bed with thin white sheets. Something felt tight around her head and she reached up, tugging on fabric. Bandages.
“Wha’ happen...?” Ani blurted, rubbing her eyes and looking around what appeared to be an infirmary of sorts.
Link sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed and Zelda backed away slightly, her arms crossed. “That girl dropped you off again, and you were bleeding a bit... so was he,” Link nudged his head to the bed next to hers, and there sat an angry Dark Link having Sheik wrap the bandages around his cranium.
“...Ooh..” she nodded, turning back to them. “Uhm... right... so... Mm...”
“Also,” Link started, wincing slightly, raising his index finger, but was interrupted by the door creaking open, Imari stepping through. She moved over to a wall, sending Ani and Dark Link a silent 'hello' from eye contact, or at least it connected with Ani, he just seemed like he wanted to ignore her.
Ani returned the greeting with a small nod of her head, grimacing as an ache shot through her system, forcing her to bring a hand to her skull, "Remind me not to shake my head for a while... eh?" she muttered to Link, opening one eye to look at him as she rubbed her head through her hair.
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It was the ending =_= forgive me, I made Imari terribly ooc there, so I've redone it. Just to let you all know, I'm nearly half way done chapter 11, so that will be posted very very soon.
