Chapter 7: Accident
A whispering, familiar voice nagged at the edges of Zephyr's awareness as the light grew to a blinding intensity. At the climax it vanished like a candle blown out in the wind, and the two Sheikah were plunged into darkness once more.
The voice from moments before was now a mix of shouting and frenzied screeching.
(-the name of the Goddesses JUST HAPPENED?)
In a flailing storm of feathers Daran soared directly into Zephyr's face, throwing them both to the ground in surprise and pain. Short-fused from anxiety, Meran reared, wild eyes fiery in the moonlight. With thunderous hoofbeats he dashed into the forest. Reyn chased after him, calling for him to stop.
Amidst all the chaos, Zephyr's voice rung loudest in the cold air. "Daran! Cela enak! Tsei!"
The bird was too lost in panic to hear him. He kept writhing, talons glistening between feathers and wings. His human friend had his hands up around his head, one clutching his face as the other tried to deflect the crazed hawk.
In one smooth, lightning-fast motion, Brenn scooped Daran up and tossed him into the grass beside them. "Zephyr!" she cried, "He's off! Are you ok?"
He sat up immediately, left hand still gripping his face. In the pale light, Brenn could see blood trickling from under his fingers. She gasped.
"B-bleeding! You're hurt!" she exclaimed. She reached for him, trying to pull his hand away and take a better look. Zephyr caught her by the wrist with his other hand, without looking up.
"DE!" he screamed at her. She flinched, nearly falling backwards. "N-no," he repeated, lowering his voice to a mumble, "I'm fine. I can care for myself."
Daran was back in the air, circling the two. (Zephyr! Goddesses, I'm sorry-)
(You cut off my bandages, you stupid pigeon! I could have killed you!)
(Zeph-)
"Get bandages from my bag, enak." he hissed aloud. Without another thought Daran shot into the trees where Reyn and Meran had disappeared.
The sudden silence was deafening. Zephyr sat dangerously quiet, smoldering. It was shocking that he wasn't shooting off literal sparks.
After a few constricting minutes, Brenn murmured something to her stressed companion.
"What." Zephyr snapped at her. He knew it wasn't her fault, but he couldn't help it.
"C-could you...let go of my arm please? You're hurting me..."
He hadn't even noticed that he was still gripping it. With surprising effort, he released her. She sucked in a breath as blood raced back into her fingers, returning sensation to them in a hot-cold wave. Her other hand gently rubbed her wrist, unconcerned about the blood it was smearing.
Zephyr mumbled an apology through strained lips. Both his hand and face were burning, the former from renewed circulation to the gashes in his right palm and the latter from deep embarrassment. The combination of both emotions waned his energy quickly.
"It's ok," said Brenn, "it's not like you meant to."
Zephyr didn't answer.
"Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yes."
Silence ruled again for a few awkward moments. Brenn opened her mouth again, but Zephyr interrupted before a sound left her. "I know what Daran did was not meant. Do not need to tell me."
"Then why are you being so hard on him? He said he was sorry."
Zephyr growled, "It is still what happened, accident or not." His shoulders slumped the slightest amount. "Sorry doesn't change the past..." he added in a low whisper.
Brenn couldn't question him before there was the sound of returning hoofbeats. Daran appeared first, closely followed by Reyn. Meran brought up the rear, head held low.
(Daran told us what happened, are you alright?)
(It's just a little blood. But I need to cover these infernal eyes.)
Reyn carefully lied down infront of her master, her eyes glued to the grass in front of her.
Zephyr's hand froze when it found his bag, fastened to Reyn's saddle.
"Brenn, can you and Jatse-Riuul turn away?"
Seeing that Daran and Reyn were doing just that, the Sheikah girl and stallion turned their eyes from him. When he was sure it was safe, Zephyr slowly opened his eyes.
Thank the Goddesses it was the middle of the night. The night was as illuminated as dawn in Zephyr's eyes, they were so used to the dark. The sun was too bright for them.
His clenched fist opened, three deep lacerations opening with his fingers. The bright red gashes extended from the smallest finger to the opposite corner of his palm. Blood covered the inside of his hand and oozed down his forearm. He quickly went through his bag and found what he needed. Trying not to flinch, he gently circled his hand with the cloth strips. He tied them off and ripped the excess cloth away. He brought the bandages to his face, but reluctance caught him mid-motion. How long had it been since he'd seen the world through his own eyes...?
With a decisive shake of his head he forced the thought out of his mind. Silly notions like that were the cause of accidents. Good intentions didn't always produce good results.
-
Zephyr had suggested they go back to sleep for the last hours of the night, so they could get a good start when the sun rose. Brenn had obediently lied down, but her mind was much too busy to rest. So many questions buzzed through her head. Questions that might be answered by her older companion.
She gently called his name, in case he was already asleep. But he instantly turned his head. "Yes?"
"Can you sleep?"
"You have been trying for not long. Keep trying."
"I can't stop thinking."
She heard a sigh from the darkness beside her. Zephyr knew he was going to regret this, but...
"About what?"
"Everything!"
He restrained himself from letting out a groan. 'Now I've done it.' he thought to himself, but out loud he said "If we talk for while will you be quiet?"
Brenn nodded without thinking, then corrected herself by agreeing verbally.
"What you want to talk about?"
After a moment of sorting through all her queries, she responded with "What are the Zoras?"
"Rauru said. They are water-dwellers. Myutka-lumaio."
Brenn sat up, wide-eyed. "Really? They live in the water?"
"Is what Rauru said..."
"Wow...are there other races in Hyrule? Where do they live?"
"Uh...I think six races? Shei-lumaio, Hylia-lumaio, jiru-lumaio, myutka-lumaio, uentil-lumaio, vakna-lumaio. Sheikah, Hylian, Kokiri, Zora, Goron, Gerudo. Hylians most live within Hyrule Castle's gates. The Kokiri live in Kokiri Forest at eastern tip of Hyrule, I hear they die if they leave. The Zoras live in their Domain to north of Kokiri Forest. Death Mountain is home to the Gorons."
"Where's Death Mountain?" Brenn blurted out, with the fearful fascination of a child.
"Beside K-" the words caught in his throat so violently that Brenn thought he was choking. But he recovered quickly, going on to say, "...west of Hyrule Castle. And the Gerudo live in a valley on the edge of the Haunted Wasteland to east."
Brenn's mouth hung open, eyes just as wide. "Woah... I never knew Hyrule was so big!"
"Is bigger. To south is Lake Hylia, and in middle of all those is Hyrule Field. Is biggest section of Hyrule, besides the Haunted Wasteland. No one knows how big that is." A vicious yawn cleaved his features, causing Brenn to follow suit. "Tired now?"
Her response was rendered incoherent by the dying throes of the yawn. Assuming it was a yes, Zephyr rolled back over, facing away from Brenn to signal that the conversation was over. Grass rustled as the other Sheikah lied down as well, then rolled back and forth to try to find a comfortable position. Without success.
Another question broke the silence within a minute. "So the Zoras are like fish-people?"
Without flipping over, Zephyr simply answered "Yes, Brenn." He was too tired to correct her.
"What do they look like?"
That warranted a roll-over. He gave her a look through his bandages, and she giggled. "Oops. Stupid question, huh?"
"Maybe little bit. Fidalta, Brenn."
"Good night, Zephyr." replied Brenn, giving into his warning tone. She let her eyes eventually droop, sleep taking her into its warm embrace before a thought caught her roughly. Why did Zephyr keep his eyes covered? It should have occurred to her earlier to ask, but it had somehow slipped her mind. Was he born blind? Had he been injured in an accident or a fight?
This question was much to urgent to forget, and if she didn't ask now she would undoubtedly not remember it in the morning.
"Um...Zephyr? Why are your eyes-"
The blind Sheikah sighed tightly. "Yinda, Brenn. We talk tomorrow."