A day passed on the ship, which Darin had found out was called the "Coast Drifter". He and Kaede didn't have to do much on the ship, as the sailors were more than happy with just half the bag of rupees. Kaede spent most of the day wandering aimlessly around the ship, thinking about her past. Darin tried to offer her some food, but she found that even by the end of the day she couldn't conjure up an appetite. She ended up on the back of the ship, watching the sun set. Darin approached her, leaning on the railing beside her. "How's it going?" He asked.
"Fine... I guess." She looked at the path the ship wove in the water, "I'm so sorry for everything I put you through..." She held her head in her hands.
"Hey, are you alright?" Darin asked her, concerned.
"No... well, I guess so. Just..." She rubbed her eyes and looked toward the sunset. "I've had far too much time to think today." She turned to Darin, who noticed her eyes were red from crying. "What I don't understand is how I could have done those things. I can't imagine being able to do them now... how was I able to so willingly do them then?" She asked Darin questions he couldn't answer.
Darin wasn't sure what to say. He put an arm around her, trying to comfort guilt he couldn't comprehend. "I guess you must be a better person than you were then." He looked towards the sunset, squinting at the light. "I hadn't realized the ocean gave us such a great view." He commented, trying to change the subject.
"I don't know what to think anymore." Kaede sighed.
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Kaede found herself on the deck of the ship. She leaned on the railing, watching the sun set. Darin approached her. "How's it going?" He asked.
"Fine... I guess." She replied, "I'm sorry I got you into so much trouble." She felt oddly calm.
"Don't worry," Darin voice suddenly got a higher pitch, "you only do what you were made to." Kaede suddenly flicked her head around to see that Darin had been replaced with that creepy little girl that calls herself 'Instinct'. "Miss me?"
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"AGH!" Kaede sat bolt-upright in her bunk. The ship lurched to the side, making her fall out onto the floor.
As she hit the floor, she heard someone above her hit the wall. "Ow!" Darin groaned. The ship lurched to the other side, rolling her across the floor and Darin falling out of bed, landing next to her,. They came face to face. It was a silent, awkward moment for a while, with the exception of the sound of rain pounding on the deck above. "I uh..." Darin got up, "I'll go see what's happening outside." He stumbled to the door while the boat was still rocking from side to side, the wind slamming the door shut right after he was out.
Kaede felt her face, which felt warm despite it being so cold she could see her breath. She got herself up using a top bunk to lift herself, and looked out the small window. It was night, and huge waves hit the ship, accompanied by heavy rain. A coastline could be seen in the distance. The ship suddenly lurched to the side again, making her fall over. He thoughts turned to Darin, who was outside with no walls to stop him. "Oh no..." She picked up her hat and rushed outside.
Outside, it was truly a horrific storm. Rain pooled on the deck, and the sky was filled with angry dark grey clouds. Lightning illuminated a coast to the right of the ship. "Darin!" She called out, but her voice was drowned in the surrounding havoc of the storm. She looked around desperately for Darin, only seeing panicking sailors running about. Another huge wave hit the ship, lurching it towards the coast. Kaede fell and rolled into the railing.
Back aching, she noticed a single hand gripping the rail from off the ship. More importantly, a gold triangle glowed on the gloved hand. "Darin!" She used the rail to steady herself, and leaned over to grab Darin's forearm, who looked up with a surprised look on his face.
Kaede had begun to pull him up when yet another wave hit, sending her over the edge. A vector reached out and caught the railing, her physical hands still tight on Darin's arm. Her vector tried pulling them back, but the rail finally broke from the strain, sending them both into the sea.
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The first thing Darin did when he straggled back into consciousness was cough up water. He heard Kaede speak as though she was far away. "Darin?" As his senses returned to him, he realized he was lying on sand, and the air smelled of salt. He could still feel rain falling on his face. He opened his eyes to the sight of Kaede's worried face.
"Where's your hat?" He asked, still not really all there. As his vision focused, he realized she was wearing it as always.
Kaede gave a laugh of relief.
"What's so funny?" Darin asked, confused.
"I save your life and the first thing you do is ask what happened to my hat." Kaede hugged him as he sat up. "I'm so glad you're alive."
"I can't remember... what happened?" Darin asked.
"The ship must have run into a storm. We fell off, and well, an hour later here we are." She rose her head and looked around. "Now we just need to figure out where 'here' is..." Lightning flashed and thunder boomed over their heads. "Let's try to find some shelter." She helped Darin to his wobbly feet. Choosing not to go in-land as it looked swampy and there was no chance of someone seeing them, they wandered along the beach until they found a large rock that had a concave side facing the ocean. They sat under the cover of the rock, the sand was damp but at least rain didn't fall on them.
"Your music box!" Darin suddenly remembered his bag.
"Huh?" Kaede had been thinking of something else.
"We lost your music box... it must have fallen in the water." Darin explained.
"It alright, I guess." Kaede tried to force a smile. "If what Ladoran said is true, and I can't go back... I guess I'll try to forget my life..." She looked away. "Who am I kidding... you can't forget a life like mine."
There was few moments of silence before Darin tried to change the subject. "It's pretty cold. I wonder where we are."
"If we're lucky, I guess we'd be in Freya." Kaede forced a small laugh. "That would mean we're anywhere but there, with my luck."
"I have no idea what any of the places were like outside Hyrule." Darin remarked, "When my Father told me stories, they would mostly be in Hyrule. Sometimes he would talk about where he came from. According to him, people rode about in metal boxes-"
"Cars." Kaede corrected him.
Darin looked at her, mildly surprised. "You've been there?"
"It's where I'm from." Kaede stated.
"Maybe, if we can, we should go there sometime." Darin suggested, "I think I'd like-"
"No." Kaede gripped his arm, looking slightly afraid. "Don't you ever go there. That place is cruel to people who are different."
"My father always regarded it with fondness..." Darin said.
"He's human." Kaede pointed out. "He was able to fit in. It wasn't that easy for me." A few more moments of silence passed, until Kaede slid toward Darin.
"What now?" Darin blinked, trying to stay awake.
"You mentioned it was cold..." Kaede said. Darin couldn't be sure in the darkness of the night, but it looked like Kaede's face was a bit red. "If we sit closer together we might share some body heat." Darin didn't have any objection to that. An hour passed, feeling like an eternity. Eventually Kaede leaned her head on Darin's shoulder, falling asleep. Darin struggled for consciousness, but eventually fell to exhaustion.
