Chapter 12 – A Soft Universe
If not for how inappropriate it would've been, Link wanted to laugh at just how disastrously this mission had gone.
After so many near misses, it felt absurd that a single uncoordinated rescue and a hostile dinner – weaponised at his expense – might undo his efforts. Yet... here he was now, forced to tread carefully along the line of exposure between his world, and the world of magic, and shadows.
Tentatively, he lifted the bass from his legs and took a bite, feeling some warmth and comfort restored to the rest of his aching body. The sound of running water in the back of their shelter confirmed his suspicions that they were somewhere along the border of the Zoran river basin.
When he hazarded a glance at Ashei he noticed once again that she was, in fact, ignoring him.
"…"
And somehow, this felt far worse than being interrogated about his past in the bar. At least when the warrior was on speaking terms with him, she'd never held anything back.
She was unflinchingly… honest. Perhaps, that was why he'd enjoyed her company in some strange way. And despite the fact that he was now – painfully – very human, her dark hair and fair complexion stood out to him in the dim light of the flames. He found her impossible to ignore.
'Talk. To. Her. Now.' Midna urged him discreetly, losing her patience.
'Shh! I'm thinking of what to say, so I don't make things worse-'
"What was that?" The warrior questioned, whipping her attention up suddenly.
"I-I said thanks, for the meal," Link struggled, clearing his throat. "Did you eat something before?"
"Mhm."
And with that, Ashei looked away from him once more.
'Nice recovery,' Midna sighed, shaking her head.
Link knew that communicating from this point onward was going to be like grabbing an angry goat by the horns… something that he was admittedly, out of practice with. His brows knitted in frustration before he continued. "So, uh… how long's it been since we've been in here?"
"A couple of hours. We're snowed in, so I suggest you focus on recovering before doing anything stupid."
"No hours of digging and running around in the blizzard?"
Ashei met his eyes for the first time, shooting daggers with the glare she'd used.
"… Got it," he sighed, taking a gamble with the sarcasm.
The warrior scowled, now inching herself away from the fire and the annoying man, who was doing his best to endure her scorn.
Meanwhile, Link was beginning to brace himself for what was to come.
The only way out of this mess was to get through it – and deal with the anger as it came. If he wanted to keep on working with the Resistance, then he would simply need to try his best to mend things here. Sitting around in the dark wasn't going to save his reputation in town, nor would it locate the next piece of the Mirror of Twilight.
He'd also remembered that Midna had told him not to lie... not that this was one of his strong points.
At the very least, he expected the following conversation to be interesting.
"… Look, can we… please just talk about what happened?" He then asked, readjusting himself into a more comfortable position. "My memory is all foggy but I remember… the avalanche… and the lake outside, where those wolves were. And I saw-"
"We don't have to do this." Ashei finally cut in, sounding more uninterested than ever. Her arms were folded beneath her snow cloak, hiding the extent of her injuries from before. "Just… shut up and go to sleep, yeah? We'll find a way out of here and I'll brief you on the job tomorrow."
"Job?" Link repeated, incredulously. His good nature was disrupted and the veneer dropped to reveal a very exhausted, very vulnerable young man.
"Job? Seriously?! This isn't just some fun hike in the woods for me!"
The swordsman gritted his teeth, pulling himself upward by his knees. His bangs obscured part of his face but his eyes were narrowed, sharpened with anger. "I care about what's happening out there and I care about you, Ashei! The longer I spent out in that storm, the more I thought I might find you dead. Do you know what that's like?"
The warrior locked onto his eyes in response, reading this new reaction for any signs of weakness.
"Are you mad at me because I stepped in and stopped those wolves?" He continued. "They could've torn you, or anyone out there to shreds. So, is that what this is really about? Your pride, as a fighter? You told me to be careful and then you ended up getting hurt!"
For a moment, she looked surprised… but just as quickly, she buried her confusion with cold contempt.
"What kind of reckless idiot puts their life at risk for people they don't trust?" She asked him, delicately.
"You're a liar. And I hate working with liars."
Immediately, the swordsman wanted to eat his words.
So, this was how she saw him, he realised… back at the tavern and here, now, in this mess.
How could he have expected someone to trust him when he hadn't done the same in return? Especially when that person's job was investigating strange events - and all he'd done was conceal things from her... poorly.
'Couldn't you have just batted your eyelids at her, instead? You're making things worse!' Midna despaired.
"… Ashei," he faltered. "It's… not that I don't trust y-"
"You don't actually care about me, or any of us back in town. We're just here to fill a role for you. So don't go pretending that we're friends. You saved me because you needed information, and that's all there is to it."
"I would never do that!" Link defended. He found himself wishing that she'd just chosen to swear at him, or hit him over the head instead. At least it might have been more merciful than that response. "Enough people have died. I wouldn't ever leave you out there, because it was convenient, or use you… in any situation. That's not who I am."
"Then what am I doing here?" the warrior spat at him, her eyes throwing red over the blaze.
"All this time, we've been fighting against some faceless threat, yet you have the luxury of choosing which information to give us – and what to leave out. You've got your own agenda. One that you still haven't disclosed to us. So yeah, looks like I'm just here to do tricks for you with my head in the sand. And if that's how you want things, so be it."
In light of everything that had happened, Ashei had struggled to bury the notion that they were all pawns in the hand of some greater, malevolent power. All the while, the true identity of their enemy remained unknown to them.
These were not the terms of a 'fair' war. And the fact that Link was not what he seemed was further proof that he knew something the no one else did. In her mind, this had rendered everybody else defenceless.
She'd gotten up to leave - wanting to be anywhere else - before the injured hero went to stop her.
He reached out, meekly, but she smacked his hand away, sending fresh waves of pain up his arm and into the rest of his body.
"Go away, Link-"
"I couldn't tell you everything because I made a promise to someone!" he capitulated.
This drew some attention, however briefly, from the warrior but he knew he'd have to keep going if he wanted to keep it.
"And I can't break it to her, no matter what. But... if you have any questions for me, outside that particular topic... then I'll do my best to answer them, here and now."
Ashei glared at him sceptically, though her anger had receded a little.
"You're full of it. Wouldn't you rather I put the blinders back on?"
It hadn't really occurred to her that Link was duty-bound to protect someone else beyond his own involvement in the war. Of course, it seemed obvious now that he might have had such relations with other parties, given his strange powers.
She'd also considered the fact that this might be her only chance to discover what was really happening to Hyrule.
"I mean it. If there's anything you want to know, then ask me now. I won't lie. And I won't dodge the question, unless I have to protect my friend… but I'll tell you if that's the case." Link repeated, self-consciously. "Please, Ashei. I can't do this without you."
Deliberating some more, the warrior wondered whether it had actually been easier on everybody to operate under the guise of ignorance.
If she'd known his secrets… would it bring any material difference to their situation? Or would it simply raise the stakes and make everything worse?
But in the end, turning down this knowledge was something that she just couldn't bring herself to do.
With a small inhale, she finally obliged.
"… You're a wolf." Ashei said in a low voice, reluctantly sitting back down near him, and the flames.
"I'm a Hylian, first but… yes. Sort of."
"I checked to be sure but you have the same markings on your left hand, and they match the Triforce insignia on your new blade. Why?"
'Wow, observant.' Midna chimed.
Link smiled awkwardly, knowing that he wasn't as much of an expert on his circumstances as he should have been.
Everything had happened to him so quickly after leaving the Ordona Province, that there hadn't been much time to pull it apart. Nonetheless, he decided to settle on keeping his responses factual… and within his ability to answer.
"I'm… not completely sure why but it's… something to do with my lineage, protecting me from dark magic. I was later cursed in wolf form but this sword had the power to make me human again. And after that, I retained both forms. So now… I can transform whenever I want."
"You… were cursed?" She repeated.
Ashei had failed to hide the intrigue in her voice, leaning forward ever so slightly.
"By who?"
"… The person who's responsible for all of… this." The swordsman confirmed. "The one who started this conflict."
"So you know the enemy behind Hyrule's demise? The same one who placed that barrier around the castle?"
"Yeah. I do."
The warrior regarded him with some mixture of exasperation, awe and relief – that finally – they would be able to pinpoint the cause of all the destruction.
"What is it, then?! Don't they have a name?"
Link pressed on, hesitantly, though he could see that Ashei seemed riled up and ready to fight. Midna's silence seemed to confirm that it was alright for him to continue talking… for so long as it meant keeping the human girl on-side.
"There's… a King of Shadows. He's a powerful magic user and nobody from our world can see or touch him, unless chooses to cross over. That's why you've been fighting in the dark for so long. All these surges in monster activity, and events like Death Mountain growing unstable, or Zora's Domain freezing over, are all connected to him. He's been poisoning our world from afar."
He paused before continuing.
"I don't think I should name him here, not without compromising my friend or drawing his attention. Not that… she has anything to do with this. It's… complicated."
"You've put your faith into this other person, even knowing that you don't have all of the facts?" Ashei found herself asking.
"… I guess I have," the hero smiled, morosely. "And I plan to continue doing so."
The warrior scoffed, though she would never admit that she found his resolve strangely admirable.
"At least you've confirmed there's some embodiedthreat to Hyrule. And we're not just going to hell in a hand-basket for no reason."
"Is that what this feels like?"
Link stopped to consider the reality of fighting their situation with only the damage as evidence of Zant's interference.
In her shoes, he might've gone mad.
"I searched everywhere for an explanation." Ashei continued. "And when I couldn't find one, I just… didn't know what to think, or what to believe anymore. It was like we'd been abandoned, and left to drown by the goddesses. But slowly… the land is restabilising. Through your doing, no doubt."
The swordsman felt his heart begin to race, though he didn't want to argue with her straightforward version of events. He'd always wondered if people would label him a freak or a monster if they'd known about his involvement in the conflict… or if they'd seen him in his Twilight form. However, in the warrior, he recognised somebody just as fierce, and dedicated to their cause. To the point where being a wolf was no big deal, just as long as he'd disclosed it beforehand.
"Well… that's why I'm out here now. I've been putting together pieces of… a 'key,' so I can force a meeting with this king and destroy him." Link explained, haphazardly.
"And you think a piece might be here, now, in the mountain?"
"It's highly likely. Wherever the pieces appear in our world, they act as sort of like… the eye of a storm. They bring chaos to everything around them. And I'm guessing those wolf spirits were new to Snowpeak, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have gone out there alone, after dark," he smirked.
Ashei blinked, wondering when she'd missed the fact that her new colleague was actually perceptive and intelligent. Despite his radiant features and gentle manner.
"That's… right."
"The key fragments also cause supernatural events. Things like raising the dead, or bad weather patterns, like this blizzard. So, yeah… that's my mission, I guess."
Link took in a deep breath, feeling he might've finally won control of the argument. "I'll need your knowledge to succeed, Ashei. But I'd never put your life in danger or use you to get there. I'm really sorry, again… if it seemed that way. I know I've made it hard for any of you to trust me."
The warrior growled quietly as she hunched over, taking a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose. To say that it had been a stressful couple of months was the understatement of the century.
"… No. Stop. I… owe you an apology. Again." She conceded. "There's so much going on here. You've been taking care of business all this time and I… just lost it, when I saw you transform. It was like everything I didn't know about the world slapping me in the face. This whole thing is my fault."
The swordsman laughed, clearly surprised by the new development.
"I'm not mad at you. I mean, you had your reasons."
Ashei slightly raised one of her eyebrows in response.
"What that's it, then? Don't just sit there, defending me," she argued at him, vaguely affronted. "Come at me with something!"
"No way. I saw what you did to that wolf."
A begrudging smile crossed her lips as she regarded him, cynically.
"You're no fun."
"So… ah, what are you gonna do, then? You're the only one who knows about my secret." Link admitted sheepishly, grabbing the back of his neck. "And you could tell the others, if you wanted... I won't stop you if you think they'd share your concerns."
While it caused him no small amount of anxiety, Link had reached the point where he could no longer operate in the dark if it was going to cause any further problems with the Resistance. He'd have to make peace with it, the way he'd had to here, with Ashei.
"I'm not gonna run around town blabbing my head off, if that's what you mean. As for the others… I'll… defer to your judgment. I won't say anything without your consent. On my honour." She promised.
Link inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Here, let me swear on it."
The warrior drew her sword and angled it over the reach of the shallow flames.
"... This isn't some blood ritual, is it?" he'd asked, jokingly.
"I'm being serious! Hold your sword against mine - didn't anyone ever teach you the knights' code?"
She looked to him expectantly, raising an eyebrow as he scrambled in the dark for his own. After the brief diversion, he crossed blades with hers – in a newfound accord. It reminded him briefly of his encounter with the Hero's Shade.
Silently, he also wondered if they might now be friends.
Shad had made it sound like some difficult challenge, but all things considered, Ashei was actually surprisingly easy to talk to. In fact, having the weight of these secrets off his chest felt amazing… even if it took a mountain falling on him to get there.
"Oh, and thanks... for before." Ashei added quietly, as she sheathed her sword. "You probably... saved my life. I don't normally end up like that. Ugh. Stupid."
"Anytime. Thanks for healing my wounds." Link smiled warmly at her.
The two colleagues eventually turned their attention to the fire, taking a moment to adjust to this new dynamic in their relationship.
'Hey, nice work. I didn't think you'd be able to do it. You're hopeless with women.' Midna praised him, back-handedly.
Link frowned and lightly swiped at his shadow in response, hoping that it wouldn't raise any more questions. It was certainly harder to win one over his most sardonic companion with someone watching.
Sometime late in the evening, Shad found himself glaring down at the table - or more accurately, an inkwell - that he'd nearly knocked all over his research materials by falling asleep. With a frustrated sigh, he pried himself away from the desk, moving the offending item away to the nearest bookshelf.
'What time could it be now?' he thought, blearily measuring the position of the moon in the sky.
The study lights were burning scarcely once more, though this time he took comfort in the fact that there was nobody around who could possibly be rude enough to barge in and throw things at him, in his current state.
After a moment of deliberation, the scholar made peace with the fact that his productivity was spent for the night and decided to fetch some fresh water from downstairs.
He then looked forward to climbing into bed, which still, admittedly, carried scents of fresh grass, pine needles and burnt wood from Link's stay earlier this week. He'd felt guilty about leaving it the way it was... but in a room full of old paper, it smelt incredible - by comparison.
The scholar quietly settled that what his friend didn't know wouldn't kill him.
After placing his hand on the door handle, Shad stopped abruptly in his tracks, taken out of his thoughts by a noise from nearby.
"Hello?" he called, quietly.
The floorboards creaked in response, sending him a sudden spike of adrenaline.
"Who's out there?"
The scholar boldly swung the door open after grabbing the nearest candleholder as a weapon.
Blinking in the shroud of the hallway, he saw the white bundle of hair that was Telma's cat dart across the floorboards and up into the arms of another - someone shorter, and lankier, who seemed bright in the dark.
"... Ilia?" he gaffed, startled.
"Oh, good evening Shad. Was I being loud?"
After taking a moment to adjust to light, the scholar could see Ilia very clearly now, as the blue of the night sky streamed in through the windows. She hugged Louise, who purred loudly, as she stopped at the end of the hallway.
"... Good evening, to you... Goddesses, I thought you might be an assailant." Shad sighed, lowering his improvised weapon. "Forgive me, my dear, but what are you doing at this hour?"
"I'm just going for a walk." She said, softly. "Well, I know it's not entirely safe outside and I wouldn't want to trouble Rusl, so... I've been pacing the building. I have some company."
Louise meowed quietly in acknowledgment.
Though the younger girl didn't sound particularly frazzled, it was certainly not a normal thing for a day-worker of her calibre to be haunting houses at this hour. And unfortunately, it was still too dark to get a really good look at her face.
Taking in this bizarre state of events, Shad decided to press on, diplomatically.
"I certainly don't mean to be tactless, here but... is everything alright with you? You can always talk to me about it."
"Ah... I haven't needed to rest as much, lately. In fact, think it's much nicer to use this time for reflection. It's quiet. Serene. Like the whole world is still for a few hours."
Ilia's eyes gleamed a little as she smiled at him, though it weakly concealed the sorrow in her expression.
"I realise the outright hypocrisy of me saying this - but everybody needs proper rest. Unless... you've turned into some creature of the night?" the scholar gasped, playing up the weirdness.
"Where would you get a crazy idea like that?" She laughed.
"There are numerous books on the subject. Most of them are terrible - I'll save you the trouble of having to read them... or having to go hunting, in this case."
"You already know too much!"
Ilia shook her head amusedly, reminded of just how odd somebody like Shad would have been perceived in her hometown. Everybody in the city had this strange flair to them - like they were wholly dedicated to their interests to the point of it being a comedic routine. It was certainly never a dull moment with him around.
"In all seriousness... what is it, that's troubling you?" Shad intercepted, once more. "This doesn't seem like particularly healthy behaviour. N-Not that it shows."
"So, it's okay for you to be up all night?" Ilia sassed, playfully.
"I happen to be wired this way. And nice try, there - avoiding my question. But of course, I'll understand if you have your own reasons not to tell me..."
The fledgling barmaid took a moment to collect herself in front of the scholar's inquisitive eye.
Of course, he hadn't wanted to make her uncomfortable. But in contrast, Ilia worried for having relied on him too much. She inhaled deeply before placing her fingers along the sides of her forehead.
"Shad... I can't sleep properly at night. And I don't like thinking about it but... I can't do much with this time. This is the best distraction I have."
"Oh, no, Ilia..."
Before he could pause to think about it - ever mindful of her personal space - the scholar came in close and pulled her into a gentle embrace. He'd started with one arm, wrapped lightly, considerately, around her back, but Ilia pressed against him in return.
It had only been a couple of days since Link departed - and his goodbye hugs were always the best - but she enjoyed the new touch, especially coming from the courteous scholar. He held her attentively, now with both arms, feeling her head rest upon his shoulder. It might've caused him to blush if every part of him wasn't already glowing with positive energy.
"You'll need to stop or you're going to make me cry," Ilia sniffed, doing her best to smile.
"Have you told anyone?" Shad asked, slowly releasing her. "Link, per chance? I'm certain we could both do more to help you-"
"No, no. Please, Shad. I don't want anyone else to worry about it. Telma's so busy, and I just... have these terrible dreams. I don't feel comfortable telling Link about them... because he's... in them."
"Oh, my."
"... He's in all of them. I feel like it's driving me mad."
The scholar frowned, failed by his lack of precedence in the matter. Nightmares about loved ones were something beyond his expertise, beyond keeping a dream diary there wasn't much else he felt confident in as a treatment plan.
And the problem could never really... be Link, himself... that was impossible.
"... Well, until we can deal with it properly, I could always go with you - outside, if you need company or - a distraction! Yes!"
Carried away by the floodwaters of his excitement, the scholar dashed into the study and turned up the lights. Ilia blinked twice as she walked in, timidly, behind him.
They stopped before one of the tidier shelves in the corner, furthest away from his work-area, which was laced with a variety of colourful book-spines in varying sizes. The barmaid soon realised that this must be Shad's 'light reading' section. In comparison to the rest of the room, it was thoroughly kaleidoscopic.
"Wow." She breathed.
"Which of these do you find more compelling? Or, perhaps 'boring' would help, in this case..." Shad winked. "We have Hyrule Historia, a common era Bestiary - uh, if that wouldn't be too unpleasant for you - decently translated Gerudo mystery novels, Zoran poetry, an anthology of the most influential folk stories of our time, Hylian Art Through the Ages..."
Ilia laughed at him freely, feeling some warmth return to her face.
"I know, I know. My cultural collection is somewhat lacking."
"No! This is... I'm very touched, Shad. You're always so helpful. I've read all the books in my room front to cover, but... it's just so hard to concentrate when I'm so tired." She admitted.
"Well, just between you and me, Telma's romance novels are... second-rate." The scholar smirked. "And that author... Edo, is it? A total drunkard. You can still see him down at that main bar, in the Western suburbs."
The younger girl giggled quietly into her hands, mostly at Shad's hidden propensity for scandalous gossip. "I'll keep that in mind. And I really appreciate the new material... so, thank you."
He watched over Ilia as she selected a bundle of books from the shelf - one of them containing the legends of the light spirits - and faintly wondered if he were good for anything else, besides reading.
'What would Link do in this situation? Take her to the nearest Fairy Fountain on Epona? All I can do is read to death...'
But then, another solution hit him.
"Well, how would you feel we took these to your room and I read them to you, instead?" he asked quietly.
Ilia turned back towards him, cradling the new materials against her lap. She was visibly startled by the generous offer. "But... you already have such a heavy workload. I'd feel awful."
"You seem to be forgetting that I am an insatiable reader," the scholar said with a smug expression. "It is no trouble for me. And, well, there's no guarantee it'll help you but... we could give it a try. If you like."
"... I think it might help... to hear your voice." She then admitted shyly, looking to the ground.
Achingly, Ilia had wished to be free of the horrible events that brought her to the city. She wanted to stand as a fully realised adult in the face of the war - and to have Link trust in the fact that she was okay. However, mutely... she conceded the fact that she wouldn't be able to help anyone else in her current state.
Healing was going to take more time. And it was completely out of her hands to speed up the process.
"Then, it's settled!" Shad exclaimed.
Gently, he relieved Ilia of the books in her care and followed her into the adjacent room.
The white furniture of her bedroom was bright periwinkle in the dark, causing the scholar's eyes to strain as the nearby lamp brightened on. With some hesitation, Ilia then climbed into the bed, propping the pillows under her as she sat forward. Her sheets had already been folded in neatly - in defiance of her insomnia.
Rather oddly, the scholar also noticed that a spare curtain had been tossed over the dresser mirror. But now was not the time to ask questions.
"Perhaps I should talk softly, so as to avoid getting a crowbar to the face," Shad joked suddenly, clearing his throat with apprehension.
Ilia merely regarded him with a decisive look on her face.
"What are you worried about? You're just visiting! I visit you all the time."
"Y-Yes, but... it could be construed differently - if I were to impose on your space at this hour. People might think I was being... advantageous."
He hoped that she'd caught his meaning, unlike a certain blonde swordsman.
"It's fine!" Ilia argued, stubbornly. "You're more than welcome in here, Shad. We're friends. And I can make my own decisions about who comes into my room."
"Of... course."
With a nervous chuckle, he then considered the books in his grasp.
"So, where would you prefer to start, my lady? Beasts or poetry?"
"Hey. Before we wrap things up, I've got a lead for us to follow tomorrow." Ashei announced to the room, pulling Link's focus out of the flames. Since their prior conversation, he'd found his thoughts drifting erratically between his ties to the light world and his mission to redeem the world of twilight.
"And I'm all ears if you've got any suggestions for getting us out of this cave. But let's not worry about the details right now. We're both wrecked." She sighed heavily, growing tired at their lack of resources.
"Ah..."Link stalled, taking in the azure gloom of their surroundings.
Slivers of moonlight streamed down from the ceiling, illuminating the rocks and old pieces of driftwood that lay scattered across the ground. Though the main entrance was well and truly blocked off with snow, he noted, once more, that there was indeed a stream in the distance of the cavern. It was enough to give him a hunch.
"I think I've got something. If I transform, I'll probably be able to dig us out of here, withoutflooding us in. But... it'll work better once my shoulder's rested."
"Sure..."
Link then returned his gaze to the warrior.
She had been sitting very quietly on his left, her jaw clenched tightly to stop it from chattering. Ashei was already so pale... but he noticed the splash of colour on her cheekbones and the bruised tint of her lips. It had been easy for him to forget that she was every bit as frail as he was.
"You look… really cold."
"There's not enough dry wood for a decent fire in here. But I'm fine." Ashei scowled, breathing into her hands through the crisp air.
"Oh, well… I'm feeling it too," he admitted, candidly. The temperature certainly wasn't helping the lacerations under his bandages.
"Why don't you transform, then?"
"Because the last time I did that, everything went really badly … and it'd still be weird now."
She found herself laughing genuinely at his response, as she threw another bundle of sticks into the hearth. "Well, I'll manage by myself, thanks." The warrior rebuffed, carefully meeting his eyes.
"Are you sure? It'd probably be easier to manage together."
Though she had suspected as much, Ashei was taken aback by the boldness of what she'd just heard him say. She shot a stern look toward Link who seemed entirely unfazed.
"... Did I say the wrong thing, again?" he asked her, unsurely.
She gave him a moment for the implication behind his words to sink in.
"Oh... right - I didn't mean anything bad, or sleazy, I just thought... it would help."
"Are you serious?! That's the worst cover-up story I've ever heard!" Ashei snapped at him, suppressing the urge to laugh her head off. It certainly wasn't everyday that somebody insinuated themselves into her personal space. "You're unbelievable."
Not knowing how to fix the situation, Link winced as he drew his knees closer to his face. After spilling nearly everything about his secret identity, he knew he'd grown complacent - and that this time, he'd stepped over the line.
It hadn't helped that Ashei was actually - wildly - beautiful and had probably heard this sort of thing before, in an entirely different context. He supposed that hanging around Telma's Bar would have brought on its own share of admirers and that he, in comparison, must have seemed too naive, too immature, to be taken seriously.
'That's it! That's the final straw. I'm calling an intervention, Link.' Midna observed from the shadows. 'I'm going to have to teach you how to talk to people your age, without making them totally uncomfortable. It's too painful to watch. I'm done.'
Nobody could be more shocked than he was when the warrior quietly got up and sat beside him, draping the side of her coat over his shoulder.
He blinked wildly, feeling his heart leap into his throat and adrenaline burst out of his stomach. In return, she looked at him sideways with an incredulous expression.
"… If you tell anybody about this, I will end you. And no touching."
"Y-Yeah, of course... uh, thanks..."
Now hyper-vigilant of his own words and actions, Link did his best to steady his breathing and calm himself down.
'Psh. You're lucky you're so pretty.' Midna teased.
He then watched nervously as Ashei reached into her pocket for a flask and took a swig of something that burned his nose. "What's in there?" He'd asked, scrunching his face.
"It's whisky. It helps with the cold." She said, giving it a light shake.
"Did you want some?"
The swordsman averted his gaze, hit with the sudden realisation of his youth. "I can't 'til my next birthday. If Telma knew, she'd definitely kill us."
"So? You're old enough to die for Hyrule," she reasoned, with devious smile. "One sip isn't going to hurt you, I promise."
"… Well okay, I guess? It can't be any worse than my potions."
Link took the open flask to his lips, promptly choking upon the fumes within. The feeling was worsened tenfold as a caustic liquid hit the back of his throat and rained like pins and needles, all the way down. "Wh - what the f-"
"Feel the burn? Good. That means it's working."
"You drink this voluntarily?!" He spluttered, regarding Ashei with pure horror. "Is this what I'm supposed to look forward to? It's awful! Don't let Shad bring me anything like this!"
She laughed airily at his comments, having expected a similar sort of reaction.
"I'll have him bring you something lighter. The look on your face, though - priceless."
Their fire dwindled into a benign ember as the night passed, with low flames, but enough heat to last for another couple of hours.
Eventually, Ashei grew tired enough to let her head sit very lightly against Link's shoulder. He felt the steel and bones of her upper arm and knees against his side, enjoying the warmth... though she was very much the opposite of soft.
Upon running his fingers over the folds of his bandages, it had suddenly occurred to the hero that she'd had to have pried the upper layers of his clothes off in order to fasten them around his shoulder. He blushed deeply at the thought, before checking-in with her once more.
"Sorry about all the blood everywhere – before, I mean." He stumbled awkwardly in the silence. "It must've been hard to deal with after... everything that happened. How's your arm? Didn't you get torn up pretty badly?"
"Yeah..." Ashei responded dryly, prying back her winter coat.
The grey outer-layer of her clothes hung in strips along the arm, matted with blood. And although the wounds underneath were closed, they still appeared to be incredibly raw and ragged, like a series of pink scars inflicted one top of one another. It seemed all the more crude and painful on her delicate wrists.
"Does it still hurt?"
"It burns like hell but after the potion I'll manage. Though, I actually have far less injuries than you do."
'Oh,' he thought, upon realising that she'd noticed the weathered state of his body.
"Anyway, I'm not bothered. I like someone who can take a hit."
"Well… that's good then."
The warrior quietly drifted off some time before he closed his eyes, enjoying the earthy scents imbued within the fibres of his tunic.
