Rabil's eyes languidly stared out, over the hilly terrain that crossed his vision toward the Tabantha skies, as he huddled against the chilled stone wall of the watchtower, hands clutching his arms as he held his torso tightly, hoping to keep close whatever warmth he could find beneath the thin sheet of a blanket that had been handed down from one lookout to another.
The bitter night air took on a nightmarish property at this height, and while the watchtower might have once been a shield against the stinging breeze, it had grown into disrepair, leaving those unfortunate enough to reside up here with the hellish responsibility of warding off frostbite atop of their other responsibilities.
Rabil peered along the torn walls that surrounded the highest point of the watchtower; at least, what was left of it. The wooden floor he sat upon led up merely to a handful of stone spires now, the rooftop having been completely leveled across the years- a constant reminder of the demons scouring the air. Even if one thought it fantasy, that destroyed tower proved far more than a skeptical mind could hope to dismiss.
These were the outskirts of Hyrule's reach. Far beyond the pristine towers of the castle stood only this decrepit spire of a tower; a reminder of the Castle's waning support of these Hylians who continued to live this far, beyond the ease of access to the Royal Family's supply of able-bodied soldiers, particularly now, during this, to Rabil, worthless search for archaeological works.
Rabil once thought it better for the King to aid his subjects out here, repair the tower, keep his family safe from harm. but as more and more resources went to digsites, Rabil's hopes began to wane, his heart unshielded by hope much as his body remained at the whims of the frigid winds surrounding him.
He was on look-out duty, leaving the skin surrounding his eyes black and blue as he bit back the discomfort of that glacierlike wind breaking against his eyes. As much as he wished to shut his eyes and save his own body, he knew that the lives of his family, and most everyone in the small township, were more important than the whites of his eyes.
Rabil's attention fluttered. A creaking step.
He turned exhaustedly back toward the staircase, finding his friend, Kobah, there, shrouded within a blanket of his own thrown upon his shoulders, though with a curiously hopeful line of steam rising from his torso, the man's hands cupping a small bowl.
"Aye, Rabby," Kobah grinned, a series of limping steps taking him closer to the lookout, "Not bad fer ya first week on the job! How ya holdin' up?"
Rabil shrugged, a feverish shiver appearing within his shawl as he broke his hand through its joined edge at his side, sacrificing that tepid warmth for something of a hearty meal. He reached out his hand as Kobah slowly bent down, his back long since torn by years of menial labor, passing off the bowl with a gentle clamor as its spoon swung around the edge of the wooden vessel.
"Gaah," Kobah groaned painfully as he worked his body to the floor beside Rabil, finding himself seated cross-legged as he finally ejected a sigh of relief, "These old bones're not the best to get up those stairs, ya know."
Merely within his forties, Kobah's decrepit appearance only matched the watchtower's. This township, Dangarnon, hadn't ever been a settlement with which its inhabitants could thrive, after all; generations of Hylians, after all, had been potted with the same luck, rotten to the core, all but forced to grow old in this place, constantly fearing for their lives, if not for terrible harvests.
"Ya likin' it?" Kobah asked, keeping watch while Rabil slowly buried his face above the bowl, taking its seeping warmth against his face while eating.
The young man grumbled, "'s that a trick question?"
"Not so, boy!" Kobah chuckled, "I rem'ber when I first got lookout duty. Gah, was I excited."
Rabil's eyes peered toward him, "So you enjoyed it, what, five minutes?"
The old man cackled mutely, "Pretty much. Found out in a second how much of a hell it is up 'ere. Even by then, the walls'd come down. The worst nights up 'ere, you can barely think fer your brain slowing to a crawl as yer body freezes."
Rebil lowered his eyes hopelessly, losing whatever enjoyment he might have had from the searing warmth of broth tearing through his body's insides.
"Word's come 'round," Kobah nodded, lowering his tone, "King's thinkin' of ending the diggin' perhaps."
"Fuck the King," Rabil bit back, burying his face into the steamy lines rising toward him once again.
"Oi, language," Kobah reminded, "Yer motha's not gonna be too keen hearin' that, you know."
Cocking his head knowingly, Rabil noted mutely, "Just part of growing up here. You learn to keep your eyes to the sky- You learn to hate that Family- How to grow stupid mushrooms-"
He sneered, "Then you have your sixth birthday."
Kobah chuckled, "Good ta know the cold hasn't gotten yer wit. yet…"
A chilly breath left Kobah as a lull came about, partly due to his allowing Rabil the chance to eat his soupy meal uninhibited while it was still able to warm him up. The middle-aged man simply kept his eyes on the horizon, having already grown accustomed to surrendering his eyes to the gusts of wind that ran like daggers of ice into their eyes.
"How's Lamim?" Rabil mumbled in between slurps.
Kobah cocked a grin, "Over the moon that he got out of this assignment tonight. You didn't have ta do this, you know."
Shrugging, Rabil replied, "His birthday just passed. Figured the least I could do was afford him a single present."
Kobah took a glance toward him, warily, "Well don't be spoilin' him now. He's a teenager- If I don't break 'im in, he's gonna grow up ta be-"
"Me?" Rabil interrupted, a smirk appearing above his bowl.
Rolling his eyes, Kobah muttered grimly, "Of course not. Yer a fine young man, Rabby. Too fine fer what happened to ya…"
With a half shrug, Rabil returned to his meal, "It's nothing."
Kobah's eyes fluttered across the moonlight bouncing across the mountainside that helped border Hyrule Ridge alongside the lands of Tabantha.
"How's Ahie holding up?" he asked with a piteous tone.
Shrugging, Rabil answered, "Despondent. Figured it'd be better I stayed up here tonight."
Breathing a lengthy breath of a sage regretfully beginning to impart wisdom, Kobah gloomily noted, "After everything, I think she might need you the most right now."
Cocking a weak grin, Rabil shook his head, "She just needs time. We both do."
A disquieting howl of air greeted the two as the atmosphere stagnated.
"I knew not to name it," Rabil admitted, shaking his head, "Comes with the territory. You're supposed to just let that pessimism seep in, but-"
He groaned, noting the bitter taste the soup now held, "I thought I loved her because she saw hope, even in this- fucking place. Now-"
Despite being alone with another man, a man whom he could trust, Rabil had the presence of mind to quit speaking before admitting something he might regret. Still, Kobah had the foresight to catch the young man's thoughts, forcing a disheartened swell upon his chest.
"I know it's not easy, boy, but-"
"I don't need your consoling, Kobah," Rabil explained with a sting to his voice, "I just- Being up here will do us both good, Ahie and me."
Kobah frowned, unable to heed his heavy heart with his current responsibility leaving him glued to the horizon, yet he still spoke up with a wary tone, "Do you still-"
"Love her?" Rabil completed, perhaps hoping the interruption might by him some time.
Despite that, enough time passed for Kobah to know.
"I do. Goddess, I do," Rabil finally explained, only for his voice to waver, "I just-"
He lowered his head while his shoulder slid along the icy wall of the watchtower, leaving Kobah to blindly reach over to stroke his back in contemplation.
"It's never easy ta lose a child. but the union created, even if its product was taken too soon- You two're all each other has in this world," Kobah explained somberly.
Without reply, Rabil paused his meal. Without taste, and with the steam having all but vanished beneath the chilled air, there was little need to continue eating.
He swung his hand toward Kobah, returning the bowl as he muttered, "Thanks."
"Don't mention it, boy," the older man assured taking the bowl only after Rabil had taken to peering off into the distance himself, allowing Kobah to run a pair of fingers across his face to massage his eyes.
Figuring it best to leave the young man alone to ruminate, Kobah slowly began his meagre movements to push him to his feet, pausing immediately as Rabil spoke up lowly.
"Is it wrong if- I feel like blaming her..?"
Kobah gave a rather heated breath as he fell back into his seated position, immediately swinging a hand to smack Rabil's cheek without the lookout averting his gaze.
"Now listen 'ere, boy; that woman would've given her very life for that child, 'n you're not about to tarnish that level of devotion simply because you're miserable!" Kobah roared.
Rabil's eyes constricted.
"All I want-" he muttered defeatedly, "I just want to blame myself, but- I can't. Not in this instance. Not without erasing those moments I've shared with her all these years."
Sighing, Kobah shook his head, "No one's ta blame, boy. That's just-"
He loaded his words with that thought that accompanied every tenant of the town of Dangarnon as surely as the stars stood steadfast amongst the moon's pale light.
"That just life out 'ere," he concluded meagerly.
Rabil only barely nodded in agreement, "Were that so easy to accept after all these years. We've been forgotten even by the goddess herself out here…"
A gnarled pang curled around Kobah's heart, but his wringing chest was brightened, once again, by the young man's wit as he grumbled sarcastically, "I suppose, in a sense, we should be happy to be in this predicament. Those Rito are the only ones who haven't forgotten about us."
"Keh heh," Kobah chuckled as he worked his way back to his feet, allowing his legs to slowly churn themselves away as he stumbled in place, "Just remember- That humor, dry as it is, is why that woman fell for you in the first place. Don't give 'er up for a mere moment in time."
His eyes fixed upon the horizon, Rabil declined to answer further, simply pulling his arms back underneath his blanket as he wrapped it around his curled-up frame, once again praying for warmth to join him. Kobah gave him a final glance before groaning as a result of his aching joints, shakily stepping back toward the staircase that had brought him to this anguished man.
Perhaps in his younger days, Kobah might have believed such time up here, alone, in the watchtower might be worth something of a remedy for a broken heart. But he knew better, now.
For being a harbinger of death, that watchtower only brought despair.
After the loss of a child, Kobah figured- Perhaps that was just what Rabil needed to commune with for a while.
A/N: I know I said I wouldn't bring up too many more original characters, BUT if you'll indulge me, this won't be as lengthy as all the Zora from Part Two, and it'll allow me to draw from a certain genre that is serving for inspiration toward this part of the story, as well as explore the Kingdom of Hyrule in a more interesting, and less-than-perfect lens, yet not wholly unbelievable, given the in-game lore of Breath of the Wild.
Just bear with me as best you can; I understand it's not ideal at all.