Zelda wrinkled her nose in disgust. "And this is what you feed to the cuccos?"

"They're animals, Zelda," Pipit said earnestly. "They don't care."

"All living things deserve to eat well," Zelda disagreed. "And this..." she spread a handful of the cucco feed on the ground, which the birds happily swarmed over. "Is not eating well."

Pipit rolled his eyes, hefting the bucket of feed up onto his shoulder. "You mages and your higher laws. Anju used to fight me on what we fed the cuccos too, before the goddesses called her away." He turned away, carrying the bucket out of the cucco house. "Sometimes things are just the way that they are. You can't change it, so why fight it?"

"But there could be a better way," Zelda said softly to Pipit's retreating figure. "They don't always have to be." Pipit grunted and disappeared.

Zelda sighed and leaned up against the fence of the cucco coop, her bucket of moldy cornmeal clasped gently in her hands. The cuccos were still chomping happily on the grain she'd cast on the ground earlier, emitting contented clucks every now and then as they picked at their dinner. Zelda watched them for a moment before the rotten cornmeal started to make her feel queasy, and she tore her eyes away. The sun was just rising over the mountains, spreading warmth slowly across the small farm, and Zelda tried to redirect her attention to the tingling of heat she felt in her arms. She sighed happily at the sensation of the sunshine, and she closed her eyes blissfully. As her mind settled, she found herself automatically reaching out with her magic and sensing for the pockets of energy that existed in the nature of Hyrule. Even though Zelda was no stranger to Hyrule's magic, it felt like a new experience to her every time she found more. As an experienced Forager Mage, she knew her own magic was limited, and she was eager to draw up magic wherever she found it.

Suddenly there was a shaft of darkness that pierced Zelda's consciousness, and she flinched back, caught off-guard. She scrunched her eyes closed and gathered a layer of protection around her from the cheerful energy of the cuccos before probing gently out once again, more cautiously this time. However, the darkness appeared to have vanished, and Zelda withdrew her senses back, a niggling worry arising in her thoughts. Had she imagined the darkness? Where had it gone?

"Zelda, those birds will be fine, but I could use your help getting the fire started," Pipit's voice suddenly rang out, and Zelda started slightly before casting a pitying look down at the cuccos and their spoiled dinner.

"I highly doubt that, considering what they're eating," Zelda quipped back, but she adjusted her grip on her bucket and turned on her heel to head back inside to help Pipit with the cooking fire.

"What's with you?" her employer asked curiously. "You've got the magic look again."

Zelda raised an eyebrow as she set her bucket on the table beside Pipit's. "Magic look?"

Pipit waved a hand vaguely. "It's the 'I feel something but I don't know what' look. Your eyes turn grey, your ears twitch, and you look like something's itching somewhere you can't reach."

Zelda blinked once before laughing softly. "I didn't realize mages were so easy to read."

"The eyes are a dead giveaway," Pipit said promptly. "Your eyes are usually violet, so when the color fades, I always know something's up."

"What color were Anju's eyes?" Zelda asked softly as Pipit bent over the fire to shove some logs under the pot. Pipit hesitated before continuing to stack the wood, more slowly this time.

"They were blue normally," he said quietly. "But they turned green when she used magic and hazel when she was summoning."

"She was a Summoner, right?" Zelda asked, bending down next to Pipit and lifting up the pot so he could arrange the wood more easily.

"Yeah," Pipit grunted. "Never saw any of the spirits she summoned, though." He brushed his hands off on his overalls and abruptly rose back to his feet. "I'm starved. Get that fire going, will you?"

"Of course." Zelda had the decency to sense the subject change and rested the pot back carefully on the hook above the fire. She closed her eyes and gathered in the heat from the sunlight and metal anvil outside, stretching out her palm. Inhaling sharply, her eyes shot open and she sparked a small fire in her hand.

Pipit hummed in appreciation before turning away to gather the food. Zelda extended her hand and willed the flames to travel to the fireplace and ignite the fuel that waited there, and the wood popped once before starting to smoke. Zelda concentrated harder, extending both hands now, gathering more heat to feed the fire. Little orange flames peeked through the wood, and Zelda relaxed, pulling her hands back to her sides. Pipit bustled back into the room and tossed several items of food into the pot above the crackling fire. Zelda eyed Pipit carefully as she reached her palms out toward the pot as she gathered more heat, smirking slightly. Just as Pipit leaned over the pot to inspect the vegetables, Zelda let out a breath and poured her gathered heat into the water, and a cloud of steam drifted up to hit Pipit right in the face.

Zelda giggled as Pipit withdrew his face from the pot, eyeing Zelda suspiciously. "You know, it doesn't get any funnier the more times you heat the stew under my nose."

"On the contrary," Zelda countered, grinning broadly. "I still think it's quite amusing."

Pipit grunted and wiped droplets of mist from his amber-colored beard. "Just help me with the rest of the food, will you?"

Zelda laughed again and moved to help her employer. "Of course, Pipit."