"The Destiny Stone"
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda or any characters, places, or events thereof, so there! Of the original characters, I came up with Timbre, Kat, Aka, Benz, Vulcan and some various bit characters here and there. Sond owns the rest. Thanks Sond! Rej is © FogFrontier!
*****
Ok, I'm a dork. Really. Figures that the moment I get back to school, uproot myself and get into a totally different environment — WHAM. Suddenly the story just goes on backburner' mode for a whileWell, when you're either sick, working, or a bridesmaidAnyhow, I apologize profusely and on humbled knee for not updating sooner than I have. I know what to write, I just never seem to catch it at a good time, you know? Here's hoping that I'm not eviscerated by anyone for my delay. *hides*
*****
"The Destiny Stone" — Chapter 24: Harmonizing
*****
Link had to rub his eyes before he believed what he saw was not just another illusion.
It could have easily been so — despite his guide, the illusions that plagued this part of the desert still manifested themselves, and had done so at every possible moment. However, these illusions apparently were triggered for one entity alone.
Because the illusions must form off of surface thoughts and memories — which will be different for each person that comes here. This insight led Link to a further thought - his illusions would remain unseen by the wolf, and vice versa. It was seemingly true - whenever another shadow of Ganondorf reemerged, the wolf would walk by it, sometimes through it, as if it didn't exist. Because it doesn't, Link reminded himself.
On the equal side, every once in a while he would see the wolf suddenly start or flinch far ahead of him. It would stop, and glance warily back at him. Noting his lack of reaction, it would soon turn and continue onwards as if nothing had happened. Idly, Link had wondered what kind of illusions unseen to him would plague his guide.
This time, however, they obviously both saw it. Far in front of him, he saw his wolf guide suddenly pause in front of — something - that stretched impossibly long in all directions, a flat, wall-like plane. It looked up, then turned to glance at him. Then, lowering its head, it started walking forward, and Link had to distill a cry of shock.
The wolf was vanishing into the barrier. By the time he realized what was going on, its forequarters had already disappeared into the wall, leaving a pair of disjointed hindquarters hovering impossibly over the sandy ground. After a moment, the hind legs also disappeared, until only the bushy tail was left. Then that too vanished with a lazy flick, and the Hylian was left blinking at himself.
Stepping up to the spot where it had gone, Link realized this wall' strongly resembled a solid construct of sand. A barrier, maybe to keep out enemies? Would he be able to get through, or would he be consumed? Nerving himself, he stuck one hand through, only to find the barrier quite unsolid and passable. With a deep breath, he plunged in, eyes closed.
Suddenly, the full sun sparkled even in Link's closed eyes, dazzling him. As he opened them again and blinked owlishly, a totally new scene greeted his sight. He still stood on sandy desert ground, though much more solid. And everything had suddenly become clear. He could see again! How had the storm abated so quickly? Confused, Link turned his head, looking back over his shoulder. Less than four paces away, the sandstorm raged as feral as ever. And less than two paces away, the sandstorm just stopped. The invisible window - veil hanging behind him kept out the storm. That's odd, Link thought, still squinting from the sudden full sunlight. Turning around, he peered about, trying to study his new surroundings. Sitting nearby was his lupine guide, who was sitting on its haunches. Its expression reminded him of Timbre when he was snickering.
"Well, you'd be a little bewildered too, I think," he rasped painfully at his companion. The wolf just wrinkled its nose in amusement and stood up again, gesturing with a sweep of its muzzle at the new scene. Since the sandstorm had completely vanished, it had brought with it the very clear spectacle of a building sweeping in the distance. The Hylian would have cheered, but his throat was too dry, and any complex vocalizations he made were nothing more than froglike croaks and groans, and hurt his throat.
The building was sand-scoured and blocky, appearing to be carved out of a jut of bedrock. Link was reminded architecturally of both the old Gerudo Fortress and the Spirit Temple, though this building was neither.
OddI thought there weren't any other buildings in the Desert
A few more steps, and the sandstorm's howls faded completely. The most Link could now hear was a dull background whisper of wind. Sand still blew up into his face from time to time, but now it didn't seem so deliberate.
They approached the building, and Link slowly started to hang back, cautious. His lupine guide pressed on, glancing back at him every two minutes or so. This minor reassurance made him feel slightly less like an intruder, though it didn't help his fatigue.
A hundred yards in front of the building, the wolf stopped, and Link halted as well. It stood there like a frozen statue, one forepaw slightly placed in front of the other as it stared at the building. Now that Link had a better look at it, he noted that its fur, though still sand-caked in places from the storm, appeared to be a very slight shade of blue-gray. In size, it wasn't quite as large in frame as Timbre, though the graceful curve to its pose made the Hylian think of a powerful spring in a rested state. Numbly his brain nagged atsomething-but he didn't dwell on it for long. It took too much effort. The wolf blinked, and it turned its head and looked directly at him.
It? Not it. She. Link shook his head, feeling suddenly rather faint. Where had that come from? Now that he'd reached a destination, his illusion-fighting strength was draining from him. Quickly. He staggered slightly as standing upright suddenly became ten times as difficult.
The wolf didn't seem to notice this though. It (she, Link reminded himself woozily) turned her nose up towards the sky, and howled out a single note. The musical cry resonated through the air with the solemnity of a word of great importance.
Link had heard a wolf's howl before. He remembered some now long-ago nights when Timbre had disappeared for hours on end, with only the echoes of his singing' betraying his presence at all. It had been almost disquieting how lonely that single melody could be. Link had never really figured out what purpose a howl served. He'd even asked Timbre once why a wolf howls, and the boy had shrugged vaguely, mumbling that a human wouldn't understand.
This wolf's singing was no less enigmatic. Still, it wasn't an unpleasant sound, though the lone note somehow made his tired heart ache a little more. So sadas if there should be more to it. At the same time as the sound faded, so did his remaining strength. Link felt his knees buckle, and he folded neatly in half, sinking to his knees as fluidly as if his bones had completely melted. His vision blurred, then blackened.
The next time his senses flooded back into lucidity, the wolf was gone. Link frowned. He'd wanted to at least thank his benefactor. But as it was, he found he could no longer move. There just wasn't enough of him left to. Feeling like a wrung out sponge, Link's eyes half-closed in a futile effort. He became aware through increasing dimness that his face was nestled almost comfortably in warm grainy sand, and he turned his face to one side so he wouldn't suffocate. As he did so, he tried to see if that building was still visible.
It was, and his failing eyesight caught blurred movement coming from that direction. Several tall figures, from the look of it. His eyes widened in recognition, but even this brief action was too much for him to handle. Link's last thought before he completely lost consciousness wasn't a pleasant one.
Not Gerudosanything but
Then nothing.
*****
Pamela swallowed, clearing her dry throat before voicing her thoughts. "Nothingnatural?"
The Keaton's three tails wavered as it shook itself free of some rockdust spotting its yellow fur. "He's right. That wasn't just natural settling."
Jim seemed the least shaken, besides the four Gorons. Standing, he looked warily about at the tunnel they stood in, as if expecting it all to fall down at a moment's notice. "Is it-"
"It appears our presence has been noted." The Keaton sat down wearily. "Our task has just become a hundred times more urgent."
"And *squeak* a hundred times more difficult as well." Rhus added quietly.
The Keaton didn't speak. He merely nodded.
Sonia hadn't spoken yet. Though she was the smallest in size of the search party, all of her suggestions and ideas had been good ones. It had been her idea in fact to mark the passages that were considered safe' with a scratched insignia of a backwards facing Keaton pawprint, rather than simple arrows. If anyone was tracking or following them, they might be less inclined to notice such a mark's significance.
Sonia soon recovered from the scare, though she still looked the most weary of them all. The four Gorons had meanwhile examined the tunnels ahead of them, checking for signs of faults, possible alternate routes, and safer ways of crossing the underground system. All four of them were males, and brothers. They'd introduced themselves by order of age: Shale, Granite, Mica, and the youngest, Rinku.
Shale, the eldest and most experienced, soon trudged back to the others. "Best we be off, goro. That quake wasn't anything that the earth would make by itself, so we have no way of telling if or when the next will strike, and you littles are vulnerable." Gorons had a very chipped manner of speaking, adding a grunt to the end of some sentences. They also had a habit of referring to anyone smaller then themselves as littles.' This meant the nomer applied to practically everything but other Gorons.
Pamela nodded, and stood, retrieving her lantern. The Dekus had brought with them several of the useful devices, which apparently seemed to be filled with tiny glowing fireflies. Rhus retrieved the other lantern, and followed after the stone humanoid as he trundled off down one of the larger tunnels. Not wishing to be left in the dark, the others followed. Trusting Shale's judgment, they all were silent for a while, before Jim finally broke the silence.
"So, when we find this portal, then what?"
The Keaton, who was riding on the sturdy shoulder of Shale, turned his head back towards them. In the light of Pamela's lantern, he seemed to nearly glow. "Then we call the rest to follow. Half of us can stay guarding at the portal, awaiting the others' return."
"Seems simple enough," Pamela said aloud, "But what about the — I mean, if-"
"Then we'll just have to fight them, I suppose, goro." Granite said from behind them. They all jumped slightly. For such huge and ponderous creatures, Gorons could sometimes move very quietly. "Though I don't think you littles would want that."
"Not at all," Jim said wryly. "Especially if it's against who we think it is-man, I hope Kafei and those other guys made it okay."
"I'm sure they're fine," Pamela said absently. "That Link fellow seemed determined not to fail, whatever it is he was up to."
"Link?" Shale's voice rumbled from up ahead. "Who is that?"
"An acquaintance of ours," Jim said. "Just flew in from nowhere-"
"He can fly, goro?"
"No no, not literallyhe just suddenly appeared one day with another stranger, and said he was looking for something. He was in the cave with us, but he left."
"How?" Came the Goron's question.
"Uh, he flew away." Jim answered.
"But you said he couldn't fly, goro." Shale pointed out, as if this should be obvious.
"Such manners of passage are of no real consequence. He has the Triforce of Courage," the Keaton said suddenly.
That caused both Sonia and Rhus to pause. "Really?" Rhus quietly murmured for the both of them, fumbling with the lantern and causing it to flicker.
Pamela and Jim's eyes had gone similarly wide. "H-he did?" Jim faltered, then became indignant. "Then why didn't he just blast all those Goriya away or something?"
Shaking his head, the Keaton explained. "You all expect the Triforce to be some great weapon to be flung into the face of an attacker. This is not so."
"Ganondorf seems to have a fine time blasting things," Jim mumbled, causing everyone to flinch.
The Keaton spoke very calmly. "The Triforce will manifest according to its particular attunement and to the inner desires of its current holder."
"What *squeak* do you mean?" Rhus looked interested. "It'll act *squeak* differently for every new holder?"
"In a way. Consider the possibility that a tool can have many different uses, and that not every single person will use that particular tool in exactly the same way. The world's finest sword could theoretically be used simply to chop wood or vegetables, or a writing stylus used to slit throats. It is all a matter of application."
There were several nods.
"And one must also consider the specific Triforce is use. As you all know there are three. The Triforce in question — Courage — is more inclined to be a subtle influence then say, Power."
Another wave of flinching.
"So even though Link had that kind of magical relic, it wouldn't have been used as a good weapon?" Pamela tried to see where the Keaton was leading them.
"Oh, it was certainly being used," the Keaton assured her. "Do you think it was mere coincidence that you and Jim decided to disobey orders, and come to their aid when the Goriya attacked?"
Pamela blinked. "Well. Maybe not. But that still doesn't answer why he just suddenly shows up."
"He was on a quest."
Pamela sighed, knowing this signaled a change in subject. "Alright then."
Sensing the awkwardness, Sonia suddenly looked up at Granite. "So, where were *squeak* you all before this blizzard?"
The Goron scratched his head. "Well, we were up our mountain, goro. But then it got too cold to stay, so we left."
Mica nodded and continued from his older brother's train of thought. "Years ago, there was a very long winter up in Snowhead, so long that some of us began to freeze solid, goro. We didn't want that to happen again, so we left."
Sonia nodded. "We had *squeak* to leave our swamp for many of the same reasonsbeing exiled to such a dark place" She sighed. "It is all very depressing"
"We'll be out of here soon, Sonia, and your tribe won't have to be stuck down here," Pamela reassured her.
The Deku Princess sighed. "I'm trying my best"
Rhus nodded reassuringly. "We all *squeak* think so, your Majesty.""
After that, the conversations became more or less small talk. The Keaton let himself droop slightly on his stony perch, watching them all through eyes that appeared to be eternally closed. With this semblance of sleep masking him, he allowed a small sound of amusement to ripple though him.
It had been a long time since he'd seen so many races willing to cooperate like this. Perhaps there was hope for the world after all.
*****
Timbre dozed, stretched out his full length in a patch of sun, tail flickering behind him like a fuzzy banner. His eyes were closed, but Sond knew better. She knew Timbre wasn't completely asleep. Not yet anyway.
Impa had done a very good job rebinding his shoulder, though she still insisted on keeping Timbre low-key until the wound was healed. The red potion had started the process that nature would eventually complete; the half-jar that was still left had been deemed too valuable to be used on something that wasn't lethal.
As Sond examined the string of her bow, her eye traveled down to her remaining arrows in their quiver on the ground. She could agree with that. The entire village was having to learn to cope with moderation, be it food, or water, or supplies. She herself had seen the slight frown on Kat's face as Impa told her this. As much as neither she nor Kat nor Impa wanted to think about it, the village was slowly running out of resources.
Timbre had emerged from his treatment as his lupine self — not out of grumpiness, but at Impa's request. The villagers themselves weren't expecting a sudden addition to their ranks, but they would have to get used to the idea. And the sooner they got used to his, er, talents as well, the better.
Though he didn't act like he was overly concerned, Sond could Timbre was feeling a little bit foolish, flopped out in the middle of the ground like that. After all, he'd spent so much of his time before trying to stay as unnoticeable as possible, and this was just making him the center of attention. If it had been up to him, he would've slunk off to a roof somewhere. Not exactly the greatest move for public relations.
Letting herself lean back against the tree, she let her eyelids droop, her bow slumped down at her side. Kat was still talking to Impa, and she was feeling tired. So the girl resigned herself to watching random passers-by. So far, nobody had actually said anything cross about the wolf lying in the sun, though Sond had detected a few stares. And it might have been her imagination, but she thought some of the villagers walking by had done so a bit faster than usual. A few had even given him a wide berth.
Heh. I don't exactly blame them.
Still, there wasn't any open resentment, as none challenged Impa's decision. So therefore, it would be up to the villagers to make their own conclusions.
A small group of village children arrived, apparently engrossed in a game of tag. Unlike the Kokiri games Sond had been used to, the normally loud shrieks and hollers that followed such games were oddly absent. The siege's influence had even affected the youngest of Kakariko.
Sond's brow furrowed slightly, and her grip around the bow tightened somewhat. Once she found out where Link was, she was going to go after him, and to put a stop to Chiron. Either we make him remember, or-
Well, she didn't exactly want to think of the alternative.
Timbre, for all of his obviousness, was being rather quiet, so the children didn't even notice him until one of them practically tripped over him. And landed square on his tail.
"Yawp!" Timbre yelped loudly and flinched.
"Yawp!" The grubby kid echoed the yelp, and scooted away. The rest of the children froze, congregating in a messy line about 3 yards away. Sond snickered. Maybe they weren't so unlike Kokiri after all. The grubby little boy who had yelped turned his head towards her.
"What is that?!" He demanded, with all the etiquette of a six-year-old. He pointed at Timbre with one finger, just so she knew exactly what he was talking about.
Sond rolled her eyes, reminding herself that this was not Mido. "That's a wolf. His name is Timbre." Crossing her arms, she smirked, as if silently challenging him.
A girl, obviously the boy's younger sister, poked her head out from behind the boy's knees. "Doe' ee bite?"
"Do you?" Sond's smirk widened.
The kids fell back on this information, and stared at Timbre again, who had failed to move after his initial yelp. Sond breathed through her nose, as if willing him to make some sign that he wasn't about to eat them all alive. But the wolf's chin was back on the ground. His eyes were even closed.
Oh, great.
The Mido-like kid had stepped forward boldly. "Well, ee ain' a Wolfos, otherwise we'd all be et' by now," he observed, and the others nodded sagely. "But ee ain' no doggy either."
Timbre's left ear twitched slightly at this. Sond snickered.
"Can I poke im?" The kid was at the questions again. Another ear twitch.
Sond realized her friend was awake, and wasn't about ready to be violent. "As long as it isn't with a stick," Sond mumbled, noting the disappointed look she was now getting.
The boy's line of sight traveled towards her quiver. "Or arrows. And don't blame me if he gets annoyed and goes away."
However, before the boy could answer, there was a giggle from behind him.
His little sister had toddled over to the wolf's prone form, and now stooped inches from his nose.
"Gah! Sis!" The grubby kid hurried over, but his sister was already moving again.
The tiny girl reached out a tentative hand, and started to scratch Timbre behind his right ear. "Impa said somethin' bad bit im," she remarked. "Bu' ee dun look too scary."
Timbre's green eyes fluttered open, and he grumbled quietly, leaning into it. The little girl giggled. "Yep, jus' like m'kitty."
This was like a signal, and the next moment Sond had with withhold her laughter as the wolf was practically surrounded by little kids. The little girl looked at the others fiercely.
"Dun' poke im! Ee's got an ouch." She gestured with her unused hand at the shoulder bandage. "See? An' jumpin' on his tail prolly din' help either."
"Well, den we gotta make im feel better, dun we?" Another girl piped up brightly.
The grubby boy added his idea. "Y'know what our Mom does when we don't feel good?"
The boy's sister stopped scratching behind Timbre's ear, and chewed on her lip while she thought. "She puts a bandage on it, an' makes us drink a potion if there's some t'spare. Then she'll make us eat veggies till th' ouch go way."
Timbre winced at the mention of vegetables, but the children took it the wrong way.
"Oh no! He's hurt again!"
"We got's t'elp im get better!"
"He needs med'ical tenshun!"
The little girl nodded, somehow becoming the authority. "If e still urts, then he needs veggies."
"I'll see if Mom has any t'spare!" The grubby boy ran off, followed by several other kids.
Timbre sat up, looking past the swarm of kids directly at Sond. She picked up the meaning of the look right away. Help!
A sudden voice behind Sond gave her a start. "He seems to get along well with children."
Sond nodded, not allowing herself to visibly flinch. "Dunno why, he just does."
Impa crossed her arms and looked down at Sond with something that might have been a smile. "Paternal instinct, maybe?"
Sond raised an eyebrow. The thought of Timbre as a father figure was somewhat amusing. And perplexing. "Huh?"
"According to what I've discovered about his kind — it isn't an unusual trait. He is very protective."
Sond fiddled with her bowstring again. She was asking Tim about things like that earlier on — I wonder why? The interview with Impa that afternoon had confused Sond slightly. While binding his wound, Impa had asked some rather unusual and cryptic questions of Timbre, who hadn't been able to answer them all too well. At least it had seemed that way.
"Tell mewhat do you know of your friend?" Impa said quietly.
"What do Iknow? You mean, what's he like?" Sond chewed her lip as Impa gave a nod. "He eats a lotand he's kind of quiet, but I dunnoWell, nobody's exactly sure where he came from - I met him when he was about ten, and he was just kind of wandering aroundI don't know how much you know about everyone else, but he traveled with us a lot-"
Impa's expression bade her to continue.
When she had regathered her thoughts, she did. "At first he used to be really distant, and not always a pleasant type — not pushy, just very very standoffish - but maybe he grew on us, or maybe we grew on himsometimes he can be really stubborn, but he means well." Sond shrugged, not sure what more she should say. But her answer seemed to satisfy the Sheikah woman, whose eyes were now closed.
"Do you know the duties of the Sheikah?" Impa asked suddenly.
Sond gave it some thought. "They — you — are guardians, right? Youwatch out for people."
"A Sheikah is bound to protect those to which his or her clan has sworn fealty. In my case, that oath was to the Royal Family of Hyrule, and by context, the peoples of Hyrule itself. Though the others of my clan are long-gone, and the Kingdom ensnared by evil, I remain here, protecting those that I can."
"What does this have to do with-"
"Your friend may have a similar code."
"Code?"
"The book I read on the subject called it a geis,' but it might be a mis-translationI believe it coincides more to the inclusion of protection of one's own."
"But Tim doesn't ha-"
"A wolf is nothing without its pack. The title can be honorary - and can extend to many things, not just others of its kinda family, friends, even a country — things that have gained the proper trust and confidence. The virtue of loyalty comes to mind — the defense of those that have earned one's respect. If one has gained that level of trust, a wolf will defend to the death those ones that he or she holds dear."
Sond became very quiet, almost as if she were looking at the scene with new eyes. Things and motives were suddenly becoming clearer with this revelation. During the interview, Impa had asked Timbre a question that she had thought rather personal: "Who would you hold dear?"
Timbre had replied after a moment's thought. "My friends," he answered, then after another moment of contemplation, "and all those who have nobody to defend them."
This whole experience must have been awful for him, she thought. Losing everyone he's ever known, as if he'd never existedbut stillwould he really die for us?
The girl blinked, feeling slightly touched, and looked up at Impa. "Hereally meant that?"
The Sheikah woman nodded. "I believe it is safe to say that he would rather die than feel a single loss - I thought it might be so, though one thing still puzzles me. His kind is thought to be long gone...why would this one suddenly appear?" She left it at that, her eyes following several children who were now running off in different directions.
"WellI've — well-" Sond stammered slightly.
The red eyes oriented on her. "Have you?"
Sond swallowed. "Besides hima long time agowe did see anotherbut I haven't — not in a long time. Who says they're all gone, anyway?"
Impa sighed. "History texts, a few that went back several hundred years to the time of the first Princess Zelda. They are vague, however."
Sond paused, waiting for the narration to continue.
Impa stared off into the sky as she recited. "'A great Cataclysm in the wilds beyond the Kingdom, a great betrayal — and the Princess was lost to an eternal sleep, despite all.'"
"All what?" Sond was perplexed. During the entire conversation, Timbre had since rolled back over and was now patiently letting the remaining children take turns patting his head.
"Not even the Sheikah texts are adamant on that," Impa said. "But it is thought that the act of betrayal refers to the complete disappearance of his kind — and the sudden appearance of Wolfos."
Sond blinked. "You don't think-"
"Your friend is an enigma," Impa observed. "But his actions and beliefs ring of the truth. Had this not been the case, I would never have allowed him to stay." The undercurrent of this statement made Sond swallow, and the bowstring under her fingers twanged audibly.
Impa either ignored this, or cared not to comment. "But by giving his trust, he has in turn gained that same trust."
Sond breathed a sigh of relief, just in time to see the grubby boy and his cronies return with a bag carried between them. "I found some potatoes," the boy crowed. "Mom wouldn' let me ave any of ours, but there were a few in the rubbish pilethey're kind of squishy an' they got roots but I think they're still ediblethink he'll eat it?"
Timbre's head jerked up at that, and his groan was audible, even from several yards away.
Smirking, Sond decided it was clearly time to come to her friend's aid and stood up, shouldering her equipment.
*****
Nabooru stood and stared down her nose at the rather bedraggled figure the five Gerudo women bore on a spare swath of canvas sacking. The women had to wear canvas cloaks and veils themselves, especially if they were expecting to be outside for any amount of time. Blisters and sores were all that awaited any foolish to let her vanity rise above her practicality.
The inside of their fortress wasn't much, though it did offer protection from that vanity, Nabooru thought as they drew closer. The walls of their home were unyielding sandy stone, pocked and worn with the countless footsteps that had traversed them. Rubbed clean by the weavings of sand, it resembled a thieves den.
Seeing as this was the truth, it seemed rather fitting.
As the odd procession neared, Nabooru saw what they carried, and suffered a pang of distaste. Only a boy, the Gerudo woman thought to herself with an air of disappointment.
At first glance, the male didn't seem like much. He wore all green, with scuffled boots and tattered edges. Stringy blonde hair, mussed and caked with desert sand, fell over the rather chafed and red skin of his young-looking face, the eyes of which were tightly squeezed shut as delirium played its sultry way though his subconscious. The male's face was also stubbly with days of neglect, just adding to his illusion of boyishness. Nabooru just sighed, clicking her tongue reprovingly at him, though she knew he was completely unconscious.
"Where'd this one come from? Amaranth?"
One of the five snorted sand from behind her veil. "MiladyHeard the howlin' and went out to investigate, just in time to see thisfellow pass out right at our threshold. Dunno why that wolf decided to drag him in here, but she led-"
"Where did she go?" Nabooru interrupted.
The spokeswoman, Amaranth, shrugged. "Probably chasing rabbits again."
Nabooru raised an eyebrow. "Good thingI thought the stew had been a bit watery as of late" Staring down at her new guest,' she wrinkled her nose. "He stinks."
At her nod, the five let the sacking drop, and its cargo flopped none too gently on the floor. The boy groaned aloud at the abuse, and instinctively half-curled. Amaranth gave him a good nudge in the side with her stylized boot, which was curled up at the toe. "Do you think he'll survive the night? He looks like a wreck." Her tone of voice seemed to echo the universal disdain of men that her entire race shared. Then again, that was the Gerudo way.
Nabooru put a hand to her chin. "Aye, and probably a fool as well. Still, he did manage to cross the Desert" The Gerudo woman was an older member of her race, and had literally forced herself to the top of the pecking order, gaining the respect of her lesser Gerudo by means of her actions and skills. But in gaining such a position had also required other things than just good fighting and thieving skills. It also required a natural ability to lead.
The boy groaned, and stirred slightly. Nabooru's eyebrows furrowed. "He is also parched. What fool travels the wasteland without any water." She looked to Amaranth. "Give him a drink. The others may go."
Though perplexed, the younger Gerudo didn't stop to question her elder. Unstrapping the canteen at her side, she wrenched the cork free. Tipping the male's face upward, she pressed the canteen to his lips, allowing the precious fluid to trickle into his mouth.
At first, the male's gag reflex made him cough sputteringly, but after the initial shock, he began to drink greedily. Small rivulets that escaped his mouth ran down his cheeks like misplaced tears. Amaranth's brow furrowed. "A question, Milady."
"Ask."
"Why do we waste our time with him?"
"Males may seem useless, Amaranth, but they are not so. Though we sometimes would wish it that way. Wasn't our King a male?"
"And he betrayed us." Amaranth's voice dripped venom.
"Yes, but a hundred before him did not." Nabooru knelt beside the impromptu bedding, and smoothed the hair away from the boy's face, resting the back of her tan hand on his forehead. "He is burning up with fever. See that he is moved to the infirmary as soon as possible. Do we have any medicine left over from last month?"
"Maybe-"
Nabooru's eyes focused on her. "See that some is set aside. He is not badly hurt, but he has shed some blood."
Amaranth scowled. "I still do not see the point in helping him out."
"If he was led here, and he was, then there will be a reason for it. The Desert is sealed. For him to pass this way would take an incredible amount of strength, both of the body and of the mind. To let such a life waste, even one who is not our own, would be a shame. Don't you agree?"
The younger Gerudo slowly nodded. If there was one thing the Gerudos would respect, it was one who could display the strength to overcome all the obstacles of life. Nabooru half smiled. "This one has the broader shoulders and arms of a hard workerah yes-" Lifting the boy's left hand, she turned it palm upwards as if she were reading it. "See the calluses? Do they look familiar?"
Flexing back, Amaranth turned her own hand palm upwards and stared down at them with slanted eyes. "I have them as well, from sword training. In the same places, too."
Nodding, Nabooru smiled fully. "Could you deny help to a fellow swordsperson?"
"I could not," Amaranth admitted, her true red Gerudo hair falling about her as she peeled the veil from about her face. "It would be a great disrespect."
Nabooru nodded, and turned to place the boy's hand back at his side, when something caught her eye. She froze, and slowly turned the hand around until she could fully see the back of it. "Hm?"
Hearing her elder's grunt of surprise turned Amaranth's face back up. "Milady?"
Nabooru didn't answer right away. Her fingers, long and dexterous from the thieving trade, traced over the triangular symbol that seemed to burn a hole into her mind as clearly as it was burned into the back of the young man's hand. Though two of the triangles remained dark, a third shone like gold, seeming to ebb and grow with the same rhythm as its owner's heartbeat.
Amaranth looked on as a look very similar to great hunger passed over Nabooru's face.
"I believe," the elder Gerudo said, "We have found our reason."
*****
Curses. Not only am I about a month and a half late on this, it was a SHORT chapter! Gahjust remember, if you murder me now, you'll never read the ending! *nods, hoping that makes sense* Um, I am trying to work at updating more frequently, but as always, schoolwork will take pretense, because it is schoolwork. Yah. Wow I'm tired. Ah, I'll be working on the next chapter shortly. I mean it this time! :P