Disclaimer: Zelda and all of its' characters belong to Nintendo.
\THE TRIALS OF THE WOLF/
Tetra: …!
Tetra: H..Unnnnrrrggghhh….
(Her body doubles over from disuse, her breaths come short. Too short. She finds herself hard of breath. Too weak to move her arms, she can only lay there, hunched over like a hunchback.)
(She has never felt so weak.)
Tetra: H…hhhh…
(She can't finish her statement as it trails into mumbles of incoherent speech.)
Tetra: (thinking) Just…Just concentrate on breathing…Breathe…
(She slowly stops shuddering, though she still feels as if a tree has fallen on her. Her muscles, quite content with her lying down doing nothing, protest angrily as she twitches her fingers.)
Tetra: …Oww…
(She closes her eyes.)
(And hastily opens them.)
Tetra: (thinking) Stay…awake…
(Her gaze falls upon her wrist, and it takes a moment to register that it is bent in an awkward direction.)
(And she looks away.)
Tetra: …
(She twitches the fingers of her other hand, and it does not hurt so much. It is a weak movement.)
Tetra: (thinking) I suppose…that's better than nothing…
(She practices flexing her fingers until she can entirely clench her fist in a ball. Too concerned, she does not notice the paleness of her skin.)
Tetra: …
(But, she does notice that she is fatiguing rapidly.)
(Her hand tightens, and she can feel her nails clipping into her skin.)
(Her eyebrows knit together, and her mouth stretches into a thin line. Her concentration only serves to defeat the purpose, as it wears her out more quickly than she would have preferred.)
Tetra: …
(She tightens her fist…)
(And it is then that she realizes…)
Tetra: !!!
(…that hazel eyes are staring into her own…)
THE RED EYES.
(And a scream once again pierces the night.)
______
(The village is a mess. The townspeople are unsure of what to do next. The most respected are questioned by the panicking, and the least respected are being paid to go witness the spectacle of a girl that awoke the night previous.)
______
Tetra: …
(She is sitting, unresponsive, in a small chair. Five heavy blankets have been wrapped around her, and still she shivers. The cold is teeth jarring, and she could not see how the people could walk around in nothing but pants (and for the women, a top-shirt as well). She has been fed a small nibbling of bread, but she could eat no more. She drank but a few drops of water.)
(She sits in the corner of the room in which she awoke, in the shadows, to be inconspicuous to those that wander in here.)
Tetra: …
Tetra: (thinking) What am I doing here…?
(Her stare inevitably lands on the boy across the room, still watching her.)
Tetra: (thinking) Why does he stare at me…?
(Her good hand tightens on the blankets.)
Tetra: (thinking) …I want to take a bath…
(The thoughts almost brought a smile to her face, that is, until her eyes connect with the boy again.)
Tetra: …
(She averts her eyes again, but he does not. He stares her down, as he has done the entire morning.)
Tetra: (thinking) Am I that interesting a spectacle to look at?
(She rests her chin onto her knees and relaxes her tense body into the soft chair.)
Tetra: (thinking) It smells in here…
(She closes her eyes.)
Tetra: (thinking) --Like…death…
(And opens them again.)
Tetra: (thinking) Am I that death?
(She passes a fleeting glance to the boy, and his attention perks up just slightly. His hazel brown eyes are mellow, mirroring a kind soul. A tan color of hair falls neatly on his head, framing the narrow jaw line. Freckles dot his cheeks.)
Tetra: …
Tetra: (thinking) …I wonder if I should say hi…it's obvious he's not going to be on his way anytime soon…
Tetra: …
(There is, however, no utterance on her breath.)
Tetra: …
(As she opens her mouth, he speaks first.)
Boy: D'onpair.
Tetra: …P-Pardon?
Boy: D'onpair! E m'irea NichLa!
Tetra: I…
(His face seems to fall as the realization that she cannot understand makes itself clear.)
Boy: …Ufr'plersa nedraphe?
Tetra: …
Boy: K'irenm…Deghaurt!
Tetra: I don't understand…
(His face falls even lower.)
(And then he points to himself…)
Boy: Nichuva.
Tetra: …?
(He realizes her obvious confusion, and, repeats his gesture until she comprehends.)
Tetra: …N…N (she stumbles over the awkward pronunciations)…Nic-i-vah?
Nichuva: Nic-vah!
Tetra: Nichuva?
(He nods happily.)
Tetra: Your name's Nichuva?
(His smile now is strained, but he nods again.)
Tetra: …
(His attention hangs eagerly onto her.)
Nichuva: …d'inharha? Ickvathnag?
Tetra: Tetra…
Nichuva: Juyo?
(Tetra frowns, unable to use her hands.)
Tetra: I am Tetra.
Nichuva: (he has difficulties with producing the desired hard "T" sound, as it is not in his language) H-Hehruh?
Tetra: No… T. T-T-T-(she practices the t sound in front of him) Tetra.
Nichuva: Thehthruh?
(Tetra sighs, but does not show her slight annoyance.)
Tetra: Thehthruh.
(Nichuva beams. He chuckles a little bit, and leans back on his hands.)
Nichuva: Thehthruh…k'ioypthun…
Tetra: Uh…
_____
(The next day…)
(The boy, Nichuva, who, albeit seemed strange at first, was a very bright young man. He did large math problems in his head when organizing her food amount, careful not to come too close to her. When he drew a few feet closer than he had the yesterday morning, Tetra could see small stripes tattooed on his cheeks that traveled down to his neck. He had fetched another blanket for her. Finally, it had stopped the shivers, and she felt warm.)
(An elder woman had dropped by but an hour ago and took Nichuva away without a warning, shushing him before he could even begin to protest. A few quick words had convinced him, and he left with a bowed head…)
(…and now she was alone…)
(…and yet she wasn't alone…)
(She could feel eyes, eyes watching. She could never find them. She buried her head into the blankets, weary. She had not moved much.)
Tetra: …
(Judging by the shadows, it was approaching high noon now.)
Tetra: (thinking) I wonder where Link is…
(In imagining this thought, she suddenly begins to probe her memory for what had happened for her to eventually end up in this situation.)
Tetra: (thinking) …he better not have kicked the bucket…
Tetra: Uhh…
(She tentatively touches her brow.)
Tetra: (thinking) I've been thinking too much… I wonder if I can move yet…
(To experiment, she flexes her good hands' fingers slowly and then the arm.)
Tetra: (wincing)…
Tetra: (thinking) I…guess not…
(She lets her hand rest once again.)
Tetra: (thinking)
(As, it is the only thing she can do.)
_______
Nichuva: …
Woman: …
(The two of them are walking in a straight line through familiar wood. The woman has an expression of anger and frustration, while the boy in his late teens stares glumly at the ground, having memorized this tread completely.)
Nichuva: Listen…
Woman: The conversation has ended, Nichuva. Period.
Nichuva: But-!
Woman: I'm not going to argue with you, Nichuva.
Nichuva: But, she-!
Woman: It.
Nichuva: Mother!
Mother: I am not allowing my son around…around Them.
Nichuva: But…
Mother: We're done, Nichuva.
Nichuva: SHE'S NOT ONE OF THEM!
(His outburst shocks him more than her. He quivers, eyes wide, hands clenched.)
Mother: (without looking at him) I only have your best interest at heart, Nichuva.
Nichuva: My Coming of Age is next d'rygha!*
Mother: Correct. Then, if it is still here by next d'rygha, you can do what you will. I won't have a say in it. But, as you are still in my custody, and you still a ryr'ghand*, my word is the one we'll be listening to.
Nichuva: …
Mother: Are we settled then, or is there anything else we can dispute about?
Nichuva: …I…I can't believe you're so cold…
Mother: …
Nichuva: You don't even KNOW her! I've been around her for a WEEK and a HALF!
Mother: I am not arguing with you anymore, Nichuva. You may turn around if you want.
(Fuming, he keeps his rage under a mask of subtlety. He turns around and tromps off noisily. Only custom of his people keeps him from uttering curses under his breath.)
Nichuva: (teeming) She's not one of them…
_______
(Around the hut, children are huddled away from, making up rumors. The adults are too concerned to hush them and their silly hobbies. All eyes that day were turned to the hut.)
(…Inside, Tetra has finally found the power in herself to crawl around. She forced herself to eat her piece of bread, and drink a gulp of milk. The after effects were that if she sat down she got dizzy. So, muscles fragile, she slowly makes laps around the rooms. Working it out, she thinks that stretching herself out will help her move faster quicker.)
(She is reluctant to try this, however…)
(Tetra has bandaged her wrist in a way she knew how. After crying while straightening the bone out again, she splinted it with the thin blanket she had been using while unconscious. She was very cautious not to jar it against anything.)
(Her broken wrist shuddered uncannily. It sent a shock of pain up her arm, and she collapsed to the ground, clutching it in a way she could.)
Tetra: (wincing) …
(She finds it in herself to roll back to where she was before she started moving, regardless of how dizzy it made her feel.)
(With her good hand, she pulled the blankets over her head and curled up. Warming up and grasping her hand, she closed her eyes weakly. With a kind of dread she dares not let take her, she tries to sleep, as it is the only physical thing it seems she is capable of.)
________
(Nearly two weeks ago…)
(The sea was peaceful, and the two figures in the prone form of the Red Lion were content. Having been a day at sea, the two kept their peace. Tetra stared dazedly out, chin crooked into her palm, her tongue pressing against the back of her teeth.)
Tetra: Hmm…
Link: Eh?
(He looks her direction, attention diverting from his small meal.)
(Tetra, however, does not notice…)
Link: (thinking) She's been so quiet…
(Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he looked back to his sandwich. Despite four years at sea, he had never seen anything so interesting as a sandwich. It was…weird, and yet unique. He took a bite.)
Link: Hrpm…
Tetra: …
(He glances her way again, only to again see the back of her head.)
(Swallowing his bite, he proceeds to speak to her.)
Link: …Hey…
Tetra: Hm?
(She looks at his steadily, her eye cut halfway to give her a kind of sleepy look. Her jaw now lies obscured thanks to her hand.)
Tetra: What?
Link: Oh…
(He just looks at her, and his question is blocked up in his throat.)
Link: …Er…nothing…
Tetra: (turning away) Alright.
____
(The day after aforementioned)
(The sky is now begin to cloud up, and Link prepares for the worst. But, true to Wynn's word, he had not touched the sail. Her last words to him were to leave it up, despite how bad the weather may get. Instead, he takes the food and, carefully, put the parcels in a small compartment he used to use with his accessory of weapons. Hands lining around the base of the hull, he feels for the familiar bumps in the general area of it.)
(This takes longer than he had originally anticipated, however. Though the moss that had grown on it the pass two years had been washed away (as much as possible) by Wynn, age left different indentations and fooled him into tugging planks that would not move.)
(He has asked Tetra to move several times now, and, getting slightly annoyed, she begins to help him to speed things up.)
(They find the compartment in due time, and slip the food in.)
Tetra: You sure it won't get wet?
Link: Well, I can't be positive. But they're better chances of keeping it dry in there than out here, where it's going to rain.
(He flashes a quiet grin.)
Tetra: Well…okay. If you say so.
(She resumes her staring out to sea.)
Tetra: …(quietly) It doesn't look like it's going to rain though…
Link: Huh?
(Tetra blinks.)
Tetra: No, nothing.
Tetra: (thinking) …I want to stretch my legs.
(In response to her thoughts, she straightens her legs and relaxes her back against the back of the boat. Her knee seems to ache the most, seeming to ask, to beg to bend her legs again. She closed her eyes and thinks of other things.)
(Link stares at the clouds in the distance. Squinting, he is rewarded by a small flash of light to answer his questions.)
Link: Well, isn't this great.
Tetra: (following his gaze) Oh.
Link: I think our luck has met its' end.
Tetra: (quietly) Indeed…
_______
(Footsteps, again.)
Tetra: (opening her eyes blearily) Huh…?
(Nichuva stands at the entrance of the hut, arms folded, carrying some food. She stares at this, a little oblivious to his act of kindness. Cautiously, her eyes are still closed enough for him to think she is sleeping, he walks closer to her. He masks the twisting of his insides from the revulsion or Their smell, and sets the parcels close by, apparently not able to get completely close to her.)
Nichuva: (quietly) Thehthruh? O-Ohytf'yreptha?
(Tetra maintains her silence, a little curious as to what he will do.)
Nichuva: (quieter still) …E k'unmreph sahaqui…
(Tetra stirs slightly, and draws his full attention. She shams sleeping once again.)
Nichuva: Thehthruh!
(Now there seems to be a desperate tone in his voice, her eyes open wider and she looks at him silently, slightly worried.)
Tetra: …What?
(This is enough indication for him to continue. He tries his best to flow his hands along to make her understand in the slightest.)
Nichuva: Iu j'ickratr! (He motions to the food) Suregh! (And points to the door) K'erghthryu nimthareh, l'yrthed. (And pointed to her, finally to himself) Nyr! Nyr! Nyr!
(Tetra's still tired mind tries to comprehend, and, slowly, points to her and then to the food.)
Tetra: …You…want me to eat the food…?
Nichuva: Murhn.
(Nodding, she reaches forward, and grasps the meal not unlike bread and butter. Sitting up, she nibbles on it.)
Nichuva: (shakily, he looks around, suspicious) …Nyr, iu!
Tetra: Huh?
(Nichuva, sighing, points to her, and, mimics her eating. Instead of nibbling, however, he is hastily shoving the imaginary food down his throat.)
Nichuva: Nyr! K'antily haghra!
Tetra: Oh…
(She tries to take bigger bites, but, a wave of nausea crashes into her abdomen. The sheer force sends her mind reeling, and she drops the bread.)
Tetra: (groaning)
(Nichuva is getting more and more distressed by the moment by Tetra's appearance. Thinking fast, he pulled the blankets from the corner of the room and threw them over her, saying something like an apology before covering her head. Wrapping the blankets thickly around her, he hefts her up, and, glancing around one last time before hurrying out of the hut.)
_____
Tetra: (thinking) What the?!
(Her breath is hot against her, the heavy furs warming her up quickly. Her body bobs up and down with each stride of Nichuva.)
(She wrinkles her nose.)
Tetra: (thinking) Wh-WHAT'S THAT SMELL?!
(It brings tears to her eyes, and sweat dribbles down her face. She abruptly holds her breath.)
Tetra: (thinking) It's ME! I'M THAT DEATH!
(She starts crying freely now, unable to control herself. She buries her face into her good hand, clear snot spraying all over them. This horrid realization attacks her mind.)
Tetra: (moaning in despair)
(Because in her mind, she perceives the fog she saw what seemed so long ago.)
______
(Nichuva hears a wretched moan from Thehthruh. His face etching more and more in apology, he gently straightens her in his arms. He hurriedly rushes to a building made of stone on the opposite side of town. He takes the shortest route in which he can avoid being seen. Just why he doesn't want to make himself a spectacle of the village square, it remains uncertain.)
(Nearing the building, his steps slow down. The soft dirt beneath his feet becomes grass when he crosses the line of the gate. Finally, in front of the threshold, he sets the shuddering foreign girl down, removing the blanket from her head. What he sees surprises him so much that he literally takes some steps backwards.)
Nichuva: (a little frightened) Thehthruh? Are you okay?
(She begins to mumble things incoherently in her language, saddening the boy, for he cannot understand a word she is saying.)
(Her language seems to be surrounded with "hard" sounds, producing the ever-elusive "T", "P", and "K" sounds. Compared to his own language, hers did not seem to create pictures in the mind, or roll off her tongue as easy as his did. To put it in different terms, her speech sounded like rocks being ground against each other, whereas his was slightly more depressing, like raindrops hitting the ground in an incomprehensible beat.)
Nichuva: Thehthruh…!
(She only shivers and pulls the blankets tighter around herself.)
Thehthruh: Tolkirera… Ny kinpart WEHNGURT! Nichuva, Ny'k wehngurt!
Nichuva: I can't understand you!
(She silences periodically, her already pale face turning a deathly purple.)
Nichuva: (thinking) Oh Nahro, she dying. She needs help…
(Hopelessly he looks into the vacant building, remembering why he brought her there in the first place. Stepping forward, he looks at his destination.)
Nichuva: …(quietly) Thehthruh, I'm going to…I'm going to help you. Though you smell like Them, I won't let the people of this village forsake you so easily, my conscience won't stand other wise. I know you can't understand me, but as long as you know that I am content in helping you live, is it enough? Thehthruh, you have to trust me.
(He stares into her eyes. Seeing if there is any comprehension on her part. When he sees her green eye pierce into his own, he is satisfied with what is there.)
________
(Tetra notes the contempt in the boys' voice, and it brings her back to rational thought. Despite the different speech, she can partially understand the will in him. She nods, something deep in her mind suspects of what he wants to do.)
(He grins in approval, and offers his hand. She looks at it for a few minutes, gathering her strength. Slowly, weakly, she outstretches her good hand. This takes an immense effort, more than she ever thought possible.)
(His callused palm grasps her own, and, with a small heave, she is shot upward quickly. Her mouth parts in a small gasp of shock as the cold hits her skin.)
Tetra: (thinking) …It's…it's so cold…
(They gradually step up the ancient stairs, Tetra struggling to keep her balance and control her shivers to a minimum. More than once she glanced wantonly at the pile of blankets at the bottom of the steps.)
(But, it is a futile effort to try and convince him to get the blankets to warm her up. They are ever walking forward, a small pond with water flowing into it comes into view.)
(The pond is clear. So clear, in fact, that she could see the bottom of it, not four feet down. Despite the rushing water into it…the ponds' surface did not seem to ripple, or move at all…)
Tetra: Resergam?!
(This sudden outburst shakes her, and Nichuva's eyes dart to hers.)
Nichuva: J'ihryth thyr?
Tetra: …
(They arrive at the water's edge, and he releases Tetra's hand. Collapsing, she can only watch as the boy walks around the pond, thumbing his chin. To the opposite side he goes, and brushes his hand over a stone. An old stone, covered in moss.)
(Much green falls off as he brushes it away, and Tetra sees him squint his eyes. Frowning, his eyes flipped over whatever he was concentrating on, and fell onto the pond again.)
Nichuva: …(quietly) J'ihryth hiugh…niryephe?
(Walking back to her, he motions to the pond, to her, to the pond.)
Nichuva: Iu ophry'gharnh.
(To her…
…to the pond again.
To her…
…and so forth.)
(And a veil that obscured her understanding lifts and it becomes clear.)
Tetra: You want me to go in there?!
(In disbelief, she points angrily at the still water.)
Tetra: …In this weather?!
(Nichuva takes a moment in answering, perhaps to make sure his response would be correct.)
Nichuva: Murhn.
(And in this simple statement, one that most definitely meant 'yes', Tetra felt her anger and confusion ebb away, like the tide carrying away the sand.)
______
(As soon as her toes touched the waters, she knew she was insane for agreeing to this. Nevertheless, she forced herself through gritting teeth all the way in. Her limbs numbing to the bone cold water, she felt like she had just stepped into an ice-cube rather than water. More or less, it seems at the moment that an ice-cube would be warmer compared to this.)
Tetra: (under her breath) I can't believe this…
(Completely incapable of moving, she kept her head safely above the water. She stares dully at Nichuva, who just stands there with his arms folded.)
Tetra: …
Tetra: …Now what…
(She doesn't expect an answer, and, when he does reply by pulling a book from the shelf near him, finding a page and reading aloud. In her language, it is obvious he doesn't know what he is reading. A strange accent she'd never heard before listlessly flows into her eardrums.)
"Hee gauds the stheps of his faithfulh
Buth the wiched peuish in daukness-
Fou noth by sthuenth shall manh preevayl…"*
(Tetra listens attentively, his attempt at her speech would have made her laugh if, of course, the nature of the words were not so serious. His accent had a kind of lisp, and, like in her name, he could not make any hard sounds.)
(The waters' surface churns ever so much, Tetra thinks it a trick of the eye, when it moves again.)
(A murky eye in the water, the liquid glows a bright white, encircling her, massaging warmth once again into her numb muscles, gentle to her wrist.)
(Tetra does not so much as struggle as the water leaps over her head, covering her. Strangely, she does not feel afraid at all.)
(Nichuva watches, wonder in his eyes.)
______
(Volume dwindled until it was little more than white noise, if there is such a thing. Resergam was finally awoken, after centuries of slumber.)
(But…
…Resergam was not alone.)
(The purple puff of mist floated deftly in the white noise, curious as to this new presence it felt. It was nothing like previous ones it had sensed. This one was different…)
(The saying "curiosity is what killed the cat" was not a concern to Resergam. It slithered through the air, edging closer to its' target.)
Resergam: Ah…
(Resergam comes to a halt.)
Resergam: So… You have returned.
_______
(Simultaneously, elsewhere, Tetra was shown things of the universe. Knowledge was presented to her, but it was rapidly forgotten, for this kind of knowledge was not the kind to stick to the mind, rather, it opened her to something out of the box, a passing thought to how small she really was in the bigger concept of things.)
(It was not for many, many years afterward that she would begin to comprehend in even the smallest detail. And that would only be in the shallow minded wakening period before she was fully up.)
(Tetra felt her wrist mend, and herself cleansed of the death that encompassed her.)
Tetra: …
(She could now feel every part of herself, a warm feeling that felt like she had just swallowed a warm drink when cold. She closed her eyes, momentarily halting the imaging spurning forth in her mind.)
(And before she knew it, the feeling was over. The understanding, the feeling, the everything. She was thrust into shock as the water turned suddenly cold again, but she gathered herself. She could see. She could move.)
Tetra: (her eyes flashing in happiness) I'm alive!
(She crawled out on her own, much to the joy of Nichuva, who had a wide grin plastered onto his features. He has gathered the furs in her absence, which she readily accepts.)
Tetra: Thank you, Nichuva.
(He recognizes the gratitude in her voice, and, a little flustered scratch of his head.)
Nichuva: Unghry thipr…Thehthruh.
(Tetra nods unconsciously, wrapping the blankets around her. He slowly led her to the pedestal in which he had examined prior to her cleansing. Brushing away more moss, he presents it to her.)
(Tetra looks at it, and, much to her surprise, it is in the same lettering as her language.)
Tetra: (thinking) …I can't read it…this is Hylian…
(This she knows, for the message inscribed is the same as a picture her mother showed her long ago…)
Nichuva: (a little hopeful) Thehthruh, nio'phg ninrh?
(Tetra faces him in entirety, reluctant to destroy his belief. Stalling, she eventually shakes her head.)
Tetra: No…
_______
(Nearly ten days ago…)
(The weather has worsened, and both of the travelers take a thin blanket and stretch it of them. This does little to stop the biting cold, and the torrential rains that seemed to slam into them overnight. Waves batter the old boat, like mighty fists throwing it around.)
(The food is gone, completely ruined as a wave soaked it all in one smack. The two haven't eaten in two days at least, and, weak, lay prone in the small hull, unable to partake in anything.)
(Link lies unconscious, having hit his head in one of the waves tossing bouts.)
(Tetra borders on the edge of losing herself to the darkness, and her mind grapples onto fear. Having been at sea her entire life, she knows what results from storms like this.)
Tetra: (her eyes shut tight) …What…now…
We probably won't make the night…
(thinking) So far, so far for nothing.
(opening her eyes a little) I see now…the mistakes I've made…
(Inside herself, a voice screams to her, nagging her to not think this way.)
Tetra: (thinking) There is nothing I'd prefer more…
…than a cup of coffee from Windfall*…
(So thinking, she smiles and lets go.)
_______
(Present).
(Nichuva led her back to a different hut, which was far from the village. Aged, it seemed it had been vacant for several years counting now. He was silent on the tread, for, as Tetra could not decipher that which he had striven to know since a child, it was a crushing disappointment. Although he is aware that he is acting selfish in doing so, he doesn't really try to mask or fix it.)
(Tetra as well has kept herself quiet, and is more than willing to eat when he makes her another piece of bread. She sits at the old stone table, cool to the touch, and eats slowly. Pausing, she looks at him.)
Tetra: Nichuva…er, n-ner?
(He smiles weakly at her attempt.)
Nichuva: …Nyr? (shakes his head)
Tetra: Oh…
(He looks at the book that he has brought with him, flipping through the pages. By the smell, it is as old as the building they are in, if not older. The pages, yellow and thin, are handled delicately.)
(The bread, which she is nibbling, has an acquired taste. It's nothing like she has eaten before, which is scarcely a surprise. Finishing, she busies herself by looking at her wrist, which no longer aches with the ache she has gotten used to. Removing the wet wrapping, she flexes her fingers.)
Tetra: (thinking) …It's healed…
(She twists her arm and then stretches, satisfied that she can control it once more. Standing up, she walks around the place, learning the geography. In so doing, she finds a bookcase, filled with books in Hylian script.)
Tetra: (thinking) …Outlander sure has a lot of books in a dead language.
(Her fingertips run along the spines, discovering leather binding. Her eyes trail the unfamiliar lettering. Able to say the sounds, as the alphabet was the same as modern times, the words were meaningless vocals, stretched in accents* foreign to her tongue. Pulling her hand away, she mouthed the words quietly, trying (as she used to as a child) to find their meaning.)
(One title catches her eye, and she delicately pulls it out. Though still in Hylian, two of the words jump at her.)
Tudemai Va Rinku Resergam
Tetra: (under her breath) Rinku…Resergam?
Tetra: (thinking) But…my mother…
…said these records were lost…
(The title does not change before her eyes, and she can only be in disbelief. The record of the Hero of Time was in her hands.)
(Nichuva glances to her.)
Nichuva: (quietly) Ruh j'in?
Tetra: Hm?
(She holds the book close to her, closing her eyes and smiling confidently.)
Tetra: The book is interesting.
(The boy grins along with her, assuming she has said she was okay. He goes back to the book he took from the village shrine.)
(Waiting until he is busying himself once more, does she open the book slowly, careful with the decaying pages. She doesn't know why she doesn't want him watching her, but none the less. The cover peels open easily.)
(Her eyes scan the first page swiftly, her fingers trembling with anticipation. A detailed picture of the Master Sword, the Evil's Bane, which Link had left with the dead kingdom of Hyrule, was faded on the parchment. It was a picture she had seen many times before, in the days when her mother was still around. A paragraph of gibberish lies beside it. Though she could not comprehend it, she knew the legend by heart.)
(Turning the page, there were no more pictures. Just words, and Tetra shut the book with a sigh. She had finally found that which she had always wanted to see, but it was useless if she could not even translate it.)
(Putting it back whence it came, she proceeded over to Nichuva, who was shuffling around in a corner.)
Tetra: …What are you doing?
(In response, he stood up and tossed something to her.)
Tetra: Wha-?
(She fumbled with it, the black object bouncing in the air before she finally caught a firm hold on it. She stared at it. Then, holding the leather hilt, she pulled it out of the sheath.)
Tetra: …
(The dagger is clean, made with a knick near the hilt placed there on purpose, it had a thin line of red marble running up its' side. It weighed a couple pounds, slightly heavier than any other dagger she had held before.)
Tetra: (thinking) A Kokiri* Dagger…? This is an old style…
Nichuva: Ruh…a'rymer? J'ouh Kokiri.
(He strapped another dagger to his belt side, and handed her another black sheath. She, mimicking him, put the dagger on her side and took the sword. Pulling it out, she admired it.)
(It was obviously made by the same hand, for the exact line of red marble ran along the middle. Small indentation on the blade included a wolf, a dragon, and an angel, surrounding a wreath of fire. The hilt had a wolf's face etched into it.)
Nichuva: D'unjah! Cheai!
(She looked at him, and he was moving his hands to mime putting the sword around her shoulder.)
Tetra: Oh…
(Slipping it silently back in, she did as she was told. The weight threw her off a little, unused to it. Four years ago she carried a small thief's dagger out of custom, but she had long abandoned it. The sword rattled against her back, and her hip was soon sore from the other weapon.)
Tetra: Why?
(Her simple question, though asked out of the blue, struck a nerve inside herself. She froze where she stood, hands still on the handles. Her eyes locked directly with Nichuva, and the question became clear to him.)
Nichuva: D'on…Uth eh v'ayh…
(He took the book he had set down on the brick nearby, and showed her a picture. It was of a sorceress, cloaked in deep maroon robe. The face was obscured.)
(Nichuva pointed out the window, and uttered something with a most familiar countenance of:
"That way.")
_______
(Nichuva walked around the village, at his home he gathered all the money and food he could fit in his pockets. He moved with like one guilty of something and trying to run away. Indeed, his thoughts was a large mess at the moment.)
Nichuva: (thinking) This is…madness…
(He walked into his neighbor's place and bought a bag to carry the food.)
Nichuva: (thinking) I don't even…know her…
(He walked to a small shopping villa next, purchasing some first aid necessities, and some special little cubes of vitamins in case they ran out of food. He rushed hurriedly back to the abandoned building in the fields, avoiding as many encounters with people as possible.)
(A voice, however, stops him in his tracks.)
Girl: Nichuva…
(He closes his eyes, blocking back the emotion that threatens to spew forth. He turns around slowly, to meet the same hazel eyes as his own.)
(The girl is his height, her raven hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, bangs hanging over her eyes.)
Nichuva: …Kiroa…
Kiroa: So, you're leaving?
(She's blunt in the statement, shoving her tanned hands into her pockets.)
Nichuva: Yes…
(Kiroa smiles weakly.)
Kiroa: Finally going on that adventure you've always wanted, huh?
(Nichuva stretches his mouth into a grim look. He sets his hand onto her shoulder, shaking her reassuringly.)
Nichuva: The time is now, sister. You can feel it, as can I. With the reappearance of Them, you know this is necessary.
(Kiroa sniffles, holding back tears with all her might. She hugs her brother, wishing, hoping, that she could come along. Yet she could not, her place was here, her part would come into play later on.)
(The grasshoppers chirped around them in the embrace. Kiroa rests her head on his shoulder.)
(He breaks it sooner than she would have thought. Feeling ripped in half, Kiroa can only wipe away a tear and sigh inwardly in a painful understanding as he turns around yet again and walks away.)
(She looks down at the rock he placed in her hand. Green, smooth to the touch, she clasps it to her heart.)
Kiroa: (thinking) I love you, Nichuva… Be safe.
_______
(Tetra opened her eyes as she heard Nichuva's steps approaching. Sitting up, she looked at him and kept her shock to herself as she sees him in a forlorn state.)
Tetra: …Nichuva…?
(He only forces a smile, and sets the cream colored bag down. Sighing loudly in an unseen agony, he kneels down to the ground.)
(Tetra knows better from personal experience to pay attention to him. Doing so would only cause more damage to the hurt than naught. Instead, she gave him his space and occupied herself with the blades, swinging them through the air. Old techniques were dusted as she did something not unlike a dance of swords. Fighting invisible enemies, she smiled at the nostalgia it caused, tugging at her heartstrings.)
(Doing various acrobatics around the area, she does not feel the least bit silly in doing so in front of someone, rather, she was trained to practice in front of people.)
(Nichuva watched blearily, eyes clouded, his mind struggling to gather itself together. He is entranced by the rhythmic movements of her body through the air, fluent, beautiful. He thought to himself that it must have taken her years to master.)
(Abruptly she stops, skin shiny, sun rays reflecting off her face. Resuming her casual position, she sees Nichuva looking at her.)
Tetra: Huh?
(The comment in itself rings with stupidity. In fact, as soon as the word leaves her, she narrows her eyes.)
Nichuva: …Iu, h'ahry je…ghaphe…
(He stands up and slings the bag quickly over his shoulder. Turning his back to her, he mutters one thing.)
Nichuva: Ja'fherw.
*d'rygha- equal to a three month period
*ryr'ghand- "young man". Attained at age twelve
*"He guards the steps of His faithful
But the wicked perish in darkness-
For not by strength shall man prevail…"
-Samuel I
*cup of coffee- perfectly aware that making the bar serve coffee is Nintendo's way of kiddifying things. Tetra is a minor, so she still drinks the coffee, per say. J
*stretched in accents- think of it as Old English versus Modern English, same lettering and such, but many of the sayings they used to say the translation is uncertain. You could also think of it in terms of Old French and Modern French. Same for Hebrew and most likely many other languages.
*Kokiri Dagger- a real weapon, and it has the knick I mentioned
Notes: This chapter went much slower than I anticipated. My apologies on that, but, (well, I can't promise anything) look forward to some action in the next chapter, and maybe some translations to the Outlander's speech. ^_^ The plot is still a little muddled, but I do plan to tie this with another story. An epic of Hyrule's flooding. For those who don't know, Rinku is Link's Japanese name.