Perfect
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Chapter 6
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Sound returned first, pit pat pit pat… It drummed in her ears, cold and slick and wet. Then, she began to taste, and to smell. It smelled like rain and dew and fresh mud. Her mouth tasted like mud, too, and rotten blueberries. She wanted to lick her lips, but it only made the taste worse, and make her cold. Of course, she could feel, again. She had a feeling that if she moved, she would slip back down, into mud and slush and wet grass. And then, her eyes snapped open, like creaking old doors stuck on its hinges because it had been painted over way too many times. Now the rain washed over her eyes, her blurry vision focusing on the wet leaves of the tall birch trees overhead.
Her body was sore all over, fingers and toes stiff with cold. A groan escaped her chapped lips, as her eyes grazed over her surroundings. It took a moment to focus on the broken vial in front of her. All the liquid was gone, but she couldn't remember if she had drunken it all, or if it had seeped into the soil.
Something shuffled in the foliage, beyond the thin trunks of the thin trees with twigs that stuck out like long, jagged fingers. She lolled her head, her gaze shifting upward. The noise ceased, then began again.
"Uh…" raindrops pattered against her hot skin, "Who's there?"
No one answered.
And then her eyes widened. Skull kids. Skull kids always came for the Kokiri if they became lost in the Lost Woods. But it didn't mean that she was lost just because she had been lying there for goddesses know how long, right?
She slowly edged herself up on her elbows, only then beginning to feel the sick coldness of mud and water against her skin. Glancing at her clothes, she saw how wrinkled and wet and torn they were, and not to mention caked in mud. She groaned again, blue eyes clouding over in annoyance.
An eagle sounded in the distance, up high in the trees. She hoped it was a good omen, when the eagle flew above her. Or maybe it just meant fresh food.
And then she stood up slowly, knees wobbly and feet slipping on the ground surface. "Steady," she murmured, grabbing hold of the trunk of a nearby tree. When she was sure she had her footing correct, she stepped forward, still cautious. And she was right to do so, when she accidentally tripped over a root. Well, at least, she thought it was a root.
It actually looked nothing like a root from a tree one once she had glared at it after a little while. It may have been covered in mud and grass stains, but it was nothing more than an arm. Connected to it was the rest of the person's body. Hair matted down, face caked with mud, clothes a wreck.
"Ayden?" she whispered, crawling over to him, hands still numb as she flipped him onto his back. "Ayden, wake up." His eyelids twitched, and she pulled him onto her lap.
More rustling- except this time it came from all around them. She whimpered, so quietly that even her ears were deaf to it. Ayden sniveled along with her, his eyes fluttering open to see her panicked gaze.
"Saria?" He croaked, vision barely beginning to focus on her face.
"We have to get out of here," she whispered to him, pushing away the wet hair that framed his face, "It isn't safe."
He sat up, still groggy. "What happened?"
She stopped fidgeting, gazing down at him intently, wishing that she didn't feel the trickle of cold water down her back, the seeping of it through her clothes. She didn't want to feel the lividness of it all. No, she couldn't tell him she was…she was real…she was like him.
"Later, Ayden. Later, we have to get you to shelter, or you'll catch a cold." She told him.
"And you won't?" He snapped, eyes clouding over, as he sat up to watch her, "I know what you did. I remember. You…you drank that liquid."
"Not now, Ayden," she grumbled, standing up.
He didn't budge, "Then, when?"
She furrowed her eyebrows, concentrating on the way his flaming hair had matted down to cup the sides of his pale face. His eyes were red. He would get sick if she didn't do something about it. "I will tell you everything," she began to plead, "But not until we head back to the village. You'll get sick."
He sighed, standing up unsteadily. She took hold of his arm, and held him close. "Do you promise to tell me everything?"
She nodded, forgetting what it was that she promised to tell him, "I promise."
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It was the longest that she had felt pain. Coursing through her legs like a parasite. Evil. Her arms were sore, fingers still numb with cold. A pounding headache engulfed her thoughts into a dark oblivion filled with shadows that made her forget everything she tried to remember.
"Saria?" Ayden croaked, as she dragged him into her bed.
"What is it, Ayden?" she asked softly, her gaze lingering on his blue lips. She would have to start a fire in the hearth, if her aching limbs would let her.
Then he shook his head, burying deep into her covers, soaking the sheets. She sighed, how is he supposed to get dry, now?
She pulled him back into a sitting position, through his moans of irritation, and grabbed the sheets around him.
"What are you doing?" he said, voice muffled, as she began run the sheets through his hair.
"Drying your hair, what does it look like?" she asked, tone calm, as she watched his hair slowly fizz upwards in small curls.
He slapped her hands away, taking the sheets from her; "I can do it, mother."
Saria grimaced, eyebrows furrowing, as she dropped her hands to her lap. He was right, so, very, very right. She wasn't a Kokiri anymore, a hundred or so years old. She was a kid. And kids took care of themselves- not act like parents for someone older than them… Unless they need help, Saria thought grimly.
She watched Ayden toss the wet sheets away, a shiver traveling up his spine. Her self-deliberation melted away.
"You need new clothes," she stated, standing up, ready to head for Link's tree house. A hand stopped her.
"I'll get it," Ayden muttered, standing up and pushing past her wordlessly.
"Ayden," she called, cocking her head.
He stopped in his tracks, a scowl forming on his blue-tinted lips; "What is it, Saria?"
She hesitated, fingers fidgeting with the soaked cloth of her tunic, "Are you angry with me?"
Ayden smiled bitterly, unbeknownst to her, while hands formed fists at his sides, "Why should I be?"
The green-haired girl nodded slowly, his harsh answer confirming her suspicions. "I'm sorry," she muttered, closing her eyes, letting the pitter-patter of rain deafen her.
She didn't want to hear his answer, but it was simply so clear through the sound of rain; "That isn't good enough, Saria."
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There had been no point to drying his hair. It had slicked past his ears mere seconds after stepping out of the confines of Saria's home. But Ayden didn't care, his thoughts still lingering on the Kokiri girl…who wasn't any longer a Kokiri, actually. He had a hard time processing that. The fact that Saria, the most infamous, most wise, most caring and loyal of all Kokiri, had become a mortal was just…preposterous, to say the least.
Ayden wished he knew why she had done it, why she had given a wonderful life of immortality to become so mundane, so- so dead. She would die just like the rest of them, like him. There was a clock ticking inside her, setting to go off. And if that didn't do the trick, something else- something worse could happen to her. A bear could maul her, or some drunken idiot driving his wagon would run her over and she would be trampled to death by equally drunken horses!
The Sheikah shook his head in aggravation, eyes traveling heavenward, up the wooden ladder to Link's tree house. The small, lit candle from earlier had vanished, leaving the room dark. Now he wasn't so sure if he would rather have them awake and explain his absence, or sneak through the darkness. He was always terrible at that- hiding in the shadows like a real Sheikah, but for him, everything about being a Sheikah terrified him. He could never be a protector of the Royal Family, the next one to step up to the plate after Impa. Why did they have to find him scouring through an alleyway? He could have been perfectly well off on his own…not some stupid fake nephew…
He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, wanting to forget where he was, what he was doing…
"Ayden?" A frazzled voice remarked above him.
The boy flinched an eye open, squinting against the droplets of rain splattering against his pale skin; "Yeah?"
Link cocked his head, eyes narrowing in disbelief, "What are you doing outside? You'll catch a cold."
Ayden hid his annoyance, having that said to him more than just once that night. He inhaled deeply, raw fingers groping for the crude feel of the wooden latter.
"Hurry, inside," Link said, pushing a dry stand of hair away from his face.
Ayden narrowed his eyes, wondering how the blonde could be dry despite the patter of large droplets that dripped from wet leaves above. Focusing more, he realized he carried his shield over his head, using it as a temporary umbrella from the onslaught of rainwater. Smart ass, he thought dimly, reaching the balcony, into the safety net, where everything was always perfect.
Through the thick clouds of dimwittedness, everything seemed perfect, especially when it rained.
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