Green with Irene Chapter 2

Author's note

I will reply to the review in a second author's note. First, I forgot my disclaimer The Legend of Zelda is not my property, all characters, places, and items pulled from there belong to Nintendo. Recommended games for reference are Link between Worlds, and the Wind Waker. As this is an AU some details are changed to fit the story such as I am pretty sure Outset is a flooded mountain peak in Wind Waker here it is an island. I feel like I am developing the character's voices now so this was slightly easier to write.
The embers were a dead gray hue; burned to cinders, no thicker than thin dry parchment before Link even considered waking the witch. She was nestled under a patchwork quilt of various skins of small animals. Her head attached to round shoulders is peeking out these are the only visible parts of her. "She must have pulled it out of her bag, or out of thin air." Both scenarios were equally likely, to the young hunter, who knew nothing of magic. He turned back to the sand marking out the trail they had blazed last night, their footprints making the task as, easy as turning and looking at the ground. There were no sea-oats or tufts of grass to obscure the evidence of the night before. The tide was low again, the sun gleaming off the receding waters creating a realm of shimmering twilight even at this hour. He heard some rustling from the campsite, Link glanced out of the corner of his eye Irene was completely under the quilt wriggling around inside it like a worm on a hook. At least now he would not have to wake her. What an auspicious start to their day and by extension to their trip together.

Irene was ready to start the day, now that she had pulled her pelt back on without exiting her quilt. She takes in the view looking at the sea, the dunes, without the same awe Link had it was a normal day. "This almost feels like just another day beach combing and foraging for ingredients, with a new assistant. Well Gram never was my assistant and today I am looking for a person not a crab. Actually I still am the assistant, he has more experience tracking."

"Are you ready to go back, now?" Link asked from what was left of the campfire he was unsuccessfully trying to extinguish. Having to everything literally single-handedly hampering his efforts. In a flash Irene was next to him using her quilt to smother out the flames. "Easy there Green, last thing you need is to burn your good hand. I am almost ready first I have to redo your sling, and in the future ask before you put out the fire. I may need to brew a potion, or gaze into the smoke, fire can be useful for magic." Her tone was a mixture of kindness and insistence in equal measures.

"You are right, if we are going to do this we need to keep the other person involved, clear things with each other. I am used to working with my family and i…in the clan structure." 'I almost said Ilia the pain of remembering her had aborted the word. I will think of her till I can speak of her to others in time. Irene was honest about her Gram eventually I can return that honesty but, not yet.' While these thoughts swirled in his brain, Irene was reapplying the sling shortly she stood up, her work complete "Ready when you are Green." Without a word Link sprang up and they were leaving that beach behind.

It was slow going the stamina potion was out of Link's system. The lack of any stimulant heavily affecting his ability to keep up with his unhurt, fresh, energetic companion. Before they had covered half the distance she was once again supporting him. Just as she had when he took the red potion the day before. Doggedly they kept on, in a trajectory towards Mount Doom's foreboding erupting peak. Coincidentally their destination was in the mountain's direction they unerringly followed the trail they had left behind them. They continued in this manner for an indeterminate amount of time when Link realized somethings about his companion.

"She has not coughed once the closer I get to this blasted volcano the more trouble I have breathing. The air is a lot cleaner on Outset thanks to the Windfish. She is accustomed to this smoke, just as she is accustomed to something else." "Pardon me if this is a tough subject, you seem to have a lot of experience with letting others lean on you. Did you have to do that much with Gram." "Yeah, I was helping her get around constantly for the last few years, compared to helping her up to the cave this is child's play. They both grew quiet for a moment Irene saying goodbye to that cave. Link remembers carrying Aryl down from her lookout crag, picturing trying to help his Grandma up that precarious climb.

"The climb to her cave looks steeper than the route to the lookout peak." Impressive she must really have loved her Gram I have to remember she is grieving too.

""Hack, chuff, squelch, spitting Link dislodges an obstruction of phlegm in his throat through a rigorous coughing fit. Irene forces him to lie down. Quickly she pulls that much too big to fit quilt from her tiny bag. Ripping off a corner instantly provides Link with a makeshift handkerchief to block out the smoke from his still adjusting throat and lungs. No other stops or changes were made until, the pair reached the spot where Irene had initially healed the young hunter. Stopping, Link took in the scene with an observant eye tracking his path back to where he had come from.

There was more blood than either had expected there was a clear trail of it for some distance out of the clearing. "Look between the blood and the green chu gunk that flaked off of you, I think anyone could track how you came to the clearing. Given that the ground was brown or a yellowish shade of green for its visible length, Link had to concede the point the trail was painfully apparent. "We will follow it till we come to a quarry I remember passing, then make camp after a little hunting. In the meantime, you can tell me what is in your bag and how it works." Said the young man as he shifted his weight to lighten her burden.

"There are two magical items a witch can make upon graduating from apprentice status to being a full-fledged witch. A magic expanding bag, or a flying broom." "What made you pick the bag over the flying broom." Irene chuckled before answering the question. "Wood has been kind of scarce Green, if I had picked a broom I would have never finished. Gram theorized we could substitute just small plant fibers for flying carpets. That did not seem like much of a time-saver in my book." "The bag has to be dyed extensively the skin has to be bone dry, various animals with expandable throat sacs and skin-flaps are incorporated. Finish the recipe with some chanting a poe soul and fairy dust and presto in a full year we could have another magic bag." When she finished, she opened the bag revealing its contents. Two empty bottles the quilt, a couple pelts, a flint stone, and various potion ingredients Link did not recognize. "Good when we get to the quarry, I am going to destroy one of those pelts." "You better have a good reason, mister! She exclaims before motioning Link to lean on her again. "Because so far, I have been doing the heavy lifting."

After they had made camp Link began to instruct the witch on how to cut up the pelt with a sharp stone they had found in the quarry. They cut three pieces off of one of the pelts two long strands connected to a pouch in the middle, slightly bigger than a fist. Link took the weapon from her finally allowing the young lady to rest while he collected suitable stones. "Ouch my feet sting a little from all this shoal the scraps from the pelt might make decent shoes." I will run it by Green after he finishes whatever he is doing." My orders were to rest I can totally do that."

"Link could still see her from his position Irene was fidgeting he should probably go keep her company soon. For now, he would pick rocks while trying to remember how he had entered this spot. Hopefully something here can bring it all back to me. Bring it all back." With a heart wrenching sigh, he redoubles his efforts. Praying to the Great Sea above, all the while.

After stuffing far too many rocks into the magic bag; Link shuffles over to teach Irene, how to use the newly made sling. "What do you want to use as a target?" The quarry was full of similar sized loose gray rocks. No trees of course in fact no vegetation at all, not even a patch of discolored dirt. "Chuck my bag as far as you can and we will use the closet rock to where it lands." "Toss the bag?! "It will be fine Green, the contents do not move with the bag, "Here it goes huh." He sends the bag pretty far into the air with little effort, it lands undamaged. "No tinkling or crashing sounds at all it might as well have landed on feathers." Says an impressed Link. As the young warrior starts his demonstration, he explains the procedure. "Whirl it a couple times give it some slack pick up some speed, then twirl the wrist and whump! Presto, one rock has disappeared and reappeared." She could still see the dust raising from the missile striking the target. He passes her the sling and coaches her through the wind up until she fires. "Good shot!" Irene practices eagerly part of her hoping to show him up. She made steady progress, had some mishaps but avoided breaking any fingers. They retrieve the magic bag and go bird hunting. Irene gets first shot at knocking the birds out of the sky, with Link following up. On the third attempt Irene is successful in downing the large albatross. "We got it Green" she hugs him too happy to fight the impulse. Link smiles, and thinks to himself "If this was her first kill, she is entitled to celebrate a little. That includes a hug, I guess?" The moment passes, when Irene separates herself from Link and asks a question. "How do we cook it?"

"I mean we killed things for potion making but it is usually either, the whole animal or an easily separated bit like the neck flap of a newt." "Not a soul grows up on Outset without knowing how to gut and clean a fish." "Everyone ate fish?" "No, we had some local delicacies, goat meat, my grandmother's soup, boar." He stopped talking as his mind began to return to that night. "We mostly ate mushrooms and shellfish; the larger game avoided our cave." "That diet explains her trim figure sounds like enough to get scrape by on." "This is how you skin larger animals come a little closer. If you study and pay attention you can be the second graduate of the Link cooking school." "The second pupil or the best pupil to graduate." "You would have to be pretty good to top Aryl." "You can judge who is better when we find her."

After they polish off the bird the two leave the quarry picking the trail back up.

Link had led Irene over to a familiar looking boulder. He now recalled circumventing the stone as he had been unable to climb the obstacle. With more green goo splattered on the ground the pair could proceed.

As the skies grew darker flaming objects filled the sky, erratically flitting about. Even though the winters were moderate in temperature since the Night of Eruptions the days were no less short. "Green, crouch move carefully we do not want to run into those lights." He could make out her whisper, since there was no noise other than their own. Matching her volume, he replies in kind. "What are they Irene?" "Fire Keese those vermin are why plants seldom grow back all it takes is one to land on dry grass and woosh! She made an explosion gesture with her hands to illustrate her point. Link removes his face covering.

"We can keep moving we are not far from the site of the attack, and we are not completely defenseless." He looks at their slings a grim expression lights on his face. "I do not think I can hit one in the dark, I had enough trouble getting one in the daylight. Plus, what if we burn down an area after knocking a Keese outta the sky. That look though, Green knows what to do. If we have to defend ourselves, I cannot keep lugging him on my shoulders.

"Can you support your own weight?" "Yeah, if we keep crouching, I can manage." "Then keep one hand on your sling: follow me, if that camp is close, we will get there tonight." 'There, that is all the fake confidence I can muster. We have to be moving faster than Link did injured it will happen tonight.' Irene continues to convince herself falling in behind the warrior to follow wherever he leads. Even through the gloom. Even through the fire.

In the hazy darkness of dusk, the green trail was clearly visible, the goo had to be bio luminescent. 'On one hand figuring out where I came from will be easy, on the other hand light attracts trouble. He could not stop Aryl needed him. Scratch that, needs us me and my healer' They keep quiet stalking along silent as the smoke drifting from Mount Doom. More and more Keese filled the sky in front of the duo. If the trail had given away their position it was impossible to tell in the bright conflux of the approaching monsters.

Whirrr. Irene starts at the noise coming just ahead, the source is Link twirling the sling in a faster and tighter circle. He keeps spinning the weapon without releasing the projectile.

"I will sling at anything close you shoot at the flock, pick them off clean. The high ones first if any fall on top of another we might be blessed with two Keese for one stone." 'Was it a command or a suggestion he was using?' Having no better plan Irene obeyed. Link had just taken his first step into becoming a leader, his confidence inspiring Irene's brave actions. The highest bats began to fall like ash, struck by the missiles launched by the eager witch. The flight pattern began to fall apart, the formation swarming towards them in broken strings. A pair here, three there, an indeterminate number flees over the head of the Hylians. Link swung his sling like a miniature tornado any Keese he struck died as surely as if a cyclone had struck them down. Link breathes easier during the fight than he had all afternoon the joy of battle renewing him physically. In short order only the two travelers remained among a pile of dead fliers. Like leaves before a storm the Keese were scattered about the trail. "By the stars! We did that, how did we do that?" Irene turns to Link who is surveying the aftermath unflappably, he had never doubted the outcome.

With nary a word Link motions for Irene's support the two travelers continue without further incident to their destination. Night is practically upon them when the pair reach the former Outset Outpost. Irene's hands fly up, covering her mouth she is nonplussed. 'you can barely tell this was inhabited by people. Whatever it was it is a monster den now'.

Link sits down at the clearing landing with a distinct thud. Irene hears sobbing it was a gruesome sight for her, a stranger to the victims. She gives him time to grieve, aghast at what she sees. There were charred bodies some unrecognizable, others missing chunks of flesh from scavengers. The tents were trampled or rendered to scraps of thin cloth; in a word the camp was decimated. The place with the most carnage was the center of the tents, clearly that was where the one-sided fight had ended. All the trails from the where the climax of the fight took place fight went off into every direction something had scattered the beasts. "The boar dispersed them, and trampled the remaining prints what a large animal. 'Now what could I use to track Green's sister. Hair, a cherished belonging, an animal with a close association to her, and since I have a relative, I could mix her blood and his blood. I will propose; the belonging or animal everything else, is a little too morbid, given all this.' She carefully picks her way through the corpses back to her still remorseful friend.

It had started with a tightness in his throat then the sobs had started pulling him to the ground, stealing his breath. Tackled to the ground by grief. It is so still I hear Irene and flies; no one made it. Gram, Ilia, my brothers in arms all gone. Scorched to death, I thought if I had hung on perhaps… No Irene had to use all her skills on me, it was foolish to hope. Why did this happen? We were just trying to settle back on the main land. Looking up he, sees crows circling if it were gulls his people would begin the last rites. That was why he was here, the Windfish had granted him mercy to bury the people of Outset. There had to be a trowel or a spear he could use."

What is he doing? She sees Link frantically scrambling around with his hands. 'He is moving with purpose should I ask… no I can wait. I feel like it is the wise thing to give him space. Since I will need Link's help to find something of Aryl's. I will have to occupy myself somehow till he is ready.' Aha we may need those spears later, time to sort them. What did Gram used to say tidy spots breed tidy thoughts.' The mantra brings her comfort, no matter that it is ill suited to the disarray around her.

The spears were gathered and sorted according to size, weight, and the amount of damage they had suffered. Irene determinedly set to the task; she had just finished, when Link reappeared. Clutched in his hand is a small trowel "If I look like I cannot continue take over for a while other wise I will be digging." Nodding, Irene watches while one filled trowel at a time Link digs a mass grave. 'He still makes no attempt to hide his grief no wiping his nose or drying his eyes.' He just digs." Eventually Irene makes him stop and they rest for the night they stay the entire next day preparing the grave and burying the bodies. With that portion of the grisly task, Irene had to assist the injured mourner. Together they buried all of them in that single grave. When it was done Link hugged Irene letting loose the last of his pent-up crying. The tears would come again, Link would cry them then leave his people behind.

Dear SilentN

I did not use a text to speech but, I did write a portion on my phone using a Google Doc. When I consider how late at night I was tweaking and proofreading it is unsurprising to hear about those mistakes. You will be glad to know; that for this chapter, I did not write from my mobile, nor, did I proofread late at night. I will try to be a little, more vigilant on the grammar front.

In regards to the story itself I am glad you liked it! In my writing experience you are the norm I usually do not see many follows on the first post. Unless it is a specified one shot, in which case more people engage.

Sincerely, 4Coyote