maid2n

[maid2n]

those deep green eyes widen and then narrow at the supposed threat on her life ; coming from someone who hadn't made whole-hearted attempts to see her dead, zelda would have immediately taken it for the joke it is. as kogha is someone who has certainly truly wanted her dead in the past, it takes a moment for her to offer a hesitant smile. "i would - i would very much appreciate anything you can tell or show me."

zelda can barely think of what she wants to know most. that has always been a problem of hers - - - there's just so much to know! where should she even begin. some would surely say she should try to start at the beginning, but with a whole society and culture such a thing would likely be more complex than simply some quick once upon a time. "oh - - - whatever you are willing to share! i understand if there are things you must keep secret from me, so i won't pry beyond what you offer freely regarding your culture." at least, she won't pry specifically from him - there's nothing that will keep her from poking and prodding on her own where no-one will see.

" We do, we do ! We Yiga have made it a point to record as much of our history as possible, as the Sheikah have largely had an oral tradition.... it's important we keep facts straight. Know our culture, our language. Prevent it from being lost again. "

" Hmmmhmmmhm, if I told you, " Kohga's voice then drops low, uncharacteristically serious and sharp as a katana's edge, " I'd have to kill you, Princess Zelda. " Okay. Not funny, Kohga, not funny at all. She clearly isn't going to appreciate that and he brushes it all off with a booming laugh and a wave of his hand. " KIDDING !!! JUST KIDDING ! GEE, no need to make that face. "

" Buuuuut.... I might be able to pull a string or two for you, " and doesn't mention that a good section of their archives were destroyed when her Champion decided to blast their home to bits. Ahem. He's being a good sport about it, all things considered. " What interests you the most ? "

[maid2n]

the concern evident on her face is dulled by her obvious curiosity. there are few who can harness time the way she can, even in her own era ; it would be a lie to say zelda is uninterested in how those clumsy and unworthy hands have mangled the path of time with their meddling. "i see. i wonder what information they have regarding such practices. i doubt any of our texts remain, if these men thought they would be able to order time rather than make a request of it."

zelda stands from her fallen-log perch and sighs. "yes, apparently. i would like to know how to reverse it with the same ease to my body and the world around me. it will take more time and research." link must be so worried. she knows he is looking for her. even if they are eons apart, it is a - - - feeling, in her chest. like a thread pulling her towards something. someone. zelda shakes her head and frowns towards the sky. "i see. have you been there before, to these sights? perhaps you would be able to explain what you saw there to me in detail."

“you’ve no idea,” he said flatly. “from how it was put, they’d have broken everything, how they were carrying on.” it was a miracle they’d stopped the damned venatori when they had. perhaps, and he was loath to admit it, there were some magics that weren’t meant to be toyed with. at least not for arrogant humans.

“apparently survival was enough to get you through without killing you…” or worse. “or breaking the world. ” as far as i know. mal wondered, morbidly, if they would know if she had, or if it would be a slow death, a slow madness alike to the one wrought on them now by corypheus. he brushed some sand from his (well, borrowed) cloak. “the sites are days' travel, though, and heavily guarded now, so seeing them is out of the question. i doubt they'd be of much use.”

[maid2n]

zelda nods as he speaks, her eyes curious and deep with interest. every word is drunk in with the sort of look easily attributed to a scholar. it's the sort of glint to her eye that seems to imply she wishes she had a piece of parchment and some charcoal with which to scrawl down the words as he speaks them. as it is, zelda has to pay as much attention so she can recall them later, when she has something to write with.

"this time sounds - - -" she stops herself from saying something that might sound ... rude. zelda frowns and bites the inside of her cheek while she considers how to word her thoughts. the last thing she wants is for her ignorance of this place and era to come across as disdain. " - - - troubling." there. that's polite enough while still getting her point across. zelda smiles faintly at the man across the fire from her. the edges of it don't meet her eyes and sympathy for such a plight is evident.

"how has such a thing come to pass? we have no words for these beings and events, as we don't ... have such things." the idea of a plague of darkness, of corruption that infects the minds of people - - - it is hard to believe. but this world is scarcely the one she knows, and these things seem a fact of life to the people around her here.

what was it about mages falling out of the sky? inquisitor lavellan and mal overflowed with questions. thom rainier possessed the good sense to mind himself. he was curious about zelda's predicament, but accepted magic was nowhere near his expertise. he wouldn't waste her time. mal and the rest of them could sort it out. zelda lacked the old captain's resignation.

warden?

" . . . what, no, i, " firelight cut itself on his cheekbones, pooled into the hollows underneath, " i was a recruit. the death of my mentor . . . changed me. sent me onto a different path. "

reduced to an afterthought, the paring knife he prepared to sharpen was placed aside. he didn't know where to begin. grey wardens were complicated for them. zelda hailed from a different time in entire. at length, rainier said. " wardens are . . . warriors dedicated to protecting us from blights. blights are a, hm, think of them as a plague, only the disease is darkness. total corruption of the mind'n soul. "

corruption that nigh claimed him not long ago. tearlach's white hair and strained smile fluttered past his mind's eye; guilt, sharp and cold, twisted a knife rusting in between thom's ribs. he cleared his throat roughly. " with blights come creatures we call "darkspawn." they're . . . people tainted by the darkness. overtaken by it. the taint compels them to release archdemons and kill anything or anyone in their path. "

[maid2n]

moving done...thank god

[maid2n]

the sound is something less easily created through - - - whatever means it is the yiga clan uses to pop in and out of disguise with ease. though the idea he's able to move so quickly it defies the ability of sight sounds far-fetched. zelda watches with fascination - not wonder, but the pure curiosity of someone who will be trying to discover books on such a thing - as he does it again.

"right..." her disbelief must be evident, but zelda decides not to push further. it isn't as though he would tell her. though ... oh, she so badly wants to know! "do you have any texts on the history of your clan?" she asks, "i know there are none available to those outside, and i have tried to find them, but surely there is some literature you have that denotes your history?"

" Oh what ? This ? " Kohga taps his mask with a finger, the sound that reverberates hollow and real as can be. " Nah, it's just wood. "

" Nothing so complicated. I'm just so quick ya can't see me, " Kohga winks beneath the shield of his mask and throws his head back to laugh at Zelda's incredulous expression. Dang, she really was just a kid, and that made it all the more difficult to hate her. He really couldn't find it within himself to muster all those centuries of loathing when he looked at her. She'd accepted his plea to let him and his clan into the ranks without nary a second's thought to the multiple attempts they'd made on both her and her allies' lives.

An outlaw and a killer he might be, but there was honour among thieves as the saying went. He owed her. And that was that.

Another banana disappears in the blink of an eye and at this point he must be doing it to mess with her.

[maid2n]

zelda's brow furrows in thought as she considers such a thing. "exactly. i scarcely try to bring items forward, as i do not - - - know how to ask them to move in a way i do not yet know." she picks and chooses words, hoping nothing is lost in translation, "when i came here it was a moment of great ... danger, for myself. i was falling a great distance and would have perished should i not have moved. i flailed, and did not know what i was reaching for, or where - - - and wound up here. i doubt i could have done it if i were trying." she watches the breeze shift and rustle tree branches overhead and curls her fingers around her chin as she considers it.

"if these new mages are using brute force rather than requesting, i suppose it could have dire effects..." the breeze shifts her short hair about her face and she flicks a strand away from her eyes, "i would need to see such a site to create a better hypothesis, but i have never seen someone cut through time like a knife rather than ask it a question. these mages sound as though they are using magic as a blade, or a cudgel."

he smiled wryly.   command over time was unheard of as dragons commanding magic.   he could see how such a thing would be,   ironically,   lost to time.   perhaps it was for the better,   though.   humans especially would clamor to exploit such a thing.

“people’s memories are far more faulty,”   he murmured.   living creatures weren’t meant to recall all of the crushing moments,   or even all of the little joys.   he could thank and curse the maker for that.   “the future is different,   though.”   not retracing steps,   but not even creating new ones.   he tilted his head.   “the most i’ve seen of time magic,   a rift was always opened to power it,   and it always went dreadfully wrong.”   the ruins in the western approach with its researchers locked in time awakened a new fear in him.   far too much to go wrong for his liking. 

[maid2n]

a smug little bubble of pride builds in her chest at the amazed look in his eye. zelda had not realized it was aching her to be mistrusted on such a matter until the problem was resolved - - - she is SKILLED, has studied long and hard, and to be dismissed as lying had struck a chord. that unease melts away a bit and she smiles at him.

"yes, i understand such things have turned to ... legends. it is not so uncommon in my era, and even less so in the time before that." there are so few stories left, though, so little in the wake of all sorts of terrible sounding things she knows very little of that happen after her time. "well. doing it to a living, breathing thing. i could not if i tried purposefully, and i am a foremost scholar on the matter..." there's little pride in her voice at it ; it's simply a fact. "we ask the item to retrace its steps, coax the memory of where it used to be back out of it and guide it back to that moment. people are ... more complex."

mal observed her in a starry-eyed silence.    he wondered if alexius and the researchers under him who had fucked about with time magic had seen anything like this,   or could do anything like this.   it took skill,   he thought.   it took finesse.   far from the ridiculousness of the distortions outside of redcliffe,   or the unpredictability of whatever enchantment had tried  --  and failed  --  to destroy the inquisitor.

“oh,”    he said as it returned to the girl.   he looked upon her now as though seeing her for the first time.   she hadn’t distorted or ruined anything.   it simply  ...   was.    “may be best to keep that  ...   a little more quiet,”   he said at last.   everyone and their bloody mabari would her for that trick,   for the potential it held.   easier than some other things.    “what other things?”

[maid2n]

saw barbie two days in a row,,,that kinda week

[maid2n]

couple silvers in the hand of a bored scribe saw to a carving placed in zelda's bedchamber. likeness to the creature (?) she requested wasn't exact. he had to take a couple creative liberties. just as well. care was apparent in the details, its intricacies executed finely. pinned to the sanded bottom was parchment that read two words meant for her and only her:

THANK YOU

the strange little leaf-shaped being is much admired, creative liberties and all. zelda positions it in a place of obvious pride and joy upon her little desk, where all who seek her out here might see it, and the note is folded gently and slid into a drawer that is then locked with a key. all the rest of the day there is a smile on her face.

[maid2n]

@odett3 ; do you still believe myths can save you? foolish creature. let me be clear ; EVERY VERSION OF THE STORY ENDS WITH YOU BEING SLAUGHTERED.

the swan queen / odette of swan lake. written by bee.

[maid2n]

wide eyes blink and she sits straighter. it's the sort of thing she isn't used to being said to her ; either due to respect or out of feeling like they must, people usually address her in a tone different than that. if someone were to accuse her of lying or exaggerating they would at least hide it somewhat. though if, as it seems, time magic has become nothing more than a legend, she supposes it's fair for him to be uncertain.

"i see." zelda frowns and then bends down again to pick up a fallen stick by her feet. "i can demonstrate." she weighs it in her hand for a moment before reeling back and pitching it away from the both of them. the twig bounces off of a tree trunk and falls to the ground. zelda's eyes remain focused on it and she reaches out her hand with a small motion, eyes falling closed for a moment. now come back to me. trace your arc back upwards, collide once more with the tree, and then return to my hand where you began this journey. when her eyes open there is a faint golden light shimmering about the twig and it suddenly arcs back upwards, bounces off of the tree, and returns across the space to her hand. once it is there the light vanishes quick as a snuffed candle and she sets it upon her lap. "it is never easy, but it is easier than some other things."

“when i said not right,”   he said flatly,   “i meant not believable.”   he wouldn’t mince his words,   or lie to her.   she clearly had an essence of magic to her,   that much he could see.   but the rest?   she would have to be a bit more convincing. what she spoke of was unheard of.   

the mage diverted his attention briefly,   leaning over to pluck an elfroot weed from the ground.   he didn’t like getting into the inquisition’s stock to smoke or soothe centuries-old wounds.   “i don’t expect you to bend time around us   ----”   or wanted her to, if she was so disastrous at it. no,   no,   that would be too risky.   but something smaller,   surely,   couldn’t hurt?   “but what of a leaf,   or a branch?   that should be easy for you,   shouldn’t it?”

[maid2n]

when she had arrived home ( home, such a lovely word! ) from her regular walk up to the tech lab, it had taken her a moment to find link. of course there was much to speak about regarding what she and purah had been working on, but the thought had been tucked aside for later when she had caught sight of link at work in his garden. it had struck her suddenly how at peace he looked there picking things she scarcely knew the name of. it had been more of an impulse than anything to approach and gently tuck one of the strands of growing hair from his eyes and behind an ear.

"soon it will be longer than mine," her own long hair is swept into a braid to keep it out of the way, and she says it largely as a joke, with a soft laugh bouncing along the words, "i like it. it suits you." the purah pad she had still been holding in her free hand is tucked away into her bag and she holds out her hands, "let me help you carry that all inside. hylia knows i won't be a help making whatever you want to cook with it."

maid2n asked:

[ hair ]  –  for the sender to brush a strand of hair out of the receiver’s face. ( for link )

Meme Tag -- @maid2n

Hands worked quickly as he harvested the final herbs from the garden. The small patch wasn't anything to get too excited about, and he certainly had plans for a larger garden, but at the moment, it was enough to keep a few fresh herbs close at hand and ready should he need them. For now, Hateno market or a quick run out into the wilderness suited the rest of their needs just fine.

He hadn't even heard Zelda approach up behind him, only noting she was there with the delicate brush of her fingers skimmed the side of his face, smoothing a piece of hair behind his ear as he readied to stand, arms full of plants. Eyebrows bounced in surprise for a moment before his expression grew wry, shuffling the things in his arms so he could sign.

Patting his chest, he tapped his temple with his left hand before reaching up to pinch at his hair. Then, he slid his pointer finger up his arm, starting at his fingertips before going roughly to his elbow and sweeping away. << I know. It's getting long. >>

[maid2n]

"you will have to live with the heavy burden of me thinking you are brave, even if we disagree." zelda makes a sound of disagreement, though she doesn't argue further. instead she steps around the felled beast and continues on their way, sparing only one last glance that looks sorrowful - though if he thinks that is in her eyes or simply due to the white tear-drops affixed on her cheeks is up to mal to decide - before turning her face from it and continuing onwards.

"centuries is not right," she agrees with a small frown and a wrinkle between her brows, "the longer i remain here, the more i worry for what the outcome may be - - - for this era as well as my own." zelda steps over a fallen log and then turns to face him, thinks about it for a moment, and then sits down on the log rather than keep walking. "in most cases we use time manipulation for a matter of moments, or perhaps hours in an extreme case. i did not know i was capable of bending it so very far, or even inflicting it upon a living being rather than an object." she leans an elbow on a knee and cups her chin in her hand in thought, "such a thing is not done."

the mage shrugged.    “i can choke the breath out of a beast’s lungs without having to lift a finger,”   he responded.   bravery required fear,   or an overcoming of it.   few creatures came so close to eternity,   he would stubbornly contend.   and there were so few things left for him to fear.   “it’s not brave if it’s like breathing.”   she would discover that at some point,   he imagined.   maybe it wouldn’t hurt to allow her to cling to that sense of wonder for a little while more.   far more important things were on his mind.

“but i admit i care more about how time magic as you say is possible.”   if he believed her,   he was unsure.   “last i saw,   even just a few days distorts its surroundings.   centuries doesn't sound right at all.”

[maid2n]

rambling dragon age au thoughts.

ancient princess of a lost culture (hyrule? it's elven of some kind? elvhenan adjacent? pre fall of arlathan). mage who is especially gifted with time magic. honestly a lot of tok pre-run up can be a thing; ganondorf is an ancient evil being (demon??? man turned demon????) who she & her beloved swordsman accidentally released from some sealing magic, zelda is time displaced in the chaos. due to people (cough cough pointed look) futzing around with time magic in inquisition, she winds up popping out of one of those funky time rifts around redcliffe. bam. now you have an ancient elvhen mage princess to deal with, inquisition. have fun! but really she's smth of a companion but mostly she's like 'this is fucked, jeez, i wanna get back to link now xoxo'

[maid2n]

thinking about just how far back zelda is from in dragon age verse. she is like...she's pre-fall of arlathan y'all. somewhere in the late -2000s ancient. pre elves meeting humans. this world is fucking weird now! what happened!

also she knows nothing of the typical cultural touchstones now. what's a chantry? what's an andraste? what's a maker? what does he make? orlais?? ferelden?? tevinter????? huh? what?

[maid2n]

@starlyht ( from x )

"bravery exists," she says quietly, without much vigor - - - she has seen it too many times to believe it is not part of this world just as much as the sky or dirt, "though i doubt the brave ever feel it. you put yourself between me and that beast," the beast is dead, now, is nothing but fur and bone and a still, hollow chest, "when you did not need to." zelda is largely a stranger here, and her title means nothing in a world that had forgotten she ever existed. there is no reason mal would feel obligated to step before her and end the life of the thing charging.

"do you no longer call such deeds bravery?" someone else had done much the same for her, before, and zelda cannot let herself think of his name right now or she will miss him. there's no time for missing him in the more active way now, out here in this unfamiliar wood. "we do. did, i suppose."

[maid2n]

thinking tonight about zelda & studies. how she isn't allowed to have one before the second calamity because rhoam wants her to focus on her power and thinks letting her have a space dedicated to her scholarly pursuits would just be indulging her trying to avoid responsibility. about how her study at her & link's home in hateno is literally hidden underground in a well? she's more outwardly a scholar now but still wants that little room to be hidden, safe from prying eyes and influences. hm.