bunnybbomb · 7 years ago
Text
Trying To Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Continuation): Bonus Chapter: Like Mother, Like Son
Brivere is fairly intimidating without intending to, mainly due to an unforgiving resting bitch face matched with a spear-up-his-ass personality. He's nothing like his mother in that aspect, who was known to be soft, caring, and gentle. And while it may not seem so, Brivere and his mother actually have a lot more in common than what most Zora would expect.
(A fanfic for the Sidon x Link fic Coma Baby, a somewhat continuation of another fic i wrote)
This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone). If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content.
I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr bunnyb0b, you can chat with me any time about anything!
This bonus chapter was not beta read, so prepare for trash and mistakes lmao
"Dear Hylia, Brivere, you didn't show those new recruits any mercy!" Link laughed as they strolled through the halls of the barracks. "And I thought I was cruel."
The golden knight scoffed. "It is my firm belief that if they intend to join the guard, then they should act like it. They are the ones responsible for keeping up the wellbeing of our Domain, so I can accept nothing less than full commitment."
"Yeah, but you didn't need to make that one man cry." Link snorted.
"That is his own fault." Brivere said curtly. "If he cannot even handle a simple order from a superior, then he has no hope as a guard."
The Hylian chuckled and playfully slugged Brivere in the arm, who just rolled his golden eyes in response. "Dude, the problem is that you're WAY too intimidating." Link said with a smug grin. "The resting bitch face doesn't help either."
"I do not understand why everyone insists that I look inherently threatening." Brivere replied, lips pursing in frustration. "It is just my face. I am doing nothing to indicate otherwise."
"That's why it's called a resting-!"
Link suddenly stopped talking and whipped his head to look over his shoulder, eyes narrowing while his pointed ears twitched. Opening his mouth, Brivere tried to ask what was wrong, but was silenced when the Hylian snapped a finger up to his mouth. After a few moments of silence, Link looked back at the golden knight. "I may be wrong," the Hylian said hesitantly, "but I think I hear... crying?"
"Perhaps it is Notus, from when he couldn't handle my orders earlier." Brivere grunted.
"No, you asshole. This sounds different." Link said. Before Brivere could respond, the Hylian quickly spun around and sprinted in the opposite direction that they were previously walking at. Sighing, the golden knight lightly jogged after him, only picking up the pace when he began to hear intense screams and sobbing.
Unless Notus was severely traumatized by The Oracle Knight's instructions from that morning's trainings, something was horribly wrong.
Darting around the corner and through an entryway, Brivere found several other guards along with Link, all of them crowded in the center of the room. Wails and screams pierced the air, seemingly not coming from any of them. No one noticed his sudden entrance, as they were all completely focused on something that they were tightly surrounding.
Glancing over the guards' shoulders, Brivere caught sight of a small, black-scaled Zora girl. Tears were flooding out of her golden eyes as she smacked away any of the guards who came too close to her, screaming as if they were all Lynel's with shock arrows pointed right at her face.
"What the hell is she doing in the barracks?!" Link yelled over her screeches. The other guards quickly shrugged with wide eyes, clearly stressed and unsure of what to do. They were trained for combat, not child care, after all.
Someone entered behind Brivere and he whipped around, instinctively putting a hand on the silver scale longsword strapped onto his back. The golden knight only relaxed when he saw that it was just his prince, who was gawking at the sobbing girl. "So this was the noise! I was worried that someone was gravely injured!" Sidon cried out.
"My lord, she very well could be." Brivere said calmly. "No one can get her to stop crying and tell us what is wrong."
Cracking a wide grin, Sidon pumped a fist across his chest, showing off his signature pose. "That is alright! I can help calm her down."
As Sidon strode over to the little girl, the golden knight hesitantly fidgeted near the doorway and reached out to stop his lord. While the prince was certainly popular amongst the citizens of the Zora Domain, Brivere was uncertain if Sidon’s large stature and overwhelmingly enthusiastic personality would actually frighten the child even further.
His suspicions were confirmed when Sidon quickly plopped down in front of the girl, who was so startled by the sudden movement that she screamed. "Young one," Prince Sidon said a bit too loudly, "May you tell us what is troubling you?"
The girl paused for a second, but then a shriek ripped out of her small throat, followed by a wave of heart wrenching sobs. Panicking, Sidon smiled to reassure her that he meant no harm, but it was noticeably forced. The sharp teeth inches away from her face probably didn't help either.
"My lord," Brivere said, stepping towards the prince so that Sidon could actually hear him. "May I attempt to calm her down?"
Everyone’s head snapped to face the golden knight as they all threw their hands up to stop him from coming closer to the wailing girl.  “No!” they all yelled in unison, eyes wide in panic. Brivere arched his brow at all of them, bewildered.
Placing a hand on the golden knight's shoulder, Link shook his head. "Brivere, remember what I said earlier about how you’re kinda intimidating without meaning to?"
"I am well aware, but I am certain that even I could handle a child." Brivere scowled, not helping his case.
"I apologize, Oracle Knight." Sidon said. "But Link is right. You do have quite the reputation for appearing threatening, and for a rather good reason." The prince arched his brow at Brivere. "After all, I had to calm Notus down when I found him crying in the training ring after a lesson with you."
"But my lord-!"
Prince Sidon shook his head more firmly. "If a soldier cannot handle your intimidating presence, I doubt a child can." Everyone else nodded in agreement, making Brivere grudgingly relent and retreat back to the doorway. Link chuckled and patted the golden knight on the back while Sidon shot him an apologetic look. Brivere didn't help his own argument when he unintentionally glared back, making everyone else in the room flinch.
A sudden gut wrenching scream burst out of the little girl, making everyone's attention snap back to the child. Prince Sidon and the other guards tried everything to calm the girl down, ranging from forced, wide smiles to words of encouragement. This only made her cry harder, since they all crowded around her and barely left enough space to breathe, but no one actually realized this due to their inexperience with children.
As time went on, they all started dropping their dignity for the sake of trying to get the child to calm down, resorting to making ridiculous faces or trying to make funny, but actually cringey, comedy skits, unconvincingly laughing along to make her cheer up. Nothing worked, and for over half an hour she continued to harshly bawl, and eventually everyone slowly stopped their fruitless efforts. They all stood back, trying to wait for her to tire out, and inwardly cringed, absolutely hating the fact that they were the so-called protectors of the Zora Domain and its citizens, yet were unable to even help a child. Brivere found this to be a good opportunity to speak up.
"My lord," the golden knight said loudly over the little girl's wailing. "I am serious. May I please attempt to calm her down now?"
Sidon recoiled and looked at Link, who shrugged in response. "I mean, it's not like he can scare her more than you already have." the Hylian said. Several guards also nodded, but everyone else seemed apprehensive about letting the emotionless knight handle an over-emotional child.
Sighing, the Prince got back up and nodded, gesturing at the crying girl. Brivere walked over and everyone quickly backed up, not wanting to be too close when the little girl would throw an even worse tantrum.
To no one's surprise, the golden knight didn't seem stressed or irritated in the slightest. Brivere wore his infamous indifferent mask as he gently knelt in front of the child, who continued to scream and cry as if she hadn't even noticed him.
"Little one, may you tell me what is wrong?" Brivere urged softly, trying to compress his body as to not appear threatening and to also come at eye level with the girl. She drew her face out of her hands and stared back at the golden knight with big, watery eyes before letting out a shriek and bawled again, even louder than before, which everyone thought was impossible.
Prince Sidon shook his head. "Oracle Knight, it is alright, we will figure something else out." he said loudly over the intense sobbing.
The prince flinched when Brivere glanced over his shoulder, staring at Sidon with unamused eyes. "With all due respect my lord, I wasn't quite done yet." the golden knight said curtly before turning back to the girl.
Brivere continued to crouch as he looked at the child fondly, which may have been strange to anyone else since her contorted, tear-covered face as she heavily sobbed and wailed was anything but cute. However, she reminded the golden knight of himself when he was younger, crying over everything, completely inconsolable with nothing in the world able to calm him down.
Except for one thing.
The golden knight softly hummed, letting familiar notes vibrate in his chest. Although it had been years, he could never forget any tune that his mother used to sing for him and Estuu. This particular one was his personal favorite.
Brivere continued to hum at a gradually increasing volume until the little girl's weeps started to subside, melting into hiccups and gasps for breath. When she stopped crying altogether and was quietly staring at him in a mix of admiration and confusion, the golden knight opened his mouth and let the soothing words to the song roll off of his tongue, filling the room with a gentle tune.
 The sea, the sea
 It calls out to me
 So blue, so true
 It calls out for you too
The little girl and everyone else in the room stared at the Oracle Knight in shock and awe for both his surprising singing talent and the fact that it actually managed to console the child.
 Please come with me
 And we will visit the sea
 Step by step, hand in hand,
 We'll walk on the warm sand
Brivere leaned in, continuing to sing as he lightly bumped his crest against the little girl's, making her close her eyes and quietly hum along, albeit a bit off key. His own voice was deep and velvety, a comforting rumbling noise that gave every word of his song life, making the very air around them feel like it was dancing to the special rhythm that Brivere provided.
 Let the sea wash away
 All the troubles of yesterday
 Please, float with me dear
 As I hold you so near
Instinctively, like a child wanting their mother, the little girl slowly held her arms out, but flinched and opened her eyes when she remembered that she couldn’t just ask for comfort from a complete stranger. However, Brivere obliged, gently scooping the little girl into his muscled arms as he slowly stood up, still singing.
 Gentle wave, gentle wave
 Giving us comfort we crave,
 My dear, There is no need to roam
 For we are safe here, our home
She nestled her chin into the crook of his shoulder, sniffling as she enjoyed the feeling of the vibrating notes ringing inside his broad chest. Meanwhile, Brivere lightly bounced her in his arms as he patted her small back, swaying his body to the beat of the song that he was singing.
Everyone else in the room stared incredulously at the usually reserved Oracle Knight cradling a previously distraught child. Link snorted a bit, noticing that Brivere seemed slightly embarrassed, due to the way he was clearly trying to avoid looking anyone in the eye.
Eventually, Brivere let the tune slowly come to an end, and held out his arms so that he could look the little girl in the eyes, which were noticeably absent of tears and replaced with childlike wonder.
"Little one, do you feel better now?" he asked gently.
She nodded vigorously, bouncing in his arms. "Yes! Thank you mister knight!"
"That is good, and it is no problem. I am merely glad to be of assistance." Brivere said as he shifted to set the girl down, but she whined and hugged tightly onto his arms instead. Sighing, he held the small child close again. "Alright, I understand, young one. However, as compensation, may you please tell me why you were so upset?"
The little girl nodded against his chest. "I got into a fight with my mommy and I ran away. But then I got lost, and my mommy always said that the guards are there to help, so I tried to ask one of them here but I got so scared!" She paused, and the golden knight felt her tremble in his arms. "I'm sorry mister Knight. I just made a big mess for everyone."
Moving her into one arm, Brivere used his free hand to wipe away the tears welling up in her eyes. "Nonsense, child, there is no need to apologize. Your mother is right, the guard are here to help you."
He turned to Prince Sidon, who was still gawking at him with wide eyes, along with all of the other guards in the room. "My lord," Brivere said softly, trying not to startle the girl, "I do believe that the best course of action is to have several soldiers go around and ask if anyone is missing a child."
It took a few moments for Sidon to snap out of his daze and straighten up. "R-right..." he said, still trying to process what he just saw. The prince turned to the other guards, who were also attempting to get over their shock. "Attention!" Prince Sidon called out, making all of the soldiers jolt and stand at attention. "All guards currently not on wall duty are to search the streets for any mother missing a little girl."
Brivere looked down at the little girl, holding comfortable eye contact. "Young one, what does your mother look like?"
She hummed, trying to come up with the best answer. "My mommy is a little shorter than you, and she's got shiny black scales, and doesn't wear any jewelry except for a necklace my daddy gave her." Her eyes lit up as she bounced in his arms. "She's also very pretty!"
"Yes, she sounds beautiful, just like you.” the golden knight chuckled as he nodded. “Now, what is your name?"
The little girl giggled at the compliment. "My name is Dalila! But my mommy calls me Lila!"
"That is a very lovely name. You may call me Brivere." he replied before repeating her information to the prince, who in turn relayed it to the guards. All of them saluted in response before dispersing, leaving no one in the room but Sidon, Link, Brivere, and Dalila.
The little girl looked up at the golden knight with wide eyes. "Are you gonna search too, mister knight?"
"That depends.” Brivere hummed. “It is really up to my Lord, the prince."
Dalila squirmed in his arms until she could face Prince Sidon. The prince almost burst out laughing at the way her face adorably contorted as she glared at him. "I wanna stay with my knight!" she cried out, clinging onto the golden knight for dear life, as if afraid that someone was going to rip her away from the only source of comfort in the cold barracks.
"Do not worry young one, I had no intention of separating the two of you." Sidon chuckled. "It would be best if we just stayed put, to make the reunion with your mother easier." With that, he turned and began talking to Link, allowing Dalia to spend time with the golden knight uninterrupted.
Brivere noticed the way the little girl suddenly tensed in his arms. "Little one, is there something wrong?" he asked, looking down at her. "I thought you desired to see your mother again?"
She hesitantly nodded. "Yeah, but.... it's my fault!" Dalilia wailed. "I got mad at her because she wouldn't let me play with my friends, but that's cause I didn't do my homework, and now I made a big problem and she must be worried and m-mad, and-!" The little girl suddenly stopped rambling, trying to catch her breath.
Humming, Brivere gently rocked her in his arms, trying to calm her down before she started crying again. "I do not believe that you have much reason to worry, Lila." he said softly. "Your mother will be so overwhelmed with relief that she will completely forget about your previous fight."
Dalila grabbed onto one of his long fore fins and tugged, making Brivere look into her intense golden eyes. "Promise?" she asked firmly.
He nodded. "I promise."
Satisfied, she let go, but the golden knight sensed something else bothering her. "Is there another thing you would like to ask me?" he questioned.
Dalila paused for a few moments before hesitantly nodding. "Y-yeah... can you sing for me again?"
She was startled by the way Brivere stiffened, raising his brow. "N-no! You don't have to if you don't wanna! I'm sorry!" Dalila cried, waving her arms around.
The golden knight shook his head. "Ah, I apologize. It is not that, child. I would be glad to, I was just surprised that you wished to hear me sing again."
Link spoke up, apparently eavesdropping on their conversation the whole time. "Brivere, of course she would!" the Hylian laughed. "You’re an amazing singer, whether or not you'll actually admit it."
Nodding, the prince said, "Yes, Brivere, even in all of the time I have known you, I was never aware of such a talent." Sidon teasingly raised his brow. "Is there a reason for such secrecy?"
Brivere flushed, tilting his head away from his lovers. "No particular reason, my Lord."
"Is it because you're embarrassed about it?" Link purred, sauntering up to the golden knight with a shit eating grin. The lack of response from Brivere gave away his true answer, making the Hylian shriek with laughter.
Dalila squirmed to get Brivere's attention. "You shouldn't be embarrassed!" she pouted. "You're really super good! Where’d you learn to sing so great?"
The golden knight hesitated before sighing. "My mother was a songstress." Brivere said quietly, eyes growing distant. Sidon and Link looked over at him in concern, but were relieved to see that the golden knight looked content, clearly thinking upon a fond memory. "Perhaps I am embarrassed about my own talents because it is nothing compared to hers. She was amazing, it was as if her voice alone could calm any beast, and perhaps even the Calamity itself." A small, rare smile slipped onto his face. "My mother would sing all the time. It was the solution to any problem: boredom, sadness, celebration, anything. She could fix it all with a simple song that could move anyone's soul."
Dalila gazed up at him in awe. "She sounds amazing!" the little girl cheered. "Can I hear her sing someday?!"
Brivere caught the way his two lovers flinched, opening their mouths to explain the truth to the naïve child. Shaking his head at them, he looked back down at Dalila with a serene smile. "I am afraid not, which is a shame. I would do anything to give you the opportunity. But I do hope that you will find me to be a good substitute in the meantime?"
She excitedly nodded. "Of course! You're the bestest ever! Can you sing a song now?!"
The golden knight chuckled, bobbing his head up and down as he cleared his throat. Brivere picked a different, more upbeat song this time, remembering that his mother often sang it when they were doing chores in order to make it more enjoyable.
 Dance dance dance,
 Praise the goddess up above!
 It's our last chance,
 Please, Move with me, love!
Dalila relaxed in the golden knight's arms while his lovers fondly gazed at him, also enjoying the melody from his soothing voice. Whether or not he was aware of it, Brivere looked extremely happy and content when he sang, most likely reliving those times when his mother sang him and Estuu the same songs. Eventually he got lost in the memories, closing his eyes and singing louder and more confidently, not caring enough to hold back anymore. He gently swayed to the beat, cleanly switching between songs out of habit, just like his mother used to.
None of the four in the room had any idea how much time had passed, as all of them were completely engrossed in the notes that filled the air, settling into the comfortable atmosphere. They only snapped out of it when Brivere's voice faltered as he noticed footsteps approaching them from behind.
"LILA!" a Zora woman cried out, darting past the guards who were accompanying her.
The little girl perked up and snapped her head towards the entryway. "MOMMY!" She screamed, flailing around in Brivere's arms. Not wanting to drop her, the golden knight quickly set her down. The second her tiny feet touched the floor, Dalila rocketed away from him and shot into the arms of her mother. The woman fell onto her knees, clutching her daughter to her body, as if afraid that if she let go then the little girl would disappear again.
"Mommy I'm so sorry!" Dalila sobbed. The woman shook her head, laughing through her own tears. "No, no Lila! It's okay, sea angel, I'm just so relieved that you're safe!"
Everyone else smiled at the scene. Well, more like the golden knight smiled inwardly, as he had donned on his emotionless mask again out of habit. The tears from the mother and daughter clearly weren't of distress or sadness, so there was no need to console them or interrupt the touching reunion. Everyone present was reminded why they had joined the Zora guard in the first place, in order to protect their citizen's happiness.
Eventually, the sobs slowly died down, and the mother sniffled while looking at everyone with watery eyes and a wide grin. "T-thank you all so much, you have no idea how worried I was! Dalila always runs off, but this has to be the furthest she has gone!" She bowed her head, still clutching Dalila to her chest. "I apologize for the trouble we have caused."
Prince Sidon shook his head, along with everyone else. "Mam, it is quite alright, it was no trouble at all." Sidon’s famous grin stretched across his face as he gestured at Brivere, who raised his brow at the prince. "Although, I must say, you should really thank my Oracle Knight. None of us were able to calm down your daughter enough for her to tell us what was wrong until Brivere soothed her."
The mother whipped her head over to Brivere, tears spilling out of her eyes. "Oh my dear Hylia, thank you so much! You have no idea how grateful I am for it, my daughter gets anxiety attacks very easily so it is difficult for her to handle such stressful situations."
"It is quite alright mam, absolutely no trouble at all." Brivere said. "I am simply thankful that both of you weren’t hurt and quickly found each other again."
"Nonetheless, I am forever grateful to you." the mother said. After a pause, she shyly spoke up again. "Sir Knight, may you please tell me how you calmed her down?"
The golden Zora raised his brow at her. "Does this sort of thing happen often?"
"Actually, yes." the mother admitted as she stood up, her daughter still cradled in her tight embrace. "Dalila has really bad anxiety attacks, as I mentioned before. I'm sure you saw the way she cried and sobbed earlier. It may appear like just  another tantrum, but she can get so frightened and overwhelmed that it breaks my heart to see her like that."
She turned to her daughter, lightly rocking the little girl in her arms. "I never know what to do, and even I can't manage to calm her down. Usually I just hover around and ride it out with her. It's very upsetting, to be a mother that can't even take care of her own child."
Brivere shook his head. "Nonsense, my lady. I can tell that you care plenty enough, and Dalila cares for you too." He hesitated for a moment, but then gently laughed, startling everyone in the room except for Dalila and her mother. "Admittedly, I was able to calm her down because she reminded me of myself when I was younger. I used to cry about everything, and my mother would always sing to calm me down."
The mother perked up at this. "Ah, yes, I heard you singing from down the hall when I was escorted here! It is no surprise then that it calmed my daughter down, you really have such a beautiful voice."
"Thank you, mam." Brivere replied, slightly blushing.
Both of them awkwardly shifted in place until the mother hesitantly held eye contact with him. "I do apologize for asking this of you... but is there any way that you can teach me how to sing like that?"
She frantically took her request back when Brivere visibly flinched out of surprise, and he inwardly laughed at how similar she was to her daughter. "N-no! You don’t have to, I���m sorry! Of course, you are the Oracle Knight, and you must be so busy!" the mother babbled. "I just... admittedly, I do not have the best singing voice. I never cared enough to actually participate in choir at school."
Her eyes suddenly hardened as she stared at Brivere with determination blazing in those golden hues. "But I am willing to do anything to help my precious sea angel."
Brivere hesitated and looked at Prince Sidon, who laughed. "You definitely have my approval, Brivere." the prince said, his signature grin stretched across his face. "Anything to help our Domain's citizens. But ultimately, the choice falls onto you, whether or not you are comfortable doing so."
The golden knight nodded, looking back at the desperate mother who was cradling her child in her arms. Brivere’s eyes softened, seeing his own mother embracing him, wanting to protect him from anything, willing to do anything to accomplish this.
Brivere let a rare smile grace his usually emotionless features. "I would be honored to teach you, mam." he said, fondly gazing at Dalila, feeling his heart soar when she grinned back.
5 notes · View notes
thosefour · 6 years ago
Text
Tumblr media
the crowd was beginning to thin out, much to the dismay of the rookie band scheduled for 12 o’clock midnight. most people have places to be in the morning. lectures to attend. or for the arguably more pathetic, saturn-return demographic, lovely wives to kiss before that wretched 6 AM commute. shitty diapers to change. bosses to dick-suck and deliver a half-sugar, half-cream medium coffee straight to their desk because promotion sounds a lot like yes, boss. yes, sir! micky could go for a lovely wife right about now. or a dick-suck. he’ll pass on the diaper.
their gig was at 10. an hour-long set. the perfect time. the audience is always nice and warmed up by then. so much so that even if the band plays like shit, they’ll surely forget about it when they wind up piss-drunk, bent over the dirty loo and on the verge of a black out. the kid’s right warmed up himself, an elbow planted firm on the bar’s counter like some sort of hot-shot. his band mates fucked off for the rest of the night. probably to find a honey for their arm elsewhere, or to see what kind of trouble they could get up to at the swan dive down the road. oi, there's classier chicks over at the next one, mate. but he's never been one for convincing. micky does what micky wants! an idle hand slides a cross pendant along a thin silver chain that swoops along his neckline. it was a gift from his grandmother. he finds it cute and ironic. oh, micky, won’t you come to church with your family? you used to love the red juice! he curves his lips over his teeth and tucks the lord in that little crease it forms. boy, does he know a thing or two about sinning. and he’s on cloud nine—if there were clouds in hell, that is. it feels as though someone set fire to the fine hairs of his flesh, electric, as if every cell in his body draws sparks as they rocket through his blood stream. he’s intoxicated by it all. the light-headed high of getting off stage after a good set. the high of whatever that nice lad kindly placed on his tongue in the back room. he’s got his lashes lowered, a bit of a coy look to him as he makes eyes at the stranger he’s taken an interest in. he may or may not be moments from emptying his guts out onto the bar floor. what are you gonna do about it? [ approach him ]  [ ignore him ]  [ slug that smirk right off his disgusting little face !!! ]
6 notes · View notes
angelkerisimasi · 4 years ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Chyna pins Jeff Jarrett to become the new Intercontinental Champion, but the decision is reversed when a second referee shows the original official Debra's involvement. Jarrett may have retained the tttle via disqualification, but Chyna left her mark on him and the referee. (1 • 2)
Unforgiven 1999 (September 26th)
Chyna's Birthday Week Tribute (December 20th - December 27th)
1 note · View note
fireopal82sg · 3 years ago
Photo
Tumblr media
Can’t get enough of Tom yum flavour for today! Love this mix of lotus root and oyster mushrooms chips with that awesome flavour burst of Tom yum! Perfect perk me up on a mid week Wednesday! (at Clementi, Singapore) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cal-TtTLE-s/?utm_medium=tumblr
0 notes
zillyeh · 6 years ago
Note
Riki! What kind of modeling do you do? Any specific style/clothing line/etc you specialize in? Do you enjoy your job? And! And how did you wind up as a model in the first place?
Tumblr media
/ generally take any job / can get my hands on! / do a lot of edgy makeup shoots, but /’m not really well known enough to spec/al/ze /n anyth/ng yet. /’d reaaally love to get really /nto we/rd h/gh fash/on stuff, though! / love all those we/rd outf/ts.
/ really do l/ke my job! /t’s fun, and / haven’t run /nto anyone too we/rd yet, though the sw/m shoot / d/d a few months ago made me nervous. 
Oh, /’ve always l/ked fash/on and taking p/ctures, even though they never turned out great. /’d do l/tttle m/n/ “shoots” with my fr/ends and post them on Trollstagram, then someone messaged me ask/ng /f /’d work w/th them! That sort of th/ng kept happen/ng- reaallly slowly m/ght / add- but now / get cons/stent enough work for th/s to be a steady job!
Sh/t, that was k/nda rambly wasn’t /t? Sorry! / l/ke talk/ng about my job.
2 notes · View notes
dancinginagetawaycar · 6 years ago
Note
Blank Space??
blank space: what was your city’s blank space loop on the 1989 tour? (if you had one)
Seattle!! Sea-tttle!! this tour I got to do the nashville & new jersey chants as well!
reputation tour asks game
1 note · View note
alexadd77 · 4 years ago
Photo
Tumblr media
Madness ‎- Grey Day (Día Gris) 7" 1981 Stiff/Movieplay -Spain. Great spanish release with spanish tttles. Hasta hace no demasiado tenía solo la británica pero de cara al libro Spanish Bomba me compré está copia española. #madness #ska #2tone 7" #45rpm #reggae #2tone #newwave #vinylcollection #ratrace #vinylcollectionpost #vinyllovers #vinylcover #artwork #record #orange #pop #hit #recordcoverb#colorvinyl #pop #recordcollection #skarevival #recordcollector #music https://www.instagram.com/p/CNCRWXJMksA/?igshid=v8e1o5h5d6uo
0 notes
bkk918 · 4 years ago
Video
youtube
Liked on YouTube: Red Alert! Arizona Mandates the Vaccine- ARS Tttle 36 Sections 787-789 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nirFCPQNaPM
0 notes
bazlur176-blog · 6 years ago
Photo
Tumblr media
Tttle: Supernatural Seduction - Dating Tips - US. Description: If you struggle to meet and approach women, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Take this brand new 30 second quiz and I'll give you a solution that's designed for YOUR specific situation and goals.This Weird Trick Gets A Woman To Approach You...And Make The First Move!
0 notes
bunnybbomb · 7 years ago
Link
Chapters: 3/? Fandom: sidlink - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con Relationships: Link/Prince Sidon, Link/Sidon, Brivere/Link, Brivere/Prince Sidon Characters: Leuqas, brivere, estuu, Sidon, Prince Sidon, Link, Original Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Sexual Assault, Death, more shit no one asked for but i put too much thought into Series: Part 5 of Trying to Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Continuation) Summary:
Due to his policies and beliefs on class equality, Prince Sidon has become less and less popular to the upper class Zora, who desperately want to hold onto their dwindling power and wealth over the Undercity dwellers. Leuqas plans to use this hostility towards the prince to his advantage, gaining a better way to conquer Brivere’s love.
(An ending AU of another fic i wrote called Trying To Tie Loose Ends, sorta like an alternate timeline. All of this is based off of Coma Baby by @banishedone)
3 notes · View notes
bunnybbomb · 7 years ago
Text
INFO ABOUT: Trying to Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Sequel)
Ok so some people were either confused or had questions about it, and I didn't wanna just pick out one anon or anything so I'll just address everything here. If there's any other questions feel free to ask!
A: what is this? When does it take place?
Q: TTTLE is a continuation of catharsis, taking place a little under a month ever since Brivere's powers were discovered. Catharsis is a fanfic for the sidlink fanfic Coma Baby by @banishfics / @banishedone and doesn't hold any true canon or ties unless stated otherwise by them.
A: how long is this going to be?
Q: Currently I have 11 chapters for the main bulk of it. Each chapter could be a stand alone but they build off of each other, and timing in-between could be from hours to months. After that there are 4 bonus chapters that don't necessarily have ties to the main part and are just bonus stuff.
A: what is your upload schedule going to be?
Q: well my amazing beta reader @ipromiseitsnotanobsession is a fuckin legend and burned through 5 chapters in like 3 days. So I'm planning like a chapter a day? And bonus fics May be a bit more iffy since she has so much time since she's on break but that's ending soon lmao
A: is this just on Tumblr?
Q: nope! It's also on my ao3 BunnyBob
A: I haven't read Coma Baby, will I get what's going on?
Q: You will probably be fine for catharsis but TTTLE is a bit more tied to precise events that happened in Coma Baby. Still, a lot of stuff is explained in both of them, so you can make it through and not miss out on much, but it might be harder to catch onto things that I'm hinting at.
A: Is Catharsis or TTTLE canon?
Q: That's tricky. @banishfics said that they might try to work catharsis in a bit, but at least it'll be a close alternate timeline. I consider TTTLE to be completely separate and an indulgence AU, since I'm completely just making plot shit up as I go. All for the sake of more Brivere content and character development that I crave NOW
And that should be it! Thanks to the people who've read it and talked to me, I appreciate it!
4 notes · View notes
bunnybbomb · 7 years ago
Link
Chapters: 2/? Fandom: sidlink - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con Relationships: Link/Prince Sidon, Link/Sidon, Brivere/Link, Brivere/Prince Sidon Characters: Leuqas, brivere, estuu, Sidon, Prince Sidon, Link, Original Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Sexual Assault, Death, more shit no one asked for but i put too much thought into Series: Part 5 of Trying to Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Continuation) Summary:
After Leuqas had become quickly infatuated with the Oracle Knight at his knighting ceremony, the nobleman is desperate to get another chance to pursue Brivere since his first attempt was inexplicably ruined by Prince Sidon and the Hylian Champion. However, the spoiled Zora quickly finds out that Brivere is harder to win over than he expected, as his usual charm and charisma seems to not impact the emotionless knight.
It’d also help if he could just find the damn Zora in the first place.
(An ending AU of another fic i wrote called Trying To Tie Loose Ends, sorta like an alternate timeline)
2 notes · View notes
bunnybbomb · 7 years ago
Link
Chapters: 1/? Fandom: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, sidlink - Fandom Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Link/Prince Sidon, Link/Sidon, Brivere/Prince Sidon, Brivere/Sidon Characters: brivere, Link, Sidon, Prince Sidon, estuu, Betaal, King Dorephan, Zora Additional Tags: Panic Attacks, sexual assult slight mention, Why do I do this to myself Series: Part 8 of Trying to Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Continuation) Summary:
Prince Sidon had once said, “It’s our peoples’ belief that we all have one, single person whom we are meant to love and no more. Our stories and culture, everything that we are, reaffirms that. From the romantic notion of two individuals’ souls combining into one, to the dismissal of the barbaric, loveless mating rituals of our unevolved, lawless kin; it isn’t just a silly rule we invented to seem superior, but something at the very root of our ascension to a wise, civilized, divinely-blooded species."
"And furthermore, what of the people who you supposedly love, when they learn that their own love was not enough to satisfy you?”
Yet ironically, over a year later, he finds himself in a healthy polyamorous relationship with his Oracle Knight and the Hylian Champion. His love for the two of them is so great that it hurts to have to constantly hide it from the strictly monogamous Zora society, unable to enjoy their relationship to the fullest.
But after Brivere gets hurt due to their secret, the prince decides that perhaps it is time that the three of them finally tell the truth.
(A continuation of Infatuation, based on Coma Baby, but PLEASE READ END NOTES FOR MORE ABOUT THIS SERIES)
1 note · View note
bunnybbomb · 7 years ago
Text
Trying Tie Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Continuation): Chapter 8: Trust and Doubt
SUMMARY: Princess Zelda leads a group of Zora to Kakariko Village, with the intention of helping the Oracle Knight find a cure for his deformed eyes and gain better control of his ability to see the future. Brivere’s newfound trust with Link has been shaken, and neither are sure if they can recover from it. Problems arise when Brivere has a troubling vision and later a nightmare, both hinting at something ominous to come.
(A fic for the sidlink fic Coma Baby, a continuation of the other one I made called Catharsis!)
This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone), and a continuation of the other one I wrote called Catharsis. If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content. This fic in particular is focused on my favorite character in the series, the OC Brivere. You don’t need to read the whole series to get what’s going on in this fic though, since a lot is explained in here.
I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr, you can chat with me any time about anything! I also post all chapters on my AO3 account BunnyBob!
Huge thank you to my amazing beta reader Alina! Her tumblr and ff.net is @ipromiseitsnotanobsession. She actually does editing shit for a living and she is the one that makes sure these things aren’t trash, so
Disclaimer: In no way does this have any true ties or canon to Coma Baby unless stated otherwise. It’s really just an indulgence AU to feed my obsession for Brivere drama.
Brivere tensely glided through the water with the Hylian Champion sitting on his back, legs clenched around his chest. No one was saying anything, not Link, not the other Zora guards ordered to accompany them, not even Princess Zelda as she followed them along the river on top of Crazy Girl. And although his younger brother was mute, even Estuu was unusually on edge as he swam next to Brivere.
It was obvious as to why everyone was so restless. All of them had been there when the usually gentle Prince Sidon had harshly ordered that Brivere was to go to Kakariko Village for treatment. And while none of them had personally witnessed the fight that had occurred between the Prince and the Hylian Champion when Link had dragged him off afterwards, it was obvious from the way the two of them glared at each other from across the throne room before Brivere’s departure.
Link technically wasn’t supposed to be with them anyways. Apparently, he had tried to talk Sidon out of sending the golden knight away. But because he couldn’t provide any real explanation as to why and refused to tell his secrets, Prince Sidon had quickly gotten frustrated and had ordered the Hylian off of the entourage.
He was only on Brivere’s back at the moment because he had met them near the river and claimed that he needed a ride to Kakariko Village completely by coincidence. Zelda was too tired to argue.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Princess Zelda slowed Crazy Girl down and signaled for the Zora in the water to stop. Apparently, aside from Link, Zelda was the only other person to have some control over the psychotic horse. Perhaps even Crazy Girl could sense the authoritative and holy aura that the princess always gave off.
Bazz nodded at her and quickly stopped, treading water. “Alright! On the command of the Princess we will stop here for the night!”
“Yes sir!” the soldiers chanted back. Noticeably, Estuu, Link, and Brivere were the only ones in the river who didn’t respond. One of them was mute, the other one was a Hylian and technically not under Bazz’s command, and the other was pissed.
Admittedly, Brivere was less than amused that the Guard Captain had been put in charge of the expedition along with Zelda, instead of himself. The two of them still had an awkward relationship thanks to their past interactions, with Brivere and Estuu not giving medical aid to Bazz’s now dead friend and Bazz not giving proper rations for Estuu’s sensitive dietary needs. So technically, their dickish moves evened out.
But that had been a long time ago, and they had now settled into a more professional persona when around each other. Also, Bazz was apparently a childhood friend of Link and the two of them were very close as a result.
No, the irritation lay more with Prince Sidon.
While he appreciated Sidon’s concern, Brivere was annoyed that the prince had suddenly pulled a power move and used his position to force him to go to Kakariko Village against his wishes. Prince Sidon also wasn’t listening to him or Link, absolutely stubborn and stuck on his decision. Sure, maybe they weren’t exactly providing the most precise answers, but he could at least try and sense that something wrong was going on.
“Do you need help, Oracle Knight?” one of the soldiers asked, holding a clawed hand out to Brivere. He remembered her always working in the palace, coincidentally being everywhere he was. They often had polite conversation, so he remembered her name: Alon.
He shook his head. “No, but I appreciate the offer.” he grunted as he pulled himself out of the water. That was the other thing that bothered him. When Prince Sidon had told the other guards to follow them to Kakariko Village, apparently he had made Brivere’s condition seem much worse than it actually was.
It was clear when Alon nodded but still held her arms out, hovering around Brivere as if she was afraid that he would collapse any second. He almost lashed out and smacked her hands away but then he remembered that it wasn’t her fault.
Looking over at Link, he didn’t know whose fault it was.
Sure, maybe the prince was being a bit too cautious for his liking. But they wouldn’t have even been in this mess if Link had just come forward and told Sidon about his immortality and skepticism towards the Sheikah and Princess Zelda.
Link raised an eyebrow, catching the golden knight’s stare. “Something wrong?”
“…No.” Brivere said curtly, turning to walk over to a nearby tree. He slumped up against the rough bark and slid down to sit on the dirt ground, trying to ignore how the other soldiers were glancing over at him in concern. Estuu plopped down right next to him, already cracking open his copy of The Cursed Girl.
Shrugging, the Hylian sauntered over to sit down in front of the brothers. “You know,” he said, absentmindedly dragging his fingers through the dirt, “we’d already be there by now if someone wouldn’t be so stuck up and pretentious about our transportation methods.”
Brivere sighed. He still didn’t understand the tension between Link and Zelda, and while he wanted to trust his friend, he also didn’t want to have preconceived notions about the princess without getting to know her and her side first. “It is alright. While Zora can swim fast we still tire out. Having a rest stop for the night will recover our strength to continue our journey tomorrow.”
“Yeah, but you guys are literally fish people made for the water!” Link cried out, throwing his hands into the air. “We could be resting for the night in Kakariko Village if you guys were just allowed to swim as fast as you usually do!”
“Yes, but we must accommodate for Princess Zelda.”
“She can just ride on your backs like I do! I sat on Sidon’s back while taking out Vah Ruta, for Hylia’s sake, she could easily go down a river!” Link looked back over at the Princess, who was trying to tie Crazy Girl to a tree and failing miserably. “She won’t even let Crazy Girl go wild! My lady could probably get there even before you guys could.”
Brivere tittered, trying to ease his friend’s anger. “I have no doubts of that. She nearly trampled Prince Sidon when I asked you to battle him so long ago.”
A wide smile stretched across Link’s face at the memory. “Wish she could do it again, really. Wipe the smug look off of his face.”
“Are you two going to be alright?” Brivere asked. “I heard you had quite the argument and I would hate for your side of the relationship to be in ruins because of me.”
Link sighed and aggressively raked his fingers through his blond hair. “It’s fine, you’re not the one in the wrong. I guess it’s my fault. After all, this whole situation is because of me. I still haven’t told him about the whole immortality thing yet.”
Brivere stiffened up and glanced over at his younger brother, who didn’t even look up from his book. Catching onto his apprehension, Link leaned in. “It’s fine. Estuu knows. I told him way before I told you, when you made me follow him around to see where he went when he skipped class.”
“That was years ago!” Brivere exclaimed, ogling his younger brother. Estuu flicked his golden eyes up and shrugged before returning his focus to the book in his hands.
Link laughed. “Yup. I also asked him to shoot me in the head with an arrow to test it out.” Brivere’s jaw dropped open as he scanned the Hylian’s rugged face for a scar or any trace of evidence.
“It’s fine, he didn’t actually do it.” Link admitted.
Brivere shook off the Hylian’s casual display of recklessness and silently thanked his brother for not partaking in it. He supposed that he could understand. If Link was actually immortal, there would be no harm in trying to test out its limits.
But as the three of them continued to silently sit there, doubt began to creep into his mind. He glanced over Link’s body, trying to see if there was any hint of past brushes with death. It didn’t help that the Hylian’s muscled body was covered with wounds, some of them so old that they were already faded, while others were fresh and still bleeding a little. But this was to be expected, as the Hylian was a fearsome warrior that picked a fight with anything that happened to move and sometimes even things that didn’t.
Although he had promised to trust Link, Brivere wished that he at least had some sort of undeniable proof to back up the Hylian’s claims of immortality. He did find it suspicious that he kept having visions of the Hylian dying, and unlike similar visions of watching others perish, Link would somehow just reappear and continue along the web of fate. But Brivere wasn’t certain if this was actually a sign of immortality or just a mistake due to a lack of control over his ability to see the future. And not only did Link insist that he couldn’t die, but it was also a power forced on him by crazed Sheikah scientists. Apparently it had damaged his friend both physically and psychologically until he nearly went insane.
And now they were headed to Kakariko Village to ask for help from said crazy scientists, who would be given full medical control of the golden knight’s body.
As much as Brivere wanted to believe in his Hylian friend, he silently hoped that this would be one thing that Link was wrong about.
;
Nighttime had fallen by the time they had finished setting up camp, which was really just two shoddily set up tents for the Hylians near the river where the Zora soldiers would sleep. Brivere sat by the edge of the water, silently watching his younger brother’s scarlet body bob gently beneath the surface.
It was fairly quiet at this point of the night. Most of the soldiers were already sleeping in the water, their black and blue scales shining in the moonlight. Guard Captain Bazz and a couple other guards were on the first watch shift. Princess Zelda had turned in early, and Link was not far away as he talked to Crazy Girl, which made him seem crazy as well since he was casually chatting with an angry horse.
Yet even in the calm lull, Brivere couldn’t help but feel the scales on the back of his neck prickle, as if a hand was closing around his throat. He quickly whipped around, aggressively pointing his longsword at a shadowy form approaching him from behind.
“Oracle Knight!” Alon yelped, holding up her clawed hands. “I am so sorry to disturb your peace!”
Brivere frowned and quickly retracted his blade. “No, I should be the one to apologize. You have done nothing wrong, Alon.”
A shy smile stretched across the black Zora’s face. “Ah! You remembered my name! I am so honored!”
“Of course. You have always been a dedicated soldier and you were even polite enough to hold casual conversation with me back at the palace when many others would not.”
Alon’s head tail wagged excitedly in response. “I am so honored to receive such praise from the Oracle Knight! Please, may I sit next to you if it is no trouble?”
Brivere nodded, patting the ground next to him. She quickly plopped down into the dirt, putting her legs in the water and eagerly kicking them around. Nothing about Alon stood out except for her energetic personality, which clashed against the serious way that most Zora soldiers carried themselves. Other than that, she easily blended into the crowd being of average height and body width. Even her black scales were a common color amongst most soldiers her rank.
Both of them quietly sat there for a few moments, letting the sound of gentle currents hold a conversation in their place. Finally, Alon spoke up, turning to Brivere with her golden eyes shining with curiosity.
“So!” she said. “I do not intend to be rude, but can you truly see the future?”
Brivere stared back at her in confusion. “Yes?” he replied hesitantly. “I would not have this position otherwise.”
“Sorry, sorry!” she yelped, quickly smacking a hand to her face. “I apologize! Of course, that is so obvious!” They fell into an awkward silence before she tilted her head back up again, peering at him from the corner of her eye. “I suppose that I just worded it wrong. Forgive my rudeness, I was actually just trying to ask how the process works.”
Humming, Brivere relaxed his shoulders. “It is quite hard to explain. I do not believe that I am the best person to speak of it, as I do not have full control of my ability yet.”
Her head snapped to look directly at him. “Nonsense! While you may not have full control yet, I am confident that you will eventually! In the meantime, may you tell me what it feels like?”
Brivere hesitated before giving in and responding. It was hard not to get caught up in Alon’s infectious excitement. “I suppose… the closest I can compare it to is the water, but perhaps that is due to me being a Zora and so I am be biased.” Alon giggled at this, making him ease up a little more. “It depends on how much control I have. Images will crash around in my mind, and I can either allow them to drown me or gently carry me around. Those images melt into scenes of the future. But it becomes overwhelming when they all play at the same time, lapping over each other. I am working on becoming more focused.”
Alon nodded thoughtfully, humming as her legs continued to kick in the water. “If it is not too much to ask, may you give me a demonstration?” Alon politely asked.
If it were anyone else, Brivere would have been fed up and annoyed with the conversation at this point. But Alon’s genuinely pure curiosity swayed him, and he found himself nodding slightly. “I cannot guarantee that it will immediately work. But I will try.”
The black Zora quickly nodded her head, retracting her legs from the river and curling into a ball as she quietly stared at Brivere with wide eyes. He chuckled at her childlike wonder before closing his own.
He reached a clawed hand to touch his father’s choker. Technically, any physical touch with the silver collar would send him into a downward spiral of overwhelming visions, but he wore normal armor underneath to allow him to wear it without having a mental breakdown. Brivere didn’t necessarily wear the choker to show off his title as Oracle Knight but rather because he wanted to have a piece of his father with him at all times.
As expected, the usual flurry of images crashed into his mind. No matter how many times he had done this, it never lessened in its intensity. He quickly focused on the first scene he could find, trying to soak in the information before he collapsed from the effort.
Alon flinched when Brivere’s hand suddenly shot down from the collar and his head flew back. “Are you alright?!” she exclaimed, grabbing onto his shoulders. “I am so sorry! This is my fault!” He waved her away, blinking his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside of his visor.
Pointing a clawed finger out to the river, Brivere grunted. “A red fish is going to jump out of the water over there.”
Snapping her head to where he was gesturing at, Alon stared wide-eyed at the water, waiting for something to pop out. Several moments passed as an awkward silence fell over them. She opened her mouth to ask something, but the words were caught in her throat as a bright red fish gracefully leaped out of the water and splashed back in.
“Amazing!” she cried out. “You are a gift from Hylia herself!”
Brivere flushed, unused to such praise. “…Thank you.”
She quickly turned back to him with a wide grin stretched across her face. Something about it seemed unsettling. “This is simply a miracle! Your gift will prove to be very useful! I do not understand why you waste your talents on the royal family and those Hylians!”
Brivere scowled and abruptly stood up. “Do not speak of my lord like that.” he spat, turning to walk away. Alon shot up onto her feet and ran in front of him, a crazed look in her eyes that made the smile across her face seem extremely disturbing. “You are wasting your time here! You literally have the power to predict the future, yet you continue to bow to a useless royal line because of their blood?! Princess Zelda and the rest of those Hylians have deeply mislead you!”
“I will not tolerate such slander!” Brivere snapped back. “Alon, what has gotten into-!”
The words were cut off when images suddenly slammed into his mind the second that Alon grabbed onto his wrist. “You must simply come with me!” she cried, tightening her grip. “We can show you your true potential!”
Panic. Darkness. Bananas. Pain. Shock.
Brivere roared, whipping out his sword and randomly slicing it through the air. He didn’t realize what he had done until Bazz ran over, covering the open wound on Alon’s arm with a cloth.
“What in Hylia’s name happened?!” the Guard Captain cried out.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Alon cut him off. “It is my fault, Guard Captain! I startled the Oracle Knight while he was having a vision and he accidentally lashed out!”
Bazz looked over at the golden knight with disgust. “No Alon, you are not at fault.”
Brivere stared back at the Guard Captain. “That is not what happened.”
“Then do you care to explain yourself?”
Brivere grunted, trying to keep his usual straight face. “Alon asked me to demonstrate my ability, and I obliged. Out of nowhere, she began to slander the royal family and Princess Zelda, then tried to grab me and pull me away. But when she touched me, I had a vision and…”
Bazz’s brow shot up. “And? What was the vision of?”
He cringed. “It is hard to explain. But I do know that Alon is not to be trusted.”
The Guard Captain let out a long sigh and rubbed his temple. “Oracle Knight,” he said, exasperated. “I have known Alon ever since we were children. While we were not exactly close friends, she was a pleasant acquaintance that went through the same military training as I did. She is as dedicated to the Royal Family as the rest of us.”
Brivere stepped forward, trying to convince him of the truth. “No, but she-!”
Bazz held a hand up. “It is alright, Oracle Knight. Prince Sidon warned us that this may happen. We were all well aware of your condition when we signed up for this.”
He let out an incredulous laugh. “Oh? And what is that condition?”
“The eyes, for one thing. Mental breakdowns, passing out, aggression, hallucinations, the like. You most likely just imagined the whole thing and accidentally attacked the first person who came near you, which is why we must get you to Kakariko Village immediately. Not just for your safety but for everyone else around you as well.”
Brivere glared at the other Zora. “I. Did. Not. Imagine. It.” he spat. Bazz glared back and stepped closer, making their brows nearly touch. A growl hummed in their chests as they stared directly into each other’s golden eyes, daring the other Zora to make the first retort. Alon glanced at both of them, trying to come up with something to diffuse the situation.
“What’s going on here?”
The three Zora turned to look at Link, who had suddenly appeared by their side, brow raised. “Master Link,” Bazz said, kneeling down on one knee to come to eye level. “The Oracle Knight has had an episode due to his powers and accidentally lashed out at one of our soldiers.”
“I told you that was not what occurred!” Brivere snapped. “I used my ability, yes, but she started babbling about nonsense and insulting the royal family. When she grabbed me, I had a vision. She is not to be trusted.”
Bazz rolled his golden eyes. “Yet he will not share exactly what the vision entailed, so you can see why I am a bit skeptical, Master Link.”
Link looked at both of them, and Brivere’s heart sank at the thought that his Hylian friend didn’t believe him. “Bazz, make a medical tent for her and heal her wounds.” Link said, pointing to a clearing off to the side. The Guard Captain nodded and gently led Alon away, eyeing Brivere as he left.
“Hylian Champion…” Brivere said, hesitantly. “You believe me, don’t you?
He hated how long it took for Link to barely nod his head. “Come back to my tent for tonight, Brivere.” he urged.
Anger flared up in his chest. “No. I refuse. Why did you not defend me when the Guard Captain accused me of being insane?”
“Because I knew that it wouldn’t do anything!” Link hissed back. “No one is going to believe us if we don’t have concrete evidence! I should know, Sidon would barely listen to me when I tried to get us out of this mess!”
Brivere’s mask was as cold as ever. “And what good that did. You didn’t even tell my lord about your immortality or suspicions of the Sheikah scientists! Do you not trust your own lover with such crucial information?”
Link grunted. “That’s not it. I trust Sidon whole-heartedly. He was the first person I could ever open up to and actually care about after I woke up from my coma.”
“Then why am I the only one who knows about your immortality aside from my younger brother and the Sheikah scientists who gave it to you?!” Brivere spat back.
The Hylian glanced down, suddenly interested in the mud clinging to his boots. “Look,” he said quietly. “The problem isn’t my trust in Sidon. It’s Sidon’s reckless trust in everyone else.”
Brivere arched his brow, forgetting that the gesture would be obscured by his visor. “What do you mean?”
“Admittedly, it’s one of the few flaws that I absolutely despise about him.” Link said. “He is way too trusting and nice for his own good. All you have to do is simply exist and that idiot is willing to put everything on the line just for you.”
The golden Zora nodded. It certainly was one of the more infuriating aspects of being Prince Sidon’s personal knight. He was forced to watch his beloved prince get taken advantage of by too many people who just wanted to abuse his kindness. The large red dork once even tried to get rid of a Lynel by peacefully negotiating with it.
But they both knew that they couldn’t hold that trait against the prince. If it wasn’t for Sidon’s patience and boundless love then neither of them would have ever been given the time of day, or even be dating him at the same time, no less.  
“And that’s just the problem.” the Hylian continued. “I know that if I tell him, he will believe me. But then he will believe Zelda, and then King Dorephan, and everyone else who tells him otherwise. He is too gentle to say no and too naïve to believe that there are more sinister things lurking within those you least expect. Sidon just took the offer for medical help at face value and didn’t even investigate into it further.”
Both of them stared at each other as the question that had been blazing inside of Brivere for days finally came to a roaring crescendo, becoming an inferno that threatened to burn him alive if he didn’t set it free.
“Link.” he said carefully. “What exactly made you decide to trust me so much in the first place? What makes me so different from my lord?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question and the rare use of his name from the golden knight, Link hummed as he racked his brain for answers. Finally, a shuddering sigh deflated his small form as he looked back up at Brivere. “I guess it’s just because I know that you’re just like me.”
“…How so?” Brivere asked. “May you please elaborate?”
Link grunted, raking his dirty fingers through tangles of blond hair. “You and I aren’t like Sidon. We are broken beyond repair and can barely show genuine kindness like he can.”
The golden knight tittered. “Am I supposed to take this as a compliment or something?”
A smirk stretched across the Hylian’s face. “No, asshole. I’m just trying to say that we have been fucked over so many times that we have built up a wall to keep everyone out. To stop them from hurting us and leaving our bloody corpses out for the bokoblins.”
Brivere nodded. He couldn’t argue against the truth. His own infamous emotionless mask was already all of the evidence that he needed.
“I know that we didn’t have the best start.” Link admitted. “I punched you straight off a bridge once for Hylia’s sake. But after that, I watched us slowly take down each other’s walls, brick by brick. And I like the Brivere that I found hiding underneath all of the fancy silver jewelry and armor.”
He had always waited for the perfect moment to quote Betaal’s favorite comeback. “Are you going to finish sucking my dick first or are you going to get to your point?” Brivere asked, trying to keep a straight face.
His indifferent mask cracked when Link’s blue eyes flew wide open as he gawked at the usually stern golden knight, jaw agape. Both of them let out low, muffled chuckles that exploded into full-on laughter that shook their bodies and nearly toppled them onto the ground.
“Look!” Link wheezed between gasps for air. “I’m just trying to say that trust doesn’t come easily to either of us. So I knew that if I told you my suspicions, your trust would be genuine. Your trust just like mine. It takes a lot to earn it, but once you do, it’s the strongest damn thing in the world.”
As both of them settled down, Brivere repeated his friend’s words over and over again in his mind. He couldn’t help but agree with the Hylian’s statements. The golden knight could easily count the number of people he completely trusted on Estuu’s only hand, but he knew that he would do anything for each and every one of them.
And the Hylian Champion was included in that count.
Link was the first to recover from his fit of giggles, straightening up as he patted Brivere on the arm. “Do you trust me enough to not stab you in your sleep if you sleep in my tent tonight?”
Chuckling, Brivere nodded. “I trust you.”
;
           A sickeningly white mask.
           A blood red symbol branded into its surface.
           An upside down eye.
           A single tear falling upwards.
           A shining blade, plunging into bright blue eyes.
Brivere shot up into a sitting position, breaking out into a cold sweat as he gasped for breath. A lightning bolt of pain shot through his back, as if someone had sliced into his skin along his spine. His eyes were burning in his skull as they frantically searched the inside of the canvas tent for something.
Someone.
His sudden movement woke instantly woke up Link, who grabbed onto the golden knight’s shoulder. “Brivere!” he exclaimed. “Are you okay?”
Without responding, Brivere smacked the Hylian’s hand away, scrambling to grab his silver scale longsword before bolting out of the tent. Link sat paralyzed on the cot, staring after him in confusion before his senses caught up to reality.
“Brivere!” he screamed, tossing aside the sheets to run after him.
The golden knight didn’t hear the Hylian’s shouts behind him, his senses completely taken over by something else. It felt the same as when he was asleep. His body was out of his control and it felt like he was just watching himself from afar, as if he wasn’t the golden Zora that was desperately running through the woods. He didn’t know what exactly he was looking for, but all he knew was that it needed to reveal itself immediately.
Zora soldiers that were sleeping in the river shot up at the Hylian’s shouts, ogling Brivere as he sprinted past them. Bazz’s eyes went wide as he realized where exactly the Oracle Knight was heading. “He’s going to Alon’s medical tent!” he shouted as he pulled himself out of the water. “Restrain him before he hurts her again!”
“Yes sir!” they shouted, following after the Guard Captain.
Everyone was now chasing the hysterical Oracle Knight, who was running towards the medical tent like his life depended on it. And as far as he knew, it really did.
Alon jumped in her makeshift bed as Brivere tore the feeble tent down from the trees, exposing her to the open night air. “Oracle Knight!” she yelped. “Please, what are you-!”
Brivere cut her off as he pointed his longsword to her throat, pressing its sharp edge into her scales until a little bit of blood trickled out from under them.
“I will not hesitate to kill if you do not immediately reveal yourself.” he growled.
His distorted eyes pierced into her golden ones from the slits of his visor, seeing the eerie calm that hid beneath her mask of faked fear. He was so focused on it that he completely ignored the Zora soldiers that were still rushing towards him from behind.
“Oracle Knight Brivere!” the Guard Captain shouted. “Cease this at once!”
Bazz would have tackled the wild golden knight to the ground if his Hylian friend hadn’t done that exact same thing to the black Zora first. Both of them slammed into the dirt with Link on top of him, and before Bazz could say anything, a hand was roughly pressed onto his shoulder, pinning him down. The other guards ran around them, still charging at Brivere.
“Call off the other soldiers Bazz!” Link screamed in his face.
“But the Oracle Kni-!”
Link smashed his fist into the ground next to the Guard Captain’s head. “Now, Bazz!”
The black Zora gulped. “All soldiers stand down!” he hesitantly shouted.
They all immediately stopped, looking back at the Hylian Champion, who was still holding their Guard Captain down. Even Brivere looked over his shoulder, trying to see what was going on. “But sir!” one of them yelled back. “The Oracle Knight is not in his right mind! His condition has only worsened and has corrupted him!”
Link got up from Bazz’s chest with a blazing glare, making them all flinch. “Have more faith in him!” he scowled at them. “He is one of the strongest warriors in the Zora Domain, with the ability to see the future, for Hylia’s sake!”
He then turned to focus on the golden knight ahead of them, whose sword was still drawn to the cowering woman beneath its sharp point. “Brivere!” he yelled. “Do what you believe is right! I’ll back you up!” Gratitude blossomed in the golden knight’s chest at his friend’s absolute trust.
Alon gaped at the other soldiers, who were all hesitantly twitching in place. "You guys!" she cried out, eyes wide. "The Oracle Knight has gone insane! Prince Sidon warned us of this, you have to help me! He's going to kill me!"
None of them moved, save for their eyes glancing back at the infuriated Hylian Champion that glared them all down, effectively anchoring them into the dirt. Even Bazz slowly got up, nodding at Brivere to continue.
Confidence soared through the golden knight's body as he nodded back, turning to glare down the blade at the cowering woman trapped beneath it. "Last chance." he said in a frighteningly steady voice, pushing the sword a little deeper into her throat, not enough to cause too much damage but just enough to make the threat clear as day.
He could feel the weapon in his hands tremble from how hard Alon was shaking. It almost made him reconsider his brash actions, but the way that her golden eyes were completely calm made him all the more sure that he was doing the right thing.
"Oracle Knight!" she yelped, holding her hands up. "Please, it's just me, Alon! Snap out of it!"
"I had a vision. You are not Alon."
At this, her face contorted, quickly switching from fear to amusement. "Oh." she said in a sickeningly sweet voice. It felt like syrup, disgustingly slithering around in his head. "I suppose I should have anticipated that. Then again, isn’t that your whole thing?"
Alon slowly stood up, still allowing Brivere's sword to pierce her neck as she rose. She smirked at him, staring down the blade at him as if it was just a minor inconvenience. "You think you are the one to make demands here?" she purred. "I think I'm the one in charge, really. I'll even give you a choice: either you come with me willingly or I take you by force. No matter your reply I still intend to bring you to the rest of my clan."
Brivere reeled his sword back before harshly slashing at Alon. She disappeared into a puff of smoke and reappeared behind him.
"BRIVERE!" Link screamed. The other Zora soldiers all stared in shock as Alon's body suddenly transformed into that of a smaller warrior covered in black cloth, with a white mask bearing the red symbol of an upside-down crying eye obscuring their face.
The golden Zora quickly whipped around, slicing at the imposter who simply danced away, forcing Brivere to follow them as they nimbly dodged his attacks.
"All soldiers assist and protect the Oracle Knight!" Bazz shouted.
"Yes sir!" The guards yelled back in unison, rushing forward with their silver spears pointed at the new threat. Link charged as well, drawing out his sword and screaming a ferocious battle cry.
The imposter looked back at the stampeding soldiers, and although the mask covered their face, it was obvious that they were amused. They looked back at Brivere and continued to weave between his attacks.
"Will you come with me or not?!" they gleefully shouted, ducking under his sword.
He scowled back, swinging his weapon even harder. "Never! My life lies with the royal family and Prince Sidon of the Zora Domain!"
"Then don't say I didn't warn you!"
Before Brivere could process their words, the other warrior had whipped out a shock arrow from behind their back and stabbed it into his arm.
As he felt his body seize from the electric currents, fire blazing through his veins, he could see Link and the other Zora soldiers still running at them with panic branded into their faces.
“Brivere!"
The golden knight tried to stay standing for as long as he could, but eventually lost control of his body and felt himself begin to collapse. Before he could hit the ground, the imposter reeled back and launched onto Brivere’s stomach, knocking all the air out of his lungs as they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
1 note · View note
bunnybbomb · 7 years ago
Text
Trying To Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Continuation): Chapter 6: Seeing Eye to Eyes:
Summary: With Betaal as the new First Knight and Estuu as Brivere’s Holy Knight, the three Zoras must awkwardly make amends and learn to understand each other in order to properly be able to carry out their duties to Prince Sidon. However, their tense and complicated past threatens to hold them back from something greater.
(A fic for the sidlink fic Coma Baby, a continuation of the other one I made called Catharsis!)
This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone), and a continuation of the other one I wrote called Catharsis. If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content. This fic in particular is focused on my favorite character in the series, the OC Brivere. You don’t need to read the whole series to get what’s going on in this fic though, since a lot is explained in here.
I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr, you can chat with me any time about anything! I also post all chapters on my AO3 account BunnyBob!
Huge thank you to my amazing beta reader Alina! Her tumblr and ff.net is @ipromiseitsnotanobsession. She actually does editing shit for a living and she is the one that makes sure these things aren’t trash, so
Disclaimer: In no way does this have any true ties or canon to Coma Baby unless stated otherwise. It’s really just an indulgence AU to feed my obsession for Brivere drama.
It only occurred to Sidon as he stood there, before every citizen in the Zora Domain, holding a silver scale spear that would initiate the knighting ceremony, that this was an extremely horrible idea.
He inwardly cringed as he looked at Estuu and Betaal kneeling in front of him. It wasn’t that they weren’t worthy of their positions respectively. Betaal had almost won the first tournament he’d held years ago for the role of his personal knight, and while still very young, Estuu was extremely intelligent had and won Brivere’s trials fair and square. Both of them had fought for and earned their respective titles in an admirable show of wit and strength, making Sidon honored that such talented individuals would choose to serve and protect him.
No, the problem was the infamous tension that ran between the two, along with his now Oracle Knight, Brivere.
Years ago, Estuu had shot Betaal in the eye with an arrow for reasons unknown. Ever since then, she had had to wear an eyepatch that, luckily for her, just enhanced her already rugged face and threatening persona. Many speculated that, if the incident hadn’t occurred, she would have become Prince Sidon’s original First Knight, not Brivere. Sidon couldn’t deny the possibility, since battling with a sudden handicap would severely hinder anyone’s fighting ability. But nothing could be done in time for the tournament and Brivere had apologized profusely and insisted that he had no hand in his brother’s brash actions.
Sidon often joked to himself that he should thank Estuu for doing it, but there was no way that he could tell such a dark joke to anyone else. Of course, there was no malice towards Betaal in his humor, as he admired her raw physical strength and amazing leadership abilities. It just hurt his heart to think that he possibly never would have met Brivere if the tournament had ended differently. The prince was dating him and Link now, who had left the Domain a couple days prior to try and find help for Brivere’s strange eye condition, caused by his future-seeing abilities. For now, Brivere continued to wear a silver scale visor to hide it, since most of the crowd still didn’t know about his condition.
The prince often mused that perhaps it was for the best that Brivere had won initially. When he had opened up the position for his personal knight to all of the Zora Domain, regardless of bloodline or status, he had the best of intentions to let everyone have an equal chance at the position. But he never would have expected the intense class war that broke out as a result. Under and upper city Zora alike had all fought in his tournament, accidentally making the position of first knight into a political statement. Undercity Zora wanted to rise into the untouchable upper class, and the Uppercity Zora wanted to put the lower class back into their place.
Sidon used to be silently thankful that Brivere had won, since he technically didn’t fall into either category. Then, he had realized that the controversy and torment that used to surround his beloved knight’s family was something that no one should be grateful for.
The sound of his father starting his speech snapped Sidon out of his thoughts. King Dorephan’s naturally loud voice was absolutely booming as he made sure that every individual could hear his words. “Zora of our great Domain, it is with honor that today we bestow the title of Holy Knight to Estuu of Brivere’s bloodline and the title of First Knight to Betaal of the Undercity Zora. May the two of you use your positions to continue to protect our Domain and its citizens. Please lead us to a prosperous future.”
The old king gestured at Sidon and Brivere to step forward. “Both of you may now swear in your respective personal knights.”
Sidon walked over to Betaal with the silver scale spear tightly gripped in his hands. She held her head down until he stood directly in front of her. “Betaal of the Undercity Zora,” he began, tapping the pointed end of the spear on her brow, “You have displayed great strength during your time as a warrior.”
The spear then gently shifted onto her left shoulder. “There is no doubt that you have worked hard and deeply care for your fellow Zora.”
Moving the spear to her other shoulder, Sidon stared into her one remaining eye. “With this, I am proud to declare you as my First Knight. May we work together to bring victory to our great Domain.”
Betaal knelt lower until her brow touched the floor, then she rose to her feet. “Yes, my lord.” she said proudly. The two of them each held out their right hand and clasped them onto the other’s left shoulder, bowing their heads until they lightly touched.
Slowly, they let go, and Sidon shifted the spear until it rested horizontally in his hands. He held it out to Betaal, who took it in her left hand with a thankful nod. Sidon grabbed onto her right hand and held it high, which was a bit awkward since she was so much shorter than him, as she turned to face the cheering crowd.
“May we all welcome the new First Knight, Betaal!” he announced loudly.
The crowd roared with energy as they cheered and clapped their hands. The Undercity Zora hollered and screamed with joy, absolutely ecstatic at one of their own making it into one of the highest positions possible in the elite class of the royal government. The Uppercity Zora were noticeably less excited, politely clapping or simply mumbling words of congratulations in barely audible monotone voices. The soldiers in attendance, many of whom had actually worked under Betaal’s watchful eye before, started up the famous battle chant, shouting “ZO RA RA RA!” over and over as they pumped their weapons into the air.
The sounds of the wild crowd almost drowned out the sound of Brivere’s own speech, but Sidon was still able to barely catch a bit of it as he turned to look at the brothers. Estuu was trembling, clearly shaken by the sudden and extreme change in volume. Both of them quickly went through the same motions that he and Betaal just had, noticeably leaving out the parts where they would have to touch, and then Brivere helped Estuu to his feet and ushered him back into the palace.
Some of the Zora who were watching tilted their heads in confusion, surprised that the Holy Knight’s initiation had happened so quickly, with no one paying attention. But the majority of the crowd either didn’t notice or ignored the brothers in favor of Betaal, who was more popular and technically held a higher rank than Estuu anyways.
Sidon and King Dorephan watched with concern as the two brothers ducked through the grand entryway, but they knew that it was improper to disrupt the ceremony to check up on them. Besides, Brivere had already warned them that this would most likely happen, but apparently Estuu himself was the one who had insisted on going through with the ceremony.
The prince hoped with every scale on his body that his new trio of knights would get along. He was at least confident that they would work together professionally, but this hope quickly died when he caught the glare that Betaal wore as she watched the brothers leaving and the slight scowl that they both gave her in return.
Dear Hylia help them all.
;
The first few days after the ceremony were tense as Sidon tried to adjust to his larger entourage.
It was already bad enough that two new positions were added, leading to more paperwork and fumbling around to try and clear up any confusion. But on top of that stress, his knights were walking around on eggshells. Everyone awkwardly danced around each other, trying not to slice their feet into ribbons as they moved to an ever-changing tune.
One second, everything would at least be somewhat professional, and then the next, Betaal and Brivere would be clawing at each other's throats. The fights always started the same, just over different topics each time. Betaal would say something against either of the brothers and egg them on until Brivere would snap and argue back. Ironically, the youngest Zora, Estuu, managed to be the most mature one and never got involved. But this was probably more due to him being mute than anything else, as evidenced by the cold stare he often eyed Betaal with.
This dynamic was surprising at first because Brivere was usually so reserved and stoic in the face of adversity. But Sidon could tell that Brivere was more confident and open to sharing his feelings after his melt down in the throne room a few months back where he had called out everyone who had ever wronged him and his family. At the same time, however, Brivere often still tried to maintain his usual emotionless mask out of nothing but sheer habit.
And for the most part, he was successful, and almost everyone saw no changes in his personality. But Betaal was the one person who knew all the wrong things to say, pushing Brivere to the point that he would snap and argue back.
If anything, Sidon wanted to be happy that his lover was finally able to give in to and acknowledge his emotions, but he was definitely less thankful that it made their working environment so damn uncomfortable.
Even though he was dating Brivere, Sidon didn't want to take any sides for sake of professionality. He figured that things would get better as they all got used to their new positions, and so he decided to just let the two of them fight it out until things settled down. But as the days melted into weeks and then a month, Sidon realized that things had only gotten worse, if even possible. It got to the point that he would excuse Brivere by sending him away to practice using his future-seeing powers, in turn also getting rid of Estuu.  The only good thing to come out of sending the brothers away was a closer friendship with Betaal, resulting in the two of them becoming much more casual with each other. The Undercity knight wouldn’t refer to him by his formal title and didn’t speak in a stuffy manner if they were alone. He appreciated it, since even Brivere couldn’t help but act like he always had a silverscale spear stuck up his ass.
Even then, the few rare moments that Brivere and Betaal would be in the same vicinity as each other would be as tense as ever. Practically all of the other soldiers and workers in the palace knew about their rivalry, and everyone would immediately vacate the room should one of the knights enter while the other was present.
Their constant fighting wore Sidon out, who found it harder and harder to keep up his usual upbeat front that he displayed to his people. It didn’t help that his empathetic ability was always running in the background, catching every bit of animosity that raced through Brivere and Betaal every time they were near each other. Even Estuu, who always stayed out of it, was beginning to take a toll on the prince. Sidon was worried about the younger Zora, who clearly had a lot of inner turmoil, but no way to express it. The raw, negative energy that almost always emitted off of the Holy Knight wore Prince Sidon’s sensitive abilities out.
His knights were too busy arguing to notice the change until one day Sidon snapped and shouted at them. He absolutely hated the way their faces fell and he excused himself, avoiding them for days. As much as he hated to admit it, the relationship between him and Brivere had become strained, and he found himself missing his other Hylian boyfriend every day.
The guilt and fear of losing Brivere as both a lover and a protector, as well as the two other talented knights, was what finally made Sidon take action.
He was going to fix this whether they liked it or not.
;
"I want not a single word from any of you until we reach our destination."
His knights flinched at the harsh edge in Sidon's voice. Brivere opened his mouth to ask exactly where it was that they were going, but quickly decided against it when Sidon glared at him.
They quickly fell into line behind the prince, obediently following him through the maze of hallways inside of the Zora Domain's gigantic palace. It was a well-known joke that it had to be so big because of his father's huge body, but even Sidon thought that the sheer number of useless halls and rooms was ridiculous.
The strange group continued to walk in silence, yet the tension was still thick in the air. Sidon looked over his shoulder to see Betaal and Brivere glaring at each other. Sighing, he continued to lead them down several flights of stairs until they were in the lower, older levels of the palace. This section was mostly unused other than for emergencies or for storage, but what really stood out was the use of doors. For some reason, as the centuries went on, Zora architects decided that they were too good for doors and just made extravagant, high arching entryways instead.
And this old design was exactly what Sidon intended to use to his advantage.
They continued to walk until they came to stand in front of a particularly small door that stretched just above Estuu's head. Sidon grabbed the handle and threw the door open, holding his muscled arm out to welcome them in.
"I need you guys to go inside. There's something we need to investigate."
If it had been anyone else, the three knights would have thought it was shady. If it had been anyone else, they would have decked them.  If it had been anyone else, they would have accused the other Zora of trying to lure them into a dark room just to murder them miles below the surface so that no one could hear their screams or find their bodies.
But it wasn't anyone else. It was just Sidon, their trusted prince and superior.
Hesitantly, each of them entered the room. Estuu could walk in easily, but Betaal had to duck her head and Brivere had to tuck himself into a ball and scoot inside.
The room itself wasn't weird. It seemed like an abandoned Hylian guestroom, judging from the design of the carpet and the small bed inside. That certainly explained the low doorframe, since their Hylian friend Link was about the same size as Estuu.
No, what was weird was when the door suddenly slammed shut behind them.
Sidon was definitely bigger than each of them individually, but as he leaned up in front of the door and felt their pounding fists on the weak wood he quickly became unsure if he was stronger than the three of them combined. He could only hope that Estuu was staying out of it like he usually did.
"Sidon!" Betaal's rough voice shouted. "Let us out of here now!"
"Not until you all finally fix things between each other!"
He could hear Brivere's panicked tone as the Oracle Knight pushed his body against the door. "But my Lord, what if something were to happen to you and we-!"
"It is my command as your prince that you three stay in there and work things out!"
The immediate silence that followed told him that Brivere and Betaal had frozen in uncertain shock. It was a dirty move, sure, ordering them to stay in the room, but it was the only way to keep them from arguing back. He felt the weight on the door lighten, then heard soft footsteps as both of his knights quietly slinked back to the center of the room.
Sidon could barely hear their voices through the door, even as he pressed his whole face against it. But while he couldn't make out exact words, he could definitely tell that they were bickering in whispers just as harsh as if they were screaming at each other. He could only guess what the silent Estuu was doing during all of this, most likely just hiding behind his brother while scowling at Betaal, like usual.
The voices quickly grew louder and louder until Sidon could practically feel the wooden door shaking from their intense shouting. When there was sudden silence followed by the loud clanging of metal clashing against each other, he immediately realized that maybe it wasn't a good idea to lock three of the Domain's best fighters into the same room as each other.
Shit. He should have at least taken their weapons away first.
;
Betaal walked behind Prince Sidon, trying not to limp too much and show just how badly Brivere had injured her a few days before. While he was definitely still an asshole, she at least had to acknowledge how skilled he was with a longsword, especially since it wasn’t a common weapon among Zora soldiers.
She was satisfied to at least see him doing the same, as the Oracle Knight stumbled around next to her. Not one of the trio were speaking as they walked through the woods surrounding the Domain. They were overseeing several groups of soldiers who were combing the woods for monsters to make the roads safer for travelers.
Suddenly Prince Sidon stopped walking, making her and Brivere scramble to not bump into him. “I am going to rejoin the group led by Guard Captain Bazz just up ahead. Estuu is with them on my command to help them find any bokoblin bases. You two stay here on stakeout until I return or you receive word saying otherwise.”
“What, is this another ploy to get us to talk to each other and get along again?” she joked, trying to lighten the mood.
It clearly backfired when Sidon stared back at her with a hard gaze. “No. I gave up on doing that after last time. To be quite honest, I am extremely disappointed.” the prince said curtly. “I feel ashamed to bring either of you around the other soldiers because of your behavior. It makes me wonder if I should regret either of you being placed into these positions.”
His words stung, sure, but Betaal couldn’t fathom why Brivere looked absolutely devastated at Sidon’s harsh statement. Perhaps he was weaker than she had initially assumed.
With that, Prince Sidon turned and walked away. The two of them watched his large red form weave through the trees and eventually catch up to Guard Captain Bazz’s group. They were now alone with each other in a grass clearing with nothing else but the bright moon that hung above them.
They aggressively started a camp fire. Rather, they argued about the right way to position the logs, and then how to actually start a fire, then Betaal accused Brivere of trying to freeze her to death with his inability to get a spark going and he just glared back at her when the fire suddenly roared to life.
She rolled her one eye. “What, am I supposed to be impressed? I had to do this all the time when I was in charge at Fort Boko! I bet you and your brother have never had to even light a candle before.”
“First off, Estuu and I lived in poverty for nearly a century,” he said, the blazing fire behind him almost as hot as the heat rising in his chest. “We are both well aware of how to make a fire because it was the only way we could stay warm. Second off, I do not understand why you hate us so much!”
Betaal cringed. “I do not hate you two.” she lied politely.
The Oracle Knight threw his hands into the air, clearly fed up at this point. “Oh bullshit!”
She gaped back. Brivere was always so professional to the point that she was pretty sure that he always had a silver scale spear stuck up his golden ass. “I despise people who deny their hatred when it is so clear,” he spat.  “I have had to put up with it for too long from everyone else and I will not tolerate it anymore by the likes of you.”
“Oh really?” she hissed back. “And what exactly makes you think that you and your brother deserve my respect? He shot my eye out! I lost the tournament because of that!”
A frustrated sigh erupted out of Brivere as he tugged on his long forefins. “I am aware of my brother’s actions. I have already apologized, and I will continue to apologize for them. But as I have already told you, I did not put him up to it. I would never cheat for something that I wanted, as satisfaction only comes from truly earning something with one’s own skill.”
His voice dropped as he looked at her through the slits of his visor, regret clear in his deformed eyes. “I thought that I had conveyed my sincerest apologies when I tried to give you the position all those years ago.”
“I don’t remember it that way.” she snapped back.
Brivere arched his brow at her, still forgetting that such gestures couldn’t be seen by others due to his visor. “Really? How do you remember it?”
She hummed and closed her eye. The last round of that cursed tournament was one of the worst days of her life, so she tended to block it out. But she dragged it out from the depths of her mind if only to show Brivere the true impact of his actions.
It took a few minutes before she let out a loud sigh and slumped back against the grass. “I remember walking into the arena with my head held high, not wanting anyone to think that I was trying to hide my eye patch. I remember you standing on the other side of the platform, clearly pitying me. I remember you not even fighting back until I had to call you out on your bullshit.” Her fists balled next to her sides, clenched in anger. “And I remember you humiliating me in front of my own people who wanted me to win for their sake, and all of the people who expected me to fail just for being from the Undercity.”
Brivere silently sat there, clearly unsure of what to say. Eventually, he spoke up in a soft voice. “I am sorry. I didn’t know that you saw it that way.”
“Sure,” she grunted. “You elites are all the same. You act without thinking about what the hell those of us under your thumbs are going through.”
The golden knight’s face pinched tighter in frustration. “I wasn’t even considered worthy of living in society until a few months ago when I became nothing but a tool for the elite that you claim I am part of.”
“And even back then, you were still considered higher than me!” she shouted, shooting into an upright position. Her one eye stared back at him, boring a hole through his visor. “Don’t you see?! Undercity Zora like me are so far below the rest of you!”
“Then maybe you should not get so hung up on useless titles and statuses!”
Her hands flew into the air in frustration. “You really don’t get it!” she laughed. There was not a trace of humor in her breath, however. “I have to work for those titles! It’s the only way I can be even be seen as worthy to live by those stuck up pompous assholes! It’s the only way I can survive!”
“Do not speak to me as if I do not understand!” he shouted in her face, baring his sharp teeth. “You know of the controversy that used to surround my family. I am well aware of how much titles matter in society, but at least I have learned that there is more to life than bending over backwards for the very people that will dispose of you the second you aren’t useful anymore!”
A strangled growl clawed its way out of her throat. “Don’t act like you’re suddenly wiser and smarter than me because of your fancy new powers! YOU DON’T GET ANYTHING!”
The two of them were now panting for breath as they glared each other down. They were absolutely daring the other Zora to make the next accusation, to stab the next painful word through the other’s heart, but nothing came of it. Eventually they lost their steam and fell back onto the grass, slowly curling up into themselves. The woods continued to be quiet, other than the occasional howl of a monster too far away to be a threat.
Betaal was the first to break the sudden silence that had washed over them. “You seriously can’t expect me to believe that you are above titles when you clearly adhere to them so well.”
He glared at her through the slits of his silver visor. “And what has misled you to that conclusion?”
“How about the fact that you made up your new position of Oracle Knight?”
“I thought I already explained this to you back in the barracks months ago,” he groaned. “First off, the Oracle Knight and First Knight hold the same status, so it is not as if I gained anything. I would dare to say that you have more power than me, since you have control of the prince’s soldiers and I do not unless he tells me otherwise.”
Betaal deflated a bit at this, realizing he was right. “Then why do it?”
“I already told you. Goddess, were you not listening back at the barracks?”
“Sorry, I’ve learned to tune you out for years now.”
A slow, deep sigh hissed out of Brivere as he held his hands together in prayer and pressed them to his face. “Dear Hylia above please give me strength.”
The First Knight rolled her eye. “Cut the theatrics and just tell me why you made such an arbitrary title for yourself.”
“Fine.” he said curtly. “As I have stated before, I simply wanted to pledge my bloodline’s loyalty to the royal family. As my father was dedicated to King Dorephan, I am to Prince Sidon, and I know that our ability to see the future will be passed down and continue through a strong line of knights who wish to do the same for their generation of the next ruler.”
Betaal sighed. “Yeah, but don’t you think that’s a little much? Everyone already thinks that it’s weird that you and Sidon are together so often.”
She flinched when Brivere suddenly shot up, his eyes clearly wild even through the narrow slits of his visor. “We do not stay together too much!” he cried out.
Propping herself onto her elbows, she arched her brow at the flustered Oracle Knight. “No, you guys totally do. You think that I don’t find it insulting every time
His mask of indifference was cracking, letting her see the panic writhing underneath. “I do no such thing!” Brivere said, unconvincingly. She stared at him in confusion, completely lost as to what suddenly made him so anxious.
Wait.
The way he was so defensive at the smallest accusations, completely flushed at the mere question of his relation to Sidon…
It reminded Betaal of herself.
Realization dawned on her. “You and Prince Sidon are dating?!” she shrieked before she could control herself.
Brivere yelped and gripped onto the grass around him. “N-no! It is not what you think! I assure you that it is much more complicated!” he exclaimed.
“Bullshit!” Betaal shouted, scooting right next to him. She absolutely enjoyed the embarrassed way he squirmed in place.
Stabbing a clawed finger at his chest, she giddily asked “How long has it been?”
He didn’t respond. Although she had a surprising soft spot for romance, that did not excuse her suddenly becoming too pushy, especially considering their tense relationship with each other. And that was putting it lightly. She pulled her finger back and awkwardly sat next to him, their scales shining from the warm fire blazing just in front of them.
A couple of minutes passed before the silence was broken by his soft voice. “Over a year.”
Her head whipped to the side to stare at Brivere, stunned. “Seriously?! For that long?!”
His golden tail shyly bobbed as he nodded. “Yes. We have kept it secret for many reasons, which I am not completely comfortable sharing without his consent.” Although she wanted to ask for more details, it was a reasonable restriction.
He still caught the conflicted look on her face and chuckled, much to her surprise. She had never seen him actually happy before. She hadn’t even known that he was capable of feeling such a thing. “I will tell you, however, that one of the many problems with our relationship is the power dynamic. He technically holds a lot of power over me as my prince, but I assure you that we see each other on equal terms.”
Hesitating, he tilted his head towards Betaal so that she could see his deformed eyes through the slits of his visor. The strong light of the fire illuminated not just the strange condition of his eyes, but also the broken man that was hiding underneath all of the extravagant jewelry and armor.
“Can you please promise me that you will not tell anyone of this?” he said in a desperate, pleading whisper that tugged at her heart. “Aside from Estuu and Link, Prince Sidon is all that I have. I cannot imagine a world where all three of them did not exist alongside me.”
Betaal hummed and slowly nodded. “I can do you one better,” she said, piquing Brivere’s interest. “In exchange for your confession, I will give you one of my own.”
As much as she didn’t want to, she had pressured Brivere into confessing something he was clearly uncomfortable with. And on top of that, it was something that was a secret, something that could possibly ruin his career. So it was only fair if she did the same.
She took in a deep breath and stared into the flickering fire in front of them. Its warmth reminded her of the special one in her heart. “I am dating another soldier named Dunma, who was recently promoted to my right hand in command.”
“…Oh.”
“Yeah.”
Both of them sat in silence. Eventually, Brivere spoke up. “Does anyone else know about this?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“I am sorry. Obviously, I know how it feels.”
“It’s alright. I just wouldn’t dare to tell anyone for the same reasons you and Sidon haven’t.” She laughed. “Power dynamics, what a bitch, right?”
Brivere surprisingly snorted and replied, “What a bitch.”
Betaal thought about how easily they were talking now despite being at each other’s throats for the last few years, more so over just this month alone. And then she cringed, remembering the results of such hostility.
“Hey…” she said slowly. “I’m sorry.”
Brivere looked at her, his lips slightly parted in surprise. “For what?”
“You know, all of the fighting. Sidon’s clearly pissed at us. I’m sorry if I accidentally ruined whatever you guys have. I can’t imagine a world without my Dunma.”
He sighed and leaned back into the grass. “Then can we agree to stop fighting every time we see each other?”
“Sure.”
“Then I accept your apology.”
Both of them were now reclined on the ground, faces turned to each other, both out of the desire for company and to also not lay directly on their head fins and cause muscle cramps later. The warmth of the fire lapped at their feet as the cool night air washed over the rest of their bodies.
Brivere’s voice softly made its way over to her. “I apologize for the way I acted at the tournament all those years ago. I had no idea that you perceived me that way. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it is now clear that I didn’t.”
She sighed and closed her eye. “I mean- sure. Yeah, it’s cool. But I want to know what the hell you were thinking, not fighting back against me.”
“I assure you that it was not out of pity. I could never look down on such an admirable fighter.” At this she jokingly scoffed back, swatting the compliment away with one hand. “I am serious!” Brivere laughed. “There is a reason why you have become so popular within our army and eventually earned the title of First Knight. You are extremely talented in battle.”
“Are you going to get to your point or are you going to finish sucking my dick first?” Betaal teased.
Brivere gasped at her vulgarity and she laughed at how flustered he got. “Right right, sorry, forgot that you only do that to our beloved prince.”
“BETAAL!”
“Geez, you’re too sensitive. But seriously, continue.”
The golden knight would have rolled his eyes, but even that slight movement caused him pain in his current condition. He tried to convey the gesture through his exasperated words. “I didn’t fight back because I thought that it would make up for my brother’s actions. Everyone already hated me so much because of the controversy surrounding both of us, and the arrow incident seemed to push them all over the edge. I thought that I didn’t deserve the position of First Knight if I could be so easily shaken by their words, but I learned to put up a stoic front to at least take away their satisfaction from hurting me.”
His voice suddenly became low as he tried to find the right words. “I figured that if everyone wanted you to win because of their hatred of me, then I might as well give in to it. I didn’t want to bring shame to Prince Sidon. I wanted to give you the position in exchange for the loss of your eye, I suppose.”
“And you didn’t think about how I could possibly see that as you pitying me or looking down on my misfortune?”
“I never would have imagined that it could be misconstrued in that way. I am so sorry that I was too misguided to realize it.”
Betaal sighed. “Promise to never do something like that again?”
“You have my word.”
“Then I accept your apology.”
They lay there, listening to the quiet woods around them. Neither of them knew exactly what got into them after a few moments of silence. Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe neither of them cared anymore. Maybe it was the relief that they had finally cleared up some misunderstandings, and they were hoping to clear up some more.
Whatever the reason, they slowly began talking.
Betaal relayed her struggle as an Undercity Zora, constantly trying to prove that she was worth far more than the snotty elites above her deemed her to be. She joked that her father wanted her to be a scholar, since a higher education was definitely uncommon among her people, but she couldn’t help but become the living stereotype of an Undercity brawler. The battlefield just kept calling to her too much to stay away. As harsh as it was, war was her home, the one place where she could be herself and actually feel that her life actually had some sort of inherent worth, even when everyone above her said otherwise.
In exchange, Brivere told her about the hardships he had had to endure because of his father’s hasty marriage on the battlefield over a century ago. Despite being able to see the future and knowing that he would die, Prion had still left him and his mother alone in the world with no evidence of his love for them. As a result, both were stripped of nobility status and his mother had been taken advantage of by Zambezi in her grieving state. The only good thing to come out of it was his beloved brother Estuu, who may have acted a bit differently and required more care than most kids, but had been, and still was, extremely cute and intelligent.
At least, that was his younger brother that he was describing, so Brivere was definitely biased.
Betaal cringed at that part but decided to hold her own opinions aside. After all, the kid did shoot her eye out and still presented no explanation as to why. Then again, he was mute, but still. She continued to listen anyways, feeling her heart begin to soften towards the brothers as Brivere’s story continued.
She caught the way Brivere’s breath hitched when he hesitated before speaking about how his mother had killed herself because of all of the mockery that she endured. It had happened when he had simply been asked to take Estuu out to practice archery, and they came back to find their dead mother floating in their poisoned cistern. Brivere was left alone to take care of a child, but he was just a child as well.
And then all he had was Estuu and all Estuu had was him.
He had clawed his way up to First Knight to try and regain some sense of dignity and also to support the two of them. And now here he was as Oracle Knight, nothing more than a tool for the elite to use for their own desires.
Sure, Betaal had heard his story many times before. It was definitely tragic and complicated, but the full extent of how bad it was had never hit her when it was just rumors spread around the barracks by soldiers in-between sparring sessions. As she sat there listening to the man who had actually went through it all, she could see the pain in his eyes that the others had written off as weakness or joked about right in front of him.
And in-between each of their stories they kept saying sorry to each other. The apologies became less about their own wrong doings against the other and more about the regret they felt for the other Zora experiencing such hardship.
As the night stretched on and the fire began to burn itself out, the topic of difficult pasts shifted to amazing victories on the battlefield and other fond memories. They found that they actually had more in common than they initially thought. It ranged from strong ties, like their shared hatred for the upper class that looked down on them, to smaller, more mundane things, like their shared enjoyment over The Cursed Girl series. Brivere admitted that he hadn’t really read the series but knew about most of it since his younger brother had completely memorized the books and sometimes used it as a means of communication. This impressed Betaal, and Estuu became a bit more bearable to her in that aspect.
Somehow, the conversation turned to insecurities, along with whispers of praise and encouragement to the other Zora, trying to assure the other that they shouldn’t be afraid or that they had more worth than they gave themselves credit for. They could sense each other come close to tears several times and said nothing if the other had to pause and sniffle or wipe at their face.
Both of them were terrified of failure. Of becoming useless and unworthy of simply being alive. Of losing the Zora that they loved the most in the world. Brivere even admitted to how he was sharing Prince Sidon with the Hylian Champion Link and Betaal didn’t even bat her eye. If anything, she just teased him about it, asking if he felt something for the Hylian as well and shrieking with laughter when he couldn’t answer.
The moon shone brightly above them, now the only source of light as the fire had died long ago. They were quietly gasping for breath, throats and minds completely exhausted from hours of talking about things that they had never told anyone else.
Betaal’s one eye met Brivere’s deformed ones hidden behind his visor. A silent message passed between them as their peculiar eyes became heavy, promising to still be on their guard and protect one other should anything try to attack them in their sleep.
;
“Do not rest until they are found!” Prince Sidon shouted to his men.
“Yes sir!” the soldiers shouted back in unison.
He nervously watched as they dispersed, each guard looking behind every tree and disappearing to search further into the woods. When he had left his First and Oracle Knights yesterday to join another group of soldiers, Sidon had never anticipated how long it would take. He had only intended to be gone for a few hours in order to regain his composure after accidentally lashing out with a venomous tongue. Brivere had reacted as if the prince had just run his spear through his chest, but Sidon left his lover behind anyways like a coward.
And now he worried that their relationship would be ruined over such careless words. The same thing had happened a long time ago, when Brivere had been sick with the Water Blight and had said harsh things to Sidon. He remembered how broken he himself had become over such statements. It had taken forever for them to come back from that, and it was nothing short of a miracle that they managed to be in a relationship now. But as much as Brivere hated to admit it, he was softer at heart and much more emotionally fragile than Sidon was. He was just much better at hiding it.
That wasn’t the only thing that worried Sidon. When they had finally returned from destroying a Bokoblin base, he had realized that he didn’t actually know where he had left Betaal and Brivere the night before. The woods were extremely vast and had no landmarks that made anything stand out. It was just a sea of trees with monsters lurking inside, making Sidon realize that they had wandered too far, and now he had no idea where his two knights could be.
Sidon shook off his worries and helped search the forest, trying to make himself useful. Shouts of Brivere and Betaal’s names by other soldiers were the only things he could hear over the heavy pounding of his heart. But even as he tried to occupy his mind with scanning the woods for his knights, he couldn’t help but think of every possible scenario imaginable.
What if the two of them had gotten ambushed by raiders? A member of the Yiga Clan? A whole group of Yiga Clan members? A Hinox? A hoard of monsters? What if they had gotten lost or injured? What if they were… dead?
A shudder passed through Sidon. What if they had finally had enough of each other and had drawn their weapons out? What if they were both dead from the fight? After all, both of them had proven themselves to be two of the most talented fighters in the domain. No, what if one of them had accidentally killed the other and ran away, trying to escape imprisonment?
He didn’t notice that he was practically sprinting through the woods now. The only thing that would ease his anxieties would be if he could actually find them.
A blur of scarlet suddenly crashed into him. Whatever it was, it was much smaller than him, but the surprise of the attack knocked him to the ground. He quickly positioned his spear so that it was threateningly pointed at his opponent.
Estuu stared back at him, unamused.
“Oh!” Sidon said sheepishly, lowering his weapon. “I apologize, Holy Knight. But then again, that isn’t the best way to get the attention of someone who is on edge.”
When Estuu just glared back Sidon remembered that the younger Zora couldn’t talk. For all he knew, Estuu could have actually been trying to get his attention for a while now and he had just been too distracted to notice. The prince cleared his throat in an attempt to save face. “Nevermind that. Is there something you wish to report to me?”
The younger Zora tugged onto Sidon’s silver bracelet and pointed behind him. When the prince just arched his brow in confusion, Estuu sighed and let go. He then used his only hand to cover one eye and after a pause used his flattened fingers to cover both of them, raising them up and down like a visor.
Sidon immediately perked up. “You have found Betaal and Brivere?!”
Estuu nodded and grabbed back onto Sidon’s bracelet, trying to pull the prince along. He obliged, obediently following the scarlet Zora through the woods.
The sight would have looked comical to anyone else, a child dragging around a fully-grown Prince like a beloved toy. In any other situation, Sidon would have laughed at how ridiculous this was, but his heart was tearing itself apart as feelings of relief and anxiety battled in his chest. The two of them silently weaved through the trees. But as their walk stretched on, the only thing on his mind was the state of his knights, each possible outcome getting worse and worse with each passing second.
He was so caught up in his growing panic that he didn’t even notice that Estuu had stopped and was now staring at him. Sidon only snapped out of it when a strangled growl escaped the small Zora’s throat as he waved his only arm to a grass clearing right in front of them.
The prince nearly had a heart attack on the spot. Laying in the grass were both of his knights, completely motionless.
Sidon wrestled out of Estuu’s grasp and accidentally knocked the tiny Zora aside when he ran towards his fallen friends. “BRIVERE! BETAAL!” he screamed.
To his shock, both of them shot up onto their feet and had their weapons pointed at him in the blink of an eye. As he stumbled and fell over, he couldn’t tell if he was more relieved to see that they were actually alive or scared that they might attack him any second.
Luckily, it was the former. “My lord!” Brivere shouted, lowering his weapon as he ran to Sidon’s side. “I am so sorry! You caught us by surprise in our slumber!”
Sidon was so happy that Brivere was still alive and apparently not mad at him that he pulled the golden knight into a tight embrace on top of him. He didn’t care that Betaal was still standing there, although he was confused when an amused smirk danced across her lips.
Both of them quickly pulled apart and Brivere quickly got back onto his feet, holding a hand out to help him up. Sidon grasped onto it more out of a need to physically feel his lover’s presence and to assure himself that he was truly there than because he needed help. He then turned to both of his knights, a sorrowful look on his face. “I am deeply sorry for leaving the two of you alone for so long. I did not anticipate running into a hoard of bokoblins, and I spent the night with Guard Captain Bazz and his men trying to get rid of them at their base. We have all been looking for you for hours.”
He was relieved when his knights simply nodded in response. “I apologize for the trouble, my lord.” Brivere said, bowing his head. Betaal laughed and smacked a hand onto the golden knight’s back.
Sidon tensed up, anticipating a fight. But, to his surprise, Brivere just chuckled in return as he straightened up. The First Knight then stepped forward, eyeing Sidon with an amused gaze.
“It’s alright your Highness. Everything turned out fine,” Betaal said, patting him on the arm as she passed. Then she paused and looked over her shoulder, grinning at Brivere. “I’m going to go around and get the other soldiers to stop their search. I’ll take the part of the woods west of here and you take the east?”
Brivere nodded with a slight smile. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Cool.” Betaal looked back at Sidon and blinked, but the way she did it suggested that she was actually trying to wink at him. “Don’t slack off. I know you want some alone time with your Oracle Knight, but actually try and search for any wandering soldiers. Send them all back to the barracks when you find them so that this doesn’t stretch on for too long.”
He was too stunned to argue. “Uh- um, I… Ok. Yes, sure.”
With a nod to both of them, Betaal walked through the trees and out of sight. Estuu waved and pointed in her direction, scurrying off before either of them could say otherwise.
Now that they were alone, Sidon ogled his First Knight. “What in Hylia’s name did I miss?” he asked.
A rare laugh escaped Brivere’s taut lips. “I assure you not much, my lord.” the golden knight said as he held his hand out to lightly grab onto Sidon’s. “Shall we look around and tell the other soldiers that the First Knight and I are safe?”
Numbly, Sidon nodded, and the confusion sloshing around inside of him melted into affection as he and his lover walked away hand in hand. Of course, when they came across other guards they had to quickly pull apart. But the feelings of affection still remained.
;
The first few days after the incident in the woods were awkward as Sidon tried to adjust to his knights’ sudden change in behavior.
No one could explain why the two seemed to be so much calmer now. The other soldiers and palace workers still left the room out of habit when one of the knights would enter while the other was in there, but they would peer behind the entryway and be surprised to find that the two of them would just be politely chatting with each other.
It was also strange to see two of the most powerful and strongest warriors in the Zora Domain suddenly be so casual. This was especially because Betaal tended to act tough to cover up how she struggled being the only Undercity soldier in the palace, and Brivere had always been known for his infamous resting bitch face and spear-up-his-ass attitude. So, it completely shocked everyone when the First Knight would often lean over and whisper something to the Oracle Knight and they would immediately start cackling. Genuine smiles and bouts of laughter became less rare, and Sidon was finally enjoying his role as a prince again.
Although Betaal had clearly not completely forgiven Estuu yet, it was obvious that she had at least warmed up to him a bit. Some swore that they saw her quietly sitting with the younger Zora in the royal library, both of them completely engrossed in the same book that they had read so many times before. Guard Captain Bazz even claimed that he once witnessed her follow Estuu when he ran away to have a meltdown, presumably comforting him by the way he quickly recovered and came back. But if anyone asked Betaal, she always denied it and no one was certain if she was actually joking or not.
Now that they all got along, it was an absolute joy to have the three of them be Sidon’s personal knights. To him, it was just like having old friends be your coworkers, and his dull duty as prince became much more bearable as a result.
They even often had contests during boring council meetings to see who could get away with the most outrageous and funny gestures without the other stuffy old council members noticing. No one knew who had started it, but Estuu was the reigning champion because he had somehow managed to sneak behind King Dorephan’s shoulder and stick his tongue out without anyone else batting an eye. They had to tone it down after Sidon burst out laughing while a council member was reading about the soldier fatality rates and funeral procedures.
Prince Sidon had always known that his three soldiers had had difficult pasts. Each of them had never been expected to make it to their high positions. Everyone held them down and told them that they were worthless, and complained that they must have cheated to become his personal knights for the sole purpose of mooching off of his power.
But Sidon knew better than that. His knights had fought back against society’s designated roles for each of them, taking what was rightfully theirs with the intention of protecting the very people that had tormented them for years. Brivere, Estuu, and Betaal were very admirable in his eyes, refusing to stick to an oppressive class system or listen to anyone’s harsh tongue and instead, choosing to fight for what was right.
And, as he proudly stood by his father’s throne, three of the Zora Domain’s toughest and most fearsome warriors kneeling right beside him, Prince Sidon couldn’t help but hope that he could rule his kingdom the very same way his knights acted when the time came.
1 note · View note
bunnybbomb · 7 years ago
Text
Trying to Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Continuation): Chapter 2: The First Oracle Knight
SUMMARY: With visions of his future descendants in mind, Brivere enlists Prince Sidon to help him persuade the Zora royal council to agree to an unprecedented request. The outcome of this request results in the need for a new First Knight.
(A fanfic for the Sidlink fanfic Coma Baby by @banishfics or @banishedone, a continuation of the other one I made called Catharsis)
This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3, and a continuation of the other one I wrote called Catharsis. If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content. This fic in particular is focused on my favorite character in the series, the OC Brivere. You don’t need to read the whole series to get what’s going on in this fic though, since a lot is explained in here.
I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr, you can chat with me any time about anything! I also post all chapters on my AO3 account BunnyBob!
Huge thank you to my amazing beta reader Alina! Her tumblr and ff.net is @ipromiseitsnotanobsession. She actually does editing shit for a living and she is the one that makes sure these things aren’t trash, so
Disclaimer: In no way does this have any true ties or canon to Coma Baby unless stated otherwise. It’s really just an indulgence AU to feed my obsession for Brivere drama.
           Brivere stood behind his prince, head bowed down, with his hands balanced the on the hilt of a silverscale longsword, its sharp point digging into the marble floor of the council hall. He usually didn’t use such an outdated posture in these meetings, but Prince Sidon had advised him to appeal to the older Zora council in order to gain a little of their favor.
           Although the two of them had put a lot of thought and research into their proposition, the knowledge that Brivere could either secure or lose his request with even the smallest action kept him on edge. Luckily, he was used to suppressing such worries, and so no one was able to catch onto the pit of anxiety that gnawed at his stomach. The only noticeable trait that gave his true feelings away was how tightly he was clutching onto his longsword.
           After everyone had properly bowed to King Dorephan and settled in, Prince Sidon gave Brivere the nod to raise his head and stand up straight with his hands folded behind his back. He did so after gracefully twirling his sword around himself, snapping it into the weapon strap that was wrapped around one shoulder and looped across his broad chest. The longsword was completely still, hanging off of his back. This earned him a couple of pleased nods from the council members and apostles.
           “First Knight Brivere,” King Dorephan boomed. “it has come to our attention that you and my son have a request of us.”
           Brivere nodded politely. “Yes, your majesty. While I am very aware that the positions we currently have in our government are traditionally passed down from our great ancestors, I find it necessary to add a new role into our roster.”
           The golden knight didn’t need his future ability to predict the mutters and head shakes that immediately came after his demand. Nonetheless, it still upset him that his suggestion was already being shot down before he was even able to properly explain himself.
           King Dorephan hummed thoughtfully. “What makes you believe so, Brivere?”
           “As you all know, I have recently awakened my ability to see the future, which is similar to my father’s.” The council nodded, recalling the event from a few days ago. “With this, it is clear that this power is passed through blood, generation to generation. I believe it is a blessing from Hylia herself, wanting to continue her protection of our people with this gift. As a result, I would like to create the position of Oracle Knight, name courtesy of Prince Sidon.” The prince grinned at this, remembering how the two of them had playfully fought over what to call their joint creation for days in the royal records hall.
           “And just what would the purpose of this position be, First Knight?” Muzu asked.
           “It is similar to the First Knight position, but it has the additional responsibility of using the ability to see the future to properly advise and protect the royal family. It will be passed down generation by generation, to whichever of my descendants receives this power.”
           At this, one particularly displeased council member scoffed. “We cannot defy Zora traditions! We have kept and maintained our current position roster since the beginning of our race, only picking those who are qualified.”
           Prince Sidon was now the one to speak up, eager to show off how prepared the two of them were. “Actually, that is not entirely correct. If you examine these positions,” he said, holding up a scroll from the royal records hall, pointing a claw at several sections, “they have only been added within the past few centuries, when they became necessary. I would be glad to give you this scroll to examine, but rest assured that Brivere and I have already confirmed its legitimacy.”
           “Even so, we cannot let the position only be passed down by blood! The only one that follows that ritual is the role of the king!” Muzu hissed. “Do you intend to create this position just to usurp power from the royal family?!”
           At this, Brivere shook his head. “That is far from my intention. I only ask that the position of Oracle Knight be passed down my bloodline because that is the only way the power to see the future will flow, and that quality is necessary for this new title. If it pleases the council, you may take away as much power or pay from this status as you like, but all I ask is that you keep its duty to protect the royal family.”
           The council listened, seemingly more content with that compromise. King Dorephan let the words sink in before he broke the silence. “I believe that is all the questions we have, unless anyone else is unsatisfied.” The other members shook their heads. Brivere slowly became nervous, as the council members all suddenly wore the same emotionless mask that he had. It was impossible to tell what conclusion they had come to. “In that case, you may make a closing statement before you and my son must leave for us to deliberate and come to our answer.”
           Brivere nodded, quietly clearing his throat as he stepped forward. His eyes softly gazed around, trying to make direct contact with each individual council member and apostle. “I know that tradition is important, and I would never disrespect our culture and proud history. That is why I propose that we start this new custom, not starting with me, but with my late father Prion.”
The council broke out into a wave of confused murmurs as King Dorephan raised his brow. “My father used his abilities to protect and advise the king in order to help our kingdom prosper. I simply wish to pick up where he left off and protect Prince Sidon. With this, we can start a new tradition where my descendants will dedicate themselves to the royal family. I wish to create this position not to gain more power or status, but merely to pledge my bloodline’s loyalty to the royal line from now on. Whatever your decision, I am thankful for your consideration.”
           With this, Prince Sidon and his First Knight Brivere bowed respectfully before turning to leave the chamber.
;
           “How do you think it went?” Brivere asked as he and his prince strolled down one of the palace’s many halls.
           “To be quite frank, it is difficult to tell. They all looked about as indifferent as you usually do.” Sidon teased, trying to ease his knight’s tension. His attempt failed, as Brivere looked up at him with a rare worried look in his eyes, clearly wanting to ask something. “And no, I did not use my abilities to read their emotions. You know that I never use them without the person’s clear consent unless it is an emergency.”
           Brivere nodded sheepishly, ashamed that the prince had caught onto his curiosity. “I apologize, my lord, it was improper of me to expect such a thing from you. I am just thankful that you helped me with the research and construction of my argument. This never would have happened without your assistance.” Sidon chuckled at his knight’s modesty. The two of them stopped in front of one of the windows, quietly enjoying the sight of their beloved Domain sprawled out before them.
           Turning to face the golden Zora, Sidon let a genuine smile stretch across his pale face. “No matter the outcome, I do not regret supporting the Oracle Knight. But are you absolutely certain that your bloodline will not feel chained to and resent the title?”
           “I have already told you of the visions that I had.” Brivere said softly, not looking away from the window. “Although, I did not mention them during the hearing because I worried that the council may think that I was making them up for my own benefit. But as long as you believe me, I am confident in my decision.”
           Sidon nodded and turned back to gaze at the citizens walking around, enjoying the sunny weather. “Could you tell them to me again?” he asked gently.
           Brivere slightly bobbed his head up and down before closing his eyes, basking in the sunlight. “I saw myself training a young girl who looked so similar to me. She always followed around a young man who looked so similar to you. This girl could predict the future, and she used this gift to protect and serve the young man. They went everywhere together, maintaining an admirably strong bond no matter how terrible the war or how great the distance. Then, the girl was training a little boy who looked more like her, but I could still see myself in him, and he followed around another little boy who looked so much like you that it hurt.”
           “I watched the same cycle repeat through generations and generations of our bloodline, the powerful bond between our families never breaking. It was obvious that my descendants didn’t despise their role. Instead, they were completely honored to have the chance to protect the person they loved for the rest of their lives. And in each of them, I saw our Domain finally at peace, continuing to thrive under your family’s rule.”
           The two of them leaned against the window sill in silence, enjoying the thought of their descendants thriving within their beloved kingdom. Brivere only opened his eyes when he felt Sidon’s strong arm rope around his waist. “And did you happen to see if my future children were also yours?” the prince teased.
           Brivere flushed, quickly looking around to see if anyone else was nearby. The two of them and the Hylian Champion had been in an open relationship with each other for a while now. He and Link weren’t dating, a fact that bothered Brivere for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, but were rather just friends that happened to be in love with the same prince. However, their polyamorous relationship was unheard of in Zora culture, who mated with only one person for the rest of their lives, always with a strong soul-bond. Anything else was taboo. Brivere knew this well, considering what happened with his late mother.
            As a result, they decided to keep the whole thing secret for now since all of them held such high and public positions. And even though the Hylian Champion was off fighting the Calamity, the other two Zoras decided to keep their own bond a secret, not wanting to expose themselves without him.  
            But Sidon would always tease the golden knight, saying that if he and Link developed into something more then he would easily approve. Brivere would always ignore it in turn. There’s no way he could date a man he used to despise; their current friendship is nothing short of a miracle.
            So there was no reason to push or hope for anything more and possibly ruin that.
            Finding no one, Brivere eased up slightly and leaned against Sidon’s chest, angling his tail so that it wouldn’t be squished in-between them. “Admittedly, I couldn’t tell. I was more focused on watching the actions of our children rather than their actual relation to each other.” The prince hummed in response, leaning his head on top of Brivere’s as they continued to gaze at the scenery outside of the window. Neither of them had any idea of how much time had passed when they heard a guard calling their names. They quickly pulled apart from each other as he came around the corner, announcing that the council had reached their decision.
           Thanking him, both Zoras ran over to the council’s chamber, stopping out of sight of the entranceway to catch their breaths and recompose themselves. Sidon was the first to straighten up, giving his knight a reassuring squeeze on the arm before turning to face the entranceway. Swallowing the anxiety that crept up his throat, Brivere followed his prince into the chamber.
           When the two of them had fully entered, the council and apostles present hushed their conversations to watch the Prince and his Knight position themselves in front of the king. Brivere whipped out his sword, going back into the same position as the beginning of the last meeting. He held his head down and gripped onto the weapon until Sidon gave him the same nod, and then he spun the sword around again until it hung off of his back, buckled into the weapon strap. Although the council had already come to their decision and no amount of theatrics could change it now, Brivere figured that he may as well give them a show they wouldn’t forget.
           “First Knight Brivere and my beloved son Prince Sidon.” King Dorephan said in a proud voice. “The council has agreed to create the new position and title of the Oracle Knight.”
           Years of maintaining a stone-cold mask of indifference was the only thing that saved Brivere’s dignity in that moment. If it hadn’t been for his aquired muscle memory in keeping a tough, indifferent appearance, he would have jumped around and shouted with joy. One quick moment of eye contact with Prince Sidon made it easy to tell that the prince wanted to do the same, but he was much less skilled at hiding it. The wide smile that stretched across his face completely gave him away.
           “However, in exchange, the Oracle Knight will have a few differences from the First Knight, in order to balance out the power and maintain the tradition of First Knight.” Brivere nodded hesitantly. Fair enough. “The First Knight will continue to be the captain of the knights, but the Oracle Knight will not. Rather, they will solely be the personal knight and advisor of their designated member of the royal line. Both knights will report to their ruler, but neither will have any formal control over the other. Each will be considered to be the same in terms of status and equal in their importance. Does this satisfy the two of you?”
           They bowed in unison and said “Yes, your majesty.” Brivere then stepped forward and knelt before the council members. “I am extremely grateful to all of you for your approval. I promise that I and my future descendants will never come to make any of you regret this decision.”
           “We will be holding you to that,” King Dorephan chuckled. “However, there is more to our decision. In order for us to establish this new title, we have one more addition to the role of the Oracle Knight.” Brivere and Sidon glanced up, unable to keep the confusion off of their faces.
           “We will explain more in a moment, but the two of you should prepare yourselves to speak in front of the whole Domain.”
;
           An announcement was made that the Prince would be giving an important speech that pertained to everyone, even the Undercity dwellers, and so every Zora in the Domain was crammed together in the large streets near the palace. That is to say that the upper class sat in more comfortable viewing areas while the Undercity Zora tried not to touch them. The streets were alive with the sounds of conversation and rumors, all of the Zora wondering what the announcement would be about. They all prayed that it wasn’t a worrying declaration of something catastrophic happening again in the Domain, such as another Water Blight spreading around.
           Their patience finally paid off when the prince came into view on one of the balconies with his First Knight right beside him, as usual. As expected, complete chaos broke out at the site of their beloved Prince, the women shrieking at his handsome appearance and the Undercity Zora hollering in appreciation of his inclusive policies on class equality. The prince rode out the excitement, showing off a wide smile as he waved to the crowd. His First Knight next to him was wearing an unfamiliar but fancy choker that covered all of his upper chest and neck, but no one was paying attention to the reserved golden Zora in favor of the more popular Prince Sidon.
           Eventually the prince had to hold up his hand, waiting for the excited crowd to calm down before he spoke. “Zora of the Domain!” he bellowed, making sure each word could be heard by every individual. “I must thank you all for coming on such short notice. The announcement that I will make was the result of a decision made by the council just a few moments ago, and it was important for us to get this information out as soon as possible.”
           Prince Sidon paused. “In short, I am in need of a new First Knight.”
           A collective gasp washed over the crowd as everyone gawked at the former First Knight who was still standing next to the prince with a blank face. Waves of rumors and conversation soon drowned out the shock as every Zora in attendance speculated how the First Knight had gotten himself removed from his position. Those in the crowd who had always ridiculed and despised Brivere grinned smugly as they watched him continue to stand there with his usual emotionally-devoid stare. They were pleased to imagine how much he was actually squirming under that cold mask of his.
           Everyone silenced when the prince raised his hand again. “Just as before, I am making the position open to everyone within the Domain, no matter their bloodline or class. We will decide this with the same tournament system, which will start in a few months. For those who wish to participate, you will need to register in the Basilica within the next few weeks and undergo a mental and physical examination before gaining approval to compete. I wish the best of luck to all of you.”
           The crowd cheered, Undercity Zora in particular, and Prince Sidon waited until the noise calmed before he continued. “With that being said, I am proud to ask all of you to pay attention to my new Oracle Knight, Brivere.”
           The cheers quickly stopped as the crowd stared in confusion as the prince stepped aside and gestured for the golden Zora to take his place. Oracle Knight? Every Zora was required to learn about the different positions and statuses available within their government, and they had definitely never heard of that one before.
           They all finally noticed the very flashy choker that covered most of Brivere’s upper body, and each Zora turned to each other to ask if anyone knew which position it signified. It was definitely fancier than the Prince’s, but there was no way that the former First Knight would suddenly have more status than him. When he opened his mouth, the crowd was almost silent, wanting to hang onto every word that he said, searching for answers.
           “First off, I must apologize for the misleading way that my lord introduced me.” Brivere said, shooting a pointed glance to Prince Sidon who just smiled back sheepishly. “I was not removed from my position for any misdeeds on my part. Rather, I have just been appointed to the status of Oracle Knight. It is alright if none of you know of it, because it was created just moments ago by the royal council through my request. Put simply, in this new position, I will advise and protect the royal family, Prince Sidon in particular, with my ability to see the future.”
           The crowd gawked at the Oracle Knight, the streets full of shouts of denial and shock. There was only one Zora that everyone knew of that had had that very same power, and that man was dead.
Brivere knew that he didn’t have as much respect built up as Prince Sidon, so he just waited for the crowd to quiet down. It took a while, since everyone was busy trying to wrap their tails around his words, but eventually they calmed down enough for his voice to be heard again.
           “Some of you in the crowd are aware of the controversy that has surrounded my lineage ever since my birth. However, I am not here to discuss that or to explain every single rumor to all of you. To make a long story short, I have been confirmed to be the son of Prion, and this choker is the same that he wore.”
           To an outsider, one would have thought that the Calamity had struck the Zora Domain once more. The streets shook in complete chaos as everyone began shouting and clamoring for answers. Those who had never known Brivere were completely blindsided by the fact that the late First Knight Prion, a decorated war hero that they all celebrated even to this day, had had a hidden son for so long. And those who did know Brivere either felt embarrassment for being wrong or felt nothing but rage and disbelief.
           Several guards had to be dispatched in order to hold back the wild crowd. Prince Sidon threw his arms around as he shouted for everyone to calm down while Brivere reflexively held a battle stance in front of the prince, trying to hold him back from the chaos. The mayhem below nearly drowned out the approaching footsteps of King Dorephan as he walked to the balcony.
           “Silence!” the king bellowed, his voice nearly knocking over every Zora in attendance. Instantly, the streets were quiet once more, almost as if the Calamity had killed them all in a heartbeat. “While the shock of these new decisions and discoveries are natural, it is no excuse to treat our speaker with such disrespect. We will release more detailed information about everything later but, for now, I swear to you, my beloved citizens, that we are absolutely certain that Brivere is the son of Prion.”
           The crowd let his words sink in, only somewhat satisfied. King Dorephan let out a huff, turning to Brivere who had somehow went through all of the chaos with a straight face. “Please continue, Oracle Knight.”
           Brivere nodded and walked back out to the front of the balcony. “I did not come here solely to speak of my new position or to confirm my parentage.” he began. “I must also talk of the additional position that the council has attached to mine: the Holy Knight. It is simply a personal knight and assistant to the Oracle Knight.”
           “Similar to the First Knight, the position will be open to everyone, regardless of class or family name. Unlike Prince Sidon’s tournament, however, the winner will not be decided solely on raw strength alone.” Brivere explained. “A series of trials will he held to test for intelligence and a sharp mind. The final stage will be different, but its content will not be revealed until ten people remain. Those who wish to participate will gather in the records hall at dawn 3 months from today.”
           “I advise anyone who considers joining to study as much as you can, particularly government politics, but unfortunately, I cannot give any other advice than that.” With this, Brivere bowed. “Thank you all for your time.”
           He was about to turn to retreat back into the palace, but he hesitated, clearly sensing something. His body visibly locked up for a moment before he spoke again. “I am aware that many of you may be wondering why we are bothering to hold these trials and tournaments if I could just use my ability to already select the winners.” Everyone in the crowd stared back, dumbfounded.
           Brivere quickly tried to explain himself. “Admittedly, I just had a short vision of many of you asking me that very question or disregarding the competitions altogether. However, I encourage you all to try. The future is always subject to change based on your actions, so do not believe that you have no chance. You will only fail if you do not try.”
           At this, Brivere paused, and suddenly his golden eyes shifted off to the side. It was clear that he was staring at someone in particular. “Good luck to all of you,” he blurted out, shifting his gaze back before the crowd could determine who he was looking at. “I look forward to working with the winner.” With this, he quickly turned to go back to Prince Sidon’s side, and the two of them followed behind King Dorephan to disappear back into the palace.
;
           With the announcements finished, the crowd began to disperse, loudly talking amongst themselves about the shocking news of not only the discovery of Prion’s lost son but also the rare addition of two new titles. Undercity Zora were absolutely ecstatic, boasting about how they were going to prepare for Prince Sidon’s tournament or the Oracle Knight’s trials as they swam back down to their homes. Uppercity Zora complained about the Undercity Zora’s excitement, confident that none of them would win against the elite class. But no matter where they were from, gossip began to flow between every Zora about the day’s new discoveries.
           Estuu watched it all from the tall rock that he was perched on. He had been listening to the announcements from this height, wanting to avoid getting smothered in the rambunctious crowd that had filled out the streets earlier.
           Admittedly, when everyone had burst into complete havoc at the announcement of Brivere being Prion’s son, Estuu had had a bit of a meltdown. He had covered his ears and whined, his tail wildly smacking against his back. King Dorephan’s loud voice had almost sent him over the edge, but his older brother’s familiar tone had brought him back.
           Estuu didn’t quite understand why his brother had looked at him like that around the end of his speech. Part of him knew that it was because the overprotective Zora was worried about him, but the other part argued that there was something else in his older brother’s gaze. But Estuu quickly shook the strange feeling off, knowing that he had something else more pressing to attend to.
           When the crowd had mostly disappeared, save for the usual residents who lingered in the streets to talk to their neighbors, Estuu carefully climbed down from the rock with his one functioning hand. He quickly scurried through the streets towards the library.
            If he made it in time, he could still rent out enough books to study for the Holy Knight trials.
1 note · View note