sagesurvivor | songerein inbox / overflow

[continued from here]

[Again, her reassurances cause his lips to curl into that subtle smile of his, but something about it doesn't quite reach his eyes this time. Ah, if only she knew, but then... if she did, this conversation wouldn't be happening.]

... What a forgiving realm this is.

[Longing aside, it does bring up some intriguing ideas, if what she said about the nature of time in this place is true. Perhaps this could be a boon, despite the strangeness of it all-- a chance to learn the things surviving in a world as hostile as Ganondorf's Hyrule would not allow for. He still doesn't know enough to be sure it's safe, but maybe...

--Ah, right, there was a reason they came out here. She is as lovely in face as she is in temperament, he thinks but doesn't say as she removes that impractical mask of hers, recognizing the slight edge of discomfort in her response to his earlier compliment. Instead, he places his hand over his chest once more and tips his head slightly.]

Thank you again for your efforts to put the heart of a wayward stranger at ease. You may call me Sheik.

[... so about that whole "no similarity to the Sheikah she knows" thing.]

[He feels like he's going insane.

Every so often he hears it, the crystal clear tones of the Ocarina of Time. Faint and distant, rarely at the same time or place. Sometimes he'll go weeks without hearing it, and sometimes he hears it every other day. And yet, he's never been able to find it's source, no matter how hard he's tried. It's infuriating, and it's only the thought of what could be on the other side of that sound that keeps his frustration in check.

What is he supposed to do, if Link is here? What if he's from a different time, like the Princess is? What if it's not him at all, but someone whose inherited that precious instrument decades or centuries down the line? A million questions spin like a hurricane inside his brain, and he figures out the answer to approximately none of them before he hears it again. It's close, this time.

Sheik rushes like a man possessed towards the sound, taking to the trees when the winding roads near the outskirts of the city prove to be too inefficient. Bounding from branch to branch, clambering over rooftops and leaping across bridges, he cares for nothing except the path in front of him and that sound until--]

Link.

[--He stops just as quickly, breathless but frozen above the Hero of Time's resting spot, disbelief and hope warring in equal measure in his eyes. Is it... really him? If he breathes, if he moves, if he says anything other than his name in an urgent whisper, will he disappear without a trace, like he did that day seven years ago?

... The branch he's on creaks with his trembling as he waits.]

[ On Christmas morning, Sheik will wake to a special delivery... which has been unceremoniously shoved somewhere around his camp by the impatient fairy paid to deliver it. (Good thing the gift isn't fragile.) Though the princess doesn't know where Sheik camps, Songerein's fairies certainly do, and she has enough shiny trinkets to convince one of them to make this delivery for her. The gift is wrapped in folded parchment and sealed in red wax bearing the royal crest of Hyrule. It's probably looking a little worse for wear thanks to the fairy's careless handling, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Inside, Sheik will find a new tabard and cowl, hand sewn by Zelda, in the same style as his current one. The only difference is that the blue parts are a lot brighter—the same shade of blue as the Champions' garb. Is it an accident by someone who wasn't paying close enough attention to the original hue of Sheik's tunic or an intentional change intending to invoke the same honor Zelda once bestowed up on the Champions of her era? The princess will not say.

Atop the clothing is a short letter written in Zelda's familiar neat cursive. ]

Dear Sheik,

Warm blessings upon you this holiday.

In my era, we celebrate a holiday today in honor of the Goddess Hylia, during which time we give gifts to our friends in family in honor of Her generosity. Do you celebrate a similar holiday?

I hope this gift will be to your liking. I took the liberty, as it seems this realm has not been kind to the one you arrived with.

May the Goddess smile upon you,
Zelda, Princess of Hyrule

[Link's been living in the dream world for nearly a year, and one might think that coming from a forest, he'd be more or less at home in this one. He kinda is, but this is a different season and while the landscape doesn't change drastically or frequently, he's managed to wander into an unfamiliar area and gotten himself lost.

He's not so worried about being in potential danger from the local fauna--he's got a sword, after all--but he didn't tell anyone where exactly he was going and isn't especially eager to find out how possible death is.

His first thought is to send out a general call for help, but quickly changes his mind and pens a message to a single person:]

Sheik,

[There's a pause after he writes the man's name while he thinks of what words he wants to put down.]

You know the wilderness outside of town pretty well, right?

I got a little

lost. Help?

masque overflow - zelda

for timesensitive

mail delivery

private SOS