[ And what a much-needed respite it is for this particular warrior. Not only do his problems feel so far away in this moment, but it's more like he isn't even thinking about them anymore. Like they've temporarily ceased to exist. For the first time, he's noticing the rich, heady scent of the wood being burned in their fire. Has it always smelled so good?
Tezca's movements capture his attention from the corner of his eye, and he looks up to watch him retrieve the odd little bag and pull out the Shard. The orange light from the fire flickers across its flat surface. ]
Nice to meet you, Daybit Sem Void. [ But he glances up towards Tezcatlipoca after, curious. They'd been trying to accomplish something... bad?
Looking away, Link ponders the fire again for a beat. Then, he sits up with a sense of purpose and plunges one of his hands into the neckline of his tunic. After rooting around under his clothing for a few seconds, he pulls a small metal case, secured around his chest with a cross-body strap, up to his collarbone and inputs a number combination into its lock. It opens with a click, revealing a medium-sized uncut gemstone, swirled with purple and orange-yellow. ]
This is Zelda. If she can hear us, she'll remember you, too. [ He takes the stone from its case to hold it up, towards Tezca, for him to see and address. ] Zelda, this is the god Tezcatlipoca. And his partner, Daybit Sem Void.
[ He’s pleased that Link addresses Daybit seriously, and it shows in his easy smile. He knows it’s not exactly natural, and it had been a little strange even for him at first… But whether it’s something you hold or something more ethereal, Tezcatlipoca is a guardian of souls and deeply respects them. He would have been annoyed for it to not be given the proper respect in turn.
He has an inkling of what Link is doing as he starts to fumble around, and he nods once he sees the box. When the Shard is removed, Tezcatlipoca gives her a respectful nod with a smile.
Though, internally, he does stutter a bit over Link calling Daybit his partner. Sure, he’d been the one to say it and introduce him that way, but it’s different to hear it from someone else. He knows it's stupid, too. He'd answered his Daybit’s call and agreed to destroy the world with him, on an extreme end. They’d shared a bed and Tezcatlipoca had made many meals for him, on the end that was much quieter. And now here in Kenos, Tezcatlipoca had chosen him above every other soul to be the precious one worth saving. What else could they be but partners?
…He’s still a little embarrassed to hear it, though. Extremely secretly. ]
Great to meet you, Zelda. Look forward to meetin’ you in person, eventually.
[ He responds much more smoothly than he feels, at least, though the second, quick drag might be to just push away those feelings. You know, as you do. ]
—Makes me feel better I’m not the only one that carries ‘em with me too.
[ He’d really debated it, since it wasn’t as safe, in a way, but especially considering Daybit’s condition, Tezcatlipoca had been unsettled by the idea of just keeping him locked away. It might be safer, sure. But if they’re conscious at all, that has to be worse, he’d decided. ]
I usually bring him out here, since there ain’t too much to worry about. Kinda like the lands we came from too, so it’s got some familiarity.
[ Fortunately for Tezcatlipoca's pride, Link is just a little bit too high right now to notice the subtle shift in the god's attitude when they started talking about Daybit. Later, it might occur to him how strange it is for Tezcatlipoca to have chosen one specific person to save from his world; he might look back and realize that he'd only been assuming that this "partner" is another god of some kind; it might even cross his mind how strange it is for a god to have aligned himself with the Zenith in the first place, considering that all the others he's known of were devout Meris.
But for now... he's just vibing. ]
Amos Burton made me this case for Zelda's Shard. [ with a small smile, he taps on the case, still sticking out from the neckline of his tunic. ] If you ask him, I bet he'd make you one... although, um, I guess a god wouldn't need any help keeping something like that safe?
[ A brief moment of awareness again of who Tezca is, but it seems to pass gently and swiftly, like mist on the surface of a lake. ]
The Beyond is like where you're from, too? You mean, because it's a big wilderness? Or is it the monsters? [ Link talks as he puts Zelda's Shard back, closes the case, and returns it snugly against the side of his ribs. ] It's pretty similar to some areas of Hyrule. Thick forests, dangerous wildlife, but a lot to live off of if you know what to look for — and aren't picky.
But, honestly, Alenroux is even more similar... if it were easier to go back and forth into the city when I needed things, I'd probably be living out there instead of here. I thought about it sometimes, when I was still with the Meridian.
[ But not lately. In this moment, Link suddenly realizes that it's not really convenience that's keeping him in Highstorm — if something were to go wrong, he'd want to be able to get back here quicker so he could help. Which does not quite align with what he came out here to do in the first place: avoid everyone. ]
[ Tezcatlipoca makes a thoughtful noise at first, clearly considering it, then laughs as he looks back down to Daybit’s Shard. ]
I dunno. I’d take the help. I ain’t too proud for that. [ Not with something this important, anyways. ] My smoke’s a big deterrent for anything bad to happen to it, but it’s not perfect. Kinda the point, since it’s all based around probabilities.
[ Whatever the fuck that means, apparently, since he doesn’t seem inclined to explain it. But nor does he seem inclined to put Daybit “back” now that he’s out. He feels secure enough, so he thinks it’s better to allow him the time to soak things in, more or less. ]
It’s the wilderness. Monsters… [ He shrugs ] It’s kinda complicated, but they ain’t a thing so much anymore. Least not like they are here or in Alenroux. Those kinda things are pretty damn rare since the Age of Gods ended, but that ain’t a bad thing. Humanity’s kinda weak, comparatively speaking, so just the wildlife like jaguars and snakes was plenty for ‘em to contend with. Out here reminds me of what the world was like before they figured it out with guns and shit like that.
[ He doesn’t bring up the Lostbelt as an example, since that would really make it confusing… Not the ideal conversation to have when you’re high, so he keeps it simpler. ]
If you like Alenroux, why here, in that case? That place has more goin’ for it, seems like.
[ It's a natural question to ask, but Link pauses. He's still grappling with his own lack of an answer for that question, with his realization that he isn't really doing this anymore for the sake of being alone. If that was the goal... he could just keep walking deeper and deeper into the woods and disappear. Or live in Alenroux, like Tezca is saying. ]
Well...
[ The fire crackles and flickers. ]
...if something goes wrong, and people need me... It would be bad for me to be too far away.
[ He frowns and stares into the fire. ] That's what happened last month. When I was out in the Beyond with Drizzt.
[ If Shez hadn't killed him and Drizzt hadn't been captured, they would have had to spend another two or three weeks just getting back to Highstorm. ]
You know, when I first started living out here... I really just wanted to be alone. But, I guess that's not the case anymore.
[ The event that Link refers to is a little fuzzy to Tezcatlipoca, since he’d only heard about it second, third, or even further-hand. He hadn’t been here, after all. Quetzalcoatl was still in the world, waiting to be the battery for the very weapon that Drizzt and Link had found, but that’s why he vaguely knows about it. Naturally, he wanted to know everything his brother had been up to.
He makes a soft noise of understanding, and he looks at Link appraisingly for a moment. There’s a silence that lingers just a little too long, but by the time Link might start to question it, Tezcatlipoca seems to have made a verdict of some kind. It’s at least what his tone implies. ]
Sounds like you found somethin’ to protect to me.
[ It’s what drives any warrior, at their core. He’s definitely seen that in Drizzt, and it’s what had led him to decide that the guy was “his”. It looks like he might have found another. ]
…’Course, that seems like a pretty big gig, least from what I can tell so far. You up for that?
[ There's a challenge in his tone there, but it's a genuine question too. ]
[ ...Is that it? Is that... what the problem was all along, and why things feel different now?
His frown softens as the idea sinks into his head. When he found out the truth about Hyrule... when he knew he could never go back without the Master Sword... he lost something. A critical, core part of himself was torn out, with nothing to fill the space and no way to heal the wound. And maybe it won't ever heal, maybe he'll always have to live wondering what it means for him to be born a failure, but... he doesn't feel so empty anymore, at least.
In contrast, that next thing Tezcatlipoca says doesn't faze him at all. It's like he threw a watermelon at Link's head and then followed it up with a beach ball. ]
What, you mean... the pressure?
[ Link smiles, and as he looks back to Tezca again, he lifts his arms and tucks his hands behind his head. Stretched out like this on the ground, in front of the fire, with the entire world around him feeling fuzzy and soft and calm, he almost looks like a completely different person from the skittish, graven-faced loner aiming an arrow at his throat earlier. ]
Yeah, I can handle that part.
[ There's obviously some kind of story behind an answer like that, but Link doesn't elaborate. That's a story for another time. ]
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no subject
Tezca's movements capture his attention from the corner of his eye, and he looks up to watch him retrieve the odd little bag and pull out the Shard. The orange light from the fire flickers across its flat surface. ]
Nice to meet you, Daybit Sem Void. [ But he glances up towards Tezcatlipoca after, curious. They'd been trying to accomplish something... bad?
Looking away, Link ponders the fire again for a beat. Then, he sits up with a sense of purpose and plunges one of his hands into the neckline of his tunic. After rooting around under his clothing for a few seconds, he pulls a small metal case, secured around his chest with a cross-body strap, up to his collarbone and inputs a number combination into its lock. It opens with a click, revealing a medium-sized uncut gemstone, swirled with purple and orange-yellow. ]
This is Zelda. If she can hear us, she'll remember you, too. [ He takes the stone from its case to hold it up, towards Tezca, for him to see and address. ] Zelda, this is the god Tezcatlipoca. And his partner, Daybit Sem Void.
no subject
He has an inkling of what Link is doing as he starts to fumble around, and he nods once he sees the box. When the Shard is removed, Tezcatlipoca gives her a respectful nod with a smile.
Though, internally, he does stutter a bit over Link calling Daybit his partner. Sure, he’d been the one to say it and introduce him that way, but it’s different to hear it from someone else. He knows it's stupid, too. He'd answered his Daybit’s call and agreed to destroy the world with him, on an extreme end. They’d shared a bed and Tezcatlipoca had made many meals for him, on the end that was much quieter. And now here in Kenos, Tezcatlipoca had chosen him above every other soul to be the precious one worth saving. What else could they be but partners?
…He’s still a little embarrassed to hear it, though. Extremely secretly. ]
Great to meet you, Zelda. Look forward to meetin’ you in person, eventually.
[ He responds much more smoothly than he feels, at least, though the second, quick drag might be to just push away those feelings. You know, as you do. ]
—Makes me feel better I’m not the only one that carries ‘em with me too.
[ He’d really debated it, since it wasn’t as safe, in a way, but especially considering Daybit’s condition, Tezcatlipoca had been unsettled by the idea of just keeping him locked away. It might be safer, sure. But if they’re conscious at all, that has to be worse, he’d decided. ]
I usually bring him out here, since there ain’t too much to worry about. Kinda like the lands we came from too, so it’s got some familiarity.
no subject
But for now... he's just vibing. ]
Amos Burton made me this case for Zelda's Shard. [ with a small smile, he taps on the case, still sticking out from the neckline of his tunic. ] If you ask him, I bet he'd make you one... although, um, I guess a god wouldn't need any help keeping something like that safe?
[ A brief moment of awareness again of who Tezca is, but it seems to pass gently and swiftly, like mist on the surface of a lake. ]
The Beyond is like where you're from, too? You mean, because it's a big wilderness? Or is it the monsters? [ Link talks as he puts Zelda's Shard back, closes the case, and returns it snugly against the side of his ribs. ] It's pretty similar to some areas of Hyrule. Thick forests, dangerous wildlife, but a lot to live off of if you know what to look for — and aren't picky.
But, honestly, Alenroux is even more similar... if it were easier to go back and forth into the city when I needed things, I'd probably be living out there instead of here. I thought about it sometimes, when I was still with the Meridian.
[ But not lately. In this moment, Link suddenly realizes that it's not really convenience that's keeping him in Highstorm — if something were to go wrong, he'd want to be able to get back here quicker so he could help. Which does not quite align with what he came out here to do in the first place: avoid everyone. ]
no subject
I dunno. I’d take the help. I ain’t too proud for that. [ Not with something this important, anyways. ] My smoke’s a big deterrent for anything bad to happen to it, but it’s not perfect. Kinda the point, since it’s all based around probabilities.
[ Whatever the fuck that means, apparently, since he doesn’t seem inclined to explain it. But nor does he seem inclined to put Daybit “back” now that he’s out. He feels secure enough, so he thinks it’s better to allow him the time to soak things in, more or less. ]
It’s the wilderness. Monsters… [ He shrugs ] It’s kinda complicated, but they ain’t a thing so much anymore. Least not like they are here or in Alenroux. Those kinda things are pretty damn rare since the Age of Gods ended, but that ain’t a bad thing. Humanity’s kinda weak, comparatively speaking, so just the wildlife like jaguars and snakes was plenty for ‘em to contend with. Out here reminds me of what the world was like before they figured it out with guns and shit like that.
[ He doesn’t bring up the Lostbelt as an example, since that would really make it confusing… Not the ideal conversation to have when you’re high, so he keeps it simpler. ]
If you like Alenroux, why here, in that case? That place has more goin’ for it, seems like.
no subject
Well...
[ The fire crackles and flickers. ]
...if something goes wrong, and people need me... It would be bad for me to be too far away.
[ He frowns and stares into the fire. ] That's what happened last month. When I was out in the Beyond with Drizzt.
[ If Shez hadn't killed him and Drizzt hadn't been captured, they would have had to spend another two or three weeks just getting back to Highstorm. ]
You know, when I first started living out here... I really just wanted to be alone. But, I guess that's not the case anymore.
no subject
He makes a soft noise of understanding, and he looks at Link appraisingly for a moment. There’s a silence that lingers just a little too long, but by the time Link might start to question it, Tezcatlipoca seems to have made a verdict of some kind. It’s at least what his tone implies. ]
Sounds like you found somethin’ to protect to me.
[ It’s what drives any warrior, at their core. He’s definitely seen that in Drizzt, and it’s what had led him to decide that the guy was “his”. It looks like he might have found another. ]
…’Course, that seems like a pretty big gig, least from what I can tell so far. You up for that?
[ There's a challenge in his tone there, but it's a genuine question too. ]
no subject
His frown softens as the idea sinks into his head. When he found out the truth about Hyrule... when he knew he could never go back without the Master Sword... he lost something. A critical, core part of himself was torn out, with nothing to fill the space and no way to heal the wound. And maybe it won't ever heal, maybe he'll always have to live wondering what it means for him to be born a failure, but... he doesn't feel so empty anymore, at least.
In contrast, that next thing Tezcatlipoca says doesn't faze him at all. It's like he threw a watermelon at Link's head and then followed it up with a beach ball. ]
What, you mean... the pressure?
[ Link smiles, and as he looks back to Tezca again, he lifts his arms and tucks his hands behind his head. Stretched out like this on the ground, in front of the fire, with the entire world around him feeling fuzzy and soft and calm, he almost looks like a completely different person from the skittish, graven-faced loner aiming an arrow at his throat earlier. ]
Yeah, I can handle that part.
[ There's obviously some kind of story behind an answer like that, but Link doesn't elaborate. That's a story for another time. ]