gluttonforpunishment | Closed to [miphasgrace]

Closed to [miphasgrace]

The Champions are alive. Their souls freed from the Divine Beasts, their bodies from the Calamity. Link's injured, bleeding freely from a gouge along his ribs - and several of those are broken besides, but he's still on his feet, sword in his hand still alight with energy. He looks them over: Revali, Urbossa, Zelda, Daruk... Mipha.

He's exhausted. Even with their help, Ganon had not gone down easy. It had been hours of fighting and then so long on horseback with broken ribs, every draw of the Bow of Light excruciating. He's exhausted physically, and mentally, and he's not sure what's keeping him on his feet. Maybe just the stubborn refusal to collapse.

He's shed his helmet already, and he wants to sheathe his sword, but just the idea of lifting his arm makes him more tired - his arm feels like lead, he might have broken his arm as well...

Link smiles weakly. His voice is gone - dry and hoarse, so instead he just smiles and bobs his head. He's glad they're alright, he's glad Ganon is gone, but if they'll excuse him, he needs to sit down. Or maybe collapse.

His legs start to go, and it's Daruk who gets to him first, lowering him gently to the thick grass, trampled and scorched and muddy. "Easy, buddy," he says, bracing Link semi-upright.

"Are you alright, Link?" That's Zelda, hurrying to him. He's glad to see she's unhurt after her ordeal. Her dress is clean, though her sandals and feet are muddied. He nods, though he really definitely isn't alright. But he's alive, and they're alive, and Ganon is dead - or at least gone.

He looks up, past Daruk and Zelda, to Mipha. She's fine as well. He finally takes his hand off the hilt of his sword and signs - his arms are jelly, but they're stronger than his voice, "I'm really tired." He sags against Daruk. The Goron is warm even if he's a bit too hard to be comfortable to lean against. His hands fall into his lap and he blinks tiredly. He's not sure even Mipha - if she's even strong enough yet - will be able to heal all this, but he doesn't care. He has time to recover.

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Coming back to life, literally in every sense of the word, is not an experience Mipha would ever be able to properly describe. Maybe it's because her soul continued to have a connection with the world after death in the first place; or maybe it's because the sensation occurs after bearing witness to the devastating climax of an ages-old war with one of the most important people in her life taking down evil incarnate.

Any initial hesitation upon being returned to the physical realm disappeared the moment she sees Link collapse.

In an instant, Mipha's kneeling at his side and frantically looking over his injuries, making a mental tally. Having Daruk carefully hold him is extraordinarily helpful, even after saving him from a hard meeting with the ground. "Please, try to keep him like this..." she murmurs to the Goron gratefully. Identifying the most grievous of them all—Too many, she thinks—no time is wasted in placing her hands over the worst of his ribs to begin the healing process.

Though in her spirit form, she could cast her most powerful healing magic upon Link if he fell as he journeyed across Hyrule; now, having reclaimed her physical body, it was not nearly as potent. Despite the ironic limitations her physical form brought back into play, she knew, thankfully, that it would be enough as long as she could stabilize him. Not as a full cure, at least not all at once, but enough to save him from the worst the battle gave.

The familiar blue glow begins to radiate from her palms before she finally looks up to meet Link's eyes.

Even then, at first the only words she can muster are "Oh, Link..." She might've shed tears of joy, had his wounds not been so urgent. Instead, Mipha shakes her head slightly as she focuses on him, the healing touch from her hands giving a soothing essence in an effort to dull his pain however slightly. Her smile, from looking into his eyes, is tentative but no less warm or genuine.

"You deserve all the rest in the world, truly... But please, try to stay awake with us for now."

His breathing instantly gets less laborious as Mipha's magic starts to work through him - his ribs start to knit together, as does the deep wound on his side. It's slow going, but anything is better than what he had before. He rests his head on Daruk's shoulder and does his best to keep conscious. He's exhausted to his core, and his fingers and toes are chilly from blood loss.

But he keeps his eyes on Mipha's face as she works. He'd been sure, for a while, that she was gone forever. That what they had before was gone. But this is a second chance. A chance to fix his past mistakes, a chance to have what he had put off before. He nods then immediately winces as pain shoots up his neck.

Again, he lifts his hands, though, needing to communicate. "Sheikah are coming..." He'd told Impa he was going to the castle, and she had promised to have people sent to help them - though they had no idea if it would be just him, or him and Zelda, or just all of them and not him. He's glad now to know that they won't have to walk to somewhere, with only one horse between all of them. The giant stallion is big, but not that big. Even now, he's standing a few yards away, content to graze around the patches of burnt grass. He's none the worse for wear, thankfully.

As if sensing that Link is watching him, he lifts his head and snorts, tossing it a little, as if to say 'They've got you.' Link wants to dump out the contents of his pack and let the horse eat his fill, but he can't even do more than lift his hands. Apples, at least, when he could move again.

"Don't move so much," is what she says, even though there's not an ounce of reprimand in her voice. Something she's told him countless times in their childhood, when he was a hundred times more reckless. And just like back then, she doesn't fully expect him to follow the advice.

Tearing her gaze away from Link, Mipha doesn't miss the sigh of relief Zelda gives at Link's information. It also gives the Zora a chance to look over the other princess for any injuries and is happy to see none despite her ordeal. The glance away from her patient is only momentary, her full attention and thoughts to Link giving an easier freedom for the healing magic to flow. Seeing him again, being able to feel like this after a century - it's an effort to stamp down the urge to wrap him in a hug.

Mipha hears Urbosa remark from behind her, "I wouldn't be surprised if they saw the carnage on their way." She's inclined to agree; Hyrule Castle swarmed with Ganon's Malice was already visible from a good portion of the hills leading to Kakariko. If anything, it might mean they're already aware of a victory, no matter who was left.

"I'd like to make sure your bones are set...and keep your wounds from bleeding...before we even think about transporting you." Ghosting her fingers over the gap in his armor where Link was horribly struck, she knows it's taking longer than usual. She leans forward into his line of sight to make sure, in his haze, that he's listening. "To make...make absolutely sure."

"Sorry," he mouths, but doesn't lift his hands to try to keep signing. He looks up as Revali moves in closer, eyeing him warily, before the Rito says, "I'll go find them and lead them in." Then he steps back and leaps into the air in a rush of wind and feathers. He circles once over them then soars away, heading south.

He blinks slowly. He's tired, and the adrenaline is starting to wear out, and he's starting to tremble all over from the exertion. He has food in his pack, something to boost his energy, get something back in his stomach, but he can't even lift his hands anymore, let alone get one behind his back.

Instead, he looks to Zelda. She's still watching him worriedly, not caring at all that she was getting muddy and was currently shivering.

His attention is drawn back to Mipha as she leans in, though, and he manages to focus on her for a long few seconds. "Tired," he manages to get out, though his voice is almost completely gone, and blinks again, struggling to keep his eyes from closing all the way and letting the exhaustion claim him.

Still, her fingers along the damaged armor has him paying attention as best as he can. Both the plate and the chainmail beneath are shattered, the sheer force of Ganon's blows enough to break even the solid steel in only a few hits. His legs are better, the lighter ancient armor doing a better job at deflecting and absorbing blows than the plate had. He'll have to remember that for the future... if he even needs to.

"Can I give him some water?" Zelda asks, scooting forward to find the bottle Link kept lashed to his belt. She unhooks it, her fingers deft, then looks to Mipha to make sure it's alright.

"Oh goodness, of course!" In her rush to take care of anything life-threatening, she feels guilty to realize Link most likely needs care in more than one way. Nor did it occur to her until now to ask if he had any healing tonics or other helpful items with him in the first place.

As Zelda helps him take a drink, Mipha keeps her hands steady and hopes it'll refresh him more than the movement might hurt. Urbosa nears the rest of the group, kneeling down as well and putting comforting hands on Zelda's shoulders in an attempt to give warmth to her shivering.

She can see his blinking getting slower, his eyes staying closed for longer as he fights to keep awake. No matter how much she wills it, her healing power won't work any quicker than it already is. Just a little bit more, she thinks. When the Sheikah cavalry arrive they'll have enough help to keep him steady on their way back, Mipha hoping Link can rest as she continues to work. She's not risking losing him to injuries she can treat, her full power be damned. Not after everything that's happened.

Mipha waits until Link has his fill of water before speaking up again, tilting her head slightly with an apologetic smile. "Do you have anything in your knapsack, that might help?" Or that you want, or need, goes unsaid. Enough that one of them might be able to carefully take from his equipment without jostling him too much.

Link nods slowly. He has so much in his pack. Food, and more water, and something warm for Zelda so she stops shivering... He looks to Zelda and says, "Snowquill tunic..." Hoping she would understand he wants her to put it on. He hasn't gone through months of training and fighting and everything for her to catch a cold now. Then he looks to Mipha. "Might have... fairy tonic." Or at least a fairy. If not, then food.

"Let's get your pack off of you, then," Daruk says, continuing to brace Link steadily.

It's Zelda who reaches around to his back, carefully easing it off before pulling it into her lap.

She digs around, coming out with a few bottles. She passes one labeled with a drawing of a fairy to Mipha - the pink liquid within glitters and shines, and several more living fairies follow, in their own rather larger bottle.

When she comes out with the snowquill tunic, she slides it on with a grateful smile and Link smiles back, a little more tension going out of his shoulders. She won't freeze now, at least.

Pouring her power into one hand, Mipha murmurs a 'thank you' to the other princess as she carefully handles the bottles with her other hand and places them on the ground beside her. She's happy the fairies didn't sense his injuries as fatal to be freed.

Wordlessly, she makes eye contact with him as she prepares to open the large bottle, giving a short nod to indicate she's about to do so. She knows the pain's going to return full-force once she wanes her power and opens the bottle as swiftly as possible. The soothing vibe from her hands vanishes, but once Mipha uncorks the large bottle it's replaced by the healing remedy from each released fairy circling Link.

The first thing she does once the fairies' magic dissipates is check the gouge on his side, and likes what she finds. "This wound has stopped bleeding," she says with audible relief, giving a wider smile first to Link and then to Zelda. The gash side isn't exactly pretty, but any blood left is only from drying and staining. His ribs aren't nearly perfect, either, but she's confident enough they won't get worse upon transport.

Before she moves to check on and further heal his broken arm, Mipha holds the sweet-smelling bottle of tonic in her hands and hesitates with her query. "How are you feeling now?"

Link grits his teeth against the pain as Mipha's hand - and her magic - draws away, but the fairies do their work. He feels the brush of their wings against his skin and relaxes a bit.

He does feel a bit better, with the gash closed, but the biggest difference is his healed ribs and the water.

Still, the idea of downing fairy tonic on an empty stomach... Not a pretty one. It was so potent, and with nothing to absorb it with in his stomach. "Food before that... Or it'll come back up."

Zelda nods and goes back into Link's pack, rummaging around for something that he would be able to actually keep down. She finally came up with a bundle of slightly squished rice balls. They were stuffed with a mix of nuts and fish, but she knew they would taste great, even if the combination was rather unusual.

"You have one too," she tells Mipha, holding out the bundle. "We don't need our healer getting weak too."

Mipha nods in understanding, placing the fairy tonic back beside her. When she looks back up, she's actually a little surprised by Zelda's offer. It's only when she realizes that, yes, exhausting her power is exhausting her too that she smiles sheepishly and gently takes one of the smaller rice balls.

With one small bite, the feeling of hunger returns to her. After one hundred years as a spirit, she'd hardly believed she'd get to feel something like this again. Her second bite is more eager, enjoying the strange mix of flavors. Link always did have weird tastes.

"Don't forget yourself, Princess," she nods again, to her. Link's hunger is taking priority for everyone, but a century locked in a perpetual duel with the Calamity itself warrants care. Zelda may not be injured as far as she can tell, but that doesn't mean she's at one-hundred percent, and Mipha also can't tell if the shivering is limited to the temperature and dampness.

At the very least, she hopes food will keep him a little more awake, if he's able to keep it down.

Zelda doesn't immediately take one for herself, but lets Urbossa and Daruk each take one before she breaks apart another to carefully feed Link. He takes the bites, knowing he's definitely not able to feed himself.

It's also intensely surreal for the princess to be feeding him bites of rice and fish and nuts, but today's been crazy enough that he's fine with it. He'll freak out about his duty later, when he's not so injured and fresh from defeating evil itself.

"I feel fine," Zelda says, and he's not so weak he can't give her a Look. Still, he has no ability to protest, so he eats a second rice ball before he looks to Mipha and nods.

He should be fine to drink the tonic now. Hopefully. The rice will hopefully absorb the tonic well enough he won't just immediately throw it back up.

"You're not fooling us." Thankfully the 'team mom' of the group knows exactly how to protest, however gently. Urbosa breaks apart her own piece and not-so-subtly holds it out to Zelda.

Mipha bows her head to hide her pleased smile; from not only the satiation from the simple rice ball, but also hearing and watching the group's dynamic slowly return to how it used to be. With Link's condition improving, the experience allows her to feel more elated than before.

"This should take care of the worst of what's left..." she thinks aloud as she uncorks the bottle of tonic, "...but I'm still going to want to check you over, before you try tolerable movement."

Scooting closer to Link's side, she holds the pungent bottle and gingerly helps Link drink, carefully refraining from tilting the bottle too far so he can take slow, controlled sips, and immediately stop if he needs to in case it still proves to be too strong for his stomach to handle.

Link manages to get down a few sips before his stomach rebels and he turns his face away as the bottle is moved away. He swallows and closes his eyes, trying to not throw up at all costs.

There's a reason he doesn't use the tonic that often: it makes him so sick he can hardly stand it.

Luckily, though, Revali comes soaring back overhead for a landing. "They're almost here."

Almost on cue, the thundering of horses approaches and two Sheikah swing out of their saddles, one of them helping down a third person - Link recognizes her as the village healer.

She's not smiling. He must still look pretty terrible, then.

One of the guards moves to crouch next to Link. "I can support him, Champion," he tells Daruk, reaching out to take Link's weight on himself.

"Princess Mipha, is there anything I can do to further assist?" She looks Link over carefully.

Mipha re-corks the bottle and lightly places a comforting hand on Link's shoulder. She always did wish her power extended to stomach ailments and the like.

She explains to the Sheikah as succinctly as possible, hand still laid on Link. The fairies' magic had encompassed his entire body, taking care of other minor things like shallow cuts and scrapes. Everything else was still in play, one way or another.

"The worst of his bleeding is stopped..." The wound is quite obvious, but she points to it anyway. "He'd broken several ribs, and they have mended some, but not fully... And at least one arm is broken as well."

Fatigue, over-exertion, and weakness of his other limbs are a given. She absent-mindedly moves her hand to his chest, trying to sense anything else. She doesn't want to miss a thing.

"Anything you can provide will help in some way," she finally tells the healer with a small, grateful smile. "If we move him, I wish to resume my healing on the journey." The soothing feeling will help ease his pain when he's in motion, especially if carried by others. That, and her biggest worry of undoing what's already been healed.

Link's distracted from the conversation happening in front of him by the guard moving in at his back. His body screams in pain as he's moved so he's leaning back against the guard's chest, but the man is rather efficient and he's able to relax completely instead of having to focus on keeping his battered body from falling over afterwards.

"Of course. The wagons are coming behind us." The healer had brought only a smallish bag, enough to triage Link's wounds, everything else was in her wagon and ready. But Mipha had already healed the worst of the damage.

"You have him fairy tonic? I have something for the nausea..." She opens her bag and finds a small bottle. "Here, Champion." She leans forward and Link drinks it - it tastes like not much at all, but the roiling of his stomach ceases. "Better?"

Link nods a little, then winces.

"Have you hit your head at some point?" He's not sure. It's likely, but he doesn't remember anything in particular.

"Maybe..."

"We'll have to check you for concussion, then, before we let you sleep. I know you want to rest, but we want to make sure you'll wake up from that sleep." She smiles at him, and he does his best to smile back. That makes sense. He needs to stay awake no matter what, then.

Edited 2017-04-07 01:26 (UTC)

Whole-heartedly agreeing with the healer, her gaze moves from his face to his forehead and as much of his hair as she can see. Upon her initial check-over, she sensed his chest wounds to be the most deadly, and there had thankfully been no gushing of blood or serious signs of mental distress. But it is why her first words were to ask him to stay awake, as much as he deserves to finally get some real rest for once.

Letting the Sheikah healer do her own preliminary, Mipha can see the wagons approaching and knows it won't be long. Moving him with the least amount of pain caused is going to be hard, so in the meantime she checks his broken arm. The fairies and the tonic did a good job without initial help from her powers, and if they brace it before he's hauled into a wagon it should be okay.

His head, it's harder to tell, without much in the way of visual cues. The most important thing is that he's fully responsive. She hovers one hand partially over the side of his head, the blue light glowing once again, and gently moves part of his long sideburns out of the way. It's a temporary and cautionary healing, hoping to ease any stress on his skull before it's time to go; she'll be busy switching to soothing the pain in his midsection as he's lifted into a wagon.

"You'll be all right," she feels compelled to say, "I know it in my heart." Not just for his own benefit, but hers and everyone else's.

Link allows the healer to feel along his shoulders and arms. The adrenaline is finally starting to fade and he's starting to tremble.

"He's going into shock, we should get him into the wagon as soon as we can." Link watches them all without speaking or signing. He's exhausted and his vision is a bit blurry, and he's glad for the support of the guard behind him.

The wagons pull in and most of Kakariko village piles out, bringing lanterns and blankets for the Champions.

Link winces away from the increased light. "Keep the lanterns behind him, please," the healer orders, "and we're going to need a stretcher."

Zelda gets up and she and the other Champions move away as more people move in to help with Link.

Suddenly everything's rushed but controlled at the same time. Mipha tries to keep close as she provides as much comfort as her healing power can give, though it's hard when an entire team of people are surrounding him as well and she's doing her best not to get in their way. This is going to be rough.

"Try to keep his spine straight," she instructs to the new crowd of people, "Make sure not to twist his head or neck." She doesn't have a commanding or authoritative tone in the slightest, but manages to speak up loud enough for everyone to hear.

Despite her assurance seconds ago, worry nonetheless creeps in. No matter how carefully the team helps Link onto the stretcher, he's already been on the brink of passing out and so far this is the worst the strain has been. One look at Link's face tells Mipha he's well into experiencing light-headedness as they transfer and lower him onto the stretcher, and she can only will through her power that pain isn't what sends him over the line.

She doesn't need to look at the other Champions to feel their shared helplessness.

For the first time since dealing the final blow, Link cries out from the pain. It's true, no matter how careful and gentle they are, it's still painful.

But it's the sharpness of the pain only that keeps the dizziness from claiming him. There are gentle hands on either side of his head, keeping it still, and then pillows - or maybe sacks of beans - ate being nestled in on either side of his neck and head.

Horizontal, he's suddenly aware of a whole new set of pains - the ache in his back is starting to scream, and his legs feel like dead weight - he'd thought the ancient armor had protected him, but maybe not? His ribs burn anew, despite the work Mipha has already done to heal them.

Urbossa sighs quietly. "Princess, come with me. Let Mipha travel with him." She reaches out to put her hands on Zelda's shoulders and Zelda turns into the Gerudo. Urbossa looks up, arms curled around Zelda's narrow shoulders, and tells one of the Sheikah who are standing with not much else to do, "Collect the Champion's horse. He is also responsible for the work of vanishing Calamity Ganon."

He nods and heads off at a trot with another guard to catch the stallion, who is watching the proceedings and instantly realizes they're going time try to catch him. He turns and trots away, whinnying loudly, not about to let himself be caught by anybody but Link. Link knows they'll have their hands full catching him, but he's truly too tired to lift his hand to his mouth and whistle to his horse to get him to come.

Instead, he's distracted by hands on him again - the healer, she has her hand on his forehead, her thumb stroking along his hairline. It's soothing. He blinks slowly, staring up at the sky. It's clear and blue, with barely a cloud. There's no tint of malice in the air.

"Carefully," he hears the healer direct to the men who had brought the stretcher over. "We need more hands over here, please. Don't jostle him, as much as you can, he may have injuries that we can't see."

Edited 2017-04-08 17:59 (UTC)

At the very least, once nestled and braced properly into the stretcher, it's far easier to keep Link steady as they slide him onto the back of a wagon. With enough hands lending their strength, and both the Sheikah healer and Mipha telling them to stay careful and gentle, his body laid straight can be moved as a whole.

For the time being, the sharp pain jolting him into staying awake is better than the opposite outcome she'd feared - though either way it was a lose-lose, with the amount of injury he's sustained. If anything, his sudden cry out gave Mipha her own flare of renewed energy; still over his torso, the light from her hands burns brighter as her protective instincts go into overdrive upon hearing his outburst.

Mipha's gone silent, the Sheikah healer giving her orders as the Zora princess focuses on Link. She can hear what's going on around her, but it's become muffled to her ears as her tunnel vision has only one recipient. The rest of her is on auto-pilot, the worry she'd been trying to put away for everyone else's sake seeping into her face, eyes darting over him and hands beginning to shiver.

As they move him, she worriedly glances up and down his prone form, her healing power intensifying to match her racing thoughts: Did his gouge re-open? No, she's been holding her hands over it the entire time... But his ribs, they might've cracked again after he was bent to lie down. His head - he's still looking around, he appears to be able to listen clearly, but could his skull be fractured? His arms were braced for transfer, but his lower body is still covered by his armor, could that be hiding anything, could he have internal bleeding? Will she and the other healer be enough?

She'd taken care of him since they were little children, healing him time and time again even as kid's scrapes turned into injuries befitting of the knight title he'd been appointed. They grew serious, but she'd always been able to heal him. As a spirit, her Grace allowed her to heal what would instantly be considered a fatality... But now, brought back to life, she can't do that anymore. And this is one of the most important situations where he needed that power.

If I were still a spirit...I could have taken care of this far more easily...

As Link is moved into place, the care the men take not to jostle him helps keep the pain down, and when the settle him down in the back of the wagon, fabric sling and all, he's laid down not on a hard surface, but a softer one, one that cradles his body effectively.

The healer moves around him and the wagon rocks, but not a lot, not enough that he really even notices. She settles near his head, one hand resting on his forehead so he can't move his head. She leans back, then returns. "I'm going to put a little pillow under your neck, Link, to take the stress off of it. Just relax, alright?" He hums quietly instead of nodding, and her hand eases between the bean sacks and his skin. Her fingers are cool and firm, and she slides the little pillow between his neck and the stretcher and instantly some of the strain eases.

"Better? You look more relaxed." She moves again, this time to pull the curtains at the back of the wagon mostly shut, casting the space into semi-darkness, except for a candle lit at the back, behind his head.

She moves that close now and he winces, but doesn't close his eyes - he's aware of how they check for concussion.

"Mild concussion, you should be fine to rest once we're done with what we can do right now." She looks up at Mipha, relief clear on her face. "Let's get you something for the pain, and we'll get you undressed so we can see what all we have left to do." She again gets up and opens the curtains.

Outside, Link's horse is still neighing and whinnying, but he doesn't run from the wagons - he seems to know Link is there and is hesitant to go too far, even if it means people are continuing to chase him.

The muffling of the sounds of everything around her lessens once they're settled in the wagon and Link is, for all intents and purposes, in the safest of positions. The squeak of the wagon's wheels, the sound of that enormous horse keeping up with them. Her quietly growing panic doesn't, however, until the healer's relieved words sound out and Mipha realizes the hypnotic state she was in.

She feels foolish being absent for long, even if she couldn't help it, but at the same time is glad the other healer took charge.

Blinking back the degree of emotion, her smile in return to the healer is a delayed reaction, but a genuine one. She tries to steady her slightly-shaking hands, still positioned over him in a way to provide the most relief. Whatever the Sheikah have for his pain is going to do wonders for his entire fatigued body, and that means she can move her healing power to the next needed area.

As the other healer prepares, Mipha looks back to Link, leaning in a bit so he can see her better than out of the corner of his eye, and places one of her hands on his to give it a tiny squeeze. "I'm sure after long, this won't be quite as long a trip for you." In the back of a wagon all the way to Kakariko, nearly undressed and poked and prodded at. "Hang on a little bit longer."

He does look leagues more comfortable, snug in between so many bags and makeshift pillows. Once they deal with his pain and his head, she hopes it'll be an equally comfortable slumber.

The healer shifts around in her shelves and drawers, and comes out with another bottle. "Here, Champion. This should help with the pain but not numb you completely." She dips the bottle against a piece of cloth, then lifts it to his mouth. "I'm going to rub this against your gums. It's difficult to not choke a person on drinking something that can't lift this head and is also in the back of a moving wagon."

Link hums again then opens his mouth, allowing her to press the soaked cloth against his gums. It takes only a few seconds and he closes his eyes with a sigh of relief. His eyes flutter closed, but she's right: the pain is lesser, now, but he's not heavy with sleep.

He watches Mipha instead of the healer. She's well within his line of sight now, but her hands are both dry and warm. Not slightly clammy, as he remembers, but dry. "You should... take care of yourself, too," he croaks. What's he going to do if she gets sick? Probably not die, but he doesn't want to risk losing her again. He's already lost her once and gotten her back.

"He's right," the healer says, working carefully to remove Link's helmet, one hand on the back of his head, feeling as she goes for any bleeding or fractures. "You've healed the worst of it already, what I can do will be enough until you've had a chance to recover."

The sound of Link's actual voice startles her.

"I'm--" She catches herself before she makes the same excuse she's heard before. Compared to Link or even Zelda, she can say she's fine, but if he's noticed enough in his own state to be concerned, she hardly has a leg to stand on. Constant draining of her magic power just after being returned to her physical form isn't exactly healthy.

Looking down at him, her smile turns apologetic. He still looks haggard and she can't help how she feels, nor her instinct to follow the promise she'd made him. "...I just want to do the most I'm able for you."

But she knows they're right, and with his pain being somewhat managed by the medication, the blue glow from her power disappears. Glancing down as her hand curls over his, she can tell what made him speak up.

Still, she can't sit idly by, feeling useless as she recharges. So she offers the healer even the slightest help that won't be a drain on her own health. "Please, at the very least I can assist."

"Is that a good compromise for you, Champion?" She asks Link with a bit of a wink.

"Yeah..." He smiles and closes his eyes again. The healer's hands are gentle on his head as she sifts through his hair gently.

"Let's get his armor off of his legs so we can check for breaks," she tells Mipha, more than ready to let her still help, without draining her energy. "He may appreciate his beloved doing it more than me." Link smiles, which tells her she's correct.

The painkillers are doing their work. He's relaxed and pliant under her touch, but he's still conscious and thus will be able to tell him if a certain area hurts.

Mipha can't help but duck her head bashfully at that, silent but happy. To be reminded of this second chance they've been granted, with Link's silent reaction more than enough to boot.

Gingerly, she begins to unfasten the ancient greaves, loosening the ties holding them in place while being mindful of not applying any more pressure on his lower body than the armor already is. It goes a bit slow as the wagon rocks, and any awkwardness she might've felt is overridden by checking in with him to see if there's any pain. Once the plates are free, she carefully holds them in place until the wagon rides along a smooth patch to shift the rest of the fastenings loose from underneath his thighs.

With the cuisses off first, she checks the dark underarmor for any tears, lacerations, or signs of blood before moving on to his greaves.

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