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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Otoh, on the other hand, is smiling, just a little. She brings her hand up to cover her smile, a bit delayed, then says, "We can fix that. Princess, maybe you can go check and see how the dinner is coming? It should be almost ready." Link looks mortified for sure, but at her suggestion, he relaxes a little. In love with Mipha he might be, he's apparently not ready for her to help him relieve himself.

"I have a bedpan here, so it shouldn't be something we need your help for." She rests her hand on Link's shoulder gently.

"Y-yes, of course..." Mipha sounds about as placated as Link looks, nodding with haste and offering nothing more than an apologetic smile to Link. Anything she could say would only pile onto the already awkward tension, she knows.

Out of the back of the wagon she goes, making sure to close the curtain modestly behind her. She takes a few steps away from the wagon as a start for their privacy, and uses the moment to process where they've stopped and how everyone's milling about. She recognizes Dueling Peaks; the swamp to the east effectively serving as a Guardian graveyard; and beyond that, Fort Hateno. Her sweeping gaze ends on the road to Kakariko to the north, with the knowledge that just beyond their quiet village destination is the path to Zora's Domain...and the family who will be overjoyed to have her back.

In her reverie, Mipha somehow misses the sight of Daruk enthusiastically waving her over until he actually calls out. The other Champions and Princess Zelda have congregated near where several of the Sheikah are preparing food. She slowly pads over, giving a warm smile and greeting to everyone milling about, whether Kakariko villagers or stable hands, along the way. The smell of dinner grows stronger as she gets closer, and she identifies the smell as some sort of rice stir-fry combined with generous hunks of meat that will no doubt make Link's mouth water.

Her smile becomes brighter as she reaches the Champions - Urbosa with her arm still around Zelda, Daruk towering above the group, and even Revali standing off to the side, though his wings crossed and posture aloof. "So? How is the little guy?" asks Daruk, worry overshadowed by a jovial tone once he's noticed that Mipha looks happy.

"He's doing well... We checked for further injuries underneath his armor, and were delighted to find nothing more serious." She looks Zelda's way during the latter explanation, keeping her informed as promised. "The healer is...helping to prepare him so he can eat, as well."

Zelda sighs in relief and nods. "I'm glad to hear that." She, like Mipha, has looked out over the field. It looks different to when she last saw it, but she can't deny that Link is in a much better state now than last time. He's still injured, but not fatally. He'll recover from his injuries in time, without the aid of the Shrine of Resurrection.

"I've been assured that messenger birds have already been sent out to the villages and towns, letting the people know that Ganon is defeated, and the Champions are alive and well. No doubt we'll be seeing visitors of all races soon, but... if you want to return home, I will not stop you. Our mission is complete, all we have left to do now is try to pick up the pieces."

She watches over Mipha's shoulder as Otoh clambers out of the wagon and pulls the curtain shut again, but doesn't go far, instead standing with her head turned towards the slightest gap in the fabric. "Once we get back to Kakariko village, with Impa's help, I can come up with a plan for Hyrule's recovery. First and foremost, accessing the treasuries and putting and end to the blight of Ganon's remaining monsters."

Repairing the castle was the last thought on her mind - her people came first. They'd been without aid for a hundred years, without the assistance of soldiers to keep the peace and guard the roads from bandits. There was a lot of rebuilding to do.

"One thing at a time, Princess. First, we need to get to the village."

"I'm sure my father and the Zora people will be more than willing to lend their aid, when you need it."

The thought of seeing her father and brother again, assuaging their century-long grief and share in their happy tears...she feels almost giddy thinking about it. Yet she's torn. Revali may want to turn wing and leave for home (though she can't help but notice he didn't immediately after Zelda's suggestion), but Mipha's desire to stay with Link is just as strong.

Mipha glances back to the wagon briefly. It's like Urbosa said. First things first, and then they can start worrying about the bigger picture.

"Yeah! And so will my brothers! You can count on us, Princess!" Daruk's proclamation makes Mipha smile and nod toward Zelda again. She finds his words just as comforting as Urbosa's; the two older presences in the group of Champions giving them peace of mind and heartwarming assurance.

"We'll get there soon..." she adds, "...just after some well-deserved sleep."

[Apologies for delay, my laptop broke and phone tags are always an event]

Zelda nods. "We could all use some rest." Shed actually dozed a little on the journey here, but not much: she's still too - thrilled? - to be ready for sleep

The Sheikah cooks, just then, lift their heads from their work. "Dinner is ready." They has a small mountain of bowls at the ready, but of course Zelda would get the first bowl, then the rest of the champions.

"Could Princess Mipha and myself get a bowl extra? For Link and and Otoh."

The man nodded, passing two bowls to Zelda, but the second one he offered to Mipha want the same as what everybody else was getting. For Link, it was a rice mash with well-shredded bits of meat and tiny bits of vegetables. A perfect meal for an invalid, while also working hard to restore some of Link's vitality.

[No worries! Sounds rough though, I'm sorry. /: ]

As they're handed out, Daruk laughs and gives a hearty pat on the back to one of the cooks before explaining he'd scavenged for some choice rocks to eat for himself. The Sheikah, to their credit, stood ground remarkably well.

Mipha graciously takes the bowls, looking to the one meant for Link and nodding. Even as a primary raw fish-eater, she knows good food when she smells it. It's probably going to be a challenge to restrain him from wolfing it down, no matter its consistency. She turns to the cooks and tilts her head down in a slight bow, saying, "Thank you very much," with a smile that reached her eyes to convey sincere gratitude for their work.

Steaming bowls in hand, she then turns to both Zelda and takes only a step or two in the direction of the wagon serving as the makeshift medical bay. "I think they should be ready by now..." There's a little hesitancy in her voice, though, as she checks from afar to see a sign of their...progress being complete, just in case they add a second princess to the line of Link's mortification.

"I think so as well... I just saw the healer get back in." Zelda nods to the wagon and as she does so, Otoh emerges again, carrying something away from the wagon a fair distance before crouching down in some longer grass.

She finishes what she's doing and straightens, waving to them as soon as she sees them.

She waits at the back of the wagon for them. "That smells good," she says, pushing the curtain open and stepping up. She rinses her hands briefly with a bit of water from a jar, then reaches to take the bowl Zelda offers.

Link's been propped up a bit better with more bean sacks and pillows, and his stomach grumbles loud enough time be heard almost outside the wagon. The flush to his cheeks is mostly gone, and there's a blanket around his legs and chest since he'd lost most all of his clothing to having his wounds treated.

Re-entering the wagon, Mipha looks at Zelda expectantly to join them. No words are exchanged, but the opportunity to have a gathering for a meal is so excitingly normal, she doesn't want to pass up the chance even if it's only the four out of everyone at the stable.

Link looks much more at ease in his new position, which brightens her smile before she even meets his eyes. With the blanket, he looks snug enough for bed, but with the ever-familiar sounds of his stomach growling, Mipha knows he's in the prime mood for stuffing his face.

He'll probably have to settle for a second-hand helping, but one step at a time.

Her own bowl is set to the side as she returns to her place next to Link. This time, at least, she's not hovering over him and he's propped a little, and when she settles down Link's bowl is tilted toward him so he can put a sight to the smell. "I know this is what you've been waiting for," she says with a laugh in her voice, though she won't torture him with teasing but for a second or two.

Link stares down at the bowl for a moment, then curls his hand over his belly. He's still embarrassed, and though he knows everybody here, he's still unable to find his voice. Instead, he signs, "Looks really good... I'm starving."

"We can tell," Zelda says with a quiet laugh, passing Otoh's bowl to her. "It's good that you're hungry, though, right?" She looks to Otoh for confirmation, then starts a little. "Oh, I should have introduced myself sooner. Zelda." She offers out her hand to Otoh, and the healer hesitates for a second, a flash of disbelief on her face that Zelda would think she had to introduce herself, then reached out to shake the Princess's hand.

"Otoh. I've patched your knight up many a time, princess."

"Really? Maybe while he eats, you can tell me some of his story?" Link may have been quiet and reserved, but with somebody he trusted, and a story to tell, he could really get going. Not that she had ever experienced Link like that herself, he'd always been so quiet.

Any sort of utensils aren't hard to find, and Mipha scooches nearer to Link. Assistance for eating in needing such, of course—not that she'd pass up an opportunity for further closeness at this point.

"I'd like to second that," she says after a pause. Though granted her ability of Grace, it had been for the utmost dire of circumstances and each reunion was hasty and brief; a broken promise only partially mended after one hundred years. Meeting one of the most important people responsible for Link's continued well-being is beyond the scope of any words she could put toward gratitude. She'll have to find a way to personally and truly thank her.

Returning her focus to Link, though, she's pleased he's perked up - both at the food, and the suggestion. Silently and aside from Zelda and Otoh, she holds the bowl and utensil (already scooped with the precious cuisine Link's stomach is seconds away from gaining a mind of its own for) in an inquisitive sort of way to indicate that Link can choose and dictate the action of his own accord. Her smile goes from teasing to empathetic in the process. He's been embarrassed enough for one day, honestly, and being hand-fed like a child regardless of current injuries would be putting salt in the wound if handled condescendingly or incorrectly.

Link waits for Zelda's attention to be drawn by Otoh's story about the time he gave himself a concussion falling off the roof of one of the houses in the village attempting to catch a cuccoo before he looks to Mipha and signs, "Give me the spoon or put it in my mouth, before my stomach grows its own." He's smiling, and fondly, words not matching the patient, waiting body posture.

Out of everything to start with and overhear, Mipha's pleased it's somewhat humorous and fairly gold as far as Link's recklessness goes. With the pleasant atmosphere and Link's joking, she bows her head slightly with a silent giggle.

"Oh, that truly would be disastrous, wouldn't it?" It's as soft as the look she's giving him in return; loud enough for him to hear but not to interrupt the story in the background. She passes the spoon to his good arm, deeming it well enough to not strain eating if he's signing. But she keeps the bowl, held out for him, is ready to take over if even the little actions prove to be still too much.

Watching him eat gets her lost in a few memories of her own before she realizes she's just as fondly staring at him.

He manages to eat, but it's slow going - his head and neck both hurt fiercely, and bringing his arm and hand up that far really brings home again that no matter how perfectly the Master Sword fit in his hand, how perfectly balanced it was, it was still a sword, and still had weight.

He might not have broken his right arm in the fight, but his muscles were overextended and strained.

Link gets a half dozen spoonfuls of the food - it could be spicier, but it's good anyways - before he simply can't pull the spoon and its meager weight back out.

He blinks at Mipha, then sighs and lets his head fall back against the support Otoh had put together to keep his head from aching too much more.

Having kept tabs his progress out of the side of her eye as she ate portions of her own meal, she gently puts her hand underneath his arm once it gives out so it won't just drop to the floor. It was a little painful to watch, and with a hidden sigh she chides herself for letting it happen, even if it was to give him have some fraction of autonomy in his weakened state.

Mipha looks into the bowl and finds that despite his trouble, he ate more than she did. Though she could admit that her own worries were eating away at her, instead.

"I'm sorry. I know this is difficult..." she says, quieter even than usual. With his spoon, she slowly mixes around what he has left and scoops as many morsels of the meat as she can fit on the spoon. "I know how much you hate being laid up like this."

"It's alright," He signs, blinking at her. He's tired and struggling, but he wants to eat, which he knows is a good thing. If he was that bad off, he wouldn't be as hungry as he is. "Can't stand right now anyways, and I think I've earned the right to lay around for a couple of days at this point." He smiles at her, hating to make her worry over him how she is.

"Once I'm feeling better, you should go home. Your little brother is absurdly tall, even for a Zora. And they all miss you."

She holds out the meat-filled spoon for him, any reply delayed but acknowledged with a lopsided smile as though she's trying not to chuckle at his comment about earning his right. She couldn't have said it better herself.

The expression does break when when he mentions Sidon, her head dipping with a humor-filled breath as she looks at the bowl again to continue to aid him with eating. Still, it's another pause before she musters up a reply, worries of a different nature going around in her mind.

"You have seen our father, haven't you?" It's rhetorical and joking, tilting her head to him knowing full well he's making light on purpose. Even so, it's part of something that's been bothering her as well. "...I know, though. To even be able to think of...of actually being able to return to everyone is......" She trails off, looking at him with glistening eyes that should tell him what she means.

Link laughs - though it's a short laugh, it's still loud enough that both Otoh and Zelda glance at him before Otoh returns to telling her story.

He leans forward a little to take the bite of food Mipha offers, and spends the time while she speaks chewing. "They love you so much... They have a festival every year about the champions, and you..." Maybe he would not mention the statue, though. Let her find out about that one herself.

It's music to her ears, hearing him laugh despite lying prone, in pain and injured. She sets to filling another spoonful, smile wider and eyes a little more wet. The festival she was only somewhat aware of, spurred by her spiritual connection through her celebrated trident. It's what she's missed in the meantime that has her eager yet anxious.

"As I readied Vah Ruta...I looked out over the Domain and wished so badly to be able to see them again...one last time." Holding up the spoon again once he's ready, she very briefly looks toward the wagon's curtains, then to Zelda, and back to him. Zora being so long-lived, reuniting with her loved ones, though older, is something some of the other Champions won't get to share.

Aloud, though, she doesn't say so. "And now it will be neither just once, nor my last. Thanks to you...you and Princess Zelda." Link might have to prepare for that festival to change to include him, no matter how much he tries to downplay it...

Link looks away at that. He doesn't want to be celebrated or honored for what he's done. He didn't do it for fame, or power, or anything. First, it had been because he was a knight in training, and then because the Sword had chosen him, and then the pressure of it all had weighed on him so heavily.

But these past few months spent traveling Hyrule, meeting people, camping with them, saving them from monsters... That's all the recognition he needs. Let his place in history be a footnote, like all the others who had driven back Ganon in the past.

"You all and she did the real work. I just swung my sword around after sleeping for a hundred years. I couldn't protect you, or Zelda, or the kingdom. I'm just a vessel for the Goddess." He focuses his attention on his lap, hands curled in his lap, anxiety rising up from his gut into his chest and throat.

She knew a reaction like this was coming, even if the denial is a little more emphatic than expected. Still, as little as she's sure he wants to dwell on it, hearing him cast himself in such a light stirs something in Mipha that makes her want to get her point across.

"...We Champions fell against the Blights despite everything we gave. Princess Zelda saved you from a fate to match ours, all those years ago... And when you awoke, despite losing everything you had...you set out to help Hyrule again. To help our people, to help us...who you did not even remember.

"And you succeeded. To boil all of that down to a few swings of your sword, or yourself down to such a shell, is..." She trails off for a minute, eyes downcast. "I am not saying these things as hollow flattery or praise... I saw what such a horrible burden did to you. I only want you to know how proud you've made us, Link. Neither you, nor Princess Zelda, are defined by what fate or the Goddess decided to lay out for you."

After years of holding back her true feelings even before the Calamity took her away, she felt an unfamiliar push to be forthcoming for once instead of dancing around her feelings. Though their earlier mutual admissions of love certainly helped, too...

But it's more than she usually can ever say on such matters, and she knows it, and doesn't want to over-push an issue he struggles with. Mipha sheepishly hangs her head with a visible tint to her cheeks, letting the silence stretch as she scrapes the spoon against the bowl to gather up the last of the food he'd left. "I am proud of you, Link, not what ties you to the legends."

Link couldn't even sign, his hands were shaking too badly.

If he lifted his head, he would be able to see both Zelda and Otoh watching him, but he couldn't even being to think about them. All he could think about was himself, and Mipha, and her words.

He stared down at his trembling hands, then bit his bottom lip, hard, until the pain was enough to make his hands go calm. "I don't wnat to be famous... I just want to be with you.... Knowing that the people I met and helped along the wya are safe now from Calamity is all the fame I need..."

He was fine being another nameless hero of Hyrule. He honestly preferred it that way anyways. He had a house on the outskirts of hateno village, which was a safe, warm place to be, without any worry about an innkeeper, or waking other people up in the middle of the night with his nightmares.

"Ater we get everything setted... I have a house in Hateno Village. A river runs right by it. Maybe you could... come live with me?" Not that he wanted to keep her from her friends and family she'd lost a hundred years ago, but there was so much history for him as well in Zora's Domain.

It was his offer that finally made her look up from the bowl, its lumped contents uselessly reformed multiple times after their silence and Link's words. She stilled, then, eyes wide and mouth parted and just as blind to any trace of awareness of the others in the wagon as he was as she blinked several times in rapid succession. Of all things, it wasn't the offer itself that shocked her the most, but hearing Link admit to home ownership. It would've been enough to incite a good-natured laugh at the thought had his offer not been so...heartwarmingly serious.

The decision of what to do once things settled down was weighing on the forefront of her mind, even before Link had suggested she make her return after he was sufficiently healed. She knew how her family and her people would react to her return and she knew her own emotional calling just as well. Yet being united with Link...had been her heart's calling long since before they were both chosen for their roles in the Calamity.

She supposed being granted these possibilities after so long is what has her torn in the first place.

But...it was as Link said. After everything's settled. After they, their people, Hyrule has had time to process and Link and the Champions could come to their own conclusions without this jumbled mess being so fresh. And it's when her subconscious acts before she can even think; her expression trembling and eyes glossy and hand reaching for his own as the surprise melts away to reveal her gentle smile again - that's when she knew that the answer had already been decided despite the contrary thoughts running through her mind.

Her voice is low and soft and nearly a whisper, and it's all but written on her face before she can even muster the brief but heavy words. "...I'd love that."

Link could feel his anxiety rise into his throat from his chest like a solid mass at the shocked look on her face - she was just barely smiling, but her mouth and face were tense, like she was going to tell him no... or laugh at him.

He almost looks away, unable to bear the rejection, when her face changes, smile going softer and wider, eyes warming, entire face crinkling into pleasure. He relaxes, manages to swallow down the anxiety, then nods, just a little.

He smiles back, sighs in relief, then leans forward a little, head bowed. He can't find the words in his throat or his hands, so he just nods again and smiles at her.

Mipha's a bit unsure if his stilted reaction was because of her, or her answer, or embarrassment. Setting the bowl to the side altogether, she reaches out further to cup the side of his face and bows her head to look at him under his bangs, making eye contact. As reassurance. For both of them, even.

"As though I would ever say no..." She brushes part of his side-bangs out of the way as she slowly pulls away, face still conspicuously clouded with emotion. Though trying to make light after the apparent scare she'd given him, the laugh her recollection summons gets likewise trapped in her throat. "After all...you had accepted the armor...hadn't you?"

Link leaned into the touch - her hand was cool and dry, not overly warm anymore, except from holding the bowl. Her fingers feel good, comforting, on his face, and he's able to breathe a bit easier, at least for a time.

Yes, he had accepted the armor, hadn't he? And he'd known before accepting it what it meant - at least vaguely again, anyways. "I have your trident," he says, quietly, face still leaned in close to hers. "At home, on my wall. I couldn't stand to use it... It's yours, not mine." He smiles at her quietly.

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do you ever write a tag in your head but forget to type it? that's me.........................

it's like a nice surprise. gives it time to marinate

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GDI.

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