[Sheik says with a quietly bitter satisfaction that he knows he hasn't earned, but he feels nonetheless. All the more so as he recalls the traces of the beast that slipped into Songerein, and the horrid creature he fought that wore the Princess' face. That the Calamity has been felled (that their mistake has once again been rectified) is an unequivocally good thing that should not be ignored, no matter how he dreads learning what followed to make Link seem so haggard despite his victory.
He gets pieces of it, in the spaces between Link's words. The way he doubles back in his recollection, minimizing his own involvement while elevating the Princess', might be a bit too subtle for others to notice, but for one who has all but enacted their own erasure from history in favor of glorifying another, it rings a little too familiar. Did he fail her somehow, like how he's failed the Hero of Time?
Another point to the constellation, but its shape remains a mystery. Of course, that's not the only thing he notices.]
... You must have spent much of that time together, then.
[Zelda. Just Zelda. It wouldn't be accurate to say that he's envious - he stamps down on the feeling long before it can develop into such a thing - but there is a sort of wistfulness as he imagines the two of them, rebuilding their kingdom together, side by side.
(There will be no one that will call the Princess of Destiny by her name, when it is her turn to rebuild.)
They approach Sheik's camp, if one can even call it that. He seems to have hollowed out a space underneath the roots of a large tree for the purpose of tucking away what few belongings he's collected during his time in Songerein, but there's little in the way of man-made shelter otherwise. At least he's allowed himself the indulgence of a bit of cookware, it seems, as a pot steams aromatically over the smoking remnants of a campfire. Kindly ignore that the tree itself seems oddly gnarled and withered in places; despite his best efforts to leave as few traces of himself as possible, he can't entirely stop the energy created by his nightmares and anxiety from seeping into his surroundings like a blistering wound.
But it could be worse. A certain someone has been doing their goddamn best out here while the ninja has not, and Sheik beckons to them as he sets the bundle of twigs in his arms down.]
Come out, Tem. We have a guest.
[A tiny, month-old tapir with stone grey fur sticks its head out from within the hollow before trotting out entirely. Red, blue, and green freckles upon its face shimmer like gems in the dappled light shining through the forest's canopy, and it sniffs the air around Link curiously as it slowly approaches. Guest? Guests aren't a thing that happens around here, whomst is this???]
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[Sheik says with a quietly bitter satisfaction that he knows he hasn't earned, but he feels nonetheless. All the more so as he recalls the traces of the beast that slipped into Songerein, and the horrid creature he fought that wore the Princess' face. That the Calamity has been felled (that their mistake has once again been rectified) is an unequivocally good thing that should not be ignored, no matter how he dreads learning what followed to make Link seem so haggard despite his victory.
He gets pieces of it, in the spaces between Link's words. The way he doubles back in his recollection, minimizing his own involvement while elevating the Princess', might be a bit too subtle for others to notice, but for one who has all but enacted their own erasure from history in favor of glorifying another, it rings a little too familiar. Did he fail her somehow, like how he's failed the Hero of Time?
Another point to the constellation, but its shape remains a mystery. Of course, that's not the only thing he notices.]
... You must have spent much of that time together, then.
[Zelda. Just Zelda. It wouldn't be accurate to say that he's envious - he stamps down on the feeling long before it can develop into such a thing - but there is a sort of wistfulness as he imagines the two of them, rebuilding their kingdom together, side by side.
(There will be no one that will call the Princess of Destiny by her name, when it is her turn to rebuild.)
They approach Sheik's camp, if one can even call it that. He seems to have hollowed out a space underneath the roots of a large tree for the purpose of tucking away what few belongings he's collected during his time in Songerein, but there's little in the way of man-made shelter otherwise. At least he's allowed himself the indulgence of a bit of cookware, it seems, as a pot steams aromatically over the smoking remnants of a campfire. Kindly ignore that the tree itself seems oddly gnarled and withered in places; despite his best efforts to leave as few traces of himself as possible, he can't entirely stop the energy created by his nightmares and anxiety from seeping into his surroundings like a blistering wound.
But it could be worse. A certain someone has been doing their goddamn best out here while the ninja has not, and Sheik beckons to them as he sets the bundle of twigs in his arms down.]
Come out, Tem. We have a guest.
[A tiny, month-old tapir with stone grey fur sticks its head out from within the hollow before trotting out entirely. Red, blue, and green freckles upon its face shimmer like gems in the dappled light shining through the forest's canopy, and it sniffs the air around Link curiously as it slowly approaches. Guest? Guests aren't a thing that happens around here, whomst is this???]