[Link's memories continue to shift and resurface as Sheik speaks, as they walk through the wildlands. He recalls the spectres of Calamity Ganon that followed him here through his nightmares, remembers fighting them alongside other people here, but something about the way Sheik says that...it feels like something much more personal. Something bitter, something based on deep resentment. The Sheikah have always been supportive of Hyrule's royal family, and protective, in their way. But this feels like more, in a way he cannot put a finger on.
The feeling is mutual, though. Good riddance. His entire life had revolved around prophecies of Calamity Ganon's return for as long as he could remember; even drawing the Master Sword was spurred on by wanting to protect his family from that prophecy. To finally be rid of it after so long...it had been a kind of freedom he'd never really known.
Sheik can't possibly feel the ache that twists in his chest at those words, but he's quiet for a moment anyway.]
Yes, [he finally says, quietly, faltering as he tries to choose the right words to respond without falling apart.] Hyrule needed her guidance. Calamity Ganon was gone, but...that didn't mean she was safe.
[Even as he says the words, he knows they're not entirely genuine. The truth is that he stayed by her side because he wanted to, not because he had to. She had released him from that duty, and even if she hadn't, there were no more royal knights or Champions or the like to enforce any of those rules. She released him from service, and he remained at her side as a friend. A heavy admission; one he might make more easily if not for the loss that now comes with it.
This is when they arrive in Sheik's camp, and for a moment, Link is at a loss over the state of it. The heavy energy in the air...it calls to some of the corruption that still seems to simmer within him, purified little by little but never truly leaving. He looks around, glances sidelong at Sheik, his expression neutral. Underlying it is worry building in his chest...and, perhaps, the slow realization that he must be worrying others with his own state, as well.]
Tem? [A small tapir. He glances from Sheik to the creature, and then kneels down, greeting it cautiously with a small wave. He knows that they eat nightmare energy, but the sort of corruption that Ganondorf left within him...he's not confident it's entirely the same thing.]
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The feeling is mutual, though. Good riddance. His entire life had revolved around prophecies of Calamity Ganon's return for as long as he could remember; even drawing the Master Sword was spurred on by wanting to protect his family from that prophecy. To finally be rid of it after so long...it had been a kind of freedom he'd never really known.
Sheik can't possibly feel the ache that twists in his chest at those words, but he's quiet for a moment anyway.]
Yes, [he finally says, quietly, faltering as he tries to choose the right words to respond without falling apart.] Hyrule needed her guidance. Calamity Ganon was gone, but...that didn't mean she was safe.
[Even as he says the words, he knows they're not entirely genuine. The truth is that he stayed by her side because he wanted to, not because he had to. She had released him from that duty, and even if she hadn't, there were no more royal knights or Champions or the like to enforce any of those rules. She released him from service, and he remained at her side as a friend. A heavy admission; one he might make more easily if not for the loss that now comes with it.
This is when they arrive in Sheik's camp, and for a moment, Link is at a loss over the state of it. The heavy energy in the air...it calls to some of the corruption that still seems to simmer within him, purified little by little but never truly leaving. He looks around, glances sidelong at Sheik, his expression neutral. Underlying it is worry building in his chest...and, perhaps, the slow realization that he must be worrying others with his own state, as well.]
Tem? [A small tapir. He glances from Sheik to the creature, and then kneels down, greeting it cautiously with a small wave. He knows that they eat nightmare energy, but the sort of corruption that Ganondorf left within him...he's not confident it's entirely the same thing.]