here's the deal, ouroboros: bite down, or let go

[sagesurvivor]

Who: Sheik('s noctaere) + You!
Which: (Mostly) Open log
Where: Around Reverein + within Sheik's dreamscape
What: Sheik finally breaks and goes noctaere. This causes some weirdness in Songerein, and perhaps some secrets to be revealed within his dreamscape if his defenses can be broken through...
Warnings: It's a noctaere plot. Violence is inevitable, but should be contained mostly to a specific (closed) thread.

When the nostilium finally overtakes Sheik, there is no explosive burst of violence and terror. One day, he is as he has been since he passed out during the world fragment crisis: sleeping, silent and still. The next, he's gone, vanished into the ether without a trace. It wouldn't be unreasonable to think perhaps he's awakened and returned to the Hyrule he was so desperate to protect.

But then some strange things start happening...

[Please note that characters do not need to have had prior cr with Sheik to participate!]

Comments

AROUND SONGEREIN; open

[sagesurvivor]

[Sheik will not be available for these prompts! Thread things out as y'all see fit.]

frozen in time;

Certain plotches of Reverein seem to lose their colors, like someone has taken saturation setting and turned it down. Within the desaturated space, time... doesn't work the way it should. Leaves that the wind should rustle loose hold fast to their branches; water that should ripple and flow when disturbed remains utterly still. What's more, the native flora and fauna of Songerein become as statues in these zones, entirely unmoving, and though the dreamwalkers can rescue them if they can move them outside of the area, even they may find themselves struggling sluggishly the longer they linger.

A pattern isn't immediately obvious among the spaces that are affected. A certain balcony of the dragon's castle, a clearing in the wildlands where one might find pieces of a shattered sword, a tunnel in the maze beneath Orkili, a horse-drawn sleigh left covered for the warm season, a bench where a flower festival stall once stood... but the area around Sheik's treehouse (and the dream eating tapir slumbering beside it) and Zelda's greenhouse are easily the largest and most strongly affected among them. Wonder why that is? Notably, dreamwalkers will be able to reverse the effect by utilizing dreamotion, with dreamotion fueled by fond and nostalgic feelings being particularly effective.

haunted by shadows;

One might also notice some peculiarity with their own shadow on occasion. Sometimes, they grow darker than they ought to, like a spotlight has been pointed at the one casting them. Other times, they might be of someone else entirely, like a girlish young child or an elegant woman. And sometimes, one might even catch them staring with strange eyes that blink before disappearing.

Feelings of guilt and paranoia often accompany these phenomena. Something went wrong for the people around you? It was your fault, wasn't it? If only you had been stronger, braver, wiser, none of this would have happened. And if they knew? Oh, they would all hate you, wouldn't they?

And as those feelings snowball, perhaps there's something in your shadow, feeding on that energy...

destiny written in stone;

The boulders that pop up here and there are less ominous, certainly, but no less strange for it. The symbol engraved upon them should be familiar to anyone who has spent even the slightest amount of time with a certain Sheikah youth, and interacting with the stones can lead to some unexpected results. They'll bounce around if struck with any kind of projectile, start spinning wildly if exposed to a flame, and even blast off like a rocket if something explodes nearby!

But, if one simply touches it, they'll hear a chipper voice ringing suddenly inside their head, imparting one of several juicy tidbits of gossip:

"They say that, contrary to her elegant image, Princess Zelda of Hyrule Castle is, in fact, a tomboy!"

"They say that Princess Zelda's nanny is actually one of the Sheikah, who many thought had died out."

"They say that Princess Zelda tried to reach the Sacred Realm with a boy from the forest!"

"They say that Princess Zelda escaped from Ganondorf's assault on Hyrule Castle, but no one has seen her since..."

"They say that the Sheikah would use their magics to hide in plain sight."

... They always seem to have something to do with Princess Zelda or the Sheikah, huh.

princess zelda and the audacity of this gossip stone

[multidisciplinary]

[ Of course, Zelda is drawn to the strange stones immediately, thanks to the Sheikah Eye prominently carved on their surfaces. It's extremely suspicious that they would appear the exact same day that Sheik disappeared.

Normally, a dreamwalker's disappearance means that they have awoken to their own world, but Zelda can't shake the feeling that's not the case for Sheik. It isn't just because he promised her that he wouldn't leave her (even though they both know he wouldn't have any choice in the matter). There's something unpleasant niggling in the back of her mind, like anxiety without a source. It's like the way he called her to him in that pocket of nightmares-- not a shrill ringing in her ears, at least, but still impossible to ignore.

As she approaches the stone, her first instinct is, naturally, to touch it-- so Zelda extends her hand and does just that. ]

--BOING, BOING-- "They say that, contrary to her elegant image, Princess Zelda of Hyrule Castle is, in fact, a tomboy!"

I... I beg your pardon? [ Zelda pulls back her hand, affronted. Excuse?? ] Who says I'm a tomboy?

[lestray]

[Speak of a tomboy, and one might appear? Gina's been making careful patrols around Reverein and seeking out problems that are within her ability to solve! Now she's stumbled upon these strange stones - and the person talking to them.

She feels a strong nervousness once she realizes that this is Princess Zelda. After all, a few months back, she met and bonded with a young Princess Zelda in the mirror world. After the fact, she realized that must have been a younger version of the real princess, after seeing an adult Princess Zelda nominated at the flower festival. She's been too nervous to try to talk to the older Zelda, who clearly must be the same Zelda from the mirror, but now that she sees her talking to that strange rock, it feels like this might be the time to just do it.]

Sounds like it was that rock wot said it.

[She steps forward with her arms crossed and a light smile.]

Ain't nuffin' wrong wiv bein' a tomboy! [She knows she doesn't particularly care for trying to be traditionally feminine herself.] But it ain't nice to stick people wiv labels anyhow. Especially not some rock! It ain't none of its business.

[It is a very curious rock, though. The markings do remind her of Sheik...]

[multidisciplinary]

[ Zelda turns and sees an unfamiliar young woman approaching her. Not only does she not appear to recognize Gina, she doesn't even pause to think about it, as one might when trying to remember something from a dream. The princess was lucky not to be sucked into the mirror world at all, nor did she ever hear anything about a younger version of herself in there.

If anything, Zelda looks a little guilty as her gaze darts over Gina as she takes in her definitely-not-traditionally-feminine outfit. ]

N-No, there is nothing wrong with it, of course not. [ She awkwardly scrambles to make it clear that she doesn't have an issue with tomboys. ] I-It's simply not a rumor I expected to hear. I have been called a number of unflattering things in my life, but no one has ever called me a tomboy before.

[lestray]

[As Zelda looks back at her, Gina does look for any sign of recognition, only to find none. It does make her ache a little inside - while she had worried that Zelda would be disappointed in her because of her promise to help the young Zelda save her kingdom, she didn't really think about being forgotten entirely.

Still, Gina keeps it together outwardly for the most part. She tugs her hat down a bit to shield her brow, and a smirk returns to her face as she responds. It is amusing that she's worried about offending a tomboy.]

Easy there, I ain't gonna rake you over the coals 'bout it. I know you ain't against all tomboys or nuffin'. [She chuckles slightly.] 'Course, no one should be callin' you any unflatterin' things at all. Not that it really matters, but do you think you're like a tomboy?

[Mostly to figure out if this rock is accurate with what it's saying. She steps a little closer to get a better look at the Gossip Stone.]

[multidisciplinary]

[ Although Zelda is typically quite perceptive of the minutiae of people's expressions, she doesn't catch any of Gina's disappointment-- just the way she smirks as she tugs down her hat. She's also a bit ruffled by all this 'tomboy' business and her own need to never offend anyone ever. (At least Gina's amused by it.) ]

I have never considered myself a tomboy, no. [ Zelda looks down at her clothes. ] Plenty of women in Hyrule wear pants on occasion. And I never had a particular interest in participating in boyish activities when I was a child.

[ Zelda frowns at the Gossip Stone. ] One would expect a stone bearing the Eye of Truth would be more truthful with what it says.

[lestray]

[She does hold back a chuckle as Zelda assesses herself as a tomboy. It's kinda silly and endearing!

Though as Gina listens to her speak and looks at her more closely, she can't help but notice differences from the princess she met in the mirror. The sound of her voice, subtle differences in her facial features, her hair - a lot sticks out to Gina. But she doesn't know what to make of it. Some people do change a lot when they grow up, she guesses...]

Right then. Don't sound like you're a tomboy to me! Just a princess wiv pants. You're clear o' the charges!

[She gives a little mock salute that dissolves into playful laughter, before she goes on.]

So wot is the deal wiv this stone? I dunno about any Eye o' Truth, but that looks that symbol wot Sheik wears. [Considering Sheik is from Hyrule, she doubts it's a coincidence - and she just assumes that Zelda knows him.]

[multidisciplinary]

[ Indeed, the differences between Zelda and the young princess Gina met are slight at best and easily explainable as changing with age. But one feature in particular might stick out to Gina-- eye color. Zelda's eyes are a lush green color, while the young princess' were a vibrant blue. Though eye color can also change with age, it's not usually to this extreme.

Gina's teasing and mock salute get an open laugh out of Zelda; it's just so earnest it completely disarms the princess, knocking the awkward tension right out of her.

That Gina knows Sheik earns a look of surprise. ] You know Sheik? [ He's not exactly the most sociable person ever.

Zelda kneels beside the stone and traces the eye and tear shape with her finger. ] It is, yes. This symbol is called the Eye of Truth and it plays a significant role in Sheikah culture as well as serving as their clan's crest. As its name suggests, the eye represents seeking or seeing the truth, while the tear symbolizes a Sheikah's willingness to go to any lengths to fulfill their duty.

[lestray]

[The more she looks at her, the more she swears Zelda's eyes were a different color! She really doesn't know what to make of it.

At the very least, she's glad to hear her laugh. Gina didn't mean for her teasing to be mean-spirited in any way, so she's glad that Zelda got that.

She nods along as she answers the question.]

Yeah, I met Sheik just recently. A quite an' nice one, 'e is, wiv a lot of skills.

[She stands nearby and looks over the stone from another angle while Zelda explains. Gina does raise an eyebrow as she hears the clan's name! Is he really... Sheik of the Sheikah...? .....Gina's trying not to question others' cultures anymore, so she'll just keep that in her head while listening.]

That sounds like a powerful symbol alright. [Seeking the truth and fulfilling a duty - it makes her think of the battles that would erupt in the courtroom back home. Though after seeing him in action, she imagines Sheik's battles are much more literal...] Now that I know all that, I can see why this is so strange. Wot's this rock doin' goin' 'round tellin' corkers wiv the Sheikah stamp o' approval, yeah?