[Pride isn't really Link's thing, so he doesn't argue. And besides, if he's not going to the lake, he doesn't need to put out the fire anyway...so it's a win no matter what.]
What would I do without you looking out for me?
[That's a weird way of saying "thanks," Link. Anyway, he takes the rabbit and starts skinning it with little difficulty. It's not the first time he's done this, clearly. Rather than the stick, though, he puts it in his cooking pot, and starts slicing mushrooms and wild onions to go with it. A little rock salt, a spoonful of water, and then he puts the pot over the fire.]
I'm actually not sure how you made it this fucking far.
(be nice goddamn it
whatever link wants to do with their dinner, it's on him. inuyasha could eat it raw, but alas, it's better when it's in a stew anyway. link better not give him terrible food to eat.
well, he's taking his position as a dog statue against a tree, his ear perking at a noise or two in the distance.)
[Link says it easily, as if he doesn't look entirely within his element, out in the woods like this. It's comforting territory for him, but it's not like he has anything to prove -- his ability to survive speaks for itself.
He stirs the food in the pot, adding a few things as the food sizzles: a bit of flour, to thicken the stew. Spices, herbs. The rest of the vegetables. It's not a quick process, by any means, but it's a process he enjoys. He remains quiet --honestly that's just his nature, generally-- but it's clear from his expression that he's happily within his element. When Inuyasha finally speaks, he tilts his head, looking questioningly at two portions scooped into bowls that he's holding.]
(of course, he can smell it better than anyone could, spices making the smell more interesting each moment more as they mix with the other flavors and get to know them better. it's very enticing, and he looks interested, even his ears perking to confirm it.
wait, yeah, no, he doesn't care.)
Of course I'm eating! What, you think I'd just bring you food like that?! Don't be stupid.
[His voice sounds light. Almost like he's happy to have the company. He holds out one of the bowls for Inuyasha to take, and then takes a seat near the fire.]
(he's across link, but once he takes the bowl, he begrudgingly stands to come near him. a few turns before he sits, grumpy as he takes a sip -- it's delicious!)
truth be told, he feels alone. he had been alone before, and it was not a big deal. years passed, decades, and he fell in love with a mortal. for once, he wasn't alone anymore.
then, he was sealed. after he reawakened, he hasn't been alone for a second. kagome, his companions, the people they helped along the way...
and finally, he had his family together. kagome and moroha, both in his arms, and he lost that. naturally, feeling alone after all this isn't great.
[Maybe they're both a little lonely. How long has it been since Link has seen another Hylian? A friend? He's been mostly on his own since he awakened in the Shrine of Resurrection. Whatever home and family he might have had was scrubbed from history as well as his memory. After his hundred year absence, they're all long gone. As are the warriors he called his friends.
Perhaps they find a kinship in that.
Link takes a few more bites of stew. Glances in Inuyasha's direction.]
(he's damn shy, so the moment link speaks up, red creeps to his cheeks, so apparent due to the whiteness of his hair and his fair skin. there's no hiding.
his eyes fall down to the stew, and he sighs a little.)
We were stuck in another dimension for fourteen years. We had just gotten out and were able to hold our daughter for the first time in forever. Now I'm here. Both of them are pretty strong, so they're going to be fine without me there, and we have comrades that would help them in a heartbeat. It's-- it just sucks.
[Link has a keen eye for details, but enough sense to know not to point them out. He simply nods, listening to the story. Trying to imagine it. He has no base of reference, though -- even if he had all of his memories straightened out, he's sure he wouldn't.]
It does. I'm sorry.
[It's all he can think to say for a moment, tapping his spoon against the side of his bowl.] And being new here, being alone-- I'm sure that doesn't help.
I don't care about being alone. I'm a half-demon. We're hated by both sides, I'm used to this fucking situation. I just wanted more time.
(more time with moroha. more time with the two of them, under the same roof. more time to watch her grow when he has missed so much. fourteen years stuck, he left her to fend for herself, left her to be raised by wolves. ew, just absolutely, ew - but it was what could have been done.
at least she would have kagome now, and kagome? kagome will love moroha for the two of them, and she won't rest until he's home. he knows that much.
[More time. Of everything Inuyasha says, those two words hit hardest. His mind goes back immediately to the last time he saw the Champions, to the Princess, and the day the Calamity came to be. Each of them falling one by one, the Princess weeping in his arms, his own should-be mortal wounds, the blurred faces of a family he might have left behind...
If only we had more time. If only he had had more time. If only he'd been able to be honest with them all, while he had the chance.]
You can have all the time in the world, but when it runs out, it still feels like it was never enough.
(but still, it doesn't change the facts. he had moroha for weeks, after years of just watching her through a lake, of thinking about her, of worrying endlessly about her being alone in such a merciless world that would hate her existence.
[Parent. Half-demon. Chosen hero. All titles that seem to put a heavy burden on the wearer. He watches Inuyasha, quiet for a moment, then nods softly.]
... I was a knight. Chosen to stop something evil from happening. To... [a faint grimace] save the world.
[It's the first he's spoken of any of this. His mouth feels like sandpaper. His eyes are on his bowl, where he slides a mushroom around the surface of the stew.] We thought we were ready. My friends and I. But when the time came, we were not, and we fell one by one. They all died. I... [...] I'm left with a lot of time, now. To think about the things I never got to tell them.
(this is not exactly like what he had to face. he wasn't a chosen one for the universe, just some guy another had a grudge against, and then yet another decided to have a problem with. not chosen - unlucky, perhaps.
he cannot relate that much, aside from the passage of time making one lose precious things. he sighs, his ears even folding expressing the sadness he won't be able to do otherwise in better stance.)
[He offers a noncommittal nod in response. He's never described Hyrule's circumstances so directly -- he didn't have to, at home, and here...well, it hasn't really mattered. But he's grateful for Inuyasha's response, even if he doesn't say it directly.]
Things happen that no one can predict. [He stirs his stew a bit, thoughtfully.] This place, too.
[Something they should both be able to relate to, in different ways. A barrier, to Inuyasha, between him and his family. For Link...it had been a break, at first, from the heavy burden of destiny. Now, it feels a little more like a trap.]
(that fucking face. he also shared something much bigger, so who really is the loser here.)
A few decades ago, there was a woman. We... Were together. I was going to become a human for her. She thought I betrayed her, and she sealed me for fifty years. My wife came from a whole other dimension in the future. She revived me, and strangely enough, she's that woman's reincarnation. It's all a big unexpected thing upon unexpected thing.
Another world? ...Before this place, I would struggle to believe that.
[But after this, he'd be a fool not to think it was possible. After all, that's how all of them are here. As for the rest, it might be surprising to see that Link doesn't...seem very surprised. Reincarnation, fate, destiny. These are familiar things to him.]
In my world, history moves in cycles. [Evil rises, good rises to meet it, evil falls, prosperity follows...and then it begins again.] Perhaps it's not only my world.
[He pauses. Glances back at Inuyasha. Gives a faint glint of a smile.]
(all those days trying to make kagome come back to the feudal era paid off in not making him fully freak out.)
Yokai history, not so much. It's not about cycles, but more about who is ruling a territory or who is the big boss of a type of yokai at any given time. My old man was the boss for a long time. We still have to clean up after him from time to time.
(evil? what's evil to most yokai?
maybe link notices the 'we', and this time, it's not even about kagome.)
Pffft. It was pathetic, actually. Just an arrow sticking me to a tree. Dead, pretty much.
History is always a cycle. Rulers rise, prosperity follows, then they fall and end. Then something new starts.
[Hyrule has a particular evil, something perhaps foreign to the world of demons and priestesses...but the rise and fall of power is no less similar. It's been said that Calamity Ganon was once a man -- a ruler who sought out power. A "big boss" who rose and then fell in a similar way.
[A strange look crosses his face for a moment as Inuyasha moves a foot to kick him. Something like surprise, panic, fear...and maybe something else beneath. Something waiting. Whatever it is, the look only lasts a fraction of a second, short enough that Inuyasha might doubt it was even there. He pulls his leg away, just a moment before Inuyasha would have touched him.
He's hurt enough people recently by getting too close. His expression steadies quickly.]
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What would I do without you looking out for me?
[That's a weird way of saying "thanks," Link. Anyway, he takes the rabbit and starts skinning it with little difficulty. It's not the first time he's done this, clearly. Rather than the stick, though, he puts it in his cooking pot, and starts slicing mushrooms and wild onions to go with it. A little rock salt, a spoonful of water, and then he puts the pot over the fire.]
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(be nice goddamn it
whatever link wants to do with their dinner, it's on him. inuyasha could eat it raw, but alas, it's better when it's in a stew anyway. link better not give him terrible food to eat.
well, he's taking his position as a dog statue against a tree, his ear perking at a noise or two in the distance.)
I can catch another if you're an endless pit.
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[Link says it easily, as if he doesn't look entirely within his element, out in the woods like this. It's comforting territory for him, but it's not like he has anything to prove -- his ability to survive speaks for itself.
He stirs the food in the pot, adding a few things as the food sizzles: a bit of flour, to thicken the stew. Spices, herbs. The rest of the vegetables. It's not a quick process, by any means, but it's a process he enjoys. He remains quiet --honestly that's just his nature, generally-- but it's clear from his expression that he's happily within his element. When Inuyasha finally speaks, he tilts his head, looking questioningly at two portions scooped into bowls that he's holding.]
You're not having any?
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wait, yeah, no, he doesn't care.)
Of course I'm eating! What, you think I'd just bring you food like that?! Don't be stupid.
(wasn't that what you just did tho)
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[His voice sounds light. Almost like he's happy to have the company. He holds out one of the bowls for Inuyasha to take, and then takes a seat near the fire.]
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... You're a good cook.
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Thank you. [Somehow this is less smartass? More sincere? Something?] ...And thank you for the rabbit, too.
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(sincerity from both of them??
truth be told, he feels alone. he had been alone before, and it was not a big deal. years passed, decades, and he fell in love with a mortal. for once, he wasn't alone anymore.
then, he was sealed. after he reawakened, he hasn't been alone for a second. kagome, his companions, the people they helped along the way...
and finally, he had his family together. kagome and moroha, both in his arms, and he lost that. naturally, feeling alone after all this isn't great.
so, here he is, trying to feel less lonely.)
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[Maybe they're both a little lonely. How long has it been since Link has seen another Hylian? A friend? He's been mostly on his own since he awakened in the Shrine of Resurrection. Whatever home and family he might have had was scrubbed from history as well as his memory. After his hundred year absence, they're all long gone. As are the warriors he called his friends.
Perhaps they find a kinship in that.
Link takes a few more bites of stew. Glances in Inuyasha's direction.]
You must miss her a lot.
[He can only imagine what that must feel like.]
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his eyes fall down to the stew, and he sighs a little.)
We were stuck in another dimension for fourteen years. We had just gotten out and were able to hold our daughter for the first time in forever. Now I'm here. Both of them are pretty strong, so they're going to be fine without me there, and we have comrades that would help them in a heartbeat. It's-- it just sucks.
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It does. I'm sorry.
[It's all he can think to say for a moment, tapping his spoon against the side of his bowl.] And being new here, being alone-- I'm sure that doesn't help.
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(more time with moroha. more time with the two of them, under the same roof. more time to watch her grow when he has missed so much. fourteen years stuck, he left her to fend for herself, left her to be raised by wolves. ew, just absolutely, ew - but it was what could have been done.
at least she would have kagome now, and kagome? kagome will love moroha for the two of them, and she won't rest until he's home. he knows that much.
he's never going to admit he's lonely.)
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If only we had more time. If only he had had more time. If only he'd been able to be honest with them all, while he had the chance.]
You can have all the time in the world, but when it runs out, it still feels like it was never enough.
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(but still, it doesn't change the facts. he had moroha for weeks, after years of just watching her through a lake, of thinking about her, of worrying endlessly about her being alone in such a merciless world that would hate her existence.
it sucks. fucking sucks.)
Sounds like experience.
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... I was a knight. Chosen to stop something evil from happening. To... [a faint grimace] save the world.
[It's the first he's spoken of any of this. His mouth feels like sandpaper. His eyes are on his bowl, where he slides a mushroom around the surface of the stew.] We thought we were ready. My friends and I. But when the time came, we were not, and we fell one by one. They all died. I... [...] I'm left with a lot of time, now. To think about the things I never got to tell them.
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he cannot relate that much, aside from the passage of time making one lose precious things. he sighs, his ears even folding expressing the sadness he won't be able to do otherwise in better stance.)
That's shitty. I'm sorry.
(so this? this benefits both of them.)
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Things happen that no one can predict. [He stirs his stew a bit, thoughtfully.] This place, too.
[Something they should both be able to relate to, in different ways. A barrier, to Inuyasha, between him and his family. For Link...it had been a break, at first, from the heavy burden of destiny. Now, it feels a little more like a trap.]
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(does link even wanna know? it's been so long ago, at this point.)
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[Link is a better listener than talker. He tilts his head curiously; he's not the type to ask, really, but he's interested.]
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(that fucking face. he also shared something much bigger, so who really is the loser here.)
A few decades ago, there was a woman. We... Were together. I was going to become a human for her. She thought I betrayed her, and she sealed me for fifty years. My wife came from a whole other dimension in the future. She revived me, and strangely enough, she's that woman's reincarnation. It's all a big unexpected thing upon unexpected thing.
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[But after this, he'd be a fool not to think it was possible. After all, that's how all of them are here. As for the rest, it might be surprising to see that Link doesn't...seem very surprised. Reincarnation, fate, destiny. These are familiar things to him.]
In my world, history moves in cycles. [Evil rises, good rises to meet it, evil falls, prosperity follows...and then it begins again.] Perhaps it's not only my world.
[He pauses. Glances back at Inuyasha. Gives a faint glint of a smile.]
Fifty years is a lot of beauty sleep.
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(all those days trying to make kagome come back to the feudal era paid off in not making him fully freak out.)
Yokai history, not so much. It's not about cycles, but more about who is ruling a territory or who is the big boss of a type of yokai at any given time. My old man was the boss for a long time. We still have to clean up after him from time to time.
(evil? what's evil to most yokai?
maybe link notices the 'we', and this time, it's not even about kagome.)
Pffft. It was pathetic, actually. Just an arrow sticking me to a tree. Dead, pretty much.
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[Hyrule has a particular evil, something perhaps foreign to the world of demons and priestesses...but the rise and fall of power is no less similar. It's been said that Calamity Ganon was once a man -- a ruler who sought out power. A "big boss" who rose and then fell in a similar way.
He takes a bite of his stew, eyebrows lifting.]
An arrow? Harsh. Did you wake up refreshed?
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(link, meet a little kick to your thigh. shut up, nerd.)
Woke up pissed.
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[A strange look crosses his face for a moment as Inuyasha moves a foot to kick him. Something like surprise, panic, fear...and maybe something else beneath. Something waiting. Whatever it is, the look only lasts a fraction of a second, short enough that Inuyasha might doubt it was even there. He pulls his leg away, just a moment before Inuyasha would have touched him.
He's hurt enough people recently by getting too close. His expression steadies quickly.]
... Hm. I can't blame you, with the arrow.
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