She listens attentively; it’s something she’s adept at doing, something she always found herself a part of. Mipha would much rather listen than speak in most cases, but….perhaps in another life. Or perhaps now, when she no longer had station to tend to.
What he says is strange, but his expression and tone are so full with conviction that she can’t help but try and make sense of it. Mipha reminds herself that she should not let bias cloud her judgement; for his sake, as well as her own. In the grand scheme of things it seemed this didn’t matter; regardless of where he came from, he would eventually go back. And she would too, to finally rest at ease. So whether she believed him or not, whether he was delusional or deceitful…he really stood to gain nothing from it. And really, this world was far too strange to think anything impossible.
Mipha stares at her hands again, expression contemplative. Once he’s had enough time to say what he would, she lets the silence persist for a few more moments. Then, she speaks.
“I…knew someone. He came to me just when I thought all hope lost. He came to me one hundred years after we’d seen eachother last, looking just the same as he had back then. He was a boy from Hateno, a Hylian just as you are.” she won’t mention his name, not now. Link had enough on his mind.
“…so I understand, when you speak of time. It is not so strange.” she smiles gently in reassurance, before gazing at the medallion. It was not familiar to her, though the craftsmanship was something similar to what she knew. Not of the Zoras, but of something much older.
“Princess Ruto…yes, I’m sure she must be watching over you. Your friend Navi, too. You will find where you’re supposed to be.”
❝ One hundred years... ❞ His voice is a hushed murmur. Eyes grow wide as she speaks, a hand draped across his lap. Their meeting starts to feel less like an ordinance of fate and more a storytelling session beneath the Great Deku Tree’s loving boughs, but he has to glance downward and remind himself that stories of old are never to be taken as fiction. Link sighs in relief. He looks to Mipha and offers her a smile weighed down by the stress of this new world, but a smile nonetheless. ❝ I’m glad you get it, Pr-- Mipha. It makes me feel a little better, but... ❞
There remains a biting loneliness within him, gnawing at his very core. Though he tries to hide it, he’s never been one to hide his emotion unless the stakes depend on it. Brows pinch together, and blue eyes, soft and innocent, glow with melancholy. ❝ It’s just not the same, tryin’ to find my own way. Where I come from, they call me a hero, but... ❞ He scuffs at the pavement with his boot, grinding gravel under his heel. ❝ I wouldn’t be a hero at all if it weren’t for Navi, and Ruto, and... ❞ He thinks of Saria, of Darunia. Their sacrifices, too, were great.
And it pains him to think of how they had to suffer for him to reap the reward. Link shakes his head, chasing the thoughts away, pushing her face aside, then lets out a deep breath. Hopping to his feet, he extends a hand to Mipha. Face glows with his best effort at a bright, but demure expression, but he can’t shake the pensive thoughts entirely. They haunt him when he’s most vulnerable, and now, having shown a stranger one of his most valuable possessions, one of the keys to defeating Ganondorf himself...
❝ We should get you to some water, Mipha. I don’t think it’s good for Zoras to be in a place like this for long. ❞ He wrinkles his nose. ❝ Besides... it stinks here. ❞
