Open your eyes...

An independent blog for Breath of the Wild Link. Mostly selective, AU friendly. Side blog to zoolinguistics Written by Sonic

[onehundredyearnap]

bleedingflames​:

The Phantoms usually felt safe in their chosen lair but with the stranger in their midst they took pains to never all be here at the same time.  If one of them got caught, the other two could break him or her out.  It would never be that simple if all three of them were taken. 

So Roxy arrived just as one of the others left, leaving her alone with Link.  “I’d stay put.  The Doc doesn’t like it when his patients wreck all the hard work he’s put into them.  It’s expensive t’treat people so he doesn’t like his efforts wasted.” 

She shrugged.  “Aaaaaaanyway, seems a ransom note was delivered about a day ago.  They wanted her parents t’worry long enough t’get desperate before danglin’ their demands in front of their faces.”

Link gave her a glower before settling back on the edge of the cot, his frown deepening at her flippant shrug. He hated all of this, and had his body not still been trying to knit itself back together he might have just left a long time ago.

Eyes immediately searched for any such note on her person, even more so if it was in a place he could snatch it from her. Something told him she wasn’t going to want to cooperate.

[onehundredyearnap]

bleedingflames​:

@onehundredyearnap

“Got word of your princess, sir knight.” Roxy had dropped back into the Phantom’s lair without any warning.   But it seemed she did a lot of things like that.  As far as she knew the silent bodyguard didn’t know much about those that had patched him back together and she preferred to keep it that way. 

The sooner he was out the better, but he had yet to recover enough to leave without hurting himself further.    “Seems she caught the attention of some airship pirates.  They decided she was worth the risk of takin’ even in broad daylight.”

Link was only here for a week and he was already about to climb the walls. Very rarely did these people be in the same place at once; there was always a set of eyes on him... even if those eyes were cloaked or hidden... He had nearly punched the short one at least twice for creeping up on him.

The redhead, though, at least could announce her presence. The news had his eyes hardening, and Link had to fight off a wince as he leaned forward.

[onehundredyearnap]

strengthoflions​:

He didn’t say anything. Felix waited for an answer, even a sarcastic one, but received nothing in reply. Only a hand, if that could be considered a reply.

Felix eyed his hand, then his face, before accepting it, pulling himself to his feet and dusting himself off.

“I’ve never seen someone fight like that. The rumors about your skill don’t do you justice,” he said, grudging admiration in his voice. “And I’m not one for undue flattery. So tell me…do you not speak at all?”

He knew the question of speaking would come up. Link let go of Felix’s hand, gaze sliding away from his to ponder over the  question. He would have thought, after years of prodding and poking from the knights and common folks he would have found a way to answer it. But there, usually Zelda was present to intervene.

What he settled on was a wobbling of the hand, a quick wave around his throat before the thought was dismissed. Instead, he followed it up with the training sword, holding it back out to Felix. It was time to learn.

[onehundredyearnap]

strengthoflions​:

In an instant, Link’s fighting style changed. His sword moved faster than any human blade could, pummeling against Felix’s blade so rapidly he was little more than a blur.

Felix stumbled back, trying to keep his footing, but it was took late. The rapid assault knocked him to the ground, and before he could get back up, there was a sword at his throat.

Felix stared up at him, breathing heavily, blinking in shock. “How…how did you move like that?”

Link wished he could explain, but truth was he wasn’t quite sure. A blessing from the Goddess? Maybe a surge of adrenaline somehow amplified in his body? Hell maybe it was both... even if he did have a solid answer, he knew he’d never be able to speak it.

Instead he put the sword away, offering a hand out to Felix to get him up off the floor.

[onehundredyearnap]

firecrestedprofessor​:

@onehundredyearnap​

Unsettling is one word for the young woman who came up to him, staring at him with expressionless eyes. Though she’s clearly the same age as the other students, she’s not wearing a uniform.

“I heard you were joining my class.”

Well wasn’t she creepy? Even so Link kept his voice silent, offering her little more than a nod. She must have been with the Blue Lions then... even if she seemed young enough to be in his class. Weird...

[onehundredyearnap]

... *ha-TCHOO*

[onehundredyearnap]

strengthoflions​:

Felix had anticipated some skill, but truth be told, he hadn’t expected this level. Most of the students who were any good with a blade were decent, but not quite at his level.

Link was. He could tell by how easily he dodged and blocked, forcing Felix to do the same when he returned the favor. As they continued, in fact, Felix became increasingly shocked to find that Link was blocking many blows with more ease than he was.

Felix’s already intense gaze hardened further, devoting utter focus to the fight. When the opportunity arose, he lurched forwards, swinging his sword in an arc, trying to disarm him.

The man showed promise, Link would not deny his skills and the training he saw. A swing came in an arc, and Link was forced to make the split second decision to dodge the blow.

And that was all he needed.

In that split second he managed to catch, time began to slow. Link knew what this meant, and he took the opportunity to rush into the gap provided. It was near instinct and muscle memory to deliver the flurry of blows, even with a training sword in hand, not wanting to waste a previous drawn-out second.

When time finally caught up with him, Link found himself standing over Felix, the tip of the practice sword pointed at his throat. Checkmate.

[onehundredyearnap]

strengthoflions​:

Felix was quickly finding he liked this one. Quiet, seemingly quick-witted, and to the point. There was no idle chatter. Good.

He nodded back, taking up position, holding his blade out to mirror the Hylian’s form. “On my mark. Three, two, one. Begin!”

Felix initiated, stepping forward with a flurry of jabs, intending to test his opponent to his limit.

The moment the battle was called, Link’s stony demeanor battle-hardened. His youthful face betrayed his skill, even with a practice sword in place of the goddess’ blade. What jabs Link couldn’t dodge were met with a blocked blade, his own swinging in at the opportunities between swings.

[onehundredyearnap]

princessofruins​:

Zelda removed her hand, looking over him to see that the potion had done its work. His battered body was mending itself. She offered a small, relieved smile, lifting his arm for a closer look.

“Yes, that seems better. How does it feel?”

However, once he lifted a hand to his hair, the smile dropped. “I-I’m sorry, was that unwelcome? I should have asked. I had only thought…it might be more comfortable.”

She wrung her hands. “…I suppose I’ve picked up a bad habit of touching you without your permission. The last thing I want is for you to feel that…that I see you as property of some kind.”

“No, it’s...” The words were coming easier to him now, both from Zelda’s presence and the elixir working its wonders. “... it’s really nice...”

He may have been her knight, but never he property. Even when she kept trying to reject him like a bratty child who wanted a brunette doll instead of blonde. He had actually grown quite used to her friendly shoulder pats, the taps for his attention, even little things like this...

There was a pensive pause, then he added in an sheepish murmur: “... people don’t... really play with my hair much anymore...” Or, really, give any sort of friendly touches anymore. Nothing beyond the rare handshake that, if he was lucky, would replace a salute.

[onehundredyearnap]

princessofruins​:

@onehundredyearnap asked for Sweet

He’d been working himself too hard, as he usually did, but Zelda couldn’t help but blame her presence. Why else would so many monsters try to ambush them? Surely creatures as unintelligent as Moblins couldn’t plan this on their own, let alone Bokoblins.

Something was amiss. It left her ill at ease.

But what Zelda could immediately tend to was her weary knight. Once they’d gotten past the evaporating corpses, she’d insisted he sit down under a tree and catch his breath. She handed him an elixer.

“Here, try and drink this. It will make quick work of those scrapes and bruises. The primary ingredient is fairy dust, so the restoration effect is quite potent. You’ll be feeling better in no time.”

At least, so she hoped.

Zelda sat down behind him, fidgeting, trying not to curse herself for not being able to help fight. With her birthright still out of reach, she was little more than a target. At least she could find a mundane way to help, surely?

His hair was falling out of his ponytail. She reached forwards, gathering it in her hands and braiding it, fixing the band tightly to the end.

“There, that should keep it from falling onto your neck again.”

The monsters were growing restless. Link couldn’t put his finger on it, but he could swear they were getting... smarter. Or at least more organized. He’d have been lying if he said it didn’t make him nervous.

But for now, he focused on his duty: protect Zelda, keep her safe, mow down any monster in his way. And that he did, even if it left him breathing heavy and hunched in weary fatigue. Hell, the moment Zelda got him to sit down, he started to relent the idea of getting back up.

Here. Something cold was pressed into his hand, and when he looked down he found an elixir. He could hear Zelda mentioning fairy dust between glugs, wiping the back of his mouth to find the bruises on his arms already shrinking away. Well damn. It had him looking over the now empty bottle curiously, even as fingers gently ran through his hair...

It wasn’t until her work was finished that he offered her a soft sound of surprise, a hand reaching back to trail over the braid she had delicately woven. Oh...

[onehundredyearnap]

strengthoflions​:

Felix was instantly pleased to see that he took the offer seriously, and didn’t wave it off with excuses like so many others did. He recognized the intensity in his eyes as the same his own carried.

There was an internal fire to him. It spoke of a good challenge.

Felix walked at his side, entering the training ground and pulling two training swords from the nearest holder. He tossed one to his challenger.

“We fight until surrender is called, or one of us is disarmed. Agreed?”

Link caught the tossed sword easily, giving it a few test swings and adjusting his grip on the hilt. It was definitely a different weight than he was used to, even with the training swords back in Hyrule. Still, he could definitely make due with it...

The rules were made, and Link gave a firm nod in response. In Hyrulean fashion he held his sword out, waiting for a returning gesture so the duel could begin.

[onehundredyearnap]

strengthoflions​:

@onehundredyearnap​

“You there! The Hylian princess’s knight. Rumor has it that you’re gifted with that sword on your back. Is that true?”

Felix crossed his arms. “I’m tired of training my blade on wooden dummies. Spar with me. I want to see your technique.”

Link looked up from the sandwich he had been eating (well, more like shoving bites in between breaths), raising an eyebrow at the man approaching. Giving a very slow nod at the first part, he kept chewing as the other man spoke, watching as they sized each other up...

... probably for that offer of a spar. That was certainly a surprise, albeit a welcome one. Link gave a much firmer nod this time, finishing off the bite before waving him on towards the arenas. Even with him still cramming the sandwich into his mouth, his eyes were already hardening like blue steel...

[onehundredyearnap]

In case I never clarified it before, Link can quite literally trigger what we’d consider ‘bullet time’. It’s an ability granted to him by the goddess as part of the fact he’s the legendary hero incarnated. There’s only a few instances in which he can trigger it, and it’s notoriously difficult when he’s on the ground, but once he gets it right he literally feels as if the world has slowed.

[onehundredyearnap]

bluelionhearted‌:

Ashe’s lips pursed in a frown as he watched Link mutely point at the pond, as if Ashe somehow couldn’t figure out that he was about to unload an arrow into the water.

What was wrong with this guy?

He put his hands on his hips - and, was this what Seteth felt like all the time? Ashe found himself pitying him even more than he usually did. He wasn’t exactly the type of person to yell at anyone, but – this kind of behavior was ridiculous. This was a church!

“Please come down. This is a holy place,” Ashe reminded him, stiffly. “If you want to fish, you have to do it on the ground. I-I don’t care how you fish where you’re from, or if you use a bow or a pole or whatever. Just, don’t play around on the grounds like that, it’s improper and you’ll end up hurting yourself. Remember, the Goddess is always watching!”

Goodness, he really sounded like a nagging parent, didn’t he? He wouldn’t be surprised if the other boy just laughed him out of the courtyard.

Was he... really getting scolded right now? How old was this kid anyway, not to mention who was this kid? Link took the time to pull himself up onto the balcony railing more, only partly listening as he judged the distance to the ground. It wasn’t terribly high of a jump; he could probably make it down.

The goddess is always watching! That got a sigh out of him. Hylia help him, he sounded like the king when he got mad at Zelda... With a roll of his shoulders, Link picked his spot on the ground, making a leap for it...

... but not before pulling the bow out in his free fall. On his end, everything seemed to slow, hyperfocused on a point in the pond... The boy below probably had little (if any) time to scold him before Link let the arrow loose, and when he dropped to the pavement he wandered over to the pond to retrieve the fish skewered through the eye.

[ninathepinkart]

Looks like another princess and her knight have shown up at Garreg Mach…

[bluelionhearted]

@onehundredyearnap liked for a starter

Was that the new kid? What was he doing?

Ashe lifted a hand to block out the sunlight, squinting as the tanned figure in the distance slowly shifted into focus. He let out a gasp as he realized the other boy was hanging precariously off the side of the balcony to the courtyard - his bow reared back and pointed at the pond.

“H-Hey!” The silver-haired boy called out, picking up the pace as he hurried across the pavement.

“Hey, what are you doing? I-I don’t think that’s allowed, hold on - you’re going to get hurt.. !”

[onehundredyearnap]

Link had just been about to fire when someone shouted at him, leaving him to quietly flick his gaze to the man running across the pavement. The hell was he shouting about? As reluctant as he was to drop his stance, he lowered the bow and arrow, pointing to the open pond quizzically. 

If fishing wasn’t allowed here, it was going to get pretty boring pretty fast. Besides, he had already been chased out of the archery area--something about how there were no archery lessons today--he had to keep his skills sharp somehow...

[onehundredyearnap]

princessofruins‌:

“Truthfully, I am quite exhausted. There’s so much here that’s different – and news of our arrival will quickly spread. I am no longer representing just the royal family, but the kingdom of Hyrule as well. My behavior must fall in line accordingly.”

The thought alone stressed her out. But she had Link, and now, she knew she had distant relatives here, as well. Zelda suddenly brightened, spinning towards him, almost bouncing forwards to take his hand.

“Link, you would never expect it, but there’s an academy here! They’re enrolling us as students! My father must have had no idea when he sent me, but even the heirs of Fodlan are attending this year! My peers! And so many professors, all in one place–!”

The Academy! Link had, in fact, heard about it. The one or two people who had found him before leading him back to his quarters chattered quite excitedly about it. He knew he was being enrolled as a student, but to hear Zelda was as well...!

“That’s wonderful...!” He offered her a grin, leaning forward from his perch on the edge of the bed. “It must be a relief for you, too... I think praying every day and nothing else would be miserable.”