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towerofanimus2013-10-03 04:54 pm
sageprincess) wrote in towerofanimus2013-10-03 04:54 pm
Entry tags:
it's just another war
Characters: Zelda and the poor unfortunate souls that have to deal with her.
Setting: Dorm Floor 1, around the Tower, ending with Floor 25; backdated to October 1st
Format: Starting in action, will match.
Summary: Someone very important to the Princess has left the Tower. She tries to keep herself from swan diving off the handle with moderate success.
Warnings: Fighting monsters in the last prompt, general character instability and depression
Morning; outside Room 1-01
[The warm bath was all well and good, but after a week of being locked out of her dorm, what Zelda truly needed was sleep. And sleep she most definitely gets, even staying in a bit longer than usual in order to recuperate from the fatigue one is treated to when they fail to rest in their own bed for several days in a row. It's late morning by the time she emerges from her room to see if she can't catch the last few servings of breakfast.
That's when she notices a change in the nameplate of a familiar room.
She's been here long enough. She doesn't need to see the gravestone that has inevitably appeared on the forty-eighth floor to know what that means.
Her Hero is gone once more.
Time passes, and she seems to be unaware of it as she stands there, silent, a grim expression on her pale face, her hands clenched into white-knuckled, trembling fists. She stares at the nameplate for far longer than is necessary, seemingly lost to the world and anyone who might pass by.]
Throughout the day; various
[After recovering from the initial shock, the Princess slips back into the routine she had before the explosions with all the ease of someone who has been within these walls for far too long.
She can be found in the cafeteria at lunch (and, later, dinner), having been too late to catch breakfast. Distantly, she recognizes she should probably be more upset about having nothing but pumpkin to eat for the month again, but she cannot find the will for it, and so eats quietly and without complaint. Afterwards, she heads to the workshop where the green collar fluid research team has set up, once again helping with organization and data compilation, as is her role. When she has done as much as she is needed for (or is able to), she moves to the library to spend the rest of the day with a book she has likely read once or twice before.
No matter where she is, however, she is quieter than usual, and easily drifts off into her own little world. Her movements also reflect (or perhaps betray) how she is not all there today, seeming more like she's just going through the motions rather than with her usual focus and poise.]
Nightfall; Floor 25
[As evening approaches, she does not return to her room as she usually does, however. Instead, she retreats to the meadow just as its more sensible occupants are likely filing out, and waits, alone with her thoughts.
A dangerous thing, that.
She could have gone to the ninety-sixth floor, and wiped herself clean, letting blissful ignorance take the place of the loneliness she has come to despise so much. But she is Wisdom's child - such things are not fit for her - and she has been on the other side of that kind of amnesia, besides. She could have gone to the eighty-seventh floor, and let peaceful unconsciousness consume her. But such things are temporary, here, and she would only be back where she started, with an hour of sleep paralysis to do nothing but scream inside her own head and think about that which she does not want to. She could have gone to the forty-eighth floor, and quietly mourned over an empty grave. But what right does she have to such a thing when surrounded by the dozens, hundreds of names representing the souls she has damned?
What in Nayru's name has she been fighting for, anyway? She has seen the past and the future thanks to this wretched Tower. She has seen that even if by some miracle they restore the worlds, her country is still doomed and her soul is destined only to repeat this endless cycle of tragedy until the end of time.
"I will find you again. And again. Over and over, if I must, when the time is right. I will make sure things are set right. You are my friend, after all. I will not let you be alone any longer."
Has she been a fool all this time, to think that promise could be kept? To think that all the pain could be worth it, in the end? To think that maybe, just maybe, they could be more than what destiny had demanded of them?
The glamour sun sets, and she trembles with grief and anger begging to be released. Thankfully, in this instance, the Tower provides. The first wave of miniblins is quickly destroyed before they can even draw close in a wide arc of sacred flame, stronger than is necessary for such a weak mob and more encompassing than its wielder's precise style would typically demand. She flexes fingers that sparkle with magic, entire body faintly aglow with a divine aura as she, for once, allows the restraints on her emotions to fall.
She could have done many other things, but she is a princess, so if she must go down, she will at least go down fighting, even if she no longer knows why she is doing so.]
Setting: Dorm Floor 1, around the Tower, ending with Floor 25; backdated to October 1st
Format: Starting in action, will match.
Summary: Someone very important to the Princess has left the Tower. She tries to keep herself from swan diving off the handle with moderate success.
Warnings: Fighting monsters in the last prompt, general character instability and depression
Morning; outside Room 1-01
[The warm bath was all well and good, but after a week of being locked out of her dorm, what Zelda truly needed was sleep. And sleep she most definitely gets, even staying in a bit longer than usual in order to recuperate from the fatigue one is treated to when they fail to rest in their own bed for several days in a row. It's late morning by the time she emerges from her room to see if she can't catch the last few servings of breakfast.
That's when she notices a change in the nameplate of a familiar room.
| 1-01 Xion Sola-ui Nuadha-re Sophia-ri EMPTY EMPTY |
She's been here long enough. She doesn't need to see the gravestone that has inevitably appeared on the forty-eighth floor to know what that means.
Her Hero is gone once more.
Time passes, and she seems to be unaware of it as she stands there, silent, a grim expression on her pale face, her hands clenched into white-knuckled, trembling fists. She stares at the nameplate for far longer than is necessary, seemingly lost to the world and anyone who might pass by.]
Throughout the day; various
[After recovering from the initial shock, the Princess slips back into the routine she had before the explosions with all the ease of someone who has been within these walls for far too long.
She can be found in the cafeteria at lunch (and, later, dinner), having been too late to catch breakfast. Distantly, she recognizes she should probably be more upset about having nothing but pumpkin to eat for the month again, but she cannot find the will for it, and so eats quietly and without complaint. Afterwards, she heads to the workshop where the green collar fluid research team has set up, once again helping with organization and data compilation, as is her role. When she has done as much as she is needed for (or is able to), she moves to the library to spend the rest of the day with a book she has likely read once or twice before.
No matter where she is, however, she is quieter than usual, and easily drifts off into her own little world. Her movements also reflect (or perhaps betray) how she is not all there today, seeming more like she's just going through the motions rather than with her usual focus and poise.]
Nightfall; Floor 25
[As evening approaches, she does not return to her room as she usually does, however. Instead, she retreats to the meadow just as its more sensible occupants are likely filing out, and waits, alone with her thoughts.
A dangerous thing, that.
She could have gone to the ninety-sixth floor, and wiped herself clean, letting blissful ignorance take the place of the loneliness she has come to despise so much. But she is Wisdom's child - such things are not fit for her - and she has been on the other side of that kind of amnesia, besides. She could have gone to the eighty-seventh floor, and let peaceful unconsciousness consume her. But such things are temporary, here, and she would only be back where she started, with an hour of sleep paralysis to do nothing but scream inside her own head and think about that which she does not want to. She could have gone to the forty-eighth floor, and quietly mourned over an empty grave. But what right does she have to such a thing when surrounded by the dozens, hundreds of names representing the souls she has damned?
What in Nayru's name has she been fighting for, anyway? She has seen the past and the future thanks to this wretched Tower. She has seen that even if by some miracle they restore the worlds, her country is still doomed and her soul is destined only to repeat this endless cycle of tragedy until the end of time.
"I will find you again. And again. Over and over, if I must, when the time is right. I will make sure things are set right. You are my friend, after all. I will not let you be alone any longer."
Has she been a fool all this time, to think that promise could be kept? To think that all the pain could be worth it, in the end? To think that maybe, just maybe, they could be more than what destiny had demanded of them?
The glamour sun sets, and she trembles with grief and anger begging to be released. Thankfully, in this instance, the Tower provides. The first wave of miniblins is quickly destroyed before they can even draw close in a wide arc of sacred flame, stronger than is necessary for such a weak mob and more encompassing than its wielder's precise style would typically demand. She flexes fingers that sparkle with magic, entire body faintly aglow with a divine aura as she, for once, allows the restraints on her emotions to fall.
She could have done many other things, but she is a princess, so if she must go down, she will at least go down fighting, even if she no longer knows why she is doing so.]
no subject
I am not so far gone as to kill a man showing no hostility.
[Because yes, she absolutely feels like if she were allowed to unleash all the pent up guilt and anger and grief she's held on to for so long upon Reno, she would kill him. And even when surrendered to such base emotions, her sense of morality is so deeply ingrained into her that her focus remains on monsters rather than men.
Her eyes dart past Reno, slightly to his left, and her glare returns, if not in as full a force as before. With a flourish, she flings a spark past him, straight into a small cluster of mutated Dusks, which erupts into an explosion of fire and light moments later. Given their weakness to the supernatural, the warped creatures crumble to the holy spell shortly after.]
I would not want to make an enemy of Xion, regardless.
no subject
The smile fades, however, turning to see the destruction she caused.]
Zelda, I can hold my own.
[But then, he drops the suggestion, turning back around to face her. If she wasn't interested, that was her prerogative.]
And Xion follows my orders, not me hers.
[Though he really does wonder sometimes if she would really follow through on an order, only to do something else. There had been that time with the feud between the administrators...
Shifting his weight, he places a hand on one hip.]
If you're not up to it, fine. But are ya really just going to stand there blastin' away until you're exhausted, and they swarm you? I've already seen people do that. Shion and Xion had to tackle me down to prevent something just as stupid; afraid I might have to here.
[A long rush of air follows that. He hadn't meant to tell her of his own problems- even to let on that he had problems.]
You let all that out, much as ya need. I'm just saying there's better ways.
no subject
[She snaps.]
I cannot mourn - not when I am the one who has condemned them all. I cannot forget - I know too much. I cannot die - I will just awake the next morning, paralyzed in my bed.
[Desperation makes its way back into her features, such a stark contrast to how composed she usually is that it's obvious she doesn't mean to say as much either. But she's let the floodgates down, and there's no bringing them back up until she's spent or somehow miraculously reasoned with. She bows her head, her eyes and hands clenching shut. Her body trembling, what comes next is barely above a shaky whisper.]
I have poured all of my being into restoring things to the way they should be, and for what...?
[To be feared? Hated? A future alone and in a watery grave?]
no subject
[Reno is quiet after she finishes. Almost too quiet. His eyes miss hardly anything, though, staring at her in his calculating way.
Then...]
Who told you that you're the one condemning them?
[His voice is almost as quiet as her whisper.
It was a simple question, but one that could have a thousand answers or reasons. He isn't even sure if she's talking about the Tower anymore, or something that had happened on Hyrule- granted, he only had fuzzy impressions of those vestiges of Ganondorf's memories from that godawful bodyswap they went through to go by, but he discounted those as hardly accurate.]
I've been gone six months... not that long if ya think about it. I came back to everything changed. The entire fuckin' Tower's changed. The game's different now. There's other players startin' to make moves. But for the first time since I came here, I'm seeing chances, making plans. I got some hope for the first time in longer than I can remember.
[A heartbeat passes.]
I hear it was because of you. You go on ahead and mourn if you want to.
no subject
There is less anger in her voice when she speaks again, replaced by pain and guilt.]
She'll use their souls to power the Tower. Everyone who has gone home... Link...
[There is no question who "she" is. Zelda's eyes remain firmly shut, fighting against the tears that so desperately want to come forth. Reno's right in thinking there are potentially multiple reasons for her current state, but this one thought, this one thought that she may have damned her Hero to such an awful fate is the one that broke the camel's back, so to speak.]
I have no right.
no subject
[Walking forward through the grass, it makes soft 'ping' noises against his metal ankle guards. He's closer now, lifting the visor off so she could see all of his face.
His face is hard- no, stern would be more like it.]
I just spent six months in purgatory. Do you think I'd be here if she was doing that right now? We still got time. The only time you should start beating yourself up, is if we fail. Don't know about you, but I don't plan to give up.
no subject
[She finally looks up again then, matching Reno's stern glare with an attempt at one of her own. There's something pleading about it, though. She wants to believe him, wants to believe everyone is fine, but then, she also wanted to believe Link's promise, too.]
Can you prove to me that because you are here, they are all right? Can you prove that Minami, Samus, Ventus, everyone is still alive because you are?
[Then, quieter, as her gaze drops once more:]
I am not... giving up. [She can't, now, after everything.] I am just so tired of being the one left behind.
no subject
[It's obvious who Reno's talking about. Finding out that she hadn't been in the Tower for months, just as he wasn't, had been the crack in his armor that started everything. Surprising even him how he felt about it.]
If I let myself believe She was, it means I was givin' up on them. My partner, my wife, the chief, my boss that I owe my life to, the ones that I'd die for before I'd betray. They're out there, I'm here, can't change that, but I can change the game.
[A gloved hand reaches out to touch her chin- far more gently than someone who only knew him professionally could have guessed.]
But we can't do it alone. It's gonna take all of us. So cheer up, huh? We'll get 'em back.
no subject
Then, she inhales sharply. Holds it. Wrenches her chin away. She wipes at her face with hands that fortunately no longer shine with magic begging to be released, digging the heels of her palms into her eyes as she finally lets go of the breath she had been holding. A moment or two passes like that, as she tries to get herself under control. Letting go is easy, gaining control again is hard, but she tries, and only when she feels like she's grasped a semblance of it does she allow her hands to fall from her face once more.
The attempt at a determined stare that follows as she pulls herself up into a more proper posture is not the best she's ever had - she's still obviously upset, and the lost look in her eyes isn't entirely banished - but the fact that there's an attempt at all is perhaps more meaningful.
She nods.
You better not be lying, Reno.]
no subject
There is a point where no matter how strong you are, you just can't do it alone anymore. He knew this and probably that's why he stopped on this floor, despite the deepening darkness.]
We'd better get outta here before the big ones come out.
[Even he didn't like going around at night, and he's used to that kind of thing.]
no subject
[With that, some of the spirit she summoned up dissipates once again, though replaced with simple exhaustion rather than anything else. Perhaps she should be grateful for some of the lingering fatigue the past week has left her with - she doesn't think she would be able to sleep tonight otherwise.]
If you would accompany me to the dormitory floors, it would be greatly appreciated.
[A token phrase, given Reno has already implied as much, but she may as well start now if she's going to make an attempt at being proper and dignified once more. ... And maybe if she has someone with her, she won't break down due to loneliness again.]
no subject
[He nods, and steps aside so she could go ahead of him. He'd offer her his arm, too, but he thought better of it, sensing she might be better off trying to keep herself up by her own two feet. He's still there, though, if she needs him.]
no subject
She glances back just before they reach the stairwell.]
Thank you, Reno.
[For walking her back or something more, who is to say. The grateful glint in her eyes, at least, is genuine.]