lifenet | stones of far (out) speech, 7/20

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stones of far (out) speech, 7/20

Hello? [ Comes a voice new to the "network." It's young, feminine, and maybe British-esque, if you have to pin it down. ] Is it true that everyone on the island - on the islands, I think - can hear me?

[ It's the kind of tech that the Sheikah might come up with, like a more advanced version of the Gossip Stones spoken of in Hyrule's history. ]

Are you able to respond? If so... oh, I would really love to learn more about how these devices function. I'm happy to meet with you in person, or to speak by using the stone in order to receive a more "hands-on" lesson.

[ She giggles a little, clearly delighted by the opportunity. Who wouldn't be excited about something like this?? ]

But I've forgotten myself. I am Zelda, and I thank you in advance for anything that you might teach me.

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Do you live anywhere?

[HE'S STARTING TO GET...CONCERNED...]

[Vaguely, anyway. With that passive sort of concern that he's pretty sure would make him a terrible person (worse person) if he ignored.]

I have been spending my time near the Storyteller's temple so far... [ So, yes? Sort of?? ] It can be a little chilly, but otherwise I've found food and water enough...

[ Until now. Zelda knows, though, that she can't camp there forever. ]

Is there somewhere more suitable? [ Maybe somewhere with walls? ]

There are houses on the islets. Did you...

[Did no one tell this child where she could live.]

...not...know that?

[ FRET FRET ]

I... [ Well, now she just feels ridiculous. Lucky that he can't see her cheeks burning red with embarrassment. ] ... thought it wiser to avoid going too deep into the jungle unaccompanied.

[ Who has two thumbs and spent over two weeks camping? This princess! ]

Jesus Christ.

[It's muttered, plainly not meant to be overheard.] No one told you? No one...bothered to point that out, at any -

[BOY. FUCK THIS.]

Are you still there now? The Temple?

[ She assumes that he's angry with her, and so she grows defensive, scrunching up her nose a little. ]

... I am, but - I've had an easy time of it, making camp, and - how in the world was I to know that there was more without taking an enormous risk?

No one told you. No one told you. An entire island of people, and no one so much as mentioned -

[He growls out a noise of frustration from behind his helmet, and there's the sound of an armored marine getting up and heading straight for the goddamn door.]

If no one else was planning to show you, I'll do it. It's the least I can do to make up for that.

[ Oh. He isn't frustrated with her...

Mollified, Zelda nods as he speaks, apparently planning to come and find her. ]

It isn't the responsibility of anyone here to look after me. [ Not of you, either, Wash! ] You really don't need to come all this way...

Yes, I do. If nothing else, so that I can live with myself for the next fifteen minutes.

[Not that he could live with himself anyway, but fucking details, right.]

Just be careful. [ She won't have anyone getting hurt on their way to help her, after all. ] ... And, thank you.

[ Even though he seems a little huffy about it, he's still going out of his aid to assist. That's certainly worth a lot in her book. ]

I'll be fine.

[She can't see the fact that he is a fully armored goddamn space marine, but eventually she will, and that will probably be indication enough that he will, in fact, be plenty careful.]

[He doesn't have any immediate response to that - at least until he finally makes it to the islet mana pool and ports himself to the Temple, and promptly begins looking.]

[ He won't have to look for very long. A girl that is presumably the one he was speaking with is standing near the Storyteller's temple, still holding the stone. Once she hears and sees someone approaching, Zelda inclines her head in acknowledgement. ]

Are you the person I was speaking with? [ beat ] I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. I thank you for coming to meet with me...

[ You know, to find her a house that isn't a glorified cave. ]

[Christ, she really is basically a kid - not even rookie age. And she's a princess on top of it. She's fucking royalty. She has been camping in the Temple for god knows how long.]

Washington. Hang on, let me just...

[He fumbles briefly with the catch on his helmet. It unseals with a soft hiss, and he tugs it off.]

[Freckle-mottled copper-colored skin, startlingly blue eyes, and a headful of achingly blonde and terrible helmet hair nests underneath. He blinks, adjusting to the shift in light. Figures she'd prefer to talk to someone face to face.]

Hi.

[ This is armor, she realizes, as he removes his helm. Just like the knights of Hyrule, but... obviously different in design.

She smiles, a little more at ease. ]

Hello. [ And she nods in acknowledgement. ] ... Have you been on these islands for very long, Washington?

Couple months. Not long enough.

[And, at the same time, entirely too long.]

You've only been here a few weeks, right?

Not long enough? [ That makes her frown, confused, but she nods in response to his question. ]

Yes. Luckily, there has been no sign of that monster since my arrival. [ She means Upsy, though he may not know that, since 'monster' is probably more widely-applicable, here, than she thinks. ] Since then, it has been quiet.

The...monster?

[I'm not a monster, rumbles Locus from the far right of his recollection. He shuffles the association aside. He doesn't - need that, right now, intruding. Not when he's supposed to be focusing, focusing on someone who actually needs his help.]

What monster?

It was... [ Hold on, she can remember its name if you give her a minute. One of the others had said it, back on that day. ] ... called "Upsy," I believe. An elevator, or so they said, though it moved like nothing I've ever seen before. It was trying to - to eat us, I think...

[ Thankfully for everyone, it seems to have gone. For now. ]

Are you familiar with it?

Oh. That monster.

[He sounds less nervous and scared and more...disgruntled. Now that he's met the thing's unwitting handler, he finds it more worthy of a scowl than a bullet.]

It doesn't actually eat you. Just picks you up and spits you out somewhere else. Not a very fun ride, though. It was smart to lay low for a bit.

Spits - [ ... Ew. Zelda wrinkles her nose, not exactly encouraged by this news. ] Why does it-... oh, never mind.

[ It's gone, right? So... she doesn't have to worry about it at the moment. ]

Did it catch you? [ She asks, with notable, concerned urgency. ]

[HM. He sure doesn't want to...admit that it might have snagged him. Once or twice. Or...many times. Wash coughs, a completely unnecessary motion behind his helmet.]

It, uh...might've caught up with me a few times. Turns out it's mostly bulletproof.

It seemed protected against most things, if I remember correctly. Did someone build that monster, or was it - alive?

[ It's hard to even either, since they're both. Terrible. ]

From what I can tell? It's both.

[He's not about to disclose that Lucas is responsible, but she deserves to know the...problem of that thing's general existence.]

I don't think it'll be flying anywhere anytime soon.

I hope so. [ But it hasn't made an appearance since then, so if it's causing problems for anyone, it isn't in the same place as the last time. ] ... Strange that it only wanted to catch and release the things it hunted. I would expect it to - well, to use its prey for energy.

[ Horrifying as that idea is... it makes more sense, if you think of Upsy as something alive. ]

Yeah, well. You'd have to ask the guy that made it.

[He scratches his nose, glances over his shoulder.]

...you need a line to the islets? You gotta use the mana pool to get there, but it's pretty straightforward.

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