lucetilogs | (no subject)

(no subject)

Who: Everyone! New Feathers especially.
What: New Feather welcome party!
When: Thursday, 5 pm.
Where: Battle Dome
Summary: IT'S A SUMMER PARTY
Rating: Worksafe, I reckon!
It's cold out there today, isn't it? Sure, it's not snowing but once you get into the Battle Dome, it'll be comfortably warmer. Warmer, not warm. Follow the tiny paper arrows and you'll probably find yourself in, well...summer!

It certainly looks convincing enough (a pool, a volleyball court, deck chairs, everything that you'd think you'd find at a pool party) and feels convincing enough (take off that coat! Aren't you hot?) so why not not step in? The barbecue's sizzling and there's some nice cold drinks at the cooler.

C'mon in, the water's awesome!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Initially she seems rather shocked that Link would splash her, then she laughs too.]

No, I am not. I was not allowed to leave the castle when I was younger. Not that it stopped me all the time, but it is rather difficult to avoid a Sheikah intent on keeping you safe. You seem good at it, though.

There was a pond in the village. I went swimming there all the time. [He's treading water pretty confidently, at least.]

[Thoughtfully, he suggests,] Maybe you can have swimming lessons. Just here in the dome - that way, when it's warm, you can go to the lake or the beach.

Do they offer those sorts of lessons?

[She looks curious.]

I wouldn't be opposed to it, though. It's much nicer here in the dome than it is out in the cold.

My friend Ami could do it - she's really good at swimming. And she's done lessons before.

[He smiles, a little sheepishly.] Or I could. We could do some right now, if you want!

[Link, teaching her something? That sounds like a lot of fun! Besides, she really, really, really wants to be friends with him and having something fun to do together would help that. She lights up.]

I would really like that!

Okay! Well, you can tread water okay - can you show me how well you can swim? [He swims back maybe a couple of metres, staying close to the edge and in the shallows.] Try swimming over without holding on to the wall or touching the bottom or anything, okay?

[She's going to fail at that one. Zelda just goes in circles unless she's pushing herself off the floor of the pool or the wall. She scowls over at him after a few minutes of said failure, almost daring him to laugh.]

[Hey, no laughter here. Link crosses back over to her side, giving her a little smile.] Okay - you have to make your legs push you there, so you should practise kicking.

[Maneuvering himself into water shallow enough for him to stand comfortably, he holds his arms out.] Hold on to my arm, then start kicking. I promise I won't let you fall.

[She nods and pushes herself off the floor of the pool to make it over there, then reaches out to take Link's arm - and then she pauses, running her hand over the various scars. Zelda looks up at him quietly. Did he get these in Hyrule? In Luceti? There was no way of knowing, really. She feels like she should stop herself, but her eyes wander all over him, from head to toe - scars on both arms, all over his legs, one near his collarbone...]

T...thank you, Link.

[His brows crease a little when she runs her hands over his scars, not quite moving until she's done.]

[When he speaks, his voice sounds a little confused, quiet and uncertain.]

...For what?

Everything. I don't know how many of these are from Hyrule, and I won't ask you to tell me... but I put you in so much danger...

[She shakes her head. He could have died doing what he did, easily.]

I know you truly believe that you only did what was right, but I want to thank you for it anyway.

[Exhale. He glances down at his arms, then up again, a gentle smile on his lips.]

...A lot of them are from here. But even if they weren't, it doesn't matter - I'd still do anything you need me to to keep everyone safe. Including you.

[She returns the smile, putting her hands on his arms again. This time, she doesn't mention the scars, and she doesn't plan on doing so a second time. There was no use dwelling on what could have been. Link was here now, Sheik was here too. That was good enough.]

I know.

[Zelda settles in the water again, looking up at him and changing the subject right back to swimming.]

So I just kick?

[The change in topic is appreciated.]

Uh huh. Try letting your body float so that you're straight, and kick up and down.

Alright.

[It takes her a few tries to get it, but she trusts Link enough that she can relax and let herself float. Before long, she's managing just fine.]

Oh, this isn't so difficult!

Uh huh! Once you can kick, you can make yourself go. Although you have to make your arms move, too - they sort of steer you. If you want to let go, I can show you.

Alright, you can let go! I have the Zora tunic after all, so it won't hurt if I can't do it... right?

[Zelda seems unsure about that last part.]

Uh huh! It's pretty useful. [Still, he'll move close enough to the edge for her to grab on, before moving out in a circle towards the centre of the pool and back - it's sort of a fusion between dog paddle and breaststroke he's doing.]

Use your hands to push the water aside, okay? And kick to push yourself through it.

[Cue hilarious frog-like swimming until she gets the hang of it. She sputters a few times just on instinct when her face touches the water before realizing that it doesn't hurt if she inhales it. This time she doesn't go in a circle, she manages to make it over to Link and tread the water again.]

Zora make that look so easy!

[Link grins when she manages to make it over, treading water beside her.]

Well, they're born in water. I guess they're allowed to be good at swimming!

You do have a point. I wonder if it's difficult for them to learn to walk on land? We only ever had adult Zora visit the palace, so it's hard to say...

[She looks at Link like he might know the answer. Fair assumption, he's been to Zora's Domain!]

[He considers for a moment.] Princess Ruto walked kind of awkwardly when she was younger. She looked more normal in the water.

[Good choice of words, Link! Zelda looks a little less shy about her awkward swimming as she continues to practice. After about fifteen minutes of it, she climbs out of the pool, wringing out the soaked tunic.]

Goodness! That's quite a workout, isn't it? Or perhaps I'm just not doing it efficiently, yet.

It uses lots of different muscles. [Link hops out as well, perched on the edge and dangling his legs in the water.] So you might get tired until you get really used to it.

[She decides to join him in sitting down. Getting out of the water all at once makes it kind of chilly!]

That makes sense. I will have to do it more often. Especially if the weather in here is so nice. I'm not sure how I feel about winter.