An armored traveler pokes a bonfire with a stick, shifting the dry branches there. The burnt woods make hissing sound and glows brighter, as if resisting. But in the end they spout a few sparks and sit calmly, satisfying themselves by making continuous crackling sound.
The traveler is sitting inside a natural cave adorned with thick roots and vines, some distance away from the edge of the forest. Inside here the heavy snow last night could not get through, and now as the sun rises the snow gathered around the entrance, its warm rays glittering there like pearls in the eyes of the traveler. It would be damp and very cold still without the fire, but inside the cave one can sit comfortably, spreading their weary limbs over soft moist mosses.
The traveler adjusts his thick cloak around his little frame and throws another bunch of dry branches to the fire. The fire engulf the branches greedily, and as it rages on he puts his chin on his knee, watching the orange red tongues blazing in delightful anger.
That same bright, fiery color once glowed also inside a pair of eyes, angry and dangerous.
“If you all want to be useful,” came a furious voice “prove it! Act like one!”
All of them were trembling, confused, unable to think or to respond. At last a child, shaking from head to toe stepped forward. Strands of silver hair swayed like branches in a gale.
“Forgive us, Father.” the child started, with voice filled with fright, ”but we are in every way different and although....”
The voice disappeared as soon as the other’s lips moved, the voice coming then was blind with wrath.
“Useless louts! I will show what those words meant to you!”
A snapping sound lift the traveler’s chin from his knees. The stick he gripped was broken in two.
He throws the stick into the fire, letting it join its already charred brethren. Then, a slight movement to his left catches his attention.
Near the bonfire, cradled in thick tangling roots in the corner of the cave, lies another small figure, wrapped in a few layers of thick fabric. Strewn all over his body are thick patches of crushed leaves and roots, made into some sort of crude paste. His left arm and leg are securely strapped to a thick branch on each of their three sides, and his head is also wrapped also the greenish paste. The bonfire has been placed in such a way so that it is focused more on the lying figure, rather than traveler.
The traveler waited a while, and then resumes staring outside the cave.
The young kokiri was tormented. He was seeing images he recognized, but couldn't place. He saw faces of friends he couldn't remember, and hearing promises that he couldn't complete. A smiling kokiri girl, a tiny man, and a purple mouse. Were those his friends? Were they figments of his imagination? He remembered being a loner, living outside the kokiri. And he remembered the pain of loneliness.
Suddenly everything was black. Not a normal black, more like there was light at the edge of his vision. He finally he realized he was awake, but was having trouble moving. Panicking he tried to get up, but to no avail. He didn't have the strength, and his head was killing him. He hoped some help would come along, or he was in trouble.
The traveler is still sitting, ignoring the stirring sounds coming from his left side. Surely enough the Kokiri has awoken, but is still struggling to regain his full consciousness. Considering the state that he was found in however, it is already a relief that he is not condemned to stay still for the rest of his life.
On the traveler’s right side, direct to the entrance, the sun rays are creeping inside the cave. Inch by inch they go, spreading a pale yellow tinge to the gloomy roots on the wall and the two swords resting on them. The traveler is staring at the entrance, with his face facing the morning air, his hair inside the cave illuminated by the rising sun.
After a moment of passivity, the continuous rustling sounds finally draw her response.
“Move no more,” he says, without turning around, “it will only make matters worse”. A tiny hint of concern was in his ambiguous voice.
On a tree outside, high on the snowy branches four young birds are trying their first flight. Only two succeed.
Leon heard the voice tell him to and he obeyed, at least for now. He couldn't tell if the speaker was a male or female, and considering he didn't even know who he was, this frightened him a bit. "Who are you? What do you want?"
The kokiri couldn't turn his head all that well, so he laid there. He hoped this stranger was more interested in helping than harming him.
The traveler seems taken aback, and mumbles softly about something like “He doesn’t remember me” .
Sad.
“Before I answer”, the traveler replies flatly, still a child in voice, “I want to assure you that I am a friend”. He moves a little, his cloak makes a gentle stirring sound against the mosses.
Leon couldn't quite think straight, the persons voice bounced around in his head. The images from before were all jumbled and strange. The voice said it was his friend, should he trust that? It asked who he was. Who was he?
"I-I am.. a kokiri. and I am.. an outcast. I was alone I think. But I see others too. I am not really sure who I am truly."
He wasn't even too sure of his name, he hoped the person would understand.
The traveler listened patiently as the Kokiri poured all the jumbled thoughts in his heart.
“... I was alone I think...” It seemed for the traveler that the Kokiri’s mind had been affected somehow. The traveler’s body tensed, his limbs preparing for a sudden spring. His stare at the morning light outside was steady, but hard, waiting for an unknown momentum.
“...I am not really sure who I am..."
At this moment the traveler suddenly jumps upright in an explosive change of position. He balances his body in the air by swinging his arms and lets out a loud scream that fills the entire cave,
“LONG LIVE QUEEN AOIFE ‼”
His boots make a heavy thump as his body lands again on the moss. Outside, some small animals are frightened. Their scurrying feet can be heard under the bushes.
At last the traveler turns her head inside, studying the reaction of the wrapped figure in the corner of the cave.
The persons sudden outburst shocked him a bit, but for some reason, the name sounded familiar. "Who is..Aoife? Do I... do I know her?"
The name, though familiar, he couldn't place with a face. Then again, he wasn't sure he would recognize himself in a mirror. How long would his jumbled thoughts go on?
The traveler’s blue eyes soften, as he slowly takes his steps to the wrapped figure lying on those underground roots. One can almost hear a relieved sigh as he passes the burning bonfire, its ceaseless crackles perfectly masking the sound of the traveler’s boots treading the mosses.
“Yes you do”, The voice is still as flat and impersonal as before, but it is slightly gentler now, more open, more kind. As if an initial barrier has been broken and the two of them has now reached a kind of mutual understanding. A slight one it is, but still a thing that they can agree upon.
The traveler speaks as he moves, getting nearer and nearer.
“Forgive me for the initial treatment, Lou, but one can never be too cautious regarding the Rebels. More than once have their mind-wiping techniques took their toll on us”
Now standing beside the wrapped figure, for the first time they see each other face to face. The lying Kokiri with his face staring up, and on his right side the traveler looking down, silver hairs gleaming from the faint sun rays behind. The traveler has a very peculiar face. To call it handsome would be right, yet to call it beautiful would also close to the truth. From the small brow to the petite chin the facial features are gentle yet refined, smooth yet heavy, with blue eyes that see further and lips as delicate as they are firm.
And as he utters his next words, a small, very faint smile travels along those lips. Obviously being held back.
“But their methods do have a flaw. None of the victims can stand the glorious name of the Queen, moreso if exclaimed suddenly.” With his controlled expression it is almost as if he wants to add, but does not have the will to do, “Which means that you have passed the test, and therefore are clear”.
But it is an ephemeral sight. The next moment the voice and the eyes suddenly hardens. “Yet we were too late in discovering it”
And with it, the phantom image of a smile quickly passes, leaving the same cold and cautious face as it has always been before. Without further words the traveler bends down and nimbly helps the Kokiri to sit upright, at last enabling him to see the bright cave entrance and the unfolding morning scenery there. The Kokiri’s left limbs are firmly strapped to thick branches on their three sides which prevent them from moving, although the hips are free to bend. But the right limbs are only plastered with patches of greenish paste and the head, although the neck is strapped also, has most of its face part clear.
The traveler steps back and straightens his back, facing the now-sitting Kokiri. During all the help not a single word came from him, and he still keeps her silent now. The deep, crystalline blue eyes somehow do not meet the other’s gaze.
Did that sound right? If it didn't the kokiri made no sign of it. He preferred to now stare at the sunlight outside the cave, apparently deep in thought.
After a moment, he looks at the person he has been talking to, and is still unsure of their gender. "Are...are we soldiers? Do we fight to protect this queen?"
Maybe the queen was the girl he saw in his head. The others had faded, but this one remained. Could a girl be a queen? As an afterthought he attempted to look at his back. "I have a sword I think. Where is it?"
The traveler takes a few steps to his left and leans his back against the damp wall. With his hands behind him in his cloak he stands there and waits, a dark solemn figure, letting the confused Kokiri searches deep inside his memories. Two souls, both lost in the morning light.
For a moment there is no sound but the fire crackling in the center. A bird is singing outside, joyfully embracing the new arising day. Pieces of melting snow are making strange drizzling sounds.
"Are...are we soldiers? Do we fight to protect this queen?"
The traveler seems surprised, and lifts his head from the cave ground that he has resorted to watch. He nods. There is a stronger look of worry in his face, almost pitying.
"I have a sword I think. Where is it?"
The traveler thinks for a moment, and nods again.
“...Yes. It may do you better to see it”
Adjusting his cloak, he silently steps into the other side of the room, to a space across the bonfire facing the place where he sat before. There behind a jutting stone and shaded from the light lie two sheathed blades, one slightly longer than the other. There are also pieces of what seemed to be a uniform and a badly dented helm, carefully placed in a stack. On top of the helm sits a small ruby ring, emblazoned with red lily.
Bending his back to reach these things the traveler stops for a while, his hand dangling in front. To the Kokiri sitting at the back of the cave only his cloaked back can be seen, half-covered with long silver hairs.
“Tell me, Lou.” She says slowly, still bending forward. “How much can you remember about yourself? About your home and your friends? About your duty to the queen?”
He pauses for a while, “And about me? Please tell me so I can help you.”
The last words are especially heavy, full with feelings.
The kokiri thought for a minute, contemplating. "Just scattered images. Sounds of battle, clattering of steel. I see a woman, She looks regal enough, but her eyes..."
He trails off at the last part, as he sees the eyes of the queen in his mind, and they terrify him. "I..don't see a lot. But, what you say sounds familiar. If we were friends, then it shouldn't be too hard to get along."
He tries to force a smile, but behind it, he's worried. How come these images only appear when the traveler suggests them? Then again, their might be a system of breaking whatever curse was put on him, that he isn't aware of. Whatever the case may be, he can only trust this person for now.
Note: Leon's sword, it looks like this (http://i.ebayimg.com/21/!BySUDsgCWk~$(KGrHqV,!g0Ew5B%2BgNMeBMRFosqRG!~~_35.GIF)
The traveler waits patiently, holding the Kokiri’s sheathed sword with his two small hands as he stands listening to the Kokiri’s unsure answers. The sun shines from behind him, making his long shadow falls at the left side of the Kokiri, and whatever part of the traveler’s armor that is not covered by his cloak are sparkling by the fire’s light. During all the Kokiri’s talks the traveler’s expression does not change at all, only his body moves slightly. Painted in his face is still the same plain, unresponsive, impenetrable expression.
And the smile went unanswered.
“So it is” he says, taking a step forward, his boots creating a soft thump on the mosses. The sheath of the blade he is holding glows dim in his shadow.
“But is it all that you can remember?”
It seems that the shadows are longer now than they were before, when the new rising sun first created them.
The young Kokiri thinks, but the pain in his head doesn't subside.His most recent memory appears to be a battle in a castle, and he can't tell what side he is on. He takes a minute to try to clear up the memory, but is unable to. "My last memory is of a battle, where we fought side by side. Other than that, I can only remember it being in a bloodstained castle."
In fact, this person isn't even the biggest part of that memory. Its the blood. Was that fight a battle? Or was it a slaughter? The faces of the dead were hazy, as if he wasn't supposed to remember them. In any case, he needed to find out what happened. And the only one who could tell him, was this person he seemingly knew.
Hearing this, the traveler nods slightly, as if confirming something to himself. He is already standing close in front of the sitting Kokiri now, still holding the other’s sword. The distance between them is, exactly, a blade’s length.
“If that is the only thing you can remember...”
Suddenly, a flash. A sound of sliding metal. There is a blur form of a sword being drawn and thin force of wind. “...then there is no reason to keep you alive.”
In one elegant move the sword shifted flawlessly from its sheathed form to a thrusting position, its tapered tip pressing the sitting Kokiri’s chest. Such is the speed of the traveler’s manoeuvre that the blade is already in position even before the wind from its movement touches the Kokiri’s hairs.
And under the light of the fire the bluish blade glints, as if asking forgiveness from its former master.
“Our ranks are special, forever bound to remember our comrades and our place of duty.” He speaks in the same plain voice, but slightly hostile. Eyes narrowing in suspicion. “The Queen equates those memories to the mind itself. And it is by Her Majesty’s order that those who have lost them...”
His grip becomes firmer. The blade in his right hand steadies itself.
“...can no longer be trusted to live”.
For a moment, only the fire makes a sound.
“I will give you one more chance, impostor”, the traveler continues, determined to press on, ”Name your position before, one that you remember.”
She blinks. A glint in the deep blue of her eyes.
“And tell me my name”.
The hand holding the sword is firm and ready, without a slightest trace of doubt or pity. There is no doubt that an unsatisfactory answer will result in the blade piercing through the immobile Kokiri’s heart.
Woodfall Rises is an au legend of Zelda RP
the current skin was made by Rozie. with the exception of the miniprofile which was
created by RITZ! Codes seen and used were taken from resource sites such as slightly insane, ProBoards
support, and Socal. all images are either from Zerochan or made by original owners.