[There's a finality in her words, a grimness that he's not sure he's ever heard, but...is nonetheless familiar with. Perhaps he even feels a bit the same, at the moment, trying to reflect on what happened. Trying to piece it together in a way that makes sense. In the end, all he can do is nod; as grim as her tone is, she's cut right to the heart of it.
Link has never been the kind of person to see himself as the strongest, or the most skilled, or the best. He's always just done what he could, learned what he could, fought in whatever way he was able to. Perhaps he could be called perseverant, in that way, but the idea that someone might see him as a worthy challenger...well, it's not what he had planned for himself, not really. All he wanted to do was protect the things that are important to him.
... Well. In the end, perhaps he's done that.
There's a slim note of reluctance in his expression as he nods. Yes, the man found a fight. Yes, that was the commotion. And as for her question?... He has to think about it for a moment. The man was frenzied, to be certain, fighting to kill and not to hurt. But out of his mind...?]
I don't think so, [he says finally, his voice soft and thoughtful.] He wanted to be beaten. He wanted me to... [Hm. He trails off; he's sure he doesn't need to finish the sentence.] ...but it seemed very intentional.
[ Indeed, there's no need to finish a statement which has such an obvious conclusion, and Naminé's expression is as serious as it ought to be to communicate that when she pauses at his description, head tilting subtly. ]
How strange, [ she remarks finally after her eyes have shifted a few times in thought, gaze turned inward more than at him. They grow a little sadder thereafter, then, more quietly, ] He must have had his reasons.
[ Madness isn't always an all-or-nothing prospect, after all - sometimes portions of self-awareness linger. But it's a lot for anyone to handle, whether as the person who's gone mad or someone who has to try to restrain them, and presently her attention refocuses to Link's face. The angle of her head only increases then as she considers him, searching his features a moment. It's not hard to imagine that he might have... regrets, as she knows she might. (As she knows someone who's dedicated so much of their life to others might.)
She isn't the type to put a hand on another's shoulder to provide comfort, but... the tone of her voice is the same as it would be if she'd made the gesture, every bit as gentle despite how her palm lingers close to what remains of his wound instead. ]
Either way... you were able to help him.
[ Regardless of how it was done, the word still applies. Breathing out a slow sigh, she lets her eyes fall to the resultant injury, urges her magic to start again. It'll be done soon, and as much is obvious at a glance; the new skin is close to covering it over after her efforts. ]
Maybe later you'll be able to find out more about why it happened. [ A beat. Kindly, ] If that's what you want to do.
[ After all, for all the weight that death yet carries here, it's not nearly as permanent as it would be outside of this world. ]
[Help. It's such a strange word to use, and yet in this case, he understands. Help, in the same way it's kinder to end the suffering of a wounded animal. In the same way that a small lie can be gentler than the truth. Yes, he does believe that may be so -- that he was, perhaps, able to help someone who was facing a more difficult fate. In some small way it makes him feel a little more at peace.]
I think so, too, [he says at last, voice quiet as he does. People like that, he imagines, don't look for death so easily. If the man had to go that far...maybe it really was a help.
He remains quiet as her magic works. Until the Champions lent him their abilities, he had never had any magic of his own, and he always imagined it to be such a difficult, unwieldy thing. Princess Zelda seemed to find it that way, at least, and so whenever someone else was using magic, particularly for his sake, he tended to fall into an anticipatory silence. Mipha had teased him a bit about it, had said that he didn't have to worry about her ability to concentrate...
Ah-- it does feel strange, though. The way your body repairs itself at high speed.
I think it is. [There's a word for it, after all -- closure, yes? He doesn't even know the man's name. It would be nice, someday, to learn more about him...and what happened.]
[ The term is deliberate, for Naminé knows well enough that helping can involve inflicting some amount of pain just as often as purely alleviating it. (Or at least, so she's learned through her own complex experiences with the process.) Though she busies herself with this more direct form of healing for the moment, she's still not totally settled into that task until she hears his answer. Taking it as acceptance on Link's part of what she'd meant by the phrasing, the young lady gives the faintest of nods in confirmation.
For her part, magic has always come easily to her - in the general sense, that is. Taming it into proper spells like this one, shaped and devoted to achieving a particular socially acceptable function, has been more challenging in the absence of a proper teacher. Memories might serve that role, yet do so in a fragile, inefficient sort of way, limited as they are by her personal ability for recollection.
But applying such abilities that they've been learned is easy enough, and Link's silence isn't entirely necessary for her concentration; perhaps it would give her a gentle laugh if she recognized the purpose of his keeping mum. As it is, the quiet doesn't bother her. It's an old friend, and she's typically at peace with its presence. (So, too, is he a friend, and as such, she doesn't fret over what might be lurking under the surface of his mind, save that she hopes it isn't troubling him.)
When he does give voice to his other answer, she's finally got the last of his wound closed up. She takes an extra handful of seconds to observe, just to be sure she hasn't missed anything, and as she does, notes aloud, ]
That's good, I think. [ Or at least, such is her opinion. Turning a faint smile up at him, ] It's usually better, isn't it - not to have to wonder?
[ But maybe the sooner that topic's left behind them, the better. Clearing her throat with a small hum, the lass finally lets her hands fall to her lap, her endeavor finished. ]
... There. All done. [ With what she could see, anyhow. But he'd know far better than she, so she makes the gentle inquiry, ] Does - anything else hurt?
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carisma_sensei
no subject
Date: 2023-06-08 09:08 pm (UTC)Link has never been the kind of person to see himself as the strongest, or the most skilled, or the best. He's always just done what he could, learned what he could, fought in whatever way he was able to. Perhaps he could be called perseverant, in that way, but the idea that someone might see him as a worthy challenger...well, it's not what he had planned for himself, not really. All he wanted to do was protect the things that are important to him.
... Well. In the end, perhaps he's done that.
There's a slim note of reluctance in his expression as he nods. Yes, the man found a fight. Yes, that was the commotion. And as for her question?... He has to think about it for a moment. The man was frenzied, to be certain, fighting to kill and not to hurt. But out of his mind...?]
I don't think so, [he says finally, his voice soft and thoughtful.] He wanted to be beaten. He wanted me to... [Hm. He trails off; he's sure he doesn't need to finish the sentence.] ...but it seemed very intentional.
no subject
Date: 2023-06-13 09:00 pm (UTC)How strange, [ she remarks finally after her eyes have shifted a few times in thought, gaze turned inward more than at him. They grow a little sadder thereafter, then, more quietly, ] He must have had his reasons.
[ Madness isn't always an all-or-nothing prospect, after all - sometimes portions of self-awareness linger. But it's a lot for anyone to handle, whether as the person who's gone mad or someone who has to try to restrain them, and presently her attention refocuses to Link's face. The angle of her head only increases then as she considers him, searching his features a moment. It's not hard to imagine that he might have... regrets, as she knows she might. (As she knows someone who's dedicated so much of their life to others might.)
She isn't the type to put a hand on another's shoulder to provide comfort, but... the tone of her voice is the same as it would be if she'd made the gesture, every bit as gentle despite how her palm lingers close to what remains of his wound instead. ]
Either way... you were able to help him.
[ Regardless of how it was done, the word still applies. Breathing out a slow sigh, she lets her eyes fall to the resultant injury, urges her magic to start again. It'll be done soon, and as much is obvious at a glance; the new skin is close to covering it over after her efforts. ]
Maybe later you'll be able to find out more about why it happened. [ A beat. Kindly, ] If that's what you want to do.
[ After all, for all the weight that death yet carries here, it's not nearly as permanent as it would be outside of this world. ]
no subject
Date: 2023-06-18 03:16 am (UTC)I think so, too, [he says at last, voice quiet as he does. People like that, he imagines, don't look for death so easily. If the man had to go that far...maybe it really was a help.
He remains quiet as her magic works. Until the Champions lent him their abilities, he had never had any magic of his own, and he always imagined it to be such a difficult, unwieldy thing. Princess Zelda seemed to find it that way, at least, and so whenever someone else was using magic, particularly for his sake, he tended to fall into an anticipatory silence. Mipha had teased him a bit about it, had said that he didn't have to worry about her ability to concentrate...
Ah-- it does feel strange, though. The way your body repairs itself at high speed.
He thinks a moment on Naminé's words. If that's what you want to do. It's true that death seems to be something people come back from, here...that may be its own particular type of unsettling, but it does open the opportunity.]
I think it is. [There's a word for it, after all -- closure, yes? He doesn't even know the man's name. It would be nice, someday, to learn more about him...and what happened.]
no subject
Date: 2023-06-27 04:39 am (UTC)For her part, magic has always come easily to her - in the general sense, that is. Taming it into proper spells like this one, shaped and devoted to achieving a particular socially acceptable function, has been more challenging in the absence of a proper teacher. Memories might serve that role, yet do so in a fragile, inefficient sort of way, limited as they are by her personal ability for recollection.
But applying such abilities that they've been learned is easy enough, and Link's silence isn't entirely necessary for her concentration; perhaps it would give her a gentle laugh if she recognized the purpose of his keeping mum. As it is, the quiet doesn't bother her. It's an old friend, and she's typically at peace with its presence. (So, too, is he a friend, and as such, she doesn't fret over what might be lurking under the surface of his mind, save that she hopes it isn't troubling him.)
When he does give voice to his other answer, she's finally got the last of his wound closed up. She takes an extra handful of seconds to observe, just to be sure she hasn't missed anything, and as she does, notes aloud, ]
That's good, I think. [ Or at least, such is her opinion. Turning a faint smile up at him, ] It's usually better, isn't it - not to have to wonder?
[ But maybe the sooner that topic's left behind them, the better. Clearing her throat with a small hum, the lass finally lets her hands fall to her lap, her endeavor finished. ]
... There. All done. [ With what she could see, anyhow. But he'd know far better than she, so she makes the gentle inquiry, ] Does - anything else hurt?