Quest 01 (Open)

[newmemorywhodis]

i. Flotsam: Scouting from the sails
In any new place, Link's first instinct is always to go up. Get high, get somewhere he can see, and then paraglide to the next point of interest. Well, with no paraglider, he couldn't do the last part. But he could do the rest.

So Link will just casually climb up the mast of whatever ship he happens to be on. If there's a ladder, he'll use it. But if there isn't, he'll find a way to scamper up anyway. From there, he'll perch on the edge of the sails, looking out over the armada of ships that make up the Flotsam.

And if you don't spot him when it's up or - or feel like braving the heights to join him - well, he's gotta come down sometime. He might drop down next to you.

ii. Flotsam: Floating markets
Link can't afford anything here, but already he loves this place.

He's already mentally making a long list of things he wants to buy - that wickedly long spear! That exotic spice! The weird glowing rock that would probably be useful somehow! But it's the clothes shops that Link ends up spending the most time in. Something with a bit of protection would be best, but he can't help but also be drawn to some more decorative options. Like that nice flowy white blouse, that reminds him of the Gerudo style...

iii. Flotsam and/or the Vault: Sword practice
On the deck of one of the ships - or sometimes in the Vault's armoury, if he's feeling like a change of scenery - Link finds runs through a sequence of sword forms. They're smooth and practiced, leaving no openings or visible weaknesses in form. It's clear from the way he moves that these movements have been ingrained over many, many years.

When the sequence comes to an end, he lists up his sword and looks at it. It's not the Sword that Seals the Darkness. It's not even comparable to most of his other weapons. But it's serviceable enough. Link can fight with a stick if he has to - he can certainly make do with this.

Comments

[newmemorywhodis]

"...Snatched."

He doesn't show any kind of emotive response, to the admission. But then he doesn't seem to show much expression in his face, making it hard to tell how he's feeling about it. But he looks out towards the ocean as he says it, not to her.

"I'm a Hylian." Which won't mean anything to her, he knows. He's learned that no one knows what a Hylian is here. Or any of the other races of Hyrule.

[poormeowmeow]

"Tch. This sucks," She grouses. She doesn't know what a "Hylian" is, but there's nothing much to be done about that, is there?

"Why us?"

Well, why her in particular.

"Do they just want warm bodies and they'll get 'em from anywhere they can? Including... Hylia? Or whatever?"

She's a little rude, sorry about that.

[newmemorywhodis]

Luckily for Izutsumi, Link just so happens to be really rather lacking in social skills himself. Does he mind her rudeness? Has he even noticed? Who knows, but he certainly doesn't appear to be bothered.

He also has absolutely no idea why the Empire picked them in particular. So he shrugs. And then adds, as a helpful correction: "Hyrule. Hylia is the Goddess."

[poormeowmeow]

"...sure, Hyrule. That place. Never heard of it," She waves her free hand with a little groan and a wrinkle of her nose.

"At least you're kinda like me. Half the people I've met so far are... you know... from here."

Which makes sense when you think about it, but still. It bothers her.

"Especially - uh. Hey. Have you met anyone you know here? But who doesn't know you?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link shakes his head. No hadn't met anyone he knew here. Something he was rather grateful for, actually.

He didn't want anyone else to have to experience living under this Empire.

But he sends an inquisitive look towards Izutsumi. Is she asking because she has met someone she knows?

[poormeowmeow]

"Hey, what's that look for?" She grumbles in response.

"...I was just asking!"

She says, like a liar.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link continues to look at her.

Now though, rather than curious questioning, it looks more like incredulousness. Does she think he's stupid?

[poormeowmeow]

"Hey! Stop looking at me like that!"

She demands with a frown and a little hiss, "What do you know about it, anyway?"

Give her a second, she'll come around.

"It's just weird, that's all! People who look the same but aren't!"

[newmemorywhodis]

Nope. Link will absolutely not stop looking at her like that.

Because really, why would she even bring it up if it hadn't been something she'd already encountered?

"Who'd you see?" he asks.

[poormeowmeow]

Ughhhh. She flattens her ears and scowls, "...someone I thought I knew."

She grumbles, continuing, "But she's not the same one. She's from this world. And then there's another one! Same thing! He's not right!"

[newmemorywhodis]

"...Did they lose their memories?"

Which didn't quite fit with the fact of them being from this world. But...with Link's history, a loss of memories is immediately what his mind goes to. Even after he'd managed to regain much of his old memories, he still felt sometimes like he was a different person from how he'd been, before the Calamity.

[poormeowmeow]

"...I dunno. They act like they've lived here their whole lives. It's strange. They don't even remember me - or a version of me."

She pouts, looking somewhere between upset and trying to act like she just doesn't care.

"It's not that they have no memories - it's that I'm not a part of 'em and they don't remember what I remember!"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link thinks about this a moment, hand resting on his chin. This is a puzzle, and a difficult one too...

"Maybe...they reincarnated?"

Which would still be strange, since you don't generally get to meet someone's reincarnation. Link knows that his own soul is supposed to have reincarnated many, many times. But there's usually centuries, if not thousands of years inbetween.

But Zelda had also managed to travel to the past. So...who knows? Maybe the Servant's Gate had time powers too.

[poormeowmeow]

"...reincarnated?" She wrinkles her nose. That could work, maybe, even if she doesn't quite understand how reincarnation would actually work in this case. She shifts her weight and sits up, letting her feet dangle over the yardarm.

"I dunno. Maybe. But why wouldn't I get reincarnated? Why just them?"

It's a big ol' mystery to her still.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link shrugs.

"Servant's Gate has time powers?" He says, voicing his earlier thought. Maybe Izutsumi was from the future. Or the past.

[poormeowmeow]

"...maybe. I dunno enough about magic to say. Never heard of someone getting shot forward or back in time before!"

Well, there was the Golden Land and the whole trapped in time thing, but that feels different than people getting a weird lack of memories (or new memories).

[newmemorywhodis]

"...I have."

Which was perhaps putting it mildly, considering everything Zelda went through.

[poormeowmeow]

"How'd that work out for 'em?"

Call her curious.

[newmemorywhodis]

"She's...home now."

There's a lot of weight behind those words, though. A sense of a much bigger story. How did time travel work out, for Zelda? Link wasn't sure there was a simple, easy answer for that.

They might have gotten Zelda home, and succeeded in defeating Ganondorf in the end. But...there was a lot she'd had to endure first.

[poormeowmeow]

"Good for her," Izutsumi responds with just a hint of venom, "Doesn't really help us out here, does it? Or give me any ideas about these people!"

She scowls. She's not angry at link or this Zelda person, more at the whole situation. She doesn't quite know what to do and that means she's lashing out a little.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link shrugs. Izutsumi had asked.

Her anger doesn't seem to bother him. Or at least, if it does, he's not knowing it. Besides, he can understand. If Zelda appeared, but seemed to be someone else entirely and didn't recognise him at all, Link would be...upset.

[poormeowmeow]

To be fair, she's not really angry at him. Just at... everything around this situation.

Her tail lashes and she frowns, her expression darkening more as she thinks about. She finally lets out an ugh and sprawls back out on the yardarm, despite the rather narrow perch.

"...all I can do is keep going. This sucks."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link makes a soft hum of agreement. It does, indeed, suck.

Then he falls silent, and just kind of exists there for a while with her. Link knows some of the things that help make him feel better. Like spending time with Zelda, or riding one of his horses, or exploding something with bomb flowers. Or maybe...

"...Do you like food?" he'll ask, seemingly out of nowhere.

[poormeowmeow]

"Well. Yeah...." She frowns, "Who doesn't like food? Not all food, some food I don't like but I gotta eat anyway."

She gives Link a curious glance, temporarily distracted from her belly-aching.

[newmemorywhodis]

Good, she likes food. Link gives a short, determined nod to himself.

He can find a way to help her feel better.

"Wait there," he says - and then hops down from the sails, landing on the deck and then breaking off into a run.

Twenty minutes later, he returns, climbing up into the sails once more. Hopefully, she's still there. If she is, he'll start pulling out of his pockets a small collection of biscuits, small pastries, and fruits, and handing them over to her.

"Here."