Quest 02 (Open)

[newmemorywhodis]

i. Vault: Caves are for shield surfing
Deep within the Vault, there's a system of caves that slope ever-downward. Sometimes they open up into big, open caverns. Other times, they narrow into something more like tunnels.

They are also, as Link has discovered, fantastic for shield-surfing.

So maybe watch out if you take a casual stroll through these caves, because there's a small Hylian careening down the caves' slopes at full speed, standing on the back of his shield like it's a snowboard.

ii. Flotsam: What hoarding problem
In the communal Floating Dorm, rooms were small. Storage was very, very limited.

And yet anyone who lived or regularly visited might have noticed that despite this, Link was regularly bringing back quite a lot to his dorm. He can be regularly seen bringing anything from a sack full of mushrooms or various flowers and herbs, to am armful of bundles of wood.

But it's clear now that the space is getting...challenging. Because the door is wide open, and the inside is looking packed. And it's really not clear just where exactly Link is going to store the full set of deer antlers he's just dragged to his dorm.

iii. Flotsam: Communal cooking
At least Link never got the chance to hoard much food in his room, it was easy to cook up whatever he foraged and hunted at the communal kitchens. He'd soon become a familiar face who regularly cooked for the group.

This time, though, Link was peering closely at the recipe book he and Id had found at the market. It was propped up so Link could see the reference pictures, along with a loose piece of paper scribbled with Link's handwriting - in Hylian, a language that no one else would be able to understand. Unable to read Imperial himself, he'd needed Id's help to translate the recipe.

Tonight, it looked like it would be crab for dinner. As Link glanced at the recipe notes, and started prepping the crabs, he hummed cheerfully to himself.

Comments

I

[achelord]

Ziel trudged through the caves, exhausted. It was a different kind of exhaustion from his usual exhaustion, though. The latest healing routine the Corsairs were trying on him left him feeling like he’d been scrubbed with steel wool, both outside and in.

He wasn’t sure if it was actually helping. Maybe a little bit.

Ziel’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of metal skidding on stone. He looked up and saw Link careening towards him on his shield, out of control (at least it looked out of control to him.). He wasn’t sure how the kid had gotten in this mess but he reacted on instinct, stepping aside and grabbing Link by the back of his shirt, lifting him up into the air as the shield skidded on for a bit more before starting to slow down without the added weight of a rider.

Apparently, lifting a full grown hylian wasn’t a huge strain for him. He put Link back down a moment later without so much as a grunt of effort.

Ziel reflected that he should probably say something.

“…are you alright?”

[newmemorywhodis]

"Ack!" Link yelps, as he finds himself suddenly plucked from his shield. He watches it continue to skid down without him, halting what had been - until then - a fantastic run.

He turns, and stares at Ziel. It's hard to tell exactly what Link is thinking, because there's not much of a readable expression on his face. But someone who knew Link well - or was very good at reading micro-expressions - might be able to tell that what he was feeling right now was disappointment.

Why would you do that, Ziel? Link had been having a great time!

[achelord]

Ziel waited for a moment for a response, but apparently Link wasn’t talking right now. He tried again.

“How did you end up in that fix?”

Look, he was still relearning how to pay attention to people again. Picking up body language wasn’t his strong point. He had entirely missed Link’s disappointment.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link continues to stare. Though now it's also because the idiom isn't one that's familiar to him, not to mention the language issues, so he's not entirely sure what a 'fix' is meant to be.

But Ziel seems to be asking something about what Link was doing, so in the end he says, "...Shield surfing." And then turns to trudge down the slope, and pick up his shield.

He inspects it for a moment, before glancing towards the deeper parts of the cave. The slope's a bit shallower here, but maybe there's still enough of one for him to get his momentum going again...?

[achelord]

"You were doing that on purpose?"

The absurdity of it actually shook Ziel out of his perpetual daze.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods his head, with a speed that can only suggest that the answer is an enthusiastic 'yes'.

"It's fun," he says.

III

[fray]

Link has become a regular fixture in the kitchen, and consequently, Id has seen his way to drifting through from time to time. Mostly, he just wants to make sure he didn't misread anything that could wind up troublesome for Link... But he'd be a liar if he claimed to not be curious about how a recipe would turn out.

He wasn't really much for cooking. No one in Avia particularly was, and it was frequently waved off as unneccessarily indulgent anyway. Id hadn't thought all that much of it. Now that he's here and Link clearly likes cooking, sometimes it's nice to simply observe.

There's something to be said for seeing someone enjoy what they're doing, and he seems pretty good at it. So this time when Id drops by, he parks himself on a nearby high stool he recognizes as unneeded and asks, "How's this one going?" The humming is a hint, but he inquires just the same.

[newmemorywhodis]

If Id had misread anything, they were all going to find out soon. And if that was the case, it wouldn't be the first time Link cooked something dubious.

There was a lot of trial and error in how Link had learned cooking.

Right now though, Link tilts up his chopping board to show Id where things are at. So far, he's butchered the crab and prepared it's meat. But next to the chopping board are bowls filled with other ingredients.

Even if Link didn't have the original book in front of him, from those ingredients alone Id could probably tell which particular recipe Link's chosen to make - crab cakes.

[fray]

Id eyes the chopping board thoughtfully and nods. He thinks he knows what Link's working on here. One good thing about going through the book and reading it is that it left him pretty familiar with the recipes.

In a way, this was even more the case when they had to sort out certain words between them. Id has a good working knowledge of the language, but that didn't mean words he hadn't had cause to encounter were necessarily intuitive. He thinks they got it though, hopefully.

"Wonder how the crabs here'll compare to those ones you mentioned before," he muses, bringing an idle hand to his chin. It's something Link has far more experience with than he does, and he's probably just as curious.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link considers some of the discarded crab shells in front of him, as he starts to mix some of his other ingredients together in a bowl. They're a nice, deep red colour - which does remind him of one of the crabs from home.

"Maybe like Ironshell crab?" he wonders, as he gives the mix an absentminded stir.

And Id right, Link does have experience with this. It was something that would help with the translation effort - because even if Id hadn't been sure about something, Link knew enough about cooking to tell if a particular interpretation would make things go drastically wrong.

[fray]

Id's got little to contribute where cooking is concerned, he feels. He could cut or crush ingredients, but Link is perfectly capable of these things. Still, it's informative to observe, and one day he might have to do this sort of thing himself.

Well, maybe he has one thing to contribute. He remembers it abruptly, the recollection animating his otherwise near gargoyle-like stillness, as he plucks a small bottle from one of the utility pouches on his belt.

He slides off of the stool and sets it on the counter just beyond Link's assortment of utensils and ingredients. "Merchant gave me this as a bonus, some kind of herb. 'Crisp, fresh taste', she said," he explains. Maybe she'd spotted them book-shopping a while back, he supposes.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link pauses, eyes going slightly wide as he looks at the bottle. A new ingredient!

"What's it called?" he asks, as he takes the bottle. Opens it, and dips one finger in to collect a small sample of the herb, and then licks it. From the approving hum Link makes, it apparently passes muster.

In fact, Link eyes the bowl he'd just been mixing - and adds a little bit in. Sure, the recipe hadn't called for whatever it was specifically. But Link had never been one to fuss about being exact when it came to cooking.

[fray]

"Called it 'cilantro'. Apparently it's best when it's fresh like that," Id replies. He'd made sure he had that information down, knowing that Link would definitely want to know if it was something new to him. "It's also easy to grow, so she said."

Which is his cue to set down a small paper packet as well: a pack of seeds. Showing interest was enough to net him those, for some reason. Id's not about to complain, especially not if it means they can have a ready supply.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link hums and nods, making note of the name. Cilantro. It is new to Link. As far as he knows, it's not something they have in Hyrule.

When the seeds are offered, Link blinks, and looks at them. For a moment, there's a faint wistful look in his eyes - those seeds are exactly what Zelda wanted.

"You're going to grow them?"

[fray]

"Never done it before, but...worth a try, right?" Id knows people are either good with helping something grow or they aren't, so he's admittedly dubious. Fighting had always been the area where he was most capable, so it's something of a departure.

If it'd be useful to them and the seeds are right there, though, he should at least try. When they're constantly drifting arounc as they are, they ought to take what they can get where they can get it.

So he reasons, at least.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods, agreeing easily enough. If Id could grow them, that would mean they'd have more they could use. And who didn't want more ingredients?

And it's at this point that Link decides he's happy with his mixture. Time to form the batter into patties, ready to go into the pan.

III obviously

[tisfinished]

“That looks like a fine crab boil you’ve started,” says the dwarven man - one that Link has likely seen cooking, given how he’s a regular fixture around the Flotsam kitchens and pantries. “May I see your recipe?”

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods, and tilts the recipe book so that Senshi can see.

The page with Link's scribbled Hylian translation will mean nothing to him - not even the lettering will be familiar - but if Senshi can read Imperial, it will be easy enough to follow.

Caves

[relentless_sentinel]

Being a curious gal by nature, and never being able to sit still for too long, during some of Nephenee's free time, she's taken to exploring different places around the Corsairs' territory. Today's objective? Check out these caves she's heard about.

Knowing just enough to keep herself from getting into too much trouble down here, she's got a lantern on a pole on her back and some supplies handy, and has been enjoying herself for awhile when she hears a strange sound around the bend. Like a...prolonged scraping sound with a metallic quality to it, like if she were to drag a weapon or her shield against rock? She's not too sure because of the echoes...

Tentatively, the Sentinel steps around the corner as it gets louder, hand back and ready to draw her halberd, when she suddenly gets slammed into by someone?! "Wah?!"

Instincts take hold faster than processing specifics, and she immediately digs her heels in. One of Nephenee's strengths is being sturdy as hell (and being from Tellius, where normal Earth physics tend to be suggestions), though, and rather than being thrown aside, she's shoved back several feet. If it'd been a dragon, she for sure would've had it harder, but whatever it is wasn't going quite that fast. Still hurts, though!

[newmemorywhodis]

Link had just been minding his own business, zooming down the cave slopes, having a great old time...

...until suddenly he turns a corner and finds himself slamming right into Nephenee.

And since Link is small, and Nephenee is sturdy, the impact has him flying into the air with a yell, tumbling like a ragdoll as he falls to the ground. He rolls, three times along the ground, as his Shield ricochets off the cave wall.

[relentless_sentinel]

And that shield just barely misses the Sentinel given her close proximity, causing her to flinch from that and the loud clang as it does so. It goes off somewhere; honestly, that's slightly less of a concern now.

"S-Sir Link?!" It's alarming to see a fellow Corsair and training buddy get bounced around like that, and she's running over to him as soon as it registers just what on earth happened, grabbing for her first aid kit as she drops down to kneel beside him. "Are ya alright?!"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link hisses - that fall was not fun - but he's taken far harder hits than that. Taken far harder hits while shield-surfing, even.

Nephenee would probably be rather alarmed if she ever learned just how many cliffs Link had managed to fling himself over. Certainly Zelda was.

Now, though, he pulls himself to his feet. Dusts himself off, and peers at his hands to see what the damage is. There's definitely a few scrapes, but nothing he considers too bad.

He gives Neph a quick nod. He's fine! Don't mind that blood though, just ignore that.

[relentless_sentinel]

Don't "don't mind the blood" her, Link! She will do so, and even as he's rising, she's still down on a knee and tugging out supplies. Tsk, it's like her brothers when they've gotten into a tussle or something.

She would absolutely make a fuss if she learned of how many cliffs he's gone over. For someone who can be reckless herself, she frets over others well enough.

"Ah wasn't sure what that sound was, so Ah walked 'round to check," she explains as she's getting some alcohol ready to clean wounds, "an' suddenly there ya were! Didn't e'en know what hit me for a second there...hold still, this might sting." Sorry Link, she's going to try to clean your knees off while she yammers, "...how were ya goin' so fast, anyways?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link doesn't see the need to fuss at all - he's perfectly fine! - but neither does he make any move to object to her patching him up. He'll let her poke at him as necessary.

(Zelda would always fuss. He kind of misses it, from her.)

"Shield surfing," he says, before jerking his head in the direction of his shield.

[relentless_sentinel]

Zelda is a smart girl. Some boys need fussing over. Like dummies who fling themselves from great heights. Or up to them from what basically amounts to a slingshot tower...

Nephenee's aid falters for a moment as she tries to understand what that term means. The closest term to "surf" she's got is talking about the surf, like waves. So after a minute to try and fail to parse that, the Hylian gets the most confused emerald eyes looking up at him under that ever-present hat. Huh, there's freckles there, who knew? (Considering this is the closest she's gotten to anyone so far, probably not many. It's only because she's busy worrying that she is so near.)

"Uh...what's surfin'?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link's face doesn't change. It's still that neutral, largely blank-faced expression. And yet there's an intensity to him as he looks back at her, like he's practically vibrating on the inside.

She doesn't know what shield surfing is!

He runs down to where his shield landed. Grabs it. Darts back to where she is. And then without saying a world, answers her question.

"Hup!" he says, jumping up into the air while flipping the shield underneath his feet. As the shield comes down, it begins sliding down the floor of the sloped cavern - with Link balanced on top of it.

This is shield surfing.

[relentless_sentinel]

She's still getting used to trying to read him, but she's starting to reckon he emotes more with his eyes. Good thing he doesn't wear a hat like her, he might be a lot harder to get a bead on.

Nephenee starts a little and backs up as he scurries off, her head tilting as he runs back with his shield, and there's a surprised "Eh?!" when Link does...whatever he just did! What in tarnation?? How...? Why...?

Yeah, all she can really do is watch and make confused Nephenee noises.

[newmemorywhodis]

If she spends enough time with him, she'll get the hang of reading him. Learn how to pick up on his microexpressions, those subtle hints that are there, for those who know him well.

Fortunately, Neph doesn't have to stare in surprised confusion for long - Link only shield-surfs a short way down the cavern before stopping, picking up his shield, and running back. He'd just wanted to give her a demonstration - not zoom off into the distance.

"Shield surfing!" he says. See? Now she knows what it is!

[relentless_sentinel]

Well, she's learned more than she knew back after they first sparred, so she's picking them up, even if she isn't completely aware of it! Thankfully she's not as hard as him to read, but even she's got her weird tells.

Nephenee just stares at him for a moment, then at the shield, the ground, then back to him. The Hero of Hyrule is now diamonds. Then she looks back towards her own long shield...she can't imagine that working. But she points towards it and gives him a quizzical look, wordlessly asking if it'd work.

A+ old spice reference there haha

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods his head vigorously. Her shield would absolutely work too!

Then, just in case she needs the added incentive...he holds up his own shield. Locks eyes with her. And says, "...Race you?"

He's not sure if Nephenee is the competitive type...but right now he's betting that she is.

Great memes age like fine wine~

[relentless_sentinel]

Nephenee's a little surprised hers will work, and part of her is wondering about how beat up it'll get.

But despite the fact she'd deny it if asked, she does have a playfully competitive streak deep down. He's caught her attention!

"...Hold on." She wants to give her shield a better layer or protection, so she quickly whips out her polishing cloth and armour wax and sets to work. It's not her normal babying of her armour (she already did that recently), just enough to keep it from getting too many new scratches, given she doesn't usually, you know, grind it against stone.

"A'ight. All good."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link doesn't bother with any kind of countdown. He just waits until it looks like she's ready, then says, "Go."

...And then hops on his shield and starts sliding down the cavern. Better get on that shield quick Nephenee, or Link will pull way ahead of you.

[relentless_sentinel]

Oh! She barely knows how to do this, but she'll do her best!

Unfortunately, this is so past what the Sentinel is used to, and not really like anything she's done that she can refer to, that she lands on her rump the first time. But she figures it out the second! Mostly. It takes her a second to figure how to really get it going, so Link's got a good headstart! But huh, this is fun!

[newmemorywhodis]

Link zooms ahead - though he does glance behind, and slows down a little when he realises he's way too far ahead of her.

It might be a race, but...she's still learning. He doesn't want to just leave her in the dust.

But when it looks like Nephenee's getting the hang of things and is catching up to him a little, he'll pick up the pace as they twist and turn and careen down through the caverns.

[relentless_sentinel]

This is one of those times where being taller isn't a good thing, because while Nephenee is pretty trim, the height still adds drag, as does the muscle weight.

But she watches Link as she adjusts, and tries to mimic his movements and stance, tucking in a bit. It only goes so far, but it helps her start to catch up. The real kicker, as it were, is getting her legs in the right place for this. Having childbearing hips and not a super-wide shield makes that a bit more difficult, but nothing to be done about that!

"Wah!" A little yelp escapes as she wobbles from hitting a rock at a bad angle, and her arms flail a bit to keep her balance...but she stays upright, barely! Woo!

[newmemorywhodis]

Link glances behind, to see how she's doing. She's a bit wobbly but...eh, she's doing alright.

Time for Link to kick it into gear then. He can't let himself get beaten by a newbie!

He crouches down, making himself smaller and more aerodynamic - and faster.