001 - If I Keep Looking Forward I Won't Fall Back [Vault]

[purplexing]

I. The Armory
Donnie hasn't talked about the last mission. He hasn't talked much to anyone. Not entirely strange, but then nor is his preoccupation with work. At the moment he's taking a break from fixing up the armors that had been acquired during the taking of Hesaeth, working instead on more personal weapons. Or in this case, repairing them.

His staff is in pieces. Normally it collapses into something discreet enough to carry, but some of those pieces have very obvious indentations, damage sustained from the encounter with Lord Gundhir's son. The turtlekin picks up one of the cylindrical segments, holding it up in closer inspection. Repairing it would be possible although he'd likely have to reforge some pieces, but what good would it be if it would still essentially break under pressure?

...

Pushing aside an errant thought, Donnie sets the piece down, pulling out his notebook and a folded sheet of paper from within, flattening it out. The original designs for his collapsible staff, and extra notations for other additions to it. It still needs to be sturdier, but lighter too, especially if he plans to include more capabilities.

He doesn't look up at whoever approaches, only barely hearing the footsteps thanks to the mufflers he always tends to wear, especially down here where there's just so much noise. "Hey, know if there's any scrap titanium I can use?"


II. Subterranean Farms
Tucked away from the main fields and nestled in a smallish nook along the carved out walls, the little garden can easily be overlooked if one isn't paying attention to the strange, spiraling growth of vines dotted with small purple flowers that have started to crawl along the edges of the rock there. That's as far as Donnie's allowed them to grow, always taking care to trim them back before they can get out of hand.

He's rigged his own little light source here, simultaneously taking advantage of where crevices throw shadows across the space to allow for all kinds of plants to be cultivated. At a glance they're definitely more of a decorative sort than to be used for food, but he wouldn't advise eating most of these anyway. There are many flowers and herbs, and even a few types of fungi that grow within the natural rock 'shelves' of the flanking walls.

The turtlekin can be found tending to his beloved plants, removing any dead leaves, carefully watering the flowerbeds or tilling a patch of dirt in preparation for planting something new.


III. The Library
The library's become as much of a retreat as any, and in particular Donnie liked to hide away here because of how much quieter it is compared to other areas of the Vault.

He had come here to do some research but the peacefulness of the area paired with poor sleep has managed to lull him into an unscheduled naptime. Hopefully you didn't need that book he's currently using as a pillow, but be forewarned; he's a drooler.

Comments

[purplexing]

Donnie has started to look around his space, wondering where the best spot would be for one of them. He's not sure they'd provide the same light plants needed to grow, that would require testing. But if they could grow on, of all things, a shield then perhaps they shouldn't simply be considered as a plant...

"Huh?" He blinks, looking back at Link. "...I could try? Sometimes it's a lot of trial and error, and if things aren't just right, they might not grow well."

[newmemorywhodis]

Trial and error? Maybe he should keep back a few of the things he only had a very small number of. But if Donnie could help with some of the things Link did have plenty of...

Once more, Link reaches into his back. Except this time, instead of brightbloom seeds, he ends up pulling out all sorts of other things. Like wildberries, brightcaps, stambulbs, splash fruit, skyshrooms, cool safflina...

And as Donnie may notice - there's far more of all these than could possibly fit into the small pack at Link's waist.

[purplexing]

There is no feasible way for Link to be pulling such things out without them being horribly crushed. Donnie is staring again, his curiosity torn between the wonderful things that Link brings out of his pack and the feat of the pack itself.

"How are you doing that?" he asks as he picks up the weird berry. "...and how can you just stuff them in there? You don't use flasks and bottles..?" That seems important for many specimens, as well as a means to keep from cross-contamination.

[newmemorywhodis]

"Korok-enchanted," Link says promptly. As far as Link knows, there's no koroks in this world - or a local word for them. So Link just says koroks, and leaves it at that.

And then, just to demonstrate the wonders of his korok-enchanted pack, Link picks up his shield. And puts it in the pack. Attached brightbloom seed and all.

It shouldn't fit. It shouldn't even be able to get inside, being far bigger than the opening of the bag. And yet, somehow...it does.

[purplexing]

Ah. Magic. No magic Donnie's ever seen, but then he's only seen so much personally, and given that Link's from another world, the limitations are nonexistent. It's kind of maddening to think about, really. What couldn't someone do?

"How do you know you're pulling out what you want to pull out?" That seems like the next most obvious thing to ask.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link shrugs. "I pull what I want."

He doesn't really know how the korok-enchanted pack works. He just knows that it does. And by now, it's second nature to use.

[purplexing]

"....."

That is not by any means a satisfactory answer for Donnie. "And what if someone else tried to pull something out of it?" he asks. "Can I try?" He has no idea what's in that pack, but there's clearly something in it, so will he feel anything like a shield or a seed, or...would it be nothing?

[newmemorywhodis]

Once again, Link...shrugs. The only person other than him that he ever let take things out of it was Zelda. And she was often tended to already know the sorts of things he had in there anyway.

Right now though, he eyes Donnie. He hasn't said no to Donnie trying, but...he hasn't said yes either. It's not that he minds, really. It's just...that's his pack. With his things.

(Okay, so...maybe he does mind.)

[purplexing]

Okay, shrugs are not any better an answer than being told there isn't any certain one. Donnie looks back at Link expectantly. Without a clear yes or no, the turtle teen gives a meaningful tilt of his head before prompting verbally: "Well..?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Another long pause. Link's fingers fiddle with the flap of the bag.

"...I don't want you to."

[purplexing]

This...clearly isn't the answer Donnie wanted, but it's one he realizes he's more or less expected. He's not sure why it stings to hear it, more than it probably should. It's not that he ever asks for much, and back home with his family he'd hardly heard a flat-out rejection, but that was mostly due to the fact that their father more or less let them do much of their own thing and when it comes to brothers, sometimes you just had to help yourself.

"...o-oh. Okay," the turtlekin says quietly, shoulders hunching up like he'd tuck his head into his shell, had he the ability to do so. He pokes at the things Link had pulled earlier from his pack.

[newmemorywhodis]

Perhaps it would have been different, if Donnie was someone Link knew better. Someone he could call a friend, someone he trusted. But he'd only met Donnie once before. Link didn't really know Donnie, not yet.

But he feels like maybe he owes...something. An explanation, maybe.

"...Empire took it," he says softly. "Just got it back. Most my things were gone."

Inside it still had about half of his materials. But all of his weapons, his armours, his paraglider - the Sword that Seals the Darkness - was gone.

[purplexing]

That's a point Donnie really can't argue, and neither is the explanation given once Link thinks to say something more.

The turtle's expression darkens considerably, and while there's a complicated mix of emotions there on his face, it's clear what he thinks of the Empire. He can't really be surprised when the Empire's involved. They take everything.

"That's unfortunate," he says carefully, frowning.

[newmemorywhodis]

"I'll get them back," Link says. There's an unwavering determination to how he says it - like he won't hesitate to fight the entire Empire if he has to. No matter what, Link is getting what was taken from him back.

Although it's...probably going to take a while.

[purplexing]

That confidence is certainly something to note. Donnie blinks, nodding then as he's not sure how else to respond.

Fighting the Empire for one's belongings might seem a trivial reason, but is it really that much different from anything else? The Empire has taken something from the people here, whether it be belongings or freedom or something else.

[newmemorywhodis]

It's not the only reason. Link would have fought the empire anyway. But it does give a little extra vindictiveness.

"Can't get more from home," he says, suddenly switching back to their previous conversation. As he does so, he starts pulling out more items. It's like Link has a near endless supply of ingredients in there, and he's bringing all of them out.

Including what seems to be...flowers shaped like bombs?

"...But they're useful," he continues.

[purplexing]

"Oh. Yeah, that would be a problem..." Seeing as how the only way 'home' for those who weren't from Esthere was apparently the gate that the Empire had created, and Donnie had only heard about it. It still sounds hard to believe, even when surrounded by people who tended to drop strange words now and then, or talk about unknown places. And yet Donnie couldn't really say that they can't have been talking about anywhere on Esthere when he's only seen so much for himself.

Naturally he's fascinated by the...wait, is it a flower or..? Donnie reaches out to pick it up.

[newmemorywhodis]

"[Bomb flowers]," Link says, in Hylian. But he then very helpfully follows up with a translation: "Bomb flowers. They explode."

He is very matter of fact about that. And oddly nonchalant, considering that Donnie's about to pick it up.

"Very useful," he adds.

[purplexing]

The turtlekin's fingers halt but a centimeter from closing around the thing.

"Wait, seriously?" he blurts, eyeing Link critically. "-how do they work? Do you actually light it?" Given Link's just had stuffed in his magical bag and set it down like nothing, Donnie doesn't think it should explode from merely handling it...

[newmemorywhodis]

"Fire or impact," Link says. "Usually throw them."

Or attach them to arrows; but without his ability to Fuse items, that wasn't really something he could do anymore.

[purplexing]

Donnie had by then regained his curiosity to pick up the thing, turning it over as carefully as any ammo he's handled. Gunpowder charges weren't things to be played with, so he takes care as he looks the thing over.

"If they're a type of flower, are there seeds?" he asks, nodding towards the box with the glowing ones he'd been given earlier. "Can they be grown?"

[newmemorywhodis]

"Maybe?" Link says, with an uncertain shrug. "I don't know how to grow them."

He wasn't a farmer. He had a pack filled with various flowers and vegetables and plants, but he hadn't grown any of it. He'd foraged and found it all.

[purplexing]

"...which is why you were asking in the first place," Donnie suggests as he looks to the initial pile of things that Link had removed from his pack.

"Hm. Well... experimenting with a plant that's explosive isn't something I want to do near here. I wonder if soaking it in water will help... Although I'd like to see it in action first, to get an idea of how much damage it's capable of. -not here," he adds on.

"What about the others?" He gestures to the fruits and things. "What do they do?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods.

As for the rest, Link starts pointing to them and giving brief descriptions of each. As it turns out though, there's quite a lot of variety. Some are described as having elemental effects, like the ice and fire fruits. Then there's ones like the muddlebud or puffshroom, which create clouds that cause confusion or impede vision.

Then there's ones that are a bit less direct. Ones that have effects after being cooked into food or made into an elixir. Some increase a person's stamina, their ability to withstand extreme temperatures, their speed, or even their ability to remain quiet and stealthy.

And then there are others, which are clearly just...food. They don't explode or glow or make anyone able to move faster. They just make for some tasty meals.

[purplexing]

When Link begins to go about with descriptions, Donnie has to flail a bit and get him to pause so he can pull out a notebook and a pencil. He starts to write down notes, taking his best guess at words he might not have learned yet, doing a very rough sketch of the things that went with them. He adds in quick little descriptors on the side of each picture, like colors and defining characteristics to help for later identification purposes.

"That's a lot to work with. How have they not spoiled in your pack? Unless that's just another property..." That seems the easiest thing to account for it. Flowers and herbs should have been long crushed and withered, especially given how long Donnie knows Link to have been here.

"There's a lot, and clearly whatever magic your pack has is keeping them from getting ruined, so we'll do this a little at a time. Choose maybe two or three to start, and I'll need at least three samples of each to work with- if you can spare them."