Apha sat under a tree, rubbing her thumbs over something she was holding in her hands. Her face was expressionless despite her eyes burning as though tears are trying to build. Was she deep in thought? Does she need to be snapped out of it? Brought back to reality?
Well, that’s what Era’s going with. She decided that she’ll put her old Yiga training to use, sneaking closer and closer until she can carefully climb up the tree. Her plan was to suddenly drop down in front of Apha from one of the branches to scare her out of her trance and hopefully gain a laugh from her, but that didn’t happen. Instead, she accidentally caused a chickaloo tree nut to fall onto Apha’s head. Well…Era supposed that would work, too…
“Era, are you up there?” Apha looked up, confirming that Era was on a branch right above her head.
“Uh...uhm, yeah. Sorry about that.” Era smiled, cheeks going pink from embarrassment over her failed plan.
“It’s fine. What are ya doing up there, anyway?”
“I wanted to scare you, but I guess my ‘ninja skills’ aren’t as good as they used to be.”
Era hopped down, landing a few inches in front of Apha before she sat down in front of her, crossing her legs. She didn’t exactly think far enough ahead to have a plan to lead a conversation, so she just said the first thing that popped into her mind.
“What’s that?” She pointed to what Apha had been rubbing her thumbs over.
“This? It’s an ocarina.” Apha held up the blue instrument to let Era get a decent look.
“It’s a wind instrument. You blow into it to make music.”
“No!!” Apha pulled her hand back, making as much space as possible between Era and the ocarina. The sudden rise in her voice and quick movement startled Era, causing her to lean away from Apha and hold her hands up as if surrendering to an enemy.
“Ah, sorry! Didn’t mean to be so loud. It’s just that this specific ocarina is kind of important to me and it took me quite a long time to find it. I had to do a lot of traveling between time periods and timelines, so I guess I’m kinda protective of it or something.” Apha placed it on the grass between them, letting Era see it again, but not giving any signals that Era is allowed to touch it yet.
“I guess it doesn’t really make sense for me to be protective over it. It’s not being used now, and I can’t see it being used in the foreseeable future. As far as I can currently see, it wouldn’t make much of a difference to Hyrule if it stayed in its current condition or if it got smashed into pieces. Alright, go ahead. You can hold it, but please don’t attempt to play it.”
Era picked it up carefully, turning it around in her hands to examine it. A little mouthpiece, some holes, doesn’t look like anything real fancy.
“Why is it important? Doesn’t seem like anything important.”
“No, no. It’s very important. It’s called the ‘Ocarina of Time’! It was the royal family’s hidden treasure once. They would use this when they wanted my help. Then one day, the princess gave it to the hero of her time period. Then he would use it to call upon me for help.”
“Yes, things got a bit wild after that. That’s when I got my work cut out for me because of the princess.” Apha huffed in annoyance, using one hand to push her bangs back as if they were bothering her, only for them to fall back into their original place.
“She thought that she could give the hero his childhood back by sending him back in time after he saved Hyrule. How naive. That’s just not how childhood works. He kept all of his memories and the mental state he had, so there was no way he could truly experience the childhood that he missed out on. Instead, it caused a split in the timeline. I have three timelines to keep track of now! (Not counting the games like Age of Calamity in this, I count those as ‘side timelines’ or something since it isn’t canon) Although, I guess it’s good in some way, too... It’s mainly a pain, though. I shouldn’t have blindly allowed my power to be used like that. The hero missed out on his childhood and while he was able to prevent some bad things from happening in that timeline, the princess left her own timeline with no chosen hero! Uhg....”
“Wait.” Era seemed confused by something. “I’m not gonna ask about the whole ‘lost childhood’ thing or anything right now. Instead, I’m gonna ask, ‘why do you have this instead of the royal family’? If it’s their hidden treasure, why do you have it?”
“Well, since the timeline got messed up and split, so did the location of the ocarina. The hero lost this one at some point. There’s actually more than one of these that exists within the timelines now, but I went out of my way to find this one specifically. I claim this one as mine now. And I can play this without consequence. However, if a mortal plays it, it calls out to me. So please, if you end up with this in your possession, only play it if you desperately need me.”
“Ok, I won’t. I learned to just trust you when you start talking about time travel and timelines and stuff.” Era handed it back to Apha.
“Heh, good girl. I don’t have to worry about you.” Her face returned to its expressionless state as she stared at the instrument and went silent. This silence goes on for a few minutes before Era’s concern forces her to speak.
“Apha? You ok?” At first, it seemed that Apha couldn’t even hear her, but right when Era is about to ask her again, she shakes her head slightly.
“Just...even though this means a lot to me, sometimes I can’t help but feel sadness, disappointment, and disgust when I look at it for too long.”
“Because it reminds me of the time split, which reminds me of the horrible things that have happened in the history of each of those timelines. Just...so many things. It’s a bit… soul-crushing.” Despite no expression showing on her face, a tear suddenly rolls down her cheek, which finally snaps her out of it due to surprise. She wipes her eyes.
“Sorry about that. I should shut up now. I shouldn’t burden a child with something like this.”
“Excuse me?” This seems to have angered Era. “You don’t think you should burden me with your feelings? Yes, you should! It can be like give and take! I’ve been a burden to you and Mortal ever since you took me in! Now you can ‘burden’ me with your feelings! We can use that to make us ‘even’ or whatever! I don’t mind it!”
“Wait, Era, you think I consider you a burden?”
“Well, yeah? Kids need a lot of money, resources, time, energy, everything! Kids limit adults soooo much, the adults lose so much freedom when they have to take care of kids! Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed the differences! You and Mortal have to worry about what I eat, where I sleep, my health, safety, the clothing I have to make sure I stay protected from the elements, you don’t travel nearly as much, you had to buy a house a few months after you took me in-how can I not be a burden after causing all of that? I’m a huge burden! So isn’t it only fair that you burden me sometimes in return? I don’t even actually consider it a burden, so-?”
“Era,” Apha cut her off “I have never thought of you as a burden, silly. Yes, I don’t have as much freedom, yes, I have more things to worry about sometimes, yes, I have to give some things up, but that doesn’t mean you’re a burden to me. Everything that I have to give up, everything that I have to do, everything that I have to worry about, it’s all worth it because it ends in you being safe and healthy. So I don’t consider any of that as a burden.”
“Of course not. You’re the opposite of a burden. You and Mortal are some of the few things in life that actually make existing feel worthwhile.”
“Without a doubt. But hearing you talk like that has made me reconsider viewing my emotional troubles as burdens, I suppose. If the person you’re talking to cares about you, they probably don’t consider you talking about them to be a burden…”
Apha sighs and puts the ocarina in her bag before standing up.
“I need to go visit Impaz.”
“One of the first people that came to mind when staring at the ocarina. She’s a very lonely woman who lived in the era of Twilight.”
“Don’t worry about it, Sweetie. I’m just gonna do a bit of time traveling. I’ll arrange things so that I arrive home at dinner time. Tell Mortal that he’s in charge of dinner tonight. Shouldn’t be any stress for him, I left a meal plan written down that I left on the table, he just needs to read it and cook the ingredients I have prepared.”
“Wait, why can’t I come with you? I wanna know who Impaz is!”
“You do? Hmm, interesting. Well, I’ll think about it... I might let you come along next time, but it’s not a promise. For now, just go home. I’ll catch up with you guys during dinner.”
“Ok, but you gotta tell me about your trip when you come home!”
Might make something else like this, but not sure. The end, I guess 😅
Maybe something with Mortal next? 🤔
Mortal comforting his gf?