#pestilight

they weren't expecting this, for battle to turn the tide and for spirited peon of courage to take the leap and close the distance. as lunge barrels form into theirs and collapses form atop their own, malice shrieks and screams like a child being corralled into a room. they kick and fight as wooden frame is pressed firm and held by larger body, something they recognize only as capture and imprisonment.

arms like chains, binding them taut and holding them in one place. celestial bites within their husk and rattles violently within their skull. not again, not like this! " let GO . YOU'RE PLAYING DIRTY , NOT FAIR NOT FAIR NOT FAIR ! "

all seeing eye blinks within their mind, shuns them from the light of termina, blocks them out from majora's leading gaze. all is silent once more, and they panic. oh do they PANIC. shaking of their head hisses what seeds lie within, abusively knocking against link's own to disarm him from whatever this punitive action is. punishment, it must be! claws dig and scratch at his back, long marks down his shoulders as they scream and cry out for anyone. for LORD GANON to aid them.

it's terrifying, this placement. this. . . encasing of limbs. like being trapped within their moon a thousand fold, only this time, with a face to blame. lunar child expends their energy, violent and antagonistic, beating harshly against hero who cling tight for purpose. why? why does he stay? they don't understand, and they don't like it.

malice doesn't like this at all. . . . so then, why does it ache?

the light within binding soul of legendary hero, it beats soft and featherlight against the gloom churning deep within puppet. heart beats for heart, and in a mere moment's bliss, malice stills. this arm, rauru's arm, one that used to hold their hand through troubling times of fear and loneliness. . . it now held on for dear life, as though their cherished friend may never savor that everlasting touch. sparkle builds in eye, lets fall a single fragment that tumbles and plinks off the grass below.

hands fall, and calmly, they whisper against the hylian's ear. the same they had only just been shouting down to near bleed. " . . . he said you'd leave me. "

a memo lost to time for forgotten ally, doll finally falling limp in link's arms. chin rests on his shoulder, and they croak out a faint whimper, stars twinkling and spilling down hero's side. " father said so many things, but you found a way. . . to stay, to find me again. "

with the rising sun, any child wouldn't dare to hurry out of bed. far too early, too much fuss, and on a saturday no less! but for one child, so accustomed to sleep during the day, now adjusting to a better natured schedule, scurries out from their hammock, floating down onto wooden feet that clammer against the hateno home's floor. hands grip and grab at door knob, twisting excitedly to pry open the last wall between their previous exiled fate and their new destiny paved in hope.

as they get the door to open, the glimpse of a golden sun peeking over the hillside has them scampering to sit on step, kicking little legs that gently knock against the stone. they know this feeling all too well now, a fondness for the horizon that rauru used to share with them. a glimpse at their final hours, before they'd be banished to the moon once more. now, with the freedom of childhood and a curse lifted, they rest upon link's doorstep, admiring the rising star they'd never seen shine so brightly.

" funny, how the world seems to never tire, " comes almost offhanded as they recognize the slow sluggish steps of new guardianship, coming to join them in their company and morning routine. the scent of coffee stains the air, causing the swift swivel of their head to meet fancied friend, one who ever so gracious freed them from their toughest hour, who lifted the eternal blood moon their curse had presented in its wake, and who now took them in as his own.

hand merrily pats the step's space beside them, offering kindred soul a spot closer to malice, or perhaps — a reawakened marion. forever stained in red, an old king's jester lives on with a reignited hope. lunar child leans, rests their head against link's upper arm once he deposits next to them, soaking in the bliss of morning's silence.

" you know, the king and i used to do this -—- back before the blood moons. ru-ru told me, " they hesitate, grieve for the split second it takes to reminisce. " every day holds a new story, a chapter defined by the actions you choose. it is yours to decide what path you take, but whatever may come, know i will ALWAYS read your writing. "

the moon spirit laughs, whirling overhead in the mere wind that spirals old friend. oh, to fuel old hearths and doses flames of yore in gasoline. malice chimes with a sing-song approach, fading in from nothing but the leaves that swish above in foliage.

" awful lonely for a night, isn't it? one could almost wish upon a star ; too bad you lost that privilege long ago. "

a maleficent cackle, harboring hate and regicide towards afflicted zonai. once a close candlelight to their dark-lit celestial heart, now beating twice as fast in the palms of someone deemed superior. twisted and transpiring such cold-blooded spite, malice's grin seemingly widen with how cheery they usually beam.

" tell me, rauru. . . "

[REST] While out on a walk, sender guides receiver to sit down somewhere and rest.

Meme Tag -- @pestilight

Link's world spins underneath him, listing sideways suddenly. He's still getting used to being... well, so much less than what he was. He'd been running all over the sky island, so many events and movements similar to when he just woke up from the Shrine of Resurrection that he can't help the growing frustration broiling in the back of his throat.

Again? He has to face this great evil again? He has to return to the beginning, build up his strength, gather allies and skills all over again? It's a mockery of all he's done before; it's a cruel joke by someone carelessly tugging him around to solve all their problems.

@pestilight

"Far be it from you to know when to drop the issue, King Rauru."

His arms cross over his chest, and his eyes narrow; Everything inside of him is screaming for him to sink his teeth into the Zonai's throat, and yet he will maintain. He will resist. Because this talk is for the good of his people, which will always come before petty grudges.

janan : the obvious answer here, but there’s just a lot going on there i said like it’s not my fault. while my default ‘canon’ for her says she dislikes him, it’s really meant to be a point of reference for interactions that don’t directly involve rauru, and i’m really curious to see how they might evolve with actual ic content. will it get better ? will it get worse ? will she develop some measure of true loyalty towards him or bitch at him thousands of years into the future via riju radio ? the world is our oyster here <3 to pick a specific point of interest in the timeline, i’m pretty interested in exploring the build-up to the imprisoning war & the conflict with the gerudo, but since it’s a pretty touchy topic, it’d definitely require some more in-depth plotting.

galahad : is this an occasion to put my sky child out there ? it sure is and i’m going to take it. i have a loz au for them in which they’re basically dozing on and off somewhere in the sky, and given the zonai’s origins, that could be somewhere to start ? plus, they and rauru both have something going on with the loss of their people / their world as they know it, proximity to the divine, and sacrifice for the hope of a brighter future. do i know where exactly i’m going with this though ? not really, but i think it could be fun. 

albedo : this is my least elaborate idea f but i do have it still. same for this lad, he’s got a botw/totk au of his own, and my vague idea for him is that the woman who created him, rhinedottir / gold, was either strongly associated with/inspired by the zonai, or straight up a zonai herself. was there a prototype albedo back in ye ancient times ? would rauru and his presence be things current albedo recognizes now ? idk i feel like there could be something to work with there also o/

it is a fair enough question to ask. there are dark circles forming below the green eyes of the princess and her attention had been drawn from something at his entrance. zelda blinks up at him and gives a gentle smile that makes her look no less wanting for rest. it is the sort of smile that is quite clearly for the benefit of the one looking upon her rather than anything meant to cheer herself up. "i will try to get some rest, yes," her gaze shifts back across the room and she focuses specifically on a small stone she had been looking at before rauru had come in.

     It is a humid night. Full of rumbling on the horizon, dazzling flashes, mighty crashes. There is, strangely, little difference between the thunder of below and the thunder of above, but the air here is sweltering with something sacred — charged and quavering with a peal of Godsong from a passing divinity. In the wake of their breathtaking presence, Rauru feels revitalised — heartened — in a way things haven't been able to stoke from him in so very long.      "Sister," he whispers in their tongue. He turns to her, something awed and soft lining the contours of his features. Beneath that deific radiance of the dragon's light, he makes a request he's asked of her over and over in their lives together, ever since he learnt that he could. "Will you dance to my song?"

Before he even questions, she has already risen to her feet, beckoned to the storm by the resonance in the skies and the gold that arcs across the gray. The rainfall pelts her skin and the wind is turbulent—but she takes no mind to how the elements dishevel and return her to be one with the cosmos. It is a familiar, looming, yet comforting presence even on the surface, a baleful reminder that they are only mortal, even on the foreign land below their feet, as it continues to billow in the heavens above.