Catnapping - OTA

[death_from_above]

Who: Spark and whomever
Where: All around the train
When: After the mission, before the platform
What: Spark being introspective while trying to pretend he's still just... Spark
Warnings: Angst, possible violence mentions.


Spark often claimed that he slept through missions to explain why he was absent from them, so he was free to have Gar or Privateer Pirate show up. But this time he actually had slept. He'd been sleeping a lot since that world with the fake lives, that one that felt so much like a storm from Nautilus.

But he was....

Lonely. That was it. He was lonely.

He was more settled now than he had been after the fish world, but he was still barely eating and avoiding people. Or had been. He just...

He wished Adrien would show up here. Or The Doctor would know who he was. Rose. Nino. Connie. Nita. Kirika. Dominic. Greg. Donovan. Luna. He'd even take Jacob or Gabriel at this point, though each had their issues. Of course if he was bothering with wishing... Quilt.

He shook himself and walked through the train, looking for someone who needed a cat to snuggle with, or tell their problems to. Or a friendly face from Nautilus, since none from his real home or Paris were here...

Comments

[sevenyearsasleep]

"Everyone has their own way of coping. With battle and fighting, I mean."

Link shut his eyes and sighed. "Back home and in Nautilus, ranch work helps me. Taking care of all the animals, the cows, horses, cucucos. Repairing fences, building nesting boxes, trimming hooves, milking the cows--"

He opened his eyes and managed a more genuine smile, although his eyes were still sad. "Working with my hands, building things, fixing things, caring for the animals of the ranch, all of that is what helps heal me. There's so much life on a ranch. New life. Babies in the spring, the garden growing---despite all the death and bad things in the world, there's still new life and the world just goes on, you know?"

Some of the sadness lessened as he continued. "Malon's there, and when we work together? It's like...everything is okay. Just for a little bit."

[death_from_above]

"Sounds like a lot of work to me," he said with a yawn. "But I guess I can see it, maybe."

[sevenyearsasleep]

Spark got one of Link's genuine, albeit dorky, smiles. "It's a lot of work. But, I love every second of it."

[death_from_above]

"Every second of bing hot, sweaty, and tired?" he asked, knowing that sounding skeptical often made people argue how wonderful the thing they loved was, which made them happier. Which usually led to fish. Though he wasn't as concerned about the fish at the moment as he usually was, old habits were still old habits. Besides, get Dominic on a tangent this way and usually he was waxing poetic about math or whatever for hours.

[sevenyearsasleep]

"Yeah. It's almost like being a regular person."

When they reached the kitchen, Link set about preparing the fish.

[death_from_above]

He hopped off onto the counter. "Exactly! Why would anyone want that?Much nicer being a cat."

[sevenyearsasleep]

Link got the flour and butter ready. "It's not a choice, it's what I'm for. I don't actually get to be a regular person. I'm not bitter or anything, I understand why, and I'm honored to serve."

He put the butter into a pan and set the heat on underneath it, watching as it slowly started to slide and melt.

"It's a heavy burden sometimes, though. And I know I won't be lifting a sword as an old man. I just hope I live long enough to have a family."

As Link spoke he dredged the fish fillets through flour.

"Since Shadow's here, I mean, I'm guessing I do? Eventually? At least, that's what I hope."

[death_from_above]

"Was I supposed to understand any of that?"

[sevenyearsasleep]

"...it's not important."

Link carefully set the fillets into the sizzling butter, his expression slightly more guarded.

[death_from_above]

"Sounded important, and I got nothing to do but listen till the fish is ready?"

[sevenyearsasleep]

"I'm apparently the reincarnation of a hero who gets reborn whenever Hyrule is in peril," Link said quietly, watching the fish and counting in his head.

"My whole purpose is to keep her safe."

Very gently, he carefully turned each of the fillets. "As for the rest? I want to have a family of my own someday. A wife, kids...but, sometimes, I worry that I'll die before that because of the things I have to do."

He smiled fondly. "But, apparently I do get to do that, because I've had the privilege to meet my great-something-grandson, who happens to be my brother here."

[death_from_above]

"Never met Hyrule, is she here?" Yes, he was intentionally misunderstanding.

"So, that's like that song I'm my own grandpa?"

[sevenyearsasleep]

"Actually...sort of. Our Princess is here."

Link didn't know the reference and hesitated, unsure if he was being made fun of. "Not that I know of. I mean, he's my descendant."

[death_from_above]

"An actual princess?" he asked, flopping onto his side and stretching, an unspoken invitation to rub his belly.

"How is he our brother then?"

[sevenyearsasleep]

"Yes. Not the spoiled kind, though. Hyrule was overthrown when we were ten and she spent a lot of time just...surviving."

And waiting.

For him.

That second question pulled him away from the more brooding thoughts that were threatening him. Link gently scritched the kitty while he spoke.

"There was that School Storm in Nautilus. And during that storm we were twins. And ever since then, he's been my brother."

[death_from_above]

"So this Hryule girl is a princess who was over-throne when she was a kid, huh?"

He snuggled into the scritches.

"Oh, Adrien told me about that one..." How many families was that one Storm responsible for? That was when Gar and Adrien.... Wow.

[sevenyearsasleep]

"Her name is Zelda. Hyrule is named for a goddess, which is why we refer to the country as a lady."

With his non-cat-scritching hand, he turned the fish again.

"It was a nice Storm. Even if Endos terrorized us a bit."

[death_from_above]

"Sorry I missed it," he said, fighting not to shudder... since there was no way someone petting him would miss that.

Endos had more than terrorized him that storm. As Gar, he'd been the one Endos had physically ripped into at the dance.

"So tell me more about this Hyrule goddess place?" he asked, to keep himself from thinking about that Storm any more.

[sevenyearsasleep]

"It was nice to be normal..."

Link paused, trying to think of a way to explain his homeland that wouldn't get him mocked or scoffed at. "Hyrule is the most beautiful land I've ever seen. The forests, the plains, the mountains, Lake Hylia---it's all amazing."

[death_from_above]

"Sounds like the tourist guide book to me," he said, dryly as he stretched closer for better scritches.

[sevenyearsasleep]

"I'm not good with words," Link said quietly, reluctant to say more.

[death_from_above]

"You were doing fine till then, just tell me about the world. You lived there didn't you?"

[sevenyearsasleep]

"For the first ten years of my life, I never left the forest. If me telling you about the whole country bored you, I'm pretty sure that would be even worse."

[death_from_above]

"Nah, lots of good puns to make in a forest. And they tend to have lakes and rivers with yummy fish."

[sevenyearsasleep]

Link thought for a moment about telling Spark he hadn't really been distracted from thinking he was one of the Heroes from Nautilus. And felt more convinced than ever by the lengths of distraction he was going to.

"There's a small stream in the Kokiri Village. They're a tribe of eternal fairy children. I grew up with them. Which made me weird...and a bit of an outcast. The Great Deku Tree looked after all of us, but, he never told me I was adopted, or y'know, not a Kokiri...."