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secretlysheikah · 3 years ago

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Exile Chapter 3

Yay! I finished another part in my little sheikah AU! God You guys have no idea how much this is to write and share it brings me so much joy creating a story out of basically my own brain pan. I love my blorbos so much! And I hope you guys are enjoying this little Legend of Zelda AU. Just thank you guys for reading this, I am still grateful for those who read it.

(Also Colin and Hiri bonding... MY HEART.)

Start here:

She floated in and out of sleep for what had to be days. Each time something was different. The metal tray that Ford had brought in was gone, replaced with different cups and bowls of broth that she barely touched. Then her bandages were changed to fresh ones, her back blissfully numb thanks to whatever salve they put on. The sheets were changed next and she spotted Scout where he sat morosely in his lantern on the side table for a bit before she drifted again. She couldn’t help but feel slightly disturbed that she was ill to the point of not remembering people coming into her room.

Her room. Yet another thing she didn’t like. She didn’t want to see this room as hers, she still wanted to be gone. This wasn’t her room. Her room had flowers on the sill. Her room was a warm red with cream accents and she could hear her mom bustling around down stairs. No, she refused to call this her room.

The next time she woke and worked harder to stay awake. Her back was numbed, which meant the bandages were changed, and recently if the steaming cup on her bedside table meant anything. Carefully she pulled herself up into a seated position. She could feel the pressure of the bandages on her mostly healed skin and it made her shiver.

A quick scan of the room showed that she was alone. The fire had been tended to and warmth filled the medium sized room. She listened for the sound of people moving outside but heard nothing. Taking that as a good sign and threw off her blankets and carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed. The quick movement made the room spin and she had to pause and wait for the fit to pass.

She felt a sudden realization hit her then. She could leave and no one would know, the room even had a window. Her eyes fell to the flimsy looking latch that held the two glass panes closed. It would be easy. She slowly started to stand and felt her legs wobbling. She felt weak and she grimaced in annoyance when she had to hold onto the table just to keep her feet. She shuffled over to the deep set window and poked at the latch as she considered it. “Look at you, up and about,” Sheikah whipped around in surprise and nearly lost her footing in the process. She clutched at the sill and looked at Colin where he leaned against the side of the fireplace with his arms folded.

“I dare say you almost look rested too,” he added and moved to plop down on the high backed chair. Which still held her cloak draped across the back. She licked her lips and stood as straight as she could. Colin made himself comfortable and gestured back towards the bed and the side table.

“Why don’t you have a seat, drink some of the broth and we can have a little chat,” he said calmly and Sheikah felt her hands tighten in the sill of the window.

“I’m tired of talking, I want to leave,” she bit out and Colin nodded slowly before gesturing towards the bed again.

“I know, soon I promise but for now, please,” he said gently and pointed at the bed yet again. She gave him a hard look but sighed and moved back to the bed. She could feel his eyes on her back as she went and her ears flushed a bit in embarrassment. She still felt weak and just the simple movement from the bed to the window left her exhausted.

“That’s beef broth. Freshly made too and I even think they added some hearty radish in there too,” he said as she leaned over and grabbed the lightly steaming mug. It smelled delicious, and she found her mouth watering. She brought it up to her mouth meaning to take a little sip but it quickly turned into her drinking it as fast as she was able.

“Wait, slow down,” she heard Colin say as she greedily slurped down the broth. He was too late however, and she felt a painful cramp hit her gut. She hunched forward around the cup and groaned. She heard a sigh from the chair on the other side of the room and she carefully breathed through her nose.

“You haven’t had much to eat, try drinking that a bit slower okay?” He said as he slowly got up from the chair and scooped her cloak up from where it hung in front of the fire. He walked over to her and gently laid the cloak down on the bed next to her before walking back to the chair.

“How are you feeling?” He asked as he once again made himself comfortable. Sheikah considered the question as she pulled her cloak towards herself and slowly draped it over her shoulders. She held onto the mug tightly and sat up straighter as the cramping finally passed.

“Tired, weak, impatient,” she listed off quickly and eyed the broth like it was about to bite her. She crossed her legs on the bed and tugged at the edges of her bandages and looked the General over. He looked tired himself, he had dark circles under his eyes and his short black hair was messy and out of sorts. To his credit though his clothes were neatly pressed and free of wrinkles.

“How long have I been here?” She asked as she looked around the room. She noted how there seemed to be more things taking up space. There were books sitting on the dresser, a mirror and a water basin sat at the center as well and she was fairly certain they weren't there before. Colin hummed and followed her gaze as it scanned the room. “A few days,” He started and Sheikah whipped her head around to look at him.

“Days?” She sputtered and nearly spilled her broth on the bed. “Yes, days. You were beaten, ill and clearly exhausted. Let yourself rest,” He said sternly and Sheikah bowed her head. She rubbed at her forehead and tried to calm down.

“So much lost time,” She moaned despairingly and put the mug down and grabbed the photo off of the bedside table. She ran her fingers over the well worn edges before she looked up at Colin. “I need to go, I wasted too much time,” She said desperately and started to get off the bed again.

“No, no. Listen to me. You aren’t well yet,” she heard Colin start but she ignored him in favor of preparing herself to stand. He made a disgruntled noise and she felt something soft smack into face. She flailed and fell backward on the bed and pulled a pillow off her face. She blinked up at the ceiling for a moment before she carefully pulled herself back up into a seated position. She held her head for a moment and waited for the spin to slow and threw a glare at Colin where he sat on the chair.

“Don’t be a stubborn ass,” he said when she opened her mouth to say something. She made an affronted noise and was once again cut off.

“You are being stubborn, don’t even pretend you aren’t,” he said and this time he got off the chair and started to pace around. She watched him closely and grabbed the little throw pillow he had thrown at her.

“I have to find my brother, what if he’s in danger? The Yiga…” Colin whipped around and looked at her and she stopped talking. He looked… frustrated? Tired? Probably a bit of both if she were being honest.

“And what if he is?” He asked and Sheikah blinked at him.

“Then I need to go and find him,” She said and leaned forward with a determined gleam in her eye. Colin nodded and folded his arms as he leaned against the dresser.

“Right, we have a few things to discuss. One of which is your self care,” He said with a stern look on his face. She just blinked at him and carefully dug her fingers into the pillow in her lap. “I can take care of myself,” She started and found that she couldn’t look at him, she didn’t need to in order to feel the weight of his incredulous stare.

“Oh is that what this looks like? Sheikah, when I found you, you were skin and bone. You still are as a matter of fact. That doesn’t happen from a few days locked up. So tell me, are you really taking care of yourself?” He asked earnestly and tapped his fingers on his arm.

“I … I have it handled. I have my brother to find,”

“And what would happen if you found him in your state?” He asked before he shook his head and sighed.

“You couldn’t fight, can’t fight with how weak you are right now. You would die and then he would really be alone. Is that what you wish?” He asked sternly and Sheikah felt a bloom of red hot rage in her stomach.

“That is none of your concern! You don’t know me and your words mean very little,” she hissed as her heart raced. Anger had her starting to get to her feet, weakness and exhaustion be damned.

“It is my concern! You are under my command now, you answer to me,” he yelled back and Sheikah felt herself recoil slightly.

“Says who?” She demanded hotly and watched a bitter smile cross Colin’s face.

“The Queen,” He said cheerily and Sheikah felt her eyes widen. She sat back, and looked at her hands.

“So that, wasn’t a fever dream?” She asked quietly and heard a low and tired chuckle from the other side of the room followed by the sound of Colin sliding to the ground to sit.

“Afraid not,” he said gently, pulling Sheikah’s eyes towards him.

“Would you like me to explain what happened?” He asked gently and she found herself bobbing her head.

“The last thing that I can recall with some clarity is telling the Queen I wanted to leave. After that is just a confused mess,” she sighed and slouched forward along with Colin.

“Alright, after you plead your case the Queen was going to let you go. She wanted me to see you to the castle infirmary and then find a place for you to stay,” He began, and started to pick at his boots. Sheikah for her part started to pull at a loose string she found on the pillow.

“However, Silas made a fuss. Screamed and yelled how you were guilty and only spoke lies.” She snorted loudly and waved for him to continue when he raised an eyebrow at her.

“I won’t get into detail, but Silas and I started having it out. His claims were ridiculous and…”

“But how can you be so sure that he was lying? How do you know that I’m not some misled Yiga?” She asked quietly, her voice hard with a note of hurt. She knew her Father despised her, but she never remembered doing anything wrong. She had made peace that she would always be lesser, but hearing about her Father’s conviction to damn her still hurt a small part of her heart that longed for his approval. She dared look up at him and saw consideration on his face instead of pity.

“Because, when I asked you why you were there, you had something about you. A conviction, a need. I could tell you didn’t want to be there, but in a different way than a captured criminal,” he said thoughtfully and looked at her. He pointed to the picture in her lap.

“You talked about needing to find your brother, you worried about if they got him too. You were worried about him and those words were the last thing you said to me before you passed out. Not a word about yourself, but your need to find your brother. Those aren’t the selfish words of a brain dead Yiga swine looking to cause harm,” he said and crossed his arms.

“So, you made a judgment call?” She asked with a tired little laugh and he shrugged.

“I could have been wrong, but seeing your reaction by being told you’ve been here for a few days and immediately trying to swan off to find your brother? Well that just solidified things for me really,” he admitted and gave her a smile.

“I can see the good in your eyes, Sheikah. You have been put under my care, yes, but I will give you your space to work.” He promised and Sheikah held up a tired hand to stop him.

“Yes, you say work, what do you mean by that?” She asked and Colin made a little noise and reached into his pocket.

“Ah, yes, as I was saying, in order to make some sort of peace you were given the task to search for the missing travelers and merchants, the Yiga who are behind it and to attempt to stop whatever it is they are trying to do.” He said and pulled out a nicely folded sheet of parchment paper with a wax seal.

“These are your working papers. Detailed on them is your task, who you report to and an official pardon from the Queen.” He said as he reached up and sat the paperwork down on the dresser behind him.

“You’re joking, they want me to hunt down Yiga and the missing travelers by myself? What about my brother?” She asked as she buried her face into her hands.

“It won’t change much, honestly you’re already out there searching. Now you just have to add a few more people to your list… And send any captured Yiga to our cells for further questioning,” he added quickly and she nearly choked on her outrage.

“What! You have got to be kidding me! What am I a bounty hunter?” She yelled and threw her hands up.

“I mean, kinda? At this point, you need to be. But look at it this way, you can see if they have your brother, if they don’t then great! If they do you can report it to us and we can help you get more answers,” Colin said and gave her a determined smile. Sheikah however returned it with a glare.

“And I report to you?” She asked and he nodded.

“And where do I send these Yiga that I catch?” She asked and Colin gestured around them.

“The outpost, as all outposts have special cells for people of magical nature. I’m sure you are aware of that, and from here we can send them to the castle,” Colin said and Sheikah nodded along an idea forming in her head. She was already trying to figure out how she needed to alter her talismans to send someone somewhere. She was pulled out of her reverie by Colin who was once again talking.

“Of course that will have to wait until we figure out your skills in fighting. Maybe we can start out small,” he said as he tapped his fingers rhythmically and looked off into the distance.

“Don’t worry about that, I’m trained,” she waved away his concern and steepled her fingers in front of her as she thought.

“Trained?” Colin echoed and once again drew her attention to him. She watched him give her a once over and she quirked a brow at him.

“Yes, in both archery and swordplay and not to mention close combat,” she said and once again pulled herself back into musings on magic. If hops were her way to send herself places, then It wasn’t too hard to imagine sending someone else with her talismans she would just have to…

“Still I want to see how well this training of yours is,” he pressed and she sighed and sat back. It was clear he wouldn’t stop talking until she showed him. Slowly she got to her feet and steadied herself, she still felt tired and a bit weak but she wouldn’t need much.

“What are you doing? You still need to rest!” Colin cried as he started to get to his feet. She blinked at him slowly and let a small smile cross her face.

“Make me,” she said and fixed her cloak idly and waited. She watched as he processed what she had said, thought it through and narrowed his eyes at her. Still she waited and when he didn’t move she shrugged and walked over to grab her boots where they were stashed next to the fireplace.

“And where are you going?” He asked as he carefully moved to follow her.

“I am leaving, what does it look like?” She asked as she picked up her boots and looked them over. They were a wreck. Falling apart in numerous places and held together with scraps of colorful fabric and a prayer. Just how she left them.

“Sheikah, come on. I know what you are trying to do,” she looked back at him with a sly grin.

“Oh? I would hope so, because I made it clear I was leaving,” she said and watched in delight as Colin frowned at her and folded his arms.

“You’re trying to have me try and physically stop you. I get it, you're trained. I was just saying I wanted to inspect it for myself,” he said and she nodded her head a bit and shrugged.

“Then let me show you and I promise I won’t leave yet,” she offered and turned to lean back against the warm stone. Colin sighed and rubbed at his forehead and she waited patiently for his verdict

“No. You’re still not fully healed yet and I bet you’re still a bit sick as well… Hey!” Colin said as she shrugged, pulled on her boots and breezed past him.

“What are you doing?” He asked as she put her belt on and hung her lantern at her hip. Scout bobbed and stretched as he examined the room from her side and she tapped lightly on the lid of the lantern, making him hop in a happy little dance.

“Back to that question huh?” She asked and carefully started to stretch a bit. She could feel a slight pull on her back but if she was careful anything that wasn’t healed over shouldn’t open.

“Look I’m bored and I can’t stand this room anymore so I’m leaving to get some air,” she said and grinned at the squawk of protest she got out of Colin. She dipped her hand into her bag and withdrew her sword. It was a long and thin sword, lightweight with a silver hilt that had been wrapped with red strips of fabric with golden embroidery.

“And you need a sword for that?” He protested loudly and Sheikah looked back at him with a grin. She walked over to the window and rested the tip below the latch and flipped it open.

“I do if I want to leave. I can’t remember the way out through the halls,” she explained easily and quickly hopped up on the sill. She heard him coming after her and she turned swiftly on the sill and pointed her blade at him. He stopped and glared at her.

“I won’t be far, maybe you can get some men to collect me, I like a challenge,” she said and swiftly left out of the open window to the sound of loud protests. She smiled to herself as she wandered around the massive outpost. She took mental notes as she went, committing as much detail to memory so she could map the building later. She could hear yelling, and she grinned. She may still be feeling a bit weak and tired but she sure as shit was going to have some fun while it lasted.

Carefully she tapped on her lantern and stuck close to the wall. She pulled the shadows around her becoming an indistinct blur just as a group of soldiers rounded the corner. She stopped moving and waited for them to rush past before she let the magic drop and continued on her way. She had made it around a good portion of the building before she stopped and started watching the soldiers sparring. It wasn’t long after until someone had finally spotted her leaning on the fence of the large sparring ring attached to the side wall of the outpost. She had to give it to the men who were fighting, they were focused and clearly took pride in their skills.

“Oh hello, you must be the Sheikah the General is looking for,” she heard a man’s voice say as he leaned against the post next to her. She sniffed and rubbed at her nose, he wore way too much cologne for it to be healthy. She looked over at him with a quirked eyebrow, He was about her height, olive skinned with auburn hair and dark, gray eyes. The way he looked her up and down that made her feel distinctly uncomfortable. She shuffled away from him a bit and said nothing.

“He never said it was a girl though, are you having fun watching men work?” He asked in what had to be his interpretation of a smooth, easy going voice. She blinked at him and gripped the fence tightly, she couldn’t be sure why but he made her skin crawl.

“The silent type huh? Or maybe you just don’t know how to use your voice? I’m sure we could think of ways to help with that,” he said and wiggled an eyebrow at her. She made a disgusted face as he came closer and in one fluid movement she stepped away and climbed over the fence.

“Oh don’t be like that! I was just joking!” The man cried after her as she walked further into the sparring ring, now there were multiple people looking at her and she knew Colin would be there soon. She cast her gaze back at him and scowled as he too climbed over the fence to come after her. She ignored him and continued walking towards the group of men. She nodded at them as she passed though no one made a move to grab her. She stopped in the middle of them as she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

“There you are!” It was Colin, she heard him before she spotted him coming out of a side door that was attached to the large sparring yard. He seemed relieved if a bit annoyed and she smiled at him.

“Took you long enough, but hey, look where we are! It looks like a sparring yard,” she said with a wide grin and brightened when Colin continued to glower at her. He stalked forward and she watched as he visibly tried to collect himself.

“No, I am not sparring with you,” he said flatly and she frowned at him.

“But didn’t you want to test and see how well I’m trained? That’s what you wanted,” she said in a sweet tone and felt her grin spread wider.

“Yes, when you are well,” he started and she waved him off.

“I don’t need to be well to fight,” she said and heard the group of men around her start to whisper around her.

“Sheikah, please,” Colin tried again and she raised her hand.

“How about this, I fight one person, no wait stop,” she said and waved her hand to get Colin to close his mouth. He did but still held her in a glare.

“I fight one person and then I promise to go back and rest. Please, I’m bored,” she said with a pleading tone. Colin rubbed at his eyes clearly thinking over her compromise. To her surprise it was the smelly guy who piped up behind her.

“Really, that was what this whole thing was about?” He scoffed and Sheikah turned to look at him. The man had moved closer and she made a face and moved away. She looked back at Colin and saw that his annoyance had shifted to the other man.

“Are you volunteering, Crowmen?” Colin asked flatly. He Must have noticed her discomfort because he folded his arms and shifted his weight slightly like he was about to step in front of her.

“Depends on what I get out of it, sir.” Crowmen answered and put a special emphasis on the word ’sir’ like it was meant as an insult rather than a sign of respect. Sheikah felt her brows lift and she looked between the two men. She could practically feel the malice bouncing between the two of them.

“The knowledge that you are helping me figure out what needs to be worked on with our guest here,” Colin said tightly and she could see the strain in his smile. Something clicked in her head and she realized that he hated the smelly man. She made a mental note to ask about that later and turned her attention back to Crowmen.

“If you win I’ll tell you my name,” she offered and felt the way Colin stared at her back. She ignored him easily and kept her eyes on Crowmen as he considered.

“How about you have to have a meal with me,” he countered and Sheikah felt a disgusted shiver run through her. She heard Colin shift behind her and she answered before he could cut in.

“Fine,” she said and moved to find a clear spot for them to fight. Crowmen chuckled with delight and called for a practice sword. She turned and faced him and saw that Colin had come up beside her. She leaned a bit away from him but he made sure to keep enough space between them.

“You don’t have to do this,” he whispered to her and she shrugged.

“Well he seemed willing to fight me, all he needed was a little push and in any case it’s not like he’s going to win,” she said dismissively and eyed the practice sword she was handed. It was heavier than what she was used to but she could work with it. Colin gave her one more look and left to the side lines as Crowmen came to stand in front of her. The look on his face screamed arrogance and overconfidence and she couldn’t be more excited.

“Don’t worry sweetheart I will go easy on you,” he said and gave her a little wink. Sheikah pursed her lips and nodded, she kept her sword at her side not bothering to raise it at the ready.

“I’ll give you the first swing,” she said and walked in closer. Crowmen looked slightly amused and raised the dulled sword up and took a steadying breath. She watched his foot shift to the left, his weight went with it and she easily dodged the first swing and ducked under the follow up.

“Word to the wise, don’t let me get any closer,” she warned and once again moved out of the way of a diagonal slice. She watched in amusement as Crowmen’s cocksure grin faded and turned to concentration then to frustration as she continued to dodge around him. His swing became wilder, more crazed as he tried to land a hit but she continued to shift and move around him.

Finally in a growl of frustration Crowmen swung wide, his arms no longer held close to himself to block any jab she could have leveled at him and she darted in close. She brought her own dulled training sword up and pressed it to his gut.

“Dead,” she said simply and backed away, she wasn’t even out of breath. She turned and looked at Colin and saw a slight look of amusement on his face as well.

“Again!” Crowmen yelled breathlessly behind her and she turned just in time to block a flurry of wild swings. He wasn’t holding back now, each blow she blocked was hard, enough to injure even with dulled blades. His face was a shade of dark beet red and she could see the rage behind his gray eyes. Seeing enough she deftly blocked an overhead swing and moved in close. Her right foot moved in between his legs as she slid her own sword down and twisted. The blade caught in the hilt of Crowmen’s sword and she knocked it out of his hands. She caught the falling blade and twisted around him knocking him to the dirt and leveled his own sword to his throat.

“Dead,” she said flatly as she glared down at him and dropped the sword to the side.

“And cowardly, attacking when your opponent's back is turned,” Colin said angrily and commanded Crowmen to get to his feet. He did, albeit with his eyes glued on her. She watched him rise with a bored expression.

“I guess that meal is off,” she said coolly and walked over to Colin and held out the training sword to him.

“Thank you, I look forward to showing you that I am perfectly capable of fighting later.” She said and smiled slightly as Colin nodded and took the sword from her. She gestured for him to walk her back inside but paused and looked around at the beet red Crowmen.

“Another suggestion, don’t wear so much cologne. The enemy will smell you from three miles away,” she said and nodded once. She could hear snickers from the men around her and she adjusted her hood and started walking towards the building. She heard a muttered ‘bitch’ from behind her and yet again she paused. She turned to look at him, one red eye peering out from the dark depths of her hood.

“Come again?” She asked softly and shifted her weight back on her heels.

“Sheikah,” Colin warned at her side, he seemed to know what she was planning.

“You heard me,” came the hissed reply and she nodded, turned back around and in a flash was behind Crowmen. Her knife pressed firmly in his back and snaked her arm across his shoulders, pulling him back so he had to arch his back to avoid it being sliced.

“Mind your manners, next time I will slice your spine in two,” she hissed before knocking him bodily to the dirt again. Silence filled the air this time and she looked around at the assembled soldiers and stepped over Crowmen and walked back to the stunned Colin.

“Could you walk me back to the room? I have things to do,” she asked politely and Colin nodded silently and led the way. She tried to keep the directions straight in her mind as Colin led the way back through the outpost. She could never understand why she couldn’t remember simple directions in a building or a city for that matter but it was more than a little inconvenient.

“Did you have your fun?” Colin asked hotly as they rounded a corner and snapped her attention like a twig. She looked at his back and sighed in annoyance resigning herself to being forever lost in the damnable building.

“Yes, I did. It was fun watching your men walk right past me,” she said and picked up her step a bit to keep up with him.

“Well you made your point as well as broadcasted your presence to the whole outpost,” he said as he rounded yet another corner. She marveled at just how many corners there were in this place, how had they not gone in a circle yet?

“Are you even listening to me?” Colin snapped and Sheikah jumped a bit.

“Yeah, but look at it this way, people were going to find out I was here at some point,” she said and noted the flat look he was giving her.

“Did I miss something?” She asked and looked around to see that they stopped in front of a door. He blinked at her and reached out and opened the door.

“I was saying that we’re back at your room and I was wondering if you wanted anything to eat,” he said as he walked into the room and gestured for her to follow.

“No I’m not hungry and this isn’t my room because I’m not staying,” she said stubbornly though Colin only shook his head.

“Well either way we are going to have put you somewhere when you return so this room is yours,” he retorted and she squinted at him. He ignored her still and sat back down on the floor and crossed his arms. She walked past him and took her place on the floor across from him. She folded her own legs under her and reached into her side pouch and pulled out one of her paper talismans and laid it on the floor to examine it. Colin watched her with a raised brow but she was happy to see he didn’t comment on it.

“What did you think of the men?” Colin asked after a moment and Sheikah raised her eyes from her careful examination of her paper.

“Well the one I ran into is kind of a pompous jackass with way too much cologne. But the others seem like good men,” she said and sat back.

“Crowmen. Yeah he is a newer recruit and he thinks he is miles above the others,” He snorted and pressed his back against the dresser behind him. Sheikah watched him, she could tell he didn’t care for the kid and just from her first encounter with him she had to agree.

“What about training wise?” Colin asked and she found herself smiling slightly.

“Well it’s clear they don’t know about cloaking. I had a few men walk past me and they never noticed,” she laughed and Colin shook his head.

“We never ran into that issue,” he argued and she shrugged.

“I’ll give you that. It’s also not something that can be easily taught to recognize. I for one won’t share how I do it or how to spot it,” she said and smiled slyly at him.

“How else will I explore off-limits areas?” She joked and Colin wrinkled his brow at her.

“Nothing is off limits, though I shouldn’t be surprised that you would sneak around,” he said and she tilted her head at him.

“What is that supposed to mean?” She asked and he waved a hand lazily at her clearly unconcerned.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I know the Sheikah are considered spies and secret protectors of the crown,” he snorted and Sheikah felt her eyebrow quirk up again.

“Just that then?” She asked casually and went back to studying her talisman. She watched him through the veil of her hair as he thought about his answer.

“Unless there is more to know,” He said carefully and she just shrugged.

“Maybe, but we will see about that,” She said and sat back once again. “Back to your question, your men are well trained. However I can see they don’t see action very often. Their attacks are very formal and… Stiff,” She said finally and crossed her legs.

“Formal?” He asked and she nodded.

“Formal, they are ready for a fair fight,” She answered and he tilted his head to the side. She sighed and waved her hand through the air.

“If they are out in the real world do you think monsters or men for that matter will fight fair? It is doubtful,”

“You’re talking about fighting dirty?” He laughed incredulously and she shrugged.

“It’s life. You either live or you don’t. You can kill them first or you die. It’s a hard world, Colin. You live long enough and fight dirty and see another day or you meet Hylia,” her voice was flat and matter of fact and judging by the way Colin was looking at her he knew she was right.

“So you fight dirty then? Not something I would expect from a sheikah,” he said coolly and she smiled at him. In a flash she threw her knife at him and it stuck fast in the dresser next to his head. He looked at it with wide eyes and turned back to stare at her.

“There is a reason I’m still alive,” she said and carefully got to her feet and walked over to him. She crouched down in front of him and leaned forward to pluck the knife out of the wood.

“I’ve learned to fight dirty,” she said simply before she returned back to her place next to the bed. She could see that he was looking at her with new eyes and she returned his gaze with tired eyes.

“Noted,” he said calmly and rested back against the dresser. They sat in silence for a few minutes and she went back to her talisman once again.

“So what is that?” He asked and she let out a gusty sigh and looked up at him. Well it was more of a glare but he didn’t seem to care.

“Magic,” she said flatly and went back to looking it over. She could feel the pressure of questions in the air and she sighed.

“If you are desperate to know it’s how I teleport around. I call it hopping.” She said distractedly and reached into her side pouch for a pencil, flipped over the paper and started to scribble down various symbols and runes on the back. She could feel Colin’s eyes on her but he kept blessedly silent while she considered her rune choices.

“Don’t Yiga teleport?” He asked and she nodded slightly and made a face before she crossed out one of them.

“They do, the sheikah tend to be fast runners with small jumps. The Yiga have developed their teleporting abilities to jump farther distances using similar paper talismans. I’m just piggybacking off of what they have,” she said distractedly and crossed off another symbol and scribbled a new one.

“How do you know all of that?” He asked and sheikah looked up at him and shrugged.

“I don’t know, I just do,”

“You just do? How does that make sense?” He asked and a pained look crossed her face.

“Please, I know it doesn’t make sense, and it’s very hard to explain” she said and Colin raised an eyebrow at her.

“Try me,” he challenged and Sheikah sighed and put her head in hands, feeling suddenly exhausted by it all.

“I don’t even know you, why do you care so much?” She complained and jumped when she heard shuffling from the other side of the room. Colin had left his place in front of the dresser in favor of moving closer to her. She eyed the space between them for a moment before looking back up at him.

“I care because I can see you need help, and not just for bandaging wounds. I can see loss in your eyes, Mouse. If you don’t want to be friends that’s fine, but at least use me as a resource,” he offered and she sighed heavily.

“You’re going with Mouse for my name then?” She asked and he beamed at her.

“What can I say, I think it fits you,” he joked and she shook her head of messy white hair.

“Hiri does sound better, in a way. I suppose I’ll take it,” she said and rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forward.

“How do I do this? I still don’t know you,” she said and Colin nodded.

“How about a fact for a fact? We share a bit about ourselves and go back and forth,” he suggested and she nodded slowly. She felt nervous, her fingers twitched against her knees.

“I’ll go first, my favorite color is blue,” he said with a little smile and Hiri breathed a bit easier.

“My favorite color is maroon. But I have grown fond of green,” she said quietly and moved her shoulders so her cloak moved slightly.

“My favorite food is fruit cake,” Colin said next and sat back a bit and crossed his legs. She sat back as well and thought about her own favorite food.

“If I had to say it would be a tough choice between porgy and my mom’s honeyed apple oatmeal,” she said and Colin smiled at her.

“Honeyed apple oatmeal? That sounds delicious,” Colin hummed and Hiri could practically see a flurry of questions running through his head before he settled on one.

“Where is your favorite place in Hyrule? I like the beach,” he said and she swallowed a bit. Her fingers drummed on her knees.

“I haven’t really paid attention, but I guess I feel better when I’m in the woods,” she said carefully and worried if he would consider that to be too vague. Colin seemed happy enough and he continued on with more questions.

She didn’t know how long they sat on the floor across from one another asking basic questions back and forth but it had to be a while. She found out a lot of things about the General. He was an only child, his father was a knight and his mother is bad at sewing but a great cook. His father taught him to mend clothes but if asked it was all his mother, even if she couldn’t sew in a straight line. Colin started training to be a knight at a young age and thanks to his skill and talent at battle plans, rose through the ranks quickly and was put in charge of the outpost a few years later.

At every new fact she thought of little things she could tell him to keep him talking. Her favorite flowers are poppies, her favorite animals were cats and she liked sleeping in the sun.

She didn’t know whether he meant to or not, but Colin made sure to side step around anything involving her family or her village and for that she was grateful. He sat back a bit and hummed as he thought of what else he wanted to share. Hiri took up her talisman in the meantime and studied it briefly.

“The fact that my hair is cut short is not the only thing that marks me as an exile,” she said quietly, her mind choosing to speak rather than giving her time to think it through.

“Mouse, are you sure you want to tell me this,” Colin said quietly and she could hear a gentleness in his voice. He understood the gravity that one sentence held, the secrets that had rarely seen the light of day.

“They threw me out because I wanted to find my brother. As far as I can see I hold no loyalties to the ruling Elders,” she said and put the paper down on her knee.

“I thought you didn’t have any memories from the village,” He said and she shrugged.

“I do have some. But there are a lot of gaps, blank holes where I know something should be. I do have some things though, memories they deemed safe enough for me to have,” she said quietly and shifted again and pulled her knees to her chest and hugged her legs, the paper slipping down and back onto the floor.

“I also apparently have innate knowledge on various things as you saw with the talisman there. The only problem is that there are no connecting threads as to why I would know it,” she explained.

“It makes things difficult for follow up questions I’d imagine,” Colin said lightly and pulled a snort out of Hiri.

“You have no idea,” she joked half heartedly.

“Anyway, if what you say is true and you want to be my friend or resource or what have you then I should be more open so you know what you’re working with,” she said and looked at him over top of her knees. He nodded briskly before gesturing for her to continue.

“I am an exile of the Sheikah clan. I was slated to be an elder and as such I was not allowed to leave the village for any reason,” she started and to his credit Colin kept his face a neutral mask as she talked, taking it in.

“When I got word of my brother’s possible disappearance I left but was brought back,” she said and felt her eyes lock on something in the distance as she wandered through her memories.

“My incessant demands that he be found fell on deaf ears and then…” she blinked and shook her head.

“There is a blank, I can’t remember anything besides flashes. My lantern with Scout inside, the air on the back of my neck and the command that I am to find my brother and return or never return again,” she said softly.

“I don’t have any clear string of memories for what has to be days or a week after that. Just more flashes. I don’t even know if I said goodbye to my mother, I must have, or else I wouldn’t have this,” she said and lifted the edge of her cloak to show him. He looked at it before returning his gaze to her properly.

“Have there been any side effects from your exile?” He asked and she made a noncommittal noise.

“Maybe? My memory feels worse some days. Sometimes I’ll be at a stable, blink and be in the middle of woods,” she said and he nodded.

“Missing time, memory lapses, fugue state, that must be worrying when that happens,” he said and she let out a tired laugh and nodded. He leaned forward a bit and furrowed his brow.

“What about physical side effects?” He asked and tented his fingers in front of him. She hummed and gave him a so-so motion with her hand.

“It’s a lot like my inherent memory of facts. I don’t know where I learned some of the things I can do, I just know how to do them. It’s a lot like muscle memory. There are times where I’ll run up against something and have no idea what to do and then suddenly I just,” she waved her hand around and wiggled her fingers.

“Poof, my body is already doing the motions without me thinking about it,” she shrugged and sat back against the bed. She felt a twinge of pain and she shifted a bit to try and soothe it.

“Alright, we can definitely work with this,” he said and offered her a determined smile.

“What about skills with magic?” He asked and she had to think about it for a moment.

“Well, I can hop. A means of fast travel I have been developing. I used the basics from the Yiga and their teleporting and have been working on improving the distance. I dare say I’m getting pretty damn good at it too.” She said and smiled to herself. She patted on Scout’s lantern and gestured for him to come out. Scout only took a second to zip out from the confines of his lantern and swirled around her head and down her arm before settling in her palm. Hiri smiled at the look on Colin’s face and snapped her fingers. Scout bobbed a bit and she smiled at the blue flame.

“Go say hello, but be nice,” she said sternly and the little blue flame juddered a little and puffed little clouds of smoke before floating over to Colin.

“That is Scout, he helps me plan longer hops. I don’t know how but he seems to know everything about where I have wandered to,” she said and watched as Scout got close to Colin’s face. Colin for his part slowly moved back and peered around to look at her. She grinned at him and full on laughed when Scout suddenly darted up and buried himself in Colin’s black hair. He let out a yelp and reached for Scout but it was a lost cause.

“I should have warned you, Scout likes hair. He keeps getting tangled in mine so good luck getting him out of there,” she snickered and delighted in the look he gave her.

“He’s… He’s not going to burn me right?” He asked and very slowly felt around his head until he poked Scout. The little flame bobbed and puffed up before somehow working himself deeper into Colin’s hair. He winced and let his hands drop and huffed.

“No he shouldn’t, as far as he is concerned I gave you a passing grade. He will not burn you unless you try to hurt me or him,” she explained and laughed again as Scout let out a little hum of agreement. Colin slowly nodded and turned his full attention back to her.

“How far have you been? You said you were traveling for a couple weeks?” He asked and she nodded and dug in her side pouch for her map. It was already rough and worn looking with small scorch marks but it was filled out in a startling amount of detail. Colin looked at it and then looked back to Hiri.

“Hiri, mouse, have you ever been out of your village before now?” He asked as he sat back and away from her map. She blinked at him in confusion and shook her head vehemently and she watched his eyebrows start to raise.

“Well then, I think we have an unexpected problem,” he said and gestured to her map.

“This is the map of someone who has been traveling around for months,” he said gently and Hiri felt her eyes widen. Her brows furrowed and she opened her mouth and tried to find her words. She looked back at the slightly tattered map and noted the detail. There were whole areas filled out, town names, monster camps and even what local wildlife was in the area. Stables were noted on there as well along with notes upon notes of rumors or ideas that had been crossed out.

“It makes sense in a way, I mean look at your shoes, they’re falling apart. If you had been traveling around for a few weeks then they must have been a very cheap pair,” Hiri toyed with the colorful strips of fabric tying her boots together.

“So, what does that mean then?” She asked and felt suddenly more exhausted than moments before.

“I guess we see what you can remember, you made notes on your map, it’s a place to start,” he said and pointed at the messy writing that littered the paper. She nodded and slouched forwards to scoop up her map and spotted Colin tapping the floor boards just in front of it to get her attention. She looked up at him with tired eyes and smiled slightly when he held out a grumpy looking Scout. She didn’t know how Colin was able to scoop him out of his hair without pulling it out but it was clear it was a struggle. His slightly messy hair was worse now, sticking up at odd angles and she thought she smelled a hint of singed hair.

“I think this is yours,” he laughed and Hiri nodded and held out her hand. She brushed his fingertips with her own and was amazed that her skin didn’t burn. If Colin noticed he didn’t say anything, only made sure Scout was squarely on her hand before pulling away.

“How does that sound?” He asked and she jumped a little and looked up at him. She blinked owlishly at him and he gave her a soft smile.

“You missed the question didn’t you?” He asked gently and Hiri nodded sheepishly.

“I was asking if you wanted to lay down and rest. You look exhausted,” he said and she looked back at the bed. Sleep did sound pretty nice, and given the revelation that she might have been traveling for months without a solid memory to her name was scaring her a bit. He must have noticed because he tapped the floor again.

“It’s going to be okay, mouse,” he said and nodded at her. She sighed and rested her head in her palm. Scout nuzzled her thumb on her other hand and she let out a tired laugh.

“If you say so,” she said quietly. She curled forwards on herself and was about to stand when Colin reached out his hand for her to take. She looked at it with wide eyes and slowly reached out and hesitantly took it. To her utter shock and amazement the contact didn’t burn. Still she was quick to let go and sit on the bed just in case. She nodded her thanks and went to curl up on the bed when Colin made a noise. She looked at him with curiosity and took off her belt and lantern and held them out to him. He snorted and took it from her and set them back on the side table.

“I was talking about your boots,” he said and pointed at her feet. She looked down and let out a tired snort before she took them off and dropped them on the ground. He rolled his eyes and laughed as he moved them over and sat down on the bed with her.

“Mind if I sit here?” He asked and she shrugged and gave him more room.

“I was going to sleep, you’re going to get bored,” she said and started kicking the blankets down so she could curl up.

“That’s okay, I can find something to entertain myself,” he said and looked at her cloak.

“I can mend that for you,” he offered and she paused and looked at her cloak. It was tattered around the edges and she hummed and looked at him uncertainly before she carefully unclasped it.

“You really know how to sew?” She asked and he laughed.

“I know, it’s hard to believe but I can sew rather well,” he said as he stood, made his way over to the dresser and dug out a small box and came back to sit.

“You won’t even recognize it when you wake up,” He said and opened the box and pulled out a couple shades of green. He hummed and held a couple up, considering the colors closely. She looked at them and pointed to a dark green.

“That one is pretty close,” She said and carefully unhooked her cloak from around her shoulders. She felt a little shake enter her hands and she worried at the rough wool for a second before she set it down gently on the bed. Colin watched her and took a deep breath.

“I think it is our best bet, when I go into town I will stop by the tailors and grab some more thread that might better match,” he said and crossed his legs and sat so he was facing her. He took up the cloak in between his nimble fingers and started sewing. She watched as he gently worked the needle through the wool and laid down. After a few minutes of quick work he reached the end of the tear and pulled the thread. She sat up and watched as the thread disappeared into the fabric, leaving no trace behind.

“Wow, it’s like it never happened,” She said and sat up more and ran her fingers over the freshly patched up tear.

“See I told you I could sew,” He laughed and tied off the thread and strung the needle again and went back to his work.

“Now how about you rest,” He suggested again and she nodded slowly, feeling slightly better about him holding her cloak. He smiled and went back to his work and started to hum a quiet song. She felt a shiver run through her and she curled up and felt herself drift off easily to the sound of the needle moving through fabric and Colin’s gentle lullaby.

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