Shattering the Stars

Our Bonds

To be honest, I don't really have much to say about this chapter. I just how you enjoy!
-Jooostan

Shattering the Stars
Chapter 18: Our Bonds

Link had been awake for a while, drenched in a foul mood, but it was not because of the events of the night prior. He stood in the doorway, wanting to leave the bedroom, but found it impossible to do so. His head was turned back, staring at the bed, watching over Kirby. A frown donned itself on his face, his eyes a little watery.

Kirby didn't talk about the nightmare he had yet, having only cried until eventually being lulled into another sleep, this time much more peaceful. Mario didn't have much experience in helping another overcome fear, but Luigi did. He spoke of a bit of a personal mission he once had while trying to save his brother from the clutches of King Boo. His words helped Kirby a little, but the tears never truly stopped until Link heard the pink puffball start to softly snore in the wee hours of the morning.

It was almost noon now, Link had discovered, and his stomach felt like it was tightening, wishing for food. Thankfully, that boy, Freddy, had used his own money to buy at least a dozen more of those 'Shwaffle' baskets for Violet's guests. It had cost a lot, and surprisingly, Violet insisted she'd pay him back. Reluctantly, Link left the bedroom in search of a basket to call his own, hunger driving him down the hall.

Things again were quiet, but Link's ears picked up on a faint conversation coming from the living room. Once he entered, he saw those two ladies, Amy and Crystal, sitting together, discussing something unknown to him.

"Oh, hi, Link!" Crystal was the first to notice the Terminian and waved affectionately.

"Good morning," Link greeted the girls as he walked up to the couch. He planned to ask them if they had seen any of those baskets of food, refusing to openly call them 'Shwaffles', as he thought the name sounded a little childish. However, before another word could leave his mouth, Amy reached over to her right and picked up one of the three baskets that had been sitting on the cushion next to her.

"Here, Link. Mario told us that you hadn't really eaten much lately, so he saved you a basket of Super Shwaffles!" Amy held out the basket, smiling at the man in green.

"Thank you," Link said plainly, taking the basket. It felt surprisingly heavy, a sign of a lot of food. Right away he started to eat, having felt starved. His mind quickly went blank, his hands and fingers working on their own to shove the Shwaffles into his mouth without a second thought. All his manners went out the window at that moment.

Amy and Crystal giggled to themselves as they watched the man their friend admired to an almost unhealthy degree eat almost animalistically. They didn't see him as impolite, but also didn't look at him with pity for being so deprived of food. They watched him with a shared sense of understanding, Crystal especially. She knew what it was like to feel starved, without food for days at a time. Thankfully, those days were long since over.

The rain that had long persisted outside had finally let up, allowing the people of Inkopolis Square and beyond to flourish in the brisk air of the late morning. It was just a quarter to noon, but it felt as if the sun had just risen for some. Among those were Amy and Crystal, having both been plagued by a set of off-putting dreams for the past few nights. At least they didn't fuse in their sleep again.

"So Link," Crystal tilted her head, addressing the man sitting beside her on the couch, scarfing down the Shwaffles, "Freddy and Violet told us that something happened with Kirby last night. Do you know what happened?"

"Mm? Oh, Kirby-" Link started speaking with a full mouth, getting a few crumbs onto the floor. His ears picked up on the tapping of food below him and he finally took a moment to swallow and wipe his lips. "Kirby had a nightmare, apparently. He didn't want to talk much about it when he woke up, though..."