Luminescence

In Only Feathers and Dew

Twilight. He hated this time of day. Everything glowed amber in the newly set sun and the air felt cool with oncoming night. Before him goats got in some last minute grazing. He sighed and turned his attention back to his sketchpad. For the past hour he hadn't been completely aware of what he had been drawing. When he saw the half-formed shape of a dusky woman his stomach twisted violently and he tore the page out. This was the only downside to his job: it gave him too much time to think about her. If she could see how he was now, whew, boy, wouldn't she laugh herself silly. He could almost hear her voice, which still held its impish quality.

'If I had known I had such an effect on you light dwellers, I would have sauntered my sexy self over years ago!'

Yeah yeah. Get over yourself. But of course, then she wouldn't be Midna, now, would she? A familiar ache filled him and he bent his head between his knees. There was still so much he didn't understand about her, even a year later. Like: why had she shattered the mirror of twilight? Even after Zelda gave her little speel about how both their worlds needed each other and all that? But whatever...thinking about it wasn't doing him any good.

Thankfully, Ilia ran up to him just then. He could recognize her footsteps anywhere and was grateful for the distraction from his moping. As he looked up he felt faintly alarmed at her breathlessness.

"Is something up? Why'd you run here?"

She shrugged. "Just felt like running. Father had me stuck in the house all day cleaning up after the Sorens. Din, I can't wait till they have their own stinking house!"

The Sorens were a family of refugees who had come last year to get away from the chaos that was Hyrule. When everything settled down, they had taken a liking to Ordon and had officially decided to settle in. Ilia and her father, having the largest house in the village, offered to house them until they could finish their own home. Annoyingly, though the couple and their four sons were accommodating, they were also very...what was the right word?

"The stupid thing would be done by now if they would just get off their butts and get to it! I mean, you'd think with four mostly grown sons they'd have had it done in no time but noooo! Their so Din lazy!!"

Ah, that was the word. He had been looking for something more powerful though.

"You did this to yourself, you know."

"Don't start on me, mister."

He smirked. "What was it again that made you so compassionate? Ah yes, 'those thighs'-"

Though he knew it was coming, it didn't make her punch to shoulder any less painful. He laughed anyways. The bright reddening of her face was so worth the pain.

"Shut up," she snapped, "I already told you I don't like Darren. He's a worthless, pathetic, unsanitary, lazy-"

"-irresistible, handsome-"

"I said shut up!"

"Those thighs." He wriggled his eyebrows. He couldn't help it. The memory those words brought to him had to be the funniest thing he had ever heard; the uptight, strict, prissy Ilia drooling and praising a man's thighs of all things.

The second punch hurt too.

"For the love of Nayru, when are you going to grow up, Link?"

"Funny you should ask. It seems to be a theme for me today."

She gave a loud, exasperated sigh. "Do you want me to tell you what I came here to say or not?"