Playing With Knives- LoZ

scene 15- tired

"Oh! Is he waking up! Yay!"
"Shh! Would you want to wake up to yelling and shouting?"
"No, sorry. I'll be quiet."

●●●

"Hhnng..."
He opened his eyes, squinting as they adjusted to the light. Once they did, he looked around. He would sit up, but he was exhausted and felt like he had been beaten over and over again.
"Good morning, Wild."
He mumbled something that sounded a bit like "good morning," but it was hard to tell.

"Hey! I'm happy you're up! It's been ages!"
"Wind, calm down a bit. Don't jump that close to him. Anyways, it's only been a day."
"And two nights!"
"And two nights."
He mumbled again, "Whahappnd?"
"What happened?"
Wild nodded.
"You went out into the forest the other night and we found you unconscious. We took you back here, and it's been a day since then."
"Oh."
"You look like you're still tired."
Wild nodded again and sighed.

It had been a while. He had been here for ages. He lifted his hands, still lying down, and signed,
"I should probably leave. I've been gone too long."
He sat up, feeling a bit woozy. He still stood up. He was a bit unbalanced, but he fixed that and stretched. He waved and walked away before Twilight could stop him.

●●●

He appeared nearby Rito Village, and he went inside. He found Zelda and waved to her.
"Hey- wait, what happened to you? Are you okay? What happened?"
He put his hands up in front of him to stop the questions, then signed,
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. Just... came across a particularly strong bokoblin. That's all."
"Oh. This bandage, it looks like somebody else put it on."
"I went to a stable. Somebody there helped me."
"Ah. That makes sense."
He nodded.

●●●

Later, they left to go to Gerudo Town. Honestly, he didn't even care about the Gerudo outfit. He didn't care what Zelda thought about it. At the same time, though, he did care. He just didn't have the energy to worry about it. He barely had the energy to walk or ride his horse.

"Are you doing alright? You seem tired."
He nodded. It took too much energy to sign. He just wanted to lie down for a while. Or forever. He wouldn't mind how long it was, as long as he was refreshed when he woke up. He sighed.
"Are you sure? Do you want to stop and take a break?"
He nodded again. He didn't care which one she thought he answered to.

"Okay, we'll stop."
Zelda stopped her horse, and he did as well. She hopped down, but he nearly fell off. She steadied him, and they sat down next to the path. He lied down on the grass, almost falling asleep.

He had felt like a different person this while time, like he was just watching himself do stuff. Kind of like the memories. He hated those memories. They did this to him.

●●●

"Wake up... wake up..."
"Aah!"
Had he dreamed all of it? Did he have to start all over again?
"Not again... Stop! Stop it! I don't want to do that again..."
"Oh, shoot. I'm sorry, I didn't think... Calm down, it's okay."
A hand reached over and wiped his cheek. Zelda.
"It's okay, that won't happen again. Don't worry. We're all done with that."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak out like that, that was stupid."

His voice was hoarse, like it hadn't been used in a long time. And it hadn't. This was the first time she had heard him say more than a couple words at a time.

He was scared. She should have thought of that before she started saying what she had said before, to wake him up from his 100 sleep. It was almost the exact same thing. Of course he would get upset. She would too, in his position.

He opened his eyes and looked at her. He lifted his hands and signed,
"I'm sorry about that."
"There's no need to apologize. I understand."
He answered with a small nod, not signing anything.
"You don't look very refreshed."
"I'm not."
"Can you make it to Gerudo Town?"
"Yes."
"Okay. If you're sure."

●●●

They reached the Gerudo Canyon Stable, and he showed Zelda his disguise. She didn't show any reaction aside from a small sad smile. She didn't explain why, but she did say that she wanted one like it.

They went into the town together and they got an outfit for Zelda, which she put on as soon as she could.

They went to Riju, who was very happy to see them, and she kept making seal puns. He smiled, but it wasn't completely genuine.

"C'mon, you do that all the time! won't you at least say something?"
He said nothing, even after that request. Riju made a face, then looked back at Zelda. They talked for a bit about rebuilding and other plans. He didn't really listen. He didn't want to, anyway.

"Um, Zelda, would you mind talking in private about something?"
"Oh, no, I wouldn't mind."
"Okay. Buliara, you may leave."
Zelda looked at him. "You too."
He nodded and followed Buliara out of the room.

Once they left, Zelda looked back at Riju.
"What did you want to talk about?"
"Link."
"Link? What about him?"
"He's acting... odd."
"Odd?"
"You don't need to repeat everything I say. Anyway, when he cane here before, he was all happy, and he kept saying seal pins. It was hilarious. But now... Something about him is different. He's not nearly as happy. And I don't mean he's being serious, I mean he's not happy, like, sad or something."
"Hm. I... guess."
"Have you noticed it?"
"Not really..."
"Maybe it's just me."
"Though, now that I think about it, maybe you're right. He's just been gone a lot, I guess. I haven't really gotten to know him yet."