(no subject)

[zelda_hylia]

Who: Zelda and Zelos/later Zelos and Lloyd
Where: Ordo 3/Lloyd's place
When: Backdated to the 25th, after speaking with Link over the SFC
Status: Closed

Zelda isn't even one hundred percent sure of where she's going once she puts down the SFC. Hylia. A goddess. She's always felt responsible for everything that happened to Hyrule, but if this is the case... she held more responsibility than even she had ever thought. She lays on the bed facedown and hugs a pillow tightly enough that it looks as if it might burst.

Comments

[chosen_gigolo]

When Zelos went looking for Zelda with some inane question about household chores the last place he expected to find her was his bedroom, but he's not entirely surprised. Link being here is putting quite a strain on her and he hasn't really pushed because of that. He'd even brought over a guest to keep her mind off of it, but apparently her connection with Link is much stronger than a simple distraction will allow.

"You might be taking this fake boyfriend thing a little seriously, Zelda-hunny." His voice is light, teasing, but gentle and he moves to the bedside to place a light hand on the back of her head to show he's here to listen if she needs to talk.

[zelda_hylia]

The tease doesn't even get the slightest reaction from her, but she does look over her shoulder at him. Ah, this was Zelos's room.

"I apologize. I didn't... notice where I was going," she said softly. He must think she's absolutely ridiculous, surely. Not that she blames him. Link shows up and suddenly all her composure goes flying out the window.

[chosen_gigolo]

"I think at this point it's not really something to fuss over, considering." He simply shrugs and the mattress dips a bit as he sits on the edge. He runs his hand through her hair soothingly. "This is about Link, isn't it? You want to talk about it?"

[zelda_hylia]

"He said that I am a goddess reincarnated..."

It doesn't even occur to her that this sounds like a cheesy pick up line. She means it quite literally, after all.

[chosen_gigolo]

"Oh c'mon, you're not stupid enough to fall for that line. Did he still say that after seeing I'm so obviously in love with you? Because I can take care of that." Somehow he manages to sound sarcastic and protective at the same time. Clearly he wouldn't hurt Link, but if he needs to have a 'discussion' he will.

[zelda_hylia]

"What?" His reaction startles her out of her stupor a bit. What is he even on about? Unless...

"Goddesses, no! He wasn't flirting with me. He meant it literally. That I... am the goddess Hylia reincarnated, as was his Zelda. I'm not sure what I... I have always felt a connection to Hyrule, and it's true that there is a power inside me that I've always been afraid to touch, but I don't..."

Yes, she's rambling a bit.

[chosen_gigolo]

"A Goddess?" He can see it, sort of. The way she mothers everyone, talks to everyone, even people like their freaky murdering Troll neighbors... it reminds him of the stories he'd grown up with of Martel, the 'Goddess' who protects the world, who cares for all the world's people. But he'd found out that was all lies. Martel had just been an unlucky girl stuck in a horrible situation. He's not even sure gods really exist, after all that, and if they do then what makes them any different from any other poor sod in the world? He reaches over and pinches her cheek, not hard but enough that he's trying to make her make a face.

[zelda_hylia]

The only look he gets is a somewhat curious stare. She's too shell shocked to scold him for the behavior, and besides - she would want to study a god-turned-person as well. Though a pinch on the cheek is not really studying, is it? It's more like what someone would do if they thought they were dreaming.

"What was that for?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "I may be disoriented, but I am fairly sure I'm not dreaming or anything of the sort."

[chosen_gigolo]

He scrutinizes her for another minute, crossing his arms, then shakes his head and shrugs. "Nope. I still just see Zelda."

He flicks her nose and grin. "You're not going around smiting people or anything. You've got things you're interested in, things you like, things you don't like. You're pretty much just a person like the rest of us no matter where you came from Princess, sorry to disappoint you."

[zelda_hylia]

Irritation passes over her face. Doesn't he get it?

"It is not being a different person that I am concerned about. If what Link says is accurate, it is my responsibility to care for Hyrule - even moreso than before!"

Going home and forgetting this place has never sounded as good at is does right at this moment.

[chosen_gigolo]

"Not really." He folds his arms again, sounding a little more sour than he intends. "I don't see you doing anything different. You're already intent on sacrificing pretty much anything for your world, what else do you expect to do?"

[zelda_hylia]

"How am I to know? I have to... figure out how to use this power, perhaps I can reverse the damage to the land. If Hylia is the goddess of Hyrule, then I can heal it faster."

She lifts her chin at him, looking defiant. Alright, so she's a goddess. Maybe. So what? She'll use this, too!

[chosen_gigolo]

"You won't remember anything you learn to do here." He knows being this blunt probably isn't the best way to go about talking about this, but he's unsettled. He doesn't want her hurting herself or something and he's damn sure that whatever past lives she's had they shouldn't have any effect on who she is now. He'd been fighting against that for so long himself, fighting the legacy of the Chosen, that seeing Zelda simply give herself up to a legacy like that makes him tense and laconic.

[chosen_gigolo]

Irritated at what had just occurred and unable to calm himself down just by sitting around, Zelos instead decides to pour that energy into something productive and takes off for Lloyd's apartment, leaving via the window and setting down out in the street before banishing his wings and walking the rest of the way simply so he wouldn't have to speak to Zelda again on his way out.

He takes a moment to compose himself before knocking 'shave and a haircut' against Lloyd's door.

[redcladidealist]

Lloyd hadn't really been expecting anyone. He blinks, looking up, surprised at the knock. Curious, he stands up, brushing sawdust off his black shirt and pants.

"Who...?"

He doesn't bother to finish the question. He can answer that soon enough. He sets aside the craft he'd been working on, then heads to the door and opens it. He brightens when he sees who's come to visit him.

"Zelos? Hey, what're you doing here?"

[chosen_gigolo]

"Not much! I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by to see how my best Bud is doing♥"

He notes the bits of shaved wood still clinging to Lloyd's shirt and blinks, standing taller to look over Lloyd into the apartment. "Working on something? I wanna see~"

[redcladidealist]

"My name's not 'bud,' you know," Lloyd remarks, grinning because he doesn't really care, he just likes giving Zelos a hard time sometimes. "But if you wanna see what I'm working on, sure! Come on in!"

He stands aside to let Zelos come through the door, and he'll wait long enough to close it behind him. His apartment has two floors, and he'd been working downstairs, so when Zelos comes in, it won't be hard to spot the piece of wood on the table, not to mention the pile of food shavings and the scattered assortment of tools.

"I'm not done yet, so it doesn't look like much, but..." But it still has enough form to give the impression of wings. Maybe some kind of bird?

[chosen_gigolo]

Zelos looks eager anyway and plops right down on the floor to look at it, opposite from the side of the table where Lloyd was obviously working.

"What's it gonna be?" He tilts his head sideways to examine the form then grins up at Lloyd. "A gift for a hunny, maybe~? Lloyd, you should have told me!"

[redcladidealist]

"It's not like that, Zelos! It's..." He hesitates again, unconsciously rubbing the back of his bare left hand, the one that has his Exsphere. There's definitely a hint of embarrassment there.

But this is Zelos. He can tell his friend.

He picks the carving up and holds it out for the other boy to look at. "It's supposed to be my mom. Well, you know, sort of, since I don't really remember what she looks like. It's stupid, but I... I sometimes think I hear her talking, like she's up in the sky, like maybe she can fly and she's right up in the sun where I can't see her. So..."

He shrugs, self-conscious.

So he gave her wings.

[chosen_gigolo]

The overabundance of energy Zelos had showed up with seems to seep out of him and he looks at the incomplete statuette with softer eyes. He hasn't told Lloyd yet, from his perspective, and he's not sure he has it in him right now to recount that snowy day again, not with that wound still raw from his heated conversation with Zelda. He hadn't even realized until that moment that it's what he was afraid of, that she'll succeed and leave him too and be unhappy forever marrying someone she doesn't love for a country that has her heart.

He's embarrassed he thinks of her that way but at this point he's not sure he can stop. She's kind, smart, and comforting in a way he's craved since childhood and if she were to leave...

The Chosen smiles softly at Lloyd, glad for him that the words he maybe thinks he hears from his mother are comforting, not at all like the ones that ring through Zelos's mind. You never should have been born.

"I don't think it's stupid. I bet you really can hear her, y'know. That exsphere was hers, right?"

[redcladidealist]

It's such a simple thing, thinking you might have a connection with a parent you never got to know. Lloyd's often wondered what his parents might have looked like, but the only clues he has are his own features. Maybe his mom had untamable hair like his, and maybe he has his dad's shoulders and height, and maybe they both had brown eyes like him. Ever since he realized he couldn't remember them anymore, he's come up with thousands of faces. They'd all bear a resemblance to him, though. Because... because he wanted to look like them. If he did, they weren't really gone. He'd always have part of them that would never die or leave him. Kind of a stupid, childish thing, but there it was.

He's glad Zelos isn't laughing.

A small smile touches his lips at the suggestion that he really does hear his mother's voice. Part of him wants that to be true so badly.

Until it hits him what that would mean. The smile disappears and he casts Zelos a worried look. "You think part of my mom is still inside this thing? Like... like Alicia?"

[chosen_gigolo]

"It's possible."

He'd never admit it, not under duress or even with his dying breath, but he's a little jealous of Lloyd. More than a little. His mother obviously loved him very much. Dirk is a decent sort too, and even Kratos... well, no, Kratos is still a complete bastard and he'll never forgive him for jerking Lloyd around.

Still, to just know that your mother loves you, even though she's gone... it's a gift. So yes, he's jealous. Somewhere deep down, he wishes he could hear his mother too, even knowing what she would say. Just hearing her voice again...

"Think of it like.. she's able to watch over you closely." He trains his eyes on the crystal. "I think she'd be happy to do that for her son, seeing what an incredible person you'll become."

[redcladidealist]

Zelos might be thinking what a blessing Lloyd's been given, but Lloyd's thoughts couldn't be further from that. Rubbing a thumb across the gem on the back of his hand, his brow creases, something inside his gut twisting.

"But that would mean she's trapped. So long as my Exsphere exists, she can't... move on, or go wherever people are supposed to go when they die. She'll be absorbed and-!"

It feels like his heart nearly stops at the thought. If his mother is in there, the longer he wears this, she's in danger! Without thinking, he digs the gem out of its mount, barely even registering the pain and weakness as it disconnects.

"Zelos, we have to do something! I need a hammer, or something heavy!"

[chosen_gigolo]

"What the hell, Lloyd?! Are you crazy?!" Zelos lurches to his feet and grabs both of Lloyd's wrists in one harried motion, preventing him from looking for a hammer or dropping the exsphere.

"You can't do that, especially if it's your mom's soul in there! What if breaking it doesn't release her but kills what's left instead, huh? She's been in there much longer than Alicia, what if she's completely fused with the crystal?"

[redcladidealist]

"You mean I should just leave her in there and let her soul disappear?!" Lloyd jerks his hands back, struggling to break free, but with the strength granted to him by the Exsphere gone, he just isn't a match for Zelos. This doesn't keep him from trying, though. "Let go, Zelos! I'm not going to let that happen to my mom!"