Identity Crisis

[replicatedcourage]

Who: Dark Link and anyone who comes across him
Where: The park
When: January 5th, dusk
Status: Open

It hurts...

Not the park bench to the face, though that had dislocated his nose and given him two black eyes, causing him to look like a raccoon until he discovered Vatheon's version of a fairy's fountain, the coral.

No, he was fine now, physically, and he was safe here, camped out under the trees, even if his sword and shield had gone missing. What hurt was something else.

She knows everything. She knows about Hyrule, and magic, and everything I don't.

He fought to put the breaks on that train of thought, terrified of what lay around the next cognitive bend. But, as trains do, his thoughts rolled irrepressibly onward.

What if she's right? What if I'm not Link?

A long pause as his whole being fought tooth and nail to keep away from the looming question.

...if she's right, then what's the point of me?

Comments

[fonmaster]

"Oh, I'm sorry! I meant to tell you but you just drank it so quickly that I didn't have a chance. It's really good though, so try to drink the rest a little more slowly, okay?"

Ion plopped down next to Dark Link to catch his breath, laying back on the grass.

[replicatedcourage]

Gasping a little less, Dark Link finally caught his own breath and warily took a second attempt at the soda. It wasn't unpleasant, when you're expecting it.

He smacked his lips a bit and then answered Ion's previous question. "I'm Link."

[fonmaster]

Ion smiled kindly. It was impossible, but somehow this man seemed even younger than he truly was. "It's good to meet you, Link."

He fidgeted, then leaned forward curiously. "Can I ask you about your ears? We have legends on my world about elves with ears just like yours!"

[replicatedcourage]

Dark Link perked up, only hearing what he wanted to hear of what Ion had asked him.

"You have legends about me?" He seems all too pleased with this prospect.

[fonmaster]

Ion blinked. Okay, so he was an elf! He nodded in response. "Umm, yes! About elves and a great tree. There are hardly any details left, though."

Unable to contain himself, Ion reached out to touch his ear.

I don't... have an icon for the face he's making

[replicatedcourage]

The touch to his ear caused Dark Link to freeze up completely as if an inflexible rod had been inserted into his spine. He had absolutely no frame of reference for that sensation but he did know it made him incredibly uncomfortable even though he thought he kind of liked it. His face turned nearly as red as his eyes and he refused to meet Ion's gaze until he withdrew his hand.

Grats, you just got molested by Ion. I didn't even know that was possible.

[fonmaster]

Ion took his hand away fairly quickly, blushing himself just in response. Did touching ears have some sort of cultural significance for elves? "I-I'm sorry, was that inappropriate? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just thought they were interesting, that's all."

He folded his hands in his lap awkwardly. There. Now Link would know he was going to keep them to himself.

DL doesn't even know what that means lmao

[replicatedcourage]

"No.. I mean. Um. I don't know. Just... d-don't do that."

He shifted around awkwardly, recognizing that Ion didn't mean to make him feel. Uh. Whatever he just felt. Really, Ganondorf wasn't exactly knowledgeable about Hylian anatomy and it wasn't like Dark Link had gotten "The Talk" when he was created. No, he'd been told if he was a good boy and did what he was told, he could be a great hero and then dumped in a temple alone until the original Link came along and beat him to death with a hammer.

Some life.

"U-uh, so... Are you from here?" Anything to stop feeling uncomfortable.

[fonmaster]

"I'm from a world known as Auldrant," he answered, looking a little sad. "I don't think that I can return there, though. Honestly, though it's not my world, I'm grateful just to be here."

But going down the "hey, I died!" path was not exactly a cheerful conversation topic, not to mention that talking about it too much made Ion remember that horrible feeling of nothingness. He hadn't been able to comprehend it when he first arrived in Vatheon, but he remembered it every night when he slept.

"What world are you from, Link?"

[replicatedcourage]

He looks so sad... There was a familiarity to that kind of sadness, something he couldn't put his finger on.

"I'm from Hyrule, but I've never really seen it. I want to, someday." He tilted his head to the side, regarding Ion from this new angle. "Why do you look so sad about your world? Is it because you can't get home?"

[fonmaster]

He nodded, trying to smile. For some reason he felt like he should shelter Link, even though Link was older than he was. "Yes. I miss it very much."

Ion looked at Link curiously. "You didn't see your world? Do you mean you were cooped up someplace? I have a friend who had to stay in his home for his whole life before we began our journey. He was really happy about seeing everything. I hope you can see your world, too."

[replicatedcourage]

"Really? That sounds like me... But I'm sure I'll see it someday. I just need to find the ocarina, then I can play the song to get home!" He looked entirely delighted at this realization and grabbed Ion by both arms. "Maybe that's supposed to be my quest here! I'll search for the ocarina, transport Zelda and me home, and she'll be so grateful she'll have to believe I'm me!"

The perfect plan!

[fonmaster]

"You can transport yourself with music?" Ion was about to ask for more information when Dark Link grabbed his arms suddenly. What did he mean by that last part?

"What do you mean, believe that you're you?" he asked carefully.

[replicatedcourage]

"Yeah! The Prelude of Light goes right to the Temple of Time!"

A pause then, and his expression fell to be reminded on his current predicament. He let go of Ion, hunching over a little.

"It's... kind of really super complicated and makes my head hurt, but... I'm Link, but there's another one that was here first. I mean, not here, but at home."