Just Another Day (OPEN)

[Leoni]

Leoni felt some of the mud splatter onto his face. It was cold and heavy, and he'd never experienced it before. The sensation of mud on his skin. He hadn't flinched or reacted when she spoke to him, or when she covered him in mud. He had simply stared upwards.

He placed his hand on his chest, feeling the wetness of the mud on his jacket. He squished it between his fingers, then lifted it up to his face. He rubbed the mud onto his forehead. It was soothing against his heated and sweating skin. He wondered if he was getting ill--which wouldn't surprise him. It was easy for him to become ill.

Leoni forced himself to sit up, the mud dripping down his cheeks. Calmly and simply, he undid and removed his jacket, revealing a clean white shirt, it's folds moving gently in the breeze. With the jacket removed, it was more clear how skinny and fragile he physically was. He folded the jacket and placed it beside him, his movements slow. Mud was composed of merely dirt and water. It would take no effort to get himself cleaned up.

He turned and watched the Zora walking away. If he wanted, he could accuse her of attacking him in this juvenile way, as he had done nothing to instigate it besides refuse her help, which any person had the right to. However, he was mentally and physically tired from the plant.

He swallowed what was in his mouth, then cringed. He hadn't taken enough to stop the pain entirely.

"Oye, Zora," he said, his voice slow and tired.

[Ingrid]

At the sound of his voice Ingrid stopped, fists still clenched. She faguely noticed a few of the zoras casting stray glances there way, but she new none of them would jump in unless serious fighting started to take place and at that point they would protect there own and the Hylian wouldn't stand a chance. She slowly turned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What do you want, Hylian?" she spat the last work like it was venom in her mouth, "If you have no further business with me then I have my own things to attend to. It's not like I sit around the lake all day waiting for rotten people to bother me," She tapped her foot impatiently, a glare set in her blue eyes.

[Leoni]

Leoni's arms wobbled slightly from holding him in his seated position. He watched as she glared him down and spoke to him. She was clearly impatient, and had no wish to deal with him any further. Which was fine, he supposed. He was the one who had said he didn't need her help. However, remembering that he had called her back, he wondered why he even bothered to. Did he think he needed her help for something?

He looked away from her stare and to his little medicine bag. Oh. That's what it was. She was a Zora, after all. She should know about the plant.

"Sorry," he said. Why did he say that? He didn't feel apologetic for anything, and she didn't deserve anything opposite than what he had given her in regards of treatment. However, he was too tired to really say anything else. At least the pain wasn't as bad as it was before.

Leoni grabbed his bag and jacket, and forced himself to his feet. He lacked the balance and grace that he had had earlier, and he became dizzy. He knew this was because he had taken the plant, which he had only taken because of the pain. Which he had only received because of his Sense.

Which had only gone off because he was here.

When Leoni had decided to come to Lake Hylia, he knew that his Sense would go off. However, he didn't expect that it would be so painful this time, and still wasn't sure why. However, he decided quite logically that it was no longer appropriate to be here. He should leave, and come back again another time.

He looked at the Zora, and bowed his head in her direction once again. He spoke to her exhaustedly through deep breaths, with the respect that a servant would dutifully show to his superior.

"I wouldn't want to impose on your daily business. Forgive me for wasting your time and being an embarrassment."

He lifted his head and turned away, walking away to leave. His sense of direction was inhibited, however, and he walked in the opposite direction. Leoni noticed a few nearby Zora's look his way, and he stopped to bow to them apologetically.

Standing had caused the effect of the plant to increase, and though this resulted in the pain ceasing even more, it also seemed to result in seemingly intoxicated movements. In fact, it was slightly embarrassing, and Leoni felt a strange sense of shame, though he was too tired to do anything about it. He continued walking.

[Ingrid]

Ingrid watched, a bit shocked as he bowed and apologized. She figured he just wanted something, he'd proven that much in there short time together, he wasn't one to speak unless you had something he wanted. She followed his staggering walk, but after a minute her little heart gave in and she rolled her eyes, trotting after him. It only took a second to catch up, he was rather slow at the moment.

"Hold up," She grabbed his shoulder, he was a stubborn bastard, but maybe if he was as out of it as he seemed Ing could take him to the doctors before he caused himself anymore damage, "Let me help you, just stop being so stubborn for two seconds," That sounded impossible, but it was worth a shot, besides, what could he do besides irritate her beyond belief.

[Leoni]

Leoni wobbled when she grabbed his shoulder, and he almost fell completely over. He looked up at her through the mud that still fell down his face. He could vaguely tell that she wasn't exactly pleased with this situation--or he could just be twisting reality with his eyes.

"Don't touch me," he said sharply, but he didn't do anything. He didn't remove her hand from his shoulder, or try to walk away.

Don't touch me. I don't need the help of an unintelligent child of a fish like you. I don't need help from anyone. I am the noble servant of Naroh the folklorist, and I have never needed anyone to take care of me. So take your hands off me and crawl back into your mud puddle, Zora.

All this he wanted to say to her. However, when he opened his mouth to do so, he instead said:

"I'm sorry."

His expression softened, and he wiped some mud off his face using his fingertips. He then pointed his fingers at her face, and flung the tiny bits of mud at her.

"I like these clothes," he said afterwards, his lips twisting into what he had intended to be a cruel smile, but ended up more like a pathetic attempt at looking playful.

Crawl back into your mud muddle.

Leoni sighed and held the same fingers in front of his own face. He looked at them, and wiggled them around as if for a moment, he wasn't sure if they still worked. Why did he do that? He couldn't remember. What he could remember, however, was the last time he was in this state. His face went dark as he recalled it. Leoni had been ill during travel when his Sense had gone off, and the pain had near crippled him. His Master had given him the same type of plant to eat, and it had had an even greater effect due to Leoni having had more. All the pain had left, but Leoni had been barely functional as a respectful Hylian being. But he didn't need anyone's help then, either.

No, that's a lie. His Master had been with Leoni the entire time, until he was well enough to continue.

Leoni's eyes narrowed at this unfortunate realization. As much as he wanted to continue being stubborn, he couldn't guarantee where he would end up if he continued alone in this state. If he fell into the water, for example, he would certainly drown.

"Oye, oye," he sighed, letting his body fall back down to its knees. "I'm too tired to keep walking." He picked up his medicine bag, and held it up to the Zora. "Hey, fish-face, if I had had more the pain would be all gone." He said these words as if she was supposed to understand them, but his mind was too tired to try and keep up with what his body was doing anymore. "I ate all there was, though. Ah, well. Its a bearable amount. " He looked up at her. "You guys grow like frogs do, you know. That would bother me if I were one of you."

Leoni went silent for a moment, then bowed his head again.

"I'm sorry."

[Ingrid]

Ingrid had half a mind to let the guy lay there and rot, even ill and delirious he was still a jerk. She flinched slightly when the mud hit her face, not cause it hurt in anyway, just because she wasn't expecting it. She knelt next to him though as he spoke, talking about the seaweed she'd seen him eat, she knew exactly where to get it, but it wouldn't be any good til it was properly dried.

She rolled her eyes, "You're a terrible person, nasty and rude," she paused, looking down towards the lake, "But if I didn't help you I'd be even worse, so shut up," With that she grabbed his arms and hefted him into a sitting position, he was out of it enough, she was sure any resistance would be frail and pointless. She looked back at the water again, he was heavy enough that she'd never get him to the doctor by land, he'd be much easier to carry if she was swimming though she doubted he'd like that very much. Oh well.

[Leoni]

Leoni didn't resist as she moved him, and sat silently in the grass. He dropped his jacket onto the ground beside him, sifting through it absent-mindedly to pull out his pocket-watch. He wrapped the chain around his neck like a scarf, and held the watch to his chest. He could feel the mechanics working.

"I'm not a terrible person," he said plainly looking up at her sleepily. "I just don't like you."

He hugged his knees tightly to his chest, and hid his face in them, not thinking about getting mud on the sleeves of his white shirt. Hiding his face from the sun felt nice. He closed his eyes, prepared to fall asleep there where he was. He sat like that in the grass, looking as harmless as a child, in a sitting version of what could be the foetal position.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled into his arms. Leoni felt himself go cold, despite the sun being warm. If he could sleep, this would all go away. However, if he was left here by himself, he could easily be mistaken for some crazy homeless man and bring shame upon himself and his master.

"I'll behave myself," he said into his arms, slowly. He no longer cared who he was speaking to. He had things he needed to accomplish, and to effect his noble air with such shame would be irresponsible of him. To allow himself to become ill and uncared for in such a way, would be being careless with what was his master's property.

[Ingrid]

Ingrid smirked, he was really acting like such a child... and a bi-polar one to boot. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist, "Good, I don't like you either," She pulled his arm away from his legs and readied to practically strap him on like a backpack.

"Now, if behaving translates into cooperating it'd be great if you'd at least try to hold on tight," She hefted him onto her back, his arms crisscrossed over her shoulders and holding his wrists respectively. She stood, dragging him with her, he was much heavier then she'd anticipated, then again, she was on the weaker side. Grunting she slowly made her way towards the water, he'd be light as a feather there.

[Leoni]

Leoni didn't resist her as she tossed him around like a rag-doll, allowing his arms to go limp over her shoulders. If he had allowed himself to think clearly at all, he'd feel ashamed to be the luggage of a Zora twit. However, as it were, he was too tired to think anything of it, and allowed his head to fall into the crevice between her neck and shoulder. His body was limp, which probably wasn't particularly helpful to her carrying him.

He felt his pocket-watch like a lump against his chest as it was pressed between him and her back, the chain cool around his neck. He wondered if she was smart enough to grab the rest of his things. He grasped onto his own wrists, and wondered for a moment as to where she was taking him. To a doctor, perhaps? He hoped not. There wasn't anything that could be done for him, as there wasn't anything wrong with him. He wanted nothing to do with that, and he didn't want to risk being recognized--if he was, then he'd have to get into a conversation, and he hated pointless conversation.

Leoni found her Zora skin against his face to be gross and clammy, and he lifted his head away. He opened his eyes and noticed that she was headed towards the water, and he frowned. He didn't want to get wet.

[Ingrid]

She gritted her teeth, forcing step by step, the man was a twig, but he was still heavy. Once she reached the waters edge she smiled, she had a good feeling he'd hate this and that made her happy, she wasn't normally the vindictive type, but he was a special case. Using all the muscles in her legs she sprang forward, holding tightly to the mans arms, if she dropped him and lost him in the lake he'd be to tired to save himself. Not that she thought the world would miss such a bitter and crass individual, but she was sure the other Zora watching would frown on her "accidentally" drowning the Hylian.

She hit the water feet first and sank almost five feet before kicking back to the surface. Despite the summer heat as the day went on the water was cold, freezing almost, but she was used to it, it was her home. Once she broke the surface, breifly checking that her cargo's head was safely above water she began kicking her legs, moving faster than any normal being would, heading straight for the waterfalls.

[Leoni]

Leoni was woken up almost immediately as he felt the icy water through his clothing. He immediately began to struggle out of shock, the water raising only inches away from his mouth. Despite having thought of the possibility of it happening, Leoni was completely taken off guard by her jump into the water. She held onto his arms tightly, even as he tried to make himself loose. He didn't consider that if she had let him go, he would have sunk into the water. All he knew was that he didn't want to be in the water.

In his state of mind, he almost felt panicked. He tried to reach back for the watch around his neck, but again, he was being held onto too tightly. Though the Zora did well to insure that his head was above the water, Leoni felt threatened. He felt as though she wasn't trying to help him at all.

"Y-y-y-y-you.....m-m-me....m-m-my...m-m-m--" Leoni stuttered, unable to make words through the chattering of his teeth, which he hadn't noticed until that moment. The water was cold. Very cold.

The shock of the water disappearing, Leoni began to return to his defenceless state. He tightened his arm-hold grip around the Zora, and shivered.

"Y-y-y-you...I-I-I w-won't l-l-let..." he continued to stutter, burying his face in her neck once again, like a child might. They were both wet, so she felt less disgusting to him.

This is pathetic. You're enjoying this. I won't forgive you.

[Ingrid]

The man was making noise, he couldn't make any complete sentences, but she figured it was for the best, anything he'd had to say so far had been unhelpful and harsh. She continued kicking, as they neared the waterfall the thundering sound blocked out anything the man would say and she dove underwater briefly, still holding on tight, to ease the blow of the water that feel from fifty feet above them. They weren't underwater for more than a few seconds and just past the falls a river was flowing the opposite direction.

She continued swimming for what seemed like forever. They passed several branches where the river went off in its own direction, many of them leading to Zoran homes and other places of that nature, eventually she took one of these softer moving routes, finally coming to a carved landing. She swam up to the steps and adjusted the man on her back before heaving them both towards a door carved ornately into the wall.

"I know you didn't want a doc, but tough, this is what you get for collapsing," She knocked on the door, "Maybe I'd have respected your wishes if you'd been a little nicer," She gave a slight, exhausted smirk just as a tall Zora answered the door. The Doctor.

[Leoni]

The roar of the waterfall was too loud to Leoni's Hylian ears, and he cringed upon having to hear it. Then, without expectation or warning, he found himself suddenly under the water. The freezing water stung as it rushed over him, and the shock caused him to gasp. Fortunately, they were only under for a few seconds. When he was once again surfaced, he choked up the water he had unwillingly digested.

He hated Zoras.

They continued up the river, and Leoni found himself slowly drifting into a sleep. He had gotten used to his current position, and the sun was no longer beaming down on him. They travelled for what seemed to Leoni like hours, and he couldn't help but finally close his eyes.

He was awakened by the Zora roughly adjusted him on her back. His head spun as he tried to readjust his senses. They now stood before the home of a Zora, and as the door was opened, Leoni quickly looked away, his wet hair whipping and sticking to his face. This was the Zora he hadn't wanted to see.

"Put me down," he said coldly, ashamed at the thought of being recognized in this state without his Master present.

[Ingrid]

Ingrid roughly did as the man requested, dropping him on the spot only seconds after the doctor opened the door. The man gave her a look that said 'Yeah, I know, but still' and then bent down beside the Hylian. The doctor was an older Zora, a bald scaly scalp with a few sun spots and wrinkling, leathery skin.

"He nearly passed out down by the lake, he didn't want to come here, but he seemed like he needed a good place to rest," She walked past the doctor and held the door open so he could drag the man inside to one of the cots.

"yes, I recognize him, he tends to take ill, or at least that's what his master told me," He straightened the man out on the cot and went about finding a few dried things and tossing them into a mort and crushing them together with a marble pestle. "So tell me, Leoni, where is your master?" the elder zora looked over his wire framed glasses to give the man a skeptical gaze.

[Leoni]

When Leoni was dropped on the ground, he couldn't help but grimace at the pain he had received with the landing. As soon as he touched the ground, he had found the strength to roll onto his hands and knees, keeping his head down and refusing to make any eye contact with the Doctor. He assisted as well as he could with being transported to the cot, and allowed himself quite hesitantly to be laid straight upon it. Through his illness, Leoni's noble and emotionless exterior managed to show through, and he stayed silent with darkened eyes. He would not speak unless he was spoken to, and he would completely avoid any eye contact.

"So tell me, Leoni, where is your master?"

He was asked a question, and therefore, he would be forced to answer. He thought about how he would go about answering it.

"Somewhere," Leoni said simply, without trace of the before seen coldness. "I don't know where. Sir."

Leoni allowed his body to relax slightly, as it was becoming exhausted from being tense in its present state. He reached up to hold onto the watch that was around his neck, and turned his head to face the wall.