both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

What did he want to talk about now? Alex raised an eyebrow as he turned his head to look up at her. "A bit touchy, are we? And here I am agreeing to help you with something that, by your own description, can wipe out an army in seconds." He observed. Not to mention he went and actually got her something to eat, pointing at the stew in a questioning manner if she was going to eat it. The very least she could do was be a little polite! Although in fairness he really wasn't aware if she could actually eat it or not. Also in fairness, he still had no idea what he was going to do with that thing.

But where to start. Well, maybe with the basics. Like the absolute basics. "Well, for one, we never exchanged names. Formally. You already know who I am if you were awake." Which really, he couldn't blame her if she wasn't, just hanging out in a shadow had to be boring. But really, it was kind of odd that they never really thought to even exchange names. "Never anything from you though." He wondered what someone like her would even have for a name. If she even had a name. Everyone had a name though, didn't they? Lack of name in a way meant lack of identity. Although was a name really all there was to an identity?

But maybe he should follow that up with an actual question, one that'd been at the back of his mind, but figured he should ask it. Alex paused for a moment, as if he was thinking before finally shrugging. "So how did you survive that thing when everyone else died?" If she had a way to survive whatever that thing did, then maybe there was some way into looking to acquire something like it for himself. Anything that could give him an edge against this thing was justified.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Now he had a better view of what she looked like. The sunset hair was nice at least. "Jeez, you were awake for all that?" Just a whole day of being able to do absolutely nothing and say absolutely nothing. Alex would probably have gone insane for all of that. Maybe she was a bit more patient than he figured, willing to wait for the right moment. "We'll see indeed, Midna." He added on the name. Definitely not like anything he was familiar with. Even if it wasn't the solely defining feature, there was much to be gained from a simple name. She truly was a strange being.

It was nice to see that she could eat the stew at least. He wasn't sure that she liked it, but nourishment was nourishment and he hadn't seen her eat anything since they had met. It was surprising how long she was willing to go without complaint. Hatred must have been one hell of a motivation if the way she spoke of this thing was anything to go by. It was also what clued him in that there was something else that thing had done to her. The blank expression, the way she seemed to just quickly retreat into her mind before finally coming back to give him an answer that admittedly, wasn't what he was hoping to hear.

She didn't know? That would be... problematic. But there was nothing that could be done about that. It was her reaction that he was noticing. "It hurt you, alright. Just not in the way you're thinking." He remarked. He could already tell that whatever happened was going to stick with her. The more he watched, the more he believed her. Her reactions were too genuine. But the simple truth was that she was going to have to confront this. He would at least try and be gentle moving forward though.

"If we have to rely on luck to drop this thing, we're fucked." He said matter of factly. "This won't be pleasant, but I need you to recount the incident as best as you can. Maybe there's something in your memory that can help." He mentally prepared for the worst from her, but it was necessary.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Alex quirked an eyebrow as she snapped at him. Again. But it seemed to trail off into what he took as a broken plea of sorts, so this time he didn't say anything, and turned his gaze away. Yes, perhaps it would be best to let the issue rest at the moment. It wasn't like it would bear down on them at any second, and pressing her any further wouldn't go anywhere at this point. He let her tear into her stew, apparently she really was hungry. How long had it been since she had eaten anything? Perhaps he should get her another bowl? He let her forget her manners, and it was only when she had finished that he finally said anything.

He was quiet for a minute, contemplating how he was going to say this. It was clear he was lost in thought over something. And then, finally, the silence broke. "Are you sure you want to be there when it's time to confront this thing?" It wasn't in a derisive or mocking tone. It was a genuine offer spoken in a gentle voice. "I've seen people with your kind of reaction. When they confront what caused that kind of trauma too soon, more often than not, they break." He shook his head, looking back at his experiences as a Warden. Yes, Hyrule was overall a lovely place to live, but monsters did not cause all the evil of this world.

This little creature, well, no, it didn't work in her case. In her case it really was a horrifying abomination. But the end result seemed to be the same. "From what I can see, whatever happened will stick with you for the rest of your life, and will take years to heal." And that was the simple truth. It was traumatic for her. Even once they hunted this thing down and killed it, if they didn't die in the process, it would still have marked her in some way. "You have command of what you do, your choice is your own. But understand that when you confront this thing, everything will come back and hit you all at once." How long would that be?

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Alex shook his head at Midna as she spoke up about revenge. There was two sides to him. Part of him wanted to root her on and encourage it, but the other, well, the other knew the reality of that. "Don't do it for revenge. Do it because it's the right thing to do." Besides, it accomplished the same purpose. "Otherwise when it's over you won't be sure what to do with yourself. You need to work in a way that you can move on." Just without that little problem at the end. Midna had to be able to look at what came after all of this as well. Total consumption would be bad.

"Anyway, that's stew, nothing special. Just throw some meat and vegetables into some water and boil for a while." If he had the ingredients he could make it. Maybe something to keep in mind while they were here? He needed to keep her fed too. But, as per her wishes, Alex did indeed drop the subject, and let her finish up. Silence reigned from him as he just let her relax. This was going to be difficult. He was certain that when it came time, things were going to go wrong in some form.

Well, if she wasn't spotted first.

"Alex, gods, Alex is that you?!"

Ah.

"Hide." He told the Imp simple as he got up, doing his best to hide her behind him. It seemed he hadn't caught her, but he needed to keep it up. As he approached the man, he noticed the sword at his side; another Warden. Something had come up then, he was sure of it. It couldn't be bad if he was greeted in that tone. "Something wrong?"

The Warden panted, his leather armor heaving in and out. The leather helmet covered his face down to the bridge of his nose, so Alex couldn't really get a good look at him. He definitely seemed out of breath though. What happened? "O-Ordon!" He breathed, "It's gone!"

Alex looked at him as if it was the stupidest thing he'd heard all day.

Throwing his hands up, the Warden continued. "There was this big black... thing there when others showed up." And Alex's blood froze at that one. Something else had hit Ordon while he was gone then? He shouldn't have left. "It's like... It's like it just melted away. No bodies nothin'." At that, Alex had to fight the urge to look over to where Midna had been. Well, there was confirmation at least. Independent confirmation. She was telling the truth beyond any doubt. This wasn't a wasted effort.

Well, mostly. She described it as grey. This was black. More, maybe?

A pause, before Alex looked at him quizzically. "Well?"

Suddenly remembering he was the one who needed to be talking, the Warden continued. "Princess Zelda and two of her knights. A Deku and a few others were there also."

"Rusl?"

"Gone."

"Ah." That... was a little numbing. Rusl was the go to man for Ordon, everyone knew that. If Rusl was gone, then the world was a little worse off for it. "Why was the princess there?"

The Warden shrugged. "I just went there after I'd heard there'd been a fight there. There're whispers going around."

"Survivors?"

The Warden only shook his head. Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose at that one before the Warden spoke up again. "The Princess is safe though. She retreated right quick. Keldric got smashed up bad. But... no villagers survived as far as I know."

So that Hylian kid from the wood creature was gone then. A shame. Hearing Zelda backing out and leaving Ordon to rot wasn't good though. He understood it. He absolutely understood it. She had no heir, it was a terrible idea to put herself at risk for that sort of thing. But that was going to haunt her in some form, he was sure. "And that black thing?"

"Dead, I guess that other knight of Zelda's and the Deku put it down after the princess left."

"Good." Alex paused for a moment before scratching his neck. "Head inside," He motioned to the inn, "I'll get to you in a bit, I've got something I want to finish out here first."

The Warden looked at the inn briefly before giving a nod, he could use some food, after all. Patting Alex on the shoulder once, he went past him and into the inn.

Alex, for his part, returned to his spot, sat down, and quietly breathed out a sentence.

"Tomorrow we're heading to the capital." This wasn't a simple monster hunt anymore.