both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

That was an ordeal beyond ordeals. She was stable now, but she had a few days at best before Morrigan's wound caught up with her. Morrigan... what a shitty person. Zelda went to defend herself from a very established threat and Morrigan just ran her through for it, talking about priorities. She was the one who impaled Zelda, a powerful light magic user, when a country eating monster who seemed vulnerable to that had appeared. If they ever met again, Alex made it a point that he would break her face. If she had put aside her shitty grudge for just a little bit, they might not have needed bailing out by the Hero of Time. Nimue would probably be dead right now, at least confirmed dead, and things would be better for it.

The Hero of Time, he still couldn't believe it. He hadn't recognized him at first, silly him. To think that he'd shown up at the last second to save them all was right out of a fairy tale. He had arrived in true magnificence, dwarfing all the legends, and putting an end to something that had, for a time, seemed an insurmountable threat. Hopefully. He hoped to the gods that Nimue would fall. If the Hero of Time couldn't do it though, then he wasn't sure how anyone else could. They were still going up there weren't they? He'd debated moving Zelda but right now, long range transportation just might do her in. At least she might be in slightly less pain if she were to pass in her bed or something.

To be honest, he hated leaving her, even if for a few minutes, but he needed to inspect the damage real quick and he doubted he'd amount to any real protection. That mage sure had been quick to step in; where the fuck had he been during all this? So there he was, stomping down the hall, white shirt nearly soaked red from the princess's blood, sleeves rolled up, and using his staff as a walking stick when someone called out. It took him a moment as he registered her behind the soot, but it was the voice that gave him away. "Ash?!" He remarked in surprise. This was... probably the weirdest time for a reunion, but he gave her a once over to see if she was okay, taking some relief that she was. She didn't seem to be injured in any place, so he was happy that someone he knew had survived.

She was always prettier when she was a bit dirtied though, he could never imagine her all dolled up, it was just too weird.

Stepping in her way, he refused to budge. "You have to go back, it's far too dangerous here right now." He wouldn't put it past her to try and interfere with that fight; it'd be suicide. If she was determined to go on, well he wasn't injured either aside from that gut punch. If it came down to it, he had absolutely no problem tackling her down until she gave up on running up there. At least he assumed that the dragon was dead if she was here. No way Ashei would leave that unattended.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

For the first time in all the time he knew her, Ashei broke. She started sobbing and sunk to her knees. Alex wasn't too sure what to do at first but it didn't really take long to correct that. Sinking down and crossing his legs over the other while laying his staff to the side, he simply pulled her over to him and wrapped his arms around her. Sometimes people just needed a safe place to be. This wasn't safe, not by any measure. If Nimue won then there wasn't much to be done. He'd hold her off as long as he could and hopefully Ashei would run, but in this state, he doubted it, she'd probably stay and fight to the death out of pure grief and anger.

Still, learning that her father had been killed in action... he'd expected it, truly. He didn't think it'd be the dragon, but rather that he'd been caught up by Morrigan. Morrigan. Morrigan Vitalis. He grimaced. He had no idea how he was going to break that to her. "The dragon?" He asked. Of course it was. What could he say? That he was sorry? Sorry wouldn't bring him back. That he felt her pain? He couldn't say so, not with everything he knew. So he resolved to say what only made sense. "We'll make it right." Yes, that seemed good enough for him.

But there were her other questions, and his hand raised to run through her hair. "I'm fine." He murmured. He and Midna were the only ones to come out unharmed in their fight with Morrigan. "Zelda isn't dead yet. There was an assassin we were dealing with before a young Sheikah girl appeared. Zelda was impaled through the chest. I stabilized her as best I could, but I can only stall for a few days. If we can't find a fairy then..." He left the last part unsaid, but they, and Hyrule at large, loomed on the edge of the abyss. Well, assuming they weren't all killed by Nimue in the next few minutes anyway.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

For a time, Alex didn't speak. He just remained quiet as he held Ashei close to him. It was strange, had this been several years ago this would have been one of the greatest moments of his life. Oh yes, when they were younger, Ashei was far more popular than she ever really realized. She didn't have the prim and dainty beauty of say, Zelda, but there was definitely an appeal that most of the boys had noticed. At this time and the circumstances though, one wouldn't have ever been able to take joy in this.

So instead, he remained quiet for just a little longer as he began to play with her hair. He really wasn't sure how to do this. "... No." He finally breathed, trying desperately to find some way to make sure this went without breaking Ashei even further. It wasn't Nimue though. Athough to be honest, he didn't even know if they were related. Maybe it was all some big coincidence and he was worrying himself over nothing. "It was a ghost from the past, a contempoary of the Hero of Time."

She was from a time when it was as if the legends themselves walked the earth. The Hero of Time was real, he knew that much, he'd even seen it. But to see living proof of that time was something else. It was an incredible moment he would never forget, both for the good, and the bad. "Apparently she'd managed to assassinate the Queen of her time, and came to do it again." She may yet succeed. If they didn't get help for Zelda as soon as they could, if they couldn't get a fairy, then she would. "... She called herself Morrigan Vitalis." And all he could do was wait, tightening his grip on Ashei as he said the words to try and keep things from exploding.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Well, not the reaction he was expecting, but he wouldn't argue it right now. Right now, she needed some hope. From what little she'd told him, her life was already in shambles. At this point, breaking it even further would just be kicking her while she was down. He'd told her the truth, he'd done the right thing, and she made of it what she did. Instead, he just nodded a little and let her have this one small hope. "... Yeah. She might just be." Besides, it wasn't completely impossible, probably. The Hero of Time recognized her so it was incredibly unlikely, but it wasn't completely impossible.

But sooner or later, she would still have to accept it if such was the case. There was one way to check into that, maybe get one answer that went one way or the other. "Maybe the royal library will have something." He quietly remarked. Something they could work on in the meantime once things started to slow down. If nothing else, it gave him a way to keep her company. He doubted that she should be completely alone right now. He didn't think she'd do anything drastic, but it would leave her alone with her thoughts.

Still, he didn't move. That was something he would leave for her when she was comfortable to do so. But he did speak up. "Now, what was it that you came running here for?" He could help. He doubted he'd be much aid to Zelda if Nimue won, so it's not like they were really risking much by him not being there. They could go take care of the emergency, and he could come back here and look after Zelda in the meantime.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Her father, right. Of course. He was a knight, he would be buried with the rest of them, what was left of him. It sounded like that it was the dragon though. He rose up after her, giving her the best smile he could manage despite their conditions. He was there for her, he'd always be there for her whenever he could be. This wasn't a happy occasion, but he hoped that having a friend help with her father would be a tad more comforting than someone she didn't even know. "Yeah sure, we can go get him." The old man, if nothing else, deserved more than to be just left to rot. He left his thoughts on the burning private though. He never understood the apprehension regarding funeral pyres.

Picking his staff up, he pat her shoulder a couple times before he started walking towards the castle doors. "So where is this place you're thinking?" If the libraries wouldn't have the information, then she had to have some place in mind that would give her the answers to all these questions of hers. He hoped it wasn't too far away, like out of Hyrule or something. With everything going on, she would undoubtedly be needed here before this was all over. Ashei was one of the most competent people he knew, she was someone they just couldn't afford to lose, but he'd help where he could. If anything, he'd like to come along for this. He already knew what the answer would be, certainly. He knew the truth of the matter; the hero recognized her, it was that simple. But Ashei wouldn't have it just yet.

As he stepped outside the castle, he finally got a close up view of the destruction. The capital was in flames. He could smell the smoke, he could smell the scent of copper and iron. Just how bad had it gotten around here? He looked, noticing a gap going from the center of the city that led up to the castle walls. What had caused that? It was as if the area had just been melted and absorbed... ah. Nimue had come up from the walls, perhaps this was her path? Alex could only stare for a moment as he registered everything.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

They did what they could with the dragon. He believed her, he truly did. It was just the only hiccup with trying to deal with a dragon was simple. "A dragon's a dragon. You aren't stopping one without a lot of damage." They were considered the greatest beasts to ever roam the world. Cunning and powerful, just one of them was worth an entire army. Most people considered them dormant, if not completely extinct, but every now and then, he'd hear of activity in the Black Lands. "I suppose on the bright side, you can call yourself Dragonslayer now." He tried to give her something to smile about. Technically she had been vital in stopping it, he was sure, so she probably could!

He waved in front of them as he looked at Ash. "Lead the way." The Black Lands were another problem entirely. It was a battle that Hyrule probably couldn't fight anymore, and that scared him. The Black Lands had always been kept in check by the fact they could never unify, and there was the possibility that with Hyrule so weak, that they might be able to put their differences aside. There were people he cared about, and while they could defend themselves, as one of them had just shown, he wasn't sure what their chances were against a reunited empire, especially if the reports of draconic activity wound up being true. Darknuts were the best shot at unification, he guessed.

Still, Snowpeak. There was also a load of problems with that. "Are you sure about this? That place might not even exist anymore." It was a mansion built with the expectation that it would still be in use, still maintained, even all these years later. Without it, who knows how much damage it had taken? The roof may have collapsed, the walls gone, all that may remain was a pile of rubble that was soon buried by a blizzard in the land of always winter. That wasn't even going into what one had to overcome to get there. "The last thing I want is for you to embark on a one way trip." He said with his face contorting into a look of concern, this time for her. He cared for her, of course he did. But he did fear that she could be reckless.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Kakariko, right. He'd actually forgotten about it in the heat of it all. He solemnly nodded, staying silent so that Ashei could tell her tale. So the Light Spirits were very much real then. To be honest, considering what else had shown up today, it wasn't that surprising. It was a pity that a Light Spirit didn't live in the capital, or perhaps this could have been taken care of very easily. He didn't seem to stunned by the Light Spirit though. "Yeah, past few hours have been... enlightening. We'd all be dead right now if the Hero of Time hadn't shown up at the last second." He stayed quiet for a moment. He wouldn't bring up that the man recognized Morrigan, not now.

That still brought up another problem. He reached over to Ashei, and gently grasped her hand, giving it a small squeeze, a simple and silent request for some support. He had a feeling it was going to be the last time he got to do that for a while if she got pissed at him for what would come next. "That girl is a creature from another place known as the Twilight Realm." He croaked out. The words froze in his throat. This was basically a confession of responsibility, he wondered how much she'd hate him for all this. He let out a sigh as he nodded again. Painful as it would be, Ashei had always been close to him, she deserved to know.

Another pause, and he continued. "She'd been following an imp that was traveling with me to hunt her." Yes, Midna. The Twilight Princess. He wasn't sure whether to divulge that or not. He could leave that one up to Midna, he guessed. "... I met her in Ordon. Then we moved to Kakariko, then we came here." And each time, that girl had followed. He'd admit, there was no possible way they could have known. No possible way they could have predicted it or prevented it. But he'd be lying if he said that there wasn't a growing sense of guilt now that he had time to process it all. The towns would still be standing if he and Midna hadn't hit them. Ashei's father might still live if they hadn't come there. "Do you really want me with you on this expedition?" All he did was stare at Ashei, and wait. It was all he could do.