both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Yeah this was a bad idea. The slowly breaking branch he was dangling from was testament to that. And to think that it was all over a nice looking peach. Of course now it was no longer about peaches, it was about large, angry fish monsters. Alex looked down at the water, noticing the fin. How the hell did something that big get to grow in Lake Hylia without the Zora killing the thing at some point. Really, it was just infuriating. It wasn't that he didn't think he could take the beastie it was... well, no that was exactly it. He was pretty sure he had no way to handle the big purple fish monster currently swimming underneath him.

If that imp were here she'd be laughing at him all the way. If that fairy were here, well, she'd probably try to help him. Nerine, unlike a certain somebody, wasn't such a moody little mooder. Although in fairness to Midna, the little thing was blatantly traumatized. Still, seeing the fairy right now would be the better of the two. Nerine actually had a human form and could help pull him to safety. The imp had no such form. Well, not that he knew about anyway. The greater monsters of the Black Lands were said to be able to take human form. Tales abounded of dragons and demons that could effortlessly disguise themselves.

And this fish was not one of them.

Seriously, this was annoying. Alex looked at his sword, a bit worried about how he was going to do this. Did you aim for the nose or for the eyes with those things. Would the Zora get up in arms if he killed it, if he even could? What to do, what to do...

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Alex mentally groaned, he was going to have to deal with this thing, wasn't he? The legendary purple behemoth. He'd warned that Minish girl it was real, and there it was! With its massive teeth and two beady little green eyes. What an asshole. This thing gave him grief when he was younger and now it was here to finish the job! Or at least it was until someone managed to fly in to the water. What greeted her was a massive fish, purple in color with two horns portruding from its head and a row of massive, sharp teeth. Clearly, jumping into the lake to try and chase it away might not have been the best idea, and it seemed like there was a chance that the little fairy might end up a little fairy snack.

Well, at least until it sneered. A fish, sneering. Maybe the audacity of it all caught it off guard, or maybe it wasn't used to such bright life. Or maybe it was a combination of both. Either way, instead of a quick bite, it seemed to retreat back to the depths. Alex looked on, gobsmacked from his position, along with being worried about Nerine. He'd noticed the dress at least. Most fairies (what did most fairies look like?) didn't look like she did. Honestly, he was stunned that it worked. Of course, it didn't fix the problem he was having in that he was dangling above water, but still, the worst had passed. Well, for the moment anyway. Either way, Alex was free to do what he had to do, and what he had to do was get the hell up out of there.

So he let go, and curled himself into a ball as he splashed into a lake. It took no time for him to resurface, he had far more energy than he normally did. Nerine could fly, right? Nerine could fly, he was pretty sure of that. At a pace that could only be described as olympic, Alex began to swim towards the shore. Gettin' the fuck outta here before that giant fish gets back. He really hope his fairy friend got the hint and got the hell up out of there too. Goddamn fish monsters.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Of course, Alex was out of breath himself, but that was more having spam at a record breaking rate to get the hell out of the water. There were many things that Alex was willing to stand up, few that made him afraid. But that massive fish was not one of those things. He was no Jace L'Arachel, no one was Jace L'Arachel, but everyone had their limits too. That line that they drew and said no, they were getting up outta here, and they would have no part in what took further place. For Alexander Elessar, the arrival of the giant purple fish monster was that line. To hell with that.

As he too rolled over on his back, out of the water and back into the summer air, he looked at his rescuer. There was the matter of Nerine. Soaked in her dress, poor girl. She meant well but he hoped she didn't catch a cold from all this. "What you did..." He took a few breaths of air as he tried to get this very serious scolding out. He needed her to know that was she did was unacceptable! "Was reckless... and irresponsible..." He began to list before stopping as he kept catching his breath. Right, this was just hypocritical wasn't it? Well, no, no it wasn't. But it was most definitely ungrateful. Who knew how she would take that.

Rising up, he seemed a bit dazed at the moment. "I can't be mad. You came to help, I can't be mad." She didn't have to do that. She could've easily just left him to fight the giant fish monster on his own and honestly, he couldn't say he wouldn't have understood it. "And for your information, there was a peach at the end of that." He remarked. It just fell off when he actually tried to get it and into the water. "I just didn't expect it to attract that fucking fish." Which pretty much brought it to come and try and get the traveler so foolish as to pick a peach.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

He didn't really fight it when the fairy crawled on top of him and started to use her magic to heat him up. She was right, it would be bad if he went and caught a cold after having been soaked to the bone like that. "Ooh that's nice." At once the warmth filled his body and he just let himself relax. He didn't even know that fairies could do that. Nice and comfortable and for anyone else it'd probably be enough to give them energy but at the same time help lull them to sleep. Did Kokiri get to have something like this all the time? The forest dwellers didn't have it all that bad.

But still, threatening to wash his mouth out with soap and other worse things. What was she, his mom? Not even his mom well, when he was a kid she most definitely would wash his mouth out with soap. But still, Nerine was not his mother! Alex shook his head. "I am an adult and reserve the right to say adult things. So it is with great adultness, that I say that the purple leviathan can go fuck itself." He said as if it was a matter of pride. Plus his loathing for that fish went beyond civility. One of these days, one of the two were probably going to kill the other.

He patted Nerine on the back as a sign of thanks for her help though, brushing aside some wet locks for her. Even if he found her suggestion to be rather odd, he went along with it. "But maybe I should make some kind of bait for that thing. Sooner or later, someone would find up killing it. That fish could feed someone for the entirety of winter. Who knows? It might even taste good too." Something to consider if it was him. Maybe he should eat the damn fish, teach it the ultimate meaning of irony.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Would he eat it though? He psssh'd right at that. The mere thought that he couldn't go through with it, that was just ridiculous. "I would. No matter how foul the meat, it would be sweetened by the flavors of victory and vengeance." Even if it turned out to be poisonous somehow, he'd probably still eat it, just to shove it in that fucking fish's face that in the end, he came out victorious in their dynamic struggle between life and death. What they had going was some kind of Old Man and the Sea kind of stuff. And in the end, he would make sure that the old man won.

But her comments about fish in general were odd. Then he remembered that she'd also refused to eat the meat in the stew as well. So the girl just didn't like meat in general then? He figured that she was just missing out on something grand and glorious, but that was her choice. A major loss for her though. "It's an acquired taste. Smoked fish is good for journeys though." Really, when traveling Hyrule, fresh foods was a rarity, so things like peaches were always appreciated. Apples. Oranges if he could find them at the market, they didn't grow naturally in Hyrule. Great, now he was thinking about fruit again and he was starting to get hungry again. Thank the gods for Nerine.

Sitting back up now that the comfortably warm fairy was off his chest, sadly. Alex scanned the area. Truth was he had no idea where there were other peaches. If he knew, he probably would have gotten them instead. Although he couldn't really see that well from the bottom, they may have been hidden away in the top. "If you can find them by all means. I went for that one because I couldn't find any others." And like hell was he going to try and see if he could salvage the peach that he originally went for. The purple behemoth could have it for all he cared.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Alex flinched a bit as the water splashed on him in drops. It was just water but few people liked getting splashed with little drops. Jumping in was one thing. Taking a nice hot bath was another. Just getting a few drops in your face and eyes was goddamn annoying. So when he wiped his eyes and saw her flittering at the lake top, he thought she was going to get his peach, which meant she would probably get eaten by that fucking fish. Alex shot to his feet, yelling at her to get the flying fuuuuuuck off the lake's surface but it seemed to be a moot point, as she shot straight up towards the tree tops, vanishing for a few minutes, before returning with about ten peaches and a peachy grin.

What most people didn't know, was that while peaches were always sweet, there usually was a slightly sour tang attached to them. Well, if they were fresh anyway. A lot of people just liked to dry them out and soak it in sugar. But dry peaches were gross compared to fresh juicy ones anyway. Really, any fruit that contained a lot of juice appealed to Alex. Even if they had a really sour kick like lemons or something. He nodded, completely satisfied that she managed to find some before digging right into one. He'd never be able to eat all ten, but he figured that she could have what he didn't eat. Really, even just having the fresh food was a treat in and of itself. Winter would be coming, and soon it would all be dried and salted foods.

Still, what was all this about being useful? Especially if she tried. Alex gave her a look that said that was the dumbest thing he'd heard all day. A deadpan, soul crushing stare like "girl are you serious right now." It wasn't a question, but a rhetorical statement. "When are you not?"" He still didn't stop that stare. "You can fly, heal, save people's lives, and even if you can't do any of that at the moment, your attitude just screams sunshine and rainbows. Somehow I get the feeling most people don't stay grumpy for too long around you." Really, the idea of nerine being anything but chipper was still a pretty foreign concept to him. So no, she was never really useless.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Well that seemed to flip a switch. Something in her just seemed to change. It wasn't something that could be outwardly seen, not at first. But it created a sort of tension in the air that one can just instinctively pick up on. He felt that he was in no danger, but still, Nerine was clearly not at her best anymore. It was only when she began to talk that he started to figure out why. She had lost her partner? She was a fairy, so he figured he meant a Kokiri child. So they'd been separated and that was the last she saw of them. Alex didn't say it, but he had a feeling it would be impossible. That child was, almost certainly, dead. She was hanging on to a hope that would likely never be fulfilled.

He'd been unsure what to say, honestly. How do you respond to that? It was only when she expressed admiration that he was finally able to speak, shaking his head. "I've been here my entire life. I'm sure the roles would be reversed in those woods." He refuted, "I've heard the stories." While many wrote them off as stories to scare children, the fact that they could be found in the woods was... unsettling. "Blins are one thing, Redeads I can handle, Stalfos..." Either they were true, or a Necromancer from the past had a really sick sense of humor. "Stalfos and Darknuts, I'd avoid them if I could."

Especially Darknuts. Gods above.

Well, maybe he could help, or at least try to. A fool's hope was a fool's hope, but it was still some form of hope. "What do they look like? Need details on this one." It was a strange question. For all he knew this was hundreds of years ago and there was no possible way the Kokiri could still be alive. But perhaps they were in some form. If they left the forest and made it out alive, they could only go north. He'd learned that people could be really bad at descriptions though.