both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

It hurt to look at.He really didn't expect it to hurt as much as it did. He'd taken up the wandering life a while ago, but he still had a perfect image of how Kakariko looked... or was supposed to look, and it wasn't this. Destroyed buildings, the beginnings of construction efforts, a town, or what remained of one, that was surprisingly emptied. He had wandered around the place aimlessly, trying to find people he recognized, and yet he couldn't get any confirmation on any who had lived since he was a child. Considering everywhere else, he believed there was nothing he could do other than assume the worst, accept it as reality, grim though it was, and move on. That last one would take some time, all things considered.

Alex continued to quietly wander through the town. He knew where he had wanted to go, but he had a feeling he already knew what the result would be. Each step brought up new memories of his childhood and made him wonder what it was that he was still here. Was it luck? Had he stayed, would he have joined the legion of the dead? Would he have been able to put a stop to Nimue? He believed that in the throne room he could have handled Morrigan, and he could have handled Nimue, but there was simply no way he could have handled both. He believed that. They'd been doing just fine against Morrigan until Nimue had shown up.

Nimue, right, that changed things. The simple truth was that all this was his and Midna's fault in a way. He accepted his part of the blame, if he'd never led the Twilight Princess here, then Nimue would've never struck Kakariko. He wondered what would happen if that got out. He doubted it'd go over well. As he stood outside his old home, he simply accepted the bitterness that welled. It was gone. Some parts of the walls remained, the door had been torn off the hinges. It was as if someone had just dumped a container of acid all over it. He made of it what he could, what little there was, and turned away.

He continued back down, coming to the markets. Or well, the new markets. A crisis presents and opportunity, and the merchants were quick to jump on this crisis. To be honest, it kind of pissed him off, but there wasn't much he could do. He'd been here for an important purpose but, he had breathing room of a day or two, and he might use it. To be honest, when he'd come here, he had been hoping to get some help if she'd even made it. He'd managed to stabilize Zelda, but that really only delayed the inevitable. Without some aid, the Princess of Hyrule would, almost certainly, die. Part of him hoped he would find Nerine here after hearing about a blue haired fairy in the midst of all this. He really hoped she made it out okay.

Someone seemed to be sampling the jewelry though. A girl with a red hood, he could tell. He couldn't help but note the humor in it if he approached her. He'd had a reputation as a bit of a bully when he was a kid. Big Bad Wolf and all that, so he found it amusing. It wasn't irony, that wasn't what irony was. This was more a coincidence. He shot a look at the merchant as he stepped up behind her. "Not from here?" Either that or she was a survivor who was really bad with money. Survivors would have to get clever with their funds before everything was up and running again.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Even a muggle such as him could feel the sheer amount of magic as she turned to face him. The woman standing before him was not someone to take lightly. Her very being seemed to ooze magic. Was she one of the fairies? Well it was possible, he'd met Nerine before after all. It was also possible that she was merely a Hylian who just happened to be blessed with magical talent. It was a warm type of magic though, he felt. As if there was something welcoming about it, that told him that she really wasn't someone to fear, well not at the moment, and that there was no harm or even danger in interacting with her.

Still, his eyes widened in realization and recognition when he saw her, but he quickly dismissed it. It had been quite some time since that young woman had shown up, and well, even then he still looked older than she had. Really, five years for someone her age, she would have grown more. The flicker of recognition disappeared as he dismissed it as mere coincidence. Sometimes the greatest illusions were the ones you never put any effort into maintaining. Instead, he merely moved on to something else, namely whether or not that she should actually get these earrings.

He tilted his head as he examined the earrings. He was never good with this stuff. "They look nice but they seem a bit big for you." He remarked. She was pretty small herself though and it was clear that she still had room to grow. "But I think you'll grow into them. You got clothes that work with that color?" Although if she didn't then she could probably just... buy... some... ah shit. He just realized what he may have gotten himself into.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Yep, he really should have seen that one coming. Alex could only mentally groan as he felt himself fall into a situation he thought there might be no way to comeout on top. The most he could do was stall for a little bit, the major emergency--Yes! Emergency! He could use that. If it looked like things were about to get bad, then he could point that out and use it to get out of trouble, free of charge! His chest felt just a little bit lighter as he felt the relief wash over him, taking away the anxiety of a situation that he didn't really know he was having anxiety about.

Instead, he looked her up and down. She was definitely cute, that was for sure. She had some appealing clothes on her, but the tunic definitely had to go. Unless she was the adventuring type. Was she? Might be worth knowing, but adventuring didn't always look good, one had to focus on being fashionable. "Well uh, it depends on what kind of look you're going for." Which... just brought that question up again. Was she trying to be adventurous? Fashionable? Did she want tunics, blouses, dresses? "Maybe a nice white dress to go with your leggings?" At least he thought they would go good with her leggings anyway. Those and her cloak were very nice. Plus, red seemed to go well with white, didn't it?

But would that flatter her figure or hide it? Man this was hard. His brain scraped something together as he continued to stare, making the best of a situation where he was out of his depth. "Like a light white sundress or something. Shows off your figure and goes well with the rest of your clothes?" And the pink earrings wouldn't look that bad with it at least.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

There, he had gotten it right. Sundresses were always good. They always looked nice, could compliment a figure, and were short enough that if you knew what you were doing, you could wear them elsewhere. Granted, it was almot Fall so the time for them was coming to an end, but there was always next year, hopefully. With things falling apart as they were, then well, there was no telling whether he'd get to see another girl in a sun dress. Shame too, he liked them. Ah well, not much to be done about it. He would just have to focus on more important things.

At least until she refuted it, what? Well if she didn't want fashion then why was she asking about what would flatter her figure? He didn't get it. His clothes worked, and instead... oh. He was starting to get it now as she cozied on up to him, taking his arm into hers and holding it against her chest. Well, there was a minor problem, but other than that, he didn't really have much of an issue spending a day with a lovely lady like her. "If you know where to point me to a fairy, then sure." He politely remarked. She had shown a burst of magic earlier, perhaps she would know.

He really hoped she did though, he wasn't sure how long Zelda had to be honest. He gave her a few days, but she'd really took a mental beating too. Will to survive was a powerful thing and he wasn't really sure just how strong Zelda's was at the moment. If she didn't want to keep living after a wound like that, then the simple truth was that she wouldn't. The sooner she got healed by a fairy, because he could only do so much himself, the better.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Wow, her demeanor changed fast. Was he really that enjoyable to be around or something? He gave her a brief look of total confusion at her changed reaction but said nothing beyond that. Seemed she wasn't going to give without anything in return. He was wondering if she even knew anything about finding fairies. Really, if going to the forest to catch one in a bottle was all that was needed then he should probably be headed to the forest. But it was only an hour or two, he could spare that much time for a cute girl, really, who couldn't? Plus she seemed to be pleasant enough. "Those eyes are really unfair, you know. Alright alright."

And then she picked out a dress. A white one as suggested. He took a good look at it, right, he knew it would look good on her. Maybe he was fashion savvy as well? Maybe open up a fashion line or something! Alas, that it was so expensive. He couldn't afford it on the life of a wandering Warden that was for sure. But she seemed to grab it. Oh dear, this was going to bleed him dry, wasn't it? That thought was quickly derailed the moment she just slapped down the rupees like she had a near infinite amount. What. So she was completely loaded too? He just looked at her for a moment, was she a noble that managed to escape the capital? Her pointed ears seemed to imply Hylian descent at least.

Then she led him away as she went off with the dress, saying to keep watch for a moment. He figured that she was just going to try it on or something. Then she asked what he liked to eat. What? "I, uh, oh no, you don't have to get me anything." If he needed to eat, he could just hunt something later and cook it. You got used to game pretty quickly in the wandering life. Instead, he'd just lean against the outer wall, keeping watch so no one would try and peep. He didn't worry too much though, things were too chaotic overall for people to really prioritize being a peeping tom.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Uh-huh. What he liked to eat, huh? Yeah sure, it was merely a question of curiosity and nothing more, right. He was totally buying that. All he did was let out a grunt that sounded more like he was just going along with that line of thought rather than the idea that he actually believed it. Really, trying to pull a fast one on him like that, he knew a date when he saw it! He was no fool! Well he wouldn't be taken in that easily. But it would be nice to get a break from things just for a couple hours. He had to let the crisis linger in the back of his mind so he didn't accidentally doom the kingdom true, but maybe an hour or two wouldn't hurt. What a horrible thing to think though. Zelda was on the brink of death, and here he was goofing off.

Still, wow. She really knew how to clean up, didn't she? His eyes widened just a little at that. A beautiful white dress with flats (where did she even get those) and eyes that a sense of confidence. Demure as she acted, she was definitely not shy. "I have a soft spot for dried meats. I wander a lot so you learn to enjoy it." He shrugged a bit with a smile. He wasn't really all that fancy, plus he doubted there was anything she could find fitting that at a fancy eating place, take that! So with her approaching, he simply looped his arm in with hers and let her pick and choose where she wanted to go. If she really wanted to spend some time with him, as she offered and desired, sure.

There was just one little thing that he had picked up on. He'd noticed it, and it'd surprised him, but he was already gawking at her in general so she might not have caught it. "Now, how exactly do you know my name?" He asked quite casually. Indeed, he'd never actually introduced himself. He knew that. "I'm not famous, nor am I well off." As far as the world was concerned, he was just some guy who happened to move around. Invisible to everyone important at large, and having no real destiny of his own. "Nor do I think it's fair that you know who I am, but I don't even have your name." Oh yes, he was going to enjoy this. Maybe turn the tables a bit.

both were silent.

there were ways for kicking and screaming.

Alex felt a gut punch when he heard that she was from Ordon. Right. Then she was a direct victim of his and Midna's shenanigans then. He looked around, they all were, weren't they? He didn't blame the Twilight Princess, not at all. It was something that she had no way of knowing. But it didn't stop the guilt inside him. He looked forward, not wanting to look Rina in the eye. Just that little reminder brought a grimace and a wince to his features before he pushed it down. Others wallowed in their guilt, angst, and self pity. Alex just tried to shove it away and forget about it. Right now, it was all he could really do. If he had to think on it, he could think on it later, when he wasn't with someone, and he was alone, so push it down he did.

Who said he wasn't famous? Well, he did. That much was clear. He looked around to confirm her words and sure enough, people were looking. That was odd. He figured they were most likely either seeing the two as potential customers, hoping to squeeze out as much as they could, or perhaps they were more likely looking at the lovely young brunette in a sun dress and flats. Yet here she was talking about how handsome he was and how most of the women would love to share his bed. He quirked an eyebrow at that one as he just looked at the woman. He was starting to wonder if this person wasn't one of them. He might have to keep an eye out with this one. She was way too good at this flattery thing for her own good.

Of course, he wouldn't deny that he was attractive, as egotistical as it was to do so. All the walking and wandering and occasional fighting definitely helped to keep him in shape, so he figured that even if he didn't have a good face, he had the rest. Still, "Attractive doesn't mean famous or infamous. I spend most of my time traveling so I have no time to really make an impression, nor have I really done anything that would get me noticed." That also didn't even get into how she'd know he was a Warden. This young woman was weird. Familiar, but... ohhhh maybe she'd been following him at some point? Well wouldn't that be hilarious? He really wasn't sure what to do on that.

Raising his hand at the meat buns, he shook his head. "You don't have to get me anything." Of course, the meat buns sounded absolutely delicious, but he couldn't really bring himself to mooch off of her, he could just get something else later. Still, he'd remember the name, Rina. It was a nice name at least.