Fourth Floor Common Room; Friday Morning [12/22].

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Take it easy, the staff at the clinic had said. Let yourself heal, they said. No problem, Sidon had said, flashing a grin and a pump of his fist that sent his injured shoulder screaming and him falling back on the pillow with pain.

So he was going to take it easy. But taking it easy, he was discovering, was not so easy at all!

He wanted to fight; he wanted to train and get better because Sunday had been far too close of a call for comfort, and he kept hearing Mipha's soft, proud voice in his head, Sweet Sidon, should fate ever part us, I'm counting on you...to protect our beloved home from harm.

I believe in you.

What if Breq hadn't been there? Who would protect Zora's Domain if he had perished so young and foolishly? He needed to be stronger, he needed to be smarter.

And he needed to heal. That, just then, was the hardest part for him, and he was getting restless staying in his tank all day, and he couldn't really swim because it would be too taxing for his body and too cold right now anyway. He could eat, though, and he had some sushi he'd picked up on the way home waiting in the fridge, and he had decided it might be a good time to brush up on his English reading, so he had a terrifyingly good book to keep him distracted. He knew things got a little quieter in the breaks between semesters, but perhaps someone would be about and keep him company eventually if he curled up on the couch (well..."curl" was a very...relative word in his case) in the common room for a bit to pass a little time.

And heal.

[[open common room is open!]]

Comments

[justice_undone]

It was morning and Breq usually made tea in the common room in the mornings. Perhaps she could watch some TV too? But seeing Sidon (sort of) curled up on the couch she felt concerned. Medical technology here was about as developed as space travel, she had found, and she wasn't sure how severe his injuries had been.

"Sidon," she said. "How are you?"

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Sidon looked up from his book, seeming a little startled as he confirmed the voice that had greeted him. He had hoped he could have figured out how to thank and repay her for what she had done before he saw her next, but he was really having difficulty coming up with anything.

"Breq."

His first impulse was to stand so that he could greet her with the respect she fully deserved, but his position and his short legs on his tall body on this awkward couch made it difficult, not to mention that he was still quite sore. So there was an attempt to unravel himself, which lead to a wince, which lead to him settling back down where he was with a sheepish, defeated smile. If they were in water, he would have no trouble at all, but curse you, dry land, you were so cumbersome!

He did manage to sit up a bit, squaring his shoulders, and giving her a nod. "I am well," he said. "Still healing, but well, all things considered. I...apologize that I haven't had a chance to properly thank you yet. I quite literally owe you my life."

And he'd never been in a situation like that where the person who had saved him was actually still alive, and he had no idea how to handle it.

[justice_undone]

"No need to thank me," she said. "I'm glad you är alive. That... thing wasn't something you should have to face alone."

She had been created to be a soldier, and that included both killing enemies and keeping those she protected alive.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

That...thing was something no one should have to face ever. Sidon felt his heart clench again at the mere thought of its existence, but he shook his head, chasing it away with the resolve that he would never, ever let the Calamity take him like that.

"Perhaps there is no need," he said with a faint smile, "but there is still a desire to do so. You did what any good person would do, I know, what any good warrior would do for another warrior, but my gratitude overwhelms me, and surely there must be some way to show that appreciation! You have not only saved the life of a friend and fellow student, Breq, but your swift and decisive shot has preserved the future of an entire culture. I was such fool to barge in there as I did, blinded and controlled by my anger, I see that clearly now. I am the hope and future of my people in a dying land, Breq. If I'd had perished that day in that cave..."

He stopped himself, unable to say it outloud, although he felt as though he should. "The Zora are forever in your debt, Breq. I know you likely feel as though you were just doing what should be done, but please know that, should you ever need anything from my people, we will no hesitate to provide it."

He chuckled a little, his sharp grin growing slightly crooked. "And I should warn you, the Zora absolutely love a hero."

[justice_undone]

Breq had never been considered a hero. She never considered herself a hero. If her face hadn't been expressionless she would have looked uncomfortable.

"They do?"

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Oh," Sidon gushed out, his eyes lighting up, "we do, indeed! You see, the Zora live longer than any other race in Hyrule, and our memories are just as long. We love sharing stories, with each other and with the bright youth of the other races that weren't alive to experience the things we have. Our legends run incredibly deep, all the way to time nearly immemorial! My father, King Dorephan, in his youth centuries ago, even embarked on a project to inscribe our history into the very mountains around our Domain, with the hope that our tales would outlast even us one day! We've a statue at the center of our city dedicated to my dear sister Mipha, who perished fifty years ago in the fight against Calamity Ganon, a fight that she and the other Champions unfortunately lost. Still, her sacrifice is great and she is sorely missed by our people, but we shall never, ever forget, even after the oldest Zora passes on, she will remain, a true Hero of our people."

He gave her a faint smile. "And you, too, will no doubt have your story passed along through our generations for centuries and centuries, though, no offense, I do not see them constructing a statue for you. But perhaps it shall be told on our mountainside one day, etched into the stone like all our other great tales."

He leaned forward a little bit, his smile going a bit conspiratorial. "I'm on one of those monuments right now, too, for my brave battle with a monstrous octorok that nearly devoured the village of Lurelin. I hope one day to have many more monuments with my name inscribed upon them, and, thank to you, I'll have the opportunity to do so!"

[justice_undone]

Breq was ok with not having a statue for her. She knew that stories of the past were important to many peoples though, and was sort of relieved to hear it wasn't just Sidon.

"For me it's most important that you are alive," she said. "But of course I understand that you are loved by your people too. I can see that you're still in some pain, but I'm sure the clinic wouldn't have let you go if there had been any concern."

Although she didn't think highly about the medical technology on Earth, and she guessed Sidon might just be heroic enough to insist on leaving earlier than he should.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

She would be guessing completely right. Sidon chuckled. "It took a little bargaining and some solemn vows on my part to take it easy," he admitted, "which has been rather hard, I must admit, but, lucky for me, the wonderful staff at the clinic, excellent as they are, are rather unfamiliar with Zora biology and were very trustworthy of my word. I am rather sore; I must keep my gestures to a minimum, and though every inch of me cries out with the desire to train myself to be a better fighter next time, I am doing as I promised and taking the time to relax."

He lifted up his book. "I may not be able to exercise my body at the moment, but I can still exercise my mind, I suppose."

[justice_undone]

You should try and take after Breq when it came to gestures, Sidon.

"What are you reading?" Breq asked. "Is it good?"

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Oh," said Sidon brightly, "it's quite good, here." And he marked his place and handed the book over so she could have a look. "A bit of a challenge, too, as it is quite wordy and my grasp of the written language here is still quite new, but I believe I am doing well. It is a harrowing tale about a terrible man hunting for a great beast called a whale who bested him in a previous encounter. Honestly, I believe we are supposed to root for the success of the man, but I must admit a bias toward the whale as he is a great behemoth of the sea. You can surely understand why I might feel, then, that he is far more relatable! I secretly hope he gets the best of the man again should they ever have their sought-after encounter."

[justice_undone]

Breq took the book and turned a few pages. Her ancillaries had sometimes read to those officers who enjoyed that, although she had had to make an effort not to speak with her usual flat voices.

"I don't think you should ever let the writer's opinion decide your own," she said. Sidon's choice was hardly surprising, after all.

"I assume you don't get to hear the perspective of the whale?"

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"I do not believe so," Sidon admitted, with a touch of sadness. "It is told from the perspective of one of the man's shipmates, and I do not see the structure changing, although wouldn't that be interesting? I feel I would be able to relate to that narrator much more, though this is a little more intriguing and unfamiliar for me. It is...interesting, getting into the mind of a human like this."

[justice_undone]

"In what way do you find it unfamiliar?" Breq asked, genuinely curious.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"There's just this whole...spectacular culture surrounding these men and their travels into the ocean!" Sidon said, sitting up a little, eyes shining, making up for what he was careful to not let his hands do. "I may know the rivers and lakes of Hyrule like the back of my own webbed hand, but you would be mad, even if you were the greatest swimmer in Zora history, to venture out into the oceans! But here these men have done it! And they have their troubles, but they manage to make it to far-away lands and see magnificent things! I suppose there is still a certain madness to it, especially with the extraordinary drive of the captain in his hunt for the whale who wronged him so.

"And the way they do it, with these incredible, massive vessels! I can only assume they must be massive to hold as many men and weapons and to traverse such far distances so easily. I mean, the Lurelin villagers have their fishing boats and sometimes I've seen people ride the rivers in rafts, but these ships must be...fantastic, enormous, spell-bindingly large for what they do! And that they all work together as a team to reach their destination, despite trials and tribulations and the frequent fear that the very man leading them may be completely and totally insane! No doubt, it is a cautionary tale, about the dangers of following one's blood thirst and appetite for revenge, a lesson perhaps that might not be too bad for me at the moment, either."

He ended his praise with a little chuckle. "Needless to say, difficult as the reading itself is for me, I am rather enjoying it. Perhaps you could read it yourself and see what I mean, if I have successfully sparked an interest in you."

[justice_undone]

"Perhaps I will," Breq said, although she suspected she wouldn't quite share Sidon's enthusiasm.

"I have been to planets with oceans, other than this one, but I'm more used to travel through space." She suspected Sidon's people didn't have that technology.

"Not a lot of huge around there though, unless you count other ships."