[center][color=darkgreen][h3]Linkle[/h3][/color]

[color=darkgreen][b] Level 4[/b][/color] - (3/40) + 3

[color=darkgreen][b]Location:[/b][/color] Scrapyard ---> Peace's Castle

[color=darkgreen][b]Word Count:1944 [/b][/color][/center]

[@Lugubrious][@DracoLunaris]

[hr]

Linkle actually managed to work up a good sweat digging through garbage and dragging around big metal contraptions, but as the moon rose and the skitters and moans of the creatures of darkness began to resound around them she switched from pulling carts to shooting arrows. She set herself up on a patrol rout around their worksite, climbing on the more stable looking piles of scrap to spot the enemies that came close and feather them before they could disrupt the work.

It felt good, honestly. When she'd first heard the noises she'd feared that her premonition earlier had come true, especially seeing the silhouettes of what looked like robots, but was pleasantly surprised to see these monsters where much more classic if a little blockier than she was used to. Stalfos, Gibdos, spiders the size of Skulltulas and...well, she had to admit she had no clue what she could compare the last ones to but that wasn't important because they died all the same. No plinks and plonks of arrows bouncing off. These guys weren't even as tough as what she was used too, no paralyzing screams or hordes of numbers and save for the couple of suprising arrows from the stalphos she had to narrowly dodge she felt like she could almost take these guys out without stopping. She was in her element; running around, identifying problems, and then eliminating them while her comrades accomplished their mission. After the day she'd had it was something Linkle had desperately needed.

She even managed to grab a few spirits while on the run, just like the monster parts she'd grabbed on the battlefields back home. She didn't found how many she pocketed, but regardless she was planning to smash them before bed just because she was curious. 

Of course this fun couldn't last forever. With a roar Linkle felt the earth shift under her and Junior, who had earlier disappeared deep into a scrap pile, exploded outward along with his rabbit minion in a cart that was bigger than any she had ever seem. The awe at the thing was enough to make her overlook the fact that he had exploded from out from under her, causing the pile she was perched on to collapse and Linked to end up looking at the behemoth upside down. Luckily the roar of the engine seemed to put the fear into the monsters, at least for now, allowing them to get the carts over the bridge without major incident. 

That was for the best, as Junior announced they were done for the night with a yawn and stated leading the group back inside the castle. Linkle wanted to thank the prince for holding her rabbit cloak for her, but as she saw the tired boy trudging along all snuggled up in it she decided that getting it back wasn't that big a deal. 

[hr]

By the time they got in the feast was over and it looked like mostly everyone had gone to bed. Still, the leftover scent of the cooking that had gone on was still hanging in the air and elicited a loud growl from Linkle's stomach. She wandered over to the kitchen, where a few of the mushroom men were still cleaning up the leftovers. As one of them busied herself carrying a platter of what looked like some sort of mushroom saute that had been barely touched Linkle reached down and took it off her hands. The toad looked up as Linkle plopped one of the mushrooms into her mouth and eagerly chewed. "I got this one." Linkle said, waving her off. The toad bowed slightly and started making her way down the hall when Linkle thought of something and called out to her again. "Hey, sorry, do you know where I could get some pajamas?"

[hr]

Linkle stood there in a long frilly pink nightgown and matching cap staring at the weird machine the toad had fed her dirty, sweat soaked, moat water and grass stained clothes into. Presumably everyone else's was in there too, at least the ones that had cloths they cared about. She watched it intently as it shook and rumbled, and almost got lost in the hypnotic sound it was making while she waited on the toads judgement.

Beside her the toad that had brought her here was conversing quietly with an elder one over the scrap of green they held between them. Linkle, afraid that what was left of her cloak wouldn't survive whatever washing process went on in there, had urgently fished it out and explained that this wasn't just some cloak, but a symbol of heroism.

Seeing how important this was, the toad girl had called over the Elder and the two were now looking it over. Linkle saw the elder carefully running over the rough edges of the burned patches with her fingers. "Can you fix it?" Linkle asked, but the elder toad held up a finger to silence her. Then, with a moment of consideration, nodded her head as though accepting a challenge and made her way out of the room with the garment. Linkle was about to follow her, but the other one tossed a pair of blankets and a big fluffy pillow into her hands and hurried her out the door.

Unfortunately the scrap crews late arrival meant the rooms were already taken so she bedded down on one of the couches in the entrance hall. That was all well and good to her though. It meant she would be able to watch the door, which she wasn't even sure locked. She got comfortable, slipped off her compass and placed it safety under the couch, made sure her crossbows were well within reach, and crushed the spirits she'd picked up earlier to put a capstone on the night. Then she finally allowed the tiredness everywhere else in her body to reach her eyes and slipped into a deep sleep.

[hr]

Linkle closed her eyes tighter as the rays of the sun shone in through the windows, but couldn't shut out the hustle and bustle of the castle nor the scent of frying eggs that wafted out of the kitchen. Sitting up she yawned loudly, stretched, then hopped off the couch as though the light had refilled all her energy. "Yosh! Brand new day!" She said' rolling her shoulders and wiping the sleep out of her eyes with a determined look on her face. "And today, I refuse to fall behind."

She fished her compass out from under the couch and  slipped it back around her neck before heading to breakfast. It was delicious, and as if to make up for yesterday she dug like a woman possessed, slurping up whole eggs and using so much syrup on her pancakes that it was more like she was drinking them. It was also her first time getting a good look at some of her new comrades, including a man fascinatingly clad in green that reminded her of the rabbit she'd bonded with. There were more rabbits too, white ones. Maybe those were what the hero rabbit had been trying to reach?

She didn't have to long to ponder that before the toads made the rounds, telling them all the the princess required their presence on the field. Linkle stood up from her chair and looked around, wondering if she should head back to the washing machine to get her clothing, but as she walked back to her couch to collect her gear she found that the bedding had been collected during breakfast and her clothes were laying folded in its place. She rushed over, pulling her green cloak out from under the pile and eagerly unfurling it. 

She stared at it in awe, then hugged the good as new garment to her chest. That old lady was a miracle worker. Linkle swore, right then and there, that on their next adventure she'd find some present to repay her with. Finding a room to get dressed and make herself presentable for meeting a princess, she rushed out the door onto the lawn after gathering all her gear.

Linkle smiled with not a little bit of pride at the lineup of carts she'd helped get, but not as widely as when she actually saw the princess for the first time. Wow! Just like the monsters last night had been classic this was a classical princess. Pink dress, beautiful eyes, shining crown, the complete package! She felt a bit of yeaterday's funk slipping in at having not contributed to rescuing her. 

It wasn't any less of a bummer that not everyone was coming with them. Minako and the Master were especially hard blows, though she could understand why. Mina and the Master had to regain their strength, after all. At least with all these heroes staying behind they didn't have to worry about the castle all that much. The black rabbits might not be especially dangerous, but those robots still had that base on the hill.

The new face of Mr. Steven Stone was also spirit lifting, although she had to wonder what the Master had been doing up so early in the morning. It got much better once the man explained that you could capture monsters without destroying them. She also looked on with interest as the princess pulled out what turned out to be a treasure box, opening it with some weird paper key. A number of treasures popped out, but Linkle's eyes were instantly drawn to one in particular. A glass bottle, filled with milk. She knew it was milk, because it had the famous logo of Lon Lon Ranch plastered right on the side. She almost started for it before the Princess dropped the bombshell that she was going to be accompanying them. The statement that she intended to fight earned her a cheer from Linkle, who had met two warrior princesses in her life and adored both of them.

The conversation then shifted to the adventure ahead in the aptly named Land of Adventure, a name that almost had Linkle vibrating with excitement. With the shift came a new speaker, Tora, who took the time to explain how each of these carts actually worked. The demonstration did make it seem simple and Linkle let her eyes wander to the strange horse headed motorcart she'd pulled out of the scrap last night. She could almost hear it neighing becomingly at her. 

She had never had a horse of her own before. A hero needed a noble steed. 

She put a pin in that though. She turned around, back ton the princess and Steven Stone. "Hey, I'll take three balls! Monster taming sounds fun." She shouted, running up. She glanced to the side to meet the eyes of the princess, and after a moment quickly gave a bow to her. "Greeting Princess. My name is Linkle, it's a pleasure to meet you." She hadn't stood on ceremony with Zelda or Midna, but they had been in the middle of a fight at the time. "I have a request. Can I have that bottle please? Pretty please?" She pointed to the milk bottle sitting on the grass. "I know what that stuff is, it's premium Lon Lon Milk. I've only ever had it once, and that bottle had gone bad." Lon Lon Ranch wasn't anywhere near her out of the way village, and the one time she'd gotten a chance to try the stuff it had still been delicious even after it had gone slightly chunky. "I'll trade you. You want this rabbit gun?"