[h1][center][color=00aeef]Link[/color][/center][/h1] [center][color=00aeef][b]Level 3[/b] [/color] - (19/30) + 3[/center] [center]Word Count: 1355 [/center] [center][color=00aeef]Location:[/color] Limsa Lominscuttle Town ~ The Bismarck Restaurant [/center] [@Yankee][@Dark Cloud] [hr] [center][img]http://orcz.com/images/5/56/Thebismarckffxivarr.jpg[/img][/center] Ace may not have been the most subtle of people but compared to Cia he was a golden grifter god when it came to hiding his intentions. The very moment he had made his presence known, interrupting a description of the hero riding a gutsy Zora prince into battle that she found particularly riveting, she fixed him with a gaze that promised red death if he didn't desist. Link, by contrast, regarded him with some confusion for a few moments before sudden recognition wiped it from his face. "Yes, lots of work. [i]Thank you[/i] for reminding me." He said, springing to his feet as the Cadet pulled him up. As the Cadet did Link swept his eyes back and forth across the restaurant, seemingly only now realizing exactly where he was and how many innocent people were around them. "Can we pick this up another time?" he said across the table. "After all, we don't want to cause a sce-" She shut him up with a snap of her fingers, dark power snaking its way across her fingers as Link went rigid and planted his feet to resist all attempts by the monster hunter to move him. Scowling, the witch turned her attention back to the Cadet. "I don't know who you are, but you are interrupting a very special occasion." She said coldly. She sat up, reaching down to her side and pulling up some kind of [url=https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/8fde87e7-9e99-430f-b8cd-b1255d5ac4b2/d96wpjb-f5b4af22-2748-4e2d-8cf5-0e358a279896.png/v1/fill/w_1024,h_1024,strp/hyrule_warriors__cia_s_scepter_of_time__by_kabalstein_d96wpjb-fullview.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0xMDI0IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvOGZkZTg3ZTctOWU5OS00MzBmLWI4Y2QtYjEyNTVkNWFjNGIyXC9kOTZ3cGpiLWY1YjRhZjIyLTI3NDgtNGUyZC04Y2Y1LTBlMzU4YTI3OTg5Ni5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTAyNCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.bUATMBMKqW_qWCwXdvVLDYfxKTQahUQPKx3d3Tvv1Oc]war scepter[/url] she began idle playing with much like Link had been with his silverware earlier, the crystal at its head giving off a faint and eerie glow. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this, boy. This world undoubtedly has many Heroes to choose from." she continued, a playful sadism creeping into her voice. "Allow me this one for now. I swear I won't harm a hair on his precious head. Otherwise, well, I have no problem bending you over my knee in front of all these nice people." If anyone watching were to glance down from this confrontation onto the floor behind Cadet and Link, the astute would notice something odd about their mingling shadows. Link's real hand was empty, but at some point his shadow had drawn a blade. [hr] [hr] [center][h1][color=darkgreen]Linkle[/color][/h1][/center] [center][h3][color=red][b]Merge Rate:[/b][/color] 21% [/h3][/center] [center][color=darkgreen]Location[/color]: Frozen Highlands - Dragonspine Mountain [/center] [center][color=darkgreen][b]Level 8[/b][/color] - (62/80) + 3 [/center] [hr] As Linkle continued on down the coastline the first thing she spotted were the delightful flocks of birds the scampered across the sand. They regarded her curiously as she approached them, but once she started getting to close they let out a chorus of squawks and made for the water. Linkle ran after them, diving into the middle of the group and wrapping her arms around one of their bellies, lifting it up into her arms as it continued to flap its flippers and kicks its stumpy legs. "You're a big girl, aren't you?" she said over its protests. It was the first thing that came to mind. This bird was twice the size of the average cucco, and apparently not nearly as loyal or deadly judging by the way the others left this one behind and escaped to the safety of the water like the bird version of a Zora. What it was, though, was warm. So unbelievably warm. She felt the birds warmth spread through her chest, a oasis in the middle of a freezing desert. Like a traveler lost in that desert it was a hard thing to abandon. She didn't know how long she stood there holding it, but it was long enough for the bird to decide that it was either safe or dead already and stop struggling against her. By the time she resolved to put the bird down and continue on her way of few of the others had even come back to observe her from the surf, and the released penguin eagerly ran back to them as Linkle waved goodbye and felt the cold start to seep back into her bones. As she pressed on she wondered if maybe you could domesticate them, and thought she should definitely come back and get a few for Rick once she got in contact with everyone again. The tower she had been following was, as it turned out, smack dab out in the middle of the ocean. It didn't look like their was any way forward from where she was either, unless she wanted to freeze a trail out to that monolith and she didn't want to risk that without being able to swim. Who knew what else lurked in the water around here. She did find the weird light though, coming out of a strange floating thing that she peppered with a few arrows just to make sure it wasn't an enemy. Confident she walked out and began studying the smooth surface of the thing. She started to reach out and touch it, but jerked her hand back at the last second and regarded it warily. "You want to offer me a wish?" She asked, but the thing just floated there silently. That probably meant safe, right? Nodding to herself, she reached out and laid her palm on the surface. She didn't know what she had expected, but the thing popped open like it had been waiting for her revealing a host of treasures inside. So these were treasure chests. That was great to know. She pulled everything out to examine and jumped back when the thing folded in on itself and plummeted onto the beach. It was a pretty good haul. The Pokeballs she put in her pouch with the others, more eager than ever to try using them considering how alone she was. The sealed contained she opened immediately, steam wafting off the still warm food as the freezing air hit it. At the same time the smell hit her and she couldn't help herself. She sat right down on the beach and tucked in. It was funny how hard it was to notice that you were hungry when you felt empty all the time, but she took comfort in the fact that she still got hungry at all. Warmth filled her again, however briefly, as the steak and what she realized was potatoes settled into her stomach and gave her concrete proof that her stomach was still in fact there. It didn't make her feel whole, but it did make her feel full. That was probably the best she was going to get. Patting herself on the stomach she turned her attention to the last two items. The lootbox she recognized from back in Lumbriged, and she would have to carry it to someone who could open it for her. The other prize was designed to do exactly that, a set of instructions for what she quickly figured out was a basic man-powered sled and a bunch of sticks and twine. She set to work, lashing together the sled as instructed and placing the lootbox onto the fruits of her labor. After an experimental drag across the sand and finding the weight to her liking she looked around and tried to figure out where to go next. The village obviously wasn't anywhere around here, so maybe she should try and get a better vantage point and find it again. She had a pretty good idea of where that cliff she had been dropped off was, she could make it back there. Grabbing the sled she took off back the way she came to find that cliff again. After a single short stop to try (and fail utterly) to get the penguins to ride her new sled she set off again, away from the beach. She weaved around rivers and streams, plowing over browned leaves and snow like a reindeer prancing across the tundra. Of course, she missed the fact that every step carried her further and further from the mountain until suddenly she was making her way across a vast icefield and spotted, in the distance, the smoke that had been her original destination. "Would you look at that." She said happily. "I must have missed it earlier on the way to the beach." She did a quick course correction and made a beeline for the village, hoping that monster she had seen earlier wouldn't get in her way. It had probably moved on by now, right?