sageprincess | TFS INBOX

No! Not at all!

[Honestly, it does occur to Natsuru that if anyone is intruding, it isn't Zelda. The fact that she'd even consider her shinki's feelings like that is comforting.]

Honestly... I was just kind of wandering.

[She admits this with a sheepish little smile, yet still seems just a bit more at ease.]

This place is so different from the other temples...

[Ah, that's good. Natsuru's relaxing a little. Zelda steps further into the room with the shinki's assurance, heading towards one of the shelves where a few books seem to be missing.]

Is it? I admit, I have not visited very many temples personally.

[A beat, and then she adds:]

... Well. I am aware that this one is something of an oddity in being underground.

[And not everyone has to deal with a gosh darn puzzle door as their main entrance, but she's more interested in hearing about Natsuru's experiences than ranting about a petty detail like that.]

Yeah, I guess! The one I lived in the longest was a big treehouse. And there's all kinds of other buildings I've visited.

[Disjointed memories of all the places she's lived and visited pop up, the more she thinks about the situation.]

A lot of them were a little more modern, too. Even if they didn't look like it at first...

Mmm... I fear the lack of contemporary amenities may be my influence to an extent. The world I hail from is not nearly so technologically advanced...

[She assumes the soul taking up residence in a temple influences its form at least a little, because, well. Hibiki exists.]

I... hope this temple is comfortable enough for you.

Oh, I didn't mean it like that!

[The words spill out in a rush. Zelda gave her a place to belong when she barely even knew her, the last thing Natsuru wants is to make her feel bad about it! Especially when, modern or no, it's still quite comfortable. More than some of the other temples she's spent a night at, even.]

It's... different, but it's really... kind of amazing? It's like living in a fairy tale or something.

[Does she seem oddly happy about this? It's not like a Certain Princely Someone has given Natsuru innocent little fantasies about this sort of thing, nope. Not at all.]

So... your world is like this too?

[For a shinki who's prevented from even thinking about her own past, she sure is curious about her gods' past lives and the worlds they came from.]

[Zelda chuckles lightly at the "fairy tale" comment and Natsuru's quiet excitement while making it. The reality is... not quite as innocent, but she's content to know Natsuru's not finding it difficult to live here, at any rate.]

Somewhat. Our buildings are not underground, but I had not heard of a "telephone" or a "video game" or anything along those lines before I had come here. I would say magic is stronger in Hyrule than it is in this world as well.

[Ah, how dearly she wants to return. But she forces herself to focus on the present, and after a moment of contemplation, she looks back to Natsuru and asks:]

... Actually, there is one place in this temple that appears as though it was lifted directly from Hyrule itself. Would you like to see?

[Natsuru nods a little bit as she listens. It's not the first time she's heard something like this.]

Mm... I've met people here who didn't know what phones or cars were, too.

[So it's not even strange for her to hear that Zelda wasn't originally familiar with modern technology. In fact, it makes a lot of sense.

And if her curiosity wasn't already apparent, the way she perks up at Zelda's suggestion gives it away.]

Really? Um... yes, please?

[That... feels like it came out really awkward. She's still struggling between her instinct to be formal with Zelda and her desire to get to know her new goddess better.]

[Zelda smiles, despite the awkwardness, the hand that once held a book beckoning Natsuru to follow as she turns out of the library. She would be quite the hypocrite if she were to find curiosity to be a troublesome trait to have, and given the wide range of mannerisms her various shinki have possessed over the course of her time in the Far Shore, she can hardly fault Natsuru as she figures out where she wants to stand on that scale.]

Come along, then. It is a bit of a walk, but not too far.

[The Princess leads Natsuru further down the spiral staircase that forms the spine of her underground temple, below the residential area and the library, until it bottoms out at a set of large stone doors. They look old, but not abandoned, clear of dust and cobwebs as Zelda pushes them open (is she really that strong, or do the doors recognize her as the temple's resident goddess?). What is revealed behind the doors is a shallow pond, slightly glowing with some magical light and surrounded by marbled columns. But what's likely to be more interesting are the little pink balls of light fluttering along on tiny wings around the water.]

In Hyrule, we would call this place a fairy fountain.

[It takes Natsuru a moment to stop being lost in her own head over her uncertainty of how to act. Hearing Zelda's response is enough to snap her out of it, the feelings pushed aside and all but forgotten as she wordlessly follows where her goddess leads.

Just the sight of those doors being pushed open is dramatic, almost imposing. But what's inside makes Natsuru gasp very audibly.

This IS like a fairy tale.]

Are they... real?!

[She's known gods who have illusion powers or temples that are more appearance than substance! Still, she hesitates as she almost steps forward... if they are real fairies and not just pretty illusions or magical lights, would she scare them away by moving too close?]

[Zelda stands back, simply watching Natsuru's reaction as she takes in the sight before her, lightly entertained by her wonder. It's amazing how something she herself considers a familiar sight can illicit such awe from others, though she supposes she was much the same the first time she came across a fountain back home.]

Yes... and no. They are their own creatures - I am not directing them or anything of the sort - but where fairies could be hidden away in all manner of places in Hyrule, these ones do not seem to be able to leave the temple. Nor do they possess the healing magic fairies are known for in Hyrule.

[The subjects of conversation, meanwhile, do not seem to be terribly bothered by Natsuru's presence just yet; she's moving slowly and carefully enough that they don't feel threatened, instead continuing their lazy circles around the spring unperturbed.]

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