One would think that after traveling so much during Wintermarket, it would take Heart and Home longer than a ten-day to resist her curiosity about the great wide world beyond the swamp. Thanks to the obelisks, there would be more time before the Ache struck her and she would be able to explore the sights better.

Of course, with the weather still cold as it was, it would make journeys harsher than she'd like. A day trip could easily be disastrous given how her sense of direction was lacking and the possibility of it extending (albeit unintentionally) was very likely. At least, if she did this alone.

She didn't have to travel right this instance, which means she could ask around for advice. Yes, that seemed like the most logical decision. The question of course would be whom should she approach? As she wandered through the swamp, snow crunching underhoof, Heart and Home saw no reason she couldn't ask the first kin she saw.

anemosagkelos wrote:

Breath of Wild thudded each hoof down into the dirt of the swamp as her ever present guardian followed behind her in temporary silence. It suited her today as she felt the flush of irritation flare hot. The absolute nerve of him to suggest that she couldn't take care of herself in this world. It was enough to make her want to simultaneously flee as far from him as she could and turn on him like a trodden on rattlesnake. She was not some helpless damsel nor was she a skill-less child.

She regretted now leaving Immortalizes at home with the salamanders and lizard that she had reared and raised. The totoma would have at least acted as a buffer between her simmering rage that Hero had unleashed and perhaps taken her mind off the annoyance of it all. It was obviously no small feat to journey to a new land in search of new reptiles that she could research but to suggest that she needed some chaperone to keep her safe, to keep her alive—a scream welled in her throat and began to dance on the back of her tongue at the remembrance of the suggestion.

No matter how well intentioned—there was no arguing that Hero hadn't only and always had her happiness and safety held tightly at his heart. He was nothing if not unfailingly kind and loyal and always defending her. He was too good for this world and too good for her. He was too perfect and she was nothing but flaws. Every moment seemed to change her feeling on it. One moment it inspired nothing but absolute loathing for his entire existence; somehow, in that same moment, it made her fall all the further into endless love with him.

And still she stormed with hoof beats like thunder. She should have sent Immortalizes with Hero and stayed at home with the lizards. At least they never talked back. If only she could have muted her champion.

Heart and Home was not entirely certain whom she was seeking. Perhaps she shoped to meet another kin she'd traveled with during the trek that opened the obelisks, it would mean they were coming from the same experience and frame of mind. A soft hoot from ankle-height alerted the doe that she was not as alone on this morning jaunt as she thought.

"Oh, Ruffles, what are you doing here?" the doe asked in surprise as the owlcat slinked forward to rub at her legs. She debated on sending the owlcat back to her den but considered that she wouldn't mind having company in the event she ended up simply taking a walk rather than finding someone.

As the pair continued forward, that's when Heart and Home heard it: Hoofsteps.

Maybe it was naivity, maybe she'd just been extremely fortunate that she had yet to meet less-than-savory kin, but Heart and Home brightened considerably and headed towards it. "Hello there!" she greeted, her eyes widening slightly when she realized it wasn't just one kin that she'd detected. The owlcat kept close, however, eyeing the pair of kimeti with mild suspicion.

And despite the unintented miscount, Heart and Home could sense some tension here. Did she intrude in on something? She hoped not. The last thing she wanted was to make a tense situation worse.

Spirit of the Hero had instinctively stepped forward to block easy access to Wild as soon as the vibrations of earth and the distant sound of voices tickled his senses. He gazed at the kimeti and the owlcat with a combination of suspicion, as was warranted, and kindness. It was clear that neither meant them harm and without a word he allowed himself to be brushed aside as Wild pushed herself forward.

Where Hero had been active and calm at the greeting, Wild had been an undiluted mess. She’d frozen, eyes wide as the knowledge that, once again, she’d noticed absolutely nothing signifying that another kin or even another creature was nearby. She felt hot tears trickle up into her eyes and a sense of failure well up.

The anger at Hero subsided as he blocked her from view as she fell into pieces. She could hear him, the rote comfort that she was not a failure, that she was traumatized, that she was valuable from the many past experiences where this had occurred. And yet it was still so hard to believe and so easy to dispel. She bit back the sob that lodged into her throat and sucked in a wavering breath. There was nothing to be done about it now.

Wild pushed forward past Hero and hoped that her face was arranged into an accurate facsimile of happiness, “Hello!” The greeting felt hollow to her own ears but at least it was an actual word and not some mad gibberish. “I am Breath of the Wild and this is my companion, Spirit of the Hero,” she introduced the both of them, as she usually did in the rare times that they met strangers.

Heart and Home maintained a friendly demeanor despite how the situation appeared. Surely these two weren't in the middle of something unpleasant? The buck was not trying to hide something he'd done to the doe, was he? The suspicions she held did not go away entirely even as Breath of the Wild moved to the fore. Blue eyes studied the other doe for any possible hints of suffering from untoward behavior.

"Companion, you say?" Heart and Home sounded surprised by the introduction, still unsure about how she was meant to interpret this interaction. "What a lovely coincidence then! I'm Heart and Home."

A soft chirrup from ankle-height.

"And this is Ruffles. We've, well, we're on a walk trying to gather ideas on what sort of troubles we might encounter when taking long journeys." Heart explained. Hopefully she was just being unusually paranoid about the situation and that this was all an internal misunderstanding on her part.

Hero frowned, ever so slightly, at the surprise in the other kimeti's voice. He couldn't quite pinpoint whether she did not believe Wild or whether she was making a commentary on him; it pinged a thread of alertness. He considered himself to be a good judge of character, but every once in awhile, there came a kin or creature that he was left to consider. It wasn't that he considered Heart and Home to have ill intent, rather he did not yet know whether she considered—

"It is nice to meet you, Heart and Home, and Ruffles," Wild's voice interrupted the buck's thoughts. He retrained his gaze upon the blonde and waited as he often did.

For her part, Breath of the Wild was both excited and disappointed. Another kin who was considering a journey, how exciting! Yet she wanted to know about troubles; she felt herself wilt internally, she only seemed to know how to get into and find trouble.

"I'm afraid that I would be of little use there, but Hero," she turned to look at the buck, "knows near everything there is about travel and preparation and survival."

Spirit of the Hero stared, then shook his head, "All that I know, I have learned through trial and error. My," and still he found himself perplexed as to how to label her, "Breath of the Wild has far more knowledge of the land and creatures who inhabit it than I could ever hope to dream."