Bonding

POV: Arill

Dear Diary,
I'm now inside the city of Dragos with Link and Leiph. Link's wondered off to look for some medicine whilst I'm forced to just sit here and wait with Leiph. I've tried to use some healing spells, but my mana isn't nearly as powerful as it used to be. So I think I'll try reading to pass the time...

"Leiph, stop looking at me like that, you're creeping me out."
Arill kept her brave face on whilst Leiph kept a close watch on her. She was in agony, but she refused to show it. Leiph didn't respond and looked at the window, then stood up and made his way to the edge of it, staring out to view the city at nighttime.
Sighing and cringing at her back, she opened up her book again and started reading it, which was called "Tales of the Picori". But four pages later the pain was getting so bad she couldn't even focus on the words and the small pictures depicting them. Lazily throwing it onto the desk beside her, she tried again to muster up some mana and rolled onto her side, massaging her bruise and attempting to heal it using her Jewel, but she just ended up getting her side wet, along with the bed sheets.
"This is so irritating! If I can't read or even heal myself then I don't know what to do. There's no point sleeping, I slept most of today and yesterday and I'm wide awake now."  She looked over at Leiph and pondered. "...I guess I could talk to him, he isn't annoying me at the moment."
He was leaning his head on the wall of the window frame, fascinated with the world outside and the noises coming from the other buildings. "Anything interesting out there to see?" Asked Arill.
He looked around to see her sitting up. His features tensed and spoke quickly.  "You shouldn't be up, it'll strain your bruise. Lie back down."
Arill groaned and rested her head on the feathered pillow, "Link seems more concerned about me than usual, was that your doing?"
He turned around to face her, then decided before answering to sit on her bed again. "Yes. You should be much more careful with yourself Arill, you could get badly hurt. And why are you fighting creatures of the dark anyway? Not only is it the wrong thing to do but you could get really badly hurt." He answered, emphasizing "really" with his hands.
Arill let out another long sigh and told Leiph that making friends with those monsters yesterday was a fluke. "...And as for the fighting side of things, I can look after myself you know. I may look like a frail little girl, and I may be half-Asrai, but trust me, I'm a lot tougher than most people think."
Leiph's lip curled with worry, "No. You may be strong and impenetrable if you were all human, but you're not. I know what traits of the Asrai race lie within you, and your gentle skin is one of them. You hide it very well, but I know you're in a lot of pain right now."
Arill faltered, "Damn it, how can he tell? No one's ever spotted any of this, yet he knows all of this just by looking at me! Ok fine!" She confessed, her voice now stripped of confidence, pride and shaking. "I'm in agony but fussing over cuts and bruises all of the time won't get me very far. I've been kicked out of my homeland you know, and to survive I've got to live out here on land, and complaining about little things like scratches all of the time will butcher my reputation as a tough swords-woman!"
"The Asrai's turned you into a human and abandoned you?"
"No, the other way around actually..." Arill found herself explaining the beginning of her life to him, from her father saving her life and the Asrai Queen forcing to give her this unique gift, to the time she learnt she was different from everyone else and set off to search for her childhood dream, Zoras. Then before she knew it, she was pouring her heart out to him and telling her the rest of her life story. From when she found out she was originally Hylian and discovered her sibling, to recently when she assisted Link in banishing the King of Evil, Ganon. Knowing now she couldn't stop, she opened up more and even explained the brief mention of her adulthood, and told him that her and Link were sent back here in time, and told to re-live their lives properly. Well, Link's life at least.
As she was doing this, she glimpsed at Leiph listening quietly to her, which startled Arill when she noticed. A part of her did find him irritating because of his lack of social behavior and his constant optimistic mood, but at the same time it was endearing, especially now when he was sitting there cross-legged on the bed hanging on to every word she spoke. He had a kind-heart, and a very caring nature. He helped out in any way he could and looked after her even when she was taking out all of her frustration before on him. And yet even now when she just realised how open and vulnerable she was after telling her how she's really feeling and what she said, she knew he wasn't going to get his own back or take advantage of it. "All this time he just wanted to be my friend, and I kept pushing him away..."
She felt guilty now that she's seen the error of her ways, and wanted to apologize for the insults and harsh words she's thrown at him for the past few days. But saying sorry out of the blue, and just after finishing her story would confuse the boy, plus her dignity wasn't all lost and she didn't want to admit she was in the wrong. Instead, she hesitantly let down her barriers and tried to warm up to him. And to start, she asked him about his life-story.
"My past?" He leaned back to think and looked at the ceiling, answering slowly. "It's the same as yours. I was raised in the forest by the creatures. They bought me up, taught me their cultures, their history, their skills, everything. But lately, my guardian tells me to start learning of my own race. I know almost all about the animals and their ways of living, but human activity is a new thing to me."
"I see. Did you ever find out how you came into the forest in the first place?"
Leiph paused and searched through his thoughts again, "I have tried to think about my past before, and I have asked my guardian about it. But he's always said that "I was a blessing that fell upon us". I trust my guardian and all of the animals with my life, but I feel he's never told me the whole story."
"You don't know your past either eh?" Said Arill, "Maybe you should go look for that as well as Nayru?"
"…I don't think there's any more to know. My parents left me in the forest, and they left me there to grow up with the creatures. What else is there to learn?"
"Uh, like why they left you there in the first place and why they didn't want to raise you themselves? And speaking of questions, why do you never get angry?"
"Angry? What's that?"
Arill felt that temper for Leiph rise again, "He doesn't even know what the word is? Seriously?!"
Taking a frustrated sigh, she explained the term anger to him. After a bit of explaining, it seems there were other emotions he's never felt before, like embarrassment. Also sadness was a new experience for him too.
"…And you want me to get angry?"
"Yes, surely being happy gets boring after a while right? Let's see another emotion from you."
Leiph nodded and started pondering and recalling Arill's explanation of the word. He didn't do anything for a moment then suddenly he pulled a silly face.
"...That's not anger Leiph."
"It's not? How do I feel anger?"
"Ugh..." Arill explained yet again, and throughout the evening she passed the time by trying to get him to feel some form of emotion other then happiness.
"Now remember, imagination is key. Think of something bad happening, something that would make you angry."
Leiph sat right next to Arill and was taking in every word she spoke. "What kind of bad thing?"
"Think of...think of your animal friends. Close your eyes and picture yourself with the animals."
He did so and his serene smile returned to his face.
"Ok, now imagine you guys are having lots of fun. You're playing games, laughing away and enjoying yourselves. Suddenly, there's a giant grizzly bear by your house-"
"Bear? Bear's aren't grizzly."
"Ok whatever, a giant monster then. In fact, it can be a giant skeleton."
Arill was ready for him to question what a skeleton was, but all he said was "I didn't know skeletons could move."
"Oh trust me, they move. Now, this skeleton isn't a nice one, and he's here to ruin your fun."
"Why would he do that?"
Arill sat up a little, "Because he can! Concentrate Leiph, this is imaginary! Don't think about it too much."
She continued with her made up story to make him angry. She made him picture the animals in trouble and that he was the only one to stop this Stalfos, but as the story continued it made him more and more upset, eventually bringing him onto the verge of crying. Arill gave up when he burst into tears again, and had to comfort and remind him that her story wasn't real.
"But why would a nasty skeleton kill the rabbits? All the rabbits did was offer him carrots!"
"Oh Nayru, I shouldn't have bothered trying. He's either happy, or sad. Nothing in the middle."
Arill cradled him to lull him into calming down, which worked surprisingly quickly. He made himself comfy on the front of her right shoulder and silently wept to himself, still fearing the safety of his animal friends. She felt uncomfortable about him being so close at first, but thinking about his lack of sense again she decided to leave him there.
As soon as she realized how bored she was now she didn't have someone to talk to, she noticed the surge of pain again from her back. She grunted and picked up her book, but as she opened it the sound of someone rushing up the stairs rang in her ears, and before she knew it Link ran inside and barred the door shut, looking like he was in a scrap with someone else.
Arill jolted up to ask what was going on, and as she did this Leiph jolted up too, looking distressed and still upset from earlier.
"Nothing to worry about." Link panted. "Just some bandits chasing me down after I took out their leader, and the guards caught them chasing me." Link threw his sword to one side and took out a bag full of red potions.
"Sweet Nayru! Finally!"
Arill shuffled over to them, grabbed a bottle and drank it in one gulp. It took a few seconds for the effect to work, but as soon as it did the bruise faded away, relieving her of pain. Leiph was still tearful when she stood up to test her back, and sat back down again to pet him better.
"What's wrong with Leiph?" Asked Link.
Arill gave the signal to leave it for now and suggested that everyone should go to bed. Link agreed and managed to fall asleep straight away as soon as his head hit the pillow; whilst Arill led Leiph to his bed and tucked him in, waiting for him to drift off before she fell into bed herself. Rejuvenated, she scribbled down the rest of today's events in her diary before continuing with her book.