Here She Comes

[work_wife]

WHO: Robin Buckley, You?
WHERE: Temba
WHAT: New Arrival Trying To Figure It Out
WHEN: July 12th
WARNINGS: None
NOTES: I am considering TDM stuff canon unless otherwise asked.

I. Beat The Heat? | Temba Fountain

There's nothing that is even remotely nice about her arrival. Here she is, tired, grieving, freaked out about everything going on at home, and BAM! Wake up in a damn fountain. Her clothes are dripping now, her hair is limper than Steve's without his expensive hair spray, and it's blisteringly hot. Oh, and did she mention she woke up with her bicycle on her? Which she was now having a hell of a time lifting over the edge of the fountain?

Okay, it wasn't that it was too heavy. But it WAS fucking awkward and her hands were slippery and...

"Oh Fuck you!" she curses as she loses her grip again and the bicycle splashes back into the water.

II. That's Not What I Expected | Temba Hangar

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me."

Aliens. She was kidnapped by ALIENS, and she didn't even get to see the space ships that were supposed to be here? She's biked all the way over here, over the literally worst roads ever, had to carry her bike around massive cracks and rubble, and tried awkwardly to follow the weird map on her little 'pocket computer' and this was what she got?

"Come on!" she shouts into the hangar. "Aliens have space ships! I want to see the space ships!"

III. Give Me A Break! | Temba Hotel

It's been such a stupidly long day. The fountain. The empty hangar. The diner she was at earlier and had met people at. And now this.

"Why?" Robin asks as she looks at the stairs. They're taller than they should be. She looks from them to the bicycle she had at her side. It was bad enough that she was going to have to go up them. But she was tired and upset and confused and now she had to carry this thing up them too? "What sort of hotel doesn't have rooms on the bottom floor? This is the worst design!"

Comments

[work_wife]

Yeah, she's getting more and more uncomfortable the longer this person is trying. Like, look at those gauzy leggings. What if they get stuck in the chain? And the stranger's balance doesn't seem great...

"Be careful. It's the only bike I have!"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link's balance isn't great - at first. But he is, in fact, getting the hang of things. It's not the same as riding a horse. But Link has enough physical skill to allow him to soon figure out just how he needs to angle his body, where he needs to keep his centre of gravity. He adapts.

Sure, he doesn't look anywhere near like an expert. But for someone who's clearly never even seen a bike in his entire life? He's doing pretty damn good.

And in fact, he's getting to the point where he wants to go faster. Really push on the pedals, see just how fast he can go...but then he hears Robin call out. The urge to speed up is so, so tempting...but he tamps it down, and slows his speed before coming to a stop next to her.

[work_wife]

"That was impressive," Robin says when he returns to her side. Yes, she is actually impressed. It's not just sarcasm. Because how many people got that good that fast?"

Not damn many.

"You sure you haven't been on one before?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Even if Link didn't remember it, thanks to Mipha's diary he knew that as a child he'd picked things up quickly. Physical skill seemed to be something that just...came naturally.

Maybe it was a gift from Hylia. Some part of being her Chosen, of being the one to wield the Sacred Blade.

Or maybe he really had ridden a bike before, but had just forgotten it.

Link shrugs.

[work_wife]

Well, that's all the answer she's getting, isn't it?

"You're not exactly the most talkative one, are you?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Once again, Link shrugs.

No, he's not really.

He does, however, want to see what the bike can do. Link might have managed well for a beginner - but he was still a beginner. He wants to know what someone who's an expert can do.

So he holds Robin's bike out to her. "How fast?" he says, clearly hoping for a demonstration.

[work_wife]

How fast? Oh man, that's a good question.

"On clear city streets, maybe ten miles an hour if I'm not straining myself?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link hums softly. “Not as fast as a horse.”

Which was a little disappointing. Though not a surprise, really. Horses were hard to improve on.

[work_wife]

Yeah, well, that's a given.

"Horses are a lot more expensive than a bicycle."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link blinks.

She doesn't want a horse, because she thinks they cost too much?

"...Not if you catch a wild one."

[work_wife]

"There really aren't that many?" she says, frowning. "And definitely not where I'm from. And you still have to pay to stable them and feed them."

[newmemorywhodis]

"Not here," Link admits. In fact...there weren't any horses here. Something which Link sorely missed.

"Stables back home don't charge much." Just the registration fee, really. They seemed to make more when it came to travelers staying the night, not with caring for the horses.

[work_wife]

"Yeah, but even cheap that's monthly upkeep fees. And vet costs."

Surely that makes them expensive.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link frowns. "...I don't know any vets."

Are there any vets in Hyrule? He knows the word, but...he can't think of any. Maybe how to treat horses is just something all the stable owners know how to do?

[work_wife]

Things are different in stables in her time. She sighs and shrugs.

"Well, I was hoping you would maybe pass my bike back?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Ah. Link does still have the bike, doesn't he?

He nods, and holds it out for Robin to take back. It was fun to ride for a little bit. But he probably still prefered horses, or shield surfing.

[work_wife]

Yeah he does. She really does appreciate having it back.

"So, uh, what's this place like?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link hums softly, as he thinks about how to answer.

"Big," he says. "Made for big people. But they're all gone. Just ruins, now."

A bit like part of his home. But there, at least, there were still living settlements - still people who had survived, and were managing to get by.

[work_wife]

Big people, huh? What the hell does that mean?

"I noticed the ruins," she admits as she holds her bike close. It's been frustrating.

"How many people live here?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link thinks about it a moment, though he doesn't have an exact number. It keeps changing, after all. And he hasn't counted.

"...Thirty?"

[work_wife]

"Oh damn."

That's not many at all. That's not even a full marching band. It's not HALF a marching band.

"So far."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods. Yes, so far. And that he knew about.

“It keeps changing.” Like with Robin. One moment she wasn’t here. Now, she is.

[work_wife]

Okay, that makes it sound like it's happening BY THE MINUTE and she looks so uncomfortable here.

"I don't like the idea of that."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link, of course, does not understand his miscommunication. Or why Robin looks uncomfortable now.

"...You don't want to be here?" He says, with sympathy. He can understand that, of course. Link hadn't really wanted to come here either. He'd wanted to stay home, with Zelda.

[work_wife]

Yes, that is absolutely correct. Why would she want to be here?

"You know there's a lot of reasons to not want to be here, right?" she points out. "I mean, I definitely want to be home, even as messed up as it is."