thenearshore | zelda's lullaby extended 10 hours dot mp3

[The thing about having an underground temple is that the passage of time is less obvious than it might otherwise be. You can't just look out a window and know whether it's night or day.

So, when the resident goddess of Metis Temple stirs after over two weeks asleep, there's nothing that immediately tells her that she's gotten more beauty rest than she bargained for. Nothing, save the teenage girl apparently camping out at her bedside. That's a little unusual.]

M-- Minako...?

[what the heck are you doing here]

[ The thought that Zelda could wake up at literally any given moment has ebbed slightly to the back of Minako's mind after two weeks. Guarding her sleeping princess - aside from the moments someone deemed it necessary to give her a break and drag her out of the temple - has grown more into a routine than anything else.

So when Zelda does suddenly wake up, Minako finds herself completely unprepared. Her first instinct is surprise, and it obviously crosses her face as well. The second instinct that arrives is that she ought to make herself look a bit more proper and put together (there's some hints of dark circles on her face from worrying, and her hair is messier than usually), but..

In the end it's another emotion that wins over all of that. She wants to try to show Zelda that she's alright, that she was a proper shinki while Zelda was asleep, that she totally wasn't freaking out - if not just so Zelda wouldn't worry about her. But the relief overpowers all of that, and as Minako gasps and covers her mouth, tears come to her eyes instead.

It's only been two weeks, sure, but it felt like so much longer. So much time missing one of the people most important to her, so much time worrying about Zelda's wellbeing.. ]

You're awake..!

[Something icy and cold sinks in her gut as she takes in Minako's haggard and emotional state, because while she might be a little disoriented from just waking up, she's not stupid. There is one very clear and obvious reason that comes to mind for why Minako might be so upset - a reason she knows very well herself - but she does not dare voice it so bluntly. She doesn't want to believe she inflicted that kind of pain on anyone, least of all Minako.

Slowly, she props herself up on her elbows, and with no small amount of wariness she chooses a more roundabout way to broach the topic.]

... You make it sound as though that is unusual.

Oh--!

[ It's like she's pulled back down to Earth for a moment when the realisation hits her that she reacted so instinctively and emotionally, and that it might be slightly confusing to Zelda. She bites her lip, at least managing to keep any tears from actually spilling out, and tries to steel herself a bit more. Shouldn't she be more occupied at the moment with thinking about how to explain to Zelda what happened without upsetting the other?

(Then again, that might just be inevitable.)

Minako quickly folds her hands back in her lap, trying her best to seem at least a bit put together. ]

I.. Um, yes. I'm sure you'd realise it soon enough.. [ It's not as if such a big change in the date would go unnoticed, after all, even if absolutely no one brought it up to Zelda. ] But.. you've been asleep for two weeks now.

[That icey feeling spreads throughout her entire body, creeping through her limbs and freezing her veins from the inside out. For a moment, all she can do is stare at Minako, still as a statue and pale as a sheet as her eyes search the other girl's appearance for the truth she's speaking and hoping that maybe, just maybe, she's heard it wrong.

She hasn't, of course.]

Two weeks...

[She parrots, breathless, horrified. How could she? Why didn't she realize it was going to happen? She's supposed to be a goddess of dreams-- why couldn't she force herself to wake up sooner?]

M-- Minako... Minako, I am so sorry--

[How could she have left her shinki alone?]

[ She's been partially preparing herself for this ever since someone made her realise that Zelda would probably be upset once she'd wake up and realise she was asleep for that long. But seeing it in person is much different from all the different ways she could ever have imagined it in her head.

So there's a moment of delay before Minako reacts, since all the "oh no" alarm bells are being set off in her head, but then all of her own feelings are quickly thrown out of the window in favor of doing whatever is needed to make sure Zelda doesn't feel bad after already having been forcibly asleep for so long. ]

No.. No, no, don't apologize!

[ At least not to her. While she doubts Natsuru or any of the other people Zelda knows would want her to apologize either, she doesn't want to fully assume anything in their place. But there's absolutely no apology Minako could need from Zelda of all people right now, no matter how shitty these weeks were for her. ]

Look, it's alright now.. You're awake, that's what's important! It's fine as long as you're not hurt.. You're not hurt anywhere, right?

[ Look, Zelda!! She's fine!! Everything is totally okay now!!

(Were Minako in any better state, she might have considered the fact that obviously Zelda would be able to sense just how shaky she feels right now.) ]

[Okay, so she's apparently been asleep for a while. That is... less than ideal, and she's wondering a lot about what all she's missed, but first things first: she has to make sure everything's alright at home before she goes wandering out in the world.]

Natsuru? Are you in...?

[So she's... wandering around the temple, specifically in places she knows Natsuru tends to lurk. Her room, the library, even down in the blessed spring. Sure, she could just teleport to her shinki's location, but she doesn't want to give the poor girl a heart attack on accident...]

[It's a little different for Natsuru than it has been for Minako, these past two weeks. She's unfortunately used to things happening to her gods, and while she hopes Zelda will be okay... well, she wouldn't want to creep her out by hovering over her while she sleeps.

She's gazing idly over the spring, in fact, when she hears the familiar voice nearby.]

Z-... Zelda-sama?

[The girl scrambles to her feet, eyes wide in hopeful surprise.]

You're awake! Thank goodness!

[Oh dear, she's starting to tear up. She's just so overwhelmed by relief!]

I mean... Minako-chan was so worried too...

[It's okay, Natsuru, you don't have to justify feeling so happy to see your goddess up and about again!]

zelda's lullaby extended 10 hours dot mp3

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