in_sidon_we_trust | Outside of Room 221 and Points Beyond; Saturday Morning [02/02].

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Outside of Room 221 and Points Beyond; Saturday Morning [02/02].

A challenge had been issued. And if anyone thought someone like Sidon would do anything but fully rise to meet that challenge with aplomb and gusto....well, then, clearly, they did not know Sidon. He supposed he could have waited a little later in the day, understanding that it was the weekend and some people (very rarely him!) liked to enjoy not having to be up early for classes or jobs or whatever else they had, but it took a great deal of willpower to wait even as long as he had. After all, each second that passed was an opportunity to lose that challenge.

And that simply would not stand.

Which was why there was a very large Zora at the door of Room 221 that morning, giving it a strong and hearty knock. "Vette!" he called out, before delivering another rhymthmic rapping on the door. "Vette! It is I, Sidon! The Zora Prince!"

She could probably hear that sparkling grin through the door, really.

"You must come quickly! We haven't got a moment to spare!"

[[ for that girl he kinda likes, though feel free to grumble. and NFB for distance after they hit that sweet, sweet portal, natch ]]

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Vette's mouth had just been opening for a snappy comeback, too. But then he was back out the door, which mostly just got a, "Hey!" out of her before she laughed and ducked through it behind him.

She was grinning again by the time she fell back into step with him, at least.

"A scattering of trees and a view, hm? Well, I should hope I'm going to have a view if you're planning on fishing."

It was always a breathtaking sight, when he surfaced again.

"But of course," Sidon assured Vette, beaming down at her as they skirted around the little bay with the few small boats bobbing along beside the dock. "Naturally! It would be a truly boorish move on my part if I were to take you out and not ensure that you were sufficiently entertained!"

"Oh, good," Vette laughed. "I love watching you," showing off, "in your element."

It was a pretty, pretty view, and Vette was not above shallowly enjoying the pretty at all.

And Sidon was not above shamelessly basking in her enjoyment of him...in his element.

He'd quite meant it, too, when he said he wanted to ensure she had a good view of the fishing. Just outside the village was a charming, tall hill, rather perfectly placed for this sort of thing if it hadn't been set so far back on the bay, the jagged rocks running along the sand and in the water making it incredibly unsuitable for the style of...fishing Sidon was intending on performing. But just further ahead, as the bay spilled out into the great wide ocean, there was another, smaller little knoll quite as Sidon described, a collection of palm trees set over a patch of grass, to shade them from the warm, bright sun, just a leap (a Sidon-sized leap, but still, not too far) from the shore. A trio of wild horses that were racing along the strand stretching to the east slowed to stop and watch their approach curiously, flicking their tails at dragonflies never too far behind.

It was a true testament to Sidon's dedication to remain at Vette's side, too, that he didn't just take off and leap into that enticing ocean the moment they were near enough for it. Instead, he stopped to look at her, tilting his head, grinning his sharp grin, and gesturing an arm toward the view. "Well, now," he said, "I think this should suffice quite nicely. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I think this is still pretty amazing," Vette replied, smiling around them, looking curiously at the horses, and then grinning back up at him. "Not too bright, not too dark, still a great view... You've planned this whole day out just so, haven't you?"

She was a little awed by that. She could do a plan if her life depended on it, sure, but those were generally not this sort of plan at all.

"And just think," Sidon pointed out, the brightness of his grin giving that sun a good run for its money, "this is only breakfast! Speaking of which..."

And for a moment, he realized that there had been far too much walking and talking and showing off beautiful vista, and not nearly enough keeping up with the mysterious kiss quota, so he paused just enough to sweep in and catch up on it just slightly before continuing.

"...how hungry would you say you are? So that I can have a good idea of exactly how much to catch, and I shall pursue our repast without further ado."

Because those waves were calling his name, and, as much as he absolutely adored you, Vette, he could not ignore them much longer, and it was now he who couldn't help bouncing a little in his anticipation.

A bounce like that was hard to ignore, and was charming as heck, and Vette couldn't help but give a little laugh and wave a hand toward the water.

"I'm definitely hungry," she replied, "for fish and for the show that comes when you catch them, so you had better get to wowing me, huh?"

If she'd been set in front of a tomb that very much needed raiding, she'd probably be bouncing the same way. She understood.

It was amazing, really, how Sidon somehow always managed to find more smile when it seemed a moment ago it seemed to have reached its apex. "Immediately!" he declared, though that wasn't necessarily true; he had to shirk off his bow and quiver first, steal another kiss, then take up his trident--the ocean fish were, after all, significantly larger than the trifling morsels found around Zora's Domain!--with a wholly superflous but none-the-less spectacular little twirl.

"I'll not be too long," he promised, though there was also an unspoken vow that he wouldn't be too quick about it either, his grin sharpening a little with the sheer pleasure that went along with knowing that Vette enjoyed watching him show off as much as he enjoyed doing it. And, with that, he turned toward the water, jogging just a few steps before launching himself up in the air with one of his impressive leaps, executing a few flips that were not just showy, they were practical in getting him in the right angle for a smooth and seamless dive.

The flip out of the water that followed a few moments later did serve a purpose, too. It served the purpose of showing Vette just how incredibly far he'd managed to get out there in such a short amount of time. It was very important information that he felt she should really, really know.

Could Sidon hear Vette's cheering and clapping from all the way out there, when he surfaced? She'd seated herself on the grass to watch, and while she was curious enough about the contents of the basket, she was also loathe to look away from the show that Sidon was putting on, at least partly for her, but also, she suspected, simply for the joy of living in this moment to the fullest.

That was another thing she liked about him; he knew how to live. Embraced it. Threw himself into it without reservation or regret and moved through life like it was a... like a dance, something more wild and spontaneous and undisciplined than the ballet that they were both learning, not no less elegant for it. She settled in, smiling warmly, to watch him move through the water the way he seemed to move through life, a little in awe of his ability to do so.

Any world that a person like Sidon could come from had to be beautiful. The shadow infected it, maybe, threatened to choke it off and destroy what was beautiful about it, but whatever it was, it hadn't stopped Sidon. Made him stronger for surviving it, maybe. She'd eat when he returned to shore. Right now, she didn't want to look away from his antics just to peruse some fruit.

There was, at one point, not very long after diving in deep and swimming around to explore the otpions for the actual reason for being in the water, that Sidon rather forgot about showing off and just found himself wrapped up in merely enjoying himself and taking full advantage of the sea. Luckily for his audience, there was only an incredibly thin line between Sidon showing off and Sidon just having fun. And the fishing was excellent this morning; it would be a more difficult thing to narrow in on what to catch than it would be to actually catch them, though he did try to make it a particularly exciting one that would inspire a few good leaps out of the water here and there.

The highlight, however, was easily when he'd caught the attention of an ockorok and taunted him to the point where, when Sidon made a leap out of the water, it jumped, too, ready to launch a rock at him. Sidon pulled back his trident, leaned to the side just enough to narrowly avoid the projectile before releasing his weapon with a straight shot at the troublesome beast, which struck just in time for Sidon to plunge back into the water to collect his spoils.

And that wasn't even done to show off, but it was kind of nice that it would likely work out that way.

Knowing he could easily lose himself at this for quite some time, Sidon eventually made the effort to rein it in and return to the shore, making a fast track for the land before ducking in with just enough depth and space left for a good departure, launching up, flipping artfully, and landing in a deep crouch on the sand, thumping the end of his trident in the sand like a flag claiming the spot, only instead of a flag, it was a large, pierced fish held between its prongs. A fish that, given a little longer in this world, might have been just about as big as Vette herself.

And when he looked up from his landing with a grin and straightened up, he regarded the fish at the end of his trident with a tilted head and a laugh. "Yes," he mused, as if he'd spent a good deal of time considering it, "I believe this shall do nicely!"

Vette's eyes were actually pretty wide by the time Sidon landed.

"There was a-- it was a-- a thingie!"

Octorok, Vette.

"That was SO GREAT."

"Oh," said Sidon, flicking a little water off his headtail before going to plop down beside Vette and feeling grateful for it; awkward as sitting could be sometimes, it was a welcome way to rest after all of that! And as he sat, he stuck his trident through a nearby bit of sand, propping it up so that he could easily peel off bits with his claws, offering the first morsel out to Vette as he leaned into her a little, "that little thingie? Why, that one was nothing! Not even big enough to swallow you up, Vette! You should have seen the last one I fought whilst I was last in this region."

Really, it would be impossible for them to have come to Lurelin Village without him bringing it up. He'd been angling to do so eventually; she'd just given him the perfect opportunity to segue into it just then.

"I'm actually not quite sure if I've ever told you that story before," he admitted. He had told many people, it was true, but he'd discovered that it wasn't quite as many as he'd thought. Besides, when they started telling stories, he'd tried to stick with more general things, obviously, and then, suddenly, there were...other ways of occupying their time than just stories.

Vette laughed as she leaned against Sidon, taking the morsel of fish as it was offered to her.

"I'm pretty sure I haven't heard that story, no," she agreed. "I mean, besides the snowman warfare at the animal shelter, I don't think I've really heard or seen much of that kind of thing from you." And now she was reaching to poke him in the ribs. "So you need to tell me! Story time, Sidon! Spill it!"

As if he needed much prodding to get the story out of him ever, much less with her. But Sidon laughed at the finger poking into his side, grinning down at her. "Perhaps it was best I'd held it until now," he mused. "So much better to set the scene, when you're actually physically present!"

He took a moment to clear his throat, to allow himself to get into full story-telling mode, which was bound to be particularly good, fueled already by the adrenaline rush of his excellent swim.

"Because it had taken place right here, in this very bay beside us now, so peaceful, so calm and lovely...but not so much when its waters were plagued by none other than the most monstrous octorok that Hyrule has ever known, and, Hylia willing, the most monstrous it will ever know! As large as the very mountains that tower over us in the distance, no one knows for whence it came, but it came with a thirst for blood...and Lurelin fishermen! They were helpless against the great and terrible beast; their spears and swords did little to nick its flesh as it, in its insatiable appetite, sucked up nearly anyone who dared try to defeat it, smashing the homes with rocks the size of boulders!

"The Zora and the Lurelin fishermen have always had a wonderful relationship, as you can imagine; we trade often in our various bounties of the great Hylian waters, so when we heard of their troubles with this foul monster, we simply had to send our very strongest and best. But, alas! Our very strongest and best still proved to be lacking. Even with our superior tactics in being able to fight in the octorok's own element, one by one, our warriors were similarly consumed and digested, one after another, to feed the still hungry beast!

"And that," Sidon paused for a sharp, proud, almost devious sort of grin, "is when they sent me. Sent is perhaps not the best word, of course; when I dedicated myself to the cause that had taken from us so many of our brothers, there was a great uproar, especially from the Elders, that I wouldn't stand a chance, they wouldn't allow for such a thing to happen, for I am the prince, I was too valuable to risk on such an endeavor."

The grin faded slightly into something a bit like discomfort, and Sidon snorted. "As if I was going to let that stop me! Under the cover of night, I made my way down here, so that with the breaking of the next day, I may confront the octorok, no doubt while the Elders wrung their hands and were already designing a monument to accompany my sister's. And perhaps they weren't wrong to have their doubts; so many had tried to conquer the beast, and each and every one of them had failed. But none of them were the Zora Prince.

"I swam circles around that octorok; I volleyed it with endless strikes from my trident, and yet barely made a dent. It struck out with its powerful tentacles, dashed me on the jagged rocks. That was how I acquired this scar, here," he turned his head, ducking slightly, to show her, "on my left headfin. But I didn't let it stop me. I got back up, I steeled my resolve, I charged forward with my trident ready to strike him, right between his very eyes if I could be so lucky...

"...only to be sucked right in to his giant, gaping maw, open and waiting for his next foolishly willing meal. I was now inside the octorok, Vette, swallowed down its gullet as easily as if I were one of these pieces of fish! But if anyone thought being lunch would stop me, well...then those people did not know Sidon! For I still had my trident, all was far from lost. For my trident is sharp and my arms are strong, and the inside of an octorok is much softer than the outside. I pierced through that monster's stomach, again and again, until it finally gained purchase and I could emerge victorious to deliver the final blows that defeated the terror and saved the very village you see so peaceful and quiet today!

"Perhaps not the best story to accompany a meal," he said, a bit apologetically, though he was positively glowing with pride, "but it truly has been one of my finest hours."

He chuckled, slightly, as he amended, "Or several hours, I should say. It was not exactly quick work, fighting one's way out from the inside of the belly of a beast."

Vette was staring at Sidon now, eyes wide.

"It ate you?"

That really did give some indication as to just how massive this thing was, for starters. For another...

"If you ever get yourself eaten again, Sidon, I swear I'll cut that thing open myself and pull you out so that I can shake you! I don't care if it's an octorok or a krayt dragon, you're not allowed!"

... Vette versus a krayt dragon would be pretty rich. Best to not get eaten again, Sidon.

"It isn't as though I intended to get eaten," Sidon pointed out, his smile perhaps a touch guarded now, as he felt that perhaps Vette had sort of picked the wrong part of the story to focus on. Especially when there were parts like him being a hero and being the only warrior out of dozens who was able to defeat the monster. But it hadn't exactly been his only close brush with death, and the latest one, if he didn't count the trek to the shelter during the snowstorm, was...well...

The guard in his smile fell, leaving the expression a little softened and apologetic. "So I regret that I cannot in good faith make any promises in that regard, but I can at least vow that I shall strive to attempt to avoid being eaten again in the future."

Spoken an awful lot like a Zora who was most definitely going to get eaten by something again at some point in time.

Some things just couldn't be helped!

Vette considered that, and then blew out a little breath and snuggled up against him.

"I suppose I can live with that," she decided, and then laughed softly, shaking her head. "I mean, I got eaten by an ancient Sith tomb and it spat me out in a Portalocity terminal, I can't really talk, can I?"

Not reeeally, Vette.

Hey, if it helped support Sidon's case, he was more than willing to just accept that.

Especially if snuggling was involved. He chuckled a little, wrapping an arm around her to aid in his own contributions to said snuggling while offering her another piece of fish with his other hand. "That's correct," he said. "And if you reserve the privilege to go digging me out from any beast that may have the foolish notion to attempt to consume and swallow me down, then I simply must insist that I should be able to go tumbling after you should any errant portal decide it wants to snatch you up and whisk you away somewhere else again."

Vette hummed as she leaned against him, wrapping her lekku around his arm and resting her head against his side.

"I was about to argue that there's no way of knowing where those things might leave us, but I guess trying to beat up something that's eaten you to get it to spit you out is probably about the same amount of risk," she admitted with a laugh. She was silent for a few moments, and then she added, "You're so brave. There's just... just so much of you that you give to others without question. There are a lot of people out there who could learn something from that."

She left off the 'myself included.'

Didn't figure that would fly, here.

That would barely get off the ground, really. There was a difference between brave and bravado. He had the latter in spades, but she...well, anyone who could have been through what she'd gone through, experienced what she had, and still come out in the end to be the person Vette was today? Sidon didn't know a whole lot about it, no, but he had bits and pieces here and there that weren't difficult to put together, and he knew enough to know that rising above all of that took guts.

And he would absolutely refuse to hear otherwise.

But, for now, he just chuckled a little, tilted his head toward hers. "Well, there's an awful lot of me to give!" he said "It's be a terrible shame to keep it all to myself. But, speaking of giving," he leaned in a little bit, a sort of nudge, "I do believe it's your turn now."

Vette glanced up at him, smiling a slightly puzzled smile at him.

"My turn?" A beat. "For a story?"

Well, they did have a running deal going when it came to trading them, didn't they?

And Sidon nodded, smiling back. "A story for a story," he said. "It's been a tragically long time since we've done an exchange, really, and you've made it abundantly clear that your time as a Scottish duck doesn't count. And I believe it should go without saying that the story, naturally, has to be similar in nature, in that it won't be a tale as much about Twi'leks in general, but, rather, one specific one."

And he gave Vette a tiny nudge, just in case he needed to be a slight bit clearer.

Vette's breath caught just the slightest bit at that. A story about her? About her? But none of her stories were especially heroic.

... Or happy.

She fell quiet for a few moments, scrambling for words. At a loss.

"Let's play a game," she suggested, all of a sudden. "Two truths and a lie. I'll say three things about me, and you tell me which isn't true."

Sidon was thoughtfully quiet himself at that pause, at the shift in focus, at the faint feeling of something dropping into his stomach like a piece of bad fish. Everything had been going so wellcharging forward without slowing down to see much where he was going?

It wasn't an unreasonable request, he felt. But a difficult one? He supposed he could understand that.

But he did rather wish it wasn't so difficult.

Still, he smiled, as he nodded, hand to his chin to emphasize his thoughtful look. "A game, you say?" he mused. "I do enjoy games, and I'm actually familiar with that one, as well! But if I say yes to this proposal, I must warn you. I'll not let it absolve you entirely from a story, you know. You'll still owe me one, though it can wait...for another time."

"That'll give me a chance to think of a really good one," Vette replied, smiling crookedly. "You've got me at a disadvantage, I bet you've had your battle on your mind since you thought of coming here in the first place."

She tilted her head a little.

"Two truths and a lie, then," she mused, drawing the words out. "Okay, I have them." She squared her shoulders. "I've been in jail fifteen times. I have three sisters. I've done work as a hired assassin."

You wanted her stories, Sidon. This was how she let you know exactly what kind of stories Vette had to offer.

"Which is the lie?"

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