smash_logs | Oh, no. You are DOOMED.

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Oh, no. You are DOOMED.

Mother Nature had one hell of a temper, and if not that, then perhaps a sadistic sense of humor. The world was Her plaything, a marionette at best, and the people who lived on it, rather unfortunate victims to Her sometimes violent moodswings. For only She could start with an overcast, grey sky, and splatter across it heavy clouds, treacherous storms, and relentless armies of snowflakes that had lost all endearment only to become companions of inconvenience and burden. Someone or something had maddened her greatly - or so would have been the assumption if one gave reason to believe in Sprites of Nature who controlled an entire world's plethora of environments.

Yet Smash Academy had only been given a taste of what was to come. And since they were such diligent and well-behaved little pets, She had reason to reward them. With more entertaining obstacles that would, no doubt, impede their precious plans that somehow took precedence to pleasing and sating her. No, they had not appreciated their darling sunshine days, clear blue skies, and painful sunburns.

"Stop playing at your human-made technological machines and bask in the glorious sun I gave to you!" she wished she could have said. But somehow winter's torment, she knew, would be a far sweeter revenge upon ungrateful children.

And that was how it had begun.

By stand alone days of simple snowfall and ambitious winds, there would be no suspicion of greater minds and hands at work. Steadily through the week, each day became harsher than the last. And like a great many number of battles in a war, there came a pinnacle for Her success. She sent the most worthy blizzard down to the surface in its invincible path and rendered for them a weekend She was certain the town and academy's citizens would remember for some time to come.

One moment was mostly peaceful, and as calm as unruly weather would allow. In some places music played. In some places, lights were dimly lit to provide a pathway. In some places, there was the happy clicking and tapping at a computer. In some places, showers and baths were being taken, savored, and enjoyed. And in other places, unsuspecting people had taken to idle chitter and chatter with other friends who were likely down the hall.

But in the next...

All went black and silent, save for the whipping wind and strangling branches of trees, as if whispering threats of what people would find in the dark.

[OOC Notes:
The following is a reminder of how things are going down for the next few days.

♦ This will last from January 18 ~ 20.
♦ The following are affected by the blizzard: electricity, heaters, hot water, TVs, gadgets, gizmos, the network. Congratulations, you've been officially stripped of your luxuries. (No computers for you.)
♦ The school's backup generators will work for about one hour before mysteriously failing. What's causing it to fail? Maybe some of you should go check out the generators themselves...
♦ The blizzard causing this blackout is pretty powerful. You probably don't want to go skipping through it lest you get blown away (in a bad way) and never return.
♦ Power will be restored, and the generators repaired, by Monday morning, January 21.]

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He didn't know what to say anymore. Was he desperate to get rid of her? In some ways. Then he wouldn't have to deal with all of this confusion he was feeling. Wouldn't have to feel like he was getting something he didn't deserve. He wanted to hate her for saying she loved him, and part of him did. He wished he could yell at her, slap her, something.

"Don't you know what kind of a man I am?" His voice was still quiet at first. But he turned his head back toward Nabooru, his eyes once more showing that piercing fervor, that coldness that seemed to repel everyone who came into contact with him.

His voice became louder and harsher as he spoke. "I probably damned Hyrule! I ran away from it because it's probably gone!" And just like that, he admitted more about himself than he ever had to anyone in this school. He had always been so careful, but in a moment of passion it just came flooding out: his shame and despair, the horrible guilt he carried every day.

Are you done.

It had been a fleeting thought. Very fleeting, because in all honesty, Nabooru had talked so much that it was likely about time for him to give her something back in return. His words, however, weren't the ones she expected. She didn't know a lot about his history, mostly because he'd refused to tell her. But to be fair, she didn't really talk about her history either.

History was history. It made them who they were, but it only impacted the present and the future when it was allowed to. Nabooru didn't want to be bound by her past. It was why she embraced being the Sage of Spirit. It was why she was so willing to take part in the saving of her people - even at the cost of herself. Because standing by and trying to hide behind the cloak that was Ganondorf's made her feel weak. And she was not weak.

She would never be weak. Not in the day that followed. Not in a week. Not in a month. Not in three more years.

She didn't have any words. She didn't actually know what to say and she was still trying to process the information he'd given. She thought about touching him, but it was Byrne and she'd seen him angry. She knew he could easily get irrational. Why add fuel to the fire, really? So she waited patiently, in the event that he might say more to her. That he might finally get everything out of his system that he'd been holding in.

And if anything, she looked understanding.

He waited. He wanted to hear her reprimand him, to damn him to hell for what he had done. Because that's what should have happened. The only consolation Byrne has is that what he has done is not anything close to the damage that Ganondorf caused in his past, but it doesn't make what he did right. His own selfishness could have destroyed the land.

When Zelda reappeared briefly, he had wanted her to reprimand him to, but she did no such thing. Even if they had only spoken briefly, she was still too nice to him. But she didn't have her body back, and that only meant that she was unsuccessful. But perhaps Hyrule hasn't been destroyed yet. He hopes.

But still, the words from Nabooru didn't come. When he looked at her, he wasn't exactly sure what her face was conveying, but what did it matter? He had already started. And maybe it would be better if he finished.

His words were softer, though, as he had a few moments to calm himself. "My own selfishness got in the way. I could only see what I wanted, and in the process I nearly got myself killed. And if I hadn't run, I probably would have been destroyed with the rest of the land, which is what I deserved." And he looked away from Nabooru again, instead focusing his gaze on the floor. "A selfish coward is what I am."

Nobody here knew about his past, and here was telling Nabooru some of the most intimate details of his recent history. He knew he probably shouldn't; she could turn against him, blackmail him, but maybe it would be better that way. A penance for what he had done.

"As far as I know, my Hyrule is gone. All because I was desperate for power."

She felt... sad. If that was the word for it. Nabooru wasn't real accustomed to anything that wasn't anger or utter ignorance, so when things like this came up, she wasn't certain entirely how to feel, or what to think. She couldn't exactly reassure him because she agreed that running from something like that was cowardly. He'd probably known it was when he did it. So why did he? Because he didn't want to die, surely, and he couldn't be blamed for that sentiment. She certainly didn't want to face death either, and she imagined even when she convinced herself that she was ready to, she wouldn't actually be.

And she imagined other things factored into it. Was Byrne worthy of redemption? Nabooru wasn't altruistic to think or to say that all people were. Some people genuinely weren't. She wondered idly how many people Byrne had killed, how he had, if he felt any remorse for it at all. But clearly he did. For if not, then it wouldn't have caused him to lash out the way that he had. He'd probably been holding all of it in for a while. Perhaps he'd never told anyone else other than her. The thought made her...

Well. It touched her. A little, anyway.

Selfishly, I'm glad you were selfish, she thought before continuing her thoughts aloud. "If you had died there, I wouldn't have gotten to meet you." Shifting to hug her knees to her chest, she inclined her head, settling chin down and turning her head just enough to keep her eyes on him, just so he knew he had her undivided attention.

"We can't all be spectacular people. We're hateful beings, sometimes cowardly, spurned to jealousy and anger." Blinking once, she decided to add more onto it. "Despite whatever you might have caused in your Hyrule, Byrne, I'm glad to have met you. Whatever your history has held, you are just you to me. Your eyes say you want me to hate you for it, to think you unworthy of my company or whatever else. And that's... just not how I do things, as disappointing as that might be."

Then she reached over with her right hand and gently prodded him with a slug that was far more like a love tap than an assault. "Thank you for telling me."

Nabooru should be hating him. If she was truly as good of a person as the goddesses deemed her to be, then she should be hating him and cursing him. But it felt good to tell someone. No one from his home was here, no one knew who he was, but now she did. Nabooru was in many ways the person Byrne had known at this Academy the longest. The one he had actually cared about the longest. And even though he didn't explain it all in detail, perhaps this whole thing explained why he had been so aloof for so long.

It was perhaps the most vulnerable he had ever been in front of Nabooru. It would be easy to wall himself up again and yell at her, but how good would that be? She knew now. All he could muster up now was just a soft mutter. "I wish you would hate me."

Rubbing his arm slightly where she tapped him, Byrne looked back up at Nabooru, a sadness in his eyes that he hardly showed to anyone. "But... thank you for not hating me, I suppose." Because he was grateful to a degree, but it wasn't something he deserved.

Yeah. I know.

And she did. In a way, it hurt. A little. But if she'd been in his position, she had a hard time thinking she wouldn't be reflecting the same feelings. With that thought in mind, she tried to put herself in his shoes. If she had run away from her own Hyrule and allowed Ganondorf to have his own way, she couldn't imagine she would have admitted to it. Because anyone who found out would have labeled her a traitor, and rightfully so. It was cowardly to run away.

But there was no need for her to tell him that. He already knew. And perhaps that was why she couldn't hate him for it. He hated himself so much already that he probably went to bed every night reminding himself of what a horrible person he was. Like maybe he didn't deserve to be alive.

She scooted closer to him and pulling her hair down, she rested her head against his shoulder. "...Let's... just stay like this for a little." It was her way of saying she had no other place she wanted to be. That she wanted to carry his pain, too. That she wanted to find a way to fill in the holes where he was missing.

And maybe that was all he needed right now in the most vulnerable of moments, because all this time he had tried not to think about it, tried not to think about how horribly he had screwed up. He should have pushed her away, because that's what he deserved, but... he was too weak to do that. Too selfish.

There was a shaky exhale as Byrne slowly wrapped his arms around Nabooru, pulling her in. Right now, sex was the furthest thing from his mind as he held her, strangely enough. He was like a lost child, needing comforting arms.

Just for now, he would give in and be weak. Because that's what felt the best right now. Staying just like this.

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Oh, no. You are DOOMED.

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