Perhaps a little out of the Loop (Open)

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To say Jin was lost was a bit of an understatement.

Who knew 17 years lost in the desert and under the care of a self-proclaimed crazy Gerudo would have cut off so much knowledge of the outside world. Sure, Cana didn't do too much when it came to learning all the current events happening in Hyrule, and of course that lack of knowledge would also end up trickling down onto her student. After meeting and spending a couple days with his parents, Jin had once again set out on his own to find that Hyrule wasn't... quite the same as he remembered it. He had heard some rumors, some stories that seemed a little too far-fetched to be true, and now he was just trying to sort everything out. It bothered him that so much had happened that the once familiar land he called home was now far too strange. 

There was some general knowledge that he did not know, knowledge that could potentially save his life if things started to go south, and he had a slight mistrust of Hyrule Castle Town. With that in mind, Jin figured that the next best place would not be the Gerudo Fortress, Zora's Domain, or the Goron City, but instead, Kakariko Village. As it is, he always thought that Kakariko Village was a bit of a quite, peaceful place where a lot of the outside world was muted by the atmosphere of the village. However even now as he made his way through the streets, things seemed a bit more on edge then they should be, and Jin kept one hand on the pommel of his scimitar, letting his fingers dangle lazily as to hopefully not draw too much mistrust. 

That said, his clothing definitly had a Gerudo feel to them and from his tanned skin, the tortoise shell inspired shield on his back, the scimitar on his hip, and the large stone-looking armor on his left arm probably made him stand out more then he wanted. Jin did not feel all that safe without his gear, so this was pretty much the only way he was willing to travel through the land. It did cause people to stare and to skirt him, but that didn't really bother him and at the moment he was trying to figure out where the best place to go for information. Normally, one would want to go to visit a pub for information and gossip, but it was barely noon so Jin doubted that he'd find any information there. Letting out a sigh and rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, Jin began to look around him for some place that would work as good.

"Welp, I am lost. Can anyone help me out? I am a little lost, looking for a place to get a meal!" Jin muttered the first part, before calling out in an attempt to gain some possible guidance and maybe some info.

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To be honest, Jin wasn't really sure anyone would have approached him or offered to help him just like that, but some response would have been nice. Letting out a sigh and rubbing the back of his head, the Nomad looked around and wondered through town a little more, hoping for something to come his way and help out. Hell, he'd love for anyone to just come out and react too him so he knew he wasn't alone in town. Sometimes wanting something and what actually happens isn't quite the same, and soon Jin would wish that his time spent in Kakariko Village ended differently. It came out of nowhere, and without much warning aside from a child-like yell.

A rock struck Jin's forehead, a little above his eyebrow, and the Nomad stumbled back a step, feeling a little dazied and a little confused. "What the hell was that?!" He called out angrily, and his eyes darted around before settling on the culprit, a young boy with an angry look and a very shocked parent. "Get out of here bad man!" The kid shouted, picking up another rock and throwing it before his parent could stop him. This time, Jin was able to side-step the stone throw pretty easily, but he looked at the kid's father with a bit of confusion and slowly ebbing anger. "Get your child under control please, that was very dangerous." Jin said, rubbing the spot where the stone had hit him, luckily feeling no blood.

All of the sudden there was a lot of hushed voices as people suddenly seemed to appear, staring out of windows and doorways, whispering to each other.  Jin looked around a bit and lifted his right arm in a slightly defensive manner, speaking loudly, "Look, I've been away for a good long while, and haven't really heard whats been going on lately... I just want some information..." He trailed off a bit as a couple of men appeared, lightly armored with their hands on their swords, ready to draw them. "Sir, we're going to have to ask you to leave..." One Guard said, approaching Jin slowly, drawing his blade just a bit. 

"Really? Look, I haven't done anything wrong, like I said I..." He started, but was cut off by the guards drawing their swords, holding them out to the side. "Leave now Sir... you look like you could be a Gerudo Slave or something... and let me just say, they aren't too trusted right now." One Guard said, and lifted his blade at Jin, causing the Nomad to take a couple steps back. "What? I mean... yeah my clothes are a bit... now look... isn't this a bit much?" He asked, taking several steps back more. "Leave." The word was simple and demanding. Jin simply dropped his arm in defeat and backed away from the Guards, heading to the nearest exit of the village that he could. 

He found himself outside of the gates of the village and watched as they closed him off from the Kakariko Village, and with a clank, he was sure that the gate was now locked. Rubbing his head and looking up the Mountain, Jin figured that maybe he could find a Goron who'd be friendly enough to explain things to him. With that, the Nomad began his trek up the Mountain path, keeping an eye out for monsters. The path was long and curved, but he made his way up it without much difficulty. 

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The heat of Death Mountain was a welcome familiarity to the disguised gerudo lass. If one didn't pay close attention, they'd be inclined to assume she was hylian. Her perfect, fair skin didn't speak of a hardened warrior of the gerudo tribe, nor did her ornate breastplate, her tiara or her fashionably distinct clothing. The only thing giving her away was the fact that she lacked the elven ears of the hylian people. It was a mistake in her disguise, something she'd unintentionally left unaltered on her appearance. Her rounded ears made it unclear what exactly she was. She could have been a deformed or mutated hylian, or perhaps some anner of exceptionally fair skinned goron? An albino gerudo was unheard of, due to their magical genes that seemed impossible to dillute. One might not even notice the round ears amongst her rather big hair and upper class appearance. She was currently sitting atop a small ramp off the the incline that was the mountain, her legs crossed in a relaxed manner that protected the modesty of her skirt and her hands resting at her sides, sculpted nails idly clicking against the rock. She had just finished climbing the mountain for the first tie, just to prove that she could, and had paused for a brief rest here to appreciate what she'd done.


Silvana wasn't aware that Jin happened to be approaching her resting spot, and so he'd likely overhear the young woman seemingly speaking to herself before she came into view. "...It is an amazing view. You can see all across Hyrule from up here. I know you said you haven't been here before, but ..." Silvana remarked to seemingly no one, only to trail off as the sound of movement caught her attention from nearby. The crack of something against stone, whether it be falling rubble or a footstep. She was suddenly on guard, not that she had any reason to believe anyone cared what she was doing here.

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Jin had walked a little further up the mountain and was taking in the view for a small bit of time when a voice lofted down toward him. His left ear twitched lightly and the Nomad looked up the path until his eyes laid upon the form of a.. woman? It was probably a woman, or maybe a girl, but he couldn't quite tell from where he was standing at the moment. Moving closer to the figure, his mouth seemed to automatically curl a little into a slight smile, friendly and welcoming, and soon he was almost within calling distance when the woman seemed to tense a bit. Taking a deep breath, Jin lifted his right hand in greetings as he called out, "Oh hello there, I did not expect to see another traveler up on this path so soon."

Moving closer and giving a small bow, he rested his hand on the pommel of his scimitar and looked out over Hyrule once again. " It is an amazing view, if you don't mind me adding, but who where you talking... it doesn't matter, but could it be you that someone radiant as you were kicked out of Kakariko Village too?" He asked, before lightly putting his hand against his forehead, the spot where the stone hit a little tender. "They were not too kind on my appearance, called me a Gerudo spy... and well, if you don't mind me saying, your clothing does see, a little Gerudo or Goron, the reds I mean," he mused, "and that perhaps you could have been mistaken for one as well."

He took a moment and realized that perhaps he might of been a little too forward or maybe asked a little too much in such a short time, so he took another small bow. "I apologize for suddenly bombarding you with questions, there are a lot of things I wish to know and perhaps seeing someone with such an allure as yourself made me lose myself to more base thoughts." Nodding, hoping his explanation was decent enough, Jin rested his hand on the pommel of his scimitar once again and stood waiting, the small smile still on his face.

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Silvana was ... momentarily dumbstruck. This boy--He had heard her speaking to seemingly no one and he was asking questions, but they were... the wrong questions. It took her a long moment to clue into what was going on. She had to remind herself that the world didn't revolve around her own pursuits. This man clearly had other priorities, of which she was not very high up on. He was, however resting his hand on the pommel of his blade and that creeped Silvana right out. What was he doing? Did he not understand that grabbing your weapon was a threat to many people? ...Perhaps she'd stay up here on her perch for now, where he was unlikely to be able to take a swing at her. She didn't get the impression that he had made up his mind to hurt her, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Leaning over a bit to get a better look at Jin, Silvana met his eyes with an inviting yet somehow distant smile. The average person might not even pick up on it, but it was a good indication that her smile wasn't genuine. "The feeling is mutual, but our circumstances are not. Though, between you and I, I stayed no longer than I had to anyway. That village is rather ...uncomfortable." Silvana replied, a hint of pity creeping into her voice at that last part. She pouted at no one in particular for a moment. Towns were rarely comfortable places for her, full of idiots who might think themselves heroes for daring to question her intentions or purpose and braindead townsfolk who wouldn't question her if she put a blade to their throats. She'd never really understood the Gerudo's resentment of the Hylian lifestyle until she'd witnessed the common working man. Working like slaves under the delusion that it brought them freedom, drowning in their own contentment as their lives go to waste. The lack of ambition was chilling, frankly, and she could only imagine how horrifying it would be to walk in their shoes. The greatest mystery to her was how they'd been convinced that their lives could not be better.

"Though--I suppose I could see the resemblance. That is a very beautiful 'shawl' you're wearing, if you don't mind me saying. Uhuhuhu~" Silvana went on to remark somewhat light-heartedly, a chuckle escaping her. Something like that would have been used to protect the fragile skinned outsider from the sun, perhaps. She, of course, was far too young to have any meaningful knowledge on the intricacies of keeping your own personal pet human. "I was told these clothes would make me look quite striking, so I'll forgive you for noticing~ A bit too little coverage for the desert, though... Just the idea of getting sand in these boots makes these poor feet of mine tense." the mystery woman would go on to reply, feigning a cringe at the idea. "But ah--I had just stopped for a rest on my mountain climbing journey, and it seems you've come a long way. Perhaps I can answer your questions, and recommend a tailor if you're so inclined to fit in with these poor folk. You may refer to me as Ms. Arles, by the way." Silvana would finally relent, becoming much less coy in tone. She had questions of her own, many of them in fact, but an escaped Gerudo Slave was no business of hers unless he made himself her business.

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Jin's face tensed a moment when she smiled down at him, that smile one he remembered from his youth, whenever a merchant was just putting up with him to be nice. However, the sensation passed and Jin returned the smile, though his was a lot more genuine then Silvana's. "I have been out of touch with any manner of news of what has been going on in the island as of late... give or take 10 years, and it seems like things have become very... unfriendly for many people." He said, looking down the path in the direction of Kakariko Village. He had faint memories of traveling to Kakariko Village as a kid and he remembered them being much kinder to almost everyone in the caravan. Of course, maybe it was just because he was a kid and the world didn't seem quite as harsh, but however one looked at it, it seemed like most were walking on eggshells. Giving his left shoulder a rub and a bit of movement, he looked back up at the woman as she began to speak again, wondering how much she might know and how much she might share, unsure if she was a bit more sly then friendly.

Taking a moment, a little caught off guard by her praise of his 'shawl', Jin looked down and fiddled with the bottom of the scarf for a couple moments before nodding lightly. "Hmm yes, this was given to me by the Gerudo who trained me, as well as these clothes..." He mused, thinking back to Cana and wondering how she was doing at the moment, but not really doubting that she was probably enjoying some form of spirits at the moment. "Though it is a scarf, funny enough. She just showed me several ways to use it to keep the desert out of my nose and mouth when its being temperamental." Jin added, looking up at Silvana again. "Well they do a good job at that, but I do agree that perhaps they wouldn't treat you all too well for long desert travel, though I doubt I'd do good in snowy areas with my sandals." He chuckled, wiggling his toes a bit before giving a shrug. 

"A tailor would not be needed... I've grown quite accustomed to this gear, armor, shield, sword, scarf and all." Jin said, lightly motioning with his right hand to each part of his outfit, from his left arm, his back, his hip, and then once more the bottom of his scarf. Biting his lip briefly, Jin scratched his chin lightly trying to figure out where the best place to start in terms of questioning, before looking out on Hyrule once more. "What... happened to Hyrule?" He asked, his voice a little soft. It might be a pretty broad question, but it also seemed like a good place to start, as the open ended nature of the question would surely allow more to follow depending on the answer that 'Ms. Arles' decided to give him. 

He gave her a slight bow at her offer of a name, before deciding he might as well offer his own, though in a similar manner. "A strong name for a strong woman, I'm sure. You can, if you so wish, refer to me as Mr. Reno." With that, names where exchanged and perhaps soon knowledge would come too. "And, if you so wish to ask any questions in return, a trade of sorts, then as long as they aren't too personal, I'll gladly return an answer." He made sure to offer, giving a slight sweeping motion that started from his chest and down his torso.

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A shudder subtly ran down Silvana's spine as Jin brought up the snow. Her face contorted into a grimace for a moment, twisting with distaste. One could only wonder what had evoked that response, but Silvana wouldn't leave them in the dark for long. With a wistful sigh, Silvana's gaze drifted off into space. "...I experienced my first trip to the north somewhat recently. The snow looks beautiful, but it actually burns like fire." Silvana would lament off-handedly in a rather dry tone. She still remembered having to trek through the snow in her less than warm mini-skirt, an unfortunate reality when you couldn't just buy clothes on a whim. As unpleasant as that had been, though, it hadn't been enough to make her regret her choice of outfit. In just about every other circumstance it was extremely comfortable. Watching Jin bow to her brought a smile back to her face, only for it to falter as he asked her to call him ... mister. Mister! That cheeky little--...Where did a former slave get off asking to be called mister?! It wasn't a coincidence that the title was one letter off 'master'. In another time and place, Silvana would have probably picked a fight with him on the spot. However, she didn't particulaly want the type of attention that would probably bring to her. Silvana swallowed her pride just enough to avoid responding to that, instead distracting herself with a new train of thought. Feigning a little giggle, she returned her gaze to Jin.

"Why thank you~ I like to think my figure is quite nice, though I could appreciate a few extra inches..." Silvana replied rather light-heartedly, off-handedly lamenting her somewhat short stature. "...As for 'Hyrue'..." Silvana would go on, her tone becoming very serious again. "The Kingdom of Hyrule is dead. Their heroes have fallen; their royal family has been ousted and hides like mice. The goddesses themselves have damned them. What you saw back in the village was the broken and fragile remains of a kingdom torn asunder. It's a very sad state of affairs, and there's no telling who runs the place now. I suppose we could hope the right person will step up to the job, but it could just as easily be some warlord left unchecked by a higher ruler..." Silvana explained somewhat thoughtfully, her gaze drifting off in the general direction of the village. "There's a power vacuum in need of filling and a kingdom in desperate need of uniting. I don't know that that's of any interest to you or I, I don't believe I'm strong enough for the job myself, but it's about the most important thing going on as far as 'Hyrule' is concerned." Silvana explained in a matter-o-fact tone, watching Jin carefully to see his reaction. "...It must be a little startling, finding out about all of this now. What will you do?"

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Jin stifled a bit of a laugh when she mentioned the snow, nodding a bit to himself mostly. "Its fine if you're properly geared up for it, I can say that much at least, but in an outfit like that, stunning as it is, would not really help you." Jin said, before looking at the woman as she seemed to be in thought. Waiting for her answer, he felt a familiar tingle in his spine and left hand, and he looked down at his blade, giving the handle a firm grip and a small 'shh' sound, before looking over at Silvana once more as she let out a giggle that did not really sound all that real. He took a sharp inhale and shook his head a little bit, trying to keep his smile at her genuine, even if she was acting a little fake.

Looking at her when she mentioned a few extra inches, his eyes scanned her once again quickly trying to figure out what she meant by that, but wasn't too sure what she wanted from below her. However, when she spoke about Hyrule, his smile faltered and disappeared from his face, taking in every detail she said to him. "So the once proud kingdom has fallen... but the Royal Family still lives if what you said is true... so not all is lost then, I take it." He mused to himself, placing his left hand to his chin and thinking, looking off toward Hyrule, studying the distant land. "I did not feel as if Castle Town was a safe place to visit for information, and with this bit of news then my gut feeling might be true..." Jin continued softly, before looking back to Silvana. 

"What will I do? That's the question isn't it... I could return to the desert, train more under my Master and get stronger, but I feel like she's more tired of training me then I was of training..." He said, before chuckling. "Perhaps I should keep my ear to the ground and search Hyrule for any news I can find. Maybe learn about the location of the Royal Family." Jin said, before nodding. "I can't say they did anything wrong to my Family's Caravan, and if there is a power vacuum waiting to be filled, then getting the old blood back might be better then allowing one lusting for power. "

After a few seconds of thinking, with the basics filled in of the question that burned in his mind, Jin looked around himself and Silvana a bit. "So, do you often talk aloud to yourself on mountain paths?"

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Silvana would shrug her shoulders rather helplessly at the idea that the royal family still lived. She considered that frail little girl she'd met who had claimed to be a princess. She'd thought the girl was full of bologni, but perhaps she was just giving the family too much credit. The fact that they were hiding indicated that they had given up as far as she was concerned. What claim did they have to the throne if they weren't even willing to wage war over it? Did the mighty hyrulian kingdom really build itself on the foundation of a populace that was merely too lazy to take control? ...It seemed a little surreal; there must have been more to it than that. She snapped to focus, however, when Jin asked who she had been talking to earlier. Momentarily surprised by his change of priorities, a grin found its way creeping onto her face. So the man had some interest in her after all. "...Only when I visit~" she replied rather light-heartedly, pushing off of the ridge and allowing herself to drop down onto the ground before Jin. Landing in a crouching position, she quickly stood back up and shifted to regard him at something more like his own level. It would finally become readily apparent that she was somewhat short, even by Hylian standards, at a mere 5'2''.




"So many people meander through life alone, lost in its beauty with no one to share the view with. Sometimes I think that having someone there to remind you of that beauty is the only way to prevent you from forgetting it exists." Silvana would go on to explain in a rather thoughtful tone. Perhaps Jin would understand her frustration, having shared in some of her experiences. "Loneliness is a... terrible burden upon the soul, so I choose to pretend someone is there--even when they aren't. That way I won't get lost." Silvana continued, smirking rather dorkily at her choice of words. ...It might seem that she was describing an imaginary friend. She seemed to avert her eyes for a moment, considering her next choice of words more carefully. "...Maybe one day I won't have to. But if it's the royal family you seek, I happen to have had the ... 'pleasure' of meeting one of them in passing. Between you and I, however, she seemed a lot more lost than I."

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 Jin would feel that familiar tingle in his right arm and his clenched the hilt of his blade, trying to keep the spirit within contained to the sword, to keep it from coming out now. He couldn't figure what had the sword spirit so agitated and wanting to come out, but he hadn't quite finished talking with the woman yet. Until he was at a good point, he'd do what he could to keep Heb restrained for now, though he knew that when she wanted to come out, she would make her way out at some point. Squeezing the hilt again and looking back toward Silvana, Jin wondered if whatever was causing Heb to get out was her or coming from her. As she spoke in an almost jesting tone, he watched as she jumped down in front of him, and he realized what she was talking about before, seeing as she was shorter than him by a couple inches. That wouldn't strike much fear into the hearts of most people, and if she was a Gerudo, he had a feeling that would be annoying to her.  

Jin listened carefully as she spoke, taking in her words carefully as he nodded a little. "I... get that... after being lost in the desert for so long... seeing the world from different areas, different heights... if you don't take a moment to just... take it all in you can lose out on some good moments..." He mused softly, relaxing his grip on his blade and looking out over Hyrule before looking down at Silvana. "Sometimes I do wish I could travel with someone rather than just be me and my blade, but after everything I've been through.. can't just trust anyone ya know?" Jin added, before letting out a sigh and leaning back against the wall of the mountain path. When she mentioned meeting one of the royal family, Jin's left ear twitched slightly and he looked at her once more. "You met one... and she seems lost... that's not too surprising..." He muttered softly, distracted now as he thought about what she had said. So at least one of the Royal Family was alive, and she had managed to escape whatever had happened to the other family.

As he thought about all of this, that faint tingle in his right arm distracted him slightly, but before he could stop it from the gem on the hilt of his scimitar, the Golden and Red Snake Spirit, Heb, appeared. It seemed to form out of energy from the gem itself until it was at its full length, curling up at Jin's feet and looking at Silvana, keeping her hood down in a non-threatening manner. "Ah... sorry... do not worry, Heb is quite friendly..." Jin managed to sputter out, reaching down and picking up the Sword Spirit, allowing her to slither around the armor on his left arm. "She's.. ah... curious about you... I guess..." He added, giving a weak shrug to Silvana. 

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Silvana was briefly distracted by movement from about Jin's sword, but decidedly didn't react to it. As it was still in a sheath, she would have plenty of time to react if he chose to draw it. There was little point in remaining anxious about it now. "Yeees--She was a very pretty little thing, fair and unaccustomed to life without the luxuries of high society. I believe she was one of the late queen's younger sisters, named... Marin? I wasn't entirely convinced she was the real thing myself, but she seemed regal enough." Silvana would go on to explain rather casually. The small talk was starting to bore her, but she didn't really have anything particularly urgent in need of attending. To her surprise, though, things were about to get suddenly and frighteningly exciting. Silvana drew back at the sight of the magic serpent, not in any way wanting a part of what a snake brought to the table. Flustered and bothered, she began considering which way she ought to run if she needed to. Awkwardly, this moment never came.






"...Curious?" Silvana asked somewhat incredulously, trying to wrap her mind around the statement. Did that imply that Jin understood some form of communication the magic snake was giving off or was he just assuming things based on its actions or body language? What would a snake have to be curious about. Pulling together her composure, Silvana drew her cloak around her to cover her arms, as if afraid that her exposed skin might be an ideal target for bites. She now appeared more reserved and stood a couple of feet further away. "...About me? I'm a nobody. And the nice thing about that is that nobody wants to mess with a nobody. I have no pockets or bags for valuables and I don't matter enough for anyone to want to hurt me." Silvana remarked in a rather anxious tone. Her eyes were locked on Heb as she spoke, but her gaze would eventually drift back up to Jin. She had declined to comment on the strange sword visible on her person. It looked like it was made of glass, seemingly too perfect in its construction for this world... or for practical use. "And what about you? I've never seen a ...magic snake sword before. I get the impression you're a somebody." she went on to ask.