Starcrossed in Hyrule (MarioxGunner)

[LilGunner]

Kira perked up some at the mention of going to Zora's Domain. He had mentioned her going there before but she thought perhaps they were idle words. The other Zora wouldn't be too happy if he showed up with her in tow. At least that's what she imagined. Then again, perhaps an escort by a Zora might ease the tension a little bit. She nodded some as she listened to him. Pausing there to restock on food and a decent rest at an inn sounded good. Plus she would get to see Zora's Domain. That desire was what started this whole misadventure. How she had met Piran. It was wild but she honestly couldn't say she would have changed anything. Her body tingled and shivered some as she remembered their encounter in the bath house and being so comfortably curled up with him for the night.

Her mind was just a little distant as he went over different paths they could take as she remembered their time in vivid details. She felt her ears burn at the memory then shook her head somewhat to clear her mind out. Had to focus. Piran didn't seem too thrilled about climbing so the path northward, the more direct path, was out of the question. Honestly she wondered if she was even willing to climb that much. While she wanted to spend as much time with Piran as should could before they parted ways she couldn't let that take precedence over Boko. Strong he might be she didn't want him out in the wild all alone too much longer.

"I sounds like the fastest way is through the wetlands. I'm...guessing you mean jumping off the cliffs here and into the lake," she said with a small sigh. Goddess help her. The Zora was a little nutty. No, it was the faster route. "Ok then let's go that way." Ugh she was going to be wet again. Good thing she bothered to braid her hair that morning. "Come on it's this way," she said with a small wave and led Piran through the still dark village. No one came out to offer goodbyes or try and stop them from leaving. Cado was on watch at the steps of Lady Impa's home. His red eyes narrowed at the pair as they passed. Kira glanced at him for a moment before suddenly quickening her stride.

The came to a small copse in the mountains, half of it filled with oddly rounded stones. "This is the graveyard of our people," Kira said quietly as they passed through the gravestones. The graveyard ended in a sudden and sheer cliff. Kira edged forward and peered over the edge. Heights didn't exactly bother her, she was strong enough not to fall. Trouble was she wasn't a strong swimmer. Yet she set a hard face. Can't appear weak, especially in front of Piran. Even if her heart thundered in her chest and her legs felt like jelly. For a moment she felt frozen, suddenly unwilling to go down this particular path.

"One, two, three, go!" She suddenly shouted and took a running leap off the edge. There was nothing graceful about it. She jumped as far as she could before balling up and fell like an ungainly rock into the lake below. As soon as she hit she kicked and scrambled for the surface.

 

[Major Mario]

Indeed, while Kira's mind drifted back to that fateful moment in the bathhouse, so too did Piran's mind come back to it. Like seeing one of the three legendary dragons of old, the Zora was unlikely to forget the moment or not bring it up from time to time. It was such a lovely encounter; Kira was so warm and soft in his lap that he figured he could rant about her for an hour or so without losing steam. But as much as Piran liked the idea of reminiscing about that moment or, even better, hoping for more in the future, they had an adventure to embark on.

"A graveyard," Piran repeated as he followed in Kira's footsteps. As the Sheikah checked the lake beneath the sheer cliff Piran leaned in for a closer examination of those round stones. "Strange. This is the first time I've ever seen one in person. We Zora tend to... Ah, well... nevermind."

Ach, Kira probably would care half as much as Piran about that, and he cared about it so very little to begin with. Though, he was still young by Zora standards. Regardless, he was brought out of his thoughtful funk when he heard Kira's shouting, frantic scrambling and finally the leap off the edge. For a second the tall Zora stood there, red eyes wide in shock and awe before he followed suit. He quickly slipped his pack and bow into a better, more secure position across his body and lunged out and away to dive into the lake below with all the grace granted to him as a Zora diver.

Thank goodness for that soothing time in the bathhouse or else Piran's sores would have flared up at impact. With Kira having displaced the water with her buxom frame- not that it was needed- Piran disappeared into the water, descended a few meters beneath the scrambling Sheikah and then twisted his body to arc back towards the surface. On the way up he reached out and snagged the back of Kira's armor with his clawed hand, soon tugging her up to the surface where she could breathe comfortably. After that, Kira would be on her own as Piran let go of her and swam alongside her on a course for a nearby patch of land that held a destroyed, abandoned homestead.

"You're a crazy woman, Kira," Piran shouted in an impressed tone of voice.

 

[LilGunner]

Kira was making progress towards the surface. Being weighted down with a pack didn't help. She didn't open her eyes under the water and thus didn't see Piran enter shortly after her. The sudden grab at the back of her armor startled her and for a brief second she balled a fist to fight. Then she realized whatever had grabbed her was pull her up. Just as they both broke the surface she realized it must be Piran. She gasped deep as they made it to the surface. Blinking water from her eyes and sputtering a little she pushed some escaped hair from her face. Never again. This was the last time she traveled by swimming.

Paddling to show would be a little slow. Mostly Kira swam like a horse, head and bottom above the surface while her limbs propelled her in a slow, cantering motion. She looked over at Piran as he shouted to her. Water sputtered and bubbled as Kira gave a short, sharp laugh. "I've been told that." At least he sounded somewhat impressed, that made her heart a little light. Chatting wasn't in her best interest at the moment. Her mouth and nose were just barely out of the water as she paddled along side of Piran. She did keep glancing over at him though, noting how right he looked in the water. Sleek and at ease. She couldn't fully ignore the small voice that made commentary on how different they were.

Finally they made it to the shallows of the wetlands. The moment she was able to touch the squishy, mucky bottom Kira stood up. Wading up and up until the water was at the ankles. She paused a moment and leaned over, hand on her knees, panting softly. It only then struck her how stupid that idea had been. She was soaked again, her tights clinging and bunching uncomfortably. "I need to start taking off my clothes when we decide to throw ourselves off cliffs..." she grumbled as she stood back up looking over at Piran. "No wonder Zora don't wear clothing. Ok, let's go." She said with a sharp nod and started walking through the wetlands.

They had come up to a dry point where a small homestead had once been. Back before the destruction of the calamity. It was in a sad state of decay, a skeleton of better times in their land. The sun was only just fully rising, their departure perfectly timed to avoid any potential run ins with Stalfos but still early enough to avoid run ins with her family. However it would quickly become clear that Kira was not a shrinking violet when it came to the monsters of their land. Lizafos were common in the wetlands and might have been easy to avoid. Kira didn't believe in that though.

The first one she noticed at a distanced and waved for Piran to stop. With a nasty little grin she drew her mask up over her nose, despite its dampness. Even with wet armor she made little to no sound as she crept forward, drawing her blade. It might be a strange thing to at first easily see her then have her suddenly seem to disappear into the shadow of the mangrove trees, only occasionally seen when passing by patches of light. The Lizafo was entirely unaware of the Sheikah stalking it. She was fast, efficient, and quiet as she jumped from the shadows. One strike was all it took. The Lizafo tried to shriek in surprise but only a gurgling came out as he blade sliced open its throat. It fell, twitched, and died. Kira stooped down and cut off a bit of its tail. Good for potion making.

 

[Major Mario]

Piran had to suppress the urge to agree with Kira as she grumbled about taking off her clothes before diving. He imagined he looked a little smug and perverted standing there as Kira worried over her ever-tight tights and armor. And when she remarked about Zora not needing to wear clothing, Piran could only guffaw in reply. True, Zora didn't need to wear clothing as all their 'naughty bits', as one Hylian remarked, were covered up unless in private intimacy, but fine garments weren't out of the question. If swimming and getting wet wasn't on the schedule for the day, then finding a Zora in a kimono or yukata wouldn't be out of the ordinary. Piran wouldn't be caught dead in one of those, however.

"If all goes well, Kira," Piran offered with a smile as the two of them wandered over the remains of that homestead, "you shouldn't have to worry about water until after we reach Zora's Domain."

Being a tall, brutish hunk of a Zora, Piran wasn't suited for clandestine operations unless they involved deep water. These wetlands off in the distance weren't deep enough to conceal his bulk, and with the water sloshing about under his form, he was bound to be heard by any monster he tried to creep up on. Kira didn't seem to have that problem. Whether through skill, patience or some special nature in her armor, she was able to sneak up on a lone Lizalfos Piran thought he could follow Kira with his eyes, but once she was far enough she seemed to blur from his vision only to reappear somewhere he thought inconceivable. Either way, with the dead lizard monster bleeding out into the water of the wetlands and Kira happily hacking away at the beast's tail, Piran took the cue to approach.

"Should mostly be Lizalfos around here, but watch out for a Hinox," Piran warned as he shifted close to Kira in a crouch. He was right at eye-level with the Sheikah now, and totally out of his element crouched down like this. "Supposedly there's one in these wetlands. Blasted things are usually sleeping 24/7, but who knows, we might find this one wandering around looking for a meal."

 

[LilGunner]

Kira looked up as Piran approached. She shook the bit of tail she hacked off to get rid of most of the blood before stashing it away. He crouched near her, putting himself at eye level. Kira blinked a moment at him. It was almost adorable that he crouched like that. Like he was going to sneak around and slit throats. She couldn't help a small smile as she looked him in the eye. After a moment she reached over and patted his shoulder. "Between you and me, Piran, I don't think there is too much to worry about. We did fight a Lynel, remember? A Hinox shouldn't be too much of a problem after that." Her confidence was almost ridiculous.

Though with him so perfectly at eye level she smirked. In one quick motion she lowered her masked and kissed his cheek before moving back with a small laugh, pulling her mask back up. "And you don't have to crouch Piran. I know you aren't a Sheikah...sneaking around and attacking from the shadows is probably not your usual fighting style. Not with all those muscles," she said, her squinting eyes indicative of a sly smirk, a glint of appreciative desire in those ruby red eyes. She would not soon forget those muscles enveloping her, both for sleep and in the bath. A little, joyful shiver raced through her at the still fresh memory. No, had to focus. The wetlands weren't overly dangerous but they needed to be on guard.

Onward through the wetlands. Kira walked along side of Piran, her hand resting idly on the hilt of her sword. While she seemed somewhat at ease she never stopped glancing around. Watching, waiting for any sign of attack. It wasn't just monsters to fear either. Though they were certainly more prevalent. Kira had a very strict 'kill on sight' policy when it came to monsters. Occasionally she even forgot to warn Piran before suddenly slinking off to go after Lizafo. Quick and sudden, there was little chance for them to fight back. Kira always took the tail too. They fetched a decent price at markets for the use in potion making.

Another kill, this time it was two lizafo at once. It was a short fight. The first killed with her usual ruthless efficiency. The second was noisier. As it tried to rush Kira she dodged to the side and sliced its arm clean off. Screeching and howling in pain she was quick to silence it with a cut to its throat. Though the sounds had drawn another. Kira was busily cutting off tails as she did and didn't notice the small hill that had began to grow behind her. A slow, lumbering giant had woken from the shrieks of dying lizafo. The Hinox was not happy at being woken from its nap.

 

[Major Mario]

While many Zora enforced the same policy Kira liked when it came to monsters, killing on sight, there were several crafty fishermen and scavengers who chose to observe from afar- Lizalfos, Bokoblins and Moblins were stupid monsters, but they were clever in their own way. By being patient and tracking their habits, one could swoop in just as a monster or a group of them had resources within their grasp and take them for themselves. Few fishermen liked shadowing Lizalfos as they themselves scoured the rivers for fish. It was dangerous work, but profitable. On dry ground, however, even if Zora were out of their element they weren't ones to back down from a fight, and Piran was no exception.

He took Kira's 'advice'. How could Piran not give her words merit after that cute kiss on the cheek? So soft, so plush, so sweet- Piran could see himself stooping to Kira's level often so long as she kept giving him some sugar, but yet, he had his pride to worry about. He stood tall and placed his hands on his hips, abs on full display and biceps to spare, and guffawed.

"I suppose you're right. Besides, subtlety isn't my forte," Piran commented with an arrogant flair to his tone. "I wager it's about time you realized just how popular I am with monsters."

A smart Zora would have avoided getting into too many fights or attracting unnecessary attention, but seeing Kira dispatch three Lizalfos made Piran hungry for a fight. He felt as if he needed to prove his strength to her by dispatching simple mooks and gathering up the spoils. Sure, he had proved himself well enough with the Lynel, but Piran wasn't about to let Kira have all the fun. He came upon a couple Lizalfos minding their business- roasting fish from the looks of things- and slinked off to dispatch them with the aid of his trusty, wicked dagger and martial arts. The lizard monsters heard the Zora approach and moved to intercept him, but their flailing, pathetic attacks only offered Piran windows of opportunity that he seized.

After dodging a tongue attack, Piran reached out and grabbed the assaulting Lizalfos by the horn, twisted its head to the side and jabbed a sharp elbow right into its neck. Another strike forced the damn thing to the ground where it twitched in agony before dying. The Lizalfos' comrade, armed with a spear, rushed in to try and impale Piran, but the Zora was quicker and had better reach. He slid his foot into the Lizalfos' ribs and knocked the creature aside before finishing it off with his dagger. He didn't try to scavenge any supplies or cut off any resources- Piran wasn't too resourceful, not like Kira.

When the Hinox- that great blue, one-eyed abomination- waddled over to the two of them and licked its lips in desire, so too did Piran. Though a Hinox was a mere kitten compared to a Lynel, it was still a large and tempting target. Plus, there looked to be two Knight's Broadswords affixed to the giant's necklace, and Piran wanted them. They were powerful, sturdy tools that were only bested by Royal Gear! Seeing as the Hinox was focused more on him, what with Piran being so tall and such a tempting meal, the Zora approached the Giant with his bow drawn.

"Oh Kira!" Piran called out as he aimed right for the Hinox's only eye. "We have an admirer!"

He loosed his arrow and watched as it missed the Hinox's eye and instead thudded right into its flared nostril and all the disgusting mucus held within. The giant recoiled with a pained grunt, though it also seemed surprised that anyone would try and pick its nose with a sharp, feathered stick. Sheepish at his accuracy, Piran drew another arrow and flung it into the giant's eye- straight and true. At that the giant lurched back in agony and fell right on its ass with its hands covering its wounded eye. With the window of opportunity now forced open, Piran holstered his bow, drew out that Sheikah greatsword/nodachi and went to hack away at its side!