Where Do We Draw The Line? [Link]

[Aralenne]

It was rather peaceful here in this sleepy, small village. So far away from the hustle and bustle of Castle Town, and so very different as well. Tucked away in the smaller Ordona Province, and she liked to watch these peaceful villagers go about their day. Money did not appear to mean much to them, and they had to rely upon themselves and their neighbors to live within the forest. It mattered little, because they had done well, and the grander things of living did not mean anything to them. Aralenne wished she had been born here, which should have sounded odd for a young woman coming from a family of wealth. She hated it. The lies, the false smiles, and the belief that everything was a possession. Even her. Her fingers dug into the ground, her slender form tensing at the bitter thought. Memories she did not want to resurface were quietly tucked away. Aralenne was here to enjoy the quiet day, and she had managed to stumble upon this quaint ranch.

She had heard the villagers say how testy these goats could be, and how they charged at those they were unfamiliar with. Perhaps it had to do with the fact she was part Minish, but nothing of the sort had occurred with her. Aralenne sat there upon the grass, several goats surrounding her to wait for their turn in her quiet affection. The emotions of animals were hard for her to get a read on, but she could sense the contentment and joy flowing through them. It helped to ease her mind, and she allowed these vague emotions to filter through her. Sometimes her gift could be of use to her. Cooing gently, Aralenne reached up to slide her fingers through it's coarse, blue fur. She found it hard to believe that these animals could become some violent if annoyed in any way. It butted it's head at her hand, and she smiled brightly. "Oh, aren't you just the sweetest?"

Aralenne continued this for a few more moments before switching her attention to another goat. She giggled to herself as it bleated contently at her ministrations. Animals were much more pleasant company than humans much of the time, and she wondered if she could linger here for awhile. Did the village house travelers, though? A worry for later, right? She continued to stroke the goat lovingly, content to be here and let their simple pleasures filter through her and ease away her own sadness.

[Link]

It was about mid-day, give or take based on the location of the sun, and it was about time for the resident farm hand to check on the herd. He had let them out that morning to graze and relax, as always, and this was step two of his three step routine with the goats. After he himself ate and did some of the early chores, when the day was well in it's stride, he would always ride out on Epona just to make sure nothing happened to them and that all of them were okay. After that, he'd go back to the village to play with the children, do other chores, or whatever came up that day, and when the sun began to set he'd ride out once more to do a second check before rounding them up and getting them back into their pens.

The light beat of hooves on the grass and dirt preceded him as Link rode up to the location he had brought the herd to earlier. Upon his arrival, he gave Epona a light tug on the mane and a pat, to signal her to stop so he could get a good look at them all. His gaze went to each goat individually, some of them off grazing still and some sitting and enjoying the sun's rays, but there was a group of them together. When he took a second glance at them, he noticed something in the middle of the group. It was a girl, with strange ears on the side of her head. He had never seen this girl before, but he remembered once hearing about the people with animal-like ears. They were Minish, a nature-y sort of race that had animal traits. He saw one or two before, but they didn't often come around Ordon Village. If they were around here, they were in the forest nearby, and every once in a while passed through while traveling.

Climbing down from Epona and calming her after her initial uncertainty towards the stranger, Link gave the girl a wave and a smile, seeing no reason to not be friendly. She seemed nice enough, especially if the goats weren't rushing her but were letting her pet them. That had to be the sign of a good person. He also wasn't sure why, but he felt that she was a very understanding person. He felt like, even if he couldn't speak, she would be able to tell how he felt. It was an odd feeling, but he had no reason to doubt it. It didn't often come up, but when he felt this way, it generally turned out to be right.

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[Aralenne]

Aralenne perked for a moment, her ears twitching at the sound of hooves beating against the ground. Well, there was one perk to her overly sensitive hearing. Amber eyes flickered over her shoulder, a quiet anxiety forming within her. What if whoever was coming decided to chase her off? Aralenne supposed she was trespassing on their ranch, but she was really enjoying herself. It was a rarity that she felt so at ease and calm, but she should try and not become so morose at the first sign of another presence. She was not causing any trouble among the goats, so there would be no reason to run her off, right? Inhaling deeply, Aralenne opened her senses more to the calming influence of the contentment of the goats. She angled herself a little more closely to the goat she was currently stroking, almost clinging to him out of her nervous excitement. The hooves were slowing to a stop, and she slowly glanced toward the gates of the large grazing area the goats were kept in. She could not sense any negative emotions, so that placed her at ease for the moment.

She watched as a young Hylian climbed down from atop a rather beautiful mare. Oh, what a lovely horse! She quickly stamped on her urge to walk up and start stroking the muzzle of the mare, because she could sense the brief wariness that came from the horse. A tentative smile crossed her lips as the youth raised his hand to wave at her. There was no animosity from him, and all she sensed was the inclination of curiosity and a set determination. Aralenne slowly eased her hold of the goat, stroking his fur once more before maneuvering herself into a standing position. She brushed herself off, unsure of what to say at this point. Introduce herself? Apologize for trespassing? Ask him about the weather? He appeared quite kind, so why was she so nervous? Standing there without saying anything was not doing much to quell her nerves, so she forced herself to say something at this point.

"I'm sorry. I hope I'm not causing any trouble by being here," she began with a small smile upon her lips. At least the silence had been broken, but she stayed where she was. No doubt he had come here for a reason, and Aralenne would loathe to disrupt his day any more than she already had.

[Link]

Link waited patiently as the girl righted herself and brushed herself off. He wasn't in any particular hurry, since it was a pretty slow day so far and a lot of the work that needed to be done was taken care of, so he'd probably stay here for a bit and see what the girl wanted. His bright blue eyes stayed on the girl as she eventually spoke up, apologizing for her presence and making it known she didn't want to cause trouble. He gave her a friendly shake of his head, to show she was no trouble at all, before he decided to let Epona relax for a bit. The ride back wasn't too long so he was in no rush to head out, so why not let her eat and rest her legs?

He gave her a pat on the back of the neck and a slight push, smiling as he communicated to her to go eat in his silent way. The two knew each other's signals and so Epona went to do just that, calmly walking over to a nice patch of grass and beginning to munch on it. The farm boy then walked closer to the girl, leaving a nice comfortable distance but it was close enough for a casual "conversation". The fact that her first words were an apology proved she was a kind person, so he had no worries about her presence and was genuinely curious what brought her out here to the ranch.

First things first though, he oughta explain why he was there since she wasn't from around the town. A series of gestures would communicate his message; pointing to himself, a finger person walking across his other hand, holding his hand over his eyes and looking around, and then pointing to the goats. Following suit, he pointed to the ranch sign, himself, and then mimed the motion of using a pitchfork to move hay to try and show he was a worker on the farm. Continuing on his way, he then pointed to her, the ground, and gave a light shrug, to hopefully inquire why she was there. He wasn't annoyed or agitated in the slightest; he was just curious. If she was there for a particular reason, may be he could help her out.

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[Aralenne]

An exhalation of relief escaped her as the youth shook his head in regards to her apology. Aralenne could sense no anger from him, and only the friendly curiosity from before. It was obviously he had only been surprised by her presence here, but she knew he did not mind at all. The tenseness evaporated from her slender frame, and so she merely watched him with an open curiosity like he was doing with her. Aralenne knew he was obviously a villager that lived here, and she was a little envious on what a beautiful mare he cared for. It was the Minish in her, but she adored animals so much. The chestnut colored mare was so pretty, and obviously well cared for by the easy interaction between the two she could see. It was so hard not to go over and run her fingers through the mare's ivory mare, but she did not want to spook her. The unease from the horse had been assuaged somewhat, but Aralenne knew how cautious animals could be with strangers. Instead she began to play with a strand of her blond hair to keep her distracted. This was better than running up to hug the mare.

Amber eyes flickered back up, holding herself back from flinching as he moved closer to her. It was not his fault, but she was still very wary of anyone coming too close to her. It was very similar to any animal when faced with someone they did not know. Aralenne noticed the comfortable distance he kept between them, so she forced herself to stop reacting so rudely. He had given her no reason to be wary, especially when she was the one trespassing. A hesitant smile crossed her lips, unsure of what he had to say to her. Was he going to ask her what she was doing here? Aralenne was not quite sure herself, and she tried to think of an answer to the inevitable question. To get away? To rest here? She was here mostly because of how nice and peaceful it was in Ordon.

Aralenne tilted her head to the side, because she had not expected him to communicate through hand gestures. Oh, how rude of her! It was obvious now that he either could not speak, or did not want to. She studied his gestures with rapt attention, and she was able to gather that he worked here on the ranch, and that he watched the goats as part of his duty. His curiosity was the in the forefront of his mind, and she did not need his last gesture to figure out what question was burning in his mind. An embarrassed smile crossed her lips, and she idly shifted her weight from one foot to the other in a nervous manner. "I'm here because I've been traveling Hyrule for awhile, and I thought I would explore the Ordona Province next. I kind of stumbled on Ordon by accident, and I heard the villagers talking about the ranch, so I came to look," she explained, a slight flush stained her cheeks. "I love animals, and the goats are just so adorable."

[Link]

Link moved his head in an understanding nod as the girl explained why she was there. She was a traveler passing through the area and arrived there by coincidence. That wasn't all that unusual, since Ordona wasn't a particularly big village. It was one of the few man made settlements in the province though, so they tended to get travelers here and there who just needed somewhere to stop and couldn't find anything. He let out a silent chuckle though when she admitted her love for animals and the goats being adorable. He couldn't actually make the noise of laughter, but his body still knew the motions for laughter since it was part of a basic emotion, so he could emulate it silently.

Once he stopped 'laughing', he began to make new gestures. Pointing to the goats, he then made a finger man walking, followed by a finger animal charging at it and knocking the person over. It was a crude but simple way of showing that the goats normally charge people, but perhaps the goats felt the same feeling towards her that he did. May be her kindness was so obvious even animals could tell. On the other hand, it could have been because she was a minish, so in a small way she was related to them and so could understand them easier. He wasn't sure, since he himself wasn't a minish, but it was a pleasant change of pace from helping a visitor off their rear after being knocked over.

He wasn't a mind reader, but Link could tell pretty easily that the minish girl adored Epona. Giving a short whistle, one of the very limited noises he could make since it didn't involve the vocal chords, he called Epona back over, whom finished the grass she was chewing before trotting over. The farm boy then lead her over to the girl, and naturally she was somewhat uncertain, but Link patted her to calm her down and brought them face to face. A double pat to the neck and she lowered her head to the minish, to permit her to pet the much larger mammal. He looked to the girl and gave a nod, to affirm that this was his intention for her.

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[Aralenne]

Aralenne huffed a little as the youth began to laugh at her explanation, but she could not blame him. There was no malice in his emotions, and she could admit that it was a little humorous. Well, at least she was the only one feeling embarrassed, and so she patiently waited for him to cease his laughter. It was a little interesting to watch. He did not have the use of his voice, but that certainly did not stop him from acting it out. She supposed laughter was a natural action to go through. Her head tilted to the side as he began to gesture again, and it was her turn to burst into a fit of giggles. Oh, the goats charged people! She glanced at the rather intimidating horns adorning the currently content creatures, and she could imagine that it would hurt quite a lot. Aralenne was lucky to not have been on the receiving end, but she understood animals more better than she did humans. Even with her gift to allow her to know what a person was feeling. She was sure that her animal form would not allow her to be so lucky. Foxes were predators, so they would most likely not take too kindly to that.

The piercing whistle broke her reverie, and she turned questioning eyes onto the Hylian. Excitement filled her when she saw the mare trotting back over to her owner. She could tell the horse was more wary than the goats, but Aralenne was very patient with animals. The young woman was almost bouncing upon her heels, but she steadied herself. Aralenne certainly did not wish to give the mare more reason to be more wary of her as she was, but it was a natural emotion. She was a stranger, but she would follow the will of her owner and trust him. A bright smile curled upon her lips, and she looked up at the mare that was brought before her. The coloring of her coat and mane were absolutely beautiful, and she awed over her appearance quietly. In a gesture of peace, Aralenne lifted her hand for the mare to gain her scent first.

Scent was important communication for animals, and hopefully it would be a sign for the mare to trust her a little. Large brown eyes were staring at her, and Aralenne slowly ran her hand down her muzzle, stroking gently. She cooed to the mare gently, only petting where she would be comfortable for now. If she wished for more interaction, then the mare would say when. Boundaries were important for any being after all. "Thank you. She's so lovely and sweet. Is there any way you can gesture her name to me? And yours?" she asked politely. Oh, well, if she was going to ask for names, then she should give her own.

"I'm Aralenne."

[Link]

Link maintained his friendly smile as the girl began petting Epona, who was a bit tense at first even with the initial introduction of her scent, but after a little bit she got used to it and didn't really mind. The girl seemed nice to the horse as well now and so there was no real caution or fear in either of them. Epona was actually quite happy at the moment and enjoyed the new girl. Link wasn't a mind reader, still, but he knew the signs from Epona and he could tell she was happy too. It seemed everyone was getting along nicely, so that certainly counted for something.

The girl's introduction was nice, though her request for both of their names made it a little bit difficult for him. He wasn't too good at expressing specific letters with his hands, and he never really got asked his name or Epona's since everyone in Ordon knew them by name already. Slightly troubled, he let his hand off of Epona as he went into thought for a moment to figure out how to express their names to her without running off to town to get parchment. Epona didn't really move since she didn't feel any real danger from Link moving away, but her gaze did move to watch him. As he paced in a small circle for a little bit, he saw a patch of the ranch that had been eaten pretty much clean of grass recently, so it was mostly dirt.

Glancing over at the fence, he saw a shovel as well. An idea hit him like a bolt of lightning, and he made the universal gesture of 'give me a moment' by holding up his index finger as he ran to grab the shovel, before going over to the patch of dirt. Using the very tip of the shovel, he began to lightly cut into the dirt the shapes of the letters for both his name and Epona's, managing to spell them out in basic Hylian. He gestured for the girl to come over, and if she went then Epona would instinctively follow anyway, so they'd all be in the same place.

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[Aralenne]

Aralenne smiled brightly as the mare's wariness began to ebb away into the same contentment she could feel from the goats. There was nothing a little coaxing could not do to ease away tension. She was such a lovely creature, and she continued to coo gentle over her. The youth's change in emotions caught her attention, and her lips opened to apologize immediately. It had been a silly request to make, because gesturing a name with only your hands was not so easy. Aralenne did not need to know right this moment, but he had already walked away before she could voice her herself. Instead she bit her bottom lip a little nervously, wondering if she had upset him. That really had not been her intention, especially when he was only being kind to her so far. Amber eyes followed his movement in worry, hoping she had no offended either him or the mare.

She watched as he paced, obviously trying to think of a way to communicate his name to her. Perhaps he could write it in the ground for her? That seemed the most easy without having to go to the trouble and get parchment, which she would have declined to immediately. Aralenne would not cause anyone trouble for her sake. It seemed he had thought of the same idea as herself, because he was moving to grab a shovel to etch his name and his mare's into the dirt. She waited patiently as he went about his task, stroking the mare's muzzle all the same. She was very lucky to have run into someone as considerate as he was being.

Aralenne perked as he gestured for her to come over once he had finished. She let her hands slip from the mare, knowing she would follow regardless. She stopped to stand beside him, kneeling down to get a better glance at the names he had etched. Her lips parted as she mouthed the names to herself, sounding them out in her mind. Link and Epona. Righting herself after a moment, she smiled once more. "Pleased to meet you, Link. And you, Epona. Thank you for spelling that out for me," she said. Hopefully she would not have to put him through any trouble again. At least introductions were out of the way now, right~?

[Link]

Link gave a nod at the greeting and gratitude, his emotions returning back to the simple joy and contentment as before with the slightly complex task done. He hadn't been troubled by her asking for their names, as he would have easily done so if he could speak. It was just the matter of executing it which he wasn't quite prepared for. Still, it was settled and done with, and so it was something neither of them had to worry about now. He left the two for a moment as he went to return the shovel to where he got it before walking back to them. He didn't want the shovel to be somewhere else in case someone needed it later, but it wasn't where they left it.

With the girl's appreciation of Epona, he began to wonder about having the mare give Aralenne a ride around the ranch. He couldn't hear anyone calling for him, so he didn't have any immediate tasks, and he couldn't recall anything that he had promised to do during the afternoon for anyone. Odds are he had some more spare time, and giving another glance towards the goats. They were doing well, some of them calmly munching grass and others just resting in the sun, all of them calmed down by the girl's previous attention so they were very content for the time being.

He gave a nod to himself before he hopped up onto Epona's back, the whole motion being a rehearsed one for him and for the horse as she did not even move while he did so. He never put a saddle on her because it would be cruel and imply a dominance over her, when the two were partners. He was just physically fit enough and had enough time to practice to where mounting Epona was a simple act for him. Once Link was settled on Epona's back, he then held out a hand to Aralenne to help her up. He didn't know if she could ride a horse herself, and Epona was a bit picky about those things even if she liked the girl. So, Link decided he would allow Aralenne a ride on Epona and he'd be the one guiding the horse so that it went well.

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[Aralenne]

Aralenne was content that Link was content and happy once more with that task out of the way. Hopefully she would not trouble him again, and it was nice to have both of their names. He was so kind, and she was lucky to not have come across someone not so kind. She tended to be overly cautious with people, but Link was just so honest and open from what she had viewed of him so far. His emotions were not too hard for her to read, since he was not trying to hide them. Perhaps since he could not speak he had to make up other ways of communication. Words, expressions, and emotions more than made up for words. Actions often spoke louder than speech anyway. She busied herself with stroking Epona's muzzle once more as Link went to put away the shovel. Oh, how adorable and sweet the mare was!

Aralenne was a little sheepish that all of her attention had been placed upon Epona, and she glanced back at Link curiously. He seemed to be thinking about something, so she decided to just wait patiently for whatever he was about to do. She was not keeping him from his chores, right? The young woman did not wish to cause trouble for him. Link did not appear to be in a hurry, and she watched as he effortlessly mounted his mare. There was no saddle, so she knew that Link was experienced in riding to not bother with that hindrance. It was rather confining for a horse, too. Well, not that she had ever ridden one before. His hand was held out toward her, and her amber eyes widened slightly. He wanted her to get on? Aralenne felt her nerves begin to act up, and an embarrassed pink colored her cheeks. Epona was so high up, and she had little clue on how to mount a horse.

That was what Link's hand was for, right? Aralenne could also lift herself up with her telekinesis, but that would be cheating. If she was going to learn this, then she could try this without that. Her hand reached out to grasp Link's, and so she awkwardly pulled herself up with his help to settle a little nervously behind him on Epona. The mare was solid muscle and hair beneath her, and she tried to keep herself steady. Aralenne tentatively wrapped her arms loosely about Link's waist, and she was sure her face was a beet red by now. She hoped that he would not mind her doing that.