Who: Wendy & Zelda (Leliana makes a cameo) What: Girls catching up over Chinese~ When: Let's say today? Where: Shoegasm, then Chinese restaurant Rating/Warnings: Low, really Status: Complete!
The nightgown Wendy received from whatever could be dubbed the dream fairy wasn’t really good to wear for an outing (it covered everything, certainly, but she didn’t want to be stopped by children who wished to know where Peter Pan was - she was quite recognisable in that thing!) but she compensated. She threw on a cotton dress that was the same colour, with roll sleeves, and a navy leather belt at the waist - in flat shoes, she looked very similar to her younger dream counterpart, especially with the addition of a blue ribbon in her hair. Then she was off, off into the pleasant day that had been graced with clear sunny skies and fluffy clouds, not to mention the sun rays warming everything - such a contrast from the cold, cruel world they’d been suffocated with during that period of darkness.
But Shoegasm, Zelda’s place of employment, had returned from...wherever it disappeared to. Wendy was glad for it, since she worried that her friend would have to find yet another job, however, things seemed to be settling back into some semblance of normalcy. Assuming she ought to take advantage of it while she still could, she hopped into her car and drove to Huntington Beach to pay Miss Zelda a visit, and see if she wanted to go grab lunch somewhere. Maybe a cute little cafe, or someplace with Chinese food - she hadn’t had anything delicious like that in awhile.
Entering the store, she waved to the redhead amongst a cheerful display of pastel-coloured heels with matching handbags - and recognised her as Leliana, oh, how cute. “Hello!” Wendy called. “I’m just looking for Zelda?”
Shoegasm, indeed, made the miraculous return from whatever depths of darkness it’d been dragged into during that week, and Zelda had been grateful. Grateful that everything had returned back to their pattern of unconventional regularity, which meant it was back to the grind - and making sure a certain part-time employee didn’t just happen to have any ‘sticky fingers’ when it came to the new Jimmy Choo arrivals (her knowledge of shoes had increased greatly, by necessity).
“I’m here!” she called from the back, since all Leliana did was lift her distracted gaze up from the shoes to Wendy, wave, and then diverted back her attention to the merchandise, as her words went through one ear and came out the other. Zelda emerged, pulling on a beige sleeveless cardigan - it went well with the white top, matching white jeans and nude wedges. Ones that stepped gracefully over the redhead’s sorted pile. “I think she has a problem.”
Clearly, since she didn’t seem to be listening in on their very succinct conversation.
Shaking her head with a chuckle, she pulled the brunette into a squeeze of a hug. “Hey there, by the way! I’m starving - what’d you have in mind?”
Oh, goodness! Leliana was in the zone, and Wendy was almost sorry for interrupting her. “She’s got a bit of a glazed look in her eye. Is there such thing as a twelve-step programme for shoe addicts?” Miss Darling giggled, slipping an arm around Zelda to return the hug - it had felt like forever since she’d seen her friend, and there was loads to catch up on, wasn’t there? Especially since they were in a calm period where, hopefully, their rather insane environment would cut them a bit of a break. For longer than a week or two.
It was also a nice enough day, so perhaps they could walk to the restaurant. Huntington Beach, in this district, boasted plenty of shops and restaurants all in a pretty row, with that telltale scent of salt and sea air to help guide you. “Oh, I was thinking Chinese, maybe?” she suggested. “You know, eggrolls, fortune cookies?” Her blue eyes sparkled hopefully. “We could eat a lot and then go into a food coma.”
“Eggrolls and fortune cookies,” hummed the blonde, acting like she was seriously contemplating the idea - even though the answer was, of course, a very obvious yes. “Only if we can read our fortunes and add ‘in bed’ after we share them, fair enough?” It was a silly game, one she played with Midna in the past but it was really the only way to even read those little strips of random nonsense.
She bid Leliana a ‘be right back’ but that too went straight through her, and all she could do was sigh in defeat. “C’mon,” Zelda instructed, hooking her arm with Wendy’s. “I think she’ll be fine.” There was something about the redhead that proved a bit unsettling - she didn’t know what it was, call it instinct - but if something were to descend upon the store, she was confident the eccentric part-timer had it handled. Cindy seemed to think so, anyway. “You look really cute by the way - all dolled up, for me?” That bow was precious, she had to tug on it very lightly. “Or are you paying a visit to your piratey lover after me?”
Piratey lover. Wendy crinkled her nose playfully, oh Zelda, you had the funniest ways of describing situations. “In this case, it’s just for you since I haven’t seen you in foreverrrr,” she stated, the posh-accented word drawn out teasingly, free hand to her forehead in a show of Victorian dramatics. Someone fetch a doctor, she might faint! “You’ve got lots to catch me up on, I assume?” They could go over that when situated with tall glasses of bubble tea - and after ordering fake Chinese food, more Americanised than anything, but it was tasty.
The restaurant was small, teetering on the edge of ‘cute,’ and certainly colourful with its various dragon tapestries, fake golden statues, and chopsticks theme. When they reached it, Wendy opened the door for them so they could scurry inside and be greeted by the tiny hostess who would show them to a table for a quick lunch. Zelda did have to get back to work, after all.
“Spiders, the end of the world - it was a lot that kept us separate for too long,” she sighed longingly, mirroring the dramatics. It’d been a hectic several weeks and things were currently as normal as they’d get. The next catastrophe was lurking in the horizon, she was sure of it, and hopefully the lovely gift of prophecy would at least give her a view of it ahead of time. It only seemed like a matter of time.
But, until then, she would sit down and enjoy the mundanity of having lunch with one of her oldest friends. Zelda’s finger passed through the lunch specials, honing in on her usual favorite - barbecue pork, rice and fried egg rolls - before her eyes rose to meet Wendy’s. “There’s certainly been lots of stuff, aside from the shared disasters. I have magic now - sort of!” Eep, maybe that part was a bit louder than she liked, and hopefully those curious looks from people surrounding them made the assumption that she was some New Age hippie. “It’s a slow progress, but it’s...there.”
Living dangerously, Wendy ordered herself a lychee and mango (combining two flavours, oooh) bubble tea, and was studying the menu but mostly paying attention to Zelda. Especially when she said she had magic. “Is that related to the ears?” she asked with a grin. The ones that she’d help hide with good, old-fashioned tricks involving strategic hair placement and a comb - no beanies in the summertime needed. “Which...the ears are still adorable, by the way. And any progress is good progress, so consider me an official supporter of your efforts. What sort of magic have you got?” she wanted to know.
It would come in time. People seemed to experience a gradual reawakening when it came to supernatural abilities and such. Wendy was mostly going off of what she had seen with Katou, since his ‘badass’ angel powers had developed over the course of his dreaming.
That was a bold selection. Zelda went for something a bit more plain - Arnold Palmer, half sweet tea and half lemonade. Extra lemons! Refreshing for bit of a hot afternoon. “Ears just mean I’ve converted to some kind of elven race,” giggled the supposed princess, though now she didn’t need the specific hairstyling to conceal them. Illusions were interesting magics, and hiding her ears with them had been a good practice. “I don’t know - might just be my bloodline, I guess - but I’ve...got the power of prophecy. Visions and the sort, for one thing.”
Wendy hadn’t heard about her first rodeo with them, hadn’t she?
Now that giggle converted into a nervous chuckle, and she squeezed more lemons into her tea mix. “My first one was about a stripclub. Led me to an old friend.” Oh, sure, if people had seen her and Midna together the assumption of ‘girlfriends’ could be easily made. Labels weren’t always important but sometimes it was nice to have them - something to keep both parties on the same page and right now, no labels had been dished. “And the most recent was...the darkness, which….I suppose it really is nice to know when the next disaster is around the corner.”
Talking about stripclubs, after Wendy made her selection of sesame chicken with a side of noodles (mmm, carbs), seemed very appropriate, didn’t it? “An old friend at a stripclub,” she lifted an eyebrow, already somewhat dubious of the label. “I didn’t know you knew friends at stripclubs? I mean, did it turn out alright?” As long as it did, then that was what was most important.
“Here, I’m sure a heads up about disaster would be appreciated too.” It was difficult to figure out how to prepare, but something was better than nothing, right? What a strange world they lived in, but Wendy was rather fond of their own little insane corner of the globe - fake reality or alternate universe or whatever else you wanted to call it. “I still haven’t got any powers or anything,” she lamented. “Right now, where I’m at, I was offered a position on Hook’s pirate crew as a storyteller. It’s so strange.” Especially since this was her second set of dreams.
“It did, actually,” Zelda amended, a fond smile with a dash of nostalgia flashed. Midna was here now, which was the important thing, and hadn’t fled in the face of drastic (and unfair) change. It’d all fall into place the way it was meant to be. Now it was...simply adjusting, and trying to make her transition to the Twili as easy as it could be - which involved avoiding the sunlight and coming out only when the giant ball of scintillating fire set, for one thing.
She sipped her drink, now that it was properly extra-lemonized, and shot Wendy a curious look. “This is your...second set, right? Alternate version?” Another version of the story to plague the night, it was odd. “Well, I suppose an option to board his ship is better than - what, didn’t he kidnap you?”
“He did,” Wendy laughed, shaking her head. She poked at her bubble tea with her straw - one of those thick ones, prime for sucking up all that tapioca ball goodness. As terrible as it sounded. “In the first set, and then in the second I obviously turned down his offer to be on his crew even though he made it clear he was rather...obsessed with the idea? Or rather, I just think he’s obsessed with getting revenge on Peter Pan, and one way to do that is to give me what Peter can’t. He is obviously is all about never growing up, whereas Hook is more about travel and adventure and...embracing more adult feelings, I don’t know. There’s some strange attraction there, on my end.” A connection between them, as she understood it.
Wendy was just a young girl, but in the dreams, she was a girl on the verge of womanhood - she was learning what she wanted, and immature Peter wasn’t going to necessarily be that even if she cared for him quite a bit.
“He dies in essentially every version, or at least it’s been that way so far. I’m sure I’ll have to dream of that eventually.” Her hand went to the gold watch she wore as a necklace, that was his, clasped around it before letting go. “But we’ll see! Tell me more about this friend you’re meeting at strip clubs?”
“How scandalous,” teased Zelda, a hint of a smirk. “Young version of yourself falling for an older man, basically?” Well, it’s not as if they had any control over these dreams, they couldn’t pass on any judgment or advice to lives that happened on a different plane of existence. They were simply subject to watch it unfold, the good and the bad, and there was obviously some sort of link that carried over between the two of them. In a world where this pirate wouldn’t kidnap her, and perhaps wouldn’t meet the same horrid fate as he did in all these other versions. A chance for a happier ending, their own version of things, their own story to write - which was the way she insisted on looking at things, essentially.
Even if it was sometimes a bit difficult to not take things that happened on the other side personally. It was all a long, emotionally draining process. As if they didn’t have enough problems plaguing them here in this waking world. “Here’s hoping this version you dream of, he lives. I couldn’t imagine dreaming that about someone I cared about. Just because the death didn’t happen here doesn’t always mean we don’t feel like it has,” Zelda amended, stirring her drink and ice cubes with the straw, almost pensively.
Which was a state of thinking that was a bit ruined by Wendy’s inquiry about her ‘friend at the strip club.’ “Oh, right. Um. It’s someone Impa and I stumbled across, a couple years back - she had her own baggage to run from and we all stuck together. Until she decided it was in her best interest to move elsewhere.” A sigh. “That’s essentially the less messy version.”
Goodness, no, Wendy couldn’t fathom the James she knew meeting a similar fate - especially since ‘swallowed whole by a crocodile’ wasn’t really the best way to go. His death had affected her though, when she’d dreamed - she’d been tied to the mast, watching Peter drive the pirate mad. More than he already had, and oh, he’d tortured James Hook quite a bit over the years. All fun and games for the boy, of course, but the distinct lack of empathy was a bit alarming.
“And this person is dreaming too?” Wendy wrinkled her nose. That tended to throw a monkey wrench into things on occasion. “Ah, my dear Zelda...” Her smile was sympathetic, as she put together the pieces of her friend’s situation - words unsaid, but the actions spoke volumes. “Messy is always such a treat. Though I imagine things will work out. I rather like Jack’s idea that we’re all here for a reason, and dreaming for a reason. There’s got to be one, right? Why else would someone from your past suddenly show up again, even in a vision?”
Their food was delivered then, and Wendy gratefully unrolled her chopsticks to dig in. Yum.
Well, yes, typically Zelda tried to look at things in a positive light too. Negativity, cynicism - just attitudes that pulled you into a hole of depressing darkness, and while not all things that happened here ended well, it did change every single one of theml. Molded them into people that were uniquely seasoned for this kind of environment. It forced them to grow in a way they never thought they would, and things like magic and maybe even becoming something that wasn’t all that remotely close to human - it added a little more baggage to their everyday already complicated lives.
“I’m inclined to agree with your roommate,” she amended, fiddling with her own set of chopsticks before plunging them into her plate. “My dreams tend to heavily focus on destiny, fate, yet they’ve also shown we have some sort of control in the way things go.” And have the power to change it, even the past - which was a dangerous game to play. Everything that had befallen on Hyrule was her fault. A naive princess who thought she could plot against a the King of Thieves, yet he proved to be one calculating son of a bitch and bested her. Used her own good will and manipulated it for his own conquering. “I’m sure we were all meant to come here, to experience all this - but it just depends on what we do and how we handle it that will shape the rest. She dreams of something similar, but…”
It was all weird, really. Link, Navi and her - all dreamed about Hyrule, the same events, the same time. Now with the whole time traveling aspect in play, she had to wonder if Midna dreamt of a different one? It was a theory she played around with, but nothing solid to back it up. The more she dreamt the more well-versed she was with Hyrule, the mythology, everything that came with it. Maybe something would come to her.
“There are things that are out of our control,” Wendy agreed, because she couldn’t stop the dreams from even occurring in the first place. She couldn’t stop how they hurt people, or rather, that crack in the atmosphere - bleeding through - hurt people, she couldn’t change the fact that James was dead in other universes. That he’d lived a tortured life and then it all came crashing down. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t. But she could do what she felt was right here. In the now, because it was what she knew and what she believed in and what she wanted to fight for. “Ultimately, we pick and choose how we roll with the punches. Even if we roll with the punches at all - some choose not to, or they run from things. I don’t know. I’d rather not run from it all, I’d rather....face it here, and decide what to do with it.”
She popped a bite of chicken into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “Our lives are painful sometimes but they’ve given us so much too. I’ve gotten you back, and I’m thankful for it,” Miss Darling smiled. “I don’t have to be a psychic to know that good things are on the horizon for you!”
Ah, if only they were drinking! With something with low alcohol content, they could toast exactly to that. Zelda’s smile was a bit adoring, though - Wendy was the sweetest, a breath of fresh air and sun rays. Someone else to validate her own line of thinking. Sometimes she thought people just looked at her a bit funny for trying to see the good in a situation, even if the situation consisted of mostly dread. “I’ve missed youuu,” she expressed, even instigating a playful session of platonic footsies under the table. “Sitting here, having lunch with you...I don’t know, it takes me back to when things weren’t so crazy, and…” A sigh, though she smiled through it. “It’s a nice break. It really is.”
She wouldn’t leave this place, either. Couldn’t. Zelda wanted to see it all through, and Impa seemed to be in the same mindset, even if she wasn’t having dreams of another life. Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn’t, but Impa knew she was, and it was a kind of thing neither of them could ignore.
It brought her back to Wendy. It brought Midna back to her. Whatever the reason, it was always going to be worth it.
“I’ve missed you too,” Wendy laughed, a sweet sound, carefree, and maybe she didn’t have any super special extra abilities or anything but she was going to be there for her friends. She was just ready with a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on, not to mention sparkling stories and anecdotes to share, all caressed with that soothing posh accent. Her mothering skills were her greatest asset, no? One of these days she’d have children of her own too (and Zelda would make a fine auntie).
The impromptu game of footsie made her giggle too, and she flushed cotton candy pink. “Those were some good times though, weren’t they? We’d ride our bikes everywhere. And the fantastic little tea rooms! I really miss those as well. There are a few places here, but none so quaint like in Surrey.” She’d enjoyed her time with Zelda while she’d had it, however, while Wendy got to experience what it was like to have a sister-figure in addition to her two brothers living with her. “But how are things with Impa now, and that...situation? You think you’ll be staying here awhile after all?”
Things back then were so much easier, different - but they changed, turned for the worst and it wasn’t even the influence of this silly little hole of meshed realities. Or, well, perhaps there was something amiss to influence it all behind whatever metaphysical veil that separated each world. Things paralleled. In cruel ways, even. Her father, dead by a man he thought he could trust and then the culprit took over, and Impa did her best to make sure she wouldn’t suffer the same fate. Impa was the reason why she wasn’t dead at the age of ten.
“A friend, uh…” Zelda blinked her eyes like something had been bugging them - then tucked hair behind the illusion of her human ears. “A friend’s actually going to be my lawyer. About the thing. Impa’s happy here and so am I - I just...haven’t told her I was thinking of taking legal action.” Yes, there was guilt, a lot of it. It was Impa who ran the risk the most. It was her name and reputation smeared while Zelda herself was regarded as missing. Or dead. A cold case. “I’m trying to take back my kingdom in the dreams, and I’m trying to take it back here too. It just reinforces the fact that I need to, more than ever.”
“Oh?” Wendy sipped her bubble tea, the last of it, slurp slurp. It was deliciously creamy and satisfying, really hit the spot. Even though it was quite filling and she’d have to get a to-go box for the rest of her sesame chicken. “You know I’ll help you out with anything I can do too, in terms of legal processes,” she told Zelda. Wendy didn’t have a Juris Doctor per se, but... “Iin terms of organising things for you or doing some of the more mundane dirty work. It’s what paralegals are for,” she winked.
But she thought it was a good thing that Zelda was attempting to go through the proper channels to take back what rightfully was hers, and belonged in her family. She reached across the table to reassure her friend, patting her hand delicately. “It will work out. That asshole will get what’s coming to him, and you’ll get your father’s company.”
Nothing even was fully set in motion in regards to this, not officially, but those butterflies already caused a whirlwind of nerves in the pit of her stomach. “I can’t imagine not needing your help with this, either,” she admitted, considering she needed people she could trust with sensitive information. People she knew wouldn’t get bought out by a suspicious third party if the dollar signs were just right. “It’s a lot, I think, I don’t think Jonathan would mind the help either. He’s taking his bar exam in October, so…”
Honestly, there wasn’t anyone else she’d trust to actually take the full reigns of this case - he knew his trade, trusted him entirely, knew he’d do his best to have justice served.
“Though I might need someone with me when I break it all to Impa,” winced Zelda, chomping on the last bit of her egg roll. “A buffer between us to help circulate the inevitable argument that will likely come to screams.”
“Of course, I’m completely there for that,” Wendy agreed, right away, no questions asked. “Impa will perhaps be upset at first but this is something that has to happen, isn’t it? To bring closure, and justice?” Zelda had lost everything at such a young age - she almost lost her life, and were it not for her nanny’s quick thinking then they probably wouldn’t even be here having this conversation at all. For that, Wendy was grateful. “It will be change. Good change, I’m sure of it.”
She had a positive feeling about it all. And she’d completely be willing to help out with anything related to research or paperwork or gathering documents - whatever was necessary, so a court date could be met and Zelda could open a whole new chapter of her life. And close a rather horrible one.
Impa did all she could to make sure both of them were safe and alive, but what kind of life did they live if they constantly looked over their shoulders, in fear? It was an exhausting lifestyle, one that Zelda wanted nothing to do with anymore, and Impa deserved to have her name cleared and justice served.
Change, however, wasn’t always easy.
“Maybe if you’re around she’ll feel bad about getting all screamy,” Zelda giggled, smiling cheekily. “You’re a good voice of reason and you have such an eloquent way of wording things. We’ll need that when we’re going down each other’s throats. Then we’ll go out for tea as my payment to you - the alcoholic kind, I mean.”
Because if you weren’t drinking in Orange County, something was wrong with you.
“Well, I’ll do my absolutely best,” Wendy gave a bit of a giggle too, boxing up her leftovers once the oh-so-fashionable Chinese takeout container was given to her. She decided she was paying, and she fished in her handbag for her wallet to pull out enough cash plus a nice tip, setting it down before Zelda could protest. In celebration of her resuming her gainful employment, in a place still intact after the latest OC disaster! “Alcoholic tea after a conversation like that sounds like just the thing too.”
There, done! A regular lunch-buying ninja, she was. Wendy flashed her friend a bright smile, showing off those pearly gates. “Ready then, love? I’ll be attempting to not fall victim to the afternoon nap myself.” Chinese food always had that effect on her - on everyone, really. Must be something magical about it.
Someone was a little imp. Zelda’s lips parted to protest the gesture - what was she doing?? - but, ah, too late, and her shoulders slumped in the face of defeat. “You didn’t have to do that,” she deadpanned, the stink-eye sort of glare she gave her dear friend from across the table playful, but she packed up her scraps too. Something to pick at later when she got munchy.
“Alcoholic tea is on me,” huffed the blonde with a loving shove of her shoulders Wendy’s way. “You will definitely deserve it, after it’s all said and done.”
It had always been a plan on slow burn, but this place - and the friends that she’d glean on the way - had gifted her with the courage to pursue it much more aggressively. Jonathan to take the weight of legal matters, Wendy to organize everything and be that soothing voice of reassurance, Midna to urge her with fire. Zelda wouldn’t be able to do this, not without them.