You should listen to Navi DuBleu. (heyheylisten) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-12-10 16:32:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, link, navi |
I feel like I shouldn’t be watching this.
Who: A Blue Fairy and her Hero Navi and Link.
What: Cow spa!
When: After this thread and after Cameron names her.
Where: Link's ranch.
Rating: G! They don't even swear.
Status: Complete!
Navi drove to Link’s farm with cow spa supplies in tow - a bottle of sake, some Bag Balm in case she had sore udders, and herself. She was no cow whisperer, but what creature didn’t like being doted on?
Her blue pickup bounced to a stop and she grinned as she jogged over to the front door to knock and let Link know she was there.
Link didn’t quite know what he was supposed to expect from Navi today. She had mentioned sake on the Internet, but he honestly didn’t know what sake was. Was it possible she had plans to paint the cow’s hooves like they were fingernails? Would they be scrubbing her down with... mud? People covered themselves in mud at the spa, didn’t they?
Link had been at his computer, filling out a spreadsheet, when Navi knocked. That was about all he used the computer for, aside from checking out the Valar Network from time to time.
He was close to finished, but he answered the door without wrapping up, electing to save and return to it later. He didn’t like making people wait. “Welcome back,” he greeted.
“Hi!” She wrapped her arms around him, unable to resist the impulse. She dreamed of him, dreamed of him fighting and dreamed of him as a boy, and dreamed of sleeping in his hair as a small fairy - just seeing him made her heart ache with an almost unbearable joy. “You ready to cheer her up?”
Link wasn’t the most natural hugger in the world... but that didn’t really matter as Navi had pinned his arms to his sides. He patted her back with one hand that was kind of still free. “Sure,” he coughed. “She’s, uh... She’s in the dairy barn.”
“What’s her name?” Navi grinned up at him once she’d let him go, realizing that he was probably having problems breathing.
Up until a few days ago, the cow had just been one of many cows called the cow. But Cameron had divined her new moniker: Allison. Link still thought it was silly to give an farm animal a name, but he didn’t mind humoring Cameron, who was awfully strange but secretly sweet. Besides, she’d let him kiss her.
“Allison,” Link replied, keeping the rest of his internal monologue inside for now.
“Aww, that’s a cute name!” Navi bounced a little on her heels. “Let’s go visit her!” There were so many things she wanted to tell him - in my dreams you’re little but big sometimes like you are now and I kept you safe but you had this destiny that robbed you of your childhood and I’m sorry but she kept them all to herself.
Link smiled and waved her onward. It was easier to go through the house. Once outside again, they walked the well-trod path to the barn. But Link was surprised to see Allison out to pasture with the other cows. She hadn’t left her stall in days. Of course, she was sort of lurking by the door, but out was out. “Well, that’s some improvement already.” Maybe Cameron’s cello-playing hadn’t been so crazy after all.
Navi smiled, handing Link the bag of goodies she’d brought for Allison before starting to move toward the barn. She didn’t go in right away, just leaning against the door. “Hi, Allison. My name’s Navi. Your daddy tells me you’re kind of sad.” She was mostly talking so the cow knew she was there, so she could earn some trust.
Link stood off to the side, looking through the bag Navi had handed off to him. He chuckled at the word daddy. So, so silly.
The cow didn’t move away or hide her face, or object to Navi’s presence, so she moved a tiny bit closer. “I thought maybe you were sore or something, so I figured I’d give you a backrub. If you don’t mind.” She smiled, still giving the cow plenty of room.
“All my other cows are going to get jealous,” Link said. His nose was still in the bag. He pulled out the Bag Balm. He lifted an eyebrow.
“Maybe. Or they might know if she’s upset.” Navi smiled, moving to take the sake out of the bag. “Want a sip before I give her her backrub?” She unscrewed the top, taking a swig and offering it over.
“Oh!” Link chuckled. “It’s alcohol. Isn’t it?” He took a snuff to confirm before taking a sip. It had a flavor he’d never come across before. He wasn’t positive he liked it right off the bat. “Thank you,” he said anyway.
“It is!” She smiled at him, her nose wrinkling in amusement. Cautiously she approached Allison, smiling and simply letting her hand run over her flank. “Hi, sweetheart. You’re under the weather, aren’t you.” The cow snorted and Navi moved to kiss along her snout.
Link tilted his head. “Have you ever been this close to a cow before?” he asked. “I mean, you seem to comfortable.” He knew she dealt in plants and, by extension, crops. Did that carry over into livestock?
“Nope! But she’s sad, you can tell.” She loved animals, and she wasn’t scared of the cow. It wasn’t like it could eat her. Sure, it could probably hurt her, but so could Link, in theory. Life was too short to be scared of things.
Running her fingers over the cow’s back, she gently dug her fingers in. “Life’s pretty stressful, huh. Did you fight with any of the other girls?” She massaged her gently, cooing low in the back of her throat as she rubbed along the cow’s shoulderbones.
Allison mooed, but it sounded like a happy groan, like one a human might make during, well, during a moment of pleasure, quite honestly. Link snorted. Maybe the cow was lonely. Maybe it did need a mate or companion of some sort. “Maybe I should get a bull,” he said. He have Allison a pat on her haunches.
Navi grinned. “Cows can get lonesome too, I think.” She smiled, biting her lower lip. Often she dreamed of cows like this, and a little girl who introduced Link to a horse. “Maybe she dreams of someone.” She didn’t want to tell Link that she dreamed about taking care of him, but at the same time, maybe he dreamed too.
The pregnancy of the word dream was not lost on Link, who had been hearing all sorts of stories on the Internet. Even Cameron had talked of them. He, however, had experienced nothing out of the ordinary.
“Like the people in the area,” he finally said, after a few moments of thought.
“I have them sometimes,” she smiled. She’d leave it at that; she didn’t want to scare him or upset him. Instead she took up the sake bottle, poured some of it over Allison’s back and rubbed a little further down along her spine. “This is supposed to loosen up your muscles and make you comfy. Cows like the smell. How’s that, pretty girl?” Navi wondered if it was one of the cows from Lon Lon Ranch.
Ah, so it was a multitasker, this sake. Better on the cow’s hide than for drinking, Link thought.
“Yeah? And what do you dream about?” he asked.
“Lots of things. Mostly this magical place with dragons and fairies and swordfighting and magic.” Yes. Keeping things nebulous and generic was the way to go. Plus, Allison’s contented moos were distracting.
His eyes widened, impressed. He nodded. “I can’t remember the last time I dreamed.” He slept like a log. And logs seldom dream.
“They’re kind of interesting, really. I like them, but some people’s aren’t as nice.” She found a knot on Allison’s back and focused there, pouring a little extra sake and giving the area a little TLC. “I massage my cat at home too,” she grinned.
Considering what he was witnessing, Link took this new ridiculousness in stride, though a cat of all creatures seemed the least worthy of spa treatment. What service did they provide? A dag was just as good at catching mice, despite the common misconception. They protected the homestead. And they were also better company.
Of course, Link didn’t have a dog either. “Lucky cat,” he said.
“She really is! She lost her ear and one eye in a fight with a dog, and then one of the neighborhood hooligan kids set her on fire. She deserves some TLC.” She grinned at Link, smiling at him contentedly. “How’ve you been?”
“Yeesh...” A one-eyed, one-eared, half-charred cat was not what he’d pictured al all. Links’ friendly smile faltered. He cleared his throat and started over.
“Just fine. Nothing new to report.” He wasn’t comfortable talking about Cameron just yet. He didn’t know if the kiss was a one-time occurrence. He hoped it wasn’t. “Did I tell you the kefir turned out? No dying.”
“Oh, good!” She smiled, still running her hands along Allison’s back. The cow was inching outside bit by bit, and Navi grinned broadly. “Yes, sunshine is good for you, pretty girl!” Navi couldn’t help but bounce and smile at Link, beaming that her idea wasn’t terrible.
Link was becoming a more open minded person, slowly but surely. Living secluded from society was a novelty that wore thin quickly. “I can’t believe you’re getting her out of the barn!” he exclaimed with a laugh.
“She just needed some reminding that things are awesome outside in the sunshine!” She leaned up to kiss Allison’s ears, smiling brightly at Link. “Maybe the other cows shunned her or something?”
He turned around to look at the others at pasture, none of whom were facing the trio of them by the barn. He doubted that indicated anything, but he played along this time. “Well, look at them all,” he said. “Disinterested. Shame on them.”
“Maybe you really should get that bull. A torrid love affair usually solves everything.” Navi wondered if Link noticed her wedding band. “Oh, speaking of!” Smiling at the cow she reached down, wincing when she felt the cow’s udders. “So dry! Bag Balm me, Link.”
He hadn’t. He didn’t know to look for anything when he came to women’s jewelry.
Link pulled a tin of what appeared to be petrolium jelly from the bag he had been given. “Is that this stuff?” he asked, handing it off.
“Yup! It’s moisturizer, basically, but it was designed for sore udders.” Navi patted the cow’s flank, letting her know she was dipping low to touch her udders. “Theeere we go. Sore lady parts are the pits.”
His face turned red. “I feel like I shouldn’t be watching this,” he laughed, turning away to prove his point, even if he was only joking.
“You’ll have to if you get her a bull boyfriend! And what if they have babies! The husband and I are trying to make one of those, what will you do when I have a baby bump?” Navi giggled, wishing she could see his face. She’d just dropped a whole passel of bombs.
His eyes were bulging as he spun back around. “Wha--? When? When did you get married?”
Navi smiled, blushing, standing up and hugging Allison. “Right before Halloween. We were going to do it on Thanksgiving, but we decided not to wait.”
Link’s cheeks remained red. He felt happy, but also confused. “Well, who is he? What’s his name?”
She was still smiling broadly. He knows you’re my boy but he’s my boy now too and I promise I’ll always, always look after you, Link. “His name is Pete Wisdom, he’s a government employee so he can’t talk much about his work. He’s funny and sweet and he makes me laugh.” She wiped the extra Bag Balm into her elbows, knowing they were always a little dry.
“And you just met, what a few months ago? Wow.” He was grinning, still. He was too shy to think of things like love at first sight, but it was nice to know that it might be possible.
Navi bit her lower lip. “Early September,” she chuckled. “I knew from the moment I first saw him.” It sounded silly to say it out loud, but she’d always wanted to marry Pete, right from that first night they’d spent together.
“Aw, well...” Link placed the bag on the ground and opened his arms. “Let me give you a hug. I’m so happy for you.”
Her eyes teared over and she went to hug him. She’d wanted to hug him for ages, and to have him offer was almost too much. Navi tried to hold it together as she embraced him. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“You’re welcome,” he said. “You know... you’re the first of my friends to ever get married. Too bad you just poured the booze all over the cow.”
“You’ll get married too someday. And it’s okay, I’m not really a sake fan anyway. We could have some milk?” She smiled up at him. “You know you’re a really good friend, right? I should visit you more.”
If Navi was okay with drinking it unpasteurized, they could take it right now on tap. The thought made Link laugh. No, they would drink from bottles in the house once they were done here.
But Navi wasn’t just a good friend, she was instantly true and loyal, and she had an enormous heart. Pete was a lucky man. Link was, too. “I’m so glad I had to buy crap from you,” he chuckled.