InsaneJournal

This will feel odd, by the by!
Who: Link and Faiza
Where: Link's Farmhouse
What: Faiza fixes Link's broken ankle
When: Sunday Afternoon, Mar. 3
Warnings/Rating: G, Includes some medical/healing
Status: Complete!


Link had decided to greet this doctor lady by waiting on the front porch. There were a few signs with directions to Midori Farm and its Famous Atrichokes, so he wasn’t too worried about her finding the place. He was waiting on the porch because he was in a good mood. For the first time since breaking his ankle, he’d woken up without a sense of dread over the day’s chores. If this woman could really do what she promised, he wouldn’t be hobbling around much longer.

Seriously. He was actually very excited about all this. His eyes were locked on the bend in the road and there was a wide smile on his face. Navi’s husband had given the doctor his seal of approval, too, and that made him trust her all the more... even though they hadn’t technically met and he had no idea what the woman’s name was.

Famous Artichokes? Faiza was tickled pink by the idea. There was a certain charm to the farm and she thought that it might help improve her mood. She pulled up in her little modest car, and stepped out, adjusting her scarf and then smiling. “Link?”

But she apparently had found out his name. Always a gentleman, Link managed to stand and greet her, even with the crutches. “Yep,” he said, bobbing his head. Spending 99% of his life in the middle of nowhere, he’d never actually conversed with a woman wearing a headscarf before. Not that it meant anything, but it was something he realized as she walked toward him.

She smiled at him, "Oh no need to stand, duck. How did you injure yourself again?"

“Tripping in the dark,” Link replied. “Running from the barn to the house. Running away from a ghost.” His voice trailed off incrementally with each statement.

“That little bird that’s been running around scaring everyone?” Faiza asked, nonplussed. “Must have hurt quite a bit. Just sit back and I’ll take a looksie!”

The ghost girl did seem to get around. Link was relieved that the doctor had heard of her. “It did hurt,” he said, sitting back down on the porch rocking chair. He bent over to untie his shoe. “By the way, what’s your name?”

“Dr. Faiza Hussain,” she replied, as she flexed her fingers in prep. “This will feel odd, by the by!”

“....Like, how odd?”

“This odd.” And then Link’s leg was in little floating pieces while she examined the bone. “Oh, that’s not a bad break at all.”

So SERIOUSLY odd. Like, really weird. Link would have given the poor doctor a kick, if he had been able to move his leg. “Er... bad enough for a cast.”

“Well, just give me a jiffy and you won’t even need that cast,” she replied. The bone started to fold and knit together, the break mending, blood vessels moving normally through it.

Link watched with wide eyes, looking very much like the child he had been long age and had left behind all too early in his life. Navi had powers and apparently Hermione did too, but he didn’t think they could do anything like this. “Gee,” he said. “I wish I’d had you along to put me back together during my dream quests.”

“Oh? Tell me about them? I’ve fought alongside knights and captains and all sorts of things, in my dreams. I brought my sword, in fact!”

“Well... I start out as a kid,” Link began. He’d only had a few dreams and the story wasn’t complete, but he was eager to share. “And I meet this princess and she tells me I need to look out for this really bad guy. I have to collect these magic gems and find this sword. Only once I pull the sword out, I go into this trance that lasts years. When I wake up, I’m an adult and the kingdom is really messed up. I have to go fix things... but that’s all I’ve seen so far. I don’t know how it ends, yet.”

“Magic swords always lead to all sorts of trouble,” Faiza quipped, as she started to put Link’s leg back to together. “If you’re not made a king, you’re cursed!”

"I think I might have been both," he said, a bit distantly. He was mesmerized. He began to flex his ankle, pain free. "Hey. I think it worked!"

Faiza clapped her hands together. “Try to stand, duck!”

Talk of ducks he didn’t quite get, but hop up he did. He took a few steps and then a few small jumps. “Oh boy. This is great!” She’d fixed him. The doctor had really done it. “That’s some method.”

“I wish I could be everywhere at once,” She said, sighing. “I could do so much to help people. But I can’t, and my stamina has a limit.”

Link looked back over his shoulder. When the doctor had arrived, he’d noticed some sadness around her eyes. He turned and walked back. “Have you always been able to do this, or is it something that started with these dreams?”

“It came with my dreams,” she replied, nodding. “I dream I’m a superhero. Of sorts. Or more like the sidekick.”

He bent down and picked up the cast. He wouldn’t be needing it anymore, but he thought it might keep it as a momento. “Well, I want to see your sword. I’ll show you mine.” He gestured that he should follow her into the house.

Faiza nodded, then ran to her car. She came back with something wrapped in a blanket, then entered the house. "It's lighter than you'd think. I think mine is a long sword."

“I think that’s what mine is, too,” said Link, all but racing up the staircase like a kid. He returned a less than a minute later and raced back down again. He was still only wearing one shoe, but his sword and scabbard were in his hand. “I did some research.”

“What did you find?” She unwrapped the blanket, showing the sword and it’s scabbard. Judging by both, it was meant for royalty.

Link’s was a handsome weapon, but much less ornate. He marveled at Fazia’s. It was really something to see, with decorative jewels and lush fabrics on the sheath. “Mine’s more of something a soldier would use.”

"It's still beautiful," Faiza assured him. "And they're both deadly, so that's what really matters, I think."

“And heavy,” he said. “I thought I was a pretty strong guy, but this works a whole different set of muscles.” In his dreams, he could handle the blade one-handed. Here, he struggled even with two.

"In sure it will come with time and practice." Lots of practice she mused. She was still an amateur again. Dane would laugh his fool head off at her.

“Have you used yours yet?” He hadn’t been able to, not with the broken leg.

“Not in anger,” the doctor replied. “I’ve been trying to..just in case, you know? I want to be able to protect the kids if something happened and I was there. But I’m having a hard go of it.”

“Hard go?” Link repeated, lifted a blonde eyebrow.

“It’s heavy and my body hasn’t adjusted yet,” she elaborated. “And then there’s the whole...violence thing.”

Again, he saw the cloud pass across her face. Link wasn’t very good with words, but he did want to make sure everything was alright. After all, the woman had just fixed his leg. “Hey, do you want some fresh milk or artichokes? Eggs?”

“..I’d love some eggs, thank you.” She gave him a smile, seeming to cheer up at the thought of food.

Link started for the kitchen. He didn’t always dash about like this, but it was making up for lost time. He had several large trays of eggs in the refrigerator, with cartons nearby for when he took them to the farmers markets. “Would you like a whole dozen?” he asked, already filling it up.

"Just half!" Faiza laughed. "I don't think I've ever had a whole dozen at once in my life!"

“Well, in case there’s more than just you at home,” he said, busy with the delicate work. Although he happened to eat eggs for breakfast just about every day. A dozen wouldn’t have gotten him through a week.

“No, just me. I usually have cereal in the mornings and then curry for lunch and dinner. Boring, I’ll admit.” There had been.... Obi of course, but she stopped that thought before it went sad places.

Link turned around just in time to see the cloud pass over her face again. He really wanted to say something, make sure this woman who had just helped him so much was okay. But he also didn’t want to pry. He was a private person himself. “Curry doesn’t sound boring to me,” he said, handing off the eggs. “This doesn’t seem like a fair trade, by the way.” He laughed.

“Oh it’s a wonderful trade! I haven’t had fresh eggs...well ever I suppose.” She’d never actually been to a farm before. They had chickens at the ranch but she never ate breakfast there!

“If you like them then consider me your egg supplier from now on.” He smiled boyishly. “And maybe after we get some practice, we could give the swords a try. I don’t know anyone else who has one.”

“Oh, we’ll likely hurt ourselves!” She was laughing though. “But I think I can fix us if that happens.”