Dogura rose up out of the shadow, glad to be out of the desert. What in the world was Thomas Brown doing out there anyhow? How had he not expected to die? In any case, Dogura's stomach was growling, and he'd had his fill of reaping souls for the week. Not much to do now but try to enjoy a meal.

He pushed open the doors and walked inside. Ignoring the Goron manager's shpeel, he made his way to an average sized table, and took a seat in the booth. He placed his elbows on the table, and held his head in his hands. It was lonely work, being a reaper. Without Darkin constantly nagging at him, it was pretty quiet around.

Darkin... Why couldn't you just forgive me?

Despite the vagabond's tough exterior: the one he showed the public- he yearned for a bit of company. Loneliness in his line of work was detrimental to his sanity. He had a number of allies, some of which he would go so far as to call friends... Yet he hadn't seen any of them in quite some time. It was as if they'd fallen off of the face of the earth. Even if they'd seen him somewhere public, would they recognize him as his younger self? Every day he found new reasons to regret the decision he'd made. Still, he probably would have felt the same way had he taken another route.

He sat quietly by himself, his head turned towards the window where his thoughts took him somewhere else...

OOC: Joinable to anyone & everyone.

Perceptive though he may be, it is not likely Dogura or any of the other patrons of the quaint little desert cafe noticed when the man cloaked in the black of night came through the doors. His walk was silent as fish in the sea and he came to sit beside the samurai in his booth, whether Dogura willed it or not. Then he made his presence known, for who could ignore one such as this sitting right beside.

The man’s eyes were not visible, nor any of his head and facial features save for those beneath the tip of his nose. His lips were dry as though he had spent some time in the desert and his chin and cheeks and upper lip were dotted with sparse black whiskers that formed an almost haggard, accidental beard. Were it not for his enigmatic self-portrayal he might seem to be just another wayfaring vagabond in need of a drink, a quick meal, and a shave.

But other tables and booths were empty, and he had chosen to sit where he now was for reasons soon made clear. For the cloak and hood of his order, and indeed the gentle yet hardened tone of his voice should not be lost on Dogura, but instead remembered and reflected on. A moment of silence, in which the pair of vagabonds said nothing, and finally the stranger spoke.

“Long have I watched you, Dogura samurai, the son of Rendd from the old kingdom of Shadowclaw to the South. Young you were when first my bow, and my spirit, became tasked with the valiant duty of protecting you from afar. Then older and decrepit I saw you after long had I retired from such a task, after such a time when your presence was lost and became unknown on this earth to myself and those I call allies. In that time when I forsook your existence and had labelled you dead, another of our order found you alive and well, despite evidence and testimony that you had spent time in the Underworld of Ganon, hell itself ruled by the lord of all evil. And through this lady of the jungle we learned much of you.

And though I had been told by the great Wolf that I was to leave you to your designs lest you be found and destroyed by the lord whom you had forsaken out of the goodness of your soul, I came but once a month to be sure that you had not succumbed to evil or been slain resisting it. For while a forgotten ally I may have been, I still looked upon you as friend, for it was I who aided you in resisting the Great Rope and it was I who accompanied you through an untouched realm of the Underworld, filthy though it was, but not by the malice of Ganon. And for a while I was glad to act again as the eyes of the Wolf and on occasion be aware of you in the region of Laruto, until the day that I saw you no more, and followed your trail to the great Palace deep in Midoro, a place where none had gone since the days of the Hero. And I resolved to then leave you and not take part in knowing what became of your venturing into that place unknown to me.

And here I find you again, and yet you look not the same as the broken, half-blind person I had seen recently. Now I look upon an apparition most assuredly born of great darkness, to be restored to former glory; and apart from the Apostles of Carock I ask you, as archer Radley the man and simply he, what terrible grace has fallen on you?”

When the man sat down, Dogura would have normally ignored him; however it seemed that some force beyond his knowledge granted him the company he'd wished for. Dogura knew well that strangers make for interesting conversation. That in mind still, nothing could have properly prepared him for what he was about to hear.

After the man had stopped speaking, Dogura knew this wasn't just anyone. The name Radley wasn't the freshest on his memory- but he did remember fighting off the Rope. It was one of his many adventures that he had come to look fondly upon- and here was Radley, a comrade from all those years ago, just as he'd asked.

"No need to speak proper with me, Radley." He laughed, a smirk on his face. "That Rope was one hell of a beast eh? Good to see you in one piece, unexpected as it might be. Here in the cafe of all places, too." He leaned back, and cracked his knuckles before heaving a heavy sigh. It wasn't a sigh of boredom, or depression- but rather fond nostalgia. He decided to answer Radley's question, not having to be nearly as secretive now that he wasn't being hunted.

"What terrible grace has fallen on me?" He whistled, and glanced out the window at the billowing sands before answering. "I'm not sure I would call it terrible. The truth is, I'm happier than I've been in a very very long time." His eyes turned to Radley's. "Let me tell you about a book I've been writing." His eyes increased in intensity when he said this.

"A dead man, once powerful in all regards- feared as a superpower on the battlefield, becomes a shell of his former self after returning to the world of the living. Missing his eye and his arm, he tries to lead a life a peace and secrecy. While constantly on the run, age begins to catch up with him. All of his allies are growing stronger, and stronger still... While he withers away, unnoticed by the enemy during large scale battles. Finally, he returns to hell to strike a deal with the Dark Lord himself. The deal was to become one of Ganon's reapers in return for his eye and his arm."

Dogura paused for a moment, channeling in on the thoughts of others. A few people close by were paying minimal attention. Telling Radley the story in such a manner garnered little public reaction- perfect.

"Ganon however was more than gracious with the broken soul. He returned sight to the man in the form of two brand new eyes that surpass his old eyes in nearly every way." Dogura stared at the archer intently, allowing him to further inspect the unique looking eyes. "He gave him his arm back, and the reunited the man with a power long forgotten... And then he returned to the bitter old man the forgotten youth he'd long wished for. The man had everything he wanted and more..."

Dogura looked out the window, a small sadness overtaking his features.

"But at what cost..."

He was silent for a couple of moments, allowing the background noise of people having conversations to take their ears for a couple of moments. He looked back at the cloaked archer.

"The man had it all. Everything he'd wanted. But when he returned to his closest friend, he found him furious. Despite saying anything he could think of, he couldn't stop his friend from abandoning him. His friend had simply lost all respect, faith, and hope for the man. The world slowly became a quiet place, and far different than the man had remembered. The man was under contract to reap at least one soul every week, although the number was allowed to be higher. The man... The lonely man often found himself wandering the continent in search of a better purpose- or even someone to talk to. He couldn't find any of his old friends or allies- they had simply disappeared, leaving him to wish for their return. The world is silent now..."

Dogura half smiled at Radley. "Well... Until now. That's as far as I've gotten in the story. What do you think?" He leaned forward on the table and folded his hands. Before Radley could respond, a human woman appeared at the table in a new looking red apron that read, "Tantari Cafe". She wore a pin on it which read, "Lisa". She had red hair that was put up in a bun, nice features, lean figure, and smooth looking skin. "Hi! Welcome to the Tantari Cafe, my name is Lisa, and I'll be your server today!" She said this with a little too much enthusiasm, probably repeating it hourly. "Have you decided on what you want to order?"

"I'm ready to order," Dogura said opening the menu. He pointed to roast-beef combo. "I'll have this right here, with a water to drink." She jotted it down on her pad, and turned to Radley. "And you, hun?" After taking his order, she'd hurry back to the kitchen.

OOC: Awesome to see that this got a reply so quickly, thanks!
I almost forgot about giant Rope fight! Good times.