Link whipped a hand back to wipe some sweat from his brow. In such summer months the barn absorbed all the sun's heat and kept it swirling inside like an oven. He didn't have much time to get the whole oily layer though because Ingo began to grumble even as his hand slipped away.
"Keep it there boy or you're going to drop this damn thing on my head."
Link just nodded and took a better grip. There wasn't much room for conversation in the sweltering air of work and nerves. A semisolid mud interwoven with grass and debris covered the floor on this edge and it was hard to keep balance even when concentrating. Link struggled to support himself and to clamp the heavy lengths of wood in place while Ingo worked. It was difficult because, even under such a situation he needed to stay precisely still so Ingo could install the hinges.
Two of the hinges had already broken, but that was okay because they had bought a large surplus several months back. Some of the older doors had started to rot from spring moisture in the air and needed to be replaced entirely. The whole process was driving Ingo's nerves into a hot, brittle fury and Link could only try to avoid setting the man off.
With a manic crunch, the third hinge snapped and tore from the wall in a sodden burst of splinters. The door half attached rolled away from Link's grasp and Ingo grunted as it knocked him in the chest. He fell backward against the edge of the stall and the heavy door tumbled after him. Link lunged forward to get a new grip on the turning piece of wood, only barely got a hold of it before the section crushed Ingo against the slick floor.
Link scrambled in the pen's muck, trying to find a foothold and leaning back as far as he could dare. Ingo's eyes were flashing white and wide beneath their heavy brows and the man flopped about struggling to slip out from under the collapse. The churning mud sloshed about underfoot as Link fought to maintain an already slippery balance. Ingo grabbed the edge of the stall and hauled himself away. Link released the door and let himself fall beside it. He skidded in the surface of mud and straw and found himself leaning against the edge of the stall.
Ingo stood fuming over the whole mess, his face red and mustache practically twitching out of anger. Link relaxed against the wall and let out a deep sigh. His heart was pounding so hard that he could feel it in his ears. For a moment he felt like laughing, as the absurdity of this crisis struck him. The danger was nothing like what he had faced a couple of years ago but hell it was still demanding to face.
"What the hell was that!? Am I going to get killed every time we have to fix something around here? This is insane this whole place is just falling apart and it's going to smash me into nothing and hell this is just great. This is perfect! That's another hinge broken not even counting how long it's going to take to get that door back together. This spring moisture, it might as well just be rain to-"
"Hey Ingo, don't worry about it." Link coughed at this. Sweat was still rolling down his face but at least now he could use his whole hand to wipe it all off. "There are plenty more of those hinges in the cupboard. Why don't we just step back for a minute and then try again."
Ingo wandered over to the cupboard, grumbling about the situation and mocking Link's tone of voice as he did so. It took just a second for Ingo to get the bucket down and just another for him to throw the whole thing on the ground.
"Hey, what did you do that for?"
Ingo just kept cursing and staring at the ceiling. Link pulled himself up and followed to get what he was looking at. He fished a handful of hinges out of the mud, which was more solidly packed with straw and better kept in this area. Link saw immediately what had driven Ingo into a second burst of rage. The hinges were all covered with a thick layer of rust which flaked off at the touch. Link managed to snap one between his fingers and then just dropped the rest.
"Well that explains all the trouble we've been having mounting the doors. Guess we overlooked that with the heat getting at us the way it is."
The observation didn't seem to be doing anything for Ingo's temper. His face was turning a new shade of red as he pointed a quivering finger up at the ceiling. Link followed his gaze and tried to block out the furious muttering. Just over the cupboard, a section of tin from the roof had given way in a jagged, uneven hole. The sky was visible between the jagged sheets of metal. Link glanced back down at Ingo and saw that the man's anger was only getting worse. He kept cursing and groaning and waving his arms around in a dismantled fit of futile aggravation.
"It's ruined... It's all..."
"Hey Ingo, I'll just head into Kakariko to get some replacements. That won't be too hard."
The man grumbled back at him and Link could hardly tell if it was an affirmative or a curse.
"You just find something else to take your time and I'll go get more hinges and some tin to patch the roof. We can get back to this tomorrow. We didn't really need those new doors up right away. Okay? You just go back to the house and I'll get some new materials."
Ingo managed to pull his meltdown back together long enough to pass Link a rough nod. His eyes were still clamped half shut and his jaw muscles showed knotted through the skin. Once his assent was given, Ingo just stamped away from the scene of frustration. He continued to grumble all the way to the door, and Link wiped some more sweat away while the man left. He was really an alright person underneath the furnace of his temper, but that was quicksilver enough to mask any hint of a friendly demeanor.
Link started to scoop the fallen hinges back into their bucket, but stopped as footsteps entered the barn. Malon appeared with a bundle of leather harnesses under her arm. She glanced back toward the door, which slammed shut with Ingo's passing.
"What's he gone off about?"
"There's some damage to the roof and the bucket of extra hinges is all rusty."
She laughed and that made Link smile.
"I'll never understand how he gets so worked up over things."
"Yeah, it's not his fault though. Anyway, I'll be going into Kakariko to get some replacements. Is there anything you want me to pick up while I'm there? I'll probably be heading down there as soon as I can wash this gunk off."
"You're going to Kakariko, huh? Well that's a coincidence, because I'm going to Kakariko. I just came in here to get some horses for the cart."
"Oh hell, you're right. I completely forgot about the milk deliveries."
"Don't worry about it. You're welcome to tag along as long as you help with the deliveries. Kakariko's not the only place I'll be going, so you might want to tell Ingo to put off installing the doors until tomorrow."
"I already did that. Thanks for the offer, just give me a minute to wash this stuff off and then I'll join you."
"Alright. I'll be loading the cart right in front of the house. Try not to miss it."
Link smiled and left the barn, headed into the house to wash up.