Big Blue Sea

"But Link, every shard of the Triforce has been found at sea. Why search this island?"

"Because it's uncharted. That's all the excuse I need."

The king protested, but Link nonetheless disembarked. It must have been aggravating for him, the boy reflected, being stuck as a boat. Not as a full grown man, but as a boat fated to be driven around.

"Well, don't be long! We have to return to Hyrule as soon as possible!"

Yeah, sure. I'll get right on that.

The king…that's all he could call him now, "the king." King of Red Lions, King Daphanes Nohansen Hyrule, he could have had a third title for all he knew. The king had helped him. But who was helping whom at the end of the day…that was another question entirely.

Nonetheless, he walked onto the island. He had time. And on land, he was his own master.

The island was mostly sand and rock. And otherwise barren. By this point Link had expected there to be chuchus or octoroks to come out and attack him. But there was nothing. Every island he'd visited so far had had something going for it. But this one was just empty.

"Hello?" he called out.

There was no answer. Only the sound of the wind, and the rumble of thunder on the horizon.

"Hello?"

Still no answer. He kept walking, up the stone stairs that led to the island's peak. Someone must have come here once, he thought – nature didn't make stairs for him to climb. And-

Hmm?

He'd reached one of the island's peaks, and before him lay a tent. Beside it was a wooden table, and above it hung an unlit lamp. The tent's flap lay open and-

"Who are you?"

And he turned around, looking back down the stairs. On instinct, he reached for his sword and shield. And through sheer will, he did not draw them. He'd confronted enemies, from creatures that could give even dragons pause, to mere keese. But nowhere on the Great Sea had he seen anything that would make him believe this boy who stood before him was an enemy.

"Who are you?" the boy repeated.

"Link," he answered. "My name is Link."

"Huh. That's a stupid name."

Link frowned – Grandma had once said that his parents had named him as such so they would never lose him. That he would be 'linked' to them. Not that it had done either of them much good when the storm took them all those years ago. But this child – Outset Island had been his home. A small one, but home nonetheless. This island was completely deserted in contrast.

"What's your name?" Link asked.

"Don't matter," the boy said. He walked up the stairs, and Link had to stand on the edge just to avoid being knocked off them.

"So…this is your island?" Link continued. He wasn't sure how to go about this. Landing on Windfall had been terrifying in its own right – he'd never seen so many people in one place before. Landing on uncharted islands always had an element of danger to them. He'd even encountered islands inhabited by only one individual. But never just a child.

"Mine now," the boy answered, fiddling around in the tent. "Since Da left at least."

"Your father's gone?"

"Dead, gone, whatever," the boy grunted. He glanced at Link. "What would you know of that?"

He winced. "A lot, actually," he murmured.

"Then you'll know it's no use whining about it," the boy snapped.

Whining. It was a luxury he couldn't remember taking part in. He couldn't afford to whine. Grandma had looked after him. And Aryll…he'd lost his parents. Through grief, she'd nearly lost everything in those dark days.

"So what's your deal anyway?" the boy asked. He sat down at the table and began playing with a knife, hacking away at the wood. "You think that sword and shield make you feel like a man?"

Link remained silent. Sword, shield…part of him wanted the boy to notice that he was carrying far more than that. Bombs, a boomerang, a bow, and plenty of other materials that didn't begin with b.

"Where you headed anyway?"

"I'm looking for…islands," Link answered slowly. He didn't want to talk about the Triforce, or "Triumph Forks" as some called it. More out of a desire to keep those he met safe. There was no telling what agents Ganondorf might employ to hunt his foes.

"Well, congratulations, you found one," the boy murmured, still hacking away at the wood. "So what's next? Do you plant a flag? Declare yourself the 'discoverer' of this place?"

"I can mark it on a chart," Link said.

"That all?"

"Yes."

"Then you're useless."

Link frowned – there was nothing for him here. If he wanted to be insulted, he'd just talk to Tetra. So thus, he turned to leave. He didn't want to be insulted. He didn't want to think about Tetra, or Zelda, or whomever that pirate was. He didn't want to think about the prospect of actually missing her, and-

"Does the word Oceanhorn mean anything to you?"

And Link glanced back at the boy, thoughts of pirates gone. "What?"

"Oceanhorn," the boy repeated. "My fa…a friend…went to find it. Defeat it." He held the knife in his hands, pressing the blade and hilt against each of them. "It is said to be a mechanical monster of the deep. I don't suppose…"

"I've seen many monsters," Link answered. "The Great Sea is full of danger. But no. Nothing like that."

"Oh," the boy said, and Link could have sworn he was genuinely disappointed. "Well, never mind."

He went back to the table. Not playing with the knife, but just sitting there. Link went to say something, but thought better of it. He went to leave.

"I appreciate it you know."

And again, Link glanced at the island's sole resident.

"You," the boy said. "Just…giving me someone to talk to."

Link laughed silently – someone to talk to. Usually people commented on how little he talked.

"You're welcome."

But he wouldn't turn up his nose at people who said otherwise.

But still, he had to leave. The king was right, the Triforce had to be found.

"Ah, you're back."

Link nodded as he climbed onto the ship. Again, his clothing was wet. But it didn't matter – the sun was so fierce that they'd be dry in less than an hour.

"We should move," the king said. "That storm will be upon us soon."

"We can outrun it." Link held up the Wind Waker and smiled. Just talking before sailing. It felt good somehow. "We can outrun anything, right?"

"Hmm? Well, of course," the king said. "And that cannon doesn't reduce our odds either."

"No. I guess not."

Within seconds, Link had changed the direction of the wind. In slightly longer a period of time, he'd loosened the sail. And mere moments after that, they were off.

"Did you find anything interesting?" the king asked. "Anything you were looking for?"

Link's first answer was no. No chuchus for their jelly, no rupees, there hadn't even been a fish around to help him mark the island.

"Link?"

But he'd met someone. Talked to someone. And he wanted to think that maybe, just maybe, he'd helped that someone. Even just through talking. That if he was the Hero of Winds, that meant more than searching for some "Triumph Forks."

"Link?"

"Yes," he said, feeling the wind on his face, and sun on his back. "I found something."

A/N

So, Oceanhorn's been released on Steam, and many have compared it to The Wind Waker. Personally, I can't deny the similarities, but hey, if you're going to copy anything, copy Wind Waker. You can't go wrong there IMO. ;)

Anyway, drabbled up this as a result.