Link stood at the ready, Gale Boomerang in hand. He cocked his left arm back, ready to loose his newly-won magic item at the propeller sitting atop the bridge. Carefully he locked onto his target, and with a calculated throw, he launched the boomerang. The Fairy of Wind took over, creating a localized cyclone around the enchanted object as it whirled in a graceful arc, right at its target. The propeller spun, and the bridge turned towards Link, the path clear. Link caught the boomerang as it circled back around to him. Smiling, he ran forward and prepared to make the jump.
He didn't notice the wind howling through the leaves and branches. His eyes were too focused on his landing point on the bridge to see the propeller start to spin once more. As the Ordonian ranch hand's feet lifted up from solid ground, Link only noticed too late that the wooden planks he was running towards spun away from him, only leaving wicker railing which was much too far away for the jump Link had planned to make.
The swordsman's stomach lurched as he stared down into the yawning black chasm below. He plunged downward, a scream trailing above him as he fell. He fell below the deepest rays of sunlight that sank through the forest canopy high above, and soon the perpetual night of the deepest parts of Faron Woods surrounded him. He was surrounded by that, and very soon after a great many branches and leaves which smacked Link all over his body, stinging his face, raking his arms and legs, and rattling his chainmail shirt. The young man covered his face and pressed shut his lips and mouth, but still bugs and leaves began invading his face. And then his legs gave way under a tree branch that his falling bodyweight snapped in half.
The sudden impact from below sent the young swordsman rolling back, where another branch cracked itself against his shoulder blades. Being knocked forward, another branch whammed into his stomach and stole the breath from his lungs. His body fell through a fork in yet another limb, threatening to rip through even his chainmail. Back and forth he was knocked between the angry arms of trees, punishing him and berating him over and over for his carelessness. But these trees also helped him, slowing down his descent. Eventually he landed with one big "Oof!" on the outstretched limbs of a dead, but still strong, oak.
An irritated voice spoke from the shadows, "Jeeze… Just my luck that I'd get a useless oaf like you to help me find the Fused Shadow. Some hero you are. I'm not helping with this—you got yourself into this mess, so get yourself out!"
Link grumbled, mainly with pain, but also with a slight tinge of embarrassment. He sighed and looked up. It would be a hell of a climb to get back to the top… At least a half-hour, maybe longer. It was so dark here on the forest floor that it was hard to see much of anything. Sighing, he heaved himself to an upright position and looked around. He spotted a series of limbs and branches that he could traverse, taking him closer to the great, big tree that held the platform he had previously fallen from. He opted for that route, and began the meticulous work of picking his way past the brambles and nettles, carefully weaving in between thorns and thistles, leaping from bough to leafy bough.
And then began the grueling, arduous work of climbing upwards. He twisted and stretched for every handhold, making sure his grip was firm before hoisting himself, inching ever closer to the sunlight. He tested every foothold, and scouted out his next steps at least five moves in advance. This was one time where Link was very glad to have grown up in a treehouse; though there was a ladder going from the ground to his front door, Link had very often had to climb to the top of his treetop home to prune back dead branches, fix leaks in the roof or repair his window. As such, he was a fairly accomplished climber; he knew to put his hands and feet as close to the trunks of trees as possible, where the limbs had the strongest connections. Link avoided dead branches, and took advantage of the spry, springy live limbs as he carefully brought them down to him for a more secure grip. He wedged his feet in the forks of trunks and shimmied upwards to the next branches…
After what both seemed like hours and only a few seconds, Link was back in the fresh sunlight and moving air of the Forest Temple. His chest was heaving, and his whole body was aching from both the fall and the painstaking climb back up. He was still about thirty feet down from his previous perch. The trees of the lower forest floor stopped here, their growth halted by the two immense Great Trees that made their long-beaten, would-have-been competitors seem like mere saplings in comparison. Link gave a loud sigh as he searched the bark, seeking desperately for anything, anything that he could use to hoist himself higher. Eventually, he found it, but it was not his first pick: A deep fissure in the bark. Groaning, he decided to give it a shot. He tried slipping his fingers in, praying that there wasn't a baby Skulltula waiting to bite his hand off… And it was clear.
Sighing with relief, he tested the bark, pulling his arm to the side while his hand hooked in. The bark was rock-solid, still alive and not going anywhere. Smiling with grim determination, the Ordonian hooked his other hand in, and planted his feet against the side of the tree. This climb would be utter hell, but darn it, he was going to make Midna eat her words about him. Useless oaf, he spat to himself. I'll show her useless. He used the sideways pull of his arms to heave his body higher and prevent another fall. Link was extremely thankful that the Hero's clothes had come with a pair of gloves, and the soles of his boots stuck to the tree remarkably well, almost like magic. Looks like the light spirits know a thing or two about practical dungeoneering wear, he thought.
After around a minute or so, Link's arms were screaming with agony, but he didn't dare relax his pace or his technique. He gritted his teeth and breathed hard, trying his best to keep his body under control. Come on, don't give out on me now, he told his aching body. He glanced upward. So close… Only a few more feet now…
Eventually, the Hylian could take no more. With a mighty yell and a mightier leap, he went for the protrusion that marked the platform where he had fallen from. Though his fingers were crying with pain from the last leg of his ascent, they obeyed his command to find a solid grip on the ledge. His feet dutifully stuck to the bark below, and his arms began bending, pulling Link up top with his final ounces of strength. His abs tucked his legs over the edge, which groggily swung clear of the abyss below. Link lay flat on his face before the door he had walked through a half hour ago, utterly spent. With everything his lungs had left, he gave one defiant laugh. To this blasted temple, to the fickle winds, to the capricious little imp that had been ordering him around, twisting his arm and belittling him for the last week now.
His eyes fell shut as he silently took in the gentle wind rustling through the trees, the propeller spinning once in a while, the rubbing of wood on wood as the bridges spun, the cool feeling of the moss caressing his face, the droplets of sweat trickling down his face, the sweat of his palms percolating through the soft leather of his gloves and mingling with the dew. Link's bones and muscles ached, but gradually softened and relaxed as his mind went still.
He laid there for what was probably a good fifteen minutes, and almost nodded off before Midna's voice once more echoed from below: "Alright, break time's over! We've got a Fused Shadow to go get, and I don't want to keep it waiting. And for gods' sakes, watch your jumps this time!" Begrudging her interruption to his peaceful almost-nap, the young hero groaned, shook the drowsiness from his head, and slowly pushed himself back up to his feet. Paying far more careful attention to his surroundings now, he jumped onward.
A/N: Wow, my first Zelda fic for a while! Getting back into writing with these characters after just beating Twilight Princess HD yesterday. Let me know how I did, and any critiques you have!
