Col remembered the shouts of glee when news of the hero awakening spread through the Yiga clan. The location was unknown to anyone. All any of them could do was sit and wait. Col had never really been interested in killing, at least not as much as the others of his group. Many times, he stayed clear of the hideout in the highlands and travelled further east near Mt. Lanayru. It wasn't that he hated them. They were his family and all he had that he could call that, but sometimes it was a little much for him. Besides, Col enjoyed travelling and seeing the different lands around Hyrule. He'd leave slaying the hero to them. They can have their glory and fame. He was content with being known as a wanderer. He wasn't a deserter. He still stuck to the Yiga ways or at least acted like it, so at least he wasn't known as a traitor and had his brethren out hunting him. The benefit of being in the Yiga clan was the monsters left him alone since he technically had allegiance to Ganon. Really, the only Yiga clothing he wore anymore was his bandana with the eye symbol on it. When travelling through strange lands and villages, he wore traveler's clothes to keep a low profile. He kept his hair in a short, buzzed style to look ordinary.

I'm not anything special. Just a simple wanderer.

What was the point of being proud to be in the clan when he had nothing to show for it. His combat skills were average at best. He could defend himself when needed but nothing close to the skills the others had. He figured he was better off on his own than to be a burden to them.

It was a usual sunny day out in the hills near the great mountain. Col had just killed a deer, carrying the fresh meat in a sack to be roasted later for dinner. On the way, he stopped to pick a few Silent Princesses. He heard stories about this flower being a favorite of Princess Zelda, and they always interested him. They sparkled brilliantly in the moonlight, and Col knew there was a full moon tonight. He tucked two carefully in his pocket and continued walking among the trees. He was nearing a particular spot that he always made a point to avoid. Instead of continuing along the path, he went to the right and up along the hill. There was a frightening beast man many referred to as a Lynel. He knew better than to stray into the path of one from a previous encounter that he barely escaped from in one piece. They were nothing to mess with that was for sure. He hadn't met any others, but they had to be just as menacing as the Lanayru one. Col didn't want to chance being spotted by it, so he stayed out of sight, though he could hear its heavy hoofs pound the ground with each step it took.

As he was sneaking, Col bolted upright when he heard the beast roar followed by the cry of someone nearby. All he could hear was light, hurried footsteps followed closely by the stomping hooves of the lynel. Col bit his lip and finally ran over to the edge of the hill. He crawled on the ground and looked out into the small valley below where the lynel usually patrolled. He blinked in surprise as he watched a person wearing a dark hood being chased by the lynel and firing arrows back at it. That only enraged the beast even more as it shot ice arrows at the other. Some barely missed the traveler, and Col was rather impressed by their quickness and accuracy. However, the lynel's raw power was clearly superior. The traveler cried out again as one of its ice arrows plunged into their shoulder, causing them to falter and nearly fall over. Col was repeatedly telling himself not to get involved. That was a sure-fire way to just end up getting himself killed.

In the last second, as the lynel was closing in on the traveler, Col teleported using his magic he learned since he was a child in the Yiga clan. He burst in front of the traveler in a burst of flame and quickly took the other into his arms and teleported towards the other side of the hill where he had been before the lynel could do any more damage. He panted as he hid behind a tree with the traveler in his arms. Sweat beaded up around his temples as he tried desperately hard to quiet his breathing even with his chest heaving up and down from nearly staring death in the face aka an enraged lynel. He could hear the heavy hoofbeats along with grunts. It wasn't so quick to give up yet as it looked around the area. Finally, with a booming roar, it ran off elsewhere. Col waited until he could no longer hear it and breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing some but still holding the other in his arms. On his way out of there, he picked up the sword and bow that the traveler had dropped in the process of the fight.

He walked to the ruins by the lake, choosing a spot that offered them shelter. Carefully, he laid the other on the stone, using his blanket as a pillow for the traveler's head, the cloak still hiding their head. Before that, he got a fire going with some flint and warmed his hands by the flames. He glanced over as curiosity was getting the better of him. With careful hands, he removed the hood that was obscuring the traveler's face and gasped when he saw the golden hair and fair face.

"I'm just jumping to conclusions..he just looks like the hero is all. He's Hylian..so what?" Col said to himself.

Just to be sure, he looked through his things. His face went pale when he pulled out a blue tunic among the traveler's things.

"The Champion's tunic..the one they spoke about.."

Col glanced over at the Hylian again. He certainly did have a resemblance to the hero. Now he was left wondering what to do. Certainly, as being part of the Yiga clan, he should do the right thing and alert the others. He didn't want to be the one to slay him. Someone else could have that glory, but now he was the one that found the hero. He gasped as the Hylian flinched and groaned in pain.

"The arrow! How could I have forgotten?" he groaned and immediately began to warm up a piece of cloth.

Now, came the hard part. It looked like he was still unconscious, which was good since he was sure this was going to hurt immensely. He first checked to see how much the arrow had gone through. Sure enough, the tip was sticking out the backside, most likely due to the strength of the lynel. That was good. It would make taking it out much easier and less painful for the Hylian hero. What was he thinking? If anything, he should leave the arrow in. It would make him weaker and easier for another Yiga to kill him. Col bit his lip as he undid the other's protective tunic to reveal more of his shoulder. No, this was the right thing to do for now. He couldn't leave him in pain like this. He might not survive if he doesn't get that arrow out.

Col started by snapping the tail off of the arrow. Very carefully, he lifted the Hylian's shoulder slightly and ever so slowly slid the rest of the arrow out. The tips of his fingers burned with the icy cold from the arrow's head. He heard the other groan slightly while he was in the process of sliding the arrow out but that was all. Next, he took the hot cloth and pressed it to the wound and put another piece on the other side. It would at least warm up his skin and hopefully prevent any more damage from the cold magic from the arrow. What was this guy thinking just taking on a lynel like that? He was the hero and all but still. Lastly, Col dragged him closer to the fire so he'd keep warm and huddled by the glowing flames himself. He knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep. There was too much anxiety on this whole situation for any hope of sleep.

I'll figure out what to do with him in the morning.

Col didn't end up getting a wink of sleep. He was too nervous both for the well being the Hylian and what he should even do with him. Loyalty to his brethren was important, but he didn't even want to imagine what they'd do with the Hylian when he handed him over. Most likely, he would be welcomed back with a standing ovation but at what cost? The winds on the edge of the mountain seemed to bite right through his heavy clothes. Whenever he felt the numbing cold sink through to his skin, he added fuel to the fire and scooched the other closer to it. He even went out to the nearby trees whenever he was running low on fuel. At the most, he ended up half asleep sitting up and instantly woke up whenever his head went forward too much.

In the morning, it was a groan from the other that made him wake up suddenly. The Hylian was definitely stirring now. Col watched as his brows furrowed, and his eyes slowly opened. Overnight, Col had gone through this scenario over and over again in his head, but now that it was actually happening, he froze up and merely stared at the other. For a while, the two simply stared at each other. All that could be heard was the howling winds from the mountain along with the periodical distant roar of the lynel in the distance.

"Um, don't worry. The lynel doesn't go beyond the area it patrols. We're safe here," Col said, clearing his throat nervously. "I'm glad you're alright. I got the ice arrow out, but I expect you're still pretty sore."

"Th-thank you," the Hylian said, biting his lip as he slowly sat up. "What's your name..if I might ask?"

"Oh! Uh, it's Col," he stammered, barely getting the words out. "Wh-what's yours?"

"I'm Link. Sorry to cause you such trouble. I thought I'd be able to get away from that thing, but even I make mistakes sometimes," he chuckled, though it sounded a bit sad.

"Link," Col thought to himself.

He found that he was saying that name over and over again in his head. He had only ever known the other as either "the Hylian" or "hero." Well, it was only natural that a hero had a name.

"Link..you're the hero legends speak of, right?"

"That's right. I'm supposed to be the one to stop the Calamity..so the legend speaks."

"Wow, you're pretty young for being what…like one hundred seventeen," Col said with a bit of a chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Heh, yeah. Well, I was put into a deep slumber for one hundred years, but it seems things have only gotten worse since then."

"Well..that's not entirely true. Many towns have been rebuilt. And sure, there are crazy monsters out there, but many are learning how to fight them, so there is a bright side."

Col looked to the east, watching the sun slowly make its way up the mountain. It was dawn and soon to be morning. He wasn't sure how well of a healing job he did for Link. It'd be a good idea to seek further medical attention since he wasn't a healer. The Yiga clan was still well in his mind as he helped Link to his feet. The other was still rather wobbly on his feet. Going to the nearest town on foot wasn't ideal, but it's all they had for now.

"You're still not well. We should get you to Hateno Village. They have an inn where you can take it easy and better food than we'll find out here."

Link complied with a nod. As they walked down the path, he leaned heavily onto Col at times. During the journey, Col prayed that they wouldn't run into any disguised Yiga clan members. He didn't know if he had the heart yet to pick to either defend Link or side with the Yiga. For now, all that was on his mind was getting him to the village safe and sound.