Story Title: An Eye for an Eye, A Tooth for a Goat
Disclaimer: I don't own Breath of the Wild.
Author's Notes: This was actually the fic I was working on when my other SidLink fic came to mind and took over. This is pretty much more SidLink fluff because I just wanted to write things I thought were cute between them or that amused me. I'm still not happy with the title but it was a placeholder that stuck.
Link's dislike of goats in this fic comes purely from my playthrough because when I play, mountain goats seem to target Link like Guardians.
As always, thanks for reading.
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Story Title: An Eye for an Eye, A Tooth for a Goat
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Until he had met Prince Sidon, everything that Link had known about himself barely filled a page in a book and most of that had came from the late King Rhoam. Even now after hearing the Zora prince's tales of his childhood adventures and battles fought alongside his sister, Mipha, their final battle against Ganon, and how the old guard among the Zora lost faith in the Hero, it all still felt like just one chapter of his life. Having no memory after waking from a hundred years of sleep was like starting a book in the middle and reading chapters at random while trying to piece the story from there, or at least that was how Link had explained his feelings toward his amnesia to Sidon one evening by the fire.
Some days only his food made sense. Early on, fire was his friend—it kept him warm and safe, fed him, and showed him the way in the dark. He couldn't remember his family and friends, the village he was born in, or even the day he was born, but from sitting at the fire, he remembered hot buttered apples and meat stuffed pumpkins. Until he had met Sidon, his cooking tools were his best friend. Now he just used his cooking tools and skills to show Sidon how much he loved and appreciated him.
Link lifted the lid off the heavy, cast-iron pot and stirred his thin soup that had yet to simmer and thicken into a proper stew. In another three hours or so, it would be a fine creamy meat and veggie stew. After a quick stir and taste, he added a pinch more rock salt and placed the lid back on.
Within view of their camp, there was a lake—Link had yet to extract the regional map from the local tower so he had no idea what the lake was named exactly—and in the lake, there was a mighty carp above all mighty carps. According to Sidon, it was a giant carp that was said to be as old and persistent as the Calamity Ganon. Legends said that if one caught and ate the Lord of Fish's flesh, its vanquisher would be granted nigh invincibility to all their foes, the ability to understand the speech of animals, and immunity to all poisons. It was also said to taste delicious and that was enough to draw Link's interest. Its powers just happened to be a lucky bonus.
So far, they were having no luck finding this mythical fish. Link had taken a break to get their stew prepared and started but Sidon was still searching the underwater caves. He was determined to find this fish for Link. He vowed to find it. Anything that would make you even stronger, I will see to it that you will have it, Sidon had said as he had helped Link slide into his Zora armor during the early hours of dawn. Believe in me as I believe in you and I will find it.
Recalling the heat and brush of the Zora prince's breath and mouth on his neck this morning, Link grinned and swept his hand up and along his neck. It wasn't quite the same sensation that had set his hair on end but it was a pleasing touch nonetheless. Truth be told, Link wasn't sure if this was a quest or a romantic getaway between the two. But before Link could try to coax the truth out of the Zora prince, he was going to have to first convince Sidon to come back to the surface. And as determined and eager to help Link how ever he could, that was actually a problem.
Just as he decided to put on his Zora armor and check in on Prince Sidon, Link heard something agitate the water behind him. Link turned and looked over his shoulder to see a goat wandering near the lake banks. Link had a long list of enemies out in the wild—Guardians, monsters, Calamity Ganon, and himself at least when he underestimated distances and how much stamina he had or how close he was to his bomb's blast range—but beyond those foes, nothing else infuriated him more than goats.
Link was not too proud to admit that on multiple occasions goats had outran and outsmarted him—a lot of hoofed beasts had eluded him in his early hunts. But what had earned goats a special place among his enemies was how many times goats had turned the tables on him and chased him across fields, rammed him, kicked him, or just plain mowed him down while he was enjoying the scenery. Goats had humiliated him so many times that Link swore that their bleats sounded like smug laughter. So it was a matter of pride that the goat had to die.
Link grabbed his bow and arrows and crept toward the lake. He made his way slowly over to a pile of large boulders near the lake banks. By all means, the conditions and his angle of approach were best he could hope for, given no grass cover. Nocking an arrow to his bowstring but without pulling his string back, Link waited and watched as the goat climbed onto a path of rocks that led out toward the center of the lake.
It has nowhere to go, Link grinned in excitement at the prospect of tasting goat meat since his awakening as he aimed his arrow and pulled the bowstring taut. As if sensing its impending death, the goat raised its head and stared right at Link. Of course it had known he was there. All mountain goats seemed to instinctively know wherever Link was at all times. Knowing it was going to turn and bolt if he didn't shoot, Link let his arrow fly.
At that same moment, the water by the rock path bubbled and gurgled violently. Springing forth from the white water surge, Prince Sidon lunged out of the water with his jaws open, shark teeth glinting in the afternoon sun, and tackled the stunned goat into the water. Link watched in transfixed awe and yet with all the motion and roars as Sidon wrestled with the struggling goat, he could only recall a few details. He saw writhing goat legs kick out from the flying, frothy water's surface and flashes of Prince Sidon's vibrant red head and back as he muscled the goat back under the water, which was quickly dyed a dark red.
Having no idea where his arrow had landed, Link worried from where and who the blood came from. His fear was swiftly alleviated as Prince Sidon tread through the shallower side of the lake and left the water carrying the dead goat under his left arm. Even if they weren't romantically involved, Link could see why the Zora prince had a fan club. As Sidon walked onto the dry edge of the lake banks, Link's eyes followed the water as droplets dripped down the fins that framed his face like forelocks and streaked down his broad, muscular body. His appeal was more than just being very attractive. It was his energy and charisma and his confident smile—Oh Godddess, Sidon's mouth was bruised and his teeth were bloodied.
"Sorry for ruining your shot. If I had known you were stalking that goat, I never would have interrupted you. I just knew how vexing these beasts are to you so I saw to it that this one would be no trouble," Prince Sidon said with a buoyant cheer in his voice. The Zora prince was quite pleased with himself and eager to help Link at any turn. Really it was quite sweet of Sidon that he had remembered and decided to take care of the goat on Link's behalf, but Link had yet to quit gawking at the prince's battered mouth to offer Sidon any sort of proper thanks or kisses.
"Ah yes, and here is your arrow. Luckily, I had seen it coming and caught it." Prince Sidon grinned and handed the arrow to Link. His mouth was even worse than Link had realized. A pang ran through his chest as Link saw that the tooth that always twinkled in even the slightest light when Sidon smiled was knocked in and was barely clinging to the gum. Link brought a hand up and lightly tapped the corner of his mouth.
Yellow eyes widening as the Zora prince realized what Link was so focused upon, Sidon chuckled deep in his throat and crouched down to Link's eye-level. "I assure you that my face looks in worse shape than it really is," he said as he reassuringly swept a large, wet hand through Link's hair, smoothing it down somewhat. "...But one of my teeth does feel a little loose. Link, if you would grant me a favor, could you see if one of my teeth is loose?"
Before Sidon could lift his upper lip, Link adamantly nodded yes.
"Thought so," Sidon said. "Well, if you could be so kind, please allow me one more favor and give it a good yank out. I can never muster the nerve to do it myself. I would not fault you if you refused, of course. I can't demand you to do something I am not willing to do myself."
Given the far creepier things he carried among his supplies, Link was not unaccustomed to removing teeth or tails or even guts from monsters. Actually, he carried more than one kind of monster tooth—Bokoblin fangs, in particular, were a steady source of quick rupees. Of course, it didn't matter what kind of help Prince Sidon needed. If Link knew how to do it, he would do it for Prince Sidon. Link agreed to help.
"Now there's no need to hesitate," Sidon said after washing out his bloodied mouth with water and setting the dead goat he was carrying down on a spread of Korok leaves. "One swift, sturdy pull should do the trick."
Closing his eyes, Prince Sidon tilted his head back and Link gingerly reached into his mouth and took hold of his loose tooth by pinching the center between his thumb and index fingers to avoid slicing his fingers on any sharp edge. On the mental count of three, Link pulled Sidon's tooth and the shark tooth popped out fairly easily. Sidon's flinch was more violent than the actual teeth pulling.
"Thank you, Link. Feels better already," Sidon said and slid his tongue in between the now toothless gap. "Bet it looks gruesome in there. Not to worry, another one is already growing in, see? I'll have my glistening smile back by morning."
There really was a small point of a new tooth jutting out into his old tooth's empty space, the sight of which fascinated Link. Maybe when the tooth grew out a bit more he could touch it, with Sidon's permission, of course. Link had thought the worst when he saw Sidon's battered mouth but, unlike Hylian teeth, Zora teeth grew back regardless of how many times they shed them.
"You did not have to tolerate my foolishness and yet you did," Sidon said as he laid a large hand on the back of Link's head and pulled him toward him into a casual hug. "I very much appreciate your help and your bravery. ...Shall I go on? Your cheeks have barely turned red today."
Link pressed his lips into a tight-lipped smile as he tried and failed to keep from grinning. Usually, when people complimented him or heaped on praise of his virtues, Link had no problem with staying straight-faced. It was all in day's work for the Hero of Hyrule and the adventure continued. Only Prince Sidon had the uncanny ability to say so many nice things to him and make him grin and laugh until Link's face matched the redness of Sidon's fins and back. At least Sidon was only embarrassingly affectionate to him when it was clearly just the two of them. Most of the time.
Link felt the rumble of Sidon's laughter as he tried to hide his face by laying his head on Sidon's chest. "Come now, a brave hero like yourself doesn't have to be shy," the Zora prince said, capitalizing on his height over Link and the angle of Link's head to attack his unguarded neck with kisses. "You're going to have to smile for the both of us tonight."
Being ticklish on his neck, Link shrunk away from Prince Sidon's kisses and licks. Despite his plentiful protests, Link laughed the entire time.
They both heard the large splash in the lake at the same time. His curiosity winning over his affection for Link, Prince Sidon peered up and looked over his shoulder.
"The Lord of Fish?" Sidon said, blinking in incredulity, as a large but not gigantic golden carp leaped out of the water yet again. "It appears that the stories told of it might have been over-embellished across the ages..."
Link wasted no time and threw a remote bomb into the lake and detonated it. When the bright blue light cleared and the water settled, the Lord of Fish and a couple mighty and armored carp bobbed to the surface.
Truth be told, Link was a little disappointed that the Lord of Fish wasn't the massive king of the lake he had imagined. He had hoped that the legendary fish that was called the Lord of Fish was as big, if not bigger than Prince Sidon but it was more roughly the size of a Hylian Retriever. It was a large golden fish, yes, but it was nothing that suited the grandeur that the tales told about it alluded to.
"Link, that really removes all sport and fairness out of fishing..." Prince Sidon said, tossing Link a flat stare and frown in mild disapproval at his fishing technique. In reply, Link tipped his head to the side with such an impish grin stretched across his face, as if saying that he agreed with him but it was too fun to stop doing. Sidon scrunched his mouth in way that gave Link the impression that the Zora prince begrudgingly agreed that it was a cool trick but it was still unsporting.
"We really should go Zora spear-fishing when the proper opportunity arises," Sidon said, as Link walked on ahead to collect his catch in the lake. "I know that you know how, pity that your mind has forgotten."
That was a surprise to hear but then again, there was probably lots Link had known how to do but had forgotten.
Link and Prince Sidon laid down several more Korok leaves and settled in for a long night of butchery and cooking. To go alongside their stew in another hour or two, Link roasted the Lord of Fish by the fire. He doubted whether it really had any powers, though it did give off a good smell as it cooked.
After butchering up the goat and skewering it on a wooden pole to simmer on what was their camp's third flame, Link wiped the sweat off his brow and joined Prince Sidon relaxing by the lake banks. He soon realized that he still had Sidon's tooth in his pocket. He wasn't sure what to do with it and Zora regularly shed their teeth so often that the temporary loss of one was nothing momentous but Link couldn't bring himself to discard it.
Link asked Sidon if it was all right if he made his tooth into a necklace and wore it.
"You want to wear it?" Sidon said, blinking in astonishment. "Yes, of course you may!" He nodded readily.
Link found a length of leather twine that was for some reason among his supplies and tied it around Sidon's tooth.
"Please, allow me," Sidon asked, extending his hand. As Link bowed forward, Sidon tied the necklace around his neck and admired it as he let it fall and rest against Link's Champion's Tunic. "It suits you wonderfully, Link."
Link grinned in response, a loving warmth rising and coloring his cheeks red.
"Perhaps it will bring you luck and strength throughout the rest of your adventure. In fact, I pray that it does," Sidon said, flexing his arm and grinning at Link. The tiny point of his regrowing tooth twinkled in the early evening daylight.
"I am honored that you would carry a piece of me," Sidon said, wrapping an arm around Link's shoulders and hugging him against the side of his body. "It brings me joy to know that I will always be with you, no matter how far you travel."
Link couldn't agree more.