A/N: This shall make those LinkxTetra fans happy :)

Chapter 3

Mountain Climbing

After receiving the fresh food and water and setting it for storage on the ship, Tetra's entire crew vigorously feasted with the Ritos when dinner came.

They were in the dining hall, a large room with a very tall ceiling; it held a very long table where all the Ritos and pirates ate. There were tall windows on each wall, letting in the evening light. Between the windows were long banners that had the same designs as the chief's red cloak. Everything was a pale shade of pinkish yellow from the oncoming sunset.

The pirates told tales of their journeys on the Great Sea, facing perilous enemies, raging storms, and other dangers. Tetra knew they were all exaggerating, but she decided not to mention it and ruin their fun. The Rito's shared stories of the many interesting things they encountered while on their mail route; the Ghost Ship, conversations with the islanders, and even bizarre encounters with Beedle the traveling merchant on his shop ship.

Even Link was telling of his own adventures. He told the story of how he had defeated the boss of the Wind temple, all the while using his spoon to imitate his sword. He made everyone laugh when he had preformed a vertical chop with the silverware, and accidentally flung a glob of pudding at Gonzo's face.

At the time Link looked around the table to see if Tetra was laughing too, but instead he noticed her sneaking out of the dining hall. He quickly excused himself and followed her outside, and to the entrance of Dragonroost Cavern.

"Tetra! Wait up!" Link called, sprinting across the bridge to catch up to her. "What'chya up to?" he panted when he finally reached the young girl.

Surprised that Link followed her, she answered.

"I wanted to ask Valoo if he knew anything about that riddle. I'm sure he's flown over those islands too, so he might know about it," she told him.

"How come I wasn't invited?" Link grinned, folding his arms.

"I thought you said that you wanted to catch up with Prince Komali, I was doing a good deed by not disturbing you."

"We can do that later," he said. Link waved a hand in front of her face with a 'psh'.

Tetra sighed and looked at the entrance to the cavern. "The only problem is, I have no idea how to get through a raging volcano filled with molten lava, past blood-thirsty monsters, walk up a slope winding on the outside of a mountain, and get to the monumental red dragon sitting on top of it, six hundred million feet in the air."

Link chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Oh naïve Tetra, the mountain is not that high. And, I'll come with you. I can show you the best way to get to Valoo. Those monsters'll be running and crying to their mothers when they see me coming'," he smirked, flipping his hair out of face and casually flexing his arm, "It shouldn't be that dangerous with me there."

Tetra looked at him incredulously, then smiled too. As she walked by him she half slapped, half patted him on the face. "Yes. Hopefully they don't die of laughter. Now c'mon muscle man, lead me."

"Alright, but don't yell at me when you get burned," Link played, following her.

"As long as you don't whine about being so far from the ground," Tetra retorted.

"Yeah right," Link laughed.

"Hey, watch how you speak to your captain," she said playfully.

"So Miss Captain, do you want to see the cavern or not?"

"I'm following you, remember tough stuff?" Tetra replied mockingly, "Get up here,"

Link grinned in reply as he led her to the entrance of the cavern.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After many monsters and intense heat, they finally made it to the outside of the mountain. "Phew! Finally, fresh air," Link huffed, "It was getting a little too hot in there." He took of his hat and ruffled his hair.

Tetra tried her best not to look over the edge as they climbed the spiraling land and stairs to the summit.

The pair soon reached a dead end; a small slip of land that abruptly dropped off, and then reappeared about five or six feet away. Though all her attempts not to, Tetra finally looked over the ledge. She gulped as she realized how high up they actually were. All she saw where white, puffy clouds below her, but as she looked out towards the ocean, she saw the setting sun sparkling over the Great Sea, making the light dance on the water. The sunset made the sky different shades of pink, orange, and red, and the sea was mirroring the colors. She would have found the sight breath-takingly beautiful if she wasn't five thousand feet in the air.

"N-now what?" Tetra gulped, turning so the view wouldn't remind her of how high up they were.

"I guess we'll have to see Valoo tomorrow, when Quill or Komali could bring us." Link replied, looking at the gap.

Something that would be the solution to their predicament caught the boy's eye, but the female pirate didn't notice as she turned to go back the way they came. She took one misfortunate step, which sent the stairs falling from under her feet. Luckily using her quick reflexes, she managed to grab onto part of the cement that was still attached.

"Tetra!" Link yelped as he ran to where she clung for dear life.

"Link! Help!" she whimpered to the boy in green.

Immediately she felt herself being hauled up from where she had been hanging, and then felt something sturdy beneath her feet. That sudden scare made her muscles go limp, making her fall into Link. He was a bit surprised at this motion, but either way he caught her from falling again.

"You ok Tetra?" He asked, his voice serious.

"How's that for a doozy?" She grunted, ignoring his question.

A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips as he pushed Tetra to her feet. Once regaining her balance, the blonde girl examined the ledge, but she saw that they were stranded.

"How are we supposed to get back?"

While the girl was asking that, Link pulled a hook and a rope from his tunic.

"Don't worry miss cap-i-tan," he issued with a French accent, "I have a plan."

"And that would be…?" The pirate pressed, waving a hand through the air.

"See that pole sticking out of the side of the mountain?" Tetra followed to where Link was pointing and nodded.

"I could latch onto that with my grappling hook and swing across." Link's cheeks turned pink and he looked at the ground when he said his next sentence. "But if we both wanted to get across, I'd have to carry you…"

Noticing that the pirate wasn't responding, Link quickly added,

"O-or you could go yourself of course. You know how to use a grappling hook, right?"

"I think I'd rather go with you now," Tetra said. "It would be safer with you, I'm still a little shaky," she added with a shrug.

"Alright," Link murmured with a slight grin that Tetra hadn't seen. He twirled the rope around his head a few times, and then hurled it at the pole. He pulled on it, making sure it would support both their weights. Link didn't notice that the pirate captain was fidgeting a bit, Tetra was nervous to be so close to him, let alone about to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Ready?" the blonde boy called behind him.

The girl awkwardly slid her arms over his shoulders and clasped them together.

"This good?" she asked.

"Like a piggy-back Tetra, wrap your legs around my waist,"

She was glad Link couldn't see her red face, but she followed his directions.
"How about now?"

"Yep, hang on tight!" She could hear the smile in his voice, and he bolted towards the edge. Tetra squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the ground beneath their feet fall away.

Before she knew it she felt earth replace the open space.

"Tetra, we've reached ground…you can let go."

Somehow Link must have turned around without her noticing, because when she peeked one eye open, she saw Link's face inches from hers, and she was staring into his dark green eyes.

"Oh, sorry…" The girl muttered and immediately let go, her face turning scarlet from embarrassment.

"It's fine," he said, giving her a warm smile. "C'mon, it's getting dark, we better hurry."

Tetra nodded and they continued up the twisting slope.

After three more stomach-churning leaps and a couple dozen stairs, the two finally made it to the top by nightfall.

"GEEZ, that took forever," Tetra complained. "That dragon better be ready to answer some questions."

Valoo was even bigger close up. He was a large, red dragon with a slender neck that was slightly arched, forcing his head to hang above his large belly. His head looked like it was slightly bobbing up and down, but it was hard to tell from their perspective. He also had miniature white and feathery wings instead of large, scaly ones that you would normally picture on a dragon.

They walked up to Valoo and heard a faint noise. What was that? Neither of them could directly put their finger on it…wait a minute…was Valoo…?

"Snoring! Seriously!" Tetra spluttered. "I scale up the side of a mountain just to ask the sky god a few questions…and he's taking a nap."

"I guess we can come back tomorrow," Link suggested, shrugging lamely.

"Ohooo no. I encountered lava, many pestering monsters, and I almost fell to my death on my trip up here." She was now standing under Valoo's head, snapping her fingers. "C'mon, wake up."

"Tetra…" Link warned.

All of a sudden something wet, gooey, and sticky hit Tetra on the head. She looked up to see that the sky god had a long trail of drool oozing out of his large muzzle.

Tetra felt her head in disgust and tried not to scream. "Well isn't this great. I have dragon spit in my hair." She looked over to Link, who was trying his best not to bust a gut laughing.

"Oh put a sock in it." she growled, wiping most of the goo off of her head with her arm. She trudged over to the side of the mountain, sat down with her feet dangling over the edge, and crossed her arms.

She was soon joined by Link, who sat down next to her.

"You done? I swear you sounded like an ape either throwing up or giving birth," Tetra said coldly without even sparing him a glance.

"I'm sorry for laughing at you," Link apologized.

"Humph." Tetra looked over to Link, who was giving her a fake and over-dramatic attempt at puppy eyes.

"Okay, okay, I forgive you. Now stop looking at me like that, it's creepy,"

Link smiled and handed her something.

"What's this?"

"It's a towel, use it wisely," he said, giving her a mock-serious look.

Tetra chuckled and wiped off her face. "Thanks."

She sighed and set the towel on the ground next to her. "How are we going to get back in time? Everyone's probably wondering what happened to us."

"Well, it's dangerous to go back when the sun goes down, so I guess we have to camp here tonight." Link said.

"I guess that's what we have to do." Tetra agreed, looking over to the ocean.

The sun was completely hidden below the horizon, and was replaced with the pale, shining moon. A few stars were already dotting the sky, making it look like a dark blue cake with white sprinkles. The mirror-like ocean created the illusion of two beautiful night skies. Tetra was happy that she could finally enjoy the view, knowing she was safe with Link beside her. She unexpectedly yawned widely, making Link chuckle.

"I suppose getting drooled on would make one tired" he laughed.

"I'm not tired," she retorted defiantly.

"I bet I can stay up longer then you."

"You're on," Tetra grinned.

An hour passed and they were on their backs, searching the sky for the constellations amongst all the other stars.

"See that one? That's Orion's belt," Link described, pointing to a cluster of stars.

"I didn't know you knew much about constellations," Tetra admitted.

"It's good to know the stars along with the sea I guess. It helps with navigation." he answered, putting his arms behind his neck.

Link turned his head to see Tetra wrapping her arms around herself, quietly shivering.

"Are you cold?" Link asked, though the answer was obvious.

"L-little" was Tetra's reply through chattering teeth.

"Here, move a little closer, I'm warm." Link suggested, holding out an arm.

Tetra looked over at him with wary eyes.

"What? I don't bite; I gave up that habit when I was two," he assured her.

Tetra smiled at his remark and moved closer, but with still plenty of space between them.

"You're still shivering."

"I'm fine, r-really."

Link rolled his eyes and slid his arm around her waist and pulled.

"Link!" Tetra protested as she was being pulled towards him. She was now against his side, all the while blushing madly.

"You're warmer though, right?"

He was warm, so Tetra nodded slowly.

"Good." Link removed his arm from her waist and returned it to behind his neck when Tetra yawned again.

"Something tells me you're not going to win this bet," he whispered into her ear. And that was the last thing Tetra was aware of before she dozed off. That, and her face sizzling from embarrassment.

Wasn't that wonderful? All that LxT?
Thank you for those five that have reviewed so far! ?, ripper(x2), iluvmudkips:p, youknowwho(yes Voldemort), and a big thank you to my very first reviewer, Princess Mara of the Universe!
Until next time, XxkDizzlexX