Lynn played with the grasses under the water, reminding herself that she should go up so as not to scare Link again.
While she lazily floated upwards, kicking her feet occasionally to make sure she didn't just float in space, she thought about the water.
She didn't need to come up for air, it was as if the liquid itself was supporting her lungs. The halfling blew a bubble and laughed as a fish swam away, a lopsided grin gracing her features.
Emerging from the depths, she dragged herself onto a ledge at the side of where Tre was laying, stretching to pull herself up and over it. The dog huffed, it's fur still wet from the dive it had taken earlier.
Link heard the splash and frowned to himself, back to her as he set up camp.
"She shouldn't be able to stay underwater that long. It's just not human. Maybe it has to do with that thing she tucked into her shirt this morning? I've heard of items like that scattered across the lands, I even have one..." He furrowed his eyebrows and pulled the dragon scale from his tunic, watching it jingle as a breeze hit it.
He wondered how his bird was doing. The giant red loftwing he had left behind at his home in Oridon filled his thoughts, making him sigh in the remembrance of how gracefully it would come down from the giant coop that held all of the birds.
It was in the center of the village, and rose up high into the sky, a home to all roosting steeds until their time was needed. The feathered creatures would swoop down and pick up their masters, making a whole out of the two halves needed for survival.
He was one of the few in town who also had a horse, and his time was split between it, the bird, and his training. And now... taking care of a strange stranger.
He shook his head and sighed, the level of thinking he needed too tiring for what he could handle at the moment. He was usually a man of few words, but found himself chattering needlessly to this girl who could've been a fish for all he knew.
Maybe she was part Zora and thats why she was so long breathed? But wouldn't she have some sort of fins or gills? Or maybe she was like a Goron, who also never felt the need to breath underwater? But then, wouldn't she be... bigger?
He turned to look at her, her thin silhouette proving his last theory wrong, and her short stature the prior. Zora's were tall and lean, and while she fit the latter part, she was small.
Lynn felt the eyes studying her, and turned to look at him, a carefree smile glowing.
Link kept his face blank and turned back to the fire he was building before it got too dark, twilight already starting to set in.
The smile melted off her face as she stood, curious as to why he didn't return her happiness.
"Link? Is something wrong?"
She walked over, wet curls dropping off her shoulder and touching his arm as she bent over next to him.
"No, I'm just thinking..."
"Don't then. It makes it easier."
"That comming from you? Like I'm gonna be able to take that advice." He scoffed, earning a smirk from her.
"Oh, feisty one. I don't know if I could trust you with that fire. You might wanna cool off your hot head in the lake."
"Then who's going to start the fire and get our clothes dry so that we don't get sick?" He questioned.
"I will." She offered, flipping her hair back onto her back and leaning over to her own bag, pulling out two flint stones and holding them out triumphantly... to empty space.
She turned to find him already standing and unbuckling his belts, tugging off his boots and rolling up his pants before pulling off his tunic and chainm-
Lynn spun back quickly, face turning ripe as a cherry and even the tips of her ears burning when she saw his bare back. She cleared her throat hastily, fighting the urge to run and hide in the water somewhere and struck the two stones together with shaking hands, sparks flying wild as the dry and brittle moss smoked. She bent down and blew on them until the moss had a slow and steady flame, sticking small twigs into it and building it up all while trying to ignore the splashing behind her.
"Just ignore it." She drug out the last word and chanted it to herself under her breath, resisting the urge to look.
She rubbed at her chest, heart thundering, and nearly fainted when he called her name.
"You don't want to burn off more of your hair do you? Your awfully close to that flame." He chuckled as she jerked back, the skin on her face feeling uncomfortably warm.
"Th- thanks..."
"Who's the one thinking now? Sure you don't want to cool off your face?" He grinned as she span around, lips pursed and hands on her hips.
"I'll cool you off, Mister!" She ran and tackled him, making a large splash as the two fell backwards laughing and splashing each other.
They both swallowed a good portion of lake water before dragging themselves out and up to the shore, the sky too dark to make out anything but indetailed shapes and muted colors.
Link layed on his back, a smile splayed across his features, "We forgot to even clean our clothes while we had time."
"We could do it now? Who says we have to go to sleep right away?" Lynn stared up, the sky wide and lightly glowing from the still setting sun.
He chuckled, cushioning his head with his hands. "That's true."
Neither of them made a move to get up, making them laugh and sit up, grunting from the effort.
The surface of the water was a deep indigo, but the light from the evening sky was reflected millions of times in the depths, giving it an odd glow.
Lynn couldn't help herself from thinking how nice an starlit swim would be, how nice the water would feel. She dug her dirty clothes out of her bundle, pilling them up in her arms and dropping them by the shore, peering around for a small pool. A low whistle echo'd from her lips, rising and lowering in pitch rapidly.
She stoppped and picked up a few rocks, making them into a semi- cirlce and kicking the pile of cloth in, nodding and dropping to her knees in the water to start grinding out the grime.
A wet shirt flew in her direction, wrapping around her like a cold blanket. She tugged at it, trying to get it off and stood, looking to her left and smirking.
"Well obviously you don't want this that bad. I guess I'll just have to throw it in the lake, maybe a fish can wear it."
"Or maybe I'd want it back and threw it at you to see that darling smile?" He raised his eyebrows, making a small laugh escape.
"I don't know, I'd have to think about it." She tossed the shirt in with her clothes, smirking the whole time.
-.-.-.-.-
The blond hero sat beside the fire, feeling nothing like one. He felt like a normal person, thrown in unusual circumstances and given a heavy task to take care of. After all, all his years that's all he had been, normal. Link was barely an adult, barely out of his teenage years, and he had to fight some sort of great evil while now taking care of Lynn.
He was starting to mind the later one less and less though, her harsh personality softening the longer he stayed with her, made her laugh and smile.
He even was enjoying her company more, and missed her some when she was off doing something on her own.
Link layed with his back pressed against a stone, shifting some to where it was more comfortable and stared into the flames, the damp clothes smoking around him.
His hair drifted into his crystalline eyes as the wind blew, waiting for Lynn to come back. Tre had layed against his thigh, her breath evened out and her fur radiating warmth into him.
Rumy and Epona were leaned against each other, dozing, and he felt his eyes stinging, fighting the urge to nod off himself.
Lynn was walking along the opposite side of the lake, chasing something in her gut that was leading her just past a bend, throwing Link out of sight.
Her clothes were still damp and clinging to her skin, making her shiver with the cool breeze.
"Ok, I'm here. I'm waiting for something, and I wish it would show up." She grumbled, feeling silly for walking this far out.
She turned briskly as something rustled in the undergrowth, tall ferns parting to reveal something that Lynn hadn't witnessed in years.
"I know you!" She felt a lump in her throat, stepping back in disbelief, not even knowing why the thing that had taken care of her when she was a child had decided to come back.
The copy straed back at her, joy in it's eyes."
"Lynn, how fine you've grown..." The thin, wavering voice sighed in contentment, the familiar blue glow flickering.
" You look thin, I... You... Where have you been? You left me years ago! Why? " She snapped back to her senses and stepped back farther.
"I don't have time to answer you everything, but I need your help. I need you to do something for me, it's important.
I'm being held, confined to a small, crystal room. I know you are with the Hero, and I can't keep this up for too much longer."
The projection was getting more and more transparent, the voice, if possible, barley above a whisper.
"Take care of him, he's the only one who can save Hyrule. Don't let him give up because if you do, we are all doomed."
The voice was gone then, only the faint outline of something there, and even that disappeared after a second.
" Wait!" She shouted at her, running to the spot where she once stood, a slight scent of irises still in the air.
Lynn dropped to the ground, head reeling.
Why was she being confined? Was she a criminal? But how did she project herself out of her cell so clearly? Was that truly the spectre that had taken care of her? It had to be, the glow gave it away.
She felt the lump return to her throat, burying her face in her hands, silver tears slipping down her cheeks.
The sound of footsteps pounded over her shoulder, making her look up and wipe at her face quickly.
"I heard someone scream, I was asleep and I ran as fast as I could but- Lynn? Are you ok? Whats wrong?" Blue eyes and dusky blond hair filled her vision, concern written in his face.
She shook her head, hair falling around her.
"I-I think I just fell asleep or something..." She trailed off but didn't lean away from him when he wrapped his arms around her.
She felt his chest rumble and looked up through her hair, eyes still moist and teary.
"Don't look at me like that." He looked down and pulled back, sitting back on his heels with his hands on her shoulders, "It makes me feel bad to see you upset."
Lynn nodded briskly and rubbed at her face some more, wiping at it with her shirt.
"Are you hurt or something? Did you hit your head?" Link pulled her up, one arm around her in case she couldn't stand.
She shook her head, her legs shaking from the encounter and mind buzzing.
Link? Give up? He wasn't the type... She stiffened at the thought and shook her head again.
"No, I'm fine."
He smiled and ruffled her hair, keeping his arm on her shoulder as they walked back to the campsite and throwing dry clothes at her.
She flinched and caught them, holding the cloth close to her chest.
(HRMMMMNN IMPROMPTU END OF CHAPTER...-dies- I'll start unfolding more of the story line soon... anyway...
Guess what
HER MOMS NOT DEAD LOL 8D)
((and also, if anyone has ideas for things you would like to happen, feel free to tell me!))