Sidon cleverly navigated around the astounding number of ramps along Zora's Domain, sure to keep his pal from being apprehended by any of the few night guards who were left. With Mipha's birthday mere days away, so many of Dorephan's soldiers were off in the world, gathering magnificent items and trinkets in preparation of an event he'd unconsciously made plenty bountiful, almost to the point of leaving his Domain severely undermanned.
"Trello is one of the only few soldiers left," Sidon spoke in a raspy sort of voice, his vocal chords still noticeably growing between gills and lungs, "As bearer of the Ceremonial Trident after all, he's forbidden from leaving Zorans, but outside of him, there's very few of anybody here other than Tovar and some trainees. I overheard my father worrying about Zevan's death in the face of lacking defenses; I figured you'd help."
Link nodded, "Of course. Though, there's not too much I can do with what little is known. Zevan mentioned a "Hylian dragon", but I'm not familiar of any such thing. Not only that, whomever killed Zevan, I have no idea where they could be."
He grew quiet for a moment in thought, "And that wound… I've seen every sort of weapon and its effects on skin; I've never seen such an ugly state as that which felled Zevan…"
Sidon mused behind tightened lips, trying his best to ponder as much as an adult could, only coming to a simple conclusion, "I mean, what if this thing is just making its way here?"
"What?" Link asked, curiously.
With a shrug, Sidon replied, "I mean, Zevan was a patrol down the main pathway on the way to the Domain itself. Perhaps he was simply checking a passerby when he was injured?"
Link stroked his chin between two fingers, his brow furrowing as he recalled Zevan, an anger growing within him as he thought if who could have possibly murdered the man, "But he was the first patrolman, correct?"
"I believe so."
"He stopped me and my clients because we had a wagon of goods; he was merely there to check if we had our proper papers in place; he wasn't there to protect the Domain. Why would he have even encountered that person?"
Link's eyes narrowed, "Did this person actively hunt Zevan down..?"
Sidon shook his head, "Nope. First patrols keep hidden until their duty arises. You'd have to be blatantly familiar with Zora practices to even be aware that Zevan, or any patrol, was near that checkpoint."
Frowning, Link crossed his arms, "When did you get to be such a luminary when it comes to Zoran military?"
"Well a Prince must be regal in any instance," Sidon grinned, showing his bravest face before suddenly darkening, turning his head over his shoulder as he frowned, "I mean, even if I still trip on my dorsal fin sometimes…"
Link grinned, "You know, that can only serve you well into the future when it comes to the opposite sex."
"Why? Female Zoras naturally maneuver better in the water; why would such bulk help me in that endeavor?" Sidon wondered innocently, reaching behind him to curiously grasp his fin that dragged along behind him.
"Might just be a Hylian thing then," Link surmised humorously, turning away as he examined the darkness covering the mountains surrounding the area, shoving his thumbs into his pockets as he strode alongside the growing Prince.
The two made their way along, making light conversation, before falling into a silence. Link didn't think much of it until happening to catch a glimpse of Sidon in passing, noticing the downcast face upon the Zora child, Link's brow furrowing in inquiry, unsure of what was on his mind. Just before he could ask, Sidon made his feelings known.
"Do you remember my mother at all?" Sidon asked sincerely, "All this stuff about the festival has everybody talking about her, but I barely know her. and my sister refuses to talk about her."
Link turned toward him with an inquisitive look, "Why not?
The Prince's shoulders shrugged before dipping low, his voice trailing, "I dunno. She just brings up other things. Even before I could talk, I would write what I could, but she never explained anything."
Link's mind gently whirred to life, trying to figure out why Mipha might not have told her brother about their deceased mother. Not just that, but he had to figure out a way to answer young Sidon without invoking an upset response from Mipha later on, a far more troubling issue to him.
"Well…" he began with a slow cadence, "From what I recall- I was only here so many times before Hylians were banned from Zorana, so being so young, I often didn't-"
"What?!" Sidon questioned loudly, jumping to face Link with a shocked face.
Link's eyes veered off before turning toward the young Prince, Sidon's eyes wide at the mention of such a decree being placed upon his home, "I mean, when I was a child, my mother was assigned to a unit whose job was to routinely come here to improve both trade and social relations. This was after the discovery of all that Shiekah technology, right? The King was all about a unified Hyrule and all that, more or less to lessen any issues that might arrive from buried tech being in a land other than his own."
"Anyway, my mother brought me along since I was too young, really, to stay in the academy; my father was away, so she had little choice. We'd travel here maybe every few months, helping train your soldiers, and-"
Link cocked a grin, "I actually wasn't young enough not to bruise up some of your younger soldiers during duels."
Failing to find the humor, Sidon peered out into the distance with tightened eyes, fighting for comprehension, simply leaving Link to cover his mouth, clearing his throat, "Sorry, my liege."
Link went on, "Anyway, we did that a year or two; suddenly, one time, we didn't come here. Only later did I go back and look- your father had Hylians banished, even though I think Muzu obviously had more of a hand on that; though, from what I could find out, some massive slight had occurred, so depending on what it was, I can understand the action, I suppose."
"I haven't heard anything about that," Sidon sighed, crossing his arms.
Link concluded, "Muzu was always pleasant before then, so whatever happened, it was enough for him to ward off all Hylians."
He tilted his head, "Your mother though, from what I remember, she was incredibly kind- Mipha actually reminds me a great deal of her. Like, she was unfathomably kind. I was too young to understand social conventions- I remember first seeing her and just staring at her, unable to wholly grasp such a pretty being, even in my childish mind. She only smiled; she never took offense or reprimanded me."
Sidon complained, kicking a foot along the metallic ground, "Mipha doesn't say anything like that about her."
"I'm sure there's a reason," Link shrugged, "I'm sure it's been tough on her. As somebody in a similar situation, I can understand what she must be going through. She and I, we both go on, forced to wear straight faces. Maybe that's why we gravitated to one another; who knows."
Sidon grumbled, crossing his arms, "Well I don't like secrecy. I'm just a Zora pup trying to grow into this world around myself- I'm not asking for much, just a word or two about-"
"HALT!"
Link's hands bolted into the air, his head turning over his shoulder as he looked behind him, finding nobody there. His brow fell in suspicion, turning his feet around in a circle before finally finding the source of their accoster's voice.
"Think you're funny, don'tcha?" came Rivan's voice, a fierce look upon his face, throwing around a thorny slab of long stone in his hand, "I should have curfew-breakers taken directly to the Lieutenant!"
Behind Rivan stood both Bazz and Gaddison, the three of them wearing ill-fitting helmets while also carrying weapons, obviously makeshift, that looked to have been created in no longer than ten minutes. Gaddison stepped up to Rivan's side, seeing as how Rivan was currently outnumbered, holding her spear toward Sidon.
Sidon and Link watched the performance with more curiosity than worry, especially as the two up front began explaining themselves, probably seeing as how they were holding their Prince at spear-point, beginning with Gaddison, "Tottika told us we could take up arms in our Domain's time of need!"
"Yeah!" Rivan shouted, "We only had to ask him twenty-eight times!"
Gaddison frowned, dropping her stance and turning toward her comrade, "How're you gonna tell them that?! They won't take us seriously; what if they were actual intruders, prancing about after curfew?!"
"I know that!" Rivan replied, also breaking his stance, "Our Prince wouldn't be escorting bad people, though; duh!"
Gaddison fired back, "Well, what if he was?!"
Finally ending his shocked silence, Sidon sighed, waving his arms, "Guys, this is Link; he's an okay-"
"Tottika said to-!"
"Yeah, well my dad said-!"
"Your dad can't use his spear 'cause it would break in just a few strikes!"
"Your father is nothing but a reservoir-watcher!"
Sidon groaned, leaning aside to address Bazz, knowing he was the leader of this small assortment, "Hey Bazz, can you let them-"
Bazz's eyes were nearly transfixed upon Link, causing a sort of blank stare from the Hylian, who suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable, though thankfully had enough of an argument brewing between Rivan and Gaddison that he turned his attention back to them, taking a few steps toward them, reaching his arms out, "Alright, alright you two, calm it down now."
Gaddison's teeth shone in the darkness as she scowled, "He started it! I'm just finishing it!"
"Ha!" Rivan scoffed, raising his arms up on either side of him, "You couldn't even finish your exam."
"That tears it!" Gaddison shouted, lunging toward her cohort, though Link had inched himself close enough to grab hold of her as she did so, the rude gesture from Rivan behind Link's back only infuriating her further.
"Okay, calm it down!" Link now shouted, turning an eye toward Sidon as his body shook from the flurry of punches being thrown past either side of him by Gaddison, "A little help?"
Sidon quickly took in a massive breath, even leaning backward for a moment before throwing himself forward and shouting through half-formed vocal cords, "YOU HALT!"
More from the shock of hearing the Prince yell so vehemently, the two combatants paused, turning toward the red-finned boy, though Gaddison still wore a silently furious scowl as she fell in line, standing beside Rivan and fighting the urge to strike him before her Prince. Link took a breath before standing up, crossing his arms and staring down at the kids with a concerned look.
"So why is your unit falling into chaos?" he questioned, shrugging, "You do realize, out in the field, you guys are all you have, right? If you're already fighting evil, how much difficult is that to do when you're also fighting each other?"
Rivan's lips turned, displeased, as he turned away, much like Gaddison who peered off into the distance, reaching up and rubbing her arm. Link turned up toward Bazz, who hadn't fallen in with the others, and wondered aloud, curiously.
"Are you with these two?"
"He sure is!" Rivan shouted, thrusting a dramatic finger into the air and dropping it to point toward his leader, "Bazz is the entire reason we're-!"
"Cut it out, Rivan; you're being addressed," Bazz muttered, ashamedly, looking away as if embarrassed by his cohort's embellished reply.
Link grinned in amusement as Rivan returned to his position with a huff, Gaddison taking the moment to snicker under her breath, the three of them jumping in shock a second after Link pulled his sword out from behind his shoulder, even earning a revered stare from Sidon. He tossed it in his hand affectionately, turning to the kids with a sincere smile, even as Rivan clutched Gaddison's shoulders and pulled her over to shield himself.
"Look, I know you're probably too young for such talk, but I figure if you're out here on patrol when there's something out if the ordinary afoot," Link shrugged, "You three are all you've got out here. So cut out the bickering; understand one another better. There's too much uncertainty with enemies; it has no place within your own ranks, right?"
Rivan pulled away from Gaddison, coolly running his wrist across his face as he frowned, clearly displeased at the thought, though he still replied with a disheartened, "If you say so. Okay."
Gaddison replied in kind, though with only a nod, allowing Link to finish in kind, waving for Sidon to continue around the pack as the two of them continued, leaving them with a quick, "Good luck. I'll hopefully be able to help you once the first light shows; I'm not about to let this stranger run amok if I can help it."
He stopped, noticing Bazz's distant demeanor as Rivan and Gaddison moved along, muttering amongst themselves with displeased tones, leaving Link and Sidon alone with Bazz, the Hylian beginning, "Make sure to keep them in line; they've got spirit, they just need to keep it tempered."
"Yeah, that's what my father says," Bazz replied, frowning drolly, "He can wield electricity, so I better be able to wield those two."
Link smirked, "You seemed pretty interested in wielding a sword, too."
"What?!" Bazz shouted, turning toward Link in surprise, leaving the Hylian to chuckle.
"You were staring at it, weren't you?" Link questioned, reaching up to remove his sword from its sheathe, "Kind of an odd weapon for a Zora, isn't it?"
Bazz lowered his head, hiding his embarrassment as he replied, quietly, "All the great Heroes wield 'em…"
Link smiled, tossing his blade in his hand before lowering it toward Bazz, spinning it around to offer its handle, "Wanna give it a shot?"
"M-M-Me?!" Bazz sputtered in horror, "N-No, I've never- I, uh-"
Smiling with a quiet radiance, reminded of his own apprehension, Link returned his sword to its home, simply leaving Bazz with a few words, "Maybe I can show you a thing or two before I leave for good."
Met with an awestruck expression on Bazz's face, Link turned and strode away in time with Sidon's short legs, the leader of this children's Brigade left with not much else in his mind but heroic portraits of heroes swinging swords and felling evil gods.
A/N: I apologize for a poorly written chapter; as forced as this scenario and characters are, in the greater scheme of things, I needed a B-Brigade scene to establish some things- I actually wrote a whole other chapter before scrapping it and re-writing it into this, so it might have been worse :p I'd say one more chapter, then after that, stuff begins hitting the fan, so expect things to 'ramp' up (Zora's Domain pun intended)
