Yeah I don't got much comment for this one. Enjoy?
"You're really here! I- I how are you doing this?!"
"I- I don't know! How are you?!"
Zelda shook, staring at him. Link hesitated and looked about their surroundings as if the darkness would explain the situation to him. As he wracked his brain for an explanation, Zelda recovered from the shock.
"Kassim, listen to me." She put her hands on his shoulders. "The hero took over the castle and the town, I don't know what exactly he's planning but I know he's after you and your people. You have to prepare for the worst."
"I- We already are," Link frowned, nodding. "Some Sheikah filled us in about what was going on. We'll be careful."
She shook her head, frowning.
"No, you don't understand. He's going to get the other peoples to help eradicate you. He doesn't mean to just defeat you, he wants to wipe out your entire race!" she said desperately, gripping his shoulders. "I know your people are strong, but you'll never last against the Hylian army, the Gorons, the Rito-"
"Princess, calm down." Link frowned, his brow furrowed. "I- I'll see what I can do. The desert is a harsh place, it'll help slow them down."
"Temperature means nothing to Gorons! The Rito will come at night when it's chilled, the-" Zelda bit her lip, trying to gain control of herself. "Your people won't survive all of Hyrule. I- I'll try the best I can to get word out to them, to tell them you are no enemy, but-"
Zelda disappeared.
Link's eyes widened, recoiling back.
"Princess-? Princess! Where did you go?! Princess!"
He got to his feet, looking around for some trace of her. There was no reply, and no sign of anything else in the void he stood in.
"Princess! Zelda! Where are you?!"
A hand gripped his shoulder. He turned to see the newcomer, looking up and catching a glimpse of a Gerudo woman-
"Mother!"
He panted, cold sweat slickened down his face.
"…Well I see you're up, foal."
There was in fact a hand on his shoulder, but it was a gnarled black claw attached to his poe companion.
"N- Nabi," he sighed, rubbing his face. "I'm sorry, I- did I wake you up?"
"I don't sleep," she snorted, withdrawing her hand. "You were twitching and whimpering in your sleep like a newborn pup, so I thought to wake you."
Link sighed, resting his arms on his knees. What was that? Just a dream, or was he actually speaking to her? He had no real way of knowing, and she hadn't told him anything that was really new information to him.
"Foal?"
He mulled over what she said, running his hands shakily through his red hair. Zelda was right, as fierce as his people were, they wouldn't be able to do much against all of them. They would be outnumbered for one, and what could they do against Gorons? They wouldn't be daunted by the heat, the cold, the sand; and the Rito could fly over any defenses- the Zora wouldn't be a threat in battle, persay, but whatever assistance they could lend the others… No. There was no way, even in his inexperience he knew that if all the races rallied against his people, they would perish. What could he do? Zelda said she'd try to speak to them-…
It struck him. That was it, that was what he could do. His aunts would not let him assist in defenses and battles anyway, so as leader, what else was left to him? He would go himself, to the stone people, the bird people, the fish people, and he would present himself, and he would sway them to his cause. How? He wasn't exactly sure, he had no idea what he could begin to do to convince them, but if he didn't try then it would be the end of his tribe.
With a deep breathe he rose to his feet, beginning to sift through his belongings.
"You look as if you are packing, foal…" Nabi muttered.
"I am. Zelda- the princess warned me about the hero, I have to do something to stop him from getting more allies."
Nabi scowled, her gnarled hands on her 'hips'.
"So you mean to trek off into a land you don't know, alone, to try and sway a bunch of tribes you've never met, to assist you against their biggest ally?"
"…Yes." he replied meekly.
She bapped him on the head.
"Have you sand between your ears instead of a brain!?"
"I don't have anything else I can do! I'm their king, I'm supposed to protect them! If I can't o that, then I have to at least try and help!" he snapped at her.
Nabi went silent, watching as Link began preparing his supplies.
"How do you even plan on leaving? We're in the middle of the desert and they won't let you near the stables. In case you've forgotten, your aunt confined you to the temple."
"Uh…Link?"
Nabi whirled around, Link nearly dropping his pack. Malon had poked her head through the curtains around his 'room', slipping in when she was noticed.
"Great, now the filly knows I'm here." Nabi scoffed.
"Malon?" Link stared.
"Er, well, I kinda heard you….I couldn't sleep." She replied sheepishly. "And uh, you have a ghost friend? That's cool…is that…normal here?"
"No." Nabi stated flatly.
"Oh. Well uh, anyway, if you're going to leave I may have an idea…" Malon fidgeted. "They uh, haven't been letting me spend much time with the horses, so I've been bored. So I was kinda sorta hanging out with some other animals I could find and…well…"
"Animals?" Link blinked. "What animals?"
"Well they kinda look like walruses-"
"You mean the sand-seals?"
Link did his best not to scream as the beast plowed through the dunes, kicking sand back against him. He knew the seals were fast, but he had never even thought about what it would be like to 'ride' one.
"This is lunacy!" Nabi shouted, clinging onto his arm.
"At least you're floating!" he replied.
The seal hopped over a dune crest and Link went flying after him, doing his best to land with the shield under his feet when they landed. How Malon had managed to befriend the beast, he wasn't sure. She said she had been sneaking it fruit, and how she had managed to get a harness on it like this- well, she was a true rancher through and through, he supposed.
Somehow he actually managed to direct the seal through the desert toward an outpost. As the structure loomed into sight their pace slowed, and Nabi had a few more cents to put in.
"How do you plan to get past the outpost? Surely the guards stationed there will not allow their king to simply wander out of the desert alone."
"Well- we go around the outpost. I don't think they'll be able to catch us with the sandseal…"
"I guess we don't have much of another choice, just be careful little foal. Though you might want to loot some supplies from the outpost, if you don't think you have enough."
Oh-…well crap, he hadn't thought of that. He sighed a bit, turning the seal toward the outpost. They could spare a few rations, right?
