Chapter 14: Respite

The weeks flew by, as did the holiday break. Cia did uphold her promise and let Lana host the party at her mansion, which ended up making it even bigger because it meant Lana could invite more people. All went well until one of the members of Cia's staff got more than a little disgruntled at having to work such a big party over a holiday break, which resulted in a peculiar Gufuu that was easy enough to take down with four heroes on the scene. Cia even let that worker go home early to avoid anymore emotional issues after watching the heroes do their comforting shtick. Things were calmer after that, which worked out for Link due to his extra training with Impa.

"So, clearly you're more than capable of spouting purple prose to a picture of Zelda…" Impa sighed as she closed a manilla folder. "Where did you even get half of that dialogue?"

"...Anime." Was Link's only response.

"Goddesses help me." Impa sighed heavily as she moved a few loose strands of silvery hair from her face. "Let's work on talking to her like you're not in some romantic drama anime, like when Bleddyn decided he needed to intervene."

"I heard my name, is it pumpkin time?" Bleddyn had been curled up, asleep on a small pillow Impa had brought into their training room, up to that point.

"No. It'll still be a while, just be patient." Link stated dryly.

"I've been patient!" Bleddyn whined.

"I made sure to keep the thermos extra hot for the pumpkin soup, Bleddyn. There's no need to worry, I promise." Impa assured with a gentle tone.

Bleddyn licked his little wolf lips. "You spoil me, my lady!"

Impa merely chuckled in response before shifting her attention back to Link. "We can try calling her to see if that is a step in the right direction?"

"It couldn't hurt?" He shrugged while lightly rubbing the side of his neck. He tried to push back when he fell silent the first time he had heard her on speaker phone back when he babysat Makar during the little icy Gufuu incident. He fell silent then, but maybe he might be able to do it now? He certainly hoped so as he watched his sensei push speed dial on her smartphone.

["Is everything okay, Impa?"] Zelda picked up after one and a half rings.

"Everything's fine. Link just wants to try and talk to you." Impa had a small, cat-like smile on her face as she passed the phone to him.

Zelda tried to contain her surprise and excitement, mouthing something to Hilda, who she was spending the early afternoon with painting their nails.

"He can do it?" Hilda whispered back.

"I don't know yet!" Zelda stage whispered.

["Zel?"] Good news is that Link could speak to her. Bad news is that he only managed it through whispering.

"Hi Link!" Zelda chirped, Hilda leaning in closer to hear this happening.

["Hi Zel!"]

Both girls squealed a bit, he could talk on the phone with her!

["Is...someone with you? I thought I heard another voice."]

"Ah, sorry. It's Hilda, we're doing our nails since I don't have much to do activity-wise during winter and she's bored out of her skull at home."

"Agitha, Saria and Ruto went on that trip to warmer places with their families while Nabooru is out of town seeing family. Aside from Ravio, Zelda's all I have left to really hang out with." Hilda explained after silently convincing Zelda to put the conversation on speakerphone.

"And you're on speaker, sorry dear." Zelda added on quickly.

["That's okay, I'm just glad I can even do this."] Link chuckled softly.

That was when a lightbulb went off in Hilda's head. "Hey...have you two gone on a date yet?"

["Well...no…"]

"Not really, we've been so busy with our respective lives."

They both mentally tacked on 'And Gufuu attacks.' Some part of Hilda's mind also added that on as well.

"Why don't we have a double date then?" Hilda elucidated. "There's been some studies done, and doing it with people you're comfortable with can help ease tensions."

"Well...what do you say, Link?"

["Well let me think on that - Sure!"] He sounded so excited.

"Great! When should we do it?" Hilda clapped her hands a little.

"Maybe this weekend?" Zelda suggested.

"[Might wanna check with Ravio at least. I know I'm good though.]"

"I'll text him once my nails are a bit more dry." Hilda assured.

"[I could take care of that, Hilda?]"

"That's very sweet of you, Link, but since it's possibly a date I should be the one to ask him. I think I have a place in mind…" Hilda had a scheming sparkle in her eyes as she thought this up.

"Link? Would it be okay if I plotted with Hilda for this?" Zelda asked with a hint of hope in her voice.

He couldn't help but chuckle just a little. "[Just text me the dress code for this event later, okay?]"

"I promise!" Zelda replied with a sing-song tone. "Bye bye for now!"

"Bye Zel!" And then he hung up, letting out a long sigh he didn't even know he was holding in until he handed Impa's phone back to her. "...I DID IT!"

"You're getting there." Impa shook her head with an amused expression on her face as he did a few fist pumps.

"...So can I have my soup now?" Asked the impatient Kwami.

"Yes, Bleddyn, we can open the thermos now." She nodded and went to fetch it.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

Ravio was taking a nap after a long night of MMO playing despite his parent's protest to not keep doing this, while Meallán was resting comfortably on one of Ravio's various, mini rabbit pillows. The little Kwami's peace was disturbed by the buzzing of Ravio's phone. His ears rotated slightly as he counted the beat of the buzzes in his head. "Oh, Hilda's texting you."

Ravio only response was some sleepy mumbles. Something about loot crates and being the best rabbit raider.

Meallán floated over and read the texts as they appeared on the screen. "Ah. She wishes to know if you'd be up for a courtship ritual with your friends, Link and Zelda." He had seen his companion do this enough to unlock the phone and re-read the messages. "This weekend."

"Huzzawha?" Ravio rubbed at his eyes as he began to wake up. "Repeat all'a that, bud."

"Hilda's sent you a few messages about wanting to do a 'double date' with you, Link and Zelda." Mel explained as he worked on moving his phone to its owner.

Ravio winced a bit as the bright light of the screen hit his still sleepy eyes and worked on reading it. It took a bit, since his brain was still in that state of low-energy stupor until it finally clicked. "OH!" And then he worked on responding. "Yeah...sure...let's do it...lots of big smiley faces. Aaand send!"

"Why do you talk out loud when you type?" Mel questioned as he settled back down in his original spot.

"..." Ravio had no idea how to answer that. It's just something he's never questioned. He spent way too long thinking about the answer to that until it was at least dinner.

In a little nesting of scarves and pillows on a decently high shelf, Brawynn was hiding in Zelda's spacious closet, a couple of bowls filled with various seeds at the ready for if and when she needed to eat. While the Kwami of Wisdom doesn't mind silence, she does mind a lack of anything to do with herself. It was fixed a bit when Hilda put her purse in the closet for safe keeping, Finntan now joining her. They couldn't speak too loudly, but at least some company was better than none.

"You've picked a lovely Athena for this generation, Brawynn." Finntan complimented as she nibbled on a pepper.

"Thank you. Your Tiamat is a fast adapter."

"And I thank you back. However, I'm a bit worried that her rabbit might reveal me… There's always a look of terror in its eyes and a desire to do something about my existence."

"Regular animals do seem to panic when they see us...it's very odd."

"Indeed."

"So...why does Miss Zelda have a rockwall in her room?" Finntan recalled seeing a glimpse of that as she was being put in the closet.

"According to her, it's to climb out her stress."

"...Mayhaps I should convince Hilda to get one."

"Perhaps." Brawynn nodded in agreement.

"Mmm. I found a seed in this pepper, would you like this?" Finntan held it out to her.

"You typically eat spicy peppers, I really shouldn't." Brawynn observed the offering.

"As you wish." And the dragon resumed her snack.

The week passed by quickly, Link getting some small improvements in his speech therapy while also trying to figure out what to wear to it. He wished he had some idea of where they were going, but Hilda was fairly tight-lipped about the location. The morning of, he was tearing through anything that could hold clothes to try and pick out what could work for a date.

"Won't your mom get upset with you throwing all your clothes around like this?" Bleddyn questioned dryly as he sat on top of a pile of shirts Link deemed unworthy of his first date with Zelda.

"I'll clean up...eventually!" Link was tearing through everything he owned and was nitpicking everything from the material to the color. At one point, Bleddyn ended up being buried by yet another unsuitable shirt, which resulted in a muffled growl of annoyance from the small Kwami. "Come on, cooooome oooon...I MUST HAVE SOMETHING! I have no time to make myself a new one, nor do I have the fabric suitable for that kinda thing!"

"Just pick something!" Bleddyn yelped as he dug himself out.

"But nothing's nice enough!"

Bleddyn growled and went through his clothes for him until he find something he hoped Link would like so he could stop complaining. He went with a black undershirt, green, long sleeved flannel shirt and the least ripped jeans he owns that were also a nice dark blue. "There! Happy? I'm not picking your shoes, they smell."

"...Actually, this could work." Link stroked his chin as he thought about it.

"Good. Now stop fretting! In case you forgot, you started your courtship with her in a cosplay for Farore's sake. I really doubt she'd judge you on your tastes in clothing all the time!" 'Regardless if she's being Zelda or Athena. I've yet to have an Athena complain about my fashion choices, so clearly I know fashion better than my chosens.' Bleddyn added mentally as he went to curl up on Link's biggest pillow on his bed, as that was the most clothing-free place currently.

"It's not a courtship!" Link snapped with scarlet cheeks.

"Whatever you say, cub." Bleddyn yawned as he walked around in a circle a few times before plopping down. 'He's totally courting her.'

Zelda was doing just a bit of last-minute touch-ups with Hilda's help as they headed to Link's house in one of the smaller limos.

"Nervous, Zel?" Hilda pondered.

"Ah, well...y-yes. I've only ever seen dates done in movies, TV and various graphic novels. I don't know what's…"

"Realistic? Grounded? Viable to happen?"

"All three, yes."

"Don't worry too much about it." Hilda took out a bit of shiny lip gloss. "Mostly because I need you to be as still as possible so I can apply this."

"If you say so…" Zelda did her best to keep still.

"Just follow my lead, Ravio and I have been at this a few times." Hilda assured as she began the application. "I also figured raspberry might be a good flavor for you, what do you think?"

"Mm-hmm!" Zelda hummed enthusiastically.

'I really should save this thing I do for just Ravio...but Link might have fun with a bit of a flavored kiss.' Hilda pondered with a smirk as she finished. "And done."

"How does it look?"

"Perfect~."

"Just in time, looks like we're here." Hilda couldn't help but grin like the cat who ate the canary as Byrne parked nearby. "You want me to come with you?"

"I'm perfectly fine going into my boyfriend's house, Hilda." Zelda looked at it as she started to open the door. 'I haven't been here for such a long time...I wonder if anything's changed? It might not hit me right away?' She then stood up and took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. She got a bit worried as she heard a pair of footsteps and excited chattering. 'Maybe I should have called first…' She made a note to do that next time as she found Link and his mom at the door while his dad was trying to see past them. Hard to do in a wheelchair, but he managed it.

Link was about to try and say something when his mom accidentally interrupted the effort. "It's so lovely to see you!" Yuki cooed while getting her in a hug. "You haven't been over in so long! And the pink sweater suits you, very soft and sweet!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Jaeger-Hayashi." Zelda couldn't help but beam after being greeted, and complimented, in such a manner.

"No need to be so formal my dear, just Yuki is fine!"

"Same here my dear, just Boris. No need for the formalities, you're Link's girlfriend after all. Though if you like, you can also call me dad!" He had such a mischievous smile on his face. Zelda thought for a few seconds it looked like Sheikhan's wolfish grin.

"DAAAAAAAD!" Link shouted in embarrassment as his cheeks turned rather red and a somewhat pouty look formed across his face.

All three of them looked at Link in shock before Yuki got her son in a big hug. "You did it! You spoke in front of Zelda!"

Zelda's eyes were just sparkling at this progression.

"And he's got all night to practice!" Boris patted his son on the upper back after Yuki let him go. "We better not hold you two up then. Just remember to get home before midnight."

"Yes dad." Link found himself whispering again. One step forward, two steps back.

"Aww…" Yuki frowned a bit on that. "But you managed it, and that's the important thing."

Link nodded as he felt that blush from earlier start to creep up again.

"We better get going, don't want to keep Ravio waiting." Zelda suggested as she lightly tugged on Link's arm. "I'll be sure he gets home safely, you two have a good night as well."

"Take care~!" Yuki and Boris waved to them as they walked to and entered the limo. "Ah, young love...remember how we met, honey?"

"You were tutoring me in English because I had trouble with keeping nouns in the right time tenses, then I had to tutor you because you had trouble with chemistry."

"I still do to this day. How do you manage it?"

"We Jaeger men are very talented." Boris smirked as he kissed his wife's hand. "And we know our chemistry quite well."

Yuki blushed, but couldn't help but smile. "You sly dog."

"We Jaegers are good at picking loves as well." Boris' smirk just grew as Yuki closed the door and wheeled him in.

"One and done, as you've said."

Getting Ravio was pretty quick and easy since he had the house to himself that night. He made sure to pop the collar on his fake leather jacket as he adjusted his signature blue and black striped scarf and slid into the limo like he's been doing that his whole life. "WHAT UP PARTY PEOPLLLEEEEEEEEEE?"

Hilda rolled her eyes with an amused expression on her face. "We're fine, thank you dear."

"Ooo, where'd you get the pretty scarf, Hilda?" Ravio questioned as he took a seat beside her.

"I got this this afternoon. It was an impulse buy, but a very nice one."

"It compliments your equally-purple tunic dress quite nicely." He followed that up with a flirty purr and eyebrow waggle.

Link and Zelda exchanged a look, then laughed to themselves.

The group soon arrived at the local pizza parlour. Zelda got a bit excited as she remembered that this is where she had her first bite of pizza, seeing a knowing look on Hilda's face and figured she planned this. She helped pick what to do, just not where they were going to eat, Hilda saying she'd have that covered. They soon piled into the eatery and ordered the biggest pizza possible, making it half pepperoni and half mushroom. While they waited, they talked about what they did with their families over the holiday. Zelda admitted to playing Let's Go Eevee and was suddenly bombarded by questions from Ravio about Pokemon in general, some of which she had to look up due to how obscure a few of them were. The group got so caught up in it all, they almost missed their pizza coming out and getting to their table. Once the smell reminded them why they were here, they dug in. They finished up just in time to see Studio Ponli's latest film, The Myths of Marine: Hero of the Wild.

"Did anyone else cry when Princess Marine and Sir Rin were hugging after that final fight?" Zelda asked as they walked out of the theatre, lightly dabbing at her eyes with a napkin she swiped from Ravio earlier in the viewing, who went and ordered himself a huge serving tray of movie-watching goodies.

"I was close to crying on Fidelis' goodbye to the two of them." Hilda admitted. "Sure she was the quiet type of sidekick, but she had her moments where she seemed so...human."

"I thought Lavi was a hoot! Granted, it was mostly because of the way the actor managed to portray his body language." Ravio worked on trying to get the last bits of candy in his box as they walked. "Even with that weird hood mask thing on, you could tell that he was in love with the other princess."

"Princess Brynhildr?" Link asked after some sips of soda.

"Yeah, that one. Her name just can't stick in my head for some reason."

Eventually the double date came to an end, the group having a great time despite only doing two things, and all settled down for the night. But they all had the same lingering thought...they were bored afterwards and wanted to fill that void. It was only a quarter after 10 did they all come up with the same idea…

"Brawynn, spread your wings!"

"Bleddyn, time to howl!"

"Finntan, ignite your flames!"

"Meallán, let's hop to it!"

And off the four heroes went, unbeknownst of the knowledge that they all made the same choice. Athena learned about this first when she came across Celhan Rabbit as he jumped across some rooftops.

"Celhan?"

"Oh, hey Athena! You havin' a good end of the year?" Celhan waved and then realized that she was out and about. "Wait, is there a Gufuu?"

"Not since that party at the mansion...so why are you out as well?"

"Uh, patrolling since it's...boring...you?"

"...Me too."

"Oooh. Well, since we met up, ya wanna do it together?" He offered with a little smile.

"Sure!" She nodded back with a smile as well. And off they went patrolling, Athena acting as his eye in the sky to avoid any jumping mishaps. She only landed when Celhan ducked behind something and seemed pretty shaken up. "Celhan, what's wrong?"

"I just saw a huge bat!" Celhan whispered frantically whispered as he tried to direct Athena's attention to where he saw a large pair of wings he knew weren't from any bird. "See? See the wings! That's clearly something magical going on over there! And not the good or fun kind!"

"Between the two of us, we might be able to take it down...but let me get a closer look at it first." Athena worked on carefully flying over without getting spotted. It was only when the supposed big bat was under more moonlight that she realized that it was Tiamat. "Ooh, the wings…" She worked on flying into her line of vision and waves. "Hi Tiamat!"

"Athena? What are you doing out here?"

"Patrolling. I was a bit restless tonight. You?"

"Same here."

"...Sheikhan's probably gonna show up pretty soon then, huh?"

"Most likely, yes." Athena nodded. "We might as well just all patrol together until we spot him at least."

"We?" Tia quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh, I met Celhan Rabbit a little earlier. He thinks you're a bat because he can't quite see it's just you in the lack of light."

"Oooh…" They both silently decided to fly back to ease Celhan's nerves.

"Tia! You...are not a bat!" Celhan said with a big, awkward smile.

"I'm willing to forgive you on one condition." Tiamat said.

"...And it is?" Celhan's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"I vant to suck your blood!" Tiamat moved forward while making 'scary' hand motions at him.

"Noooooooo!" Celhan laughed as he and Tia engaged in some playful chasing, the latter making over-the-top growling noises just as she got so close to catching him, but somehow never managing to.

Athena was so distracted she didn't even notice her dear Wolfie coming up and watching the scene. "Come on guys, we gotta get going before we - AHH!" She nearly bumped into him while also being surprised at how he seemed to show up out of nowhere. "Don't do that, Wolf. Please."

"Apologizes, my goddess." Sheikhan gave a little bow. "I heard those nerds over there playing around and came to investigate."

Athena let out a slow exhale. "It's okay. You didn't mean to."

"But since I'm here...should we patrol all together?" Sheikhan asked.

"That was the initial plan." Athena said.

"Great! CELHAN! TIAMAT! I'M HERE!"

"Oh, hey!" Celhan stopped to wave and was finally caught by the dragoness. "Oh no, I've been slain!"

"Now I shall have your blood!" Tiamat acted like she was about to bite his neck, but changed to tickling him instead.

"I'm dying, I'm dying!" Celhan said between laughs.

Athena and Sheikhan just watched with dorky grins on their faces.

"Come on you two, patrolling is a serious affair. We have to squat or stand over ledges and edges with brooding faces and lighting." Sheikhan started walking. "And don't forget the serious inner monologues."

This got all four to laugh as they started off to survey the city. Athena and Tiamat took turns looking through the air, Sheikhan stuck to rooftop jumping and Celhan followed him, but sometimes went with running on the ground when he was unsure of a jump. "My internal monologue is screaming about falling off edges." The rabbit themed hero groaned.

"Practice makes perfect." Sheikhan assured. "It also helps to not look down while you're falling."

"Great. Thanks."

"Don't worry Cel, we've got your back if you fall!" Athena assured from above. "Also, how do you feel about that nickname? It's a bit odd, but it required a bit of thought to think of something halfway decent."

"Works for me!"

Eventually the group came across a little bakery, the boys getting distracted by the smell of food and bickering a little bit about how they should leave them alone because they were probably going to be closing up soon, but it all smelled so good. The little tiff continued until it was eventually interrupted by of the workers poking their head out to see what was going on.

"Uhh...hi?" The employee stated slowly.

"Hiiiiii…"

"Would you four like to come in?"

"We really shouldn't. We're on patrol, can't be distracted and you're probably close to closing." Athena said. "It'd be rude to keep everyone from home because of how sweet everything smells."

"Nonsense! We're happy to serve Hyrule's heroes. Come on in and take your pick, it's on the house!"

"Awesome, thanks!" Celhan was quick to enter, Sheikhan on his heels while the heroines rolled their eyes in a somewhat amused manner before walking in as well.

The interior gave an extremely cozy vibe with the warm toned colors of the walls and earthy green tables. Instead of traditional lighting, there was a rather gaudy chandelier hanging in the center of the room, somehow its light making the whole room feel extra nostalgic and comforting. "We've still got a few things from this mornin'. Hope they suit your tastes!"

"Thank you very much, Miss…" Tiamat took a quick look at her nametag. "Kina."

"No need for formalities, just Kina is fine!" She assured while getting some chairs down for them to sit at. "Now, do you guys want anything to drink while you pick your sweets?"

"Just water will be fine. We need to stay hydrated." Athena ordered.

"We could use something hot to go, it's cold and all." Celhan rubbed his hands together.

"Hmm...I think we have something. I'll grab it once y'all get your picks." Kina took her spot behind the back counter.

The four stepped up and looked over what there was. It seemed to be mostly fruity scones and various muffins that had been overlooked by the day's previous customers.

"Ooo, blueberry scones!" Athena's tone heavily implied that was the one she wanted.

"Huh, pumpkin...this late in the season." Sheikhan muttered. He had a bad feeling Bleddyn would chew him out for not taking that one, so he figured to request it to stay on the safe side.

"Banana nut muffins for me!" Celhan beamed.

"Strawberry scones for me, please." Tiamat said.

"Alright!" Kina fetched them and set them all on cute little saucer plates that fit the homey feeling of the decor. "Now just gimmie a few and I'll get those drinks, feel free to dig in until I get back." Then she vanished behind a swinging door.

And so the heroes sat and lightly chatted until Kina returned with four steaming glasses of hot cocoa, topped with some whipped cream and sprinkles that matched the main colors of their attire. "Here ya go! It's not as creamy when brewed without milk, but that's what whipped toppin's for."

The heroes thanked her and did a small toast, for the coming near year and for their future endeavors. Afterwords, they helped with what little cleanup was left and gladly took a selfie with Kina before she closed up shop. Once they were back to traveling across town in their own various ways, eventually all four having to go on foot when they hit the park due to the lack of room for the girls to fly. Athena suggested to keep their weapons drawn as they went through the park, as anything or anyone could be lurking in the shadows.

The group was tense for a while as they walked, each taking a direction to look in and tried to make sure they wouldn't get jumped. They started to let their guard down, only slightly, on seeing some ethereal blue-green glow among the trees nearby. Sheikhan went to look first, coming back and excitedly ushering his friends to look at what he found.

It was a large group of glowing, five petaled flowers that resembled a vague star shape. The petals had snow white tips, but slowly transitioned to a vibrant, cerulean blue as they reached the center of the flower.

"Duuuuuuude...glowing flowers!" Celhan gasped softly.

"Quite a rarity, only certain mushrooms and nightshade glow!" Tiamat carefully got to her knees to take a better look. "I can't quite tell what the color of their glow is...how fascinating!"

"It's like...a piece of the sky." Athena followed Tia's example, though she ventured out a bit and touched a petal. "Beautiful…"

"How come nobody's seen these before?" Sheikhan pondered as he got on his hands and knees to look at them. "I kinda get why in the day, but...not even night owls?"

"Guess they don't step out much." Cel shrugged after settling himself beside the dragoness hero.

All four settled down into a state of quiet and calm as they admired such late night beauty, the only noises present were the wind gently passing through above them and any rustling made if anyone moved a bit. At some unknown point, they all got up and started heading out to get back on task. It was only when they passed by a sign with a working analog clock in it that they realized they spent at least half an hour just staring at the mysterious flowers.

Their patrolling speed picked up significantly on finding this out, but was unfortunately stopped again on hearing very strange noises near the exit of the park. Sheik took his sword out and went to investigate, sidling against the wall that surrounded the area and cautiously peeking over as best as he could. He was met with something small leaping up at him and wrapping itself around his upper torso, arms and all. "GUYS, HELP!"

Celhan rushed in to do so, but ended up getting caught by the thing, which was now attached to his head. His cries were muffled, but obviously panic-stricken as he ran in a circle while flailing his arms about.

"Cel, use your hands! They're not stuck!" Athena called out, inching over so she could, hopefully, not end up with the same fate as her male companions.

"I've got'cha!" Sheikhan grabbed the being and pried it off of Celhan Rabbit. "What is this, some sort of gremlin!?" He had a hard time trying to hold onto it.

"IT'S REALLY YOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU~!" The small being squealed while holding onto the wolf hero's arms.

"What?" Tiamat had her staff out and debated hitting it over the head to render it unconscious for their safety.

Athena got an idea and summoned a Light Arrow, but kept it in as a means to gain some illumination. "Let my Wolf go." But she figured a threat wouldn't hurt to throw in, just in case.

"Of course, lovely Athena!" The being let go and landed with a soft thud into the ground. On pointing the light to this apparent person, Athena realized that it was a pretty short guy. He had a big nose, which was red from the cold, and a bright green tracksuit with a hood up on his head and the jacket portion slightly unzipped to show that he had a red t-shirt on underneath. "Is Athena going to shoot Tingle? Tingle isn't sure whether to be excited or scared!"

"No." Athena slowly pointed the arrow down. "I just needed a bit of light. I'm not an owl-themed hero." She made a mental note to ask if Rauru had the ability to see in the dark when transformed.

"So, who are you and why are you out by yourself?" Tiamat asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Tingle had heard you four were out, Tingle just had to come and see you all in the flesh!" He said while giving them a big, toothy grin.

All four were unsettled by this, but managed to not show it.

"Can Tingle have your autographs!?" He produced a pen and a small pad of paper, mostly likely from one of his pockets.

"Yes…?" Athena answered hesitantly as she put away her arrow and bow before taking the needed items for the task. She had to really focus since she was writing with minimal light, but eventually she managed to write out her name in a very fancy manner. She held it back to Tingle, only for him to gesture to pass it to another hero before taking it.

Tiamat bit her lower lip and signed next. She really hoped this wasn't going to end up being something that would bite them in the butt later. After that she passed it to Celhan Rabbit, who took some time to sign as he looked to be very focused on how to write down his name. Sheikhan Wolf finished up the autograph roster, writing quickly and handed it back to the strange little man.

"HOORAY~!" Tingle took it and spun around a few times. "TINGLE THANKS YOU ALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF HIS HEART~! Can Tingle hug you all?"

All four quickly gave random, mumbled excuses and left as politely as humanly possible.

"TINGLE THANKS YOU FOR INDULGING HIM~!" He called as he saw them leave.

"Let's never speak of this again." Athena stage whispered to her friends, to which they all wholeheartedly agreed.

Half an hour after meeting that strange guy later, they were all starting to get rather tired and, after some stubbornness from the guys, agreed that it would be best to go back to their homes and sleep the rest of the night. They all sort of escorted each other home, just going for the general neighborhood areas. Celhan Rabbit was the first to crawl into bed, followed by Tiamat. She claimed she could see where she lived from there and figured she would be fine flying by herself. Athena then gave Sheikhan a goodnight hug before he left and he returned the gesture with a big squeeze. Once home, Zelda put out some seeds for her dear Kwami and curled up under her covers.

"Sleep well, my lady."

"You too, Brawynn…" Zelda let out a big yawn and closed her eyes. "And thanks for letting me go out despite no Gufuus around."

"Sometimes, one just needs to go out and breathe fresh air to clear their mind."

"Agreed." Zelda was soon out like a light.