"It's so hot!"
Link rolls her eyes at Dark's complaining, they hadn't even reached the desert yet and he thought it was too hot. Trying to ignore the shade Link covers her eyes and peers ahead. She could just make out the top of the stables. Hopefully she could get Dark to change into something that would keep him from complaining about the heat. Looking over her shoulder she tries to judge his size.
"What!" Dark looks at her irritably when she looks back at him.
"Are you able to shift your clothes into something to help with the heat?"
"What, why? Isn't it already hot enough?"
Link shakes her head. "We haven't even reached the desert yet."
Dark slumps in his saddle, he should have sided more with the princess this was torture.
"It's not going to matter what I wear, my clothes can't protect me from the heat."
"You can borrow some of mine." Link turns forward as they round a bend in the canyon and the stables come fully into view.
When they reach the stables Link rents them two beds and stables the horses. It was late afternoon and even with enchanted clothing the trip through the desert would be dangerous at this time of day. They'd leave first thing in the morning.
Dark walks up behind Link as she is setting their things down on the two beds she had rented.
"How's your shoulder doing?" Over the last two days they had been traveling Dark had asked after her shoulder and made sure she drank the tonic given to her by the Zora healer. He hadn't needed to change the bandages though as the wound had closed complete by the time they reached Castletown.
Link rolls her shoulder stiffly and nods to Dark. "Good."
Dark nods back and watches as she digs through one of their bags. She eventually pulls out a set of armor consisting of red pants, golden greaves, a gold tasset with belts hanging around it, a green and gold spaulder, matching green bracers, and a gold headband. She hands them to him.
"What is this supposed to be?"
"Desert armor, it will help with the heat tomorrow."
"What are you going to wear then? I'll live, you need this more." He tries to hand the armor back to Link, but she doesn't take it.
"I have something else I can wear."
Dark looks down at the armor with a frown, then back up at Link.
"Fine, I'll wear it."
Link gives him a small smile before going off to get them some dinner. Dark sits heavily on the bed and wonders to himself why Link would have two sets of armor for the desert.
In the morning Dark was the first to emerge from his curtained bed after getting dressed. He felt ridiculous. The spaulder only just barely covered his chest and he wondered how Link could have worn something like this to begin with, unless she just wore that blue tunic underneath, that would make sense.
Looking over at the other curtained bed Dark is getting curious. It shouldn't take this long for Link to change. "Hey, you ok in there?"
Some rustling on the other side before Link pushes back the curtain and steps out. Dark's jaw hits the floor as Link strides toward the inn's exit. She was wearing purple pants that matched his, but the rest of the outfit, Dark swallows to get the dry feeling out of his mouth. He'd been without for far too long if he was looking at Link like this. How did she have clothes like that if everyone had thought she was a man?
"Dark?"
Link is looking over her shoulder, a bare shoulder covered only by the blue fabric of a veil placed over her head. He notices that their is a side piece hanging unevenly and realises it's a part of the veil that must go over Link's face.
"I'm coming."
Dark walks over to Link. As Link begins toward the end of the Canyon the stable is in Dark stops and looks between her and the stable master.
"Don't we need the horses?"
Link shakes her head. "They'd sink in the sand."
"So we're on foot, great."
Dark let's silence reign over them as they make their way out into the desert. At first Dark feels the oppressive heat, but it is dulled by whatever enchantments the armor has. It wasn't ideal, but at least he wasn't uncomfortable.
"I have to ask. That outfit,"
"Only women are allowed in the Gerudo's city."
Dark blinks at that. "Wait, so they know then, right?"
Link shakes her head.
"How could they not know if you had to be a woman to get in? How do they check that even?"
"Clothes, they let me in like this but their chieftess still knew me as the champion."
"Hold up, I'm lost. So their leader thinks you're still a man, but the guards and citizens, the ones that don't know you're the champion, think you're a woman?"
Link nods, not really sure what Dark was getting at.
Dark just grumbles at himself after that and stomps ahead of Link.
They reach the Kara Kara Bazaar by midday. Link goes to buy them both lunch from the merchants that have set up shop around the oasis while Dark lays in the shade of a palm tree.
"Everyone here has to be some kind of idiot."
Dark feels a nudge in his side and angles his head to see Link frowning down at him holding a woven bag with two melons in it.
"Don't look at me like that, they are. These people can at least blame the heat for frying their brains, but most of the idiots in Hyrule thought you were a man for the longest time and even now you're still not speaking up when people make the assumption."
"You should stay here while I go to the city." Link sits beside him, handing him one of the melons and taking out her own.
Dark watches as she digs her thumbs into the rind and then pulls the melon apart before doing the same. The inside is moist and sweet, but most importantly, to Dark, cool. It's messy, juice dripping down his arms and chin, but Link seems to be having just as much trouble as he is having. Though Dark finds himself watching the dribbles as they follow the line of her throat, pausing in his own meal to stare. Link stops and catches him staring and gives him a strange look.
"Aren't you hungry?"
Dark blinks as Link draws his attention away from her neck to her face, an expression of concern causing her to frown.
"Yeah, I'm just going to go over here." Dark stands up and moves a few paces away to the shade of another tree before sitting back down, back to Link.
Link stares after him, even more confused and concerned for him. She glances down at her melon then back at Link before seeming to realize something. Standing she heads over to the single permanent structure around the oasis and buys a few meat skewers from the shop there. She takes them over to Dark and holds them over his head, but in his line of sight. He had eaten more of the melon while she was gone, but the meat skewers catch his attention.
"Huh?" Dark looks up and sees her leaning over him, skewers in hand. She motions with them for him to take them. Slowly he reaches up and takes one, leaving the other for Link. "What's this for?"
"You didn't like the melon."
Dark gives her a confused look then looks between the melon and the skewer in his hand.
"It was fine, that's not," Dark runs his empty hand through his hair with a sigh of frustration. "Do you have any idea how obscene you looked while you ate your melon?"
Dark was glaring again, but he really didn't care. Link was just giving him a contemplative look as she eats the other meat skewer, then shakes her head.
"You, you can't be serious. Just, I don't even know what to say to you." Dark chomps down on the meat skewer in his own hand and looks away.
It isn't long before Link is finished and dusting off her pants while standing. Dark hears a jingle and then a small pouch is hanging in front of his face, much like the meat skewers earlier.
He looks up at her wondering what she is doing now.
"That building has a food stall and an inn. You'll need money to pay for things while I'm in the city."
Dark narrows his eyes at Link. "How long are you planning to be gone?"
Link shrugs her shoulders. "A day or two at most."
"I'm not leaving you alone that long!"
Link frowns at him.
"No, you still have those Yiga Clan people after you. You aren't going anywhere without me. How far away is this city?"
"Half a day still."
"See, you aren't travelling that far on your own, it's too dangerous."
Link gives him a flat stare, she was not getting into this with him.
"You can't enter the city, I'll be fine."
"By the Three! I am not letting you go off on your own, the last time you did that you got kidnapped by cultists that think they can bring back Ganon! You are not going alone!"
Dark was shouting now, and probably drawing unwanted attention but he didn't care. Link couldn't go off alone, she didn't need to. She had help, and she needed to let him help her.
Still frowning at Dark Link pulls back the small pouch of rupees and puts it in her larger pouch on her hip. She then turns and walks over to one of the merchants selling fruit and other food items. Dark stands with a grumble and follows after her.
"We aren't done with this conversation."
He goes to grab her forearm and she turns and shoves a woven bag into his hand instead. Inside are several melons, bananas, and other fruits he doesn't recognize.
"You can't enter the city. You'll stay in the shelter by the main gate. This will have to tide you over until I finish speaking to Riju."
Dark can sense that Link isn't happy, but she at least seems to have listened to his argument on why she can't go alone. Dark gives a nod of understanding and Link turns to begin making her way out of the oasis.