Link is left shaking in the middle of the spring.

He feels violated.

Feels the malice still pooling down his limbs even though it's nowhere to be seen anymore.

The Goddess doesn't seem to be paying any attention to him. Din is knelt down beside the exhausted Vaati on the floor, eyes narrow. Link has at least a hundred choice words for her after what she's done. Some real mean crap. But if there's any time to stay quiet, it's now. After all, she could do it all over again if she wanted. He does what he's best at and keeps his mouth shut.

"Maybe you can learn from each other," Din speaks up when he thinks the spring can't get any more silent. "The Impostor certainly has enough wrath to spare." She moves away from Vaati and in seconds her hand is on Link's face, cupping his chin even though she'd been so much further away only seconds ago. "But there's a lot more to you than what shows on the surface, isn't there, Farore's Champion? If only you would shed that awful skin."

He feels bare under her. Wants to scramble away from her, but he stays put, frozen under her touch.

"Oh well," her hand slips away. "I have more important things to do than sit around waiting for that fraud to wake up. The mage passed his trial. He has my blessing. But if you think it was difficult to earn my favor, you'll never get through to my sister Nayru."

And she's gone, sucking all of the heat out of the spring with her. Or maybe that's just Link's body going into shock. That seems more plausible considering they're so near a volcano.

He touches his face to feel the little cuts he's gained from Vaati's messy rescue - not deep enough to scar but bad enough to sting. Vaati's condition is far worse than his. The bleeding to his side and nose has stopped completely but he still looks awful. Link carefully moves towards him, dipping his hands into the water and washing off the dried up blood on the other man. He can see Vaati's face relax in his sleep when the water comes into contact with his skin, healing the damage slowly.

But Vaati still stays fast asleep.

It's better that way. Gives Link some time to calm down and pretend like he wasn't just possessed by the pure malice of Calamity Ganon. Or something akin to it. Mostly, though, it lets Link pass out on the ground beside Vaati. When he wakes up, it's to Vaati moving around, cursing as he paces. His clothes are a lot more torn up than Link first realized, but at least it looks like his wounds are nothing more than scratches thank to the spring's water.

Link sits up, using his elbows to support his weight while he watches Vaati.

"Everything okay?" he asks, his voice groggy. He's a lot more tired than he thought he would be. His body feels heavy and like it's trying to move through something thick. He thought he was sleeping just fine, but it's only now he realizes that he's been pushing himself pretty far just to get them to the springs to begin with. It's been a while since he's done something like this, after all.

"Fine," Vaati doesn't turn around to look at him. Just waves his hand lackadaisical.

Link groans as he pushes himself back up onto his feet. "You don't sound fine. What's wrong?"

"It's not enough ," Vaati doesn't need to keep going for Link to understand what he means. He whirls around on his heel and they almost collide face to face. "This still is only a fraction of the power I had before."

Link knows he's frustrated and he should feel bad for him but all he can think about is how dangerous this is. If Vaati's angry about this little - power given to him by a Goddess - then is it really safe to take him straight to the cap that could grant him any wish? What's to stop Vaati from betraying him? He feels a shiver crawl up his spine and he knows it's not from the breeze playing with their hair. "It's better than nothing , isn't it?" he says. "You don't need much for the Yiga Clan. Just enough to fight, anyway."

Vaati growls and turns back around. Link hears him snap his fingers before he sees it - and then, Vaati's hand is covered in fire. It's much warmer, might brighter, might stronger than the weak little flames he was casting in their cell so long ago. It's such a big change… But Vaati grits his teeth and waves the hand after a moment, the skin red from the no doubt burns it's just received. He still can't seem to control that. Link opens his mouth to scold him but decides not to. He's not going to listen, after all.

For a while, it's quiet. Just Vaati grumbling to himself, casting small spells with all the control of an angry toddler. The light is blindingly bright when he tries to illuminate the area. The wind is strong enough to knock the both of them off of their feet. The silence is only building the longer it goes on. It feels like a wall he can't break.

"Why did Din call you an impostor?" Link blurts out. He has to know. And he'll say anything to get Vaati to speak again.

Vaati visibly tenses but stays silent.

So it wasn't the best thing to ask but whatever. It got a reaction.

Link knows they need to get moving again. They're wasting time unnecessarily. But there's no way in Hell that he's going to be able to convince Vaati to start moving with him right now. Not when he's still trying to gage how much power Din's lent him. So Link doesn't even try.

He does try to get Vaati to answer though. Just because it's only fair.

"She called you a rat."

He knows he's saying all the wrong things because Vaati turns on him suddenly, the angriest he's ever looked, and grabs a fistful of the front of Link's shirt. He's only a little taller than him, though, so it's not as intimidating as he would probably like. It's still enough to upset Link. Enough to further make him reconsider this whole thing. This mission, this man, this relationship.

" Don't ," Vaati says, his voice strained. "Just… don't." He loosens his grip but doesn't let go.

"I'm not going to hold it against you." The words are ironic. Link blinks back at him. "No matter what it is."

Vaati's face says it all. This was a mistake .

Link's just glad he's not the only one thinking it.

He's just about to tell Vaati that. Tell him to forget about the whole thing and leave; go off somewhere and find a new home alone. Wish him all the best and Link will fix this all by himself. Keep that sword close just in case Vaati should turn up again.

But Vaati surprises him.

"Picori," Vaati speaks up. He's not looking at him but at the ground.

The word sounds familiar. For a moment, Link tries to remember where he's heard it before - and then it clicks. The little fairytale Vaati had told him about when they first met.

"What about them?"

His eyes on the floor, it's almost like Vaati's searching for them again. "Do you remember what I said about them?"

Not much. He nods anyway. He doesn't want to waste time on Vaati re-explaining things to him. Doesn't want to run the risk of scaring Vaati off or letting him run his mouth instead. Distracting him. He can ask again later. For now, he nods in Vaati's hold, which has only loosened but not let go.

"Rats. They're rats ." Vaati's not looking at him but Link doesn't need to see his face. There's fire in his voice. "Pitiful, sickeningly sweet - they have no agency. All they do is what they're told by their elders. They spend their whole lives raised to fuss over Hylians - to make their lives easier when the entire world around them is a constant threat. Everything they do is to help others . Not a selfish bone in their vermin bodies."

Contempt. For a moment, Vaati's grip on him tightens and Link can just barely breathe. Their eyes meet and Vaati's are violent, burning up. They soften suddenly and Link feels Vaati's hand loosen until it's no longer on him. Pulled away to his side.

Link wants to talk but there aren't any words coming to him. When do they ever?

Thank Goddesses that Vaati loves to talk more than he loves to listen, though.

"Can you imagine that sort of Hell? Hiding in your master's shadow - expected to make everyone else's lives better when yours was so difficult? All that potential; that power ; wasted on a bunch of giants who didn't care enough to even learn our proper name? They didn't even believe in us and yet I was expected to just go along with Ezlo's 'wonderful plan'. Do you have any idea what that cap could do? And the Hylians - what did they ever do to deserve it?"

Link can only follow so much. Vaati's telling the story all wrong. Skipping over parts. No clarification. It's raw. Fury bubbling at the surface, threatening to boil over and scald them both. He puts a hand on Vaati's arm and feels him flinch away.

"I had so much more potential than that all. And look at me now. I was a God . Untouchable. I could do anything I wanted." Vaati looks back towards him and frowns. The words, But you ruined everything , seem to hang inbetween them, on opposite ends. "And now what?"

It's a lot to process in such a short time, so he digests it all in parts:

Vaati was- is a Picori.

Link has never seen a Picori before.

Picori may very well be gone forever. Extinct.

Link thinks back to when he first heard about the race. When Vaati combed through the grass, searching for signs of them. Was that what he was thinking about back then? Was he upset? Worried to think he might be the very last?

"You're scared," Link says.

Vaati laughs but it's that fake one. The giggle that Link hates. It grates on the ears. " Scared - what do I have to be scared of? I left that life behind."

"You're scared you're alone. Aren't you?"

"That's inevitable. One day Hylians will be gone, too. That's just fate." Vaati sounds so sure of himself.

Link must be wrong - must be an idiot for thinking Vaati misses them even slightly. No. He knows Vaati's lying.

But then he gets to thinking.

There's something else he isn't telling.

"How did you become a Hylian?"

And he sees Vaati's face shift. That fear creep in. "That's not important."

The cap.

Why else does he talk about it so much?

Why else is he looking for it so feverishly - even when he ran the risk of letting onto his identity because of his obsession?

"You think you're going to turn back without it."

"I won't," Vaati says firmly. But he isn't sure. There's no proof to back that up. Link sees it on his face.

He might. He doesn't know for sure.

Link stops himself from saying so, though. Vaati could use a break. And besides… he doesn't want to put the man through more torture. More worry. He wants to hear all the good things. Wants to know more about his past. Something to understand him more.

"You're going to be okay," Link says to put him at ease. "We'll make sure it won't happen."

Vaati bites on his lip. Gazes up at the sky that's turned dark. "I suppose it might have already happened. I mean, if there was any reason to be concerned… After all, it's been a long while since I last had it in my possession."

"Yeah. Of course. Obviously. You're the great Vaati - you'd know if something was up." Link says to inflate his ego. It works, judging by the way Vaati lifts his head a little. Link has his own doubts still, but he wants to kiss that mouth that's working its way into a smile. He stays where his feet are firmly planted even though it's enticing. And devilish. That's another good descriptor. The heat Din seemed to take with her returns tenfold, pressing down on Link from all sides.

Vaati closes a little bit of their distance. "You're right," his voice is considerably lower. Quieter. Hushed. This is too holy a place for anything to happen. They're definitely going to get struck by lightning or something if they get too close. Goddesses, though, Link knows Vaati's above all that concern. That he couldn't possibly care less. And Din's got to be watching every second of this. "Say it again for me. Right this time." His voice is sultry goat butter. Link's melting when Vaati's hands wrap themselves around him.

"Say what?" he asks. Link hears the difference between them. How loud he sounds - how obnoxious - how not attractive. It's embarrassing. Mortifying, actually. He replays his words in his head. Say what - he sounds like an absolute idiot.

"Picori. I want to hear you say it." Vaati's playing him. He knows it when he presses their foreheads together and closes his eyes. Lets out a comfortable tired little sigh. This is all just for Vaati. To make himself feel better. To remind himself he still has some power. Some form of control - and now it's over the hero that stopped him in the past. What a high that must be. And Link's just letting him have it.

That's probably the worst part of this all.

"Picklewe," he mispronounces it just to get under the man's skin. To ruin the mood a little. It's all he can do to fight back. Because really, Vaati's got Link right under his thumb.

Vaati dips his face down and Link can feel his breath hot against his collar when he whispers into his ear. "Mm, that's not quite right, hero. I hope you're better at screaming my name."

Link shivers. This is definitely an insult to Din. Maybe that's why Vaati's doing this all right here and now. He gasps when the man nips his neck unexpectedly. He thinks he understands now. That whole 'criminal amount of sex' bit Vaati had gone on about. The man's perfect way of taking all his frustration out. It must be such a confidence boost.

"Go ahead," Vaati says. "You don't need to be silent now. Be as loud as you want, hero."

"Vaati," he lets out, shaky as the villain's hands wander. They're pressing so tight together. He wants to tell him to stop, but Vaati's hand brush his inner thigh and fuck a hundred years is a really long time .

"Oh, Link ." What's really evil about all of this is the way he says his name. Slow and deliberate. Like a blessing or a curse. How he palms him through his pants. "Don't you worry. No one else is listening now."

And this time; Link's really laid bare.