Prompt Alt 4 – Stitches

Timeline - Set between Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass

Stitches


Moblin's were some of the most annoying creatures ever to inhabit the Great Sea. On the front they seemed as dumb as stones, but they were very strong, held powerful weapons, and didn't go down easily. It was because of one of these creatures as to why Link was currently sitting below deck on Tetra's Pirate Ship, holding a crude cloth to his bleeding calf. The Moblin had taken a low swing at him with one of their extra-long weapons, and the boy had tried avoiding the attack by jumping over the weapon. Unfortunately, he had misjudged the timing, and the spear sliced a deep wound right under his knee. This resulted in Nudge having to carry him back to the ship.

Tetra and the rest of the crew had left him alone for a few moments while they "gathered supplies to treat the wound." That's at least what they told him… he had a nasty suspicion that they were doing something else. The young Hero removing the cloth, so he could take another glance at the wound. It was no longer bleeding profusely, but it still gapped. It's not that bad though he thought to himself. With some time and maybe a potion or two it should heal on its own…

A part of Link knew that he was just lying to himself, and knew exactly what was going to be done. He could still hope that that part of him was wrong though, couldn't he? Tetra came into the room he sat in, and wasn't carrying anything which sent a wave of relief to the boy. Maybe they wouldn't have to do it. She knelt down next to Link and gave him a smile that almost looked patronizing. Maybe it was too soon to be relieved. "Let's see what it looks like now?" she asked nodded to his leg. Link hesitated for only a moment, before removing the cloth from the wound. He saw the faint trace of a grimace before giving him a look that he could no longer deny was patronizing. "Link… you know we're going to have to do it."

A sudden fear jumped into the boy's chest, making his heart race. "B-but it's not that bad- I'm sure if we just wrap it up real good, it will be fine until we get a potion," by the tone of his voice, even Link himself didn't believe his own words.

Sure enough Tetra didn't either. "That's only going to cause the wound to get infected. I've heard enough horror stories about people losing limbs over infections. In comparison this is really simple and it's only a few minutes' pain."

"Please Tetra!" the boy was so fearful now he felt no embarrassment at how childish he sounded. "Can't we just wait a few days to see if it starts to get better on its own?"

"No," Tetra responded with no room for argument. "All right boys, let's do this."

As if it was all planned, the other members of their crew swooped down on them. This confirmed the boys pervious suspicions about how they were plotting on how to get him to submit to getting stitches. It was sort of a humiliating fear, but Link hated needles. And the very thought of having your skin sown together like two pieces of fabric made him woozy. Link had to have stitches two times previously. The first time was when he was younger still living on Outset, and that had been where his fear of getting stitches first started. Orca had been the one to do it, and to say the least he did a poor job at it. The other time had been similar situation to this one, injured while out as sea and completely out of potions. The only difference was that he had been unconscious and they had stitched him up while he was out of it.

Gonzo started the ambush by tackling him from the back, pushing the young hero down so he laid on his belly. The sudden movement to his body causing searing pain to course through his injured calf. This temporarily immobilized him enough for Mako and Neko to each grab one of his arms and hold them still, while Senza and Nudge each took a foot. By the time the pain level in his body went down to a point where he could try escaping he could barely move a muscle. "No! No please! Please don't!" the boy began begging screeching like they were about to start torturing him. He bucked his body up in an attempt to throw them off.

"Keep him still!" Zuko's annoyed voice shouted from behind him. Given that Zuko had the steadiest hands out of them all, it made sense that he was given the task of applying the stitches. Link felt Tetra's body sit on his back, leaving him pretty much immobile aside shaking his head back and forth and wiggling his fingers and toes. None of which aided his escape.

"Maybe we should have gotten him drunk before doing this," Link heard Neko suggest. "At least then he wouldn't remember it."

"Well given what happened the last time you bullied him into drinking alcohol, I don't think he would have agreed to that," Tetra responded in a cold voice.

Not much else was said. Not that they could really hold a decent conversation while he screamed and wailed at them. The boy felt some of their vodka get splashed over his calf, igniting the wound in searing pain, that made Link cry out in agony. Ok maybe he was being a bit over dramatic. Secretly Link's cries were partly from a temper tantrum that he was throwing because they were forcing this on him. The burning pain continued with ever prick of the needle. After what felt like forever, but in reality it was probably just a few minutes, Link could hear Tetra yelling at him. "Link! You can stop screaming now! It's done!"

The relief of those words was overwhelming, and slowly the pain started dissipating. Even though he was no longer struggling, they still held him down while Zuko bandaged the newly stitched wound. Link also continued to cry, though he wasn't quite sure why. The wound wasn't really hurting all that much anymore, but the tears and sobs continued none the less. "Ok Link," Tetra starting speaking again. "We're going to let go of you now, but you can't move your leg too quickly or the stitches will tear, and we'll have to do it again. Promise not to make any sudden movements?"

At the boy's nod, everyone released their hold on him with sighs of relief. "I think pulling teeth would have been easier…" someone grumbled, but Link didn't care enough right now to figure out who had said it.

Tetra gently rolled in over to say on his back. "Hey… it's all over now, you can stop crying," she said in a humored voice. When the young hero continued to cry into his hands, the female captain released a sigh, then gathered his upper body into her arms. The moment Link felt her embrace him, he knew that this what he had been crying for. A gentle touch after being manhandled so ruthlessly. He wrapped his arms around her, and continued to cry into her chest


Well… that's it. Done! Oh my goodness I can't believe I did it! It certainly was not easy. Thanks to everyone that read and followed me on this month's journey. Those who silently followed and especially those you took the time to review and favorite. As hard at this was I had a great time doing it. Will I ever do Whumptober again? …Probably not. It's one of those bucket list items I can now cross off.

For those of you who are interested here's the chronological order my Hero of Time chapters. I may add a few more chapters sometime. I really wanted to have a Link and Tatl goodbye chapter that takes place after Majoras mask. The idea just didn't fall under any of the prompts. It won't be anytime soon though. I need a break :) Have a great Halloween, stay safe.

Prompt 20

Prompt 18

Prompt 3

Prompt 30 – Chapter 7

Prompt 13

Prompt 28

Prompt 6

Prompt 29

Prompt 15

Prompt 8

Prompt 9

Prompt 12

Prompt 14

Prompt 23 – Chapter 16

Prompt 19

Prompt 1

Prompt 2

Prompt 22

Prompt 16 – Chapter 23

Prompt 24

Prompt 7 – Chapter 30

Prompt 11

Prompt 27

Prompt 17