Instead of simply diving all the way to the Surface, Link leapt off his crimson Loftwing from a great height, an instinct likely born of nostalgia. With his palms outstretched and his legs and arms sprawled out like a star, he could almost imagine himself two years younger, beginning his journey and not knowing at all what to expect. He didn't mourn at all his ignorance then, but the freedom in feeling the winds warring with his hair and with the fabrics of his green tunic was exhilarating.
Faron Woods opened up just before his eyes, growing bigger and bigger in his sights before all Link saw was the green of the grass, opening his sailcloth in just the knick of time and landing in a kneel.
"Kewww!" He heard as he stood up, looking behind him and turning around to see the large Kikwi, Bucha. The pear-shaped creature towered over the knight. "Well, if it isn't Mr. Hero! What are you looking for this time? Your friend? A flame?"
"Nothing this time," Link said. "Just wanted to take a stroll."
"A stroll, eh?" Bucha retorted. "Must be a Hylian thing. We Kikwis only really go on a good waddle every once in while. But, then again, there aren't many places for us to go. You, on the other hand are always going somewhere or doing something. Are all your kind so restless?"
Link shrugged.
"I suppose."
"Well, I'll leave you to your restlessness then, Mr. Hero," Bucha said. "Don't be a stranger."
Link raised hand in farewell before turning back around.
Anticipating the hanging Deku Baba, Link pulled out his Tough Beetle, attaching it to his forearm and calibrating it as he walked.
The sniveling growl of the Deku Baba stopped him, Link aiming the Tough Beetle towards the vine it hung from and letting the mechanism loose.
With a swift cut, the Deku Baba dropped into the water and exploded into purple smoke, the Tough Beetle returning to Link's wrist.
He placed it back in his pouch before diving into the clear water, already feeling the Water Dragon's scale fill his lungs with a newfound and refreshing breath that allowed him more time underwater. He swam into the hole that would lead him into the large tree.
Link remembered it all well, it seeming like just yesterday that he swam through this small channel of water under the tree the first time. At the time, the Water Dragon's scale, one of Hylia's gifts, was something that he had to get used to. Now, he handled it like a pro, swimming from one bubble of air to another, dodging a spiny froak until he broke the surface of the water and found himself inside the large tree.
After pulling himself up onto the small precipice of land, clothes soaked and dripping wet, he pulled the emerald gem from his pouch. Link eyed it for its familiarity, the way it captured his sense he would see it again, like how he felt when he saw the Temple of Time or his wife's ocarina. Yet, he just as soon shook off the feeling and dove back into the water.
Holding the gem tightly in his hand, he looked around for a place to hide it, soon finding a peculiar swirl of knotted wood that bulged outwards.
Link swam to it, placing the emerald stone with a golden swirl right in the center nook. As he swam backwards away, he worried that it was too noticeable, but when looking at it from above the surface of the water, the green glimmer was hidden by a bush and warped by the gentle waves. It was impossible to spot, not to mention secure.
Although, even if it did come loose, fall prey to wherever the water may take it, even if to another forest entirely, Link supposed it was of little matter. It was meant to be hidden. It was meant to be lost.
Link hoped the case wouldn't arise, but if the sword called to a worthy holder again, if Hyrule faced evil that only the Master Sword could remedy, then he supposed finding the emerald would be a good test for the next hero.
His lips gave way to a smirk, satisfied and resolved to making his way out, swimming back through the tunnel.
Breaching the water outside the tree with a slight gasp, he crawled out and whistled for his Loftwing.
