A/N: Enormous thanks to all of my wonderful readers, favers, alerters, and reviewers! I love you all! (Platonically!) 3
As always, thanks to my beta, RenegadeBladesman, who dutifully checks my work whenever I ask~
I've been so busy writing that I almost forgot it was time to update! Thankfully I finished this chapter earlier, so here you go~!
WARNING: Mentions of injuries, mentions of drowning, mentions of blood, racism
Chapter Twelve: Slumber Party
Even though the bleeding was not yet under control, Lin picked up her newly acquired Hylian and took them to a more secluded spot before they could do more than blink. There was a small offshoot cave used by expecting mothers. It was empty right now as Zora were long-lived and slow to reproduce, so Lin claimed it and settled in. She laid the Hylian back down and waited, staring restlessly.
It opened its mouth and Lin's ear fins swept forward in anticipation. Rough coughing emerged, shaking its frame with each violent exhalation. One of its hands came up to its mouth, the other only moved to its chest to grab at the material. It lurched onto its side and sort of fell partly on its front, still coughing. A small spatter of water fell from its lips.
The Hylian reminded her of a dying fish out of water, flopping around weakly and struggling to breathe. Lin awkwardly gave its shoulder a couple of soft pats. The hacking and shuddering stopped, replaced by raspy breathing that slowly evened out. The Hylian didn't move so Lin gingerly poked it. No response. She frowned and gently rolled it over onto its back again, sighing at the slack expression and closed eyes.
Passed out again.
Lin was not the biggest fan of waiting around, unless she was hunting, but she didn't want to miss the Hylian waking up again. With a nervous glance at the tunnel entrance to the little side cave, Lin scooted forward and got on her stomach, crawling closer until she was touching its clothes. She wriggled around, laying her head sideways on its chest, and getting comfortable.
With the odd thumping she could hear, and the vibrations from each internal movement picked up by her sensitive ear fin, she could get some rest and be alerted the instant something changed.
She breathed out slowly, watching its face, and settled in.
There was no rain or thunder anymore. It was still completely dark, but the only thing he could hear was soft breathing. There was a storm though. Or…there had been a storm. Was it over? He remembered walking. So much walking. Well, more trudging along in a squelching manner than actual walking. There had been water. The rain? No, no, he had been under the water.
Was he drowning?!
Link shot up, staggering to his feet and gasping for breath, eyes wild. He flailed jerkily as his chest heaved. It took a few long moments for him to notice he was actually breathing. He was able to breathe. He was not underwater.
The adrenaline still surged through his body, making him a quivering ball of highly alert senses, but he gradually calmed down. He was not under the water anymore, true, but he was clueless on where he was. The river - had it been a river? - was the last thing he recalled with any certainty.
Drowning was becoming a serious issue. He'd had two close calls, maybe three, in the span of three years. Surely that was bad for his overall health, even if he wasn't dead because of it.
He finally took stock of his surroundings, which were blessedly water-free, and saw the natural sculpted rocky walls of a cave. He turned in a slow circle to confirm this and pulled up short at the sight of a Zora. It was standing there, holding its clawed hands out placatingly and watching him somewhat warily.
"Hello," Link said automatically.
The Zora smiled, looking much more at ease. "ዘቿረረዐ."
The young lad was still shaky, so he hid his trembling fingers behind his back, twisting them together to make them stop. "My name is Link. What's yours?" he asked politely.
At this the Zora lit up, doing a sort of wiggly little dance on the spot. "ልዘል! ጎ ጋሁነፕ ጕክቿሠ ጎፕ ሠልነ ሃዐሁ! ጎ ሠልነ ዪጎኗዘፕ!" The elation disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. "ጎ ጌጎፕ ረጎክጕ… ዐዘ ክዐ, ጎ ልጠ ነዐ ነዐዪዪሃ! የረቿልነቿ ቻዐዪኗጎሀቿ ጠቿ!" it wailed, hunching down and shuffling from foot to foot like a naughty child.
Link tried very hard to process the words, but very little of it clicked in his head. He recognised his own name and a few other short words, but nothing truly coherent. "Uh… Could you maybe start by telling me your name?" he said awkwardly.
The Zora shifted again, now looking visibly upset and teary. "ጠሃ ክልጠቿ ጎነ ረጎክ," it said slowly.
"Lin?" he asked. The name, and the voice, sounded feminine. At her nod, he smiled. "Nice to meet you, Lin. How did I get here? Did you find me in the water?"
Lin cocked her head, ear fins fidgeting. "ዕዐ ሃዐሁ ክዐፕ ዪቿጠቿጠጌቿዪ?"
She had to repeat her question twice more before he comprehended it. "No, I only remember being underwater and a storm. Why, what happened?"
Guilt instantly crossed Lin's face and her eyes fell to rest on what she could see of his right arm.
He moved it from behind his back and looked down to find a couple of holes in the sleeve of his brown undertunic. Through the holes he could see puncture wounds covered in dried blood that was smeared a bit. The pain hit him at that point, underlined by a weird itching sensation. He scratched at the blood around one of the holes and winced at the sting of pain and the flare of further itchiness. It took all of his willpower not to scratch anymore. He wrapped his left hand around his right upper arm to lessen the temptation.
"What happened?" he repeated calmly.
"ጎ ጌጎፕ ሃዐሁ," she said quietly, carefully pronouncing everything.
Link stared at her, taking in her sad and guilty countenance, then looked down at the wounds on his arm. A spark of memory burst to life in his mind. Surrounded by water, nothing but darkness, a stabbing feeling that clamped down on his arm. A flash of lightning lit up the scene, revealing a Zora with its fangs sunk in his arm.
"Oh, now I remember," he mumbled. "You were pulling me along after that…" he said, trailing off.
Lin nodded, making a small noise of affirmation.
"Where were you taking me? Where are we now?" he asked, tilting his head around the cave.
"ጎ ፕዘዐሁኗዘፕ ሃዐሁ ጠጎኗዘፕ ጌቿ ረጎክጕ, ነዐ ጎ ሠልክፕቿዕ ፕዐ ጌዪጎክኗ ሃዐሁ ነዐጠቿሠዘቿዪቿ ነልቻቿ," she replied.
Again, she had to repeat her words and slow them down. Some of her anxiety seemed to have melted away and Link abruptly realised that she had been expecting retribution for biting him. He made sure to smile at her. "Thank you," he said sincerely.
She beamed at him, thoroughly pleased.
"Safe, huh? Is this your home?" he inquired in a tone brimming with curiosity.
"ዘዐጠቿ ቻዐዪ ጠልክሃ," Lin said simply.
"Only for Zora?"
"ሃቿነ," she stated. Her eyes grew larger as they fell on him, and she waved her hands around in a desperate attempt to backpedal. "ክዐ, ሠልጎፕ! ረጎክጕ ጎነ ልረረዐሠቿዕ ጎክ ጊዐዪል ዘዐጠቿ ፕዐዐ!"
Link couldn't help but laugh once he figured out what she was crying out about. He rubbed the back of his neck, somehow both surprised, and yet not, to find that he was still wearing his green hat. "I really appreciate you letting me stay here. And for rescuing me from the water. But where is everyone else?"
Lin looked both pleased and apprehensive. One long moment later she beckoned him to follow her and went into the tunnel, quickly disappearing from sight as the tunnel curved. The hero scrambled not to lose her, his footsteps far louder than hers, the sound bouncing off the tunnel walls and completely ruining any element of surprise.
He emerged from the tunnel into a much larger cave. A proper cavern, it was decorated here and there in ways he'd never seen before, not even among the many halls and rooms of the castle. At a rough count, there were approximately three dozen Zora scattered about the cavern engaged in various activities.
Some were lying around, asleep or simply relaxing, while others were seated and conversing with those nearby. There were a small number racing around playing some sort of game, although they kept things surprisingly quiet for such exuberance. A tiny tug on his sleeve brought his attention back to Lin, and he sheepishly followed her as she brought him to one group of Zoras.
These ones had duller scales, their fins and facial features sagging to various degrees. Link quickly stifled a gasp. These Zoras were old! He briefly entertained the thought of these cave-dwelling senior citizens giving him weapons or selling him things, but quickly shooed the thought away.
Link gave them a brief bow, feeling silly, and said, "Hello, my name is Link."
"ነዐ, ጎፕ ጎነ ፕዘቿ ዐክቿ ፕዘቿክ?" one said.
"የቿዪዘልየነ ነዘቿ ሠልነ ዪጎኗዘፕ ክዐፕ ፕዐ ቿልፕ ዘጎጠ," said another with a sneer.
That one was eyeing him as if he were a fresh cut of juicy meat and a chill danced up Link's spine. The words definitely did not match the tone and Link had to wrestle down the urge to step back. One Zora slowly stood up, the telltale signs of joint pain present in every movement. It stepped right into his personal space, breathing loudly and moving their lips as though they were mumbling soundlessly.
Link held as still as he could manage, barely even breathing, while the old Zora inspected him. What were they even looking for? Food? He only had a handful of bitter berries left from his time spent wandering around that damn forest.
"ዕዐቿነ ክዐፕ ነቿቿጠ ነየቿርጎልረ ልፕ ልረረ," it eventually said, shuffling back and sitting down.
"I'm…sorry?" Link offered in bewilderment.
"ነፕዪልክኗቿ ረጎፕፕረቿ ዘሃረጎልክ. ሠዘልፕ ዕዐ ሃዐሁ ሠልክፕ ቻዪዐጠ ሁነ?"
Link scrunched his nose unintentionally until Lin repeated the words, much more slowly and with less gurgling and growling sounds mixed in. "Oh!" he said in comprehension. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding. I would like to stay here and wait out the storm, if I may? I don't have any food to offer in return though," he said, ducking his head a bit and looking apologetic.
The elders were brought up short by his simple and humble request. Hylians were nasty, greedy creatures, always taking and taking, from everyone and everything else. The more fanatical Zora called them a plague, wiping out themselves and everything around them wherever they went. Then stories appeared, of an odd little Hylian that started to give them food in return for water, and even saved one of their injured brethren, returning them to the water. The Hylian even started speaking to their people.
It had taken a while, but the Zora finally got a name for this weird Hylian - Link. Many of the younger ones wanted nothing more than to meet this much talked about Hylian. Those that managed to meet him always crowed about it to the others, becoming popular and hated all at once.
Link had brought Hylian royalty to speak to their people. From those that had met Princess Zelda, they all reported the same thing: she was polite, certainly, but she didn't hold that spirit of kinship Link held. It became so much more evident when Link stopped showing up with her to their meetings.
The group held a silent conversation. Warring viewpoints and concessions were accomplished through minimal body language until all of them seemed to reach an agreement.
"ፕዘቿ ዘሃረጎልክ ክልጠቿዕ ረጎክጕ ጠልሃ ነፕልሃ ጎክ ፕዘቿ ርዐጠጠሁክልረ ርልሀቿ ልክዕ ሠልጎፕ ዐሁፕ ፕዘቿ ነፕዐዪጠ ጎቻ ዘቿ ዕዐቿነ ክዐፕ ዘልዪጠ ልክሃ ጊዐዪል ዘቿዪቿጎክ," Elder Pecati announced. He said each word like Lin had, slow and clear, to make sure the daft creature fully understood.
It might be a decent Hylian, but that didn't mean the elder had to accept him with open arms. This one might be better, but it was still a stupid Hylian. If it harmed any Zora in the Communal Cave Pecati would eat it, no questions asked. Its beating heart had sounded awfully tasty.
Link smiled and bowed again. "Thank you for letting me stay. I have no intention of harming any Zora. If there is anything I can help you with, please let me know."
One of the elders scoffed. "ጕቿቿየ ዒሁጎቿፕ ልክዕ ዕዐክ'ፕ ጌቿ ል ክሁጎነልክርቿ," they ordered.
"Uh… Right. Yes," he said awkwardly. He felt a tug on the back of his tunic and followed the unspoken demand, turning around and finding himself following Lin yet again.
They wove through the crowds. Link got jumpier each time a clawed hand reached for him out of nowhere. It was only the curious ones wanting to brush scaled digits against his clothes or skin as he went by; nothing to draw his sword over, despite his mind continuously whispering of attacks and to stay alert. His fight or flight instinct was constantly poked, and it was fraying what nerves he had left after meeting the elders.
All of them had sharply reminded him of the first time he fell in the water with a Zora. It had been nothing but a predator to him, fully intent on dragging him down, drowning him, and then likely eating him. He got the same sense of predatory hunger, though veiled, from every one of the old folks in that group.
It made his skin crawl just thinking about it.
On the plus side, not a single one seemed to know of, or perhaps simply not care for, the rumours among the monsters about him. At least Lin was nice, not counting the fact that she bit him. The moment he started thinking about the bite punctures from her fangs, the wounds began to sting and itch, and he absentmindedly began to scratch lightly.
Lin stopped in front of another group, this one much younger, with more energy and vibrant blue and teal scales. They were engaged in a conversation that included much hand-waving, fin wiggling, and facial expressions that changed every few seconds. The group fell silent as Link and his escort drew near. The silence didn't last long as the group erupted into gasps, mutterings, exclamations, and greetings.
One Zora stood out to Link. "Hamlik?"
"ረጎክጕ!" Hamlik cheered, jumping to his feet and giving Link the strangest hug and kiss combination that he'd ever seen, let alone experienced.
Several others glanced from their friend to the Hylian and back again with stirrings of jealousy.
Hamlik wasn't holding him all that tightly, but his signature large, puffy Zora lips were pressed against his cheek, chin, and even part of his hair and ear. The lips moved down briefly to cover his neck, jaw, and pulse point before they swiftly moved up over his nose, eyes, and forehead, making Link squeak at the unusual feeling and blatant breach of personal space.
"ልዪቿ ሃዐሁ ዐጕልሃ?" Hamlik asked after pulling back. His hands were on Link's shoulders, and he was giving the lad a thorough look over from his hair to the soles of his boots. His eyes lingered on Link's injured arm, and he sniffed, instantly pinning Lin with a vicious stare.
"I'm fine. It was just an accident," Link said. Lin's ear fins drooped, even as she nodded fervently.
Hamlik made a low gurgling noise, causing Lin to flinch, but then seemed to drop the whole issue. "ሠዘልፕ ጌዪጎክኗነ ሃዐሁ ዘቿዪቿ? ፕዘቿ ርልነፕረቿ ጎነ ዕልሃነ ልሠልሃ ዐክ ቻዐዐፕ," he commented slowly. Hamlik was used to this song and dance from the many times they'd spoken, with or without the Hylian princess there.
"Just travelling around," Link said with a shrug. If the Zoras hadn't heard the rumours, then he was not going to enlighten them.
"ሃዐሁዪ የዪጎክርቿነነ ጠጎነነቿነ ሃዐሁ," Hamlik said, offhand.
Link blinked and ran his tongue over the back of his teeth so he wouldn't bite the inside of his cheek. "She said that?"
"ክዐፕ ልፕ ቻጎዪነፕ. ነዘቿ ጋሁነፕ ረዐዐጕቿዕ ነልዕ. ል ርዐሁየረቿ ዐቻ ሀጎነጎፕነ ረልፕቿዪ ነዘቿ ልነጕቿዕ ጎቻ ልክሃ ጊዐዪል ዘልዕ ነቿቿክ ሃዐሁ. ፕዘቿክ ነዘቿ ልነጕቿዕ ሁነ ፕዐ ረዐዐጕ ዐሁፕ ቻዐዪ ሃዐሁ."
The hero sighed, his whole body deflating as though all the air had rushed out in that one mournful breath. "Oh…"
Link knew him leaving would leave some sadness and confusion behind but hearing about it made everything so much worse. He remembered wanting to see his friends at the castle while being dragged through the water, and the ache to go back hit him stronger than ever. He didn't want to put them in danger but being on his own again was hard. Link knew what it was like to no longer be lonely, and to have a place to eat and sleep. Now that he'd lost it, the loneliness seemed to loom over him like a dark cloud.
"ሃዐሁ ጠጎነነ ዘቿዪ ፕዐዐ?" asked Hamlik.
The Hylian nodded after a moment.
"ኗዐ ነቿቿ ዘቿዪ," Lin said.
Her voice was so out of the blue, right next to and slightly behind him, that he jumped. "I - I can't," he stuttered.
Something in his posture or his voice dissuaded either Zora from pursuing the subject. They turned to happier topics and Link and Lin both sat down. The Hylian interacted almost seamlessly with them and all of the young Zora that spoke to him wondered if he'd simply been born the wrong species.
The talking carried on long into the night. It only fell quiet when they realised Link hadn't responded to anything they'd said for a while.
Hamlik, on Link's right, and Lin, on the left, both glanced at him. He was still sitting up. Mostly. He was very slumped, and his chin was practically resting against his chest. His eyes were shut, and his expression was peaceful, if a bit slack. He was obviously asleep, so they shushed the others and set about laying him down.
Link sniffled and whined, moving restlessly as clawed hands manipulated him from a vertical cross-legged position to something much more comfortable and horizontal. He never woke, much to the Zoras' relief, and they got him settled. The young teenager rolled onto his side and curled up, his breathing soft and slow.
Hamlik and Lin remained by his side as the others shuffled off to continue talking a short distance away. They didn't want to disturb the unusual guest in their midst, especially as it was their own local legend, so to speak.
Link's mind would not truly let him rest. It played scenes of darkness and bright, glowing red eyes appearing and vanishing from every angle. The sound of rain mercilessly battered his eardrums, the noise more closely resembling a raging waterfall than drops from the sky. Lightning would flash occasionally, always in time for him to catch movement out of the corner of his eyes. No matter how quickly he turned, the lightning would disappear, and the darkness would take over again, leaving him unable to get a good look at anything that was stalking him.
Now and then he would very clearly see the glint of white fangs, glistening with fresh, wet, red blood.
Link barely took note that there was never any thunder, his fraught mind too busy trying to spot whatever was hunting him. He reached for his sword, but his left hand met empty air over his shoulder. He bit back a curse and went for his shield instead, his right hand also meeting nothing but air.
It began to itch terribly. The rain started to sting, every drop feeling like a needle puncturing his skin. Some of the rain seemed to seep under his skin through the wounds in his right arm, his blood heating the water and making his arm feel warm.
The warmth started to spread, carried by his blood. It became warmer and warmer, until it felt as if every drop of blood in his veins was starting to boil, like water over a fire.
Hotter and hotter it became, the rain doing nothing to cool him down. He cried out and clutched at his right forearm uselessly, scratching and tearing to try and let the boiling blood seep out.
A/N: A reminder that I post my writing progress for this fic on my profile here! I update it whenever I write, so check back if you want to see how far the next chapter is.
Phew, only a few Zora lines to translate... meep.
Hello
Aha! I just knew it was you! I was right! - I bit Link... Oh no, I am SO SORRY! Please forgive me!
My name is Lin
Do you not remember?
I bit you
I thought you might be Link, so I wanted to bring you somewhere safe
Home for many
Yes - No, wait! Link is allowed in Zora home too!
So, it is the one then?
Perhaps she was right not to eat him
Does not seem special at all
Strange little Hylian. What do you want from us?
The Hylian named Link may stay in the Communal Cave and wait out the storm if he does not harm any Zora herein
Keep quiet and don't be a nuisance
Link!
Are you okay?
What brings you here? The castle is days away on foot
Your princess misses you
Not at first. She just looked sad. A couple of visits later she asked if any Zora had seen you. Then she asked us to look out for you
You miss her too?
Go see her