Night trailed along. Flickering embers escaped the campfire, skittering up toward the sky for only brief moments while the pleasantly charred scent of smoke carried the Champions through weakening conversation as exhaustion worked its way through the ranks. Having nearly fallen forward during a bout of sleepiness, Urbosa wrapped Zelda up into her arms before lovingly carrying her to a room, leaving a blithering chatter behind until Mipha retired as well, leaving the three men alone around the flickering pillars of flame light.
Link sighed nostalgically, scooting himself free from his stump to better reach the fire, stoking it alive to keep it attended for any weary traveler that might follow them in the night. His face softened at he watched the flames leap into the air, thinking off his time amongst the Kingdom's patrols, the sight of such a warm, powerfully licking fire often filling him with contentedness after days' long expeditions.
"Our Hylian stables pride themselves on welcoming all, at all times," Link explained quietly, patting one of the crumbling logs until it scattered to ashes, "Their more serious owners take great measures to keep their flames alight at all times."
Daruk smiled warmly, "Quite nice. Keep that up for so many years, think of just how many people have shared in those campfires."
"That's the thing," Link grinned, "The fire itself is constantly evaporating into the air. Even the logs with disintegrate. There's nothing about this fire that made it up from, say, the night before. Yet it remains."
He chuckled, "Captain Ruzoll will often forget that little anecdote and recite it, ad nauseum, if you travel with him long enough."
Daruk nodded with bright eyes, "To be sure, it is still a nice story to be told. If this world is like that fire- We'll all be gone soon enough. Yet, assuming we're successful, there just might be others to take our place."
His eyes echoing those flames in reflection, Link frowned, turning toward Daruk, "You can be honest. Zelda and the others are gone."
He chewed the thought over in his head for a moment, "You think this journey is worth anything?"
"Anything like-" Daruk began uncertainly, "You mean beyond personal stuff?"
"Do you think we're saving Hyrule?" Link clarified with a disheartened tone.
Daruk's body rumbled as he hummed to himself in thought, stroking his chin, "I mean, at the very least, we're better understanding the Divine Beasts. or so we believe. If the ancient legends are to be trusted, such knowledge saved Hyrule once."
"Right, but-" Link paused.
His mind caught sight of Mipha, struggling to even move in her attempt to survive the deadly conditions of Death Mountain. As much as he had warily bought into Zelda's ideas- how much of that meant little compared to her life?
He carefully chose his words, hoping to quell his worries, "This thing is only going to get more dangerous. How far are we willing to go risk our friends' safety for something we're so uncertain of?"
Cocking his head to the side, Daruk allowed a wry smile to stretch across his face, "Well, I understand your quandary, but-"
He sat up straight, running his hands along his legs before coming to rest atop his knees, "You're my friend. My sworn brother. That distinction never came lightly, and even now, I consider myself honored to hold such a distinction with one who does so much with so little- so to speak."
Link eyed him unenthusiastically.
"If my life were in danger," Daruk spoke up seriously, "Would you be willing to give my life away for even the faintest chance to save Hyrule as a whole?"
Unsure, Link returned with a pithy glance, "Would you?"
"Give you up?" Daruk suddenly laughed, slapping his knee humorously, "I cannot answer such things. Perhaps I could never hope to answer that until that moment were to arise. I can say that, were you to let me live, sacrificing Hyrule for such a thing, I would be more furious than thankful, but-"
He shrugged, smirking weakly, "It's always easier to sacrifice your own self. Giving up another is-"
Link lowered his head reverently as Daruk sighed, chuckling as he raised a hand toward Revali, "I often am truly jealous of you, friend."
The Rito's face scrunched unhappily, his arms crossing as he fought back, "I'm not your friend."
Daruk's eyes lit up, hiding a grin from Revali as he allowed the air to stiffen, noticing a weakening curiosity begin to boil within Revali as he sat there anxiously, the Rito's voice finally peckering out near faintly.
"…but I am curious of your jealousy toward me," Revali forced out, albeit as he remained stoic as always.
Chuckling, Daruk smiled, "There certainly is merit to the life you lead. Focusing solely on yourself. Were you able to save the whole of your people, given the sacrifice of another, I wouldn't think you'd have much the same quandary as we might."
"Certainly," Revali confirmed, some discomfort in his voice, "I'll have you know, I am certainly not entirely heartless. While I strive to incite reason when emotions are so heavily touted, I'm not above seeking conclusions that accomplish much without sacrificing an equal exchange."
Daruk shrugged, turning his attention back to Link, "See? Perhaps you simply need to look at these things as Revali does. Keep it professional."
Mutely, Link's mind wandered back to his relationship with Mipha, which was certainly, now, far beyond professional.
Rising to his feet, Daruk bellowed out a mighty yawn as he stretched out his back, reaching toward the stars above, "BWAAAAH! Well, I ought to retire before my sediment grows unruly. I hate to be a fright in the morning!"
He chuckled to himself amusedly, turning toward Link with a smile, "If it helps relieve your worries, should it come to such a thing, I have no problem offering up my life, should you will it. I trust you."
Link watched him with concern, "None of this was to-"
A quick, hearty pat to his back silenced him as Daruk laughed, "Bwah ha! I know, I know. Still, as your sworn brother, I hope you understand what weight is carried by such a distinction."
"I had to help drag your ass back to Goron City after you passed out during that rock meat eating challenge years ago; trust me, I know the weight."
"HA HA!" Daruk boisterously surrendered a massive laugh that sent the nearby trees aflutter with escaping birds, "You're too much, my friend. In any case, do no remain awake for too long! Watch those sediments yourselves!"
Link gave him a droll nod as he raised his hand in feigned thanks, earning him a giddy chuckle as Daruk made his way toward the stable tents. The knight returned to the flames licking at the sky, poking and prodding at the collection of ash beneath it, the presence of only himself and Revali forcing him to focus on such menial things until the Rito man suddenly sputtered.
"What a fool," Revali spoke up quietly in disgust, "What kind of imbecilic welcomes their own death at the hands of another?"
Immediately prepared to reply with some forceful retort, the dour mood left Link more resistant to him impulses. He remained silent as he toyed with the flames, uncertain as to how rhetorical Revali's words had been in the first place, though, regardless, Link mustered a reply of his own.
"When you loose those arrows of yours," Link wondered aloud, peering over the cauldron above the campfire to glance Revali's way, "You trust them to hit their mark, correct? That is a trust I do not know, yet would like to. Perhaps the same will one day be said about you and trust in friends."
Revali eyed him critically, even as Link continued with a shrug, "For me, the ease of death would be far preferable to the loss of somebody close to me."
Link's eyes fell, "…even if they might be forced to endure what I, myself, cannot."
He muttered breathlessly, in a near whisper, "They're stronger than I would ever be."
Revali's eyes spun curiously at Link's nearly too-personal words, though he decided not to pry, simply taking the man's flash of weakness as something of a strength, given his audience. The Rito's sharp eyes followed Link as he stood up himself, wiping free the debris from the back of his tunic before striding along the perimeter of the fire on his way to the stable.
"Don't tarry," Link muttered as he passed Revali, "The temperature often dips despite the humidity. It's not good for Rito feathers."
Revali gave him a challenging stare, though Link failed to notice as he carried on without a reply, leaving the Rito alone amidst the campfire, Revali's attention solemnly turning to the sight of bountiful flames as he crossed his arms, further pondering the night's events, in particular the quiet moment of solace not a moment earlier.
Link strode into the massive tent of the stable, careful with his movements as he threw his shoulder forward to allow the strap of his Sword to roll down his arm and into his waiting hand, sighing mutely to himself as he hug his head in weariness, rather prepared for the day to come to an end. His gait was more of a stumble as he shook his head to clear his mind, entering steadily into the ring of ramshackle, private rooms the stable had erected for the more reserved guests, even if they weren't much more than screens put up with flimsy doorways.
Without much of a thought, Link entered unto the line of doorways, thinking only of the one Zelda had meant for him, though his eyes went sharp at the sight of something rather odd- a crack in one of the doors, only the slightest occurrence out of sorts, yet still the type of incongruity a knight of his caliber would be expected to point out. He slowly approached the curious sight, only to notice even further the swirl of crimson that fit within the cracked doorway, the tell-tale sight of a peeking Mipha.
Link peered over his shoulder as if to scope out what she might have been peeking out, before returning to her, closing the gap enough that the door crept open ever so slightly.
"You okay?" he asked, more in confusion than questioning.
Mipha's sole eye trailed toward the ground, "I, uh- I was waiting for you- N- Not for any particular reason! just-!"
She took in a sharp breath to calm herself, shaking her head, "Daruk came through and left me affright. I thought he might have noticed me and asked questions."
Her inability to retain eye-contact led Link to assume, "Is something the matter?"
"I-" Mipha muttered shamefully, bowing her head behind the crack in the door, "Yes…"
Link noticed the darkened space behind her, only the faintest glimmer of lanternlight accompanying what of her frame he could make out. Gradually enough, given her inability to present herself normally, Link came to realize what might have happened.
"That, uh-" she battled to explain, "Gekari gel will lose its potency over time, so- I figured I would use the gel Revali bought in the desert and-"
Her voice wavered with shame.
"I don't think it was gekari gel…" she concluded with a whimper, the visible section of her head suddenly jolting as she further complained, "Now it's just a mess of gunk that's stuck in my scales and it's irritating and just sitting there making me uncomfortable and-!"
Link raised his hands to calm her, "Shh, shh… What, would you like me to fetch some water? We could try that soap Urbosa mentioned, see if it works on Zora."
"No, I- I'm afraid water might make it worse," Mipha muttered worriedly, nearly on the verge of tears, "I've just been picking it off, but-"
"But-" Link finished easily, "You can't reach your back."
"I can't reach my back!" Mipha explained in complaint.
Link stifled down a chuckle as he made his way toward the door, shaking his head, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Honestly though, I've never seen you like this. You took a pelting from a far-off lynel, but this is what brings you to tears?"
Mipha's lips pursed in droll explanation, "Maybe if that lynel had scratched marks into my skin that burned like fire I might have."
Now readily allowing a soft laugh to escape, Link nodded in acknowledgement, "I suppose you do have a point."
Slowly, almost carefully, retreating back into the room, leaving the door slightly ajar for Link to slip his hand through to allow him entry, Mipha disappeared deeper into the dark room, Link warily peeking up and down the hallway before slipping in backward, his eyes scanning the interior of the stable until he shut the door behind him with a sigh, dropping his head in relief.
"The last thing we need is-" he spun away, his breath leaving him for a moment as he found Mipha standing a few paces away, the scales upon her body aglow with soft lanternlight, dancing across those silky boundaries of alabaster upon rouge.
Apparently noticing his wandering gaze, Mipha's eyes turned away in embarrassment, instinctively bringing her hands up to her chest as she spoke up in murmurs, forcing Link's eyes back up to her face, "I, uh-"
"Right," Link nodded quickly, swallowing the obtrusive pocket of air in his throat, "Sorry."
Mipha smiled, "I'm not upset, just- My scales…"
"Understood," Link reaffirmed, "Let's just get you better."
She nodded. Turning around with a slowness that Link couldn't help but imagine was intentional, Mipha's sleek back shone amidst the dancing lick of flame, like a brush stroke of the most exquisite calligraphy before his eyes, she carefully sat atop the edge of the rather improperly welcoming bed, given how cheaply done the room itself had been made, catching Link's eyes from over her shoulder.
Clearing his throat, Link sat his Sword down beside the doorway before taking the trembling steps toward her, watching listlessly as she reached up to catch her dorsal fin with the back of her hand, sliding it along to tuck it behind her shoulder to allow him access to the whole of her back, Link only now realizing that, besides the necklace around her, this was the first time he had ever seen her absent some form of ornate wrapping or other clothing. Surely, he figured, nudity wasn't much of anything to the Zora, but his own culturally-tinged eyes couldn't help but place some significance to such a sight, so beauteous as it was.
He carefully sat behind her atop the bed, one foot on the floor to allow him easy access, his voice escaping rather timidly as he asked, "So, uh-"
"It should come off easy enough," Mipha's equally-hollow voice noted, "It doesn't hurt."
Link's sudden gasp of a chuckle broke the tension somewhat, "I wouldn't expect it to. Nothing fazes you."
He couldn't catch her grin, though as he prepared to assist her with this process, raising his hands toward her back, he paused, curling his lips inward with uncertainty. She had asked for his help, yet-
Carefully, with a near-crippling slowness, Link placed his hands atop her back, catching the sharp breath from past her lips as he did so. Those scales press lightly against his palms, so smooth, patterned endlessly in pleasant loops and curvatures, felt infinitely cool beneath his seemingly infinitely warm skin. In the humid air, made even more sweltering by such intimacy, her skin felt far more satisfying than it might have otherwise.
"You-" Mipha spoke up in a choking voice before clearing her throat with a dainty cough, "You might have to find the splotches yourself…"
Link's eyes had already glazed over with unstable grasps upon reality, leaving him much in agreement, "Alright…"
He took a deep breath, praying it to be silent, but knew better- Mipha almost certainly heard, and even if she hadn't, had obviously already noticed his nerves simply through his touch. A tingle ran down his neck as Link slid his hands down her back, sending Mipha's body trembling for a brief moment as she acclimated to the sensation, his eyes losing focus as they merely rested upon some unknown space as his body focused so intently upon that smoothness running along his palms.
Somewhere within that infinitely perfect set of curvaceous spots of scales, he caught something foreign, causing his eyes to reorient themselves; as lost as he was becoming in her scales, he quickly recalled his task, taking in a breath before zeroing in on that section of imperfection, carefully working free the viscous plop of ooze that had solidified around a collection of scales.
"Thanks," came Mipha's voice, nearly causing Link to jump in surprise as their silence had so ingrained itself upon his mind.
He shook his head, rubbing free what he could of the substance, "It's nothing. Better me than Daruk trying to shove those massive boulders he calls fingers into these crevices."
Mipha shivered with softened giggles.
"Zelda might be a bit more meticulous though. I've never been known to be all that thorough when it comes to this sort of thing," Link admitted, still diligent in his work.
With the surface cleared, Link carefully pressed his thumb between her scales, running its sunken surface along to clear those spaces as best he could, "This isn't nearly as irritating as keeping a barracks made up, though."
Mipha's voice appeared nearly crystalline, as if able to shatter, "…what makes this so different?"
His lips curling into a grin, Link explained, "A barracks is never beautiful."
Link's eyes rose to find Mipha's head falling forward in a gracious dip to conceal her smile, returning to his work as he muttered further, "Messiness doesn't bother a barracks either."
"It might bother your captains," Mipha spoke up slyly.
Shrugging, Link replied, "I don't love my captains, though."
Mipha shut her eyes, leaving her smile as the only feature of note upon her face as she buried her chin against her chest, enjoying the sensations offered her by Link's warm hands running along her back, as well as the feeling of his fingers so lovingly careful in their examination of her scales.
Link finished what he could before running his hands further along her back, having grown more emboldened in his approach, even if the two had returned to silence. Wherever he found splotches of inconsistency, he dutifully cleared them as best he could, working his fingers along the borders of her scales as best he could. Not one was left out of place. Such a pristine being was this woman, he thought, certainly by design- she was capable of shedding impure scales, after all. Still, as pure as her body seemed, Link couldn't help but remain so intensely allured by the myriad curvatures upon such cool skin.
His hands run upward, noting the sizable difference between the scales at her back versus the ones trailing near her neck, before clearing his throat, "I, uh- Your necklace is in the way if there's any up here."
He caught sight of Mipha's hand slowly raising toward her chest, lingering atop the ornate decoration around her neck. Her fingers trailed along the various trails of jewels roaming down her body, deepening in thought as Link silently remained where he was, his hands still upon her.
Slowly, without reply, he slid his hands even further along her body, fingers slithering atop the jeweled band that wrapped around her neck. Mipha's eyes suddenly appeared over her shoulder as she turn her head around to watch him, less slowly than deliberately. Their eyes locked, the two wholly enchanted by the orange glow that twinged in one another's eyes. Mipha's breath caught in her throat as Link delicately undid the band of her necklace, the rough surface of rough-cut ornaments skidding along her chest and into her waiting hand.
Their vision remained entangled. Beyond a cursory search along his fingertips, Link's hands failed to locate anything out of place atop her tender skin. Instead, they slid apart, turning until they were atop her arms just beneath her shoulders, taking her into a lovingly brusque clutch with her breaths ever quickening. Before her mind could register Link's movement, he had already buried his face into the small of her neck, taking a small kiss from atop her most delicate scales, causing a shiver to pass through her like a tremor.
Her deepening breath echoed, considering the loss of her necklace, "I must belong to you now."
Link's eyes raised his own breath beginning to grow warmer, "What if I wished to belong to you?"
Whether in an effort to be literal or simply lascivious, Mipha's eyes trailed down toward Link's chest. To belong to Link, they had discovered, meant she was without her necklace- without nation, without titles, without anything barring everything about her, body, heart, and soul from this man that she loved.
Spinning around to half-face him, Mipha gingerly raised her hands toward his chest, entwining her fingers within the buttons of his shirt, the warmth within causing her skin to crawl in expectation. Link's head fell, his eyes watching her flinty movement as his heart raced, unsure of where they were quite blindly leading themselves. Still, as her movements graduated from curious prodding to increasingly ravenous, Link found little room to refuse her advance, even helping as Mipha reached down to collect the hem of his tunic within her hands, pushing it up and over Link's head.
Her eyes fell toward his bare chest with wonderment, imagining lying upon such a body that, contrary to her own, offered infinite heat from which her very soul could find such invigoration. Mipha's brow fell in confusion, the sweltering humidity, along with such heated activity between the two of them, leaving Link's skin with a rather sheen as the lanternlight glistened amongst his sweat.
"You're wet," Mipha spoke with only a hint of curiosity, enough for Link to catch that she wasn't simply stating such things.
He nodded, tuning into his own chest with his attention, "Yeah. It's, uh- I suppose speaking of Zora righting response; it's one of ours. When we get too- hot- our bodies sweat to cool us off."
"Huh," Mipha mumbled absent-mindedly, pressing her hand gently against his skin, only to quickly pull it away from the sensation of expecting incineration, giggling mutely before slowly returning to him, "Sorry. I wasn't expecting you to be that hot."
Link felt a pit summoning itself into the pit of his stomach as Mipha wondered with all the sincerity of somebody new to such things, "How did you get like this?"
"I, uh-" Link managed, but only briefly, his shivering nerves forcing his speech into resuscitation, "I mean-"
Mipha's lips crept mischievously upward, "Was it me? Urbosa said you men-"
"Okay, as somebody who has heard some of Urbosa's advice, you'd be wise to disregard it," groaned Link with incredulity.
Mipha smirked, "So it's not me, then?"
Link couldn't help but feel as though he'd just been trapped to say something rather embarrassing. His eyes averted, he muttered quietly.
"I mean- When you look the way you do…"
Mipha nodded slowly as she leaned in closer, ever so gently, "Uh huh."
"And I don't- Ahh."
A jolting whimper managed to escape Link's attempts toward composure as Mipha's lips found his chest, sampling what she could of her lover's taste. Link's face went red in reply to both his embarrassing reaction as well as Mipha's suddenly forward behavior. His hands found the bed sheets to clutch onto as a sudden tension dashed throughout his body as Mipha's lips continued along the center of his chest, her hands reaching for his sides to bring him closer, however subtly, until she found herself wanting, grinning with satisfaction as she bowed her head, nuzzling the crown of her forehead against his chest, newly churning with heat as Link's body rose to the occasion.
His breaths shook as Mipha's hand slid atop his body, curling atop his shoulder before finding the back of his neck, pulling him into her kisses as her lips trailed toward his chin before receding only to the tender skin at his own neck.
"I want every part of you," Mipha panted, battling in between breaths, "To be a part of me."
Taking that as her command, Link dutifully relinquished whatever inhibitions he might have had. For his many years fighting the urges that came from his body's need to connect to another, such barriers crumbled beneath Mipha's skillful allure. He sent his hands up to her cheeks, burning her face with his touch as he directed her lips to his own, the flurry of whetted, scorching manipulation making Mipha's body weak. Whether or not it had been calculated, Link subtly took the chance now that their lips, their tongues, were tied, unlocking his hands to allow them to find Mipha's tender skin, rolling his fingers atop her stomach, hoping to well up whatever pleasure he could for her, knowing such things must have been far different from her perspective.
Unable to tear away the nagging urge at the back of his mind, his hands inevitably found their way to the ridges at her chest, a subtle whine escaping into his mouth as Mipha jolted forward from the heat above her heart. She only battled his tongue even more, fighting to quench whatever sounds might escape further before they arose, her tongue roiling atop of Link's as she savored every taste of him she could find, even taking a moment to take quick, subtle notice of the pressure within his lungs- his outside had been wet with sweat, after all. What if the same had happened on the inside?
Link pushed his way atop of her, brushing his hands along her sides in a tender embrace, careful not to bruise her gill slits, before breaking away from their kisses, choosing to watch her with strained, exhausted eyes as he regained his breath. There she lay beneath him, a longing pursing of her lips ornamenting the rest of her shimmering body.
"There's no, uh-" Link struggled beneath wavering breaths, "I mean-"
Seeming to catch what he was offering, Mipha smiled lightly, "Link…"
She gradually reached up to clutch either side of his head, running her fingers through his soft hair to feel the prickly sensations along her fingers, her eyes weakly locked in reply to his stare.
"You're already as much as a Zora man could be to me, and far, far more," she smiled, "All I want to be for you is as much as a Hylian woman could be- however that happens."
Link felt a sweltering crimson come across his face, choosing to lower himself against Mipha's chest, burying his face between those tender ridges rather than allow himself the indignity of Mipha catching him in much more embarrassment. She merely giggled in reply, wrapping her arms around his head to hold him as close as she could against herself, feeling his heat slipping into her body, coursing throughout her very essence, a brilliance catching fire within her soul.
"I love you," came Link's voice from between her breasts, earning him an unseen smile from Mipha.
She released her arms, taking Link's shoulders and forcefully pushing him to the side, launching him over onto his back as she followed in a singular, spry motion, now rising above him on all fours, smirking lustrously as she examined his body with an emboldened critique. Before long, she reached up to gently brush the hair from Link's face before giving him another peck upon the lips, pulling away into a smile as their eyes met.
"I love you too."
Link was rather entranced by the view of Mipha's pearlescent eyes, crowded by three broad strands of fins nearly framing her face in a masterpiece of existence, or so he imagined.
"How, uh-" Link stammered, his body nearly aburst with their prolonged dance, though not without a clumsy escape of his attention off toward the lantern.
Mipha grinned, placing a single finger atop his lips to silence him.
"I'll figure something out," she assured, a lascivious cocking of her lips proving positive her intentions, "I was told you men aren't too difficult to please."
Link decided to merely take her at her word, remaining lost in the moment, instead of trying to ascertain where she had heard such things. Of course, this was Mipha- a somewhat rival from his youth, and even until now.
He was bound and determined to prove that particular predilection wrong, if only to show her up, after showing her up, of course.
A/N: I've spent an inordinate amount of time pondering the question, "Should Link and Mipha be able to have sex?" xD It would retcon a massive plot point from 'Scales', however, and I think it works better from character perspectives if they're not able to. That physical barrier will always bar them, wholly, from one another- that's the sacrifice they make to be together- it's not the easy route at all.
I don't expect their relationship to get as introspective as it was, briefly, in 'Scales', so you could check that out if you'd like some deeper discussion between the two on the topic (from beginning to end, I don't think 'Tale' is long enough for them to ponder the idea of children xD).
I hope you enjoyed!