The entrance, while dripping and worn from the water that had been running over it, still managed to be magnificent. Really, it was a sight to be seen, and Tya honestly wished she had the means of preserving it somehow as they passed through to descend the staircase down.

The hall down was dark, and as they continued in, she expected to come upon another scene like that of skyview or eldin. Both, while gorgeous pieces of architecture, had been worn with time and forgotten by whatever inhabitants built it. The mining facility was much the same, but Tya didn't expect much from such a place. The hints she saw from the past though said it was once gorgeous; vibrant at least in color and life, and she would have loved to see it in its prime, but really, when it came to the desert, she was far more curious about whatever disaster led to it getting to that state. Did time alone really destroy something to that extent?

But those were all thoughts irrelevant to what they were currently doing, and she would have flowed into the admittedly exciting display of uncovered history if it she wasn't utterly speechless by the massive round structure they emerged into.

She was almost breathless.

A gorgeous work of art stood erect in the center, surrounded by deep water that, upon seeing it, caused her attention to flick to Link due to the similarity in that color and his eyes.

Disregarding that, she stepped to the edge where she could see with clarity to the bottom, where more pieces of the carving in the center stood as well as various other things such as algae, rock, and plants, some of which even peeked out of the water and allowed vibrant pink flowers to bloom around thick, flat pads.

Though the place was likely ancient, she could tell the Dragoness must have kept it up, otherwise it would have fallen into despair with the running water eroding the stone structures.

She was completely in awe, and for a moment, Link had been as well. He had slowed upon entry, mouth agape as he too took in the scenery, but his mind didn't wander to the extent Tya's did. Two complete opposite directions, as hers had begun down the path of 'who built this?' 'Was it Faron herself?' 'How long had it been here?', whereas Link's was immediately to 'Where do we need to go first?'

He hardened, shoulders rolling before he hooked a finger on his belt and moved to Tya's side. A hand set on the back of her arm softly to not scare her and accidentally send her over the edge, into the water she was much too close to. He didn't say anything, but she understood, straightening and taking a step back so she may look around.

There were stairs and platforms all around either side, all of which seemed inaccessible unless they were to swim and pull themselves up onto the edge- a thought which made her stomach knot, but she was quick to shake that off and force her focus back onto the task at hand.

Link pointed directly ahead, to the art in the center which had a door leading into it. It was, however, very clearly locked with chains, which would likely make entry difficult.

"Need to find the key," she commented, to which he nodded and looked around for any place it may be.

There was only one door that was, at that point, actually accessible to them, though it was barred off. Fortunately there was a leaver directly next to it which they both assumed would open it up, so they headed toward that first. Link had to jump for it, both of them being approximately the size of walnuts, but after he latched on, he was able to successfully pull it down, thus opening their path.

They entered onto a ledge, over which Tya peered down as Link let the door fall back into place. Below was a multitude of massive buoyant pads she'd taken note of in the main area, causing her to look back at him. She couldn't really tell if they were going to be a nuisance or not, but she could tell the pool of water at the bottom was something they were probably supposed to fall into. It wasn't much of a fall, and the water was certainly deep enough for it.

Link joined her at the edge, looking over and taking note of the landing pad they were given. "You can stay back if-if you wa-want."

"No," she shook her head. Leaning forward, she tried to catch sight of what was around in the room that could cause harm to them. "Unless you'd like me to. The only thing in here that would be harmful to us is those spiders, so I can imagine you'll get through fine without my help."

"Yeah, bu-but one-one way means y-you'll be able to he-help later." He answered with a small shrug before moving to the edge once again. She nodded her head with understanding, moving out of the way so he could proceed alone. He stepped over with the intention of landing in the water, not expecting the plants to be so firm as to keep up his weight. To his surprise, they held up pretty well, but he still ended up in the water as the stiff greenery decided to flip under the sudden force of being landed on. He dunked beneath, prompting her to giggle at the mishap. He reemerged where the plants ended, letting out a breath and flipping his hair back out of his way.

She watched Link swim forward and pull himself up on the edge, huffing as he sat. "Do you see my hat?" He asked up to her, causing her to frown with a bit of exaggeration. Peering over again, she watched for it but didn't find anything useful.

After she responded with "no, I don't think I do," Link puffed out his cheeks and slipped back into the water. He disappeared beneath it for a minute before reappearing and holding the piece of clothing in the air victoriously. She chuckled once again at his actions, softening as he looked up to her and flashed a genuine smile.

"I-I'll be back," he told her as he got to her feet, shaking off in much the same fashion an animal would, though with less success, then swept his hair back and started toward the dangling spiders. Around the curve of the wall, she could see him make quick work of them, then opening up the path to go head through another archway. From there, she couldn't really see him, nor could she hear anything happening. There was a bit of concern, but she didn't really have a bad feeling, and he wasn't gone long before he came back, scanning the walls with curiosity. When he reached the pond he'd dropped into again he looked up at her. "You see any-any… like… patterns?" He asked, hands making a vague motion as he furrowed his brows.

"Patterns?" She replied, stepping back to look around the area of what she could really see from her position. It was a higher point than what he was at, and yeah, she could see multiple patterns on the walls, but she wasn't sure what he wanted.

"Yeah, like f-four- like four little petal looking th-thin-things?"

She puckered her lips in thought, looking around, then shaking her head.

He paused for a moment, seemingly at a loss before elaborating. "Th-there's a lock ov-over there that s-says I need to hit it in- hit it in the right order."

"But we don't know the order," she followed before taking in a breath. She turned to look back toward the door, examining the intricate design on it, but coming up with nothing coherent before looking back to him. "Perhaps in the main room?"

"Maybe," he agreed, looking around to see if there was any method up. There really wasn't, but there was a pipe, the top of which was flat and grated. "Ca-can you go look ar-around and see if- see if you see anything? I-I'll try to fin-find my way out."

Tya hesitated slightly, biting the inside of her lip, but agreeing nonetheless. "Be careful, please," she called reluctantly, to which he gave a reassuring smile just before she stepped back to pull open the door again.

Back into the main room, she looked around with a bit more direction than she'd had moments before when she was studying it all. Really, she couldn't recall seeing anything of the sort that would guide them in the right direction, but that didn't mean much. She could have overlooked it, or just not remember because she didn't know what it was she was looking for at the time. Glancing back toward the entrance which wasn't far from the door they'd chosen, she could see that way didn't have too much to offer, at least so she thought, so instead she turned to start up a very inconvenient stairway. The steps were thick and incredibly wide, but she could guess they weren't exactly designed for people in mind. Though it didn't make sense for them to be designed for Faron, she didn't really seem to walk, rather float by some… dragon… means?

Tya wasn't sure, but the point remained, the way the guardian was moving when she showed them into this place didn't suggest she really needed stairs. Whatever the reason for their size, she pulled herself up the few and proceeded down the short path only to let out a sigh as it didn't extend that far out. There was a lever-like mechanism hanging from the wall there, or at least that was all she could assume it was, if more than decor, but the gap between her side and the other was much too wide for her to jump especially. Perhaps Link could make it, but she definitely didn't have the faith in herself to cross, and if she were going to try, she would want her company there to see it in case she fell.

She met a dead end, but the slightly higher ground could act as a better view point of the area. She still admittedly didn't know what it was she was looking for, but he said a flower with four petals, and even if she didn't know precisely what sort of decoration that was without a doubt, there wasn't even anything around to assume it might be, at least not from this vantage point. This left her descending the stairs once again, thankful for the significantly easier way down. She passed the door again, glancing at it briefly as Link still hadn't come through it, but she continued on back toward the entrance and the opposite side of it. From there, there was also nothing accessible to her, as the spot she stood on dropped into the water and the only way from there was much too high for her to even climb up if she swam.

Her arms crossed and she turned, looking at the center of the cistern once more, head tilting as she examined it, then the door hidden behind the lock. Finally taking her mind off how gorgeous the structure itself was, she was able to notice a little plaque to the side of the door, just barely in view from her position, mostly because the overhang of the door hid it. Tya perked up with curiosity, glancing once more toward the door to see if Link had come out yet. Seeing he hadn't, she elected to hurry up and check the plaque out herself before going off to see what was taking him so long. She slipped the pack off by the door, setting it on the ground then moving to the edge with the intention of slipping into the water. Fortunately for her, before she could make that move, she noticed those same floating pads that had managed to catch Link's fall in the other room. She took a few steps back, then took a running start forward to jump across and onto one of the natural platforms.

Her landing very nearly brought her to her ass as the leaf was much more slippery than expected. A little undignified squeak of surprise left her, arms flailing out a bit, but she caught herself, steadied, and let out a relieved breath before straightening and trying to regain some semblance of pride as well as balance. With that, she looked around for another, and once she noticed there was a closer one that put her just at a good distance from the edge with the plaque, she stepped back, readied, and leaped over onto it as well. This time, Tya was able to better brace herself for the landing, sliding just a bit, but otherwise keeping herself up. She fell forward to the close edge, hands on it so she could boost herself up and slip over to the hidden plaque.

As she reached it, she figured it would be some sort of directory toward what lay behind that locked door, or perhaps some odd little introduction to the place itself, so she didn't expect much, but really it was the only thing mildly out of place that piqued her interest. She read it aloud just under her breath, head tilting at the vagueness of it, and the fact that it did seem to be some answer to a puzzle she needed to decode a bit more.

"Inscriptions of gratitude and a secret order," she commented, breathing in before muttering "The back, then the rear, then the back of the right hand, then the back of the left…" She trailed off for only a moment, then repeated "back, rear, right, left" under her breath numerous times, raising one of her hands and looking at the back of it for no real reason aside from mild curiosity.

Starting across again on the solid plants she'd come across on, she made her way back over to the entrance, continuing the order in a whisper as to not forget it as she made her way back to the room she'd left Link in. Once inside, she stepped once again over to the edge, looking around to place him. At first, she was confused because she didn't actually see him at first. There was something new- a flow of water spouting up out of the grate he'd had his interest on before she stepped out, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen until she heard him clearing his throat just above her.

Flinching, she looked up to see him just coming to the very edge of a hall she had only known the existence of because of her looking around for the 'pattern' he spoke of.

"Water got me up here again," he pointed over to the man-made geyser with a smile, plopping down with his legs dangling over the edge. "Did you fi-find any-anything?"

"Yes?" She replied, a brow arching. "There was a thing out there that said-... Oh! Said back, rear, right, left." As she said it, she counted out the words on her fingers though that wasn't the least bit helpful.

He thought for a second before shaking his head. "I don't kn-know what that means."

She puckered her lips once more, hands settled on her hips as she did. "That was all I found. It said something about the secret order, and said that was it. Or- perhaps we were supposed to look there? It said right hand and left- were there hands over there?"

"No," Link kicked his legs, shaking his head. "But there were in-in the wa-water."

"...So then those spots of the statue?" She questioned curiously, head tilting once again. He responded by nodding his head, slipping off the edge and landing on his feet so they could head out into the main area again. As they entered, he stepped over to the edge, leaning to look in and pointing to the hands he'd been talking about. She'd seen them in her studying of the area's grandeur, but for some reason it didn't really register to be the same thing. Stupid, honestly, and for a moment her thoughts began to trail off into the fact that she was clearly an idiot, but she swallowed and shook those off, smiling at Link as she nodded.

"So on the backs of those, then on the back of the statue?" She pointed toward the rounded edge, and again, Link nodded his head.

"I'll go check it out," he waved a hand for her to stay put before stepping ungracefully over the edge and plopping into the water, leaving his hat floating once again on the surface. When he came up, he grabbed it and held it up to her, and after she retrieved it, he was off again.

She paced the edge, watching as he examined one of the massive hands of the statue. There were crevices at spots that would be natural joints on a normal hand, suggesting it had the ability to move, and something glistening under the water that she couldn't quite tell what it was. Regardless of it, Link swam beneath the hand, pressing on the fingers to shove himself under and look at the back of the hand. After looking at it, he resurfaced. "Points right."

"So the last one is right," she said aloud, head nodding to commit this to memory. She proceeded to follow Link around the edges as he went to the second hand, and she held on to the information as he resurfaced to give it to her. He continued on to head to the back of the statue for the other two inscriptions, and as he did, she scaled the massive steps once more for no apparent reason. As he came back around she met him again in front of the door they needed to go through.

"Up, down, left, right," he told her, and she nodded, repeating this in order as they continued through to the room again. Link avoided the spot he'd jumped initially because the bottom of the leaf had various spines on it that all looked as if they'd really suck to land on. He jumped in to the side and continued to pull himself up, rushing off to go use this newfound knowledge on the lock. A moment later, a clattering sound of metal echoed through the hall, and Tya was made to hold her breath. While she assumed it was easily just him opening the lock, there was always the voice in the back of her mind suggesting something went wrong.

Much to her relief though, Link came back around, hurrying up to the edge and very nearly tossing himself back into the water with his haste. Fortunately, he caught himself, then turned his attention up to Tya.

"There's another room," he motioned, biting his lower lip lightly. "You wan-wanna grab the pack and come with me?"

"If I throw it down to you, is the impact going to kill you?" She leaned on the railing, head tilting a bit as she asked.

He narrowed his eyes, considering the question before skeptically shaking his head.

Turning on her heel she shuffled out again, quickly returning to grab the pack so she could rejoin him. She tossed it down to him, successfully not murdering him with it though there was a little bit of a huff toward the impact that made her give him an exaggerated frown.

After a moment, she finally talked herself into jumping over the edge, her impact doing just the same as Link's had and flipping her into the water.

It was freezing, needless to say, and she was less than pleased to be drenched, but she swam through and resurfaced, pulling herself up and flopping Link's wet hat into his hands. He wrung it out, shoving it into the pack after as she got to her feet and looked down at herself with a grimace.

In regards to her displeasure, Link just offered a wide smile, partially to tease her, and partially in hopes of brightening her own mood up with it. Since she wasn't exactly upset about the development, just childishly huffy, she was easily swayed. Of course there were some lingering worries, but surprisingly enough, waking up to someone else's optimism, even if it was Faron's, did a number for her mood.

With her seemingly perked up, he started off again, tossing the pack over a shoulder and heading out to the room he'd successfully opened.

Following close behind, Tya watched her palms more so than her step. It wasn't really much a problem so long as she avoided the corpses of the skulltula Link had slain as well as the lock he'd haphazardly scooted out of the way- which she didn't, she did trip over the lock, but it wasn't detrimental, she only stumbled.

Regardless, she watched the palms of her hands, focusing the ache of the fire on them almost as if she was about to ignite, curious as to whether or not she could heat herself to a point it would quickly dry her. To her displeasure, it didn't work, but she wondered if she was actually on to something with that.

The room they stepped into was really nothing more than water, though there were two platforms, the sides of which vines had grown up. Scattered through the water were more of the solid plants that had acted as stepping stones before.

"They're slippery," Tya warned as she pointed to them. Link nodded to acknowledge this before moving forward to hop ont o the nearest. He steadied himself, both hands out at his sides for no particular reason, then walked across to the next only to stop himself at the small sound of a hiss. He paused, looking up and sighing as he noticed more spiders lurking overhead.

"Tya, ca-can you cut those down?"

"Wet," she answered, waving her hands. Link puffed out his cheeks before moving taking in a breath and inching forward to the next pad. He seemed as if he was going to test whether or not he could proceed, and that question was quickly answered as he started toward the edge and the nearest skulltula descended on its web, legs and mandibles reaching out toward Link.

He wrinkled his nose, taking a step back and making a little sound of displeasure. Given it's position above the water, it couldn't reach him, so Link stepped back on the previous pad he'd been on and reached to pull the beetle off it's spot on the pack. It was dangling from a thin piece of it's own thread, so Link secured the beetle on his arm, let it free, and led it to clip the web it had been dangling from. It fell into the water, legs clawing for one of the helpful platforms to no avail, then after a moment it went under.

Link tilted his head before looking back at her. "They can't swim," he said simply, then proceeded on his way. She nodded, following over the platforms with him until they got close to the walls.

Link crouched on one close enough, then looked up at her as she stood back on the other. She wasn't sure if her weight would mess him up, but she didn't want to test it.

"There's two-two si-sides," he motioned from one to the other. "Do you want to take one and I'll take the other?"

She nodded at that. "You want the right, then, I'm assuming?" At that, he smiled brightly and nodded, then motioned for her to sit. When she complied, he leaned to pull the edge of the pad she was on and shove her over to the other side so she could reach and grab hold of the vines.

As she neared it, she looked up at the few smaller, but still absurdly large and hostile, bugs crawling over it. Her mouth opened for a second but closed as she realized she could probably manage that herself and leave Link be. She pulled off her gauntlets, pressing them between her knees so they she didn't drop them, then started pulling up her sleeves, wringing out the fabric as much as she could so it wouldn't drip as she did.

She held her hands up, waving them a bit to try and dry them, and as she did, she attempted the heating once again to help them along. Really, she wasn't sure if it went any faster than normal, but waving her hands around allowed them to dry enough to at least get sparks. As she did this, she paused, realizing fire near the vines would likely prove to be just as much a problem as the insects themselves. She guessed she wouldn't really burn if she climbed as the vines did, but she highly doubted that Farore would be so kind as to make a quick convenient way grow right up in case they needed to get back up there for whatever reason. She could of course toss water on the vines in hopes of not letting it singe, but to do that it would completely defeat the purpose of trying to dry her hands. Despite the attempt at independence, she realized she needed to ask him.

Sighing dramatically at her own stupidity, she glanced back to Link that was tugging at the respective vegetation with curiosity toward its sturdiness. Grabbing her wet gauntlets again, she asked "Could you get these things off here? If I try, I'll burn the vines up." This didn't mean she was incompetent, it meant she had specific abilities… This wasn't uselessness.

He turned, glancing up at the large insects that were, at that point, eyeing Tya with some defensiveness toward her coming onto their home, then nodded as he pulled the pack off and set it down. He knelt to tie the beetle back on, then pulled out the slingshot, aimed, and easily shot down the insects with a smile before stuffing it back in.

"Thank you," she muttered, offering a hesitant smile before taking in a breath and putting her attention back on the vines. This wasn't uselessness. Teamwork was different than uselessness.

She climbed up, putting her focus on her footing in attempt to pull herself out of her thoughts, and plopped on the edge as she got to the top. She twisted to look around, frowning as she found there wasn't actually anything up there. She kicked her legs, dangling over the edge, and looked across with an exaggerated pout on her face. Link had made his way up before her, which was really no surprise. Even if this journey was making her stronger, she was by no means as fit as a person that had trained in the knight academy. She'd only stocked in some shops, she couldn't be expected to reach his level in such a short time- which.. Reminded her… She never even told them she wouldn't be working for a time, she just stopped showing up…

Well that wasn't good work ethic at all- especially since she'd been around the bazaar with Link recently yet not coming to the already loose shifts she'd been given. But that wasn't uselessness. She was actively working to save them, though she guessed they didn't know that. Did they need to? Was it better to do this or to tell them and worry them that their fate was left in the hands of a recent graduate and a stocker?

She closed her eyes, holding her breath to try and brush off those thoughts once again. She'd have to rectify that when she got back, but worrying about it now wasn't going to help.

"There's nothing over here," she called with a bit of strain as she put her attention on Link. Standing on the edge of his side, he shook his head, lips pursed with defeat as he put his hands on his hips and looked around. It didn't take him long to perk up and look back down to the water, deciding that there was likely something under it, since that seemed to be the theme of the place anyway. A thought which he quickly proved to be correct as he made his way back down the vines and set the pack on a dry spot before swimming off to explore and confirm. He came back up with a few wet rupees, then requested Tya jumped off the ledge and onto one of the thick plants as they were too heavy and much too spiny for him to flip without injury or a place to even brace himself.

Though reluctant, she nodded and did as asked, effectively flipping it and dunking herself under the water. She resurfaced, shivering quite dramatically, which Link seemed amused by just before dipping beneath again to make his way into the tunnel she'd uncovered. As he went by, he tugged at her leg, pulling her below the water again just a little, and in response she playfully kicked at him. He passed through after, and she pulled herself up onto the stone near the entrance, not wanting to follow in case the tunnel was too long for her to manage without one of the air-breathing potions. After a few minutes, he resurfaced, pulling himself up so he could make his way back to the pack and then to her once again.

"Key," he said, patting one of the pouches hooked to his waist. She nodded and got to her feet, prepared to follow him back out.

As they came back in to the main room with the ledge Link had initially dropped off, she recalled their way back up. Really, she was curious about it, finding it absurd that thing could muster enough force to push them up, but as Link hopped onto it, it shot him up enough for him to safely hop onto the ledge. If she were being honest, it actually looked really fun, so she was more than happy to follow behind him to find that really, it was.

They hurried to the door to enter the main area once more, and as they stepped out into it, he slowed, glancing around to make sure the coast was still clear. Since it was, he looked back down to her. "So," he started, "how do you feel today?"

She inhaled at the question, biting back the sudden urge to lie as well as the inside of her lip. Of course it could possibly be more beneficial to lie, given the fact that he'd pretty much outright said that her constant need of his validation was obnoxious- and she could see that it would indeed get tiring for her to ask and yet never trust the answer, but at the same time, she knew that wasn't what he meant. Her mind was insisting it, of course, but even as the rational and the imaginary sides fought, today, she was managing to keep herself just a little bit.. Well, above water, metaphorically.

"Anxious," she answered. "But functional enough. I keep trying to oppose my own thoughts."

"Oppose them?" He questioned, stepping around toward the staircase and the main entrance to look toward the sealed off door they'd first seen when they'd entered.

"Yes," she nodded, head tilting as she thought of how to explain. "Tell myself the opposite of what I'm thinking and trying to trust what you've told me a little to form my own thoughts. With reason, of course."

At this clarification, he straightened, smile brightening as he said "that's awe-awesome!"

That response took her aback. Her head tilted, brow furrowed, and she looked at him for a moment. She didn't know what she expected his reaction to be, really, she just knew it wasn't that. "It… Is?"

"Yes!" he reiterated with a smile. "It means progress, or at least trying."

She narrowed her eyes. Was it really progress if it was this insincere, uncertain, and forced? If it was all fake, was that really what this was? As aggravating as the sentiment was, that it was better to just put up a facade for his sake so he didn't have to be bothered by her instability, she bit her tongue and tried to find a different angle for it.

It took her a moment of standing in silence, glaring down at the water, before she started to actually grasp at anything. Zelda had pushed her to just. Do things anyway. A process which didn't always work and certainly wasn't for everyone, but her explanation behind it had been that it would get easier to do some things if she started it out and didn't expect perfection. Though she was unsure, she figured it was the same for this. If she just started on it, maybe it would become easier to continue down the path the more she did it.

She let out a small breath, rolling her shoulders and glancing up to Link who has paused in the middle of his excitement to see if what he had said was alright or not.

With uncertainty, she stated rather than asked. "You don't mean that in the sense of 'its better if you shut up'."

His expression faltered almost to hurt before he shook his head. "No, of-of course I don't mean- don't mean it like th-that. I mean it like you've-you've gotta push through bad th-things to find good ones."

At that, she nodded her head, a breath of relief leaving her before she put on a smile. It was partially genuine- and after a moment as her she caught up to the thought that he was actually hoping for her well being, it became more so.

"Shall we?" She questioned softly, motioning forward to the door, which he looked at, then paused before.

Though he took a small step toward it, he didn't actually proceed, instead pausing and sucking in one cheek so he could thoughtfully bite at it. He turned toward her, one hand moving to set on her shoulder, wrapping around to her back as his mouth opened to speak. There was a bit of uncertainty, then after he said "I'm so-sorry I made it seem-seem like you were ann-annoying me."

"It's alright," she shook her head making a dismissive gesture that didn't mean much as he drew her forward and gave her a relatively loose hug. It was a little dramatic, really- she hadn't been that concerned about this, especially not after his confirmation that she was wrong, but she wasn't about to pass up the option to be this close to him. She leaned against him, sighing at herself and the uncertainty of her thoughts, as such a thing likely would have sent them flying into wildly unnecessary territories any other day when her anxiety was rampant. She was just blessed with a good day for once, but that was irrelevant.

She squeezed him close, then released, clearing her throat before motioning to the way across once again.