1She was panting slightly when they returned at sunset. Thrust, block, swipe, dodge, it was fairly easy once you got used to it.
"Well," Link asked, "How do you think it went? Understand everything?"
"Yeah," Saya gasped, "Especially the part about the difference between a jump-slash and a leap-thrust."
Navi settled down on a scratch on Saya's arm and worked on healing it. "Between you and me," she declared, "your father has dropped the 'warrior' title for too long."
Saya laughed. She knew she was being rude, but the look on Link's face had been too good to miss. She could still see it when she closed her eyes...
Link had drawn the Master Sword. He glanced over at Saya, who had sat down in a soft clump of grass and was watching his every move.
"Navi told me this one," he began, "She said it was called a jump-slash. So, pay attention, Saya. It's a very powerful move, if you do it right."
That being said, Link focused on the log standing up before him. Giving a cry, he leapt forward and cut the log cleanly in two. Say jumped to her feet and clapped, but Navi flew at Link and slammed into the side of his head.
"Ow!" Link cried, "Navi, you dandelion puff! What was that for!"
"That was a leap-thrust," Navi retorted, "And you kept going on about doing it right, you pointy-eared idiot!"
Link flushed slightly and touched his slender, pointed ear-tips. "All Kokiri have ears like this!"
"I thought you were a Hylian!"
"Hylians too!"
"Hey, quit arguing!" Saya broke in, "You two are worse than the Know-It-All Bros sometimes!"
"Yeah, they do get into catfights every once in a while," Link replied, scratching the back of his head and talking to a hollow-log tunnel.
"Every once in a while meaning 'every time you ask the a question'!" Navi corrected.
The three of them fell about laughing until Link stood up, grabbed another log, and said, "Okay, now that you know what a leap-thrust looks like, how about showing you a jump-slash?"
Saya grinned. "So, what's on for tomorrow?" she asked.
Link looked surprised. "I...wasn't really...planning anything else. You've been picking everything up so quickly. I figured Navi and I were going to get you all ready tomorrow, then day after that, well...we were going to let you and her head out."
Saya sat where she was, stunned. He was letting her go? Why? Sudden movement caught her eye. Navi had finished the scratch and was searching for any more injuries to heal.
"Of course, Navi will be going with you. She can tell you about any monster you'll find. Also, she has this thing with healing," he continued, watching Navi circle Saya, then finally duck between her tunic and shield. Link smiled, knowing Navi had done the same with him many times.
It was then that Saya found her voice.
"I thought you weren't going to let me leave. Said you didn't want to lose me. That I was all you had left of mom. Why change?"
Link's smile faded slightly. He knelt down and held his daughter's hands gently.
"I know that's what I said, Saya. I've changed my mind because I could see it in your eyes that if I didn't willingly let you leave, you would have run away. So I told myself, 'It's better to risk her if she's happy then to risk her if she's angry," he paused, then said, "Saya...Did you ever wonder where I got that name?"
Saya nodded. All the time. It wasn't exactly the most common of names. She hazarded a guess.
"It sounds like 'Saria,' right?"
Her father smiled. "In a way. You see, 'saria' means 'forest' in Hylian. But 'Saya'...it came from 'sayia' which means 'one tree.' When you were born, I knew you were going to be an individual. Saria," he halted, but kept going, "Her one fault was that she tended to follow the crowd. She really was a forest. But you, Saya, stand alone if you must. You are one tree."
Saya nodded seriously. Suddenly, Link stood up. "So, now that you're going...how about some of those 'warrior-days' stories?" Saya cheered and grabbed his hand as they went for a walk. Navi zoomed behind them, leaving a trail of blue sparks in her wake.