If gliding was exhilarating, riding Epona the Stalhorse must qualify as electrifying.

The Horse God had not exaggerated when he'd said she was fast. They'd started at a steady enough pace— quick, but, the Shadow thought, not overly so (not that he had any comparison, but still)— over the bridge and through the long canyon, steep, gray cliffs walling the road in on the left and lower, grassy knolls lining the right. But once they curved back toward the east, the land gave way to Haran Lake— a peaceful area with several more wild horses making their home there; this area of Hyrule seemed to have quite the population of them— the Shadow let the horse have her head.

She flew, surefooted and quicker than lightning. Navi, racing alongside, laughed delightedly as she kept pace, her tinkling voice trailing behind them like the tail of a comet.

The lanterns and fires of Highland Stable began as beacons in the distance, but within minutes they were passing the tidy line of arborvitae encircling the gigantic wooden horse head, Epona's skeletal hooves devouring the road at a truly breathtaking rate.

The Shadow felt his cheeks pull up in a wide, open-mouth grin, and he let out a loud "Ha-ha!", but as the trees lining the road thickened, he inhaled a bug up his nose, one smacked into his left eye, and another had the gall to try to fly right down his throat, and he spent a good five minutes unsuccessfully trying to claw off his entire head, Navi practically choking on her own laughter. He hoped she flew into a fucking tree, but the little shit remaind agile and close, and he learned another valuable lesson: ride with his mouth closed. After she'd regained control of herself, she cast a charm to repel any pests around Epona, which he was incredibly grateful for.

Not that he was going to say that, of course.

Deep in the Pagos Woods, small companies of Lizalfos and Bokoblins ambushed them, jumping out from behind decaying stone pillars and statues which were the remnants of once-great fortresses or sacred spaces. He dispatched them quickly, tossing a bomb at the cluster of Bokoblins (fucking dipshits) and unsheathing the glowing sword to destroy the odorous lizard-monsters without ever slowing.

They pelted across a wooden bridge slung low over the Floria River, after which the cliffs bled into familiar reds, the road rising and falling gradually and sharply in turns. Across the Sarjon Bridge, the trees began to grow taller and more stout, snakelike vines creeping up the faces of the cliffs. The Shadow soon found himself on the same stretch of road he'd taken away from Lakeside Stable.

The cliffs had just reappeared on his right when Epona slowed to a sedate walk, then halted altogether, nickering softly. Navi disappeared without a word or warning. Before the Shadow could wonder, a traveler appeared on the road ahead, leading a donkey sporting a lantern on a pole to light the way. Initially, the man and donkey both visibly startled at the sight of the Shadow upon his skeletal steed; four red eyes glowing in the dark was probably a fairly unsettling sight to come upon alone in the dark woods, the Shadow reasoned. However, a look of recognition almost immediately overtook it; he'd clearly just come from Lakeside Stable. The man calmed his beast before speaking.

"Hello, there! No mistaking who you are, eh? Heh heh. I was just hearing stories about you! What an… unusual mount you've got there!" He eyed Epona for a moment, but clearly shoved down any apprehension he felt. The man's name was Chumin, and he was a traveling merchant from Lurelin Village selling different wares than Beedle. The Shadow purchased two each of palm fruit, armored porgy, and bright-eyed crab, nodding farewell before storing them in his pack— which spouted new pockets for each item.

Epona needed no signal from him, she simply began to trot toward Lakeside, at a much more sedate pace than the rest of the trip. The enormous equine head of the stable was soon visible through the trees.

As they drew near, Anly and Kass, both seated at the fire, turned to watch him approach. Kass' accordion never faltered, though he eyed the Shadow and Stalhorse with a tilted head and a gleam in his eye the Shadow couldn't interpret.

Anly stared wide-eyed but recovered quickly, deep laughter rumbling out into the night. "That's some ride ya got there, lad. Not what I expected, sure, but the Horse God knows best, eh?" He rose and ambled closer, unafraid. "Sure did right by you— it's more'n a full day's ride on the road, one-way." He shook his head once, as if to clear it. "You only left this mornin' and it's just gone midnight! Broke some land speed records, I suspect; didn't think we'd see you until late tomorrow night." He was staring at Epona, fascinated. "An honest-to-goddess Stalhorse. I've never actually seen one before, never mind up close." He rocked back on his heels, appraising. "Quite a sight for these old eyes, I gotta say."

The Shadow dismounted, patting Epona's neck and whispering soft words of praise, making her nod and stamp her foreleg twice. Anly crept closer. "Lad, would it be all right— could I?" His hand extended toward Epona, a request.

"Uh. Hm" His eyebrows drew together as he looked at the beast and thought about how she had gazed so steadily at him, offered her foreleg as a step, stomped out a pretty clear thank you when Navi complimented her looks. He looked back at Anly. "You'd better ask her directly. I only just met her a few hours ago; I don't think I should speak for her."

Epona nosed the Shadow's shoulder in what felt like approval, then nodded and stomped her foreleg, looking directly at Anly.

The stablemaster watched it all with a look of awe carved into his face. He met the intelligent, glowing-red eyes— both alike and dissimilar to the Shadow's— and bowed low at the waist as though attending royalty. "You are a fine and rare beastie, indeed. May I pet your mane, milady?"

Epona preened, flicking her tail, whinnying and tossing her head to draw attention to her braids before nodding decisively at Anly. He reached out to stroke the inky mane and pat the bony neck without reservation. Epona clearly approved, letting out a deliberate sigh.

The Shadow watched the interaction, the warm glow in his chest growing incrementally bigger and brighter— which he would deny should anyone ask, of course. "The Horse God told me that no living horse would seat me, so he's allowing me to use Epona."

Anly guffawed, giving one final pat before backing away a few steps. "Oh-ho-ho! That is no coincidence, I think!"

The Shadow frowned. "What?"

"Well, you remember me saying how I'd met Link just a few days before you came along?"

The Shadow sighed. "Let me guess."

Anly chuckled again. "Now, son, I doubt it'll be much of a guess, will it?"

The Shadow's shoulders slumped. "No."

"Take heart, lad." He patted the Shadow's shoulder, face drawn and sad suddenly. "She was an exceptional beast alive, and she's not changed as she is now, I'll wager."

Of course, the Shadow thought, straightening out of his slump; Anly the stablemaster had interacted closely with the living version of Epona, just a few days ago, even. He nodded. "Smooth like butter, sure-footed as a mountain goat, and quick as a wink." He let the awe seep into his voice at the end. He was still amazed by how quickly she'd gotten them here; around three hours to make what Anly'd said was a full day's trip. He shook his head in wonder. Horse magic, he guessed. Epona nodded once more, then tossed her head and flicked her tail.

"Ho-ho, I should say so!" Anly chuckled; he sobered quickly, however. "I sure wish I could put her with the other horses." Epona nickered softly, nudging Anly's shoulder in appreciation, the Shadow thought. She seemed to understand everything said around her, reacting appropriately to verbal cues simply beyond most animals' ability to comprehend.

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. She's not like other horses."

He noticed that Kass was watching raptly. His music still floated softly on the breeze but the tune had changed to something the Shadow didn't recognize. There didn't seem to be any words, and the Shadow thought he might've caught a few missed notes, as though it was being made up on the fly.

The Shadow shrugged it off to pat Epona's neck with finality. "I'm good for the night, girl. Thanks for the ride; I'll whistle for you tomorrow night. Go rest up." She tossed her head and nudged his shoulder, nodding politely to Anly before she flicked her tail and fucking disappeared in a swirl of electric blue and gold that was nothing at all like the monsters' purple-and-black poof. It was magnificent.

Anly chuckled again and slapped the Shadow on the shoulder, nearly driving him into the ground like a tent stake. "That was quite the sight. Sure am glad you stopped here, son." He grinned, and it was not clear whether Anly meant tonight or in general; the Shadow rather thought his tone suggested the latter. Anly drew his hand back to cover a massive yawn, motioning with his head for the Shadow to follow. "When you're ready, you can have whatever bed you want; we're pretty quiet tonight." He yawned again, somehow even larger than the last, then shook his head. "All right. That's it for me. We'll talk in the mornin' 'bout that other Hinox, lad." He waited for the Shadow's nod, then gave his own nod to Kass and disappeared into the stable.

The Shadow looked at the fire, but decided he'd had enough for the day, the long climb and exhilarating ride finally catching up to him. He nodded to Kass, too, before heading inside, hearing the Rito yawn and follow, accordion silenced for the night.

The Shadow took the same bed as last night, toeing off his boots and pulling back the covers before settling in. He closed his eyes and was out before he could register the softness of the pillow under his cheek.


Fi did not visit him that night; instead, a strange collage of scenes spanning his day played out, mismatched and discolored in the way of dreams. Dream-him jumped off the cliff overlooking the road to Martha's Bay, glider in hand, and became a great, golden dragon, on his back rode a small, blue and black imp-like creature with hair like flames and glowing teal tattoos, startling him into shedding balls of red lightning that fell onto the donkey attacking a Bokoblin. Dragon-him flew his unexpected, silent rider up an orange waterfall, turned, arched back down to become a black-boned Stalhorse— improbable imp again firmly seated on his back— racing over blue road and purple cliff alike, dream-Navi a pink streak that flew up his nose and sat him bolt upright in his bed, heart racing.

He blew out a few times, assuring himself that he did not, in fact, have a Fairy up his nose, then swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched his arms up and out, popping his back in a few places and forcing a yawn from his lungs. A few images from his dream flitted through his brain and he paused— where had the imp come from? Everything else had had a real-life counterpart. He ruled out it being Fi, since she had looked like herself last time she'd visited his dreams and he didn't think he had the imagination required to dream up a whole new creature.

Did he?

He certainly lacked the time to think about it, however, as Ardin sped into the stable just then and, upon seeing the Shadow sitting up, abruptly course-corrected and skidded to a stop in front of him. "Good morning, Shadow Link! Is it true you rode a Stalhorse?! Can you call it? Can I ride it? What's its name? Is it friendly? Are there others?"

The Shadow closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting it out on a yawn before saying, "Good morning, Ardin." He paused, letting his brain catch up to the barrage of words assaulting him almost at the moment of waking. "Ah, no, I can't call her right now. Her name is Epona, and you'll have to ask her if she'll let you ride her, but she's very friendly— and faster than an arrow, but the sun hurts her, so she can only come at night."

The boy nodded sagely, as if he'd suspected as much all along. "So can I come with you to kill the Hinox?"

The Shadow's eyebrows shot upward, hovering somewhere over his head, he suspected. "Uh. What did your uncle say?"

"He said not to bother you."

The Shadow snorted.

Ardin pressed, "I can help. I'm very brave, and good with a sword; I practiced all day between chores."

The Shadow brought his hand up and stroked his nonexistent beard as he thought for a moment. "I'll think about it."

Ardin seemed to take that as an affirmative. "Yeesss!" He pumped his fist and bit his lower lip, scrunching up his face as he did so, then took himself off, presumably to complete some chore or other.

The Shadow slipped his boots on and went to find Anly, who promptly pushed a mug of fantastic-smelling coffee into the Shadow's hand as he took a seat by the fire. The color of the liquid told him the stablemaster had taken the liberty of adding lots of cream and sugar, and the taste confirmed it. He put his nose over the steam wafting up from the beverage and inhaled deeply, sighing on the exhale. "Perfect."

Anly chuckled and they enjoyed their drinks, allowing their bodies to come to full wakefulness. After a few minutes, his eyes narrowed at the Shadow. "Hm. Lighter again this morning." He took another slurping sip.

The Shadow looked down to find it was true, his skin another half-shade lighter and the Triforce tattoo on his hand just that much darker. He shrugged and nodded; there wasn't much he could do about his coloring and he had enough going on in his head, having had strange, imp-infested, technicolor dreams instead of working through things like he'd done his first night of sleep.

When their mugs were mostly empty, Anly yawned. "Well, lad. I've been thinking about what I might have that would be suitable payment for another Hinox. Got some ideas. You've got yourself covered for bow and arrows, and quite the sword, there, too—"

"And bombs," the Shadow added, pressing the button on his belt to activate a blue bomb, then again to dismiss it.

He was rewarded with Anly's booming laugh. "Oh-ho-ho-ho!" He nodded to himself and finished his coffee, rising to his feet. "Yes, indeed, know just the things now. Come on in and get some breakfast before you go up the mountain, son, and I'll have your payment all ready for you when you get back. Got somethin' to make the trip up the mountain a lick easier, too."

The Shadow found himself curious as to what Anly could have in mind, but ultimately decided that speculation was useless and went in to eat.

He was treated to another stellar breakfast of something called "griddle cakes"— fluffy, golden-brown circles of bliss topped with salted butter and sweet, honey-wildberry syrup— some delicious, savory pork sausage, honeyed fruits, and a pulpy palm fruit juice that was both sweet and tart. Goddesses, he loved breakfast at Lakeside Stable.

After, the Shadow refilled his canteen and saw to his morning needs, returning to the stable still yawning itself awake. Old Shay stood in his customary spot, looking up at the clear blue sky, Cima was just rounding the corner by the horses, and Kass was settling in by the fire with his own steaming mug of coffee.

Anly motioned the Shadow over to where he was standing several paces beyond the fire, first supplying him with vague directions, adding, "Ya won't be able to miss it, lad. Hear it snoring for a mile in any direction," and then handing the Shadow an odd-looking bracelet and instructing him to fasten it around his shield wrist.

It was lightweight but sturdy, and fit perfectly. There was some sort of intricate, swirling design molded or carved into it, and it came to a slight point just at mid-forearm both front and back. Objectively, it was beautiful. Subjectively, he had no idea what it was. Practically, he could see no obvious functionality. He gave Anly a look indicating his confusion and received in response what could only be described as a giggle, were it not absurd to attribute such a silly-named noise to such a mountain of a man.

"D'you see that observation platform there? Face it, stretch out with your legs braced, aim at the top of it with your hand open, like this," he positioned the Shadow correctly, "and make a quick, kinda pointy fist, like this." Anly raised his own hand to aim at the platform and made the desired hand motion. He did it a few times, giving the Shadow a very thorough visual tutorial, which was appreciated.

The Shadow took aim and mimicked the motion. The second his fist closed, the wide top band— which the Shadow had assumed was purely decorative— separated itself from the rest of the unit to thin out in sectioned plates and enclose his hand in a hard, pointed cone. He felt a bar inside at just the right position to comfortably wrap his hand around, and in doing so, felt a small button under his index finger. When he pressed it, the conical top section shot off his hand in the direction of the platform, trailing a chain still attached to the rest of the unit around his wrist. The projectile end landed with a thunk! in the center of the pole leading up to the platform, just half a body length from the top. He felt his mouth turn up in a grin.

"Press it again, lad," Anly encouraged, "and hold on."

He did, and let out an incredibly-dignified whoop! when he was instantly lifted off his feet and pulled quickly up until the unit clicked back together around his hand. He placed his feet on the rungs of the ladder just to the side of his position and yanked the tip free of the wood, then climbed up to the platform and looked down to where Anly's laughter was ringing out over the morning's usual forest chatter.

The Shadow laughed, too, because— hell, that had been fun. He recognized the word, and now, having had several exhilarating experiences, he could identify several activities which exemplified it. He wondered why it was tainted in his head the same way coffee had been. Ganondorf must be a strange, lonely guy.

Seriously, who hates fun?

The Shadow examined the tip of the cone and found it wasn't smooth at all; there were hundreds of tiny little teeth where the plates joined, lending the device excellent grip in whatever substance it penetrated. He let go of the bar in his fist and the cone deconstructed, retracting into the bracelet with a soft snick. He grinned at it.

His glider returned him gently to Anly's laughing side a few moments later. "This is amazing. What is it?"

"That's a hookshot, lad." His face grew sad for a moment. "Belonged to my big brother, Bipin, 'fore he met Blossom and settled down, had that young terror in there," he nodded his head in the direction of the stable and Ardin. "Used to be quite the adventurer, was Bip. I inherited it and a few other things after he… well." His voice trailed off and he looked at the ground, face drawn.

The Shadow had no idea what the situation called for— part of his brain stuck on the "big" in there and wondering if he'd meant older or… bigger— and stood there awkwardly for a moment before he heard a faint cough and felt a slight push from a tiny, invisible hand on the back of his shoulder. He raised that hand and settled it on Anly's broad shoulder, squeezing once, gently.

That must've been the correct action, as Anly's expression cleared and he raised his head to toss a small smile at the Shadow, who felt that insistent warmth in his chest flare brightly for a moment before settling back to a dim glow. "Anyway, lad, I'm sure you'll find it useful in your journeys." He grew thoughtful. "Probably could use it on enemies if you want to conserve arrows, too."

The Shadow eyed the hookshot, settled innocuously around his wrist like common jewelry and not an awesome gadget. He met Anly's eyes. "Thank you. You have been very kind to me."

Anly's voice was firm. "Ain't yer fault how you were made or where ya came from, son. You've proven what you're really made of already, far as I'm concerned." He nodded, voice turning somewhat gruff. "The right stuff. Hero stuff." He reached out his large hand to the Shadow, holding it there, an offer the Shadow had to search his mind for a moment to place. Fucking Ganondorf, leaving huge gaps in what turned out to be basic knowledge for others.

"You knock that shit off," the Shadow smirked, and accepted the grasp around his forearm, anyway, allowing Anly to shake their combined limbs up and down a few times, as firmly as anything the large man ever did. Suddenly, Anly's eyes looked to the side and down, and his expression faltered, torn between pride, laughter, and exasperation, the warring emotions filtering through in a dizzying succession.

The Shadow felt a tug on the hem of his shirt and turned to find Ardin standing there, wooden sword and shield in hand, expectant look lighting up his small face. "I'm ready to go, Shadow Link! Let's get that big ol' monster!" He jumped slightly, landing with his feet apart, shield braced, and sword raised as if to charge, small face fierce.

The Shadow turned fully and met Ardin's eager gaze with exaggerated gravitas. "Squire Ardin, brave young Knight of Lakeside Stable. If I take you up there with me and we both fail, who will protect the stable— its people, your uncle, and all the horses?" The Shadow knelt on one knee, bringing himself eye-to-eye with the child and putting his hand on the thin shoulder. "Can I count on you to fulfill your duties as a guardian of the realm?"

Ardin snapped to attention so quickly, he vibrated like a plucked string. "Cadet Ardin reporting for duty, sir!" He fired off a rough salute, bringing his hand to his forehead with such a forceful smack! that the Shadow was mildly concerned the boy had concussed himself, or at least left a divot or contusion behind. "I won't let you down, Shadow Link!"

The Shadow nodded solemnly and stood, seeing the assembled crowd of Kass, Cima, and Shay. He gave a little smile and nodded at the lot of them, turned to give one to Anly, too, and set off back the way he'd originally come, across the log spanning the narrow spot in the river.


Going up the mountain was so easy with the hookshot.

Navi came out to see it work firsthand and had to catch up to the Shadow when he pressed the button to retract the chain and propel him upward. She laughed that exhilarated laugh that she'd used when flying alongside Epona, so he figured she was enjoying herself.

By late morning, he stood on a large plateau, listening to the echoing snores of the sleeping Red Hinox. It chose to slumber in the middle of an otherwise-peaceful, lightly-wooded glen of Hearty Durian trees, the bright sun glinting off of what appeared to be two swords and a bow around its neck.

The Shadow didn't notice this at first, because— of fucking course— he came up on its other end. The enormous legs were splayed in a way that probably wouldn't be indecent if the things these jerks let pass for undergarments weren't so fucking inadequate. Hylia damn it all. He noted that the… equipment seemed to be the same as the Blue Hinox, and then he immediately wished to claw the image out of his mind. Again. What the fuck. This had better not be a regular thing.

In fact, that was not the only similarity to the Blue Hinox; other than the color of the skin and vest, this creature looked to be an exact copy of its partner, down to the golden armband, the thick, white sideburns and stubble, the low, floppy ears, and the tiny horn on the very top of its head.

The Shadow took a moment to drop his chin to his chest and lament those blissful few hours before he knew exactly what a Hinox looked like everywhere, then moved silently around the dozing monster. Once he had a clear shot of its huge, closed eye, he drew his bow and a bomb arrow and took aim.

He hit his target perfectly, causing the great maw to drop open mid-snore and change to a wailing roar instead.

And then the bomb exploded.

Lesson number three: stand farther away when using bomb arrows.

As the Shadow picked himself up, dusted himself off, and searched for his hat— which had just come off his head for the very first time, forcefully and unexpectedly— he became aware of a slight ringing in his ears and Navi laughing her tiny ass off. At him. Again. He took the opportunity of her distraction to smack her with the back of his hand, knocking her to the ground to roll around a bit in her glee. "Little shit." She was still laughing as she brushed herself off, so he figured she wasn't mad. He situated the hat back on his head.

The Hinox was groaning and shaking its blistered head, singed sideburns adding to the distinctly-sour natural Hinox odor as it began to try to rise to its feet.

A bit shaky himself, the Shadow opted for the bomb button. He pressed it and the glowing blue orb appeared in his hand. He tossed it perfectly; it landed right between the brute's open legs. The gargantuan imbecile leaned over to get a good look at the bright sphere with its badly-damaged and bleeding eye just at the moment of detonation. The Hinox roared as it was thrown backward, its entire front charred and blistering, foul-smelling smoke tainting the morning air.

The Shadow's eyes begged him to end this before the already-sketchy loincloth burned away and left nothing at all between him and a sight he'd rather never see again. Ever. He pressed the button again and tossed another bomb at the severely-injured enemy, satisfaction coursing through him when the air was finally filled with a large plume of purple-and-black smoke.

The Shadow's knees let go and he collapsed, right there on the ground in the now-empty clearing. He lay back on the grass and let his battle-readiness dissipate as he listened to the birds chirping away happily in the nearby trees.

Once he'd felt his equilibrium return, he sat up and looked around. He wasn't far at all from where he'd first appeared in Hyrule, tossed through a portal and right into battle. On the ground where the Hinox had disappeared lay three shiny objects, catching the noonday sun and twinkling enticingly. He rolled to his feet and went to get a closer look. They turned out to be a royal broadsword, a royal claymore, and a royal bow. Some poor sucker had had an unfortunate run-in with this monster, apparently. He gathered up the weapons and stored them in his pack; he'd give them to Anly to keep in case Ardin wished to join the royal guard when he was old enough.

His stomach rumbled, so he sat on the edge of the plateau overlooking the Lake Floria region, admiring the view. He could just see the top of the giant horse head of Lakeside Stable; a fanciful thought took him to ground level and Ardin actively patrolling the perimeter, sword and shield held at the ready as he marched. He smiled and shook his head at his own imagination, pulling out one of the sandwiches he still had in his pack from yesterday and enjoying it while Navi grumbled good-naturedly.

When he was finished, he grabbed the glider and got a running start, jumping off the cliff in the direction of the stable.

Yep, still fun. The wind whipped through his hair and lifted the side of his mouth as he went. He saw a passing hawk give him a second look and he laughed out loud for a full thirty seconds.

Several minutes later, he softly landed on the observation platform overlooking the stable, not at all surprised to find that his fantasy of Ardin on patrol had been reflected in fact. He took the final leap down, making a neat circle overhead and using the sun and his own shadow to attract Ardin's attention.

The boy looked up, face splitting in a huge, welcoming grin as the Shadow landed next to him. "Shadow Link! You're back! Did that nasty ol' Hinox give you any trouble?" He looked the Shadow over head to toe, brow furrowing as he went. "What happened?"

"Got too close to a bomb arrow." The Shadow shook his head. "Knocked my hat clean off my head. Other than that, it went fine." He looked around the clearing. Old Shay remained in his customary spot, staring up at the sky. Kass was standing near the stable entrance, playing his new, wordless tune and watching them intently. The Shadow turned back to Ardin. "Anything to report here, cadet?"

The boy went as stiff as a post as he fired off another sharp salute. "Sir! All's quiet, sir! It's just us three, and Cima and Uncle Anly working in the kitchens, too. The weekend's coming; lots of prep work to do, sir!"

The Shadow had to work to hold in his smile; the boy was so earnest, he didn't want to undermine that. He felt his mouth twitch nonetheless. "Excellent work, cadet. Dismissed."

Ardin grinned and sped off in search of either chores or adventure.

The Shadow sat by the fire, the sensation of bone-weariness slamming into him suddenly. I'm getting too old for this shit, he thought. It had, after all, been quite the three-day stretch to begin his life. He listened to the Rito working out the kinks in his new tune and let himself relax.

He was pulled from his thoughts before he even really had them by Anly striding out of the stable, mouth stretched wide and booming laugh filling the valley. "Ha ha, there he is!" He came to a stop next to the Shadow, beaming down at him like a localized ray of sunshine. "I take it things went all right. You only look a little banged up. Ardin said you had an incident with a bomb arrow?"

The Shadow snorted and looked down at himself. His clothes weren't singed, but they did have a fine layer of ash over them and a scorched smell. "Yeah. Gotta remember to stay well back of those. Whoops." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's not a big deal; I'm not hurt, and the Hinox won't be a problem for you ever again." He opened his pack and retrieved the set of royal weapons. "It had these strung around its neck; big bastard got the best of some poor guardsman, looks like. I certainly don't need two more swords, and I'm already set on bows, too, so I thought you could keep them here. In case there's ever any trouble, or if Ardin wants to join the guard some day."

Anly's eyes had grown suspiciously wide and moist as the Shadow spoke; he sniffed tellingly and shook his head. "And you have the balls to say you're no Hero." He huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. "Hard-pressed to find something you've done that's not heroic as long as I've known you, boy."

The Shadow felt his face grow hot, so he frowned and looked away. What was this awkward feeling? Not a fan.

Anly showed his own worth once more by reaching into his pocket and removing a long, thin bar with three familiar-looking buttons on it in three different colors, and a space for a fourth. From his other pocket, he retrieved a hand-sized tablet with the same colors and patterns as Epona's bridle and saddle. "When you showed me your bombs this morning, I remembered that I also have these." He held up the strip and pointed to each button in turn. "The red one is Magnesis; you can use it on anything metal that's close enough; direct the beam with this, the Sheikah Slate," he wiggled the tablet in his other hand, "lock on your target, and move it as you will. The yellow one is Stasis; you can halt objects or enemies right in their tracks for a few seconds. Last, the white snowflake is Cryonis, which allows you to freeze water, and enemies standing in water. The Sheikah slate will help you focus the powers, and it also has a built-in camera and notepad, some other things I'm not even sure of, honestly." He held both objects out for the Shadow to take.

"Thank you, Anly." Those seemed to be the correct words, because the huge man smiled that sunshine grin again and clapped the Shadow on the shoulder, definitely leaving divots under his boots from the force.

"We're more than even, lad. I'm not sure I can ever tell you enough how glad I am that you wandered this way." He nodded to emphasize his statement, then stepped back. "Well, son, any idea what you're going to do now? Got a destination in mind?"

The Shadow nodded. "Yeah. Thought I'd head to Hateno." He gave a wry grin. "Seems there's an empty house there I might be interested in purchasing."

Anly chuckled. "I bet you're right. Well, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want o'course. Take a bath, wash your clothes up some. Hateno's quite a ways away; even with that rare beastie you've got, it will probably take all night to get there. Ya might think about stopping at Dueling Peaks for a rest before taking the last leg. That's a long ride, even for the strongest of horses." He rose and motioned the Shadow to follow.

All the way over by the cliff face behind the stable, in a cave with a natural doorway easily covered by a section of leather, they'd installed a second pump which was tall enough to stand under and able to be rigged to stay on by hooking a leather strap over the handle. The water wasn't necessarily heated, Anly told him, but the pipe was exposed to the sun and it was early afternoon, so at least the first few gallons would be warm enough. He felt Navi stir behind him and, because he was paying attention, felt the disturbance in the air as her magic passed him. He suspected there would be no more cold standing baths from then on and smiled to himself. She really was all right, for a pain in the ass.

Not that he was going to tell her that, of course.

The cave was big enough for a person even larger than Anly to comfortably wash in, the space obviously cleaned often. A bar of fresh-smelling soap sat on a natural rock shelf inside, and a hook installed near the entrance made a handy place to keep a towel, far enough away from the spray to stay dry.

The stablemaster also showed him where they'd set up the laundry, a third pump nearer to the stable and drinking-water pump, which drained into the woods somewhere, and where he could hang his things up to dry in the breeze. The Shadow thanked Anly, then grabbed clean underpants out of his pack and headed to what the stablemaster had called the localized waterfall for cleaning your balls, laughing heartily and slapping the Shadow on the shoulder again. He seemed fond of doing that.

The Shadow didn't really mind. Anly had been kind, after he'd gotten over his initial reaction to the Shadow's appearance, like Kampo. The Shadow suspected there was a term for what Anly was being, something more than simple kindness. They had shared with each other deeply-personal information over hot beverages.

There were several words that carried a preordained taint on them in the Shadow's head. So far, he'd run across coffee and fun. And this new one— it wasn't just stained; it was beaten, bloody, and raw in the Shadow's mind, enough to make him cautious of it at first, but surely, there was no other word to fit so perfectly for the gentle giant of a stablemaster.

Friend.

The enclosure provided him his first real time alone with his own naked body, and he watched the water sluice over his hills and planes with interest. His raised arm provided him with the knowledge that his hair color was consistent everywhere. He poked at the two nubs sitting either side of his chest, mid-pectoral, and was surprised to find them quite sensitive. A bit lower down, there was a small crater, bellybutton, centered low on his stomach. He stuck his index finger into it, unsure of its purpose, and found it wasn't deep at all and was enclosed at the end, so he resolved not to worry about it. Lower down was the small, soft limb he used to relieve himself; when he touched it, stroked his hand over it, he was astonished to feel and see it grow, becoming hard and pointy, sticking straight up as if to say "hello" to him. The dangly sac below it was also incredibly sensitive and also aroused… pleasant?... feelings when touched gently. The whole area sort of lit up in his brain and induced an odd heat at the base of his spine.

Weird.

He'd forgotten all about Navi, who chose just then to giggle into visibility. "You missed a spot."

"Get out."

"I'm your Companion Fairy. What if you're attacked in here?"

He snorted. "You're a pervert. Pretty sure I'll be fine. Some privacy might be nice. Upon occasion. Like now."

She gave a tiny, short bark of laughter. "You don't have anything I'm interested in." She did take a moment to blatantly look him up and down, though. "Even if you are put together quite well."

"Get out."

Her tinkling laugh followed her as she buzzed out of the cave.

He shook it off, washing quickly and efficiently, ceasing the flow of water when his hands pulled no more grit from his hair and the runoff was clear. He dried himself as well as he could, then pulled on his underpants, gathered his towel and his dirty clothes, and headed to the laundry.

Cima and Anly were out back of the stable in the stone area obviously used for storage when the Shadow walked past.

It had not occurred to him that it might be unseemly to wander mostly-naked where others might see. He might not have noticed at all, had he not caught Anly's voice— for once soft, obviously not meant to carry, but unaware he was unsuccessful at that— saying with an equally-not-quiet chuckle, "Can't blame ya, lass. If I'us a decade or so younger, whew! I tell ya what, I'd cut my teeth on them hip bones, if he'd let me. I can tell you for certain that they don't make 'em like him ever'day." A pause. "Such a lovely shade of red you turn, lass. Ow!" His chuckles followed behind them as they disappeared around the corner and into the stable.

The Shadow smiled to himself as he quickly scrubbed his clothes and towel, then hung them all up to dry before wandering back to his bed for a few hours' nap.


Ardin shook him awake just before dinner, clothes clean, dry, and folded atop his pack. The Shadow quickly dressed, then ate sitting around the fire with everyone; he enjoyed the informal arrangement, if it took a bit to become accustomed to eating off the plate balanced on his knees.

Through the conversation, the Shadow discovered that Kass had delayed his departure another day when the Shadow had shown up on his Stalhorse.

He couldn't blame the Rito; Epona was one-of-a-kind, and definitely inspired the desire for a second encounter.

There was an air of anticipation, which only grew as night drew closer, the shadows lengthening across the clearing and the sky growing dark in the east.

When the sun had fully set, the Shadow found Anly, Cima, Ardin, Kass, and even Shay— though, to be fair, he was still looking at the sky for his dragons at the moment— lined up as in a neat row, identical, expectant looks on every single face. The Shadow smiled to himself, brought his hand to his mouth, and gave a loud whistle.

The air directly in front of him immediately swirled with a striking mix of blue and gold for a moment, and then it was gone and Epona stood there, tall and proud.

The Shadow heard Cima and Shay gasp— the old man's attention finally pulled from the sky by something verifiably fantastic occurring right in front of him— and Ardin's delighted laughter filled both the quiet evening air and a cold, empty spot deep in the Shadow's chest.

Ardin, of course, stepped forward and asked to ride her— actually walked right up to her, looked her in the glowing eyes, and said, "Hello, Epona. My name is Ardin. May I ride you?"

Her tail flicked once, twice; her foreleg stomped once, softly. Then her head bent, her mouth opened, her long, black tongue licked up the side of Ardin's face and she snorted, bending both her forelegs and lowering herself to a more accessible height for the boy.

Wasting no time, he climbed into her saddle and she trotted off across the length of Floria Bridge and back, mostly ignoring his pleas to go faster, I won't fall!, though she did speed up on the second pass.

After the third loop, Anly declared it past Ardin's bedtime, signaling the end to the Shadow's stay at Lakeside.

He exchanged silent nods with Cima— and if her cheeks happened to be a smidge on the pink side, well, who would the Shadow tell who wasn't already right here, if maybe not exactly visible?

Old Shay was busy staring at Epona, pupils practically in the shapes of hearts. The Shadow understood: the old Hylian had been waiting to see something mythical for some time, and here he finally had. Though it went unheeded, the Shadow nodded to the old man just the same.

Ardin threw his arms around the Shadow's legs and squeezed so tightly, the Shadow wondered if he'd have bruises after. It was… an unexpectedly-satisfying thought. The Shadow patted the top of the boy's head, assuring him eternal remembrance and promising to come back as soon as he was able for a visit.

Kass came forward and offered his arm in the same manner Anly had done earlier; his feathered forearm felt distinctly different under his hand than Anly's beefy muscle had. Interesting. "I'm sure I will see you soon, Shadow Link." There was a sparkle in his eye that made the Shadow curious, but had no time to ponder it as the stablemaster strode forward.

Anly grasped the Shadow's forearm, too, but then pulled him in and wrapped his other trunklike arm around the Shadow's back. Thankfully, he didn't squeeze the way Ardin had, or the Shadow probably wouldn't have survived. He hesitated, then reached his own free arm around the man's back and relaxed into the embrace.

It was... nice.

Anly's voice was gruff above the Shadow's head. "Don't be a stranger, my friend. You know you're welcome here anytime, free of charge for as long as you want." He let the Shadow out of the hug, but kept his forearm, shaking it once, firmly. "Safe journeys, Soldier," he said with a wink.

The Shadow grinned at him, at all of them, then mounted Epona, turned toward the road, raised his hand in farewell, and off she sped, carrying him out of sight of the enormous horse head within seconds.