Link and Sidon bought supplies – mainly seeds, nuts, and dried berries – from the local gatherers and learned nothing about the kinstones from them; apparently none of them possessed any yet. Perhaps they were an even newer thing than they had realized. Well, at least they managed to advertise Sweeteri's products and bring her more customers, judging from the excited buzz they left among the gatherers in their wake.
They continued their journey shortly after, as they wanted to make it to a known resting spot before nightfall. It was always safer to stay the night in places like that rather than in a random spot in the middle of nowhere. Besides, the gatherers told them that a Minish called Bigeri lived there and sold Hylian food to lucky travelers. Sidon immediately got hopeful about buying fresher fish, which Link wasn't quite so optimistic about. He knew the spot from his previous travels – it was that charred remains of a house by the mud lake – and yes, it had a cooking pot for big people so it was entirely possible to find scraps of food there, but what were the chances of a traveler having been there recently enough for fresh fish to be a thing? Still, he let Sidon hope and kept his fingers crossed.
At first their path was all grass and mulch like before, but slowly it got more barren, turning into rocks and soon ash. It was oddly disconcerting; as a big person the house remains were located on a small patch of rock and the ground seemed largely fine, but in their mini state the whole place was big and eerie and absolutely lifeless. There were splotches of ash in every nook and cranny, preventing plant-life from emerging. Link was by no means a gardener, but even he knew that ash was good in small amounts but destructive when piled high. It would take a long time for the rain to wash all of it out so something could grow there. He didn't think that particular house had been burned down by the Guardians, considering how the destruction still lingered. No, he thought the Bokoblins that had lived by the mud lake had been the more likely suspects. He had personally killed them half a dozen times when the Blood Moon had still been a thing, but the final blow that actually stuck had been delivered by the new Royal Guards. Good riddance.
In any case, at least they knew they were in the right place because of all the ash. Now they just needed to find the Minish resting spot and Bigeri.
Their travel got more difficult when they reached what was likely the front of the big person resting spot, based on the enormous craters that Link recognized as boot prints all over the place. He was reminded of the Gisa Crater, which he used to visit after each Blood Moon to take on the Talus and get some nice gemstones. That had been one of the very few positive things of the Ganon-caused phenomenon. In either case, they could either go around them, which took time, or hop down one edge and climb up the other, which took effort. After a short discussion they decided on alternating between the two.
"The gatherers said that the resting spot is at one of the charred pillars. Do you reckon we're close?" Sidon asked after they climbed up from yet another crater.
Link caught his breath and squinted at their surroundings. He was pretty sure that big thing was the cooking pot, currently unlit, which meant that the pillar in question had to be…
'It's probably that', he signed, and pointed at a tall thin object in the distance. It was getting dark, so seeing anything clearly was becoming difficult. He was still reasonably sure it couldn't be a tree, so they headed that way and soon saw curious glowing spots at the base of the pillar. Neither of them had any clue what they could be, but they agreed that they were probably there to guide Minish travelers in the darkness.
It took a little longer yet, but they eventually saw the charred pillar and realized that it wasn't actually charred at the base. Or rather, new planks had been hammered to each side of it, probably as a means to make it sturdier. The lights turned out to be lanterns attached to the tops of the planks. The lights inside didn't flicker like flames, so Link assumed the lanterns to be filled with Chuchu jelly, like the ones in Stable Village. They approached the place and discovered a wooden door at one side of the pillar. Had Bigeri, or whoever made this, carved the inside of the pillar empty? Link worried about the stability of the structure, but supposed that the Minish were probably aware of how unwise the whole thing was or knew something he didn't.
Sidon knocked eagerly. They heard shuffling inside, then the door was opened by a smiling Minish. They took one look at Link, looked puzzled, then looked up at Sidon… and shut the door in their faces with a squeak.
'This again', Link signed exasperatedly, while Sidon simply looked resigned and knocked again.
"Don't be afraid. I'm a friendly traveler", he said, carefully keeping his voice neutral.
'Don't give him a toothy smile anytime soon', Link cautioned, half joking but also half serious. Sidon nodded solemnly.
The door was cracked open a little, and the Minish peered out suspiciously. "What are you? Both of you? You're not Vaatians, are you?"
Link and Sidon looked at each other, completely confused. That was a new term.
"Er, no, we're not", Sidon answered slowly, then gave a friendly smile. Closed lipped one. "I'm Sidon of the Zora. This is Link of the Hylians. Long story short, we're usually a lot bigger but we're currently stuck at this size, and mean you Minish no harm. We simply wish to stay the night in the shelter we've been told about. Would this be it?"
The Minish kept staring at them warily from the cracked door for a moment longer, then nodded and opened the door further. Link quietly released the breath he had been holding.
"I'm Bigeri", the Minish said and stepped to the side so they could enter, "This is my home that doubles as a shelter that doubles as my shop. Welcome."
The house was indeed carved into the pillar, and generously at that; the first room alone was spacey enough to make Link double check the walls to see if there was anything of the original wood left. There wasn't, or at least a new layer of planks had been nailed on this side as well. Perhaps there was old wood in the middle? Hopefully there was, or else the house was truly bound to come crashing around Bigeri any day now from the sheer weight and instability of the rest of the pillar above them. Speaking of which, there were stairs at the other end of the room, so this monstrosity of a house continued upwards.
The room itself looked to be a combination of a kitchen, a dining room, and a shop. At least Link assumed the jars, baskets, boxes, and bags of items on one side were sellables.
Bigeri seemed to notice where he was looking as he bustled over with a big smile almost instantly.
"I see you noticed my wares", he said with a smile that immediately made him recognizable as a salesman; there was just that certain glint in his eyes that screamed 'buy something!' to Link. "You said you're usually bigger, right? Then you probably want a piece of home to take comfort in, which I can most certainly provide!"
Yep, a salesman indeed.
Link and Sidon followed Bigeri up to the shelves and tables full of… stuff. There were lengths of colourful rope, which Link assumed to be strings of thread that had come loose from big peoples' clothing and been ripped off and discarded. A few buttons, some big as cartwheels and others tray sized. A huge pile of off-white cloth which Link figured to be a handkerchief. An opal earring. Multiple jars of applesauce; Link was tempted to get one of those. Dried meats, which Link was definitely getting. Grains of rice that looked like they had been cooked once and then dried back up, which was slightly gross but Bigeri probably didn't know that. Jars of dried bread crumbs, separated by their colour, as in what was likely wheat bread in one jar and what was probably rye bread in another, and so on.
No fish of any kind, though. Sidon looked disappointed and disbelieving, which made Link feel a little bad he hadn't tried harder to keep Sidon's hopes from getting up.
"I don't suppose you have any fish?" Sidon asked almost immediately after Link had made his observation. No harm in trying, Link supposed sympathetically.
Bigeri shook his head. "It's been a few days since the last big person who actually stayed. The last one just walked right by. So no fish."
'That's too bad', Link signed, and briefly glanced at Bigeri to confirm the usual brand of confusion on his face that belied the inability to understand his signs. He sighed quietly and continued, 'I think I'll do any possible shopping tomorrow morning. Ask him if staying here is free and how much for breakfast.'
Sidon did as asked, and afterwards Bigeri ushered them upstairs. He mentioned there were two other travelers staying tonight so they should stay quiet and not bother them.
The room upstairs was of interesting design. There were four small rooms of sorts carved into the wood side by side, with only a thin wall between each. Two of them had curtains drawn at their doorways, indicating they were in use. The remaining two contained thick and wide mattresses on their floors, a few hooks on the walls to hang clothes and items on, and tall shelves carved into the back wall, kind of like a windowsill but without the window. Link was indecisive whether they were a step up or down from the cheapest beds in the big people stables; on one hand the stables had actual beds, but on the other hand these rooms had some degree of privacy.
"Are you sure you don't want a second room?" Bigeri asked quietly, eyeing Sidon critically. "You alone will take up all the space."
Sidon shook his head with a smile. "No thank you. Someone else might still arrive and need the last room. We will manage."
Link deliberately kept facing away from Bigeri, not wishing to give away the way he was blushing, dark room or not. He was pretty sure Sidon was less concerned about the potential other travelers – although that was likely still a legit concern for him – and more looking forward to the half-planned, half-promised cuddling and possible necking.
Link was one hundred percent fine with that himself.
Bigeri let them suit themselves and returned downstairs, leaving Link and Sidon to settle down in their room. Sidon's feet stuck out from under the curtains, the room not designed for someone so tall, but Link was perfectly cozy resting on Sidon's chest. He could most certainly get used to this, and Sidon already seemed to be, judging from how he was noticeably more relaxed this time than last night.
Link rose up to sit on Sidon's stomach for one more thing before they could get even cozier.
'Ask Bigeri about the Vaatians tomorrow', he signed slowly, having to spell the strange word out for the lack of knowing the proper sign for it, if one existed.
Sidon nodded, and then placed his hands on Link's waist, which may or may not have immediately made Link's heart race. "I will. If that was all, I would prefer you laying down and making yourself comfortable now."
Was that flirting? Maybe it was. Maybe Link was just interpreting it in the way he wanted to. Either way, he didn't need to be told twice.
The quiet, content hum Sidon made, the feel of rough scales against Link's lips, and the weight of Sidon's hands on his back were the best lullaby he could ever ask for.