Walking with the bog flippers was something that took some getting used to. They weren't true flippers in the sense of being really long and designed for fast swimming like the flippers they had seen in the Hero Museum – they were longer than Link's feet, yes, and they were wider as well, but they were somewhat wieldy on land. Their purpose was to give the bottoms of his feet a wider surface to balance his weight on, so he wouldn't sink into the muddy and swampy terrain of the Lost Woods. It should, theoretically, help him keep up a better walking speed.

In practise the flippers made him slower than usual due to him having to lift his feet higher to avoid snagging the tips on the underbrush and scooping up dirt with every step, and that was frustrating.

"I think you're steadily gaining speed, Wildberry", Sidon said encouragingly, probably perfectly able to see Link's waning will to keep this up.

They weren't even in the actual swamp yet, so the endeavor felt pointless. He was waddling like a duck and must have looked ridiculous.

"Just remember, you're doing this now so that you won't be struggling with it when the actually swampy terrain begins. I'm sure it's easier to learn how to walk with them when you don't have to fight the land as well as your feet."

Yes, that was the exact reason and it made sense. It had even been Link's own idea. He had had to use many different weapons, clothing, and tactics during his adventures, as well as travel in different terrains, and it had been a tiring experience. While he had been perfectly capable of thinking on his feet and adapting to different situations quickly, it had always been so much easier if he had had the time to familiarize himself with his equipment first. Now he was dealing with a new enemy, a new situation, a new terrain, had someone to protect with him, and had new equipment, so it was definitely smart to attempt to learn as much as he could before the situation got critical. He couldn't afford another disaster like the Hero Museum.

He was lucky that Sidon was an accomplished warrior himself, because if it had been Zelda with him at the museum…

It was better not to think about that.

"I know. Thanks", Link said, and pushed his despair and tiredness away. He would probably lose his morale again after a while, and Sidon would need to repeat his words of encouragement, but that was fine.

As long as he had his boyfriend to cheer him on, he could keep going on forever if he had to.

ooooo

Link hadn't been this glad to see a camping spot since that time he got lost in Gerudo Desert and finally found an oasis right as he had been considering warping away with his Slate and starting his search for the shrine over.

The very first thing he did when he reached the safe spot was plop down on the ground and pull the cursed flippers off his poor feet.

Oh sweet Hylia it was pure bliss. His feet had started aching during their last hour of walking, and he had been getting increasingly tempted to just sit down in the middle of the road and never get up again.

"That bad?" Sidon asked, and crouched down next to him to peer at his feet. "Blisters?"

Link removed his socks to check. His feet were red on the particularly sore spots, but thankfully there wasn't any actual damage anywhere – that would have made tomorrow's walk agony.

...He didn't want to think about having to walk again tomorrow.

"I'll get the fire started", Sidon said, and set his bag down next to Link. "You should just rest up and perhaps massage your feet? Ah, or I could do that when we're ready to retire for the night?"

Link smiled lovingly at his sweet, considerate, and simply perfect boyfriend. "I've got this. Or maybe we'll see about that later. Thanks."

Sidon smiled, saluted cheerfully, and then went to work.

Traveling as a duo had its perks.

ooooo

The next morning Link donned his bog flippers on once more, and they got back to moving. Walking was still a nuisance, but Link thought he was doing a lot better already. At least his feet didn't ache when they reached the second camping spot between the two Minish dwellings, but he did make sure to rest his feet there anyway.

The trip from the camping spot to Fog City was a lot swampier than the road had previously been, which made Link really glad he bought the flippers and familiarized himself with them yesterday – otherwise he would have spent half of the journey up to his knees in mud. His speed lowered again because of the new challenges, but at least he had a good hang on how to keep his balance while lifting his weirdly shaped and heavy feet.

Sidon, on the other hand, had no problem whatsoever with the terrain. He just kind of spread his toes further apart without any fanfare and walked on at his normal speed – or he could have done that anyway, if he wasn't adjusting his pace to Link's snail-like progress. Link tried his level best to not feel bitter about it, and simply concentrated on moving forward one slow step at a time.

It took them double the estimated time to make it to the city, and Link's poor feet were all worn out again. Sidon had even offered to carry him for the last fourth of the journey, but Link was way too stubborn to accept help like that when he was still able to walk. If his leg had been broken? Sure. If walking had actually been painful for some reason? Probably. If he had had blisters? Maybe. But not when his feet were simply achy from the effort. He wasn't in the habit of giving up when he still had fight left in him.

The sight of the city was more than welcome regardless.

Fog City was a lot bigger than the previous town had been. Not as big as the capital, but definitely the second largest Minish dwelling they had been to from the looks of it. Or perhaps third largest – Link didn't know if the underground city by the Muddy Lake had been bigger or smaller since he hadn't exactly been able to look at the whole picture, what with most of the city being hidden. But he chose to believe that Fog City was bigger anyway to make the trip feel more worthwhile.

The city was very pretty. It had toadstool houses as well as skillfully built wooden huts, and even some houses that looked like small, mossy hills with doors and windows. The city floor had been carefully paved with colourful ceramic tiles, and Link could lose the flippers thanks to that. There were some park areas near the edges of the city that had bog holes where the local kids could swim in. Sidon was instantly interested, so they spent a little while with Link sitting on a bench and resting his feet while Sidon chased the kids around the water to everyone's amusement. Link liked the city already, even if the walk there had been less than pleasant.

As much needed as the break had been, they were still on a quest and had to move on after a brief rest. They needed to see if Slateri had made it to the city safely, whether he was still around, and when he had left if he had. They also desperately needed some food for Sidon again – it was truly a constant issue. General information about any unrest in the area wouldn't go amiss either. That, and they forgot to ask Misteri whether the Lost Woods returned them to the entrance if they wandered off the path, and if the big people rules of navigating the forest applied to the Minish. They had a map, yes, but Link wasn't sure how well he'd be able to follow it without being able to cheat with the Sheikah Slate to check their whereabouts – he had forgotten how to read a map during his hundred year nap, and learning to navigate with the Slate's easy system had made following his progress on regular maps challenging to him. He hoped Sidon was better at it than he was, or else they'd have to cross their fingers and hope to not get too lost.

As they got ready to move on, Sidon asked the kids he had been playing with for directions to the city hall. They were told to "go to the marketplace and then to the right and there's a huge building there and you should talk to at least one of the Festaris there". Link found the advice more than a little dubious and confusing, but they figured they could at least go to the marketplace and work their way from there. They could look for food suitable for Sidon there, so it was useful anyway.

They walked the colourfully paved path through the Minish neighbourhoods until they reached the city central and the marketplace.

Link's jaw dropped.

The marketplace was enormous! There was a huge building-free area in what Link assumed to be the very heart of the city, and it was filled with booths, tents, and stands of all kinds. Delicious aromas wafted to Link's nose as they walked closer, and he promptly forgot all about their quest of finding the city hall. He wanted to try everything and see everything!

"Link, look!" Sidon said, bouncing with enthusiasm and pointing towards a tent made out of waxy leaves. Link did as asked and saw that it was one of the food tents, and the plaque hanging from the edge of the roof had a drawing of a fried frog on it.

They had found a Sidon-friendly food tent right away. It might not help stock up for the journey through the woods – it probably wouldn't anyway, but they could always ask – but it would most certainly fill his stomach right now.

Link shared a happy grin with his boyfriend, and they wasted no time getting to the tent, perusing the menus, ordering food, and finding seats. Sidon's stomach was growling in anticipation practically nonstop, and together they had ordered every single item on the menu to sample – they were both starving, and Sidon absolutely wasn't against carrying some leftovers with him and snacking on them later today. Frankly, he deserved a day of constant snacking after roughly a week of mostly rationing.

"Lucky, wasn't it?" Sidon asked, while arranging a napkin neatly on his lap. "I hope this means we can also find a stall that sells some preserved frog or tadpoles. Maybe even some sneaky river snail, since that Minish on the barbecue party had to have bought it somewhere. Perhaps here? Do you think they'll have actual fish here? I would trade my left arm for some Hyrule bass."

'Maybe try rupees first', Link signed with a smirk, and refrained from pointing out that the Lost Woods didn't have any rivers or lakes within its borders, so the chances of anyone having fish for sale were practically nonexistent. It didn't hurt Sidon to dream a little as long as he didn't expect too much – and he wouldn't after the last few days.

They conversed lightly and watched the buzzing marketplace around them until their food arrived. Multiple plates of it. Maybe they had overdone it just a smidgen? Oh well. Link could sample the other things the marketplace had to offer when it was dinnertime, after they were done with their actual business here.

For now, the two of them happily dug into their fried, boiled, deep fried, sauteed, pureed and grilled frog parts without a worry in the world. It was nice to have things go their way for once.