Author's Note: To older readers, this is part 1 of "You Don't Understand"

You Don't Understand

Young Link felt his eyelids fight the need to open as the morning sun dimly shined through the clouds. The only thing that drove him to get out of the toasty bed was the gusts of air his descendant sent blasting onto his forehead. To his slight dismay, he looked to be pleasantly dead asleep. 'At least I didn't dream about anything terrible. Though, thinking back on it now,' the corners of his mouth dipped into a peculiar frown, 'I've had regular nightmares before, but I've only had the kind that are eerily realistic a couple other times…' He quickly pulled on the other tunic he brought, 'One of which that happened before my adventure began.'

The young hero didn't want to think too hard about it, but it was unnerving to feel like he didn't have a grasp of what was going on in this universe—prophecy-wise that is. He came in already knowing who Link was going to be and what Zelda was going to eventually accomplish, that much was obvious. 'So then why all the nightmares? Much less ones about me, my mask, and him?' He glanced back at his descendant who began to softly snore, 'I'd much rather believe that he sucks to sleep with and makes me have bad dreams.' His nose picked up what the father was making that morning, making him stroll back up to the bed and start gently shaking him awake.

"It's time to get up, dontcha think?" The ancient tongue intentionally rolled off his lips. His previous inquiry was satisfied at watching Link's eyes flick open in response.

The knight sat up and rubbed them, yawning, "I'm surprised I didn't feel you get out of bed."

Young Link crossed his arms, "I might have considered sleeping longer if you weren't breathing on my face." He nodded toward the door, "Anyways, I dunno about you, but I smell sausage." Without saying another word, Link nearly dragged him out of his room and into the kitchen.

He threw his arms into the air, "Yesss!"

"I knew at least one of your noses would be workin' properly this mornin'!" His father grinned as he turned another one over to cook the other side. On the counter were fried eggs that awaited the meat.

"Well if you spoil me like this I might have to kill more lynels to come back more often!" He chimed, still in his pajamas.

The young hero remembered they had a couple of chickens, "So you get the chickens' eggs each morning?"

Link's dad nodded, "That's right! No use in having a rooster around when a couple of hens get the job done!" Now his eyes had a glint of mischief in them, "Speaking of which, you're making me wish I convinced this one's mother into having one more. I doubt ya would've noticed if you were three or four, right?" His booming laugh filled the room as his son's ears grew red, "Ha! I'm just playin'! You were far too busy with getting into everything, there would've been no way!"

Even Young Link tried to hide his laughter as his descendant put his hands on his hips with a groan, "Dear Hylia, maybe I'll never kill anything ever again. I think I'm fine guarding the castle gates to death instead." He disapprovingly shook his head as his cheeks started to blush as well.

"Aww, you can't blame your old man," the father swooned, "The two of you are just too damn cute with how brotherly you are to each other. The young'n looks so much like ya as well." He rolled the sausages onto the plates, "I nearly thought of patting his head too when I came in from the fort yesterday."

'Aw, that's touching, even if I've only known him for a couple of days.' He internally smirked, 'Well , again, I can only imagine what he would be saying instead if I looked the way I'm supposed to.' Without warning, his eyebrows automatically furrowed at the sensation of his cowlick getting messed with.

"I dunno, dad," Link commented, his other hand was at his chin, "He's feisty about head pats, not to mention sassy and runs into trouble at every turn." The knight had a wiley smile, "I think he'd give you a heart attack before he's fully grown."

He swatted his hand off, "You're getting too comfortable with me, dammit! What did I say about biting you!"

The father found the exchange adorable as he set their food down, "Alright you two, better save the energy for eating." He chuckled to himself, "Son, you also just described yourself. Thought I'd let you know."

His descendant jokingly rolled his eyes as he sat, "Hey, I've been pretty good at not getting into trouble lately."

Young Link nudged him after taking his seat, "I bet I'm the one that took that spot, as much as I don't want to admit it."

"Well it'll be impossible to do that today," the knight replied after taking a bite of his eggs, "Me and you are going to the beach."

He perked up, "Really?"

"Mhm, I like to think that some of the best dinners come from catching it," he explained with a nod, "That and there's no way I couldn't have at least taken you there."

His dad looked like he knew what was to come of this, though he quietly ate rather than hint at anything.

'No comment from the old man? Link, this better not be a ton of work.'

When they were all finished, the knight got dressed and grabbed a couple of baskets from the storage area and tied them onto his saddle. Then, the two of them rode through the village and spent the next two hours and a half traveling to the beach.

Once they hit the split in the road that turned south, Young Link looked to his right and felt his breath simply disappear as his eyes took in the sheer size of the ocean that lay ahead. He was so enthralled by the shoreline that came into view, as they continued forward, that he hardly heard his descendant reacting to him. 'Dear Goddesses! I feel like I have to keep reminding myself of just how huge this place is!'

From there, the road tightly wound up against the cliff as it sloped toward the beach. The closer they got to the shore, the warmer the air became from the sun heating and evaporating the water near the surface. When Link hopped off Twilight to detach the baskets, the young hero took his cue to hop down as well and run to the water.

"Wait a second!" His descendant's voice made him skid to a stop a few feet before the water started. He chuckled, "You'll scare the food away! Let's at least catch some first alright?"

Young Link was lucky to have been facing the other way. His ears seared in embarrassment at what should have been common sense for him. Trying to look unbothered, his chin jut out to the side as he waited for the knight to join him, '..I shall now digress and let Link show me how to do this so I don't continue to make a fool out of myself…' He took off his socks and shoes and rolled up his pants as he heard the shuffling in the sand get closer.

"Alright," Link sat one of the baskets by a palm tree and had the other under his arm, "I'm sure you noticed that the bank goes out quite a way before it drops off, yeah? Well," He stepped into the water and pulled a brown shell from it, the thick body of a dripping-wet snail coming into view, "This is what we're after! Oh, and any decent sized crabs you find as well."

The young hero tried to keep a straight face as he nodded, "I think this is where I mention that I've never eaten snails before."

"I could tell by the look in your eye." He smirked, "Don't worry! I've never had someone not love them after they've had a taste of what I can do. They're not nearly as gross after being roasted on the fire."

"Well you got me there. Any tips for the crabs?" He joined him in the water, 'Holy—! This water is COLD!' He felt his hair getting ruffled by a wet hand.

"Oh I'm sure you'll figure it out. You'll see."

He restrained himself from making a face, 'Dammit I've had it to here with him thinking he can do that whenever he wants!' His arms crossed as he puffed out a sigh, "Okay, I know I'm small, and I know it's tempting for whatever reason, but you gotta lay off with that! I'm not a damn kid!"

His descendant had already tossed four other snails into the basket, "See you say that, but then you continue to not explain what you mean." He stopped and looked at him, not realizing his eyes let on that he had more he wanted to say, "But sorry about that, I'll keep myself in check about it." He laughed to himself and went back to scavenging the shore.

'You know something.' Young Link skeptically thought as he joined him, 'Or you think you know something…interesting.'

They mainly stayed in that area as they collected more snails. After he was the one to find their first crab, he was in high spirits, "I had no idea they'd be this big! Let alone this slow!" It was bright teal with a big yellow claw and was larger than his head! The clawed creature lamely wiggled in his hand. He'd practically given it every chance in the book to run away with how he initially splashed toward it and yet still yanked it out of the water.

"Good job!" Link's eyes sparkled with gluttony, "I think I see more over there!" Now that the crustaceans were added to their baskets, they had to keep an eye on them from time to time in case they managed to climb out. It didn't happen too often, they seemed to give up once they were put in with everything else.

Another hour of successful snail and crab catching later, Young Link noticed a pair of sand-colored mounds move out of the corner of his eye. The once chilly water had gotten more bearable to work in as their combined body heat eventually made it a bit warmer. He tapped the knight's arm, "Hey did you see that?" He watched him look over his shoulder before suddenly feeling his descendant's hand wrap around his forearm and proceed to get pulled behind him, "What? What's wrong?" 'You think you'd give me a little notice before yanking me around, dammit!'

"Lizalfoes," he muttered, standing a little taller, "They can blend into their surroundings, but are pretty obvious if you know the land well. It's only good for combat when everything's a blur."

He recalled taking one out with a sword to the head back when they were walking to Zora's Domain, not to mention the several he killed near Rito Village, "It's fine, I'll take them."

"There are two of them, no." He started to walk toward them, "Here, just make sure the crabs don't—wait, huh?"

Unfortunately for him, the young hero was already nearing the two lizards, though his sword remained in his scabbard. 'Even better,' He thought as he came closer, 'They're facing away. They likely think I don't suspect them.' Their camouflage was clever, but without distance between them it was obvious that they were two scaly beings above the soft textured sand. 'I'll take the one on the left first.'

Ever since he took out that blademaster, a new sword skill came to mind. Without wasting another second, he unsheathed his sword, whipped around, and fatally slashed through the lizalfo in the same breath. Like he predicted, the other immediately jumped up to face him after noticing the movement and shot its tongue over his right shoulder, 'Yikes, you aimed for the wrong side.' His right hand instantly caught the prickly tongue, the Hero of Time using it to yank the lizard forward and stab his sword through its abdomen, swiftly administering death. After cleaning his sword in the grass, he crossed his arms at what he should call the move he dealt to the first foe, 'Hmm…just like with the blademaster, it's a mortal draw. Not bad.' He nodded, 'Cast aside your safety to deal a blow that has no defense—that I'm aware of.'

Feeling accomplished at coming up with the sword skill and getting rid of a nuisance, he turned around to walk back and bumped right into his descendant, "Oh right, were you saying something back there? Sorry about that."

Looking concerned, he knelt in front of him, "What was that?"

"That was what I did to the blademaster back when he decided to get into a standoff with me. Y'know, when we were with your squad," he explained, 'I can't tell if he's proud or mad.' "I think I'll call it a mortal draw." He didn't know how to say it in their language, "You appear harmless, but then deal death. Cool right?"

"Wait so when Anthony said you 'cut him down', he meant you literally cut him in half!?"

He bobbed his head up and down to confirm but wasn't expecting him to be this surprised, "Well yeah. Though, it had been a while since I felt this sword go through ribs like it did. You seemed fine when we were telling you about it then, so what's with all this now?"

Link's hands rubbed his forehead in disbelief, "How old are you again?"

Young Link felt taken aback, blinking as their surroundings now felt surreal, like he was in the moment compared to simply watching the hours merely tick by. As the end of that question hit his ears, it felt like the minute hand of a clock had just struck the beginning of a new hour. The wind briefly picked up between them as the dead lizalfoes turned to dust, 'Eighteen.' "Eleven." He whispered.

The knight started to shake his head, "I thought you were— oh." Link seemed to remember what he'd said after they were riding back from defeating the monster base, only it appeared that he also felt the gravity of his answer, "I.." He began, "…I don't know what to say."

He felt a hand gently squeeze his shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

The Hero of Time was at a loss for words, 'What do I do here? What do I say?' Everything about this moment felt bittersweet as his eyes reluctantly met the other's, 'How does he seem to understand? What does he seem to know?' Nevertheless, the only reason this time felt different was due to the fact that someone else managed to be there when it happened. Previously, in other worlds, it came to him in the middle of the night. Then, at least he'd have until morning to get through the existential crisis that came with turning another year older but looking nearly the exact same. This time he lacked it, staring blankly into his descendant's eyes.

He flinched, 'How long has he been waiting for an answer? What? Three-four minutes now?' His arms felt prickly with distress, though his heart beat slowly as if he could sleep where he stood. He turned his head to gaze at the sea, finding the will to make his mouth move before looking back with a tired sigh, "I'm okay now."

Link looked relieved, "I—"

"But," Now his pupils narrowed as they focused intensely on the incarnate knight, "I'm interested in what you're not telling me, Link." 'If I were wrong, you would look offended that I asked. You don't.'

In fact there was a hint of shame in the knight's expression as he searched for what he should say. His shoulders drooped, "Okay fine."

Before he could open his mouth again, the young hero pointed over his shoulder, "Hold on, a few of the crabs got out, let's get those first." They quickly rounded them up without letting them escape nor getting pinched in the process. Now the two of them sat in the sand with the baskets off to the side but still in view. "You were saying? I only ask because it's becoming clear to me that you know something."

"I think you have the wrong idea," He sounded slightly defensive, "If there's some identity you're hiding, I don't know what it is. Even if that's true, I won't ask why either. I realized a while ago that you clearly have your reasons." His descendant shrugged, "I dunno, I've just been trying to put the pieces together y'know? There's so much about you that I don't know or don't understand. You can at least agree with me there, right?"

He nodded, "I can, but you know what I'll say."

"I do. With that said, all I can tell is that you're special in some way. I mean, I've known that since the beginning with your hand and all, but I don't mean it that way. Nor in the more obvious way with what you've done so far. Anyone would think that."

"So then what?"

Link crossed his legs, "I'm not completely sure myself, but it's a feeling I get whenever you do something out of the ordinary. Sorta like how you just took out those lizalfos. I felt this tingling sensation in my fingers," He nudged him with a small smile, "It's how I thought to look over my shoulder back at the house and then coincidentally caught you running back to it. Though, it's not consistent."

'This is certainly a first. I definitely didn't experience the same thing when the triforce belonged to the hero in the last universe. I guess it's particular to him.' "Were there any other times it happened?" He was curious now.

His descendant closed his eyes to think, "I think the first time I felt it was a few days after you first arrived. I remember shaking my hands because I thought they'd went numb. Then, I heard something going on in the arena and was going to walk down to see what happened. I get around the corner, and the next thing I know, I'm falling backwards, I hear music notes, and then you're suddenly in front of me, and the only thing I managed to understand from you at the time was the word 'sorry.'" He blinked, "And then you randomly gave me money."

'Riiiight. That's when I was seeing how this mask worked here. To be frank, I couldn't tell from that if there were any restrictions, so it kinda ended up being for nothing. Which of course only makes it more important that I don't use it.' The sound of Link's distinct chuckle pulled him back to the present.

"There you go again, thinking without any tell as to what's going on in there. Sometimes it's obvious, but most of the time it isn't."

"Well I was simply remembering what you were talking about, and no , you'll eventually come to understand what I was doing. However," his head dipped one way, "I'm aware it was reckless, in advance." 'Surely that's not the only time, right?' "Were there any other times or was that it?"

"The other time was when we were fighting off the Yiga Clan in the Gerudo Desert. You had disappeared and moments after I felt my fingers tingle at me again. It may have happened one more time other than this, but the next one I remember was when you grabbed my sword when I was demonstrating what the instructor of the second class was talking about. If anything, I wanted you to let go so it would stop." He sat back on his hands, "When one of the kids had shown up to tell me that something was happening with you and a Hinox, I expected it to come on at any moment as I rode over, but then it never did. Even as you were in the hospital, nothing happened. That's my thinking behind why it's inconsistent. I'm sure there are plenty of other things you've done that would make it happen."

"Hm," It was hard to come up with a response that wasn't too insightful or seemed like he was overtly avoiding revealing anything else, "I guess I hope that you don't take it as a cue to come rescue me. Honestly, I can't explain why that happens, though I appreciate you telling me."

Link leaned in with a hopeful yet inquisitive gleam in his eye, "See? I told you something personal that no one would understand, so how about you return the favor?"

"Or else?"

He became aloof as his head tilted to the sky, "I dunno. Maybe I'll conveniently forget to not mess with your hair. Oh, or maybe I'll squeeze ya extra hard when it gets colder tonight."

"Ugh fine, let me think for a moment." 'I guess I could play something on my ocarina? I mean, my biggest secrets are that I'm a hero, the mask, and that I'm actually—' His eye viscerally twitched as his expression immediately dampened.

Tick.

Link quickly waved off the question, "Hey you don't have to if it's too personal! I was kidding about the other stuff!"

The aforementioned existential crisis had only been stalled by his descendant's conversation. The twitching lower lid tightened into a wince. The rolling sound of the subtle tide had sloshed and bubbled into the ticking of a clock, but one that was paralyzingly just out of earshot. Like a shadow hid around the corner whose only purpose was to taunt you from afar.

Tock.

He numbly gazed up at Link. His features seemed to phase in and out of focus.

Tick.

A sigh escaped him, "Soft, wet sand. Hard rocks and smooth pebbles by the palm. Living things in the basket. They're here with me and I'm here with them." The shade of the sloping tropical tree made the knight's eyes a deep shade of blue, "He's here with me and I'm here with him."

Tock.

It distractingly bounced from ear to ear before echoing away, "Uuggh, give me a damn break . The breeze is warm, I hear the seagulls nearby, there's grass poking through the sand. " In the following moment, his lashes fluttered as his descendant appeared clearer and the next tick faded back into the depths of the shadows. "You're here with me and I'm here with you."

Link was undoubtedly worried for whom he perceived to be someone in peril, no matter how restrained it presented itself, much less in someone that looked as young as the hero did. That much became obvious by the way his shoulders relaxed at hearing words he could understand, "Yes, I'm just next to you."

Listing the things in his vicinity helped bring his head back to what was primarily important: the present. But despite the progress, he could hardly mask the tinge of desperation in his voice, "Do I look any older, at all?"

"Well," His weight shifted to one side, "…no."

The ever-young hero buried his face into his hands, feeling his pulse in his temples, 'Goddesses, what is the point ? Why bother making me feel that I'm getting older and older? Was it fun to originally watch me turn seventeen in this body? Is this some sick inside joke?' He shook his head, calming the spite that had started to build up, ' Eighteen …there must be some way I'll eventually grow up. If not at least grow taller, dammit.' Young Link looked up from his hands. The despair was beginning to ebb away. His tone was flat, "Sorry about that, I'm sort of not fine, but it's getting there."

The knight looked apologetic, his attentive yet caring complexion did not go unnoticed, "Are you sure? We can sit here all day if you need to."

"It's best if I keep moving forward."

He patiently had his hands in his lap and had scooted closer to him. His words were tentatively chosen, "Can I..ask why turning a year older…er..makes you feel this way?"

"I suppose it's not every day that someone's upset about it. Normally there are gifts and music, huh?" The Hero of Time shrugged, "It's not supposed to make sense but, for me, it's a painful reminder that—" He referenced himself, "—well, I look how I look. I wish there was some way I could change that, but the opportunity hasn't come yet."

Link looked perplexed at best, but it was kind that he attempted to understand given what little he knew, "Well, in the meantime then," he pulled his predecessor from the sand and hoisted him up onto his shoulders, "Tell me what you can see. I know I'm not that tall, but this has to be better than being all the way down there, right?"

He felt a smile creep onto his face at the gesture, 'Dammit, you're a little too good at making me feel better.' It quickly turned into a smirk, "Hmm, I don't know. Think you could stand on your tippy toes? I might actually see something." They laughed.

"Haha! You sure perked up! But just so you know, this is all the height you're getting!"

Young Link rested his hands on the knight's head as he searched the open ocean for a landform that stuck out. He pointed to one that was way off in the distance, "Well there's that one out there, but I bet you could already see it." After getting him to turn more to the right, he spotted the same strange building he saw from the top of the mountain near his house, it was the one on the island with the single palm tree, "Do you know what those are called? I saw another one on a cliff, and another at the stables."

"Oh I have no idea," Link outright admitted, "But I'm sure the princess probably knows something, and if not, the Sheikah researchers likely do. We kind of just stay away from them if I'm honest. They just sit there."

"You don't get any sort of feeling around them?" 'I mean it's definitely either you or the princess who is meant to do something with them so…'

"I want to see what's inside, but I think everyone wants to do that." He looked up at him, "Do you feel anything?"

"Not really, nothing more than what you said." The young hero motioned for him to put him down, "But they're weird. That's about it."

"I agree."

The sun indicated that it was nearly three in the afternoon, "Oh yeah," Young Link pulled the ocarina from his waist, "I thought I could play you a song rather than tell you something about me."

His eyebrows raised, "Oh right, I nearly forgot you could play. How about you play one of your favorites?"

"Sure." The first half of the Song of Storms blew through the instrument before he caught himself, "Heh heh, uh, hold on. Wrong song." 'Idiot what are you doing!? Really? Next to an ocean!? This is the worst place to play that song!' Internally unimpressed with his short-lived carelessness, he caught sight of the leafy canopies of what looked to be a large forest that lay at least a several-day ride from where they stood. An idea came to mind, 'I did always like the Minuet of the Forest.' The young hero played that one instead, enjoying the flourish toward the end of the song.

The knight wore a pleasantly surprised expression, "That's a very pretty song. Who knew you could cut lizards in half in one moment and then sweetly play a tune the next?" He started to walk toward the baskets, "Before we head back, I wanted to show you something fun."

"With the snails and crabs? How?"

His descendant briefly bent over one of them, soon turning around with two snails on either side of his forehead and a cheesy grin, "Ta da! I've got horns!"

Young Link smiled as he shook his head, "Man, for being so quiet around everyone else, you sure are a dork when I get you by yourself."

"A what?" The snails started to travel toward his eyebrows.

"A dork."

Now he chuckled as he pulled them off and wiped away the slime, "I don't think you're saying that word in the right language."

He stepped away from Link's attempt to put one of them on him, "Well there are plenty of words I still don't know. Hell I couldn't even read that book I found the picture of that spooky tree in." The knight tried to do it again, making him laugh as he easily ducked away, "Link! I don't want one on my face!"

"Not even just one? It could go right in the middle." A devious smirk crossed his face as time seemed to slow down. He lunged forward with the poor snail in his hands.

But the Hero of Time was faster, 'You'll be surprised to know that your flurry rush tactic doesn't work on me, oh hero-to-be.' Without a second thought, he did a back handspring away from the slimy offense, kicking the snail out of his hand in the process, and catching it once he landed. He eyed the spotted pattern on the shell as he grinned back at the knight, "You'll have to be a little less predictable than that if you're going to get a snail on me. Faster too."

Link slowly clapped his hands and nodded his head, "I think you're maybe one of the first people to ever dodge that. I'm impressed." He cocked his head, "Predictable?"

Young Link let the snail inhabit the back of his right hand, "Here, I'll pretend-swing my sword, and then you backflip out of it and come at me. You'll see what I mean." The young hero unsheathed his sword after seeing that his descendant took a defensive position and had drawn his sword as well. In the next moment, he horizontally slashed to the right, only to switch at the last second and slash to the left. Above his blade, he eyed Link mid-backflip.

His eyes were dead set on him, but he wore a curious expression as time once again slowed as his focus honed in.

'Yes, this is what I'm talking about.' The young hero found that he could practically see his next move, 'Land, forward, right, left, right, wide left, upward strike.'

Once his feet touched the ground, he soared forward and began his assault, soon finding each of his slashes were dutifully blocked in the rapid succession they occurred.

'And then after seeing I'd block every hit, instead of that upward strike you'll quickly make it downward instead. Any other swing would be awkward and throw you off...which is relatable, honestly.' Young Link's face remained blank as his opening came into view, literally. The downward slash, before getting to the actual swing, left the descendant's legs wide open with enough space to let the young hero roll underneath him. Now popping up from the maneuver, time flowed as usual as he pointed his sword at the knight's back, "Get what I'm saying?" He caught a glimpse of the other's shocked expression as he put up his sword, "But don't worry too much about it, though. No one else is likely able to do that."

Link now fully faced him, he was speechless, "H-how did you know everything I was going to do? What gave me away?" He looked to be running through his memory of the previous times he'd done this, "I've been inconsistent on the swinging pattern for that very reason."

He let the snail ooze off his hand and onto Link's, "Well, I'm being honest with you when I say this: Nothing. Genuinely nothing gave it away. I just had a feeling is all."

His descendant looked to the sky before settling back on him, "Uh huh, and I'm supposed to take that for an answer? How will that make me better?"

"Well there's no one else that fights like me, so it really shouldn't be a concern. If I can't explain how I knew what you were going to do, then that's all there is to it."

A hand went up to his chin, the one with the snail on it, "Well you did nearly read my mind back in the hospi—"

Young Link dismissed the thought, "No no, I can't read minds. That's not a thing." He tried to think of the word, "I'm just per—" he paused, "…percep—uh, shoot. I think it sounds something like that."

"Perceptive?" Link nodded after considering its meaning, "Yeah I suppose that explains it, though…that's certainly a first for someone your age—not that I'm surprised, of course, given what I said earlier." He shrugged with a smile, "Well, I say we should head back and turn all this stuff into food, yeah?"

"Hell yeah!" The young hero helped with tying the baskets back on the saddle. By the time the two of them made it back to the house, the sun had begun to set.

"My my! I was hoping two grub-lovin' sets of hands would bring in a good haul!" The old man was ecstatic at seeing the full baskets.

His son agreed, "That's right! Whatever we don't use we can give to the rest of the village." With the father's aid, they brought everything inside.

While the stoic cook was busy lighting the fire and prepping, the young hero had trouble convincing himself to stay awake, even though he was perfectly content with watching. 'I won't learn anything if I don't pay attention. Cooking's a good skill.' Another yawn escaped him as he caught a crab claw that tried to roll off the table, his head rested on his forearm, "Oops, guess this one didn't want to get eaten."

Link yawned as well, getting a look in his eye, "I suppose so." He jokingly waved the large knife he was using, "Also you're making me tired with your sleepy eyes over there! I might miss and end up throwing a finger or two in with the rest!"

His father softly grinned, he looked worn out too, "Ha, that's exactly what your mother would say to me. Though I bet it was because I was actually in the way."

"Yeah I remember, she would always tell you to quit tasting the food before it was ready."

He leaned back in his seat, "Now now, we both know that I was checking—for the both of us, mind you—if there was poison in it. And there never was! I'm sure that makes me a hero of some sort, dontcha think, young'n?"

"Hm, sounds like a hero to me." 'Though now I'm curious, I wonder what happened to his mom.' He read the room. Link's father was calmly sorting the chopped tidbits and the knight was in high spirits, probably because he wanted to eat what he was making. 'Nah, no need to spoil the atmosphere. I'll wait for some other time.'

Fresh seafood usually left an unusual and unpleasant smell in the air, but once everything was seasoned and put in the fire, 'Maaan,' He swooned, 'I hope this stuff doesn't take too long. We pretty much skipped lunch from gathering everything, so I'm starving!' He looked to the dad, "Did anything happen at the fort today?"

"Actually, today I took it upon myself to oversee how the trainees were doing at the horseback archery course that was nearby."

"Isn't it commonly taught at the academy?"

"Oh that's right, you wouldn't know, huh? Well, archery ends up being its own unit. Sure, we teach it while they're young, but it's more so that they could pick up a bow if the world was ending. However, if they end up getting a knack for it, they'll instead become apprentices under our current archers."

Young Link understood, "That makes sense, otherwise they'd be stuck in school forever."

"Precisely." He continued, "With that said, I ended up getting into an argument with one of them because his student kept messing around with the others."

The corners of his mouth dipped into a frown, "How so?"

Link had been passively listening, but now even he turned his head to hear the situation.

His father collected his thoughts before carefully explaining, "Well, we all know how it feels to be a part of something that not everyone gets to be a part of. Y'know, a little source of pride never hurt anyone. This apprentice in particular simply had a bad attitude about the whole ordeal. He didn't want to get on the horses, he didn't feel like putting on his quiver, hell he was hardly even trying to shoot the targets."

"Geez he sounds like a waste of time," the young hero commented, pretending to ignore catching the other's eye, 'Link I realize that was harsh, but you know I'm right. You can stop giving me that look.'

That made the old man chuckle, "I would have thought that too if I hadn't seen this very kid do far better the month prior. I came up to the archer responsible for him and said 'Hey, what's going on with him? He fall out of bed this mornin'?' He told me that the kid recently learned that he was getting a new sister later this year and had been acting up ever since." He stroked his beard, "Now, I'd seen him fire an arrow at another kid on accident before today. Of course, it was out of his control since he'd lined up his shot and then his string snapped as he released it. But after arguing to get on his horse, get equipped, and only taking lazy shots nearly all morning, somewhere in all that he decided the best way to get the other apprentices' attention was by shooting right over their shoulders."

His descendant crossed his arms, a fierce look of disapproval sat in the pits of his pupils, "He realizes that's a perfect way to get expelled, right?"

He quickly nodded, "That's what I was saying! That's why I ended up talking back to his master! He managed to blink when it happened and then thought I was making it up!"

Young Link felt his shoulder get nudged.

"I bet if we were there, I would have let this one here teach him a thing or two about firing at others." There was vigor to the knight's voice.

The young hero sarcastically rolled his eyes, "Pfft, Link you could have easily made him piss himself just by drawing back the string, what are you saying?"

The father's thick eyebrows raised, "The young'n can shoot too?" He scoffed at himself, "I'll be damned, you came in with a quiver and everything."

"Hey it's okay, I had a feeling I wasn't going to use it too much while I was here. I've kept it in Link's room the whole time."

Link's dad looked ready to respond until his son immediately turned and went back to the kitchenette, "Ooooohh, I think it's finally ready!"

Before their very eyes, the descendant displayed his magnificent cooking skills on the table. They moved the flower vase to the counter so there was space for it to sit in the middle. Their mouths collectively watered at the array of colorful seafood.

After cracking a crab claw open and pulling out the shiny flesh, the dad wrapped an arm around him, "Dear Hylia have I told you yet that I'm going to miss ya when you leave tomorrow?"

He smiled as he shook his head, "Dad save it for tomorrow then!" Though he certainly agreed that he was aware and proud of his handiwork.

Young Link scooted a few of the cooked snails onto his plate, "So what do you guys call these after they're cooked?" He knew what they were called in his own tongue, only he never had the chance to eat them.

"Oh, they're escargots."

An eyebrow perked, 'Well that sort of sounds familiar.' "Come again?"

"Es-car-go," Link slowly enunciated, trying to teach him the word.

"Aes-car-go," Young Link repeated as he now held the cooked snail in his hands.

"Es-car-go."

"Aes-car-go."

The knight made a so-so expression, "Close enough. It's not like I can't tell what you're saying."

He put a hand on his hip, "Y'know I don't get why you guys had to change up the sounds in the first place, there was nothing wrong with them." Now he crossed his arms, "In the Old Hylian, it's escargot."

Even his dad set down his food at that. That was the first time he heard him speak the ancient tongue.

Link tried to pronounce it, "Aes-gohh-cah? I would have never guessed, though now I know where you get that first part from."

"Holy moly, I had no idea that's what that sounded like! I would've thought you were trying to put a curse on me!" He laughed.

"You can imagine how I felt! Only to me everything was so close to sounding familiar, but entirely different at the same time. I think the Old Hylian rolls off better, but that's just me." The young hero could tell he was humoring the old man, but when he glanced at the knight, he saw a solemn hint to his gaze. He poked his finger, "Hey, you gonna show me how to eat this or what?"

"Oh right! It's really simple." He easily took a fork to the flesh that stuck out of the shell, pulling the rest of it into view.

Young Link bit it off before taking the fork back. "Mm!" The texture was very chewy and certainly 'crunched' weird between his teeth, but the buttery flavor along with the spices made it more of an afterthought. His cheeks were rosy, "This is really good! I'm surprised they don't let you help in the castle kitchen or something."

"Well, I suppose I was a bit busy—"

"Being the best damn knight the castle had nearly ever seen!" His father chimed, "My sweet baby boy was fourteen and yet was already climbing the ranks." He sighed with satisfaction, "You're always out there doing your pa proud." Grinning at his son's eyeroll, he now turned to the younger of the two.

He had an inkling of what he was going to say, '…I'm pretty sure I already mentioned they're dead.'

"I know I haven't personally seen ya in action, but after word got around about you and that Hinox, I know your ma and pa must be proud as well! I sure had to listen to the newer knights at the fort yammer about it before they got their new assignments!"

There was slight hesitation in his tone, 'I mean, I don't want to kill the mood.' "If they were around, yeah, I bet they would be."

"Ohhhh, that's right. My bad." Even then, he crossed his arms with an impressed smile, "Well you're one tough nut for lasting in that forest! How long were you roughing it before you were found?"

Young Link's thought process buffered, 'Uhhhhhh… well shit.' He successfully kept his eyes from darting around for ideas, but, 'Maybe sounding unsure might help me here.' "I—I mean, when you do that for so long, y'know, the days become nights and the nights become days." He pulled some memories from the previous universe in, "Yeah, when you're on the move all the time, it sort of ends up becoming more about the goal or destination, rather than what's really happening in the moment. Like I might have stopped to rest, but the monsters here are dumb enough to crack sticks and make noise, so, night or day, it's time to get moving again."

The old man was interested, "Very well then! Do you remember what you were aimin' for? It must have been hard since you didn't know a lick of the language."

His ears started to feel warm, "I believe it was a friend, but uh…I really haven't had much luck." He felt his head nod, "And I've been looking for a long time." Soon after the phrase left his mouth, he quickly dismissed it, "It's okay, though. I know I'll find them one day."

Link's father heftily pat his head, "Ah well after everything I've heard, I've got no doubt that you'll find 'em." They resumed eating their meal after that.

'Phew!' He hoped he didn't show any sign of relief at that being over, 'Who knew such general questions would put me on the spot like that!'

A bit later, he spotted a drawn picture of the Dueling Peaks that had been hung on the wall. It must have been by Link when he was younger since it would explain the scrawling and harsh lines. A smile crossed his face at remembering the knight actually falling for his teasing on the way there. He laughed, "I just remembered, do you know the story of the Dueling Peaks? I tried to ask Link, but he couldn't remember all of it."

His descendant's expression went deadpan as the father delightedly explained, "Of course I do! It was one of my grandpa's favorites. Long ago, and I mean really long, the mountain used to be one. The river that flowed from Jarrah Lake didn't connect to Hylia River, and Necluda, this region, was closed off from the rest of Hyrule to all except the Sheikah, who could easily make it through the cliffs with their natural abilities."

The two of them listened on.

"Then, one day, a dragon god split the mountain in two. He forged a way for the rivers to connect and, in doing so, provided access to the region and further filled Lake Hylia."

"How did the dragon do it?" From what he could remember, it seemed like the dragon grabbed it with their bare hands and cracked it in two, but it also could have easily been done by a magic blast. If dragons can shoot fire, it wouldn't be beyond him that they could shoot beams of magic.

"Well I personally think that it ripped in two with it's bare hands. I've heard people talk about seeing random shadows, looking up, and then catching the end of a dragon's tail. They say they're gigantic, so it must have been easy work to do it like that."

"Is there any more to the story other than that? Is there only one dragon?"

He laughed, "I'm sure the rest of it is history, kiddo. Once the region became open to everyone, I'm sure other Hylians started moving in and then villages like this one eventually popped up and stuck around. Though I'm not sure about the dragons. I doubt any of our books say anything about them either." He nudged his son, "You ever hear anything about em'?"

Link shook his head, "Not really, though I know for sure that there's more than one. Makes me wonder if the castle's library has anything about them."

The conversation ended there, it being followed by rounding everything up and washing all the utensils. Before they went to bed, the father assured them that he'd take care of distributing the unused seafood to the other residents so they could spend any time they had left doing what they wanted. "Now the two of you try not to get on each other's nerves tonight, eh? Even if it's hilarious to listen to."

The knight shot him a conniving look, the young hero responding by acting like he was clutching his pearls in utter distaste.

"Ha! Goodnight you two."

"Night."

"Night."

Once inside the knight's room, Young Link stretched his hands after taking off the fingerless gloves and putting his equipment away. On a whim, he felt where his descendant had ruffled his hair, finding it to be brittle and very dry. He made a face, 'Gee, that's no doubt because of the salt water.'

"Your head hurt?" Link asked as he sat down.

"Huh?" He lowered his hand, "Oh no, just thinking about how I'll need a bath after being in the sea water all day." His gaze was plain and simple, "Also, just to make sure you've got it in your head: I'm fine, okay?" Which was true for the most part but pondering it further wouldn't do him any good.

Meanwhile the descendant clearly wasn't that convinced.

'I'm starting to wish I was more blissfully ignorant of how he appears to feel.' He changed the topic, "What's the plan for tomorrow? I think you said we have the morning before we head back?"

The knight pulled the covers over his shoulders, "Yeah we should definitely be on the road by at least noon. I'll save the rest for the morning, though."

Young Link climbed onto the mattress and plopped his head onto his side of the pillow, "You can't tell me? That's no fun."

"Hey, you're one to talk."

"Alright alright," He playfully yanked the blanket more to his side, "I'll wait."

Within a few seconds of him doing that, Link evened it back out and lightly poked the tip of his ear to get him back. The young hero would retaliate, but after yawning and sinking further into his pillow, he realized just how tired he was. Before long, sleep pulled his consciousness into its depths.