The pair nearly fell asleep in the hot spring, which would have resulted in some very nasty burns when their elixirs ran out. As it was, a stray fireproof lizard accidentally fell into the water right next to them and in a spray of water they both rushed to get it back onto dry land. A dripping and deeply confused black lizard was left to bask on the heated rocks as the two Hylians climbed out of the water.
There had been a short and silent mental battle to see which of the two would get out first, until Link rolled his eyes and hefted himself out, thus providing Zelda with a fantastic view his ass. Which she appreciated completely without shame.
Drying almost instantly, they were able to dress quickly and take a leisurely walk back down to the cooler regions of the Mountain where they had set up camp. A nest of sorts had been compiled along the back wall of a cave illuminated by luminous stone ore deposits at the entrance. Next to their nest sat a very impressive pile of precious gems and various cooked meats.
"Honestly, if anyone walked in here, they'd think the place belonged to a very small dragon," Zelda commented, settling down into their bedding with her back pressed against Links.
"I am," was his response before sleep took them both.
With the rising sun, their luminous lamps dimmed and it was time get out of bed. Even with the relatively cooler temperatures this far down the mountain, it was still too hot to stay next to each other and the pair had sprawled away from each other during the night. Clicking various joints and warming up their limbs, they both dressed into flameproof attire and set about packing up their belongings. From what they had seen of the trials to come, two would not be particular physically taxing and Link planned to get this whole thing finished today. They would not need to return here to sleep again.
On the way out, Zelda patted the warm rock walls of the cave as if in gratitude for the shelter. Link, on the other hand, decimated the clusters of luminous ore with a single solid swing of the Boulder Breaker, sending shards of dull crystalline rock everywhere.
This time around, Zelda was able to accompany Link to each Trial. While she could not help him directly, it did not mean that she couldn't participate. However, the first challenge required a certain amount of finesse and skill with a paraglider from the top of Death Mountain along a wide lava flow. Skill she lacked from having less experience compared to her knight.
Instead, while she could not follow his exact and very specific path, she could at least glide after him from above. Tracking his direction changes and vertigo inducing drops, which made her scream in panic once or twice, she was able to follow until he came to land at the end of the path and a Shrine shook itself from the heat baked earth. He received a slap on the arm - thankfully for her it was the one made of skin and bone - for his reckless stunts and then a hug for making it to the end safely.
All in all, Link was frazzled before he even made it into the Shrine.
The next challenge involved some very careful manoeuvring across lava and meeting the Goron Brothers again, who completely threw him under the cart horse in front of Zelda.
"Now, this guy, this guy knows how to handle the heat!" One of the brothers boasted. "He destroyed our climbing challenge and lasted longer than us on the hot plate. We all tapped out but he was still standing there in the scorching heat."
"Was he now?" Zelda asked, wearing a pleasant expression but her voice was overly saccharine. Link vaguely wondered whether he shouldn't just just throw himself into the lava now. "I'm sure he'll have absolutely no problems here then."
It wasn't until after he had completed the second trial that she enquired about his reckless behaviour. Unfortunately, he didn't know how best to answer her or how to explain why he felt such a need to engage in any challenge presented to him. Regardless, that had been before he made the resolution to take better care of himself and be more cautious.
"Plus, they were blocking a Shrine. They wouldn't let me get to it unless I completed their training, I asked them to move, please, but they would budge."
Zelda just placed her face in her hands, "'move, please' oh my goodness, Link."
Now all that was left was the gigantic Igneo Talus, which Link was not looking forward to. Igneo Talus were a pain, and he didn't have a Frost Greatblade anymore. So, he was delaying under the guise of training Zelda how to use heavy, two-handed weapons.
While she had progressed with the spear, and clearly had a natural talent for the bow, he knew that she couldn't have had much experience wielding big melee weapons. Or simple melee weapons for that matter. He was also aware that he had more muscle mass than she did – although he had noticed the gradually increasing definition of her biceps – so he would have to start small. Or at least, he attempted to.
As soon as Link procured the Cobble Crusher from the slate, his muscle tensing with the weight of it, Zelda knew there was no way she would be able to lift it. Let alone swing it around.
"I can't lift that."
His gaze went from her face and then to the 'weapon' in his hands. Lifting it once or twice to further assess it's weight, he eventually relented and placed it on the ground. He then retrieved a sledgehammer, obviously intended as a lighter alternative, but Zelda still shook her head at him when he looked to her.
Placing that down on the ground too, Link went back to scrolling through his items in the Slate, to try and find an equivalent they could practice with. As he perused, Zelda had a sudden thought.
"Link … Can you lift me?"
Looking up from the Slate he considered her for about a second before setting it down and walking over. As he approached, Zelda noticed that he wasn't as short as he used to be when standing next to her. Unsure of when their heights had started to equalise, she was distracted by her knight bending down a little to scoop her up, with an arm behind her knees and another supporting her back as he rose up again. He stood his ground, completely stable with his eyes on her waiting for comment.
"Ah, so you can," she noted, redundantly, feeling pleasantly contained where she was, safe and secure with all previous thoughts forgotten. His arms weren't even trembling as he held her up, though she supposed only one of his arms would be experiencing any exertion. Still his core muscles had to be feeling the strain - she knew she wasn't exactly light. A thrill spread through her as she wondered what else he could do.
When she made no motion to move or fidget, Link adjusted his hold on her slightly before carrying her back over to the discarded weapons and the Sheikah Slate.
"I could get used to this," Zelda said, as Link gently deposited her to sit on a rock.
They eventually decided that heavy weapons were not going to be Zelda's forte, and she admitted that she had no real desire to become proficient in them either. They were too bulky, heavy, and cumbersome – she preferred weapons with more finesse and precision. Which was why she was looking forward to visiting the Rito after they had finished their work with Rudania.
"It's a shame Hebra doesn't have hot springs though," she mourned, still filled with contentment from their last dip and now envisioning the same scenario but surrounded by snow.
"There are," Link piped up, sounding a bit surprised that she didn't know this.
"Wait, what? Where?" Zelda demanded, having genuinely never encountered any hot springs in the frigid landscape. Then again, she had never spent much time there.
Just as he was about to tell her, an intrusive idea suddenly popped into his head which gave him pause. Instead of answering, after giving it a bit of hesitant thought, he gave a very blasé smile and said, "guess you'll have to wait until I show you."
It took Zelda a few seconds to realise that Link was being coy, which was something she never would have believed he was capable of. Not only that but she got the impression that he was also insinuating... other things. How forward of him. All in all, Hebra was looking very promising.
"Oh? Alright then, O' Mysterious One, I'll wait," and she leaned back against her perch, patting a space on the rock beside her. "In the meantime, let's try unlocking that focusing ability of yours."
It seemed that the Igneo Talus would be waiting where it was for the time being.
Once settled on a large, flat rock, Link was asked to focus. Years of practice made the task relatively easy; refusing to engage in any active thoughts as the sounds of rumbling from the mountain and the gurgle of lava surrounded him. The noises were everything until that too became just a distant hum of background nonsense. He sat there completely still, but without something to hone in on, he was unsure how he was meant to trigger his ability. Eventually, he felt a tap on his thigh.
Opening his eyes, he found Zelda leaning towards him with a bottle of dark elixir in her hand.
"Time's almost up from the last one."
He took it from her and tossed it back, grimacing at the ashy taste when it stuck to the back of his throat, all the while wondering if this was worth the time. He heard a similar noise of discontent from his partner, who shook her head a little at the cloying aftertaste.
"I didn't feel anything," Link said, not really feeling disappointment.
"I didn't see anything unusual either," Zelda sighed. "We could try praying, but I'm quite sure that doesn't actually work... we could also try the approach that worked for me. Placing someone in mortal peril."
The Hylian Knight gave her an exasperated look but he could tell it was spoken in jest. Still, he had to agree, this method didn't seem to be very him. Never-the-less, he tried again, Zelda also adopting a pose of complete calm and focus. While a brief flickering could be seen from the back of Zelda's hand, which meant amiss by both of them, nothing seemed to change about Link's appearance or his surroundings.
"I think I need to be fighting," Link suggested, his eyes still closed and body lax.
"I suppose the best way to replicate the results is to re-create a scenario in which they've appeared before," Zelda agreed, stretching out of her lotus position. "I was hoping that you could manifest this ability by merely being focused in a single moment, and not necessarily in the heat of battle."
"I focus best when fighting. Gives me something to aim at."
After conceding that Link made a very good point, they started actively looking for monsters that were still lurking in the mountain sides. It took about half a days climbing to spot a small band of Fire Lizalfos, dancing on the shore beside a lake of molten rock below their current position. With a quiver full of every type of arrow ammunition known to the Kingdom of Hyrule, Link was confident he could dispatch this gathering quickly and with little risk to himself or Zelda.
Nocking an ice arrow to his mechanically engraved bow, he decided the order in which he would take each one down.
"First, the one on the left, then the one that just lay down, and then the one wielding the Knight's Shield. Actually, I want that shield too," Link decided, scowling a little at the Lizalfo brandishing the Hylian emblazoned metal.
Zelda would watch through the Sheikah Slate, specifically zoomed in on Links arm movements as he pulled back on the bow string and nocked more arrows. The idea was to accurately pinpoint when he went from being fast due to practice and training, to impossibly quick. Once she was in a good position, she gave him the thumbs up and he scuttled away to find a place to jump from.
Flinging himself off from their vantage point, Link snapped out his paraglider to drift down towards the lizard beasts. Once he was within range, the paraglider was shut and stowed away but it was at that moment that Zelda saw the shift. The action to shut the glider, put it back over his shoulder was done with a speed well within Hylian limitations, but the action to swap his grip over to his bow and bring it up already loaded to shoot was a blur. Link had barely lost any height in the time spent carrying out those actions, yet Zelda knew, time had slowed down for him. Firing off his three shots, all with perfect aim, apparently instantaneously solidified her theory. Not that she hadn't been pretty confident before hand, but actually seeing it first hand was incredible. How had she not noticed this before?
Link landed on his hands and feet, like a cat, and then took the time to collect the materials left over by the dissipated Lizalfos. He snatched up the shield with no small manner of vindication and hooked it over his back. While he picked up horns and leftover tails, he was busy thinking over his time in free fall. Once he'd let go of the glider, he had been able to align his sights with his targets and hit each one but it wasn't until he had landed that he realised that the Lizalfos reactions had been extremely sluggish. He'd also been about ten feet from the ground when he started falling, yet he should have hit the ground before being able to fire all three shots.
The trouble was, he had no idea how he had done it.
Nothing had felt strange or different from when he fired an arrow standing still, and he only noticed it now because he was actively looking for it. Perhaps it was the limited window of opportunity, falling through the air, which created his need for more time. An ability which was apparently subconscious.
As Link climbed back up to Zelda, he tried to think of when he had started to find free fall archery a viable option. He distinctly recalled the Hylian Army rather lacking in the archery department and he'd only learned the basic skills himself from his father.
'Better to be a Jack of all trades than a Master of one'. As an over eager little wild child, Link's response had been; 'Why can't I be a Master of all trades?'
Hauling himself back onto the ledge, he was greeted by his partner's determined face. It seemed that now she had visual proof of her suspicions the issue would not be dropped any time soon. He sighed and gave her rueful smile as he told her of his point of view and how, in the moment, he was so singularly focused upon his goal that his perception of anything was diminished.
"I suppose that's what we need to work on first then," Zelda decided, adding notes to the pictures she had taken with the Sheikah Slate. "We both know you can do it, but you only seem to notice after the fact. We need to reach a point where you become aware of time slowing down while you've activated it. Then you might be able to create the same effect at will."
With a plan of action in mind, both blondes readied themselves to leave, intending to return to the subject of Link's time manipulation at another time. Right now, they had an Igneo Talus to inspect.
The Talus was not especially challenging for Link with all his experience and enhanced flamebreaker armour, but he took his time whittling down the integrity of the giant so that Zelda had plenty of time to observe it. He also didn't want to get cocky as Talus had a nasty habit of randomly chucking him off, and given his rather lethal surroundings that wouldn't end well for him. All in all, the colossal beasts were just a pain. They did reward him well for his efforts though, so he couldn't complain too much.
Link fired another Ice arrow into molten beast's weak point and it's massive frame began to shake and tremor as it fractured apart. He caught an up draft to lift himself away and as he glided back to safety the last Shrine of the Eldin region rose out from the ground.
Briefly wondering whether Zelda would like to accompany him into this one he waited for her to finish with her journal, but she seemed far too engrossed with the subject of Talus for now. She had only ever seen a regular Stone Talus before, but she had known that there were elemental varieties in the extreme climates.
"Could you take me to see a Frost one?" She asked, "We'll be heading to Hebra soon, there must be one there."
"You have very strange date ideas," Link replied, already assuming he'd probably have to fight one for the Trials of Revali.
"Yes, well, would you prefer showing off by tackling a colossal ice monster, or doing something frivolous such as … as..." Zelda had to stop when she realised she had no idea what a 'regular' date would entail.
"I never said I didn't like your ideas," Link said quietly, taking her hand in his as he helped her up.
Once the gliph at the top of the Shrine's spires turned from orange to blue, it was time to teleport up to Vah Rudania, where the gigantic salamander waited for them. Waited to be given a new purpose or be left to sleep until a new threat loomed over the Kingdom. Still, as resting places went, that high up constantly illuminated by the fires within the mountain and overlooking the open expanse of Central Hyrule was pretty good, if a bit lonely.
Appearing on the edge of the volcano mouth, Zelda instinctively reached out to grip onto Link's arm for support, even though he was about to become a very poor choice for stability. Once he presented himself to the Divine Beast, Link's mind would be whisked away to his final challenge, leaving his body very vulnerable and just barely upright.
This time, as Link winced with the sensation of his psyche detaching from this plane of existence, Zelda was right there behind him ready to take the slack of his body into her arms. Gently lowering them both to the floor, she managed to prop him up against an indent in the rock making sure he wouldn't slip to one side before getting herself comfortable. Sat down with her legs crossed and surrounded by flecks of glowing ash floating in the heated up drafts, she waited. She didn't need to wait long.
"Tiny Princess! You're here, it's good to see ya'!"
Tilting her head back, Zelda saw a large figure of teal and tough muscle walking towards her. The chains that once held his signature weapon in place clinked as he moved and his tufted hair bounced with his heavy footfalls. The wide grin and crinkles eyes, however, removed all chance of mistaking his appearance for something threatening.
"And you, Daruk. I'm glad to see you're looking as strong as ever."
"You flatter me, Princess."
He tottered over carefully before collapsing backwards to sit beside Zelda. Had the Goron Champion possessed any mass, the ground would probably have shaken with the force of his fall. He cracked his neck a couple of times and stretched out his arms before resting them in his lap, turning his head this way and that to enjoy the scenery.
"So, how are things with ya'? Now, I know ya' not The Princess any more," he held up his massive hands in a placating gesture, "but you'll always be Tiny Princess to me. And what a Princess, ya' showed Ganon what for!"
"Thank you, Daruk, and yes, while it's true that I am no longer carrying on the Monarchy of Hyrule, I can appreciate that the name holds more value than just a title to some of my closest friends. I do not begrudge it's use." Zelda placed one of her hands upon Daruk's own, marvelling at how comical the difference was before she continued, "and certainly not from one of my Champions. You have my eternal gratitude, Daruk."
"Aww, don't sweat it, Princess. I would have gotten involved even if ya' didn't pick me to pilot Rudania. I reckon the same could be said of Link, but I'll be talking to him later. So," Daruk tilted his head down a bit so he could look at Zelda with one eye, "how are ya' doing?"
It was an open question, but it was spoken with such heartfelt sincerity that Zelda wasn't sure where to begin. Did she talk about her thought process for abandoning her Royal birth right? Should she tell him about surreal and heartbreaking it was to wake up and find everyone gone? Or should she talk about how much had changed between herself and Link? How any of her future plans always included him? She gave said partner a glance to make sure he was faring well, and was pleased to discover that he was mostly unharmed. A little tense and sweaty but that was to be expected when battling a corrupted, fire wielding monster. Once more looking up at her Goron Champion, Zelda decided to gush about her freedom.
"I can go anywhere, Daruk, absolutely anywhere. Nobody around to tell me 'you don't have time for this' or 'this won't benefit anyone' or 'how can this possibly help?'. I can just do it, within respectable reason of course," Zelda amended, not that she needed to. "Being able to wake up one day and say out loud 'I'm going to explore Faron today' and then find myself in the middle of the jungle barely an hour later."
She sighed with a lazy smile on her face, distantly aware that she was rambling, but one look at Daruk's face told her that he was happy. Happy to sit there and listen to her wax poetic about the wilds for as long as he was able to while Link fought in the dreamscape of Rudania. Despite Gorons demonstrating that they preferred action over words, Daruk had always been willing to listen to them, even if he had no idea what they were talking about.
Link was like that too.
Casting her sights to her partner pressed into the hollow of rock once more, Zelda wondered how much time the young Hylian had spent with the Goron Champion. Both were hardy, protective, supportive and above all, selfless. No wonder they had already known each other prior to being made Champions.
"I must thank you again, Daruk, for keeping him safe during his quests across Hyrule. For shielding him. I'm glad he had someone at his side ready to defend him when he would need it most."
"Any time, Princess. Got no use for my Protection power now anyways, may as well give it to someone who will need it. Little Guy will do well to have it."
Zelda leaned into his side and she felt one of his arms, as hard as stone, come to hover around her back as if afraid to actually touch her. He then gave her the lightest hug she had ever received, but the sentiment was loud and clear. She gave a bittersweet smile into the ghostly fabric of Daruk's Champion sash.
The sound of grit grinding against itself signalled the movement of the previously unconscious Hylian, and Daruk heaved himself up to stand. His time here on Death Mountain was now up.
"I'll be seeing ya', Tiny Princess. Take care of ya'selves," and with a nod of his head the Goron Champion disappeared into brightly glowing embers, gradually ascending high above the peak of the volcano on heated up drafts. The last part of him to go was his toothy smile.
Zelda watched the particles drift in the breeze, intermittently glowing brighter when they caught the sun. Eventually, the lasting fragments of Daruk's spirit became indistinguishable from the burning ash exhaled by the mountain. Taking in a breath and releasing it again, Zelda was able to compose herself for the time being, distracting herself by helping Link return to the world of consciousness.
She placed one hand at his shoulder and slipped another behind him to brace his back, pulling him forward against her. His head lolled against her a couple of times as he tried to force himself awake, the process taking longer than it had after Ruta.
"You alright?" Zelda asked, tucking a few loose strands of hair behind his ears.
He hummed, blinking his eyes open and squinting in the sudden brightness. He ached all over but the longer he sat there, gradually waking back up, the less pain he was in. A cooling sensation settled over his bruises and his muscles relaxed to the point where he was practically boneless in Zelda's lap.
Looking down at him, Zelda gave Link a raised eyebrow but he simply waved a hand at his body in general and grimaced, the wave of healing energy now subsiding. A kiss to his forehead was her only reply.
"Daruk?"
"He was here, he said he'd speak to you later. Fireblight?"
Link cracked a lopsided grin. "Gone. Rudania's ours again."
Once Link had come to fully and he was rested enough to walk, they teleported back down to the Shrine at the top of Goron City. From there they located both Bludo and Yunobo, informing them of the choice that was now available to the Goron people; Rudania was ready to accept a new Champion or to be released into slumber. Neither Link nor Zelda missed the way Yunobo clutched at his own bright blue sash as they walked away from the Cheif.
The day was coming to a close and despite the copious amounts of food Link had since shoved into his mouth, he was still bone weary and in desperate need of sleep. So, as they arrived at the Foothill stables in order to collect their new family member it was very gratifying to be greeted by a blur of excitable fur. Toast was ecstatic to see them. After completing the Trials of Eldin and suffering another loss of a friend, her excited yips and pestering for attention were just what they needed.
Instead of risking the teleportation back home with the small pup, the pair decided to head towards Kakariko Village where they would speak to Impa about the letters Yunobo had spoken about. They would also ask Paya if she wouldn't mind taking care of Toast for them while they finished the rest of the Trials.
In the meantime, they wished to share one more night sleeping out in the open air, surrounded by the wilds in the shadow of Death Mountain. Setting up their bed rolls and many layers of blankets, they constructed their camp site with the weather display on the Slate indicating that it would be a clear night to sleep under the stars. Yet, it was still with an apprehensive heart that Link situated himself beside Zelda in their bedding. Or at least, he had been beside Zelda before Toast decided to nestle in between them.
With a chuckle, and a quick scratch to her fluffy ears, Link breathed in deeply and closed his eyes, knowing that he was about to see his friend one last time.
Becoming aware from the fog of sleep, Link was unsurprised to find himself standing beside the control terminal on Rudania's back. He could hear the churning and bubbling of heat beneath the Divine Beast, the lava descending from the brim of the volcano appeared as rivers of light that cascaded down into the white void below. Looking up, he found that the sky had no trace of smoke or fire from the mountain, just an empty expanse. A few rocks were littered across the platform he stood on, but otherwise he was alone. Or, he had been.
"Hey Little Guy, you did it! And you brought the Tiny Princess with you on your adventure. I'm glad you did, she was cooped up for too long in that place."
The giant welcoming form of Daruk stood beside him, his bulky arms thrown out wide in jubilation. Link was careful to take a few minute steps out of the Goron's crushing hug range, remembering several past painful incidents because of the mountain Champions' exuberant nature and the resulting bruises he used to receive. Thank fully, Daruk did not try to hug him, he did nearly fling Link off of his feet however as he gave him a pat on the back.
"Woah, there!" Daruk chuckled, catching Link in his other massive hand before setting him right again, "I forget my own strength. Then again it has been one hundred years!"
The Goron laughed heartily up into the white sky, and Link was pleased to know that the long wait as a ghost had not dented his kind soul or made him bitter. It was good to talk to Daruk, now that he was free to do so.
Daruk had always been an easy and open person to be around; no hidden agendas, happy to get along with everyone he met, and never one to overthink a situation. During the build up to the Calamity, winding down with Daruk had been a blessing; times where the mask could be allowed to slip for a while without risk of comment from his companion. They spent their time now talking about the state of Goron City and the change in attitude of his descendant, Yunobo.
"I didn't even know you had children," Link said, having been wondering about this for a while.
"Oh yeah, my kids were good strong boulders by the time I went to my Divine Beast, an' thinkin' of havin' pebblits of their own. But we don't tend to coddle 'em too much, makes 'em brittle, see? Everyone pitches in too, they're a Goron of the mountain and every Goron who lives here."
This seemed to fit with what Link had seen of Gorons so far; their young just tended to roll around by themselves with no particular attending parent. That was probably why everyone was called Brother. They were all one family.
The talk was then re-directed towards the subject of Calamity Ganon and how, yes, Link did give Ganon a heavy smack in the face for all the fallen Champions.
"Knew I could count on ya', Little Guy! By the way ... I'm sorry I wasn't there to fend of those Guardians, none of us were really sure what to do when we saw what happened to ya'."
Daruk was looking pointedly at Link's mechanically augmented arm, the one he had actually used to punch Ganon, and the small Hylian could only shrug. It had been a whole year since the incident and it had been a complete accident, nobody was to blame except himself for being so foolhardy in the Coliseum beforehand. He patted the Goron on the arm with his equally stone-like hand.
"Huh, should have known you'd just shrug it off. Rock solid you are, just like a Goron!"
While his large friend continued to ramble on about him, Link was reminded of just how little he had actually expressed himself to his fellow Champions. Even now he spoke as efficiently as possible, but at least his mouth didn't feel glued shut any more. The mask he'd worn must have been really good if no-body had noticed the bottlenecked chaos going on inside his head most days.
Or maybe, that's the point, Link thought, Gorons look unshakeable but, according to Zelda, Daruk is terrified of dogs. We both appear stable to give strength to others. He was distracted from his thoughts when his shoulder registered a tug to his right arm, and he looked down to see that his friend had started pulling the limb and moving the joints around.
"So what can ya do with it? The rest of us only saw bits and pieces when we were needed."
While Daruk sounded only mildly curious, Link could tell he wanted a show and he was only to happy to oblige on some unsuspecting boulders. Predictably, it didn't take long for his demonstrations of the prosthetics's firing capabilities to become a series of strength challenges. While Link demolished objects with energy pulses and crushed small rocks in the palm of his hand, Daruk would match him with sheer Goron smashing power. The line had to be drawn at an all out arm wrestle as Link's shoulder would most certainly protest and quite possible shatter under such strain. However, it didn't dampen their mood as their friendly competition came to a close.
"I knew you were made of strong stuff, but even you have a limit. I was happy to give it to ya' anyway but you've proved your metal like a true Brother. I want you to have my Protection, wherever you go, just in case ya' need it. You did always get into the most trouble." Daruk followed up his words with a light punch to the armoured arm, and Link gave a grin as he punched him back with it.
"Usually it wasn't by choice," Link defended. "I'll be minding my own business and trouble just tends to be in my way."
"Say, now that I think about it you're talking more than ya' used to. When did that happen?"
"I died." Daruk stared at Link's deadpan delivery before he roared with laughter once again, and Link allowed his impassive facade to break, scratching the hair at the base of his neck. "I've just been finding it easier. I'm sorry I was so … limited back then."
"Ah, don't sweat it. Us Gorons prefer action over words anyway. I imagine you feel better now that the Princess is always with you too, she tends to do that."
"Yeah, she does," Link agreed, and the softened tone of his voice must have peeked the Goron's curiosity as Link's view was then half obscured by Daruk bending down to inspect to his face.
"Now that I think about it, you and the Princess have been real close lately. You guys made up after all, huh? Good for you Little Guy! I'm glad you two are getting along better now."
As Link braced himself for another friendly pat on the back, he couldn't help but think to himself, oh, you have no idea. In fact, he was about to tell Daruk that Zelda was actually his partner now – talk about a complete attitude reversal – but the lava around them was starting to burn brighter, and Daruk was beginning to lose his bright terracotta colour. The warm hues of his body steadily being washed out with shades of blue and green.
"Well, shucks, looks like my time here is done." The large Champion twisted around to see their surroundings light up more and more, before he turned back to address Link, "it was great talking to ya' buddy! But I can't hang about here forever y'know? So, take my power and use it to carry on keeping this Kingdom safe. I know you're gonna be just fine."
Daruk clenched his fist in a determined gesture in front of him, which Link mirrored, bumping their fists together on the spur of the moment. While Daruk was distracted by the strange action, the small Hylian darted forward to cling to the Goron's sturdy frame. It took a second or two for the giant to catch up, but then he was curling his arms around Links back, ever so gently draping one hand over his blonde hair.
"I'm sorry, Little Guy. Take good care of Yunobo for me, and tell him I'm proud, will ya'?"
Arms still clinging to his friend's nearly incorporeal form, Link gave a hasty nod and suddenly he was awake.
Lying in a tangled mess of sheets, he could feel Zelda tucked up beside him patiently braiding wisps of his hair with the full moon directly above them illuminating her work. He had to blink a couple of times to adjust from the shift in location and the last few blinks dislodged a couple of tears. Rolling over to drag Zelda closer to him for a cuddle, he felt a small weight pad across the bed to curl up behind his bent knees. Toast gave a small squeaky yawn before settling with her head propped up on his knees.
Fingers ran through his hair, dislodging the braids, and Zelda cradled his head against her.
"Two down," she sighed, linking their ankles together, "two to go."
The part of Link realising it's been over a year since the incident where he lost his arm... is true for this series as well. I started writing for Ironic Technology April 2017, writing the main bulk of the series in August 2017, and I have loved it so much even though I had no idea at the time that I would be creating this.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout~
