Link woke up looking like shit, and Dark wasted no time in telling him so, even as he gave him a cup of tea.
"I know I look bad," said Link, rubbing at his tired eyes. "I couldn't sleep all night. I kept having nightmares and waking up."
"Hmph, weird. I slept fine," said Dark, because lying was easier for him than breathing.
"I can't even remember what I dreamed of, but it just wouldn't let me rest," said Link, sitting down at the table.
"Then take a nap. It's not like you have anything to do today," said Dark, setting two plates at the table. Meat for both. Cooked for Link, and raw for him.
"Don't," said Link, pointing at Dark's plate with his fork.
"It's tastier this way," said Dark with a grin.
"I'm serious. Cook that thing."
Dark stuck his tongue at him, and got up to cook his breakfast. "Killjoy," he said, putting the pan to the fire.
"And I can't take a nap. I have to go through all the things I brought from the forest last time. I've been putting it off," said Link, and got up with the cup of tea in his hand. He walked up to a pile of stuff near the entrance. There were old empty bottles, his collection of masks, tunics that he couldn't wear anymore, and a variety of other things he couldn't even remember. He pushed a box with his foot and a bunch of masks spilled from a bag.
"Ugh, that's so boring," called Dark from the kitchen. He had burnt his food again. He hated cooking. "Let's go to the town and have fun. I want to go shopping."
Something crashed at the living room, and Dark cackled. "What did you break now?" he asked, taking the pan off the fire and turning to look at the living room.
Link stood in the middle of the living room, staring at the floor, with the cup broken at his feet.
And silent.
Completely silent.
The silence all around him felt unnatural, and a shiver went through Dark when he realized the silence came from within him. He couldn't hear any of his thoughts.
"Hey man, come on," said Dark with a tense smile, putting a hand to his shoulder.
A shot of electricity threw him against the wall. The energy still crackling over his skin as he looked up at Link's still form, and noticed his eyes. They were completely white. Even the tips of his hair were white. It seemed as if the color was drained out of him.
Dark hissed, recognizing the thing Link had been looking at. The Fierce Deity mask stared up at Link from among a pile of other masks.
Dark Link facepalmed. Leave it to Link to leave dangerously powerful supernatural artifacts lying around with the trash.
After a moment, Dark Link closed his eyes and concentrated on the spiritual and mental bond he had with Link. He could feel him far away, as if he was calling him through thick fog. He heard a soft echo among the darkness of his own thoughts.
"Link! Link! Can you hear me?!" shouted Dark across their shared mindspace.
He felt two hands descend on his shoulders, and then a whisper "He can hear you," it said, with an old voice.
Dark gasped and opened his eyes. He jumped up from the floor, shivering from the strange cold he felt at his back. He looked behind him, fully expecting to find something ancient about to pounce on him, but there was nothing. He took deep breaths, still convinced that there was something somewhere, waiting...
And then he heard breathing, and when he turned, Link was there again. In body, and in thoughts, and in that thing deep inside him that Dark thought might be a soul. He was there. All of him.
Dark ran up to him and held him by the shoulders, shaking him. "What the fuck happened?!"
Link paled, holding on to him. "I-I... I don't know...," he whispered, trembling.