Hey guys! I have had a wave of genius while on the bus today and I started writing this as soon as I could get internet on my computer! I really hope you enjoy!
-Joost

The Fierce God Given Life
Chapter 7: Not Nearly Enough

Once Link finished his explanation, he had no idea what to expect. There was no look of disbelief from the two adults in front of him. Only expressions of understanding.

"I'm so sorry, Link…" Kafei muttered. He took Link's hand and held it. "We had no idea what you've been through."

Link was baffled. Tales of stopping the King of Evil, saving a land the people of Termina didn't know about, sending the moon back, fighting a creature he could only describe as 'pure darkness'? They believed it. When he told the couple of his ambitions to learn about the things he'd seen, that was when he was most nervous. The shakiness of Link's voice and how he struggled to admit it all was proof enough, scars or no scars.

"Hey, look at me" Anju put her hand underneath Link's chin and made his gaze meet hers, looking into the young boy's crystal blue eyes. "It's ok. There's nothing wrong with what happened in the past, or what you aspire to do now."

Anju's voice was almost angelic. The burdens Link carried had all gone away, and he never felt better. He felt like he had to repay them somehow.

"Can… Can I- hug you?" Link asked, his voice felt so small.

Anju was bewildered by his question. She was hurt by the need he apparently felt to ask. But without hesitation, she nodded.

As soon as he saw her head nod, he hugged her. The best he could, of course. He still didn't know what to do with his arms exactly, he felt disrespectful touching Anju's back for some reason.

"Thank you…" Link whispered. Anju smiled at him, and then turned out the light by the nightstand.

"Get some sleep. You need it." She told him. She kissed him on the cheek before leaving the room. And that night, Link did sleep. Comfortably.

Over the next week, Link made a near complete recovery. The day after his hug with Anju, he was able to walk again, albeit with some assistance from Kafei. By the next day, he was up and about again. He hadn't set foot out of the inn yet, the only bandage he still had on was the one wrapped around his leg. Fortunately, he was able to move out of the employee room and made himself at home in the 'Knife Chamber', the next room over, all at the behest of Anju and Kafei. All throughout the week he regained his strength, planting the seeds between himself and the innkeepers.

Hopping off his bed and looking at the table next to the fireplace, he picked up Romani's letter that sat by the vase. While she wasn't able to visit him since she last did when he woke up, she sent him a letter every morning, which Link responded by dinner time. The Postman was pretty happy with the new deliveries, able to challenge himself with the new change of schedule.

"Dear Grasshopper!" Link started rereading the letter silently in his head. He had already gone over it three times prior, but he couldn't resist his imagination going to work, picturing how eagerly Romani had written it. "Romani hopes you're doing alright! When you told me you were up and walking again, Romani was so happy for you! Hopefully you're feeling even better when you read this! Your Best Friend, Romani."

Link did feel better when he first read it, and he felt even more confident in his recovery when he finished reading it this time. What eventually broke him out his daydreaming was Tatl by the door.

"Oh Liiiiink! You up?" She asked, a little too loud. Link opened the door. "Ah, there you are, doofus."

Tatl sat down on the table and was able to tell Link something when she noticed Romani's letter. "Ooo! What do we have here?" She had a sly smirk as she looked at the letter. It still sat closed, the only thing on the envelope was the words 'To Link'.

"Is this a loooove letter?" Her smile as she exaggerated the word 'love' was incomprehensible. Link only returned the comment with a blush as Tatl opened the envelope and fished out the piece of paper inside.

Her smile faded as she realized it from Romani. It didn't leave her face, only weakened by the time she finished reading. Looking back at her blonde companion, she giggled.

"That embarrassed just by a letter from Romani?" She remarked. Tatl could tell Link felt something for the ranch girl. The boy only rubbed his elbow and smiled in response.

"So! I came here to ask you if you felt well enough to go to Great Bay." Tatl began. She had a plan for Link. Over the time he had been recovering, she noticed the boy had seemed weaker physically. Whatever Gomess took from him, she planned on getting it back and then some.

"Huh?" Link's response was accompanied by a tilt of his head.

"Just say yes so we can save time." Tatl barked. She didn't want the boy to get any ideas.

Link nodded and went for the door to ask Anju and Kafei for permission.

"Oh! And bring your gear. Namely your bow and that chain thingy." Tatl forgot the name of the hookshot, but she wanted Link to be prepared. Her plan required it.

"Um… Are you sure, Link?" Kafei said in response to Link's question. While he wanted Link to finally go outside and take in some fresh air, he didn't expect him to plan on going all the way to Great Bay while he did so.

"I won't be gone for long." Link assured the two.

Anju, meanwhile, was a bit more optimistic on Link's idea. "Sure, but as long as you promise to be back soon." Kafei looked at his spouse with some concern.

"Hun, you sure?" Kafei whispered in her ear.

"Yes, Kafei. I have faith in him." She looked back at Link with a smile, and that finally got Kafei to agree. When Link left their view to head back to his room, all Kafei could think of his father's saying that still occupied his head, even though it had been days. For the mayor, it meant a lot, and Kafei wondered if it could mean anything for Link, too.

When Link, Tatl, Tael, and Skull Kid reached the front door to the inn, Link had put on his gear again. His tunic was sewn back together. He was thankful for Anju's ability to sew the fabric back together. His trademark green outfit had special value to him.

Waving the couple goodbye at the door, Link was given Epona back. For the past few days, the guards had built a small stable for the mare in North Clock Town. Epona gave them almost no trouble.

Helping Skull Kid onto Epona's back behind him, Link made sure his fairy companions could keep up with his loyal steed. With everything ready, Link urged Epona into a canter, leaving Clock Town by the West side and riding down into the sand.

Skull Kid was tremendously nervous as the horse went faster, transitioning to a gallop by the time they reached the bottom of the ramp that connected the sand to the fountain walkway above.

Once the group got to Great Bay, Tatl instructed Link on where to go. With a canter, Epona went from the area facing the Marine Research Laboratory and into Zora Cape. Link expected to see those Zora fellows with the pots by the shore, but instead he was met with something that piqued his interests.

There was an obstacle course set up. A few ramps, special markings on the trees on the cliffs that led to the waterfall, and stuffed scarecrows with makeshift targets hanging around their necks.

"What is all this?" Link asked. Tatl finally decided to explain.

"I wanted to do some training with you!" She quickly spat out. Tael gave his sister a look that convinced her to elaborate more.

"Look, don't get me wrong… It's not that I think you're losing your touch, but…" She stuttered. With Link looking at her with the most innocent expression on his face, Tael on the brink of laughter at how badly she was handling this, and Skull Kid already off Epona and playing in the sand, she lost her train of thought.

"I just don't want you to get hurt again!" Tatl finally said. Link was shocked by her explanation. "You are the most impulsive person I've ever met! I know you'll go back to Ikana eventually."

Link only smiled and hopped off Epona, taking care to not bump his leg that was still wrapped with cloth. Walking up to the start of the obstacle course, he investigated to see how he would go about training. Skull Kid walked up behind Tatl as she watched the boy in green, a seashell over his beak and his orange mask now in his hand.

"So how'd it go?" He asked the fairy plainly. Tatl only scoffed at the imp and flew to her brother to get Link set up.

After some preparation, Link stood by the start of the course. He took a deep breath, and when Tael changed his light to a green hue and make a dinging sound did he start running.

Link almost reached the end of the plank before something moved in the corner of his eye. Looking over at the dark area by the trail that led to back to the main shore of Great Bay, Link didn't see anything. It was too late to save his attempt. He reached the end of the platform before he could jump, and he landed flat on his face.

"Oooo! Wipeout!" Tael hollered as Link rose from the sand. The boy said nothing as he walked back to the start of the board to try again. The others only watched as he closed off his attention from everything else and started running again.

He drew his bow and jumped off the first plank of wood. He fired an arrow at the first scarecrow, a straight bullseye when it made contact with the circular wooden target around its neck. He repeated this for the two following scarecrows as he landed.

After the arrow section, he raced towards the fallen tree that was embedded in the sand. Running the length of its trunk, he jumped again the moment he reached the end and used his sword to slash the bags of sand, each that were placed on some wooden stands. The chipped Gilded Sword still worked like a charm, thankfully.

Then, Link got to the part that he was a little intimidated by. The hookshot course. He remembered back when he was falling down the warped Stone Tower. There were plenty of opportunities he had to take out his hookshot then and grapple onto one of the posts that had a place for the hook to go.

He leaped from the highest rock and fired the hookshot. Flying towards the tree, he yanked the hilt of the tool to gain some speed. When he was just about to meet the tree bark, he manually detached the hook and went into freefall. Link sailed past the tree before he stopped gaining height and began to descend. Determined not to fall, he aimed the hook at the next tree trunk and closed his eyes.

"Just… breathe." He told himself. Thoughts about his loved ones played out in his head. Anju, Kafei, Romani, Cremia, Tatl, Tael, and Skull Kid.

He pressed the button again, and it shot towards the tree. His downwards momentum kept him from totally getting raised towards the tree, his body going into a swinging motion. Pulling his legs back as reached the bottom of his swing, he thrusted them forwards and he sailed upwards from the chain being at the max length it could. It was as if he was swinging from vine to vine within a jungle.

The hook detached again and he went for the next tree, repeating his movements.

And Link felt like he was flying.

About to swing once more, he quickly swapped hands with the hookshot. When it started pulling him towards, he yanked on the chain as hard as he could to gain more speed, his whole body changed position and he held his left leg high on instinct. Then he started to rise again.

"Woooohooo!" Link hollered, smirk growing across his face. He was back.

Tatl watched as Link swung from tree to tree, smirking as he flew. Once the hookshot reached the final tree did he Hero of Termina start getting a little nervous. He turned his body as he rose and braced for impact. Hitting the rock just beside the waterfall, Link used all his strength to push his legs, and he propelled himself forward and away from the rock, and he was sailing back the way he came.

Starting the swinging routine once more, Link had never felt so alive. His ambitions grew each time he fired the chain.

Swinging all the way back from each tree to start of the course, Link landed with a roll-out, saving his legs the pain from a decently large impact.

Tael and Skull Kid greeted him with applause as he returned to the ground. Link humbly bowed and gave Tatl a knowing smile. The fairy knew exactly what to make her friend feel exhilarated. She picked up on what made him smile during their adventure together.

"Lets do it again!" Link said excitedly once he caught his breath. His mind raced with thoughts of what he could achieve now that he had the idea to do something like that. Tatl figured why not. And they did it again, and again, spanning until time was nearing dusk.

As soon as Link noticed the changing color of the sky did he realize that he had been training for hours now. The boy's eyes widened and his smiled faded as the sun slowly began to set. His mind went from the joy of swinging with the hookshot to something he dreaded. Without a word, he quickly retrieved his arrows from the scarecrow targets and gathered everyone to Epona.

Urging Epona into a gallop, he raced out of Zora Cape and through Great Bay until he got to Termina Field. The ride was quite bumpy, Skull Kid nearly falling from Epona as she jumped the biggest fence that separated the trail to the bay from the rest of Termina.

"Link, maybe we should- slow down!" Tael managed to say during the ride, struggling to keep up with the horse. Even Tatl agreed with her brother, but both were ignored by Epona's rider.

Entering Clock Town via the west, Epona galloped through the shopping district and all the way to Stock Pot Inn. Tatl has never seen Link this urgent to get somewhere, even when the moon was placing a deadline on their every action just over a week before.

Once Epona stopped in front of the inn, Link jumped off and gathered everything the group had. Link didn't need to tell the mare, she left for her stable as soon as her rider opened the door to the inn.

And in the inn, Link saw Anju and Kafei in the lobby. When they noticed him, Link retreated into his shell as Skull Kid took the bag they had and went upstairs.

Surprisingly, Anju was the one with the sternest look on her face.

"Where were you?" She demanded. The tone in her voice was foreign.

"Sorry…" Link mumbled. "I got caught up with training…"

The last word Link said angered Anju even more. "What do you mean, training? You're still recovering, young man!" She pointed to the bandage still on Link's left leg.

"I'm sorry…" Link's voice was barely audible. "I didn't mean to make you worry."

"What if you got hurt?!" Anju said, her temper diminishing.

"I'll make sure to tell you next time I go training- "

That was the last straw for the innkeeper. She hated that word. "Go to your room, now."

For a moment, Link looked at her bewildered. Anju immediately regretted what she said. But before she could say anything else, Link just lowered his head and went upstairs without making a sound. The couple almost expected to hear the slam of the door but were met with nothing.

A few minutes passed, and Anju worked up the courage to talk to Link. Thinking long and hard about what she would say, she went up the stairs slowly. She reached Link's door and knocked. "Link? It's Anju…"

There was no response. The door wasn't locked, so she opened it. She saw the boy in green sitting at the far end of the table, head resting on the top and looking to the left, at the fireplace. He had Romani's letter in his hands.

"Link…" Anju said nervously. She had no idea how Link would talk to her, but when she repeated his name two more times and was met with nothing, she felt worse.

"I know it's hard… to really satisfy your desires." Anju started, sitting down on Link's bed. "But you don't need to shoulder it all at once."

Link's attention turned to the woman sitting across the room. His head rose and he placed the letter back on the table, safe from the embers of the fireplace. He got up and sat on his bed, next to Anju.

"You have great ambitions, Link." Anju told him as she parted his bangs, letting her see his eyes. His crystal blue eyes sparkling like sapphire from the flickering fire.

"But you won't be able to maintain things if you chase that desire." She said, putting her arm around Link. He leaned on her said and she continued. "The world has a lot of mysteries, and I know you're eager prepare yourself to discover them to fill that sense of ambition you have… but sometimes…"

Anju couldn't quite find the words. She thought for a good minute until another voice chimed in.

"The world is not enough."

The two looked up at the source, Kafei, leaning in the open doorway of Link's room.

"The world is not enough." He repeated. "It's a saying my father had."

Kafei moved from his spot and walked towards Link, sitting opposite Anju on his bed.

"When my father would get underwhelmed by his work, he would say that." Kafei was able to recall it seamlessly, even though he only ever told it as a child.

"It feels like the world just isn't enough. You still need to find some satisfaction. Like going around town fixing every little thing you possibly can, or training to figure out the secrets of that canyon." Kafei's words resonated with Link like so many others had.

"You want to prepare yourself. That's alright. But sometimes, just some relaxation is all you need. It's what helped him." The man looked at his wife and then the boy between them. "Spending time with my mom and me is what got him out of his funk."

Link looked at the adults next to him and hugged them again. The embrace lasted several minutes, until Anju and Kafei heard a faint snore from the boy. Smiling at each other, they carefully tucked him in and put out the fireplace.