At some point they stopped.
At first Sidon didn't notice. He was too busy focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, holding Link as comfortably in his arms, and keeping a steady pace as not to jostle him too much. When the horses stopped, Sidon kept moving forward, nearly crashing into the butt of one of them.
The grey goblin gestured to him, then pointed at something else.
Frowning, Sidon quietly stepped forward to see.
It was a puddle of water.
It was only a few inches deep, maybe ten feet wide. The goblin gestured again, and once Sidon interpreted its meaning, he almost scoffed. This was what he and Link were expected to drink? Standing water? Who knew how long this had been sitting here, collecting bird feces and bug corpses and mosquito eggs. The water was clear, but that didn't mean it was safe from unseen dangers.
The grey goblin gestured again, more aggressive this time.
Sidon bit down on his lip. He couldn't deny he needed water- Link needed water. He doubt these creatures were going to allow Sidon the use of their water pouches any time soon. He walked forward, passing the goblins and half expected one of them to smack him for no reason. He went unmolested.
Carefully Sidon kneeled down, arranging Link the best he could despite Sidon's arms still bound together by the wrists. With Link leaning against him, Sidon cupped a small portion of water and tentatively took a sip.
As a Zora, Sidon was naturally gifted with the ability to guage how clean water was. As part of the royal line, his gills could filter out the majority of impurities better than most Zoras. However, this didn't give him an automatic immunity against diseases like cholera. If he was wrong with his assessment, he could easily kill himself and Link with a single sip.
But if he and Link didn't get water in them soon, they'll be dead in an hour, easily. Dehydration was a faster killer.
The water tasted fine. There was a hint of mud, the bitter taste of grass, but Sidon didn't detect any animal fur. The lack of fur meant no animal had come by recently and relieved themseves here.
It took everything Sidon had not to throw himself into the pathetic puddle of water and roll around in it like a dog. His skin was tight and dry, already splitting around his elbows and knees. No, Link needed this first. Carefully, Sidon manuvered Link to lay against his knee, and then slowly poured a small handful of water into mouth.
The first dribble of water had Link coughing, then slowly, he started gulping it down gratefully. Sidon kept at it, giving Link as much as he wanted to drink, then washing down his face. What Link really needed right now was a bath. Something to wash away all this grime, blood and sweat. A cool refreshing bath would do wonders for his health.
Sidon gently tugged down the front of Link's tunic to pour cool water on his chest. He paused.
There were scars on him. Dozens of them. Some were slash marks, others were burns, and some were clearly made by teeth. Sidon knew Link was Hyrule's champion and of course his body would bear his many battles, but...
Suddenly Sidon felt immensely ashamed of himself. Besides the little criss-cross scar on top of his head he got when he fell from a high cliff, Sidon bore no other wounds. How priviledged he was, with his soft skin and perfect hands showing no signs of a single hard day of work. Because of his arrogance in thinking he didn't need a chaperone, Sidon was captured, used as bait, and now Link was suffering greatly because of him.
Moronic, foolish, idiot, shrimp for brains...
Sidon rubbed water over Link's neck, his collar bone, his chest, then lifted up his tunic to cool his belly. From behind, the goblins jeered and hooted cruelly.
Bastards, Sidon thought bitterly as heat rose in his cheeks. As if he would take advantage of Link in this state. How date they sexualize this simple moment of gentle comfort. They couldn't even give Sidon this. Sidon did his best to ignore the continued rude noises they made behind him.
By the time Sidon allowed himself to drink, he was trembling. He didn't know until now how horrifically thirsty he was. Once he got his fill, Sidon washed the top of his head, hissing as the water seeped into the whip marks.
Behind him, the goblin jabbed Sidon hard in the shoulder with his javelin stick. It gestured for him to get up and start moving again.