Author's Notes:

While I stick very closely to the HTTYD movie/TV show lore, I take liberties with the LoZ elements. Please read with an open mind, as if this were a new game.

New chapters on Wednesdays. The whole thing, 30 chapters plus Prologue, is written and will be posted!

Hiccup opened his eyes. Whiteness surrounded him. He sat up and looked around. No castle, no people, not even a horizon. He felt along his body. The pain, which a moment before had been beyond comprehension, was completely gone. Only a scorch mark covering his torso was left from the fireball. He brushed at the blackened Sheikah Eye. The scorch remained, but his fingers were clean. He got to his feet; the makeshift pegleg fit better than it ever had.

"Huh?" he mused as an unsettling thought took hold. He couldn't actually be … dead. Could he?

After all the stories of warriors achieving eternal rest and glory, he'd assumed Valhalla would be more … populated. Or at least more celebratory. But the air carried a strength in its serenity.

One thought kindled joy: Mom should be here somewhere.

Looking around the white void, something finally caught his eye. A figure, tall and slender, stood in the distance. It couldn't be! Mom?! His heart leapt, and he ran towards her, his feet pushing against an unseen ground.

He stopped about twenty feet away, nervous to approach closer. Something about her radiated authority. Pale hair cascaded from an elaborate headdress down her back, and her emerald gown sparkled like sunlight reflected off the sea. He couldn't remember what his mother looked like; he'd been too young. It was possible, he supposed, that people could look different in the afterlife. They certainly didn't have fabric like that on Berk. Still, it seemed strange to ask, "Are you my mother?" right away. Better start with the easier question.

Hiccup twisted his hands into knots. "Um," he gulped, "is this Valhalla?"

The lady cocked her head to the side, and Hiccup held his breath. After living almost his entire life without her, he hadn't realized how desperately he wanted to meet her. What would he ask her first? He knew they'd be reunited, but he hadn't realized that day would come so soon! He wasn't prepared!

Slowly, she turned around. Her face, while strong and beautiful as he'd always imagined his mother's to be, was completely unfamiliar, and he knew in his heart he was looking at a stranger.

"No," she said with a smile.

"O— oh," Hiccup stuttered. His heart sank further at seeing her pointed ears.

"You are disappointed?"

"Well, I thought if I … you know … since it looks like I'm …" He looked down at the scorched Sheikah armor. "I just thought …" He shrugged. Was there no way home, even in death?

The lady spoke with the warmth of the sun in her voice. "Loki said you had a way with words."

"What?" Hiccup's eyes flicked up. "How do you know about—"

He stumbled backwards as she grew taller than a house, taller than a mountain. Two more women of equal size and grandeur appeared beside her. The one on the left was draped in a scarlet dress while the one on the right was wrapped in a gown of sapphire. With their arms outstretched and sleeves hanging far below his feet, Hiccup caught his breath, remembering where he'd seen this twice before: in the stained-glass window and the Hall of Heroes. He nearly toppled forward but braced himself against his knees, heaving heavy breaths. They're real! This is all real!

The golden goddesses put their hands over their hearts and bowed. The air reverberated as they spoke in unison, and their voices were like the sound of a mighty river.

"Thank you for saving our Hyrule."

"Umm, you're welcome," he stammered. Glancing about, he added, "Shouldn't there be another one? The one who protects Hyrule?"

The one in green smiled. "Lady Hylia. Indeed, she is at work aiding her champion until his task is complete."

"So, it's true? He wasn't supposed to have the Triforce at all?"

The three nodded.

Anger rose in Hiccup's chest. Link was as much a Hero as any of those immortalized boys.

"Why?" he blurted. Immediately, his cheeks burned, and he regretted questioning the will of deity.

The one on the left—clad in a captivating wine-red gown—spoke, "For every command, there is a reason."

The Viking nodded and averted his gaze, squirming in the silence that followed.

"What troubles you?"

Hiccup glanced up. The goddess in blue had tilted her head to the side. The compassion in her eyes gave him the courage to speak honestly.

"Do … do you think you could, you know … send me back to my world?"

They looked at each other, and the one in scarlet spoke again. "We can only control our own domain."

Looking down, the first goddess pulled the train of her emerald gown aside. "And I think someone is already taking care of that."

Hiccup followed her gaze and was suddenly struck with vertigo. Far below, impossibly far, below them, a dot of light flitted back and forth, slowly but steadily making its way upward.

The one in blue smiled sadly. "Our time is short."

Hiccup's heart thumped wildly, both at the joy of returning and at the anxiety of leaving the goddesses with so many questions. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Something you wish to say?" said the one in green.

"I guess …" He wrenched his eyes from below, met her gaze, and asked the question which had haunted him since the Sage. "Why me?"

They looked at each other, then back at Hiccup. "Why what?"

"Why was I called?"

"You were called because you listened."

Hiccup looked confused.

All three smiled together, and then each spoke in turn.

"Zelda's prayer could only be heard by one with a pure heart, one who was willing to answer without reservation or recognition."

"She asked for someone who could bear the weight of the Triforce without bowing to it."

"It is time for you to stop living as who you were and embrace who you've become."

Hiccup knit his brows. "Who I've become? I don't underst—"

The space around them flashed with color. Hiccup shielded his eyes and thought himself in the center of a thundercloud as sight and sound whirled about. Voices near and far tumbled in the wind like tiny fishing boats in a storm. Out of the dissonance, he heard his own small voice crystalize.

"I … I thought I was different."

He blinked. Then blinked again. Above in the tumbling clouds he saw himself and Astrid sitting on the edge of the boar pit as they had done just a few days ago. There he was, hugging his aching ribs, and Toothless curling his tail around him. In a moment, the clouds swept the image away.

A metallic screech shrieked behind him. Hiccup ducked instinctively as a tattered black wing whizzed overhead. It sailed through the memory clouds toward an image of Link who was clinging to his cucco and trying to stave off the three other shadow beasts. Just as one of them was about to grab Link in its talons, Hiccup zoomed between them on his cucco, freewheeling among the assailants with incredible agility. From this perspective, it was obvious how easily Hiccup maneuvered compared to Link.

As Hiccup spun on his cucco, the image shifted to Hiccup spinning on Toothless over a crystal-clear sea.

The image shifted again to a younger Hiccup, one who was still stumbling over his new prosthetic limb. The bean pole of a fifteen-year-old walked home bow-legged after riding Toothless for hours. Every muscle in his body ached from the effort, and yet in spite of his aversion to pain and physical activity in general, he flopped on the green grass with the widest smile on his face. The Night Fury rolled next to him in complete ecstasy. Hiccup had almost forgotten those months of soreness as he and Toothless learned to fly together. It hadn't felt like work. Every day they pushed each other, delighted at what they were able to accomplish, and over the past three years, flying had become second nature.

The swirl of the storm still raged, and yet the goddesses' voices cut through as though they were speaking directly into his ear. "Some pursue greatness and goodness follows. Others pursue goodness and greatness follows."

The image shifted again, and Hiccup caught his breath. Even the storm seemed to still. He felt his pulse quicken and his eyes water at seeing this again as if he were reliving it. This memory, this moment, had changed his life forever.

It was the cove where Toothless had crashed after Hiccup shot him down. In the tender blush of the setting sun, the boy and the dragon stood face to face, terrified of each other, terrified of what was happening. In the memory, Hiccup reached out his hand and turned his head away, giving complete trust to this creature that everyone said would kill without hesitation. But he had seen something else in its eyes, something no one had gotten close enough to see before, and experienced the impossible—a dragon's mercy.

Hiccup waited, hand outstretched, eyes averted, heart pounding. This was the moment of truth: could there be peace where everyone said there couldn't be?

Hesitantly, the dragon touched his head to the boy's hand.

Staring into the memory wavering in the clouds, Hiccup blinked, and a tear rolled down his cheek.

"See how far you've come," the goddesses said.

Faster and faster the images, the memories, flew by. The cove disappeared and was replaced by Gobber's blacksmith shop. Little Hiccup threw his whole body against the bellows, took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow, and then kept fanning the flames.

Flash! Hiccup hauled a hammer that was clearly too heavy for him over his shoulder to make Toothless's tailpiece. After a poorly aimed swing, the hammer slipped out of his hand. With a yelp, the poor boy grabbed the injured foot as he hopped on the other.

Flash! Hiccup crossed his arms and smiled like a proud parent as Toothless leapt about, ecstatic over his new tail and the hope of flight.

Flash! Up in the air on Toothless's back, Hiccup spread his arms wide, letting the wind rush past while Toothless's tongue flapped in the air. The Night Fury's ears perked up and, at Hiccup's nod, spun in a slow, lazy loop. As they went upside down, Hiccup's legs slipped from the stirrups, and his overjoyed smile evaporated. Instantly, they plummeted toward the sea. Toothless flailed through the air, his maimed tail turning him in corkscrews. Adrenaline replaced exhaustion. Just before hitting the water, Hiccup reached out and grabbed Toothless's harness, snapped his feet into the stirrups, and pulled them out of danger.

Flash! Hiccup and Toothless threaded through a canyon with the Whispering Death hot on their tail. They bounced off a wall and spun, completing the inversion with ease before darting into the sky.

Flash! Hiccup was again at work improving Toothless's set up. He easily gave the bellows a few pumps and grabbed the heavy hammer, wielding it with a steady arm.

Flash! At Tanelope Shrine, Hiccup sliced through the tree trunk as Zelda cheered.

Flash! Hiccup raised the Master Sword to block Ganon's blade.

The moment the blades impacted, the memories vanished.

Hiccup pointed at the clouds and stammered. "But— but that wasn't me. That last one, that— that was the Triforce."

"Was it?" the emerald goddess asked with a smile.

"I … I couldn't. I mean, I can't."

The scarlet goddess's expression hardened. "Be careful of your words, for they are powerful."

Hiccup's head whipped up. "You sound like Princess Zelda."

The goddess in blue smiled. "Actually, it's the other way around."

"How did you hold back Ganon's blade?" the emerald goddess continued.

"I don't know," said Hiccup, gazing at his metal foot. "I just … I wanted to protect Link."

The goddesses spoke again, first the blue, then the red. "One cannot know their own strength until it is tested."

"But even then, only they can summon its full potential."

Hiccup lifted his head.

"You have helped others fulfill their destinies," the emerald goddess said, "and now it's time to prepare for your own."

No sooner had the goddesses finished speaking than the Sheikah symbol floated off his armor like a ghost. He jumped back with a scream, then stared, captivated, as it morphed—the stylized lashes disappeared, the tear straightened into a vertical line, the top lid sank midway into the lower. Hiccup's eyes widened as he recognized the symbol: the Viking mark of the Chief.

"Do not worry," the one in blue said. "That fate is not upon you yet."

The goddess in green spoke again. "You have many challenges ahead of you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, and you will need your full strength to overcome them. To protect others as well as yourself."

The Viking barely had time to register hearing his full name, something he hadn't told anyone in Hyrule, when the tiny ball of light broke through the swirling clouds and circled his legs, his arms, his whole body. A tingling sensation sparked through every muscle.

Still, the Chief Mark floated before him, an ominous harbinger. The golden goddesses knew his name, his past. Could they see his future, too?

Hiccup shouted against the storm. "But— But what if I fail?!"

The one in blue smiled. "You will fail, at times, but you need not let it define you. And what a tragedy it would be if you never tried."

The storm surged around him. He felt himself floating, rising, losing a sense of himself as the tiny ball of light flew so fast as to obliterate all other sight.

The last thing Hiccup heard was the unison voices. "Go with the strength you have."

Then all was dark once again.

\\\

Link gripped Zelda's hand—tight, but mindful not to hurt her again. Side-by-side, they knelt next to Hiccup's broken body. The fairy zipped around him, sealing cuts and mending bruises. Still, Link couldn't release his breath until Hiccup had taken his own and opened his eyes. Zelda whispered "thank you" to the fairy as it disappeared.

They waited as Hiccup's eyes wandered. Link had been revived by a fairy once and remembered how disoriented he'd felt.

After several moments, Hiccup finally focused, looking from Zelda to Link. "Did you get him?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

Link nodded, and Zelda squeezed Hiccup's hand. The Viking smiled and sighed, letting his head rest back against the ground.

Impa, standing arms crossed on Hiccup's other side, spoke. "Link, you had the fairy."

Hiccup's eyes popped wide open, and he sat up with a wobble. "That's right. How did you—" He stopped as his eyes fell on the empty fairy bottle tied around his metal foot. "You," Hiccup gasped, unable to keep his smile back, "you saved me."

In that moment on the pillar, with his weapon unreachable, his strength sapped, and the Triforce torn away, Link had one desperate thought before his imminent death: I still have a fairy. Perhaps that was why he'd found one; after dying here, the fairy would revive him, and he'd have one more chance. He didn't know how he'd get the Master Sword, but Hiccup's timely appearance solved that problem. Maybe he wouldn't have to die first. Maybe … possibly … he would even survive. Impa could throw away the notes he'd left in her care. Everything was working out better than he had hoped.

But then, Link heard Zelda's voice in his head clearer than ever, and his heart froze. It's for him. He couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. Ganon had again proved himself to be more than a match for Link. He had already almost killed him once and could have done so with ease! If the Desert King did kill him, how could the goddesses' word come to pass?

As Hiccup held back Ganon's fury, Link was drawn to the Triforce of Power glowing brilliantly on the Viking's hand, and a familiar thought struck him: I can't do this. This time, it wasn't despair behind it; it was the same truth in a new light. It's what Zelda, what the goddesses, had been trying to teach him. It wasn't up to him anymore; it never was. They didn't need someone who was capable—the Triforce glowing on his hand proved Hiccup wasn't holding back Ganon all on his own—; they only needed someone who was willing. Someone like Hiccup. Someone … like me. Zelda's remembered voice implored, Trust them. Like you did when you were a child. Link clumsily tied the bottle to Hiccup's metal foot, and afterwards, he'd felt freer than he had in years, like when he was training as the Hero and knew that it would all work out. Link from three years ago, from a day ago, would never have taken that risk, even coming from Zelda. But thankfully, for all their sakes, he had finally learned.

And it was all because of this out-of-place Viking.

Link put his hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "You saved all of us."

Hiccup smiled sheepishly until a crinkled leaf caught his eye. "All of us?" He jumped to his feet—his strength restored by the magic of the fairy—and dashed away.

Dread like a winter's shadow fell over Link, and he knew in an instant who Hiccup was rushing to. No, no, no! How could he have missed her?!

He ran as best he could, despite his injuries warning him to slow. Hiccup skidded to a stop in front of a petite body. The pool of red contrasted with the vibrant green of her hair. Link barely noticed the koroks gathered around her like freshly fallen snow, their voices the mummering of an eventide breeze.

He dropped to her side. Her eyes were closed, her face pale. He needed to speak before his throat closed completely.

"Saria?" Gingerly, he reached out and touched her hand. It was cold as ice and paralyzed him as if he had fallen into a frozen lake. His eyes and nose burned, reacting to the truth that his mind had not yet accepted. Maybe she wasn't gone completely …

He squeezed her hand, pushing through that ghastly cold, and threaded his other arm under her head, holding her broken body against his. But there was no breath in her.

Tears sprang to his eyes. An undeniable ache stuck in his heart like a tent peg, lodging deeper with every shuddering breath: she had dreams. To restore the Lost Woods, to sail the high seas, to taste every kind of wild berry. How many other dreams—large and small, significant and frivolous—would never be fulfilled now? For every vocalized hope and desire there were a dozen more that would forever remain a mystery. All unfulfilled.

Hot tears splashed on the girl's pale face. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," he repeated as he rocked her back and forth.

Navi, Epona, the Great Deku Tree, Forbes, and now Saria. He choked on the lump in his throat; choked again. He couldn't breathe!

A pair of gentle arms and the scent of lilac wrapped around him. Zelda's trembling body squeezed his, her soft breath hitched and ragged just behind his ear. Link clutched Zelda's hand, and the two orphans clung to each other, their sobs echoing in the empty castle.

As Link's breathing calmed, he felt a tapping on his knee. He lifted his tear-stained face to see Makar. The koroks! Hundreds of glittering eyes looked to him for guidance. Makar was too busy sniffling to notice Link quickly wiping away his own tears.

"She wanted to give you this." The little korok held up a smooth, brown nugget. Link took the small object, rolling it over in his fingers. Makar explained, "When the fire destroyed the Lost Woods, it enabled the Great Deku Tree to drop its seeds."

Link's eyes flared with life. "The Woods will live again?"

"As it always does."

Link heaved a sigh. He looked down and brushed a few strands of green hair aside. Frozen forever on her young, beautiful face was a faint smile. She knew, she died knowing that at least one of her dreams would be fulfilled. Still, he could barely get the words out. "Be at peace, Child of the Forest."

He shivered. There was only one thing left to do.

Link looked around at the broken stonework, the charred walls and fallen ceiling beams. This was no place to put her to rest.

As if reading his thoughts, Makar spoke up. "Don't worry. We will take her home."

Like the swell of an ocean wave, the rest of the koroks rallied around her, but even with all their might, they could barely lift her.

Link discretely wiped away a few more tears before noticing a silver wand lying nearby. He tapped Makar and offered him the flourished handle of the Wind Waker. The little koroks eyes went wide.

"She would want you to have it," Link said. "I know you've been practicing."

The Hero tried to smile but felt hot tears on the verge of escape. He turned away and hid behind his hand. The tears were already surging up; he couldn't hold them back. Not now. You have to be strong. For them.

Feeling a pressure around his elbow, he looked down to see Makar hugging his arm.

The korok's eyes sparkled with tears. "It's okay to cry, Link."

The Hero's breath hitched, and the smile that spread across his face was like sunlight on a rainy day. In the full view of all his little koroks, he let the tears run freely down his cheeks. Their babble was like the gentle falling of rain as they enveloped him. The air in the korok cocoon warmed, and Link couldn't help but be reminded of their reunion just days before in the Lost Woods. He remembered her words to him: You don't have to do it alone. She would be so proud of her koroks helping their Hero now.

Makar squeezed Link again then reverently grasped the relic. Fluttering up and landing on Saria's chest, he took a deep breath and raised the Wind Waker.

Flick. A sparkle raced off the tip of the wand and disappeared in a gentle breeze. The koroks each gave Link a squeeze and then rallied around Saria. Makar moved the Wind Waker in wide, sweeping motions, summoning a gentle bed of air under the kokiri. Bearing their leader, protector, and friend, the koroks floated out of the castle into the unblemished sky.

Link watched them as long as he could, clutching Zelda's hand still entwined in his.

"She never doubted you," Zelda said.

Link wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "She said after this was all over, we'd fix it together." He rolled the tiny seed in his fingers a few more times before stowing it in one of his pouches. "That's what I plan to do."

\\\

Hiccup stood a few paces back from the Hero and Princess. His hands, stained with Saria's blood, shook.

I did this.

He stumbled backwards. His stomach coiled and bunched like an angry eel.

Before he knew it, he found his feet and mind wandering to the fountain. At the now-full basin, he dropped to his knees. The marble representations of the goddesses towered above him—beautiful and terrible, and carrying only a glimpse of the real experience—but his thoughts chained his gaze to the floor and pestered him with the persistence of a hungry pet. Why did they send me back and not her? This is her world, her victory. She should get to live in it. It's not the goddesses' fault, you idiot; it's yours. It was a terrible plan. You should never have asked her to come. She was terrified and out of her depth. It was too dangerous. You always mess everything—

Child.

Hiccup trembled, instantly recognizing the trio of feminine voices, and looked up. The surface of the water rippled as if a tear had fallen in the center of the pool, but instead of the water rolling away, the waves rolled inward, pulling at Hiccup, urging him to dip his hands in.

He recoiled. After meeting goddesses, the water seemed sacred. I'll get it dirty.

This time, instead of the trio, a single voice, gentle as a hidden mountain spring, responded. It seemed familiar, though he couldn't place where he'd heard it before. Let me worry about that, she whispered.

Hesitantly, he touched his fingers to the surface, then slipped them under. As his palms submerged, the blood dissipated without a trace.

It was her choice, the goddess said. Do not take away the nobility of her sacrifice.

Hiccup closed his eyes, sighed, and nodded.

Shaking the water off his hands, he stood up and turned to find Impa standing a little way off. The cards were scattered like confetti about her feet, and she held one of the Yiga masks. A deep gash cut through the center, but she held it upside down so that the Sheikah Eye was right side up. A tear splashed against the broken mask, washing a streak of dirt away like a stream in a desert.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup said. Impa looked up. "I thought I could get through to him."

She closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders back. "You did."

Hiccup twitched. "What? I … I don't understand. You were right; I tried to talk to him, but he seemed bent on—"

She turned to him, and his babbling abruptly stopped. "When you blocked Ganon's blade you showed Kogah … both of us, the truth." She looked to the Princess. "We were never abandoned."

The princess came over and took her hand. "And it takes a great deal of courage to hold onto that." Dropping her eyes, for a moment, the princess said, "I could use a lesson in courage." For the first time, Hiccup saw Impa, the last Sheikah, smile. She nodded respectfully.

"So," Hiccup asked, looking around, "where is he?"

Impa gazed across the ruins of the Castle. Through the broken windows, Hyrule Field stretched before them—already they looked a little greener—and beyond it rose the mountains. Her eyes had the same intensity as always, but the rage was replaced with concern.

"I don't know," she said, hooking the mask to her belt. "But I'm going to find out." She held her hand up in the Hylian style. "Thank you," she said.

Hiccup grasped her hand and smiled, until his eyes fell on the bracer and the three craters where the gems had been.

He sighed. So that was it. He was stuck here.

"Hiccup."

The Viking raised his eyes. Zelda was pointing over his shoulder, a curious expression on her face. He turned, staring up at the fountain. Above the golden goddesses, the stone symbol of the Triforce had begun glowing. The Viking, the Shiekah, the Princess, and the Hero wandered towards it.

The golden Triforce lifted off the relief, grew, and landed in the waters of the fountain. The shimmering outline remained, but the center faded to black.

Hiccup leaned forward as he recognized a familiar sound. Waves. Giant, gentle waves washing over a pebbled beach. A breath of salty air exhaled from the darkness. His heart leapt.

"This is it!" he shouted. Turning, he froze, looking from one face to the next. "This is it." Suddenly, it felt strange to be saying goodbye.

Zelda, cradling her wrist, walked up to him, took his left hand, and placed it on his chest. "Wisdom, Courage, and Power. Don't forget, you have all three in you, always."

"Thank you, Princess," Hiccup said. "I'm really glad you came back. And … I'm glad you called me."

"I'm glad you listened." Zelda winked and stepped back.

Impa clasped her hand over her chest and bowed. Hiccup awkwardly did the same. He noticed the faintest chuckle from her as he came up. Three days in Hyrule and apparently still a green thumb. She looked him up and down, considering a few moments before speaking. "Keep the armor. You've earned it."

Hiccup blinked twice. "Wow, thanks." The warrior nodded and stepped back, leaving the two boys face to face. Link's eyes were still red and swollen, and a fresh tear streaked down his cheek. But he held himself upright as he raised his forearm.

Hiccup grasped his hand and pulled him into a tight hug. His mind flipped through all the adventures they had had the past three days—the triumphs as well as the tribulations—and now that it was all coming to an end, Hiccup wasn't sure if he was ready to leave this friend behind.

"I couldn't have done this without you," Link said.

"That makes two of us."

Link pulled back, and there it was, the same tired smile that had greeted Hiccup on his first day, but this time touched with contentment. Link nodded. There was nothing else to be said.

Hiccup turned toward the glowing Triforce gate. The golden glow warmed the shadowy hall. The waters of the fountain flowed seamlessly into that dark space beyond.

Hiccup hesitated, looking at the back of his hand where the Triforce had been. All trace of it had disappeared. He was just Hiccup Haddock again, on the edge of stepping back into his old life with all its old problems. He cringed. A hand wearing fingerless gloves clapped him on the shoulder. Link was at his side, beaming.

Zelda came to Hiccup's other side. "Remember, the words you speak over yourself are stronger than any magic."

Hiccup tried to internalize those words, to believe it for himself. He looked one more time on the faces he'd come to trust. Then taking a deep breath, he waded into the waters.

He passed the glowing gateway and continued into the darkness. Steps became harder as if he were knee-deep, now waist-deep, in the surf. The sound of waves grew louder, and he shivered in the salty air. He struggled to keep his feet as if he was being pushed by mighty waters. Finally, he lost his footing completely as a wave crashed over him.

Author's Notes:

Only one chapter left! I hope you come back next week; there's still more action, humor, and heart to come!

Also, since we're almost at the end, are there any tags you think I should add? I'm new to FFN and tagging is something I'm still learning about.

Thanks to Ari Lewis and Luke for beta reading!