The Hyrulian Valhalla Saga
By Queenie Z
Post-Pubescent Perks
Wind laughed, a large, tanned hand stirring around the steaming contents of his coffee cup. His voice was deeper, practically unrecognizable if one had only seen him in the form he arrived in. Today, he and Engie decided that they would relive some of their later years for the time being, and they spent the day readjusting to their adult forms as well as surprising the other Heroes with their "new" look.
"So Light screamed when he saw you?" asked the Hero of Winds incredulously and crossing his legs, which bore leggings and boots that were standard issue among New Hyrule's guards back in his day. "You honestly don't look that much different!"
Engie snickered, taking his coffee (served black, as all good engineers preferred it) in a gloved hand and taking a sip. He wore a dark blue coat that contrasted well with Wind's green guardsman uniform, and the pins and medals he had received for his service to the crown in life added a little bit of color. "He sure thought I did! He asked me, 'Engie, when did you get tall?'"
Wind drank his own coffee (served with warm cream and sugar; he wasn't quite as bold as his successor) and grinned. "Haha, people were asking me that, too." He stroked his stubbled chin with his thumb. "They were also wondering how I got so tan. I don't know why they're surprised - everyone gets a little darker when they've been on the sea as much as I have."
"Yeah," replied Engie, who placed his elbows on the table. "I'm a bit jealous, actually - you really did grow up to be tall, dark, and handsome!"
"Don't be," assured Wind, "you became pretty handsome yourself! I mean, you're a Link - we've all turned heads at one point or another."
"Good point." Engie brushed back a well-trimmed sideburn. "Maybe attractiveness is just a part of the Goddesses' blueprint for Heroes. When we're kids, girls are always saying how cute we are - then you grow up, and suddenly women are boarding your train just to check you out!"
"Or running up to you squealing when you go into town."
"I heard Twilight had to deal that a lot."
"You don't know the half of it - that guy had his own fan club!"
The two Heroes of New Hyrule laughed heartily. Then, Engie spoke up again.
"I guess puberty being kind to us is one of the perks of being a Legendary Hero, don't you think?"
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
They clinked their cups together in cheers, indulging in this short moment of vanity and self-congratulation. They were Heroes, after all, and they were entitled to a little shameless egoism every now and then.