Interlude, Dulled Eyes

Almost four days earlier….

Far off in the east was a village, more peaceful and quaint than most of the other ones across Hyrule, since it was one of the only villages to remain practically untouched since the Great Calamity. Nowadays, everyone who had settled there had chosen peaceful lives with humble goals and little more than basic expectations to live up to. Legends that once told the tale of the two heroes who protected the village were now reduced to mention in passing, as everyone had moved on from the event. Although, even if everyone had moved on, one soul still was connected to the Great Calamity, far closer than anyone else.

He would tell his own legendary tale, someday, whether he knew it or not.

In the town of Hateno, along the winding road, there was a humble abode where a young man continued to sleep. Despite his age of 18, he had a strikingly youthful appearance that seemed to defy time, without a fleck of hair on his chin. His jet-black hair was slightly overgrown and tousled, with a single white streak accentuating the tips of it. While strangers had found this unique feature peculiar, those who knew him thought it added to his overall charm. Additionally, he had four small yet noticeable tattoos adorning the skin beneath his eyes and on the backs of his hands. These striking markings stood out against his slightly sun-kissed complexion, making him all the more intriguing to those who crossed his path. The tattoos read, 'Sele, Kyon, Reyse, Nathaniel,' acting as permanent reminders to him. Reminders of home.

Around this time of day, the adult, or the ultra-paranoid, people of the village were up and about, preparing themselves for the day ahead. Even the sun was up, although it was still quite low in the sky, burning the horizon. Rays of light shone on his two sleepy cats through the window, who simply rotated themselves away from the sun to stay sleeping. The young man barely opened his eyes which were yellow and tinted with brown, lacking any kind of glint or sheen. "What time is it?" he quietly grumbled, seeing a shadow start to move.

The shadow promptly slapped him in the face.

"Took you long enough!" a girl shouted from his bedside, zapping him awake. "Oh my HYLIA, I've waited an HOUR!" The young man sat up, his eyes widened and staring dead at her with a hint of surprise, albeit, not much. His cousin was the only other one with the guts, and keys, to get into his house this early. "C'mon, get your ass up!" She hastily stood and walked backward toward the nearby railing, glaring at him with some semblance of hate in her eyes. Oh, Ria; so direct, so impatient.

Since she came from the young man's mother's side of the family, she had white hair — a full head of it, which was a rarity to even them — swept over her eye. She used to have long hair that she would flick into people's faces, but, after being thrown around by a moblin who had grabbed said hair, she opted for a more practical and shorter cut. Ria's white hair and pale skin made her striking blue eyes stand out, which always contrasted against what she wore, mainly because of her preference for brown ponchos and beige tunics.

"What time is it?" he asked again, quickly sitting up and throwing his blanket to the opposite end of his bed. His current clothes, a sleeveless white shirt with white shorts, were covered with countless little strands of gray and ginger fur. That was commonplace for him, though.

Ria checked her watch which was fused with her single, fingerless glove that was adorned with bits of blue nightshade. For some reason, she never bothered to get a second one to complete the pair, which was just a pet peeve to him. "Six in the morning; now, get some clothes on!"

"Fine, fine." He stood up and put his blanket back on his bed, ensuring every wrinkle was smoothened out before he turned to his closet. But, before he started walking to his closet, he realized something odd about what she had said. On normal days, even she didn't get up this early, let alone at five in the morning. "Hey, wait a minute!" Thankfully, he barely caught her with his words before she could vault over the second-floor railing, and she turned back to face him with feigned surprise. "Six? We usually get up in two hours, don't we?" Unsurprisingly, his words spawned a cheeky smirk on her face. "What's the big deal this—"

"Purah's got something important for us. You know how much I love to do things for her, right?" she explained, sitting on the railing and kicking her legs. Funny enough, she sat on a part of it that had been repaired with metal, standing out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the wooden rail. Needless to say, they both learned a lesson on the day that the railing broke. It physically hurt just thinking about it — for both parties.

"And I have to be up because?" the young man asked, taking a moment to pet his cats. Buttons, a fluffy male cat with ginger fur, stood up and stretched before jogging downstairs. Meanwhile, Kookie, a big ball of fat coated in black and white fur, crawled over to the railing to stick her tiny head through it. Now with his priorities taken care of, he approached and opened his closet. He walked inside and lit a little lantern, faintly lighting up the four outfits within the closet. Sometimes, he felt bad for mostly ignoring three of them.

Seeing that the young man was inside his closet, Ria backflipped off of the railing, landing flawlessly right in front of a kettle and cup on a set of cabinets. "Purah said you'd like it," she said, humming a triumphant tune as she started brewing some tea. "I figured it's worth a shot to get you up and out of bed." Before he actually replied, he whistled once, signaling to her to look in any direction except toward the second floor. While he did get privacy within his closet, it was just in case he had to leave it, for any reason, while changing. Meanwhile, she shrugged and blew on her cup of tea, murmuring, "Alright, Mr. 30 minutes."

Within his closet, he examined his other outfits… for the sake of it, really. Three of them were renditions of the standard traveling attire often owned by travelers — obviously. The first set was pretty basic with just a few extra accessories and colors. The second set was covered in patches of fur and lined with Rito feathers. It also came with a thick cloak made of wolf fur, perfect for really cold weather. The last set was designed to be as minimal as possible, so he could handle hotter weather without being butt-naked. Both of the modified sets were made by his father and grandfather, but the outfit he was admiring the most was even better, as it was owned and worn by his old man.

The antique, battle-scarred, dignified, and stylish… Royal Guard's set… missing the beret and badge. What was left of the set consisted of three separate layers, each unique from one another. The first and foremost included a short blue cape and vest, both adorned with Hyrule's emblem and lined with yellow wool. He liked the cape's collar, which was already popped and didn't require any extra adjustments. Still, he popped it for fun and flare. To cover up the rhombic patterns on the cape's shoulders, they were painted over with the same blue as the cape. As if anyone would have noticed them, anyway.

Below that layer was a short-sleeved shirt with puffy cuffs, merged with a… skirt, all colored a light red with darker stripes running up it. That was the layer he disliked the most, mainly for the skirt… or… initially, anyway. He'd come around to it after a few months of wearing it. It added a little pizazz to the outfit, or so his beloved little sister would say with her bouncy vocabulary. Besides, thinking of it like that meant that he could fulfill his promise not to change much of it until he was… 'ready,' as his old man once said. He never really knew what 'ready' meant in that case, though.

The least noticeable layer was also the simplest: a skin-tight, black silk suit that covered everything but his head, hands, and feet. It was opened by two click buttons on the back, which were once silver and now golden like the buckles on his boots. He'd actually re-dyed the boots entirely, from white to brown, to avoid having them stained with anything but purple blood. Or blue. Or green. Hell, maybe even orange if he was feeling brazen and entered the Lanayru Promenade. Usually, he got his ass handed to him, but sometimes he won.

Once he had put on the full set, something that already brought a smile to his face, he posed to himself in the dimness of his closet. As he did, he accidentally punched the wall — hard. Outside of it, Ria glanced at the closet, paused, and then just continued cooling her tea like nothing happened. She had a bad habit of overheating it, so spending 10 minutes blowing on it was the norm for her. The young man then left his closet, approaching a cabinet close to his bedside while shaking his hand. "So, how did Purah tell you about this important thing, anyway?" he asked, picking up a pair of damaged, but miraculously clean, glasses and putting them on.

Ria turned and pulled out one of the four chairs at Enn's table, holding a cup of steaming chamomile tea. When she sat, she extended her pinky and crossed her legs all fancy-like. "She sent her pet — er, assistant — to go fetch us. He's talking with Dara and Zu right now about… oh, I dunno, that time they nearly killed you, or something like that. Y'know, fun times." Before she took a sip of her tea, she flicked her hair out of her eye to avoid having it dunked into her tea on accident, like last time. Or the time before that. Or the time before that.

The young man grabbed a small box from the cabinet and opened it, picking up a pair of long white gloves with bits of magnetic metal on the knuckles and wrist. "Which time?" he joked, hearing a chuckle from Ria while getting the other glove on. He reached inside the box again and grabbed his two, most prized possessions that he made mostly by himself. It was a glorious pair of two steel gloves that he used to beat his foes down when he wanted to save other weapons. The right glove was marked with an indent of the Triforce, to mark his dominant hand, and the other was marked with a shield to mark his… shield… hand. He grabbed one and slipped his hand inside before pushing the top down, temporarily sealing them together. After doing the same for the other glove, he was ready for yet another day of mediocre favors. Maybe.

Ria chugged the rest of her chamomile tea when he got downstairs and set the cup down on the table, right next to a cup coaster rather than in it. She stood up, flicking her hair back over her eye and resting her hand on her hip; in other words, taking on her usual, modelesque pose. The young man passed her, resting his hand against the door but not opening it yet. "Ria?" he suddenly asked.

"Yeah?"

"Did you really wait an hour for me?"

"…No."

He sighed and shoved open the door, stepping backward for her to go ahead. "I hate you," he sarcastically said, jerking his head toward the outside while he began putting on his boots.

"Right back at ya," she replied, cheekily grinning at him as she walked out of the door, not turning around. "I'll see you in a— oof!" Due to her ignorance of the road, she was nearly trampled by a horse and its rider, falling on her butt. The young man saw it and burst out laughing, literally slapping his knee and bending over. "Oh, fuck, sorry!" she yelled, standing and running across the road. The rider shrugged and moved along.

"Hey, don't swear at 16!" he yelled back at her, strapping on his other boot and quickly starting to follow her. To his delight, the sky was very clear and still with the fiery orange sunrise lining the horizon. He envisioned himself standing atop a tall, grassy cliff and staring out at the lovely sky, perhaps on the Great Plateau or somewhere else. Every day, he praised Hylia for making this summer super sunny and bright, unlike the one last year that mostly had clouds and rain for some reason. Clouds were just so… boring.

Finally, though, he had made it to his squad, seeing them talking to Symin. Dara, the eldest man of their group, was the first person the young man spotted. Dara had a defined jawline and smooth, neatly parted brown hair with a long braid at the back. Interestingly, he also had red hair clips and beads in his hair, which was just his unique style. He wore a pointlessly reflective chain around his neck that was created using… some kind of method nobody really knew about. At this point, even he forgot how or why it was like that. Below some white metal plates of armor, he had a black vest with a white undershirt. His pants were gray and his boots were white, which would make for a mess when running around in the dirt, but he was known to have no qualms about soiling them.

Dara turned around, dropping his hands from his hips as he cheerfully approached the young man. "Hey, there's my" —he wrapped his arm around the young man's neck, ruining his hair more than it already was— "favorite 14th letter of the alphabet!" he shouted, his voice deep with a falling inflection. "Been waiting for fifteen minutes… kinda. Haven't been keeping track, frankly."

"Gee, that's new," the young man replied, punching Dara in the arm once he let go. "I mean, this is coming from the guy who measures time with the sun and flowers."

Dara chuckled and rolled his eyes, gesturing for the young man to follow. "So, Purah's got something for you to see. Seems important, based on how Symin described," he said, walking slowly to the group. For some reason, he had an odd habit of moving slowly, even in combat. It would explain the massive shield he often had on his back, though. "Urgent, too."

"Dangerous?"

"No, just… important. Can't tell, so let's go" —he leaned toward the young man, nudging his elbow— "figure it out, yeah?"

"Hey, you made it!" the final member of his group, a genderless person named Zu, cheerfully shouted. If someone were to characterize every individual on the planet with one defining trait, it would be tricky to find a more fitting descriptor for Zu other than 'bright positivity.' Despite being the second eldest, Zu stood a bit shorter than the young man by three to four inches, but the height difference hardly detracted from their loud and proud presence. Their shoulder-length black hair was sometimes tied up in a ponytail, and they had a penchant for accenting their outfits with hats for an extra touch of style. Not only were they a master of fashion, but they were also a skilled artisan, having helped craft the young man's metal gloves and shoes, as well as their own special metal hat for style and combat.

"Nice to see you" —they hugged and patted one another's backs— "second sun."

"Hit me with it!"

The young man exchanged a complex handshake that he shared with Zu, finishing it off with a little cheer and another hug. "Ah, that's the energy I've been waiting for." Then, the young man turned to face Symin, exchanging bright smiles with him. If Symin was in Kakariko, he'd look like any other resident, with the robes, hair, and overall appearance to match. His voice, though, was raspy and filled with slight coughs, all because of how much smoke he inhaled from experiments as a young boy. "Hey, Purah's dog — er, Symin."

Symin laughed, coughing a bit, and patted the young man's shoulder. "Enn," he greeted, addressing the young man by name for the first time this morning. "There's no time to waste, come along!"

Enn, Ria, Dara, and Zu followed Symin up the road, passing by the many little things of Hateno. Shops, houses, critters, villagers, the self-dubbed 'favor board' — everything they had seen hundreds of times before. "Alright, I got up two hours early, so what's the big deal here?" Enn asked, jogging by Symin's side with everyone else a bit behind them.

"Well, Enn, you're going to like it. You see—"

"Enn!" In the blink of an eye, Enn was rammed by a nine-year-old boy who instantly wrapped himself around his legs, smiling from ear to ear and stopping him in his tracks. "I didn't expect you to be up so early!" He stepped back slightly, staring into Enn's eyes with his massive, sparkling brown eyes. Nebb was a young, spunky little lad with an obsession with weapons taken from his grandpa. So, seeing someone around 10 years older than him who fought with unique weapons and tools enticed him beyond words. Although, Enn couldn't complain.

"Neither did I, Nebb," Enn replied, chuckling and patting Nebb on the shoulder. "But it's for actual business, so I'm not free to do anything yet." As he expected but didn't hope for, Nebb frowned and slouched, murmuring a nearly unintelligible word that was probably along the lines of sad defeat. "Hey," —Nebb looked him in the eye— "I'll be back and free in a bit. Don't worry, you can gush soon enough." In an instant, Nebb's eyes lit up and Enn tapped his nose jokingly. "See ya later, kiddo."

Ah, the nostalgia chills he got from saying that word.

"You a father all of a sudden?" Dara asked, approaching Enn from behind while Nebb continued chasing his sister, Narah, around the 'favor board.' "Never heard you say 'kiddo' before."

"I take from the best."

"You mean your old man, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

…

Symin loudly cleared his throat, coughing into his hand while he did. "I hate to interrupt, but we do have vital things to get done." Enn nodded and they all continued up the road, picking up their pace a little. Before he could ask his question again, though, Symin suddenly said, "You would make quite a good father, Enn." Apparently, such a small compliment meant that everyone else in the group earned the right to barrage him with compliments.

"Yeah! You do well with talking to big balls of energy like me!"

"Heh, I wouldn't disagree. Your charm alone is better than half of the guys I've met."

"As you said, you take from the best. Hard to be bad when you do that, eh?"

Enn smirked and rolled his eyes, turning around to face everyone while slowing down to a walk. "Hey, all I did was talk to a kid. I really don't see why I need to be hailed as some kind of hero for it." Everyone just shrugged and said something, but it was all unintelligible because of how many voices overlapped. After that, he just shook his head and turned around, jogging ahead of the group a little to get some space. "As if I deserve it, anyway," he muttered.

Despite it being horrible for his already damaged lungs, Symin ran a bit faster to catch up with Enn, giving himself another attempt to explain what Purah wanted. "Anyway…. Like I — cough cough — said, you'll like this: Purah has picked up an alert on her Sheikah Slate."

"Did it break yet?"

"No. Somehow. But it notified her that—"

"EeEnn!" somebody shouted from the nearby inn, stopping the whole group in their tracks before they turned toward it one by one.

"Oh, lovely," Enn quietly said, being the last to face the source of the sounds head-on. In front of him, approaching with clunky steps and slight wobbles, was a man nearly his age — Manny. Oh, Manny, the chartreuse and restless cricket-obsessed guy who was a flirting failure. "'Sup, Manny," Enn said, waving airly toward him. "Lemme guess: you need girl advice?"

"No, n-not quite," Manny stuttered, bringing his hands closer to his chest and tapping his fingers against one another. "But I… ahem" —he deepened his voice to something akin to a lynel's voice— "I need to tell you something rather critical for you to hear."

"…Yes?" It took all of his strength to not roll his eyes at the sound of that voice again.

Manny turned around and tried to get a word out, but he instantly froze and quivered slightly at the sight of Prima, the inn's clerk. From what Enn knew, she was pretty, polite but internally rude, and formal to… really, everyone. On this particular day, she had a simple blue dress with leg warmers atop heels, with a small pink bow in her long brown hair. Such an appearance and personality apparently made Manny go crazy for her, but — thankfully — not in a 'stalker' way, and more like a 'lovesick teenager' way. Those were all of the kudos that Enn could give him, though. "H-her… yeah…. P-P-Prima—"

"Manny."

He turned around, looking at Enn's cold and somewhat upset face. "Yes?" he asked, making his voice deeper once again.

"We've been over this."

"B-but—"

"Yes, I know. But y'know what else? That" —he nodded toward Prima as she entered the inn— "makes the eighth time this month. And the last one was three days ago. Either you do something or you leave it behind." Manny tried to say something again but Enn turned and sighed with frustration. "Look," —he stopped and turned, pressing his forehead with two of his fingers— "I understand it's not easy to just be a charming person. I know when you're lovesick, reading signs gets difficult. But you can't chase after a dragon without legs. Prima has—"

"BUT SHE—"

"Alright!" Everyone behind Enn shuffled awkwardly or idled, doing their own thing while Enn barely released his fumes in a controlled way. "I will help you. LATER. Is that clear?" He practically snarled the words at Manny, cursing him in his mind. Deep down, he didn't feel good for being angry, even at Manny. He'd done that enough to everyone around him.

"O-of course…. I mean…. Yes, sir."

Enn spun around, gesturing for the others to follow him as they finally reached the part of the road that began to rise. After jogging up the hill in silence for a bit, Zu noticed Enn's stifled frustration that he hid by being at the head of the group. "Enn?" they asked, finally making him turn back around. "You good?"

"…Sometimes people just irritate me beyond words, y'know?" he answered, relaxing himself a bit and looking a bit less upset. "I… ugh, my Hylia…." Unable to focus with a clear mind, Enn grew quiet, leading the group with only their footsteps to accompany them.

Pit, pat, pit, pat, thud, thud, knock, knock.

"In this world, we've gotta learn to live with people we hate," Symin advised, pointing his finger up and shutting his eyes as he did. As always, that was how he dropped nuggets of wisdom on people, same pose and everything. This particular nugget of advice would make the thousandth time he gave any.

Something about that made Enn laugh and smile, surprising Symin. "I forget you were raised in a household that lived with wisdom like that," he commented, glancing back at Symin.

"Yeah! That's the kind of advice and optimism we all need!" Zu exclaimed, barely managing to grab a hat that almost fell from their bag. "I gotta commend your parents for telling you those things, Symin!"

"Well, they also made me pray to Hylia every Sunday, so they weren't perfect," he countered, shrugging it off. Enn always found it odd that someone raised in a religious household could grow up not believing in whatever they celebrated. It was odd, not wrong.

"Sometimes bad things happen for good things later on!" Apparently, Zu just couldn't have a group of people upset and unhappy for more than a few minutes, unless it was all unintentional. Either way, everyone smiled around them and their bright, booming voice. "Y'know, I wouldn't be surprised if your parents had told you that, Sy!"

"Thank you for the nickname, Zu. Maybe we could talk over tea about nuggets of wisdom; you seem to have quite a bit of your own." Zu grinned and gave a big thumbs up at Symin before he turned and faced Enn. "Alright, I'll just get it out there before someone else interrupts: Do you know him?"

Enn spent nearly a full minute staring at Symin in confusion, continuing up the path blindly. "…What?"

"Him? You know…" —he leaned into Enn's ear— "him."

Enn stopped dead, staring coldly at Symin. "Who the hell is—"

"Link!"

…

…

…

"…Link?"

"Who's Link?"

"Link… huh, I feel like I've heard that before."

"Link? Who'd name their kid 'Link?'"

By now, everyone had stopped, for different reasons, staring at one another in confusion. Only Enn knew. He just needed to hear it again to make sure he wasn't dreaming or misheard something. "Did…. D-did you say… Link?" Those words just confused everyone else some more, also making them all perk up and stare at him. Enn's stutter exclusively came out when he was in genuine shock, which, in and of itself, was rare.

"Yes," Symin replied, tucking his hands behind his back and adjusting his rectangular glasses. "Purah has detected the Sheikah Slate's removal from its pedestal. He's back, Enn. He's—"

Before anybody could even think, Enn was already halfway up the hill, sprinting faster than he'd ever run before. Anything that anybody had tried to say to him was completely ignored as he was practically running faster than sound, catching mere fractions of words before he zoomed off. His mind was racing with countless thoughts, questions, and dreams with a heartbeat faster than his footsteps. For roughly a decade by now, he had been fantasizing about the day when he would join forces with Link and save the world, but never truly believed that it would happen in his lifetime. And yet, it did! Now was the time; now was his chance!

…As long as he didn't screw up this one chance….

Everyone behind Enn began running after him, albeit, a lot slower than he had run. Nobody really bothered to tell him to 'wait up' or 'slow down' because of his urgent agility. Enn was an arrow; once it was fired, it wouldn't be turning. "Sy?" Zu asked, now leading the group alongside Symin. "Who's Link?"

"I feel like Enn would — cough cough cough — do a lot better at describing him in detail. For now, let's just say he's an important friend of Enn's family."

"Then he wouldn't be the first," Ria added, picking up her pace to get ahead. "Symin, I'm gonna go ahead to try and catch up with him, d'you mind?"

"Oh, don't worry, I'll catch up."

"Cool. And you guys" —she nodded at the others— "should come along." Nobody disagreed and the three of them sprinted up the hill, leaving Symin behind as he finally got to pause and take a break. Deep down, he felt a bit bad for being dead weight, but every time he asked about it, everybody hand-waved it away with the excuse of his lung damage. At least he could still reach high places with little more than a stool or ladder, unlike his boss.

In the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab, Purah paced around and took countless notes of what her Sheikah Slate and telescope had picked up, both visually and through alerts. For the most part, her writing was frantic and barely readable, but pretty high quality for a six-year-old's handwriting. Everything was quiet and peaceful, filled with the ambience of her hasty writing and tapping footsteps. She was hundreds of miles away from the Great Plateau, but could still barely see Link's escapades as he traveled to the Sheikah Tower buried in stone. He might've been the size of an ant from here, but it was enough of a view. If only Enn could—

CRAAAAASH!

"LINK'S BACK?!" Enn suddenly screamed, nearly shattering Purah's front doors with his strength alone.

Purah leaped off of the small stool out of absolute terror, crashing onto the ground but having her fall softened by paper piles. "YEOW!" Before she moved an inch off of the floor, Enn was already halfway inside, staring her down intently with a barrage of questions prepared. "I-I knew you would be really excited about this, Enn," —she stood, rubbing her head and putting her goggles back on her hair— "but not this much!"

"You have a telescope, right? You can see him, can't you?! CAN'T YOU?!"

"Enn, calm down!" Purah shouted, looking up at him as she hopped back onto her stool. "Just relax, and I'll tell you, okay?"

Despite how tempting it was to continue the barrage of questions, he ultimately relaxed his stance and calmed his mind. "R-right. I…. Sorry, it's just… it's so…. Ah, you know."

She smirked cheekily, turning and taking off her Sheikah-infused backpack. "Good boy," she inaudibly uttered, turning back around and setting her backpack down on the table. Afterward, she turned to Enn and adjusted her glasses before she spoke. "Here's the deal: Link is up and about on the Great Plateau, meaning" —she did a little hop on her stool, raising her hand to the sky— "that we've gotta start preparing!"

"Right. What do you need from me?"

"Hehe, you're clever."

"…Huh?"

"I thought you were going to ask to see him or something. Anyway, I" —she practically jumped in her backpack as she searched inside it— "have… a letter in here… somewhere…. Aha!" She leaped out with a letter in hand, which looked dusty and was a bit torn at its edges. Nearly a century of being stuffed into small containers had been a bad experience for the poor thing. "Deliver this to Impa; stat! She" —Enn picked it up and put it into his hard leather pouch— "needs to know."

"On it. How long do we have before he gets off of the plateau?"

"Three, four days? It falls on his shoulders, like everything else."

As it just so happened, when Enn turned around to leave, his friends arrived at Purah's front door. "Yeesh, Enn," Dara breathily said, waltzing inside the lab, "what's the damn rush?"

"We've got three days, let's move it!" Enn ran out past them, receiving annoyed groans from Dara and Ria as well as an exhausted sigh from Zu. "Get your mounts, I'll wait at the gate for you!"

Ria almost collapsed against Purah's table, looking up at her and asking, "What… the hell… is wrong with him?"

Purah just smiled and let out a happy little sigh, reaching back into her bag. "Everything to you and nothing to me." Now with some energizing elixirs in hand, she approached each member of the trio, handing one to them. "Drink up and take a little break, he'll wait for you."

"You sure?" Dara asked, yanking his elixir out of Purah's hand and chugging it all in one go.

"He'll keep his word."

Enn continued back down the hill at a slower pace, even if his mind was still racing with fantasies of talking to Link, coming up with several scenarios in mere moments. Everything about today, up until now, had been so mediocre and plain. And then, all of a sudden, he was hit with the biggest surprise of his life that he only dreamed of. He was overthinking what he was going to say, how everything would go, if Link would even notice him, how he could convince Link to let him join the quest, and… just SO many things all relating to Link's return.

Would he even be able to survive such a quest if he went along with him?

…

…

"Oh, Enn!" He turned to the Hateno Pasture, seeing Koyin, a hot-headed shepherd some three years younger than him, quickly jogging over to him with a little branch in hand. "I noticed you hauling ass up the hill earlier. Is everything alright?"

For no reason in particular, he kind of froze and hesitated, probably still clambering out of his consciousness. Koyin was patient, though, staring blankly into the distance until he replied. "Y-yeah…. Yeah, I am," he said. "I was just a bit excited for something, that's all."

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you do business with that weird girl up there?"

"It was… really important business up there."

"Ookay. But I've gotta ask for a favor: Could you—"

"The beach?"

"Yeah. Those" —her grip around the branch tightened and she tensed up, ready to blow a fuse— "STUPID monsters came back up again in the middle of the night. They took two of them; my favorites, too! I'm so DONE with their SHIT."

"Same here. But I've got a" —he started walking down the hill, pointing behind him at the town's gate— "delivery to make. It's pretty urgent, so I can't chat too much."

"That's cool. Just don't forget about my sheep! Please." He nodded and ran back down the hill, jumping down the slightly steeper bits and briefly apologizing to the other villagers who had noticed him. Koyin turned back around, seeing Enn's three buddies coming down the hill. "Oh, hey guys."

"Koy," Zu greeted, waving cheerfully before they and the others continued down the hill. "Let's pick up the pace a little. I wanna know who 'Link' is."

"Kinda a weird name when you think about it, eh?" Dara replied. "Link… like… a chain? Or a link between things? The idea is odd, at best."

Both Dara and Ria ran a bit faster, now alongside Zu. "Parents can have interesting reasons," Ria justified, looking past Zu at Dara. "But it doesn't seem like Link is just some kid. Enn was surprised to know that he was back after… something. For Hylia's sake, he stuttered and ran like hell! He's not like this — ever."

"And that's coming from his cousin. Clearly, we gotta know what's up with him or Link, preferably both."

"So, could we, y'know, pick up our pace?"

"Yeah, let's—"

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, CRAAACK!

In the blink of an eye, the world below everyone's feet shook, sending some down to their knees while everyone else lost their balance. The sudden jolt threw everyone's minds off-balance and they immediately began wondering what could cause such a thing to happen. Zu, Ria, and Dara managed to stand and stay standing, staring off into the distance at a tower that raised itself out of the ground. It looked like it was made out of some odd material that their local shrine was made out of, but now filled with glowing orange and blue light. They had no clue what it meant — almost nobody did — except for just a few select people. They knew the truth:

The time was now.

Like everyone other than those select people, the trio was left confused and slightly alert. "The hell was that?" Dara asked, shaking his head and ensuring he was stable. "Some kinda earthquake? And why" —he pointed at the tower and shrine— "are those suddenly glowing?"

Ria took the lead of the group, stepping in front of the others. "Enn might know a thing. Let's hoof it!"

As they made their way to Enn, he was inside his house, picking off some weapons from the wall closest to the staircase. "Shield… yep. Staff… eh, it's a little trip, nothing much. I don't reckon I'll face any Guardians there, so… alright, I'm set." He turned and stepped over his cat, pushing open the door slightly. Although, his cat, Buttons, had different plans for him, starting to meow and encircle him. "Oh, Buttons." He knelt down and caressed Buttons' fur, hearing his loud purrs and little squeaks. "I'll be gone for a bit. You know that by now." Before he stood, he grabbed a small chewing stick for buttons and threw it across the room, sending the little ball of fur tumbling after it with terrifying speed. "Take care, kitties!"

He left his house and approached the pen right beside it, housing a fully black horse and a traveler's saddle and bridle. "Please be nice to me, Ziro," he uttered, unlocking the pen and letting Ziro out. "For once." After collecting the saddle and bridle, he loosely set them on Ziro and began gingerly securing them. "Easy, easy…." Ziro just stared plainly at him, making noises that were either good or bad, something he couldn't define because of his lack of knowledge. It was a complete miracle that he had even tamed Ziro at all, let alone kept him for three years. "Just don't be a jerk this one time, and—"

Before he could react, he was kicked in the face and sent into a daze as Ziro squealed and began running around the road. Somehow, he was still holding onto Ziro's secured reins and being dragged around the place, almost being thrown off every time he made a turn. "Damn it, no!" Everyone watched hesitantly, stepping back each time that Ziro came charging their way. "Sorry, everyone! I've got this! Maybe!" While being swung around like a bokoblin in the hands of a moblin, he managed to open his pouch and reach inside for a little tool he made himself. "You better work…."

The tool was a rope fused with four hooks at the end, like the grapple shot used in ancient times before its fall in popularity. There was just one little problem with it. Or him.

Ziro sped up considerably, charging toward the gate of Hateno while Enn managed to loosen the rope. Inside his mind, he said a short prayer and clamped his eyes shut before tossing the rope. Luck seemed to be on his side because the hook pierced the dirt and didn't budge, causing the rope to become taut and start slowing Ziro. Noticing this change, he opened his eyes, grinning brightly at the rope. "Haha! It worked! It fu—"

The rope slipped from his hand.

"…SSSHHHIII—" Ziro turned around sharply, sending Enn flying into the solid part of the gate and slamming right into it. He crashed into the ground, almost knocked out with aching ribs. "Gah…. I can't hold onto that thing to save my life… ow, ow, ow…."

"Hey, you okay?" Thadd, the self-dubbed 'Hateno guardian,' asked, quickly kneeling beside Enn.

"What do you think?" he grumbled, attempting to get to his feet.

Meanwhile, now with Enn down for the count, things with Ziro went a bit haywire. He ran about the center of town, barely avoiding everybody. Ivee, the daughter of the general store's owner, walked outside after hearing all of the commotion. She was one of the many people watching, whether with excitement or slight horror, as Ziro continued his running rampage. But her stomach sank as she watched Narah and Nebb staring up at Ziro with fear, right as he galloped toward them. Her instincts kicked in and she barely got between them, reaching her hands out and shouting, "WOAH!"

Ziro ground to a halt, coating her dress and apron with a screen of dirt. "Hey, hey, hey, hey," she soothingly said, slowly approaching Ziro. "It's okay, it's okay." By the time Enn, as well as his trio of friends, had gotten close to the scene, Ivee was softly petting Ziro as the kids were escorted away.

Enn chuckled, rubbing his ribs and smiling warmly at Ivee. "The former stable girl does it again," he complimented.

"It's just instincts, that's all," she answered, slowly handing Ziro's reins to him. "Are you alright?"

"I could be — ow, ow — better, but I'll live. I mean," —he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulder— "it still doesn't beat the time I first went to Hateno Beach, yeah?"

She smiled and giggled, sweeping some dust from her shoulder. "Ah, I can still recall that night. You took a whole night of sleep from me, you know; I had to patch you up and console you. You'd better be grateful for the things I do for you, Enn."

Despite having almost everyone's eyes on them, he walked really close to her, to the point where they could feel the warmth of one another's wreaths. She turned bright pink as he slowly and hushedly said, "Yes. Yes" —he leaned down and put his hands behind his back, staring at her with a smirk— "I am."

"I… u-um… you're really close to me…" she stuttered, timidly bringing her hands closer to her chest. "I-I mean, it's not bad, just… um… I…."

He reached out and tapped her nose, making her squeak. "You are adorable," he flirtatiously whispered, putting a finger over her lips before she could say anything. "Don't deny it. You know; I know. And, trust me… I like it."

"Flirting again?" Ria asked, taking on her usual pose as she stared at both of them. "We get it, you're the guy all of the girls have the hots for. Now" —she nudged him in the elbow— "get on your horse, we'll get ours." She walked past him toward the pens behind his house, followed by Zu and Dara, the last of which clicked his tongue jokingly at him.

"Well, I've gotta go," he told Ivee, speaking at a standard volume and giving her some space again. Everyone across the village had also stopped watching, returning to their normal activities like nothing had happened. It was almost comedic how that, of all things, was what got everybody's attention outside of the weekly meetings. He turned back to Ivee, noticing that she still seemed a bit flustered and timid. So, to soothe her nerves a bit, he cracked a joke to her. "Have my skills improved?"

It worked as planned and she laughed slightly, dropping her timid stance with the pink fading from her face. "Yeah. A lot. I'll help you with Ziro, okay?"

He smiled and walked past her, patting her shoulder. "Thanks. And" —he stopped in front of Ziro and turned toward her, winking— "I am actually grateful for what you do."

"So am I."

Thirty minutes later, Enn, Dara, Ria, and Zu were all set for their travels, each mounted on their differently-colored horses. Ria rode a beautiful mount named Ezia, which had a predominantly white coat with brown spots and a brown mane. Dara's mount, Firus, was a stunning brown color with a long, fiery mane and orange hair around its hooves. Zu's mount, Kadi, had a striking black mane and yellowish-brown skin. As they all idled, Ivee still stood at Enn's side, ensuring that Ziro didn't freak out again. Before they all set off, though, Ivee asked, "Where are you going, this time?"

"Oh, it's another delivery to Kakariko," Enn replied, pulling out the old letter from his pouch. "Someone from the lab needs it brought to the elder."

"I see. Well," —she turned around, walking back to the general store— "take care!"

Enn saluted to her with two of his fingers before grabbing back onto his reins. "Alright, let's go." He began trotting off with the others in two, saluting at Thadd as they passed the gate and began descending down the road. They traveled a mile or so in silence, savoring the peaceful nature and views they got until Enn spoke. "I'm sorry for running off without explanation, earlier," he said, catching their attention. "It's just…. Well, I can't really explain it too well."

"Doesn't matter," Dara reassured. "If you can explain it to us, without sounding like a crazy person, we'll get it. Just don't get too personal, if that's the issue."

"There's nothing wrong with struggling to say something! We won't judge!" Zu added.

"Enn, you've said stupid things before. What makes this time so different, huh?" Ria said with an unusually positive tone. When it came to talking about feelings or reassuring others, her words were never the thing that showed how she felt.

"Thanks, guys. I just…. Nevermind. Ask whatever you want, and I'll do my best," Enn replied, smiling warmly at everybody.

"Right; who'd name their kid 'Link?'"

"Let's just say…" —he inhaled deeply, preparing his 'dramatic reading' voice— "someone who has no clue what they're getting their kid into."

His answer was just the truth.

A/N - Oh no, OCs! GET DOWN MR. PRESIDENT!

Yes, I am indeed walking into dangerous lands, dear stranger. Don't worry; if there's one thing I can guarantee for my writing, it's the lack of an absolutely horrible, Mary Sue, and utterly useless OC. But who are these people… at all?

Let me start with the main one: Enn. Well, he isn't named 'Enn.' His full name is Ennathaniel Hakani Laren Mana, but, because of how long that name is, he shortened it to Enn M. I got that nickname from my initials, fun fact. And yeah, he is a partial self-insert, taking some physical and emotional traits from me and mixing them with other ones. Here are two tiny tidbits about him:

- He doesn't have the beret because I don't think it fits anyone below the age of 30, along with the fact that hats make my hair pull a Goku — which I hate.

- He fights unconventionally, along with his crew, because I thought it would make him stand out a bit from the other fighters.

Now, what about the others? Ria, Dara, Zu. Well… they are not as original as Enn. Appearance-wise and name-wise, I basically copy-pasted them from the Twilight Princess Manga (Rioma, Darpa, and Zeu… do you see the resemblance?) BUT I would still count them as my own OCs because of their personality, since… I don't have the full manga series to read so I don't know much about their personalities. Plus, for the longest time, I thought that Rioma was a girl…. Apparently not.

So, yeah, I hope you don't hate these people!

Have a lovely day and keep reading if you like this!

- Ebblenubble