Author's Note:

Content Warning:

- sexual themes lol

- if you thought Cotera and Tera were forward with their intentions, just you wait (aka the source of the chapter warning lmao)


To Fathom

The golden wolf's ear flicked at the chirps coming from the surrounding cicadas, waking him from his slumber. Listening to the resting heart of the knight left him wanting to pull his companion closer. He yawned as he shifted back into his bipedal form and happily smiled as he smushed his cheek into the top of the wild blonde's head. 'Ah~ how peaceful.' Minutes later, he listened to him mumble awake.

"Huh?" Link rubbed his cheek against the god's chest, "What…no fur?" His brows came together in confusion, "No fur? Bare…skin?" He briefly shook his head as he pulled away, his eyes blinking open.

The god watched his pupils become pinholes.

"ACK—I mean—ahhh good morning!" His arm and leg cautiously retracted away from the hold they had on the deity. Politely averting his gaze, he loosely motioned to his hips, "A-Aren't you cold like that?"

Time blinked at his gesture, "Mm? No, not really."

Link rolled his eyes, "Okay well you're making me cold. You should wear something."

He chuckled as his garments threaded around his limbs, "Very well, my amusing knight." He remained tickled as he noticed the other's heart beating faster than before. 'Oooh, someone seems determined too. I wonder whatever for? Though, if it's for treasure, I'll have to agree. Hopefully we'll find something worthwhile today.' He leaned toward the knight to impart his simplified morning formality.

That is…until lips were shoved into his cheek first.

His eyes shined brighter as the elation erupted within his chest. A dazzling grin pushed at his cheeks as he gingerly pulled the champion closer, sounding thoughtfully intrigued, "What's this for, hm? Is there some occasion I was unaware of?"

Link stuttered, unable to hold his gaze. His face grew pinker by the second, "I-I—well, y'know, you've been d-doing the same to me so—"

The god swooned, "Aaaww! So flattering!" Even his clouds took a pearly hue as he repaid the knight's kindness by covering his face in kisses. 'I can see where Hylia was coming from. It really is charming to watch their faces change color!' As his barrage of affection came to an end, he couldn't help but snicker at his companion's complexion.

Water would've turned into steam from how hot his skin became. In fact, he appeared a tad dazed…and breathless, "…good um…morning…?"

Fierce Deity wholeheartedly agreed, finding himself entirely smitten from the simple gesture as he nearly planted his lips on the knight's. 'Aha…' he caught himself, 'that was close…' But he still held his face, pushing their foreheads together, "Good morning indeed, my pretty spark.~" Now he thumbed his cheek as he leaned away, "Though, my apologies. I didn't mean to encroach on you at the end there. I still have your best interests in mind, after all."

This briefly stupefied him, "Wait huh?"

"What is it?" His head tilted to one side, 'Now I'm confused. Did I misspeak?'

Link held up a hand, trying to string his words together, "I meant—um…I-I heard what you said, so not that. I was just—" His shoulders dropped into a slump with a quick sigh. His next attempt at speaking was more coordinated, "Was that your uh…'new dawn'-thing?"

'And so I discover there was an occasion after all. Hm hm, how daring.~' Time ran his fingers through his white bangs, tucking the loose ends behind his ears, "Hm? Oh not at all."

"Not. At. All?!" Link mouthed in disbelief. He recuperated with a drawn-out sigh. "Then…what is it? I'm…curious." His cheek was tugged on.

"Knowing you, my spark, I doubt that's what you truly intend to ask for." 'It's terribly amusing that you're asking in the first place, but, given your particular Hylian values, I'd rather not needlessly complicate things for you.'

He frowned, crossing his arms, "Can't you at least tell me? With words?"

"And tease you with something you won't receive? That seems awfully cruel to me, my sweet." The god pat his head, moving on, "Now, I say let's rekindle this fire, eat, and get to finding what we came here for." He half expected him to slump in contempt, but his suggestion was met with an easy smile.

"Good idea! I kinda get the feeling it'll taste even better than last night."

It did. The embers gave it a smokier taste and left it slightly more tender. When they were rearing to leave, Time gestured to the hill behind them, eager to put the book's knowledge to the test, "Based on what you've said before, guards patrol the path each morning? We'll be searching around Akkala Falls."

He nodded, "Mhm, but considering we took care of those bokoblins yesterday, I'll bet it's going quicker than usual."

This reminded him, "Let's see, you graduated at fourteen and you were sent here on your first assignment, correct? I presume you were initially tasked with these patrols?"

"That's right!" Link chimed, "Only, since I hardly left any time for anyone else to get rid of the monsters, I believe some of the older guys tried to convince the commander I could complete them by myself so they could get more shuteye." He grinned, "You can imagine they scrubbed the mess hall for a week at just the mention of such a ridiculous idea." They laughed at the thought. "Though, that was definitely one of the first times the commander was impressed with me."

It pleased him to hear. "And certainly not the last. I'm sure you proved as much in sparring too."

"Ha, you know it!" His eyes were reminiscent, "I'll admit, after you showed up and I later had you spar with all those trainees, I was kind of reminded of myself. I thought, 'wow, now I get how my instructors felt.' No wonder they were occasionally clueless when it came to testing me. Sometimes I think I graduated so early because they ran out of ideas and couldn't be damned to pit me against the King's personal men!"

"And have you wipe the floor with them? Oh that was certainly for the sake of their pride."

"Thinking about it now, I can't believe I put a seventeen/eighteen-year-old against other children…Dear Hylia…"

The god was understanding, "I've said it before, you wouldn't have believed me otherwise. There's no harm done."

"Oh right." He sat up straighter as a thought popped into his head, "At the time, I came to realize you're just a…well…pretty violent fighter, generally speaking, but I remember also being surprised at how you technically threatened to cut their stomachs open after you bested them. Where did that come from?"

"Old habits die hard and habits learned in wartime die harder." Time knew better than to completely explain it, but there was no point in lying. "As a general—yes, even while I looked like that—we were to never show any enemy of ours any mercy, even in death." He motioned for him to follow as they headed toward the falls.

"Hey actually, if it's not rude, what kind of god are you?" the knight asked, catching up and taking his hand. "From what I've seen, you seem to sorta control the weather?"

Fierce Deity chuckled, "Well, I don't exactly control the weather, fair knight."

"Then you're at least a storm god, right? That has to be true based on when you sent down all that lightning back in Faron."

Nearby heartbeats came from fish and other water creatures. Perhaps the patrol returned. "Yes, that much I know."

"Wait…" Link's eyes widened, "Hylia above…so there's more and you don't know what they are?" Pity lined his expression.

"I would think so." They came to the stream's edge near East Sokkala Bridge, "Rarely is it ever only one thing. Anyways," he motioned to the water, "I believe there are at least three chests here…or so the text said." His companion took a closer look.

"And they're all underwater?"

The god slid in, motioning for Link to follow, "That seems right to me. The book suggests they were old treasures that were lost off a wealthy merchant's carriage at this bridge. Who knows? Maybe the Zora have gotten to them already."

He considered this. "Couldn't they have traveled off the waterfall after so much time, though? Maybe we're better off checking in the lake below."

"And be forced to take the passage up the citadel to return? I'm not so sure about that. Besides, there are plenty of rocks up here for both large and small chests to get caught on."

"Good point." Link hopped in, turning stiff as a board, "Ack! It's freezing!" His pupils narrowed as he looked between them, "What the—how are you standing!?"

"I'm sure there's a stone you can stand on, if not hold onto the supports under the bridge. I'll get to looking and you can help me bring them up."

He shivered, regaining his composure, "Got it."

Blue eyes with red slits returned as the deity scanned the waters. "Wonderful, it seems the book was correct." One lie a couple of yards to the right, another farther forward to the left, and finally, the last sat near the center of the pool by the source of the waterfall.

Now for the hard part: wrestling it out of the water while the current worked against them.

"Can't you…" the knight panted, "do what you did to the pine needles…but like upwards?" He'd just hoisted the water-filled chest over his head.

"Good question. It appears it only works with smaller objects." Which felt so wrong to say, especially as he easily—effortlessly—took the heavy chest from the knight's arms and brought it over to the bank. 'Surely this isn't the extent of my power, is it? Strange…' Two left to go.

Fifteen minutes later, Link laid flat on his back while the deity did the heavy lifting. In fact, it would turn out his companion was the second thing he wrestled out of the water. "You're strong in every other ability…but swimming is the cut off?" He'd commented as he carried him to the edge.

"Shut it!" Clearly this was a sore spot, "We're literally fighting the current from a waterfall! I can't help it!"

He planned to let the knight open the chests when he finished. 'I can't decide if that would make him feel better for not helping or worse for the same reason.' Whatever they found was going to belong to him anyways. The third was a tad trickier to find, so his peculiar eyes remained as he lugged it back to the others, "This is the last one."

Link, who now sat at the river's edge with his shins in the water, less-than-discreetly shifted his hands to sit in front of his waist after catching his eye.

Tickled by his assumptions, the fierce god heartily laughed. His white sclera returned. "Oh really? And why would I be interested in your loins, Link? That's a conclusion I think I deserve the answer to."

"Did you think I forgot the last time you used those eyes!?" He puffed a sigh and haughtily looked in the other direction. His tone was as defensive as it was aloof, "You might as well look modestly!"

And yet a devious brow lifted as the deity sat the chest by the others, 'Words like those beg otherwise.' Smirking like the devil, his eyes returned as he maliciously looked him up and down, "Like that?" Water was kicked at him.

"Time!"

He laughed more, shaking the droplets away, "How can I resist teasing you when you make it so easy?"

Link scoffed, trying to hide his smile and fluster, "Yeah well it would be fair if I could do it back! But that's practically impossible!"

Fierce Deity lifted himself out of the water, "Oh I'm sure you'll think of something, my spark." 'Though, I wish you luck in your execution. All I can think of is every other thing Din did or said to me from our last encounter—most of which you lack the strength and conviction to do.' Which he deemed a good thing. 'While her exceedingly dominant personality is fun to challenge, I enjoy your subtle tameness and tolerability as well.'

He rolled his eyes, "Don't encourage me." Yet he found himself chuckling too, "But when I do figure something out, you'll think twice about ever teasing me again."

"I'll have to look forward to it then." The god nodded toward their spoils, "In the meantime, these chests won't open themselves."

"But you're the one who brought them ov—"

"And yet they're yours," His gaze was warm, "whether you like it or not, might I add."

"Alright, alright. I won't argue." A glint of avarice twinkled in the pits of his eyes, "You said a wealthy merchant, right?"

Their yield included a couple of silver rupees, a set of opal rings with the craftsmanship of a skilled Zora, and a pair of bedazzling ruby earrings—all complete with the deity singing a jingle following the opening of each chest. Link turned to him, "Y'know, I've been meaning to ask where that comes from."

"The singing?" He beamed, "I've been doing that since I was…" his smile faltered, "…a-a child? But…I—" Time shook the conflicting thoughts away, momentarily regaining his cheerful expression, "Anyways, you mean to tell me that you don't ever feel like humming a tune when you find or discover something? I'd say the occasion calls for it!"

The concern in his eyes quickly faded. A more bashful expression took its place, "Well, it's pretty obvious you're way more musical than me. I can't say I'm surprised." His gaze turned to the earrings, "Though, I did used to sing with my mom. Well, really she'd sing and I'd just hum along with her. It was always when I was helping her cook too."

"Aaaww! That's so cute!" A rosy sensation crept into his cheeks from the fondness in his eyes.

"That's exactly what my dad would say." Link sighed. "But then, after I started to attend the academy, well…humming meant I was 'bored' and 'not paying attention.' Especially in my math and reading classes." He twisted the tips of his forelocks, "A-And yeah, sometimes they were right, but y'know still. I was better than everyone. I had more fun sparring with my dad. Better yet, there was even this one time where I—" He paused, catching himself, "Never mind, that's a whole other thing. Anyways, whenever we'd get to go home on holidays, I think I hummed that much more around my mom so that way I'd be all 'hummed-out' before it was time to leave again."

The god was entranced to hear more of his companion's history, "Ah~, I just hope their opinions don't keep you from it entirely." A curious finger came to his chin, "I'm sure you saw this coming, but I've been meaning to ask: what happened to your mother? Don't let me open old wounds, though."

"Nah, it's okay. I've done all my grieving long ago." He shrugged, "I was twelve when she died." The knight made a circular motion with his finger, "Over the years, I've learned that monsters seem to cycle through being super vicious to not being as vicious, I guess. I think it aligns with the moon somehow. For example, bokoblins don't generally—I dunno—steal someone's kid. Like they're running around and get nabbed all of the sudden. But then, on occasion, yes they absolutely would steal your child." He scratched his head, "Either way, I think it was just that time for them to act out-of-the-ordinary, and my mom had gone to Fir River outside of the village to collect mushrooms." His eyes fell to the water in front of them, "She was by herself, so no one knows exactly what happened, but I suspect a lizalfo dragged her into the river and drowned her. We uh…found her downstream when we came back from fishing…after all."

"By the stars…that's awful…" His heart sank imagining what that must have been like.

Link flipped the earrings over in his palm, "The whole village pitched in to help with her burial, and my dad and I were allowed to take off from our duties if we wanted to." He lightly scoffed, "Dad tried to keep me from going back to the academy, he was afraid I'd take my feelings out on the other kids or something like that." The corners of his lips raised, "Little did he know, I was so determined, I snuck out and ran all the way to the stables where I hitched a ride back to Castle Town on someone's wagon."

Fierce Deity pinched his cheek, "Very cunning, but let me guess, your instructor let your father know as soon as you knocked on the academy doors?"

He started to laugh, "Oh man, you should've seen everyone's faces! I burst into sparring practice, soaking wet from the rain, and shouted, 'Sorry I'm late!'" He nodded, "But yes, when my dad finally arrived at the academy, it's not hard to imagine he'd been worried sick. He lost his wife and then for a hot second he thought he lost his son too. He deserved to be really upset with me, but," Link smiled, "instead, he was kinda proud of me for showing so much commitment to my training and—in a way—for showing him that not everyone grieves the same way for the same amount of time." Then he snorted, "Ha! Saying it now, no wonder the principal looked at him like he was crazy!"

They laughed until a thought popped into the god's head. "Right," His tone was considerate, "I'm sure every other stretch of Hyrule is aware of our absence by now. I hope your father isn't worried."

Link dismissed his words, "Pssh, please. I doubt he's worried about his son getting taken by you of all people. Hell, I bet he thinks we're fishing right now." He handed him the earrings, "Speaking of which, how are we going to keep track of all this stuff? I can hold the rupees of course, but," he shrugged.

"Not eager to simply wear them instead?"

"The earrings clash with the tunic and I'd have to take off my gloves to wear the rings."

Time nodded, "Fair enough." They dissolved into thin air, "I'll hold onto them then."

"Eh?" The champion searched his hand, "Where'd they go?"

He called for his black sword, "The same place where this came from." He squinted, "I'm not sure how to explain it, sorry."

"Hey that's good enough for me."

The deity stood, pulling his companion along with him and dismissing the blade. "Let's see, I believe the next spot is—" A woman's voice filled his head. She gleefully gasped.

I thought that was you!~

And you're so close as well! You'll come visit me, right?

Another Great Fairy…he decided he'll forgive the abrupt nature of this request. 'This is quite the short notice, but…I suppose I don't see why not.'

Weeee! I look forward to your arrival!

His hand was squeezed.

"You okay?" Came Link's voice. "You went from talking to staring off into space."

"Actually," he smiled, "I think I might sense a Great Fairy nearby. I say we stop by for a moment, no?"

"That's right!" His eyes sparkled, "I almost forgot there were more! We should totally go!" Then he blinked, "Oh, well wait."

"Yes?"

Link motioned to the open chests lying in the grass beside the rushing water, "What are we going to do about the chests? Something tells me we shouldn't just leave them here."

The god grinned, taking an aloof tone, "Well, I say we close them and—"

"Time." His hands sat square on his hips, "We're seriously going to put them back into the river? Really?"

He laughed, "Goodness, you even read my mind! Surely this means we agree, doesn't it?"

"A-Agree!? Time!" He stared back in astonishment.

Fierce Deity took his hands, a charmingly sly edge to his tone, "Oh think about it this way, my spark: if we close the chests, and put them back into the river, we're simply arbiters of mystery. They'll eventually excavate the lake and wonder why there were empty chests at all. That's how folktales are made, you know."

"Arbiters of mystery my ass!" Link playfully mocked, laughing in disbelief. "You're just coming up with reasons to get me to agree with you!"

The god tauntingly tapped his chin in deliberation, "Have any alternatives then? I don't believe you've mentioned one yet, fair knight.~"

He paused, crossing his arms.

After watching him stare off into the distance with no answer, Time soon found the knight assisting him as he closed the chests and tossed them back into the river. The last went flying off the cliff into the lake below. For funsies. When they were done, he morphed back into a wolf and sped northeast from the falls. They hopped down to a lower spot of land where colorful trees hid the fairy's spring from view. Armoranths sprouted from the ankle-high, leaf littered water.

She popped out of her indigo-petalled-pool, "HIIII!~" Her dark gray eyes widened at the wolf and rider, "O-Oh! I thought you were—"

Fierce Deity morphed back, smirking as his attire returned, "Who knew I'd be able to fool you so easily?~"

"Fool me? Mmm~," She blushed, brushing her purple hair out of her face, "I suppose I should have expected as much from you, trickster god.~" She had tan skin and wore light blue eyeshadow with purple lipstick. Amethysts in the shape of diamonds lined her neck and a pointier, winged earpiece glimmered from the glow of her fountain. Her fairies' wings mimicked her jewelry and were either pink or purple. It appeared her fountain was coed as well. Her gaze brightened as it landed on the knight, "Ooooh! This must be your companion I've heard so many whispers about!~"

Link buffered, waving his hands, "Wai-wai-wai-what!? I'm his WHAT!?"

Meanwhile a hand dragged down the god's face as sparks flicked off his shoulders, 'Why did I not see this coming? Of course this was going to happen.'

She bent forward, shaking his hand between her thumb and forefinger, "Hi! I'm the Great Fairy Mija! It's an honor to meet Fierce Deity's companion in the flesh!" Her fairies hovered around him with interest.

"Mija." He tried to remain cordial despite the irritation beginning to boil in his blood, "I ask that you choose your words wisely. His name is Link."

Her lashes fluttered at the correction, "My utmost apologies!" She dipped her head in respect…and then went right back to gushing, "Goodness Link, you're so tiny, so cute!" Her long fingernail traced his figure, "Hehe~, you're a tad slim for my tastes but you've got the most charming little face!" Her fairies gave him a warm welcome while she turned to the deity, "So what made you choose this one, hm? Why at all, really? Was it because of the Master Sword?" She twisted her hair around her finger, "I knew you liked your fighters!"

The boil diminished to a low simmer. "Meddling, are we?" He tactfully crossed his arms. 'Besides, while I haven't given this much thought, the way I understand it is that this is all circumstantial in the first place. A concept only Hylia and I understand compared to the rest of my kind. Though I'm sure she'd disagree that it applies to this.'

Her hand covered her mouth as her eyes flit back to the knight, "Meddling? I didn't realize your regard for him was so high." She sighed, tempering her prior excitement, "I apologize once more. I don't intend to offend."

Time smiled, "You don't…for now." He winked.

Mija giggled, settling her attention on poor Link. If he weren't speechless from before, it was from a surplus of fairy kisses. "My, I should hope you're grateful to be in such a fortunate position, Link! You're beyond lucky. I'm jealous!"

It seems he regained a bit of strength, "H-How am I lucky?" The champion looked between her and the god, "What are you talking about!?"

She looked to the deity for permission, "May I, dear?"

'This is such a bad idea.' But he nodded anyway, raising a finger, "Just don't be crude, please."

"And leave out the fun part?" Mija bowed, "As you wish, Fierce Deity." She sat her head in her hand, "Let's see…where do I start?" Her finger pondered by her lip before lowering to the champion, "Yes, you're a very rare case. Nearly never do the divine above take companions from anyone but their own kind. Of course, in your case, what you do differs based on who you serve, but it's unique since you'd serve beside him rather than under him like everyone else—including me—does. Now of course, I'm a Great Fairy, so my merit naturally lies above your kind, but still, you get my point." She tentatively scratched her cheek, flippantly catching the god's eye, "There are other perks too, of course. You forgo the need for worship and following the rules required in the presence of the divine—like me—but, better yet, you're seen, by your master alone, as equals—unlike me."

Link froze in shock.

"See?" The Great Fairy agreed, "You're starting to understand why you're so lucky! With that said, when one god sees you as their equal, all the other gods and goddesses could—and really I mean maybe barely—be inclined to do so as well! Exciting, isn't it? Certainly better than not at all!" She suggestively smiled, "Oh, and being perceived as an equal I'm sure has proven to be quite rewarding from your perspective, hm?" She gestured to his legs, snickering, "You've got impressive stamina if you're still walking after this morning."

"Mija!" He glared in disbelief, "What did I say!?" 'The nerve of this fairy! She's lucky I'm letting her say all this in the first place!' …Even if he too was learning something about this alongside his knight. Though the peculiar feeling in his chest from yesterday had returned with the same light headache.

"Is that really…?" She sank lower into her hand, "Alright fine. I believe that's everything I'm allowed to say, Link." Mija leaned toward him with a curious sparkle in her gaze, "So, I'm inclined to ask, what are your duties serving the god of storms, trickery, and bloodshed, pretty knight? We're all dying to know, hm hm.~"

The champion wore the red in his face well, "Th-This is a lot of information…I-I think I need a second to—" He blinked at the sound of static, "Time?"

Blue and purple electricity ominously licked at the air, stemming from the top of his head. Fierce Deity blankly stared ahead, his hand hovering over his mouth, 'Trickery…bloodshed?' This…felt right. 'Those are the other spheres I preside over?' He tilted one way, 'But to what extent, specifically?' With storms it made sense. His familiars were rather obedient clouds who thundered and rained at his command. Meanwhile, "trickery" and "bloodshed" were harder to gauge. 'I've been reminded of my cunning personality on several occasions, but what does it speak to in terms of abilities? The same could be said for bloodshed as well. I see how they shine through my character but…what else?' His light headache gained more substance, making his brows furrow at the increased discomfort.

He felt their eyes, waving off their staring, "Continue." Small bolts of lightning struck where the electricity flickered, offering some relief, "My head just hurts…I'll be fine." The sound of sparkles grew closer. It seems Mija's healing fairies decided this would be their opportunity to acquaint themselves.

Though their matron wore a confused yet concerned expression. Her gray eyes inspected him from afar, "No…something's certainly not right with you, dear. Did something happen to you while you were gone?" She murmured into her fingers, "Or so the whispers say…"

His ear flicked. He didn't want to scare off the sprites, "My troubles are complicated and are none of your concern, Mija. Besides, if I believed there was a way you could help me, I would have asked." Surprisingly, her fairies were agreeing with him.

This didn't deter her. "You couldn't spare me one detail? Pretty please?~" Her lashes pleadingly fluttered.

"Why should I?" He crossed his arms, "I'm in the middle of trying to—I don't know—ignore these problems that are apparently terribly obvious to everyone else!" He sighed, letting his shoulders relax. The fairy kisses admittedly kept his annoyance at bay. "They're not the reason I came here, so please, spare me the reminder."

She bowed, "I respect your words. I won't test your patience any further.~ Anyways," the Great Fairy tapped the ground before the champion, "you were saying, Link?"

"Oh…right." His weight shifted to one side, "To be honest, I don't exactly understand what you mean by 'duties.' I um…don't really do anything, if that makes sense." He shrugged, but his eyes were begging for help, "We travel together?"

Mija profusely blushed, "Dear Hylia! Nothing?" Her hands went to her cheeks, "Aaaaw!~" She poked at the god, "I knew your regard for him was higher than most, but you treasure him, don't you? Ooohh, but that only leaves me with more questions!" Her focus returned to the knight, "You call him something different too. 'Time?' I think that's what I heard." She oozed excitement, "What's the story behind that?"

"H-He's also the Hero of Time?" Link stammered, flustered once more, "That's what I'm used to saying anyway."

The Great Fairy squealed with glee, radiating elated purple sparkles. This made her other fairies begin to shimmer as well. She gasped. Realization had struck. "This means you two could help me!"

"We could?" A sense of confidence rose in the knight's composure. After all, helping others is what he did best.

'Oh hold on.' Time's eyes widened at the pink healing fairies. He quickly counted them. There were far more purple than pink.

"Of course! See, in case you didn't know, the color of a fairy denotes what their powers are. I know you know what pink means, but purple fairies are for protection!" Her eyelids seductively hung lower, "And, you'll notice I have far more protection fairies than I do healing fairies, cute knight.~"

Link stepped closer to the god. His confidence faltered after her suave compliment, "Well, I guess if it's something we can do together then yeah, we can help." He looked to him for confirmation, "Right, Time?"

Fierce Deity shook his head, sighing. "It's not within your interests to help her, my spark." A nail pressed into his cheek to redirect his gaze to the matron.

"Oooh~," She liked where this was going, "So perhaps just you and I, Fierce Deity?"

The knight took a step back, flabbergasted, "E-Excuse me?"

Her eyes drifted skyward, lost in thought, "Though I was thinking he could join us too! After all, the more the merrier!" An eager smirk pulled at her lips as a devilish glint sat in her pupils, "Besides, I'm more interested in how the both of you—"

"Mija!" His voice rang in the clearing. She already knew what warranted his warning.

"Okay wait a second!" Link exclaimed, red in the face, "Someone explain, because I have no idea where all of these innuendos are coming from! We went from fairies to helping you to sex—help."

"Oh.~" Mija smugly pursed her lips, "You don't know how to hatch healing fairies?"

"No?" He took another step closer to Time.

Her eyes pensively flicked to the god, "May I?"

Link piled on too: "Yeah what is she talking about?"

"Clouds above…" Time pinched the bridge of his nose. 'How am I supposed to say this?' He was frank, "I doubt you're in the mood to help her create the 'lusty atmosphere' required to effectively hatch healing fairies…if you get what I mean." 'Please don't make me say more.'

The knight's pupils narrowed, "Oh."

'Good.' He agreed, "Better yet, we can't go adding more bragging rights to her ranks, can we? Not without receiving something as equal in return," he looked her in the eye, "which we both know you don't have to offer, Mija." 'Not that I explicitly know what that would be, but that's what my senses tell me.'

She bashfully clutched the amethysts around her neck, "Oh my~, perceptive are we?" Yet her words were shameless as she fanned at her face, "But really, are you just worried Link will get tired too fast? I could solve that with a kiss you know.~"

The deity rolled his eyes. His companion shuffled ever closer, "How's this? We appreciate your offer, but I think you have plenty of healing fairies. They cured my headache from before, so clearly they're efficient enough to help the spare knight that happens to stumble by." Those sitting on his head and shoulders sparkled at the compliment. "Not to mention, we're a little busy enjoying what we can from this land. The day doesn't last forever either."

Mija finally ceased her insistence, "Very well, very well. I suppose I could sample the cute thing some other time—" She caught herself, "—with your permission of course! And with you too I hope…"

"Hmph," He couldn't keep himself from smirking at her remarks, "don't get too bold, Mija. I wish you and your fairies well."

She waved with a glittering smile, "I wish the same for you and your companion! Byyyeeee!~" The Great Fairy plunged back into the depths of her pool.

Time knew he'd have to explain plenty of what she'd said, but the scale of the explanation came into view when he turned to face him, 'Oh goodness…' His smile was pleasant, "Ready to go?"

Hearing his words snapped him out of his thoughts. Link quickly nodded, "Where are we going again?"

"Near camp, I believe there should be treasure close by." He took his wolf form and ran back to the grotto, slowing to a trot as they entered the shade of the trees. 'If this is going to be as long of a conversation as I suspect, we might as well talk somewhere scenic.' The god brought them to the cliff's edge where they could take in the view of the trees and rocky land formations across from them. The blue sky hung just overhead. Link climbed off as he turned back, "I'll let you go first."

"Good because there's a lot." Link puffed a sigh, swinging his legs off the edge. "I guess I'll start from the top. According to Mija…I'm your companion who's meant to serve beside you, and you're my master?"

The mention of "master" sent sparks whizzing out of his fingers. "I'll be clear: I am not your master." He clawed at the air, "Ugh, the thought alone disgusts me, even more so than the thought that you might have believed it for a short time." He let go of the resentment he felt toward the concept, flicking away the remaining electricity in his fingers, "On the other hand, yes, the 'unique position' I mentioned before is that of being my companion. But," he held up a hand, "don't be mistaken, it was not a conscious decision I made. Our travels together over time is all that led to this. It's merely so by circumstance." The god sweetly smiled, "Though I care for you all the same, my spark. I should hope you don't question that as well."

Their eyes met, "I'm your equal?"

He took his hand and happily kissed it, "Of course! You shine like no other in my gaze.~" While his companion only stared back in astonishment, he could hear his heart quicken from his words.

Moments later, the champion blinked from his thoughts, "Right…I get what she meant by 'forgo worship and following rules' but…" He managed to cover half of his face with his free hand, "d-did she really mean what she said about me still walking after this morning? She made it sound like that was part of why I'd find it rewarding to be considered your equal! Do you guys just," he threw his hands to either side, "do that sort of thing all the time?"

Fierce Deity shrugged, "I'll admit, it was shallow of her to assume such things about you, but yes, I'll remind you that our respect comes off as terribly intimate from your perspective."

"Can I ask what she meant by something happening to you while you were 'gone?'"

"If I had the memories to answer it. I don't."

Link nodded his understanding. Then his face burned scarlet, "She was really asking to have some kind of threesome with us so she could hatch more fairies!? Time what the hell!?" He shook the god's arm, "She has to ask for your permission to sample me!?"

'Dammit Mija…if only you weren't so forward about these things.' His white eyes fell to his lap, 'Though…I think she was more interested in watching us…I'll let you think otherwise.' A thoughtful smile emerged, "That's why I said it wasn't within your interests to help her, Link." He chuckled at the continuous arm wiggling, "If it makes you feel better, I wouldn't grant her permission if you're not interested." The wiggling stopped.

He flinched at the implications, "Wait, huh?!" The tips of his ears burned, "A-Are you implying I'm yours?"

The deity's eyes shined brighter as he softly replied, "That's how I feel." He played with the knight's hair, "Now, I wouldn't say I own you or control you or hold power over you—but I would say you're mine." Listening to his heart made the marks on his cheeks glow. He kissed the top of his head, "In the least restrictive way of course." When his companion's eyes came back into view, he read a rather complex expression, although a seemingly positive one. He happily leaned into the hand that came to hold his cheek.

Link appeared briefly transfixed until he jolted back into the present, "Right sorry, the marks on your cheeks. Why are they glowing? I know they did when you were sucking the blood out of those blademasters and when you were helping with my wounds, but…why now? It's not the first time they've randomly done this either."

Time appraisingly kissed his forehead, "You still impress me with your eye for details, fair knight." 'Though I won't pretend you'll entirely understand where I'm coming from when this occurs.' "However, I might save that detail for later, hm? Better yet, maybe you'll figure it out yourself."

"Maybe." He sat on his knees and scooted closer, "Otherwise, I've been wondering if—well…" he seemed to reconsider his words until a brief flash of determination lit his gaze, "…if I licked the marks on your cheek while it was glowing, would it taste like blood?"

Judging from the way he appeared to be charting out how he would do it, the god could only assume this had crossed his mind at least a few times. "That's…an impulsive thought, but I can understand where you're coming from." He leaned in closer, "You may if you'd like." Though at the same time…this didn't seem like a good idea. It took until the warm sensation crossed over the edge of the red band for him to realize why.

His nose scrunched, "Bleh, geez it does taste lik—" He gasped.

The god loomed over the knight, all of his markings glowing like embers…along with purple electricity traveling from cheek to cheek—his way of blushing. He breathed harder than before.

"Whoa…" Too curious for his own good, the knight reached out to touch it, "I'm not sure that warranted tackling me, but that's cool. What's that mean?"

Fierce Deity dodged his hand, regaining his means to be sensible, "Sorry, sorry." The purple flickered away, leaving just his bashful face, "I was…thinking of something else for a moment. I don't want to shock you by accident either."

Link squinted, "O-kay…" Shrugging, he sat up, reporting his findings, "Anyways, I didn't expect your skin to divot like that. It makes it seem like your red marks are sorta cut out of your face since they've got an edge on either side." His smile was a tad shy, "It's interesting, I can't lie."

His words made the deity's cheeks spark once more, "An eye for detail indeed.~" He stood, offering a helping hand to his companion. Focusing on the other task at hand should distract him from the salacious thoughts trying to tamper with his conscience. "Ahem, I believe the last chest should be down below."

"But wait, that purple-electric-thing from before is back," he took his hand and was pulled to his feet. "C'mooon, you can tell me." His attempt at puppy eyes were on full display, "Please, Time?"

"Oh I'd love to." More lines of electricity crawled across his face as he kissed his hand, "I just can't decide how." His enticed expression crinkled into a mildly perturbed wince, "Or, what I mean to say is let's get the treasure first." 'I knew that was a bad idea…'

"Ha, yeah okay," The knight crossed his arms. Knavery wrung his smile, "You're still gonna tell me afterward."

"Is that so?" Time matched his stance, "Or else what?"

Link held his hands in front of his chest, "I dunno…there's just—we're standing on a cliff, and there are…two ways down, y'know?" He half-shrugged, "And, even though you're faster than me and whatever, you've got the edge right behind you." The fact that he tried to hide his laughter meant he knew he was spouting bullshit, "I'm fast too, Time." He playfully poked him in the ribs, "Y'know it doesn't take much, if you catch my uh…drift."

"And this is supposed to convince me into telling you?" He played along, "My own companion threatening to push me off?" His eyes shined a little brighter as he provoked him, "I'd love to see him try.~" They laughed at their shenanigans. Better yet, when the champion jokingly shoved him, he purposefully tripped over his heel and stumbled backwards. 'Haha! You just barely caught my hand too!' He snickered to himself as he plummeted into the pool below.

The god threw his head back as he resurfaced, getting his hair out of his face. A shadow passed over his head.

SPLASH!

Link dove in beside him. "A-Are you okay!?" He exclaimed, quickly treading closer, "I didn't mean to actually push you off!"

Meanwhile he laughed, finding a rock to stand on. "Ahh~, you're so cute, my spark." Time pulled him into his arms, pushing a wet kiss into the side of his face, "That push could hardly knock one of the sparring dummies over, let alone me. You should've seen the shock on your face!"

"Dammit!" the champion scowled, flicking water at him, "No wonder you're also the god of trickery! Damn terrible fiend!" He pretended to pout.

'I can't deny it when you put it like that.' A sweeter kiss baited his smile into returning.

"Okay okay!" Link fended off a third with his hand, "Let's get the treasure already! You weren't lying about it being here, right?"

"I wouldn't go that far, fair knight." The god lifted him onto his shoulder to sit, "But I suppose you'll have to forgive me, you have terribly kissable cheeks."

He dismissed his words with a flustered wave, "Pfft, well I don't know about that." He pointed toward the center of the pool, "Anyways, I assume it's probably in the deeper waters there. How are we gonna get it out?"

Fierce Deity eyed the edge of the basin for a place to set his companion, "I thought I could go drag it out since I don't have to worry about air as much as you do, my sweet."

"I guess I can't complain about doing nothing," The knight sighed, "but it appears I can't really help that."

He gestured toward the land, "I was going to let you off over there. How about you check the area for monsters?"

The suggestion perked him up. "Good idea!" Link lamely chuckled. "This is gonna sound stupid, but for a good while I thought we wouldn't have to worry about monsters." He wrung the water out of his hair, "I figured they could sense you and would therefore leave us alone."

"That's not a baseless assumption, though, if we stumble into their camps, I doubt they'll turn tail and run away." From there, he swam Link over to dry land and dove into the grotto's depths. When he reached the bottom, he held a rock to keep himself from floating. 'Ah, there we are.' The white-plated chest hid under two boulders in a pocket of earth. 'This should be easy enough.'

More like "easier said than done." Especially when there are several pissed lizalfos who likely thought they'd never see a human manage to make it to the basin's floor. They gathered around, staring in awe. In the next second, a prickly tongue wrapped around his hand. He instinctively tore it out of its mouth, watching it drown as its own innards kept it from breathing. Plenty of them made this mistake.

Killing the lizards took practically no effort. Catching them was a pain in the ass. Seeing as they eventually got smart about their approach, the deity took to his double helix blade and put an end to all that remained. 'Finally. Damn pests…' He was pleased to watch their entrails float to the surface. Back on task, he moved the boulders and lugged the chest over his shoulder. Once he reached the edge of the water, he squatted and leapt out, landing a few feet away from the knight.

Link whipped around, newly soaked from the splash and wiping water out of his eyes, "Dear Hylia! Was that you who made the ground shake so much? What the hell happened?"

Time recalled the beams from his blade smacking into the surrounding rock, "Sorry, a group of lizalfos were very intent on saying hello. That was me, yes." He sat the chest down in front of him, happily smiling, "If you will." His smile grew as he watched him open it, "Da na na na!~ You've got—"

The knight tugged it out of the box with starry eyes.

"—five electric arrows! Oooh, very rare I bet!" He nudged him, "Is there room for a pun?"

"After all that? I'll be shocked if you didn't," Link snickered with a wink.

Fierce Deity laughed, "My my, you've really gone and stole my thunder." Curious, he plucked one of the arrows out of his hand, tapping the yellow, glowing tip with a so-so expression.

"Not impressed?" The champion shook his head with a grin, "Even though I'm probably the only person in Hyrule that owns them?"

The electricity branched out to his finger, "Well, this will certainly hurt something. You might zap its weapons out of its hands. But up against a lynel? I bet this feels like a pinch even among their weakest variants." He looked to the rest of them, "Might I…" he caught his eye, "…bless them for you? Seeing as you remain at my side, I think it fitting for you to wield a small portion of my power. Wouldn't you agree?"

Link's eyes lit up, "Wait really? How would I do that through the arrows?"

"Simple. I'll grant them the power and magnitude of my smiting bolts, my spark." The god opened his palm for the others, "What do you think?"

Excitement creased into concern, "How would I keep anyone else from using them?"

"To be frank, I imagine a warning shock, enough to burn the finger, and then, should they touch them again, their death will be swift." Consideration laced his gaze, "I don't prefer warnings, but I'd feel sorry if you came back to a room of dead bodies all over a stash of curious arrows."

He placed the rest of them in his hand, smirking, "I could always clear out a drawer too."

"That could work as well." The god stood, pacing away from his companion. He closed his eyes, his markings brightly shining as he let a sense from long past guide his creation. The Old Hylian echoed around the clearing, a slight warp twisting its undertones, "A gift meant to endow my loyal companion with a power proportionate to my own." The arrows hovered above his palms as their color began to shift. "May these arrows harness this gift and remain vigilant against any soul that is not mine nor his own. I entrust one warning, then swift death."

He opened his eyes, feeling his soles hit the ground shortly after. Blinking, he was satisfied to find the tips of the arrows had completely changed. They no longer resembled yellow, dual lightning bolts, instead they took a mystical, double helical shape with a jagged tip and continuously shifted from blue to purple. The fletching changed from white to black and the shaft was made of carved marble. Fierce Deity returned with a toothy grin, "I trust these are to your liking, my spark?"

Link gawked at them as he carefully took them into his hand, "This is probably the most amazing thing I have ever seen let alone held." His lashes fluttered, "And they're meant to be used!? Time, this is art!"

He kissed the top of his head to show his thanks for the compliment, "I'm flattered, truly. You may choose to do as you please with them—except attempting to let anyone else use them. They'll still die despite your discretion."

The knight nodded, "I understand." He wishfully sighed. "Man, if I had a bow right now, I'd totally test one of them out."

"Perhaps that's for the best. We wouldn't want to call attention to ourselves while we're so close to the citadel." Time reached for them, "I can hold onto them like the rest if you'd like. Now that we're finished, we should head back." The arrows were returned.

"I agree." He nodded toward the path, "I found a small lizalfo camp with a few bokoblins nearby. I got rid of them, but I definitely think there'll be more."

The deity chuckled, "Not if we can help it.~"

Before they began their trek back to camp, they took advantage of the large bass Time shocked to the surface from using his sword. While the god collected the fish, his companion picked herbs and wild vegetables he could recognize.

"This should be good, right?" Link came to him with an armful of greens.

They watched them disappear at the touch of the deity's hand, "That's far more than I would have found. Hopefully wherever these go doesn't taint the taste too much." He held out his arms, "Ready?"

Link nodded, hopping into them, "Mhm!"

Fierce Deity eyed the edge of the cliff above them, gauging its height as he bent into a slight squat, 'This should be good enough. Not too high.' He squeezed the knight closer to him as he pushed off the ground into the air. Feeling pleased with the easy landing, he paced away from the edge and sat the knight down.

The champion brushed his hair out of his face, smiling, "I don't know how, especially since you took me into the clouds while we were at the citadel, but I nearly forgot you could do that. I thought we were going to rock climb until you suggested it."

He laughed. "Rock climb? I'm glad I had other methods." They scanned the pine-covered lands. "It should be—"

"North from here, yeah."

It wasn't long until they strolled into their first monster camp. Home to a black moblin and five black bokoblins, they were eager to greet them with swords and spears they likely stole from the citadel. Time let Link do most of the slaughtering while he wrestled the moblin to the ground. He stood on its back as he yanked at the horn on its head, exposing its neck.

Link used his charged spin attack to cut the head clean off.

The god grinned, holding the head and moving it's floppy jaw. He made it sound dopey, "Oooh! I'm most impressed at your ability to kill me! A most worthy death!"

He both laughed and cringed, "Eeew! Don't make the damn thing talk!"

Time turned the head toward himself, agreeing, "He has a point you know. You're quite ugly." He dropped it, "Bleh." This earned him a playful shove.

The next monster camp required more tact. "How many of those lizalfos did you kill in the water!?" Link blocked another tongue lash with his blade, "They're pissed!"

His tone was plain, "Ten or fifteen. Maybe it was their village of sorts." He brutally slashed through another, wiping monster blood off his cheek. He imbued his black blade with ice.

"Time! Hylia above!" The knight shoved the blue lizalfo in the god's direction, shattering it with the Master Sword once the other froze it. He sliced off another tongue flying his way, "You killed their family!"

"We're killing their family!" He laughed, freezing the last three. His blade disappeared from his hands as he zipped to his companion. He took his hand and made them swing. A fierce blade of light demolished what was left of them.

Link stared in awe, jiggling his arm, "Oh my you, that's so cool. It was so huge too!"

The markings on his face briefly lit up from his initial phrase. Following this, a sharp pain flared in his brain and the same peculiar feeling dug it's claws into his chest. He blinked, his hand stopping short of his face as he breathed. "Ah, I'm…glad." He shook his head, "I can appreciate what you did there for the sake of a pun but…let's only take your Goddess's name in vain." 'Is that what provokes this feeling? Recognition by mortals? Possibly from him in particular? Interesting.'

"Sorry!" Perhaps the knight figured out as much as well…or so his glass eyes reflected. His tone was apologetic, "I…yeah. I thought it would be funny." He took his hand, "C'mon, I bet whatever's next won't be as dumb as dealing with lizalfos. I'm pretty sure we're nearly there."

The last camp of monsters was hidden between two large rocks. 'You certainly lack the eyes of an oracle, my sweet.' Four moblins and seven bokoblins—including two silver variants—were far from the difficulty of the lizalfo fight. While the scaly monsters were fast and preferred deploying their most aggravating attacks from a distance, moblins wildly slinging around their kin presented an interesting issue. Blue blood continued to coat the heroes as the black moblin persisted its offensive onslaught with a roar.

'Naturally, when I saw this thing pick up the smaller one, I thought "Oh good, I'll just behead the one it's holding, simple."' Time plunged his sword through a blue bokoblin's ribs. 'Turns out it's one hell of a mess.' He shoved his hand in the opening he created and threw it at the moblin, stunning it long enough to fatally cut through its torso. He caught Link standing in shock through his peripherals, "Link! Behind you!"

Their surroundings moved in slow motion as the silver bokoblin rammed its splintery shield at his face.

"Aargh! Damn thing!" Link hacked away the monster, dodging another swing from the moblins.

'I saw blood.' The deity's marks illuminated as he took off the thin legs of the two moblins idling nearby, waiting for an opportunity to strike. 'Ugh, can't use lightning…' Yet his fingers and shoulders flickered to show his agitation. He tackled the last moblin to the ground, pried its mouth open, and stomped through its face.

The champion finally gouged his blade through the silver bokoblin's eye, ending it with a stab through the heart as it cried in anguish. He made quick work of the next silver enemy.

Meanwhile Time took to burning the flesh off whatever was left. His heart pounded as his gaze tracked to his companion. Monster blood dripped off his chin. 'I knew it.' "Ah…that's a nasty scratch…" The flames toiling beneath his colorful marks were stoked as he peered closer. "Sorry," he took his chin, "I suppose 'scratches' is more accurate."

Link wiped his right cheek with his forearm, his pupils narrowing when he realized he swiped monster blood over them, "Eugh, dammit. Gross. And yeah, they're starting to sting." He motioned between them, "I mean…we might as well jump back in the water right? We're disgusting."

"Actually I've got a solution to that, and for your little injury as well." 'I know you're fine…but if these monster's had souls I would have damned them.' The fierce god tried to keep a neutral face, "Let's get closer to camp first."

Time led them back to the cliff they initially sat at, sitting and patting the rock beside him. His familiars misted around his face. Dusk had set in, and evening quickly approached.

"Wait huh?" The knight leaned closer, "Are those actual clouds?"

"Oh right, I thought I already introduced you. These are my familiars, my spark. Normally they're above us. Normally, I'd argue they misbehave." One zapped his cheek, "Oh I'm sure there are plenty of times I can recall not asking for your input, thank you." Fierce Deity waved his hand. The clouds drifted from his cheeks and grew bigger as they floated above their heads. "Care for an evening shower?"

Link's eyes fell from the clouds to the god. They widened, "I can't believe you're so carefree about wearing absolutely nothing…"

"You said it yourself, didn't you? Monster blood is disgusting." He snapped his fingers, signaling the steady shower of warm rain to begin, "Ah, that's nice.~"

He held out his palm, watching the water pool over and run the blue out of his clothes, "Well…I appreciate it actually coming out of my tunic." The champion poked the god's hand, "I assume you don't absorb monster blood?"

"Correct. It's beyond me why I would reserve the blood from pure evil essence." His upper lip curled at the thought, "Disgusting, really. The texture is grainy and the thickness is close to slime. It has no use to me." He felt a finger trace down his side, "Ah, interested in an old scar?"

"I could've mentioned this earlier, but I'm surprised you have any." It was a gnarly scratch that'd caught his eye.

He chuckled. "Silly, my body doesn't change when I'm like this. I only have one. One with a few forms, that is. These are still the same scars I gained from my quest to become a hero." His smirk was snide, "What? Are you saying you want one?"

Link yanked his hand away, aghast, "E-Excuse me!?"

"I jest, I jest. I was referencing your prior curiosity in the things inhabiting my skin." He snickered behind his hand, "You're terribly amusing to say the least."

"Dammit…you're something else." The knight sassily rolled his eyes, "You kept your word, though. I can respect that."

Time waved the rain away, "Oh, I'll always mean everything I say. I may be sly on occasion but…" his brows rose, "I know you can relate. Now, would you mind coming closer? Let's make sure your pretty face doesn't develop a scar, hm?"

"But I'm soaking wet, tho—whaaat?" His eyes fluttered at the water droplets pulling themselves away from the fabric and falling to the stone.

"My, you don't look wet to me." He scooted closer instead, gingerly holding his chin. Concerned eyes assessed the damage, "It's a wonder you don't have any splinters…" His clouds appeared to look too. The red bands on his cheeks glowed as he smiled. 'I like this idea.' Holding his silver hair out of the way, the god smeared his cheek over his companion's scratches…most of them. A few spanned to his neck.

Link winced, muttering, "Damn…that hurt for a second." Then he snorted, "Tell me why I saw this coming."

"Hmm," Fierce Deity traced the other scratches with a red finger, "I'm becoming so easy to read?" He pinched his other cheek, "Well, if it were anyone else I'd have to do something about that." He kissed away what crimson remained on his skin.

"L-Like what?"

He paused, humming his indifference, "Something." Time continued as he turned his face, detouring to peck his nose instead of lips. "Ahem," He sat up, "I'm glad you weren't hurt anywhere else." 'Goodness, my patience for this is waning.'

The knight felt his face, "Same, thanks for that." Then he cheekily smirked, "This means you're gonna tell me about the purple-lightning-thing on your face from earlier right?"

"Aha, no." His underclothes returned, "But I will light the campfire for you." They strolled back.

"Why not? I know you said something about it shocking me, but what is it?" Link skewered the fish and vegetables while the god replaced the wood. "Plus you said you'd tell me after we got the treasure."

'And I just said that I mean everything I say…I'm truly my own worst enemy. Wonderful.' He finished stacking the logs together, "Very well, my spark." After replenishing the flames and sticking the skewers beside it, he crossed his legs, "So, you know how your face turns all those different shades of pink and red?" Time nodded after glancing his way, "Yes, like that."

"Yes." The knight crossed his arms after sitting beside him, "What about it?"

"Well I know they mean different things based on the situation, but I like to think they're positive when you're around me. It's cute." 'Now how should I say this?' "Seeing as my body is Hylian like yours—for the most part, I believe—my face has done the same. Though, speaking generally, we show the same emotion a bit differently. Mine is the purple lightning you saw earlier." A thought came to mind, "In fact, perhaps this body makes it harder to conduct, though I imagine it's hard to make yourself blush for the sake of testing it."

"Ah, I can see how that ties into being a storm god too!" His eyes appeared giddy at the new information, "That's cool! And it's real electricity too? That's why you dodged my hand earlier?"

"It is real, yes. Though…" The god rubbed his chin, thinking aloud, "…it wouldn't be a bad shock, per se. No…I suppose it'd be enlightening from your perspective."

Link cocked his head, his brows coming together, "Enlightening how? What would it be from your perspective?"

"Normal." 'An invitation.' He smirked, "For you, it'd be a peek into my…thoughts." Then he winced, quickly explaining, "Which is the point; that's what it's meant to be. However, it doesn't mean I'm inclined to do so when it happens. It's more of an option I have." 'Hence why it's an invitation. You're meant to see my proposition and accept or deny it. Of course, your reaction would be terribly entertaining…but the cost is too great.'

"Ah I see." He leaned forward to adjust the skewers closer to the flames, "I guess I won't go reaching for it next time, sorry!"

"I appreciate the foresight."

Shortly after, the warm evening set in and they enjoyed their wild-caught dinner. Time willed away the newly fallen pine needles once more, "Goodness…this fatigue is wretched." The god laid on his back, yawning, "I've been feeling it since the last monster camp."

"It's pretty funny to listen to you complain about getting tired," Link mused, lying on his stomach.

"I'm sure it is, especially since I should be entirely used to it by now and was." He sighed, gazing at the stars. "I suppose it's knowing it should be otherwise that makes me complain." Now he turned on his side, "Anyways, I'm thinking we'll return to the castle tomorrow."

This caught his attention, "Oh okay."

Time nodded, "Yes, when I pictured the castle before, it enraged me. Now? Not so much." He nodded to the hills, "Not to mention, we've found all the treasure in this area unless we want to go hunting in the lake. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure we'll find anything worth our time. We're more likely to find heaps of skeletons."

"And there's the inevitable, morbid comment." Link chuckled to himself. "I'm just surprised since it's only been a couple of days. You sure you'll be fine? What will you do?"

"Well, considering we didn't do much training out here, we'll get back to that, and I'll see if there's absolutely nothing I can do about my predicament." He shrugged, "I'll admit, things would be easier if I didn't have so many eyes on me all the time. To be frank, it's ridiculous I haven't taken my steed and left by now." His warm gaze caught his companion's, "But then, when I ask myself why, well…" he took his hand, "It'd be quite dreary without you by my side, wouldn't it? Sure, you're bound to the castle by your duties, but so long as that dreadful King doesn't blink the wrong way at me, you're plenty a reason to stay."

"That's…" He blinked, processing this further, "…probably one of the most heartfelt things I've ever heard, wow. I can see where you're coming from, but it's a little silly to be held down by me of all things." His eyes shied away as he sat his head in his hand. Fingers drummed against his cheeks, "Also, I know you don't mean it this way—trust me, I know—but I'm just letting you know that you're absolutely, awfully romantic sometimes."

"Romantic?" The cogs in his head turned, "Ah, that would be if you took my words in a more intimate sense. I understand."

"Mm, more like if this is how you all are, we'd say the gods and goddesses have a very romantic culture…I guess."

Time wore a quaint smile, "There's a part of me that says I already understand what you mean, but at the same time, I simply can't imagine how that word describes my actions, let alone my culture." A finger quizzically tapped his cheek, "How interesting. My head fogs at the idea."

"Really?" This seemed to open his eyes, "What does it mean to you then?"

"We don't love, my spark, not in the way that word implies." He wormed a bit closer, "For us, as far as I know, to love something is to have an objectifiable fondness or admiration for it. For example, I love—"

Link playfully shoved his shoulder, "Aw, well you don't have to list anythi—"

"—your eyes."

Ba-dum. "You do?"

The bands on his cheeks illuminated, "No matter the time of day, there's a light refusing to fade. Always determined, normally no matter the task. A blue I believe reflects the sky and its endless horizons, a testament to your capabilities. Oh, and beautiful too." Fierce Deity tapped the knight's chin with the back of his hand, "Hm hm, did I take your breath away?"

Flustered, his hand sat plastered over his heart, "W-Well I'd be lying if I said no! What the hell!" A smile slipped onto his face as he shook his head, "Ugh, that was literally the definition of romantic too! Have you been thinking that this whole time?"

"Silly question, of course I have." Now his hand went to his own chest, "Goodness, don't have a heart attack over there. Considering we're lying down, I'm almost concerned." 'Oh no, it got faster.'

"Gaaah! Why do I keep forgetting you can hear that!?" Link wheezed, burying his face in the grass.

"Well, this is clearly enough excitement for one night." He pulled the ball of fluster to his chest, "Come, let's sleep."

The knight let himself get dragged through the grass, "But wait, what exactly did you mean by 'objectifiable' in your definition? Objectify in what way? In general?"

Time winked, "I can't remember how, but objectifiable in the sense that we could genuinely make an object out of the feeling alone." He yawned, "I'm sure I'd gift you whatever that description would make. I'll see you in the morning, my sweet." He smooched his forehead goodnight.


"You too." Somehow the gesture made him feel calmer than before. 'BUT DEAR HYLIA! Time! You damn bastard! Don't say all those really sweet things and then get surprised when I'm surprised you said it in the first place!' He waited for the deity to fall limp before pushing his head into his chest to roll him on his back. He wanted to lie on his side without getting spooned.

'I can't believe half of the things I learned today…' He breathed a sigh, 'I mean really, is that new-dawn-thing just sex? Seriously?! Time, even though you yelled at Mija, you still never denied what she was talking about!" He shrugged, "To be fair, I probably should've just asked you if she was right, but then there's no way you wouldn't have snaked around actually answering me!' He needed something to mess with while he thought, 'Dammit, I can't pet you. Well…' his eyes traveled to his torso, '…technically…I could, b-but no! That's kinda messed up since you're asleep and I don't wanna live knowing I felt you up just so I could think!'

Link pulled his hair band out and intertwined it between his fingers. Good enough. 'Where was I? …Wait…yeah wait,' his brows furrowed, 'does that mean you'd do that with me!? If that's the morning, what the hell are you guys doing at night!? Should I be flattered? Concerned? A mix of both?' His ears burned, 'Why the hell did Mija suggest I'd be on the receiving end of this from her "still walking" comment!? What about me says that!?' The corners of his mouth dipped into a pensive frown, 'And yet…I'm inclined to believe you wouldn't do it anyways because you don't even kiss kiss me—which is clearly your dumb "best interests" thingy and is painfully obvious—and yet supposedly you'd do this other stuff?' He sassily rolled his eyes, 'I am calling: Bull. Shit. I won't believe it until I see it! Even this morning was proof of your bluff!'

'But then,' he winced, 'looking back now, you didn't technically object to helping Mija make more fairies either! Hell, it looks like the only reason you didn't do it was because she wanted me involved—which is crazy in the first place! This is the first time I've ever had a giant woman so forwardly imply all that stuff! Sample me? Hopefully with you? Mija, Goddess above!' An inquisitive finger tapped his chin, 'Would things have been different if I weren't there?' Link tried to imagine how that would play out, 'Well…I guess you wouldn't be inclined to tell me, so I'd probably never know…but would you tell me? I know this doesn't matter, but I get the feeling—when you're like this—you'd say you were "busy" and imply it somehow. Otherwise, when you're not like this, maybe you'd decline her and then tell me about what almost happened to you.'

'I'm also intrigued but concerned—terribly concerned that you otherwise would have considered helping her if she had something of equal value to give us.' He fanned his face, trying to cool the heat as it returned to his cheeks, 'But also how valuable is that information!? WHY DOES IT HAVE ANY VALUE IN THE FIRST PLACE? AND SHE WAS WORRIED I'D GET TIRED TOO FAST!? TIME, for the love of HYLIA, why didn't you REFUTE any of what she SAID!?'

'And why could she say your real name all she liked, but I can't!?' He sighed, looking elsewhere, 'Then again, clearly there's something about me referring to you as a god that messes with your head. Maybe that's why. She is a Great Fairy after all. I dunno what she meant by "merit" exactly, but I bet it has something to do with this too.' He pushed his head upward onto the deity's chest, 'I don't want to mindlessly stare at the outline of your nipple while I think. Anyways, does that mean if I say your real name it would be a bad kind of damned? I dunno, a part of me feels like it wouldn't be. I'll find out.'

He wanted to cross his arms, 'This whole concept of you claiming me "in the least restrictive way" to be yours is a bit hard to grasp too. I suppose you meant it as more of a concept? Maybe that's not the right word…' The champion pursed his lips, 'I guess it's more like a technicality then…yeah…especially since being your "companion," or at least being recognized as such by those above, both explains and gives the reason for all the "privilege" I seem to have around you while also making me yours in that same sense.' He couldn't prevent the smile crawling onto his face, 'Huh, out of every other way this could have played out with you being a god, I suppose I can't complain that I ended up on the better end of the stick when it comes to your relations with us Hylians. Serving beside you is one hell of an upgrade compared to serving below like everyone else. Especially since we can basically keep being friends. Speaking of which, I understand how it plays a role amongst the more divine beings, but I have no idea how it applies to my other titles, such as being a champion and Zelda's knight.' His eyes squinted, 'And I'll note it's interesting how you've never referred to me as a champion either, always a knight."

He shrugged, 'I'm not offended by any means, but naturally I'm curious if there's some specific reason for that. Otherwise, theoretically speaking, if you weren't letting me tie you down, and decided to head back to the temples on the Great Plateau—because I assume that's where you'd go first—would I have to come with you because being your companion has priority over being Zelda's knight, or would I still remain with Zelda?'

Link thought on it, 'Well, I guess I'm saying this as if you wouldn't give me a choice. I'm sure if you were so determined to go anywhere, you'd just go. Though, I can also see that depending on whether Zelda sorta has the same privileges as me? I assume if she didn't, and I agreed to leave, you'd just take me and go, much like what happened here. And then, considering how you treat me…how would you treat everyone else? Somehow…I get the feeling it wouldn't be as nice since they technically serve under you...' His eyes widened, 'I mean damn, I think Mija was truly coming from the perspective that I am your property. That's insane. Do the other gods and goddesses see me the same way? Mija made it seem like there are more eyes on us—or at least on you—than I initially thought possible…'

He gazed at the stars, 'The god of storms, trickery, and bloodshed…' The champion sat up, eyeing his companion, 'Y'know, after I heard that, when I look back on everything you've ever done since we first met…you've truly been a god this entire time. I thought I'd never met a more cunning yet brazenly violent ten-year-old. I guess the storm-part kicked in after you transformed in the desert, huh?' His eyes settled on the deity's face, 'Mija said something wasn't right with you…and then asked if something happened while you were "gone." Gone how? Gone for how long?' An idea struck him, 'Well wait, you were saying your body is Hylian, which would then of course explain your "mortal traits," so then…obviously, if you're a god and you're immortal, whatever happened while you were gone should be why you're like this.' He bit his lip, 'And yet…you're eighteen? Taking only the past into consideration, I would fully believe you were once a baby and grew up like the rest of us, but…but I guess that doesn't…you should technically be way older, right?'

A light ache spread around his skull, 'Man no wonder it messes with you to think about this…I bet I'm not even close to being right about any of it either.' The god's crimson facial markings caught his attention, making him sigh in contempt, 'Right. I did that…I licked your face.' He rolled his eyes at himself, 'And that's what made your electric-blush-thingy appear!' His pupils narrowed, '…Wow. I get to live with knowing that about you…' He shook his head, 'While still I wonder what kind of thought I'd be peeking into, since it came from that, I can see why you really dodged my hand. And then, while you said maybe your body doesn't conduct it very well, if my memory serves me correctly, you don't really blush at all when you're like this. Hell, before today, I'd have thought it was impossible! Still, it makes me wonder what happens with the other gods and goddesses—just out of curiosity, of course.'

He chuckled to himself. 'I'm glad your blush-thing is based off your sphere over storms. I don't know how trickery would play out, and I don't want to begin to think of what bloodshed would look like.' And yet the image of blood spilling out of the pores of the deity's cheeks and nose crept into his mind, 'Damn that would be so creepy!' Sleep finally tugged at his eyelids, beckoning him to lie back down. True to his nature, he slung an arm over the god and tangled a leg within his too.

Time stirred.

'ACK!'

"Mmm…" He grumbled. There was no way he was lucid. "My spark in the sky is a bit livelier than I remember…"

The god's hand came to hold his cheek as he spoke, "Livelier? What's that supposed to mean?" 'Hylia above, how did that spook me enough to make me sweat?' He felt a part of Time's head loosely rest against the top of his own. 'Did you just nuzzle into me?'

"You don't—yawn—know? Why, you're my little corpse who reanimates as the sun rises." Shallower breaths indicated he'd awakened further.

'Ah, so that's your way of saying I'm a heavy sleeper…hm, that's charming in its own way.' It got a tired laugh out of him, "Time, you're something else." He watched him turn on his side. Link mindlessly gave the deity a small squeeze as he was pulled in closer, 'Aahh~ I think this nearly every time, but to be fair, it is a little nice to be held sometimes.' Lips smushing into his forehead spurred his resting heart into a run. Surprisingly yet unsurprisingly, it was more than one. 'Dear Hylia…I now understand how even these play into your storm sphere as well. It sends this tingling sensation that bounces around my face.'

He smirked, "Dammit, what are you doing? You already said goodnight." Fingers curled into his loose hair.

"Hm? Perhaps I'm saying so again." Time pleasantly rubbed his scalp, "What happened to your hair tie?"

The champion's existence felt like it was cozily shutting down as the tranquilizing sensation radiated from his head into his neck and shoulders. He couldn't keep his eyes open, "It's…around my wrist…" 'Hylia above…this shouldn't feel so good. Help.' He had other things he wanted to say; other things to possibly ask. The head massage along with anchors tied to his eyelids made for a ferocious duo. His consciousness didn't stand a chance.

The last thing he heard was the sound of the fierce god's ardent laughter.


Author's Note:

So another reason I chose Ulria Grotto was thanks to it's treasure locations! These are actually based on the treasure you can find in BOTW! There's a ruby and a silver rupee by West Sokkala Bridge, and then an opal south of Ukuku Plains, only of course they're all in the river relatively close to each other because I said so XD. Oh, and then the same can be said for the electric arrows they found as well, only there's actually 10 in the game, not 5 haha.

Y ' a l l, when I was writing Link's explanation of how his mother died, the song "Courage" from the Twilight Princess ost was playing and 😭😭 I was in my heckin feels! Haha, it's a little too fitting.

Then, finally, the last reason why I chose this location was because I noticed a Great Fairy was nearby and...well, I think I've set my track record for how those encounters normally go lmao. You've probably picked up on it by now, but they're opportunities for information alongside their typical, self-serving shenanigans. When it came to Fierce Deity's spheres of influence, naturally I wanted them to make sense with his personality I've shown throughout the story. I specifically chose "bloodshed" over something like "war" (cliche, imo) and "valor" (which basically means courage, so no) because I think it'll prove to be more interesting down the line while also staying within his character.

I'll also say it's interesting to write his more divine-self because of how affectionate he is. And yeah, I'm keenly aware of how it comes off if we ignore the context XD. I suppose I'll just note that Hylia's behavior is actually the rule, not the exception. In fact, with how this chapter begins, he's sorta meant to mirror her lmao.

But ye! I hope y'all enjoy seeing what my thought process sort of looks like from time to time. :)