It's about three weeks since they've left the Great Plateau.
In that time Link has mostly been cooking and fighting and catching bugs; he's gotten quite adept at Elixirs. Not to mention his cooking.
Tonight it's some kind of skewer, the meat, mushrooms, and carrots having soaked in sautéed wild herbs, now giving off aromatic steam over the fire. As usual Link has made two skewers, and Fi sighs, resigned.
"Dinner!" He chips brightly, trying to figure out how to hand her a skewer when she has no hands.
"Link," her voice soft, kind, "I do not need to eat. Even if it does smell delicious." She can't smell, exactly, but she knows it smells good to him.
He frowns, a little petulantly. "But you're always telling me to eat!"
. . .Maybe she should try to explain it to him.
She settles next to him, tilting her head so he'll start eating. He does, although he grumbles. "What I mean is, I am incapable of eating," his brow is furrowed, so she knows he's listening, "Even if my body was here, I do not have teeth or a digestive system. Therefore-"
He goes rigid, mouth agape. "Your-" suddenly he jumps up. "We need to go get it!"
He's shoving the food into the Slate and scrambling to grab his stuff, it takes her a moment to respond to this sudden change.
She drifts towards him. "Link, hold on a moment-"
"Is it okay? Is it cold and dark? How far is it-"
"Wild!" She snaps. Startling them both; Fi has been calling him by his hero title in her head for awhile, but this is the first time she had aloud - she's surprised he even responded to it.
"Link," softer, "please, sit down. It is okay, I will explain."
He's still rabbit-frozen, but she manages to coax him back towards the fire, and he lets the embers burst back into flames. Once he's settled, she settles close enough for him to feel her cool presence.
"I am a sword spirit," she starts, and he nods, pointedly looking at her lack of arms. She is very sword shaped. She's kinda sore about the lack of arms though.
"As such, I can be away from my body. It is safe, and it is recovering." His eyes glitter worriedly at that. "Remember what the King and I told you? That you were hurt very badly? That's why you were in the shrine."
He grimaces, then nods once, sharply. He doesn't like to talk about the shrine.
Fi takes a moment, before continuing. "I was with you when you got hurt. I did too. But my body had to go somewhere else to heal - it can't be fixed like a normal sword."
"But-" he cuts himself off, looking away. "Were you. . .awake?"
"No." She says simply. His shoulders slump in relief.
"Then. . ." He's squinting at the fire now. "You- feel it?"
Ah. "Yes, in a way. But it's heavy, like I'm. . .asleep still."
"Are you dreaming?"
Fi feels a bit of a smile at that; it's not incorrect, necessarily. "I suppose you could put it that way. Me being here is like I'm dreaming, but I'm aware, and it's real."
"Oh. So why not?"
"Why not go get my body?" He nods. She sighs. "It's not that simple. It- I could hurt you."
Link seems almost offended at that, so sure she would never hurt him. And he's right in that sense, but it's a fail safe for the hero.
"Think of it this way; when you use a sword," she flicks her head at his rusty broadsword, "it is like an extension of you, right?"
Link nods.
"Well, when you use my body, it is also an extension of you - but different. Because it's alive, and powerful in a way a regular weapon isn't. If you try to use it when you're not back to full strength, the imbalance will hurt you. Like- like if you use a weapon too heavy for you, you can drop it on yourself or use it wrong. Does that make sense?"
Link nods once again, and although seemingly disgruntled, he's no longer alarmed.
"But," Fi adds on. "I promise it's safe, and you will be eventually able to get it. But for now I'm here with you, and I won't leave you. Okay?"
He searches her face for any hint of a lie, or discomfort. But slowly, gingerly, he accepts what she says.
"Okay," he says softly.
She stays closer that night when he goes to sleep, close enough that her chill gains warmth, in that way metal gradually warms when in sunlight.
He asks often, to retrieve her body. She does not get irritated by this. Instead, she is warmed by his obvious care.
Wild eventually asks more about her being a sword spirit - while he had obviously assumed she was Hylian unless stated otherwise, he is not surprised that she isn't. So she explains some, and tells him about her first wielder, Sky.
In fact, while she does not outright explain why she calls him Wild, Fi does explain that Sky's name is also Link, and that he is the Hero Of The Sky. Then only refers to him as Sky from then on. Wild is smart so she's sure he has pieced it together.
This of course leads to history lessons as best as she can explain (for she cannot completely deem what is general information or not; most of her knowledge is from eras of heroes, and in-between she sleeps).
He practically preens when he hears that he is the only hero, since the hero of the Sky, that she's been able to manifest for. Back then many others saw her too, although they never really questioned her presence - Skyloft had been in an era of relative peace, they had no reason to fear something strange or new. But here, only some can perceive her. Mostly older, wizened ones, although it could vary.
(Out of the four who helped Link free the Divine Beasts, only two had reacted negatively; Yunobo had been frightened, although he was frightened of most things, and Riju had been prepared to cleave her in two. Thankfully the. . .misunderstandings had been cleared up easily. Teba had been indifferent. Sidon had accepted her presence easily.)
So it was hit or miss if she could be seen.
Impa had been. . .interesting.
(To be fair, when she'd had a moment alone, she had very clearly, coldly, explained to Impa that she would not allow any mistreatment of her Master. She remembered well Impa's thinly-veiled distrust and jealousy, all those years ago. And while she would not hold it against her, as she had been a child then, she was going to draw a line then and there.
Impa was a grown woman, though, and seemed genuinely concerned for Link, so she hasn't pushed it too much.)
Fi helped direct Link to shrines, explaining that that was how he could regain his strength. And he still asked, in-between, but mostly focused on tackling the challenges with ferocity.
They found days of sunshine and warm grass, playing with dogs and cats at the stables, laughter with Koroks, and helping every soul they came across.
Link bought a house, Fi scared the dye maker in Hateno; they spent hot days in the shade of a tree where she told him of stories and heroes long gone.
And then, finally one day, health and stamina were at their maximum.
The Lost Woods still held an ethereal enchantment, but Fi felt it was not as hostile as it had been so very long ago.
Perhaps, though, it had been the many Koroks Link had found who eagerly led them through, chittering happily. One directed him off the path for a moment, but before Fi could even worry he popped out of the mist, a Korok Mask on his face.
Soon enough they were before The Great Deku tree, who greeted them both. His voice reverberated through the ground beneath them when he spoke.
"Hero. . . Sword Spirit. . .welcome. We have waited. . .long. . .for your arrival."
Link paused, hands hovering. He glanced at Fi.
She gave him an encouraging look from where she hovered, graceful and fluttering.
Fi felt as soon as he grabbed the handle, warmth; what she imagined a hug felt like. She soared back into her body as he pulled it free, and felt like she could breath.
She felt Link's brief panic, and she chimed. "It's alright; I'm here. I just need a moment to adjust, then I'll come out so you can see me."
Fi felt more than heard his okay; her senses were different when inside her body. She was wholly comfortable, here. Things made sense in a way her projecting didn't - like her connection to Wild.
She could feel him settling on the pedestal, setting her body in his lap, one hand gripping the handle and the other laying over the blade. She gave a pleased chime, and settled into a state between conscious and not.
Later, sometime later, she flew out; she could feel how before there had been an absence she hadn't noticed, now that it was filled. Fi felt. . .whole, she supposed. Alive.
Although, she did feel something different.
There was a weight, on her handle. There, on her body, was the piece that Wild had made some months ago - the pretty jewels he had strung up and shown her so eagerly. Here, he had wrapped it around her handle and cross-hilt in a way it wouldn't slip or snag.
On her own neck - her projection - was an identical necklace wrap, fit to her current size.
Fi blinked. "Oh."
Wild brightened up. "I didn't know it would show up! Do you-" he looked down, flustered, "do you like it?"
"I. . ." Could swords get choked up? She thinks she feels 'misty-eyed.' "Oh Wild," she drifts close enough for their shoulders to brush, and her blade flashes, "I love it, thank you."
He smiles shyly, his eyes wet. "I'm glad."
The moment is broken when a Korok latches onto Wild. " ! ! And Sword! Great Deku Tree says you know stories! And games!"
Link laughs happily, as they drag him off to play, and Fi follows.
It really is good to be whole, and alive.
