Being a child of Hebra, snow and ice rarely bothered Cami. The faint sting of the cold on his face that left his cheeks rosy. The large flakes that landed in his hair and eyelashes. He relished the puff of white mist that showed when he exhaled— what his parents used to call 'the breath of dragons.' But for him, the best part of being in the snowy mountains was getting to snowboard from the chalet where he grew up down to Rito Village.

So, when Link sheepishly approached him and requested his company to venture into Hebra and meet up with the Rito, Cami had to curb his enthusiasm to maintain his typical demeanor. He never had trusted the Champion, not since he learned of the blond's interest in Azzy. She was his and Fae's, and he wasn't keen on sharing. But Link had kept his distance, and after a long conversation with Azzy, Cami grudgingly agreed to give him a chance at friendship.

Regardless, he wasn't expecting to be left in the village when Link ventured into the skies after Tulin with the promise of a swift return. It made sense though. Cami was not a fan of heights, nor did he have the capacity for flight. He'd just as soon keep his feet firmly planted on the ground— unless he was snowboarding. But given the lack of a solid time when Link was supposed to return, and the blizzard outside, Cami stayed close to the village.

What he wasn't expecting was to be ambushed and accosted for the afternoon. And those were indeed the only words that truly fit for how quickly the gossip columnist came out of nowhere.

"A Hylian! I haven't seen a non-Rito here in ages! Where are you from? Why are you here? How long are you staying? By the Goddess, I have to get an interview from you!"

If Cami hadn't been seated by the warm fire to thaw his aching limbs, he would've immediately backed away from the woman. As it was, he scowled at her to discourage her from sitting down across from him. "I don't know you. Why the hell would I want to give a so-called 'interview'? Screw off."

The redheaded Hylian woman nonplussed, pulling out a notebook and pencil. "Oh, c'mon! Don't tell me that you don't know Traysi when you see her!"

"You mean the bitch who writes the gossip rag nobody cares about? Look, I already told you I'm not interested. Leave me alone." He turned away from her, making it abundantly clear that he had no intention of continuing the conversation.

"Hey! It's not a gossip rag! I've worked tirelessly to bring juicy tidbits and stories about notable mysteries and going's on in Hyrule! Surely you've got some kind of story to tell. And… and maybe I can make it worth your while!" Traysi was grasping at straws now.

Cami let her stew for a minute, contemplating his options before turning to the desperate woman with a faint look of interest. "What do you have in mind?"

"I, um, well, I suppose I could offer a bit of monetary compensation. How many rupees do you think is reasonable for answering just a few questions?"

"100 rupees a question."

He watched the color drain from her face while she scrambled to reply. "How about 25?"

"Tsk. No way."

"50 then! And no more than 10 questions, final offer." Traysi offered.

"… fine. But if I don't want to answer them, I maintain full rights to be able to refuse." Cami crossed his arms and smirked at her. "And they'll still count towards the total."

Traysi pursed her lips, obviously irritated at the limitation. "Fine. I'll need your name— and that's NOT one of the questions."

"Camilio."

The journalist hastily wrote it down on her notepad. "Question one: where are you from?"

"Here in Hebra." Cami crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"Do you have any family?"

"Hyrule doesn't need to know, and neither do you."

Traysi looked up curiously. "Interesting choice. Well, then. Question three: where do you reside now?"

"Why would you need to know that? I'm not interested in having visitors. Next question."

She let out a huff of frustration, bringing a faint smile to his face. This was fun.

"Alright. What brought you here?"

There was no reason not to answer that one. "I'm here with Link because I know the area better than he does, and I was told by— well, it would be in his best interest to have someone keeping him from gettin' fucking lost in the mountains."

"How fantastic that you're able to accompany our legendary Champion! So, what do you think is going on here in Hebra?" She looked up from her notebook. "You're from here, so you must have some kind of theory."

"Like most weird shit that's been happening, it's probably connected to whatever evil Ganondorf awakened. Massive snowstorm that started around the time the Castle lifted into the air and the Princess went missing? Can't tell me that's a fucking coincidence." Cami looked out at the blowing snow. "You used up half your questions."

Traysi visibly fumbled, scrambling to scrawl down what she wanted to remember. "Right. Umm, as a native Hebran, do you have any hobbies?"

"Snowboarding," came the immediate response. "And I'm damn good at it too."

"Oooo, definitely noting that. It's sure to draw the attention of the ladies. Maybe even some gents. Speaking of which, is there someone special in your life?"

Cami sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, there is."

"Oh, that makes me so happy to hear! Care to share about them, like who they are and where you met? They must be quite the remarkable individual to have formed a relationship with you." The backhanded comment wasn't missed and Cami couldn't help but smirk. She wanted to play that way? He was about to douse her hopes with a bucket of icy Hebran river water.

"I'm not gonna answer that either. Any lover I take, past or present, is my business."

Traysi was truly desperate by this point, and had no qualms in begging, going so far as to rest her hand on the table in front of him. "Come now, surely there's some kind of juicy tidbit that you can tell our readers about the type of person who would win your heart and affections?"

"Hell, no. My private life is exactly that: private. You'll see me periodically with different people around Hyrule but I have no reason to publicly announce anything about my relationship status or any personal information about myself." Cami let her chew on that for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and gestured to her notes. "You have one more question. Better make it good."

"It is a relationship question but I've asked this fairly recently to other Hyrule residents. Knowing nothing about your relationship, BUT given the circumstances that have recently arisen within Hyrule, my final question is this: would you choose to get married during this present period of time?"

The question caught Cami off guard. He always thought of it as something Fae would handle. Fae was the instigator. The leader of the trio, whether the brunet always wanted to admit it or not. Did he want to marry them? That wasn't in question. The timing was the nature of it.

"Cami?"

His silence had lasted longer than he realized and he now had to come up with an answer swiftly. "Yes," he blurted without thinking about it. "It'd be hard, but any relationship already is. Maybe I'll marry at some point. Right now though, we're not ready."

"Mmm. Good to know. Well, if your relationship status ever changes, let us know. I'm sure there'll be no shortage of young women lining up for you." Traysi smirked over her notepad before flipping it closed. "Camilio, it has been a pleasure. I'll be sure to keep you sounding like the friendly lady killer that you are." Traysi pulled out her purse of rupees, tossed five silver ones in his direction, and turned on her heel. "Have fun shadowing the Champion! I hope you can keep up. I've heard things can get pretty dangerous."

Cami chuckled and tucked the rupees into his own purse. She didn't really get that much information out of him, and both of them knew it. But he got some entertainment and 500 rupees for being bothered by the obnoxious woman. He stretched and looked around. The blizzard was blowing snow all around outside. Maybe Link had been right to chase the fledgling out into the storm. Countless times Cami had heard of people, Hylian and Rito alike, venturing out during a strong blizzard only to be found days later, frozen to death.

But as he watched, the blizzard lessened, then faded. He crossed his arms and looked up at the skies above Rito Village. Link had done it again. There was no doubt in his mind. It didn't matter what supernatural event arose without warning, caused by monsters or a puzzle of some sort. The Champion had a knack for defeating evil, solving the problem, and returning Hyrule to its proper state. Even as much as Cami didn't like or trust the guy, he had to grudgingly admit that the blond was skilled at what he did.

He walked outside and gazed around. The snow gave the area surrounding Rito Village a peaceful aura. This was why he loved upper Tabantha and Hebra. Heat made him feel sick. The cold was where he thrived. But that's where he differed from his lovers. While Azzy would gladly venture anywhere in Hyrule (and often did), she wasn't built for prolonged time in the cold. Most often, they would spend a couple hours in the elements before heading back inside to the warmth of a roaring fire.

For himself, he likewise didn't do so well when the trio would be venturing to Azzy's childhood home in Lurelin. A few hours in the sunlight, handling the harsh reflection of the glare off the water, and Cami was ducking inside with a cool drink in hand.

Fae had no preference for where he spent his time, at least none that he voiced. His heritage was in the Gerudo Desert, yet none of them were especially keen on spending much time there, having spent his formative years in Hateno, then Akkala. So, when it came time to settle on a place to live together, the choice fell on Central Hyrule thanks to the position Fae had been given by the Princess herself. At least it served as a good midpoint between the homes they respectively grew up in.

He wouldn't admit it aloud as his boots crunched in the snow, but part of him missed having regular walks through frosted woods. The sounds of the birds, squirrels, and foxes alike comforted him. While there were still things he found in other areas of Hyrule, there was something different in Hebra. The crispness of the air. The way nature's cries reached his ears.

He wandered around to the bottom hanging bridge leading up to Rito Village. The floating sky islands above were now clearly visible, even as the sunlight was beginning to dim from the late afternoon. He watched as the young Rito swooped down, followed by Link on his glider. The pair disappeared out of sight around the back of Rito Village without a glance in Cami's direction. The brunet was nonplussed and simply continued his slow walk around the edge of the cliffs that dropped into Lake Totori. The changes that had transpired around the village weren't all for the better. He found himself missing the comfort of the stable, the cheerful humming of Beedle as the strange merchant peddled his wares, and the heavy thud of the older Hylian men chopping wood for storage near the stable. There was a sense of community, unity amongst those hardened enough to survive, and even thrive in the harsher climates of Hebra. With the stable gone, those drawn to it now ventured higher into the mountains for the Hebra Stable, or further down into Tabantha, leaving the village nearly entirely to the Rito. Maybe it was for the best that the chalet was no longer his permanent home.

"Cam. Wait up." The sound of the paraglider snapping shut behind him accompanied Link's voice.

The brunet turned to face the Champion. Apart from a slight scratch across his cheek and a new tear in the leg of his trousers, Link seemed none the worse for his experiences. "Get it all sorted? What was causing the blizzard?"

"Oh, just a flying monster. Y'know. The usual." Link grinned at him. "Did you do anything fun while I was away?"

"Annoyed the shit out of that reporter, Traysi. Earned myself 500 rupees while wasting her time too, so it was a win-win." Cami smirked. "You hungry? I've got money for food."

Link threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, I'd have given a hundred rupees to be a beetle on the wall of that exchange. I've got food in my pack though, and an offer for dinner and a warm, soft bed up in Rito Village for both of us tonight. Got more plans while we're up here?"

"Actually, yes," Cami admitted. "There's a Talus that supposedly has these super rare pink sapphires, and it hangs around Hebra Mountain. That's my ulterior motive for coming with you."

"Lemme guess: you want to make something for Azzy, huh? Well, say no more. After some food and rest, we'll set out hunting for it in the morning. C'mon. Let's get back up to the village."

Cami swallowed down his irritation at the familiar, affectionate tone Link used for Azzy while he followed him up the hanging bridges to Rito Village. She wasn't Link's, even if the two were fond of each other. But he couldn't let his jealousy get the better of him. Not when the Champion was willing to assist with getting his hands on the elusive, rare ore that would make the perfect jewelry for Azzy.

Just after dawn, the two young men departed from the village and started the climb up the mountain range where they would eventually find Hebra Mountain. Silence reigned between until they'd been hiking for about a half hour.

"Do you miss being here?"

Cami glanced at Link. "Some. But it's not worth bein' here if it makes Azzy and Fae unhappy. Azzy can't take much time in the cold, and though he ain't gonna come out and say it, I know Fae prefers to keep trips out here pretty brief."

"But you grew up here, right?" Link asked, clearly to strike up some kind of prolonged conversation.

"Yeah." Cami adjusted his adventuring pack on his back. "I know these mountains like the back of my hand. Spent more time hiking and snowboarding through here than time inside. Had to fight cabin fever somehow."

"I would've done the same thing. You use shields for snowboarding too?"

"Yeah. Made 'em myself when I ran out of affordable shields. Wood's easy to come by. Whittling is easy too."

Link hummed in understanding. "I haven't had much free time for that myself, but I've got an appreciation for those of you who do. Especially when it comes to larger woodworking projects too."

"Thanks." Cami wasn't sure what more to say. Conversation was usually awkward when it was prolonged– at least when he was conversing with Link. "So, uh, how'd it go yesterday?"

"Not bad, all things considered. It was damn cold up there though. Worse than being on the top of Mount Hebra."

"No shit, really? Worse than being on the peak of the mountain?!" The brunet let out a low whistle. "That's pretty damn cold."

"Believe me, I know. I had all the cold-weather gear AND a couple elixirs against it, and I was still a bit cold. Couldn't wait to get back to a roaring fire. Made it back and it felt amazing to thaw out." Link paused and looked around them. "Hey, we're almost high enough to surf down the mountain and halfway up the next. And look!" He gestured across the mountain range to a slow-moving rock formation on the third peak away from them.

Cami's eyes widened when he recognized the Talus with large chunks of ore on its back. "Nahhh… can't be that easy."

"Easy? You're in the Hebra mountains, away from supplies and people, and you've still gotta kill the thing," Link pointed out. "How do you fare against a Talus?"

"Better than a Lynel, I can tell you that much," Cami mumbled. "Long as I can mount the fuckin' thing, everything's fine."

"Mmmm."

The two young men gazed at it from a distance for a long moment before Link pulled a wooden pot lid off his pack. "I grabbed an extra when I knew we were likely going to be snowboarding today. You got yours?"

Cam silently retrieved his own shield and showed it to the Champion. "When you're ready."

"Betcha we can't reach halfway up that slope on our momentum." Link pointed to the next mountain over. "If we climb from there to the top, then it's just down the other side, and we'll be on the proper peak."

"Race you down then." Cami's competitive spirit was in full force when he leaped onto his shield and started down the slope.

This… this was what he lived for. The exhilaration of the wind in his face. The speed of the descent. The light spray of the cold snow in his face from the side of the shield when he shifted his weight to avoid hitting large rocks and trees strewn along their path. It didn't even matter that his glasses were being covered in the light spray of tiny water droplets. It was all worth it.

Link whooped beside him when he caught up to the brunet. "Whoo! Now this is some fun!"

"Yeah, some fun beating your ass!" Cami laughed when he caught air off a buried rock that sent him flying ahead of the Champion. "You're not gonna win, old man!"

"Call me that again, and we'll see just how far you get!"

Cami flipped him off and continued his ride. Making it towards the bottom, he turned his momentum upwards as he went off another makeshift jump. Snowboarding UP a slope wasn't easy. Hell, it was downright impossible when his speed waned. But he tried anyway, doing his best to get as far up the next mountain as possible.

This time, he traveled halfway up the next slope before his momentum failed and he tumbled into the snow. He brushed himself off and turned, just in time to see Link faceplant into a snowbank a few paces shy of where he landed. The blond sputtered and brushed off his face, shifting to face away from Cami while he sat up.

"Rough landing, buddy?" Cami teased, crossing his arms. "How'd it feel losing to a non-Champion?"

Link mumbled something low under his breath. He brushed himself off and examined his now-broken makeshift shield. "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and continue to gloat. You won fair and square."

Cami took pity on him and offered him a hand to get up from the deeper snow. "Nah, you ate shit, and that sucks. C'mon. We still got more of a hike."

"Thanks." He dropped his hand and brushed off his butt. "Guess I've got firewood for later."

"There ya go. And if your backup breaks, it'll fuel the fire even longer."

Link sighed and shoved the pieces of wood into the top of his pack. "Purah still needs to accommodate for broken items to be stored with the fancy new 'Purah Pad'. That would mean I wouldn't have to carry a separate adventuring pack."

"Must be convenient. Anything that would mean that I'm not lugging a pack with me when I'm traveling would be nice." Cami exhaled. His footsteps paused when he crested the top of the peak. His gaze was drawn not to the Talus they sought, but instead to movement of something dark beyond, atop Mount Hebra.

"Did you see that?" Link came up to stand beside him. He pointed at the same spot where Cami was looking. "The dark shadows moving."

"Yeah, it didn't look like what the gloom radiates." Cami studied the mountain, watching to see if the movement continued. "There's definitely something up there."

"Wanna check it out after we get your sapphire ore? Might be a fun adventure."

The longer Cami focused on the shadows, the stronger the urge to venture closer grew. "Yeah, let's do that. After we get the ore."

"Can't go disappointing Azzy now, can we?" Link chuckled. "Let's take down that Talus. You got fire arrows?"

Cami snorted. "Do you have to ask? Why? You gonna fight me to see who's gonna take it down?"

"Not especially. You're welcome to fight it if you want, but I'm more than willing to go after it myself. Or team up together. The choice is yours."

"Depends. Will you try to claim credit for gettin' the sapphires?" The words came out harsher than he intended.

Link looked at him in surprise. "No. I know they're for a gift you want to make for Azzy. Why would it matter if I had helped or not?"

"Because you like her and you're jealous of us."

The words hung between the two young men for a whole minute. Cami's chest heaved while he fought to contain himself. It was clear to him that the Champion had a serious affection for his girlfriend– and had since the moment the two had met, from what he could tell.

"Cam." Link paused, licked his lips, then began again. "Don't get me wrong. I like Azzy very much. But I'm not going to steal her from you and Fae. I know she's in love with you both. She made that clear for a while now, as have you. I consider her a friend, and I'm thankful she's been so willing to step in and help me when need be. But I love the Princess, my Zelda, every bit as much as you love your 'little healer'. I'm offering to help get the sapphires because I know what getting the jewelry you're making with it will mean to her. A gift from you. Not anyone else."

Cami searched his face for any sign of deceit or pity. Instead, he found only understanding and sincerity on the face of the blond Champion. He took a beat or two for the words to sink in before he gave a slight nod. "Alright."

"We good?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow. "You can kick my ass if it'd help you feel better."

A laugh sputtered from Cami before he could stop it. "Didn't I already do that with the snowboarding?"

"I was referring to literally kicking my ass, but if that's your preference, I won't argue." Link shifted his pack on his shoulder and looked over at the Talus with the faint pink and gold glow emanating from the ore on its icy back. "You got a plan in mind?"

"If you wanna try to ride the slippery hard bastard, I won't stop you. We can see how long you last."

Link slowly turned to face the brunet and shook his head. "You've been spending way too much time with Fae recently. His innuendo is rubbing off on you."

"Not the only thing rubbing on me." Cami smirked when Link's ears flushed red. "Anyway. I'll melt the ice with some fire and bomb arrows. Then you can–"

"Mount it, then hit it where it's hard until it explodes. Is that what you were going to say?" Link shot back. His smirk matched Cami's as he dropped his pack at the brunet's feet. "You won't mind holding this then. I don't need to be weighed down if I'm gonna be 'mounting up' or whatever you want to call it."

"Yeah, I got it." Cami pulled his own pack off and dumped it unceremoniously on the ground. "You wanna get a head start heading over there before I start bombing the shit out of it?"

"Mmmm. Few seconds head start should be enough. Just don't hit me with any of those arrows, or we'll be calling up Azzy and ruining the surprise you're planning."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Let's not do that. She knows I'm hunting something up here but she thinks the pink sapphires are only seen in ancient mythos."

"In that case, we have to make sure we get enough to make all the jewelry you want. How many pieces are you needing?"

Cami thought about it, mentally counting to see how many he would need for each portion of what he wanted to make. "About three chunks, I think. Maybe four, if we can get lucky with the sizes of the ore pieces."

"If I'm seeing it right, you'll get at least three." Link shook out his hands and pulled a Royal Broadsword from his inventory. "This oughta do."

"Isn't it gonna break in like three hits cuz that gloom shit is affecting everything?"

"Not this one. I found it held by a statue down in the Depths when I was with Zen. It doesn't seem to be under the same affliction as the other weapons. I'm not complaining, that's for sure." Link grinned at him. "If it'll last longer without me having to fuse it to something else, all the better."

"Still say you're fuckin' lucky to not have your swords and bows breaking all the time," Cami mumbled. "And that 'fuse' ability should be added into the older Sheikah Slates like ours too. Just sayin.'"

"You're not wrong," his companion admitted. "It's one of the most handy abilities I've obtained along the way. But I'll do what I can to back you up if your stuff breaks. I've got extras stored in my pad's inventory. Purah expanded it from the Sheikah Slate."

"Right. Call it when you're ready. I'm a decent bowsman, but I can't promise perfect aim, so watch your ass." The brunet pulled his bow out of his pack and dug until he found a couple of arrows and a pair of bomb flowers.

"I'll keep that in mind. Fire when ready." The Champion sprinted down the slope, making a beeline towards the Talus.

Cami rolled his eyes but set up the bomb arrow nonetheless. He aimed carefully and sent it flying at the Talus. At least the stupid rock monsters could only fight back by throwing rocks.

The explosion reverberated off the mountain, and for an instant, he thought he felt the snow shift under his feet. Right. Avalanche risk. They had to be careful– even if they had made every effort to ensure they were prepared. And that meant he had to watch the snow where Link was running just as much as he needed to keep an eye on the Talus when he nocked his second bomb arrow.

"Send it now!" Link hollered over his shoulder.

If Cami waited any longer, Link would be in the blast radius. So he shot the arrow as quickly as he could. The explosive hit the fragile pillars of ore on the monster's back and stunned it, giving Link enough time to bypass the slippery surface of the unmelted casing around the Talus and clamber up to the weak spot.

While Cami watched, Link took the broadsword with both hands and launched a spinning attack. He hit the ore over and over, for a total of eight times before the final blow exploded and sprayed snow up around the Champion and the monster. Gemstone chunks went flying in multiple directions, raining down from the sky.

Link whooped as the monster exploded in a puff of purple and vanished. "That got him! Nice shot with the arrows!"

"Thanks." Cami jogged down the hill to join him in collecting the pieces of ore scattered in a fifty pace radius.

"What are you doing with the other ore?" Link asked curiously. He picked up a piece of amber and rolled his eyes. "Not that all of it is worth that much."

"Depends what we get. You earned part of it too." Cami grinned as he tossed a chunk of the sakura pink sapphire in his hand. "And damn, these are pretty."

"Catch!"

He had to juggle the ones he held in order to not drop the one that Link lobbed his way. "Gimme a little warning next time so I don't send 'em down the mountain!" he groused.

"My bad. Here. I think this is the last of what it dropped. How'd we make out?"

Cami led them back up the ridge to the small plateau where they'd left their bags. He spread out the ore in the snow in front of him.

Three chunks of pink sapphire. Two topaz. Three amber. Cami eyed the chunks of sapphire. They were all fairly decent sized and would work for what he was planning on commissioning. "You can take the topaz and amber. I just need the sapphires."

"Keep one of the topaz. Rupees can go towards your cost for getting them turned into jewelry. What're you having them make?" Link inquired while he tucked the amber into his inventory with one of the topaz.

"Hair clips, and a jewelry set."

"Necklace and earrings?"

"That's the hope," Cami replied. He stored the precious pink gemstones at the bottom of his pack. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. And when you're done with them? I hope I get to see Azzy wearing them with pride. You're gonna make that girl so happy." Link straightened and patted him on the shoulder. "You already do. She lights up around you and Fae."

"Hope so. Anything in the world she wants, you bet your ass that we're gonna bust a gut trying to get it for her." Cami picked up his pack with a faint grunt. The hike back was going to be just as long and cold. And it was likely going to be mid-afternoon before they made it to the family chalet.

"There's more shadows than earlier, but they don't seem to be moving as much." Link pulled his attention back to the top of Mount Hebra again. "It's strange. I've never seen anything like it. Not with the malice from Calamity Ganon, nor with the new gloom. This is different somehow."

For an instant, Cami could swear that he heard distorted, whispering voices speaking his name.

Camilio. Camilio, come to us. Embrace your destiny. Join us, Camilio. We're waiting for you.

He had to be imagining things. There was nobody but Link and himself around for miles. Nobody who could, or would even want to call out to him from the mountain. A shiver ran down his spine, completely unrelated to the cold of the region. Religion was always more Azzy and Fae's thing than his own, but superstitions still ran deep enough within him that he couldn't deny the thought that someone, or something, might be trying to contact him.

"You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost," Link awkwardly chuckled.

"Maybe I have," he mumbled slowly. "Let's go."

"Where? The mountain?"

"Yes. Let's go to Hebra Mountain." Cami's gaze locked onto the dark shapes dancing across the snow atop Hebra's highest peak. He WOULD get answers on what the hell was going on. He wouldn't leave until he did. If there was one thing that living in the rugged snow-covered mountains had taught him? What had his father instilled into him years before? Cowardice was the mark of failure. To survive, one had to face the odds. Face their fears, and venture into unfamiliar territory… For a life lived in fear was no life at all.