The East Post

As soon as his head hit the covers, he was out like a light. Meanwhile, the morning came and hit him like a ton of bricks, "Uuuuugghhh…I'm soooo sooooore." He flung himself forward to sit up. The arm that drew back the bowstring felt like a wet noodle. Young Link groaned, "How am I supposed to show off how good of swordsman I am if I can't swing my arm to save my life?"

Rolling out of bed, he threw on the green tunic that came from the academy, slung on his equipment, donned the Fierce Deity's Mask on his hip, and went to eat breakfast before grabbing Grace and meeting Link and the others. The food of choice that morning was biscuits and sausage gravy. 'It's so good, but it's making me even more tired!' he semi-sorrowfully thought after eating another forkful and feeling his brain turn off even more. 'Grace is just gonna have to read my mind. I don't think I have the energy to ride her.'

Despite that, he still walked out to the stables, put on her gear, and rode her into town. He didn't ride her correctly, though. The young hero was slouched forward in the saddle, practically laying down. To control her, he would briefly pick up the rein and shift it in whichever direction they needed to go, thus eventually reaching the east side of town. Once the other horses from the knights came into view, he slid off Grace and sludged over to Link who wore a confused expression.

He sank his face into his armor, "Oh. My. Gosh," His eyes slowly looked up, "My arm is so sore from practicing all day yesterday."

His descendant's face seemed to soften, but not by much, "You practiced all day? I'm surprised you didn't get bored first."

Young Link yawned, "I'm very determined, it's one my personality traits." He abruptly frowned and slightly pushed him away, "Man, your armor is cold. It's not very comfortable to lean on. You should work on that." He could tell Link was hiding a smirk as he crossed his arms.

"I can't promise that it's a priority." He nudged him, gesturing to the four other knights, "You guys introduce yourselves."

They looked wary at Link talking, but nonetheless, the largest announced himself first, "Mornin' kid! The name's Godric. Clearly I'm the muscle of the group, but officially I'm the co-captain. I look forward to seein' what you've got…if you're not too scared o'course. Heh heh." His grin was toothy, and his muscles were indeed his most defining feature. He also seemed like one of the eldest of the group too, considering he had a lot of facial hair. Attached to his back was a large, two-handed longsword.

'I suppose every group needs their slightly ignorant, brawny member.'

A thinner, more well composed knight came next, "I'm Theodore, or Theo. I'm one of the castles many strategists, but I also double as logistics. I keep track of where we go and what we're supposed to be doing. I should let you know, I'm not entirely sure if you're accounted for everything we have planned, but we'll—or rather I—will make it work. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask." He had dirty blonde, wavy, but short, hair. He wore his longbow across his body.

'I think I will hesitate, thank you very much. I'm surprised that they're all bothering to act warm and then leave some cold comment at the end. It's really unnecessary.'

"You guys are coming off way too stiff! Lighten up will ya?" Another said. He had a classic athletic build compared to Link and dark, longer hair, "I'm Anthony, it's nice to meet ya." He looked to be in his early twenties and his voice was easily sarcastic. "I'm all about swords and spears. What can I say? I know it's what put me on the team. Aside from that, all I know how to do is listen to brainiac and meathead."

Last was a guy who was between Link and Anthony's body type. He was quite tall, but not as tall as Godric. In fact, all of them had at least an inch or more on Link. His voice was calm and monotoned, "I'm Roe. I can only hope that Link has made a good decision in bringing you along, but considering he's captain, I respect it nevertheless."

'Was that a look of jealousy? Weird. Also, that is the lightest green I think I've seen someone's eyes be.'

"Either way, I specialize in long ranged weapons, such as daggers and darts. It would be in your best interest to stay clear of my aim."

Young Link shifted his weight to one side and put his hand on his hip, "Easy, don't aim at me." He ignored his following expression and shrugged, "I suppose should introduce myself as well. Me and Link actually have the same name, so any variation of 'kid' works fine for me, but officially I'm just Young Link. And no, I don't have some sort of nickname that would make this easier." He gestured to his gear, "As far as my abilities go, I'm an all-around type like Link is, but a sword is my strong point."

Link's eyes looked curious at the comparison, "All-around? That's new."

Godric pointed to his hip before he could respond, "What's with the weird mask? Ain't that better left in your room?"

He looked down at it, "Oh this? This is just a last resort. I don't plan on using it if I don't have to."

"What does it do?" Theo asked, raising a brow, "It seems harmless."

Young Link could only smile, "That would spoil the surprise, wouldn't it?" He stretched, nudging his descendant, "Let's get going, captain."

He affirmably nodded and hopped on his horse, everyone else doing the same and grouping together, "As I'm sure you all know, we'll be heading to the East Post to do a regular check on the base. Theo, you'll make sure they're still getting everything they need while the rest of us scope the area for any nearby trouble."

Godric balled his hands, "Nothin' like cleanin' up monsters and keepin' the area safe!" He heartily cheered.

"After that, we'll stay the night at the fort." Link crossed his arms, "This is something extra, but I deemed it necessary to check. I was told by one of the captains recently that there could be a monster base nearby. We'll request more intel when we get to the post." He turned his horse toward the gate, "I believe that's everything." He gestured to the young hero, "You can ride up here with me, just make sure to stay close. Let's head out!" With that, they all galloped through the gate toward their destination.

'Geez,' Young Link had his hand up by his forehead as a gust of wind attempted to blow his bangs into his eyes, 'It's windy today! It feels kinda nice since the sun is a bit hot, but at the same time the back of my head isn't used to this much action!'

"Whatcha thinking?" he barely heard Link ask.

"Me?" 'I mean it's only been twenty or so minutes of riding, and nothing has really happened.' He responded over the wind, "I'm awake to say the least! It's still nice to leave the castle too! Why you ask?"

He rode in closer, "Well you just looked to be lost in thought. Figured I'd rein you in."

"Ha! Speaking of which, have you been treating Twilight right? I still don't think you know how good of a horse you have."

Link had a small smile, "Don't you think Grace will get jealous with you talking about my horse like that? You're basically cheating on her."

The Hero of Time playfully swiped at him, laughing, "You've got some nerve! I bet I'm more faithful than you are!" He just remembered, "Wait, aren't you supposed to be quiet and mysterious? You're being pretty loud as far as I can tell!" His tone was sarcastic.

"Being mysterious is clearly your other personality trait, I don't think you can talk." He slyly glanced his way, "Checkmate."

Young Link couldn't stop smiling, 'Haha! I suppose he has a point, though.' He glanced back at the others, finding that they all shared a similar look of disbelief in their eyes. 'Hold on, don't tell me that Link acts stoic around them as well! I thought he'd naturally be more open with his own squad! If this keeps up, I can already tell they won't like me. Not that it completely matters, even though it would be for the best.'

"Monsters up ahead!" Godric's booming voice came, snapping him out of his thoughts. He rode toward the small group of bokoblins with his giant sword out, easily disfiguring them in a single swipe. "Woohoo! First blood!"

"Aw c'mon, man, you didn't even try to share!" Anthony playfully whined, "I call dibs on the next one."

Theodore rolled his eyes, "Please, you both know better than to act like fighting monsters is a game. Take your job more seriously and set a good example."

"Whaaaaat. Even Link sometimes has fun when he goes in for a quick kill, and I don't see you telling him that!"

"I'll tell you what: try being captain . Then we'll see if I have anything to say."

Anthony caught up to Link, "Hey, you heard him. Can I be captain for five minutes and do something he can't get onto me for? Pretty please?"

Link politely shook his head.

He fell back toward the others, "Daaaaaaaamn. Guys, Link made me sad."

"Pfft, you'll get over it by the time we get to the post," came Roe's response.

"Damn straight he will!" Godric laughed, "He wouldn't want me to cuddle him to make him feel better, would he?"

"I cannot suffocate like that again! Don't ride so close to me! Ew!"

Young Link chuckled at their banter, 'If I'll give them one thing: they're pretty funny. Although I couldn't listen to Anthony do that all day, much less in close quarters.'

They continued the ride in a canter, crossing through the plains and occasionally going off trail in order to take a faster route. It was late midday by the time they reached the East Post. 'Maybe it's just the wind, but the ride honestly wore me out. Not as much as it probably did Grace, though.' He pet her face, the horse responding in soft snorts. He noticed her mane was getting long, "I could probably get away with braiding your hair. I used to do it to Epona whenever she'd hold still for long enough." He said as he continued to pet her. Afterward he led her to where the other's put their horses. He also couldn't help but give Twilight a couple pats on the neck as he joined the rest of the group.

Link looked to Theo, "You know what to do. Meanwhile, I'm going to get the rooms for tonight figured out and see what I can learn about that monster base. Don't stray too far, we'll still be doing a sweep of the area before nightfall, so meet up back here."

"Sounds good to me," He replied.

"Looks I can get a little shut eye before the real party starts," Godric commented. He, Anthony, and Roe broke off, heading toward one of the buildings.

"Yeah yeah," Anthony sassed, "You and your weird obsession with sleeping in corners on the floor." They were soon out of earshot, and Theodore already left to get started.

"What do you think so far?" Link's question caught him slightly off guard.

"O-oh, yeah they're fine. I mean, I haven't seen them do anything cool yet, but it's a pretty solid group you've got. I'm also glad that you're captain since you're a good balance between them all." He scratched his head, "Though I'll admit that I expected you to be way more…well…like yourself around them, heh heh, no offense."

His descendant quietly considered what he'd said, "Hm, interesting." He looked in the other direction, "Well, I'll go do my thing. Just remember what I said about not wandering." He walked toward the western end of the fort.

Now that he took a proper look at it, the East Post was certainly its own community to behold. There were knights that could be seen patching up walls or setting up targets. Large banners hung from posts that valiantly displayed the Hylian crest on them. He heard the sound of water and followed his ears, 'They have a fountain here too? Man, this is a nice place!' From what he could tell, there were five buildings. Starting at the east end, that building was clearly the barracks for the people that inhabited the post. The interiors weren't barren like he thought they'd be either. They had wooden floors with patterned rugs, plus a plethora of bookcases and indoor furniture in general. The next building he scouted was a tower, though he certainly didn't stay long.

The young hero felt the awkwardness of barging in on that meeting leer up his back, 'Sheesh! It's not like I knew that's what was going on! It would've helped if they all didn't stare at me in complete silence!' Young Link heaved a sigh and found where the Mess Hall was. It certainly wasn't as big as the castle's, but it served its purpose well enough. The next one over was what appeared to be the extra barracks, 'Well, at least I found where we're sleeping. There's no doubt about that.' The beds looked to be decent. He threw himself onto one just to make sure.

"Hm…these are kinda hard, but with there being four rooms with one bed each, I just hope we don't really have to share them…or at least that I don't end up on the floor." 'There are six of us total, and just sitting here makes me think that more than two to a bed would be way too many.' He fixed the sheets from his landing and went into the last building.

Being at the fork in road, it made sense that it was responsible for commerce related meetings and for storing information. He caught sight of Link disappearing into one of the rooms, 'I wonder if he acts stoic with them too?' It made him think of the other knights as he went up the stairs, 'Actually, I'm curious as to where the other three went. I've been in every building, and I haven't seen them once.' He shrugged, sitting in an armchair on the second floor and sighing, 'Oh well. It doesn't matter as long as we all meet up on time.'

His eyes flit down to his hands. The fingerless gloves the academy gave him had proved to be decently useful, not only at hiding the triforce, but also when it came to wielding his sword. There have been times in his previous adventures where his hands were so sweaty that there was a chance the next swing could send it flying. 'Hmph, I'm still not going to wear those pants, though.'

All the buildings were lit solely through windows and candlelight, so if there weren't any windows present, such as how the second floor was, the room was rather dim despite it being the daytime. Young Link could feel the effects of the lighting tugging his eyelids down to his cheeks, 'A quick nap wouldn't kill me…' After what felt like four seconds, he heard a numerous amount of footsteps heading up the stairs. 'Damn, already!? It hasn't actually been only a few seconds, right?'

Now slightly annoyed, he watched for who was coming up. It was three or so knights from the post along with Roe tagging behind. "Oh hey," he greeted with a gesture, "What have you been up to?"

The lanky elite raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Nothing really. I spent forever trying to help Godric find some place to sleep, as ridiculous as that sounds. Now I'm letting these guys show me around." He put a hand on his hip, "What about you?"

Young Link was pleasantly surprised at the courtesy he was showing, "I actually went ahead and explored everything already. Now I'm just waiting for it to be time to get back together. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I took a nap, but I have no idea for how long."

The other knights quizzically looked at him, "Wait what are you doing here?"

"Are you with him?"

"Yeah, as if."

Young Link rolled his eyes, 'This is certainly not a first.'

Roe explained, his tone darkening to sound almost threatening, "Actually, he is with us, our captain invited him. You'd do well to treat him like the rest of us."

One turned to face him, "Why would Link do that? He's clearly just a kid. Wouldn't he get in the way?"

He sighed, "Your presumptions will be your downfall. Where you only take into consideration that he's a child, you fail to realize that he's one and the same with the child who killed a fully grown, black Hinox."

Their eyes widened before briefly bowing in respect and excusing themselves.

"You knew about that?" He knew it helped him get on the expedition, but he wasn't sure if all the knights had known.

Roe crossed his arms, "Me and Link were actually sparring before he sped off. A trainee came in screaming and yelling about how some kid got tangled up with a Hinox. Then, lo and behold, I watched you come out of the carriage unconscious and heavily bandaged. Not long after that, nearly the whole guard knew."

Young Link sat back in his chair, "Ah, that makes sense. Is that why people were giving me weird looks around the castle? I couldn't tell if they were annoyed at me or not."

He shrugged, "The best I can come up with is that it's a double-edged sword. On one hand, it's an amazing feat. On the other, you made your group look pretty underprepared to tackle something like that."

"Interesting. What do you think?"

"I don't think I saw it with my own two eyes, so I'll leave it at: 'that's impressive for someone your size.'"

'That's kind of a boring response, but thanks I guess.' His eyes were drawn to the weapons attached to his belt, "I didn't know that a knight could specialize in things like daggers. How'd you do that?"

Roe slightly smiled, "Let's just say I've been into throwing knives since I was young. Next thing I know, I'm messing around with them one day and one of the knights from the royal guard came up to me and said that if I passed my final exam, I could specialize in knives if I wanted to."

"That's cool. I'm interested to see how you use them in battle."

He gestured for him to follow, "Come, I think it's about time we do that sweep." And he was right, they were the last ones to join the group.

"Any later and you would have been late," Anthony grinned. "I'm ready to get my hands on some monsters!"

Link's face was nearly expressionless, his tone was to the point, "Right, we'll ride out together and then split into groups of two and three. I'll take Roe, which of course leaves you three. I know it can sometimes seem easy, but don't forget that these are still monsters and the whole point is to make the area safer before we leave tomorrow." He paused, "Any questions?"

Young Link shrugged, "Should I just be backup or?"

He nodded, "Yeah, that should be fine. Alright, let's go."

They mounted their horses and headed north from the fort, Link and Roe splitting to the east, while they split to the west. To the young hero's surprise, there were already monsters roaming about the open field. Godric and Anthony were taking the stragglers on while he did his best to pick off some of the one's that were clustered together with his bow, taking shots that aimed for the face.

Godric's fighting style combined brute force with his two-handed sword. On his horse, he was mainly aiming for heads and necks, but as he got on the ground to get toward the bigger group, he appeared to be careful to not let himself stay wide-open. Anthony on the other hand was swift, methodical, and lethal. He swung his spear so fast, that sometimes it was hard to see if it was for show or if it was to kill something.

He called out to them, "I'm starting to see the stalkoblins show up! I'll take care of them while you guys get rid of these ones!" He cantered over to the undead monsters and swiftly crushed their skulls, either by his sword or through Grace trampling them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another small group of blue bokoblins trying to get together. Without thinking, he galloped toward them, leaped out of the saddle, landed in the middle of them, and did a fierce spin-attack. The majority of them dropped dead, and if they didn't, they did in the next few seconds.

'I have the disadvantage if I'm on the ground,' he thought as he was pushing the tall grass out of his way, 'But on Grace I'll still be able to see.' Making his way back to his horse, he made sure to keep an ear out for more monsters and for his teammates. By the time he was back on and riding their way, the last bokoblin was dying to being speared into the air. "Nice job!" He commented.

"I can say the same, kiddo! I thought only Link could make that move worthwhile!" Godric called, getting back on his mount.

"Same here!" Anthony surveyed the clearing, "Looks like a done deal to me. What do you guys think?"

The co-captain scratched his beard, "I agree, I think we're ready to meet back up for tonight. Eat some dinner, an' go beddy-bye."

Young Link would have chuckled at his use of words, but the hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood. 'Shit. ' He quickly stood in the saddle and backflipped off Grace, just barely dodging an arrow.

Anthony flinched, "What the hell was that!? I didn't even see where it came from!"

"The Yiga!" He pulled out his shield and blocked another, "Run!"

Godric hopped off his horse and shooed it away, "And leave ya all alone?! Hell no!"

Young Link unsheathed his sword. He found it hard to speak and dodge the arrows at the same time, 'No! You don't understand! This is about me!' He slashed his sword, cutting through another flying arrow.

"I'd kinda like to know why you're the only one getting shot at. Not that I'm complaining I guess." He heard Anthony mutter.

"Mua ha ha. "

A blademaster suddenly appeared behind the Hero of Time following his deep, confident laughter. His clothes looked to be patched up around the shoulders, not to mention the thick metal rings he wore around his ankles. They certainly served to be more than an accessory.

"So we meet again," Young Link acknowledged him without turning his head.

Godric and Anthony had jumped back. "What are ya doin'!? Run!"

"No." His defiance cast a wave of silence across the field.

The air teemed with tension. 'This is a standoff. Clearly whoever is faster will leave here unscathed.' He saw fellow clan members sink lower into the grass, 'Of course it's not fair.' He took a deep breath and honed his focus. Time appeared to slow down as his grip tightened on his sword.

In the blink of an eye, he swung with all his strength at an angle that would be fatal no matter what it hit. His ears perked at the sound of the blademaster's sword hitting the ground in a thump, his foe sputtering blood as he fell to his knees. Young Link's voice was harsh, "See this!?" He yelled, "You can't best me! Get lost or die! "

A breeze swept by, the few surrounding Yiga disappearing into thin air. One started to run toward him, but at the sight of his fellow members leaving, he did the same.

Anthony's eyes were huge, "What was that!? "

He cleaned his sword off in the grass, satisfied to see that none of the blood got on him nor his tunic, "Just unfinished business."

"How can you say it so casually like that? Who was that guy!?"

He hopped onto Grace, "The same bastard that I made beg for his life when I was in Gerudo Town. I guess he wasn't happy being beat by a kid."

Godric was unusually quiet. He climbed back on his steed and suggested with his head that the spearman do the same.

He didn't want it to come off as prideful, but Young Link rode where he was somewhat in the middle or near the front. Despite how the confrontation went, he was still wary about riding in the back. Seeing Link and Roe waiting for them where the road converged made him sigh in relief.

"What took you guys so long? It got eerily silent for being out in the open," Roe's eyes conveyed that he knew something happened. Link picked up on this and quickly glanced the young hero's way.

"Everythin' was how it usually was. Just bashin' monster noggins together." The muscley swordsman replied.

Anthony was appalled, "Huh!? You completely forgot the part where a frickin' blademaster appeared out of nowhere behind the kid and he cut him down faster than I breathe, blink, exist even! "

Link casually looked his way, "Oh, so it was the same guy from when the Gerudo were getting ambushed?"

Young Link nodded, "Yep. He's definitely not coming after me anymore," he had to keep himself from snickering.

Roe cocked his head, "Captain, you're abnormally calm about this."

He shrugged, his tone being plain, "Right, well usually when you beat someone and they aren't happy about it, you can expect them to come back at some point to try again."

"Link what!? We're talking about someone who's literally ten years old!" Anthony reasoned.

'Heh, he still doesn't see the problem. Maybe that means he considers me just like any other knight. Nice.' "Hey, well he's dead now, right? Why do you guys care so much?"

"Why do we—!? Are you serious right now? Link is acting like this is normal, the kid doesn't seem to care—what's going on!?" He faced him, "Kid, you yelled at a group of deadly, ninja-assassins to 'get lost or die '!"

Godric put a hand on his shoulder, "Clearly just don't worry yer pretty head about it. Let's go get with Theo, eat, and then sleep."

Anthony obnoxiously sighed as Link passed him to continue toward the inner part of the post. Like the co-captain said, Theodore was in fact inside the mess hall enjoying the food they were providing.

"Ah, there you all are. I was starting to wonder of there was some kind of trouble." He put down his silverware as they all sat, "Naturally, things are fine here. The only thing they're worried about is possible attacks on their supplies, whether it be from the Yiga or monsters. That can easily be solved by sending a few extra soldiers down here."

Link looked content, "That's good. I know where we're sleeping for tonight, and I was able to gather more intel on the monster base. I'll save it for tomorrow though. Otherwise, the sweep of the field went fine." He happened to be standing behind Young Link and put a hand on his shoulder, "This one caught up with a blademaster friend from Gerudo Town. He's very alive, so it went well. I'm proud."

Theo's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, "What? Did I hear you correctly?"

The others vigorously nodded.

"I suppose that's a story one of you can tell me later. In the meantime, they're serving meat, potatoes and other vegetables that were grown from the plateau. They said you can help yourselves."

There wasn't a lot to chat about as they ate, though the knights from the post provided some conversation. Afterward, Link led them to the where the extra barracks were. "Unfortunately, there are only four beds and six of us, so we'll sleep in pairs."

Roe bristled, "I don't care as long as it's not Godric, no offense big guy."

He shrugged.

"I think me and the captain, Anthony and Godric, and the kid with Roe seems like a fine idea," Theo suggested.

Young Link felt his expression sink against his will.

"Something wrong?"

"Oh, uh..I guess I'm just used to sleeping with Link ever since we were out finding Champions with the Princess. I kinda just assumed."

"Whoa there!" came Godric's hefty hand patting his back, "You're a bit young for him, kiddo. Just stick with Roe."

His face scrunched in disgust, 'WHAT THE HELL!?' "I—that wasn't wha—okay." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Yeah, that's fine."

The co-captain heartily laughed as he and Anthony went to their room. "G'night you guys."

The young hero realized that he didn't bring any night clothes when he glimpsed over at his roommate and saw him starting to change, 'Oh yeah. I didn't know we were staying the night until I met them this morning. Hm, would have been too late to go back in the first place.' He blinked, 'I mean, it's not like this is uncomfortable or anything, I've just sweat in it all day.' His eyes squinted, 'Bleh, that's pretty gross…'

"What's that face for?" Roe's voice edged on sounding offended.

"Ah my bad, I was just thinking—and no it's not about how you look. I just didn't bring anything to sleep in since I didn't know." 'Wow that was a really inconvenient face to make, yikes.'

His eyebrow raised, looking unimpressed, "That's unfortunate for you. Though, you could always just take it off. Not sure why you haven't come to that conclusion yet."

He facepalmed, muttering, "I did. Not sure why you have such a strong opinion, geez." Annoyed, he quickly discarded his tunic and shirt, folding them and setting them on the nightstand for the morning. Young Link took the right side of the bed while Roe took the left.

'Leave it to this guy to make me mad before I go to sleep. At least it's just one night.' He started to drift off, until he was startled awake by something touching his foot. Biting his lip so he didn't groan in annoyance, he opened an eye and looked around to see if it was something in the room. 'Hm, all clear...' He looked over his shoulder and found that Roe had flipped over and was now facing him.

Feeling irked, he slowly moved his foot away from what he presumed to be his, 'Goddesses above, I can't get a break even when I'm trying to sleep.' The young hero resumed his sleeping position, his sheer will to rest driving him into his dreamless slumber.

The next morning, the Hero of Time found himself on the floor holding his pillow. He groggily sat up after the light piercing through the window hit his eyes for too long, "Huh..? What the—" He saw the wooden floorboards and only huffed a quiet sigh, "Dammit..." He quickly put on his clothes, saving the clanky equipment for the hallway since Roe was still asleep.

To his surprise, he and Link coincidentally walked out of their rooms at the same time, "Oh."

"Mornin'," Link greeted. His golden hair was messy from sleeping. Young Link saw its full length for the first time since he hadn't tied it back yet.

" Good morning ," he replied in the Old Hylian for fun. It put a smile on his face as he continued to put on his gear, "I didn't know your hair was that long. I bet I could braid it." He looked at it again to be sure, "Well just barely."

Link had an unexpected sparkle in his eye, "Really?"

He paused for a split second, "It wasn't exactly an offer, but I could try if you like."

His descendant strapped on his belt, taking a moment to think. He shrugged, "I don't see why not, it might look nice."

Young Link blinked, 'I wasn't expecting that…oh crap! I need my braiding skills to come back fast then! Geez, I was gonna practice on Grace too...guess this will suffice.' He made sure the strap to his scabbard was tight enough before gesturing him to follow. There was a small, open room that came before the hall that led to the different bedrooms. It was furnished with simple but useful furniture, what you'd expect in the living room of a dainty house.

He sat in one of the chairs, Link giving him a confused face, "What? You're not thinking you're gonna sit in my lap are you?" He chuckled, "Sit in front of me on the floor, dummy."

The knight sat with his back to him, "That's not obvious, you know."

"Yeah yeah. Oh also," He had a handful of his hair in his hands, "It's been a while since I've done this. Don't worry though, I'm not going to leave you with something that looks bad. If it doesn't work, I'll let you know."

Link looked back at him, his eyes showing that his comment put a chip in his confidence, "Don't make me question letting you do this."

The young hero was already thinking about what he should do. 'Well, his hair is way too short to do one braid down the back of his head, plus that wouldn't look very good. I think just one down the side would be nice.' He started to section off a bit of his hair, remembering to be gentler than what you'd be with a horse. He left his bangs and sidelocks alone.

Even then it wasn't long until the knight turned his head. Well, tried to.

Young Link luckily had a good hold on his progress, "Dude what are you doing?! You don't want me to start over do you?"

"Why are you pulling so hard? Is that really necessary?" He sounded mildly annoyed, but more puzzled than anything else.

"Am I? I've been trying to be gentle, but I can't not pull your hair to be able to braid it. If I don't, it won't lay flat on your head. Either way I'm almost done, even though you nearly cost me all my progress a second ago. Just sit still." After a few moments, he took Link's elastic and tied his hair back in a low ponytail like it usually was. "Okay go look and tell me what you think."

Link strolled over to a mirror and turned his head to look, the sparkle from before returning to his eyes. He looked very content when he turned back to face him, "This looks great! Thanks!"

"No prob—!" Before he knew it, the knight wrapped him into a firm hug, "—blem. I'm uh, glad you like it." He awkwardly hugged him back, 'This is slightly uncomfortable with all the armor he's wearing. Metal plates poke and prod too much.'

"Captain I didn't know you gave hugs!" Came Anthony's voice from the hallway.

His descendant immediately stood from the embrace, "Ah, I was just saying thanks." His eyes were uneasy, though he stood confidently like usual.

"The kid gave you a braid?" Theo noticed, "Why it looks nice." Anthony nodded whereas Roe and Godric didn't appear to have an opinion.

"Either way, I ain't never seen you hug nobody Link. Matter o' fact, you've been way more expressive on this trip than before in general. Has love changed ya or somethin'?" Godric asked, half-serious, half-joking.

"Huh? Not sure what you mean about love, nor what it has to do about giving hugs. I just don't really do that kind of thing." He explained, his hand on his hip.

"Well the both of you do kinda look like you could be brothers now that I think about it," Anthony chimed in, "Maybe it's easier to talk to someone who looks like you"

Link shook his head, "That's definitely not the case. I just…want the kid to feel like he belongs, you know?"

The Hero of Time saw the apology for that statement in the knight's eyes, 'Fine, I'll play along.' "You guys are acting like I'm not standing right here, listening to what you're saying. I really don't see how it's a big deal."

Roe disregarded that, "It's just odd considering we've known and worked with him for years. Not to mention, it's not like you're near each other's age. Your skill simply happens to fall somewhere in line with his."

His eye twitched, 'Alrighty then. This is getting more personal than I'd like. Plus, we're technically the same age.' "No offense, I think you're being a little immature. You're practically saying he can't be nice to some kid he brought along." Despite his calm demeanor, even he could feel himself getting heated. 'Why do I feel the need to be protective all of the sudden? He can take care of himself!' He glanced at their eyes, 'No, I know why: I can't stand jealousy.'

To his surprise, Theodore agreed, "Good, I'm not the only one who thinks this is beyond silly. Come on now, we're all teammates here. We're all too old and have too great of a responsibility to get petty about things such as this."

They were silent.

He walked toward the door, beckoning them, "Well? I can't see how we'll eat breakfast or get rid of that monster base if we stand around. Come, captain."

Without skipping a beat, Link nodded and headed toward the Mess Hall.