The crisis wasn't fully averted, both because Link still couldn't manage to get any words out, and because, as Tya sat there, she realized that they still had to make it up to the temple.
If they were able to take a fair amount of breaks, Link would probably manage to survive it, but that would mean they both needed to be sure he didn't stupidly push himself again. More pressing, though, was the apparent guard at the top of the hill. They had virtually no time at all to climb, much less to take breaks, especially now that they knew they were there. If there was another way around, given how steep so much of this place looked, it would be just as difficult to get to and require the time to backtrack which they didn't have.
In her idle thought, Tya turned her attention to their items. The tunic she'd dipped into the water had since cooled, but honestly, Link would do better without the ridiculous amount of layers. While it wasn't dry, she still folded it up and stuffed it into her satchel. She'd wrapped up the remaining succulents in a piece of cloth that had initially been meant for food, and after she'd fiddled with and touched just about everything, she looked at Link again.
He had leaned forward, still with the flask in hand, and was watching her mess with everything. Even when she finished, his absent gaze remained on her hands. While it hadn't been like he'd looked at them before; hadn't been with that same curiosity, it was still something she felt self-conscious over.
"Are you okay?" She asked, the sound of her voice seeming to jar him back into the moment.
He nodded again, this time more sure than he had been before.
"Do you need me to do anything else?"
He shook his head.
She settled onto her knees again. Glancing back in the direction of the path, Tya said, "I don't think it's wise to try that way again."
Link looked too, needlessly. He cleared his throat, but that devolved into a wheezing cough. Then he took a sip of the mixture now that it had cooled enough for him to do so. When he withdrew the flask, he swished the liquid around and nodded once more.
"I have no idea how else we might get up."
Link's subsequent silence made her think that he didn't really know either, and really, she felt bad for even bringing it up to him. He both needed and deserved the moment to relax.
So what options were there?
They could try and use the sky. She was almost certain she'd thought of this before, but she couldn't recall for what. Still, it was a viable option to try and drop themselves at a more advantageous spot. But this was also a volcano, which made things difficult, and - didn't heat rise? Would that make it more difficult to land properly? It wasn't an impossible task, not by any means, but it seemed like a long shot. Without Fi's guidance through the bird statues, it was entirely up to chance.
She recalled the claw-like gloves that had been given to them by the mogma, too. They could attempt to use those, or request assistance into the tunnels to see if there was one that would take them up to where they needed to be. But they'd still have to ascend, and she wasn't sure, but it seemed like there'd be less air flow underground. While it might be cooler, and leave them with the option of taking the time they needed, he was already struggling to breathe. Would those pros be enough to outweigh that con? Again, it was an option, but a last resort.
What else was there?
They could possibly attempt to disarm the guard, but that would require one of them get near enough to do so- unless they used some sort of projectile.
The slingshot didn't seem like it would reach that far. Not uphill and with enough momentum to do any damage, especially not with her aim. But perhaps the Beetle would manage better? She wasn't entirely sure on how she could manage to subdue them with it, but she could, at the very least, do a little recon. Maybe that would give her more ideas.
The cuff that came with the Beetle, Link had pretty much made a part of his attire upon receiving it. Which meant that she had to unearth it from the pile of discarded equipment that she'd stripped him of. Upon doing so, he seemed to perk up. Though his eyes still very much betrayed him by showing how exhausted he was, the glint of interest was hard to mistake.
"I was going to use it to look around," she said, and as she did, she offered it to him. He set aside the flask that he'd been sipping from, letting it rest upright against his thigh as he took the cuff and placed it on his now bare wrist. As he held the button to turn the device on, Tya unlatched the Beetle itself and held it patiently.
When the eyes lit up with life, she flattened her palms beneath it and, recalling the pinchers on the front, faced that part away so she didn't get snipped again. Once it lifted into the air, she slid to sit next to him, finally finding a little bit of dry ground even if it was only a few inches.
While she'd thought to lean on him initially and had very willingly put her hands on him before, she refrained then. He was… very sweaty. It wasn't a bad thing, but she didn't want to rest her face on his sweat-soaked shirt.
So instead she opted to lean close and watch the screen as the Beetle's papery wings carried it up and out of the defile. They tested the limitations of the Beetle before it would start to ping as a request to be recalled, and through this effort, they found little that may help them.
They weren't able to look over much of the area with the limits, but from what they could see, this was the easiest path up. While the land was terraced and layered with tuff elsewhere, none was quite as gradual as this one. She'd assumed that to be the case but was no less disappointed to find that they'd have no other, more subtle way in.
Along with that, Tya was able to see the temple doors in their magnificence, though the screen's quality was somewhat diluted. She was excited to see them in person, but far less so, about what lay along its edges. It seemed the Pests had built up some sort of encampment to the right of the temple doors, and that could prove to be an issue.
As the Beetle returned and Link put it back in its designated spot, Tya let out a long, uneasy sigh. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," he answered, and though his voice was still light with breathlessness, she was glad to hear it.
"So that did help, then?" Obviously, but she still felt the need to ask. Part of her wondered if the reason was concern or because she wanted to hear him speak again. And then that same part of her wondered if that was out of concern or something else.
He nodded again.
She let his answer sit for a moment, hesitating as she wondered whether or not it was inconsiderate of her to continue on when he was unwell. She didn't actually come to a conclusion on it either, only identified the fact that both of them would appreciate getting to Zelda sooner rather than later.
The small flicker of his gaze in her direction, followed by the way he then hung his head, made her realize something she'd not seen in his last silence. He looked away from her entirely, attention on the items at his other side, but she'd still seen it: guilt. Or was it shame?
Both, maybe.
Her voice tight with an undercurrent of something that almost sounded affronted, she said "are you upset?"
And then he whipped to look at her like he'd just been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. Which, honestly, in her mind, he was, so it was warranted.
She made no secret of her offense. Lightly scolding, she said, "Why would you be upset?" Whether it was his residual shortness of breath that kept him quiet or this needless shame, she didn't know, but it didn't really matter because she continued regardless. "I know why, don't answer that- I see it." She leaned again to look at him, and he tried in vain to face away from her. When he didn't succeed, he swatted at her, but not out of displeasure.
He tried to fight a smile forming on his lips; the inherent reaction to embarrassment and when she caught sight of that twitch, she became more steadfast in her attempt to see him. "How dare you go through all of this trouble to tell me all of these reassuring things, and the moment you have an issue, start feeling guilty for it."
Defeated in his endeavor to just look away from her, he let his head fall back, eyes cast toward the gentle curve of the canyon edge that just barely shaded them from the clear sky above.
"You are just as allowed to have a problem as I am."
"I know," he sighed. "...Feel bad, though."
"Don't," she practically ordered.
He pulled upright, looking down at her with his brows raised in a 'you're one to talk' expression.
And she realized right then that she'd gotten very close in her attempt to both amuse him and get his attention. Before it could really fluster her and stick her in place, she pulled back and settled on the half-dry, half-submerged piece of land she'd been on prior. "You're fine," she said. "Don't feel guilty over having a limitation. And, in the future, don't keep that limitation from me- breathing is very important, Link."
"I know-"
"Then why didn't you tell me this was a possibility? What if you passed out? I wouldn't have been able to drag your unconscious body all the way down in time for us to not get killed!"
Sighing once again, he repeated, "I know."
She smacked his shoulder. In a more rightfully placed display of shame, he hung his head, but the smile on his lips made it clear that it was just for show.
Tya, of all people, knew that what she'd said wouldn't get rid of that anxiety. It may give him ammunition to fight against it, as his words had, her. But it wouldn't get rid of it, no. Was he like her, in the fact that such things always felt like placation? Like something done or said just to get her to shut up?
Goddess, she hoped not.
Plopping her hand on one of his, she squeezed lightly and let out a huff as she thought. "I had thought that we might succeed if we had time and you took it slow on the ascent, but I have no idea how to get rid of that ass watching over us. Especially given the fact that he's been watching this corner, so he'll see us when we come out."
Link said, "Need a distraction."
"But I have no idea how to do that. Not unless we are able to fly something up with the Beetle, perhaps?" With her free hand, she made a little pinching motion with her fingers.
"Like?"
She shrugged. Her only thought had been one of those little exploding flowers- bombflowers - but she didn't really like the idea of putting something explosive on the Beetle. She wasn't sure what kind of beating that thing could take and wasn't keen to find out. There was a possibility it could be repaired by someone in Skyloft, but that wasn't concrete enough for her to find comfort in.
Not to mention the bombflowers were quite small. She wasn't sure if the fuse on them varied, or if they'd have time to take the Beetle up and over to where it needed to be before it would explode, but trying to pick one up with the pinchers seemed very near impossible with their size.
She tilted her head. "Do you think those little bombflowers are small enough to shoot with your slingshot?"
They packed quite a punch. Maybe if they could shoot some up, they'd be able to subdue the guard long enough for them to get up?
That also seemed very uncertain. Bombs were loud and there was presumably an encampment very close by. They were lucky they didn't get hit this time, but she wasn't sure they'd be so, twice.
"Maybe," he said, looking at the slingshot hooked to the belt laid out beside him.
"I'm not sure we'd be able to shoot it far enough."
A thoughtful silence fell over them both as they tried to work through plans to offer up, and while Tya was coming up empty-handed, Link eventually broke it to say "Maybe ask for help?"
"Ask for help?"
"Ledd." He said. "Ask him to cre-cre-crea–" his stutter, this time, was stalled as he tried to level his breathing again. "...Ask him to create a distraction."
That wasn't a bad idea. He seemed to be pretty eager to help in the first place, so it was very possible that he'd be able and willing to. The issue still was: would he be able to create enough of one that would allow Link the time he needed to ascend?
It seemed too risky still, leaving her to purse her lips. Her silent, careful steps could very well come in handy, should she go up before him, but she was still unarmed. Even if Link allowed her the privilege of using the Goddess Sword again, she wasn't entirely comfortable with the thought. She'd never held one before that day. And while it might be better to have something to swing around, that thought was coming from someone that had no idea what kind of skill may be put into wielding a blade. It could very well have been a misconception and she'd find that out far too late.
She narrowed her eyes, looking at the gear they had once again. Slingshot would require aim which she was terrible with. The Beetle was very slow and not really much of a weapon - plus she was still very upset by the notion that she'd get the extraordinary item destroyed with too much blunt force. Then her eyes landed on the mitts Ledd had given them earlier. They had long blades on them, ones supposedly meant for digging. That implied, to her, that they'd be sturdy enough to use for an attack, wouldn't they?
Leaning across Link, she grabbed them, and when she plopped back, she felt the edges of the metal on them. They weren't as sharp as a blade, but they weren't dull either, and the tips were curved into a tapered point.
"Do you think these would work as a weapon?"
Link, concerned, looked at them, then at her.
When he didn't answer, she set them in her lap. "If we request Ledd provide a distraction, I can go up first while they're away."
"I don't-"
"I'll be careful."
He let out a little huff, and as he leaned back against the rocks again, she could see that guilt filling his expression again. It was a sentiment she knew all too well, having dreaded every instance he'd had to help her thus far.
With that thought in mind, she said "repayment."
He looked at her questioningly, small hints of defeated helplessness creasing his lips into a frown.
"You had to help me, and now I can help you."
"I don't want repayment."
"Well, I insist on it regardless."
She stood, grimacing at her wet clothing, and looked at the mitts in her hands. It likely would have been good to test them, though on what, she wasn't sure. After a little tentative jabbing into the cliff that had sheltered them, she sighed and handed them down to Link for the time being. Their first step before she'd attempt to use them was to find Ledd and see if he'd even be willing to offer aid.
