"Did'ja see?! Did'ja see?!" Zelda shouted with all of the exuberance in the world as she flung her body through the air and into Daruk's arms, the Goron spinning her around and grinning from ear to ear.
"I see!" he replied heartily, his laughing sending shockwaves through Zelda's body, "What a spectacle that was! And to think that it was all the work of a Divine Beast! Astounding!"
Daruk gently returned her to the ground, allowing Zelda to clutch her face with astonishment, "My Goddess, to think of the possibilities! This- This could revolutionize everything we once knew about this world! I mean, we just explored the world, saw what Revali did with the aid of Vah Medoh, but- To think of each and every Divine Beast- What each of them can do for the world!"
As though her excitement began to weigh itself down with her rational mind, Zelda suddenly went wide-eyed in terrified realization, "Oh no! There's so much to take stock of! These Divine Beasts surely can do so much, but each of their biomes are so vastly different. I mean, this sort of thing could have massive ripple effects throughout the rest of the world."
She groaned with furrowed brow, "What if I had been treating this like it was only some localized event, and something terrible has happened elsewhere?! I mean, the winds are pooling somewhere and going- By the Goddess! We must-"
Daruk gave her a hearty embrace, laughing in intense reverie, "My child, you worry so much! There's nothing to fret over."
"Indeed," piped up Seggin as he stepped into the Domain, examining "Look upon the basin waters; my people are already beginning to stir from their torpor. For that, you have my thanks. Anything that might arise, elsewhere, because of this, I have the utmost faith that my King will offer whatever aid he can."
Sighing, Zelda nodded before bowing her head, taking stock of the ideas fluttering around in her head, "Thank you, I just- I was so excited, but there's so much to consider now. I need to handle some experiments, maybe task my Champions with different tasks to perform: but then, why did Vah Ruta's listen to me? Why didn't she-"
She massaged her eyes with her thumb and forefinger, opening herself to a gentle pat from Daruk as he comforted her, "How's about we think of this later? I, for one, am famished, and besides! we still have time for the Yuletide celebrations tonight!"
Zelda, shocked at having wholly forgotten about the Yuletide affair, completely missed the fact that Gorons, in fact, have no appetite. Her worries about Vah Ruta immediately shed away as she reoriented her focus.
"You're right! We might have just enough time to finish preparing," she surmised, "Let's hurry up and-!"
"Nuh uh," chided Link, his voice rising from along the open air corridor at their side, "First, you eat and get warm."
"Link!" Zelda piped up happily, rushing over and throwing her arms around him, causing him to stumble before catching himself, hugging her in return as he eyed Daruk, "I rather liked your idea, Brother."
The Goron chuckled heartily, catching his quaking chest with his hand, "Well it's good I have a fire going, then."
"Ahem," Seggin coughed with little subtlety, "You know, I wouldn't be adverse to trying out one of your soldier's many varieties if soups I've heard some much about from Lady Mipha."
His eyes darted away as Zelda turned to watch him with a sweet smile, "That is to say, it is tradition to repay service with like kindness."
"And it's a delicious kindness, too!" Daruk mused with a chortle.
Link ran his head back along his neck with a dour sigh before smirking, "I guess I can see what I can do. We'll have to relay this development to Trello and Mipha, as well."
Daruk's brow curled.
Turning back to examine Vah Ruta's work Link muttered along, "It seems we also have some catching up to do, as well, sounds like."
"Oh, do we ever!" exclaimed Zelda, "But first, Daruk, you and I need to get the preparations going once again. Let me review my notes and we'll decide-"
Her face went pale in time with her jaw dropping in a twisting, dark smile, her eyes slowly creeping up toward Daruk in a sickening posture, "Uhhhhhh…"
Link watched her carefully, "Are you o-?"
"I, uh-" she replied through grit teeth, pinching the bridge of her nose as she bowed her head, "I forgot…"
"Forgot what?" came up Seggin's voice, as though she had forgotten to do something atop the Reservoir.
Zelda rubbed her face, "A present. Just- Daruk, did you figure something out?"
He woefully shook his head before cheerfully reasoning, "Well, your presence is gift enough, I'm sure she'd say."
"I guess," Zelda frowned, sighing with a weakened air before piping up with feigned happiness, "Well, we must focus on what we can control. Daruk, shall we-"
"-eat a meal," Link instructed, "You and I, both, have been out in this far too long. You're not going anywhere without returning to Mipha's quarters for a meal."
Seggin felt his neck crawl with expectation, wryly turning his head to the side, "Ah, the legendary mentions of wonderful soup…"
Link rolled his eyes, "Of course I'll have some for you, too, Demon Sergeant."
"Splendid!" came the Zora's reply before he scooted off, "I'll report back and find you later. I'll send Lady Mipha's once she's deemed ready, as well."
Mipha's stepped through the cloaked entrance to her enclosed room, relieved to feel the heated air greeting her. She immediately noted the presence of a stove, given how her scales reacted to such a source of heat. Zelda had once mentioned that some heat was merely radiation, in some form, and therefore different sources of heat offered different kinds of heat, being on a spectrum of some sort. In essence, Mipha's had begun to take note of how different forms of heat affected her: there was that deadly heat atop Death Mountain that sapped her very life like a intravenous siphon, there was that comforting heat that the sun rest upon her whenever she basked along the rocks, which made her scales flutter with a kind of contented relaxation. This stove made her skin feel tight upon entering, though in a wholly cosmetic way, as though she had stepped into a sauna without the humidity.
"Mipha!" came Zelda's voice as she hopped up to her feet to greet her friend, "How are you?! Are you okay?"
Smiling with a relaxed air, Mipha assured her, "I'm quite alright, I'm sure. I was simply asked to be examined just in case; it can be dangerous to be out in the elements without entering our torpor state, so they're were simply concerned for my well being."
"Uh huh, I see," Zelda nodded as though studying a Zora physiology exam, "Well I'm happy you could join us! Link is just about finished with the stew, so we were just getting ready for supper."
"Just like old times," Daruk smiled with nostalgia in his tone, chuckling lightly.
Link eyed him, "'Old times' was a few months ago."
Laughing, Daruk slapped his knee, "Time is merely an annoyance among friends, is it not? No time is ever long enough in the proper company."
"Quite astute," Zelda smiled, crossing her legs before slipping down into her cushioned seat, watching as Mipha did the same across from her, "I often find my time in the castle libraries so much more taxing. Not so much lately, of course. After we last parted ways, I dug through all the books I could get my hands on, even the ones down in the catacombs, trying to learn all that I could about the Divine Beasts."
She shrugged, "I suppose it's true that practice teaches things no book can."
Mipha found a spot near Link to sit while Daruk stroked his chin, "So, now that we're all in attendance- What the heck happened?"
Lowering her stare, as though to study her reply, Zelda answered with weight to her tone, "I honestly can't say that I know for sure. I simply asked Vah Rita and she replied in action."
She fiddled with her hair, "When I asked Revali, though, he said he piloted Vah Medoh silently: as though the Divine Beast could read his thoughts. I didn't feel that with Vah Ruta."
Mipha watched curiously as Zelda surmised plainly, "Perhaps it simply comes down to the person? Mipha, has this sort of thing ever happened in your histories?"
"I can't say that I'm familiar with anything of the sort," Mipha frowned, disappointed, "Vah Ruta is obviously sentient; that is to say, she's very much active in regulating the waters of Hyrule, but I don't know of any time when she was commanded to do something."
Link watched Mipha through sidestrewn eyes as she silently pondered her reply, her voice returning quietly, "I have come across rumors of Sheikah tales that mention the Divine Beasts in action, but I'm not too familiar with those."
"Now that you mention it…" Zelda muttered in answer, "I might have to visit Impa and see what she has to say on the matter. She would be the expert on Sheikah storytelling, I must say."
"Link!" Zelda sputtered loading, causing Link to nearly loosen the label into the stew.
"What?!" he cried out in irritation.
She ordered, "Take a note down for me. "
He glared at her with narrow eyes, "I'm cooking! This isn't one of your expeditions."
Catching herself only then, Zelda nervously scratched the back of her neck, grinning mischievously, "Oh, right…"
She took down her notes on her own, whipping out a notebook from her coat pocket and slowly transcribing her thoughts, allowing the air to grow stagnant with silence, forcing Daruk to speak up in her stead.
"It would be my greatest wish to see your plans come to fruition, Princess," he happily provided, "I've been visiting Vah Rudania in my spare time, trying to study it's rhythms. Things are rather busy at home, however; the end of the year is the festival of Toknuggugrug, and we Gorons have been making merry!"
"Toknugoogoo..?" Mipha attempted to repeat, earning a chuckle from her Goron companion.
"Toknuggugrug! It's rather new as far as traditions go; Gorons never exactly observed the turning of the years, but the other peoples of Hyrule were, so Toknuggugrug was sort of us co-opting your traditions and making it more Goron-ish, I suppose. We make it a point to relax and spend time with our closest friends, hot spring baths are a must, and on the first album day of the year, we hold a wrestling tournament to crown the new year's champion! Ah, it's quite exhilarating! coming from a former winner, of course."
He humbly blew a cool breath across his knuckles, smirking wryly to himself, "Ah, yes."
Zelda excitedly perked up, "That sounds like so much fun! Don't you have specific brews that the Gorons produce only this time of year?"
"Indeed! Our Lava Paste™ is beloved for its heating properties; and, side note, the Paste does not contain sediment of the Gortram Lake. That's just marketing propaganda from the producers of Lava Jam® and that other butter stuff," Daruk muttered like an overworked lawyer, swatting away the air as though to wave away the semantics, "In any case, it's a wonderful time! Inspired by Zelda's mission to better improve relations between the people's of Hyrule, I've been trying to facilitate with our visitor's center to introduce some of our customs to the masses. Why else would I be so intrigued to join you two in experiencing your Yuletide festivities?"
"Ah, I see," Zelda nodded, "Sort of like an exchange of ideas, but for celebrations."
Link rolled his eyes while he swirled the stew with his label, carefully pinching some seasonings and herbs into the brew, "Aren't you missing out on some other important festivities?"
"Am I?" Daruk wondered with a nervous breath.
"Raknorbe?" Link drolly answered for him, leaving Daruk aflutter with nerves.
"That- That's no longer any-!"
Zelda piped up inquisitively, "What's Raknorbe?!"
Quickly readying a response, Daruk assured, "It's nothing but a-"
"It means 'trial by rolling', loosely translated," Link rolled his eyes, "Basically Gorons would post people along the way up to their village, and to deter unworthy visitors, they would throw themselves at them, and if they could avoid or stop the Goron, only then would they be allowed passage."
"I suppose that's why Daruk is so shy about it?" Mipha assumed with a giggle.
Link sighed, "That's how we met. Old habits die hard, I suppose."
Daruk grumbled to himself as though ashamed of some instinct he had no control over.
"Mipha, if you could ready some bowls," Link asked, sipping from his ladle before returning it to the brothy mixture, "I believe we're just about done."
She happily nodded, rising up to retrieve the accouterments with a nostalgic voice, "I remember going to our festivals as a child, just getting lost in the lights and sounds, feeling like the entire world was just encapsulated by lanternlight and the smell of roasted flounder and toasted sugars."
Grinning childishly, she sighed with distant delight, "What a time to live, our childhood."
"Everything being so new, and we so innocent," Zelda opined.
Daruk's brow furrowed in longing as he piped up, a particular melancholy lining his voice, "I was merely a pebble when I first felt the comforting glow of magma curdling beneath me. Ah, to return to such things."
He then grumbled, "But such things were before responsibilities, I suppose."
"Before Raknorbe," Zelda teased.
Daruk cowered languidly. While he did so, Mipha brought apart her stack of porcelain bowls for Link to ready, his eyes focused atop the deep ladle, careful not to spill a drop.
"What about you?" she asked him once he had returned for a second scoop.
Link chuckled, "Knights don't celebrate."
Mipha's face tensed, realizing her faux pas in asking such a question. She bit her lip as Link went on filling each bowl, the chef's voice not losing its usual timbre as he piped up in instruction toward the others.
"Zelda, please ready the garnish. Daruk-"
"Right away!" cried the Goron, immediately reaching for the jar of water that was to be their refreshment, " How I've missed this! Eating amongst my fellow Champions!"
Zelda smiled while tearing apart a stalk of herbs, "It almost makes you want to go out into the wilderness again, huh? With our wooden bowls clattering along in some rucksack. It always made me hungry whenever Revali would suddenly stop and wave his wings around; I'd hear his bowl and flatware being tossed about and immediately my mouth would water."
"I fear I was training you all without my being aware of such a thing," Link grinning, "It's all I hear about now."
Mipha finished taking the bowls, leaving the last in Link's vacated spot atop the blanket they had taken to eating atop of, before taking her seat as well. Following lastly, Link abandoned the cauldron and sat beside her, leaving Zelda and Daruk across from the two, a boisterous scene beginning as Zelda dropped a handful of spicy herbs atop each helping.
"If training tastes this good, I'm all for it!" Daruk quaked with his hands running along one another.
He was about to slam a spoon into the bowl when Mipha's voice forced him to halt his advance, "Before we begin, I-"
She paused with an embarrassed smirk, turning away and stroking her dorsal fin, "I apologize if they're not exactly what's expected, but- Zelda was telling me about Yuletide and the tradition of gift giving, and- Uh…"
Zelda tensed, feeling the weight of her own gift to Mipha. Daruk had since assembled it and handed it to her before this meal, though Zelda hadn't had time to even inspect it, being forced to go entirely off of Daruk's directive to work out a gift.
With her ceasing speech, Mipha made a wholly furtive movement behind her to pull toward her a small satchel, reaching inside to reveal a collection of wrapped gifts, "I- I just hope they're adequate."
"Oh!" Daruk happily exclaimed, "How could they not be exemplary when you've made the effort?!"
"I'll say," Link nodded as his lover handed him a parcel wrapped in twine, smiling up at her, "Thank you."
Mipha smiled, again with the pale blush of a Zora, before returning to hand out her remaining two gifts to her other Champion companions.
"I apologize for not bringing my own," Daruk shamefully replied upon accepting his gift with humbled hand.
"Oh, nonsense," Mipha retorted simply, "Your presence and help bringing Yuletide to Zia's Domain are gifts enough, Daruk."
He graciously accepted her parcel before Mipha offered the final gift to Zelda, who stopped Mipha's advance with an offering of her own, wielded in a shaking hand as the nerves got the better of her.
"I, uh, got this for you," Zelda managed uneasily, not noticing Daruk's proud expression upon realizing his curated gift was now being given, "I just wanted to make sure you we're able to experience everything to do with Yuletide."
Mipha's eyes sparkled, " Oh my! Thank you! I wonder what it is!"
Her eyes slanted in distant contemplation, Zelda murmured queasily, "Me too…"
Mipha happily sat her gift to the side before speaking in return, "I'd be happy to wait if you all wanted to open your-"
Like an incessant child, the mere insinuation left Daruk tearing through his gift wrap, his eyes shimmering in awe as he pulled out a glowing stone, hued entirely in azurelight like a bowl of water cast between one's self and the sunlight.
"By the goddess!" he exclaimed, recognizing the material as similar to the surface of Zorana's many bits of architecture.
Zelda concealed a giggle while Link simply spoke aloud what they were both thinking, "You got him a salt lick."
"Ah! Ah!" Daruk corrected with an educating wag of his finger, "Not merely a lick of salt. This is the filet mignon of salt licks."
Mipha giggled, "I'm happy you'll prize it so. I had to hunt the deepest waters of Hyrule to find a chunk I found to be adequate to your taste. I remembered how infatuated you were with it when you first visited."
"Indeed I was," Daruk assured before taking a lick of the chunk of rock, Link's amusement turning to disgust as the Goron reached the stone out toward him, "Would you like to try some?"
Link chuckled as he shook his head, "Not if you were the last sworn brother in Hyrule."
Mipha giggled before turning her attention toward Zelda, "Well?"
"Hmm," Zelda hummed in inquiry as she brought her gift to her ear, "It sounds like…a tome?"
Daruk noted simply, "It would be up your alley, I suppose."
With some care, Zelda undid the gift wrapping surrounding a substantial tome, at least by Zora standards, having correctly guessed the gift; although it didn't take long for her eyes to widen, a gasp leaving her.
"Mipha! Did you- write this?!"
Grinning happily at Zelda's exuberance, Mipha tilted her head back and forth with a shrug, "Sort of? We've long been light on written histories, but I did my best to consult with some of our oldest elders to compile some of what we pass down orally from one generation to the next. I figured if any Hylian would appreciate such a thing, it would be you."
"By the goddess! It's- astounding!" Zelda's eyes leapt up toward her royal counterpart, "And your script is so beautiful! I never would have thought you were still learning to write this!"
Mipha smirked, "Well, some of my correspondence to Link as of late has been related to this project…"
"And let me tell you," Link spoke up with exasperation on his breath, "It's not easy when you're given foreign concepts in an already miswritten drawl."
Mipha frowned at him, "I'll have you know, there wasn't a letter a didn't rewrite at least three times."
"And you still were asking me to translate geography into chemistry," Link teased with a quick poke of his tongue past his lips.
Unable to keep from grinning at the stoic man's childish motion, Mipha could only return her attention toward Zelda to hide her reaction, "In any case, this sort of history is far less garish than my father striking text into stone slabs; I figured it would make it easy for you to take back with you."
"Oh, Mipha, it's incredible. Thank you!" came Zelda's elated answer as she leapt over onto her knees to share a hug with her, tightly pulling in close as though to communicate as endlessly as she could her broad stream of gratitude.
Daruk clasped his massive hands together, "Oooooh! Just wait until you see what Zelda got you!"
Still locked in her hug, Zelda's eyes flashed wide behind Mipha's shoulder, a sudden sweat trickling down her back from the nerves.
"Oh, this will be worth the price of admission," Link smirked.
Mipha pulled away, perplexed, before scanning Zelda's face with downtrodden eyes, "I don't understand. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just-" Zelda groaned, "Let's just say I'll be as surprised as you are."
Mipha carefully examined her reaction for a moment further before slowly reaching for her gift, a parcel roughshod in appearance, no doubt undertaken by Daruk at the very last minute. She smiled before unwrapping its hardy exterior.
"I'm sure it'll be lovely," Mipha assured with a smile, her hands pulling apart the paper, "I don't think-"
Her sudden silence was like a dagger in Zelda's heart. The Hylian's teeth clenched, she grabbed at her chest with a nervous burst of movement before frowning, desperate for explanation.
"I'm sorry, Mipha, I couldn't manage to-"
Zelda's eyes softened at the sight before her. Mipha remained still as she peered into the bowl of paper in her hands, a teardrop like crystal rolling down her face while she trembled in place.
"Mipha..?" Zelda uttered carefully, as though a louder noise would have awakened a sleeping angel.
Daruk leaned in close to Link, who had taken to watching Mipha with a similar concern, the Goron grinning wide, "See? I told you she'd like it!"
A harrowed breath accompanied Mipha's return to present as she quickly drew a hand across her face to hide her tears, "I- I'm sorry, I just- It's gorgeous."
Zelda's brow fell, "..it is?"
A momentary recollection.
"It is!" Zelda served up hastily, "I mean, of course it is! It's for the princess of the Zora, after all!"
She quickly shot a glance toward Daruk, mouthing -What is it?!- toward the Goron's elated air.
As if in unknowing reply, Mipha took hold of her gift, lifting it from the wrapping paper with an intense care. As though crafted by a fine artisan, a necklace fell from her hand, adorned with demurely glittering gemstone that shone light blue and white- the colors of the Champions regalia Zelda had so long ago constructed to adorn the lot of them.
"Remember?" Daruk spoke up with the subtlety of a thunderstorm, "You were telling me how Zora princesses wear necklaces that symbolize their home? It's like their identification, you said? You figured she ought to have some ornamentation that denoted she belonged to the Cham-"
"Yes, Daruk, thank you," Zelda nodded with exasperation, slightly annoyed that she had to distract herself from the wonderful presentation in front of her.
Mipha eyed the gemstones with wonder in her sights, shaking her head as though not believing this to be truly happening before her.
"Zelda, it's exquisite," she managed before carefully returning the necklace to its wrapping paper and taking her into a hug of her own, "Thank you, so very much."
Link leaned in close to Daruk, "What in heavens did you do..?"
The Goron grinning, whispering in reply, "A Zora artisan was kind enough to aid me while the freeze came over the Domain. Said they hated to allow time to go on unchallenged or something, I don't know."
"And you're going to let Zelda take the credit?"
Daruk grinned widely, "Hey, what are wingmen for, huh?"
He immediately wrapped an arm around Link's neck, yanking him close and rubbing a fist with vigorous movement atop his head as Link yelped in anguish, "I'd do the very same for you, my Sworn Brother!"
"GAH!" Link exclaimed beneath the mountainous man's bullying, finally relieving himself once Daruk had had his fun.
The princess has taken to laughing at the silly performance occurring before them, leaving Zelda to shake away the fit as she sighed, "Alright, I think it's time to eat."
"What about Link's gift?!" Daruk exclaimed.
With a pithy motion, Link raised a small notebook in the air, glaring with sardonic intensity toward Zelda, "Thanks."
"Aww, well you were the best research assistant a girl could ask for," Zelda explained simply.
"You're very welcome, my apprentice! Now, how's about we eat? I'm all but ready for a makeshift Yuletide feast!"
"Of soup and bread!" Daruk roared excitedly.
Zelda chuckled with a longing tone, "Well, were we home, we would have all the fixings and sides, all fit for-"
"I think it's magical," Mipha noted aloud, smiling toward Link.
The knight felt a sensation roiling up in his chest as a blush challenged his complexion.
"Indeed!" came Daruk's agreement, digging in immediately after.
Zelda followed suit, smiling at the sentiment as she studied her own serving, leaving Mipha and Link open reign to glance at one another without judgement.
"Magical," was all Link could conjure up, lost within her eyes as he was.
