Chapter 29: Rest & Regrouping

It had been hours. Hours since they had chased the evil spirit out of Link's body, and he still hadn't regained consciousness. Everyone told him not to worry. That Link would be fine. But Kid wasn't convinced.

He'd dealt with possession before. More importantly, he'd dealt with the aftermath, and he distinctly remembered that when he'd eradicated Bellum from Linebeck's body, the sea captain had awoken within minutes. So why was Link still unconscious? Were evil spirits and demonic entities like Bellum really so different?

Or was it the method they'd used to extract the darkness? Last time, it was just a matter of killing Bellum. The squid monster had clung to Linebeck's back like a parasite so all he had to do was attack it directly. He never actually touched Linebeck.

Link's possession was a different story. The evil had been inside him, not on the surface. There had been nothing to hit, so they'd been forced to attack it from the inside using the Triforce. Could the Triforce have damaged Link too in some way? It seemed unlikely, seeing as Link was a hero and bore the Triforce of Courage, but there was no way to be sure.

That's why Kid sat on the floor beside Link's bed—only it wasn't really a bed because Gorons didn't need beds; it was just a low table functioning as a bed—waiting impatiently for Link to open his eyes.

Kid knew Link wasn't dead since he could see the methodical rise and fall of his counterpart's chest. He also knew Link wasn't in danger of dying anytime soon because he'd had Fi check him out. According to her, Link was perfectly healthy.

Despite knowing that, Kid found little solace. What if Link never woke up? It had been his connection with Link that hurt the evil spirit and ultimately forced it out of Link's body. That meant he was responsible for whatever happened afterwards.

Just as his mind began to loop back and review the facts and the what-ifs for the umpteenth time, Link's eyes fluttered open. Kid hopped up from his seat instantly and all but leapt on the table-bed to wrap his counterpart in a tight embrace. "Link!"

It took a moment for Kid to realize Link wasn't hugging him back. Kid loosened his hold and sat back on his heels, his smile fading into a frown. "What's wrong?"

Link just stared at him with those piercing blue eyes of his. Even in the dim lighting, Kid could make out the color. That's why he could see the change in them as they went from clear to misty. Link threw an arm over his eyes, blocking them from Kid's view.

"Link?"

The Hero of Twilight sucked in a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-"

Kid had to interrupt, then, because it was too much. What was his counterpart so torn up about? "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anyth-"

"I was supposed to protect you!" Link cried, the sudden increase in volume making Kid flinch. He lowered it quickly. "But I…I failed."

Kid shook his head. "You didn't fail."

"I attacked you!" Link shot back, raising his voice once more and flinging his arm to the side, uncovering his teary eyes. "I hurt you!"

Kid couldn't deny that but… "You taught me those hidden skills. Without them, I wouldn't have stood a chance. I probably would have wound up dead instead of hurt, so see? You did protect me."

Link was shaking his head vehemently before Kid had even finished speaking. "No. I didn't. You're hurt and Tetra's hurt and Zelda and Embrose, and oh, Farore, Midna and it…and it's my fault."

"It's not. You were possessed. You couldn't control-"

"But I should've been able to!" Link screamed, shooting into a sitting position. "I'm always in control. I never… I can't…I-I-" His counterpart dropped his head into his hands, shoulders shaking.

"It's okay. We're all okay." He leaned forward, placing a hand on the elder teen's shoulder. Apparently it was the wrong thing to do, for Link snapped to attention and slapped his hand away, his fierce eyes piercing holes in Kid's skull.

"DON'T-!" Link froze, his mind seeming to catch up with his body. "Sorry. I…" A world-worn sigh escaped him as he dropped his head to his chest, putting a hand to his forehead. "Goddesses. I can't."

"Is there anything I can do?" Kid wondered, his voice no louder than a whisper. Something told him that Link's senses were going haywire and anything louder would hurt him. "Water maybe?"

It took Link a while to respond, but Kid was patient and didn't press. After all, Link never pushed him when he was upset. "Sure."

The answer animated the Hero of Winds immediately and sent him digging through his adventure pouch to find his last bottle of water. Upon discovering it, he drew it out with a flourish and offered it to Link, careful not to shove it in his face. He'd had enough surprises today.

Link moved in slow motion, tentatively as if he wasn't sure if his limbs were his. Kid sympathized. Though he didn't know if he'd exactly call it possession, he'd been confused by Poes before and turned around so his left was right and his right was left. It had always felt weird coming out of it, and he recalled moving in a similar manner then.

Link sipped slowly at the drink. If he was with it enough to not chug the water, Kid took it as a good sign. Then again, he could also be drinking it the way he was because his stomach ached. Kid couldn't tell which it was and didn't want to ask for fear of startling Link and making him choke.

Fortunately, he didn't have to do anything of the sort. Link's drinks got fewer and farther between to the point where he stopped taking swigs altogether and simply held the half empty bottle in his lap, staring at nothing.

"I could see everything," he mumbled, voice so low Kid had to strain his ears to hear him. "I could feel my body moving, but I couldn't stop it or move it on my own. I couldn't do anything. But after a while, I-I stopped wanting to do anything. After a while I wanted what that…thing wanted. And they weren't nice things."

"You didn't want what that evil spirit wanted," Kid said. "It just…confused you." Like the Poes.

"Did it? Or did it make me realize my true feelings? The ones underneath the surface?" When Link's eyes met his, Kid saw nothing but fear there.

"There's no such thing," Kid said, though he wasn't entirely sure if that was true.

"But what if there is?" Link pressed. "What if…deep down I do want to hurt people, not protect them? What if…what if those feelings come back, and I lose control of myself or the wolf and I kill someone?"

"You won't."

"But if I-"

"You won't," Kid reiterated, raising his decibel level slightly to make sure his words penetrated Link's racing mind. "I won't let you do anything like that. If you ever lose control again, I'll bring you back just like I did this time. I'll snap you out of it." He allowed a smile to light up his face. "I promise."

His counterpart gazed at him, his features a mess of emotion. Finally, a wavering smile appeared on his face. "Thank you; just…don't let me kill you."

"Don't worry. You're a good person. You won't kill me or anyone else. I know it." Link's expression betrayed his doubt, convincing Kid to continue. Words flooded out of him in the hope that he would stumble upon the right ones to make his counterpart feel better. "There's no way you really want to hurt me or the others. You're protective of us, and Tetra always complains about how you're too protective, but it proves that you love us and…and there's just no way those bad feelings were ever yours. So…so don't worry. That will never happen."

It took a while for Link to respond, and when he did, his words were quiet. "I hope you're right."

"I am," Kid replied with confidence. Real confidence, not false, because he knew his ramblings to be true. "Now, you should probably lay back down. Rest." He plucked the half empty bottle from Link's limp fingers. He could see that his counterpart was exhausted even if he wouldn't admit it.

"No. I need to see the others. Where are they?"

"Embrose is over there-" Kid nodded to a large rock shaped vaguely like an armchair where the Fire Realm Guardian was sleeping soundly. "-so we should probably keep our voices down." Of course, he hadn't awoken during all Link's yelling so it seemed doubtful he'd wake up now, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. "Tetra, Zelda, and Midna are in another house."

"Another house…?" Link trailed off, seeming to notice his earthy surroundings for the first time. The hovel they'd been lended was mostly carved beige rock, but there was some scratchy floral fabric hung as decorative pieces on the back wall and several potted plants sporting vibrant pink flowers in the corners. They reminded Kid heavily of the exotic flowers he'd procured from the Goron merchants for Zunari to sell at his shop on Windfall.

"We're at the Goron village."

Link furrowed his brow. "How? Weren't we far away from it?"

"Kinda, but Embrose managed to get to the village before us and sent some Gorons our way. They helped us carry you here, and they made arrangements so we'd all have shelter."

"Hmm. That explains why I feel like I've been sleeping on a pile of rocks," Link mumbled, rubbing his back with a grimace.

"Sorry," Kid apologized. "Turns out there's no soft spots in a village full of rock people."

Link scoffed. "You're telling me."

The levity swiftly deserted him, and Link turned serious once more. "So, be honest, how badly is everyone hurt? How is Midna?"

"Midna's fine. Once Embrose was patched up and rested a bit he used some of his magic to heal her. He couldn't heal her all the way because he's still hurt himself but he did manage to heal most of it. She's just a little sore and spending a lot of her time in the shadows. At least, she was when I last saw her. It's dark now so she might be out and about. She's probably sleeping like everyone else, though."

Link breathed out a sigh of relief at this news, and Kid barreled on, eager to alleviate his counterpart's stress over their well-being. He explained how it didn't matter that they had no potions because he, Embrose, Tetra, and Zelda were able to mend themselves well enough the old-fashioned way—with bandages and plenty of rest.

The Hero of Twilight seemed satisfied with this explanation so his next question caught Kid off guard.

"What about Anjean?"

He bit his lip and looked away, endeavoring to fold the blanket that had fallen off of Link when he'd awoken earlier in a panic, if only to buy himself more time to prepare.

"Kid, where's Anjean?" Link demanded, taking the blanket from him and casting it aside. Well, there went his stalling implement.

He answered but couldn't meet his counterpart's eyes. "She's gone."

"What? What do you mean 'gone'?"

"Vivian took her. Embrose tried to get her back, but he couldn't."

"We have to go after her," Link declared, swinging his feet over the side of the low table and making to get to his feet.

"I know." Kid had wanted to go after her as soon as she'd been taken, but he'd been more than a little occupied with his possessed big brother. "But we can't yet. It's nighttime, and we don't even know where they are. Besides, we're in no shape to go up against Vivian."

Link swore.

Kid pretended not to hear. "Don't worry. Embrose said Vivian probably won't hurt her."

"Probably isn't good enough."

Kid didn't like it either but… "It has to be. For now. And anyway, Embrose said if Anjean died he would know right away so we know she's alive at least."

Link didn't reply, just rubbed his temples. Did he have a headache?

"You should sleep," Kid advised.

"I can't."

Guilt twisted in Kid's stomach. Maybe he shouldn't have been so candid about Anjean's whereabouts. At least, not until Link was in a better mental state to handle the truth.

"Well, I'm not going to sleep until you do."

Link's gaze flicked to him. "You're going to sleep."

"So are you."

Link sighed, and he straightened, leaning back on his palms. "Kid, don't stay up for me."

"Why not? You stay up for me."

"That's different."

"It's not," Kid insisted. "Awake or asleep nightmares are still nightmares, and I won't leave you alone with them."

Their eyes locked in a silent standoff, the snoring of Embrose adding the tense bass line to their battle. Finally, Link caved. He reached over and ruffled Kid's hair. "Thanks."

Kid smiled and returned the gesture, though he could hardly muss up Link's hair any more than it already was.

Cracking a smile at his antics, Link lowered himself down onto the slab of rock. Kid and the others had tried to make it as comfortable as possible by laying two blankets down on top, but when Kid curled up beside Link—pulling the blanket Link had tossed aside earlier over both of them—he could attest that it hadn't worked.

"Are you really okay?" Link's hushed inquiry temporarily distracted Kid from his discomfort.

"Yes, I'm really okay." Kid made sure he met Link's concerned sapphire gaze so his counterpart knew his answer was genuine. "So's everyone else." Except maybe Anjean, but Kid kept that burdening thought to himself.

Link reached out to him, hovering a hand over the cut on his cheek. It was obscured with gauze so Link couldn't see it but that didn't stop his concern. "Does it hurt?"

"No," he lied as the word pulled at the wound. He managed to not wince. After all, he'd had hours to get used to the ache, and compared to his arm, it didn't hurt at all.

Link retracted his hand, curling it into his chest as if he didn't trust himself not to hurt Kid. "I hope it doesn't scar."

"It won't. It's shallow." This wasn't a lie. It hadn't even needed stitches. Not like Zelda's shoulder, but he wouldn't get into that. The less Link knew of what had gone into mending everyone's wounds, the better.

"No one blames you, you know," Kid spoke up after a few moments had passed in silence.

"I do," came Link's whispered reply.

"Don't. I know you and that—" Blank black eyes set in Link's twisted face flashed in his mind. "—that wasn't you."

"You were scared of me, though," Link said, the memory etching worry lines into his face.

"I wasn't."

"You were," Link argued, his voice hushed but fierce. "I could see you, Kid. You were terrified."

"Yeah, I was scared," Kid admitted." But not of you. I was scared for you. I was scared that we wouldn't be able to get rid of the evil spirit or if we did, you'd-" die. Kid couldn't force the word out. It hurt too much and not because of his wounded cheek. Link was his brother in everything but blood. He loved him just as much as he loved his grandma and Aryll.

Fortunately, Link seemed to understand what he was trying to say, for when he spoke again, his tone was gentler. "I told you before that nothing like that's going to happen to me."

"I know." Kid shook his head a little to clear it of all morbid thoughts. "Point is, I wasn't scared of you then, and I'm not scared of you now." He reached over and clasped the hand Link had retracted earlier to prove it. To prove to Link that he wasn't scared of him and Link shouldn't be scared of himself either because he was good and there was no way he'd ever hurt anyone if he had any say in it, which he did.

Link tensed under his touch but that only encouraged Kid to hold on tighter until Link relented and squeezed his hand gingerly in return.

After that, Link opted to stare into nothing and Kid opted to stare at Link stare at nothing until his brother closed his eyes. Only when he was sure Link was asleep, did Kid allow his own exhaustion to drag him into the realm of dreams.

Surprisingly, dreaming was rather uneventful this night. Kid had been sure the nightmares would prey on him like starving beasts considering everything he'd seen, but it seemed that sleeping snugly next to a decidedly not possessed Link chased all monsters away.

It was closer to noon the next day when everyone managed to organize some semblance of a meeting in the house the males had slept in the night before.

The first order of business was, of course, Anjean.

"We should go after her," Link said. His eyes wandered to where Tetra sat, absentmindedly playing with the instrument looped around her neck. "She left her Spirit Flute behind. I can track her with it."

"No need. I already know where she is," Embrose said.

Kid perked up along with everyone else. "Where?"

"The Tower of Spirits." Their excitement quickly deflated like a sail devoid of wind. Of course. The only place they couldn't access.

"Perhaps we have weakened the barrier enough to break in," Zelda suggested, clinging to optimism.

The Guardian of the Fire Realm made to cross his arms over his chest before thinking better of it with a wince and fisting his hands at his sides instead. "Doubtful. If the tower was able to be breached now, Vivian wouldn't have taken Anjean there."

"Then what do we do?" Kid wondered.

"We keep going," Tetra declared, her eyes meeting his. Despite her hard tone, Kid could tell she wanted to rescue Anjean just as much as he did. "Carben did give us a map. We can find the last guardian and free him without her."

"And if something happens to her?" Link wanted to know.

Tetra leveled Link with a look that could have killed had she wanted it to. Not that she did, of course. Her glare was simply a shoddy attempt at masking the fact that she had nothing of substance to counter with.

Midna, however, did. "Nothing will happen to her." The Twili crossed her arms behind her head in a blasé manner, showcasing the pristine bandages wrapped around her midsection. Kid didn't miss the way Link dropped his eyes so he didn't have to see them. "That girl's tough. She can take care of herself for a while."

Embrose smiled at that. "Exactly. Besides, even if I don't know what's going on with Vivian, I do know she isn't possessed. She's still herself, and if I know her—which I do—she won't hurt Anjean."

"Ghirahim might," Link worried.

"Which is why I suggest you all get a move on," Embrose retorted, not unkindly. "There's no telling how long she'll be in Vivian's care."

"Wait—you're not coming with us?" Link asked.

"Why would I?" Embrose jerked a thumb in Tetra's direction. "Little Miss Princess here said Carben gave you a map. You'll make it to the Sand Realm just fine."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"What then?"

"We have no healing supplies with us. Anjean had taken over that role but…" He didn't finish his sentence, but they all understood and took a moment to feel the loss settle heavy in their chests. Kid had to remind himself that she wasn't dead. They could get her back. They would get her back.

"Sorry to say but I'm no good at healing," Embrose scratched his triple-tufted goatee. He nodded at Midna. "You should be able to tell that much from your stomach. I'm sure it still hurts."

"It does, but I'm also not dying, so there's that."

"Right," Link said, clearly doing his best to ignore the fact that Midna was injured at all. "Having even an amateur healer with us is better than nothing."

"I can't leave the village. The protection spell will break."

Confusion flashed across Link's face. "When'd you cast a protection spell?"

"Yesterday. You were unconscious for it. A real shame you didn't hear our duet." Embrose winked at Tetra. "I can say I've never had to practice five notes for an hour before."

Kid coughed to conceal the laugh that bubbled up upon recalling Tetra's many pitiful attempts to perform a sacred duet with Embrose. Unlike him, she was sorely lacking rhythm. He would have taken it from her, but he'd been more concerned with Link then, and anyway, it had been kind of funny. Tetra, however, didn't think so.

She punched him none too lightly on the arm before rounding on Embrose. "It's not my fault I've never played an instrument before, and I didn't even mess up that much. You're just impossible to work with!"

"Sacred duets are a delicate process," Embrose claimed with a smirk. "Every note must be perfectly executed."

Tetra huffed and turned away from him, muttering an obscenity under her breath.

Embrose laughed. "You did well, princess. You did well."

"Don't call me—!" Tetra heaved a sigh. "Whatever."

"Now I have to hear you play," Link insisted.

Tetra scowled, but Kid could tell it was good-natured. She was just as relieved as he was that Link was alright.

"I could conduct you next time," Kid offered. It would probably make it easier for her to keep time.

"There won't be a next time," Tetra declared, standing. "Let's go."

"Wait. We didn't even solve anything," Link objected.

"We're going to the Sand Realm."

"And if one of us gets hurt?"

"We have bandages," Tetra pointed out.

"I doubt bandages will be sufficient enough," Zelda spoke up. "I agree with Link. We need a better plan before moving forward."

"We can circle back and grab Steem," Midna suggested. "Tetra could open the portals with that flute. It's only one note so I know she can handle that."

Tetra glared at her, earning a giggle from the Twilight Princess.

"Even with the portals it could take a day," Kid pointed out, recalling their arduous journey through the Snow Realm. He didn't want to return to it.

"And thus a waste of time," Tetra declared, obviously feeling the same way about the cold. "We'll be fine. All we have to do is be careful."

Careful. Now that Tetra laid that word plain, Kid realized Link's concern. Heroics and careful did not mix. Sure, he heard it all the time. Heck, he even advised himself to be careful, to be cautious, to look before he leaped, and still he tended to do the opposite when put under pressure. Oftentimes, there was no time for careful, only action. And if that action ended up breaking your arm, well, at least you weren't dead.

"Embrose, are there any potion shops around here?" Link asked, desperate now.

The Guardian of the Fire Realm looked at him funny. "Dude, I don't even know what a potion shop is."

"It's…it's like," Link stammered. "Potions are medicine. Potion shops sell medicine. Is there a place here like that?"

"No." Kid was just as crestfallen as Link to hear Embrose's answer, but he did suppose it made sense. If the Lokomo tended to heal anyone injured, there was little need for medicine.

"Look, the longer we debate this, the longer Anjean stays trapped in that tower full of monsters," Tetra said.

It was a low blow that only served to rile Link up more but it almost seemed as if Tetra expected that as Link engaged in a shouting match with her. It wouldn't surprise him to be honest. Tetra tended to be more comfortable when she was yelling. Unfortunately for Kid and everyone else, the arguing only hurt their ears.

When Tetra dissolved into a coughing fit, Zelda took the opportunity to interject. "You are both getting ahead of yourselves. This decision does not have to be made now, seeing as we are not ready to depart yet. We must restock our water supply first and foremost. Checking to see if all of us are fit to travel today comes next. Then, and only then, will we open this topic up for discussion again. Clear?" The princess's ice blue eyes roved around the room, seeking confirmation.

"I'm fine."

Tetra's statement earned her a hard look from Zelda which she returned tenfold.

"We'll see about that later," Zelda said. She turned to Embrose. "Is there a water source nearby?"

"Yes, there's a freshwater lake," Embrose returned. "I'll lead you there if that's what you desire, princess."

"Wonderful. Tetra, accompany us."

"Why do I have to?" Tetra glowered.

"You don't have to, but it would be beneficial to do something rather than stay cooped up in here."

With that, the Princess of Hyrule gathered everyone's empty bottles, placing them into her satchel for ease of transport, and Embrose guided her out the door. Tetra followed begrudgingly.

"Ah, you and Tetra really got into it. I remember when we used to shout at each other like that. Eee hee hee! Good times," Midna reminisced, her arms folded casually behind her head.

"It's not funny, Midna." Link's tone made Kid flinch, but he didn't seem to notice.

Midna drifted closer to the Hero Chosen by the Gods, leaning against his shoulder. When she spoke next, all levity had fled. "Oh, Link, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to lighten the mood a bit, you know? You're all but scaring the little you."

Now Link spared a glance at him, and Kid wished he hadn't. He could see in the way his counterpart's facial expression crumpled that he was blaming himself for what happened yesterday again.

"I'm not scared," Kid assured him, pasting a smile on his face to prove it. "I've heard and seen you yell like that before, and besides, I don't blame you for doing it. Tetra was wrong for provoking you like that. She could've said it in a nicer way."

"Yeah, but she's right," Link admitted, looking away towards a dark corner. "We can't waste time. But…agh!" Link fisted his hands in his hair. "I don't know what to do!"

Kid sat next to him. The rock table wasn't any more comfortable as a chair than it was as a bed. "You don't have to. We'll decide together later, like Zelda said."

"Exactly!" Midna chimed in from Link's other side. "So stop worrying so much wolf-boy! That's how you get wrinkles, eee hee!"

Link lowered his hands, the tension beginning to fade from his shoulders.

Kid let the silence stretch to near discomfort before speaking, deciding a change of topic was in order. "Hey, so…did you and Midna really fight like that before?"

"Oh yeah! All the time!" Midna grinned wide, showing off her snaggle-tooth. "It was mostly about him not wanting to be my servant but having to be if he wanted to save his friends."

"That was a cheap tactic on your part," Link said, daring to glance at Midna.

"What can I say?" Midna shrugged flippantly. "I was an entitled royal that only saw light-dwellers as tools. But…"

The Twilight Princess continued to explain her side of it, Link engaging in light banter with her and debating how events really happened. Kid was content to listen and laugh along with them as they recounted vacuous arguments they'd shared throughout their travels.

Soon enough, the others returned with the water and divvied up the bottles. Then, it was a matter of assessing everyone's ability to travel. To no one's great surprise, Link was the only one that passed.

Midna, while no longer in danger of dying thanks to Embrose, was still rather sore and in need of bedrest. Tetra was nursing a sprained wrist and mild concussion due to the previous day's battle and, to top it all off, had never fully recovered from the illness she'd contracted in the Snow Realm. Zelda's magic had been replenished with last night's rest, but her arm was in a sling due to her injured shoulder, so she was in no condition to shoot an arrow or swing a sword properly. Kid had slept on his left side last night which ended up making his already sore arm even sorer. He couldn't lift it very far from his side before gasping due to the pain. Kid mentally kicked himself for it. He knew better than to sleep on that side, especially after using his sword arm so much the day before. In any case, it didn't matter whether he was fit for travel or not. The girls could not travel so that meant none of them could.

It was decided, albeit with great reluctance, that they would remain at the village for at least another day. In the meantime, they studied the map Carben had given them to plan out a route. However, the Sand Realm wasn't nearly as vast as the other realms—as Embrose helpfully pointed out before they'd even consulted the map—so that particular task didn't entertain them for long.

Embrose then left to inform the Gorons that were lending their houses to them that they would be using them for another day. Without much else to do, Kid and Zelda took up teaching each other their written languages again. Midna and Link were equally disinterested in it, so they engaged in hushed conversation.

Somewhat surprisingly, Tetra was intrigued and joined him in teaching Zelda the Great Sea's Hylian and learning Hyrule's Hylian. After a while, Kid began to suspect that Tetra was only interested because she got to tell Zelda she was wrong. She also seemed to be picking up Zelda's writing system faster than he was, which he couldn't help being a bit sour over. Especially since she had a concussion—mild, but still! Of course, he wouldn't have been so butt-hurt about it if Tetra actually helped him, but she delighted in telling him he was wrong instead.

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully, the most notable event probably being having to politely, but sternly, decline the Gorons' welcoming feast consisting of nothing but rocks. According to Embrose, they didn't have much contact with other races, so they tended to forget not everyone could digest minerals the same way they could.

All in all, the day was almost reminiscent of the days before his coming of age in which he'd study with Sturgeon, play with Aryll, and toy with the idea of taking one of the boats and just sailing off into the horizon or venturing into the ever-so-dangerous wood atop the island. Only in this case he studied with Zelda and Tetra, chatted with Link and Midna, and explored the Goron Village in which no area was off limits except the edge of the magical barrier keeping them protected, and he had no urge to go beyond that.

The Gorons themselves were incredibly friendly, calling him brother and making him feel like part of the community despite the fact that he was flesh and bone and they were, well…rock.

The Goron children took a great liking to Kid, challenging him to races and showing him where to find the tastiest snacks—if one happened to be a Goron, that is. Despite not being able to eat the pebbles, he helped the children collect them, popping the warm, rust-colored rocks into glass jars and hiding the containers from the adults because, as far as he understood, they were akin to sweets, and the little Gorons weren't supposed to be having copious amounts of them. He participated in their races, too, and though the little rock children could roll much faster than he could ever run, Kid still found himself having fun.

He spent the next four days like this, letting his friends and the village residents distract him from the pressing issues of Anjean being in the enemy's clutches and the curse hanging over his head like a storm cloud. The hot spring nearby helped immensely as well, leaching the aches and worries from the bodies of those that relaxed in their waters. Kid suspected they had restorative properties because he always felt better afterwards.

Either the hot springs did have restorative properties or Embrose's daily doses of healing magic were more powerful than the man claimed, because the dawn of the fifth day found everyone healthy enough to move on.

Within an hour of the discovery, their entire party was stepping outside of the protective circle, equipped for the desert heat and whatever horrors they would meet along the way. The entirety of the village, with Embrose at its head, waved them off, the Guardian of the Fire Realm saying he'd see them soon and to "mind the Malgyorgs" as if he hadn't been briefing them for the past few days on the dangers they could encounter in the next realm.

Kid wasn't looking forward to dodging sand versions of the Gyorgs he knew on the Great Sea. Mostly because it was hard enough to do on a ship and could only be more difficult on his own two feet. At least when Gyorgs had hit him on the Great Sea, he'd had something else between him and them. Still, he supposed with less to juggle in terms of sailing, it would be easier to retaliate.

Both Kid and Link kept their bows out and ready as they trekked to the Sand Realm, just in case. After all, one couldn't be too careful. They probably weren't being careful enough, in all honesty, but there was little they could do with Anjean gone. Kid sent a quiet prayer to the goddesses above. "Please, let us rescue her soon."