Closed to [miphasgrace]

[gluttonforpunishment]

The Champions are alive. Their souls freed from the Divine Beasts, their bodies from the Calamity. Link's injured, bleeding freely from a gouge along his ribs - and several of those are broken besides, but he's still on his feet, sword in his hand still alight with energy. He looks them over: Revali, Urbossa, Zelda, Daruk... Mipha.

He's exhausted. Even with their help, Ganon had not gone down easy. It had been hours of fighting and then so long on horseback with broken ribs, every draw of the Bow of Light excruciating. He's exhausted physically, and mentally, and he's not sure what's keeping him on his feet. Maybe just the stubborn refusal to collapse.

He's shed his helmet already, and he wants to sheathe his sword, but just the idea of lifting his arm makes him more tired - his arm feels like lead, he might have broken his arm as well...

Link smiles weakly. His voice is gone - dry and hoarse, so instead he just smiles and bobs his head. He's glad they're alright, he's glad Ganon is gone, but if they'll excuse him, he needs to sit down. Or maybe collapse.

His legs start to go, and it's Daruk who gets to him first, lowering him gently to the thick grass, trampled and scorched and muddy. "Easy, buddy," he says, bracing Link semi-upright.

"Are you alright, Link?" That's Zelda, hurrying to him. He's glad to see she's unhurt after her ordeal. Her dress is clean, though her sandals and feet are muddied. He nods, though he really definitely isn't alright. But he's alive, and they're alive, and Ganon is dead - or at least gone.

He looks up, past Daruk and Zelda, to Mipha. She's fine as well. He finally takes his hand off the hilt of his sword and signs - his arms are jelly, but they're stronger than his voice, "I'm really tired." He sags against Daruk. The Goron is warm even if he's a bit too hard to be comfortable to lean against. His hands fall into his lap and he blinks tiredly. He's not sure even Mipha - if she's even strong enough yet - will be able to heal all this, but he doesn't care. He has time to recover.

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Link looks away at that. He doesn't want to be celebrated or honored for what he's done. He didn't do it for fame, or power, or anything. First, it had been because he was a knight in training, and then because the Sword had chosen him, and then the pressure of it all had weighed on him so heavily.

But these past few months spent traveling Hyrule, meeting people, camping with them, saving them from monsters... That's all the recognition he needs. Let his place in history be a footnote, like all the others who had driven back Ganon in the past.

"You all and she did the real work. I just swung my sword around after sleeping for a hundred years. I couldn't protect you, or Zelda, or the kingdom. I'm just a vessel for the Goddess." He focuses his attention on his lap, hands curled in his lap, anxiety rising up from his gut into his chest and throat.

[miphasgrace]

She knew a reaction like this was coming, even if the denial is a little more emphatic than expected. Still, as little as she's sure he wants to dwell on it, hearing him cast himself in such a light stirs something in Mipha that makes her want to get her point across.

"...We Champions fell against the Blights despite everything we gave. Princess Zelda saved you from a fate to match ours, all those years ago... And when you awoke, despite losing everything you had...you set out to help Hyrule again. To help our people, to help us...who you did not even remember.

"And you succeeded. To boil all of that down to a few swings of your sword, or yourself down to such a shell, is..." She trails off for a minute, eyes downcast. "I am not saying these things as hollow flattery or praise... I saw what such a horrible burden did to you. I only want you to know how proud you've made us, Link. Neither you, nor Princess Zelda, are defined by what fate or the Goddess decided to lay out for you."

After years of holding back her true feelings even before the Calamity took her away, she felt an unfamiliar push to be forthcoming for once instead of dancing around her feelings. Though their earlier mutual admissions of love certainly helped, too...

But it's more than she usually can ever say on such matters, and she knows it, and doesn't want to over-push an issue he struggles with. Mipha sheepishly hangs her head with a visible tint to her cheeks, letting the silence stretch as she scrapes the spoon against the bowl to gather up the last of the food he'd left. "I am proud of you, Link, not what ties you to the legends."

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Link couldn't even sign, his hands were shaking too badly.

If he lifted his head, he would be able to see both Zelda and Otoh watching him, but he couldn't even being to think about them. All he could think about was himself, and Mipha, and her words.

He stared down at his trembling hands, then bit his bottom lip, hard, until the pain was enough to make his hands go calm. "I don't wnat to be famous... I just want to be with you.... Knowing that the people I met and helped along the wya are safe now from Calamity is all the fame I need..."

He was fine being another nameless hero of Hyrule. He honestly preferred it that way anyways. He had a house on the outskirts of hateno village, which was a safe, warm place to be, without any worry about an innkeeper, or waking other people up in the middle of the night with his nightmares.

"Ater we get everything setted... I have a house in Hateno Village. A river runs right by it. Maybe you could... come live with me?" Not that he wanted to keep her from her friends and family she'd lost a hundred years ago, but there was so much history for him as well in Zora's Domain.

[miphasgrace]

It was his offer that finally made her look up from the bowl, its lumped contents uselessly reformed multiple times after their silence and Link's words. She stilled, then, eyes wide and mouth parted and just as blind to any trace of awareness of the others in the wagon as he was as she blinked several times in rapid succession. Of all things, it wasn't the offer itself that shocked her the most, but hearing Link admit to home ownership. It would've been enough to incite a good-natured laugh at the thought had his offer not been so...heartwarmingly serious.

The decision of what to do once things settled down was weighing on the forefront of her mind, even before Link had suggested she make her return after he was sufficiently healed. She knew how her family and her people would react to her return and she knew her own emotional calling just as well. Yet being united with Link...had been her heart's calling long since before they were both chosen for their roles in the Calamity.

She supposed being granted these possibilities after so long is what has her torn in the first place.

But...it was as Link said. After everything's settled. After they, their people, Hyrule has had time to process and Link and the Champions could come to their own conclusions without this jumbled mess being so fresh. And it's when her subconscious acts before she can even think; her expression trembling and eyes glossy and hand reaching for his own as the surprise melts away to reveal her gentle smile again - that's when she knew that the answer had already been decided despite the contrary thoughts running through her mind.

Her voice is low and soft and nearly a whisper, and it's all but written on her face before she can even muster the brief but heavy words. "...I'd love that."

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Link could feel his anxiety rise into his throat from his chest like a solid mass at the shocked look on her face - she was just barely smiling, but her mouth and face were tense, like she was going to tell him no... or laugh at him.

He almost looks away, unable to bear the rejection, when her face changes, smile going softer and wider, eyes warming, entire face crinkling into pleasure. He relaxes, manages to swallow down the anxiety, then nods, just a little.

He smiles back, sighs in relief, then leans forward a little, head bowed. He can't find the words in his throat or his hands, so he just nods again and smiles at her.

[miphasgrace]

Mipha's a bit unsure if his stilted reaction was because of her, or her answer, or embarrassment. Setting the bowl to the side altogether, she reaches out further to cup the side of his face and bows her head to look at him under his bangs, making eye contact. As reassurance. For both of them, even.

"As though I would ever say no..." She brushes part of his side-bangs out of the way as she slowly pulls away, face still conspicuously clouded with emotion. Though trying to make light after the apparent scare she'd given him, the laugh her recollection summons gets likewise trapped in her throat. "After all...you had accepted the armor...hadn't you?"

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Link leaned into the touch - her hand was cool and dry, not overly warm anymore, except from holding the bowl. Her fingers feel good, comforting, on his face, and he's able to breathe a bit easier, at least for a time.

Yes, he had accepted the armor, hadn't he? And he'd known before accepting it what it meant - at least vaguely again, anyways. "I have your trident," he says, quietly, face still leaned in close to hers. "At home, on my wall. I couldn't stand to use it... It's yours, not mine." He smiles at her quietly.

[miphasgrace]

She doesn't notice how much it brightens her smile when Link speaks, yet it happens without fail every time she hears his voice. With a bit of recognition, she nods.

"I knew you had it... They--" The fact that her family parted with it after so long, after she'd communicated to them when they sent it adrift down the river and they created the festival in turn, warmed her heart tenfold. And no matter how badly she wanted it to be of real use to Link, she can hardly fault him for keeping it in the way that he did. "Though I am glad they gave it to you. I am glad you could keep it somewhere you cherish."

Omg I really forgot for weeks to tag in this /hides face

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"I couldn't stand the idea of using it and breaking it... It's yours, and it was all I had to remember you by for a long time."

Otoh was watching them, carefully, making sure Link wasn't straining himself too heavily after his ordeal. "Let me walk you back to your tent, Princess," she said, and she and Zelda exited, leaving the cart devoid of extra, prying eyes

ahaa no it's all good, we both took a thread vacation

[miphasgrace]

Mipha only notes their departure from her peripheral, not consciously aware through her focus on Link. She wants to say how much she'd wanted him to use it, how much it meant to her that her family could part with what is essentially a piece of her...

But she knows if it were the opposite, she couldn't bear to wear down Link's weapons when they would be the only thing left.

She closes her eyes, taking her unoccupied hands and laying them over his arm, leaving the past and what-if thoughts unspoken. Instead, she takes up his mantle of being left speechless with emotion until finally, she opens her eyes and looks into his again. "...I suppose you have something better than that, now."

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That startled a smile out of Link. He nodded after a moment. Then his startled smile went soft, almost sly, and he said, "Like dinner." Then he grinned, widely.

Just staying upright like this made his ribs ache and his head pound, and he was still desperately hungry, but he didn't care. He was here, with Mipha. They were both alive. Zelda was alive. The Calamity was dead, or banished, and next time it rose, it would be some other hero and princess who rose up to stop it.

And he was alright with that. He was alright having done this much, he could live the rest of his life easy. He moved a hand to curl over hers on his arm, then said, meeting her eyes, "You should eat. I'm going to lay down." He was tired, she needed to eat, and they coud talk about the future more in the morning.

[Let's not skip to morning ;) ]

[miphasgrace]

A hand goes over her mouth to stifle a laugh, coming out as a rather undignified snort. "Yes, of course. What you were waiting for all along..."

Jokes. It felt so long since they were able to joke, to smile almost carefree like when they were kids. Mipha didn't just gain her life back, she's getting the wish that she shared with Link a hundred years ago as they sat atop Vah Ruta. To start going back to how things used to be between them.

With a grin to match his, she kept both hands out to help him smoothly back down into a comfortable position. In truth, she wasn't as hungry as she probably should be, but picked up her bowl again at his suggestion. It's cold by now, but that was fine - Zora rarely cooked their food. Despite her lack of hunger, and despite her manners, as soon as she breaks eye contact by tipping the bowl toward her and giving her sharp shark teeth a workout.

Okay, so she just wanted to finish quickly. It's been a while since Link hadn't eyed her leftovers and she didn't want to leave any meat in the vicinity.

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Link sighed in reief when he was horizontal again. It was a good thing he could also sleep anywhere, because by the time Mipha was done eating, he was asleep. Not heavily, but he wasn't about to be stirred by her moving around and getting comfortable.

Most of the night passed quietly. The stable had settled down, the Champions put to bed in other wagons comfortably, and Sheikah guard patrolling the area around the stable, though there was likely no need for it anymore, with the Calamity sealed away.

But for Link, who'd spend months fighting monsters, it wasn't as easy for his dreams to settle. It was almost morning, and he was fighting monsters in his dreams. They were coming down from the hills, descending on the stable and the people and animals nearby. Link flung himself up from his bed, hand grabbing for the Sword--

and woke up crumpled in a painful heap on the ground outside the wagon. He'd grabbed his sword while mostly asleep and then forgot about the fact that he was in a wagon and had stumbled off the edge. He cried out as he hit the ground, already broken ankle doing nothing to stop his fall.

There was movement from the guards immediately and they came running - Dorian, and Cado, as if he wasn't embarassed enough.

[miphasgrace]

Mipha could tell his nightmares were out in full force. Between being in and out of consciousness herself, she was frequently awoken by a worrisome noise from Link or a shift of his limbs only to succumb to the tired pull behind her eyes and drift back to sleep with a hand on Link's forehead to try in vain to soothe him.

But this, she was not prepared for. Nor did she react quickly enough; the last thrall of sleep must have taken the strongest hold as she only managed to jolt awake and propel herself forward to yell, "Link!!" after he was already halfway out the wagon.

Scrambling to the edge and jumping out, she lets out a stream of worried oh, no, no, no, noises under her breath, the position he'd landed in not unlike having dropped like of a sack of bricks. Instantly and instinctively her hands take position over him and the weak light of dawn is accompanied by the faint blue glow of her healing magic.

"Oh, goodness, Link--" she says with a clearly distressed edge, before her head snaps up to the two Sheikah guards that ran over first. "Please, could you assist, he-- we need to get him off his leg--"

And off of the ground, and straightened out, and in a stable position and checked over again and healed and back in the wagon -- but one thing at a time. How could she not have noticed in time? He grabbed his sword first for heaven's sake.

She doesn't bother asking Link what happened or if he's alright - both answers are obvious - instead focusing on trying to combat the pain and reassure him through touch rather than words, while addressing the guards again. "Someone, please, call Otoh--" If she hadn't been alerted already.

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Link, though, is already moving, even by the time Mipha gets to him. The dream had been so vivid, so incredibly real, that just laying on the ground like this, utterly helpless, made his heart thump in panic. Falling out of the wagon while injured was one thing, but falling out of the wagon while under attack was another.

He rolled onto the leg whose ankle wasn't broken and leveraged himself so he was at least on hands and knees, the Sword clutched in his hand.

"Are we under attack?" He asked Dorian, struggling valiantly to get himself standing, just in case.

Lights all around the wagons were coming on, though, bathing the surrounding countryside of the stable into warm golden light. There were no monsters, no galloping of bare hooves or the pounding of monstrous feet through the grass.

"No, Link, we're not. Everything is calm." Dorian moved to get a hand under his arm and instead of helping him back to the ground, he let Link stand, leaning on him to assure himself that indeed there was no threat.

Standing made him feel naseous, and his entire body screamed in protest at it, but he coud see better, could see the Sheikah crossing to them, Otoh already coming at a run.

"Link!" She slowed up as she reached them. "Why is he standing? Link, you need to lay down." She started to reach for the Sword, stopped, then put her hand under his other arm, supporting him.

"I thought we were under attack..." The signs were awkward, since he was still holding a sword and also didn't have free movement of his arms.

Otoh turned and barked over her shoulder, "False alarm, the Champion is alright. Go back to bed or your watchposts."

The Sheikah went, though the stable staff and travelers lingered for a few moments longer - at least, until Otoh's fierce stare drove them away. "Mipha, are you alright? You didn't fall too?" Link was standing, if swaying more than a little, but it was going to be easier to get him back into the wagon from a standing position than making him lay in the dirt, however briefly, before they could get a stretcher over to roll him onto.

[miphasgrace]

Her hands have trouble keeping up, frantically trying to hold onto him as he continued to panic, eventually coming to a rest on his chest as the others take the brunt of holding him up. Feeling his heart still beating so fast alarmed Mipha, imagining what must have been running through his mind for the reality to be so drastically different as his eyes dart around the campsite and take in the calm.

She doesn't know whether the resulting look on his face comes from the nightmare, the realization, or the effects of standing far too soon for his condition - or all of the above.

It doesn't hit her that she's been breathing hard until the question is asked, letting herself tear her gaze away from Link only by closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "No, I am fine, I--" She swallows, shaking her head, splaying out her fingers that were beginning to clench over his chest. "I couldn't... I'd awoken too late, he jumped out so quickly..."

The last part is punctuated by turning to Otoh and shaking her head again. They can heal physical wounds, yes, but invisible trauma of the mind is another beast entirely. She knows the sword is still clenched in his hand and she's trying to keep his swaying to a minimum, but in truth she's only just shaken off the fog from her weary and sleep-addled brain herself.

She's not going to go back to sleep.

"Everyone's alright," she says as she turns back to him, one of her hands softly stroking in place. Including you, she would have added, had the pain not been so apparent in his posture and the need to get him lying down again urgent.

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Mipha's hand is on his chest, Dorian's hand under one arm, and Otoh's hand under the other. The Sword is calm in his hand, not lit with Evil's Bane.

Everyone's alright.

Slowly, he lets out a breath, grip slackening on the Sword and letting the tip hit the soft dirt. Otoh reaches to take it, and he lets her. It lets her. It, like her and like Mipha, seems to know that he's in no shape to be doing much of anything, and especially not holding it.

"Let's get you back up in the wagon, Link." He nods. Otoh moves to rest the Sword against the back of the wagon, and carefully, she and Dorian help him turn.

"I'll get my arms under him," she said. Link, try and put your arm over my shoulder. Mipha, get his legs." Link manages it, with a wince and hiss of pain, and the hand over her shoulder clenches, skin going white. He's biting back nausea from his head, and pain from his ribs and ankle, but he's not about to complain.

[miphasgrace]

Nodding, her fingertips press ever so slightly into his chest before she pulls away and bends down. "Hold on, Link," she murmurs, having caught sight of his current discomfort and knowing it has to get worse before it gets better again.

She moves in tandem with the others, readily taking hold and swinging his legs up as Otoh and Dorian handle the rest of him. There's really no way to do it gingerly, and even the most careful movements they're making are surely causing him great pain. Mipha takes care to keep his broken ankle steady in addition to holding the weight of his legs.

It's worse for him than it is for them, but hopefully back in the wagon he stays. The last thing his recovery needs to be is one step forward and two steps back.

The way they're positioned, lifting and backing Link into the carriage, Mipha's tall enough to hold his legs up and inside but too short to simultaneously climb up and join them.

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By the time LInk is back in the wagoon and laying down, he's sweaty and pale from the pain, but he hasn't made a noise or complained at all. This is on him, on his mind, it's his fault.

He lets Otoh rest her hand on his chest lightly, then explore his ribs, wincing as she hits a particularly painful spot - on the right side of his chest, one of the ones that had been broken during the fight. Whatever Mipha or the fairy tonic had done for the pain was gone now, it felt like he was being stabbed with each breath he took - but aside form the pain, there was no labor to his breathing.

She checks him, hands gentle - his head, his ankle, his arm, then says, "You're alright. Thankfully. How's your pain?"

"Worse than before I fell asleep, better than right after the fight." It was a five, maybe, on his pain scale, but he had a much higher tolerance than most.

[miphasgrace]

Otoh's already got him set when Mipha joins them, quick and efficient. She fusses with the pillows and blankets and comfort around Link while she lets the Sheikah doctor check him over, knowing if she interferes now it wouldn't be accurate.

"I can still help with that," she says after his pain assessment, the familiar blue glow bubbling up again. She doesn't expect Link to lie, per se, but he does have a lifelong habit of downplaying his own problems for the sake of others.

And he's probably thinking he's embarrassed himself enough in the past 24 hours.

Still, while it's a relief to see and hear that he hasn't re-injured himself, she knows it's not a problem that will just go away anytime soon. At least when they arrive in Kakariko, the worst thing he'll have to fall out of is a bed as opposed to a wagon.

Mipha looks at him with apologetic eyes, working her magic but unable to help but notice his paleness. "I'm sorry," she says, but with a smile, "I should have been able to stop you."

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Link's already shaking his head when she's starting to apologize and makes sure to meet her eyes when he signs, "It's not your fault. Not the first bad dream I've had recently." It was just bad luck that it happened in the back of a wagon - he usually slept on the ground (and rarely in an actual bed in an inn or at a stable) so there had never been much of a distance for him to fall.

Still, when she presses a hand lit blue with her healing magic to his ribs, he lets out a quiet sigh of relief and closes his eyes, chin tipping up. The pain eases instantly, and his breathing evens out a bit. He's still pale and sweaty, but he looks a bit less distressed.

[miphasgrace]

Mipha can't help but grin a little wider when she hears that sigh and his body language eases a little bit. It's the least she can do, in her mind, regardless of his reassurance. Though even if he looks more relaxed, she wouldn't blame him if he didn't want to go back to sleep.

"At least there was no lasting damage done..." she says, almost a whisper, glancing over him and widening out the span of her hands to cover more. If there was anything she could do to quell his mind as well as his wounds, she wishes she could do so. "It was certainly a wake-up call..."

Remembering all the other wagons' lights, and those who came out to see the commotion, she looks over at Otoh after Link's eyes close and can tell the doctor was awoken just as hurriedly. The sun had barely begun to rise, after all. "I did not know when we were to set out again... I assume it was not close to this early."

[gluttonforpunishment]

"No, not for a few more hours. We'll probably not delay to eat breakfast here but travel straight to the village." The rest of the jounrey was the trip up the mountain pass that, while winding and bumpy, wasn't all that long, all things considered. They'd get there before lunchtime, with enough time to get Link into her house to rest and the other champions settled down while they all tried to decide what to do next.

Otoh could only be glad that she only had one patient and not six. The fight with the Calamity could have gone so much worse. Thank Hylia for Mipha stabilizing Link immediately - what if she hadn't been there? Would Otoh have been able to reach him in time?

The thought of losing Link sends a shiver up her spine. Sure he's laying peacefully in her wagon, golden skin lit blue with Mipha's magic, but just the day before he'd been on death's door.

"The guards will have to gather up the horses and saddle them, and the scouts make sure the way is clear of monsters, but we'll leave fairly shortly here."

[miphasgrace]

She nods, slowly, taking in their plan and allowing thoughts to drift to setting up in Kakariko, with Link in a warm and comfortable bed. Safer and more stable with plenty of opportunity to heal and be healed. Impa, no doubt waiting to see Princess Zelda and Link return safely and surprising her with the rest of the Champions in tow.

After a scare like this, Mipha can't believe what a world of difference it'll make.

"I'll see if I can't keep him comfortable for the trip." As if that would be a problem - she smiles at Otoh knowingly - but it also means keeping with him on the chance he falls asleep again. "But, do let me know if anyone else needs assistance."

Just a little bit more, and everything will be stable. And everything won't be having just escaped the claws of death anymore.

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Otoh nods but makes no move to leave the wagon. Instead, she starts making sure everything is secure again, rechecking the supplied they'd used the night before. She settles back down near Link's legs, the jar of bruise balm in hand. "I'm going to rub more balm into your legs, Link." They had been dark the day before, but the thick bands of bruises across his thighs were warm to the touch and even at the gentlest of touches, he winces, eyes opening a little.

Otoh works carefully, taking breaks from the bruises to also work the balm into his knees and calves - it will work to soothe some of the lingering aches.

Link soothes every time she moves her hands down, but when she works her way up, gingerly touching the bruises, he tenses, toes curling in anticipation.

Otoh shakes her head a little. "Link, you know you just have to say you're in pain. I can give you something."

"It's fine," he signs, shaking his head. "It's just tender."

"These are some pretty deep bruises, and I'm barely touching you." Otoh gets up and makes her way back to her cabinets and again finds the bottle of painkiller tonic. Again, she wets a tiny bit of cloth with it. "Here, let me."

He opens his mouth without a protest, though, and lets her rub the liquid into his gums. Almost instantly, he sighs in relief and relaxes, the tension finally going out of his shoulders and hips.