The stable was a buzzing hub of activity - this I could tell, and we weren't even there yet. More and more travelers we passed on the road, those walking along and those leading mules and those peddling goods, stopping for a rest on the side of the road, enjoying a picnic or small snack in the shadow of the peaks.

Dueling though the peaks were, it was peaceful here - strangers swapping stories, friends enjoying each other's company, and then there was us. Link was smiling, looking around and taking in the sights and I wanted to do that too, if not for the stormy nature of my stomach right now.

My conflicted feelings aside about the state of this adventure and the nature of my role in it, I was nervous because how in Hylia's name was I supposed to tame a horse? As we approached the stable, Link spoke happily on the kinds of people we might meet and the horses we might see, and oh, maybe I'd like this kind or horse or maybe that kind might suit me better.

There were the rosy-hued mares that were sweeter than nectar, the brawny and strong-willed buckskins, and the daring though broody horses that were black as night, or darker, with shining coats that would reflect the nightly moon prettily.

Or so he said. Honestly, he could have said anything and I'd have believed it. As well-traveled as he was, it was far more likely for him to have experienced these things than, of course, it was for me to - which is to say, I hadn't experienced these things at all.

It was as embarrassing as it was painful to admit, honestly. Every damn traveler we passed by had a horse or some sort of mount - a donkey, a mule, a horse or two or three. And I had... nothing. I didn't have a steed to call my own, a charge mine and mine alone.

It'll be good to give Epona some rest, and hell, she'd be given a show too, having to watch me try to tame a horse. Honestly, I didn't know the first thing about this. Link would have an absolute field day with-

"There don't seem to be many wild herds around here," Link said, cutting through my tumultuous thoughts, and I was grateful for it, inwardly anyway.

Externally, I didn't nothing more than hold him tighter, almost in an instinctive manner, as Epona jumped over a fallen branch, one likely felled by the wind which had just picked up. Looking far in the distance, in the fields that were draped across these foothills and the vast fields beyond them, I could see the wind ripple the grasses, and as such I was able to brace myself before the wind even reached us.

"They tend to gather near the stables," Link went on to say, seemingly unaffected by the sudden chilled wind. "The stable boys tend to toss treats to them every once in a while, and they're kind enough to them. Last time I passed through here, there was a giant herd here, but I guess they've moved on."

"Maybe they went off to find shelter from the storm rolling in," I said, considering it myself.

"Yeah, maybe," Link agreed. "At any rate, there are usually some tame horses available, too. Maybe you won't need to tame one yourself, (Y/n). That'll make it easier."

"Tame horses? Do you mean the personal charges of the workers here?"

"Some, yes," Link told me. "But others are abandoned foals they took in, old working horses looking for a calmer life, or ones that showed up here and never wanted to leave. Some riders abandon their horses too, either for better ones or just to have one less mouth to feed on the road."

"Oh," I said, thinking it over and growing saddened by that. "They get taken care of here though, don't they?"

"Yeah, of course," Link said, looking over his shoulder at me to send me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about that. They're usually a bit confused at first, but these folks are good to them. You've nothing to worry about."

"Good, then," I said, taking in a deep and steadying breath. And that was that - at least until we reached the stable.

—

"Rest for a while, Epona," Link said. "We'll spend the afternoon here, alright? Get some rest and maybe make a few friends."

Epona, now saddleless, whinnied rather excitedly. After leading her into the pasture, he undid her reins, draped the leather over his shoulder, then closed the gate behind him as he exited.

He watched for a moment as she trotted further into the pasture, looking for a suitable place to graze. Right to a small group of other mares she went, and she was greeted rather politely before the whole lot of them lowered their heads and got to grazing.

Satisfied she'd be fine on her own and with pleasant company, Link turned - only to find that (Y/n) was nowhere to be seen.

Great. She was missing. Again.

He dared his heart not to leap into his throat and dared not let his sudden anxiety manifest on his face. He could not allow himself to show that he was scared - that was an easy thing to take advantage of in battle, and...

He wasn't currently in battle. He looked around. Who would take advantage of his fear right now? An enemy? There were none to be seen right now. The only ones who could possibly take advantage of his fear right now were... people who might harm (Y/n).

Hm.

Spurred into movement, he jogged forward a few paces, willing himself to find her - and quickly. His Hylian senses should have been enough, but they weren't; even then, his knightly training should have sufficed, but they didn't.

Oh - that voice. He heard her!

He turned to his left, and there by the stable's main counter stood (Y/n), speaking to one of the stable boys. Relieved she was alright, he let loose a sigh, then started to walk towards her. It wouldn't do for her to get lost in the crowds here, and it wouldn't do her any good to get some bad advice from...

Bad advice about horses from a stable hand? Someone who frequently worked with horses? Someone who worked regularly with wild and tame horses alike?

He slowed in his step. Was it stupid of him to think that she might only go to him for advice, for questions? He was supposed to be guiding her along in this journey. Was he not sufficient as a travel partner? Did she not trust him?

...Had his insistence to get her a horse of her own and to expedite the journey's progression offend or upset her, so much so that now she was asking around for someone else to journey with?

Surely not, surely not.

But, maybe...

No.

He approached her, more urgency in his steps but immediately he toned it back, to appear leisurely and calm and-

He couldn't stop from smiling if he tried when she turned her head and her eyes found his own.

He couldn't possibly keep walking - he'd have tripped when he caught sight of her smile, dazzling and brilliant and directed towards him.

Huh.

"Link," she called, excusing herself wordlessly from the conversation she'd been having with the worker and jogging the few paces left between them. "I just got some advice on how to tame a horse, there was a wild herd spotted not long ago just north of here. With the two of us working at it, we should be able to get one for me! Now come on, it's not far!"

With that, she took hold of his arm and was leading him away, around the stable and assuredly north, judging only on the sun's position in the sky. He glanced down at the hold she had on his arm - tight but not hurtful, and in a weird way, free... There was something distinctly unknightly about the way she conducted herself - not at all professional, or serious, or overtly strict.

It made sense, because she was not a knight - no one was, nowadays. They were all gone, all but himself. So to see her act so freely after having such stuffy encounters with such stuffy people, other knights and nobility and courtiers and handmaids and butlers...

"Honestly, I'm sure you can do it yourself," she told him a bit sheepishly, pulling him from his thoughts. "But I want to try, too. So, let's work together, ok?"

"Ok," he said, and perhaps he sounded more unsure of himself than he felt, because she glanced back at him. Concern found its way onto her features, and her gaze softened.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, releasing him at once and stopping in her step, something he followed suit on. "I didn't even ask, did I? I'm really sorry Link, I just-"

"There's nothing to apologize for," he said with a smile, one that had her concern making way for confusion, for surprise. He took her wrist in hand then, leading her along in the direction she'd been leading him in the first place. "Now come on, we've got a horse to catch!"

—

By wild herd, the stableboy must have meant one singular horse, because that's all we found. Into the tall, wild grasses beyond the stable we went, further up into the foothills we trekked, and at long last, we saw the first and only wild horse we'd seen anywhere around here.

Just as I had caught sight of the steed, I ducked down behind the crest of a hill, enticing Link, who was a few paces behind me, to do the same. He came up next to me, crouching down beside me and looking at me intently - all at once, and I did what I could to focus, not on being the sudden focus of his cerulean eyes, but on the task at hand.

"Did you find them?"

"Just one horse," I told him, and he nodded, accepting that answer.

"So, it should be easier then," he said.

"How so? You don't think maybe this horse is as rowdy as an entire herd?"

"I didn't think of it that way," Link admitted with a laugh. "But no, I don't think so. We won't need to isolate it from a herd, so it'll be easier on that front. How rowdy the horse is, well..."

"That's for the horse to know, and us to find out, I suppose," I considered, rolling my neck out. "Let's get started then. What should we do first?"

Link smiled good-naturedly at me, but there was mischief hidden there, too. "Weren't you given some advice?"

"Well, sure," I said, "but it's not like I know how to do it."

"I know," he said gently. "I know. Follow my lead, and you'll be just fine. First, let's see how it behaves."

I returned my attention to the horse, who from here seemed to be a dull blue but had a dappled rear end and paler socks, ones that matched its mane and tail. Right now, the horse was grazing, and that was all.

"We're lucky," Link said quietly. "We're downwind from it. The horse won't be able to smell us, so unless it spots us or hears us, we should be able to sneak up on it."

"Alright," I said, summoning up some nerve.

Together, we progressed towards it, pausing whenever it lifted its head to look around or when its ears flicked this way and that. As it grazed, it walked around a bit, searching out the best blades of grass to munch on. Thankfully, in its movements, it started to walk away from us, but unfortunately, the horse was as cautious as any other horse would be and so it kept a keen ear out for movement and noise behind it.

"Easy now," Link said, his breath ghosting across my ear as he settled in a crouch just beside me in the tall grass. With the wind's movements, the blades of grass shifted in and out of the way, but I kept the horse in my focus - not the grass, not the wind, not even Link, but the horse. "Here comes the hard part. Relax for a moment, just breathe and be still."

I nodded, not daring to shift even as the wind picked up.

"Actually," Link said, "do you want me to do this? It's getting stormier and the horse is more likely to spook. It'd be safer for you to-"

"No," I said right away, turning my head to look at him resolutely, but only for a moment. "I'm doing it. Let me do one thing for myself - please, Link."

He seemed taken aback by that, and I was sure I knew why: the knightly sort of guy he was, he who seemed to like taking the burden off of others and putting them instead on his own shoulders... It must have been strange for someone to ask him not to do so. It must have been, if the strange look on his face was any indication of that.

"Alright," he finally decided. "Alright. Yeah. I think... (Y/n), you can do it. Just be careful, alright? I'll be right here."

"Good, then," I said, smiling wider and returning my focus to the horse who, though likely heard musings and mumblings of our conversation, allowed our noise to get lost in the rustling of the grass and the wind whistling through the trees further on. "You'll have a great view of my triumphant success."

He smiled boyishly, then eased himself back, offering me up some room. Then, alone and on silent feet, I progressed. Ever closer to the horse I drew, and the excitement and anticipation for what was about to happen rose higher and higher, exponentially and by the second.

I paused whenever the horse so much as twitched, and even when it took the easiest, simplest of steps forward to reach a particularly pleasant patch of greenery, I waited until it was still and calm and quiet before moving again.

And soon, sooner than I knew it, I was just behind the horse. To one side I eased, knowing that of all places, standing directly behind a horse was a bad idea. And when at last I gathered up all my nerve, and all my courage, and all my strength, in that moment and only in that moment did I leap.

I grabbed the horse's mane and simultaneously hefted myself up and onto its back, which it did not like. Before I even had my fingers curled around the horse's mane, the horse began to buck, but I was prepared for it. Once seated atop the animal, I squeezed my thighs against its sides and held on tight to its mane.

The horse neighed, a loud and piercing sort of sound, and I winced because for a moment I thought I might have hurt the animal - but when it began to run, I figured it was just fine.

It was fast, that was obvious, with long strides and pounding steps. It charged forth, then stopped suddenly, bucking back and forth, alternating between rearing back and kicking its back feet out, doing all it could to get me off its back.

"This isn't going to work, you know," I said to the horse, only to get an indignant sort of huff in reply from it before it reared all the way back and charged forth once more, leaping off its back feet and breaking right into a gallop.

The wind against my face felt good, as did the wind rushing through my hair; what didn't feel good, however, was the stinging rain against my cheeks. I didn't dare adjust my grip in the horse's mane, for fear of another surge of strength and speed from the animal that would send me tumbling off its back and into the grasses below.

"Come on, now," I said almost encouragingly. "Is that all you have?"

The horse snorted, bowing its head down low as it continued to run. Its path began to vary in pattern and in speed, lowering into a walk as though to throw me forward off of it, and then sprinting again as though to send me flying backwards.

"You've got it, (Y/n)," I heard Link cheer happily, leaping up from his spot in the grasses so many yards away with one fist raised in the air.

"Hylia, I hope so," I muttered, nearly biting my tongue as the horse continued towards a small grouping of trees. "Oh, dammit."

Into the grouping of trees we went, and nearly as soon as we did, there was a strike of lightning - seems the storm was announcing its presence, then. The lightning struck a thin tree, sending it careening to the dirt below, which the horse charged right for.

"Oh, son of a-"

I did not do anything more than press myself closer to the horse's back and hold on tighter as I prepared for what it was about to do. And when the time came, it leapt through the air, and though the landing was easy, I immediately pulled on a fistful of its mane to the right to see if I couldn't break this horse myself.

—

After they charged forth into that small pocket of trees, Link lost sight of them. He jogged forward a few paces, prepared to help if there was any trouble to be had, but he also wanted to give (Y/n) the chance to do this on her own. For him to have tried shouldering this burden, to do it for her, and for her to refuse, to pull the weight of it all back onto her own shoulders...

It was strange.

It was scary too, for at this moment he felt... useless. A soldier without orders, that's who he was right now.

But there was this sense of ease too, one he wasn't used to, but then the worry came back, because what if she got-

Out of the pocket of trees emerged (Y/n) and on a considerably much calmer horse. With deep, panting heaves, it caught its breath more and more with each slow, laborious step towards him. The horse's head was bowed, but it was walking obediently now, and set atop its back was (Y/n).

He was relieved. A smile settled on his lips as he set his hands on his hips and took in the sight before him. "Guess I had no reason to be worried after all," he said lightly, then began to walk towards them to meet them roughly halfway.

"Nothing to it," (Y/n) said playfully, though even from here he could see the fine layer of sweat that'd built up on her skin. But with the rain plastering her hair to her face and streaking her clothes and skin as well, he wondered if she even felt it at all - maybe she was still so elevated with adrenaline that she didn't feel it.

"Look at you two," Link called, watching as (Y/n) turned the horse then brought it to a stop just before him. "You make quite the pair. That blue coat is stunning. You look good up there, (Y/n)."

(Y/n) reached down and patted the horse's neck. It would take time for the horse to trust her and treat her affectionately, but that shouldn't take long at all. She just... seemed to draw people to her. Hylia, he'd seemingly taken to her right away. Of course he had an example of it - having allowed her to join him on his journey back to Kakariko, he had to have been going mad!

But... it was her driving him mad, wasn't it?

Ah, well. For now, he was content, and he was proud, because she'd allowed him to be free of the burden of something at least for now - and she had done so well, and all on her own.

And now, she reached out to him, offering with little more than the look in her eyes to allow him to join her atop her charge back to the stable.

"So," she said teasingly after helping him clamber up onto the horse behind her, "you know how to fight, you know how to tame a horse, but you don't know how to cook? Is that right?"

"I... Well, that is to say, I..."

She laughed lightly, leaning to one side to more comfortably meet his gaze over her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm only teasing, Link." Then, to the horse: "Calmly, now." She kicked into the horse's sides, and onwards the charge walked.

"Seemed to put a good fight, no?"

"She put up a really good fight," (Y/n) answered, and at that, Link started. "Hm? What's wrong?" With nothing more said, he was leaning far to one side, clinging to (Y/n)'s arm for leverage as he tried sliding far enough over to see underneath the horse. "What are you-Link!"

Seemingly satisfied with what he saw, Link tugged on (Y/n)'s arm and she helped pull him back upright, and when he was seated properly, he grinned at her in response to the incredulous look she was sending him.

"Lucky girl," Link said. "You've got yourself a mare, (Y/n)."

"Well, that's great and all," (Y/n) said, "but did you have to check right now?"

"We have to pick a name," Link said right away. "Isn't it obvious?"

"You're ridiculous," (Y/n) said, a relieved laugh escaping her. "Alright, well, have any ideas?"

"Oh, lots," he answered immediately. "Where to start? Its blue coat is obviously a highlight, so maybe Bluey? Sapphire? Something related to water or the Zora, maybe?"

"Maybe," (Y/n) replied, considering those suggestions. "What else?"

"Rain is a pretty name," Link said. "And considering the storm, well... Oh, maybe Storm? Ah, but with the dappled flank, she kinda looks like the sky, don't you think?"

"I do," she agreed. "So, Sky?"

"Stormy Sky," Link mused. "Oh, like those days in Hateno before we met."

"It was that rainstorm that gave me more than enough time to figure out what I wanted to do, and how I could possibly thank you," (Y/n) considered. "Alright, I like that. How about you, sweetheart? Do you like that name?"

They got a bob of the horse's head, something akin to a nod, and a happy whinny, something akin to a vocal agreement. The two locked eyes, wide smiles on their faces, and they might just have gotten lost in that moment if not for (Y/n) kicking into her mare's sides, bringing her to a trot.

In a wavy, indirect path she led them, doing all she could to catch the poor boy off-guard. He held tightly to her, but once - just once - with a sharp turn, Link nearly fell, but she twisted and reached out, grabbing his hand before he could fall.

She pulled him back up behind her, and when his arms tightened around her, in the glee of it all he dropped his cheek to her shoulder, laughing all the while.

She could so distinctly hear that bubbling, twinkling little sound and feel the expanse of his chest press against her back, and she could feel the tremble in his fingers against her stomach as he laughed and laughed, losing himself anyway in the moment and the hope that their journey together would be filled with many more moments - moments of growth, of joy, and of triumph - just like this one.