I awoke that next morning to the sound of humming. It was a pleasant sound, a little scratchy and definitely not following any sort of tangible melody, but it was a pretty sound to wake up to all the same. I was warm, wonderfully so, and I was tucked in comfortably between the blankets I'd brought with me.

One of the rarest, but most wonderful ways to wake up was just like this. It was natural - the sound of the humming did not wake me, nor did a fright or scare or the duty of routine. I was awake before I even opened my eyes, and began to consider my surroundings before I even remembered where I was.

Of course, it was all too easy to realize where I was because of the simple fact that I was lying against what felt like soft, mossy earth, so we were still where we had set up camp just last night. The horses were, of course, not here. We'd hiked on foot to get here after a certain point, so they were closer to the canyon than we were, certainly waiting patiently for our return.

But I... I was dreading it. It wasn't seeing the horses I was dreading - it was the fact that in doing so, we'd have no choice but to ride along, ever closer to Kakariko.

So, at least for now, I kept my eyes closed and eased myself to get comfortable once more. Link continued to hum, and it sounded to me like he was puttering around in the secluded spot of our camp, doing something or other. I could never be sure - not unless I opened my eyes. Dammit.

I decided first to do the opposite. I squeezed my eyes closed tighter as I stretched my limbs out, and I could hear the string of satisfying creaks and pops of my joins as they eased out of their slumber. A low, contented sort of groan passed through my lips, and then I relaxed, letting my eyes flutter open to the pale sunlight streaming through the trees and filtering down to the forest floor.

It was early, which wasn't surprising. Link did seem to be an early riser, and it made sense to set out for the day before the true heat settled in, especially in an area like the winding canyons leading to Kakariko, where the sun bounced mercilessly off the rock.

I looked around the camp, though even saying that was a bit overkill. Our "camp" was a hastily cleared bit of space, with most of it taken up by the campfire which Link had clearly tended to this morning with fresh kindling and fuel. It was roaring now, and even as he passed through the clearing doing drills, though incredibly easy ones that were surely as easy for breathing to him, his sword proudly in his hand, he kept a close eye on it.

I felt a bit embarrassed to just sit and watch him, but for now, it's all I wanted to do. His movements were with the ease of muscle memory and practice, well-controlled and well-adjusted for the size of the clearing. As he mimed parrying a blow, keeping the blade moving slowly, his muscles hardly even wavered as he lifted the weapon above his head and then downwards, slower than before.

When the blade was parallel with the ground, Link held it there, and heaved out a puffy breath that had some of the air lifting away from his face momentarily. He thought nothing of it though, and went on to the next pose. After a few more poses, it seemed he decided to rest for a while, though from where I was lying it didn't look like he had broken a sweat at all.

Still, to the fire he came, and he lowered himself to sit and settled before the roaring flames with his legs crossed before him. He set the sword down to his side gently, then retrieved a small pouch from his hip and poured its contents out onto his palm. He began sifting through a pile of berries, ones that looked fresh. This forest had to be teeming with them; perhaps he went foraging before daybreak?

Whatever the case, I decided to finally sit up and announce myself. As soon as I began gathering the energy to do so, Link glanced over at me, having to do a double-take, as though he hadn't believed I was actually awake.

"Good morning," he said gently, and I had a feeling he was being so soft-spoken because he thought I was only just waking up.

Well, I certainly wasn't going to tell him that I'd been observing him for several minutes, and besides, his voice - like this, the gentleness I mean - was not unlike how it was when he had been humming. He was minding his volume, was speaking softly, and was speaking quietly.

It was a pleasant sound.

And as I sat up, I found myself smiling both at the realization and to greet him properly. "Good morning, Link," I responded. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," he answered right away with a nod. "All things considered, yeah, I did. What about you?"

"I did," I assured him. "I think we should sleep on mossy beds like this more often, actually."

"Mm," Link hummed, considering it. "Yeah, I agree. Sure beats the rock we've had to sleep on these past few days." He rolled his shoulder out, as though thinking it over and being physically reminded of that discomfort, and he grimaced. "Honestly, I think that last time I was that comfortable was when I spent the night at your house."

"Yes, well," I said, considering it, "that might be because I made the pillows myself with the downy feathers from my own birds."

"Huh? Wait, really?"

I smiled, pride glittering in my features, surely. "Mm-hm."

"Wow! That's cool!"

"It's really not that cool," I disagreed, shaking my head.

"Well, you know what is cool?"

"Is it-"

"It's what I've got planned for today!"

"Oh," I said, not even having it in me to be upset about being interrupted.

It seemed he was just too enthusiastic about what he had planned and just as I didn't have it in me to be upset, I didn't have it in me to think about how strange it was for him to have planned something. This boy was terribly spontaneous, at least that's how he seemed to be to me. So for him to have planned something was surprising, but it was also incredibly exciting.

When his expectant smile brought a smile of my own to my face, I nodded to prompt him further. "So? Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Can't! It's a surprise."

"Right... but what's the occasion? You can tell me that, can't you?"

"It's to thank you," he said, somewhat bashfully. "For coming with me, at least for a while. We're not at Kakariko yet, I know that. We're not even halfway through our journey together. But I've enjoyed it, really. It's been a while since I've traveled with anyone, let alone really enjoyable company."

"Don't tell me," I said playfully, smiling all the while. "You mean this is a way to thank me? After I coerced you into letting me join you?"

"I guess it is," he admitted with a laugh. "You'll like it though. I think. I... hope."

I shrugged a little, my smile losing its mischievous and quickly getting replaced by genuine joy. "I'm sure if you planned it, I'll love it. So, let's check on the horses and then head out?"

"That was exactly how I planned it," Link said with a rather indulgent chuckle. "Actually... how about I head back to feed and water the horses, and you can start on breakfast? Does that maybe work?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Works for me, Link."

—

Our breakfast was delicious, for which I was grateful. With the horses well-fed and safe, Link had hurried back to where I was waiting and we ate it together, and I tried my best to convince Link to divulge some of the details of this surprise he had planned, but he was having exactly none of that. He brushed off all my questions with nonsensical answers and let all my pleading go in one ear and out the other.

So in the end, as we neared our destination, I still had no idea what I was getting myself into. Still, I was excited, and already I could feel a flurry of butterflies flitting their wings in preparation for flight.

Actually... I couldn't believe how right I was about that. I wouldn't know, not until we would reach our destination. To get there, after packing up our belongings and storing them away, we traveled back towards the river. Down to the bank we went, walking alongside it for quite a ways, following its windy, roundabout route, before crossing it and trekking up a path upwards on the other side.

Up we went, and eventually the trail evened out, winding through the trees on one side and on the other, overlooking a steep drop leading all the way down to the water below. With the sounds of birdsong and the rushing river to keep time, onwards we hiked.

As we walked, I did my best to pay attention to where I was placing my feet, but instead, I found my focus being drawn to the boy beside me. He was walking closer to the cliff-edge, and when I had asked about it, he laughed a little before shrugging and saying it was just right to keep me on the inside so I wouldn't risk falling. "Well," I had replied at that point, "you're klutzier than I am. So what happens if you fall?"

He hadn't had an answer for that. All he had done was shrug once more and continue walking, and so I shook my head indulgently and stayed right alongside him.

Eventually, we strayed off that trail, and hiked up further, further, further, and in the peace we'd settled into for our walk together, I found it hard to think about anything other than him once more. Link, who was my strange yet wonderful traveling companion, he who I had coerced into letting me tag along, he who had agreed to train me as best he could. He who had a past shrouded in mystery not only to myself, but seemingly to himself as well.

He, who seemed to be so at home here, with the dark trunks of trees as his backdrops and the leaves glowing emerald with filtered sunlight. His eyes seemed to glow here, not with their usual fiery blue of courage, but from catching all of the sun's light as was possible beneath the canopy of branches.

He had such a youthful glow about him here, it was hard to think that he was a battle-hardened fighter. But it was all too easy to pick out his scars, to let my eyes linger on places where weapons had pierced him and caused him pain, however long ago. Having traveled on his own for so long, I figured I anticipated he'd look older.

I suppose, if I had to imagine a well-traveled adventurer, I'd imagine a grizzled old man, with a long, ropey beard filled with twigs and berries, a crooked nose, a sturdy walking stick and packs overladen with keepsakes from his travels. Link was very much not what I had expected, and yet his strength was all too clear.

I realized I was staring, and so I looked away. If Link noticed the weight of my gaze on him sidelong, he hadn't mentioned it, and I hoped he never would, truthfully. That'd be an embarrassing thing to tackle. But at any rate, for now I focused on my surroundings, and how the trail was growing rockier here.

I didn't dare ask how close we were to our destination - Link knew where we were going, and I wasn't going to make him think I was tired already or anything of the sort. No, for now, I was content to just bask in the day's glow and enjoy this time spent with him.

And then a thought occurred to me. Was he maybe doing this to pad the time we had together? Was he taking this detour not just because he thought I would enjoy it, but because he also felt he wanted to prolong the time we had left? It was an enticing thought, really, and it had a few of those butterflies in my belly alighting already.

I suppressed them, though. Best not to get flustered over something so trivial.

Instead, I lifted one hand to massage my shoulder lightly, trying to ease the soreness from it. I might have just chalked it up to how I slept overnight, but that bed of moss had been lovely and I knew it was really just lingering soreness from sparring.

The pain went from my shoulder down a way down my back, so I knew it was strain from the newfound effort of holding a weapon before me for so long and to deal with the force of strikes, of blows, for the first time as I fought to keep my weapon steady in front of me.

Link noticed this right away, and he looked over at me. His gaze was apologetic, and he smiled weakly. "Still hurting?"

"It's not too bad," I assured him, but with one look into his eyes, I knew he knew I was lying to him. He didn't seem upset by it, though. All he did was shake his head incredulously, but chose not to press it further for now. "I'm fine, promise."

"The hike isn't too much for you, is it? Maybe we should've just taken it easy today..."

"No," I answered. "It's not too much, not at all. It's a little sore, but that's it. I'm too excited to see what you've planned to give up now, anyway."

Link's eyes brightened up, and I could have sworn that his ears perked up, too. "Really? You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," I said with a near-incredulous laugh. "Heading up so high, it's gotta be a gorgeous view at the top."

"It is," Link assured me. "But that's not the whole plan!"

"No," I agreed, smiling. "I didn't think it was."

"We're almost there," Link said, gesturing with a movement of his head towards the direction we were going in. "It's worth it, I promise!"

It didn't take us much longer after that to truly reach our destination, just as he'd said. The destination was as I'd been guessing, based on the nature of our hike: the top of a mountain.

It was short, free-standing, and surely somewhere had cave systems just waiting for people to explore, but it wasn't why we were here. It was a mountain, but by no means was it the tallest in Hyrule. Still, it offered a stunning view of the region of Lanayru.

Far off, way on the horizon, stood Mount Lanayru herself, towering over us even from here. By now, the sun was high in the sky, and it was just past noon, and the golden sunlight, not unburdened by trees, shone down on us in its full glory. We basked in it, in its warmth and the stunning clarity it cast over our view.

And what a view it was.

Stretched out before us like the world's most beautifully detailed painting were the Ovli Plains, bordered by dense forests but with pale grasses swaying in the wind.

The wind, as though excited I'd noticed it,  seemed to want to rush up to meet us here. Instead, the wind at our backs blew by, flowing down into the plains and seemingly wanting to bring us down with it. I swayed slightly with its force, but held firm and backed away half a step from the edge of the cliff-face.

"Come on," Link said, setting a hand on my forearm to pull me along with him. "Let's find something to eat for lunch."

It took us through lunchtime and until our usual dinner time before Link managed to track down the wind game he had been hunting. He'd seen the fresh tracks of a hog, and decided he wanted it. So, by his side I stayed, until eventually we found it. It wasn't far, not really, but the forest here was so dense it took us a while to work through it and sticking to the trail was a feat all in itself.

When we finally found it, Link told me to take a shot at it. So, summoning up my courage, I did just that. I readied the bow and arrow, nocked it, then drew it back. Relying on my dominant eye to do the aiming, I lined up the shot, held my breath, then released.

To my surprise, Link's surprise, and certainly the hog's surprise, I hit it right in the back. The hog squealed, and I felt a bit of guilt at being the cause of such pain but this was the way of the wild right? Right?

Regardless, Link didn't let me think about it for long. He rushed into the clearing, hefted the boar onto his shoulder, and led the way to a nice spot to settle in for our meal. Together we prepared the food, and he watched closely as I cooked it over a flame we built together. We sat together as we ate back by that cliffside, but it wasn't until the sun began to set that Link actually acted upon what he had planned.

He sidled closer to the edge of the cliff, letting his feet hang over the end, and gestured for me to join him. I did, sitting at his side readily and awaiting what I was sure was his surprise - what he had planned and had been so excited to show me all day. Instead of a physical object, he pointed out over the landscape once I was comfortable next to him.

"Look there," he said, and I followed his hand, looking towards the ground far, far below us, and far, far out.

"The pond?"

"No, not that far," Link said. "Just a bit before it."

"The ruins?"

"Mm-hm," he hummed proudly. "I saw them before. Ruins like that are great places to find treasure. And I think it'll be really fun to do some treasure-hunting together."

"Sounds fun," I said, genuinely excited about the prospect of it all. "So, what's the easiest way down?"

Instead of answering, he pulled from his back what looked like a bundle of sticks. They were curved, and secured to cloth set between them. He pulled the sticks apart, pulling the cloth taut, revealing the design dyed into it. I looked at it all curiously, and when he held it towards me, I ran my finger through one of the tassels on one end, then glanced up into Link's eyes.

"It's pretty," I said. "Did you dye this?"

"No," Link answered. "It's a gift from a friend."

He said that, and yet his eyes were melancholic and his smile hid the true extent of what he was feeling. "So, what is it?"

"A paraglider." There was something strangely dangerous about the look in his eyes, and I couldn't help but swallow nervously, though I still had absolutely no idea what it even was. With the way he was smiling, I could only imagine it was something that brought along his form of fun - which was probably something dangerous, and something I probably won't enjoy.

"A paraglider?"

"Yep!"

"What's a paraglider?"

"You don't know what this is?"

"I thought that was kinda obvious, Link."

"Right," he said sheepishly. "Um, how do I explain this...?"

"What does it do?"

"Um... Well, it's a device that can... Uh..."

"Awfully succinct," I noted cheekily, in an attempt to make myself feel better. Link rolled his eyes and nudged my shoulder with his own, shoving me away slightly.

"It's a fun way to travel," he decided to say.

"...Travel?"

Any butterflies left in my belly shriveled up at thought that we'd be traveling anywhere or anyhow with this. It was a piece of cloth strung between two damned sticks! How were we supposed to travel anywhere with this?

"Listen," I said, inching away slightly as his smile grew bigger, "I'm happy you're happy, but I'm not exactly sure how all this will work, I mean, I don't even know what this is, or how we'll travel anywhere, or..."

"You'll be just fine, I promise," he said, and I looked at him skeptically.

"Making a lot of promises today, Link."

"This one is most important!"

"More important than the one where it'll be worth it?"

"Um... (Y/n)," he said seriously, "you're my partner, here. You're supposed to have my back on everything. Even this. Especially this."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, alright," I conceded. "Fine."

"Alright then," he said happily, rolling backwards then getting to his feet. "Up we get, then! So that down we go!"

"Oh, boy," I muttered, accepting his outstretched hand when offered. He helped me up, and he guided me right away to stand in front of him. "No, wait. Why am I...?"

"I don't want you missing the view," he said, quietly now that he was standing directly behind me.

"You're sure you don't want to explain this thing?" I asked, even as Link lifted the paraglider above his head, one stick in each hand - or handle, I guess I should call it. He came so close that his body was a line of warmth against my back, and I fought the urge to lean against him - it was chilly up here, that was all.

"I'm sure," he said as I grasped the handles beside his own hands. "Something like this... it's probably better to just go for it."

"And... that's what we're going to do, isn't it?"

Link clearly heard my hesitance and leaned in close, peeking over my shoulder to smile reassuringly up at me. I turned my head to look at him, seeing nothing but concern in his warm gaze. "Exactly," he said softly. "You're an adventurer now, aren't you? That's what we do."

"Right, but..."

"If it'll really make you feel better, you can get behind me," Link offered. "That way, you can hold me or the glider, your choice. Or we can hike back down normally. It's up to you, (Y/n)."

His concern was endearing - incredibly so. So much so that I couldn't let him down. I would be brave. I had to be brave.

"I'll do it," I said surely.

"Mm? Do what?"

"This... thing," I answered. "Paragliding. I'm not missing the view. You've been looking forward to this all day, right?"

"Right," he affirmed, "but your well-being means more to me."

"I know," I said softly, still looking into those eyes of sapphire. "But I want to do this. So... let's do it before I lose my bravery, ok?"

"Ok," he replied excitedly. "Alright, approach the edge. Whatever pace you choose, I'll follow. And if you want to back out, just say so."

"Got it," I said, beginning to walk. Link followed closely, his steps matching my own closer and closer to the edge until my toes hung over the edge and...

Whatever bravery I fought so hard to muster was effectively carried away by the wind rushing by. It was hard to fight against it, when it rushed against our backs and we were holding what was basically a sail in our hands, but Link detached one hand to latch onto my waist to keep me steady.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine," I said, then swallowed hard. "Should I just... jump?"

"Exactly," he said quietly. "Just jump."

It was simple, really. All I had to do was hold onto this glider like my life depended on it. And really... it just might.

I took a deep breath in, released it slowly, then ensured my courage remained. It had, and so there was nothing left to do but...

Glance over my shoulder to meet Link's expectant gaze and boyish grin. Well, that had my courage bolstering, and so I smiled too, and then leapt.

I was gripping the paraglider's handles so hard my hands hurt, and I think every muscle in my body might have been clenched, but at Link's gentle call of my name, I opened my eyes.

I was blinded first by the reflection of the sunlight against the pond, and by its glorious glow from the far-off horizon. But once I blinked, and my eyes adjusted, everything came into stunning, clear detail, crystal clear, so clear that it was hard to believe I was using my own eyes.

Was it really possible that something as simple as being suspended in the air and at the mercy of the wind would be mean my eyesight was improved? No, I didn't think so. More than anything else, I think it had to do with the fact that this view was all I could focus on.

It wasn't like I was grounded, feeling the cool rock beneath me like when we were eating together and looking at this horizon. No, in this way, it was more like we were experiencing it. We were heading to the horizon, as part of it - we were in the sky, floating down gently.

I'm sure that as a solo traveler, one might be able to glide for far, far longer. Already, I could feel the way that our joined weights were burdening the paraglider. And yet we were still going at a graceful arc towards the ground.

Actually, as though once again it found a way to weasel itself into my focus, the wind blew through, a pleasant updraft catching our wing of cloth and lifting us upwards, ever so slightly. I laughed openly, the gleeful nature of it all catching up with me. I mean, who would've guessed? I was flying! Flying!

I felt more than heard his low chuckle, and he leaned to one side, guiding us to turn. I jostled a little with the change, but relaxed into it and with both of us leaning, we curled ever inwards around ourselves, finding ourselves easing into a graceful descent on the ground.

"Here we go," Link said. "Get ready. It might be a bit of a rough landing, so just start walking, ok?"

"Start walking?"

Link chuckled once more, an indulgent little sound. "Just trust me on this one."

Well, I couldn't deny him. I began to walk, or at least mime the movement, as the ground neared. When at last it was close enough, and our feet touched the ground, I could see why he had told me to walk.

The momentum kept moving us forward, and so we walked (or at least stumbled) forward a few paces until Link could force the paraglide closed. I let go and ran forward a few paces, only to lose myself immediately in the strange feeling of suddenly being on the ground once more after flying.

I then lost myself in the absolute bliss and thrill of being so grateful for the experience alone, and for it to have been so wonderful. As Link stowed the paraglider away, I ran to him - and just as he was turning back towards me, I leapt into his arms and unknowing embrace.

He caught me, probably thanks to his heightened reflexes, and I was absolutely beaming as I pressed myself closer to him. His arms came around me right away, holding me close against him.

"Oh, my god," I exclaimed, pressing my cheek against his shoulder. "Thank you, Link!"

"Hey," he said happily. "It's alright, don't worry-"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Hm? What's this about, (Y/n)?"

"Link," I said, taking in a deep breath of air as I drew away from him, only enough to see him. "Thank you! For everything!"

"For...?"

"For this," I started. "For pushing me to do this, first off. And to think I would enjoy this... you were right! Oh Hylia, Link, it was incredible!" The wind found us here too, running through his hair, and the setting sun's sunlight found us too, but specifically his eyes, making them glimmer as though illuminated from within.

"(Y/n)," he said, reaching up with one hand hesitantly, his gloved palm just inches away from my cheek, "you're tearing up."

My eyes widened, but even I couldn't deny the sensation of feeling tears brim in my eyes. "Yeah," I said. "I guess I am."

"Why?"

"I don't know," I said, and maybe that had something to do with the way he at last found the courage to press his palm to my cheek, yet thought nothing of it.

He gently swiped away the first tear that came, and my eyes fluttered closed briefly. I couldn't look away from him, not now. The simple movement, though likely unintentional, granted me the clarity I needed to answer him properly.

"I just think it all caught up with me, all at once," I admitted. "I wouldn't have done any of this if not for you, Link."

"No," he disagreed right away, shaking his head, though I could see his eyes were glassy, too. "I think you were always meant to leave Hateno."

"Not just that," I clarified. "That's not what I mean. Leaving when I did was because of you. Finding that courage... it was because of you."

"I think you're selling yourself short."

"All of it aside," I said gently, "you've helped me experience so much. Paragliding, learning to hunt, to fight, agreeing to train me... You gave me a chance when I didn't think anyone would, Link. No one thought I had what it took to leave home. No one thought i ever would. But you let me come with you and experience Hyrule at your side. And... you hide a lot, but you see Hyrule in a way I think no one else does."

"I've been traveling it for a long, long time," he admitted.

"That's obvious," I said. "But that's not what I mean, either. The way you treat each day... how generous you are, how fun-loving... It's not what I expected of a traveler. Not at all. But I've had so much fun, and learned so much, and... and..."

"(Y/n)," he murmured, "it's been a long time since I've traveled with anyone. And you... (Y/n), I don't think I could have asked for a better partner. And our journey together isn't over yet. I'll make sure it's the best you ever go on. Got that?"

I laughed lightly, ducking back into his embrace. "Got it."

It was moments like these - cherished moments, treasured ones - that made me feel like everything that I had ever done had been worth it. All the back and forth, the monotony of staying home, the desire for something more...

It had led me here. I had raised a weapon in defense of my home. I had been in trouble, but had then been saved, and... by him.

I suppose he might have saved me in more than one day. He saved me that day on the beach - and saved me from a dull life in Hateno.

I was so grateful I was sure I'd never find the words, not truly. But I would continue to treasure this time with him, and make the most of it.

I would settle for nothing less.