Work Text:
Link had been subsisting on dubious food for weeks. After the upheaval, the danger of hunting had increased dramatically, and food was scarce in every town because of it. Nearly every scrap of food Link had found in his travels had gone back to feeding Lookout Landing. Monster parts would have to be enough for him; he knew how to cook them safely, and at this point could mostly ignore the taste.
Maybe there had been something off about the keese wings he’d cooked into an acrid, watery stew. Maybe it was simply one monster meal too many. Either way, nausea had hit soon after he ate, twisting and churning and aching and thoroughly distracting him as he attempted to listen to Purah’s update on the landing.
“The Zora delegation has been settling in…” Link’s stomach was roiling, acid stinging the base of his throat. “… Josha’s project needs volunteers…” A sharp cramp just below his ribs. Link hoped Purah didn’t notice him wince and clutch the affected area. “… road to Goron city…” Saliva started to pool in Link’s mouth, the cramps redoubled without ever having faded. He pressed his lips together and breathed slowly through his nose, willing himself not to vomit. He had work to do, there wasn’t any time to be sick. “… skyview tower repair. Are you listening to me?”
Link nodded, the slight motion only making him feel worse. He swallowed back acid, and motioned for Purah to go on.
“Where was I? Oh yes, I’ve dispatched a few more members of Hudson’s organization to sky view towers in the southwest…” Link’s stomach growled insistently, guts twisting, impossible to ignore. Still, he kept a stoic front; he could push through this without anyone ever knowing. He raised a hand to his mouth to stifle a burp.
It wasn’t a burp. Bitter yellow vomit squirted through his fingers as his stomach convulsed painfully. Purah stopped talking and took a startled step back.
Link lurched to the fence surrounding the raised platform of the lookout tower, and let it take his weight as he heaved half-digested dubious food into the grass below. Miserable. His eyes were watering, his nose running as he gasped for breath in between waves of nausea. Every time he thought it was over, another cramp sent still more vomit spattering to the ground. Slimy, hot liquid dropped down his chin and off his hand. The vile smell of it made him retch again, made the overworked muscles of his abdomen seize up and ache with effort.
“What’s going on? Is the swordsman okay?” Josha’s voice, followed by Purah.
“There’s nothing to see here, let him be. Go distract Robbie, too. We just need a minute up here.” Through his mortification, Link was grateful that Purah was keeping others away from this. The last thing anyone needed was to see the Hero of Hyrule brought low. Terrible for morale, otherwise. Spitting bile, he tried to pull himself together.
Shakily, he wiped off his face, shaking the worst of the mess off his hand into the grass. There was sick down his shirt as well, but there was nothing he could do about that. Cold sweat left him shivering in a breeze that foretold rain.
“Think you’re done?” Purah again, this time at his side with a rag — stained with motor oil, but it’d do — and a vial of healing elixir. The first he accepted, but the second he pushed away. The thought of letting anything past his lips brought the nausea back to the surface. He groaned and gagged into the rag, but blessedly nothing came up.
“That’s a ‘for now’ then. Let’s get you set up in the emergency shelter, okay? We can finish the brief when you’re feeling better.”
Sluggishly, Link started to refuse. There was no time to rest! He could handle it, he’d felt worse coming out of the shrine of resurrection. Probably.
Purah only closed her eyes, refusing to read his signing. “Nope! I’m not sending you out, and I won’t hear otherwise. Apart from anything else, you’re super gross right now. Go change! Then sleep.” She opened her eyes and looked at him pointedly until he moved his hand in agreement. “That’s right. Do you need me to walk with you?”
“No.”
“I don’t know why I asked. Of course you’d say that! Come with me, you look like you’re about to tip over.”