Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Link didn't immediately return to Ordon after defeating Ganondorf.

There were things to take care of first, like seeing Midna off to Twilight, returning the Master Sword to its proper home, and reciting his adventure for the record while it was still fresh in his memory. Secondly Zelda had insisted that he be looked over by her royal medical team. They'd found he was healthier than expected after his adventure, since he had taken advantage of every bit of healing magic he'd had available to get through it. Still, Zelda ordered him to stay at the castle for a few days so he could sleep and get in some proper meals.

Link was too exhausted to defy her.

---

When Link was rested and back to full energy he left the castle. Nobody stopped him but he still walked swiftly out, sure that if he ran into Zelda she'd insist he stay longer. He then sped through Castle Town as fast as he could, which wasn't nearly as fast as he'd like when he'd had to get through the sheer number of residents simply going about their day and dodging people who recognized him. Once he broke free and out the southern gate he ran down the stairs and through the small pass the Goron had cleared, intent on getting home as soon as possible.

But the moment he was on Epona and had her pointed toward Ordon Village he was suddenly overcome with dread. In fact he was almost sick with it, his heart pounding and his breathing labored.

It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. He'd felt it a lot during his adventure, particularly at the beginning, whenever there was a newer stronger enemy he'd needed to fight. But there was nothing dangerous anywhere around him. Literally nothing at all, since all the monsters had disappeared with Ganondorf. The only thing ahead of him was home, but his body was reacting as though it was a large monster at the end of a dungeon.

He needed to stop and take a minute. He couldn't force himself forward right now, not with this feeling. He dismounted the mare, clutching at his chest and trying to control his breathing. The unwanted adrenaline was demanding he fight or run.

There was nothing to fight, but he could run a bit if it'd abate this episode.

Link pulled out one of his two necklaces, what appeared to just be a small leather pouch. Link carefully opened the sideways flap to reveal a black and red crystal that was actually attached to the chain, which was only strung through a hole in the leather. He then put the pendant back under his tunic so that the Shadow Crystal was against his skin.

Link was immediately covered in cubic shadows, which concealed his form as it changed and he fell to all fours. Out of habit Link braced himself for his small rider's ungentle landing before remembering that Midna was gone.

Knowing that Link could understand her now, Epona tried to ask him what was going on and why he smelled like fear. But instead of answering he took off at a fast trot. She watched as he ran around the field in a wide, aimless circle, avoiding the entrance to the path that would lead to Ordon Village. After a short time he returned, coming to a stop nearby with his head down as he caught his breath.

"Are you going to change back so we can go home?" Epona asked.

"Can't" -pant- "go home," Link answered.

"Why not?"

That was the question, Link thought to himself, still staring at the ground. What was scaring him so badly about going home? It had been all he'd wanted for weeks, to finally return to his life. But now that it was a possibility....

He figured he was just overwhelmed. That had to be it. He'd been bombarded by people for days. Ordon Village would just be a repeat of all of it; on a smaller scale but much more personal. He'd never be able to say no to them either, especially the children, when they asked him for stories that would force him to relive everything.

He just needed some space. Real space, away from people, not hiding in his house where everyone knew where to find him.

Making a decision, Link shook his body until the Shadow Crystal dislodged from the thick fur that formed around it on his chest and he transformed back to human. The crystal bounced against the outside of his tunic as he stood up. He very carefully closed the leather around it again without touching it and tucked it back under his chainmail for safekeeping.

He patted Epona's flank and turned to walk back into Castle Town. He really didn't want to, but as long as he could stealthily slink to Telma's Bar without running into anybody he'd be able to send a letter with little trouble.

---

"He went on vacation?!" Bo exclaimed.

"That's what it says," Ilia assured her dad and the gathered crowd. When everyone had come over from all around Ordon Village after the postman had announced he had a letter from Link addressed to the entire town, she'd stepped up to read it.

"Well, he deserves one," said Rusl, who was thinking that maybe he should take a holiday himself. He'd seen Link recently, lending him his golden cuccoo again so Link could return the Master Sword, and the boy had looked liked he'd been run ragged, understandably.

"But...," the mayor sighed. "But I wanted to throw a party," he muttered to himself.

---

The first night of his "vacation" Link found himself camping a few yards from the river in North Hyrule Field, near the southeastern bank. He'd caught a rabbit (which was much easier as a wolf than with a bow and arrow) and had just finished cooking it over his campfire when he heard a splash in the water.

He placed his food down slowly, listening. The sound happened again and he rose to his feet, unsheathing his Ordon Sword as he did so. He squinted past the fire, catching sight of movement in the water but no shape. He moved forward, sword and shield ready, until the campfire was behind him and his eyesight could adjust.

There was definitely something swimming out from under the bridge, and it was advancing. It was hard to tell in the darkness and the water but whatever it was seemed to be larger than Link. Link tensed, preparing for battle.

It finally surfaced and walked onto land. The creature was unfamiliar to Link.

It appeared to be a dragon. It was larger than Link, but smaller than Epona. And way, way smaller than the last dragon Link had fought, unless aeralfos counted as dragons. (Link had always thought of them as winged lizalfos). It vaguely looked like an aeralfos, actually, but on four legs. The creature's wings had fingers, like keese wings, and it had a bumpy tail like a crocodile (not that Link had ever seen one). It had two small horns on its head with a shock of fur between, in addition to the back of its head and running down the back of its neck in a line.

Link took in the appearance of the creature in less than ten seconds, before jumping forward to slash with his sword. It dodged to Link's right and Link immediately lifted his shield, expecting it to attack. Instead the dragon surprised him by lying down.

Link dropped his guard for a second in his confusion. This was completely against his experience, he'd never been approached by a monster for it to surrender. And the creature was surrendering, its gaze downward, a soft whine emitting from its throat. But.... this wasn't a monster, was it? The monsters were gone. Monsters in Hyrule were only around in times of unrest. They were manifestations of darkness and they fed on fear. That was why when Link defeated them they poofed into dark smoke instead of leaving behind a body. That was how no matter how many Link destroyed they would just reconstitute by the next time he returned to an area. And that was why they had all disappeared after his victory over Ganondorf.

There were beings and creatures that technically weren't monsters--even if they were dangerous, like skull kids, or intimidating, like Gorons--who existed before and after great evil threats. They wouldn't poof if you killed them, and they didn't mindlessly attack every living thing that came too close.

Swordsman and dragon stayed still for a tense few minutes before Link finally put away his sword. He couldn't stand here forever, and the dragon wasn't a monster. And if it was trying to trick him and intended to attack (because it was still a wild animal with teeth and claws) Link was exceptionally quick at drawing his blade.

The dragon looked up curiously, accidentally caught Link's eye, and immediately looked down again. Link sighed. He returned to his original seat. He was getting impatient and his rabbit was getting cold. He picked up his food. Movement got his attention. The dragon had inched closer on its belly, broad tail swishing. Link raised his eyebrow at the creature, but it just wagged its tail a little faster.

Link looked at the cooked rabbit and then back at the dragon. "Did... did you come out from under the bridge because you smelled meat cooking?" he asked.

The dragon inched slightly closer, eyes darting between Link and the food. Once it was sure its request had been communicated, the dragon simply looked at Link with large pleading eyes.

Link rolled his eyes, but a weird monster-looking creature rising out of the water to beg for scraps like a stray dog was a preferable scenario to an actual monster still existing during a time of supposed peace, despite the strangeness. He ripped a hind leg off and tossed it to the dragon.

The dragon caught the food and swallowed it whole in two bites. It apparently took the whole exchange as a sign that all aggression was over, because it then rose to its paws, walked around the campfire to Link's left side, and lay down as casual as you please. Link tensed up, still not trusting the creature, but it seemed content to sleep next to, practically inside of, his campfire.

Link relaxed but didn't think he'd be able to sleep tonight himself. As friendly as it seemed to be, Link wasn't in the habit of sleeping in close proximity of strange wild carnivores. Staying awake shouldn't be a problem, since he'd gotten plenty of sleep at the castle. He'll just sit here and doze. By tomorrow the dragon would probably have wandered off.

Chapter Text

The dragon was still following him a week later.

He'd tried everything to get the beast to leave him alone, but it would not be deterred from shadowing him everywhere he went, like a much scalier version of a nursery rhyme.

He made sure not to give it any more food, but the dragon hadn't been discouraged. It was perfectly capable of hunting for itself, as far as he'd observed, and might be on his heels for some other reason.

He'd swung his arms and sword around, yelling and jumping, attempting to scare it off, but such a harmless display didn't work. And he couldn't bring himself to actually attack the creature. He felt sick at the thought that the dragon might not bleed, might not leave a body if he struck a killing blow.

He'd put on his wolf face and tried to tell the creature in plain Animal Speak to scram, but the dragon just burbled at him curiously and Link realized that dragons must speak a different language than wolves (and monkeys, horses, hawks, frogs, cuccoos, cats.)

He did his best to just try to lose it, but trying to outrun a flying creature on foot was an exercise in futility. Neither paw nor hoof could have any hope against wings. The few times he thought he'd succeeded-- having ducked into caves-- the dragon would just reappear, nose to the ground in the moments before it caught sight of him.

The dragon's excitement at finding him again gave Link an idea of what it wanted: a friend. And he knew someone who didn't have any neighbors to complain about a pet dragon.

---

Link sat on the ledge of the tunnel that led into the Hidden Village. Epona stood off to the side, further from the bridge, relaxing in the absence of archers.

The dragon was sat in front of him, with the expectant attention of a loyal dog, all swishing tail and wide open expression. (At least, Link was hoping it was doglike, because the same body language on a cat would mean that the dragon was about to pounce on him.) He placed a hand on the side of the dragon's face and it leaned into his touch, closing its eyes, entirely too friendly for a wild animal.

Link took a breath, but couldn't find anything more to request than "Please don't eat the cats."

He hadn't needed to worry, apparently. Once he and it had set foot into the small town two cats and the dragon were nose to nose, investigating each other. Link watched, ready to intercept if this interaction took an ugly turn, but after a moment twenty cats and a dragon had piled together for a nap.

Link relaxed at such a good sign, feeling good about his idea as he walked to the last house and knocked on the door.

"Oh, Link, dear," greeted Impaz, "come in, come in."

---

Link stood politely to the side as Impaz made tea, knowing it was pointless to start any conversation with an elderly lady until tea was served.

"So, Link," began Impaz as she handed Link his cup, "what brings you to my doorstep today?"

Link perked up, happy to get to the point. "Actually I--"

"How are you doing?" she interrupted. Link considered her hearing might be going. "Such dangerous times! You look fit, dear, but not all damage is physical." Link's breath caught in his throat. No no no no, bad topic, talk about anything else-- "You must take care of yourself as much as possible," she concluded kindly.

"I... um..." Link forgot what he'd been about to say, forgot why he was even here.

"The cats help," she offered, putting a hand on his arm.

"What?" he asked, completely lost.

"The cats. Petting them, it helps," she explained, nodding sagely. "Any friendly, cuddly animal. Cats, dogs, bunnies too probably. I just happen to know where you could find some cats,"she finished with a wink. Advice given, Impaz made her way over to a chair, humming softly. She sat. "And don't think Hyrule couldn't wait an hour or so for her hero to rest and recoup! There's always time to pet cats."

"Time?" Link echoed, confused. He came back to the present. "Oh! You don't know. Everything's-it's... I did it. Ganondorf defeated, monsters gone."

Despite the stumbling delivery, Impaz was looking at him with wide, hopeful eyes. "Truly?" she asked.

"Yeah!" He didn't like that Impaz hadn't known, that he hadn't thought about how he was the only one who could have told her. "I'm so sorry I didn't send you a letter or come tell you sooner," he said sincerely, looking into his tea cup. He felt the guilt settle in his chest at forgetting her, at only coming to visit because he wanted something from her. "It's been about two weeks." He swallowed an excuse, ashamed.

She sounds on the verge of tears when she says, quietly, "I didn't think I'd live to see peace return."

I didn't think I would either, Link thinks, taking a sip of his tea to cover up his expression.

"But uh," he charged on, clearing his throat. She was about to cry--happy tears of course--but he couldn't handle it, needed to change the subject. "I was here for a different reason," Link swallowed his guilty feelings instead of more tea, "I've picked up a stray, and I thought you might have the room..." he trailed off, feeling awkward. Had he always been this bad at talking to people?

"Another cat?" she asked with a soft, tearful giggle.

"Not exactly."

---

It took Impaz a solid minute of examining the cat pile before she said, "Is there a dragon under there?"

"Yep."

"The cats seem to like it."

"So it can stay?"

"Well, perhaps," she said, sounding distracted, "but if everything has truly passed..." she murmured, staring off in thought. "If everything has passed," she repeated louder, looking at him, "I don't want to stay myself."

"Oh?" Link said, surprised. Last they'd talked, she said she was going to stay. But, he guessed, last time they talked she hadn't had any hope. "Where were you thinking?"

"I'm not sure," she said with a little frown.

"Kakariko Village has room," he told her, remembering the empty houses, the empty inn.

And that's how Link ended up agreeing to help Impaz move from Hidden Village to Kakariko Village.

---

Link managed to put together a makeshift wagon out of the materials in the empty town (luckily there were many wagon wheels lying around.) Impaz and Link did a sweep of the town for important or useful items that Impaz wanted to keep and bring with her--mostly old photos--and loaded those, plus Impaz's personal items, and Impaz herself, into the wagon.

Epona didn't seem to mind pulling a somewhat small wagon at a lesuriely pace. Link mostly lead the party, though he alternated between pulling Epona's reins in the right direction and falling back to chat with Impaz, and the dragon brought up the rear. The cats were apparently permanent residents of Hidden Village. A few had initally followed the procession, but only three cats were actually moving with Impaz: two kittens that had been in her home and ended up in the wagon, and one adult cat that was still asleep cradled in the dragon's horns.

"How long has this dragon been following you?" asked Impaz early in the trip. She was facing backwards in the wagon and had been contemplating the creature for a good while before speaking up.

"Five days?" Link answered, unsure where she was going with this.

"So you must have noticed by now that it looks like you?"

Link held in a sigh. Of course he'd had noticed in the sunlight of the first morning that the dragon's colors matched his own: scales as green as the hero's clothes he still wore, mane the same blond as his hair. Its eyes were blue, but a lighter blue than his. More of a clear calm sky than a piercing sapphire. Link pretended it was a coincidence. The Goddesses were done with him. Otherwise he'd have the courage to go home.

"Dusk doesn't look anything like me." Link thought maybe if he pretended to misunderstand her, she'd drop it. He glanced at her when she didn't say anything more and found she was just looking at him, eyebrow raised. "What?" he asked, uncomfortable.

"They say not to name things you're trying to get rid of," she answered with a smile.

"Had to call it something," he defended.

---

They paused outside the open gates to Kakariko Village as Link had to fight the urge to send Impaz and Epona in without him. He needed to go in: Impaz needed help getting herself and her possessions out of the wagon, and he needed to untether the wagon from his steed. He blamed his anxiety on his dragon stalker but knew that the majority of it was the same bit of irrational fear that kept him out of Ordon.

Either way, there shouldn't be too many people to worry about. The Ordon children had already been sent home (Link hasn't been there to accompany them but he'd been informed), the Gorons that hung around were completely unflappable, and Renaldo and his daughter were too outwardly calm to cause a scene even if the dragon's appearance scared them. Barnes was a bit of a wildcard, considering the man was both easily startled and equipped with explosives, but Link wasn't too concerned about a stray bomb.

Impaz was no help. As frustratingly nice as she was she insisted Link take a little rest if he needed one, considering he'd walked the entire trip, as if he wasn't brimming with physical stamina.

Okay. Oh. Kay. He couldn't put this off, couldn't procrastinate when there was a little old lady waiting on him to move her into a town that he'd promised he could move her into without checking because he couldn't stand leaving her back in that shell of a town for another second. He needed to move. If he didn't move soon, if he didn't move now, he might never leave this spot. Breathe.

Link startled considerably, whipping around and falling into a ready stance, when he felt something touch his legs--he considered that a small reaction since he hadn't drawn a weapon--to see Dusk, sans head-cat. The dragon purred at him and pushed its snout into his chest until he relented and started petting it. Distracted, he didn't realize he was relaxing, and didn't notice Impaz watching knowingly.

---

Moving Impaz in turned out to be more of a chore than the ordeal Link was worried about. While walking in and speaking to Renaldo the dragon kept to his side, Link's hand on its head. Not only did having the creature heel give the impression that it was docile and under Link's control, but Link found that running the pad of his thumb over the bumps of its horn kept him unaccountably calm.

It happened that even the least damaged empty house in the village still required repairs, so Impaz stayed at the inn for the few days it took for Link and Renaldo working together to make the house livable.

"Are you still planning on getting rid of this little beastie?" Impaz asked Link one night while they sat on the stairs leading into the inn.

"I've gotta," he answered automatically. She raised her eyebrows at him, as he was currently petting the dragon in question. "I can't bring it home with me," he insisted.

"Why not? Its been well behaved here," Impaz said, reaching down to stroke the dragon's snout.

Link winced. "I uh, think it might have eaten a cuccoo when we weren't looking."

Impaz giggled, unfazed, but Link couldn't help but think of all the cuccoos in Ordon. And pumpkins. A hawk. And while the goats were pretty big Dusk might be able to take one down.

"So are you going to leave it with the cats?"

"No, Dusk didn't seem to want to stay there." Link frowned. "I don't know what to try next."

Impaz thought on it for a little bit. "Where do dragons come from?" she asked. "Where do they live?"