Chapter Text
Buliara rode her first Sand-Seal when she was no older than sixteen years.
The reins were made of coarse rope and leather that stretched out a few feet to string around a metal loop on the back of the sand seal’s harness. The reins threatened to cut into her palms as she gave them an experimental tug. The Sand-Seal before her - an obese cow named Penny that Kohm, the manager of the Sand-Seal Rental Shop, swore up and down was always a good ride for beginners - sneezed loudly and Buliara grimaced at the sight of heavy mucus dripping from the creature’s snout. The iron shield she stood on wobbled slightly - it was dented thanks to a scuffle between her sister Teake and a Lizalfos which had ended with Teake proudly running home to their mother with a missing canine and a sprained wrist. Naturally, Muava had been less than pleased and had grounded Teake and then Buliara for lending her the sword and shield, postponing their sand surfing lessons a whole two months. While the other Gerudo teens learned how to handle the Sand-Seals tamed and kept in Gerudo Town, Buliara spent her time minding her family and catching up on her reading.
“Buliara, this is going to be so cool!” She was suddenly broken out of her thoughts by Teake’s loud squeal of wonder and excitement. Whereas Buliara was spiry for a Gerudo her age with dark skin, bright green eyes, and the fiery red hair native to the Gerudo, Teake was short, noticeably paler, and her mane of curls was contained inside of her white headscarf. A few wisps of said curls were slowly escaping her underscarf but she didn't seem to notice. Teake was practically vibrating with exhilaration, gripping the reins of her Sand-Seal as tight as she could. The other cow Kohm had brought out was younger and matched its spirited rider, snuffling happily and occasionally pawing at the sand in her eagerness to get moving.
“I should hope so,” Buliara intoned. “We did have to wait two months later than everyone else to finally learn how to ride a Sand-Seal.”
“Hey! It wasn't my fault. That thing attacked me first!”
“You took and dented my shield.”
“Shouldn't have given it to me then!”
“I wouldn't if I'd known you were going to fight a Lizalfos.”
“Whatever, at least we get Shabonne all to ourselves today,” Teake said, waving off their bickering.
Shabonne was their mother's eccentric friend and Gerudo Town’s Sand-Seal Surfing teacher who was hellbent on coaching her daughter, Tali, to be the world’s next Sand-Seal Racing Champion. As far as Buliara knew, Tali was far more interested in flirting with Laine and Lashley than spending hours riding across the Gerudo Desert.
Shabonne herself stood in front of the two, checking the horizon for upcoming sandstorms. They'd been getting them a lot lately, which meant that desert travel was steadily becoming more dangerous for tourists, traders, and Gerudo alike. Her loose and flowing maroon chador billowed around her as she finally turned around to address Buliara and Teake.
“Alright! Muava’s children! It's a little late to be learning how to surf, ain't it?” Shabonne cackled as Buliara shot Teake a look. “You little ones don't learn as fast we used to! I learned when I was nine!”
Alula, current primary Gerudo Chief of Gerudo Town, had passed a law prohibiting Gerudo minors from learning how to surf until they were sixteen. In recent years, the desert had become even more of a challenge to live in with the over abundance of creatures such as the Lizalfos and The Molduga and the fact that this particular generation of Gerudo were notorious for getting into trouble. After the law passed, there was an incident when some Gerudo teens had grown angry and, in response, attempted to tame wild Sand-Seals and prove to Chief Alula that they were capable. To make a long and painful story short, the group of teens never succeeded in even harnessing the Sand-Seals and a few were rushed to the physician’s home for immediate treatment for bites and scratches. No one had convinced Chief Alula to reverse the law, rather, they had only convinced her that she'd made the right choice. Now, schools refrained from teaching teens how to ride a Sand-Seal until they were the proper age with Kohm providing the Sand-Seals and Shabonne hired to coach.
“But never mind that,” Shabonne said. “Let’s learn how to ride! Now, first things first, are you two properly padded?”
Buliara checked herself. She'd dressed accordingly - a simple white tunic and a sirwal - and had been careful to strap the cotton pads to her elbows, knees, chest, and so on to avoid breaking her entire skeleton if she were to get flung off. She'd yet to find out if this padding actually worked, however.
“Yes!” Teake answered for the both of them, pumping her fist in the air.
“Excellent. Now, balance yourself directly in the middle of your shield. If it's dented or damaged in anyway, do your best to balance yourself and consider getting yourself a better shield next time.” Buliara flushed and looked down, adjusting her position as best as she could, hyper aware of the fact that her shield wobbled constantly. “Remember this: wooden shields are not as effective as metal shields. You do not want to know what it feels like to have your shield break while riding and thus all shields must be checked thoroughly before riding. So should your reins and harness. A frayed rein is not a reliable rein and a harness that is too big or too small or damaged in any way could potentially harm your Sand-Seal,” Shabonne said. “This is all important. Memorize it.”
She paused, allowing Teake and Buliara to take mental notes before continuing.
“Now, Sand-Seal Surfing is most definitely a hands-on learning experience,” Shabonne continued. “I can sit on the sides and tell you everything you need to do but it is ultimately up to you to actually perform. So when I say ‘gently tug the reins’ then you-”
Buliara never heard the rest of Shabonne’s instructions. The sound of a pair of reins being cracked much too harshly and Teake’s responding yelp made Buliara turn around just in time to see her sister’s Sand-Seal dive into the sand and take off, yanking Teake behind her at breakneck speed.
“Stupid girl!” Shabonne rasped. “You're not supposed to start off in a dash! Buliara-”
Once again, Buliara didn't hear the rest of Shabonne’s words but this time she knew what was being asked of her. Pulling on the reins with enough force, Penny the Sand-Seal also dived into the sand and began to pull Buliara in the direction of the other Sand-Seal. Unlike Teake’s Sand-Seal, Penny started off with slow but powerful strokes before picking up speed. Buliara wobbled once, twice on her shield before almost instinctively bending her legs at the knee and leaning backwards. Something told her this was proper form. She looked back once, trusting her strong grip and Penny not to suddenly veer off in any other direction, and was reassured to see Shabonne quickly running back in the direction of Gerudo Town. No doubt she was returning to Kohm to grab another Sand-Seal and chase after the two of them.
Teake’s wailing could be heard even when she was only a speck on the horizon and Buliara snapped the reins of her own Sand-Seal in order to get closer. Penny answered positively, seeming to want nothing more than to race through the sand as fast as she could anyway. For a creature with so much blubber, Buliara did not expect Penny to move this fast. The surfing came naturally to her, even when her shield bumped against a rock half-hidden in the sand and jostled her, she found her balance again and lead Penny closer to Teake.
“Teake!” Buliara called out once she was sure her sister was in hearing distance. “You need to slow down!”
“I don't know how!” Teake answered, voice rising in a shrillness that Buliara recognized. Teake wasn't a crier but she was certainly close to it now. “She won't stop for nothing!”
“You're not controlling her!” Buliara barked. “Just holding the reins is not doing anything other than encouraging her to act wild! Watch out!”
Teake’s grip tightened back on the reins and she yanked them to the right just in time to veer around a large cactus patch. The action caused her to gasp and for a split second, her Sand-Seal slowed. Buliara used the small window of time to catch up, Penny and her sister’s Sand-Seal racing against each other. Teake’s teeth were clenched and she stood so stiffly on her shield she was certainly in danger of hurting herself should her Sand-Seal run into something or stop abruptly.
“Teake, look at me!” Buliara said. Teake tore her gaze off the dunes in front of them to look at Buliara. “I need you to bend your knees and lean back.”
“What?” Teake squeaked. “What does that do?”
“It's proper riding form,” Buliara explained. “Trust me, you'll have better control.”
When Teake still looked doubtful, Buliara snapped at her, “Just do it!”
Teake reluctantly fixed her position, forcing her muscles to relax and cautiously began to lean back. The improvement was instantaneous - Teake seemed to melt into the position and her Sand-Seal began to slow down. Buliara let out a sigh of relief. It seemed as though Teake had at least regained control of her Sand-Seal. Maybe Shabonne wouldn't need to rescue them.
Famous last words.
Faster than Buliara could see or feel, the ground in front of them suddenly burst, sand flying into her face and blinding her as Penny and Teake's Sand-Seal barked in fear. There was a horrible crunching noise and suddenly Buliara was thrown backwards, hitting the ground so hard all the breath in her escaped. She rolled down what was presumably a dune and stayed still, fighting to catch her breath and clear her eyes as pain suddenly exploded along her chest. Somewhere near her, something else thudded and she heard Teake curse.
Blinking furiously, Buliara forced herself up on her elbows from where she'd fallen. Pain splintered across her chest, making it much too hard to breath. Opening watery eyes, Buliara let out a groan at the movement and then fell silent at the sight she saw before her.
There were certain things in the desert that the Gerudo people were careful to avoid. Dehydration, Overzealous tourists, overwhelming heat, The Yiga Clan….before her was one of those “avoid at all costs” things.
The giant maw of The Molduga, teeth stained with fresh blood and the shredded remains of a Sand-Seal harness, lay only a few feet away from Buliara. It's bloodshot eyes flicked over to her and icy terror washed all over her. Something in her told her not to move. Where was Teake? She didn't know. Didn't dare move to see.
A keening noise pierced the air as The Molduga raised its head, flipped its body over, and dived back into the sand. A mound protruded from the ground told Buliara where it's head was and it rapidly began to move away from her. But even as it disappeared, Buliara couldn't bring herself to feel safe.
“Teake,” She rasped. It hurt to speak. “Teake!”
She'd heard her sister, knew she was alive. Hoped she was alive. Forcing herself to be louder, Buliara cried one more time, “TEAKE!”
“I'm here!” Teake's voice sounded towards her right and the crunching of sand followed soon after. Whatever strength Buliara had left seeped out of her and she fell back down to the ground, hot sand pressing into the side of her face. Teake came running towards her, sinking to her knees and gingerly touching Buliara’s cheek. Teake's headscarf was gone, snatched by The Molduga, and a slash of red bled on her forehead. Her brow was furrowed and worried eyes searched Buliara.
“I'm sorry, ‘Ara,” Teake whispered. “I'm so sorry.”
“S’not your fault,” Buliara said. “Accidents happen.”
“I led us straight to The Molduga!” Teake hissed. “Because I couldn't listen to Shabonne - I was too excited - and I couldn't control my Sand-Seal. ‘Ara, I got Kohm’s oldest cow eaten by The Molduga and my Sand-Seal swam off. This is not an accident, it's a disaster. Not even Barta is this much of a screw up.”
At the mention of her disaster-prone classmate, Buliara let out a breathy laugh. The pain in her chest had only doubled and her position on the ground wasn't helping. They were still in Molduga territory and if they stayed for too long…
Black spots began to dance in front of Buliara’s eyes and she blinked slowly, fighting off a wave of exhaustion. Teake noticed and shook her roughly.
“Don't sleep, Buliara! Stay awake. Please, stay awake.” Buliara had never heard panic in Teake's voice, not even when she broke her wrist. The heaviness persisted and Buliara couldn't - wouldn't - find the strength in her to fight it.
“I see Shabonne! Buliara! Buliara, wake up!”
Indeed, Buliara could hear the sound of Sand-Seals rapidly approaching, complete with Shabonne's shaky and worried voice calling out. “Buliara! Teake!”
“Shabonne!” Teake answered. “We’re here! Buliara, don't you dare die on me.”
But Buliara was already slipping, eyes falling shut as she finally lost consciousness. She didn't register Teake shaking her like a madwoman, nor did she register Shabonne and the Chief Of Military Rima halting their Sand-Seals and rushing towards her. The last thing she heard was Rima’s spiteful “Gerudo these days” before everything truly went dark.
Buliara woke up five days later in the physician’s clinic with a concussion, five cracked ribs, and a broken spirit.