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“You have to show me how you do that,” Sidon said, watching eagerly as Link braided pieces of rope together.
When the Zora had invited him to go fishing, Link had expected poles or nets. He should have known better. The Zora as a species hunted by swimming just as fast as their prey and snatching it up with their hands or, better yet, their mouths. It was easy for them. Link, on the other hand, could not swim as fast. He had explained that to Sidon with a few crude Zoran signs he knew and then set about braiding grass together for a makeshift net.
He didn’t get that far with that either.
He crooked his finger at Sidon, the equivalent of a question mark, wondering what the prince was talking about. Communication was only a little rough. Link knew Hylian sign language, and Sidon only knew Zoran sign language. Both knew a little of each other’s language and worked with what they had.
“That,” Sidon repeated, pointing to the braided grass rope that Link was making.
“Braiding,” Link signed in Hylian and then demonstrated by twisting a few strands together. He tried to think of the Zoran sign and ended up improvising with their sign for twist, even though that usually talked about swimming. He signed “plant” in Zoran as well, hoping that the idea would be translated.
Sidon just wrinkled his nose. He was already in the water with his arms braced on the shore, waiting for Link to join him. He kicked his legs impatiently every once in a while whether to stave off boredom or keep himself afloat, Link wasn’t quite sure.
“I don’t get it,” Sidon said.
Link sighed but laughed. Of course a Zora wouldn’t. They didn’t need nets or fishing poles and didn’t have hair to braid anyway. While there were a couple in their tribe that wove fabrics, most of the time the tribe carved the beads and jewelry and adornments that they wore, using fish gut for string and not plant fiber. Besides, everything became a burden once you were in the water so it was best to minimize what you wore anyway. Link didn’t quite have that luxury in the freezing mountain waters that the Zora lived in.
“Watch,” Link signed, tapping his eyes.
He worked as quickly as he could, fashioning a quick net and tying off any stray ends. It wasn’t his best work, but he was rushed and he didn’t want to keep Sidon waiting.
He scrambled to his feet and shook it out, checking it one last time for holes before nodding to Sidon. He was already dressed for swimming but as soon as he got in the water, signing became so much harder. Link didn’t talk that much anyway, but the helplessness that came with swimming was a feeling he didn’t like.
Sidon must’ve caught his hesitation because he smiled and flipped back in the water, swimming on his back. He signed quickly in Zoran, and Link only caught the words “fish,” “water,” and “fun.” Link called him a bitch in Hylian just because he knew that he didn’t know that word.
As good natured as ever, Sidon just shot him a thumbs up before rolling and diving below the surface.
Link rolled his eyes to himself before folding the net and securing it to his hip before diving in after the Zora.
They had chosen a lake halfway down the mountain so that it was a more bearable temperature for Link but still plenty of room for Sidon to show off. And it was still bustling with aquarian life for them to catch. Link could hold his breath with all the practice he got, and with a spare set of swimming goggles made out of sea glass, he was able to join Sidon under the surface.
The Zora was already a dozen feet down and in front of him, twisting like a seal as he chased the darting bass and muskie. It was always a game for him at the start, like a dog getting out its energy after being cooped up for so long indoors. Link didn’t have that luxury. If he wasn’t serious from the beginning, he wouldn’t hear the end of it from Sidon who would end up with a catch twice as much as his.
Link wouldn’t be able to keep up with the bass and the muskie were all almost as big as he was. Instead, he focused on the large schools of crappie. He kicked to the surface, got a fresh lungful of air, and then dove as deep as he could.
He wasn’t as fast as Sidon, so he relied on stealth more than anything. He caught one school completely by surprise, splitting it in half and then kicking to follow the smaller section. He caught them against a rock and flung his net wide. He yanked it closed as sharply as he could, losing a couple but satisfied with his first catch. He dragged the net up, his lungs just starting to burn when he finally broke the surface.
He gasped and headed to shore.
He dumped the net’s contents across the grass, making sure they were far enough away from the shore so the fish wouldn’t flop to freedom.
“That was amazing!”
Link turned, unable to stop his smile as he spotted Sidon poking his head out of the water. The Zora looked absolutely awestruck, like he had never seen anything like what Link had done before. And he probably hadn’t.
“Jealous?” Link signed in Zoran.
Sidon narrowed his eyes with a smile of his own. With his hand as an O, he tapped against his nose several times before turning and diving beneath the water. Link didn’t recognize the sign, but he figured it was an insult in Zoran. With a smirk, he gathered his net back up and dove back into the water.
He got his bearings beneath the surface just in time to see Sidon sink his teeth into the neck of a gigantic muskie that was as long as Link was tall. It was absurdly huge, and something that Link would never be able to catch on his own. What a show off.
Sidon just shot him a smirk before dragging his catch to the surface.
Link just focused on finding something on a more reasonable scale to catch for himself.
He managed to get another half of a school in his net and a couple bass as well on different trips. Dragging the net back and forth to the shore was exhausting, and Link couldn’t do it more than a couple times. Even with the net to help him, Link’s pile was still vastly smaller by the time he collapsed on the grass in exhaustion. He just couldn’t compete with a species that was made to swim and hunt fish.
“Not bad for a Hylian,” Sidon said, finally climbing out of the water and settling on the grass next to Link. He looked over at his own pile of muskie and bass. “But still not as good as a Zora.”
“Tried,” Link signed in Zora, just so that Sidon could understand him better. “You. Strong. Fast.”
“Because I am a Zora,” Sidon said, as if he needed to state the obvious.
Link smirked. “Handsome,” he said in Hylian.
Sidon cocked his head, not recognizing the sign.
“I think you are insulting me,” he said. “I need to learn more Hylian.”
Link pushed himself up, crossing his legs, and pulled himself a bit closer to Sidon. He tapped his knees with his hands and then grinned. This was always how their lessons started, and Sidon perked up eagerly.
Link pointed at Sidon and then signed “handsome” again. He laughed when Sidon dead-panned.
“That is not the sign for Zora,” Sidon said. “I know that. And it isn’t my name. Stop making fun of me.”
Link just laughed harder.
The Zora didn’t have a sign for handsome. At least, not one that he knew. He didn’t know how to translate it, and Sidon seemed set on the fact that he was being made fun of. Link paused for a moment, trying to think of the Zoran signs he knew that could be used to translate.
“Sparkly fish,” he said, then shook his head. “Sparkly not fish. You. Bright and colorful.” And then he signed “handsome” in Hylian, looking in hopes that Sidon understood.
Sidon’s eyes were still narrowed but he didn’t seem as insulted. “A compliment?” he asked.
Link nodded, glad that his intentions were able to cross the language barrier.
Sidon thought for a moment. “You mean . . . I look nice?” he said. “In Zoran, that is. . .” With an open palm, he patted his sternum, right above his stomach. “It means you look good. Um, good-looking.”
Link nodded and repeated the gesture at Sidon.
Sidon rolled his eyes.
“Truth,” Link signed in Zoran. He repeated both of the signs until Sidon wouldn’t meet his gaze and looked more flustered.
“What is Hylian for pretty?” he asked.
With his cheeks going hot, Link showed him how to circle the face with an open palm that closed at the chin.
Sidon repeated the gesture eagerly, pointing very insistently at Link.
Link patted his sternum and pointed just as insistently back at him.
Sidon broke first, tipping his head back and laughing harder than he had in awhile. Link was laughing too, feeling ridiculous but amazing at the same time. Sidon also recovered first, glancing over at their piles of fish and sighing.
“How do you suppose we carry this all back?” he asked.
Link smiled and pulled out his net, flapping it open. “Useful,” he signed in Zoran. “Told you.”
Sidon just shook his head. “Plant twist,” he signed in Zoran and shook his head again. “I still don’t get it,” he said out loud.
Link just shrugged and began loading the fish onto the net. Between the two of them, they could probably carry it all back in one trip. It might be a bit awkward, since Sidon towered over him and they would carry the net unevenly, but Link figured they would manage.
Once they had all of their catches loaded onto the net, they hoisted the net up together and began the trek back to the city. Realistically, Sidon could call his guards or other Zora to haul it for them, but it was sort of a tradition that Link and him carried their own hunts back to town. Besides, it wasn’t that far. They had mostly gone down the hill for privacy, but still not too far away from the actual city.
“Will you be staying long?” Sidon asked after they had been walking for a bit.
He should have known that Link couldn’t respond. Holding the net meant he couldn’t talk while they walked. Sidon didn’t seem to care, since he didn’t even look at Link in the first place. The question was less to be answered and more to just be asked.
“There is always a room at the palace, you know,” Sidon went on. “A bed, a seat by the fire, and a meal without cost.” He paused. “You know that, right?”
Link nodded even though Sidon wasn’t looking at him.
Sidon didn’t say anything else as they walked back to the palace.
As soon as the guards saw Prince Sidon carrying something they rushed to relieve him, taking over the job of carrying the net. The device got a few strange looks since they were just as confused about braiding as Sidon was. They carried it off without a word though, and Link and Sidon were left to themselves.
The sun was starting to set in the sky, and Link knew he had left his horse far up the trail to the Zora kingdom. He needed to get back to her and besides, he rarely slept in a proper bed anymore. Along the way to saving the whole kingdom, a bedroll in the middle of the woods had somehow become more comfortable than an actual bed in a house. Anything else felt cramped and enclosed to Link.
“Go,” he signed in Zoran once he got Sidon’s attention.
“Stay,” Sidon signed back.
Link blinked in surprise. The Zora was hardly ever so direct.
“Horse,” he signed in Hylian, since Zora didn’t have a sign for that. “Woods.”
“She’ll be okay,” Sidon said. “She always is. You know that.”
Link wasn’t sure what other excuse he could come up with.
He looked out over the balcony at the woods and cliffs beyond the city walls. That was home in his mind, and he always went home at the end of the day. No need to impose on anyone when he did perfectly well all by himself. It was true, his horse wouldn’t die during one night alone. She was smart and would find a safe place to sleep and something to eat. She was just like Link, in a way, able to survive on her own.
Link turned his back on the wilderness and smiled at Sidon.
“Stay,” he signed in Zoran.
Sidon broke into a beaming smile, surprised that Link had agreed. Link had surprised himself.
“Pretty,” Sidon signed at him in Hylian.
Link just laughed and tapped his sternum before following Sidon into the palace.