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“I’m tellin’ you, he’s a real one. Won’t meet more than one or two men like him in a lifetime, but you can see it in his eyes, he’s a beast at heart.”
Link coughed lightly, a little amused when Telma didn’t look the least bit abashed even as she turned back towards him, eyebrows rising. It was clear that she was taking a break from her work, leaning against the doorway to the next room over and talking to the small group assembled there. Telma smiled at him, not a touch of remorse in her expression, and beckoned him over.
“Speak of the devil and here he is! Come and let me introduce you, honey, it’s about time you met the crowd. These are the people I mentioned before, the ones trying to handle Hyrule’s little monster problem.” She tilted her head towards the table, eyes warm. “I’ve been telling them about you.”
Link obediently wandered over, eyes lingering on each of the members in turn. There was a woman with shadowed eyes, looked like she didn’t sleep enough. A boy who was probably a little older than Link, but whose eyes were years younger. A man wearing a helmet who nonetheless looked… very familiar, the shape of his shoulders, the line of his jaw-
“That’s Shad, won’t never find a better researcher than that boy,” Telma told Link, drawing his attention again. “You name an ancient legend, he can dig it up for you, lickety-split, and find details you never would’ve dreamed of besides. That’s Ashei, grew up in the mountains, little rough-mannered but one heck of a survivalist. And that’s-”
“Uli,” Link said abruptly, looking directly at Rusl and unintentionally cutting Telma off. It was possibly the first thing Telma had heard him say besides his name.
“Cut straight to the heart as always, eh, Link?” Rusl chuckled, and then he took his helmet off and placed it on his lap, expression soft as he met Link’s eyes. “Uli’s safe at home, don’t you worry. Sera’s looking after her.”
Link shuffled his feet, unconvinced. Uli had to be getting along by now – what was it, four months? Five months? And she’d been getting awful morning sickness too. He remembered the swell of her belly when she’d been toddling around with Colin, so big by the end that Link had to help her stand most of the time, and worried, and Rusl’s expression became gentler even as he chuckled.
“You know, I was starting to wonder, the way Telma was talking about you,” Rusl said nonsensically, and then, “Don’t you start worrying now, the missus will feel much better if she knows you’re not all alone out here, and she’s happy to have me checking on the kids, too. She’s a sturdy woman; she’ll be alright on her own for a few months.”
Link had to resist the urge to stomp his foot childishly and resolved to move even faster. It was one thing for Link to miss the birth of the new baby, and another entirely if it meant Rusl was going to miss it too.
“I see you two know each other,” Telma cut in, eyebrows high on her face. Rusl gave her an apologetic, weary smile.
“Link’s my boy,” he said, without a moment of hesitation. “Has been since he was a wee thing, maybe four, five years old. I’m not at all surprised you’ve taken a liking to him, Telma. I always thought you would.” Link cocked his head at Rusl, and Rusl explained, “I’ve been in touch with these folks for years, off and on – couldn’t quite bring myself to lose track of the goings-on in Hyrule, especially with a family to worry about. I’m sure you understand, now more than ever.”
Link nodded. It was hard enough when he was just a half-feral country boy, with his forest and his fields and his spring, making sure none of the other kids wandered somewhere they couldn’t keep themselves safe. Now that his world was much bigger, he was worrying almost constantly.
“Swordsmanship runs in the family, huh?” Ashei said thoughtfully, leaning back on her hands and partially obscuring the map on the table. “Link half as good as you are, Rusl?”
“Better,” Rusl said without missing a beat, which made a rush of warmth flood Link even after everything he’d done these last few months. “Has been since the first time he picked one up, really. I’ve always wanted to see what he could do with a good steel sword. Where did you get that, Link?”
Link resisted the urge to reach up and touch the hilt of his sword. He might not know the legends himself, but, well… He’d felt her power the first time he’d picked her up, and it felt like coming home.
He wondered if he’d had the eyes of a beast even as a boy in Ordon, or if he’d picked them up along the way.
“Yes, it does look familiar,” Shad murmured, his sharp eyes studying the sword from behind his glasses. Link shifted back a little and wished Zelda and Midna had maybe explained a little better, bits and pieces all he really had. “I’ve… well, perhaps I’ve seen something like it in a book before. It’s not uncommon. Forget it.”
Link’s eyes lingered on Shad for a moment, because he thought, for just a moment, that Shad had dropped the topic a little too abruptly. Then he let it go with a sigh, looking back at Rusl.
How are the kids in Kakariko? he asked anxiously. It had been a few weeks since he’d been able to check on them, he’d been so busy running around Lake Hylia and Hyrule Field.
“Such a worrywart,” Rusl teased gently, and then, without hesitating, “You’ve been such a good example to them all, Link. I barely recognized Colin, he’s grown up so well in the last few months. Beth has been getting along wonderfully with Renado’s girl, Luda, have you met her?” Link nodded, and Rusl chuckled. “Of course you have. And Talo’s been helping Malo run his new shop, that boy was always too canny.”
Link smiled a little, though it faded quickly. And Ilia?
“Ilia’s fine, Link,” Rusl reassured him. “She likes helping Renado to look after the kids, I think. It’s good for her. She’s always been a maternal sort of girl, and I think some part of her remembers that.”
Link nodded firmly, looked at Telma, and signed, Is there anything you need done?
Telma’s eyebrows rose. “Well, that explains a thing or two. I’m sorry, honey, I don’t know sign language. Never been a high court type.”
“Ah, he asked if you need anything,” Rusl translated, while Link was still chiding himself. Just because everyone in Ordon had learned it by now didn’t mean anyone else had. It was still too easy to forget that.
Telma hummed approvingly. “Still quite the go-getter, I see. Well, there’s one more man to our crew – Auru, off looking into the western desert. I’d go looking for him next if you’re looking for something to do.”
Link gave her a resolute nod, and tried to put Ordon out of his mind again.
He still had plenty to do before he came home, especially if he wanted to be able to help with the newborn and make sure Colin got to hold his new sibling.
Months later, Midna looked over her shoulder just as she was passing through the portal and gave Link a small, sly smile.
“Hurry home, Link,” she said quietly. “It might not be too late to catch your baby sister.”
She was gone before Link could get over the fact that she remembered.