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"Hey, Imps!" Purah called as she pranced along the grassy cape. "Have you ever wondered if-"
"No," Impa interrupted, walking in a much more civilized manner a safe distance behind her exuberant sister. "We're not doing this right now. Last week it was, 'How much different does a chicken taste if you cook it alive instead of killing it beforehand?' and ugh...I'm not even gonna mention how that experiment went, or the fact that you did it in my kitchen."
"Ah, good memories," her older sister commented briskly, earning an unamused glare. "But nah, nothing as crazy as that. Just wondering if lightning could be harnessed in some way to power stuff! Probably worth a try, and Robbie would definitely be on board-"
"Certainly not!" Impa said, cutting in to what would've most likely become a three hour long rant. "That is way too risky."
Purah was the only person in Hyrule that knew her little sister well enough to detect the genuine care in Impa's tone.
"Your concern has touched me so much that I'll put that thought on the backburner," she proclaimed; then she turned abruptly and playfully flicked Impa's nose, snickering. "It's not every day that my sister cares about my safety."
What was meant to be a harmless joke was obviously taken the wrong way as Impa froze, panic flashing across her expression. "You don't think I care about you?"
"Uh, I know that you care about me, silly. Duh. It was a joke." But the reaction that the jest had provoked begged another question. "You...know that I care about you, right?"
Purah had hoped for an immediate 'yes', but no such luck. Instead, Impa took great interest in her feet, shuffling them nervously. "I mean, yeah, I guess, a bit..."
Grief threatened to swallow her as the realization hit: Impa had never truly believed that Purah cared deeply about her wellbeing.
Purah quickly strode over to Impa, gently grasping her shoulders. "Hey," she said softly, and uncertain amber eyes met worried crimson ones. "Don't ever forget this, little sis--I care about you more than anything else in Hyrule. No matter how much I embarrass or annoy you, I will always love you."
Impa's eyes swam with tears, and her sister could tell she was trying to hold them back. That wasn't healthy--the habit must've developed during the calamity, when there wasn't time for tears or remorse. Now, there was all the time in the world.
"Just let it out, sis," she whispered, and as soon as Impa heard that it was okay, she let go. Sobs shook her body as the tears that had been resisted for so long finally streamed down her cheeks. She sank to the ground, and Purah knelt beside her, wrapping her arms tightly around her distraught sister.
Whether they stayed like that for minutes or hours, Purah didn't know; what she did know was that it felt natural.
All things aside, the sun was setting by the time Impa had quieted, painting the sky with streaks of purple, orange, and pink.
The younger was curled against the eldest's chest, breaths slowing and evening out as her eyelids grew heavy from exhaustion.
As she drifted off to sleep, her dreams were filled with hope for the future.
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Purah lightly traced the faint scar on Impa's bicep as she fell asleep. She knew she'd never forget it, even if it were to fade one day.
It had happened during the battle at Fort Hateno.
Impa and Link had been escorting her so that she could light the furnace on the far side of the field. Link got the rear and her sister got the front. As the number of monsters and their levels of ferocity grew, so did Purah's concern that one (or both) of them would get severely injured.
Just as the group made it past the halfway point, Purah's fears were confirmed. Impa had been occupied with two club-wielding silver moblins and an ice guardian when, out of nowhere, a regular guardian joined the fray and swung a clawed leg at the Sheikah.
Normally, Impa could've dodged an attack like this quite easily; however, they had been marching and fighting on and off for the entirety of the day, she hadn't eaten, and was, in simple terms, exhausted. Her attempted dodge failed, and the claw sliced effortlessly through her arm, leaving a deep gash.
Somehow, Impa had endured the wound till they saw Mipha some hours later. Her healing usually didn't leave scars, but if the injury was bad and wasn't fresh, very faint marks were left behind.
Purah sighed, wishing that her sister hadn't had to go to war at such a young age; her 20th birthday was two weeks away.
But the world was cruel, and so people like Impa, Link, Zelda, and Revali had been pitched headfirst into the tides of war. They all deserved so much better.
Alas.
She was getting pretty sleepy herself, so she prepared to teleport both of them home.
She was looking forward to sharing the rest of her lifetime with her sibling, Robbie, and the others, this time without a deadly calamity looming on the horizon.