Little Salt Songs: Zelink Week 2024

by SeafoamHome

Summary:

Telink themed takes on the first three prompts of Zelink Week 2024

Chapter 1: Under The Stars

Tetra wakes with a start, only to realize that she is, in fact, not at the bottom of the ocean, but on the sofa in her cabin. She’s upright, still shaking, her dagger unsheathed in her hand, but soon the familiarity of her room grounds her, and she heaves a sigh of relief. Putting her dagger away and closing her eyes, she attempts to calm herself down; she just had a nightmare, and everything in her nightmare had all happened, but it’s not happening anymore. 

It’s been two days since the old kingdom of Hyrule drowned for good; the place had only been legend, as far as Tetra was concerned, until some weeks ago when she saw it was real with her own two eyes.

On that day, her whole world changed.

Tetra doesn’t want to think about it right now. Shaking her head, she checks her surroundings again, confirming that she’s safe. She and Link got back on her ship with her crew and his sister, Aryll. They’ve had their injuries tended to and they all started on their current route. Tetra reminds herself that she slept on her sofa because she allowed Aryll to use her bed until Tetra and her crew could get Aryll and Link back home.

They’re half a day away from Outset Island, since Tetra did promise Link that she’d return Aryll for no charge. They would all be staying for a while, too, to restock and relax before venturing off again. Aryll also asked them all to stay for her birthday next month, and the crew were so excited and Tetra couldn’t say no to them. She wasn’t sure at the time, but thinking back, Link seemed to smile wider at her approval.

Wait, why is she even thinking about that? She shakes her head again, and decides it’s best to get some fresh air.

Leaving her cabin definitely proves that Tetra’s no longer trapped beneath the ocean as she’s greeted by a night sky, complete with the full moon and dotted with stars. She breathes in the familiar salty air and listens to the waves, and she’s instantly calm. A faint breeze plays with her hair and cools her brow. Following the wind’s direction, she scans her ship and spots a lit lantern on the planks of the forecastle deck. The lantern’s not alone: it’s keeping someone company. 

That someone is Link.

His back’s turned to her, so he hasn’t seen her yet. She could take this chance to go back into her cabin, but her feet don’t return her there, no; rather, she pads her way forward quietly, wondering whether to let herself be known gently or to sneak up to scare him.

She doesn’t get to decide: Link looks back and sees her, startled at her sudden appearance, almost knocking the lantern over. Tetra does her best to stifle her laughter.

“Shit, sorry!” She almost feels bad for wanting to sneak up on him. Almost. “You okay?”

Link rights the lantern, and exhales with relief at the lack of fire on the deck. “Yeah. S-sorry, I’ll be m-m-more careful.” Without that concern over his head, he gets a proper look at Tetra, and Tetra can’t help but think that he looks so very tired. “Cuh-couldn’t sleep?”

“Nah, not tonight.” says Tetra, shrugging as if she has no fears in the world. “Want some company?”

Link nods, so Tetra takes a seat on the other side of the lantern. When he looks back out at the sea and sky, the pirate does the same. She also takes subtle glances to study the hero next to her, his expression stony and his stature stiff. It’s unlike the Link she knows, and something enters her mind: maybe this is who he is now, after everything that’s happened. It scares her for a moment, because what if she’s changed, too? Will she still be the Tetra that her crew knew, the Tetra that Link met and got to know?

Looking back to the sky, Tetra decides to study the stars instead, trying not to think about recent events and how they’re shaping her future. At least she can still look up on nights like this and see stars, a constant she needs now more than she ever did. A sentiment perhaps shared, if Link’s out here, too.

The waves against the creaking ship are the only sounds that surround them. While she’s in no mood to talk about all the things in her head, Tetra thinks about how Link’s more quiet than usual. Sure, he’s already not much of a talker, but he had at least started to open up more since she first got to know him. 

The worry dissipates when Link breaks the silence. “D’you g-get them, too?” he asks cautiously. “N-nightmares?”

Not looking at him, Tetra figures she’ll just tell the truth. “Yeah…”

Link shifts nervously. “... W-wanna tuh-talk about it?”

Tetra shakes her head. “No…not now, anyway.” She gestures to the moonlit sky, stars winking and shining all around. “I’d rather just look at this.” Link tacitly agrees when he looks up, too. They’ll talk about what happened sometime, Tetra decides, but at another time; why ruin the tranquility around them with a hard conversation?

“Is it t-true that you can suh-sail based on the st-stars?” Link starts a decidedly easy topic instead.

Nodding, Tetra’s all too grateful to think about something else. “Mhm. It’s part of wayfinding, one of the parts, at least. Stars are usually the same, depending on the time of year. They can help us find our way if we’re lost.” She gets more excited, glad to put her great knowledge to use, and bombastically points north. “Especially that one!”

Link squints. “What one?”

“There, that big, bright one!” Tetra moves closer to Link so he can see what she’s talking about, and he follows her finger to the hard-to-miss star. “That’s the north star. As long as you find that one, you can find your way home.”

“Woah…” Link breathes, his look of wonder going from the sky to the captain. “You’ll t-teach me muh-more about this, right? Wh-when we set sail again?”

He still wants to join her crew; Tetra has to hide her happiness with a smirk. “Haven’t changed your mind, huh?”

Her new swab shrugs. “I signed the contract, didn’t I?”

“You sure did, I’ll track you down if you break it,” says Tetra, aloof on following through with her threat. “Yeah, I’ll teach you all about it. I’ll quiz you on constellations, too, so you better pay attention!” She gives Link a gentle nudge on his shoulder; she’s not sure why she does it, but Link grins and even laughs a little!

“Okay, I w-will!” he promises, looking happier than he has in a while, at least for Tetra. That smile of his, she thinks, could light up the world, never mind the light from a lantern, nor the moon or stars. 

Ugh, again with these thoughts? Tetra quickly looks back up and Link does the same; good, now she doesn’t have to keep thinking about his dumb face. Her own dumb face heats up and she hates it.

Although, deep down, she doesn’t not like this: the two of them, under the stars, looking at the same sky together.

“You know,” says Tetra, quietly so as to not break the calm around them, “I almost said ‘no’ when you asked me to help you rescue Aryll.”

“Ruh-really?” Link looks at her and she nods; he turns away, and Tetra thinks he might be mad at her, but instead he says, “W-well, uhm. I’m g-glad you didn’t.”

The heat reaches her face again, but still: she’s glad to have someone like him around. She’s glad that he’ll be sticking with her when it’s time to venture off again. She’s glad she didn’t say ‘no.’

“Me, too.”

   

Notes:

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Chapter 2: Fading

Summary:

Artwork for the 'Fading' Prompt.

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Chapter 3: Blooming

Notes:

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