BotW Zelink Oneshots

An Unlikely Encounter (G)

"Oh, Link! Look who it is!" I turned my head to see a blur of brown and orange bounding right up to us from out of the brush. "Hello, again!"

I let out a frustrated groan. We'd been on our way back to Hateno after a short visit to Zora's Domain, and this wild fox had been following us around for the last couple of hours at least. This was maybe the fourth or fifth time it had shown its face, after my many attempts to get it to leave us alone.

Zelda was crouched down in front of it, scratching its chin as it made obnoxious cackling noises up at her. "Awww, look at you!" It wiggled around on its back, and she smiled at it adoringly, ruffling its coarse, greyish underbelly. I watched the two in complete astoundment. "You're just the sweetest thing, aren't you?" she cooed whilst it gnawed viciously on her arm. "Yes, you are!"

We could've been back and preparing dinner by now if it hadn't been for these past pointless encounters. "It's persistent," I muttered. "I'll give it that much."

She ignored me, however, in favour of the feral creature before her, who was still whining and chattering away. When she finally looked up at me, it was with pleading eyes and a slight pout. "Can we take him home with us?"

My jaw fell open. "Why?" I retorted. "It's just an animal."

"But look at him!" she cried. "Doesn't it look like he's suffering out here?" Its fur was rather matted in spots, and it did look a little skinnier than most other foxes I'd seen in the wild. Perhaps someone had been taking care of it up until recently, when they'd simply decided to leave it here to fend for itself. "Just—look into his eyes for a moment." She angled the beast's face in my direction. Its eyes were ink black, staring back at me with no discernible emotion. "Don't you feel sorry for him at all?"

I didn't see what good it would do us to treat an unintelligent thing like it was anything other than just that. Even so, I wasn't immune to the heartfelt look of longing on her face. I knew she would be heartbroken if I gave her anything but my approval. She probably wouldn't speak a word to me the whole rest of the way home.

I sighed in defeat. "I suppose there's no harm."

Her entire being lit up with joy. "Oh, yes!" she cheered before leaping up and landing a surprise kiss on my lips. "We'll take such good care of him, Link." The canine in question was staring up at me, panting and wagging its fluffy tail while Zelda's arms were still slung around my neck. I gave an awkward laugh. Her attention was already lost on the fox again before I could put my own arms around her waist. "What's a good name, do you think?" she asked herself, scritching behind its ears. "What about...Farley?" The little ruffian squawked in reply, which Zelda seemed to interpret as agreement. "You like that, do you? Alright! Farley it is!"

I cleared my throat a tad less than subtly. "You know, we really should get going if we want to return before nightfall."

~ • ~

A couple of weeks or so had passed since we'd gained another mouth to feed. Usually we'd only see the furry little fiend at the beginning and end of each day, when I would have to hunt down something for it to eat. Other than that, though, it wasn't causing us a lot of trouble. It stayed outside at all times, as I'd requested, and Zelda had even gotten one of Bolson's crew to build a little den for it to sleep in around the back of the house. It seemed quite comfortable here, and she seemed very pleased whenever we'd be greeted by its raucous yapping upon our return each and every evening. Truth be told, it made me happy seeing her in such a good mood for a change, regardless of who or what was to thank for it.

Today, however, I was anything but happy. In fact, the most prominent emotion weighing on my soul at the moment was loneliness. Today, Zelda had some errand or another to take care of in Gerudo Town, and she'd stubbornly insisted that I not accompany her, despite my having been there countless times already. Not only was it absurd, but this was the first time she'd ever asked this of me since the day we'd dedicated our hearts to one and other once again. I was at a loss for what to do.

After wandering outside for a while, I now found myself at an abandoned enemy fortress not far from the village. The princess' pet had been on my heels since I'd given it breakfast earlier that morning, and it had followed me all the way here. I'd simply turned a blind eye to it; I didn't have the patience to deal with its insatiable need for attention today.

I climbed up onto one of the barrels halfway up the haphazardly constructed scheme of platforms. The fox scurried up to where my feet hung off the rim. "What?" It tilted its head at me. "I just—" I woefully let my head fall into my palms, trying my hardest to collect myself. "I know...that she's only being considerate of their culture, and that it's 'best that I stay out of the way,'" I paraphrased, "but..."

It placed its soot-besmirched paw against one of my shins, gazing up at me with big, round eyes.

I heaved a perturbed sigh. "I just spent so, so long fighting to find her again, and now she's—" The feeling of waking up to find her side of the bed empty that morning before remembering why came rushing back. I started biting at my lip. "It's like I'm...lost without her," I confessed. "Even when I know it's just for one day."

The fox's soft whining almost seemed sympathetic in a way. I sat up a bit straighter, noticing its expression. One had to admit, if it were capable of experiencing emotions the way people did, it probably would've dealt with more than its fair share of neglect and betrayal by now.

Maybe this not-so-wild animal and I had more in common than I'd initially thought.