Second Hand of the Chosen Hero

Chapter Six

She didn't die.

Tya dusted off her clothing as she shifted to try and wring out some of the pain in her knee. She had to ignore the fact that her shredded palms were begging to be put out of their misery with each touch to her clothing.

Her shoulders ached from having to cling to the sailcloth like that, and honestly, she probably did extend it a little too early since it took her ages to finally get down to the surface.

To...

She paused.

"Hylia's tits..." she whispered to herself upon straightening up and looking around.

She had aimed for a clearing in her descent and had succeeded but just barely. In part, this was because she'd panicked when she realized what she was doing, but it was also a little bit because she had been so stunned by the vastness of the place. The view from above had been far more vague, seeing only the sea of bright trees, mountains, bodies of water. But now, standing among it all, she could barely believe it. Then again, what in this situation felt real to her thus far? It was barely new.

Before her was a thick density of trees the likes of which she had never even considered possible. There was a carpet of green that inched up the trunks of trees, appearing like velvet she wanted to feel. There were small creatures overhead, lingering on the branches, peering down at her with curiosity that she returned right back to them. Among the green of moss, grass, and thick bushes, were various bursts of colors in an array of shapes and sizes.

The smaller, snaking along the trees, were vibrant flowering vines in white, pink, and blue- though to her, it was blue, purple, and more blue. And while some flowers speckled the moss and grass between the roots of trees, there were some far larger, scattered throughout unruly bushes or hanging from trees.

But the largest of the colors- the most intriguing, was a plethora of massive mushrooms. She'd never seen any so big- she hadn't even known they could get this large. Nor had she known they could come in so many colors. Not that any of them exactly looked right to her or ever had when she found (and picked them out of) her food back home. They were brown in Skyloft. Brown and edible. Well, subjective on edible. Edible to people who liked them-- She was not those people.

It was incredible... there was so much to see, but just as her excitement spiked, urging her to dart in and get a closer look, a voice sputtered behind her "Hy-Hylia's what?!"

She whipped around to find Link staring at her with something near horror on his face. "Nothing!" She practically shouted. "You did not hear that."

"I ha-have trouble talking not-not hearing, Tya," he mused in return, the gentle smile on his lips saying that his intentions were more to tease than to truly distress her.

While the girl did somewhat soften as she read over his expression, she was made to tense again as he suddenly gasped. His hand hurried to press to his forehead, eyes suddenly closed tight as he hissed through his teeth at a sudden stabbing pain behind his eyes.

In an instant her embarrassment melted away and she stepped forward, brow furrowed in concern as she leaned to look at him. With his eyes closed so tight, he didn't notice her move, and thus flinched as she asked "are you alright?"

He let out a hard breath, opening one eye, then tried to nod only to be abruptly cut off the action as the pain seared with movement.

She didn't know what to do about that. Concern left her raising her hands, one setting on his shoulder while the other hesitated over the hand against his temple. It took him a moment before he was able to draw in a deep breath, and as the pain seemed to subside, he again opened his eyes to look down at her. It seemed he had the intention of assuring her of his well being, but instead of being able to do so, both of them flinched as a ball of light radiated from the sword sheathed at his back. It took the form of a woman in a familiar flash of magic that Tya recognized to be that of the spirit she'd seen in the statue.