New Home - BotW Link x Reader (Undergoing Revisions)

Chapter 41 - Sudden Meeting: Part 2

The past few days, at my insistence, we traveled relatively short distances and rested often. Link surely found it incredibly, soul-numbingly boring, but I didn't particularly care. His injuries were extensive, and I wasn't about to risk him pushing himself unnecessarily, which he undoubtedly would.

Further southwest we traveled at a comparatively leisurely pace, keeping the horses at comfortable trots and avoiding fights when and where we could. Monsters forced our hands, more than a couple of times. But each time, I ensured I took to the front, even if I'd have rather handled things from a further range. But with Link still so injured, while he tried to assure me he was more than able to fight like always, I wasn't so convinced so I made sure to do most of the heavy lifting.

And for several days, that's how we traveled. Slowly, his bruises started to clear, his cuts started to fade, and he started to regain some of his usual spark. With all the extra naps he was taking lately, he was reinvigorating himself and allowing his body to heal as it needed to - which I was grateful for.

Because we were heading south at Link's request, I figured I knew what our next destination was: the Gerudo Desert. Surely we'd stop at stables and villages and other places along the way, but our next real destination was there, and more specifically, Gerudo Village - for that was probably our surest bet for gathering information about the Divine Beast of the desert, piloted by the proud Gerudo women of old.

I was excited for such a stark change in scenery (a desert would be the most vastly different landscape I'd see thus far), but I was worried about what we could do to combat the heat. We'd need to stop for lighter clothes and do some really focused foraging for items we could make heat-resistance elixirs and refreshing meals, along with packing extra canteens and finding ways to keep them cooler longer...

I at least had plenty to think about as we progressed.

Just this morning, we crossed the Kolami Bridge. At this high elevation, far below us to our right we could see the still, perfectly clear waters of Strock Lake, and Link was more than happy to offer up the idea of leaping into the lake from the bridge directly, as though falling from that height into still water was a good idea.

It was pretty to look down upon, and there were some places to pull off and appreciate the view as the ridge we were on - the top of the canyon that bordered the Tanagar Canyon to our left - wound nearly all the way around it. We made use of the viewing areas incredibly often for snack breaks, for me to check his wound dressings, and for us to just relax. The lake was huge, and this canyon would eventually wind nearly all the way around it before curling southwest once more.

Maybe, if Link was feeling up to it tomorrow (which he certainly would, it was really more a question of how his injuries were doing), we could find one of the numerous trails that wound down the rocky crags, and we could hike down to the lake's edge for a day.

But for now, I slowed, pulling off the road as I took in the sight of a small campsite - one set up by travelers, for other travelers, and it would do perfectly well for what we needed for the afternoon. I could tell that Link was starting to get antsy and a little uncomfortable in the saddle, not that he would say as much.

"I think that's far enough for today," I chimed, guiding Sky into the campsite. It was a small little space cleared of brush but lined by trees and covered with leaf litter. Carved out here, overlooking Strock Lake and the horizon far beyond it... I couldn't have hoped for a better spot to spend the night. There was a small cooking pot in the center of the camp, and a few tents pitched up for general use.

We dismounted, and Link took their reins and led the horses a short distance away, to a small, fenced-in area. I looked around and stretched my arms over my head, knowing better than to try to talk Link out of at least walking the horses there. He liked to be useless just about as much as I did - which was to say, not at all. So injured be damned, he'd find ways to be helpful.