Legend of Zelda: Divine Vessel

- VII -

Link felt a sense of relief when he was able to feel the sun on his skin again, but the majority of his emotions were still plagued with worry for the unconscious girl on his back.  He skimmed his surroundings and noticed steam rising from behind a boulder outside of the cavern that they had just escaped from.  Logically, he decided to head for the steam.

Luckily, he discovered a shallow pool of water, obviously warm from the steam being emitted.  It had a white-ish hue, displaying that there were strengthening minerals within it.  Link sat Nova down while keeping her back elevated, with assistance from Midna who had emerged from the boy's shadow.  He removed his leather gloves as the imp tried to pull Nova's dark hair from the bloody wound on the back of her head, clearly the reason for her blackout.

Link took off his green pointed hat and soaked it in the warm water.  He rung it out and dabbed the back of the girl's skull softly, slowly cleaning the wound.  Eventually, he was able to feel Nova's temperature return to a normal range as she stopped shivering.  She was breathing deeply, and Link released a sigh of relief when he was sure she would be alright.  He tore a portion of his tunic and wrapped it around the girl's delicate head, and then he allowed her to lay on him for support.  Before long, Link had also drifted to sleep.

*****

Nova groaned as she opened her golden eyes to see the small stars above her.  Her head ached, but not as much as before passing out.  Only when she sat upright did she notice she was leaning on her sleeping traveling companion, causing a blush to rise to her cheeks.

When Link felt the absence of the warm body that had been leaning on him, he woke up to see the red tone on Nova's face and couldn't help but show a white smile before kindly addressing her injury.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly, careful not to wake Midna.  Nova's blush had disappeared.

"Better." She mumbled before continuing, "Dirty..." She mentioned, looking at her bruised and scratched arms.  She pulled at her sleeves and began to pull the straps of her leather corset.  Suddenly, she felt small hands wrap around her shoulders as a tiny, mischievous voice began to chirp.

"What are you making her do, Link?" Midna asked accusingly, causing a slight red tone to reach the blonde's cheeks.

"Nothing!" He defended and Nova chuckled.  The imp peered at the boy peculiarly.

"I don't trust you.  Zafiro may, but you're just a guy, and guys are not to be trusted." Midna declared, snuffing her nose sarcastically.

"You thought she was going to undress in front of me?!" Link rolled his eyes and laughed awkwardly.

Midna didn't respond, but gave him a threatening glare.  Nova burst into laughter, then clenched her head in pain.  The blonde lifted his hands in defeat and turned to walk away, leaving the two girls alone by the small pool of water.  As quickly as possible, Nova unstrapped the various portions of her clothes and slipped off her undergarments.

Once she undressed, she didn't hesitate to stroll into the warm water and splash it over every portion of her body.  The girl noticed that the most severe damage she received was on the back of her head and on her rib cage, where the possessed dragon had hit her with his powerful arm.  It was painted in black and blue with a few red splashes where veins had burst, but the skin had not been punctured.

Nova's hand ventured to her head, where the fabric of Link's clothes was covering her most severe injury.   She cautiously untied the deep green cloth to let her wound breathe.  She leaned backwards to let it soak in the mineralized water as her hair fanned around her head.  Midna floated above her before going to clean herself as well.