The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time - Part Two: The Quest

Chapter Seventeen: Recounting, Part Two

     It was still dark when Link awoke, but already he could hear activity on the ranch. He also heard the rain, but it was light, and the wind that had been so strong the day before was gentle. He pushed himself up, stretching his limbs. Navi stirred to life as well, and her blue light flared from dim to bright, gently lighting the room.

     "Morning partner," Link muttered, stifling a yawn.

     "Good morning yourself. How do you feel?" she asked, fluttering over to the window to inspect the outside.

     "Really well, actually. And no restless dreams this time," he added with a smile.

     "No? That's a surprise," Navi said, returning to his side. Probably just a fluke, though undoubtedly a welcome one."

     "I'll say," Link answered, "Having that same dream is kinda' depressing after a while."

     "I can imagine." Link sat at the edge of the bed and slipped on his boots, and also belted his tunic. Grabbing his cap last, he plopped it on and stretched again after he finally stood up.

     "Join me outside Navi? If it's not too wet out, I think I can use some more practice with my aura." Navi smiled and landed on his shoulder.

     "I'm glad you take it so seriously. I'll join you, yes."

     Satisfied he had everything he needed for now, he headed downstairs, past all the cuccos, and stepped outside.

     The rain had died into a drizzle, and the wind was nonexistent at this point. The sky above was a uniform grey in all directions though, and for now, at least, it didn't appear it would let up anytime soon. Still, it didn't stop the two of them from finding a dry patch on the side of the house, underneath a tree.

     Link with his back to the trunk, cross-legged- and for a moment just sat there and looked around, taking in the sights and sounds, the scents, and even the feel of the grass below him. His Kokirian upbringing had honed his observations of nature, and while this was no forest, he could feel this was good land, and that played no small part in the ranch's success. He was content here, and he enjoyed that feeling immensely. He remembered Malon the last time he had been here asking him to stay on the ranch, and how he had even lightly considered it out of fancy. Thinking critically though, it still wasn't such a bad idea. He smiled. When his task was over, whenever that would be, he would return and think about it again, seriously.

     He began his meditation with these thoughts in mind, and he was quite surprised with how quickly his aura came to him. Normally, in the short time he had practiced, his time was now pretty consistent with hovering around 40 seconds, but today, he had barely even needed to give it more than a whim when it came, and he could feel it was stronger too. He wanted to tell Navi, rather pleased with this new development, but he decided to wait until after. That was the ritual they had established, after all; they would meditate, then talk. So instead, he devoted his time to exploring the possibility of why, within his own reasoning. His thoughts would affect his aura, but he was finding it easier every day to maintain his control without losing it to a stray thought. Exploiting that, he simply followed the thoughts that affected his aura the strongest in a positive way.

     As before, as they had discovered, his general sense of duty and responsibility was essentially the backbone of his magic. Straying from that in any way immediately caused his aura to falter. In a sense, he almost considered this a weakness. If his moral character was different, or at worst compromised, would he still be able to use his magic? Another question for his mentor; he pocketed it away for discussion.