A Series of Stories

The Picnic

Bear and Silph sat in a calm little area right off Hateno village, a babbling brook right near by. They’d been spending a lot of time together recently, traveling through the calmer areas of Hyrule so they wouldn’t be bothered so much. They currently sat under a blossoming cherry tree, an apple in Bear’s hand, a couple bites taken out of it. More food sat around the pair, such as bread and meat skewers.

The larger Hylian was currently watching Silph talk, taking a bite of his own food every once in a while (a slice of bread with butter). Bear couldn’t help but watch the smaller male, watch every movement he made. He found the way his hands moved as he spoke mesmerizing, the flow smooth and uninterrupted sometimes. At the moment, Silph was telling Bear of his travels, how he ran into a Guardian once and the first time he saw a Lynel.

The male smiled softly, finishing off his apple and tossing it towards the brook before crossing his legs and leaning towards Silph. “I love your stories an all but… aren’t you going to eat anything? You’ve only eaten a few bites of bread.” Bear raised an eyebrow as Silph signed that he was fine, causing a slight chuckle to escape his throat. “If you don’t eat something, I’ll force you-“ his voice cut off as he coughed violently, the sound jarring and rough.

Once the coughing stopped, Bear brushed it off. Silph stared at the Hylian in worry, signing, “Are you okay? Do you need anything?” Bear offered a slight smile and nodded, setting a hand on the other Link’s shoulder. “I’m fine,” he assured, moving his hand to brush his thumb over the other’s cheek. “Don’t worry about me. Eat,” he tilted his head towards the food sitting in front of them. He pulled his hand back to himself, his face burning as he picked up one of the meat skewers and pulling off a piece. “I will force you to eat.”

A smile came upon his face as he popped the meat into his mouth (get your mind out of the gutter), watching as Silph picked up one of the curry plates and a fork. “Food is good for you, Silph.” He chuckled, watching the male dig into the food. “And it seems as if you’ve been neglecting food in order to be able to talk to me.” Bear shook his head. ‘Too cute…’ he thought to himself. “Eat and we can continue to talk, okay?” He continued to eat his meat skewer, watching Silph carefully as he ate the curry and some bread.

About an hour later, the food was more or less gone, Bear having eaten the majority of it. But he definitely made sure Silph ate his fair share. The smaller male had decided it a good idea to lay his head in Bear’s lap, and honestly… Bear didn’t care. He gently brushed his fingers through Silph’s hair, humming a soft tune that seemed to be stuck in his head. He occasionally stopped to tell the Hylian a short story, usually when he touched one of the many scars all over his arms and face, even his neck.

When Silph motioned towards the three brutal lines on his neck and shoulder, Bear tilted his head, loosing a sigh when the male’s fingers brushed the scars, the lines resembling claw marks. The scar tissue was horrid, the lines raised and rough. They obviously hadn’t been taken care of very well, from the looks of it.

“These are from ah… a bear attack, ironically. I was hunting for food. Was in a rough spot, in desperate need of food. I was distracted, focused on a pack of deer, and I didn’t hear it. When I turned around, I guess I spooked it and I couldn’t move fast enough.” He shrugged, smiling down at Silph, brushing his thumb across the line of his cheekbone. “But I got out just fine…” he tilted his head, moving his hand back to Silph’s hair, tugging gently through a knot before he pulled at a few strands of hair, sectioning it into three sections. “I’m damn glad I did too, otherwise it would have been a longer wait to meet you,” he spoke softly, his eyes darting away from Silph’s face, face burning red. He slowly started to braid small sections into the male’s hair, trying his best to avoid looking at the others face.

A few minutes passed, three or four at most, and Silph’s hair was done nicely in braids. Bear had tugged a few wildflowers from the ground around them, sticking them in his hair in a few places. There wasn’t much since he couldn’t stand, not wishing to disturb the Hylian in his lap. As he finished tucking the flowers into the braids, Bear felt a tug on his left ear. He glanced down and saw Silph’s cute face smiling up at him. His eyes widened as he took in the smile, a prickly feeling behind his eyes.

“You are…” his voice cracked and he paused to laugh to himself, his back curving as he leaned down, touching his forehead to the other’s. “You are very cute,” he finally got out, his voice tougher than usual. He opened his eyes, the pale blue irises shining as tears slipped past and fell down his cheeks. His eyes flicked south of Silph’s own bright blue eyes. “And bright and… and nice and sweet… and incredibly good looking, I must say.” Bear honestly couldn’t believe that he was saying such things. He was usually so quiet and reserved, keeping quiet as not to strain his voice too much or anything.

“I should just shut up,” he chuckled lightly, lifting one of his hands to wipe away the tears that slipped past. But Silph’s hand beat his, and his thumb brushed away the tears. Bear grinned, looking down at Silph. “If you ruin your hair, I’m not doing it ag-“ He suddenly went quiet, his words cut off by Silph’s lips on his. It was sudden, unexpected. When Bear froze, the smaller Hylian pulled away, his hands framing the other’s face as he looked worriedly into Bear’s eyes.

Bear could read his eyes, could tell what he was trying to ask. “I’m fine. More than fine actually.” He laughed as he put his hands on either side of Silph’s face, his smile wide. “I really like you, Silph. You are different, I think…” He then leaned his head farther down, kissing the male gently. “And I’m really glad we went out for this little picnic of ours…”