The Company You Keep (BotW Link x Reader)

The First Skill

Your POV

You and Link continue riding through the hours of the night. As much as you want to stay awake, you haven't had a proper night of sleep in days and the adrenaline is finally wearing off. On multiple occasions, you catch yourself dozing off because when your head drops, it jolts you awake. 

"You can go to sleep if you can't take it anymore." Link finally says when the sun has started to peep its head above the horizon. 

"Are - you -  sure?" you ask between yawns.

He nods his head and you place yours between his shoulder blades, which makes his back straighten out. Too exhausted to care, you drift off to sleep.

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You wake up with the bright sun in your eyes. You realize that you are laying on the ground, so you sit up to see where Link could have gone. You find him resting against a log, but decide not to disturb him. You go to find your bag that has food in it because your stomach is begging for something to eat.  Not only do you find your bag, but you also find a pile of raw meat stacked next to it on the ground. Next to the pile, is a message scratched in the dirt that reads, "Here. Cook", that is followed by an arrow pointing to said meat. 

You roll your eyes but remember that this is what you signed up for. You pick up the meat, quickly rinse it in the nearby river and drop the meat in the pot near where you were asleep. Before lighting the wood under the pot, you grab some spices from your bag and mushrooms from the woods and throw them in along with the meat. 

You start the fire and watch as the meat turns from red to brown. The smell of cooking food wakes Link up with a start.

"So, you understood my message. Good." He comments.

"How could I not? It was pretty blunt."  you snort.

He isn't paying attention to you anymore and instead is focused on the food.

"It's almost done. Just be patient," you reassure him. 

Only a few moments later the two of you are sharing breakfast. 

"How is it?" you ask.

"Not bad" Link replies shoving the food into his mouth.

You haven't taken a bite of your own food yet, feeling a little uncomfortable. You were hungry only minutes ago but now you can't find it in you to eat.

"Here do you want mine too? I'm not very hungry." you offer.

"That's not true. I heard your stomach disagree while you were cooking."

You feel your cheeks get warm at the mention of your stomach's noises. 

"Eat up. You'll need it for today. I don't want you passing out on me while we are training." he adds.

At the mention of productive activities, your stomach seems to remember that it's hungry, so you gulp down your food. You pack up all of the supplies and join Link who is already on his horse.  

The two of you sit in silence as you continue down the dirt path. Even though you don't mind the quiet, you wish you could learn more about your traveling companion. You were so quick to leave the village that you didn't even care that he was and is a complete stranger to you. Well, you know a few things about him.

1. He loves food. It is the easiest way to break his stone-cold facade. 

2. He's very skilled in combat.

3. He doesn't like to talk much.

Besides that, you know next to nothing. 

"In the end, it won't matter, because he is going to drop me off at the first village we get to." You think to yourself. 

You are lost in your thoughts when Link says your name with an annoyed tone.

"Hello, (y/n), are you there?"

"Sorry, can you say that again?"

"There is a herd of wild horses ahead. Do you see one, in particular, you would like?" he inquires.

"Oh, I like that cream-colored one, with the blonde mane," you say pointing to the horse.

"The spotted one?" he asks.

"Yes"

"Good choice, for a first-time rider. Those horses are really easy to tame so it's perfect for someone like you. I'll still have to teach you how to get close to one, I suppose."

"Someone like me? What is that supposed to mean?" you ask with sass. 

"I just mean, I'm assuming you aren't very skilled in taming horses, so you picked a horse that will be easy for you to learn with. No need to get defensive," he responds.

Just about every conversation you have with Link ends in awkward silence. As you get closer to the group of wild horses, Link slows down his own, still a good distance away. He gets off his horse and motions for you to join him on the ground. Getting off the saddle is still a little difficult for you, so you awkwardly slide off.

"Alright, so the first thing you need to know is that horses are very skittish. The slightest noise will set them off, so you need to be absolutely as silent as possible when approaching one. Got it?"

You nod your head in acknowledgment that you understand.

"Next, slow and steady is the name of the game. Don't try to rush it. If a horse seems to get agitated, wait it out. Three, once you get within arm's length of the horse, jump on it with all you've got. I hope you have enough common sense to know that you need to approach it from the back." Link remarks.

"Sounds easy enough." you mutter.

"Well, if that's the case, you won't need me. Go ahead, I'll watch." He insists.

"Oh um, could you demonstrate for me?" you request.

"I thought it sounded easy. Fine, if you really need one," he grunts.

You watch as he proceeds to show you all the steps. With ease, he sneaks up behind a brown horse, jumps on its back, and tames it. He looks at you, signaling you to repeat after him, so you do. You do just as he did. You sneak up behind the horse you chose,  jump on it, rather clumsily, but it gets the job done, and tame it. 

"Not bad" he confesses. "And now you have your own horse. Let's keep moving. We need to find a stable to get it registered. Start thinking of a name for... her." He informs you, looking at the underside of your new horse.

"OK!" you cheer, proud of yourself. You are starting to get the hang of this outside world stuff. You can't help but think about how much your little sister always wanted to ride a horse when she was younger and make a mental note to teach her one day. With this thought, it really sinks in that you are far from your village now. There's no turning back. Your parents would feed you to the sharks if you did.

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*Please read*

- I would really love it if you guys could leave comments if you want to, of course. I just want to know if you are enjoying the story.