Chapter Text
One.
Meeting Impa is a revelation. It’s nothing to do with her being some mythical being (which they half expected, having been told all about the wise Satori Wild looks up to… just to be shown a photo of a giant vaguely deer-shaped Spirit) but everything to do with her having a handful of answers to the many, many questions that they have.
They’ve converged on her house that afternoon as Wild is off speaking to a Great Fairy alongside Hyrule. They should, in theory, be back that evening. It’s roughly forty-percent likely they will be, and that’s only because Payah has gone with them. Impa is quite happy to host them. She seems to have expected it.
“Wild. Your Link… he is…”
“Something of a conundrum?” Impa fills in with a wide smile. “Yes, he is. Truth be told I cannot tell you if that is because of the Shrine, or simply because it is him as he truly is. The months of solidarity wandering, both before and after he arrived in civilisation, can’t have helped either I suppose.”
“This Shrine… Wild has mentioned it repeatedly. Is it actually a Shrine?”
“The Shrine of Resurrection! It is a wonderful creation that brought him back to us, but it is terribly cruel too. We hadn’t expected it to take one hundred years to revive him, nor for it to take his memories as recompense.” Impa pauses, then laughs quietly. “During the years of his absence it did begin to be used as a Shrine of prayer, both to him and to the Goddesses above.”
Legend puts down his teacup with a sharp clink.
“So he is actually a complete, arguably functioning, amnesiac. Because he died.” Impa nods. Legend continues.
“Alongside being at least bilingual.”
“He speaks five languages alongside Ancient Sheikah. He is also mostly fluent in two sign languages.” Impa agrees.
“…Polyglot, then. He was inadvertently worshipped alongside our actual goddesses, including Hylia herself. This happened because he genuinely, one-hundred percent straight up died?”
Impa nods again. Legend breathes in deeply and tables that for later.
“He is a complete nutcase.”
Impa nods far more intensely this time. She very much agrees.
“And somehow he holds a higher army ranking than Warriors, who is still serving, despite being three years younger.”
“Well I can’t tell you that. I don’t know his ranking.”
“Captain, ma’am.” Warriors answers slowly. Reluctantly. Rather like he’d like to go cliff diving without Sky’s paraglider. That particular bombshell still haunts him.
“Oh. Then yes, he’s of a significantly higher ranking. Or was, at least. Forming an army isn’t high up our list of concerns for the moment. Though, if it were to become a pressing issue, Link will likely be tapped for General.”
Warriors buries his face in his hands with a groan. Only Wind spots the wide, mischievous smirk hidden under Impa’s hat. She catches his admiring gaze and winks.
“Ignoring all of that!” Twilight cuts in. “Ignoring all of that I have to question why, for the love of Hylia, would you rely on him to save you?”
Impa’s gaze hardens as Twilight speaks. Then she bursts into delighted, booming laughter as he continues.
“He’s fantastic, I’ll admit that easily. Entirely, terrifyingly competent. But he has no common sense! He uses bombs to fish! I watched him jump in and fetch them with his teeth! He needs saving from himself! It’s not funny, he’s sending me grey!”
(“Impa.” Twilight, four cups deep, begins later that night. “Do you know what a fishing rod is?”
“I was alive long before the Calamity, my friend, and I hold full possession of my faculties. Of course I know what a fishing rod is.”
“Then why doesn’t anyone else?!” He explodes, smacking his head on the tacky counter.
Impa merely pats his shoulder as she walks away. It feels like a commiseration. She’s unfairly steady on her feet.)
Two.
Time, arriving at the farm, positively melts into his wife’s arms.
“Hello there fairy-boy. And hello to the lot of you!”
Kisses are bussed against her cheek as the flood of bodies walk on by. That should be everyone, but there’s one left.
“Someone new?” She asks, eyebrows raised. Her husband just nods dejectedly against her shoulder.
“We fucked up Malon.” He positively whines. “We fucked up.”
“…what did you do?”
“Just, just watch.” Lifting his head her Link calls over to the figure grinning as he pets Daisy. “Hey Wild —”
“— I’m petting the cow because she’s an absolute sweetheart that deserves all the love.” The figure calls back automatically. Then he turns, one hand still on Daisy. “Did you need something?”
Ah.
“Oh. Oh Link. Not again.”
Her Link just groans miserably where he’s hiding in her hair.
Now, Malon loves her husband. She does so with everything in her. He’s her other half. However, over the years Link has gone through… phases.
Why phases, her Dad used to say.
Link grew up entirely different to how most people do, being the fairy-boy that he is. It meant he knew pretty much nothing about how the world worked outside of his home. Now why phases usually happen as little kids and eventually stop. Link, however? Well he never really grew out of it. His incessant need to know, to understand, got to the point that her Dad would explain whatever it was he was doing before he was even asked a question. Link was there? Explain every little thing he was doing in the hopes that Link’s greedy little brain would be satisfied. Her Dad adored Link, he did. He found the eternal why phase adorable, if sometimes inconvenient. And whilst Link did eventually learn to control it… her Dad continued to explain everything whenever Link was there.
My green shadow he used to say. He was ecstatic when they started courting.
Her dad has been gone almost eight years now… but Link’s interaction with the newest member of the Chain has brought everything rushing back. She can’t believe it. Her husband is still doing it. She feels her cheeks flushing with stifled amusement. Malon tries to hold back the laughter, she does she swears… but her Link’s resigned pout and the new lad’s guileless expression broke any self control she had. Cackling loud enough to startle the birds she turns and walks away. She can’t believe it.
(“Who’s she?”
“My wife.”
“Someone married you?!”
“Why does everyone always ask that?”)
Hooting with laughter, Malon goes to muck out the stables. They can find her later. Right now she’s got happiness and work to focus on. Her Dad would love this.