Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A cold wind blew through the window as Link drove through the valley and wetlands of Lanayru, slowly getting higher and higher elevation. The sun was barely over the horizon as he neared the mountains he was going to be working on. Somewhere, Link was supposed to look for a town or a sign. Since Castle Town, there have been sparse signs of civilization. The only life he encountered were the animals, either waking up or going out for their meal. He could see the mountains approaching then finally a sign for Zora's Domain.

This place was nearby, just at the edge of the town, near a small gas station. As he pulled in, his piece of junk truck sputtered and stopped—he'd have to worry about later. Link got out and looked around for Muzu, but the trailer was locked and his truck was nowhere to be seen. He hummed to himself and sat down on the wooden steps of the trailer. The cold air nipped at his nose and he prayed that it would warm up when the sun came up further. It was cold enough to where puffs of his breath could be seen. Even though it was late June, this high up the early mornings were punishingly cold. Link wished he had some more knowledge on the area, get some breakfast or something to wait it out.

After an hour of sitting and waiting, a nicer truck than Link's pulled in: Muzu and someone else. Muzu got out first and Link got out of his way, now leaning against the trailer wall. The other person who came out was a tall man with red hair hidden under a white hat. The man looked at him for a brief moment before turning his attention back to the ground and his boots.

It was just another man in need of a job and Muzu normally handed out herding jobs every year. This man looked new to hard work though. His boots were barely worn and his face was still clean-shaven. He was probably nineteen too, still fresh out of school. Bright-eyed and naive. As was Link, but he had at least a few years of experience with him. Not up on the Lanauyru Mountains though.

Muzu walked in and the stranger followed. Link was getting up, brushing himself off when Muzu called out.

"Better get your scrawny ass in here if you want some work!" He called out. Link hurried into the trailer, only slightly warmer than outside. Muzu sat at his desk, he opened his drawer and messed with some things before addressing the two men. 

"You both know why you're here, Shatterback, yes?" He inquired, looking up at them through furry eyebrows. 

"Yes,"

"Mhm,"

Muzu nodded and drummed his fingers against the desk in thought. His hands were wrinkled with age and scarred from work. His face was no different, lines from decades of scowling and frowning.

"The Forest Service designated a spot of a campsite," he explained. "It's three miles away from where the sheep will be," Both the boys nodded in understanding, the stranger muttering a yes. "With the wolves, there will be dead sheep, one is too many. I'll need one of you boys to watch over the sheep every day, every night." He explained, putting a watch on the table from his drawer. "Camp Tender and, of course, a Herder. The Tender will stay where the Forest Service will see. And the herder will have a small tent with the sheep. Sleep and protect them from dusk until dawn,"

The two boys looked at each other as if to silently communicate who gets what. Link didn't care, both of them had their fill of work. Both got paid the same.

"Pack up when you're done with the sheep. Leave no trace," he said, picking up the watch, setting it, seemingly struggling. "You will have dogs, guns, horses, everything," he said. He figured out the watch and threw it to Link, who caught it. It was old and battered up, set to the right time. The leather felt gross against his fingertips and he doubted it would fit. 

"Now he has been up Shatterback before," Muzu said, pointing at the stranger. The stranger looked over at Link with a smile, his teeth peeking out through his lips. Link looked away, back at the watch. "He'll tell you the rest—" A loud ring came from his telephone and he answered it with a "Yes, Mr. Dorephen," and an "I got them right here," before slamming the phone down much harder than he needed to. He pinched the bridge of his nose, the skin becoming red and blotched, as if frustrated as well. The tension grew between the two men and the stranger cleared his throat. Muzu glared at the two of them.

"Well?" Muzu snapped. 

 Link and the other man got the message. Link dipped his head back into his hat and left. When they got outside, the man had cleared his throat, holding out his hand to Link. Link shook his hand, realizing how firm the stranger's grip was.

"Sidon Dorephen," The stranger—Sidon— said. Link hummed, expecting Sidon to pull away from the handshake. He didn't. 

"Link," he mumbled, almost quiet enough that he didn't hear himself. It'd been so long since he heard his voice and he was thankful it didn't come out in a squeak. Sidon hummed, pulling his hand away.

"Your folks stop at Link?"

"Hyrule," That satisfied Sidon, a wide, full tooth smile appearing on his face. A Hollywood smile those big-shots shined at a gal they were trying to woo. Link looked back at the watch. 

"Please to meet you, Link," Link only grumbled and directed his attention elsewhere. 

Link tried to position himself comfortably on the small barstools, eventually giving up. Sidon called over the bartender, ordering the two of them beers. They came quick and cold, that's all Link cared about.

"I came up last year to Shatterback," Sidon started up. "There my daddy's sheep," Link hummed, showing Sidon he was paying attention. Sidon continued "Well, lightin' came in, killed 'bout 5, 'course Muzu was on my ass about that, he'll always blame someone than admit to bad luck," Link hummed again, nursing his bottle. "You come from ranchin' folk?"

Link nodded. "Yup," he finally said, setting down the bottle. Sidon nodded, taking a sip of his own beer. They sat in silence until Sidon started rambling about shit that didn't matter, something to say. Link just listened, nodding his head. He liked the conversation, just never had the right words to respond with. Sidon never seemed to shut up, droning on. Link learned how to make it fade into the other voices. Hopefully, he would be able to do that when they were alone, with nothing but each other.

Link got the sweetest horse ever, a brown mare with a white mane: Epona. She didn’t fuss when Link tied the supplies to her. She nuzzled against Link and whinnied to him. She didn’t nip at all when Link fed her an apple. As Link was getting Epona ready, a man was talking about the rules for the supplies and horses.

“Don’t let the horses wander off,” the man insisted. “And don’t order any soup, it’s terrible to pack,”

“I don’t eat soup,” Link murmured, looking over at the man. He was shorter than the man, but definitely stronger. The man hummed and backed down from nagging, slinking away back to his truck. Link's attention was caught by the dogs barking. Looking back, he saw Sidon struggling on his horse. He eventually calmed the horse down, mumbling comforting words to the mare. Link mounted Epona and rode next to Sidon. Sidon looked over, flashing his Hollywood smile.

“You can tell I don’t rodeo,” He joked, less of a question and more of a statement. Link grunted in agreement, barely letting his amused smile slip. Sidon saw the conversation wasn’t going anywhere, he directed it elsewhere. “Whatcha callin' your horse?”

“Epona,” Link answered, patting Epona’s neck. Sidon let out a surprised hum. “You?” 

“I dunno… Never been good at namin’,” He said, looking down at his mare, in thought. His smile fell and his brows furrowed. He was really thinking about this horse’s name. “Mipha,” he spoke up, a little quieter than his normal tone. Link grunted, letting a small smile slip. The name rang familiar in his brain. Something he knew when he was a boy, then disappeared as he grew as it didn’t grow with him. He didn’t want to mention it, nor did Sidon. He just had that nostalgic look in his eyes as he looked at the horse.

“Sister’s name was Mipha… She used to care for the horses,” That’s all Sidon said before clearing his throat and starting to ride up the trail to the mountain, the sheep already ahead of them. 

Link followed behind, mentally preparing for upcoming weeks with the talkative redhead.

Chapter Text

The first hours getting up the mountain were long. The clip-clop of hooves and the baas of sheep filled the air. Occasionally a bird would fly by and make its presence known with a chirp or squawk, or they'd pass a creek and its trickling water would join the symphony. Sidon wanted to make conversation with Link, but the man was stoic and silent, his face neutral and relaxed. No brows furrowed or lips pursed, just still, as if preserved by time itself. He'd look older than he was if he only had some facial hair. His face was scarred, but his face barely had peach fuzz. It was like those fossils he heard about, something so rough yet delicate, how could something be so feared if you could hold its perfect corpse in your hand?

Sidon looked back down at his horse. Mipha. She'd calm down a lot, now used to her rider. She was a pretty horse, a bay blanket Appaloosa. She wasn't like Human Mipha, Horse Mipha was fiercer than her counterpart and stubborn. But, she looked like his sister's old horse, so he felt he had to pay tribute. He snapped out of his thoughts when Link cleared his throat. 

Sidon finally became aware of his surroundings. They were at the camp— well the small part of the mountain one of them would call camp. The sheep were already in their pasture, a few miles away. Had he been zoned out that long?

"I'll be the Herder, since I'd been here 'fore," Sidon said, dismounting. "I'll help you set up though " Link hummed, also dismounting his horse and hitching her up. 

Link was shorter than Sidon, by about 5 inches, but Link was stronger. He chopped up wood and hauled it over like it weighed as much as a feather. Link also liked to have the bulk control of things, Sidon noticed. Though Sidon got him wood and helped set up the campfire, Link took on more of the bulk tasks. He was always moving, back and forth, between the tent then getting pails of water then the campfire. It's not that Sidon didn't mind, it just was a surprise.

Link was now cooking, the sun shining down on them from the west, casting a glow onto the valley. Sidon was sitting down, staring at the flames and pot. The sun was going to set soon, and Link seemed to be taking his time cooking the beans. A cigarette hung from his lips as smoke billowed out and rose to the sky. His tongue played with it, not inhaling the tobacco. 

Sidon turned away, hoping he wasn’t caught during the one-sided staring match. He got up and Link looked up with a confused look, head tilted. 

“You ain’t staying for dinner?” Link asked, his monotonous tone filling the silent mountain air. Sidon nodded, reluctantly untying Mipha and mounting her. 

“M’sorry,” Sidon said, adjusting his hat. “I’ll be back for breakfast,” 

“S’fine,” Link muttered. Sidon nodded and trotted off to the sheep. Cold air blew past his face and in his mind, he declared, that today was okay. Link seemed nice, from the few words he spoke. He was a hard worker and kept to himself, nothing wrong with that. Sidon worked with men who wouldn’t even look at him. But, he wanted to know more about Link. Why did he have those scars and why was he so quiet? Why did he name his horse “Epona”? And why did Sidon care?

Sidon sighed as he set up the pup tent and got ready for the evening. He could use a cigarette or something to ease his mind about the mystery of Link. A whiskey bottle lay in his pocket, but he didn’t feel like drinking much. The night was getting colder and he knew he just settle down and try to sleep. After an hour or so of tossing, turning, and shivering, he fell asleep and dreamed of blonde hair and blue eyes.

The next morning, Sidon woke up bright and early, making sure he’d be on time for breakfast if there even was a certain time. Link was already cooking, beans and eggs it looked like. He hadn’t said a word yet, so neither had Sidon. Yawns, sniffles, and sighs were considered a conversation. Beans bubbled on the grate over the fire, filling the silence as best they could. Link started poking at the eggs in the skillet when Sidon spoke up. 

“Why are ya workin’ down here?” Sidon questioned, his voice deeper than usual, still sleep-addled. Link swallowed and looked up from the eggs to Sidon.

“Savin’ up for a place in Hateno Village, me and the wife,” Link answered. A new piece of information, Link had a wife. Sidon started wondering what she was like. Probably some quaint country girl, Sidon thought, maybe Link worked on her daddy’s farm. Sidon thought it seemed like a Link thing to do. 

 Sidon leaned forward, silently telling Link to continue. Link glanced up again and cleared his throat. 

“Her pa’s pretty rich, but she wanted to be independent from ‘em,” Link said, poking the eggs again and taking them off the fire. “She’s a teacher, don’t make a lot so she sent me off to help,” 

“What she teach?” Sidon found himself asking, wanting to hear Link talk. 

“She teaches 4th grade,” Link answered, seeming to want the conversation to fizzle out. He tensed up talking about her, Sidon saw it. His mind speculated immediately, but he waved those thoughts away. He was raised better to know not to judge a marriage based on a few words. 

“Y’know we ain’t supposed to stay with the sheep, especially with no fire or nothin’,” Sidon said, changing the subject, but it fell flat. Link only hummed and took the beans off the fire, setting them on a rack to cool. Link handed out Sidon’s portions and then spoke up.

“You got a woman?” Link asked, starting to eat his own food. Sidon nodded, a little surprised Link started up this topic. Sidon stuttered a bit, clearing his throat. 

“Yeah, fiancée,” Sidon answered. Link raised an eyebrow, shoving another spoonful of beans in his mouth.

“When’s the weddin’?” Link followed up, looking down at his food. Sidon swallowed, trying to remember what Yona told him. Yona was a sweet girl, a family friend, but she and Sidon barely spoke. They didn’t live together yet, nor did they meet up a bunch. The relationship was done on the telephone, basically. 

“I suppose once I get off the mountain,” Sidon answered, taking a bite of his own food. Link accepted that as an answer and they fell back into their easy silence. 

Sidon learned something new about Link, and that was enough to make the day a little bit better.