The Spirit of the Hero; a LoZ Hylia x Fierce Deity fic

Chapter Four

AN: song above is "Child of Light" by Mindy Gledhill. Some lyrics are featured in the chapter (which, again, I do not own).

Days and nights continued to rise and fall, and the two deities made a habit of meeting each other under the moon. Sometimes, he would call for her with his flowers, but often, she didn't need calling. She would be lying if she said she didn't like entertaining him, though. He liked to tease her back by encouraging the spirits in the flowers to hide in logs or behind trees so that their "follow-the-leader" turned into a "scavenger hunt."

    In time, their meetings became a nightly occurrence.

    Hylia liked to call for him in her own ways. At sunset, she would approach the edge of his forest and lean into the trees. With gentle fingers, she would stroke their bark and whisper coaxing words and riddles to tell their master. They would settle for the same meeting spot until one of them got bored. The Fierce Deity had barely seen the world and Hylia wanted to show him all of it. They had spent many nights talking on the shores of Lake Hylia, which then changed to a cliff in Lanayru overlooking its lush valley, which then changed to a ledge on Eldin Volcano, and then the top of the Great Tree in Faron Woods. They had even spent an evening at the edge of his forest, watching the nearby village stay up and celebrate the end of harvest with a festival.

    Tonight, Hylia was just outside his forest again. She placed a hand on a larger tree and leaned closer. "Where shall we go tonight?" she whispered, eyes flicking between the trees in her field of vision.

    Stay! Stay! Stay!

    It was their usual response. The trees were shameless worshippers of Hylia. Every time she visited, they thanked her profusely for all the happiness she brought their master. It was sweet, and made her a tad embarrassed. "But there's so many more places he could visit!" Hylia argued quietly. "He knows every knot in this forest."

    Stay! Stay! Stay!

    Hylia chuckled. "Oh, you are such lovely company. Perhaps we'll discuss it when he—"

    "I veto," a voice grumbled behind her. Hylia bit her lip to try to stop her from grinning too much. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the Fierce Deity leaning against a tree a few feet away, arms folded and ankles crossed.

    "And why don't you want to stay?" Hylia pressed, walking towards him. He quirked an eyebrow and the corner of his lip trembled as it threatened to rise. It wasn't until she was nearly touching his shoulder that he allowed their conversation to continue. Classic cat and mouse.

    "I fear that the more time they spend around you," he reasoned, "the less and less they'll see me as their master."

    "Oh?" she teased. "Are you letting the disrespectful thoughts of trees get beneath your skin?"

    "It was you who got under their bark first."

    "You must pardon me and my 'temptatious' magic."

    "You're not pardoned."

    Hylia pouted pathetically and folded her arms. After a second of watching him try to hide his grin, she huffed and whirled around so fast that her thigh-length, platinum locks whipped across him. He sputtered and Hylia nearly laughed out loud. "Stop being so childish," he chided, taking steps towards her.

She continued to walk in no particular direction. "Stop speaking as if I am a sorceress who cursed your lands," she bit back, though her retort was much more playful than aggressive.

"I never called you a sorceress," he defended as he pursued her aimlessly, "I called you a temptress."

She guffawed and halted, wheeling around abruptly. They found themselves nearly chest to chest and the playfulness faded in an instant. Gold and white eyes met—the colors of the gods. The moon barely gave any light tonight, making the pale glow of the forest deity's eyes a little brighter. Like how the eye is drawn to a flickering flame, Hylia could not take her gaze away from his. Maybe she was searching for something she couldn't name.