The Song of Hyrules Heroes | (BoTW fic)

Chapter 10. The Tech Lab

*
The troop complete their wayward journey to the Akkala Tech lab, hopeful they'll meet with the scientists who reside there. Link wrestles with indecision regarding his position, until a certain someone knocks some sense into him.
*

Blood and moon alike were washed away by the morning drizzle. Link smoothed his hands wearily over his tired face, pulling slightly at his messy blonde fringe as his fingers intertwined with the hair.

He laid in his stable bed, unsure of the time, with the curtains drawn closed: the regret of last night still fresh upon his mind.

Reluctantly, the blonde stirred; propping his back slowly up against the pillow to come to a seated position, before searching blindly under his covers for the dusty and tattered tunic he'd thrown off hours prior.

Link pulled the tunic on over his undershirt, tugging it gently to the side as it caught on one of his pointed ears. With a low sigh, he brushed the bed curtains aside and swung his legs over — his feet hitting the wooden floor with a soft pat as he rocked his weight onto them.

The Princess was already scribbling furiously away at her journal, sat cross-legged on her bed a few rows down. She looked (he prayed to Hylia that her supposed 'special powers' weren't mind-reading related) like she hadn't slept very well, but he hadn't either.

Pausing in thought, she absentmindedly lifted her quill to her mouth — resting it solemnly in between her teeth, until a small amount of ink began to bleed down her lip, and she hurriedly wiped it away.

The rest of the room was beginning to wake from its slumber now, and the general (though largely still beaded with a feverish sweat) was sat up and drinking a warm soup.

While he was as conscious as ever, Zelda found herself second-guessing her desire to consult him and his wounds for any further insight into the monster; she was doing her best to be a little more considerate, and a little less excitable these days — as her father had requested — but it didn't come naturally.

She collected her ink, quill, and notebook into a small pile, and slipped off the bed; noting to a concerned-looking guard that she was just getting some air.

Pulling back the curtains of the stable's tent, Zelda stepped out into the morning.

A brazen sun washed over the dewy grass, some of which scorched, or deadened in patches - as though it had been lit aflame just moments prior to the rain showers of last night. Other areas of ground were overturned, and left mounds of scattered dirt where fresh turf had once been.

Small pools of water lined the curves of the path; having caught the rain in it's dips. Atop the water, settled a small amount of black ash.

Zelda followed their route with her finger, closing one eye for a better perspective as she traced the air.

"Interesting," She muttered, tilting her head to compensate for the bend of the mountains, "the wreckage seems to increase as it nears the tech lab... I do hope that beast, and whatever else was brought with it, wasn't the consequence of a failed experiment."

With a decisive huff, the Princess dropped her hand turned her attention to her waist — pulling out a small phial from the pouch she wore at her side.

She uncapped the lid (a small cork), and ducked down next to the thin stream of rainwater which hugged the path, filling the glass about three quarters full of the debris solution, before fastening it back up, and slipping it safely in it's pocket. Whatever these remnants were, they could be the key to figuring out the cause of last night.

"Although the concentration is compromised in its solvent form, there's a fairly simple process to separate the it. I trust that Robbie and Purah will have all the right equipment..."