New Home - BotW Link x Reader (Undergoing Revisions)

Chapter 31 - On a Stormy Night

What was in fact not treasure was actually a bit of exposed mineral in a rockface that had caught the minimal light radiating down from the sky just right. What little sunlight there was had glinted off it, which was what caught Link's attention. So, when we raced over, Link was disappointed to find himself looking up at nothing and I was rather nonplussed.

"Actually," Link said, already turning in the saddle to slide off, "there might just be something hidden away here. Do you see it?"

"No," I answered honestly, following his keen gaze as best I could. All I could see was what might have been amber, now that I was seeing it closer like this. Oh, no - there! There was a depression in the rock, but that was all I could glean from this angle. Link seemed sure there was something up there though, and so he left Epona's side and prepared to climb.

Geographically, this structure stood out like a sore thumb. On the other side, it was a grassy hill, one that the road actually looped around to meet and head to the top. On this side though, it was like it had been sliced in half; the rock was bare, and a perpendicular climb all the way up until the crest.

Link reached up, then fitted his foot against the rock. Realizing I wasn't right behind him, he glanced over his shoulder at me. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," I answered at last, dismounting easily. I followed, and when I was at his side he smiled at me, then began to climb with a determined and incredibly endearing look on his face. He certainly made it hard to say no to him, that was for damn sure.

I just couldn't shake the thought that this was a bad idea.

And I figured out exactly why, only a few minutes later. About three-quarters of the way there, only a few more good reaches away from the depression Link had seen, the rain started. It started light, but that lasted only for a moment.

It had started with only a single drop of rain landing against my nose, one that nearly startled me into releasing my hold on the rock, shaky as it already was. Link was right there and grasped my arm, and he was only able to do so because his hold was far more secure and he'd been able to shift his weight accordingly right away. I was much less experienced in all of this, so I was grateful for him holding me steady.

"The rain is starting," was all I had said, shaking the water from my nose before looking up. Sure enough, the entire sky was blanketed in gray, heavy clouds, ones that seemed to be close enough to touch.

Link looked up too, and then down. "Is it worth it to keep going?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I didn't see what it was you did. But we're much closer to that than to the ground. I think it's safer for us to continue."

"True," he agreed. Then, decidedly, he nodded. "Alright, let's keep going. Let's hope it's enough to keep us dry up there."

We did keep going, but even at our hurried pace we were unable to beat the rain. After that initial first drop, we had felt little else, which was reflective of a light drizzle that warned of a storm. But it surprised us, because instead of continuing to drizzle, it had skipped right over that step and went into a downpour. A sheet of rain dropped down to the grateful earth, and we were left with no choice but to keep climbing, to keep going before the rock became too slick. And even then, we were too slow, because the rainwater rolled down the rock in shimmering waves and it took all that we had to grip onto the rock and pull ourselves upward.  It was hard to find suitable holds before the rain started, and now they were practically nonexistent. Our shoes were losing their traction too, and things were looking bad - until Link was able to gather his feet beneath him. Then it started to look worse all of a sudden.

"Link, no," I said in protest, knowing what he was about to do. He was gathering himself, preparing to pounce like a cat and in other circumstances, I'd have wanted to see it but there was no way he'd be able to push off the rock with enough force to lift him that high without also slipping. "That's too risky, please don't!"