Life in Zora's Domain - Part Two

Chapter 78 - Family Reunion- Part Two

Summary: Astra reunites with her father's side of the family amid surprise on both sides.

As Astra walked up the path towards Mikau Lake, the soft morning rain had lightened to a drizzle, doing little more than caressing her face in a gentle mist as the hood she had the presence of mind to wear kept her short blonde hair dry. The landscape was familiar and unchanged: towering evergreen trees stood tall with their branches swaying in the breeze while the occasional pink and purple shrub lined the edges of the path. A sleek Grassland Fox was foraging for food amidst the grass to her right, not far from where a pair of spindly-legged Blue-Winged Herons took flight upon her approach.

As she walked, Astra mentally calculated the ages of her family members in this timeline. It was still the first day of the third month in both timelines, but the year here was 61 instead of 145.

Considering her Hylian relatives first, her sister Zelda turned 33 last month, and her brother Linky would also turn 33 in a couple of months. Confusingly, both of her parents utilized Purah's age-reducing rune in this timeline, making her father Link 45 years old and her mother Zelda only 38.

Turning to the Zoras in her family, it was well known that Zoras had a drastically different growth and aging process compared to Hylians, making it challenging to equate their age in years to their stage of life. While a Hylian was considered an adult at age seventeen, a Zora didn't reach legal adulthood until they were forty, and even then, some were still not yet fully grown and had part of their growth spurt to look forward to. Moreover, Zoras under one hundred years old were still considered young in the Zora community, while few Hylians even lived to such an advanced age. Anyway, Mila and Midon would both be 42 now, while Lapha was still an adolescent at 33. Tila and Linky's daughter Tara was twelve and a half. But Astra recalled everyone still looked and acted quite youthful. Clearly, the aging process for Zoras differed significantly from that of Hylians.

As she approached the family residence, the sound of cascading water from the first waterfall that divided the lake grew louder, competing with joyful laughter and lively chatter. Astra caught sight of several figures she recognized frolicking in the crystal-clear waters, namely Mila, Linky, and Tara. But there were two others she didn't recognize—a blue Zora infant splashing happily about and a lighter blue male adult Zora alongside her and obviously playing with her. She was close enough now to make out some conversation.

"With Midon away, I still think I can give you a good race wearing Tila's armor, Sis," said Linky, his voice carrying over the noise of the falls.

"I'll eat a cooked fish the day I lose a water race to a Hylian, dear little brother," Mila replied confidently. "Let's go!"

And with that, Mila and Linky took off up the waterfall, leaving Tara and the two others behind.

As Astra neared the shore, it was Tara who first noticed her arrival.

"Oh, Wow! Look who's here!" Tara exclaimed, pointing towards Astra.

The adult male Zora turned towards Astra.

"Blessed Nayru! I don't believe it!" Link gasped in amazement and quickly began making his way to shore, carrying baby Lanka in his arms.

"I'll go tell my Dad and Aunt Mila," said Tara, who turned and promptly swam up the falls.

"Astra! Is it really you?" Link asked in surprise upon reaching shore but understandably saw no sign of recognition from Astra. "It's me ... your father."

Astra couldn't believe her eyes. Her father, who she once thought she would never see again, was apparently standing before her ... however, not as she remembered him - but as a Zora.