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The encounter was random, to say the least.
It started out with Hyrule, Minish and Wild sitting by the bonfire, chatting and toasting whatever was available right above the fire, to help with the lack of food they’ve eaten the whole day. They gobbled up the surprisingly not poisonous food and before long, they all agreed to call it a night.
At the midst of the dark night, a dark, blood red portal tore through the sky, revealing a panicked traveller screaming their lungs out as they fell through, hitting the ground face first with a loud THUNK!
Startled and concerned, the three adventurers awoke from their slumber and immediately ran over to the stranger’s whereabouts. From their perspective, the stranger seemed to be sporting a golden armour, their helmet rocking sharp horns and flaps, while their torso was covered by the stranger’s cape. For such gear, it was rather unfortunate that they had landed face first, but it wasn’t the time to worry about that. Hyrule called over his companions to help roll the body over to see if the person was alive at all. With their combined efforts, they managed to successfully get a look at the front profile of the stranger.
“Uugh…” The warrior groaned, which surprised the others. At least the stranger was alive, but their helmet was dented due to the fall, making it kind of unpleasant to look at. After what seemed like forever, the stranger looked around, sitting up.
“What is this place?” They asked.
“We’re in Hyrule, at least an unfamiliar version of it.. Here, let me take you back to camp.” Hyrule replied, holding his hand out to the stranger. The other accepted the help, holding onto Hyrule’s hand and getting up. Hyrule insisted they didn’t let go, just in case they fell over again. They had no choice but to oblige, especially in their slightly lightheaded state.
They sat down on the ground, Hyrule busy with taking the stranger’s armour off as Minish set the fire alight again. Wild seemed to be rummaging through his bag, likely for a potion or some ingredients. The stranger was sat beside the brunette of the team of three, helping him out with the armour removal.
“Say, what’s your name?” Hyrule asked, putting his new companion’s helmet down. The other noticed the dent and silently winced at the sight before looking back at Hyrule.
“Uhm, Link..” They replied.
The three stopped their current activity and glanced at each other, wide eyed, before looking back at the fourth Link. Now that their helmet was off, the similarities in facial features were there. However, there was something very oddly different about this person, yet none of them could point their finger as to what..
“.. Is there something wrong?” Link asked, confused by everyone else’s expressions. Hyrule snapped back into reality, shaking his head. “No, no! It’s just.. We all sorta have the same names so…” Hyrule awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, “Do you have any nicknames you go by or..?”
Link nodded, “They’re only used in battle, but my teammates usually call me Warrior or Elf, since they’re my main two jobs..”
Hyrule seemed pensive, struggling to choose which one of the two sounded cooler.
“.. Elf.” another voice chimed in, interrupting Hyrule’s train of thought, “We’ll call you Elf. We already met a Warrior.” Hyrule glanced at the source of the voice and noticed Minish sitting next to him, softly smiling at their new teammate. Elf gave the two of them a thumbs up, “I’m cool with that! What about you guys?”
“Hm? What about us?” Hyrule asked, slightly confused.
“.. Your names. I don’t know what to call any of you.”
“Oh! Yeah yeah! Right–” Hyrule cleared his throat, “I go by Traveller- Not very knighted but I’m pretty good in a fight, saved a princess and all that jazz, no big deal. The little guy next to me is Minish–”
“Hey!” Minish interrupted angrily, to which Hyrule simply ignored, “He doesn’t talk much, but he knows more than what meets the eye.”
Contrary to his behaviour just a second ago, Minish smirked at the small praise.
“And finally, we have Champion– Speaking of which, where is he?” Hyrule chimed, turning his head to see where the last of three was. A sharp whistle from nearby shot everyone’s ears, leading them to face the other side of the bonfire, where Wild was. He seemed to be cooking something..
“That’s him alright.. Unlike Minish and I, he doesn’t talk at all, but we just.. know what he’s trying to say. He’s also scarily good in battles, you should train with us some time!” Hyrule said, smiling at Elf. Elf glanced at all three of them, nodding to themself. Not before long, he went over to where Wild was, scanning the food on the pot right above the fire.
“.. What dish is that?” They asked, maybe hoping that the recipe was nearby. The silent cook pointed at a recipe in the book next to him, which seemed to be a cookbook. A win for the new companion. Elf skimmed through it, only being familiar with very few ingredients. This made them slightly nervous, but considering all the weird foods they’ve had during their travels back in their homeland… Whatever this dish was most likely won’t poison him.
The other two observed the pot as well, seeing as there was nothing else to do (And perhaps try convincing Champion to give them some food too since they’ve been pretty decent companions). After a short while, Hyrule chimed, “Seems pretty ready to me, chef.” Wild took a closer look at the pot before nodding in agreement. He lifted the pot off its holder, letting it cool on the ground for a few minutes. Elf watched in anticipation, the smell of the dish teasing his nose and taste buds..
“Looks like we aren’t the only ones that want the food.” Hyrule commented snarkily, chuckling.
“Unlike us though, the food is made for them..” Minish replied, lightly nudging his taller companion. Hyrule pouted, clearly not that upset, but he just felt like being dramatic.
Wild pulled out four wooden bowls out his bag and laid them out, pouring even portions of the stew in each. He handed one bowl to each of his companions as well as saving one for himself.
“Oho! Don’t mind if I do..” Hyrule chimed, drinking the stew right away without blowing on it first, slightly burning his tongue. Minish giggled at the scene, waiting for his own bowl to cool down a bit before digging right in.
Elf looked down at their bowl, admiring the beautiful display of it. Its light pink hue along with what seemed to be multiple types of fruit and vegetables mixed in complementing the colour made it too pretty to eat. However, they were starving, and the dish was made specifically for them, it’d be a shame for it to go to waste..
They took a deep breath and blew on their stew before taking a small sip, to ensure they weren’t going to suffer any major burns. Their eyes instantly lit up as the stew entered their mouth, they just wanted to.. shoot up in the air because of how good this tasted! It wasn’t like anything they’ve had before, but they’d be willing to get seconds if there was any more left. Wild seemed to notice the excited expression on Elf’s face and let out a satisfied smile of his own.
Before they knew it, Elf finished their dish in no time, which wasn’t too surprising knowing how fast they’d eat back at the inn.. But everyone else seemed to take their time. They didn’t mind, of course. It was best to have a moment of reflection before they settled in. It was weird.. Falling into here out of nowhere. But they’ve already found a team they felt safe with, one that clearly cares deeply for them.. They couldn’t help but smile at that thought.
And with how seemingly skilled and knowledged everyone was, Elf felt a sense of something. Perhaps, a sense of a new adventure arising.