Sonia by @Rickydirigo

Sasha's Encounter<center><h1>Sasha's Encounter</h1><h3>By CoggsOfMerryweather</h3></center><hr>The bright sun cast its warm rays into the fog of a fresh rain. The air was unbearably humid, almost as if it was alive and breathing. Vivid juniper palms lined every path and stream, occasionally accompanied by a cluster of banana trees. If one walked through the dense jungle, they would hear nothing but the calls of strange birds and the rushing currents of distant waterfalls. If there was anyone who knew this region well, it was the travelers; people who wouldn’t mind walking for days on end just to see the world. The region was known as Faron: a rainforest and jungle of mysteries. There were ruins with tales older than the founding of the kingdom, as well as dangers that plagued the minds of many who dared seek them out. There was talk in the southern village of Lurelin about the increasing frequency of monsters. Everyone quickly spread news, both true and fallacious, about what was becoming of the jungle. It turned Lurelin and Faron into a quiet, daunting place.Sasha was determined to set things straight. Being a trained huntress, she would take down the infamous lynel on Kamah Plateau and bring a bit of peace back to the world. However, her journey was a long way, as she was only on Floria Bridge. As she walked, she thought of battle plans while occasionally pulling her hair away from her eye. Eventually, she tucked it behind her ear. She continued to think of anything to take her mind off of her concerns. She was waiting for anything to spring up and attack at any given moment; it was a fighter’s number one rule to keep their guard.A while into her walk, she came across Lakeside Stable. Sasha always found the architecture of the stables to be a bit tacky, but also inviting. She walked over to one of the stable’s cooking pots and started to prepare one of the snacks she’d brought: honeyed apples. While she didn’t get to have it often, it was one of her favorite dishes.“Ah, I knew I smelled it! Yes, that sweet aroma! That’s definitely honeyed apples.”Sasha looked up from her snack and was surprised to see a rather spunky woman with silver hair and dark skin. She seemed to be the traveler type.“Yep! They’re delicious, too. You want one?” Sasha held one out to her.“Oh, no. I’m fine. Thank you, though. I was just wondering what you were up to. Normally, I don’t talk to a lot of people, but today… Today seems a bit different. Name’s Letty, by the way.” Letty gave a smug smile.“I’m Sasha. I’m about to get rid of that pesky lynel on the plateau by Bronas Forest. Y’know, they say he’s a tough one,” she smirked and bit into her apple, “but he doesn’t see me coming!”Letty let out a sudden laugh. “Good luck with that! Everyone I know that’s been on that plateau has come back either bruised, beaten, or nearly dead. It’s not wise to tackle one by yourself, or at all.”“I know that.” Sasha gestured to the weapons on her back. “What do you think I do for a living? Gonna kill that thing, sell the parts, bring peace back to Hyrule, yada yada. It’s the same thing. Ever since that thing at the castle has ramped up, I’ve been seeing way more monsters than there usually are. I like a little challenge every once in a while, but with all this… I think it’s best that someone takes care of some of the monsters now before they colonize.”“Well,” Letty sighed, “whatever you decide to do, I hope it goes well for you. Good luck!” Letty walked back into the stable, leaving Sasha with her apples.Once Sasha finished her snack, she decided to rest for a bit longer before continuing on. After regaining her energy, she packed her bags and started walking again. On the way, Sasha stopped to collect a few mighty bananas from all the trees.It’ll stop those Yiga freaks from coming here…She decided to snack on one while walking. She could taste the sweet flavor of the bananas, their texture smooth and creamy. The smell was even sweet, proving that they were perfectly ripe.Every step Sasha took reminded her of how close she was getting. Her route wasn’t that simple; she would have to go around to Sarjon Bridge, then climb her way up the plateau. She made sure to prepare by bringing climbing equipment.Sasha soon came upon the fork in the road that split to either the bridge or Martha’s Landing. She could see the bridge ahead, but something caught her eye.A blond man was limping rather slowly. He dragged his sword against the ground while holding his arm with his other hand. Sasha sprinted to him as he swayed and hobbled, step by step. He weakly gazed up at her, his eyes darkening. She saw the bruises on his face.“Sir! Sir, are you okay?” Sasha knew he wasn’t, but asked out of concern. She wrapped his arm around her back, trying to support him as he walked.“I’ll… I’ll be fine.” He sounded exhausted, his words being forced with each breath.“You’re clearly not. Do you have anywhere around here you're headed to?”The man simply shook his head. “I’m a traveler.”Sasha knew she had to help him. “C’mon. Keep talking to me, okay? What’s your name?”The man closed his eyes. “I’d rather not say. What’s… what’s yours?”“You’re not part of the Yiga, are you? Well… either way, I don’t think I could just leave you like this.”He sighed. “I’d rather you leave them. They’re jerks… But no, I’m not one of them.”“Good. Name’s Sasha.” She eyed a clearing in the woods. It didn’t appear to have any monsters, which was a perfect place to set up a camp. “Look. You see that little spot over there? That’s where we’re going.”“I think— I think I can make it to the stable.”Though he protested, Sasha walked him to the clearing. She laid him down beneath a tree and began to build a fire. She luckily brought a tent along, which she promptly set up. After everything was set, Sasha examined his wounds. There were gashes on his arm and cuts all over him, as well as more bruises. At that point, she wondered how he was even alive.“What happened back there?”The man hesitated for a bit, but finally answered her question. “I was… at the Spring of Courage. I guess I was caught off guard, because some moblins showed up. There were already lizalfos, which made it more difficult. I wasn’t prepared.”Sasha cringed at the thought of how painful it must have been. “So the moblins beat you up, huh? Yikes…” She started cleaning his wounds and bandaging them. While working, she noticed the quality of his clothing. It was above standard for nowadays, but somehow it looked dated. The stitching was like nothing she had ever seen, along with the embroidered emblem on the front. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her: why was he at the Spring of Courage?Sasha realized the sun was beginning to set. She started to cook a meal. “You eat meat?”The man gave an attempt of a nod. “Love it.”“Good. Meat skewers are on the table for tonight.”“Oh, that sounds good…” He sat up, but had his head down. “My name is Link.”“Link, huh? Wait… the Link?”Link finally gazed up at Sasha. “What do you mean?”Sasha nervously laughed. “Well… about a hundred years ago or so, there were five Champions who tried to seal away Calamity Ganon. One of them was named Link. I’ve done my research! All the zora said he even had a thing with—”“Okay, that’s enough!” Link sighed. “I don’t need you recounting my life to me.”Sasha was taken aback by Link’s sudden frustration. “Sorry… I just— it’s hard to believe you’re here. How are you even alive?”“I— I don’t know.” Link looked down at his hands once more, sighing. “All I know is that I woke up in a room. It’s… crazy that I didn’t even know my name.”Sasha frowned. “I couldn’t imagine… You don’t have a home, do you?”Link looked at the food cooking by the fire. “No. I tried to bargain with a guy in Hateno, but even then, I still didn’t have enough rupees. Not like I’d need a home, anyway. I’m always on the move. Now the Yiga want my head on a platter because I’ve killed Kohga. I’m sure they’re going to get a new leader soon. I just wonder who and how strong they will be.”Sasha gently patted him on the shoulder. “Hey, I wouldn’t worry too much right now. I’ll fight them off if they even think about bothering you out here. I hate those guys. Besides,” Sasha continued cooking the meat. “they don’t want to mess with a lynel hunter.”“You hunt lynels? That’s impressive. I haven’t met a single person yet who’s ever killed one.” Link gave a small smile. “I’m glad I can have faith in someone for Hyrule’s future.”Sasha smirked. “You betcha.” After the two ate their skewers, Sasha insisted Link sleep for the night. She noticed he was definitely not getting any sleep. She decided to keep watch in case anyone or anything made the mistake of attacking their camp.Before Sasha sat down, Link looked at her. “Sasha?”“Yes?”“Thank you.”“No problem.”Sasha sat by the fire, staring at its intense flames that flowed with the direction of the wind. The warmth of the fire combined with the hot climate reminded her of Eldin.A faint noise—almost a rustling sound—made Sasha snap out of her gaze and scan the woods. She drew her dagger, listening. The howling of the wind was the only sound remaining.Link peeked out from the tent. "What's wrong?""It's nothing... just a hog.""Oh. Well... goodnight.""'Night."Sasha stared ahead into the trees, watching the pair of red eyes that stared back.

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