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occasional-drabbles · 5 months ago

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I'm Not Him - Chapter 9 - Horseplay - A BOTW Fic

Finally getting to the fun parts! And this is the longest chapter to date.... by far. Enjoy! :D

Read the Fic on AO3 Here!

Quick Summery of the Fic: This is basically a ‘What If’ Fic. What if Link had actually died in BOTW, instead of being resurrected? The Hero would have to be reincarnated… into someone who isn’t Link.

Chapter Warnings: None that I can think of? Ask to tag

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Leaving Kakariko for the third time, Kibo was finally ready to make proper progress on his quest. Despite how daunting of a task it is, his excitement made it difficult for him to wind down enough to sleep last night, Impa having insisted once again that he stay at the inn before he left. So as he walked out of the village, he reviewed the notes he’d made in a notebook he bought at one of the stores.

He plans to go to the Lost Woods first and foremost, hoping that he’d be able to get the sword that seals the darkness. If he manages that, he has a feeling it’ll be easier to handle all of the other tasks laid before him. If having the sword makes it easier to convince people that he’s the Hero… that’s just an added bonus.

It would help if he got a horse to travel across Hyrule a bit easier and much faster, especially since there’s plenty of stables everywhere, and close enough to key points of his trip that he doesn’t have to worry about it being in danger. However, that also means ensuring that it has what it needs for different weather, and that it’s got enough food. Right now he’s still having to ration food for himself … At least he doesn’t have to worry too much about whether or not he has the know-how to care for a horse, since he learned back in Hateno growing up. It’s a very useful skill, after all!

You could always ask at the stable, there’s always people who travel and would be able to give you better insight.

“That’s true…” Kibo mused, glancing up from his notebook occasionally to make sure he wasn’t going to end up walking off a cliff or anything. “Though, they’ll also be biased, since it’s a horse stable… Then again, they’ll care about the horse’s well being too…”

Nodding to himself, figuring that simply asking really would be the best course of action, he shifted his backpack to his side so that he could put the notebook away. “So first thing’s first, Dueling Peaks Stable to look into getting a horse, and then from there I can worry about going to the Lost Woods to get the sword that seals the darkness. After that, I can figure out what order to tackle the Divine Beasts…”

One step at a time, Kibo

The Princess’s reminder was honestly necessary, as much as Kibo was at least attempting to pace himself.

“Can you tell me what to expect when I get to the Woods?” Kibo asked, tilting his head slightly despite not having anyone to physically look at.

There was silence from the Princess at first, though the connection was still there. Kibo was content waiting for an answer as he walked, figuring that she was trying to figure out what is relevant or not.

I must admit, I am unsure if anything will have changed, or what trials will await you on your way to the sword that seals the darkness. I left the sword in the care of the Great Deku Tree, before I went to face Ganon. It is not a simple task to reach him, however I am confident that you will find your way.

That sure sounded… strange . There wasn’t very much to gather from all of that, but he figures he can try prodding at her a bit more once he gets there. Maybe it’s hard to explain without him being able to see it?

Fortunately, trying to think of what the forest might look like managed to keep Kibo occupied until he could see the Dueling Peaks Stable in the distance. Though, the peaks themselves, massive and imposing, were far more impressive. Some part of him almost wanted to climb up the mountains, to see how far he could see from up there. Though, the mere idea of being so high up dissuaded him just as quickly. It would be way too easy for him to slip and fall and bust his head open or something.

Instead of dwelling on that fact, Kibo chose to turn his attention back towards the stable. He noticed a… building? Structure? A structure surrounded by some sort of brush or barrier, just across the path from the stables. It didn’t look like anything he could recognize…

Actually, scratch that. It honestly kind of reminded him of the Shrine of Resurrection.

You are correct. That is one of the many shrines, found all throughout Hyrule. I do not know what that one contains, but they are such fascinating structures. You can access them with the Sheikah Slate. It’s such a fascinating process. I wish I had been able to dedicate more of my time to researching them…

Kibo found himself a little startled by how… wistful the Princess sounded.

“Well, hopefully you’ll be able to, once this is all over.” He offered. All the more motivation to try and help her, so that way she can do something that she enjoys.

The Princess chose to go quiet as they approached the stables, giving Kibo the ability to focus on the people there.

A few dogs were running around, seeming to be playing with the few children living there. A traveler sat at the cooking fire just outside of the stable, seeming to be working on a stew of some sort, and one of the stablehands was tending to the horses in the paddock. There was also… what Kibo figures is a merchant, with a backpack practically 4 times his size, in the shape of… beetle? A few other people were wandering about, doing their things, but he didn’t pay them too much mind for now.

After some thought, he went to the stablehand that was tending to the horses, a girl a bit older than him, if he had to guess. She had an odd amount of colorful accessories on, compared to most of the people he’s seen who work with animals. It was weird.

She must’ve heard him walking over, her pointed ears twitching slightly, but she didn’t turn to face him. “I’ll be done with the horses in just a minute,” she reassured “Then I’ll be happy to see what you’ve got for me.”

Kibo blinked, then tilted his head. “What I’ve got for you?” He echoed.

The girl jolted at the unfamiliar voice and finally turned to face him instead of focusing on the horse she was checking the bridle of. “Do you not have mail for me to take? Or are you expecting something?”

Poor Kibo was still confused, even as a few things started to click into place. “No, I just had a few questions about horses… You take mail?”

She nodded, grinning as she turned to him properly, putting her hands on her hips confidently. “Yup! You’re looking at the best mail-woman in Hyrule!” She beamed, her tone lighthearted and playful.

“Oh! I think I’ve heard a bit about you! You take letters and packages and travel all across Hyrule, right??” Kibo asked, starting to match her energy. Looks like he really did choose the right person to ask, then!

She nodded, giving a small two finger salute and a wink in response. “That would be me! My name’s Cava. What’s yours?”

“I’m Kibo.” He answered easily, adjusting his hold on the straps of his backpack.

“Nice to meet you, Kibo.” She beamed “Well, why don’t you set down that pack of yours and sit down for a bit? Once I’m done with tending to these cuties, I’ll come find you so that I can answer your questions. Sounds like a plan?” She offered

Kibo considered the offer, nodding. He’s not in so much of a rush that he can’t give her a couple more minutes to finish up. It would be rude to rush her, after all! So he went to find somewhere to sit, setting his bag down just inside the inn. He almost sat down at one of the tables, but caught sight of the man with the giant backpack again, his curiosity getting the better of him.

After setting his backpack down, he went over to the man, fidgeting with the strap of the Sheikah Slate again. “Um, excuse me, sir?”

The man looked up, brightening. “Ah, I don’t recognize you! You must be a first time customer! My name’s Beedle, but you can call me, well… Beedle works just fine! I buy and sell just about anything and everything!” He introduced, clearly energetic too. Looks like everyone at the stable is pretty chipper today.

“Anything?” Kibo echoed curiously “Even monster stuff?”

Beedle nodded. “Yes, even monster stuff! I especially like insects and beetles, though.”

Kibo gave a slow nod of understanding before dragging his bag over and sitting on the floor in front of Beedle, starting to rummage through his bag to find some stuff to sell. Mostly he just has pieces from bokoblins he’s fought, horns and fangs, the only remnants after they poof into whatever mist they come from.

The back and forth of Kibo finding parts to sell and Beedle telling him how much they were worth was plenty enough to occupy the both of them for the better part of an hour. Enough so that once they were done, Kibo was startled to find Cava sitting in one of the chairs nearby and watching them. She was sitting backwards, so that her chest was against the backrest, her arms crossed on top and supporting her chin.

When she finally had Kibo’s attention, she grinned and stretched out. “Done selling your stuff?”

Kibo nodded, thanking Beedle again as he closed his bag again and nudged it off to the side again, ensuring it was well out of anyone’s way.

“Question time, then?” Cava asked, earning another nod from Kibo. She didn’t bother standing up for now, instead shifting to sit in the chair properly as Kibo took the chair opposite her at the table. He dug out his map, setting it on the table.

“I think the most important one, is… I’m going to be doing a lot of traveling all over Hyrule, to all the big places. Rito Village, Zora’s domain, the desert, and Goron City.” Kibo started, pointing to his best approximation of each location on his map.

Cava hummed as she listened and nodded, leaning forward slightly to look at the map as well. She did gently correct his pointing once or twice, but only when he was too far off from what he was naming.

“I know it would be faster if I had a horse, but… I don’t want to have it getting hurt or anything, and I don’t know how hard it is to take care of a horse while traveling.” Kibo admitted, his eyebrows furrowing.

“Well, it’s definitely not easy .” Cava admitted “But fortunately, there’s stables relatively close to each of those places.” She said, getting out her own map to show him. She had marked hers up a lot more than his was, circles scattered all across the map to indicate stables. “So if you want to use a horse, then you definitely could. You can use them between stables, so that will drastically decrease the amount of time you’re walking on your own two feet. If you have a fast enough horse, then you could run away from pretty much any of the dangers you’re most likely to find while on the road. Or you can always hop off once you notice a threat to keep the fighting away from the horse, unless you could learn to fight on the horse, but that’s risky depending on how you fight.”

Kibo listened eagerly as she spoke, nodding along. “That makes sense… I know how to hunt at least, but I’m learning to use a sword too…”

“Ah, a fellow archer!” Cava beamed. “If you want then, I can give you a few pointers on how to shoot on horseback!” She offered.

“I mean, I’d need to have a horse to do that, wouldn’t I…?” Kibo asked. He may be excited too, but it’s kind of hard to learn to fight on horseback… without a horse . So unless she’s willing to let him fight on the back of her horse…

Cava snorted, lightly smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Right, right. First step is getting you a horse. Fortunately, there’s almost always a group of horses not too far from the stables. We tend to feed them when we have a surplus of feed, plus I just like spending time with them, so they don’t wander too far unless there’s danger.” She explained, standing up and stretching out. “So! Why don’t we go catch you a horse?”

“Just like that?” Kibo asked, standing up with her despite his skepticism.

“Just like that!” She confirmed, grinning down at him. “We can go together, and I can try to catch one for you if you want, but it’s better if you try to catch it yourself. Otherwise there’s the risk of the horse not respecting you or listening to you.” She explained as she led the way out of the stable and towards the nearby stone ruins.

Kibo trailed after her, still uncertain. “But… how ?”

“Do you know how to mount a horse?” Cava asked, earning a nod from Kibo. “So all you have to do is sneak up on whichever horse you want, and mount it! Some of them are more calm and won’t panic too much, those tend to be the easiest to tame. Though, they aren’t usually the fastest either. Others are more wild and stubborn, and you have to soothe it to get it to listen to you. Then your best bet is to hang on for dear life, and pet it until it calms down and gets used to you.” She laughed, her voice getting quieter as they began to approach.

“That somehow sounds so easy and so hard at the same time.” Kibo pouted, looking at the pack of horses. There were about five of them to choose from, but… he didn’t even know what he was looking for in a horse. Did the coat color matter? He couldn’t tell if any of them were more or less muscular than the others…

Cava snickered, moving to sit on some of the rubble casually, surveying the field. “Just follow your heart with this one. Give it a try yourself, and if you need me to, I’ll help.” She reassured, thinking for a moment before grinning and offering him her hand, just her pinky outstretched. “Promise.”

Kibo blinked before grinning, accepting her pinky with his own. “Alright. I can live with that.” He decided, fidgeting with the sheath of his sword thoughtfully.

His sword was so loud that it would give him away while he’s sneaking, but he’s not sure if he should take it off… He doesn’t know how dangerous it is here.

“I can watch over your sword, if you’re worried about it.” Cava offered, having a similar train of thought.

After a few more beats of consideration, Kibo relented and took off the belt that held the sword, propping it up on the ruins beside her. With that situated, he looked towards the horses again, slowly starting to approach.

He didn’t bother trying to completely crouch, since that would make it too difficult for him to jump up enough to get onto the back of the horse, but he still hunkered down a little to draw less attention to himself. Though as he approached, something felt… off . The hair on the back of his neck began to stand on edge, but he didn’t see anything strange.

Just as he began to hunker down further in preparation for jumping on the nearest horse, something shifted in the grass just under him.

Two chuchus sprung up from the grass, startling Kibo into falling backwards with a startled yelp, scrambling backwards. Not so much from the chuchus themselves, but from the now panicked horses, who began to scatter with cries of their own.

All but one of the horses. A rich brown horse, with light hair. Instead of running like the others, it almost seemed to double down, squashing the chuchus underneath its hooves.

Cava hadn’t even had the chance to start running towards him with his sword before the chuchus were nothing but jelly on the ground once again, the fierce horse trotting off in borderline satisfaction.

“Are you okay??” Cava asked worriedly as she jogged over to Kibo, offering a hand to help him up.

He easily accepted the offered hand, standing up and looking himself over. “Yeah, I’m okay. I didn’t get hit or anything. Just spooked.” He answered honestly, looking up at her, then back over at the horses. “But I know which one I want, now.”

Cava followed his gaze, quirking a brow. “It’s not going to be an easy one to tame. I think that’s the first time I’ve even seen a horse almost enjoy fighting a monster.”

“I like a challenge.” Kibo answered without even looking at her, grinning eagerly.

With that, he hunkered down to try again.

And again.

Despite how many times he was getting thrown off, he brushed himself back off and went right back at it. Cava had offered to help, but he refused. He’s determined .

The determination paid off over an hour later, as he successfully settled on the horse’s back, guiding it over to Cava by its mane. He had a huge grin on his face, alongside the dirt and a few scrapes, to say nothing of his poor hair or clothes.

Cava got off of her perch again, hands on her hips and his belt over one shoulder. “Well I’ll be, looks like you did it! You managed to out stubborn her.”

“I’m nothing if not stubborn.” Kibo responded with a laugh, admittedly blobbing a little against the horse’s neck. As fun as that was, it was exhausting .

Snickering, Cava motioned for him to follow her back to the stable. “Come on, let’s get her registered, and both of you need to clean up. While you clean yourself up and deal with those scrapes, I’ll get her cleaned and set up with some gear, all that good stuff.”

“Are you sure?” Kibo asked, feeling bad she’d be doing so much of the hard work for him.

“Positive!” Cava reassured with a grin, getting the horse to follow her even without Kibo prompting it. “You did the hardest part with taming it, and everything else is really basic. Just brushing and things like that. I’ll show you how everything goes on and comes off later. And you can always stop by at a stable if you need help with anything.”

Well, she’s not wrong . So Kibo didn’t fight it too much harder, giving another tired nod. “Okay… thank you, Cava.”

“No problem, Kibo.” Cava hummed, offering her arms up for him to stabilize himself as he gets down, which he gratefully accepted before she shooed him off to get cleaned up.

By the time he was done and just needed to patch up some of the worse scrapes, Cava was almost done putting a saddle and bridle on the new horse.

“Feel better?” Cava asked playfully, looking over to him.

Kibo felt his face flush in embarrassment at the tasing, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “A lot, yeah.”

“Then get over here and help me with this.” She motioned him over, having him hold the saddle in place while she worked on buckling it. “Have you decided on a name for her yet?”

“I think so.” Kibo answered, snickering to himself. “I wanna name her Truffle.”

“Truffle? Like the mushrooms?” Cava echoed curiously.

Kibo’s snickers grew louder as he nodded, even though she couldn’t see it. “Yup! But also ‘cause it sounds like ‘trouble’.”

It didn’t take more than a few moments of consideration before they were both laughing at the suggestion, Cava standing up again once satisfied the saddle wasn’t moving. “I think that’s a perfect name for her. Why don’t you go let the stablekeep know, and I’ll get her set up with some food and water. We can make sure we get some food for ourselves too, then we can worry about teaching you to fight on horseback, if you’re still interested in that.”

“Yes please!” Kibo nodded eagerly before going to do as instructed.

By the time Kibo had finished the registration paperwork, Cava had a fresh stew in the works for everyone at the stable.

“So, Kibo, why are you traveling all over? Any particular reason?” Cava asked curiously, trying to make conversation while waiting for food.

Kibo hesitated, unsure how to answer. As understanding as Lady Impa had been, he has a feeling most people would react just like his parents had… Dismissive and doubtful.

“I just… want to.” He settled on, glancing at her for just a moment to see if she bought it.

Based on the new furrow to her brow, she didn't. But she didn't pry, seeming to accept that he didn't want to tell her the truth.

“Well, you're in for a treat.” She hummed, stirring the pot casually. “I haven't gone into the various towns myself, since they're too far from the stables and I try to keep on a predictable routine, but what little I have seen is absolutely beautiful. Each race has such a unique style! The weather extremes can be a bit of a pain, though.” She pouted.

“I've heard a bit about it, like how non-Gorons would catch fire in Goron City without elixirs or special armor.”

Cava groaned and nodded. “Yeah… even just at the stable it's so hot that it's almost suffocating, and that's still pretty low on the mountain compared to the city.” She confirmed. “Do you know where you plan to go first? I can help you make sure you have what you need.” She offered

“I'm… not actually sure.” Kibo admitted, getting out his notebook again. “I want to stop at the Lost Woods first, but after that I don't know…” he mused, absently tapping at the book.

“Well, Rito Village is the furthest away, so you could start there so you're working your way back this way?” Cava suggested. “Or if you want to start closer to here, Zora’s Domain? Plus the Zora don't have such extreme weather. Just… constant rain.”

“That still sounds pretty extreme.” Kibo pointed out, quirking a brow. “But you're right about going to Rito Village to get the farthest one taken care of. Plus then less backtracking…” he mused out loud, looking at his map too. “What would I need for Rito Village?”

Cava hummed, leaning back slightly as she thought about what she usually ends up needing. “It's always snowing on the way there, so you'd need a lot of warm clothes. And make sure you have enough food too, and some flint, since it's harder to hunt and forage there.” She answered, her head tilted. “And if you can find one, a tent or something for shelter is good, but not mandatory.”

“That's… a lot.” Kibo frowned, eyebrows furrowing. He's not even sure where to get half of that stuff. Would there be any clothes stores on the way there? Especially ones that sell warm clothes? Does he have enough clothes he could layer up to make up for it?

“It is, but that's what I usually need to get to the stable, if nothing else.” Cava shrugged casually. “You could focus on making elixirs if that’s easier for you though. I noticed you selling a lot of monster parts to Beedle, after all.”

“Do you need monster parts for elixirs?” Kibo asked.

Cava nodded, a little surprised that he didn’t know that. He’s even less prepared than she initially thought, and for such a grand trip as all around Hyrule? And it seems like he’s unsupervised, too?

After a few moments of thought and stirring the pot again, she nodded to herself resolutely. “How about this, Kibo. When do you plan on heading out to your next destination?”

“I want to head out for the Lost Forest tomorrow morning, I think. Around sunrise.” Kibo answered. “After that I’ll probably go on to Rito Village, since it’s the furthest away.”

“Will you pass by this stable again, follow the paths?”

Kibo nodded.

“Then I’ll put a little something together to help you with traveling. Tips, ideas of what to expect where, things like that.” Cava offered with a grin. “My parents made sure I had as much information as they could offer before I started to go all around Hyrule, so it’s only fair I do the same for you!”

Kibo lit up at the idea, sitting up straighter. “Really? You don’t mind?”

“Not at all!” Cava reassured. “It sounds like you’re not super well prepared anyways, so I might as well do my best to help you along.”

“Thank you so much!” Kibo beamed, not having expected so much support, especially with so little expected in return.

Cava reached over to ruffle his hair playfully, laughing as he tried to bat her arm away. Though with that settled, she started to dish out the stew for the both of them, as well as the people who were meandering over to get some.

“Once we’ve let the food settle, I’ll teach you a little bit about horseback archery, and then you can rest for the rest of the day. Sound good?” Cava asked as she finally started to fill her own bowl. She looked up to Kibo again, only to laugh when seeing he already had his mouth stuffed full of stew.

Trying to ignore the deep flush of embarrassment, he nodded in response. Honestly, he wouldn’t mind if they worked on it until dinner, but he figures she’s right. He did get thrown around a lot today, so he needs to take it easy where he can. He needs to make sure he won’t end up so sore that he can’t move or anything, after all.

After finishing their fill, cleaning up after themselves, and going about their own business for a bit, Cava finally grabbed Kibo for more training. Grabbing some boxes and barrels, she managed to set up a make-shift obstacle course for them to use.

“First thing’s first, you need to get used to working with Truffle without fighting. You may have done the hard part of taming her already, but to be able to fight and ride you need to be able to guide her without your hands.” She explained, leading him and Truffle out to the makeshift course. “So for now, just have her walk through the path twice, circling the barrels. Then at a trot twice, and so on.” She instructed, watching Kibo climb on to Truffle’s back.

“Alright, that sounds easy enough.”

It was not, in fact, easy. Truffle was easily distracted, and if they passed too close to Cava, she would detour and attempt to eat Cava’s hair until she got swatted or pushed away. Kibo couldn’t help but think of all of the times that he, or the other kids in Hateno, would intentionally be difficult like it was a game. Go figure, the horse with the most fight in it would enjoy the same kind of ‘game’.

By the time Kibo managed to get Truffle to walk the two laps, Cava was snickering to herself. “Okay, I think you need to focus on just riding with her first. In the meantime, just leave Truffle a small ways away when you’re expecting a fight. Though, we should probably see how fast she is, so you can know your odds of running away from a fight too…” She mused, tapping her cheek thoughtfully before again shoving Truffle’s head away from her hair again with a lighthearted laugh. “Let me go get Tara, and we can race!” She beamed, running off before Kibo even had the chance to react.

“Guess she’s itching to do some riding too, huh…?” He mumbled, giving Truffle some absent minded pets.

Truffle just let out a snort in response before following the track one more time at Kibo’s urging.

It wasn’t long before Cava was trotting over to him on a black and white patchwork horse, the horse’s mane braided with large beads where the ties were. She maneuvered to be next to Kibo and Truffle, humming. “Let’s do something pretty simple, how about we go around that thick tree over there and back to the stable?” She suggested, pointing to the tree she was talking about.

Kibo looked at it and nodded, shifting on Truffle’s back anxiously. He has no clue how this is going to go…

“Ready…set…go!” Cava counted down, quickly urging Tara on once the race began. The two of them took off almost instantly, Cava hunkered down with a huge grin.

“Let’s go!” Kibo encouraged Truffle, taking off after them. While the response wasn’t near as quick as it was for Cava and Tara, Truffle still reacted quickly. She even seemed to be faster than Tara, catching up to them despite the small head start.

Glancing over at Cava for a moment, Kibo noticed her reaching for something as they approached the tree. She let go of Tara’s reins completely, while he still had a firm grip on Truffle’s.

Cava pulled an arrow out of the quiver built into Tara’s saddle, guiding Tara using only her legs. Reaching the arrow up as they rounded the tree, she let out a triumphant laugh as she speared an apple with it, even as Kibo and Truffle surpassed them. Carefully settling the arrow in her lap she picked Tara’s reins back up, urging her faster to catch up. Kibo still managed to beat her back to their starting point, if only barely.

“That was amazing!” Kibo cheered with a grin, slowing Truffle to a stop as he looked over to Cava.

Cava grinned and stopped next to him, carefully taking the apple off of the arrow, wiping the arrow off on her pants and putting it back where it belonged. “And you still beat me!” She beamed, grabbing a knife next to cut the apple in half. She offered one half to Kibo for Truffle, then leaned forward to give Tara the other half.

Kibo accepted the half, watching how she fed Tara before trying to mimic. It was harder for him to reach, and he nearly ended up falling off of Truffle’s back, but he still managed! Truffle still kind of nipped his fingers, not enough to hurt though! Just a little spook. Tara was much more gentle when eating out of Cava’s hands, even seeming to be extra careful not to hurt her. “Yeah, but you did a cool trick! Truffle kept trying to wander off.” He pouted, watching her.

Cava snorted “I’ve also been riding horses ever since I was little, and I’ve been riding with Tara for a couple of years now, even before I started to do the mail thing.” She reminded, petting Tara’s neck affectionately. “I’m sure that you and Truffle will get to that point too in no time. It just takes a lot of time, and trust.”

“Time and trust… right.” Kibo nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Your best is all anyone could expect.” Cava reassured, stretching out. “As fun as that was, you should probably go work on winding down for the night. If you want to leave early, you’re going to want to make sure both you and Truffle have plenty of time to rest.” She reminded. “I’m going to take Tara for a few more laps, let her get the energy out. We’ve still got another day here, so I’m sure she’s itching to keep moving.”

Kibo couldn’t really argue with that, nodding in agreement. “Sounds like a plan. Have fun, and be safe.”

Cava gave him the same playful salute she did earlier as an acknowledgement before she and Tara trotted off to go burn some energy.

Kibo turned his attention back to the stable, hopping out of the saddle and taking Truffle to the paddock, getting her situated and taking off her saddle and bridle. He gave her a quick brush down before sitting down to work on notes. Things that he’d need to make sure to have on hand, and what he remembers about taking care of horses.

After he finished listing off what he could think of, he realized how quiet things had been in his head, so he absently poked at the Princess’s presence in his head.

It appears as though you have had quite the eventful day.

“Good, you’re still there.” Kibo mumbled, keeping his voice down. While he could probably just think his responses instead of saying them aloud, it felt like their thoughts might get too jumped up for him to keep track of. Though, he’s ever mindful of how crazy he’d sound to these people who didn’t even know him.

You were enjoying yourself, I had no intention of interrupting. But I am still here for you.

He couldn’t help the small, grateful smile as he looked blankly down at the plain leather cover of his notebook. “Thank you.” After some consideration, he tilted his head. “Have you ever ridden a horse?”

Of course, it was part of my training. I was taught from a young age. Though, I was not taught the same skills that that young lady displayed. I quite enjoyed riding, though I didn’t get to do it as much as I wish I could have.

“Another thing to add to the list of things for us to try and do after this is all over, then.” Kibo decided, opening his notebook again to start making a list.

Study the Shrines

Ride horses for fun

You don’t have to…

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. Especially since you don’t tend to express your own interests.” Kibo countered. As far back as he could remember, as much as he’d ‘spoken’ with the Princess, he knew… frustratingly little about her. Her goals and hobbies, things like that. She’d told him stories about the Hero, and the Champions. But he knew so little about her . “It’s only fair I try to learn more about you, when you already know so much about me.”

Zelda couldn’t argue against that logic, since well… he isn’t wrong. She focused so much on the others, on their accomplishments, and the path he would be following. Her personal interests seemed inconsequential. They have a common goal, and would never have likely even met if not for their destinies intertwining. If not for this never ending cycle. What need was there to bring personal preferences and hobbies into the fray?

Thank you, Kibo.

“Of course.” He hummed, closing his notebook again and yawning.

You should heed her advice and get some rest. It’s quite the trip to the Lost Woods.

“I don’t wannaaaaa.” Kibo whined playfully, even as he put his notebook away to get ready to sleep. While he did have money now to pay for a bed, he figured he’d still sleep out by the fire and save it for now. He’ll probably need it for other things, like clothes. And food.

So fireside nap it was! He’s starting to get used to this, for better or for worse.

#botw #botw fic #loz #loz fic #loz botw #botw au #loz au #loz botw au #loz botw fic #legend of zelda #breath of the wild #fic #writing #my writing #original post #I'm Not Him #Im Not Him #Kibo

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occasional-drabbles · 5 months ago

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I'm Not Him - Chapter 8 - Gameplan - A BOTW Fic

I didn't even realize I hadn't posted this chapter to tumblr yet?? But here it is! :D

Read the Fic on AO3 Here!

Chapter Warnings: None that I can think of? Ask to tag

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It’s only been a few weeks, and already the guards in Kakariko recognized Kibo and even waved to him. A testament to how much back and forth there’s already been, and he hasn’t even been able to actually start his journey properly!

Shaking his head to dismiss the frustration he could already feel starting to bubble up, Kibo let out a small huff before opening the doors to Impa’s house again. Paya wasn’t anywhere to be seen… maybe she had gone off to hide once she realized he was there. She must be a lot shyer than he thought…

“Ah, Kibo, there you are.” Impa greeted, looking up to him. “I take it that you were able to find my sister, Purah, then?”

“She’s your sister?” Kibo blinked, taking a moment to process before giving his head another shake, followed by nodding. “Yes, I did. She was able to get the Sheikah Slate functioning again, and gave me access to a bunch more features.” He informed, even taking out the slate to make sure that it was all functioning. Not to say that he didn’t play with it some on the trip over, but well… Can you blame him for wanting to make extra sure?

Impa let out a soft huff of amusement at his surprise. “Yes, she is my older sister.”

Older? But she looked like a child… Then again, she seemed like the crazy science type. Who knows what experiments went wrong.

Not seeming to notice Kibo’s mild confusion, or choosing to ignore it unless he brought it up himself, Impa continued. “Now that you have the Sheikah Slate, you are ready for the next steps of your journey.”

“To go after the Divine Beasts? Or the sword that seals the darkness?” Kibo asked, looking a little excited now. Is he finally going to be able to make himself useful? Start the hardest part of this journey?

Offering a small, almost guilty smile at Kibo’s enthusiasm, Impa nodded. “Yes. However, there are some tasks along the way that I would suggest keeping in mind.”

When Kibo tilted his head, she continued.

“I would suggest returning to the Great Plateau. There, you will find four shrines that cross over the land, and a hidden tower. You are able to activate those shrines, and that tower, with the Sheikah Slate. There are many shrines and towers like those scattered across the kingdom of Hyrule. The towers will offer you a map that can track your location, help you track the locations of the Beasts, and other such tasks. The shrines will help you to increase your strength, testing your courage. I suggest that you attempt them should you come across them. Every bit of strength will aid you on this quest.”

Kibo certainly hadn’t expected that additional task, but he has a feeling that’s going to become a trend. Things being far more complicated with way more steps than anticipated. Wonderful.

The shrines and towers are absolutely fascinating. Ancient technology is truly a wonder. I hope that once things are resolved, I will be able to resume my study of them…

Ah, another twist of the day, hearing the Princess again. However, he wasn’t able to address her, as Impa continued talking.

“Regarding the sword that seals the darkness… I am afraid that even I do not know its location.” She admitted. “Princess Zelda was the last one I saw with it, just before she went to go face Calamity Ganon herself. That is something that must be taken up with the Princess, unfortunately.”

Kibo’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at Impa’s admission, a little surprised by that. She seems like she knew everything he’d need, after all… So he tilted his head slightly, mentally poking at the Princess to see if she’d answer.

I left the sword that seals the darkness safe with the Great Deku Tree, in the Lost Forest.

There was a short, very hesitant pause before she added a quiet:

I had hoped that, should Link have survived, he would be able to go there in search of it and reclaim the sword. His memories from the Calamity should have led him there…

“Oh…” Kibo mumbled quietly.

Now it’s Impa’s turn to be confused, if somewhat confused by how Kibo’s expression fell. Had something happened to the sword? “Is something the matter…?”

“No, no.” Kibo tried to reassure quickly, even waving his hands slightly in front of him. “The Princess told me where the sword is, is all.” He explained, offering a small smile before pulling out his paper map to figure out where the Princess had been talking about, even sitting down on the floor to set it down.

Finding the Lost Woods on the map was… surprisingly easy? Kibo hummed, furrowing his eyebrows again. “I might go there first, before I go to the Great Plateau… It would make things a lot easier.”

And hopefully it would convince people that he’s actually the Hero, he’s worthy .

Hopefully…

Impa nodded slowly to his plan, humming softly. “I see… Should you choose to do so, please, be careful . The path ahead is dangerous, with many perils ahead. It has been 100 years with no notable force to clear the path ahead for you. I know not what exactly you will face, even for retrieving the sword that seals the darkness. Be prepared for anything, Kibo.” She instructed, her expression serious and admittedly intense. The weight of a literal century of guilt and loss and pain was clear as day, and made Kibo’s confidence falter.

However she’d already approved. Already agreed that he’d need to act soon to help the Princess. And he knew his next few steps. So he gave a determined nod. “I will, I promise.” He reassured, offering the most confident smile he could muster.

Impa’s expression softened some, once again struck by how young Kibo is, the blind trust and determination, how slightly lopsided his smile was as he beamed up at her from his seat on the floor. The weight of the kingdom shouldn’t have to be on his shoulders.

“I await your return. And I ask that after each Divine Beast, you return to Kakariko for rest while you plan.” Impa finally said.

“Yes ma’am.” Kibo nodded, packing his map back up and standing again, putting his bag over his shoulder.

Now he has his next step, which is a bit vague, but well… it’s a good enough starting point. He knows where to go for the sword, and how to use the Slate to find the Divine Beasts.

“I’ll see you next time.” He offered with a small smile, bowing his head to Impa as a goodbye before leaving, checking the slate again.

On it now were four glowing dots in different corners of the map, and another one that didn’t seem… too terribly far. Maybe he’ll head there first? And considering the placement of all of them, it was probably where the Sword was. So get the sword, then get the Divine Beasts on his side… surely it can’t be that difficult… right?

#botw #botw fic #loz fic #loz botw #botw au #loz au #loz botw au #loz botw fic #legend of zelda #breath of the wild #fic #writing #my writing #original post #I'm not him #Im Not Him #Kibo

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