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Ever since she’d left the desert, Lukan had been uneasy.
It wasn’t as if she was unfamiliar with difficult landscapes, and as a soldier, she knew how to handle herself in any fair fight she may encounter. However, this was her first time traveling beyond an area under the control of the Gerudo. The farthest she’d been before was the Canyon Stable, the unofficial border between the comfortable harshness of Lukan’s world and the unknowable harshness of the rest of the world.
Every day, she would follow the familiar route from Gerudo Town to the stable, keeping a lookout for any threats, her keen eyes always scanning the nearby dunes for vicious creatures and deadly thieves. It had given her a wonderful purpose, and had allowed her long periods of peaceful solitude. She had never been good with others, despite the love she held in her heart for her fellow Gerudo.
Mostly, she felt like she was no help to her people out here. She’d practically dedicated her life to preventing the Yiga Clan from invading her town, and now she was being sent away for no just reason. Well, there were a few reasons that her vaba had given when emphasizing the importance of Lukan’s apparently necessary pilgrimage.
Now that the long-lost champion swordsman of old had somehow defeated both the Yiga leader and the evil within Vah Naboris, there were more dangers outside of the desert than there were within it. Lukan had two missions, one official, and one unofficial. Her official mission was to hunt down lingering members of the Yiga Clan who had not given up on their master’s mission after their main hideout had been compromised. However, this was more or less what Lukan’s vaba had told her in order to convince her to go. In reality, there were more Yiga in the Gerudo region than anywhere else, and searching for them throughout Greater Hyrule would be like trying to find a needle in a sand dune.
What her vaba really wanted was for Lukan to find a voe of her own.
Lukan had never been interested in such things. She had always thought it a bit of an insult that the Gerudo had to rely on Hylian voe to keep their race alive, and though she saw the necessity of it, especially in the wake of worldwide calamity, she’d never thought she would have to be one of those who ventured out and begged the first voe she saw to dedicate himself to her.
Her vaba really wanted Lukan to find love above all else, which was somewhat sweet, considering Lukan’s loner tendencies, but she didn’t know the first thing about seducing a voe, and she couldn’t imagine gaining anything worthwhile out of it. If she viewed it as a duty to her people, she could perhaps stomach it. But even that was difficult – she knew she could be doing more for her people than this. She’d even tried to get Lady Riju to give her some alternative mission, one that she could complete in the desert so that she could be more helpful close to home – to no avail. Riju had nothing to give Lukan that was not already being taken care of by her other soldiers. And the legendary swordsman, of course.
Lukan had a theory that Lady Riju had somehow found out that the swordsman had saved her from a member of the Yiga during one of her daily desert walks, and was thus working with her vaba to send her away for not being able to defend herself adequately. This wasn’t necessarily something that the benevolent and kind Riju would think of doing, but Lukan nevertheless felt that the journey she was taking must be some sort of punishment. Especially since she was more or less expected to return engaged to a voe.
As Gerudo Canyon got farther and farther behind Lukan, the sky darkened severely. It put her on edge. She knew, logically, that this meant rain was coming. She had read about rain, though she had never actually experienced it, and held an irrational fear towards the phenomenon.
Night was also falling. She had planned simply to head in the direction of Necluda, where she may eventually find some shelter (and, Hylia-forbid, a voe) in Kakariko or Hateno village. She’d previously recognized that this meant she’d have to spend a few nights in the wilds before arriving at either place, though rain was something she’d never factored in. Although night in these parts would not be as brutally cold as nights in the desert were, Lukan didn’t exactly like the idea of trudging along barely visible paths of mud while being weighed down by wet clothing until dawn.
Soon, what she feared began. A few drops began to fall, and then suddenly, it was a downpour. She could barely see what was right in front of her.
Panicked, she realized that she could barely hear anything either. She’d trained her ears to sift through the roars of sandstorms and even the endless stomping of Vah Naboris, but she had no experience with rain.
Lukan drew her scimitar warily, all of her fighting instincts on high alert. She was almost positive that she was still on the road, but when it was a road she’d never traveled before, it could be just as dangerous as the wilds.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming towards her from the right, where the muddied road seemed to fork off. They were quick-paced and seemed to indicate more than one individual. Sensing an incoming attack, Lukan immediately grabbed the figure coming towards her with one hand and raised her scimitar with the other.
“Um… sava…sav’saaba !” said the person she had grabbed, hurriedly, and in a less-than-perfect Gerudo accent.
Still, the attempt at her own language threw Lukan enough for her to pause and take a good look at who she was holding her scimitar to.
She felt a bit relieved when she saw it was only a pretty Hylian vai, but still, the Yiga could disguise as nearly anyone, so while she relaxed her grip, she did not lower her weapon entirely.
“Mina! Are you alright?” cried her companion, a voe who seemed concerned, but not concerned enough to fight, apparently.
“We mean no trouble,” said the vai, Mina. “We’re treasure-hunters. Travelers, like you.”
Lukan gave them each a once-over. They carried swords and shields on their backs, though as Mina had said, their gear was that of travelers. They also outnumbered Lukan two-to-one, and if they were Yiga, they would have certainly defeated her by now. She took no comfort in that, but decided to sheath her weapon anyway.
“Mina, come on!” shouted the voe, motioning that she should follow him down the path. “We can’t afford another fight today! Run!”
“She’s not going to harm us, Mils,” Mina protested. She turned to Lukan. “Right?”
“I was mistaken in attacking you,” Lukan acknowledged. She shivered slightly in the rain. Though her clothes were meant to protect against heat and cold, they did nothing for all this water. “ Sav’saaba .”
“Easy for you to say!” Mils said to Mina. “She’s Gerudo! She won’t hurt you , but they practically eat men alive!”
“Wow, do you really?” Mina asked, sounding jokingly-intrigued.
“Not especially,” answered Lukan.
“Unfortunate for me. But there you have it,” Mina said. “Hey, I can’t believe I’m actually meeting a Gerudo! What’s your name?”
Lukan introduced herself. If she were someone who did anything shyly – which she was not, naturally – her manner here could be described as somewhat shy. She just couldn’t believe this Hylian was being so polite to her after their altercation.
“Where are you headed then, Lukan?” Mina asked, while her voe companion stayed silent. It seemed that Hylian vai were much bolder than their male counterparts, and much more like Gerudo than Lukan had assumed. She’d met vai of all other races in Gerudo Town, of course, though she could never make conclusions about any race in particular based on her limited experience. Anyway, this vai was unlike any she’d met before. “If you’re trying to get back to Gerudo Town, I fear you’re headed in the wrong direction.”
“I’m simply trying to find shelter at the moment,” Lukan admitted.
“Well, we’re headed to a stable not too far up the road,” Mina informed her. “Why don’t we all walk together?”
“Mina!” Mils protested once again, but Mina ignored him.
“I will allow you to guide me there,” Lukan relented, with a stiff bow of her head. Even back in the desert, she had always hated accepting help from others. Recently it seemed she was becoming more and more incapable of self-sufficiency.
“Awesome!” Mina said, and all three began walking, Mils slightly ahead of Mina and Lukan. “Hey, I don’t want to assume anything,” Mina said to Lukan, “but is this your first time in the rain?”
“It is,” Lukan confessed. “We don’t have this nonsense where I come from.”
“Don’t diss it!” Mina said, looking up at Lukan with a smile. Lukan was sure that Mina must be the type of vai that every voe in the region would want to win over. “I like rain. But it can get annoying, you’re right. Here’s what I do.”
Mina took the shield off her back and raised it over her head so that it created a barrier between her and the falling droplets. The water made a tak tak noise when it collided with her shield. Lukan was embarrassed that she hadn’t thought of this strategy sooner. She lifted her own shield and held it over her head.
“Nice!” Mina said, giving a wink of approval. “Anyone who goes around these parts without a shield is an idiot. For multiple reasons.”
Lukan frankly couldn’t agree more.
Soon, the looming shape of the stable appeared in front of them. Lukan was glad to see that it was really very similar to the Canyon Stable, though without the bustling life and sunset glow that always accompanied her visits there. This stable clearly was not a gateway hub like hers was, but a refuge amidst vacant landscapes and ominous ruins.
Mils and Mina greeted a few others as they walked in, and Lukan quickly noticed that everyone here was Hylian. She’d known the possibilities of meeting another Gerudo this far from the desert were slim to none, but she still felt a bit out of place. Every voe there was looking at her with some mix of fear and fascination.
“I’m going straight to bed,” Mils grumbled as he handed some rupees to one of the stablehands.
“Alright, enjoy,” Mina said, “I’m going to show our new friend around.”
“Be careful,” Mils hissed.
“Whatever.” Mina waved him off, and he walked toward the beds, shaking his head. “My brother’s scared of everything,” she said to Lukan. “Don’t take it personally.”
“Your brother?” Lukan had heard the word before, but she couldn’t place what it meant.
“Oh, I guess there’s not really a Gerudo word for brother. It’s like the male version of a sister.”
“Ah,” said Lukan, grateful for the explanation. She followed Mina to one of the stable’s doorways, where they both took their packs off and sat down, just out of reach of the rain. “You seem to know some Gerudo language. Where did you learn it?”
Mina laughed a little nervously. “From books. You’ve got to know a bit of every language in Hyrule to be a treasure-hunter, but I’ve never actually met a Gerudo before this, so my speech is…um, a little lacking in practice.”
“It’s very good for a foreigner,” Lukan said. “I’m sorry I nearly attacked you. That is not the impression of my people that I wish to portray to Hylians. We really aren’t as violent as voe like your brother might think.”
“Again, my brother’s a pure idiot,” Mina insisted. “He just thinks I’m too weak to handle myself. And I get why you did what you did. I’ve been attacked by monsters around here, so you had every right to be on alert. Besides, I’m not getting a bad impression of Gerudo women in the slightest. Are they all as gorgeous as you?”
Lukan was stunned by the compliment. She knew that, as a soldier, she was one of the more muscular Gerudo, and strength was nearly equivalent to beauty among her people, but she hadn’t thought that this would be appealing by Hylian standards.
“I’m sorry,” Mina laughed again. “That was a bit rude of me. I’m just kinda…in awe.”
“No, no,” Lukan insisted. “I’m somewhat in awe of you as well. I hadn’t thought that Hylian vai were as adventurous and self-sufficient as you seem to be.”
“A lot of them aren’t, but what can I say? It’s a strange world, full of amazing, and valuable stuff. You’ve gotta be prepared if you really want to find something worthwhile. Speaking of, would you mind if I had a look at your sword? I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Sure,” Lukan said, unsheathing it carefully and handing it to Mina. She didn’t know why she was so comfortable with this. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to talk to a stranger without constantly being suspicious that they were secretly Yiga in disguise. Mina was just so open and kind. So fierce, and yet so trustworthy. “It’s called a scimitar. A common weapon for Gerudo soldiers.”
“It’s lovely,” Mina said appreciatively, turning it over by the handle. She traced the metalwork to the tip of the blade and almost pressed her finger to it, but Lukan quickly reached out and held her hand.
“Careful,” she said. “Your brother will not think kindly of me if you slice yourself open.”
“Sorry,” Mina said sheepishly, handing the scimitar back. “I can get wrapped up in the beauty of things like this. I guess Mils is right about me sometimes.”
Lukan shook her head insistently, taking her hand back in a somewhat awkward manner. “I was the same. The day I began training as a soldier, I nearly took a spear to my own leg because I was so excited just to be holding one. Luckily, my captain stepped in at the right time.”
Mina tilted her head up to get a better look at Lukan. Even in the dark, rainy atmosphere, her hair was a brilliant shade of white. Lukan was reminded of the opals in Isha’s shop.
“If you’re a soldier, what are you doing so far out here, away from all the others?”
Lukan let out a short, unnoticeable sigh (or at least, she hoped it was unnoticable). “My vaba , my…er, how would you say it?”
“That’s grandmother , right?”
“Yes, my grandmother wants me to find a voe to be with.”
“She wants you to find a husband?” Mina asked, sounding a little shocked, like she couldn’t believe Lukan would be someone who did something like that. Lukan couldn’t blame her.
“Unfortunately,” Lukan said.
“I thought…well, I kinda thought Gerudo were only interested in…other Gerudo.”
“Many are,” Lukan told her. “But in order for our race to live on, at least some of us need to find a Hylian voe to help us have children.”
“You don’t seem enthused about the idea,” Mina observed.
“I’m not. I have friends who treasure the dream of finding love with a voe, but that has never appealed to me. Nor has the idea of having children. It is not something I am interested in.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Lukan admitted, for the first time. She didn’t know what she was going to do at all. She couldn’t disappoint her vaba , but she also couldn’t commit to being with a voe. Perhaps she’d simply have to return to Gerudo Town after a couple months of traveling and admit that she had failed. At least she might be able to hunt down a couple Yiga on the way, but this mission was surely a huge waste regardless.
At least she was having fun tonight. She never would have thought it, but staying awake under a stable awning and watching the rain, though not at all productive, was extraordinarily enjoyable. Especially when she had such a beautiful, intelligent vai to talk with.
“Where will you go tomorrow?” Lukan asked. “Is there a specific treasure you’re looking for?”
“Not exactly,” Mina sighed. “Mils and I have searched nearly all the ruins in this area, and the most we ever find is a few rusty old weapons from a hundred years ago. I want to branch out, but he just wants to go back home to Hateno. I think I’ve always been more passionate about this than him. I want the pay, of course, but I also want to feel like I’m really uncovering something ancient and historical.”
“That’s an admirable pursuit,” Lukan said. She nearly brought up the fact that there were vast areas of unexplored land in the desert, which might just be teeming with historical treasure. Lukan could easily guide Mina past the dangers that stood in the way. However, she managed to convince herself that this would make her seem a little too attached to this treasure-hunter who she had only just met.
“Hey, the rain is stopping!” Mina said, standing up excitedly. “Now we can start a fire and cook something to eat. If you’re hungry.”
Everyone else in the stable had already gone to sleep at this point, but Lukan couldn’t object to staying up a while longer. Together, their food supplies encompassed a bit of meat and mushrooms, which Mina made into a few delicious skewers for them. Lukan also presented some palm fruit. Mina had never tasted it, and it delighted her when Lukan showed her how to simmer it. They sat at the cook pot for a while after that, and Lukan was put slightly at ease by the fact that her clothes were getting a little drier. Still, she was somewhat uncomfortably damp, and she knew that the heat from the small cooking fire would not be enough to remedy the situation fully.
Mina seemed to notice Lukan smoothing the fabric of her sirwal, and remarked, “Your clothing is really so pretty. But aren’t you cold wearing that outside of the desert?”
Lukan was about to explain that the desert was quite cold at night, and that she was used to walking through the dry, frigid sand. And yet, she noticed that she was actually still shivering a little. She wasn’t used to a damp, humid sort of coldness, and the fact that she was sitting still instead of moving around made her feel it even more.
“Here, I have just the thing,” Mina said, without waiting for Lukan to answer. She opened her pack, which was resting against the little log stool she was sitting on, and pulled out what seemed like a thick woolen blanket. “Only, my legs are a bit cold too, so we may have to share.”
This sort of closeness was something Lukan was deeply unfamiliar with, not in the least because she had just met this vai. Perhaps Hylians were just a little more open with strangers than Gerudo were.
Wordlessly, Lukan stood up and pushed her stool against Mina’s so that they formed a sort of bench. Then, she sat again. Mina eagerly moved closer and threw the blanket around both their shoulders.
“I thought you said your legs were cold?” Lukan wondered, and maybe even teased.
“They are,” Mina said. “But I figured your arms must be colder. Besides, we can get warm together.” She moved closer so that her right leg was pressed against Lukan’s left. Lukan instantly stiffened. Though some Gerudo could be very physically affectionate with each other, Lukan had never been one to seek that out, and had therefore not experienced many scenarios like this before. She was a fighter, and didn’t take kindly to being touched.
Noticing Lukan’s momentary discomfort, Mina leaned away slightly. “Or…um, if you’re uncomfortable, we can just go get some beds inside. That might be best…you’re probably tired after traveling.”
“No,” said Lukan hurriedly, for a few reasons, not all of which were clear to her. For one, she didn’t really like sleeping in beds, and hadn’t done so for a long time. She preferred taking quick naps while sitting, as that way, she could always be on high alert for danger. But she couldn’t deny that part of the reason she wanted to stay here was Mina herself. “I’m alright, if you are.”
“Yes.” Mina spoke softly and smiled. “I’m great.”
So they sat there together, under the blanket, exchanging a few words while staring into the dying fire under the cook pot. They ended up progressively more and more huddled together, and with the very slow escalation of this physical contact, Lukan discovered she didn’t mind it so much. Now, they were practically leaning against each other, arms and legs touching on their shared side. Lukan was trying not to notice Mina’s small, half-gloved hand resting so close to her own.
They began to ask each other simple questions. Lukan wondered what it was like to have a brother (largely annoying but occasionally nice, according to Mina). Mina inquired as to whether Lukan enjoyed being tall (she explained that she was actually on the shorter side for a Gerudo, and was flattered to be considered tall in this context).
Soon, Lukan began to feel her awareness drift. For a moment, she was conscious of the fact that she should never lose her focus entirely, lest she prove herself a horrible soldier, but she could still hear Mina talking at a steady pace, and it relaxed her.
When she next came to, she noticed that everything was much brighter. She blinked a few times and saw that across from the stable, the sun was rising between the nearby hills. She must have been asleep, which alarmed her, since she hardly ever fell asleep without planning to.
Her head was resting against something soft, which she suddenly realized, with even more alarm, was Mina’s shoulder. Her arms had even somehow found their way around the vai’s slight waist.
Lukan sat up rapidly, and Mina looked a bit startled, but not offended.
“How long have I been out?” Lukan asked, not bothering to disguise her worry.
“Only a few hours,” Mina answered, sounding calm and happy, the exact opposite of Lukan.
“That’s more than I usually sleep.” Lukan removed the blanket, which was still around her shoulders, and moved to smooth her hair. “Was I leaning on you the entire time? I apologize, that must have been unpleasant for you.”
She reached for her pack, which was exactly as she’d left it the night before. Her scimitar and shield were still present, as well as the rest of her gear. At least no thief had gotten the better of her in the night. Before this, she’d been almost certain that would happen if she closed her eyes for more than an hour at a time.
“Hey,” Mina said, resting her hand on Lukan’s muscular forearm. “Don’t feel bad. It was nice.”
It was a relief for Lukan to hear that. She’d never really imposed herself on anyone like that before, and though it had been an accident, she had to admit that it had been enjoyable for her as well. Soothing even.
Mina kept her hand on Lukan’s arm, and simply looked at her.
“Won’t your brother be waking soon?” Lukan whispered, not knowing what else Mina might want her to say.
“Lukan,” Mina said matter-of-factly. “I hope we don’t have to part ways. I’ve loved getting to know you, and I’d like to know you even more.”
“In what way do you desire to know me, exactly?” Lukan asked, her face warming more and more with every second that Mina’s hand remained. She apprehensively hoped for a very specific answer.
“Er…um…,” Mina looked around anxiously, and seemed not to be able to formulate a verbal response. Then, more to herself than to Lukan, she muttered, “I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”
Then, she quickly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear in a bit of a nervous gesture, and leaned forward. Next thing Lukan knew, Mina’s soft lips were pressed very lightly to her own. She, much like the crisp morning air, brought a sensation of joy and beginning with her.
Mina’s face displayed her blush much more obviously than Lukan’s, and her cheeks were almost entirely dusted in red when she sat back.
“You’re quite daring, little vai,” Lukan said, unable to keep a smile from her lips. Then, she remembered what she had almost said last night. “You know…there’s plenty of fascinating treasure in the desert, if you would like to bring your work to Gerudo Town.”
“I’d love to,” Mina said, with a happy laugh. “First, accompany me and Mils to Hateno. Then, he’ll be relieved to be home, and I can come to the desert with you.”
“And maybe by that time, my vaba will accept that I will never find a voe,” Lukan added, with her own laugh. She couldn’t believe she had found such luck so early on in her journey.
“Perfect!” Mina said. “Hey, I’ll go and wake Mils, and then we can have breakfast.” She stood up and dusted herself off. It was the first time Lukan had really seen her fully in the sunlight, and she was even prettier than before.
“Will you tell your brother of our…?” Lukan wasn’t sure what to call it.
“Not yet,” Mina answered, gleaning Lukan’s meaning. “Eventually yes, but for now I just wanna know how long it’ll take that fool to figure it out for himself.”
“I’d be entertained to see that as well.”
Mina smiled again and turned towards the stable, then doubling back as though she’d forgotten something, she said, “By the way. Sav’otta , Lukan.”
Lukan warmly replied, “ Sav’otta .”