Breath of the Wild Writings

The BotW/TotK dragons specifically, because I realize that a lot of the Zonai’s design details are similar or exactly the same as what we see on the dragons flying around Hyrule.

HUGE SPOILERS FOR THE DRAGON’S TEARS QUESTLINE

“My dear,” a voice begins, low and exhausted, but not without a sense of genuine, unending curiosity. You’re fairly sure you know exactly what he’s about to ask, but you let him speak without interruption. “…However in the world do people manage to live our here, let alone exist?”

The confusion, almost childlike in ignorance, is mildly amusing. You’d much rather hear him asking questions than complaining about the dry, scorching heat–which meant that the salve was still working. Enchanted with the waters of the Zora’s domain itself, it was paramount in making it safe to cross the Gerudo Desert with your partner, the prince of the Zora’s Domain himself: Prince Sidon.

“Because not everyone is a Zora, Sidon.”

A sigh is the only thing you get in response at first, a soft sound brushing through the otherwise dry air. You’re both only a short while away from the Gerudo’s main town, where word of your arrival has already been received and prepared for extensively as per agreements for a treaty between the two kingdoms.

No amount of help, magical enchantments or otherwise, could quell the endless curiosity that otherwise seemed to pour from the other’s mind. Questions, endless questions, many of which you couldn’t offer much of an answer to beyond what you knew from early years in school.

“Do people have to use enchantment all the time in order to live in this insufferable heat?”

“No,” You laugh, gently tugging the hood of your robe a bit farther over your face, trying to stop the sandy breeze from buffering against your face. “They aren’t Zora, Sidon, so they don’t need things like potions and salves to resist the heat. Just like how Hylians aren’t able to adapt to water like you are.”

Sidon hummed, letting his eyes gaze up from the dunes towards the horizon, where there lie a small but discernible shape of Gerudo Town, just another hour or so of a walk.

“Still, it doesn’t make sense anyone would actually care to live out here,” The prince said, nearly pouting. “I much prefer the freedom and comfort of the water at home.”

“We only stay for a week,” Or less, if things worked out even better. “And then we’ll be on our way–it’s not as if Gerudo town doesn’t have water too, you know. I’m sure that they’ll have something for you to feel comfortable.”

The satisfied sigh was worth it to hear, despite the misery of walking through the desert. 

I think he certainly has to keep aware of the danger of his skin and body drying out, if only because he is a largely aquatic race! However, it’s not a completely impossible challenge to overcome, especially since he is to be king and, therefor, be able to travel the land as an ambassador for his people when needed.

There’s a lot of options for Zora to make sure that they don’t dry out to the point of illness or harm, and the easiest is simply keeping close to a body of water. Since many Zora get their water intake through sleeping in a body of water, being able to keep near a river or lake it enough to mute the worry of drying out. 

In the instance that there isn’t water nearby, the next easiest thing would be to pack a special sort of salve, created specifically to keep their skin from drying out–basically it’s a moisturizer that they have to constantly keep applying to their bodies. For Zora with little wealth or resources to get of such salves, this could be difficult!

“Dearest, while I deeply appreciate the attempt, I don’t think you’re very…suited for this,” the words were followed by a sheepish chuckle, but their owner did nothing to otherwise dissuade you from your mission. The size difference was one obvious problem, especially after the prince’s first adult growth spurt.

It was easiest to sit him down in a pool, with you at the edge, legs apart with him in between as best he could. Not the best position for a massage, but it was the best that you could get, and the Gerudo Desert would sooner freeze over before you’d drop an attempt to help your lover from a tense period of time.

“I’m not completely useless at this,” you say, gently leaning against him in a moment of quiet intimacy. “I just wanna help you. You’ve been so stressed lately with taking over for your dad.”

“True,” Sidon admitted that much with little argument. “But that doesn’t mean you need to slice your hands up trying to help me relax.”

You wilted slightly under his words, but nevertheless spent the next several minutes giving it a hearty attempt, until the roughness of his scales began to shred the gloves you wore in an ignorant plan to overcome such a problem. Ah.

Wonderful.

It did frustrate you though, feeling helpless to help your lover when you knew so well what he was dealing with. He could do the same for you; why wasn’t it fair?

The Prince could feel the growing aggregation in the air, the frustration behind your words when you finally whispered,

“I just want to make you feel good.”

He paused in thought for some time, lost in thought, before eventually turning around and slowly pulling you against his body. Water lapped at your skin and soaked in your clothes, though nether bothered you enough to pull your attention away from the prince’s charming smile.

In all honesty, you had barely noticed it yourself. The tension, at least, not the pain that came with it. The pain was a constant presence in your mind, a distraction that sometimes pulled your focus away from things that mattered or, at worst, made you have to sit down and try to focus on simply ignoring it for a while. 

For the longest time you simply thought you were standing too long. Maybe lifting too many heavy objects around the Domain, typically to help some of the shop keeps, were starting to take their toll on you. Maybe it was because you were bending incorrectly–there were a lot of maybes, but you came to the conclusion that the pain was an impossible thing to avoid, a byproduct of physical labor.

It was Sidon who pointed out that he could help. It came when he noticed you wincing, trying to lift a box of freshly-caught fish. After pointing out that your posture wasn’t the best, Sidon took the box from you, then moved it himself. 

“My dear, I think you’ve been working too much.”

The words of concern would soon lead to him leading you back to your quarters, setting you down on the bed, and gently climbing on the bed behind you. 

He rubbed his hands over your shoulders, careful for the sharp prick of his claws, and instantly let out a sheepish chuckle.

“You are so tense!” Sidon said. “And I don’t say that to seduce you in bed, dearest–when was the last time that you relaxed?”

The question came with no answer, or at least not one that was quick enough for your liking.

“I,” You started. “Uh. I don’t….know?”

“Wrong answer,” The prince huffed, leaning down enough to he could press a kiss to the top of your head. “If you overwork yourself, you’ll be even more pained–your muscles are tensed up so much that I’m surprised you haven’t gone to the healer for your pain.”

His fingers gently dug into your shoulders, pressing out the aches and pains that, while hurting in itself, was a good sort of pain. You could feel him gently working your muscles, softening them underneath.