"Depending on what you mean by weak, it might be worth it to see if I can kill them myself. There are a lot of ways to make fatal mistakes with wards, it'd be convenient if I could just stop their hearts."

"I bet that'd work! Depends how fast you do it though. Bokoblins with clubs won't stand still for forty-five seconds unless they haven't noticed you yet. Maybe I should give you a basic fighting lesson tomorrow, just in case. Not with a sword, a nice staff maybe."

"I'd really like that, thank you!"

He wonders if the terrain will let him spy on monsters and kill them from a distance before they notice him.

"For now, though, I think I'll have some fleet-lotus wine and dance and then sleep for ten or twelve hours when the party's done."

He avoids the wine and doesn't know how to dance. He looks around to see if anyone is leaving, maybe it's rude to leave and he needs to stay.

People seem fine with other people lurking in the corner! Nobody leaves while he's looking. Link seems to enjoy dancing, just letting athletic energy out.

Soon Prince Sidon starts a speech and everyone pauses to listen, but a good number of people leave when he finishes. Link stays, picking up another serving of fish and chatting with some Zora.

He decides once it gets a little less crowded to just wait and be quiet and see if any eavesdroppable conversations are interesting.

"-Could use some more flint, it always shaves down to nothing eventually."

"You can find it in the hills, right? Go on a mining trip?"

"But there's more monsters than ever..."

"Don't underestimate shellfish! They look gross, but they're just as nutritious as real fish and they don't run away very well. Plus, some kinds glow in the dark at night, makes them easy to find!"

"Maybe we should go looking for shellfish together," someone nervously smiles at the other Zora. "Being alone at night is a bit scary but I know you'd protect me, such a strong man..."

"-Never want to fight more than one monster at a time. Even the weakest of them will overwhelm you if you try to fight a dozen at once. That's why expedition teams stick together, have lookouts and scouts, and move carefully to engage monsters individually..."

"Don't go up that mountain, no matter how 'cool' you think it is, young man! I've seen the folk bragging to you about going up to the peak. Let me tell you, they're probably lying through their teeth, and even if they aren't, it's not worth risking your life!"

"But mom! I can handle it!" This child looks about twelve.

"No buts! It's for your own good..."

Ugh, slaves. They can say parents here are supposed to take good care of their children but he's not going to believe it until he's seen something less ambiguous than this.

Is it rude to interrupt people here? Who knows! Would it be rude to leave without telling Link where he's going? Who knows! He goes and finds her. "Hey, Link, I'll be in our room if you need me, I'm leaving."

"-Alright, have a good night. I'll probably be there in an hour or two."

Valanda waits for her there.

The party settles down more over the next hour. Link comes in then, signs of drunkenness limited - still mostly alert and coordinated. "Still don't want to get your own room? I'll pay for it if you want one you know!"

"People here hint too much, I can't tell if you're trying to kick me out or trying to make sure I'm comfortable. I'll leave if you want, you don't have to pay me to, but I'd rather be here with you. Why, did you want the bed to bring a cute Zora back from the party?"

"No, no! I mean, I wouldn't mind if Sidon- Anyway! Nothing like that. I want you to be comfortable. You were a bit uncomfortable with sharing a room last night, I thought."

"I don't know what I'm doing, it's not like I've had a roommate before. I kind of like sharing space with you, though. I know that's weird."

Oh look he's blushing.

"It's not that weird. People like people sometimes. I don't know much about how you grew up, but it can't have been very fun... So, no problem from me."

"I like lots of people I wouldn't sleep around. Maybe people here are more trusting. Uh, do you find that roommates need to have a talk about stuff like what happens if one person wakes up earlier or if someone rolls over in their sleep and touches the other person or something?"

"Sometimes, yeah. It's just that most of the time when you have to share space like this it's on, like, camping trips or at a remote log cabin in the Hebra mountains. Not somewhere you wanna spend the rest of your life- I'm not making any sense, am I? Shutting up. Anyway, I'm not super picky about how I sleep."

"Oh! Oh, that makes sense, of course you only go traveling in monster country with people you trust enough to sleep around. Oh, um, I noticed people looking at each other a lot here, and you mentioned it was a thing the first time we met. Do you not mind being watched?"

"Looking at each other? You mean, like I'm doing now? I don't think anyone minds that unless you do it in a creepy way or stare, which is, uh, kiiiinda hard to explain what counts as that..."

Valanda takes a moment to really appreciate what a nice body Link has. He's not subtle.

"...Uhhhh." Well maybe looking directly at people is a new experience. Link smiles nervously.

"Did I do it wrong?"

How about if he just never looks at anything within ten feet of her again, how about that. How about if he just goes home where people make sense and just feels horribly lonely for the rest of his life.

"No! No! I mean... I wasn't expecting... That kind of looking... This is another there-are-so-many-complications-and-exceptions-to-it-terrible-to-learn thing. It is. Well. Looking at people certain ways makes it... A sex thing... Is it? For you, I mean? I'm not judging! I'm asking."

"I thought you already knew I wanted that. I mean, not if you don't, you didn't seem to want to so I wasn't going to bring it up again or anything."