#Hyrule's thinking oh my throat hurts I've got an herb for that

[skyloftian-nutcase]

For the september/sicktember thing, how about Hyrule with strep throat? Or Sky with a migraine. Whichever takes your fancy.

Let's torture Hyrule! :D

(Click here to read on AO3)

Hyrule cleared his throat.

It was a beautiful morning, and he’d gotten up fairly early in eager anticipation of their departure. While Hyrule enjoyed seeing different villages and seeing how others lived and thrived, he had earned his nickname as the Traveler for a reason. He loved being on the road.

Hyrule cleared his throat again. Goodness, it certainly seemed a little dry… and achy.

Writing it off as probably the dryer air, Hyrule gathered his belongings and silently slipped out of the room so as not to disturb Sky. They’d all stayed at an inn for the night while they’d rested and restocked on supplies, and Hyrule, Sky, and Wild had bunked together. Wild, of course, was already awake and downstairs – he rose with the sun (sometimes before it) and was definitely a morning person.

It was as Hyrule was going down the stairs that he gave a tentative swallow to wet his throat and then shuddered.

Holy heaven, that hurt.

Hyrule let out an involuntary groan at the scratching in the back of his throat, and he was alarmed at how weak his voice sounded. Maybe some tea would help the situation? He was sure he had some peppermint that he could make into a tea.

Sighing, the traveler headed down to the main level with purpose. He reached into his adventure pouch and dug around, his arm steadily slipping farther and farther into the leather bag. Growing frustrated, he tossed the bag onto the nearest table and ferociously buried both arms into it, all the way up to his shoulders. The occasional passerby paused, throwing a bewildered glance in his direction, but Hyrule didn’t notice.

His hand slipped around a rough drawstring sack, and he smiled. Gotcha.

Pulling out the sack, he opened it and rifled through the different herbs he’d collected throughout his travels. The leaves had grown far crunchier since the last time he’d used it, but he was sure it would still work.

Wiping some sweat off his brow (when had he started sweating?), Hyrule grabbed a fistful of shriveled peppermint leaves and made his way to the communal kettle sitting over the fire. He pulled out a flask and filled it with steaming water and mixed the peppermint, sealing the flask and shaking it – not the most refined way to make tea, he was told, but it worked well enough for him.

Giving the tea a couple minutes to seep, he looked around and saw Wild entering with ingredients. The champion smiled before cocking his head to the side, his brow furrowing. “Traveler, are you okay?”

Hyrule smiled reassuringly, swallowing by instinct and opening his mouth to speak, when his throat screamed in protest at the gesture. He grimaced again, gripping the nearby table and glaring at the wood. He held up a finger as Wild worriedly walked towards him, and then took a quick swig from his flask.

That was a bad idea.

As soon as the scalding peppermint-infused water hit the back of his throat, his entire body balked, his stomach twisted in protest, and Hyrule proceeded to vomit all over the floor.

Sniffling, Hyrule rubbed the snot and bile from his face with his sleeve, mumbling, “Oops.”

“Yikes,” Wild said softly as he walked over. “How about you sit down, Traveler? I’ll clean up the mess.”

Hyrule felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment and shame, and he said, “I can clean it.”

And then proceeded to dry heave as aggravating his inflamed throat triggered his gag reflex.

Wild smiled sympathetically, patting Hyrule on the shoulder. “Let me handle it, okay?”

Letting out a slow, controlled breath, Hyrule dragged his feet to the table as Wild grabbed a cloth and started to soak up the mess he’d made. He felt incredibly guilty for causing a scene and getting sick on someone else’s floor, not to mention for having one of his dear friends clean up after him.

Footsteps caught his attention, and he groggily gazed at the doorway to see Twilight.

“What happened?” the Ordonian asked.

“Traveler threw up,” Wild explained simply.

Hyrule heard Twilight shuffle over to him, sitting to his left on the bench. His hand was warm, almost too warm on Hyrule’s shoulder. The touch was brief; Twilight quickly jerked his hand away and pressed the back of his palm against Hyrule’s forehead, making the young traveler flinch.

“You’re burning up, Traveler,” Twilight said softly. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”

Hyrule felt his stomach churn, twist, and drop all at the same time. He leaned heavily on his legs with his hands. He didn’t want to lie down, he wanted to leave.

But he wasn’t going to argue with the rancher. He knew when to ignore a fever and when to submit to it. Besides, he was in town – if they left now and his illness worsened, it wouldn’t be good. He didn’t want to be vulnerable in unsafe areas.

Sighing through his nose in defeat, Hyrule slowly rose and let Twilight guide him back upstairs. He paused halfway to the door, scrambling for his flask that he’d dropped, and gave Wild an apologetic pout. The champion smiled reassuringly and winked, warming Hyrule’s heart a little.

When they’d gotten upstairs once more, Twilight entered the room where Hyrule had been staying.

“Wake up, Sky,” he heard the rancher say as he approached the entrance.

Peeking in, Hyrule saw Sky sleeping on the edge of the bed, tangled in the blanket, his brow furrowed but his eyes still shut. Twilight sighed and opted to stop being gentle, shaking the teenager instead.

Sky groaned, slowly inhaling and opening his eyes to look blearily at the Ordonian.

“Traveler’s sick,” Twilight explained, and Hyrule shriveled into the shadows a little in shame. “You’re going to have to get up so he can rest.”

Sky blinked at him, registering the words as his mind struggled to wake up, and then he sat up fully. “He’s sick? Where is he?”

Hyrule would speak up, but he didn’t want to throw up again. Besides, the room was getting… awfully…

Shaking his head, the traveler leaned heavily against the door frame. The world was spinning, and he started to slide towards the floor. Twilight must have noticed, because he heard quick footsteps and was suddenly hoisted into the air. By the goddesses, the rancher really was strong.

“S-s’r’y…” he finally ground out, feeling his throat scream at even that attempt. His stomach, thankfully, didn’t protest… much. He felt drool pooling in his mouth as he was terrified to swallow it.

“It’s okay,” Twilight said softly with a smile, lowering Hyrule onto the bed as Sky, who had apparently quickly gotten out of bed, arranged the pillows and blankets for him.

As Hyrule curled into a ball on the bed, wrapping the blankets around himself tightly and trying to ignore his aching throat and stomach, he saw Twilight place a waste bin beside the bed and then face Sky. “I’ll go tell the Old Man. You good staying with him for now?”

Sky nodded with a gentle smile, watching the rancher leave. Then he pulled up a chair and sat, stretching his arms and back. Hyrule felt a little awkward, honestly – he wasn’t accustomed to anyone staying with him for anything, but especially when he was sick. He tried to bury his face under the blanket to avoid any accidental eye contact, but he eventually had to bend over the bed and spit out whatever drool he was holding hostage in his mouth.

“You want some water, Traveler?” Sky asked.

He desperately wanted to say yes, but the last time he’d tried to drink, it hadn’t ended well. So he shook his head.

But it didn’t seem to matter either way. Hyrule’s stomach suddenly decided it was time to erupt again, and he hastily ducked his head over the waste basket once more. He felt Sky’s hand on his back, a grounding force while he waited for Hyrule to finish. The traveler couldn’t help the moan that escaped his throat when he was done, sniffling and spitting. He tipped forward, nearly falling face first into the waste bin, when Sky’s strong arms guided him back to the pillow. He felt the Skyloftian wipe his face and then heard the familiar quiet footsteps of the champion.

“I made some ginger tea for him,” Wild said softly. “Helps with nausea.”

He couldn’t see anything with his eyes squeezed shut in misery, but Hyrule could hear the smile in Sky’s tone. “That’s very kind of you, thanks Champion. I’ll give it to him.”

As the traveler shivered under the covers, he felt Sky tuck him in and settle him more comfortably. He heard heavier footsteps, a handful of his friends entering the room, and he heard curtains rustling and closing and a candle being lit. There were soft murmurs and whispers, shuffling feet, a blessedly cool hand on his forehead, brushing the curls off his face, and then everything grew still. It wasn’t lonely, though, as it sometimes was when he’d been sick in the past. He could hear someone breathing softly, he could hear the sound of pages rustling as someone read, the sound of fabric being pierced as someone mended stitches. He smiled, settling more comfortably in bed.

Okay, he wasn’t accustomed to others being around while he was sick, and that was a little awkward… but it was also really nice.