Work Text:
His pup’s scent has changed.
This is the first thing that Rusl notices when Link enters the bar and is shown to the table he and the other Resistance members are sitting at.
It’s not so dramatic as to indicate something horrendous might have happened (which… is surprising given everything that’s occurred since he’s last seen his boy)… but strong enough that even Rusl’s weaker sense of smell can detect it.
This is why he doesn’t automatically rip off his scent suppressant helmet (a relic from his time as a soldier) and tug Link into the crushing hug he’s been dreaming of ever since he’d finally been able to begin his search for the pups.
Instead, he sits and studies the boy… the boy who seems so much more like a man, now, as Telma begins introducing everyone in the Resistance.
Rusl inhales deeply as Auru stands to shake Link’s hand, inadvertently drawing his boy closer… wishing (not for the first time) that his nose was as sharp as a Hylian’s….
Yet, despite his weaker senses… he’s still able to parse out that the differences he’d caught in Link’s scent… definitely do not seem to be that which would come with shedding the last traces of childhood.
No, instead… new scents have become mixed with Link’s own… that of berries… a flower Rusl thinks he’s smelled blooming in the night (he doesn’t remember where or when, though)... alongside hints of plum….
It has to belong to someone Link’s spent a great deal of time with… after the village had been attacked… after Rusl and Uli and all the parents of Ordon had been so violently separated from their pups.
And honestly, he’s glad that the changes in his eldest’s scent really doesn’t seem to be a result of any fear or stress that may have surfaced in response to the madness that had swept down upon Hyrule.
Yet… a mystery still remains… the mystery of where the new scent had come from… who his boy has spent so much time with that their scent still lingers on his skin.
There had been no mention of Link traveling with a new companion from Colin or the other children from Ordon, once Rusl had managed to make his own way to Kakariko.
Nor had Telma and Ilia mentioned anyone other than Link aiding them in transporting an ailing Zora child to Kakariko’s shaman for healing… which had also led to the fortunate recovery of Ilia’s memories.
Recalling everything he’d heard of Link and his journey, both from his youngest son and even Telma herself… causes that strange mixture of pride, worry and aching longing, which had traveled alongside the Alpha all this time, to begin swirling in his chest again…
…and soon has Rusl pushing aside his questions at the same time he pulls his eldest into a hug the very second Telma turns the introductions his way, the Alpha emitting chuffs, croons and a continuous rumble once Link is in his arms.
“I thought you were dead!” Rusl can’t help but cry as he clings desperately to his boy, “I’m sorry I ever gave you a sword! I’m so glad you’re alright….”
His pup emits a startled yelp before hugging Rusl back, prompting the man to squeeze the boy even tighter, rubbing Link’s back as the younger male emits small keens of surprise, worry, happy, worry, pack, missed pack!
Rusl nuzzles and begins scenting Link, getting another lungful of the mysterious scent that swirls around his pup in the process.
This time, he’s also quite certain he can detect the tang of an Alpha mixed with that unknown scent.
But Link’s already pulling back slightly, though only enough to ask after Uli.
This prompts Rusl to share what info he has on his dear wife as well as an update on Colin and the other kids from Ordon.
From there, talk inevitably turns towards the concerning state of the world, that which had brought the Resistance together in the first place.
This eventually leads to Auru revealing whispers of monsters gathering in the Gerudo desert… alongside information regarding the Arbiter’s Grounds, a prison for Hyrule's most dangerous criminals… and a cursed mirror.
Link’s eyes and scent sharpen at the mention of said mirror and Rusl is quick to rise as his boy then stands and announces his intention to investigate the desert himself.
The elder alpha has every intention of going to the desert alongside Link, not at all ready to part with his Pup again, not so soon after they’d finally reunited.
But to his dismay, Link asks to go alone.
Rusl can’t help the pleading whine that slips out of his mouth when Link starts giving annoyingly understandable reasons for why it was best Rusl not accompany him.
Because they’d only just reunited, so how could his boy be so eager to leave again already?
In response, Link dips in to nuzzle against Rusl’s cheek, allowing the elder Alpha to pull him into another hug and a round of scenting.
“Does the real reason you don’t want me to come have to do with the new scent I can smell on you?” he murmurs in the midst of said scenting.
Link flinches a little but doesn’t pull away, thankfully.
Instead, he just huffs before murmuring, “she… she’s been through a lot and… isn’t up to making too many new friends just yet.”
And if that doesn’t have Rusl’s fatherly instincts stirring anew, but at Link’s expression, he lets the topic rest for now… though he doesn’t release the pup until their scents are properly intermingled.
Link’s emitting some light grumbles and growls by the time Rusl is finished, adolescent pride obviously stinging.
Rusl thinks it a fair price, though, which is why he’s able to hold back any further protests when Link heads out.
He’s still incredibly curious about the unknown scent and its owner, but he’ll be patient and wait for Link, and the person in question, to feel ready to introduce themselves.
Meanwhile, Rusl will be planning and preparing alongside the rest of the Resistance, ready to go to Link’s aid the moment he’s needed.