A Foolish Challenge

To everyone's surprise—and Odie's credit—the gremlin didn't challenge the Goron to an outright fight. They seemed to understand that the odds there were not in their favor. Instead, they chose something that they were much more likely to succeed at…

Unfortunately, Odie didn't know enough about Goron to know that they were very good at three things: mining, fighting, and—

"You're going to what?!" Zelda exclaimed as Odie posed the challenge, horrified. There was no way they were going to win this! What was this gremlin even thinking? Didn't they know anything?

"Dance for it!" Odie stated again, just as chaotically gleeful as ever. "And I'm gonna win, too." No ifs ands or buts about it in their mind, of course. They would win because they would win. They had decided it would be that way. 

"If that is the challenge you pose, small one," Boss Garbum rumbled, amused glint in his eyes, "Then that challenge will be met. You have one week to create a suitably powerful dance." 

"Awright!" Odie leapt into the air, pumping their fists. "This is gonna be awesome!" 

——————

"This is gonna be a disaster! There is no way this is going to end well," Zelda fretted for the umpteenth time this week, pacing the small room of the inn the teenagers had been sharing. Only Arson was in the room at the moment to hear her fretting, and he was doing his level best to be supportive…even if he was getting bored of it. "Goron are really good at dancing, you know," she elaborated. "They're known for it. Haven't you guys ever met a Goron?" 

"You've never seen Odie dance," Arson responded calmly, still studying the map they had been given by Boss Garbum, a map of the Eldin area etched into a slab of slate. It was interesting, and it was something that they would likely need to know later. Not to mention Odie wasn't going to take one single peek at the thing! "I doubt anything as bulky as a Goron can move as gracefully as Odie can. I'm not worried about them being outperformed."

"Yeah, but when they lose? Then what? We won't get the stone!" 

"You really shouldn't doubt Odie's dancing."

It really was that simple to Arson. Odie danced as if possessed, graceful leaps and impossible twirls, absolutely enchanting any time they were on stage. Arson knew his cousin would win. How could they not? They were the best dancer, after all. 

During that week, Odie spent a lot of time on their own, studiously developing and practicing their own routine in the privacy of a cave they had found some ways up the mountain. Despite appearances, they were taking this challenge very seriously. If Arson said that this task was important (and he had; or at least, he'd said that Farore had told him so), then it was damn well important, and Odie was not going to mess it up! No sir!

Though…Odie wouldn't admit it to anyone, especially not to their cousin, but they were nervous. They'd seen the Goron challenger practicing, and they were pretty good. They weren't really sure how they were going to beat that show of power, after all. 

Goddesses help them…