in the cave
He couldn't take Epona with him into any of Hyrule Field's vast network of sinkhole-like caves dotting the rolling landscape.
Under rocks, they lay, decorated by rings of bushes too tough and tawdry for her to eat. Maybe she nosed at the insects that skittered around the mouth. Maybe she listened to the songs he played within.
Such small orifices were nothing compared to the arcane temples he'd already explored, their puzzles almost negligibly insignificant.
But in the cave, just below the surface, he could just hear her bemused neighs.
Playing at idle exploration didn't seem quite so youthful, anymore.