That hurt.

All it had taken was another moment of distraction, and Link was on his inside- and he moved quicker than Espedon had given him credit for. The literal slap on the wrist served to bring him back into the fight, and while it wasn't strong enough to disarm him, it would swell up later on, for certain.

It was fortunate that Espedon maintained his acrobatic training, as it was the only thing, at that point, between being gut-checked by the Hylian's shield. Espedon released his grip on the Seventh and it blinked out of sight. He braced down, and as Link charged in, he leapt up, grabbing a hold of the top of the shield to act as a guide. Deftly, he performed a sort of side-roll over Link's head, and upon landing, called the Seventh back into his hand.

Link's open side was exposed, although the lack of preparation time Espedon had been given him made his landing a bit wobbly. A counterattack was out of the question, but it gave him time to get his footing again.

He grinned at the young swordsman, apparently pleased. This was more fun than he'd had since his arrival.

The trick now would be maintaining his focus. But the pull...