#Godspeed to me snsksns

[sunfloweraro]

Relaxing in Kakariko

While waiting for Wild to finish speaking with Impa, the group take a moment to relax. Twi has some ideas on how to help Bunny calm down.

Tags: @thatonecrazysidekick @tiredgaytheatrekid

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Warriors settled back, his legs dangling, feet hovering just above the water, the toes of his leather boots sending gentle ripples through the still water. He leaned back on his hands, eyes slipping shut, and were it not for the fact that Twilight knew Warriors, he would have guessed the man had switched off entirely. But his ears twitched with every sound, his shoulders tense. He was overthinking things again, while still on high alert.

And he wanted Twilight to relax.

“Stop thinkin’ so ‘ard,” Twilight chastised him, flicking him over the shoulder and causing Warriors to flinch. “I can feel meself getting’ a headache jus’ watchin’ ye.”

Warriors shot him a sour look, and so Twilight kicked up water all over his pants. “Hey!”

“Ye need tuh learn tuh relax, my friend,” Twilight said. “Take a few deep breaths and let yer mind switch off fer a bit. I promise I’ll listen out fer the both of us.”

Warriors scoffed, but Twilight had a feeling it was only for show, if the way a soft smile tried to lift Warriors’ lips told him anything. “Alright. I will try, I suppose.”

“Ye bet ye will. Breathe in with me.” And when Twilight made an exaggerated breath in, Warriors followed. Together, they took several deep breaths, Twilight watching as Warriors’ shoulders lowered, the tension bleeding out from them. “Good. Now lie back and rest, will ye? Yer one o’ the worst of us when it comes tuh sleeping.”

Warriors made a show of grumbling, but he settled back against the hard wood of the boardwalk, resting his hands over his stomach and finally letting himself relax. His eyes slipped shut, that soft smile still gracing his lips. His hair encircled his head on the dark wood like a golden halo.

“Tha’s better,” Twilight said, squeezing Warriors’ arm and earning a huff of laughter. With a grin, Twilight leaned back on his hands once more, leg resting against Warriors’ side, ears sharp for any sign of danger as promised.

Soon enough, he heard the soft footfalls of folks approaching. Cracking open an eye, Twilight smiled when he saw it was only the rest of their group, bar his Cub. “Evenin’” he greeted. “The inn too good fer y’all?”

Hyrule picked his way over Warriors, settling down on Twilight’s other side cross-legged, setting Bunny in his lap. “The cook wasn’t prepared for a group of eight hungry Heroes and their rabbit. She’s shooed us all away for the moment.”

Twilight laughed at that. They rarely stayed at inns, but the horror on every cook’s face never ceased to make him laugh. They always repaid the cooks with praise and tips to apologise for the extra work, and each of them walked away happy. As he settled, he turned his attention down to their newest member. “How’s ‘e doin’?”

Hyrule slumped slightly, running a hand over Bunny’s back and receiving no response. “He’s been despondent since the fight. I don’t think he’s sleeping much, either. He just doesn’t seem to relax. I’m worried…”

Twilight understood what that was like, to be so high-strung after a terrible fight and consequential injury. He understood how traumatising the experience was, how difficult it became to continue on afterwards, when it felt as if you were trapped in your terror. Instinctively, he raised a hand to his left shoulder, felt the phantom pain there from the beginning of his journey, scarcely a few years ago now. “Mind if I try somethin’? I’ll be gentle with ‘im,” he promised when Hyrule looked hesitant to part ways with Bunny.

After a beat, Hyrule acquiesced, lifting Bunny into his arms and holding him close for a moment, before passing him over to Twilight. Bunny was warm in his hands, a comforting weight he had been missing all day, when Hyrule had been reluctant to let him go since the fight. “Hey there, li’l one. I know ye’ve been through the wringer lately. I’ve got somethin’ tuh help ye relax some.” He set Bunny down in his lap, the rabbit facing him. Once Bunny had shifted and gotten comfortable, Twilight set his hands over the rabbit’s head, slow and careful so Bunny wouldn’t panic. Even in the gentle touch, he could feel how terribly Bunny was shaking, just how badly the fight was still affecting him. His heart ached for the poor creature, and the life they had chosen for him by tearing him away from his home. But Twilight reminded himself that if they had set him free again, Bunny likely would have run off into the wilderness once more, and this time, he wouldn’t have them to find him.

“Aw, ye poor thing,” he murmured, his face softening. He cradled Bunny’s tiny head in his hands, setting his thumbs over Bunny’s forehead. There, he began slow strokes, from the space just above Bunny’s little nose, up between his eyes, and to the back of his head, then back down to start again. With his other fingers, he began to massage behind Bunny’s ears. It was a trick Rusl would always do for him when he awoke from a nightmare, in his Hylian and his wolf form. In both forms, he would relax under the gentle pressure and drift off swiftly.

It had the same effect on Bunny. The little pink rabbit’s eyes began to droop, his body stilling as his muscles relaxed. With a smile, Twilight continued, warmth blooming within his chest as Bunny settled under his guidance and comfort, and eventually drifted off.

“Wow,” Hyrule said, leaning closer. “You must have a magic touch.”

Twilight shrugged. “It’s a thing with animals; helps ‘em relax.”

Hyrule hummed. After a beat, he shifted closer, leaning into Twilight’s side. “Thank you. For helping him, I mean. I was beside myself with worry…”

“Of course,” Twilight said, removing one hand from Bunny to settle over Hyrule’s shoulders, drawing him in closer. “He’s family, now. That means we look out fer ‘im. Just as we look out fer each other. Get some rest, Traveller, you look a right mess too.”

Hyrule huffed a laugh, but Twilight wasn’t exaggerating. His concern for Bunny had been keeping him up, and it took no more encouragement for Hyrule to lean heavily against him, a deep sigh escaping him.

Twilight sat as he was until Wild came back, two sleeping bodies resting against him and a third against his leg, and a pleasant, tingling warmth pressing against his heart.