@kikker-oma @gryphonlover @smilesrobotlover @silvrash-797 @ladye-zelda & anyone else who wanted to see Abel and LU Wild, here you go :)
Link sat beside him, watching him silently for a moment. Abel shifted, uncertain what to say or do, but the boy finally asked, "Why did you take watch?"
"It's a shared responsibility among your group, is it not?" Abel replied carefully before sincerely adding, "Besides, I don't sleep well."
The Hero of the Wilds hummed, looking contemplatively back at the fire. "I don't either."
Abel felt his chest clench, seeing the distant, somber pain in the boy's eyes. "I imagine not."
This caught Link's attention, and he looked back at Abel, brow furrowing slightly. "I should know you, shouldn't I?"
Abel watched him, startled. Link was far more expressive now than he remembered - it reminded him of when the boy was just a child. But his childlike wonder was tempered, mellowed by indescribable hurt and melancholy and loss, intertwining to create someone who was looking at him with pained desperation and dread, someone who was steeling himself for something.
In that moment, Abel realized, it probably was better that Link didn't remember. Better to live in the moment than have the memory of the past drag him into oblivion.
Which meant he needn't tell him the truth.
Abel schooled his expression into a neutral one, one that his son had mirrored so, so long ago. "We've never met, Hero."
Link watched him, eyes widening, and for a moment Abel thought it was because he was surprised at his response. But something else was wrong; the teenager's face was frozen, eyes seeming to dull, looking somewhere beyond Abel. The former knight turned to look behind him, wondering if perhaps Link had seen a beast, but there was nothing there. When he looked back at the boy, he hadn't moved.
"Link?" he prompted, putting a hesitant hand on the champion's shoulder. When the boy remained frozen, he shook him a little. "Link."
Anxiety wormed through his gut - what was wrong? This was like the boy had been frozen by a spell or something! He shook him again, harder, saying his name loudly. He heard movement as his tone roused someone, and the Hero of Twilight came into view.
"What's wrong?" the Ordonian Hero asked.
"He just—he isn't reacting to me at all," Abel explained, snapping his fingers in front Link's face. The boy didn't even blink.
The other hero hummed, seeming to relax. "A memory, probably. They come to him like this, it's... weird. But he'll snap out of it."
A memory? What memory? Did the boy just randomly... zone out like this? Wasn't that dangerous? What if he did that in a battle—
Link blinked, finally seeming to come back to life, but he immediately looked pale and ill. He was trembling, eyes filled with tears, breaths coming in gasps as he looked at Abel with horror.
Abel felt his blood run cold.
"Champion," the Hero of Twilight prompted, moving to put a hand on his shoulder.
Link rose abruptly, his eyes never leaving Abel's, before he turned on his heel and walked away swiftly.
Abel rose automatically to go after him, worry eating away at him. He'd caused this, he knew that. His heart fluttered with guilt, both at instigating this and at desperately hoping and wishing it would help as well, when he knew that it absolutely wouldn't. He wasn't good at processing emotions or handling others having an emotional crisis - that had always been his wife's gift. With her gone...
Goddess, he just wanted his family back.
Shaking his head and swallowing the lump in his throat, Abel focused on finding Link, but a hand on his arm stopped him.
"Stay here," the past hero advised. "I'll get him."
Fire burned its way from his gut to his heart, and spilled out of his mouth. "Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, boy."
Chosen Heroes be damned. Just because these children had saved their own Hyrules didn't mean they could order him around like this. It wasn't like destiny had smiled upon his world.
The young man's face hardened, grip tightening. "He's clearly upset. I'm not letting you get near him right now. Give him some space. I'll go to him."
The anger intensified, mixing with pain at the thought that the Hero was right - he had no right to the teenager, he didn't know him. It made him snap all the more. "I need to make sure he's okay, and you won't stop me from doing that."
"I will make sure he's okay," the Hero replied curtly. "Your concern is appreciated. But he's my brother of the sword. You are just a guest here."
Abel finally lost all patience, stepping forward into the man's personal space and hissing, "He's my son."
The young man's harsh expression immediately broke, eyes blowing wide with shock, grip loosening enough that Abel knocked him out of his way and stormed into the forest to follow Link.
It was easy to find him, given the hiccups and sobs that he heard. Link was sitting by a little stream, curled in on himself and shaking. He heard Abel's approach, immediately turning and looking at him, too devastated to bother putting up a fight anymore.
Abel wanted to apologize a hundred times over for hurting him like this. He wanted to apologize for losing him like this. He wanted to dig a sword into his own chest and gouge his own eyes out and never see his boy look like this again.
Instead, he slowly knelt in front of him and gently pulled him into a hug.
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So what's the lore with Juniper n their relationship with Vitimir n Hettie?
WELL for both, their relationships go back to their school days! Although the difference being that Juniper and Hettie went to St. Epiderm together, while Vitimir went to a different school (Glandus at the time he met Juniper).
I’ve briefly touched on how Juniper and Vitimir met here, so that explains their first meeting. To reiterate, Vitimir was a shy kid that didn’t really have any friends growing up (aside from bugs/whatever little creatures they spent their time around) and was bullied frequently, so that single positive interaction with Juniper, though small, really stuck with him and he never forgot it. Juniper didn’t forget it either, but being the sociable type meeting and talking to lots of different people, that moment sorta blended in with the rest of their memories. So fast forward to them both working as Coven Heads at the same time, Vitimir immediately recognizes Juniper. Despite Juniper changing a lot since his child self, that one good memory left such a big impact on Vitimir as a kid that he still held that soft spot for them. So of course, when Juniper eventually approached him on their own time, Vitimir already had this layer of vulnerability. Even though they might not have recognized him, from Vitimir’s perspective, there was that sense of familiarity and comfort; Juniper might have changed, but that kind kid was still in him. Now that they have the chance, Vitimir wants to actually get to know this one person who had plagued so many of their thoughts as a kid. And the rest is history!!
As for Hettie! Again, she and Juniper attended St. Epiderm together. Hettie was just as terrifying as a kid as she is now. She was everything- a jock, a princess, a bully, a weird girl, whatever you can think of. Though she’s very open about who she is, everyone around her was always so intimidated by the fact that she was unpredictable (and the fact that she’s both the smartest AND strongest person you’d ever meet is terrifying enough on its own). Most everyone- except for Juniper. To Juniper, Hettie was always such a character. She’s always been so confident and unapologetic, able to command people’s attention without even saying a word. Her unpredictability made everything she did so interesting. Juniper so deeply admired this about Hettie. And the fact that she’s 100% his type only drew them closer to her. Hettie was Juniper’s first ever crush, and that love Juniper had for her never faded. Though as kids, they weren’t in the same social circles, they did cross paths a lot, whether it was through Sonia (Scooter Crane’s daughter and childhood best friend to Juniper, who was also in the Healing Track), or Juniper getting injured for whatever ridiculous reasons. At this age, Hettie didn’t reciprocate her feelings (yet), but she had a fondness for Juniper because he was so different from the other kids for the fact alone that they had a (very obvious) crush on her. And while their crush may have caused them to do embarrassing things, and foolishly being used as her own guinea pig from time to time to practice her magic on, Hettie had cared about Juniper. To her, he always made life more fun and interesting. Fast forward to them as Coven Heads- Hettie has grown a stronger affection for Juniper. He’s changed over the years, but he still makes life so much more fun and interesting. Perhaps now, Hettie admires Juniper for the same exact reasons they always have her. They’re still a bit pathetic around her, but Hettie finds it endearing. Not to mention, Juniper still makes for a good doll to experiment on, and she takes good care of her favorite dolls ;-)
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