#so i just whipped up a zelda au

[waywardsalt]

drawing is difficult for me and writing is something i’m considerably better at sooooo…

written list of ideas i have for a humanoid design for bellum bc i think im finally zeroing in on something after a few uhhh years of brainstorming

(if you read this and have like. some ideas you want to share or some possible [constructive] criticisms go ahead and share them if you want)

Not actually properly humanoid; he can take on a fully human look but it isn’t his default and requires a bit more energy

Therefore, he usually lacks ears (they’re just. holes), finger or toe nails, a navel, an adam’s apple, or basically any kind of human detail that could be easily overlooked at first glance (maybe leaning into a bit uncanny?). He does have these traits when he actually puts the effort in to pass as human

The traits shared between his usual humanoid form and the more explicitly human form are: an eyepatch over his left eye (he doesn’t have a left eye or eye socket in either form. it’s like one-eyed willy in goonies), yellow hair (actually the same color as link’s), a lack of a nose (effectively like it’s been torn off, just leaving the nostril lines/openings), and a lot of large scars pretty much everywhere (some are just normal looking scars, like one across his face that looks like items from a wound that cost him his nose, while others vaguely resemble the markings on his body when he’s in demon/normal form), so either way he’s going to draw attention

In his usual form (more obviously nonhuman) his left eye is his usual black and orange eye, and he has sharp teeth, but he can switch those to appear more human if he’d like

He’s below the average height and appears to be only slightly muscular, logically more built for flexibility or with the build of a dancer, but his demonic strength remains, though his speed and flexibility is limited by the form he takes

His hair is a mess and mostly short, and if he’s in the more demonic-leaning human form, it’s usually got streaks of black (black is in there in some way, how it appears is still a wip) in all of the yellow

Clothing can vary but most commonly he chooses something loose and casual, he doesn’t particularly value his clothes and doesn’t really have anything to hide and so pick stuff that won’t drag him down or get snagged in a fight, flimsy loose clothes are good

Other times he’ll wear boots and gauntlets and gloves in a more serious context, usually opting for designs and materials similar to what he gives his phantoms, he doesn’t fully lean into the phantom-style of armor or fighting unless he needs to focus on defense, however

In either of his human forms, he’s still capable of fighting (and in his more demonic form he can use his tentacles, the come from his back), and doesn’t so much as have a fighting style as he generally just kills with whatever seems most convenient or entertaining at the time, ranging from creating a weapon for himself to use to just bashing a guy’s skull in with his bare hands

He’s very violent but can talk just fine and can be just about eloquent if he wants but usually leans into being more chaotic and acting the part of a brutal ruffian if the job can be completed using force, so a lot of the time he doesn’t even bother with looking explicitly human most of the time

He greatly prefers his demonic form and uses the human form for specific reasons, and can’t actually use it if he’s too weak

[knowmypower]

In your AU, how did Meta Knight fall in love with Peach and vice versa? Who asked who out first? 👀✨

THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION THANK U FOR ASKING. it was initially peach's incentive to get to know him. basically, she wanted to properly thank him for saving her and zelda during the great subspace invasion, but this was the brawl era so meta knight was still quite mysterious and socially distant to most fighters. thankfully, peach had an advantage in the form of kirby. kirby had also saved peach during subspace, and it was during that time she learned that meta knight was kirby's adoptive dad. so between his show of heroism and the fact that he could be the father of such a sweet little boy, she knew he couldn't be as scary as most fighters were making him out to be. in fact, it only took one conversation with him by the coffee machine one fateful morning to be charmed by his courtliness. definitely not as intimidating as he acts like on the battlefield! meta knight appreciated her benevolence as well.

it wasn't until the wiiu era that they started catching feelings though. the more time peach spent with meta knight and the more she learned about him, the more she realized how…well, normal, and kinda cute he actually was behind all the grandiose. and she loved that, she loved that he was getting more comfortable letting his guard down around her and his quirks show. it felt like a whole new world opened up when she discovered he had a sweet tooth, because she just so happens to love baking lol. for meta knight, being around peach was like a breath of fresh air. sunshine on a rainy day. it's cliche, but she just made him happy in a way that he's never quite felt before. he loved hearing about her kingdom and he admired how she treated her subjects. he loved how graceful but strong she was. but they were very much in a "what are we?", "will they won't they" type of relationship (much to the frustration of kirby who has been excited by the prospect of peach joining their family since day 1 and may have already told all his friends) until the ultimate era, because sometimes i think the pining phase is the best part of shipping lol. BUT YEAH meta knight did finally ask peach out in ultimate (even though he somehow convinced himself he wasn't asking her on a DATE date despite whipping out his best bowtie for a casual cafe) and they are currently together 🙏

[silentium-symphony]

Work of Art Modern AU (Link x Reader) II

(a/n) hooray i'm finally done w the second chapter! thank you for being patient <3 i'm hoping to wrap up this lil series in the next chapter, so please stay tuned! i also left the hair/makeup/clothes rather vague so you can imagine what you usually wear :)

i do plan to open up requests soon, but i want to finish some other fics beforehand! i need a lil break from this series, so i'll post a few one-shots before picking it up again, okay? i have a general idea of where i wanna go, but i need time to sit on it some more. hope you understand :)

as always, i hope you enjoy!!!

read the first chapter here!

cw: fluff, some swearing, afab!photographer!reader, kinda made groose a villain sorry, also link and zelda went to jail lmao (specific crime not mentioned), may/may not have proofread this half asleep so there might be some typos lol

wc: 3.2k

♤♢ ~~ ♡♧

The aggravating, strangling chorus of cars sounding the start of their day blended oddly with the melodious, persistent whispers of the few songbirds residing in your city's park. You groaned, splitting your eyes open to meet the beam of sun pouring through your windows and stretching across your ceiling. You sat up with a huff, staring blankly at the wall in front of you as your half-slumbering senses slowly began loading in your surroundings. The familiar parchedness of arousal pecked and prodded at your throat and you blindly grabbed for the water bottle by your nightstand, relishing the clarity the aqua elixir breathed into you.

After setting down your water bottle, you reached for your phone to check the time only to be greeted with the silhouette of an empty battery cell. You groaned, ducking under your nightstand and glaring at the charger that had popped out of your socket (which you shoved right back in). As you sat right-side up, a rather... noxious smell pervaded your nostrils and you grimaced, eyes flashing to the trashcan brimming with old leftover containers and scraps of food skins that have darkened past recognition. You swung yourself out of bed, waddled to the bathroom, and came out shortly after brushing your teeth and doing your business. You silenced your retching thoughts as you neared your trashcan, swiftly tying the biohazardous thing and hauling ass to your door.

As your hand wrapped around the doorknob, the yellow-creme of a folded note tucked almost inconspicuously by your doormat harkened for your attention. Brows knitting, you stooped over and scooped the thing into your palm, inspecting it briefly; you placed it on your countertop and picked up the trash bag. Whatever it was, it could wait.

Fortunately (and unfortunately sometimes), you lived right by the garbage room, so disposing of your trash took literally seconds. You bid adieu to the squishy bag as it tumbled into the deep, dark abyss of the garbage chute and headed back inside, beelining for your sink before turning your eyes to the folded note. Your eyes bore into the tiny thing as you dried your hands, not picking up anything that could be considered threatening. If it wasn't your landlord making passive-aggressive comments about your ability to pay rent, what could it be? You unfolded the note, mentally bracing yourself.

Good morning! Wanna grab some coffee?

— Link, your neighbor :)

Oh...

You could physically feel your heart swoon (was that normal?) and it took quite a bit of effort to not start maniacally giggling in the center of your room. Your body was not made to process so much energy first thing in the morning, so your feet began pacing in circles as you read the note over and over.

Okay... Calm down, (F/N). It's not as if it's a love letter or anything. Just a... friend. Who wants to grab coffee with you... Wait a minute, what time was it?

Your head whipped to the digital clock carved into your stove, the numbers '11:45' blinking in dull, green flashes. Your head swiveled back to the note and clock, your zeal transfiguring to horror. A screech of sorts ripped out of your throat and you tumbled towards the bathroom, slipping on your apartment's waxed wooden floors and flumping into a drawer with a clattery thud. You hissed, rubbing the part of your arm that collided with the wood and hobbled to the bathroom, wary of its slick tiles.

When in the world did you wake up?! Gods, by the time you’re done preparing it won’t even be morning! You did your best to channel your anxious energy into something productive as you styled your hair how you liked it and popped some color on your lips.

You tumbled out the bathroom and skidded to your wardrobe, throwing some tried and true outfits onto your bed and pressing others flush against your frame. You heard the gentle ding of your phone coming to life and you dove for it, fingers gliding across the smooth screen and opening the weather app.

It was… a bit chilly, but nothing you couldn’t handle. You filed through your top contenders, and ultimately decided on one of your favorite outfits! You twirled around in front of your mirror, pressing one hand to your chest and smoothing out the wrinkles with the other. After adjusting your hair for the final time, you threw a peace sign and puckered your lips before speed walking to the door, slipping your essentials into a purse and forcing on your shoes.

You zoomed out your apartment, turning on your heels in a dime and rasping a few quick knocks against his door. A couple seconds ticked by before you heard the metal ka-chink! of the lock; out peered Link, who hid half his trembling?? reddened?? face behind his palm. Your half-baked (but still very genuine) apology lodged in your throat as a million and one thoughts raced through your brain.

“… W-What?” You carded your fingers through your hair and fiddled with the edge of your clothes. “Is there something on me?”

“You made…” He cleared his throat, rubbing his chest. “Quite the noise earlier.”

… Noi—?

Oh.

Oh.

You had forgotten just how thin your walls are.

“Oh gods, you heard that...?!” Mortification enfeebled your voice into a wavery cry. You buried your face in your palms, your skin melting from shame.

“It’s okay! I-It was funny, I swear!”

Panic wrought your frame into a quiver and Link hurriedly changed the subject.

“So, uh, d-do you still wanna get coffee?"

"Y-Yeah!" You piped, distress vaporizing into bashfulness. "Sorry for waking up so late."

"Not at all," he smiled, slipping past his door, "it's Saturday after all."

♤♢ ~~ ♡♧

The bright, ringing ting of the bell hanging by the door preluded the cozy murmurs of a slow, cozy Saturday afternoon and the grinding, hissing machinery of coffee grinders and milk frothers. The robust, earthy notes of coffee streaked with airy hints of creme and vanilla wrapped you in a sense of warm nostalgia only coffee shops seemed to hold.

Hints of faded brick peeked out from bouquets of hanging dried flowers and the junction where wall met floor was littered with legions of potted plants, many of which you had never seen before. The look of awe on your face filled Link's heart with enthusiastic amusement; the chatter of the next stream of patrons sounded in his ears and he quietly beckoned you a little ways past the counter with a graze on your arm.

"I've tried pretty much everything on the menu, so let me know if you need any recommendations." He breathed close to your ear, wedging his body between you and the newly formed crowd congregating behind you. Your heart lurched to the base of your throat, his baritone voice rumbling in your ear; a shuddering, imperceptible breath left your lips.

"What do you usually get?" You hummed, turning your head to look back at him and almost teasing the tip of your nose along his cheek. A flit of blue met your (E/C)s; you got front-row seats to his color-changing cheeks.

"S-Sorry... It's a bit crowded here, so..."

"No worries." You beamed, hoping to laugh off some of the tension. You wrought your fingers into tight balls and turned your gaze towards the menu.

"I usually get black coffee." He mumbled, his voice dropping a little ways past a whisper. "Wakes me right up."

"Damn, really?" You choked out, scowling at him as if he had three heads.

"Yes! Gods, it's really not that bad once you get used to it." He bellowed heartily, a toothy grin splitting his lips.

After some more mental deliberation, you both slipped into line. The barista greeted you with a smile as warm as her coffee.

"Hey there, it's nice to see you again. The usual?" She motioned to Link, who just nodded with a smile of his own. Her hands flew across her screen, logging in his order before turning to you. "And what can I get you, hun?"

You relayed your order, but not without raising your voice past the prepubescent squeals of the rowdy teenage boys circusing behind you. As she confirmed your order, your digits sifted through your wallet to pull out your card, and during the second you spent looking at your hands you heard the card reader beep a confirmation. Your head whipped up just in time to see the waxy receipt churn out of the printer before being handed over to Link.

"Oh Link, I could have paid!" You exclaimed, watching him crease the receipt into a neat rectangle and shoving it in his pocket. He waved you off and stepped to the side, allowing the couple behind you to order.

"Don't worry, I got it."

"Thank you..." (E/C) eyes cast downward and honed in on the way your shoes scuttled the wood. A faint, rosy blush powdered your cheeks and warm, fuzzy timidness hooked your lips just enough to crinkle your nose most softly; Link mentally clutched his chest. You were just too cute!!!

A sudden force jammed between his shoulders knocked the breath out of his lungs. His body blurred towards you; a guttural grunt echoed in your ear before you felt something firm tighten about your waist. Link's frantic corrections caught you both just before you fell. He snapped his head at his aggressor.

The snickering simpers of those obnoxious boys peeked past his shoulders, crestfalling at the young man's deathly glower. His heart rumbled in your ears as his arms tensed you further into him. The idle, leisurely air fractured into something cold, calculated fury licking past the cracks of the broken peace. Everyone's attention was lasered in on you and the boys.

One of the boys at the back of the pack tapped the larger boys' elbows and, with a stammer of an apology, scrambled out of the cafe. Link watched their fleeing figures in total silence until the last of them disappeared past a street corner. Everyone creaked back to their own conversations, hushed whispers about what happened leaking into your ears. Link slowly glimpsed down at you, eyes softening.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah..." You murmured, your heart palpitating to the faint smell of pine and amber wafting to your nose. "Thanks for catching us."

He nodded and slowly unhooked his arm from your waist, taking a few steps back with a lovely red tinting his pearly skin. Before he could say anything, the velvety purr of the barista buttered the air.

"Order for Link!"

He met your gaze with a small smile before taking a few steps back and collecting your drinks. With a confident crook on her lips, she slipped a thin paper bag along with your drinks. Link eyed it, head tilting and brows crinkling.

"My treat. As thanks for taking care of those goons for me."

Link's eyes brightened, slipping a gleeful 'thank you' before nabbing the drinks and free snacks. He handed you your drink and turned to his friend, bowing his head in thanks.

"Come again, Mr. Hero. You too, (F/N)."

Was the last thing you heard before the door-mounted chime silenced the idyllic cafe setting. You stared at the string of cars that jived down the road; the whole city was teeming with the bit-back enthusiasm that awaited release the moment the sun dipped past the hills. It was Saturday, you supposed.

"... sorry..."

"Huh?"

"Sorry our da— hang out didn't go quite as expected..." He breathed out, just barely louder than the passing cars.

"What? Don't apologize!" You turned to him fully. "What happened back there wasn't your fault. To be honest, I think you handled it pretty well."

"Really...?"

"Yeah! I could tell those boys were getting on everyone's nerves. You made everyone's day just a little bit better, Link."

"Ah..." His eyes caught the sun rays that flickered off the nearby buildings. "Thanks..."

"And plus, the day is hardly over. We can still hang out iif you'd like!"

"Yeah," a stiff chuckle, "I was hoping we could chat in the cafe, but I wasn't very comfortable staying there any longer than necessary after what happened... Sorry about that."

"Not at all." You slotted his arm between your fingers and gave it a squeeze. "Let's just find a nice park or something, yeah?"

He eyed your hand almost long enough to regret your decision to touch him, but his gentle disposition and even softer voice answered,

"Let's go to the one by the apartment."

♤♢ ~~ ♡♧

"Holy shit, and then what?!" You wheezed, smacking a hand on his knee as you fought for your next breath. Link's hearty laughs ruffled through the trees, the setting sun and falling leaves traipsing through scattered branches.

"Zel and I got caught, of course. Imagine how furious my dad was when he got called into the station—on his day off—to see his son and his best friend sitting in jail."

"Christ, I can't believe you pulled that shit." You sputtered, thumbing a tear from the corner of your eye.

"I was... a wild child, for sure." He abashed, a hand rubbing the back of his neck with boyish glee. "Totally worth it though. Groose was giving Zelda a hard time after she rejected him, so of course we had to do something about it."

"Gods..." You exhaled, giggles fringing your breath. "Is your dad a cop?"

"Yeah. I guess that's what inspired me to do what I'm doing now, y'know?"

"For sure," you thumbed your cup, fingers slicked with thick condensation, "what does your mom do?"

"She was a civil servant." His lips crooked up, tilted in a manner that tugged at your heart. "She cared about the city and our family deeply."

A breeze blew through the two of you, one that bordered refreshing and chilling. You turned your head up and filled your lungs with air that crisped your lungs.

"She..." You began, eyes focused on the insignificant happenings that usually caught one's attention during such moments. "Sounds like a wonderful person."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "she was."

A serene, reflective somberness filled the air; for a moment you both relished in the silence. A family of robins twittered softly overhead, the mother singing hushed whistles to her rowdy chicks and soothing the ringing in your ears caused by constant traffic.

"What about you?" He turned. "What do you do?"

"I'm a photographer." You met his gaze with a grin that thinly veiled the excitement you had when talking about your livelihood.

"That's so cool!" Link's lips widened into a broad smile. "Do you work for a company or...?"

"Nope! I'm a freelancer. It can be tough finding gigs at times, but there's always something happening in the city."

"Yeah, I can imagine. What events do you do?"

"Anything really--concerts, weddings, corporate events... But weddings are pretty popular. Actually, I got a wedding gig tomorrow!"

"Nice! So what got you into photography?" He leaned in, his blue pools reflecting the nearby streetlights. The way his eyes sparkled as he listened to you talk about your passions made your heart melt.

"Well, back in middle and high school I competed in a bunch of school competitions and realized that not only did I love taking pictures, but I was pretty good at it too! There's just something so... intimate about capturing small, seemingly insignificant passages in time, y'know? I think sometimes we get so caught up waiting for our lives to begin when really, life happens in the small, fleeting moments of our existence. Or... something like that."

You mumbled through the last bit, heat rising in your cheeks. Darkened sapphires stared back at you, storming with thoughts you couldn't quite decipher; panic started settling in your gut and you opened your mouth to apolo—

"You're absolutely right." His head cocked slightly, eyes crinkling lovingly slowly. "I never thought about it that way."

You mentally breathed a sigh of relief for not ruining this moment with your innermost thoughts.

"Do you enjoy your job at the art museum?"

"I mean, it's a pretty easy job, so no complaints there." His laugh failed to reach his chest. "But... It isn't why I became an officer. Don't get me wrong, I love helping Zelda, and seeing her succeed in her dreams makes me really happy, but... I became a cop so I could help people. And sometimes, I don't really feel like I'm doing that by standing guard over a painting all day."

"That's valid," you kicked the space under the park bench to abate the prickly feeling in your lower half, "what would you rather do?"

Link kicked the pebble he had been dribbling between his shoes, the little stone skittering away, forgotten, after a long kick; his eyes rested on an arbitrary crack in the path.

"Honestly?" He began, "I wanna become a detective."

"A detective?"

"Yeah. Bringing peace to a family who lost a loved one, who never got the closure they needed to heal... Spending hours solving a cold case, one that everyone has given up on... That's what I wanna do."

"It's sweet of you to think of the family first," you smiled softly, "I think most people would be focused on locking up criminals, and justice served to the families is just a bonus."

"Yeah... We can't forget the families. Their lives have been turned into a living nightmare and they're just expected to continue living as if nothing had happened. It's cruel."

"Oh, absolutely. I think--"

You felt your phone buzz in your lap and your eyes habitually met the lit screen, scanning the text your bridal client had sent. Your internal, guttural groan came out as a curt huff, eyeing the word 'early?' with a tired bitterness.

"Everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, uh..." You shuffled your phone back into your pocket and met his concerned gaze. "Sorry. My client wants me to come in earlier than I expected and it's getting late so..."

"No worries! We can head back if you want. Grab some takeout on the way." He popped right up, tossing his empty cup in the trash and swinging his arms above his head, a satisfied groan lapsing out of him wow that was kinda hot.

"I'd love that." You followed his previous actions and stretched too, feeling... well, feeling return to your sore butt and limbs.

"Wanna head back to that Gerudo restaurant?"

"Yeah!" You joined him in wide strides, barely keeping yourself from booking it to your now-favorite restaurant. Your babbling self hardly noticed the slowing male until a gentle voice pulled you out of your culinary rambles.

"(F/N)?" He called a few steps behind you.

"Mm?"

"Thanks for today... It was a lot of fun." His gloved hand scratched the side of his scarved neck, unintentionally bunching the fabric into little fistfuls. The flickering park light tricked your brain into thinking his cheeks were... pinker than usual. His gaze shifted from the ground to the bush to the tree and back--anywhere but you, really. That fluttery, buttery feeling in your gut alighted your cheeks a similar color and your eyes undertook a similar trip of avoidance.

"Of course. Thanks for inviting me... I had a lot of fun today."

His tight, slightly flustered expression loosened, his lips turning up into a gentle curve. In a few short steps he was by your side again, commencing your journey to 3rd Street.

"Let's grab some poultry pilaf."

[icequeenlila]

See right through Me (Locorro)

Excerpt from Chapter 2- 'Nothing'

(This is Human AU btw)

Lo’ak was done showering and now sitting on Spider’s bed. He was wearing Spider’s clothes, which were way too big on him and he was wearing his hair down. Which shouldn’t have been a big deal. Only it kinda was.Because Lo’ak looked gorgeous.

Gorgeous.

“Gorgeous.”

And Spider had said it out loud. Well, fuck him.

“Huh?”

Lo’ak looked up from something in his lap. He looked at Spider with some bewilderment, but otherwise didn’t seem tipped off.

“See you’ve found my Switch”, Spider said, fighting the heat creeping up his neck. “Didn’t know I’d have you here, so I forgot to hide it.”

He closed the door behind him, hearing Lo’ak’s amused little grunt.

“Well, I just beat the boss, so you’re welcome.”

“Hey!”, Spider complained as he walked over towards him. “I skipped that on purpose, so I can run around Hyrule a while longer. Now I have to reset the game!”

Lo’ak rolled his eyes, scooting over to make room on the bed.

“Chill, I saved the game before the fight. You can just start new from where you left off. No weapons or progress lost. I’m not stupid, you know?”

“You sure about that?”, Spider asked, plopping down onto the bed, a witty grin on his lips.

Lo’ak flipped him off and Spider just giggled, placing the plate with the pizza on the sheets between them.

“I finished the game weeks ago”, Lo’ak said, whipping a strand of loose (silky, so fucking silky) hair out of his face. “Why are you still not done with it?”

“Because”, Spider said, demonstratively taking a slice of pizza from the plate. “I don’t want it to be over yet.”

He took a bite, waiting for Lo’ak to follow his example. Which he didn’t.

“Just say you have a crush on Link”, his best friend dead panned.

“Well, sue me. He’s my type. What about it?”

Spider took another bite, looking pointedly at Lo’ak, trying to urge his friend into eating.

“You’ve got a thing for blondes now?”

Okay. Lo’ak was just doing this on purpose.

“Don’t care for the hair. Link is a pretty dude, okay?”

“Okay, chill.” Lo’ak had the faintest of grins on his (pretty, pretty) lips, knowing perfectly well that he was getting on Spider’s nerves. “What about Zelda then? She’s practically a female version of- “

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Spider grabbed a slice of pizza from the plate, shoving it right under Lo’ak’s nose. “Eat!”

Lo’ak frowned at him. “I’m not -mmmhhppf!”

“Yes, you are. Shut the fuck up”, Spider grunted, shoving the pizza into Lo’ak’s mouth.

Lo’ak instinctively grabbed the food from him, holding it in his own hands while he chewed and coughed, glaring at Spider all the way.

“The fuck, bro?”

“Don’t bro me”, Spider scolded, taking another bite. “You need to eat. You look like a stick.”

And Lo’ak’s lips actually quivered at that, his eyes growing wide before (finally) an actual laugh escaped him.

Spider forgot to chew for a bit. Because. Lo’ak. Was laughing. And he had his hair down. And he was beautiful.

Beautiful.

“I look like a stick?”

Beautiful. Oh wait, Lo’ak wanted an answer. What to say? Fast. Fast!

Spider’s brain short circuited.

“Well yeah, but a pretty stick.”

He said that out loud.

What the fuck was his brain? Was there any filter at all?

“Huh?”

Lo’ak looked at him with big (beautiful, beautiful) eyes, his forehead in a frown, his nose (cute nose, so cute) wrinkled in confusion.

“Just eat!”

Smooth, Spider taunted himself.

“I swear, I’ll force feed you”, he threatened, pointing a finger at Lo’ak’s nose, making him squint. And shit, he looked so cute.

Spider mostly said this to distract Lo’ak from his slip of words, but he also totally meant it. No matter how, Spider would make sure he would eat.

“Okay, okay”, Lo’ak caved with a roll of his eyes.

He still looked a bit irritated, but he didn’t insist for Spider to explain himself.

So …

They pretty much just sat there, munching on their pizza. Quietly. Awkwardly.

Fuck.

Well done, Socorro. You managed to freak out your best friend.

Shut up!

Are you actually screaming at yourself right now?

Yes, I am. Totally normal.

It was! Kiri had said so, so it must be true.

“So, what happened?”, Spider blurted out to stop his brain from screaming at itself.

He immediately realized that he should’ve brought this back up a lot more carefully. But hey, he’s a mess.

Lo’ak, who’d finally started taking bigger bites of his pizza, stopped and turned to look at him. Swallowing. Putting the half-eaten slice back onto the plate.

Well, fuck.

+

Link:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49592092

[yumegf]

2, 9 annd 14 for whoever you want? :3c

ill do this with evan >_< sorry im just focussed on him rn...i hope u don't mind eeeeek sorry i have been dying to talk about him for awhile :p thank u 4 asking :D

2. What's their go-to order at a cafe? What's yours?

ummm hmm >_<.....im not a big cafe person and he isn't rflly either.....sometimes rarely he would just get a really plain normal coffee...especially if its during finals!!!!!! he would get one with some creamer and like whip cream or whatever and like chocolate if hes feeling fancy ;D..maybe a sweet treat 2 :3!!!!! i don't go to cafes often but i don't want coffee..unless its like hot chocolate :D!! i would get a sweet treat too...yumy donut :D

9. Do you have any AUs for your selfship? Tell me about them!!

ummm currently not really! since hes new O_O BUT i do have 2 IN MIND RIGHT NOW!!!! i have a small dnd one which is just an excuse to dress him up as a cute knight and me a pretty princess its based off of their dnd characters n stuff and just a fun little story :3!! sir knight evan and princess wolf luna kylie of da stars :B!!!!!! and another one that i wanna do is a more silly tropey anime one.....like ohhh what if she can turn into kitty :3 what if she was puppy.....ahhh so silly my girlfriend can turn into a kitty picks her up swings her around!!!

14. Do you and your f/o share any hobbies?

YES!!!! most of the them r the same like um video games obviously and just nerdy stuff like movies n ya :D the biggest being Minecraft and overwatchhh and comics and i guess anime stuff even though im not super into it.....we have a lot of differences though!!!! one day i will get him into mlp..he kind of knows of it..so does that count? :'D and i super like art while he doesn't rlly draw..he tries..for me :p!!!!!!!! he likes legend of zelda and coding and just general building stuff while i don't know much of that (*3*)=

[fuyuonee-a]

@ritohonour​ liked for a starter.

“Woah--” Eyes widen, mouth dropping open a bit too far to be considered polite. But she can’t help it. Nezuko had grown up amongst Hylians like herself, sheltered in the mountains near Kakariko and Hateno. But now that she was traveling with her big brother, she could meet all sorts of new folks!

“What species are you, mister archer?” 

[pastelpaperplanes]

Hi! I have a coupla questions about Thorns and Thrones AU!

In the glorious OP&Megs duo - does the cooking? Can they even cook? If OP made a dish for Megs - that turned out **horrendously bad** would Megs still eat it?

There’s something about your AU that has the same incredibly wholesome & soul-warming vibe ~ which reminds me a lot of Zelda BotW^^

💀please give a permission to draw OP making Dubious Food…

Stg I’ll even animate it lol

they both would be terrible at cooking their hunts—depending on who you ask. When Meg’s is on cooking duty, Optimus thinks the brute like to eat meat RAW really, Megs is hungry and impatient and a LITTLE RED isn’t gonna KILL YOU Orion.

When it’s Op’s turn, Meg’s think he would prefer the taste of leather compared to the sorry singed meal Orion whips up. Op’s meals are perfectly cooked through and no nothing is burningwhywouldyousay that he gets distracted okay, SOME ONE has to make sure they know where the map is heading for them tomorrow since SOME ONE thinks they’re too good to ask for directions. EVER.

They are disasters. The usual.

Then again, it’s a little hard to spruce up smth fancy when cooking day in and day out in the wilderness, lol they just kinda get by being on the move all the time. foraging is definitely up Meg’s alley since he’s been on his quest for far longer than Optimus has and knows what’s safe and what’s not. most of the time. he did once accidentally scrounge some rrreeeaallllllyyyy good mushrooms once 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 not much traveling done for a while after that meal PHEWWW.

Megs grew up not caring much for taste, only making sure he had enough for proper energy and that definitely played well into his time in the gladiator pits as well, he’s not accustomed to anything fancy. but that DEFINITELY doesn’t mean he isn’t a fan!! But he’s always been extremely particular about his wines and drinks this has literally never changed lol

Optimus grew up around feasts and posh parties while being part of the noble houses! He has more of a sweet tooth and enjoyed the dessert tables rather than diving into anything else aside from the wine

Regardless of what they’ve been used to, both mutually agree that their rations taste like chalk, and 99% of the time just say screw it and scrounge up what they can to treat themselves to tavern meal

SHOVELING. INHALING whatever is put in front of them at light speeds 😤🍽️✨

and thank you 😭🙏💕 I’m so glad to hear that!! For all the drama involved in the AU I do love that it gives off those adventurous and wholesome quest vibes! Lol for all the intensity behind their goal they rly do get to have a lot of whacky adventures in between

PERMISSION ALWAYS BTW. pls tag me if you do smth I wanna see!!!!

[lucky-clover-gazette]

this is our get-along fic

two years after shadow and vio's evil takeover, the gang reunites for dinner. this is a multi-chapter continuation of the oneshot "thank darkness for that," which introduces a corruption-type au that's actually super chill. definitely read the one-shot before following this one!

chapter 2 of 7: it's so nice to have the friend group together for dinner (4500 words)

“Well, wait!” Red says, digging into his pockets. For a second Shadow sees Vio stiffen—he’s probably picturing Red whipping out a crossbow or something—but he softens when Red reveals two wrapped presents.

“For you,” he tells Vio, lifting up the purple gift. He then turns to Shadow and raises the other one, wrapped with a black paper covered with silver constellations. “And for you. If that’s okay.”

Behind Red, Blue facepalms. Zelda notices this and rolls her eyes, while Green’s expression is completely unreadable. Shadow gives Red an uncertain smile and nods.

“That’s… you really didn’t have to. But thank you.”

“Well, we never got you wedding gifts, so…!”

Vio crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow—not at Red, but at Blue. “I seem to remember a few.”

“Water under the bridge,” Shadow says, which isn’t a phrase he normally uses, but nothing about this evening feels normal anyway.

“Really?” Blue challenges him. “Because we tried to kill you, several times. I think you’re just saying that so we’ll feel obligated to forgive you for what you did to us.”

read the full chapter on ao3 or under the cut:

Shadow is nervous. He can admit that. Not out loud, of course—but inside his own head, where Vio can't possibly hear him? Sure. He's pretty much terrified.

"Maybe I should sit over there," he says, glancing towards the rarely-used second throne. Vio shakes his head and pulls Shadow closer by the waist.

"No. I need you here."

Shadow raises an eyebrow at the possessive behavior. "Vio, come on. Let's not immediately remind them of the last time they saw us like this."

Recognition passes over Vio's face and he loosens his grip. "Fine. Yeah, I see what you mean."

"I love you," Shadow tells him, giving him a kiss on the forehead. He hops off the armrest and feels himself pulled in for a second kiss, this one on the lips.

"Love you too," Vio says, his expression almost comedically despondent.

"You're being uncharacteristically clingy," Shadow teases as he pulls away.

"And you're being uncharacteristically calm."

"Well, at least one of us has to be."

Shadow boops Vio's nose and heads over to his own throne, trying to get comfortable in the unfamiliar seat. Yeah, this is definitely better for the others—the image of the two of them seated separately, professionally, not at all how they'd been in the Fire Temple.

"Your Majesties," calls a voice from outside the throne room, "your guests have arrived."

Shadow's heart aches as Vio stiffens in his chair, clearly missing his presence on the armrest. Maybe this was a mistake.

"Send them in," Vio says, his voice cracking at the end. Okay, yeah, this was definitely a mistake.

And just like that. their guests enter the throne room. As expected, all four of them immediately look up to Vio, whose elevated position kind of speaks for itself. Shadow feels selfish for his relief at being completely ignored.

Thirty seconds pass without a word from anyone. Finally, Red takes a step foward.

"Vio," he says, his voice friendly but uncertain. "Or, uh, King Vio?"

Oh, Shadow knows this Vio expression well. His husband is about five seconds from allowing his anxiety to overtake him physically. Whether that means he shuts down completely, or starts shaking, or tears up, is pretty much dealer’s choice.

But, no... Vio pulls it together. He takes a deep breath, runs a hand through his long hair, and gives Red a small smile.

"Hi, Red," he says quietly, as if it's a secret between the two of them. “I like your sweater.”

Red’s face lights up. “Thanks! I made it myself! I like yours too!”

Yeah, Shadow is also fond of this particular Vio sweater. It’s a super flattering shade of lilac, slim-fitting, and made with the softest wool imaginable. Red’s sweater, by comparison, looks patchy and amateur. Shadow finds it incredibly charming, and knows even the most talented craftsperson would fail to make something quite like it.

Vio looks down at his sweater as if he forgot he was wearing it. “Oh, uh… thank you. I didn’t make it, though.”

“Well, wait!” Red says, digging into his pockets. For a second Shadow sees Vio stiffen—he’s probably picturing Red whipping out a crossbow or something—but he softens when Red reveals two wrapped presents.

“For you,” he tells Vio, lifting up the purple gift. He then turns to Shadow and raises the other one, wrapped with a black paper covered with silver constellations. “And for you. If that’s okay.”

Behind Red, Blue facepalms. Zelda notices this and rolls her eyes, while Green’s expression is completely unreadable. Shadow gives Red an uncertain smile and nods.

“That’s… you really didn’t have to. But thank you.”

“Well, we never got you wedding gifts, so…!”

Vio crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow—not at Red, but at Blue. “I seem to remember a few.”

“Water under the bridge,” Shadow says, which isn’t a phrase he normally uses, but nothing about this evening feels normal anyway.

“Really?” Blue challenges him. “Because we tried to kill you, several times. I think you’re just saying that so we’ll feel obligated to forgive you for what you did to us.”

Vio had warned Shadow about this, that Blue’s main goal in nearly every interaction would be to piss them off until they snapped. Something in Shadow wants to add fuel to the fire, put his own antagonistic streak on full display, but he knows he can’t take the bait. Not when Vio’s depending on him to be on his best behavior, not when he genuinely wants these people to accept him by the end of the night.

Luckily, Shadow doesn’t get much time to respond. Red turns around and gives Blue a disapproving look.

“Whatever,” Blue says, hands raised. “Go on.”

Red cautiously steps closer to the raised platform where Vio sits on his throne. “You can open it now, if you want.”

The hairs on the back of Shadow’s neck raise. What if this is another assassination attempt, carried out by the least intimidating of the four? Vio, noticing Shadow’s discomfort, motions for him to stay in his seat as he weighs the gift in his hand.

“Thank you,” Vio tells Red as he carefully removes the wrapping from the package. He places the rolled-up ball of paper on the arm of his throne, and Hylia, Shadow wishes that was him right now.

Vio opens the small gift box and peers inside. Judging from his expression, it isn’t anything dangerous—just bewildering.

“What… is it?” Vio asks, finally removing the item from the box. It’s purple and hand-knitted, but not nearly as large as a sweater or a scarf. It’s like… a little circle, buit it’s hollow in the center. Vio stretches it out with his hand, demonstrating some elasticity beneath the chunky knit.

“It’s called a scrunchie!” Red says, and the word definitely sounds accurate for the item he’s describing. “You can use it to tie up your hair. I noticed at the wedding that you’ve been growing it out.”

Vio blinks at the item in his hand, and then down at Red. “That is very considerate. Thank you.”

Red looks from the scrunchie to Vio, probably hoping that he’ll use it to tie up his hair. Vio puts it on his wrist instead, a gesture even Shadow is unable to fully understand.

“And for you!” Red exclaims, his shoes tapping on marble tile as he crosses to Shadow’s throne. Shadow takes the gift from his extended arms and unwraps it, trying his very best to keep the pretty paper intact. It’s another box, and when Shadow opens it he doesn’t find a srcunchie. Instead there’s a pair of fingerless gloves, knitted with black and silver yarn. Shadow rolls up his sleeves and immediately slides them on.

“They’re beautiful,” he tells Red, and means it. “Thank you.”

“I’m so glad!” Red exclaims, his expression relieved. What, had he expected Shadow to be mean? To throw them on the ground and step on them?

Oh Hylia, that’s probably exactly what he had expected. Because how would he know better, having only seen Shadow in action during his villain era?

Noticing Shadow’s silence, Red rambles on. “I heard from one of my employees—a Dark Worlder—that it’s a lot easier for you guys to get cold during the winter. But I also know you have those long nails, so I thought these would be better than mittens. Just… maybe don’t wear them when we’re eating.”

Shadow blinks. The amount of thought Red put into this tiny gift, for someone he isn’t even supposed to like… it’s crazy. If it were anyone but Red, Shadow would be suspicious, but like… come on. Look at this guy. Look at his little sweater. He’s a sweetheart.

"Let's take our seats," says Zelda, gesturing towards the table in the center of the room. Red nods, happy to step out of the spotlight, but pauses before actually sitting down. There are six seats at the table, naturally—two on each side, and then two at opposite ends.

"I assume you'll be taking the heads of the table?" Green asks Vio and Shadow, crossing his arms over his chest. Shadow cocks his head. While Green isn't outright hostile like Blue, he's also weirdly tense.

Vio stands up and waits for Shadow to follow suit. They descend from the platform in unison and take their seats at the opposite ends of the table. On one side Green and Zelda do the same, while Red and Blue take the other.

Before anyone can speak, Tingle bursts into the room. He wears a chef's hat over his green hood and wields a large wooden spoon.

"Soup will be out soon," he tells the group, looking from face to face in mild interest. He stops at Green and points the spoon at him. "We've met, right?"

Green nods.

"Different outfit, though."

Green nods again, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, we're all wearing different outfits."

"Thank you, Tingle," Vio cuts in, giving him a very clear cue to leave.

"Yep." Tingle bows with a flourish of the wooden spoon and exits the room.

"Okay," Blue says, gripping his rolled-up napkin tightly. "Who the fuck was that?"

"Tingle," Shadow shrugs.

"He officiated their wedding," Zelda reminds Blue, who just rolls his eyes.

"I encountered him on my way to Death Mountain," says Green, who turns to Vio. "How did you guys come across him?"

"Uh, well... he'd found his way into our—the—palace on the top of Death Mountain. Was looking for Force Gems, or something. Swore his loyalty to us after he overheard our pla—conversation."

"Plan,” Blue corrects him. "You meant to say plan."

"What even was your plan?" asks Green, resting his chin on his hands. Shadow looks at him, surprised. Why would he ask that, right here and right now?

Shadow sees Vio clamming up and swallows his own discomfort. “I, uh, can answer that,” he says, fidgeting with the cloth napkin under the table. If this thing was made of paper, it'd be eviscerated by now. "As you know, Vio had originally planned to betray me, and that's why he joined my side in the first place. But—“

"Wait,” Red interrupts, "but I thought that was a lie. That's just what he told us, so he could..."

Shadow shakes his head, ignoring Vio at the other end of the table. "No. He fully meant to betray me for the majority of the time we spent together. That’s why he spared Green’s life, but didn’t want me to know it. He actually got pretty close to shattering the Dark Mirror, which would have cut off this world's connection to the Dark World and killed me."

"Do we really need to go into this?" Vio asks across the table.

"Yeah," Shadow says sharply. "I think they deserve to know what really happened. Honestly, I thought they already did."

"Sure looked like Vio was enjoying himself during his time undercover," Blue says, as if the person in question wasn't seated directly next to him.

"Shut up," Vio hisses. "You don't know anything."

"And why'd he change his mind? Because he decided he wanted to betray Shadow Link less than he wanted to betray us? How about just not betraying anyone?"

"Blue," Zelda warns, eyes narrowing.

"What? These are all very reasonable questions! Vio had no reason to torture us the way he did, even if he'd initially meant to betray Shadow Link. And he didn't even do that! He changed his mind, and used that original plan to manipulate us!"

Shadow wants to tell Blue that his name is Shadow, just Shadow, but he manages to hold his tongue.

"I don't owe you answers," Vio tells him coldly. "I had my reasons."

"Well, obviously! 'Reasons' is sitting right here at the table, living it up as a king when he should have been killed two years ago!"

Vio stands abruptly, shaking the glasses on the table. Shadow tears his cloth napkin in half.

"I need everyone here to understand one thing," Vio says between gritted teeth. "You can insult me, threaten me, interrogate me, whatever. But if you so much as mention harming my husband, I will have you immediately removed not only from this castle, but also civilized Hyrule itself."

"Vio!” Shadow exclaims. “Sit. Down. I’m fine.”

Vio looks from Shadow to Blue, to Shadow again, and it's like something defuses behind his eyes. He sits.

"Glad I made that clear," he mutters, and Blue flips him off.

Red picks up one of his forks and examines it intently, allowing his napkin to drop onto the floor. "This is nice silverware.”

"It's part of the royal set," Zelda says, but not in a backhanded way. "I have no particular fondness or nostalgia for it, but there is a pretty interesting story behind it."

Red smiles, clearly appreciating Zelda’s assistance in changing the subject. “You're really into that kind of stuff these days, right Zelda?"

"Yes. I thoroughly enjoy researching Hyrule’s history, as opposed to being a major player in it. It always felt strange to me, being expected to have the wisdom to rule while being denied time to study those who preceded me."

Shadow feels his body tense. Now it’s his turn to change the subject.

"Tingle's making soup," he informs his guests. "I love soup."

Now everyone looks at him like he's the freak.

"What?" Shadow asks, blush spreading on his face.

"Soup is good!" Red rushes to agree. "I guess it's just, not something we'd expect you to say, being a creature of darkness and all."

"What, so creatures of darkness can't love soup?"

Surprisingly, it's Vio who cuts in next. "There's actually a historical precedent for individuals, uh... adjacent to the Hero enjoying soup. Pumpkin soup in particular. The Hero of Twilight, for example, encountered a pumpkin soup during his travels that helped him survive battle with a nasty Darknut. The Hero of the Sky delivered pumpkin soup to a whale inside a thunderhead. It’s even said by some historians that the Hero of Winds’ grandmother came up with the original recipe for health-restoring pumpkin soup.”

Shadow smiles at Vio. There’s the nerd he knows and loves.

“So,” Vio continues, beginning to doubt himself but proceeding anyway, “it’d make sense for even Shadow to enjoy it. After all, he is a reflection of the Hero.”

“Pretty weird to marry a reflection of yourself,” Blue says as he traces the rim of his glass.

“Oh come on,” Green chastises him, “you know it’s not like that. Besides, you and Red—”

“You and Red?” Vio interrupts, a smirk growing on his face. “Do tell, Blue.”

“There’s—there’s nothing to tell!”

“He’s right about that,” Red says with surprising coldness.

Shadow has kind of lost the plot at this point, but honestly it’s just nice for someone else’s drama to be the source of contention. Also, for the record, it’s not weird that he married Vio. If anyone’s to blame for their union, it’s Hylia and Ganon, who created Vio and Shadow respectively as pawns for their game of good and evil. Shadow and Vio are cut from the same cloth, sure—the Platonic ideal of the Hero—but they have free will, and visual variance, and no actual blood relation or innate connection beyond the one they’ve formed with effort and time.

Blue’s projecting, Shadow reminds himself, and he’ll say anything to trigger a reaction.

“So, Zelda,” Shadow says, choosing to completely ignore Blue’s entire… thing. “Have you found anything like that in your research? About the soup?”

Zelda gives him a short nod, happy to assist in changing the subject yet again. “Not really. I’m mostly interested in politics and philosophy, rather than lore and religion. I’ve had enough of the latter for a lifetime, I think. Being… relieved of my Triforce has allowed me to broaden my horizons, and I appreciate that.”

“You’re seriously not thanking him for tricking you into giving up your power,” Green says. “Like, I get that we don’t hate them anymore, but—”

“I’m allowed to say whatever I want to Shadow,” Zelda tells him stiffly. “We’ve talked about this.”

Red and Blue exchange a confused look, while Shadow nervously catches Vio’s eyes. This is going off the rails. They have to redirect the conversation, before—

“Soup update!” Tingle announces, bursting back into the room. His spoon is now covered in an orange-yellow bisque, which splatters on the marble floor as he waves it around.

“Yes?” Vio asks, trying to keep his irritation at bay. “What is the update?”

Tingle shrugs. “Soup.”

“Is it ready?”

“No. But it’s definitely soup.”

Vio sighs. “Okay, Tingle. Thank you for the update.”

“My pleasure, Your Highness,” Tingle says, turning to leave. After a second he pauses, calling over his shoulder: “And rest assured, Green, the recipe is vegan.”

Green’s eyes widen. “Thanks Tingle, now please leave us alone, okay!”

Blue raises an eyebrow at Green’s exclamation, which sounded more like one long, panicked word. “Wait a second… how would he know that you’re vegan?”

Oh, shit.

Shadow avoids both Green and Vio’s eyes, looking instead to Zelda. She takes a deep sip of water and clears her throat. “Well, ah. We made note of it when we RVSP’d. Right, Shadow?”

“Yes,” Shadow says, nodding vigorously.  

Blue’s frown somehow manages to deepen. He swivels his head towards Zelda. “And why are you calling him Shadow?”

Oh, fuck.

Zelda takes another sip, raising her pointer finger as if to say, ‘hold on a second, I can’t answer your question because I am currently drinking water for a prolonged period of time.’

“Something weird is going on,” Blue tells Red, looking across the table at Zelda and Green. “Tell me it doesn’t feel wrong.”

Red frowns. “It is a little strange that they’d know about Green’s dietary preferences. I don’t remember space for that on the RSVP letter, or else I would have mentioned your lactose intolerance. And… it is kinda weird that you’re calling him Shadow, Zelda.”

Shadow finally meets Vio’s eyes, giving him the smallest nod. Jig’s up in five, four, three, two—

“Fine!” Green exclaims, placing a firm hand down on the table. The glasses rattle again, but not enough to spill. “You figured it out.”

“Figured what out?” asks Red, as Zelda completely downs the water in her glass.

“They’ve been conspiring with the enemy,” Blue says. “Enough that they know Green’s a vegan, and for Zelda to use a familiar name for Shadow Link.”

Shadow raises his hand limply. “Can I just point out that it’s really not that difficult to say ‘Shadow’ instead of ‘Shadow Link?’ Like, no one calls you ‘Blue Link.’”

“Yeah, because I’m a real hero, not a monster like you!”

“Blue!” Zelda scolds, “Fucking give it a rest!”

Shadow tunes them out, shifting his focus to Green. “We brunch together,” he explains to Red in a low voice. “Every Sunday. Started up a few months ago, when Zelda signed on as royal advisor.”

To Shadow’s horror, Red begins to tear up. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you invite me?”

“Well, you’re so close to Blue all the time, and…”

“So I just don’t get to be a part of it? How is that fair?”

“You’re their royal advisor?” Blue attacks Zelda at full volume, reaching out a hand to motion towards Vio.

“Unofficially,” Vio clarifies, and Blue looks like he’s about to smack him.

“I guess it’s nice that you’ve all been getting along,” Red says softly to no one in particular, although it’s clear that he’s hurt to have been left out.

Blue turns his rage on Red. “Hylia, you are so stupid.”

Vio swats Blue on the shoulder. “Hey. Don’t talk to him like that.”

Blue ignores him, eyes narrowing towards Red. “No wonder they fooled you the first time. It’s like you want to let them ruin our lives again.”

Everyone immediately goes silent. Yeah, they can all exchange insults without the argument feeling unbalanced, but Red? Blue, saying something like that to Red? Even Shadow knows it’s uncalled for.

Red doesn’t cry in response to Blue’s outburst. Instead he just looks him up and down, genuinely disgusted, a rare and scathing condemnation.

“Actually, Blue,” he says, “I think I’m just fine. I’m not ruining our lives, and honestly, neither are Vio and… Shadow, as we now know he prefers to be called.”

“Thanks,” Shadow says quietly, and Red gives him a small smile before returning his attention to Blue.

“They haven’t hurt us in a long time. What’s hurting us, who’s hurting us… is you.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Shadow watches Zelda grab Green’s water glass out from under him.

“It’s not my fault that you refuse to be happy,” Red tells Blue. Zelda takes another very long sip.

Blue blinks twice, as if awoken from a deep sleep. “Red, I—”

“SOUP’S READY!”

Tingle bursts into the hall again, this time accompanied by several castle cooks with trays of piping hot pumpkin soup. Blue avoids Red’s gaze as the bowls are placed in front of the guests, their contents incredibly fragrant and appetizing.

“Thank you, Tingle,” Shadow says, sending every possible social cue for him to vacate the premises.

“Yep.” Tingle bows and excuses himself, along with the castle cooks.

The six dinner guests eye each other wordlessly. Finally Shadow caves, because he’s caused so many of tonight’s problems just by existing, and taking the first bite will at least help get the others through the rest of the gathering.

He raises his spoon and tries the soup and—holy shit, it’s really good. Like, maybe Tingle’s real calling has been the culinary arts this whole time.

Vio follows Shadow’s lead, sampling his own soup. “See?” he tells the others, “We’ve both had some. Not poisoned. Dig in.”

Green looks to Zelda and they both shrug, doing as they’re told. Red gives his soup a sniff and immediately grabs his spoon, enamored even by that tiny sensory hint. Surprisingly, Blue tries his soup as well, although the scowl on his face remains.

Shadow had known, of course, that Green and Zelda were keeping Red and Blue in the dark about their newfound alliance, but seeing the betrayal on their faces is still hard. He feels bad, even though this time it’s not his or Vio’s own betrayal causing the problem. In a way, that probably makes it even worse.

Shadow almost wishes he and Vio could have taken the blame entirely for Green and Zelda—but then again, there’s really no believable way to back that up. What could they even say, they hold Green and Zelda hostage every Sunday for mimosas and avocado toast? Shadow forces Zelda to advise him on political policy and social justice initiatives? Shadow could barely kidnap Zelda without getting bitchslapped, and while uninformed, she had given up her Triforce willingly.

And Green… well, he makes it pretty clear at brunch that he’s there for Zelda, not Shadow and Vio. It makes sense that Blue would bring some of that lingering resentment out of him.

“You know, Vio,” Green says, startling everyone at the table. “You haven’t said much since we all sat down.”

“He did threaten to banish us,” Blue reminds him. Green ignores the slight, clearly over Blue as much as he’s over Vio and Shadow’s bullshit.

“I don’t get what you wanted out of this,” Green continues, and Shadow can see how uncomfortable it’s making Vio. He sometimes shuts down when he’s overwhelmed by anxiety, it’s not an abnormal behavior, but it also makes sense that Green would be annoyed by it. He hadn’t been nearly as enthusiastic about this dinner party idea when Zelda pitched it, even outright saying that he thought it’d only make things worse. Ironically, Vio had agreed.

But Shadow remembers backing Zelda up, encouraging them both to take a chance. And he still stands by that, even though the night has gone so off the rails. Maybe for such deep fractures, things simply need to be fully broken before they can be fixed.

At least now, the truth is out.

But still… Shadow doesn’t really want to listen to Green giving his husband a hard time while he’s fighting off a panic attack. So he clears his throat to catch Green’s attention, and shakes his head.

Green rolls his eyes. “You two are insufferable sometimes. It’s like your feelings are the only ones that matter.”

“Your feelings matter,” Zelda tells Green. “Everyone’s do. If we all want to go separate ways, that’s fine.”

She looks to Shadow for reassurance, and Shadow feels a pleasant warmth in his chest. Of all the people at this table, he loves his husband the most—but Zelda is his friend. Really and truly. They’ve worked long hours together these past few months, talking about politics and philosophy and the worlds of Dark and Light. They’ve even discussed their respective friends and partners, more personal stuff that Shadow usually holds very close to the chest.

“You’re right,” Shadow tells Zelda. “We weren’t trying to trick anyone into anything. We just wanted to see if, with time, we all could… find some kind of peace.”

Vio nods, his voice distant. “Yeah.”

Blue pushes his chair back on the marble and gets to his feet. “I want nothing to do with the four of you,” he says, addressing Zelda, Green, Vio, and Shadow. He then offers Red a hand. “Come on. You know I didn’t mean it.”

Shadow believes him, at least. He’s no stranger to saying awful things out of insecurity and rage.

Red, however, seems reluctant.

“Blue, I think you should leave. I’ll see you when I get home and we can talk about it.”

“Oh. Okay.”

He looks hurt and lost, and again, Shadow gets it. He wish he could tell Blue that he gets it, but… well, that would probably be the worst possible thing he could do at the moment.

“H-hey,” Vio says, looking down at his own hands. Shadow startles immediately at the paleness of his skin, the way his eyes can’t seem to focus on a single thing. He’s not having a panic attack, Shadow realizes, ice filling his veins. This is something else entirely.

“Vio!” he exclaims, pushing out his chair and joining his husband’s side. Vio leans against him, frighteningly limp.

“Shadow. Shadow, check on the others.”

And sure enough, their dinner guests have already fallen into a similar state of disorientation. Shadow’s eyes dart around the room for an explanation as Vio loses consciousness in his arms, then runs over to stop Zelda before she passes out face-first into her bowl of soup.

Oh, Shadow thinks to himself, heart pounding in his ears. The soup. Something was put in the soup.

But I ate the soup too, and I’m—

He hears the footsteps too late.

A blunt object meets Shadow’s skull, and everything goes black.

[casiavium]

Posting my AU day fic for Ghiralink week a couple hours early because I'm bored!!

You can also read it on ao3

Link first sees him when he's unloading baked goods from the delivery truck out back. A tall man dressed in pants with more rip than jean is leaning against the alley wall, smoking some sweet scented thing though it's barely 6:30 in the morning.

Link is carrying a rather heavy crate of bread when the man notices him, blowing a long stream of cotton candy breath without breaking eye contact. Weirded out, Link sets the bread down, and goes back to the car.

The building next to them is vacant, so Link is used to seeing roughed up teens hanging out, usually when the sun is down. He usually closes, so this morning shift is new to him.

The man looked different from the typical angsty high schooler spray painting the walls and smoking pot to get back at the system, and Link clocks him as trouble. He's his age, if not older, and probably their dealer. He makes a note to bring him up to management, though he knows they won't do anything. He has half a mind to get Zelda to help him, just to have another person there, but she's busy getting ready for the morning rush.

Link has moved onto the pastries when he is startled by the man in white jeans. He's leaning against the truck now, and up close, looks stranger than before. Pure white hair, bold makeup, shaven brows. Link almost drops his box, but gathers himself before it's too late.

The man clears his throat. Link ignores him.

On the way back to the truck, he stands in Link's path so he can't avoid him.

"Do you work here?" He gestures to the small building behind them, and Link nods. The man's face turns into a disgusted sneer. "How... quaint."

Flipping his asymmetrical hair, he doesn't get the hint that Link is busy. "How long have you been working here?"

Frowning, Link has to set down the pallet to hold up 5 fingers.

"Days? Years? Weeks?"

He nods at weeks.

"Don't get used to it." Ghirahim scoffs, and at Link's confused look, jingles keys in his face.

Prancing back to the abandoned building, the man ducks into the door with a satisfied wave, pointing at the insignia of a popular coffee corporation on the door.

Damn.

Link makes a mental note not to leave the building alone anymore.

The coffee company opens within a week. He knows the state of the building, and knows there had to have been some OSHA violations to get it up and running so fast. But the coffee company is a megacorp, and they can do whatever they want. Link occasionally sees the white haired man in the window, usually behind the counter, sometimes at a table with a laptop open in front of him and papers strewn about. He doesn't enter.

Once or twice he's seen him pass the mom-and-pop coffee shop Link works in, stopping to glance in the window. He's made eye contact a few times, but nothing more.

It's another week before the door rings to signal a new customer, and the white haired man walks up to the register while Link's on shift.

"Pleasure to meet you again..." He glances at the smeared name tag. "Rin. Strange name."

Link almost laughs. The man makes a show of reading the menu, belittling their minuscule choices compared to the chain next door, critiquing the handwritten down-on-the-farm chalkboard style. Finally, after a long sigh and a comment on how confusing it all is, he asks,

"What would you recommend?"

Were a friend to ask Link, he'd say a hot apple cider with three pumps of pumpkin spice, whipped cream and cinnamon on top. Given that this is not, he points to their drink of the week taped to the register, which just so happens to be their most expensive. In Link's opinion, this week's is atrocious.

The man's lip curls when he reads the cutesy name, but he agrees anyway. Link holds a pen to the cup, clearly asking for a name.

The man raises a blank brow, still leaning on the counter. There's a line now. "Don't talk much, do you?"

Link stares.

"Ghirahim." He sighs, straightening his posture. "G H I R A-him. Spell it right."

He adds a shrug as he leaves. "Or not. I'm not fussy."

Link passes the cup to Zelda and takes the next order.

A flurry of customers go by, but Link is sure to be "busy" washing the blender when his coworker has made Ghirahim's drink. She has it at the bar, pauses, and squints at Link's bad handwriting.

"Drink of the week for... Gary Ham?"

Link watches smugly as Ghirahim snatches the hot coffee, storming out of the shop with a huff.

Link can no longer hide behind a messy nametag when the owner Pumm decides they all need to look more professional. "Link" is printed clearly and legibly in stark black ink against a white background, pinned to the top of his apron where everyone can see.

Ghirahim avoids coming into the coffee shop, but Link sees him outside the window occasionally. He always glares at him when he notices.

He's with a group of people when he visits them next, his nasally whine loudly ringing through the room that they "could just go next door, he gets a discount there." A tall woman with hair as white as his waves his complaints off, saying she likes the taste better here and he doesn't share anyway.

Ghirahim's the last to order. Link almost makes Kina take it this time, but she's already busy with the drinks and Ghirahim's already seen him. He smirks at Link's little glare, and leans against the counter.

"Nice to see you again, sweetheart." He mocks, but his eyes glance down at the nametag. His face freezes when he sees the name is not Rin, and for a moment, Link wonders if he can pull off the evil twin act.

However, the chance that both twins have a brain that doesn't connect to their vocal cords is low, and Ghirahim rolls his eyes.

"So it's Link." He draws out the 'k', and it's kind of nice the way it rolls off his tongue. "You just have the handwriting of a toddler."

Link is pissed. This time, before Ghirahim can order, he grabs a cup without writing a name. Ghirahim squawks a protest over the sound of mid-tier pop music, his friends teasing him in the background. Link throws some sugary syrup into a cup, giving him what appears to be a glass of straight milk when he's done.

Kina's on the third friend's drink, who makes a snide remark about the service if Ghirahim's getting his first. A battle for dominance, Ghirahim walks to the counter to take it from Link's hand.

He doesn't let go.

From behind his back he pulls out the worst flavor they have, cherry syrup that tastes like cough medicine, and pours it over the top of his mocha-less white mocha. Ghirahim glances down at the red collating in the sugary monstrosity, barely holding together his disgust.

On the house Link seems to say with a smile and a tilt of his head.

Ghirahim snarls and takes the cup.

Just Link's luck, the friend group snags a table and stays there for a while. Ghirahim ignores him, but Link pays attention as he mulls over the slow coffee chit-chat, occasionally sparing him a glance to take a long sip when he knows Link's watching. It can't be good, the number of unappealing things Link put in there, but Ghirahim drains the whole glass.

As he leaves, he licks a drop of the cherry syrup from his finger, sending a smirk and a wink in Link's direction.

Against his better judgement, Link is the one to make the next move in their game of chess. He visits the megacorp coffee shop two weeks later, walking through the front door without looking back.

Ghirahim isn't there. Link isn't sure what his plan was now that he's at the register and can't speak, a bitchy barista telling him to hurry up as he frantically scribbles something on a pad. Someone is waiting behind him. He can't find his wallet. He fumbles the pen, plastic falling from his fingers, and is on the verge of panic when it slides under the counter.

"I'll take this one."

Link snaps up from crawling on the floor to see Ghirahim's hand on the shoulder of the other, gesturing with his eyes for Link to leave the line and wait at the counter. A hot flush floods his cheeks, and Link shrinks back.

Link doesn't see what all Ghirahim is making. He watches matcha powder get placed back on the shelf, hears the clink of ice, and then the man disappears behind a swinging door for a second. When he comes back, it's with a self absorbed smirk.

"Here." He slides a bright green drink across the bar, the sides ringed with threads of red syrup. Link's eyes widen. "Much better than what you gave me, I'll say."

Link takes the drink, eyes cast away. With a fluid motion he moves an open palm from his chin to out in front of him, and hurries away.

Thank you.

He doesn't know if Ghirahim understands.

The next time Ghirahim visits, Link is working alone. It's closing, and Pipit is taking the trash out that night. He doesn't expect any customers that late on a Tuesday, not even a stray college student pulling an all-nighter.

He's slacking off behind the counter, watching videos on his phone, when the bell rings. Nearly falling from his chair, he gasps when he sees white hair and tight clothes, a splash of purple makeup on a pale face.

Immediately, he gets to work.

The espresso machine has been cleaned and shut down, but Link fires it up anyway. This time, he takes his time pouring the syrup around the edge of the cup, mixing the white chocolate powder until it's smooth and creamy. He gives him oat milk, though they're supposed to charge extra (and he's not charging him at all), and tops it off with whipped cream.

Link makes a second of eye contact before grabbing a pen. Something possesses him this time. He writes his number on the cup, and the first words he's ever "spoken" to Ghirahim. Leaving the drink on the bar, he scurries behind a curtain to finish his closing duties.

From behind the fabric he peeks out, Link watches as Ghirahim's mouth quirks into a smirk when he reads his messy writing. He pulls out his phone, types something in, and walks out of the coffee shop without a word.

Link's phone buzzes.

"I can give you something other than coffee to keep you up all night. Call me."

You couldn't have thought of a better pick up line?

[sciencelings-writes]

Whumptober Prompt 5: Hypothermia

Part of my Golden Priestesses AU, though all you need to know is that the Zelda here is Gerudo and she doesn’t have any associations with the royal family, and Link goes by they/them pronouns and is half Zonai. 

Warnings: Brief discussions of momentary nudity

wc: 2743

AO3 Link

The journey up Mount Lanayru wasn’t Link’s version of fun. Even with a dozen layers between their skin and the constantly falling snow, the fact that they weren’t allowed to have any heating potions and that they were used to the sweltering humidity and heat of Faron, the hike up the spiraling stairs up a freezing mountain were pretty agonizing. 

Link was still shivering even under three cloaks, one wool, one silk, and one that was mostly just Lynel pelts, it’s golden color made their status obvious. Though it wasn’t out of the ordinary for a Zonai to be covered in cloaks to protect their light sensitive skin, Link found themself uncomfortable with the constant weight on their back and lack of flexibility. They were definitely used to lighter clothes that didn’t cling to their skin.

At least Zelda was by their side, their fellow priestess was used to the frigid temperatures, even then, she still wore a massive cloak lined with white wolves fur. Though she towered above them, she kept her strides nice and short so they wouldn’t be jogging to keep up with her. She could probably take four steps of stone stairs at a time if she wanted to, and Link was very thankful that she didn’t. 

“I’m still willing to carry you, you know.” Zelda said with a playful smirk as Link carefully avoided a patch of ice.

“As I said before, not in front of the attendants. We do not need any more rumors circulating around.” Their cheeks were flushed, but they couldn’t completely blame it on the cold. 

“I think we should encourage rumors, it can get boring up here, it’ll be a service if anything interesting were to happen.” She teased, Link caught themself looking at her smile for a little too long. They whipped their head away, to focus on the road instead. 

“I’m sure they’ll find something to talk about. Maybe I’ll trip into the spring or something. Or another fox will wander in and climb the goddess statue.” They suggested, admiring the pillars of ice and stone rather than looking at their companion. They’d have to crane their neck pretty far up anyway. 

“It may be expected for animals to gather around the statue of Farore but it’s considered disrespectful for my goddess.” She commented, brushing some bright scarlet hair from blowing in her face, she must’ve missed a few pieces when preparing herself that morning. How inconvenient. 

“I’m sure she would think differently if it was an owl.”

“As a matter of fact, she does. There’s a nest of them too high for anyone to get to, some of the lower priestesses believe she speaks through them, so if they happen to hoot while someone is talking, they assume Nayru just wanted to butt in with her opinion.” The image caused Link to snort out a laugh. 

“Oh fair prophet, you cannot understand the words of your goddesses sacred birds, how disappointing. I heard Impa can talk to pigs.” 

“Din’s sacred animal is a boar, not a pig. That’s like calling your dragon a lizard.” The priestess of Nayru raised her eyebrows and motioned towards the currently covered tattoos on Link’s arm, a long dragon spiraled up in shifting greens and teals and gold.

“They belong to the same family. Do you think it would be sacrilege if the Priestess of Din eats pork? Or if the Queen eats poultry?”

“It’s not sacrilege for you to drink potions made with reptiles.” Zelda pointed out. 

“It might be! I haven’t read the rulebook in a while.” Link claimed. 

Their hike up the mountain lasted like that for hours, the priestess of Farore slowly feeling the chill seep through their cloaks. When they got to the top it wouldn’t matter though, so they wouldn’t even think to complain about it. 

Shortly before Links legs threatened to fall off, they reached the Spring of Wisdom. The structure around it contained dozens of stained glass images that showered the marble floors with vibrant colors. Torches and a firepit were prepared, keeping the building a more reasonable heat, but the spring would still be just as mind-numbingly cold. Though that was the point. 

Link was assisted out of their almost comical amount of cloaks, each layer removed sent a new wave of chilly air through their body. It took all their willpower not to shiver visibly. Eventually they were left in their ceremonial garb, an outfit more suited for their own spring in the middle of a tropical jungle. It contained a sash that only fully covered their shadow marks on their untattooed arm. It was the skin all Zonai had that was particularly sensitive to light, it wrapped around their arm like a dainty sleeve with smokey edges that swirled like a whirlwind up to their bicep. 

Most of their skin was bare, there was no protection for their feet or hands, only extra wrappings covering their shadow marks. It wouldn’t help keep them warm though. The cold was a trial, not unlike the monsters hiding in the chambers of the Temple of Courage or the guardians around the Temple of Power. Nayru wanted to test their endurace, their dedication. 

This spring was the most exclusive, while youth were allowed to pray in the others, the Spring of Wisdom was the most dangerous of them all, for Wisdom was the most dangerous weapon to have. Those who wished to take their pilgrimage there had to prove to the priestess that they understood their choice. That they contained the wisdom to not succumb to the allure of knowledge or to the pain of the cold. 

Zelda worried that Link would be too stubborn to give up, to leave when their body hit it’s limit, not because they desired knowledge, but because that was an effect of their own relentless courage. She was afraid that they would die if someone convinced them it would help even a single person. 

The priestess of Farore took a breath of icy air before taking their first step into the spring. They managed to resist flinching back but they knew that now they were wet, it would feel even colder. So step by step, they continued into the center of the spring. Their light skirt floating to the surface and fanning out like frost forming on glass.  

Slowly, they knelt. The water rising up from their hips to their chest, making their lungs spasm and quiver against the stinging chill. Their jaw was stubbornly clenched shut to keep from chattering and their hands were clasped together to start their prayer. They only hoped they would grow used to the temperature, because they definitely had a long way to go. 

After one last shaking breath, Link started their first prayer to Nayru, a song that echoed throughout the silent temple. The acoustics of the structure allowing it to sound like they were harmonizing with themself, carrying a note for several seconds before it was allowed to die out. 

Once the first verse was finished, Link closed their eyes and succumbed to the darkness and the resonating sounds. The ancient language on their tongue was far from foreign, but they were sure a goddess would be able to pick apart their accent. Many of the sounds weren’t natural for them to make, but with years of practice, it got much easier. 

Hours had gone by, their voice wavered and got quieter as time passed. Eventually turning into a melodic hum as ther throat grew tight and rough. As the cold made their skin and bones completely numb, they knelt like a statue, mildly afraid that if they even tried to stand they would immediately stumble and fall. 

Singing turned into humming which turned into no noise at all, only the fact that they were still upright hinted Zelda to the fact that they were still awake and deep in prayer. The moment they first stopped making noise, Zelda had to resist the urge to run in and check if they were okay. They had already lasted far longer than most, even she wasn’t allowed to watch them very long, it was customary that prayer was a private affair between the worshipper and the goddess they prayed to. At least in most springs it was. 

Zelda guarded her friend, looking back and checking on them much more frequently than was likely necessary. Sure, she knew that if they passed out, she would hear the splash of the water, she would hear the water lap against the stone if they moved enough to stand up. She already had several heating potions that gradually increased in strength and several dry blankets soaking up the heat of the fire pit. She knew how to be prepared for a dedicated pilgrim, so many collapsed from the cold long before now. She wondered if Link was just too frozen in place to call for help. 

Her fears were both dispelled and confirmed when she heard a sudden crash of something into the water, the broken silence made her jerk towards the spring, only to see her colleague completely engulfed in ice water. She sprang into action, ignoring the jolt of electricity that passed through her body as she ran into the spring. 

Her heart jolted when she saw the unnatural tone to their skin and their closed eyes. She scooped their freezing body from the water and dreaded how cold and stiff they had gotten. She knew she should’ve intervened sooner… 

Despite how cold they were, Zelda clung to Link, hoping to transfer some of her natural heat to them, but she knew it would be hard when he was wet and in sopping clothes. She would have to remove them. She tried her best to not be enticed by the idea, it was a medical necessity, not an excuse to objectify them. This had never really been a problem before, she’s had to fish so many travelers out, to keep their clothes from freezing them solid, it had never really phased her like it did with Link. 

She managed to unclothe them without staring too much, though she was mortal and she had to shake her head out of it’s momentary stupor a second after removing the garments on their chest. In no time they were swadled in blankets and sitting near the fire, she just had to wait for them to wake up again before giving them the first elixir. 

Zelda had decided that the best way to warm them up would be with her assistance so she carefully sat them pressed against each other, her using her superior size to her advantage and completely enveloping their body with hers, pressing her legs against theirs and biting her tongue a little when their stone cold skin touched hers. She wrapped her arms around them and made sure that their wet hair wasn’t touching their back. Her fur cloak covered them both well enough to keep the heat contained. 

There were minutes where she could only hear her own racing heart beat. Was their condition worse than she thought? Would she have to rush him to the fairy fountain near Karariko? Would she have to find a healer? Would she be fast enough if she began her journey now? She furiously rubbed heat into Links limbs, clasping her warm hands around one of theirs at a time, it was the first time she realized that the skin of their shadow marks felt different than their Hylian colored skin. It was rough and strangely sturdy but still flexible. 

A few terrifying minutes after Zelda had started to warm them up, Link made their first noise in hours. A tiny groan. She might’ve missed it if the temple were less silent. She paused her completely selfless cuddling to grab the weakest heating elixir from it’s place at her side. It warmed the glass like some tea that had been sitting out for a few minutes, warm, but nowhere near scalding. 

“Open up pipsqeak, we have to warm you up from the inside too.” Zelda said softly, tilting their chin back to administer the potion. At this point, their eyes were open and obviously dazed, still, they seemed like they were trying to resist shivering.  

They swallowed the potion without resistance and instantly seemed to be getting better, their cheeks were pink rather than being unnaturally pale and their shivering seemed to come back, at least to the extent of being uncontrollable. Zelda automatically went back to holding them close as soon as the empty glass bottle was placed safely on the ground. 

“Am I… am I naked?” They asked between stuttering breaths. Of course that would be the first thing they were worried about…

“I’m not just going to leave you in wet clothes while you’re suffering from hypothermia Link.” She deadpanned. 

“Did you…” Their weak voice trailed off and Zelda had a feeling that the pink on their cheeks wasn’t just them recovering their body heat. 

“Yes I did. It was medically necessary.” She didn’t want the fact that she had seen their body without their permission be a point of embarrassment, she just had to act professional and detached about it. 

“Consider yourself lucky, not everyone gets the sacred honor to gaze upon-” Link announced deliriously, loud enough that there was no way that some temple attendants could be oblivious to it. 

“You can go back to sleep now.” She interrupted. “I can wake you up when you’re ready for the next elixir.” 

“Maybe next time you see me like that I won’t be almost dying.” Link suggested with a smirk that was less seductive and more silly. 

“I thought you didn’t want any rumors about us.” 

“You were right, it does get a little boring up here.” Link shrugged a little, or as much as they could in Zelda’s tight embrace. 

The next time Link woke up, they were much more coherent and somber. After their second dose of spicy elixir, she got to find out why. The juxtaposition of their waking state this time compared to the first was more than unsettling, it was hard to believe it was the same person in her arms.  

“She showed me something in there.” Their voice was much quieter than before. “I think I saw the future.” This wasn’t too uncommon, many people saw flashes of things that have yet to happen, oftentimes they were inconsequential or confusing and easily forgotten. But Link looked troubled, and She had a feeling that they got more than just a useless image for their hours of prayer. 

“What did you see?” She prompted. 

“The fall of Hyrule. I think I saw myself dying.” They said, unsettlingly vaguely before continuing, “It wasn’t me though… not really. The princess was there, but not the little girl we know… but I still knew who she was. It was… It was those sheikah machines. Something was controlling them. They were taking down Hylian soldiers like they were ants. We were trying to run but we had no choice but to fight them. She begged me to run but I couldn’t leave her alone. She tried to save me, she had the complete triforce. I think it was too late. I think I died there.” 

“That’s certainly troubling, but that doesn’t seem to occur during your lifetime, it could be hundreds or thousands of years away.” Zelda reasoned, “It’s no use to worry about it now, even if it could be changed.”

Link stayed silent, replaying the images in their mind, it had been many generations since the fall of the calamity, there weren’t many that were old enough to have lived through it, but Link knew the tales. It was clear to them now. The calamity would return someday. It could be decades or centuries or millennia, but one thing was certain, this time, they were going to fail. 

They had a feeling that they wouldn’t be able to see Impa’s spider-y army the same way ever again. Especially the single red eye, aiming right at their heart. 

Then again, though they had been looking through the eyes of Link, they had a feeling that it may not of been them. That Link held the master sword, the very sword that their brother was hiding, the heroes sword. Perhaps it wasn’t them who they saw dying, but Ravio. For some reason, that was so much worse. 

[durotoswrites]

Short Fic AU prompt, I'm branching out. Let's do a Zelda and Link fic with prompt #17, meeting while drunk at a party. I'll let you pick which game/continuity to work with.

Thank you so much for your patience on this. I'm still working on asks - they're just taking a while.

Without further ado, enjoy!

Link furrowed his brow and bit his lip, wordlessly gesturing down at his ridiculous striped trousers and snapped one of the suspenders with an irritated snort.

“I swear that I forgot we were doing the lynel costume together!” Revali insisted, a laugh lacing the edges of his words. “Besides, I think we can both agree that this suits me much better.” He flourished his wings and a dazzling array of sparkling beads danced in the light, causing a glittery array of shapes to bounce around the room.

While it was true that Link wasn’t looking forward to a face full of tail feathers during the costume contest portion of the party, he had put a lot of work into the homemade ensemble.

“So what are you supposed to be?” Link struggled to keep his voice level.

Revali smirked with a shrug. “Does it really matter? The costumes that catch the most eyes are the ones that win the contest.”

“Then what do you suggest I do about being half of a lynel?” Link could feel the frustration burning in his chest.

“Leave the contest to me! I’ll win for sure, and I’ll even pick up your tab to make up for it.”

Folding his arms, Link couldn’t help but imagine the discarded front half of the lynel costume in his mind’s eye.

All those hours late into the night designing and stitching...

“Come now, do you really expect anyone to outshine me? Let’s go inside before they start the judging!” The beads and sequins jingled as Revali strutted into the bar, casting bright reflections all around.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Link didn’t join the competition, and he found that he stopped caring as he downed his second Chateau Romani. It was creamy, sweet, and left a comfortable warmth in his belly.

“Slow down, little guy,” Revali chided, “you’ll be drunk before it even gets dark!”

The challenging smirk on his face make Link scowl as he waved the bartender over for another drink. “You said drinks were on you. I’m getting my money’s worth.”

“Whatever you say. I must away to the dance floor – the party needs me!” Revali turned on his heel and strutted out to the crowd, the beads on his costume swishing as he moved.

Link rolled his eyes and took another sip of his drink.

“Are you sure you don’t want to dance?” A woman dressed as a Great Fairy placed her hands on her hips with a slight frown.

A voice emerged from under her friend’s floppy hat as they took the empty seat beside Link. “I think I need to calm down a bit from being in front of that crowd,” came the reply.

Link observed their costumes – a tastefully bejeweled Great Fairy and swamp hag complete with moss hanging from the hat, obscuring her face. “One of you two definitely should’ve won that contest.”

The fairy laughed heartily. “That would be my friend here – she’s a wizard with a needle and thread. She designed both of these – an absolute genius!”

The hag seemed to sink into her clothing, ducking her head. “Urbosa, you’re really too kind. I try my best. I hope I’m worthy of a title like that someday.”

“Zelda…” Urbosa smiled sadly at her, placing a gentle hand atop of the mossy hat. “Join me on the dance floor when you’re feeling better.” She eyed up Link with a grin. “And bring Lynel Butt if he turns out to be cool.”

Link felt his face flush, remembering his attire.

“She really is too kind,” Zelda murmured.

As Urbosa waved goodbye to them, Link turned toward her. “I think you’re being too hard on yourself. One thing I’ve learned is that if your friends offer you praise, you should accept it.”

“Ah, do you think she thought I was rude?!” she cried in tremulous tones, whipping her head toward the dance floor.

“I didn’t get that impression at all. I think she just wants you to have more confidence in your abilities.”

“Your costume is impressive as well. I know it’s only half of the whole thing, but I can tell a lot of care was put into crafting it.”

Link was unable to fight the goofy grin on his face. “Thanks. I really enjoy sewing and make a lot of my own clothes… Not that I wear the back end of a lynel out to the grocery store or anything!”

He could hear the grin in Zelda’s voice. “Well, you’re in good company. I’ve been practicing costume design. I’d love to make them for theatrical plays someday.” A sigh escaped her. “Ah, we still both lost to that cocky… what was he supposed to be anyway? A pile of rupees?”

Link rolled his eyes as he looked out on the dance floor – Revali was surrounded by others as he danced under the lights, clearly having the time of his life. “That pile of rupees is my friend…”

Zelda gasped as her hands flew beneath her hat, likely concealing her already hidden face. “Goodness, I’m so -”

“… My friend that refused to wear the front half of this costume that I worked really hard on,” Link finished. “He’s picking up my tab tonight, so that would include buying a drink for a fellow tailor.”

Zelda removed her hat, causing her blonde locks to fall loose down her back. She placed the hat on her lap, giving him a rueful smile. “I’ve already had a bit of liquid courage to convince myself to stand on stage to show off my handiwork.”

Startled by her beauty, Link tore his eyes from her, his face blazing. “Well, in that case, he can pick up the tab for our snacks.”

Zelda eyed up the menu with a smirk. “I hear this place serves really tasty desserts, but they’re a little pricey.”

Link didn’t miss a beat. “That’s funny – I’ve been thinking a large order of their signature tarts would go well with what I’m drinking.”

“Thank you… Ah, I’m sure you don’t go by Lynel Butt on a regular basis!”

“It’s Link. Nice to meet you.”

“And you as well!” She paused, blushing deeply. “Goodness, and I haven’t introduced myself! My name is Zelda!”

“Well, Zelda, how about we let that pile of rupees pay for a large order of assorted tarts?”

“That sounds fabulous! And a plain glass of milk for myself.”

He cast her an impish grin. “Sounds great! I’d love to hear more about your costume designs.”

“And I’d love to hear more about yours!”

[waywardsalt]

Holy shit I will talk about Linebeck for FREE

I did skim the PH manga to see if I could steal anything, and uhhh it certainly made some Choices. I didn't end up taking much, just a few cues for how I wanna characterize Link and a couple ideas for how I wanted to handle Linebeck's backstory.

I thought the flashback scene with Linebeck abandoning his crew to escape the ghost ship was an interesting concept. It didn't quite fit what I wanted, but it was close? I like the survivor's guilt angle, like maybe he joined up with a crew of people he admired and he let them down somehow.

It's fun to talk about Linebeck hell yeah

The ph manga does certainly make some Choices, that's for sure. The backstory they come up for Linebeck is... it's interesting, but as I'll probably go over when I actually talk about the things I disliked in it, not a great choice in the greater scheme of things.

It's a good concept though, even if it's one I don't use. One of my favorite things about Linebeck is the sheer lack of concrete information we're given about him, so his backstory can be whatever the hell you reasonably want it to be.

The survivor's guilt angle that the manga touches on is really good, though. The idea of him joining people he admires and ends up letting them down in some form is a cool concept to explore with Linebeck specifically, I think, and you can tie it back to the story of phantom hourglass decently well.

I think that with the way Linebeck is in phantom hourglass, you can do a lot of things with his backstory. I think you can whip up a lot of different interesting events that lead to Linebeck acting the way he does at the beginning of phantom hourglass.

I've pretty much got his entire backstory planned out for myself, (I'm considering writing it out as a fic but it does contain topics that I would need to be careful handling) and I don't really do anything similar to what the manga does, instead opting for a more mundane but still tumultuous backstory centering more on the ideas of social isolation and struggling with identity and stuff.

I can't tell since I know exactly what parts of my fics relate to this backstory and what part of that backstory is referenced, but I'm curious about what people might piece together just based on clues and implications I leave in my phantom hourglass oneshots.

I have a handful of backstories for him because I like to come up with aus, so he has a different backstory in every story, but it's fun to identify what parts of the backstory remain static or share the same themes despite the backstories being in genres ranging from futuristic sci-fi to modern times or even just vastly different Zelda-type settings.

The phantom hourglass manga, I think, is a questionable choice for reference on these characters, although Link is enough of a fluid character that all of his manga portrayals are fine. Manga Linebeck is not nearly as good as game Linebeck though lol. I'm still angry about losing the second half of the game. We lost his letter, which I consider to be a fantastic snippet of characterization for him.

Anyways, Linebeck backstories are interesting since there's pretty much nothing that canon suggests about him. I'm interested in whatever you decide on doing with him!

[knowmypower]

In your hcs, I saw Meta Knight adopted Kirby! :D When did MK make this choice to adopt, and what in your AU was the catalyst that led him to sign the adoption papers?

HE DID <3 he actually adopted kirby well before the events of brawl, but it was kept a secret to most! partly because he didn't want people to think kirby was getting favouritism from him, and partly because he didn't want kirby to get dragged into whatever he had going on (so, he kind of was giving kirby favouritism lol). the only people that knew were of course dedede (he's basically kirby's fun uncle), marth (because meta knight felt he deserved to know as his trusted comrade) and peach/zelda (because kirby had to tell them during subspace with the halberd fiasco). it was like that for a long time, until ultimate where it slowly became common knowledge.

i'd say the decision to adopt was probably made around amazing mirror in the kirby timeline. meta knight always felt instinctually drawn to kirby, being the same species, but their relationship got rocky around ROMK, with kirby refusing to join meta knight's cause. meta knight felt disappointment in kirby at that moment and let his emotions run away with him, but after the catastrophic failure and taking some time to himself to reevaluate what was most important to him, he wanted nothing more than to patch things up with kirby. kirby forgave him very quickly and was just super happy to have his friend/father figure back (which meta knight didn't feel worthy of for a while).

i imagine there weren't really any official papers to sign due to the nature of dreamland, but kirby scribbled up something like a certificate to commemorate it anyway, which meta knight keeps and WILL whip out like it's official whenever he's asked lol. but maybe they were able to get official documentation at some point after moving to the smash castle!

[ghirahimbo]

"2. Suddenly pulling them in for a dance." - Ghiralink, perhaps? (Sorry incase that's not really your thing anymore! Feel free to pick another ship <3)

Yeah… yeah, that’s still my thing T-T lol, thanks for the prompt! This one was fun 😊

Post-canon, vague master/sword AU, ghiralink-ish

—

The spirit maiden danced with a grace befitting her divine origins, little though Ghirahim liked to admit it. Moving so lightly through the lively steps that her feet might have been floating, he could almost believe that she still bore Hylia's feathered wings on her back, tucked somewhere outside of physical sight. Link danced like a log in comparison—though on second appraisal, Ghirahim had to give him more credit than that. The boy wasn't stomping on Zelda’s toes, after all, unlike Fledge dancing nearby with poor Karane. Link's style consisted of accuracy without artistry, though with enough enthusiasm to almost make up for it. How odd that all his light-footedness seemed reserved for the more violent dance of swords, where he moved nimbly enough to keep even Ghirahim on his toes… a nod to his true calling, perhaps?

Privately savoring the notion, Ghirahim lounged against the wall of a newly erected building, only half noticing the wary looks he received as he watched the festivities unfold. These Skyloftians-turned-surface dwellers still feared him, despite the months he had served already as their hero's sword—a primal fear, perhaps, unless that fool Groose had secretly run off at the mouth. Link and Zelda had agreed from the start that certain aspects of Ghirahim’s past were best kept hidden, his previous master and role in Zelda’s disappearance highest among them. He had certainly not done anything overtly threatening to the residents of this tiny, budding village—and yet, they feared him.

The whole situation fell well beneath his notice, though he’d caught Link frowning over it more than once. Link was frowning at him now, Ghirahim realized, directing it over Zelda’s shoulder as they turned in sync, and he met it with a scornful expression of his own. What had Link expected him to do here tonight? Mingle?

The music finally paused as the lively song wound to its end, prompting the dancing couples to bow and switch partners (in Karane’s case with remarkable alacrity). Link leaned in towards Zelda, whispering something in her ear before vanishing into the milling throng, and Ghirahim half raised an eyebrow. Likely he'd just gone for more food, though Link might have finally tired of this tedious celebration. Compared to the more demonic gatherings Ghirahim knew, this less raucous human affair contained a disappointing (if expected) lack of bloodshed—though of course, those had often erupted haphazardly in the throes of battles won. Not like this one, which commemorated nothing more than the laboriously slow growth of food and its eventual harvest.

Another song started up, slower than the last but no less cheerful. Fledge had moved on to his next victim, some girl in a bandana and horrifically flared pants whose name Ghirahim had never bothered to learn. Zelda had produced a harp, wandering to join the musicians with plucked out harmonies that flowed from her fingers with ease, and Link…

Ghirahim frowned when Link’s bobbing green hat still had not emerged among the dancers. The food tables remained conspicuously absent of green, as well. If Link thought he could escape on his own while leaving Ghirahim here waiting—

A hand grabbed his arm, pulling him from his perch by the wall, and if he hadn’t had that hand memorized from the hundreds of times it had gripped his hilt, Ghirahim might have expressed his surprise in regrettably drastic fashion. Instead he let it pull him through the crowd until they reached their apparent destination, and it slid down his arm to grasp his own blackened hand, while another reached up to rest lightly on his shoulder.

Ghirahim blinked. Link smiled blandly up at him.

"Care to dance?" he asked, a bit too late for etiquette's sake considering that the dance had already started. Link's cheeks shone pink from the exertion of tromping around with Zelda, and his messy hair, mercifully absent the hat that always covered it, felt deceitful in how easily it had disguised his presence. Sweat clung to the base of those dark blonde locks—the reason for the hat's removal?

Ghirahim's legs moved automatically through the simple steps as he considered his young master, who made a brave attempt at leading with that unfortunate portion of his usual grace.

"Presumptive of you," he murmured, just loud enough to be heard over the din of laughter and music. "Any particular motive for such impertinence?"

Link had the nerve to look confused.

"You like to dance," he said, as if that was answer enough. Perhaps it was. Link wore his cheerful naiveté like a cloak sometimes, and even Ghirahim couldn't always sort out how much of it was real, and how much artifice. "Someone had to ask you?"

The hint of a question?

A number of potential reactions ran through Ghirahim's mind, considered and discarded in quick succession. He could extract himself easily enough, leaving Link clutching nothing but vanishing diamonds. He could also stand stubbornly still, refuse to dance, and let Link discover just how easily he could drag around a sword that didn't want to move. He could reject Link quietly—dramatically—at knifepoint, even—but…

A quick glance around revealed their audience. Though most had the sense not to stare openly, nearly every couple surrounding them shared the same nervous, almost scandalized smile, as if they feared the consequence of making their amusement too obvious. The spirit maiden in particular watched him closely, keeping a pointed eye on him over her harp though her lips shared the same bland smile as Link.

There would be no consequence, of course—Ghirahim wouldn't risk this precarious arrangement with Link simply to save face in front of some humans—yet neither could he let anyone think him scared off by something as innocuous as an invitation to dance. The steps themselves were straightforward enough, easily gleaned through his brief time spent observing… and as Link had pointed out, he did enjoy it.

His lips curved into a grin.

"I accept your request," Ghirahim said, and the moment Link started to relax, added, "but I will not be led."

Link's eyes barely had the chance to widen before Ghirahim spun him around, reversing the position of their hands.

Backpedaling to match Ghirahim's smooth advance, Link's startled face swiveled between watching Ghirahim and his own two feet in a desperate attempt to avoid being trampled. Lack of practice in this secondary role made him even less sure of his steps than before, though Ghirahim managed to steer them without incident through the greater pattern of dancing couples, humming in amusement as Link fought with surprise against an unexpected dip backwards.

"Come now, Link, have I ever allowed you to wield me with so little poise?" he hissed, the tip of his tongue whipping out mockingly as he raised Link back up. "If you favor only my sword with your attempts at finesse, I will begin to be jealous of myself."

Face red now from more than mere exertion, Link opened his mouth as if to protest—and closed it again, his lips forming a thin line of determination. An abrupt change swept over him, as drastic as if a switch had been pressed, and his stance shifted along with his center of gravity. Back straight with just a hint of fluidity, eyes blazing with the same defiance that had caught Ghirahim’s interest from the very start, Link danced, the superior reflexes he showed in battle at last made manifest.

Ghirahim's own eyes glowed. So Link had finally remembered that he held a sword.

"You've been holding out on me," he whispered, uncertain if Link could hear him or not. Experimentally, he directed Link with a light hint of pressure through a gliding spin, and found him as responsive an opponent as ever. "I should punish you for that."

Except that Link had held out on the spirit maiden first, and only for Ghirahim revealed his true potential. There was a pattern to that, he decided, glancing once more at Zelda and relishing in her look of surprise. Her chosen hero could never have defeated Demise without trying himself again and again on Ghirahim's sword first, and he hoped at times that his necessity haunted her.

The music picked up in pace and volume, the steps coming quick and intense. Link said nothing—he never did in the midst of battle, as silent as stone and just as unyielding—but perspiration broke out in beads along his face, trailing down the edge of his jaw. His hair swept and stuck in strange patterns across his forehead, disheveled but not wholly unappealing. Link might still have lacked a certain flair to his movements, too direct and to the point for Ghirahim's taste… but style could be taught. Idly, Ghirahim considered other dances he might teach this man if he was amenable, of perhaps less wholesome origins—dances whose quick, subtle movements pushed the bounds of even his own abilities, requiring strength in muscles Link likely didn't know existed. What was a dance without challenge, after all… without something a little more physical?

For now they moved through this tamer dance of Hylia's people, both withdrawing and rejoining as the pattern of steps demanded. The outer world fell away as their attention narrowed in on small details—the clash of eyes and brush of skin—blue on black and flushed tan on cool, steely gray—

And the music ended in a moment of silence that rang out unexpectedly. Laughing chatter burst to life, as abrupt as it was unwelcome, and the spell between them broke. Panting, looking slightly dazed, Link gave Ghirahim a bow that he returned with almost his usual smoothness, convincing himself that he had not been nearly so affected.

"Satisfied?" he asked softly, with the hint of a smirk—and was taken aback by the positively sly look Link gave him in response.

“Well…”

Brushing his hands together and placing them on his hips, Link gave a show of looking around meaningfully, and only then did Ghirahim realize how the tenor of the voices surrounding them had changed. Those glances sent his way felt more curious now than wary, and the bubble of instinctive fear surrounding him had all but vanished—his presence made human in their eyes at last by his part in the harvest dance.

"It's a start," Link decided, wiping sweat from his brow and settling his pointed green hat at a jaunty angle on his head. "I’m done dancing for the night, but you keep going if you want. You looked like you were having fun.”

With a wink, he turned to leave, and Ghirahim couldn't help but admire his exit. Link really was as conniving as any demon he’d ever met at times, though to completely different ends.

A nervous cough caught his attention, and he glanced down to see Fledge looking up at him anxiously. From the flurry of motion around them, it was time to switch partners for the next dance.

“U-um,” he managed to squeak out. His face, torn between pale white and deep red, had settled on both in splotches. “Everyone else is, so do you… I mean, are we supposed t-to…?”

Ghirahim snapped, leaving Fledge gaping at vanishing diamonds, and as he left caught the edges of Link's laughter. Conniving indeed, he thought, though at least in that as in so much else they were equally matched.

[deiliamedlini]

WIP Wednesday

Today, I have 3 WIP Wed excerpts. Because I posted 2 new fics this week, I’m just going to post a small section from the next chapter of each! And I have a small Through Hell or High Water section because I just wrote it so why not toss it in? 

Dance With Me- (A BOTW AU) [new!]

I Walk Beside You- (A Modern Pre-Calamity retelling) [new!]

Through Hell or High Water- (Pirate AU) [been going]

Small excerpts from the next chapters of each are below. 

Honestly, this is kind of just self-promotion day in case you didn’t see the new fics! (CHECK THEM OUT SHAMLESSLY LINKED ABOVE 😉)

~~

Dance With Me: Chapter 2

“You need to breathe,” Link said. “Stop and breathe.”

His voice was right beside her, and her eyes flung open. He was beside her, like he’d maybe been doing the exercise with her, as he had with running, before he’d stopped to comment.

“Breathe,” he said again, more sternly, moving to stand in front of her.

Determined not to quit, not to stand straight and call this another failure, Zelda couldn’t make her lungs work at the same time that every ounce of focus was going into keeping her in this horrid position, but she wanted to prove that she could do it.

She felt something push against her stomach, and her legs gave out at the same moment air came rushing back into her lungs. Strong arms held her up as she panted for breath, her buckled knees struggling to loosen. But she didn’t want strong arms, so she shoved him away and shook her leg out using the wall for balance.  

“Did you just punch me?” She’d wanted to put more venom into it, but her lungs were still too busy thanking her for air.

“Punch,” he scoffed. “I just tapped you to startle you into breathing. It worked.”

~~

I Walk Beside You- Chapter 2

He was hiding a smug smirk. Zelda made a face, shocked that he would taunt the Princess of Hyrule, even subtly.

She’d seen him. She’d seen that look before. As more of his confidence showed, she fidgeted. In her silence, he did end up smiling, biting his lip and raising his eyebrow.

He cast a look at her father, and she could see him nod.

“Do you watch much television, Princess?” the man asked.

Zelda balked. “When necessary. Are you an actor? Are you simply going to pretend to be my bodyguard?”

“Oh no, I’m highly trained in all things relating to protection, safety, surveillance, combat… name it. I even have certificates to prove it.”

Rhoam snickered. “This is the Hero of Hyrule, Zelda. If you bothered to leave the news on whenever his name was mentioned, you’d know that.”

Zelda’s head whipped toward her father so quickly that she could hear it snap a bit. “Excuse me?”

“The Hero of Hyrule.”

Her eyes went back to The Hero, much slower this time.

The Hero.

“The real one?” The Hero. “Link Forester?”

“In the flesh, Princess.”

“You have the sword? You’re the man who went into that freaky forest and pulled the sword from the stone? You?”

“Me.”

Goddess-Chosen, fate-bound, destiny’s hero. The antithesis of everything she’d done. She, the Goddess’ Failure, the unlucky, the cursed Princess.

There was no sword on his hip though. Only a gun, which contrasted with his civilian clothes. “Well, do you keep the sword with you? Is it under your shirt or something?”

“Zelda, you’re being unkind,” her father scolded. “We are not in the dark ages. Obviously he does not roam around swinging a sword. He’s well trained in—”

“Oh yes, we’ve all heard the stories of how well-trained you are. ‘The Hero of Hyrule strikes fear into the heart of the enemies in Labrynna.’ ‘The Hero of Hyrule receives recognition for his acts of selfless bravery in the war.’ ‘The Hero of Hyrule strikes again, saving an entire platoon from the Yiga with his courage and skill.’ Believe me, Hero, we’ve all heard of you.”

~~~

Through Hell or High Water- Chapter 8

That night, the sea salt brought a now-familiar taste to her mouth coupled with the chill of the wind and the sea spray. The deck was lit only by lanterns and starlight, but according to Sidon, they were nearly there.

She was in her back corner, but she could still hear the music being played in the front of the ship. There was an accordion, a harmonica, some strings maybe? Definitely stomping, clapping, and singing. It was actually interesting, and she wanted to move closer, but the conscious part of her mind made her refuse to indulge.

“Excited to be rid of us?” Link asked, sneaking up behind her.

“Goddess above!” she hissed, turning away from the performance and towards the shadow behind her.

“No, unfortunately. Just me,” he said, smiling.

“Mr. Woods! Why are you everywhere?”

“It’s a small ship. And admittedly, I saw you back here. Since you’re usually on the verge of throwing up and passing out from your inability to adjust to the sea, I wanted to make sure you didn’t fall over the rail just days before your safe return home.”

“Your honor is impeccable,” she scoffed sarcastically. “You don’t want your money to fall into the ocean.”

“Please, don’t fall overboard. I’ll likely have to be the one to dive in after you.”

[secretlysheikah]

Exile Chapter 3

Yay! I finished another part in my little sheikah AU! God You guys have no idea how much this is to write and share it brings me so much joy creating a story out of basically my own brain pan. I love my blorbos so much! And I hope you guys are enjoying this little Legend of Zelda AU. Just thank you guys for reading this, I am still grateful for those who read it. 

(Also Colin and Hiri bonding... MY HEART.) 

Start here: 

She floated in and out of sleep for what had to be days. Each time something was different. The metal tray that Ford had brought in was gone, replaced with different cups and bowls of broth that she barely touched. Then her bandages were changed to fresh ones, her back blissfully numb thanks to whatever salve they put on. The sheets were changed next and she spotted Scout where he sat morosely in his lantern on the side table for a bit before she drifted again. She couldn’t help but feel slightly disturbed that she was ill to the point of not remembering people coming into her room. 

Her room. Yet another thing she didn’t like. She didn’t want to see this room as hers, she still wanted to be gone. This wasn’t her room. Her room had flowers on the sill. Her room was a warm red with cream accents and she could hear her mom bustling around down stairs. No, she refused to call this her room. 

The next time she woke and worked harder to stay awake. Her back was numbed, which meant the bandages were changed, and recently if the steaming cup on her bedside table meant anything. Carefully she pulled herself up into a seated position. She could feel the pressure of the bandages on her mostly healed skin and it made her shiver. 

A quick scan of the room showed that she was alone. The fire had been tended to and warmth filled the medium sized room. She listened for the sound of people moving outside but heard nothing. Taking that as a good sign and threw off her blankets and carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed. The quick movement made the room spin and she had to pause and wait for the fit to pass. 

She felt a sudden realization hit her then. She could leave and no one would know, the room even had a window. Her eyes fell to the flimsy looking latch that held the two glass panes closed. It would be easy. She slowly started to stand and felt her legs wobbling. She felt weak and she grimaced in annoyance when she had to hold onto the table just to keep her feet. She shuffled over to the deep set window and poked at the latch as she considered it. “Look at you, up and about,” Sheikah whipped around in surprise and nearly lost her footing in the process. She clutched at the sill and looked at Colin where he leaned against the side of the fireplace with his arms folded. 

“I dare say you almost look rested too,” he added and moved to plop down on the high backed chair. Which still held her cloak draped across the back. She licked her lips and stood as straight as she could. Colin made himself comfortable and gestured back towards the bed and the side table. 

“Why don’t you have a seat, drink some of the broth and we can have a little chat,” he said calmly and Sheikah felt her hands tighten in the sill of the window. 

“I’m tired of talking, I want to leave,” she bit out and Colin nodded slowly before gesturing towards the bed again. 

“I know, soon I promise but for now, please,” he said gently and pointed at the bed yet again. She gave him a hard look but sighed and moved back to the bed. She could feel his eyes on her back as she went and her ears flushed a bit in embarrassment. She still felt weak and just the simple movement from the bed to the window left her exhausted. 

“That’s beef broth. Freshly made too and I even think they added some hearty radish in there too,” he said as she leaned over and grabbed the lightly steaming mug. It smelled delicious, and she found her mouth watering. She brought it up to her mouth meaning to take a little sip but it quickly turned into her drinking it as fast as she was able. 

“Wait, slow down,” she heard Colin say as she greedily slurped down the broth. He was too late however, and she felt a painful cramp hit her gut. She hunched forward around the cup and groaned. She heard a sigh from the chair on the other side of the room and she carefully breathed through her nose. 

“You haven’t had much to eat, try drinking that a bit slower okay?” He said as he slowly got up from the chair and scooped her cloak up from where it hung in front of the fire. He walked over to her and gently laid the cloak down on the bed next to her before walking back to the chair. 

“How are you feeling?” He asked as he once again made himself comfortable. Sheikah considered the question as she pulled her cloak towards herself and slowly draped it over her shoulders. She held onto the mug tightly and sat up straighter as the cramping finally passed. 

“Tired, weak, impatient,” she listed off quickly and eyed the broth like it was about to bite her. She crossed her legs on the bed and tugged at the edges of her bandages and looked the General over. He looked tired himself, he had dark circles under his eyes and his short black hair was messy and out of sorts. To his credit though his clothes were neatly pressed and free of wrinkles. 

“How long have I been here?” She asked as she looked around the room. She noted how there seemed to be more things taking up space. There were books sitting on the dresser, a mirror and a water basin sat at the center as well and she was fairly certain they weren't there before. Colin hummed and followed her gaze as it scanned the room. “A few days,” He started and Sheikah whipped her head around to look at him.

“Days?” She sputtered and nearly spilled her broth on the bed. “Yes, days. You were beaten, ill and clearly exhausted. Let yourself rest,” He said sternly and Sheikah bowed her head. She rubbed at her forehead and tried to calm down. 

“So much lost time,” She moaned despairingly and put the mug down and grabbed the photo off of the bedside table. She ran her fingers over the well worn edges before she looked up at Colin. “I need to go, I wasted too much time,” She said desperately and started to get off the bed again. 

“No, no. Listen to me. You aren’t well yet,” she heard Colin start but she ignored him in favor of preparing herself to stand. He made a disgruntled noise and she felt something soft smack into face. She flailed and fell backward on the bed and pulled a pillow off her face. She blinked up at the ceiling for a moment before she carefully pulled herself back up into a seated position. She held her head for a moment and waited for the spin to slow and threw a glare at Colin where he sat on the chair. 

“Don’t be a stubborn ass,” he said when she opened her mouth to say something. She made an affronted noise and was once again cut off. 

“You are being stubborn, don’t even pretend you aren’t,” he said and this time he got off the chair and started to pace around. She watched him closely and grabbed the little throw pillow he had thrown at her. 

“I have to find my brother, what if he’s in danger? The Yiga…” Colin whipped around and looked at her and she stopped talking. He looked… frustrated? Tired? Probably a bit of both if she were being honest. 

“And what if he is?” He asked and Sheikah blinked at him. 

“Then I need to go and find him,” She said and leaned forward with a determined gleam in her eye. Colin nodded and folded his arms as he leaned against the dresser. 

“Right, we have a few things to discuss. One of which is your self care,” He said with a stern look on his face. She just blinked at him and carefully dug her fingers into the pillow in her lap. “I can take care of myself,” She started and found that she couldn’t look at him, she didn’t need to in order to feel the weight of his incredulous stare. 

“Oh is that what this looks like? Sheikah, when I found you, you were skin and bone. You still are as a matter of fact. That doesn’t happen from a few days locked up. So tell me, are you really taking care of yourself?” He asked earnestly and tapped his fingers on his arm. 

“I … I have it handled. I have my brother to find,” 

“And what would happen if you found him in your state?” He asked before he shook his head and sighed. 

“You couldn’t fight, can’t fight with how weak you are right now. You would die and then he would really be alone. Is that what you wish?” He asked sternly and Sheikah felt a bloom of red hot rage in her stomach. 

“That is none of your concern! You don’t know me and your words mean very little,” she hissed as her heart raced. Anger had her starting to get to her feet, weakness and exhaustion be damned. 

“It is my concern! You are under my command now, you answer to me,” he yelled back and Sheikah felt herself recoil slightly. 

“Says who?” She demanded hotly and watched a bitter smile cross Colin’s face. 

“The Queen,” He said cheerily and Sheikah felt her eyes widen. She sat back, and looked at her hands. 

“So that, wasn’t a fever dream?” She asked quietly and heard a low and tired chuckle from the other side of the room followed by the sound of Colin sliding to the ground to sit. 

“Afraid not,” he said gently, pulling Sheikah’s eyes towards him.

“Would you like me to explain what happened?” He asked gently and she found herself bobbing her head. 

“The last thing that I can recall with some clarity is telling the Queen I wanted to leave. After that is just a confused mess,” she sighed and slouched forward along with Colin. 

“Alright, after you plead your case the Queen was going to let you go. She wanted me to see you to the castle infirmary and then find a place for you to stay,” He began, and started to pick at his boots. Sheikah for her part started to pull at a loose string she found on the pillow. 

“However, Silas made a fuss. Screamed and yelled how you were guilty and only spoke lies.” She snorted loudly and waved for him to continue when he raised an eyebrow at her. 

“I won’t get into detail, but Silas and I started having it out. His claims were ridiculous and…” 

“But how can you be so sure that he was lying? How do you know that I’m not some misled Yiga?” She asked quietly, her voice hard with a note of hurt. She knew her Father despised her, but she never remembered doing anything wrong. She had made peace that she would always be lesser, but hearing about her Father’s conviction to damn her still hurt a small part of her heart that longed for his approval. She dared look up at him and saw consideration on his face instead of pity. 

“Because, when I asked you why you were there, you had something about you. A conviction, a need. I could tell you didn’t want to be there, but in a different way than a captured criminal,” he said thoughtfully and looked at her. He pointed to the picture in her lap. 

“You talked about needing to find your brother, you worried about if they got him too. You were worried about him and those words were the last thing you said to me before you passed out. Not a word about yourself, but your need to find your brother. Those aren’t the selfish words of a brain dead Yiga swine looking to cause harm,” he said and crossed his arms. 

“So, you made a judgment call?” She asked with a tired little laugh and he shrugged. 

“I could have been wrong, but seeing your reaction by being told you’ve been here for a few days and immediately trying to swan off to find your brother? Well that just solidified things for me really,” he admitted and gave her a smile. 

“I can see the good in your eyes, Sheikah. You have been put under my care, yes, but I will give you your space to work.” He promised and Sheikah held up a tired hand to stop him. 

“Yes, you say work, what do you mean by that?” She asked and Colin made a little noise and reached into his pocket. 

“Ah, yes, as I was saying, in order to make some sort of peace you were given the task to search for the missing travelers and merchants, the Yiga who are behind it and to attempt to stop whatever it is they are trying to do.” He said and pulled out a nicely folded sheet of parchment paper with a wax seal. 

“These are your working papers. Detailed on them is your task, who you report to and an official pardon from the Queen.” He said as he reached up and sat the paperwork down on the dresser behind him. 

“You’re joking, they want me to hunt down Yiga and the missing travelers by myself? What about my brother?” She asked as she buried her face into her hands. 

“It won’t change much, honestly you’re already out there searching. Now you just have to add a few more people to your list… And send any captured Yiga to our cells for further questioning,” he added quickly and she nearly choked on her outrage. 

“What! You have got to be kidding me! What am I a bounty hunter?” She yelled and threw her hands up. 

“I mean, kinda? At this point, you need to be. But look at it this way, you can see if they have your brother, if they don’t then great! If they do you can report it to us and we can help you get more answers,” Colin said and gave her a determined smile. Sheikah however returned it with a glare. 

“And I report to you?” She asked and he nodded.

“And where do I send these Yiga that I catch?” She asked and Colin gestured around them. 

“The outpost, as all outposts have special cells for people of magical nature. I’m sure you are aware of that, and from here we can send them to the castle,” Colin said and Sheikah nodded along an idea forming in her head. She was already trying to figure out how she needed to alter her talismans to send someone somewhere. She was pulled out of her reverie by Colin who was once again talking. 

“Of course that will have to wait until we figure out your skills in fighting. Maybe we can start out small,” he said as he tapped his fingers rhythmically and looked off into the distance. 

“Don’t worry about that, I’m trained,” she waved away his concern and steepled her fingers in front of her as she thought. 

“Trained?” Colin echoed and once again drew her attention to him. She watched him give her a once over and she quirked a brow at him. 

“Yes, in both archery and swordplay and not to mention close combat,” she said and once again pulled herself back into musings on magic. If hops were her way to send herself places, then It wasn’t too hard to imagine sending someone else with her talismans she would just have to…  

“Still I want to see how well this training of yours is,” he pressed and she sighed and sat back. It was clear he wouldn’t stop talking until she showed him. Slowly she got to her feet and steadied herself, she still felt tired and a bit weak but she wouldn’t need much. 

“What are you doing? You still need to rest!” Colin cried as he started to get to his feet. She blinked at him slowly and let a small smile cross her face. 

“Make me,” she said and fixed her cloak idly and waited. She watched as he processed what she had said, thought it through and narrowed his eyes at her. Still she waited and when he didn’t move she shrugged and walked over to grab her boots where they were stashed next to the fireplace. 

“And where are you going?” He asked as he carefully moved to follow her. 

“I am leaving, what does it look like?” She asked as she picked up her boots and looked them over. They were a wreck. Falling apart in numerous places and held together with scraps of colorful fabric and a prayer. Just how she left them. 

“Sheikah, come on. I know what you are trying to do,” she looked back at him with a sly grin. 

“Oh? I would hope so, because I made it clear I was leaving,” she said and watched in delight as Colin frowned at her and folded his arms. 

“You’re trying to have me try and physically stop you. I get it, you're trained. I was just saying I wanted to inspect it for myself,” he said and she nodded her head a bit and shrugged. 

“Then let me show you and I promise I won’t leave yet,” she offered and turned to lean back against the warm stone. Colin sighed and rubbed at his forehead and she waited patiently for his verdict

“No. You’re still not fully healed yet and I bet you’re still a bit sick as well… Hey!” Colin said as she shrugged, pulled on her boots and breezed past him. 

“What are you doing?” He asked as she put her belt on and hung her lantern at her hip. Scout bobbed and stretched as he examined the room from her side and she tapped lightly on the lid of the lantern, making him hop in a happy little dance. 

“Back to that question huh?” She asked and carefully started to stretch a bit. She could feel a slight pull on her back but if she was careful anything that wasn’t healed over shouldn’t open. 

“Look I’m bored and I can’t stand this room anymore so I’m leaving to get some air,” she said and grinned at the squawk of protest she got out of Colin. She dipped her hand into her bag and withdrew her sword. It was a long and thin sword, lightweight with a silver hilt that had been wrapped with red strips of fabric with golden embroidery. 

“And you need a sword for that?” He protested loudly and Sheikah looked back at him with a grin. She walked over to the window and rested the tip below the latch and flipped it open. 

“I do if I want to leave. I can’t remember the way out through the halls,” she explained easily and quickly hopped up on the sill. She heard him coming after her and she turned swiftly on the sill and pointed her blade at him. He stopped and glared at her. 

“I won’t be far, maybe you can get some men to collect me, I like a challenge,” she said and swiftly left out of the open window to the sound of loud protests. She smiled to herself as she wandered around the massive outpost. She took mental notes as she went, committing as much detail to memory so she could map the building later. She could hear yelling, and she grinned. She may still be feeling a bit weak and tired but she sure as shit was going to have some fun while it lasted. 

Carefully she tapped on her lantern and stuck close to the wall. She pulled the shadows around her becoming an indistinct blur just as a group of soldiers rounded the corner. She stopped moving and waited for them to rush past before she let the magic drop and continued on her way. She had made it around a good portion of the building before she stopped and started watching the soldiers sparring. It wasn’t long after until someone had finally spotted her leaning on the fence of the large sparring ring attached to the side wall of the outpost. She had to give it to the men who were fighting, they were focused and clearly took pride in their skills. 

“Oh hello, you must be the Sheikah the General is looking for,” she heard a man’s voice say as he leaned against the post next to her. She sniffed and rubbed at her nose, he wore way too much cologne for it to be healthy. She looked over at him with a quirked eyebrow, He was about her height, olive skinned with auburn hair and dark, gray eyes. The way he looked her up and down that made her feel distinctly uncomfortable. She shuffled away from him a bit and said nothing. 

“He never said it was a girl though, are you having fun watching men work?” He asked in what had to be his interpretation of a smooth, easy going voice. She blinked at him and gripped the fence tightly, she couldn’t be sure why but he made her skin crawl. 

“The silent type huh? Or maybe you just don’t know how to use your voice? I’m sure we could think of ways to help with that,” he said and wiggled an eyebrow at her. She made a disgusted face as he came closer and in one fluid movement she stepped away and climbed over the fence. 

“Oh don’t be like that! I was just joking!” The man cried after her as she walked further into the sparring ring, now there were multiple people looking at her and she knew Colin would be there soon. She cast her gaze back at him and scowled as he too climbed over the fence to come after her. She ignored him and continued walking towards the group of men. She nodded at them as she passed though no one made a move to grab her. She stopped in the middle of them as she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

“There you are!” It was Colin, she heard him before she spotted him coming out of a side door that was attached to the large sparring yard. He seemed relieved if a bit annoyed and she smiled at him. 

“Took you long enough, but hey, look where we are! It looks like a sparring yard,” she said with a wide grin and brightened when Colin continued to glower at her. He stalked forward and she watched as he visibly tried to collect himself. 

“No, I am not sparring with you,” he said flatly and she frowned at him. 

“But didn’t you want to test and see how well I’m trained? That’s what you wanted,” she said in a sweet tone and felt her grin spread wider. 

“Yes, when you are well,” he started and she waved him off. 

“I don’t need to be well to fight,” she said and heard the group of men around her start to whisper around her. 

“Sheikah, please,” Colin tried again and she raised her hand. 

“How about this, I fight one person, no wait stop,” she said and waved her hand to get Colin to close his mouth. He did but still held her in a glare. 

“I fight one person and then I promise to go back and rest. Please, I’m bored,” she said with a pleading tone. Colin rubbed at his eyes clearly thinking over her compromise. To her surprise it was the smelly guy who piped up behind her. 

“Really, that was what this whole thing was about?” He scoffed and Sheikah turned to look at him. The man had moved closer and she made a face and moved away. She looked back at Colin and saw that his annoyance had shifted to the other man. 

“Are you volunteering, Crowmen?” Colin asked flatly. He Must have noticed her discomfort because he folded his arms and shifted his weight slightly like he was about to step in front of her. 

“Depends on what I get out of it, sir.” Crowmen answered and put a special emphasis on the word ’sir’ like it was meant as an insult rather than a sign of respect. Sheikah felt her brows lift and she looked between the two men. She could practically feel the malice bouncing between the two of them. 

“The knowledge that you are helping me figure out what needs to be worked on with our guest here,” Colin said tightly and she could see the strain in his smile. Something clicked in her head and she realized that he hated the smelly man. She made a mental note to ask about that later and turned her attention back to Crowmen. 

“If you win I’ll tell you my name,” she offered and felt the way Colin stared at her back. She ignored him easily and kept her eyes on Crowmen as he considered. 

“How about you have to have a meal with me,” he countered and Sheikah felt a disgusted shiver run through her. She heard Colin shift behind her and she answered before he could cut in.

“Fine,” she said and moved to find a clear spot for them to fight. Crowmen chuckled with delight and called for a practice sword. She turned and faced him and saw that Colin had come up beside her. She leaned a bit away from him but he made sure to keep enough space between them. 

“You don’t have to do this,” he whispered to her and she shrugged. 

“Well he seemed willing to fight me, all he needed was a little push and in any case it’s not like he’s going to win,” she said dismissively and eyed the practice sword she was handed. It was heavier than what she was used to but she could work with it. Colin gave her one more look and left to the side lines as Crowmen came to stand in front of her. The look on his face screamed arrogance and overconfidence and she couldn’t be more excited. 

“Don’t worry sweetheart I will go easy on you,” he said and gave her a little wink. Sheikah pursed her lips and nodded, she kept her sword at her side not bothering to raise it at the ready. 

“I’ll give you the first swing,” she said and walked in closer. Crowmen looked slightly amused and raised the dulled sword up and took a steadying breath. She watched his foot shift to the left, his weight went with it and she easily dodged the first swing and ducked under the follow up. 

“Word to the wise, don’t let me get any closer,” she warned and once again moved out of the way of a diagonal slice. She watched in amusement as Crowmen’s cocksure grin faded and turned to concentration then to frustration as she continued to dodge around him. His swing became wilder, more crazed as he tried to land a hit but she continued to shift and move around him. 

Finally in a growl of frustration Crowmen swung wide, his arms no longer held close to himself to block any jab she could have leveled at him and she darted in close. She brought her own dulled training sword up and pressed it to his gut. 

“Dead,” she said simply and backed away, she wasn’t even out of breath. She turned and looked at Colin and saw a slight look of amusement on his face as well. 

“Again!” Crowmen yelled breathlessly behind her and she turned just in time to block a flurry of wild swings. He wasn’t holding back now, each blow she blocked was hard, enough to injure even with dulled blades. His face was a shade of dark beet red and she could see the rage behind his gray eyes. Seeing enough she deftly  blocked an overhead swing and moved in close. Her right foot moved in between his legs as she slid her own sword down and twisted. The blade caught in the hilt of Crowmen’s sword and she knocked it out of his hands. She caught the falling blade and twisted around him knocking him to the dirt and leveled his own sword to his throat. 

“Dead,” she said flatly as she glared down at him and dropped the sword to the side. 

“And cowardly, attacking when your opponent's back is turned,” Colin said angrily and commanded Crowmen to get to his feet. He did, albeit with his eyes glued on her. She watched him rise with a bored expression. 

“I guess that meal is off,” she said coolly and walked over to Colin and held out the training sword to him. 

“Thank you, I look forward to showing you that I am perfectly capable of fighting later.” She said and smiled slightly as Colin nodded and took the sword from her. She gestured for him to walk her back inside but paused and looked around at the beet red Crowmen.

“Another suggestion, don’t wear so much cologne. The enemy will smell you from three miles away,” she said and nodded once. She could hear snickers from the men around her and she adjusted her hood and started walking towards the building. She heard a muttered ‘bitch’ from behind her and yet again she paused. She turned to look at him, one red eye peering out from the dark depths of her hood. 

“Come again?” She asked softly and shifted her weight back on her heels. 

“Sheikah,” Colin warned at her side, he seemed to know what she was planning. 

“You heard me,” came the hissed reply and she nodded, turned back around and in a flash was behind Crowmen. Her knife pressed firmly in his back and snaked her arm across his shoulders, pulling him back so he had to arch his back to avoid it being sliced. 

“Mind your manners, next time I will slice your spine in two,” she hissed before knocking him bodily to the dirt again. Silence filled the air this time and she looked around at the assembled soldiers and stepped over Crowmen and walked back to the stunned Colin. 

“Could you walk me back to the room? I have things to do,” she asked politely and Colin nodded silently and led the way. She tried to keep the directions straight in her mind as Colin led the way back through the outpost. She could never understand why she couldn’t remember simple directions in a building or a city for that matter but it was more than a little inconvenient. 

“Did you have your fun?” Colin asked hotly as they rounded a corner and snapped her attention like a twig. She looked at his back and sighed in annoyance resigning herself to being forever lost in the damnable building. 

“Yes, I did. It was fun watching your men walk right past me,” she said and picked up her step a bit to keep up with him. 

“Well you made your point as well as broadcasted your presence to the whole outpost,” he said as he rounded yet another corner. She marveled at just how many corners there were in this place, how had they not gone in a circle yet? 

“Are you even listening to me?” Colin snapped and Sheikah jumped a bit.

“Yeah, but look at it this way, people were going to find out I was here at some point,” she said and noted the flat look he was giving her. 

“Did I miss something?” She asked and looked around to see that they stopped in front of a door. He blinked at her and reached out and opened the door. 

“I was saying that we’re back at your room and I was wondering if you wanted anything to eat,” he said as he walked into the room and gestured for her to follow. 

“No I’m not hungry and this isn’t my room because I’m not staying,” she said stubbornly though Colin only shook his head. 

“Well either way we are going to have put you somewhere when you return so this room is yours,” he retorted and she squinted at him. He ignored her still and sat back down on the floor and crossed his arms. She walked past him and took her place on the floor across from him. She folded her own legs under her and reached into her side pouch and pulled out one of her paper talismans and laid it on the floor to examine it. Colin watched her with a raised brow but she was happy to see he didn’t comment on it. 

“What did you think of the men?” Colin asked after a moment and Sheikah raised her eyes from her careful examination of her paper. 

“Well the one I ran into is kind of a pompous jackass with way too much cologne. But the others seem like good men,” she said and sat back. 

“Crowmen. Yeah he is a newer recruit and he thinks he is miles above the others,” He snorted and pressed his back against the dresser behind him. Sheikah watched him, she could tell he didn’t care for the kid and just from her first encounter with him she had to agree. 

“What about training wise?” Colin asked and she found herself smiling slightly. 

“Well it’s clear they don’t know about cloaking. I had a few men walk past me and they never noticed,” she laughed and Colin shook his head. 

“We never ran into that issue,” he argued and she shrugged. 

“I’ll give you that. It’s also not something that can be easily taught to recognize. I for one won’t share how I do it or how to spot it,” she said and smiled slyly at him. 

“How else will I explore off-limits areas?” She joked and Colin wrinkled his brow at her. 

“Nothing is off limits, though I shouldn’t be surprised that you would sneak around,” he said and she tilted her head at him. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” She asked and he waved a hand  lazily at her clearly unconcerned. 

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I know the Sheikah are considered spies and secret protectors of the crown,” he snorted and Sheikah felt her eyebrow quirk up again. 

“Just that then?” She asked casually and went back to studying her talisman. She watched him through the veil of her hair as he thought about his answer. 

“Unless there is more to know,” He said carefully and she just shrugged. 

“Maybe, but we will see about that,” She said and sat back once again. “Back to your question, your men are well trained. However I can see they don’t see action very often. Their attacks are very formal and… Stiff,” She said finally and crossed her legs. 

“Formal?” He asked and she nodded. 

“Formal, they are ready for a fair fight,” She answered and he tilted his head to the side. She sighed and waved her hand through the air. 

“If they are out in the real world do you think monsters or men for that matter will fight fair? It is doubtful,” 

“You’re talking about fighting dirty?” He laughed incredulously and she shrugged.

“It’s life. You either live or you don’t. You can kill them first or you die. It’s a hard world, Colin. You live long enough and fight dirty and see another day or you meet Hylia,” her voice was flat and matter of fact and judging by the way Colin was looking at her he knew she was right. 

“So you fight dirty then? Not something I would expect from a sheikah,” he said coolly and she smiled at him. In a flash she threw her knife at him and it stuck fast in the dresser next to his head. He looked at it with wide eyes and turned back to stare at her. 

“There is a reason I’m still alive,” she said and carefully got to her feet and walked over to him. She crouched down in front of him and leaned forward to pluck the knife out of the wood. 

“I’ve learned to fight dirty,” she said simply before she returned back to her place next to the bed. She could see that he was looking at her with new eyes and she returned his gaze with tired eyes. 

“Noted,” he said calmly and rested back against the dresser. They sat in silence for a few minutes and she went back to her talisman once again. 

“So what is that?” He asked and she let out a gusty sigh and looked up at him. Well it was more of a glare but he didn’t seem to care. 

“Magic,” she said flatly and went back to looking it over. She could feel the pressure of questions in the air and she sighed. 

“If you are desperate to know it’s how I teleport around. I call it hopping.” She said distractedly and reached into her side pouch for a pencil, flipped over the paper and started to scribble down various symbols and runes on the back. She could feel Colin’s eyes on her but he kept blessedly silent while she considered her rune choices. 

“Don’t Yiga teleport?” He asked and she nodded slightly and made a face before she crossed out one of them. 

“They do, the sheikah tend to be fast runners with small jumps. The Yiga have developed their teleporting abilities to jump farther distances using similar paper talismans. I’m just piggybacking off of what they have,” she said distractedly and crossed off another symbol and scribbled a new one. 

“How do you know all of that?” He asked and sheikah looked up at him and shrugged. 

“I don’t know, I just do,”

“You just do? How does that make sense?” He asked and a pained look crossed her face. 

“Please, I know it doesn’t make sense, and it’s very hard to explain” she said and Colin raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Try me,” he challenged and Sheikah sighed and put her head in hands, feeling suddenly exhausted by it all. 

“I don’t even know you, why do you care so much?” She complained and jumped when she heard shuffling from the other side of the room. Colin had left his place in front of the dresser in favor of moving closer to her. She eyed the space between them for a moment before looking back up at him. 

“I care because I can see you need help, and not just for bandaging wounds. I can see loss in your eyes, Mouse. If you don’t want to be friends that’s fine, but at least use me as a resource,” he offered and she sighed heavily. 

“You’re going with Mouse for my name then?” She asked and he beamed at her. 

“What can I say, I think it fits you,” he joked and she shook her head of messy white hair. 

“Hiri does sound better, in a way. I suppose I’ll take it,” she said and rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forward. 

“How do I do this? I still don’t know you,” she said and Colin nodded. 

“How about a fact for a fact? We share a bit about ourselves and go back and forth,” he suggested and she nodded slowly. She felt nervous, her fingers twitched against her knees. 

“I’ll go first, my favorite color is blue,” he said with a little smile and Hiri breathed a bit easier. 

“My favorite color is maroon. But I have grown fond of green,” she said quietly and moved her shoulders so her cloak moved slightly. 

“My favorite food is fruit cake,” Colin said next and sat back a bit and crossed his legs. She sat back as well and thought about her own favorite food. 

“If I had to say it would be a tough choice between porgy and my mom’s honeyed apple oatmeal,” she said and Colin smiled at her. 

“Honeyed apple oatmeal? That sounds delicious,” Colin hummed and Hiri could practically see a flurry of questions running through his head before he settled on one. 

“Where is your favorite place in Hyrule? I like the beach,” he said and she swallowed a bit. Her fingers drummed on her knees. 

“I haven’t really paid attention, but I guess I feel better when I’m in the woods,” she said carefully and worried if he would consider that to be too vague. Colin seemed happy enough and he continued on with more questions. 

She didn’t know how long they sat on the floor across from one another asking basic questions back and forth but it had to be a while. She found out a lot of things about the General. He was an only child, his father was a knight and his mother is bad at sewing but a great cook. His father taught him to mend clothes but if asked it was all his mother, even if she couldn’t sew in a straight line. Colin started training to be a knight at a young age and thanks to his skill and talent at battle plans, rose through the ranks quickly and was put in charge of the outpost a few years later. 

At every new fact she thought of little things she could tell him to keep him talking. Her favorite flowers are poppies, her favorite animals were cats and she liked sleeping in the sun. 

She didn’t know whether he meant to or not, but Colin made sure to side step around anything involving her family or her village and for that she was grateful. He sat back a bit and hummed as he thought of what else he wanted to share. Hiri took up her talisman in the meantime and studied it briefly. 

“The fact that my hair is cut short is not the only thing that marks me as an exile,” she said quietly, her mind choosing to speak rather than giving her time to think it through. 

“Mouse, are you sure you want to tell me this,” Colin said quietly and she could hear a gentleness in his voice. He understood the gravity that one sentence held, the secrets that had rarely seen the light of day. 

“They threw me out because I wanted to find my brother. As far as I can see I hold no loyalties to the ruling Elders,” she said and put the paper down on her knee. 

“I thought you didn’t have any memories from the village,” He said and she shrugged. 

“I do have some. But there are a lot of gaps, blank holes where I know something should be. I do have some things though, memories they deemed safe enough for me to have,” she said quietly and shifted again and pulled her knees to her chest and hugged her legs, the paper slipping down and back onto the floor. 

“I also apparently have innate knowledge on various things as you saw with the talisman there. The only problem is that there are no connecting threads as to why I would know it,” she explained. 

“It makes things difficult for follow up questions I’d imagine,” Colin said lightly and pulled a snort out of Hiri. 

“You have no idea,” she joked half heartedly. 

“Anyway, if what you say is true and you want to be my friend or resource or what have you then I should be more open so you know what you’re working with,” she said and looked at him over top of her knees. He nodded briskly before gesturing for her to continue. 

“I am an exile of the Sheikah clan. I was slated to be an elder and as such I was not allowed to leave the village for any reason,” she started and to his credit Colin kept his face a neutral mask as she talked, taking it in. 

“When I got word of my brother’s possible disappearance I left but was brought back,” she said and felt her eyes lock on something in the distance as she wandered through her memories. 

“My incessant demands that he be found fell on deaf ears and then…” she blinked and shook her head. 

“There is a blank, I can’t remember anything besides flashes. My lantern with Scout inside, the air on the back of my neck and the command that I am to find my brother and return or never return again,” she said softly. 

“I don’t have any clear string of memories for what has to be days or a week after that. Just more flashes. I don’t even know if I said goodbye to my mother, I must have, or else I wouldn’t have this,” she said and lifted the edge of her cloak to show him. He looked at it before returning his gaze to her properly. 

“Have there been any side effects from your exile?” He asked and she made a noncommittal noise. 

“Maybe? My memory feels worse some days. Sometimes I’ll be at a stable, blink and be in the middle of woods,” she said and he nodded. 

“Missing time, memory lapses, fugue state, that must be worrying when that happens,” he said and she let out a tired laugh and nodded. He leaned forward a bit and furrowed his brow. 

“What about physical side effects?” He asked and tented his fingers in front of him. She hummed and gave him a so-so motion with her hand. 

“It’s a lot like my inherent memory of facts. I don’t know where I learned some of the things I can do, I just know how to do them. It’s a lot like muscle memory. There are times where I’ll run up against something and have no idea what to do and then suddenly I just,” she waved her hand around and wiggled her fingers. 

“Poof, my body is already doing the motions without me thinking about it,” she shrugged and sat back against the bed. She felt a twinge of pain and she shifted a bit to try and soothe it. 

“Alright, we can definitely work with this,” he said and offered her a determined smile. 

“What about skills with magic?” He asked and she had to think about it for a moment. 

“Well, I can hop. A means of fast travel I have been developing. I used the basics from the Yiga and their teleporting and have been working on improving the distance. I dare say I’m getting pretty damn good at it too.” She said and smiled to herself. She patted on Scout’s  lantern and gestured for him to come out. Scout only took a second to zip out from the confines of his lantern and swirled around her head and down her arm before settling in her palm. Hiri smiled at the look on Colin’s face and snapped her fingers. Scout bobbed a bit and she smiled at the blue flame. 

“Go say hello, but be nice,” she said sternly and the little blue flame juddered a little and puffed little clouds of smoke before floating over to Colin. 

“That is Scout, he helps me plan longer hops. I don’t know how but he seems to know everything about where I have wandered to,” she said and watched as Scout got close to Colin’s face. Colin for his part slowly moved back and peered around to look at her. She grinned at him and full on laughed when Scout suddenly darted up and buried himself in Colin’s black hair. He let out a yelp and reached for Scout but it was a lost cause. 

“I should have warned you, Scout likes hair. He keeps getting tangled in mine so good luck getting him out of there,” she snickered and delighted in the look he gave her. 

“He’s… He’s not going to burn me right?” He asked and very slowly felt around his head until he poked Scout. The little flame bobbed and puffed up before somehow working himself deeper into Colin’s hair. He winced and let his hands drop and huffed. 

“No he shouldn’t, as far as he is concerned I gave you a passing grade. He will not burn you unless you try to hurt me or him,” she explained and laughed again as Scout let out a little hum of agreement. Colin slowly nodded and turned his full attention back to her. 

“How far have you been? You said you were traveling for a couple weeks?” He asked and she nodded and dug in her side pouch for her map. It was already rough and worn looking with small scorch marks but it was filled out in a startling amount of detail. Colin looked at it and then looked back to Hiri. 

“Hiri, mouse, have you ever been out of your village before now?” He asked as he sat back and away from her map. She blinked at him in confusion and shook her head vehemently and she watched his eyebrows start to raise. 

“Well then, I think we have an unexpected problem,” he said and gestured to her map. 

“This is the map of someone who has been traveling around for months,” he said gently and Hiri felt her eyes widen. Her brows furrowed and she opened her mouth and tried to find her words. She looked back at the slightly tattered map and noted the detail. There were whole areas filled out, town names, monster camps and even what local wildlife was in the area. Stables were noted on there as well along with notes upon notes of rumors or ideas that had been crossed out. 

“It makes sense in a way, I mean look at your shoes, they’re falling apart. If you had been traveling around for a few weeks then they must have been a very cheap pair,” Hiri toyed with the colorful strips of fabric tying her boots together.

“So, what does that mean then?” She asked and felt suddenly more exhausted than moments before. 

“I guess we see what you can remember, you made notes on your map, it’s a place to start,” he said and pointed at the messy writing that littered the paper. She nodded and slouched forwards to scoop up her map and spotted Colin tapping the floor boards just in front of it to get her attention. She looked up at him with tired eyes and smiled slightly when he held out a grumpy looking Scout. She didn’t know how Colin was able to scoop him out of his hair without pulling it out but it was clear it was a struggle. His slightly messy hair was worse now, sticking up at odd angles and she thought she smelled a hint of singed hair.

“I think this is yours,” he laughed and Hiri nodded and held out her hand. She brushed his fingertips with her own and was amazed that her skin didn’t burn. If Colin noticed he didn’t say anything, only made sure Scout was squarely on her hand before pulling away. 

“How does that sound?” He asked and she jumped a little and looked up at him. She blinked owlishly at him and he gave her a soft smile. 

“You missed the question didn’t you?” He asked gently and Hiri nodded sheepishly. 

“I was asking if you wanted to lay down and rest. You look exhausted,” he said and she looked back at the bed. Sleep did sound pretty nice, and given the revelation that she might have been traveling for months without a solid memory to her name was scaring her a bit. He must have noticed because he tapped the floor again. 

“It’s going to be okay, mouse,” he said and nodded at her. She sighed and rested her head in her palm. Scout nuzzled her thumb on her other hand and she let out a tired laugh. 

“If you say so,” she said quietly. She curled forwards on herself and was about to stand when Colin reached out his hand for her to take. She looked at it with wide eyes and slowly reached out and hesitantly took it. To her utter shock and amazement the contact didn’t burn. Still she was quick to let go and sit on the bed just in case. She nodded her thanks and went to curl up on the bed when Colin made a noise. She looked at him with curiosity and took off her belt and lantern and held them out to him. He snorted and took it from her and set them back on the side table. 

“I was talking about your boots,” he said and pointed at her feet. She looked down and let out a tired snort before she took them off and dropped them on the ground. He rolled his eyes and laughed as he moved them over and sat down on the bed with her. 

“Mind if I sit here?” He asked and she shrugged and gave him more room.

“I was going to sleep, you’re going to get bored,” she said and started kicking the blankets down so she could curl up. 

“That’s okay, I can find something to entertain myself,” he said and looked at her cloak. 

“I can mend that for you,” he offered and she paused and looked at her cloak. It was tattered around the edges and she hummed and looked at him uncertainly before she carefully unclasped it. 

“You really know how to sew?” She asked and he laughed. 

“I know, it’s hard to believe but I can sew rather well,” he said as he stood, made his way over to the dresser and dug out a small box and came back to sit. 

“You won’t even recognize it when you wake up,” He said and opened the box and pulled out a couple shades of green. He hummed and held a couple up, considering the colors closely. She looked at them and pointed to a dark green. 

“That one is pretty close,” She said and carefully unhooked her cloak from around her shoulders. She felt a little shake enter her hands and she worried at the rough wool for a second before she set it down gently on the bed. Colin watched her and took a deep breath. 

“I think it is our best bet, when I go into town I will stop by the tailors and grab some more thread that might better match,” he said and crossed his legs and sat so he was facing her. He took up the cloak in between his nimble fingers and started sewing. She watched as he gently worked the needle through the wool and laid down. After a few minutes of quick work he reached the end of the tear and pulled the thread. She sat up and watched as the thread disappeared into the fabric, leaving no trace behind.

 “Wow, it’s like it never happened,” She said and sat up more and ran her fingers over the freshly patched up tear. 

“See I told you I could sew,” He laughed and tied off the thread and strung the needle again and went back to his work. 

“Now how about you rest,” He suggested again and she nodded slowly, feeling slightly better about him holding her cloak. He smiled and went back to his work and started to hum a quiet song. She felt a shiver run through her and she curled up and felt herself drift off easily to the sound of the needle moving through fabric and Colin’s gentle lullaby.