#that hyrule and its legends ignore because. of course.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

anyways, still deeply invested into my read of Ganondorf being an immense bully to children partially because, in a way, he rationalizes that putting children through the grinder is baaaasically kind of helping them to grow up faster, in a throwing you into the river to teach you how to swim kind of way, and if they can't handle the grinder, they were weak and it's on them and they can either suck it up and try harder, or get wrecked and die

and obviously that says absolutely nothing about how his own upbringing may have been handled, right twinrova, nor anything about how he may have buried a profound bitterness about the fact he was never really allowed a childhood of his own, and it's not fair others, especially hylians, get to spend their own carefree.

of course not.

[mothfables]

VII. Heat Wave

It’s hot in Legend’s Hyrule. Hot enough that a perpetually cold Lorulean merchant has to shed his innumerable number of layers - even his beloved scarf. Legend comes home to find him in- is that a crop-top?!

It’s so hot.

Ravio groans, reaching for the hand fan and waving it desperately. The heat doesn’t let up, even with all the windows closed and the shades drawn tight to keep the sun outside where it belongs.

Lolia, it’s hot. How do Hylians stand this??? It almost makes him want to flee back to Lorule, with its’ perpetually-cooler temperatures and deep shadows. Instead he is stuck in a seemingly never-ending heat wave, slowly perishing to the punishing hot.

He’s already removed his robe and boots and rolled up his sleeves, though he hesitates to take off his scarf. He knows it’s a bad idea to keep it on, but it’s a thing of comfort; something he hardly ever goes without. It’s as much a part of him as Link’s adventuring attire is of him. This horrible weather is seriously making him rethink that decision, however.

Link would never let him live it down if he came home to find the merchant passed out on the carpet from overheating and still wrapped in his scarf - though he’d also fuss like no tomorrow, endlessly worried.

Another minute or two passes before Ravio loses the last of his stubborn will and tears off his scarf with a groan. This is unbearable!!! Heaving himself to his feet, he drags himself upstairs to change into something cooler.

Thank the Goddesses Link had taken him shopping a while back; though he’d dragged his feet and complained nearly the whole time, protesting he was ‘perfectly fine with what he had, thank you very much!’ Well, joke’s on Past Ravio because now he has nearly as big a collection as Link does, and he knows for a fact there’s an entire section - though admittedly somewhat small - just for this kind of thing.

...Now it’s just a matter of finding it.

~~~~~~~~~

Legend steps out of a temperate forest and straight into a wall of heat. Groans and complaints immediately erupt around him as the rest of the Chain exits the portal. He looks around, trying to get his bearings, and realizes he knows where they are.

They’ve emerged onto the road leading to the Sacred Temple. His house isn’t too far, and hopefully there they can find some reprieve from the heat. He tells this to the others, and it isn’t long before they’re on their way.

True to his word, it only takes about an hour or so (filled with complaining, of course) before his house and the hill it sits atop comes into view.

Something is... off, however. Out of place.

Legend squints, unconsciously quickening his pace. There’s something under one of the trees out front - something colourful. Has Ravio set up a new decoration or something? No, that doesn’t look like anything the merchant might put out. What is it?

Drawing closer, he realizes it isn’t an object at all - the shape of it looks far more like a person. Then he hears a groan, all-too-familiar, and his heart drops.

Legend breaks into a sprint. His brothers shout in surprise at the sudden speed (“It’s way too hot for that!” “Slow down!”) but he ignores them. He doesn’t- he has to know-

“Ravi!”

His panicked shout gets the others moving, storming up the road behind him.

They crowd around him as he skids to a stop before the merchant. Ravio stirs at the commotion - thank the Golden Three - and sits up with another groan. He blinks blearily up at them for a moment, his cheeks flushed from the heat.

“S’rry, but we’re closed until f’rther notice due t’the weather,” he slurs, “please come back when it’s not so...” Then he fully registers just who is before him and lights up. He pushes himself to his feet with some difficulty, fanning himself with a handheld fan Legend hadn’t noticed til now.

“Link! Uuuugh, it’s so hooot!!!” He immediately launches into a tirade of complaints. “How do you stand this?! I know normally I don’t mind it but this suuuucks!! It’s gotten so bad I was thinking of going back to Lorule before you showed up- not that I would, of course, because goddess knows I don’t have anyone who could run the shop if I left, not to mention I couldn’t just up and leave without telling you but the temptation was there-”

Ravio’s reaching for him, to hang off of him and swoon as he likes to do, and Legend’s brain stumbles to a halt.

The merchant is bereft of his usual attire, long layers swapped out for an off-the-shoulder crop top and shorts. He’s wearing a large, floppy sunhat in place of his hood and his feet are bare. What draws the vet’s eye, however, isn’t that or the flush covering his freckled cheeks, shaded by his sunhat; or his bare legs, already covered in freckles from being out in the sun. No, instead it’s his-

‘Tummy,’ he thinks, and doesn’t realize he’s said it out loud until Ravio cuts off with a flustered sound and suddenly everyone’s eyes are on him. He promptly goes bright pink.

“I- uh- c-clothes! Cool clothes! Gonnagogetchangedbye!” he squeaks and makes a break for the house.

He bolts through the door and up the stairs, slamming the door to his bedroom shut with a loud bang! Legend stands there with his back against it for a moment, panting. Then he pushes off it to head for his closet because it really is damningly hot and he needs to change into something cooler or else he’ll freeze himself with one of his own ice rods.

He’s halfway to the closet when the image of Ravio in his crop top appears in his mind and he has to stop to stomp and flap his hands with a squeal.

~~~~~~~~~

Outside of his room, Wild, Wind, and Warriors exchange glances at the sound of muffled stomping and quiet squealing.

Wars gently grabs the other two by the shoulders to haul them back downstairs. They’ll see about asking the Vet later if he has anything they can borrow; for now, they’ll see what Wild has in his slate.

They rejoin the others downstairs. Wild steps away to aid Ravio in making cold drinks in the kitchen, leaving the other two to strip themselves out of their oppressive outer layers. There’s already a pile in one corner with the other heroes’ things that they add theirs to. Four and Wind, the two most accustomed to hot temperatures, set about trying to cool the house down even the slightest bit. Going by the continued complaints, they don’t seem to be having much luck.

Ravio and Wild reappear a few minutes later with a tray loaded with ice-cold refreshments. The heroes ply them with every blessing they can think of as they reach eagerly for the glasses. Ravio laughs and waves them off, cheeks flushing brighter at the praise.

They spend some time sipping quietly at their drinks before Legend comes bounding down the stairs, clad in a tank top and knee-length skirt and his hair tied back in a small ponytail.

Ravio thinks it’s the cutest sight he’s ever seen.

Legend immediately beelines for the merchant. Steadfastly ignoring everyone else, he wraps his arms around his partner and presses a kiss to a freckled cheek. Ravio allows it before gently pushing him away, smiling apologetically at the whine it elicits.

“Sorry, honeybee, but it’s a little too hot for cuddles right now.”

Legend looks mildly outraged. “But- you- you were just doing the same thing to me outside!”

Someone snorts. Ravio flicks an ear at the sound but ignores it in favour of rolling his eyes. “And I was being dramatic; you know that. Come on, get a drink and we can sit on the couch together, how about that?”

He moves to turn away but is stopped by Legend grabbing his hand and giving him the biggest, most pleading eyes Ravio has ever seen. It’s utterly devastating. Still, he tries one more time.

“Bunny, come on. Don’t you want something cold to drink after being outside?” He tries to tug the other boy over to where he left the tray but Legend stubbornly stays where he is.

“Nooo,” he whines, pouting, and looking for all the world like a child who was just told they aren’t allowed to have their favourite treat. He blinks teary eyes at the merchant.

Oh. Oh no.

Ravio never was good at denying that look.

He bites his lip, trying to stay strong, but quickly gives in. Instantly the pout disappears as Legend brightens, and he pulls the merchant over to the couch. The few heroes who had settled on it obligingly get up as they approach and Ravio gives them a nod in thanks.

A glance from his hero and Ravio knows exactly what he wants. He heaves a put-upon sigh - only half for show - and lays down, propped against one of the arms. Legend gives a few happy hops before joining him with a squeak of delight. He clambers up to lay atop the merchant, curling his arms around him and snuggling into his bare stomach. There isn’t quite enough room for them both, laying like this, so Legend kicks his legs up and settles in with a contented hum.

The other heroes are openly staring. The vet pays them no mind, happy now that he’s gotten what he wanted.

Ravio sips at his drink and meets their gazes evenly. Most of them flush in embarrassment and look away. Mr. Captain Hero simply raises an eyebrow and smirks. Ravio stares at him a moment longer, radiating disapproval, before sniffing haughtily and wrapping his arms around his partner.

Legend chooses that moment to sneak a kiss to his belly, making Ravio jolt.

“Link Lon, do that again and I will push you off this couch,” he scolds, though it’s half-hearted. Legend only pouts up at him.

The one-eyed hero - Time? - is staring in what seems to be shock. The merchant ignores him.

“But I missed you.” Legend says, in that tone of voice he knows will get Ravio to do what he wants every time. The veteran hero hardly ever says when he misses someone, and so the effect is twice as strong as it normally is. Ravio can feel his face go pink and he has to look away.

“Y-es-” His voice cracks and he has to stop to clear his throat. “Y-yes, I missed you too, you silly hero.”

Legend smiles, bright and happy, and nuzzles back into his stomach. A moment later there’s a quiet rumbling purr.

There’s a minute or two of blissful quiet before it’s inevitably broken.

“Wow, he’s never that affectionate with us.”

“Wind!”

“I’m just saying! It’s not like it’s a bad thing, you’d just think that after so long-”

There’s a yelp and the argument descends into squabbling, though the heroes’ tones remain light and playful. Ravio finds himself smiling as he listens, cuddling with his hero as a purr of his own rises in his throat. The day may have started out awful, but he can honestly say he’s glad it turned out the way it did.

...Now if only this goddess-blasted heat would stop.

[plant-acts]

Oh Look, The Brothers are Bonding

A Linked Universe Fic written for @/exhaustedvet during a LoZ AU Gift Exchange!

(2,547 Words)

Summary:

Legend was not ok. He was in an unfamiliar Hyrule with Wind of all people. “Where is everyone else?”

The boy shrugged, “Dunno. I jumped through the portal after you.”

Oh no.

-

OR: Legend and Wind are not close. Let's see how long that lasts when secrets are revealed.

(Ao3)

__

Link, or Legend now as of two months ago, didn’t want to be here.

He wanted to be in his cluttered home with his annoying roommate, or at least off on an adventure alone, not stuck with eight other people who all seemed dead set on him being a part of the group.

Every night by the fire, they wanted to sit around and tell stories with him or make small talk while heading to their next destination, or even coddle him after a battle. It was exhausting.

Oh, also they all had the hero’s spirit or something, but that’s not important.

-

It was midday in Twilight’s Hyrule. The sun beamed through the trees overhead, basking everything in a warm glow. They were walking for what felt like hours and the sailor was falling behind. No matter how many times Warriors offered to carry him, he would refuse and say something that would have even the toughest men blushing.

It was honestly starting to annoy Legend. Yeah, a lot of them had been young when they pulled the sword so no one could judge, but that didn’t mean the kid had to drive them all up the wall with nonstop talking and being a genuine thorn in the side. All his stubborn attitude did was slow them down.

“Are you sure you don’t need to be carried?” Warriors asked for at least the hundredth time. “I really don’t mind giving you a lift until we reach the next village.”

Legend swore that Wind literally growled, “Yes! I’m sure and if you ask me again, I will shove my sword right up your-!”

“Wind. Watch your language.” Time called from the front of the group, not taking his eyes off the road. Twilight and Wild snickered at his sides.

It was a little funny to look back and see the kid’s face red from embarrassment—Karma at its finest. Whenever the goddess gave that specific child the hero’s spirit, she must have been drunk.

Speaking of the mentioned goddess, she must have not liked him thinking that because one second, he was chuckling to himself at Wind getting scolded, and the next he heard yelling from around him. He turned just in time to step through a portal that appeared in front of him.

“Ah, crap.” Was all he had time to mumble before falling through space and time. It was quite an uncomfortable feeling; like being shaken around in a blender, poured through a strainer, and then put back together. A solid 10/10 would not recommend experience.

Landing ungracefully on his stomach, the air was knocked from his lungs. He was seriously going to fight the goddess one day. Maybe that should be his next adventure.

After taking a moment to gather himself, Legend sat up and took in his surroundings. Around him was a patch of tall grass swaying softly in the breeze, with mountains and fields as far as the eye could see. The sun was now high in the sky, with small clouds dotting the view. It was beautiful, almost calming.

Taking a breath, he basked in the atmosphere. Maybe this was the break he deserved.

The moment was short-lived. He nearly jumped out of his skin when screaming started above him. Looking up, Legend spotted a familiar shade of blue growing closer. He didn’t have time to move before it landed on his chest.

Just his luck.

“Ow, oh! Sorry!” Wind jumped up, dusting himself off and reaching out a hand to help Legend stand. “You ok!?”

No. Legend was not ok. He was in an unfamiliar Hyrule with Wind of all people. “Where is everyone else?” He ignored the sailor’s help, getting to his feet on his own.

The boy shrugged, “Dunno. I jumped through the portal after you.”

He froze. This stupid kid. “You-!?” Of course, he would jump right through the portal! Wasn’t he falling behind? How the hell did he even get there!?

Wind didn’t seem to share the same worry, because all he did was tilt his head to the side confused. “Me?”

This was going to be a long few hours. Legend ran a hand through his hair, trying not to scream. “We need to find the others.” He did not want to be stuck with an actual child longer than needed. “Come on.” Looking around, he chose a random direction and started walking.

The sailor fell into step with him, adjusting the straps of his bag. Luckily, those stayed with them through the switch. “Where do you think we are?” He asked.

Now it was Legends turn to shrug. “Don’t know, don’t care.”

-

The sun lowered, causing the sky to glow a burned orange. Once again, Wind lagged behind. The kid really needed to work on his cardio.

“Keep up.” Legend called over his shoulder. “I would like to find the others before we die of old age.”

The sailor’s shoulders slumped. “I’m trying!”

Looking closer, he felt a little bad for the younger boy, whose boots dragged against the dirt. Maybe it was a good idea to stop. Legend himself was getting tired, and he didn’t want to walk through the night. Looking around, he spotted a small clearing through the trees. He took Wind’s arm and marched that way, ignoring the way the boy complained about being manhandled.

The spot seemed safe. Off the path so nothing could sneak up on them, yet close enough that they could make their way back in the morning. “We’ll set up here.” He instructed, dropping his bag to the ground.

The other was quick to follow, flopping down next to their things. “Oh, thank the gods! I thought my legs were going to fall off!”

He rolled his eyes with a small smile. Kids can be so dramatic.

Now it was time to go through the familiar routine of setting up camp. “Stay here.” He spoke, securing his sword to his back. “I’m going to get firewood.”

Wind did not listen, when did he ever? Instead, he hopped up and ran to Legend’s side, practically bouncing on his toes. “I’ll help!”

“No.” He quickly shot down. The last thing either of them needed was him getting hurt. Warriors would actually have his head on a stick. Legend would never admit it, but the guy could scare him sometimes; when he wasn’t fretting about his hair, at least. “Just…look through our bags for food or something.”

Once again, Wind did not seem to like that answer as he rolled his eyes and sat back down with crossed arms. “Fine. Whatever.”

He watched him for a second, slightly guilty. He didn’t want to be like some of the others and treat him differently because of his age. It was hypocritical to do so when almost all of them had faced danger quite young. He couldn’t help it, though. It was one thing to be a kid with the hero’s spirit; it was another to watch a kid, someone so young, fight every day, knowing how the story ends. Legend at one point used to be as carefree as him after all.

He sighed, leaving the clearing without a word. This was way out of his comfort zone.

-

The forest was calm as Legend picked through it. He didn’t need to go far for wood, but took extra time to organize his thoughts. The sun was low, low enough that the moon showed itself in the sky. He would need to head back soon and make sure Wind didn’t burn down their small camp. The thought made him chuckle some, but also kind of scared him. The youngest of their group could be a wrecking ball if he wanted to.

An ear-piercing scream echoed through the woods.

Legend dropped the wood he was holding, bolting back toward the clearing. His boots pounded on the ground as blood drained from his face.

“WIND!” He called, ignoring how the trees scraped against his legs as he plowed through the foliage. “YOU OKAY, KID?!”

The lack of response was deafening.

Breaking through the brush, saw two bags and nothing else. It was eerily still. Where the hell did he go? Legend’s heartbeat frantically in his chest, his mind swirling with worst-case scenarios. No way he lost the kid!?

Rustling across the tree line caught his attention. Slowly, he reached for his sword, unsheathing it. The cold metal against his hand was comforting; a reliable weight.

All was still for a moment. A standoff between Legend, and whatever hid amongst the leaves.

A mop of unruly blond hair littered with twigs burst out of the brush, grasping a sword and eyes wide. Upon noticing Legend, Wind grinned sheepishly. “Heyyy, Leg’.” Blood dotted his bright blue tunic. “Your back!”

Legend was at a loss for words. One order, he gave the kid one simple task! To stay put and organize food, but no! He couldn’t even do that! He stalked forward silently, eyes ablaze.

Wind took a step back. “I can explain!” He hastily shouted. “You see, I looked through our bags and thought we could use a little more food, and since you were gone, I figured I could get it myself!” Laughing awkwardly, he picked a branch out of his hair. “I found some berries that looked good, but then get this! A lizalfo jumped out at me! Not one of the black-blooded ones, a normal one! I handled it though, because I’m just that cool!”

Legend spoke slowly. “You handled it?” He towered over the younger boy, whose smile faltered. “Wind, you have blood on you!” Grabbing the boy’s arm, he yanked it over, showing a long cut going down his forearm.

Wind yanked his arm back, ducking between the taller boy’s legs to get away. “Most of it isn’t mine!” His face was red from anger, or maybe embarrassment.

Legend didn’t let him get far. Turning on a heel, he grabbed his shoulder, forcing them to face each other. “I told you to stay here! Not run off and get hurt!”

“I just wanted to help, and I can take care of myself!”

“Can you use your head for once!?” He yelled, practically shaking the sailor. “You are going to get yourself killed one day by not listening to simple instructions! The goddess must have made a mistake choosing you because there is no way in Hyrule that you should have lasted this long with dirt for brains!” He didn’t mean it. Wind was a talented warrior, one of the best. He was just…worried. Anything could have happened.

The younger boy didn’t look up. Instead, he kept his gaze on the tree line, body stiff.

Maybe Legend went a little too far. He was only a kid, after all. Slowly, he lowered them both to the forest floor. The crickets chirping, and the leaves moving were the only sounds.

“Why did you follow me?” Legend asked. The thought had been itching at the back of his head since they landed.

Wind looked away. “You have been leading us through this Hyrule. Of course I would follow.” He responded, dodging the question.

Legend narrowed his eyes, watching as the younger boy fiddled with the ends of his tunic. A breeze blew through, causing them both to shiver.

“You know what I mean.”

He didn’t respond for a long moment, just staring off into the distance with foggy blue eyes. Eventually, his mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to form a response. “Can I tell you something?” His voice sounded small, almost like the child Wind was supposed to be. He met Legend’s gaze.

It scared the veteran to see the youngest of their group, the one who shone like a light in all the dark times, be uncharacteristically quiet.

He nodded anyway.

Wind took a breath, preparing himself. “I- well, first off, you can’t tell anyone, or get mad.” Squeezing his eyes shut, he looked almost scared. Like he expected Legend to jump up and chase him away. “I don’t have the hero’s spirit.”

That was the last thing Legend expected to hear. A chill went down his spine.

The sailor continued. “I’m sorry.” Fresh tears filled his eyes. “I know I should have told you sooner, but I wanted to impress you! You have gone on so many adventures, and have all kinds of magic things, and I wanted you to like me! I want everyone to like me, and if they knew I wasn’t chosen, that I wasn’t a genuine hero, then they wouldn’t!” He practically yelled, franticly running his fingers through his hair. “That’s why I pushed past everyone and jumped in after you! I wanted to spend time with the hero of legend.”

Legend didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t some amazing hero, just a guy who went on a few too many adventures. No one a kid should look up to, or more importantly, compare himself to.

Slowly, he moved his arms, wrapping them around Wind in an awkward hug. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Wind looked up, sniffling. “What?”

“You defeated Gannon, right?”

The boy nodded. “Yeah. Stabbed‘em straight through the head.”

Slightly graphic, but that’s fine. “Then you are just as much of a hero as the rest of us.” Gently, Legend rubbed his back. “Maybe even more so. You did it without any divine intervention.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “And uh, I’m sorry about what I said earlier.” Short, sweet, and to the point. Legend had never been the best at apologies.

He felt Wind’s arms wrap around his mid-section tightly. “It’s ok. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have run off when you told me not to.”

And that was enough mushy feelings for the next month. He ruffled the boy’s hair, pulling them both up. “Alright. Why don’t we fix up that arm and actually get some food before dark?”

“Can I come with you this time?”

“Of course.”

-

That night, they sat side by side as the fire roared and stars danced overhead. Wind lay against Legend’s side with a blanket wrapped around both of them.

 “And that is how I met my roommate, who is also the most annoying person in the world.” Legend finished his story. How he was pulled into the classic bonding around the fire was a mystery. But unfortunately, he didn’t hate it.

Oh god, he was going soft, wasn’t he?

There was no response from Wind, which was slightly concerning. The kid had been a chatterbox since they wrapped up his arm and ate. A small snore had him looking down.

The boy was fast asleep, tucked under his arm and holding onto the front of his tunic. Legend smiled softly. It was slightly adorable. Never in a million years would he admit it out loud, but maybe, just maybe, he had begun seeing the youngest Link as a little brother.

How annoying.

Making sure the blanket was secure around them, he settled in for a long night of being a Hylian pillow. Would he wake up in the morning sore? Yeah. Would he complain about it to Wind until they found the others? Also, yeah. Did he regret it? Not a bit.

[echoesofwisdomcountup]

I once had a dream where Zelda and Groose fell in love in the beginning of the game, and completely ignore the troubles of Hyrule. So that means none of the Zelda games ever happen. Then it Zooms out and I realize I was watching a let's play. But it's not like a modded game the game is just like that. Anyways the game ends less then 10 minutes in and so did the dream.

Yeah idk what was up with my brain there ;-;

268 Days since Tears of the Kingdom Released. Thanks for sharing anon. That sure sounds like some dream. The human mind is truly wonderful.

Ok but also I love how Groose and Zelda being together somehow stops all the games from happening like how does that stop Ghirahim from running around trying to resurrect Demise. I'm kinda imagining Link somehow getting involved either way so its just Groose and Zelda going on dates while Link is running around in the background still beating up monsters and shit so his friends and everyone on the sky islands are happy. Of course it's not called Legend of Zelda because she's not really in it except as an NPC in one small side quest that you can skip.

[sleepyheadnat]

Coisa de Casa

Written for #sepfember

Fandom: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap Word count: 747 Princess Zelda goes on her first diplomatic visit to another kingdom without her father.

Leave home always whenever you can But go without forgetting this will always be your home... Leaving home is only for those who want to Because courage walks on foot and will take you far... x

Zelda Paulette Daphnes Hyrule gripped her messenger bag tightly and as discreetly as possible. The servants packing the carriage with her belongings had offered to carry it for her, but she had politely, if a little too strongly declined—she needed the extra weight to ground herself, and having something to fidget with helped smother her anxiety, if only a little.

That would be Princess Zelda's very first diplomatic visit to another kingdom without the company of her father. The very first time she would be traveling all alone. She took in a deep breath, careful not to make it loud enough for others around her to notice.

Still, a warm hand came to rest on her shoulder. "I know you will do splendidly, little love. You'll write to your old man, will you not?"

She smiled weakly, bringing her own hand to rest over his. "Of course, dad. It will be the first thing I'll do as soon as I arrive."

"Even before you write to Link?" The king jokingly lifted an eyebrow.

Zelda laughed. "Yes, even before I write to Link." The Minish Hero might be her best and oldest friend, but her father was still her entire world—and she knew she was his.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness." The coachman popped up from around the carriage, hat in his hand. "The carriage is ready to depart."

The princess willed herself to ignore the empty feeling in the pit of her belly. She turned to her father, plastering her most confident smile on her face. "Time for farewells, then."

The king returned her smile, and the way he looked at her made her tears a little harder to hold back. "Yes. Go safely now and don't hesitate to let me know if you ever need anything, alright?"

She nodded, afraid that her voice would sound all wobbly and teary if she tried to speak. Instead, she simply stepped forward to give her father the strongest hug she possibly could. She could already feel her eyes getting misty upon him returning the embrace.

Zelda stepped back when she felt her throat choking with a sob and said another quick farewell before climbing into the carriage. The window framed what she could see of her kingdom and of her family, all that was familiar to her trapped inside a little wooden square and soon to vanish as soon as the carriage began its way towards its destination.

"Get a grip, Zelda, you're 14," she chastised herself. "Not a little kid anymore. You can do it and you can do it alone."

Just as she finished her whispered speech, Zelda felt something moving under her hand. She lifted it on reflex just in time to see something—or rather, someone—crawling out of her bag.

"A picori?" She smiled in disbelief, cradling the small creature in her hands. "What were you doing inside my bag, little guy?"

The more Zelda took the little minish in, the more she noticed how familiar he was. To her and Link's utter delight, there were plenty of them living inside Hyrule Castle, and this one she recognized as one of the picori living inside their library.

"Well, it's going to be a long way. Are you okay with coming with me? I can still stop the carriage if you want to drop off."

The little picori shook its tiny head. It scurried back inside her bag and pulled out two books: a minish-sized one and a hylian-sized one Zelda had packed herself. The princess giggled.

"I agree, reading is a lovely way to pass the time. Let's do it this way: you read your book, I read mine, and, as soon as we arrive in this other kingdom," and as soon as she had written the letter to her father, of course, "we can ask the picori there for some Jabber Nuts. This way we can discuss our books over tea later, what do you say?"

The picori answered, and she obviously could not understand the words, but his sentiment seemed to be of agreement. She carefully placed the little one in the breast pocket of her coat, so he could be comfortable for his reading session, before settling more snugly against the seat of the carriage and opening her book on her lap.

"Okay, Zelda, you're not a little kid anymore and you can do it, but maybe we don't have to do it alone." She smiled to herself, readily getting lost in her book.

[adrift-in-thyme]

Whumptober Day 24: Neglect + Broken

I was originally gonna pick on Legend today but that didn't pan out. So Twilight it is! To the anon who suggested writing about Twilight suppressing his issues for too long and breaking down as a result this one's for you!

Read it on Ao3

- Twilight & Time

- Summary: Twilight always has to be the strong one. But even the strongest break

CW for blood and injury, mention of death, and a character breaking down

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

Several months into their journey together, Time gets hurt.

Twilight is used to seeing blood. He has spent a lifetime working on a ranch, after all, and then a good amount of time as Hyrule’s hero. Injuries are common and even expected in both lines of work. Nothing much can surprise him now. And besides, Twilight has never considered himself to be squeamish.

But there is something different about this time. 

Maybe it’s the fact that this is his mentor lying bleeding and broken on the ground, looking too pale, eyes closed and body as still as death.

No, not death. Don’t think like that. He’s not dead.

But someday he will be. Someday he will leave you, because you were too weak to stop the unforgiving flow of time.

And then what will you do?

Twilight clenches his hands into fists. “What can I do, captain?”

Warriors gives him a task and he follows it, calmly, without complaint.

(And maybe…maybe this feeling is welling up within him because it’s his fault Time is lying here now. His own injuries from the Shadow had made him slow and sloppy, a liability. But he had tried to fight anyway. He had tried to fight and failed. It had been Time who had leapt forward to endure the consequences.)

A roll of bandages is in his hand. Twilight doesn’t know how they got there. 

“Start wrapping those around the wound,” Warriors orders, face a mask devoid of emotion and voice that of a captain. “Tightly. We need to get this bleeding under control.”

Twilight does it. His hands don’t tremble, his vision doesn’t blur.

But all the while the pressure that has been slowly building within grows stronger, pressing on his pounding heart, wrapping icy fingers around his throat, compressing his lungs. 

And he isn’t certain why it’s growing so much worse now after months of suppressing it, ignoring it, shoving it aside and embracing the endless, terrible numbness left in its place. 

(Because he can’t let it out when so much is happening, when so many are in danger and pain. His brothers need him to be strong – the world needs him to be strong. And he intends to do so.)

It could be any number of the reasons he has concocted. It could be all of them. It could be none of them. No one has ever accused him of being particularly aware of his own emotions and what they’re doing or why.

It intensifies nonetheless, like a boiling pot about to spill over. And as Warriors continues to give orders and Legend asks if their leader is dead (he’s not; he can’t be)…as he wraps the bandages around the wound, trying not to look at Time’s ashen face, trying not to look at the blood that coats his fingers now…he feels it. All the subtle cracks that have been prickling across his mind for who even knows how long…all the suffocating, strangling agony he is so adept at pretending doesn’t exist begins to decide that they no longer wish to be pushed aside. 

They rise as he helps his brothers carry Time to the safety of their camp. They rise as he lays him on his bed mat, watching his head loll limply, blood trickling from his mouth. They rise as Warriors wipes it away with one hand, shooing them all away with his other.

Except for Hyrule, of course.

…and Twilight.

He still kneels there with Time’s blood on his hands and a ball of emotion on his gut and invisible hands around his throat. Unable to think. Unable to move.

“Hyrule’s going to heal him as much as he can,” Warriors is saying now, though Twilight barely hears him. He should listen. He’s addressing him, talking about Time’s condition. So he sits up a little straighter and tries not to pay attention to the burn behind his eyes and the tumult on his head.

“Then, once he wakes up we’ll give him a potion to finish off the job.” Warriors looks up at him and Twilight gets the uncomfortable feeling that the captain can see right through him. “He’s going to be okay, rancher.”

He nods, quick and awkward and jolted. He should probably respond verbally. But if he so much as opens his mouth he’s sure that everything inside him will just pour out. And he can’t let that happen, he can’t…

Hyrule works his spell. Slowly, Time’s wound seals. 

“See?” Warriors’ voice is thick with relief, his grin tired. “Told you he’d be fine. Sprite’s tough.”

Twilight thinks now perhaps he’ll be able to breathe. He can’t. If anything it’s harder now that his mentor rests peacefully. It’s as though every part of him that had wound itself tighter and tighter as he waited for the worst is crying out now that the worst hasn’t actually occurred. 

And how strange is that. He should be fine now, right? Time is alive, his brothers are safe. So, why does it almost feel like his mind and body wish something horrible had happened rather than simply drawing him out again, stretching him thin again, so that he can snap back like he always does? A worn out rubber band that’s growing steadily closer to breaking.

Sometime around midnight, Twilight tires of tossing and turning and fighting the urge to check every two seconds to see if Time is still breathing or not. He drags himself to his feet and as silently as possible, sets out for the forest. 

He turns into a wolf as soon as he is out of sight of the camp. His paws pad upon the firm ground, his snout turns up to catch the fleeting breeze, eyes squinting at the moon. There is beauty everywhere around him, vibrant and lively and calling out to his very soul. Normally, he would run, pounding the earth, drawing his lungs to their limit.

Tonight, he plods along, unable to answer the beckoning of his surroundings. And when he reaches his unconscious destination – a serene pond beneath an outcropping of furry pines – he collapses beside it. Twilight closes his eyes and in the next instant, he is a human once more, and the still waters are blurring before his eyes.

It’s a restrained explosion at first, expected and slightly suppressed, nothing more than a few shaky exhales and some tears. But it only builds from there.

Emotion compounds upon emotion until the tight, little ball in the middle of his stomach clenches painfully and suddenly he’s sobbing. Twilight curls in on himself, hands pressed to his face, tears running hot and fast down his cheeks and into the neck of his tunic. 

He never meant for this to happen. He never wanted to break like this alone and in the dark when he should be staying strong. When he should be back at the camp making sure Time is alright. Making sure no one feels scared or sad or broken.

How can he do any of that when he feels like he’s crumbling inside?

How can a fractured wall remain upright?

“Oh, pup.”

Twilight chokes on a sob, letting out a rather embarrassing snort. Leaping to his feet he whirls around, weapon in his hand, body tensed in preparation to fight whatever monster has managed to creep up on him.

…the monster who turns out to be Time.

“Old man!” He chokes out. “You can’t just sneak up on me like that!” 

The older hero lifts an eyebrow, hands raised slightly.

“I’m sorry I startled you.”

With a sniffle that is far louder than he means it to be, Twilight sheaths his sword.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed.” He looks over Time in the glow of the moon, taking in his still pale complexion, his slightly unsteady stance, the dark circles underneath his eyes, and the way he favors his left side. “You’re not even close to fully healed.”

Time walks to his side, slow and careful, but steady enough. If Twilight didn’t know better he would say that he’s just tired. But he does know better and he hates every minute that Time spends here with him rather than resting.

The older hero settles down on the ground with a sigh and pats the spot next to him. Twilight glares and remains standing.

“Hyrule’s spell is quite effective,” Time says, calmly. “I’m alright, rancher.”

“Just cause you’re not dying doesn’t mean you're all fine and dandy.” Twilight holds out a hand. “Come on. I’ll take you back to camp.”

Time turns and looks at him, eye sharp in the moonlight.

“If I want to return to camp, I can. Now, sit down.”

There is something vaguely authoritative in his tone. Nothing like when he is frightened or angry and one word alone can send grown men skittering for cover, but it’s intimidating enough that Twilight can’t help but obey. With a resigned sigh, he flops down in the spot Time had gestured for him to take.

For a long moment it is silent. Time looks over the water and Twilight follows his gaze. A frog plunges from the reeds into the pond, sending ripples cascading upon its surface. Nearby, a dragonfly flits, devouring pesky mosquitoes. 

Twilight picks idly at his glove. “Why’d you come here?”

His voice is still thick from the sobs he has released (and those still stuck in the back of his throat, begging to be let free). And he trembles slightly, unnaturally cold from such strong emotion. He feels wrung out, bled dry. Yet, even still that horrible little mass of agony cries out to be screamed into the ether.

Not now. 

Maybe not ever.

“You are strong, pup.”

He startles slightly, dragging his gaze up to Time’s. But the hero isn’t facing him. He is still looking at the water. The expression on his face is unreadable.

“You have endured untold challenges and risen to every one of them without hesitation. Your spirit and heart are truly those of a hero.” A small smile tugs at his lips. “I’m proud of that. But Twilight, even the strongest among us deserve to cry.”

Now, he looks at him. The look in his eye is softer, more understanding than Twilight has ever seen it before.

And just like that tears spring to his eyes again. They had merely been waiting, waiting for some word to be spoken that could cut him through to the heart. 

Twilight wants to reply but no words will come. A sob breaks free instead, so wretched and heavy that his eyes slip shut with the weight of it. He begins to curl into himself again, seeking the solace of his own body heat. But before he can, arms encircle him. He collapses into them, trembling and gasping for breath. 

A hand cards softly through his hair. Twilight shudders beneath the touch.

“Let it out,” comes the gentle urge. “It’s alright, pup.”

He does.

He sobs months worth of anguish into Time’s worn tunic. He sobs until he is breathless and dizzy. Until he feels so worn and dried out, that he’s certain he is incapable of crying one more tear. Until that horrid tightness has lessened and the pain has drifted into the background. An echo, a phantom of what it once was.

Then, he sags against Time’s shoulder, still shuddering slightly, and blinks his eyes open. The sun is rising now, casting purple and pink hues across the horizon. Its warmth reaches him, rays of hope and life after an eternity of night. 

Twilight lays his head on Time’s shoulder, blinking lazily into the light. And just this once he allows himself to rest.

[crazylittlejester]

DAILY BRAINROT

I've been thinking about the Guidemarks AU again and the whole deal with Mask/Time. I'm going to do my best to explain my thought process here, so bear with me.

OoT/MM!Link originally goes by Link during the events of OoT and MM for obvious reasons. I'm not 100% sure how the story goes in those games, but depending on how old he is when he's adopted by the Great Deku Tree, I think it's pretty likely that he had a kokiri name before leaving the Lost Woods. Or he might've had two names or just used a Hylian name the entire time. But I like the idea that maybe Zelda picked a Hylian name for him if she had to teach him how to speak the Hylian language and maybe named him after a story book hero because it's a cool name and they were kids.

Then after OoT/MM he went by Mask because there were already two other Links and Linkle so he couldn't be Link anymore. He probably also had weird feelings about keeping the name Zelda gave him. So Mask it was because calling him the Hero of Time would've just put a big target on his back and I kind of doubt he'd want to be named Time when time travel got him into this mess in the first place.

And then of course the War of Eras is over and he has to go home and that sucks and it's awful and horrible and a million other things, but eventually he gets his feet under himself. Somewhere along the way he realizes his name is legally Link and he wants to change it, but he's not really Mask anymore, either, so after a while he decides that Time is a good enough name for him because even though time traveling did a lot of bad things to him and other people, it also helped him out a lot and he wouldn't have met a lot of great people without it.

Separate from all that there's the downfall timeline in which he died as Link. Brutally cut down by Ganondorf and somehow the only instance of a duplication? Anyway... I think this Link sticks around long enough to meet Legend and Hyrule and thus ends up choosing a new name because he's not who he was while he was alive, really, and he never had the chance to progress like Mask/Time did. I know I said Mask would probably fit but I also realized he never got to the War of Eras, so he'd never have that thought process in the first place. And since everyone refers to him as "the fallen hero" but he's not exactly "the hero of time" I think Fallen suits him. Because that's what he is. A hero that fell in battle. That's his defining characteristic compared to the others. A tragic, cautionary tale that haunts his successors.

How does this fit into the AU? I'm not completely sure. I don't know how time travel works. For now I'm ignoring it until I try writing origin stories again because I really need to just get myself together and get things written. Also maybe if I ignore it it'll work itself out.

holding this in my little hands and eating it /pos

Fallen HURTS but its so so good oh my god

i am obsessed with this, so much actually, im so excited to see where you go with this 👁️👁️

[ginger375]

LUtober Day 30: Redead

See the full collection on AO3.

“So, they’re Redeads?” Wind asked as they stood in the trench that cut through Wild’s Gerudo Desert. They could see some slow stumbling figures through the haze.

“Riju called them Gibdos,” Wild said as he pulled out some shockfruits. Of all the places for a portal to dump his brothers back into his life, it had to be the desert. Not that he minded the desert, normally, but the shambling bug-like creatures made Wild’s skin crawl.

“They look more like Redeads,” Wind replied as he looked through his spyglass to get a better look without getting too close.

Wild just shrugged. All he knew is they were awful and he hated them.

“Do they let out a horrific scream and attack you while you’re paralyzed?”

“No, nothing like that,” Wild said, silently saying a prayer to whichever goddess that these monsters didn’t do that. “They’re susceptible to elemental attacks, fire and lightning. Just swinging your sword won’t do any good.” He pulled out a spear with what looked like an electric lizalfos horn on the end. “From a distance is better.”

“What happens if they get close?”

“It’s more like if you get close to them, that’s when they move. Like insects.”

“Ugh,” Legend said with a shudder. 

Wild started handing out shock fruits. “Just hit ‘em with these, then start swinging.” 

“What happens if you lick them?” Hyrule asked, because of course he did.

“The Gibdos?”

“No, the fruit!”

“Oh thank goodness,” Wild said with a dramatic sigh.

“Do not lick the Redead Gibdos,” Twilight said, laughing to himself more than anyone else.

“It’s just Gibdo!” Wild exclaimed.

While the playful banter continued, Wind was deep in thought. “Don’t you have a Gibdo mask?” he asked Time.

“I do,” Time said, head tilted thoughtfully. “It worked against both Gibdos and Redeads.”

“Think it might work on these?”

Time raised a brow. “Want to give it a shot?”

Wind gave him a furious nod as Time pulled the Gibdo mask out of his bag. He handed it to Wind, who pulled it on and nearly took off running if not for Time grabbing the back of his tunic.

“Walk, don’t run. Wild will watch your back,” he said motioning to their wayward champion. 

Wild sighed, because obviously it would be him as backup.  “Let’s go, sailor.”

The pair walked at a measured pace–not too fast and not too slow–and much to WIld’s surprise, the Gibdo didn’t react. Normally when he got this close they’d start lumbering in his direction.

They came up right beside the Gibdo, and while its eyes were alert, it didn’t seem to register that they were there. Instead, the monster raised its arms and started slowly spinning in a little circle.

“What the actual hell?” Wild said as he looked back at the group, who were following Time as he approached.

“Not as intricate a dance as a Redead, but close enough,” he said.

“That’s what this thing does?!” Wind asked, his voice muffled by the mask. “It makes them dance?!”

“And ignore you,” Time said with a grin. “Shall we continue?”

Wild just shook his head. “Gods, I missed you all.”

[links-in-time]

Links in Time : The Beginning of Something

Part 12

The Chain and Maari reach the Gerudo Desert. Luckily no one has to wear a disguise to get into the city.

"Did we vote on this?" Legend grumbled, as he felt the gritty sand already seeping into his boots. "Because if we did I would like to change my vote please."

"Come on its not so bad, you don't know how lucky you are we're doing this at night, not during the day." Wild replied, holding up a torch to guide their way through the night. "I almost died of heat exhaustion plenty of times out here."

"I've never seen so many stars!" Maari uttered, gazing skyward as she walked.

She was so awestruck by the massive panorama the desert provided, that she almost walked into a cactus. Luckily Four saw her in time and gently tugged her arm until she altered her direction. It truly was an amazing sight. The sky had turned an inky shade of blue and miliions of stars twinkled overhead.

"They look like diamonds sewn into blue velvet," Wars remarked.

"You find something like that, you let me know first okay," said Legend.

"We've nearly reached the oasis. We can stop there for a breather if everyone's okay to keep walking after?" Wild announced.

They agreed to stop at the oasis and have something to eat and drink. Although the heat of the desert was far less intense at night, they couldn't ignore the lack of moisture in the air. Wind was the only one who hadn't already downed half his water-skin.

"When you're at sea you have to learn to conserve water. Drink before you get thirsty otherwise you gulp down more than you needed in the first place. Don't see why the desert would be any different." He informed everyone who asked.

They stopped at the oasis for half an hour, taking the time to refill water containers and eat a little before getting back on the road. Although most of the usual vendors were closed for the night Maari got her first glimpse of a few Gerudo soldiers patrolling around the oasis.

"They're even taller than I imagined they'd be," she remarked to Time.

"They're not that impressive!"

"Oh yeah, how many 7 foot tall, darked skinned warrior women do you know?" Maari retorted.

"She's got you there Old Man," Hyrule giggled.

Their water bottles filled and their spirits a little lighter, Wild guided the gang back onto the road. He explained that a rift had opened up in the desert floor, forcing travellers to divert around it. However as they approached they could see torchlight up ahead. Two tall torches stood either side of a narrow rope bridge which had been suspended across the ravine.

"Well that wasn't here last time," Wild remarked, holding his torch over the planks to inspect the bridge.

"Hey, if it means we don't have to walk around it, I'm all for the bridge!" Legend almost cheered.

"I'm starting to get the feeling Legend doesn't like the desert," Maari observed.

"Whatever gave you that idea?!" Sky chuckled. He allowed Maari to step ahead of him before he ambled onto the bridge and began to cross.

Once on the other side of the gourge the group could make out the walls of the city ahead of them. Silhouetted against the night sky the sharp lines of the walls stood out against the vast empty desert. Maari wondered if Gerudo town would be similar to Castle Town. More torches flickered along the walls, illuminating the paths around the outside of the city. Before they were more than a few hundred yards away from the main gates Wild stopped in his tracks.

"What's the matter?" Asked Time.

"Now we have to decide how we try to get in," he replied.

"Ah, right," Time sighed, glancing back at their destination.

It seemed all of them had forgotten the law of Gerudo Town, no men.

"Any suggestions?" Voiced Wars.

"Well, there's a secret passage entrance behind the throne room. We'd have to climb up to open it, but I could climb up there and toss down a rope. Of course if we get caught before I can speak to Riju then we'll all end up in the dungeon."

"Not all of us," Maari pointed out. "Sometimes it helps to be a warrior and a woman."

At least two of the boys smacked their palms into their faces.

"Well when you put it that way it does seem sort of obvious now," Wild acknowledged, nodding at Maari.

"I'll go in and ask for an audience with the Princess on behalf of the Hero. If I can speak to her, I can let her know you're all here and maybe she can let you in without too many people seeing you." Maari suggested.

"Sounds like a good plan to me. We can all make our way around to the back of the throne room and be waiting for you," Wars added.

"Alright then, Maari I'm sure you know what to say to Riju. But take this with you," Wild held out the Purah Pad. "Just in case they want proof that I came here with you."

"But I don't know how to use it."

"That doesn't matter, you don't have to use it, just show it to Riju and Zelda."

"Okay. Guess I'll see you all soon?"

"Try and let us in before the sun comes up and cooks us alright Maari. Wars isn't the only one with delicate skin around here!" Legend mocked.

"Hey, don't make me come over there and wipe that grin off your face!"

Maari chuckled as she turned and left the boys behind. It almost felt strange, heading off on her own again. She should have felt more accustomed to being on her own, but in the short time that Maari had been travelling with the gang, she'd grown used to the company. She approached the main gates of Gerudo town, guarded by two imposing women with long golden spears.

"Halt," one beckoned. "State your business please."

"I'm here to see princess Riju on behalf of the Hero Link." Maari informed them, trying to remain as calm as possible.

The guards exchanged glances before turning back to Maari.

"We will make sure someone is waiting for you inside. You may proceed."

"Thank you," Maari replied, bowing greatfully to the guard who had spoken.

Walking through the great outer wall of Gerudo town Maari emerged into the bazaar. Tall palms swayed against the night sky, the sound of slowly trickling water cut through the silence, and a few people walked here and there. Mostly they were Gerudo, but Maari recognised one Goron and a pair of Hylian women walking hand in hand in the glow of the torches. She smiled at them, thinking how happy the couple looked.

Most of the shops and stalls were closed for the night but there were still lanterns lit, illuminating the brightly coloured fabrics draped over the canopies. Maari couldn't wait to see what the city looked like in daylight, under the vast desert sun Gerudo Town must be a riot of colour. She continued to make her way towards the far end of the bazaar where a long staircase rose up towards the palace. More guards were stationed here but as promised someone came walking down the steps to meet her.

"I'm told you are here to see the Princess." Asked the woman, clearly another guard, dressed in the same red and white as the others.

"Yes that's right, my name is Maari, I'm here on behalf of the hero Link."

"You must realise that it has gone midnight and the Princess is asleep," the guard raised an eyebrow.

Maari had not realised this. In fact it hadn't even crossed her mind that Riju and Zelda would be asleep. They had been trekking across the desert all night but it hadn't occurred to any of them that no one else was dumb enough to be awake in the middle of the night. Maari sighed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't consider how late it is. But I'm afraid this is urgent and I need to see the Princess as soon as possible," Maari urged. "I brought this, to prove to Riju that I did come with Link." Maari produced and handed over the Purah Pad.

Never mind how many Links I came with. Maari thought to herself.

"Follow me," said the guard, turning the device over in her hands.

Maari did as she was told, following the guard up the stairs, careful to avoid the hole in the ground. She was lead into what was unmistakably the throne room. It was dimly lit with only a few lanterns since no one was around, but the grandure of the place was unmissable. Lush drapes hung from the ceilings, waterfalls and rivers splashed around the floor in an almost dreamlike way. Potted palms rustled in a gentle breeze blowing in through the enormous windows behind the throne.

"Wait here and I will speak to the princess. It is entirely possible she will not wish to speak to you until morning, if at all."

"I understand," Maari nodded.

The guard walked up some stairs in the corner and disappeared. Maari suddenly felt self conscious. This wasn't like being in the chief's house in Kakariko. That always felt like visiting the home of a friend. This palace was so opulent and grand that Maari felt small and undignified. She tried to fix her clothes and attempted to stand still without fidgeting. But the fact that the boys were all counting on her to get them into Gerudo town weighed on her. Unless they could get in and speak to Zelda, could use her vast collection of literary knowledge to further their quest, their journey across Hyrule would have been for nothing.

"Maari," the voice of a young woman floated down the stairs, cutting though the silence trapping Maari.

"Yes," she replied, looking up in the direction the voice had emanated from.

At the top of the stairs stood a young slender teen with dark skin and red hair. She wore loose fitting trousers and a crop top with a cartoonist picture of a sand seal embroidered on it. Not quite what Maari had expected for her first meeting with the Gerudo princess. But she supposed beggers couldn't be choosers.

"Yes your highness," she said again, bowing low as she waited for Riju to approach.

"I'm told you are here on Link's behalf," Riju continued, as she made her way across the room and sat down on her throne. "Oh and please do stand up, there's really no need for that when there's hardly anyone around."

Maari stood up straight and noticed that the guard who had showed her the way in, had followed Riju back into the throne room.

"I had hoped that I could speak with you alone, your highness." Maari explained, lacing her fingers together nervously.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen," the guard stated firmly.

"I'm sorry but what I have to say is for the Princess only. Otherwise I will have to leave," Maari insisted.

"Very well then," the guard replied. Standing firm and nodding towards the door behind Maari.

"Please your highness, this really is very important and it will only take a moment to explain. Perhaps your guard would feel more comfortable if I were unarmed?"

"Unarmed, you are a Sheikah warrior are you not. Even without a weapon in your hand you're still deadly."

"That's enough," Riju cut in at last. "Maari you will surrender your weapons to my guard and she will wait outside this chamber until I call her back inside. Understood?" She asked them both.

Maari nodded and proceeded to remove her four daggers and her katana from her back. She also handed over her satchel for the guards peace of mind. As instructed the guard left the throne room with Maari's possessions, leaving her alone with the Princess.

"Now then, what is this very important news you must tell me?"

"Your highness it's true I am here on behalf of Link, but he isn't very far away either. In fact, if you look out of your window behind you, I believe you will see Link and the rest of our travelling companions." Maari explained.

Curious, Riju got up from her throne and walked over to the window. She scanned the dark sands and for a while she saw nothing. That is, until she dropped her gaze closer to the wall and spotted nine figures sitting at the foot of her palace walls.

"Huh!" She remarked.

Maari came to join her and gave the boys a small wave.

"Wild, I mean, Link, asked me if you could let them in though the secret passage beneath this throne. They're here to consult Zelda on an important matter, but your rules forbid them from entering the city. I know you have permitted Link to enter before, but I don't know how you feel about the rest of them."

"They are all friends of Link?" Riju asked, visible confusion on her face. "I didn't think Link had many friends."

"I believe he met them quite recently your highness. But believe me when I say they are like brothers. Their bonds of friendship are unbreakable, they would do anything for each other."

Riju considered for a long while, occasionally glancing down at the men waiting to enter her city. The laws of her people contradicted her open heart but eventually curiosity and her good nature won out.

"Alright, I will permit them to enter my city but they must remain within the underground bunker. Hardly anyone uses it anymore since the danger is over. I will instruct the guards to keep people out and tell them it is a safety concern." Riju decided.

"Thank you your Highness," Maari bowed again.

"Please call me Riju, any friend of Link's is a friend of mine."

And so Riju opened the secret door which opened up in the wall behind the throne. The boys celebrated silently as they entered, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. Riju and Maari meanwhile made their way back down to the hole in the palace steps where Riju lead Maari down another rougher path towards a large round door blocking their way. She instructed the guard to pull a large leaver which caused the door to roll out of their path. She thanked the guard then instructed her to take the rest of the night off. Greatful for the relief, the guard thanked the Princess and presumably headed off home.

Riju and Maari entered the underground chamber and headed towards where they could hear a commotion near the rear. The whole place was virtually empty. A few crates and broken pots lay strewn about. Any signs of habitation had been removed, but some of the rooms still showed their uses. Tables cut into the rock as well as a large fireplace for cooking were visible through one opening. However the noises were coming from deeper in the cavern.

"That's my leg, Wind you're standing on my leg!"

The unmistakable voice of Hyrule echoed off the chamber walls as Riju and Maari entered what had been the back store room. Time was helping Hyrule to his feet, who had clearly fallen out of the passage opening in the dark. The only light source was Wild's torch, casting most of the space in shadow. Wind was stumbling about trying to get his balance back after almost falling over Hyrule. While the rest of the Chain were laughing at the whole commotion.

"Link!" Riju barked. "What in Urbosa's name is going on here?!"

"Riju, I can explain. I know it's late, but we've had a long walk across the desert. Do you mind if we talk tomorrow?" Wild asked, his eyes and limbs already growing tired and aching for sleep.

Riju stared about at the rag tag group of men and boys in her underground refuge. She shook her head and stood with her fists on her hips.

"Alright fine. There are some sleeping quarters on the north side of the shelter. You can decide among yourselves who sleeps where. But I expect to hear everything first thing in the morning, understand Link?" She pointed a finger at his face to emphasise her instructions.

"Got it," he replied quickly, nodding frantically.

"Good," Riju snapped. "You on the other hand can come with me." She said to Maari, turning on her heels and leaving the boys to their own devices.

"Something tells me that could have gone better," Four remarked.

"Shut up Four," Wild groaned. "Lets all just get some sleep. Come on, I'll show you the way."

Wild directed them all to the rooms which the Gerudo had used when the shelter had been in use during the upheaval. Four, Hyrule, Wind, Sky and Legend set up their bed rolls in the largest dorm room, while Time and Wild, and Twi and Wars found two smaller rooms to share in pairs.

Maari on the other hand was escorted back up to the palace, where Riju instructed a guard to take Maari to one of the guest bedrooms. It was a pleasant room with a large window overlooking the bazaar and a comfortable looking bed. Her weapons and equipment had been neatly placed on a chair in the corner. Maari was pleased to see they hasn't been permanently confiscated. With a sigh she removed her arm and shin guards. She thought about taking off more of her clothes but her tired body dragged her down Maari threw herself down onto the mattress, her head hit the pillow and she fell asleep almost instantly.

< Part 11 : Part 13 >

[laxyaklovesloz]

The Legend of Zelda: Real Courage 2: Dark Mirror | Chapter Twenty-Five: A Skirmish

In the waiting room outside of the infirmary, Zelda glared at LiLink.

“Why did you tell Zale?” she demanded.

“We thought he needed to know,” LiLink said simply.

“Of course, he needs to know,” Zelda seethed, “but not yet. He just woke up from almost dying. He needs time to recover before getting such huge news.”

“You’re the one who brought up the marriage,” LiLink countered.

Zelda blinked and stepped back. Of course, the abomination was right, but how could she admit that? “He-he wanted all of the facts. It was my duty to make sure he understood.”

“It was our duty to tell him what happened.”

Zelda slumped into a chair. There was no use arguing with this… thing. Besides, she said everything there was to say. Time to change tactics.

Zelda stood again and said, “I’m going to see Rova. Don’t try to stop me this time.”

“Go ahead. We won’t.” LiLink stood aside and swept out a hand. They followed Zelda when she left the room. She felt a chill down her spine, knowing they were behind her, but didn’t look back. She wouldn’t give them any validation.

At Rova’s room, Zelda didn’t bother knocking. Rova was sitting at a desk that had been brought in for her, studying a circular mirror with a gold frame. When Zelda barged in, Rova reached for her staff. Upon seeing Zelda, however, Rova relaxed.

“Zelda, dear, how sweet of you to visit,” Rova said. “Although, I must insist you knock next time. I’m quite busy.”

“What have you done to Link and Lila?” Zelda demanded.

Rova’s smile froze in place. “They have become whole. After the fiasco with their duel, I realized a better solution. I should have thought of it sooner, really.”

“Because you’re really two people merged into one body?” Zelda challenged.

“Who told you that?”

“Your LiLink,” Zelda spat.

“They are correct,” Rova said, sitting back in her chair.

Zelda got a good look at the mirror. Shadows seemed to dance inside its depths. One shadow grew to encompass the whole mirror. Then it popped out of the mirror and formed the shape of Zelda.

Zelda gasped. “What is that?”

Rova merely looked curious. She said, “That is your inner darkness, I believe. Fascinating.” To LiLink, she said, “Keep Zelda here. I’m going to see the king.”

“You can’t!” Zelda protested, but LiLink shoved her deeper into the room so that Rova could leave.

“Shadow,” Rova said, “come with me.” Her staff glowed and the shadow obeyed.

Zelda tried to reach her, but LiLink blocked the way. “Leave King Zale alone! He needs rest!”

Rova ignored her and closed the door.

“Link,” Zelda pleaded, “You have to let me go.”

“We are LiLink.”

“Please, Link, snap out of it!”

“We are LiLink,” was all they said.

∴

On the way to the infirmary, Rova examined the mirror. It did nothing for her, but she had no inner darkness. Her darkness was on the outside already. She didn’t want random shadows popping out, so she hid the mirror in her dress.

In the infirmary, she spotted Salvatore and went up to him, knowing the king would be behind the door he guarded.

Salvatore said, “You are not welcome here!”

“Then I will make you move,” Rova said.

Before he could react, she raised her staff and lit him on fire. He yelped and jumped away, trying to put out the flames. Rova ignored him and went into the sick room, Zelda’s shadow on her heels.

She confirmed that the one sleeping in the bed was Zale and then raised the Dark Mirror. She didn’t care that Impa was there. Two shadows dripped out of the mirror.

“What are you doing?” Impa asked, rising to her feet.

“Kill her,” Rova said to Shadow Impa. Impa defended with her dagger, but the shadow parried every move perfectly. While she grappled with her shadow, Rova chanted, fusing Zale and Zelda’s shadows. They formed a solid figure, just like LiLink.

“You are ZaZelda, ruler of Hyrule,” Rova told it. “I am your Mistress. Obey me.”

ZaZelda bowed to Rova.

All of the commotion woke Zale. He saw Impa struggling with a shadow and Rova looking down at a kneeling figure with golden hair. He thought it was Link or even Lila. What they were doing in his room he had no idea.

“Guards!” Zale shouted.

Rova jerked her gaze to him. “Be silent, boy,” she hissed. She pointed her staff at him and ice sealed his lips together. He felt at his frozen mouth, heart pounding, but could say nothing until the ice thawed.

Despite her attempt to keep him quiet, his initial yell alerted those outside of the room to the danger within. A guard entered the doorway and grabbed Rova.

ZaZelda sprang up and commanded, “Release her.”

The guard looked confused but let go. “Sire, what’s the problem?”

Zale tried desperately to speak, drawing the guard’s attention. He could barely see her due to Rova and ZaZelda being in the way. The guard grew more confused.

“Nothing’s wrong here,” Rova said, blocking the guard’s view even more.

“Take her staff!” Impa yelled.

The guard craned her neck to see around Rova. Fed up, Rova hit the guard’s head with her staff. Another guard took her place and tried to wrestle the staff away from Rova.

“Stop that,” ZaZelda said.

With a painful tear, Zale got his mouth free. “Don’t listen to that imposter! Stop Rova!”

Rova growled. A bout of flame enveloped the guard, who shrieked and let go of the staff. Rova chanted and mist swirled around her and ZaZelda. Within seconds, the mist obscured them from view. When the mist dissolved, they were gone.

Aware of Impa’s fight, Zale yelled, “Someone get in here and help Impa!”

A third guard ran in. She quickly assessed the situation and then struck at the shadow’s back. The shadow reeled and Impa was able to finish it off. The shadow dissipated into nothingness.

Panting, Impa said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” the guard said. “May I ask, what was that?”

“My shadow,” Impa said. “I guess. It looked like me, at least.” She turned to Zale and added, “Rova made one of you, two, sire. Then she merged it with another shadow and called it ZaZelda.”

Zale cut her off with a wave of his hand and spoke to the guard. “Gather as many knights as you can and find Rova. As you saw, she’s dangerous and not to be taken lightly. Be careful. Oh, and don’t listen to that imposter.”

The guard clicked her heels together and bowed before leaving.

Doctors were tending to the injured outside of Zale’s room, so he had Impa close the door. Once she had, he asked, “Are you hurt?”

Impa shrugged. “Not too badly. I can wait until the others have been seen to.”

“Continue your report.”

“Yes, sir. The only other thing is that ZaZelda reminded me of LiLink. Do you think they were made the same way?”

Zale said, “That would make sense. Hopefully, that means Lila and Link are alive somewhere. Is there anything else you wish to discuss?”

“No, sire.”

“Then go get healed up.”

Impa shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I need to protect you.”

Zale opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it. “I suppose you’re right. What about Salvatore?”

“I’m not sure,” Impa said, frowning. “Should I check on him?”

“Please do.”

Impa left and returned a few minutes later. She looked worried.

“He’s one of the wounded,” she told Zale. “He sustained a full-body burn.”

Zale gasped, “No! Will he be alright?”

“They think so. They managed to put the fire out quickly.”

Zale leaned back into his pillows and groaned. “I hope he’ll be okay.”

“Me, too,” Impa murmured.

[gintrinsic-writing]

Whumptober 23: "Hold Them Down"

Woke up late and spontaneously decided to write something for today's whumptober prompt. Computer stopped working halfway through which was so awesome. I'll edit this a lot before posting to AO3 lol.

Has anyone seen the movie The Ruins before? 😉 CW body horror

--

Blinking did little to clear the sweat from Wind’s stinging eyes, nor did it help the way the landscape seemed slightly… off-kilter. Like he was walking at a lean or listing sideways when, in reality, he was dutifully following the others step for step for fucking step. What was this place? At least Fire Mountain had been a dry sort of heat. This was like marching through a sauna. If Wind became the first hero to ever die from heat stroke, he’d never forgive himself. 

“Fuckin’ absurd,” he muttered, stopping near a very large plant, its swooping green leaves nearly half his size. Every breath felt too thick, too humid, sticking to the back of his throat. He scratched his leg and swatted at the air with his other hand. Mosquitoes hovered around every pool of water, a constant, annoying buzz. Wind didn’t recognize any of the flora in this part of the world—Wild’s world? Hyrule’s?—but he decided, at that moment, that it was bad. Just fuckin’ terrible. The worst. 

“Wind?” Sky looked back at him, face flushed and shirt positively soaked with sweat. The others stood behind him looking hardly any better. “Why’d you stop?”

Black spots filled the corners of Wind’s periphery. He worried that might be a bad sign, but that was a problem for his future self. Possibly his five-minutes later self, but the others didn’t need to know that. “I’m tired.”

“It’s only a little further,” Hyrule told him. “Once we pass the river, it’ll only be another mile or two.”

Ah, so it was Hyrule’s world. Wind opened his mouth to say something—something scathing and witty, probably, because he wouldn’t profess to whining, when a muscle in his leg spasmed. He scratched it, which did absolutely fuck-all to help. 

“I can carry you,” Warriors suggested, hiding his amusement so well that Wind knew he was probably close to smirking. Maybe. Sometimes the Captain was just nice. Hard to say if this was one of those times. 

“Fuck off,” Wind grumbled, too tired to put any heart into it. A small cloud of gnats formed by his head, each of the little fuckers gunning for the moisture in his eyes. Swatting at them did little to dissuade them. “And quit staring at me, all of you,” he said, reaching for his waterskin as he trudged forward.  “Not my fault that…”

The world tilted, then Wind did, too. He hadn’t planned on that. 

Thankfully, one of the others was quick enough to catch him before he could embarrass himself further by hitting his head on a rock or something. It took a lot of blinking before he could make out Twilight’s face. “Nice save,” he said, and was completely ignored. Twilight slowly lowered him to the ground so the others could begin the annoying process of being worried. 

“Pulse is strong,” Time muttered, fingers held over Wind’s wrist. “But he’s burning up.”

“Heat stroke?” Legend asked, which made Wind groan loudly. Of course, then they looked even more concerned, so he regretted it immediately. 

Twilight’s ears twitched back and forth as he leaned in to sniff at Wind. “You smell funny.”

“You kiddin’ me, dog breath?” Wind sniped, ineffectively pushing at Twilight’s stupid face. His tongue felt heavy and awkward in his mouth. “S’disgusting out here. We all smell bad.”

“No, I mean…” Twilight’s nose wrinkled. “You smell sweet, almost? Like a flower. It’s strange.”

“That’s ‘cause I’m roses compared to some of you.”

Hyrule literally shouldered Wild aside to get closer. Wind would’ve laughed under any other circumstance. “A flower? What kind?”

“Uh,” Twilight began, eloquent as ever. “No idea.”

“We landed nowhere near the salt fields, but…” Hyrule licked his lips. “Wind, are you injured anywhere? Anywhere at all?”

Wind frowned as he thought about it. “I have a scrape on my leg. It’s small, barely even—” He made a sound of surprise as Hyrule started tugging off his pants. “Hey, rude! What the fuck, man!”

“Get them off,” Hyrule told Twilight. “Now. Hurry.”

Twilight hesitated only a moment before helping, and Wind gritted his teeth as the others looked on with varying levels of surprise and confusion. “Thanks for the…” He blew out his cheeks as his vision darkened briefly. “For the manhandling. Love this. Really role-model behavior.” 

Hyrule tossed Wind’s pants away like they were personally offensive, already studying the thin scab halfway between Wind’s knee and hip. The skin around it was a little red, but there wasn’t any discharge so Wind didn’t understand the fuss. Hyrule prodded at it gently. “Any tingling or itching? Numbness?”

“Itching,” Wind answered. “Damn mosquitoes probably got me through my pants. What’s all this about?”

“Maybe nothing,” Hyrule answered unhelpfully, but the intensity in his expression was nerve wracking. He pressed on Wind’s leg, waited several seconds, then pressed again. 

“Seriously,” Wind said, trying not to slur. Hells, he felt weird. “You’re beginning to freak me out.”

Instead of answering, Hyrule dug his thumbs into Wind’s hip and applied pressure down the length of the muscle. A weird prickling sensation broke out across Wind’s entire leg, painful and hot. Then, like a worm being flushed to the surface, something visibly wriggled beneath Wind’s skin.   

“Holy shit,” Wind gasped, fighting the urge to strike his own leg. The others mirrored his shock. “What is that? What is that?” 

Hyrule’s face paled. “It’s a vine,” he answered, signing a quick prayer for protection. That, more than anything, filled Wind with terror. But that wasn’t the worst of it. “Somebody, sterilize a blade. We have to act quickly. Wind, have you been itching anywhere else?”

“N-no, but what’s—”

“When did it start?” Hyrule interrupted. “When did you first notice?”

Wind blinked, taken aback. “This morning?”

“Fuck,” Hyrule snapped, and Wind wondered if he was the only one shocked by that. “It’s a Mimic Vine—an evolved strain of the Deku Babas the rest of you are used to. It’s carnivorous and if it—if it enters your bloodstream…”

Wind thought his heart might beat out of his chest. He swallowed thickly, unable to look away as the vine writhed beneath his skin. He swore he could feel it burrowing deeper. Behind him, Legend began using his firerod to heat one of Four’s knives. 

“You’re sure about this?” Warriors asked quietly, expression chillingly blank.

Hyrule nodded. “Yes, I’ve seen this before. I don’t know how it spread past the salt fields, but…” His eyes darted to the underbrush, to the canopy—wary in a way he hadn’t been before. “I need you to cut it out. It’s smart; it’ll try to move away from you. If I don’t heal him as you work, he’ll bleed out. I’ve seen it happen before.” 

“Guys,” Wind began weakly, fighting the urge to flee. As if sensing this, Twilight’s grip on his shoulders tightened. 

“I’m sorry, Wind,” Hyrule told him earnestly. “But there’s no time to make this any easier. You can bite down on my wallet. Warriors, you have to be extremely careful when you pull on it; if even a single piece is left behind, it will grow and self-replicate in a matter of hours.” Hyrule took a deep breath, grim and determined. He stared only at Wind’s leg when he finally murmured, “The rest of you… hold him down.”

[lyrabythelake]

Pumpkin Timeee

I love Halloween, here’s a little fic

Seasons may change, but Time’s commute back from the castle stays more or less the same. Yes, there may be life-size plastic skeletons in the windows of most houses right now, but if you can ignore that, along with the badly carved pumpkins and the entire graveyard that was erected overnight in one garden, it is really no different to any other day.

For Time, Halloween is an occasion that brings very real fear to his heart. There isn’t much distinction between each year; he can pretty much count on Legend terrorising them all with his latest attempt at special effects makeup (last time he had genuinely convinced Warriors he had chopped his index finger off cutting a cucumber), Wind will watch a horror movie and spend the next week with night terrors, and Hyrule will eat so many super sour sweets he throws up.

All in all, not his favourite holiday.

Not that he wants to tempt fate, but today has been remarkably uneventful. Only three people dressed up at work and no one has tried any pranks or jump-scares (he may be known as the Hero of Time in some circles, but that doesn’t mean he’s immune to those surprise jump-scare videos on YouTube), so he’s in a pretty good mood.

That is, until he walks into his house.

“What is this?”

Which, he commends himself, is an admirably calm reaction considering whatever it is has left his kitchen looking like the scene of a large, gruesome pumpkin massacre. And actually, that might be an apt description of what millions of children do every year on the 31st of October when they carve hideous faces into gourds while their parents try their best to keep them from cutting their fingers off. 

Millions of children and, of course, his idiot friends.

“We’re carving pumpkins,” Wind says distractedly, his tongue held between his teeth as he focuses intently on stabbing his knife multiple times into his pumpkin.

“I can see that. But did you have to do it in my kitchen?”

“Yours is the only one big enough for all of us.”

A fact that has made him repeatedly curse his and Malon’s past selves ever since they first viewed this house and exclaimed how perfect the large, open plan kitchen/living room would be for having all their friends round for dinner sometimes. They seriously overlooked several important factors like how now all eight of the boys seem to be in their house ninety percent of the time whether he and Malon are home or not.

“You don’t think you might have overdone it?” He’s referring to the literally countless number of pumpkins on every surface–he tallied thirteen before he lost count–and the sloppy mountain of Pumpkin innards piled so high onto the table that it very nearly reaches the ceiling.

“Oh, that?” Wild gestures casually at Mount Pumpkin Guts. “I’ll make it into a pumpkin pie or something.”

“Far be it from me to ever doubt your cooking skills, Wild,” Time replies, “but do you plan on making a pumpkin pie the size of Hyrule Town?”

Wild shrugs.

“So I’ll make some pumpkin cupcakes as well.”

“Where did you even get all these? I don’t think I’ve seen this many pumpkins in one place since I last went to a pumpkin farm.” Which, for the record, was many years ago because he hates the taste.

“Hey, look, I made you!” Wind looks incredibly pleased with himself as he turns his pumpkin around to show a very roughly carved face with a line through one eye and markings that may or may not be supposed to represent his own. 

Time’s eye twitches.

“Hyrule grew them in his garden,” Legend tells him. Hyrule looks at Time with a haunted look that tells of a very serious miscalculation.

“They got a bit out of hand.”

Oh, and would you have it, his hand is stuck into a bag of Super Sours. What a surprise.

“Don’t get your pants in a twist, we’ll clean everything up at the end,” Warriors says, clearly noticing the looming aneurysm in Time’s future. His pumpkin has a knife stuck in its head and is carved to look like it’s screaming in pain. Time can relate.

“There better not be a speck of pumpkin on these worktops by the time Malon comes home.”

[skyward-floored]

How about a mermaid legend fic where it's just vet and wars? The internet can always use more mermaid legend fics. :)

You are absolutely right that the internet could always use more mer Legend, so here some is! (Is that the correct grammar? Idk!)

I made Legend’s mermaid abilities work the same in this as another fic I wrote with him a few months ago, and that one explains it a bit more then this one so I’ll just drop it here in case anybody wants to read it

Anyways here you go! (tw for a bit of a panic attack, it’s not too bad)

————————————————————

“Why are there so many people here?” Legend grumbled, and Warriors grinned as he nearly received an elbow to the face.

They were wandering around the center square of Twilight’s castle town, attempting to find the store the rancher told them had most of the supplies they needed. But there was a literal sea of people in the way, making it nearly impossible to go anywhere faster then a snail’s pace.

Legend, being on the unfortunately shorter end of things, couldn’t see anything that looked even vaguely store-like from his vantage point, and Warriors wasn’t having much luck either despite being several inches taller.

“Rancher said there was some festival or other going on this week remember?” the captain reminded Legend, weaving around a gaggle of children that charged by, “nearly all of Hyrule is here, it’s one of the biggest events of the year apparently.”

“Well they can take their stupid festival and shove it,” Legend grumbled, and Warriors outright laughed at that.

“Lighten up vet. I know you’re eager to go kick back in the inn for a while but we need to stock up.”

He paused and smiled politely at couple of girls who’d been batting their eyelashes at him, making them swoon. “You could try to enjoy yourself.”

Legend crossed his arms.

“I am trying, but it’s impossible to enjoy anything when I’m constantly about to be trampled!” he huffed, then had to leap out of the way of a group of soldiers that trudged past.

“Would you like a piggyback?” Warriors offered with a grin, and Legend smacked his arm good-naturedly.

“Only when I actually do get trampled,” he shot back with an eye roll. “You can carry whatever’s left of me back to the old man and explain how I got flattened by the joys of hundreds of people.”

The two continued to quip at each other as they tried to make their way across the square, sticking close to the fountain in the center while also looking around for the fabled shop Twilight had mentioned. He’d claimed it would be easy to spot, but he obviously hadn’t accounted for the huge crowds today.

And then of course, because they could never catch a break, things got interesting.

A horse a little ways away, already stressed out by the number of people surrounding it, accidentally got bumped into by a soldier who wasn’t watching where the butt of his spear was going. The steed reared up in surprise, and a few people had to jump out of the way of its flailing hooves.

The woman holding the reins tried to get it under control, but the horse whinnied and reared again, causing the hordes to quickly back away from it. One of the members of the crowd, a fairly large goron, forgot just exactly how large he was and neglected to look behind him as he hastily jumped away from the startled horse...

... which sent him smack into Legend, who had no room to dodge out of the way.

“Whoa, vet!”

Legend yelped as he was flung backwards from the force of the goron running into him, and Warriors tried and failed to grab him before he went flying straight into the middle of the fountain with a huge splash.

Several of the people swarming the streets paused in their bustle and looked over at all the commotion, either in concern or good-old-fashioned nosiness at the action. Warriors ignored all the clamor around him and leaned out over the edge of the fountain, looking for where Legend would likely surface. He furrowed his brow when he didn’t immediately come up, and scanned the water again.

Had he been injured by the hit?

But right as he had the thought, a familiar mop of blondish-pink hair poked from the water and his worries were assuaged. Warriors couldn’t help the amused smirk he felt form on his face at Legend’s sopping-wet appearance; he looked a bit like a drowned rat from his angle.

He was about to call to the veteran when he noticed he seemed strangely tense, eyes darting around at all the people who were still hanging around and trying to figure out what had happened.

...in fact, tense wasn’t the only strange thing about him, were those scales on his cheeks?

Legend poked just a bit further out of the water, and a shrill scream suddenly went up right in Warriors’ ear. A woman standing next to him dropped the basket she was holding to point a terrified finger at the fountain, eyes wide with shock.

“A monster!” she shrieked, “there’s a water monster in the fountain!”

Warriors whipped back around towards Legend, who had frozen in place in middle of the fountain, his newly-appeared scales sparkling brightly in the sunshine for all to see.

Oh no.

The crowd broke into a panicked commotion, the cries of monster ringing out across the square. The uproar only increased as more people saw Legend, or heard about him from the screamers, and soon everybody was shouting.

“A monster? Right where that boy was thrown!” a man cried, voice cracking with fear.

“A boy was attacked by a monster in the fountain?!” a mother wailed, holding onto her children more tightly.

“A monster ate a boy in the fountain!”

People started screaming for the guards, and Warriors wasted no time in vaulting into the fountain and sloshing his way through the nearly waist-deep water. He waded over to where Legend looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack, ears flat against his head as he pressed against the base of the fountain, and gently grabbed him.

“Vet, hey, what do you need from me?” he asked him urgently, shaking his shoulder (right next to where there were gills, his friend had honest-to-goodness gills-), “we need to go, can you breath air?”

He didn’t want to grab Legend and get him somewhere safe only for him to choke on air or whatever it was fish did when they were out of the water, but Legend didn’t reply. He just kept staring at the crowd yelling for the soldiers to come capture the beast, his breath coming in thin gasps.

Warriors met Legend’s wide eyes (his pupils were more oval-shaped now, and his eyes were faintly glowing-) and gave his shoulder another shake.

“Vet come on!”

His shout seemed to snap him out of it, at least momentarily as he jerked slightly then actually blinked.

“Y-yeah,” Legend finally gasped, still staring at the people screaming. “Yeah I can- I can breathe it. Not for long but it- it won’t matter.”

Warriors didn’t bother with a reply, grabbing his hand (his webbed hand) and tugging him to the edge of the fountain.

Once they reached the stone border he scrambled up to the edge then pulled Legend over, scooping him up bridal-style, and barely faltered when he saw the shimmering blue tail the veteran now had instead of legs. Practically throwing his scarf over the new appendage Legend sported, Warriors jumped to the ground with a light squish, charging down the first alleyway he saw.

Shrieks followed them as Warriors ran, Legend clinging to his neck. As big as the captain’s’ scarf was, he hadn’t had time to unfold it properly, and several of Legend’s distinctly not-hylian features were obvious if anyone looked too hard. Which they did, of course. Warriors himself had to force his eyes not to just stare down at his arms because why were Legend’s ears faintly webbed was a much too distracting question to think about right now.

He ran down another street, frantically looking around for anywhere where there weren’t people, but came up short no matter where he turned.

It really was just their luck that the entire kingdom was here this week wasn’t it?

He turned yet another corner and belatedly realized the veteran had a near death grip around his neck, and he could feel his heart thudding more rapidly then was usually considered normal. He really needed to find a place to hide, Legend sounded on the verge of hyperventilating.

Or was that just that whole breathing air versus water thing?

The hold around his neck tightened suddenly, and Warriors winced. “Head left,” Legend rasped, and the captain didn’t waste his breath with a verbal reply.

He spun around to the left, making for an alleyway a little further tucked back, half-hidden by some market stalls. Bolting down some stairs, he dove behind a large crate, pressing himself and Legend between it and the wall. Sturdy footsteps clomped after them only seconds later, and slowed as their owner no doubt scanned the small area.

But they faded away after a couple moments, and Warriors let out a sigh of relief. He hated to say it, but it was a good thing this Hyrule’s soldiers were so incompetent.

He set Legend down next to him though their spot was tight, and belatedly realized the veteran no longer had a tail. Or gills. Or sharper-than-normal teeth.

He appeared perfectly normal, minus the fact he was still soaking wet.

“Think we’re safe here,” Warriors said quietly, and Legend managed a nod. The captain took a minute to catch his breath, then turned on Legend, who had hunched over himself and seemed pale.

“Now what was that?” the captain exclaimed, the shock he’d been ignoring returning like a boomerang upside the head. “You had a tail vet, how’d you do that? Magic? Or was it an item, or something with the water? Was it a curse?”

“It’s none of your business, that’s what,” Legend snapped back with a glare. “Thanks for getting me out from there captain, but keep your nose out of my secrets.”

Warriors was about to reply when he noticed the younger hero was trembling, though from his wet clothes or the manhunt that had just occurred he didn’t know. His face was pale, and though he was glaring at the captain, he wasn’t quite meeting his eyes.

Warriors sighed.

“All right, sorry,” he said more gently, putting a hand up, “I’m guessing it’s an ability a bit out of your control though huh?”

Legend nodded, and Warriors left it at that.

For a few moments the only sound between them was water dripping off their clothes, making where the two sat into an annoyingly cold puddle. Warriors had finally gotten his breath back, and as he side-eyed Legend, it appeared his breathing had slowed as well.

“Are you all right?” Warriors asked him. “That Goron hit you pretty hard. He break anything?”

Legend didn’t say anything for another minute, then shook his head again, his sodden bangs leaving wet trails across his forehead.

“No. I should ask you if you’re okay, you got your fancy scarf all wet,” he joked, but his voice was weak.

Warriors couldn’t help but snort. “It’s had worse.”

His amusement didn’t last long though, and he glanced over at Legend, studying the way he was still hunched in on himself and trembling. This whole thing was obviously affecting him more then he was letting on, and Warriors was determined to not let him suffer in silence.

“Are you... okay?” he asked again, voice cautious, careful.

Legend gave him an annoyed glare. “I already told you captain, I’m fine, the goron-“

“I didn’t mean physically.”

Legend shut his mouth with an audible click.

Then his shoulders hitched up, and he turned away from him, resting his cheek against the crate.

“Sure. Just dandy. I love being screamed at and chased by soldiers, brings back all sorts of pleasant memories,” he muttered in a bitter voice.

Warriors thought his shaking might have increased.

He watched the veteran for a few moments, seeing how tightly his arms were crossed, how he was curled up like he was trying to make himself as small as possible. How his eyes looked a little red, and it didn’t look like the shivers wracking through him were going to stop anytime soon.

So he leaned over and drew Legend into a gentle hug.

The veteran froze as he pulled him closer, going stiff as a board in his arms as he tried to figure what exactly was going on. Then he began to squirm, trying to free himself from the captain’s surprisingly tight grip on him.

“Hey- what are you doing? Cap!” he whisper-yelled so as not to draw anyone to their hiding place. “Let me go!”

“Nope, you need it,” Warriors said firmly, and Legend stopped thrashing quite as hard. The captain could still feel him shaking in his arms, though the action had slowed a fraction. “You need to warm up, you’re sopping wet and freezing, and this is the best way to do it.”

Both of them knew that was only part of the reason Warriors was hugging him, but the excuse seemed to be enough for Legend and he finally stopped resisting.

The two sat there in the alleyway in silence for a while, Legend still shivering in Warriors’ arms. His scarf was too wet to be of much help, but he draped the drier parts around them anyway, hoping it would be comforting if nothing else. It seemed to work, as Legend gradually relaxed into the hug, his shaking slowing, then finally coming to a stop.

The silence between them was only broken when the veteran let out a sneeze.

“Bless you,” Warriors said with an amused smirk. That had been one of the squeakiest sneezes he’d ever heard. “We should probably head back to the inn before you keel over from sitting on the cold ground in wet clothing.”

“Yeah...” Legend murmured, “but we might... want to wait a bit longer before heading back out actually.” He pulled back a little, looking embarrassed. “The townspeople will still be up in arms after all that, it’ll take awhile for them to calm down.”

Warriors could hear the silent request in the words, a quiet admission that he wasn’t quite ready to face the crowds just yet. He nodded, glancing up at the late afternoon sky above their heads as he let out a thoughtful hum.

“I guess we could wait until dark.”

“We still need to get the supplies though,” Legend muttered, “the shop might be closed by then.”

Warriors shook his head. “They can wait. We can get them tomorrow.”

Legend went to argue but sneezed again, the sound once more embarrassingly high-pitched. His cheeks reddened at the squeaky sound, and Warriors grinned at him.

“That was downright adorable,” he teased, “it was like a little bunny sneeze.”

Legend stared at him for a second before he abruptly socked him in the arm. “Watch it or I’ll sneeze in your face instead,” he grumbled back, and Warriors put an arm up in surrender.

“All right, all right,” he conceded. “But if the sneezing gets any worse then we’re going straight back to the inn, crowds or not.”

“Fine,” Legend agreed, and Warriors pointedly didn’t say anything when the veteran leaned back down onto his shoulder.

Neither of them said anything for several moments, a comfortable silence settling between the two. Warriors glanced down at the teenager leaning on his arm, his bangs still damp with fountain water, clothing darkened by the moisture it’d soaked up. There was no trace of scales or gills anymore, but the captain knew Legend would tell him about them someday, once he was ready.

He gently ruffled Legend’s hair, failing to hold back his smile when the veteran let him.

He was willing to wait.

[minty-mumbles]

Foundlings

Summary: What if the Links weren't born? What if they just... appeared one day?

Author's Note: This was inspired by some asks on @tortilla-of-courage's blog

(Read it on Ao3 Here)

~~~

Everyone on Skyloft had a profound bond with their loftwing. Everyone. They would trust their birds with their life, and more significantly, the lives of their children, if they had any. It wasn’t a rare sight to see your neighbor’s loftwing watching after their child, or to see a loftwing carrying a wayward child back home.

And, although Skyloft is a small island, not everyone knows each other.

So they can’t be blamed, really, that they didn't notice right away that all the loftwings on the island were playing hot potato with a small child.

They only really started to notice when the headmaster of the Knight’s academy found his loftwing looking after not just his own daughter, but a young boy as well.

Before he could question it, or pick up the boy, another loftwing swooped in, snatching the boy up by the back of his tunic. The toddler didn’t seem to mind, squealing in excitement as the bird took him up to the roof.

Gaepora still might not have thought anything about it, except that he knew for a fact that that loftwing’s rider had died a year ago. That’s why the bird was here. It was still mourning its partner, and it was better for it to be around other loftwings. The communal nests for the loftwings at the academy were perfect for that.

And, as far as he knew, the loftwing hadn’t picked a new rider. So whose child was that?

~

After a good two or three weeks of searching for the child’s parents and simultaneously trying to get the boy away from the loftwings, they were still empty-handed.

The search for the parents was futile. Nearly everyone on the island knew about the boy now, and most had even seen their own loftwings carrying the boy around. No parent had stepped forward.

On the other hand, no one could actually manage to get the kid away from the loftwings. It was rare for the birds to completely disobey their riders, but in this, they seemed resolute. The boy would be staying with the loftwings, at least for now.

Gaepora pinched the bridge of his nose, looking at his daughter, who was currently giggling with the yet unmanned boy on his own loftwings back. This boy was going to be nothing but trouble, he could already feel it.

~~~

The master smith of Castle town wasn’t a slouch at hand-to-hand combat. He had never been formally trained in the subject. But he was a smith. Being a smithy was very physically taxing. He may be getting on a bit in years, but he could still swing a hammer and withstand the blazing heat of the forge.

So when he entered his shop in the morning and heard rustling behind the counter he kept his lockbox behind, he did not run to call the town guards. They wouldn’t even get here in time, and Smith could deal with the thief by himself.

When he rounded the corner of the counter with a shout, what he found was not what he expected. Instead, he found a little kid. Really, he couldn't be more than two or three. Instead of the lock box, he had been rooting around in a jar of cookies that Smith kept in the shop for the rather common occasion he got the munchies in the middle of the day.

The child was watching him with wide eyes, his gaze not wavering. He had far too much of an intelligent gaze for a two year old who had literally gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Smith looked around, foolishly hoping that the child’s mother would pop out from behind one of the shelves to claim the him.

No such luck, of course. Cursing his bleeding heart, Smith picked up the child and, hanging a sign on the door to tell his customers he was closed for the day, made his way home.

~~~

The Great Deku Tree was very old. He liked to take naps, which sometimes ended up lasting months. And he forgot things sometimes.

But he was pretty sure he wasn't actually asleep for more than a few hours this time. And he was sure he would have remembered this.

There was a child laying between his roots. An infant, wrapped in swaddling clothes, nestled in a bed of fallen leaves.

The Tree didn’t recognize him.

He would know if this was a Kokiri child. It was not. This child was as Hylian as they came. And yet, somehow, he had ended up here. Deep in the lost woods, where no adult could reach. At the very least, the fairies or the Kokiris would have woken him if there had been an intruder.

The Tree took his time examining the child, looking for any clues to his origins. He found none.

After a while, the baby started to fuss. The Deku Tree hummed, calling for a fairy to go fetch Saria. She was a responsible young lass. She would make sure the boy was well looked after.

He stayed contemplating the child long after he had been taken away by the Kokiri. That child would be one to make note of.

~~~

They were calling him the Hero of the Wind, now. She had smiled when she heard that, but to her, he would always be Link. She gave him that name, after all. She had named him after the previous hero when she found him. There had been no mother in sight to give her a different name, after all.

She hadn’t known where the baby had come from. When she had gone on an early morning walk one day, it had led to her finding a woven basket with a wailing infant inside it, washed up on the shore.

No one on Outset Island had a child this young, or was even pregnant. But Hylia would be damned if she left the babe there. Besides, she was lonely. Her husband had died a few years back, and her daughter had left Outset, rarely visiting. She wouldn’t mind someone to share her house with.

There were rumors. Of course there were. Outset island was a calm and peaceful place, but that didn’t mean all the people there were kind. Suddenly acquiring a child out of nowhere was suspicious. People called her a witch behind her back, not so subtly accusing her of stealing the child.

She had claimed that her daughter had come back from sailing to give Link to his grandmother, but no one had actually seen the young woman do so, so there were always skeptics.

And there was indeed a good reason that no one had seen her come back. It was because the woman hadn’t. No one but Granny would ever know the truth of it, she had vowed to herself.

But, eventually, the excitement died down. Link was a sweet boy. And, well, he had his Granny’s nose, after all, and his mother’s bright golden hair.

(And a few years after that, when she found Aryll on her front porch, surrounded by seagulls, people said much the same about the little girl.)

~~~

The Hero of Legend had humble beginnings, just like most of his brethren. Before he had started his journeys, he had grown up on a farm, looked after by his uncle. In truth, though, said uncle had no relation to him at all.

The nearby village thought he was just an orphan.

It wasn’t unusual. Families were torn apart often these days, sometimes literally, meeting brutal ends at the hands of monsters. Many times, this left children to wander, with no one to care for them. Sometimes, families would take them in and care for them like they were their own.

It was a bit odd that Link's Uncle would do so, as he had no wife to help him in raising a child. But after all, he had no wife, and never showed any signs of looking for one. Perhaps he wanted someone to look after him as he grew older, or just someone to share his house with. It must get lonely, all by himself in that huge farm, so far from town.

In truth, he couldn’t have done anything else, except take the kid in. He had been sucked in by the big eyes set into the sweet face the first time he set eyes on the boy.

The boy never made any mention of his previous family. But, thought his uncle, that was probably normal. Whatever happened to him before he found his way here couldn’t have been pleasant.

It was probably normal not to want to speak of it. And besides, there were apples that needed to be picked, animals to be fed, grain to be cut. There would be time for talking later. For now, he would focus on teaching Link the proper way to hold a cucco without being mauled.

~~~

Legend had it that the Hero of Hyrule started his adventure in a cave. What the Legends don’t tell is that he also started his life in that cave.

In his era, monsters roamed nearly everywhere. There were a few exceptions. One of these was a small cave. It was hidden deep in a forest, and generally ignored by all who passed it. Most who saw it assumed it was too small to be a proper shelter for anyone.

It was this assumption that made it the perfect spot for its inhabitants to hide. A group of fairies had stumbled across the cave, and claimed it for their own. It was undisturbed by the bigger creatures of the world, and it was the perfect size for them.

It was deep in this cave, soaked in fae magic, that this group of fairies found a tiny child. Or more accurately, he found them. When he wiggled through the crack of the cave opening and saw them, he giggled, clapping his hands.

They were uncertain at first. What was a young hylian doing out here? It shouldn't be possible. Where had he even come from? He couldn’t have made it all the way out here by himself.

Being naturally helpful creatures, they tried to search for the small one’s parents, but came up empty-handed. All the while, the child played with the strands of magic they conjured to entertain him.

Fairies have a poor sense of time. They just kept searching for the child’s parents. They fed him when he was hungry, and sang him to sleep when he was tired. They didn’t even notice that the child was growing up.

~~~

Wolves are not a common animal to see in Ordon. Generally, they preferred to stay away from the village.

There were exceptions. If there was a harsh winter, wolf packs might approach the village, looking for the easy meals the goats presented. If a wolf was sick, they might wander closer in confusion as well.

So when Uli looked out the window, and saw a large golden wolf in the middle of the goat pen, she was understandably shocked. The wolf looked healthy. Its fur coat was glossy, and even from this distance, Uli could see muscles rippled under its coat when it moved. There was no sickness in this creature. It was the height of summer. The game in the forest should be plentiful. There was no real reason for it to go after her goats.

Looking closer, she could see that the wolf was standing over something, likely one of her goats. She cursed, gripping the bow from the mantle that they kept for situations just like this, and exited the house.

When the wolf saw that he was being approached, he calmly turned away. Moving at a quick pace, he left behind the prize he was guarding, and returned to the edge of the forest. When he reached the forest, he turned to look back at her. With what looked disturbingly like a nod, he disappeared into the woods.

After watching for a few moments to make sure the wolf wouldn’t return, Uli turned to inspect the damage to the herd.

Instead of finding a dead goat, she found a small bundle of blankets. Filled with curiosity, she knelt, moving the blankets aside cautiously. What she found was the last thing she thought she would.

A toddler, curled up and sleeping peacefully, as if they hadn’t just been two feet away from a wolf.

Well. What was she to do with this, then?

~~~

There is no record of the Hero of Warriors from before the War. Most people from his era assume that it’s because he came from a little town in the middle of nowhere. A farm boy, a nobody who crawled up the ranks to become a war hero, a captain.

In reality, the Hero of Warriors was a rather special case. He was made for war. He was a savior of his people, just like his brethren, but a child does not a warrior make. And a warrior is what was needed.

He strode into Hyrule castle, among the swarm of other young men who were reporting to the recruiters in the front hall. In the chaos, the one who greeted him neglected to ask where the young man was from, and Link did not offer the information.

From that point on, he was only called Link, with no surname on his record. Eventually, that became Commander Link, and then Captain Link.

No one ever questioned where he had come from. It was usually best not to think about those things too hard.

~~~

There was no one alive who remembered the Hero of the Wild’s origins. That was to be expected. It had been well over a century since he was born, after all.

The hero himself could not remember, and all those who had known him from before barely knew about his family.

The story of his birth was lost, or so it seemed.

The truth was that there was no story to be told. The hero’s family had been a small one. A knight who served in Hyrule’s military, his wife, and a little daughter. When the daughter had been born, the wife had nearly died. The doctor had warned them that another child would likely kill her.

So, though they dearly wanted a son to carry on their family’s name, and for his father to train him the way of the sword, they were content with their little girl.

Fate had other plans for them, though. One morning when the daughter was about a year old, they had just sat down for breakfast when there was a knock on the door.

The knight stood to answer the door. When he opened it, he did not find one of their neighbors, or a messenger from the castle, as he had expected, but a young boy, maybe five or six years old.

When asked what he needed, he simply said that he was their son.

He waltzed right in and plopped himself down at the table, pleased as punch with himself.

The knight and his wife looked at each other in amusement. This might as well happen. They could afford to feed an extra mouth for a meal or two. They could go look for the little one’s parents after they ate.

[bokettochild]

Violet

So y'all remember this animatic? Yeah?

I wrote a thing based off of it.

I'm not entirely sure how I fee about it, but y'all have shown how much you like my crack in the past, even if I wasn't sure about that either, so...

Here's Legend getting mistaken for a mom and pulling his brothers into a terrible impromptu acting adventure.

There are many things you do not do in Castletown.

One of those things, apparently, was taking Twilight with you, and next time he had a chance Legend was seriously considering muzzling their wolfish friend, in his shadow form or not.

He wasn’t the only one with that thought either apparently, although likely the only one who was thinking it out annoyance rather than utter and complete terror. Honestly, Twi needed to cut that protective streak of his in half, or he was going to be regretting it even more than he was going to regret this!

They’d all met thieves before, on the road, in villages, even here in Castle Town, and unfortunately Warriors’ central city was particularly full of them. The captain had explained it ages ago, something about the war displacing people and stirring up unrest with the refugees. It wasn't uncommon that someone got tired of relying on the crown for help, which, the captain had admitted sorrowfully, was rather slow in coming, despite all of Artemis’s efforts, to provide any sort of relief to the starving and displaced victims of the war. Legend had winced at that. Poor blokes, it had been similar in his own Hyrule when those trapped in the dark world emerged again, and even back in their Hylian forms, many of them had struggled to readjust to a world that had moved on in their absence.

It was little wonder than that those in the captain’s time faced the same struggle, especially after a bloody time war, but even so, it bothered him to no end that their group specifically had been the one that the idiot of a man chose to target. Honestly! They were all carrying swords for pities sakes! How did the sod even think he was going to catch a bunch of warriors unawares to steal from them?

Maybe it was because they were split.

It only made sense, after being dropped in the captain’s time, that they restock supplies. Both for practicality and to avoid suspicion, they’d divided the group into two to better run their errands, Time taking those less accustomed to bustling cities with him to gather food and potions, and Warriors leading the rest of them, those who could stand crowds at least a little bit better, to visit the blacksmith, fletcher, and tailor shops.

True to form, the captain strutted ahead with his scarf waving behind him, Wind tagging along beside him and chattering excitedly about something or other at the soldier. He and Four, however, had chosen to trail after, not for any particular reason other than both being extremely tired and maybe just a bit emotional.

In his own case, he hadn’t slept in a good sixty-three hours or so, and combining that with the stress of wandering around in an unknown place, he was a little more sensitive than usual and a bit put out as a result. Similarly, Four was fighting off his usual headache from their sudden switch, and ever since they’d pulled themselves out of the alleyway Hylia dumped them in, the shortest hero had worn his hood pulled over his eyes, mumbling softly under his breath in a way that was, unfortunately, unnerving Legend further and making him want, very much, to beg the other to stop.

That wasn’t an option of course, so he did something he hated almost as much as the saunter Warriors was using to get down the road.

He made small talk.

It helped, surprisingly, and while the four of them had run their errands, he chattered amiably with the smithy, who’d been willing to talk as long as he didn’t have to think too much on things. Legend could agree with that, and the two had spent the last half hour discussing if Four’s tunic really was red, green, blue and violet, as the smithy claimed, or red, green, blue and purple as Legend thought it was.

“It’s violet.” Four huffed, pushing the last bundle of arrows into his pack as they departed from the smithy’s shop and made their way back to the fountain at the center of town, where they'd agreed to meet with Time and the others.

“But it’s not!” He insisted, shifting the bundle of fabric in his arms and meeting the smithy’s gaze. “Violet is softer, duskier, a bit closer to grey or blue. That’s purple, plain as day!”

Warriors and Wind, for once, didn’t say anything, only exchanging grins every so often that the other two ignored.

Talking with Four was surprisingly pleasant, and ridiculously easy in comparison to talking with the others. For one thing, neither had to look too very far up or down to see the other, and as they’d found since their first dinner at the ranch, it was easy to say a lot with just a look. Subtle communication also went a long way further with the smithy than with anyone else, and it was a relief not to have to explain everything for once. Additionally, Four also liked reading, and unlike with most of their other brothers, they could actually have intelligent conversations with each other.

Not that that’s what they were doing when they’d trailed after the other two towards the fountain, but when they heard the snarl and resulting scream, the look the two heroes shared had carried as many words as a full two-hour lecture, while all at once conveying a single thought.

Oh boy, what did Twilight do this time?

What Twilight had done, he found out later, was spring a thief who had attempted to snatch the Sheikah Slate from Wild, who’d been a bit busy trying to calm his anxiety to really notice that one of the humans pressing close all around him was actually trying to steal it. That, naturally, was all well and good. The problem was the way Twilight had chosen to handle it and Legend swore there were days that Twilight forgot what form he was in; rather than pushing the thief away or grabbing ahold of them and confronting them, the gracious rancher had chosen to fling his entire body weight at the man and bite his arm.

Of course, that was only what Legend found out later, what he saw when the four of them managed to peek through the crowd, was Twilight standing there in full sight of the entire market with blood on his teeth and a man screaming in pain and terror at his feet.

Bravo, Rancher, bravo.

“Oof.” Wind winced. “That’s not good.”

“Shit.” Warriors swore, glancing around nervously and ripping his scarf off to hide in his pack.

Realization sprung on the vet like Twilight had the poor thief; Warriors was the hero here. If anyone noticed him, or any of the knightlier looking ones, they’d probably try and have them arrest Twilight. That was all well and good of course, as it would make a reasonable excuse to haul the rancher out of the way, but they’d be expected to call for help from some soldiers, and while they’d been planning on meeting with the queen while they were here, having Twilight presented to her as a feral, potentially insane, and definitely dangerous criminal was not the approach they were aiming for.

They needed a distraction, fast.

So, like the reasonable and totally mentally secure Hylian that he was, Legend shouted the first thing that came to his mind. “Violet!”

His three companions stared at him, and had he been capable, he would have stared at himself, but a desperate glance Fours way had the other drawing back, nodding slowly as Legend shouted again. “Violet? Honey?”

Warriors looked at him like he’d lost his head, gripping Wind’s shoulder firmly as if worried he’d have to pull the kid back from the apparently mad veteran.

Thank Din for teaching him acting years ago, even if it was all stage performing, but he was counting on it to get him, and Twilight, out of their respective messes, even if that meant building his higher before he could escape. At any rate, he’d caught the attention of a few people with his panicked shout. Turning to the nearest Hylian that wasn’t one of his group, he gently tapped the woman’s shoulder, letting his panic and everything in general spill over into his face and voice as the woman met his gaze with a startled look.

“Ma’am, I’m looking for-” Oh Four was going to hate this. “-My child, Violet. Have you seen a blonde Hylian child, so tall?” He lowered his hand to approximately where Four’s head would reach. “I’ve been looking everywhere!” He forced a fake sob into his voice, glancing from the woman to the surrounding crowd, and Warriors and Wind in its midst.

Wind was stifling a laugh behind his hand while Warriors stared in utter shock.

“Oh my,” The woman touched her cheek, clucking lightly and patting Legend’s hand in a consoling manner. “You poor dear! I haven’t seen a thing but just give me one moment.” The burly housewife turned, still patting Legend’s hand gently as she murmured something to the women behind her, before turning back to Legend with a sorry expression. “None of my friends have seen your little one, dear. But-” The woman turned and, with all the force and volume of a cow, hollered at the top of her lungs to the crowd as a whole. “Hello? Yes, this woman is looking for her daughter!”

Woman?!?!?!

“Her name is Violet! She’s-” The woman blinked, looking to Legend with a worried look as several other market goers turned to stare, many of them women with looks of pity and understanding that was making him wish he’d stayed silent. Fortunately, his ruse had startled them out of staring at the sight of a mauled thief as worry for a poor young mother and her lost daughter took its place. “She’s how old?”

Legend fought the protest of female pronouns, both on Four’s part and his own, but only in his head. Outwardly however, he covered his face with the hand not being smashed by the farm-wife's own. “She’s four.” Shoot him, he was saying whatever came to mind because he was panicked, alright?

A snort could be heard behind him, earning disapproving looks from the crowd that soon shifted to pity as Wind too joined the act, turning his snort into pitiful sniffling as he clung to Warriors’ hand, looking for all the world like a child who’d been to the market too long and wanted to go home, but was also panicking at the loss of their sibling. “Have you all seen my sister?” The sailor blubbered softly, actual tears spilling down his face as he pouted, expression making his act so believable that no one even questioned his height. As if to make the act more convincing, Warriors wrapped an arm around the kid’s shoulder, his own face stiffening into something that could either be gas or worry, Legend was a bit on the fence.

“What’s going on here?” Legend wished that was Time stalking towards them in full armor, but it wasn’t, it was a Hylian Soldier, staring at the crowd with a grim frown on his face as he turned to Legend, standing in its center.

Oh well, those who crack under a tough audience get tomatoes to the face; he just hoped Wars would keep playing along. “My daughter,” He sobbed into his hand, pulling the other free from the housewife to properly cover his face. “She- My baby- I can’t find her anywhere, Sir!” Later, Warriors would begrudgingly admit that the look Legend shot the soldier was enough to break any heart as the vet stepped forwards, grabbing hold of the man’s arm with all the desperation of a worried mother. “Please tell me, have you seen a little girl? She’s in her favorite dress, the colors of the goddesses, red, green and blue?” He motioned down at his own tunic, skirt, whatever one would call it. “There’s a violet corner too, I made it for her myself- oh my poor baby! I can’t seem to find her anywhere!”

The grizzled soldier quickly melted under the power of tearful violet eyes, and he too gently patted Legend’s hands as if he thought it would do any good. “I’ll have my men look for her right away, ma’am. How old would you say she is?

“She’s four.” He reaffirmed. Might as well stick to his original story.

“So tall?” The farm-wife motioned, hands lowering a bit more than Legend’s had, but the woman was trying to help, so he couldn’t really be upset with her for getting it wrong. At this point though, he was a bit worried about where Four actually was, because he’d expected the shorter hero to make an appearance sooner rather than later so the act could end.

“Right.” The man nodded, pulling himself loose as Legend brought his hands to clasp in front of his chest in an imitation of the maids he’d seen worrying about the halls when Fable went missing. “We’ll do everything in our power to find your little one, madame, you have my word.” The soldier bowed, kissing the back of the vet’s hand graciously before moving back into the crowd and snapping orders at the soldiers stationed around the market.

People buzzed by, spreading the word of ‘little Violet’s’ disappearance as Warriors and Wind pushed forwards to where Legend stood.

“Really, vet?” Warriors murmured lowly.

“I panicked.” He admitted softly, as to avoid anyone noticing as he wrung his hands. “But seriously, where is ‘’Violet’? I thought he’d have appeared before it became a big thing.”

The captain frowned, settling a hand on his shoulder carefully and standing on his toes to look over the crowd as Wind giggled at the scowling veteran. The minute he shot a look down at the sailor though, the kid had picked up his role as smoothly as if he’d never dropped it. “I’m worried, mom.” Wind blinked past fake tears, and had he not needed to remain in character, Legend would have scowled and flicked the kid’s nose for the tease.

“I am too, honey.” He sighed instead, ruffling the sailor’s curls and looking over to where the others had been. Time and the others had disappeared into the crowd again, likely trying to keep a low profile and laughing their asses off at Legend’s expense while Time and Sky scolded Twilight.

“Mama?” A small voice called out, and the crowd, and he meant the whole crowd, the whole freaking crowd of several hundred people, froze as a small face peeked out from an alleyway, the smithy’s hand coming up to rub at his shimmering purple eyes with a sniff. “Mama?”

“Violet!” All three heroes surged forwards, Legend sinking to his knees and wrapping Four in a hug, taking the opportunity when his face was hidden from the crowd to scowl. “About time you showed up.” Aloud for the crowd however, he let sobs pitch his voice hysterically. “Oh honey, you can’t run off on mama like that! I was worried sick!”

And as if to put the icing on the cake of shame, one of the men in the crowd smiled softly, patting Warriors’ back with a friendly smile. “Your wife is quite the caring mother, isn’t she? Ah, you’re a lucky man, Mr.”

Legend forced himself to not blow their cover, no matter how little they now needed it with the others safely out of sight. Breaking character meant causing drama that they didn’t need. ‘Violet’ had been found, the cute little family would depart, people would calm. But if the worried mother turned out to be a screaming teenage boy and the lost daughter to be a smithy apprentice with a height problem, people would likely riot. So instead of turning around and giving the man a piece of his mind, he pushed forwards, hefting Four in his arms (the smithy sank into him with a sigh that couldn’t have been faked) letting the smaller hero nestle against him, hood hiding the smithy’s face from view as he pulled them both up, adjusting his arms so as to not drop the other.

Man, he was glad he’d put on power bracelets today.

“She is indeed.” Warriors forced out, a strained smile on his face as he settled his hand on Legend’s waist, stiff, cold and incredibly awkward. “We’d probably better head off, dear.” If the captain smiled any harder, he’d break his teeth. “Or the inns will all be full.”

It should have ended there, it should have. Legend was so ready for it to end (although Four was warm and a calming presence as the smithy began to doze against his chest), but because fate loved to mess with him, it didn’t.

“You’re looking for a place to stay the night?” The Man-Who-Needed-To-Be-Kicked cocked a brow. “I run an inn here, just across the square. I’m sure we can find a lovely little family like yourselves a place to rest, you and our wife must be exhausted after such worry!”

Warriors, sages curse and bless him, nodded along stiffly, gently pulling him along by is waist after the Blasted-Innkeeper-Who-Would-Be-Kicked as the man chattered about family discounts and free dinner. Legend’s shoulders only lowered when a free trip to the bath house was also thrown in ‘complimentarily’.

He regretted it when someone pointed him to the ladies’ side of the bath-house (think heavens it was empty that early), and he was about ready to strangle something or someone when the others joined them inside, stuck with a regularly priced room, and the smithy and vet both were bombarded with teases as Warriors sat looking utterly and completely disgusted.

“They thought we were married....”

Legend groaned, flopping over on the other side of the bed with a grimace. “Gross, right?”

“Yeah.”

"We’re forgetting this ever happened, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

Regardless, no one ever let them forget it happened.

Legend was buying Twilight a muzzle, and he was pretty sure Wars would be willing to help.

[monminimage]

Sicktember 2022 day 5

Prompt - 'Great. Now I have your germs all over me.'

"Have you ever seen a moblin sneeze?"

Wild's question was strange enough to catch the whole camp's attention. And judging by their reactions, the answer was obvious: they have not.

"No? Why would you want to see a moblin sneeze?" Twilight wrinkled his nose at the thought. "They're bad enough without them sneezing their snot at us."

"But I wanna know!" Wild exclaimed, pulling his slate off his belt. He began swiping the screen until he landed on a picture of one of his moblins. He showed the screen, pointing at the nose of the creature. "They have long noses, right? So I'm just curious about how would it sound! Like, would it be a honk, or a wheeze, or a bwaaaaarp!"

Wind,Four, and Hyrule began to giggle at the strange noises Wild was making.

"And how would it look like when it's about to sneeze?" Wild continued. "Would it crinkle its nose up like an accordion or maybe it just grab its nose to try to stifle it?"

"...Okay, well now I'm wondering too..." Warriors admitted, Sky nodding along with agreement.

"But what if it's dangerous? What if it... what if it causes it to shoot snot at us? Like a cannon or something?" Twilight argued.

"That's what I want to know!"

"I'll admit, I'm curious as well." Time ignored the look of betrayal from his protege. "However, how would you be able to get one to sneeze?"

"Oh! What about tickling the nose with a feather? Would that work?" Sky wondered, remembering how often he would sneeze because of leftwing feathers being shoved in his face.

"Or maybe try throwing pepper?" Twilight suggested with a sigh, giving up on being the responsible adult.

"Hm... I think I got just the thing we need." Legend smirked, beginning to rummage through his bag.

"You got some sneezing powder or something?" Warriors asked, his brows raised.

"Of sorts." Legend replied.

Warriors sighed. "Of course you do. I shouldn't be so surprised."

"This is magic powder." Legend opened the bag slightly, grabbing a small handful of the powder inside, and showing it to the group. It was a finely ground powder, the dark grains seeming to sparkle in the day light. "I can use it to light torches or transform monsters into other monsters."

"That's pretty cool, but not what we want to do though?" Wild frowned.

"I was just getting to that." Legend shushed him. "Anyways, I found out that if you don't put any magic into it, it's basically a sneezing powder."

"Really?" Wild moved closer to look at the dark, sparkling powder. "What's it made of? Does it work? Like all the time?"

Legend grinned, taking a deep breath and blew the powder into Wild's face.

The cook stumbled back slightly, blinking in confusion. The effect was immediate. He could feel a tickle in his nostrils, his face crinkling as he felt a sneeze coming. "Ah... ah..."

Then he sneezed directly onto Legend's face.

"Augh, gross! Really?!"

"What did you expect would happen?" Time chuckled.

"I expected him to cover his mouth or turn away or something!"

Twilight couldnt help but let out a snort. "This is Wild we're talking about."

"This is perfect! Just whaaaaAACHIOO!" Wild sneezed on Legend again. "JUST WHAT WE NEEDED!"

"Argh! Get away from me before I-!"

"I know just where to fii-aaahChhaaapththh!"

"WILD, STOP SNEEZING ON-!!!"

"WACHOO!"

"Here Wild," Sky handed him a small handkerchief, trying to hide his grin from Legend. The other Links, on the other hand, didnt bother to hide their amusement or laughter. "Blow your nose to get rid of that powder."

"Oh. Thanks." Wild blew into the cloth loudly before grimacing at the mess. "Sorry. I'll wash it later."

Sky shook his head, coughing to hide his snickering. "I'm... I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

Wild blinked, looking past Sky to see Legend sitting with a disgusted and reddening face. He winced, noticing all the spittle and snot on his face and tunic.

"Oh, uh... sorry. Lemme just...." Wild shuffled over to Legend, raising the handkerchief to clean the spit off.

"Hoi! Don't touch me with that snot covered-!"

Wild sneezed once again onto Legend's face while dropping the soiled handkerchief onto Legend's lap.

"Sorry...." Wild sniffed, delicately removing the handkerchief.

"No, this... I deserved this." Legend said tightly, tying the magic powder bag and moving it back into his pack. He stood up stiffly, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "This is just... great. Now I've got your germs all over me. Thank you."

Wild took off running, Legend dashing after him with a shout that swore vengance.

They both ended up in a river after that. Twilight had to fish them out. They were fiiiine.

And I'll leave the moblin sneeze up to imagination. Because I don't have a clue