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Chapter Text

Link wanted to die. Not in the literal sense, more so in the sense of ‘Zelda has been trapped fending off the Calamity for 100 years and now has the goddess equivalent of zoomies’. Zelda has goddess zoomies and Link wants to die. 

Could you really blame a man for wanting to relax after one of the most grueling battles of his life? Apparently, yes. 

Zelda had decided that after only a week of recovery that she had to see and do everything under the sun. While Link was all for exploring and having fun, being dragged across Hyrule by the literal goddess reincarnate was not his idea of fun. He had done that plenty 100 years ago. Thank you very much. Even now, his journey had taken Link all over the continent. And yet, here he was, thousands of miles from his home in Hateno, freezing to death in the Hebra region. 

Zelda had wanted to explore the mountains, something she had only gotten to see a few times when her father would permit her to visit Revali, the former Rito Champion. Now, however, she was free to explore the full majesty of the mountainous region to her heart's content. Teba had offered to join them when the duo had stopped by Rito village. Zelda had quickly but politely declined, insisting it just be her and Link. 

Link was sorely wishing he could have stayed in the village with Teba and his family. Unfortunately for Link, his duty to the princess came first. 

Now, it is important to note that the Link didn’t hold this against the princess. He could understand the need to see and explore every new thing in the distance. No matter how well read the princess was, there was no way she could have experienced everything the world had to offer before her 100 year imprisonment. It’s just, he’s cold and it would be so nice to curl up with Teba and his family. To be surrounded by fluffy chicks and down pillows and blankets next to a fire eating food... 

In case you couldn’t tell, Link was cold. And he wanted to die. But the princess has zoomies and hasn’t stopped for a real rest in days. Every new thing has to be inspected and cataloged despite Link having a complete Hyrule Compendium on his Sheikah Slate. 

“Oh! Link, look at this, it’s- well it’s absolutely fascinating!” Zelda had found her next item of interest. Or perhaps her next victim was a better way of putting it. At least she wasn't making Link eat anything dubious this time. 

“Hm?” he turned his attention towards Zelda, “Whassit?” 

“Look!” Zelda pointed towards where she had been looking and Link slowly made his way towards her. Sitting alone in the snow was, in all of its glorious wonder: a very cold looking Korok. Huh. Usually the koroks left back to the Lost Woods after he found them.

The princess let out a small gasp as he let out a cheery “ya-haha!”

“A- what were they called again?- uh, nevermind…” Zelda had crouched down to get a better look at the little forest spirit muttering as she examined it. “Link!”

The aforementioned knight sighed, pulling out the Slate.

“Oh! Perfect!” Zelda scootched over a bit to let Link closer to the Korok. “Right here- Yes!” 

Link positioned himself just right, getting the forest spirit centered perfectly for the photograph. There was a click and not even seconds after taking the picture, the Princess was snatching the slate out of Link’s hands. 

“Link! This is- gosh, Link, it’s wonderful!” All Link could do was shake his head and smile. He had definitely loosened up a lot since the princess had last seen him. He was more willing to express himself and even talk on occasion around her. She had been delighted to, not even hours after the Calamity’s defeat, hear her knight’s quiet “Are you OK Princess?” From there, things only got better between the two.

It hadn’t been long, but the two had gotten closer in the last week as opposed to the 5 years they’d had Pre-Calamity to get to know each other. Zelda would be the first to admit that she hadn’t been too fond of- no, that she outright hated Link when they first met. But now? It was like Hylia had dropped a second chance right onto her lap! She wouldn’t waste it this time.

“Princess?”

“Yes, Link?” Zelda turned fully to face her champion.

“A korok.” Link was still sitting in the snow, the spirit now sitting on his lap.

“I’m sorry?”

“You asked earlier what he was called.” He picked up the spirit. “They’re called Koroks, children of the forest.” The creature let out another quiet “Ya-haha!” at Link’s words.

“Oh, I do recall my tutor saying something along those lines, now that you mention it.” She held out a tentative hand to the Korok. He took that as an invitation to hop over to stand on the offered appendage. “I don’t think I’ve seen one leave the Lost Forest before. What could he possibly be doing all the way out here?”

Link chuckled at that. Standing so close to the princess made it very easy to see the curiosity shine bright in her eyes. 

Before Link could begin to explain the entirely too long story of the little Koroks stealing Hestu’s Deku seeds, the spirit was disappearing into a cloud of smoke. Something could be heard stomping through the fresh snow. Link was quick to pull his sword, positioning himself in front of the princess. 

“Link?”

The hero deigned to ignore the princess in order to better survey their surroundings. The day was a clear one with no clouds in the sky. While that had been a blessing mere minutes ago, the sun beating down on them was now creating an irritating glare against the snow that made it difficult to see past the nearby trees. 

“Link?”

A footfall to the left.

“Link ?” the princess sounded scared.

The forest was eerily quiet. There was another crunch of snow to the right. From sound alone, Link could make out three or four bodies moving in the surrounding woodland.

“LINK!” The knight twirled around at Zelda’s shout.

Nothing was there. He shot the princess and irritated glare, putting a finger up to his mouth in the universal sign of “be quiet”.

Link went back to looking at the forest. The birdsong, that Link was only now realizing had disappeared, had returned. That eased his nerves, but only slightly. There had been something, or someone, out there. Whoever it was must have just been a traveling group. There had been more of those cropping up now that the monster numbers had been reduced to nothing. They had yet to find out if the blood moon still plagued Hyrule, but for now, traveling was safe. That didn’t completely rule out the possibility of monsters, of course. 

“Link?” Finally, the champion turned his attention to his princess. “The Korok left.”

What.

That was what the princess was concerned about? Not, I don’t know, the assassins who are out for their heads? Or monsters that might have made the nearby cave their home?

Of course it was the Korok that she was worried about. 

Once again, Link was interrupted before he could speak.

“HA!” a mass of white and blue downy feathers smacked into Link’s face. “Found you!” Tulin practically screamed in Link’s ear. 

The hero had to pry the Rito chick off of his face. He laughed holding the kid at arms length in an attempt to save his face another smacking.

“Hiya, Tulin,” the boy riggled harder as Link spoke, trying to get out of the knight's iron grip. “What’re you doing all the way out here?”

“Da said you were here!” Link finally released the chick from his much deserved sentence in air jail. “I wanted to meet ‘incess Zel’a!” Tulin’s words started to slur as he spoke, words leaving his mouth faster than he could think of what to say next. The princess perked up at the mention of her name, the Korok now forgotten. 

“Hello,” she knelt to be closer to Tulin’s eye level. “You must be Tulin! Link has told me lots about you.” She held out a hand. 

The chick hesitated, starstruck. “You’re really the princess?”

“She sure is,” Link sat down next to Zelda. He carefully guided Tulin’s little wing to Zelda’s hand. The princess gently shook hands with the chick. Sha hadn’t even let go before the Rito was launching himself into the air. 

Tulin, not having all of his flight feathers yet, wasn’t able to go far, only lifting a few feet off the ground. The burst of air that the chick produced was still impressive nonetheless, reminding Link vaguely of Revali’s Gale. Interesting. 

“The others are gonna be soooo jealous!” Tulin was twittering like crazy as he did a couple laps around the Hylian duo. “I’m totally rubbing it in their faces when we get back!”

“TULIN!” a booming voice crowed from the distance.

“That must be Teba,” the princess was giggling. Tulin made a scared and slightly embarrassed face that Link couldn’t resist laughing at as well.

“Tulin,” Link caught the chick’s attention. “Did you remember to tell your dad where you went?” Embarrassment quickly took over the chick’s previously fearful expression. Link sighed before standing up. He couldn’t keep the humor from his face. Link loved the kid like a little brother and unfortunately for the Rito, that included lots of teasing and mockery.

Zelda flinched as a loud whistle pierced the quiet of the forest. There was a moment of confusion before Zelda realized the sound came from Link. She could hardly believe that such a loud noise came from her notoriously quiet knight. Tulin, however, was not fazed by the sound one bit. 

It wasn’t long before Teba had located the group. The Rito chief didn’t waste any time rounding on Tulin with a terrifyingly angry look on his face. “Tulin,” the addressed chick was lifted by a talon by the scruff of his loose tunic. “What on Hylia’s great green earth, do you think you’re doing?”

The chick, for the record, barely flinched at his father’s tone.

“I- Uh, I just wanted to say hi to- to Link,” Tulin shrank back as much as he could, trapped once again in air jail. 

“Right,” Teba lifted his son higher to be closer to eye level. “And, why couldn’t you just wait for him to get back to the village?” Tulin shank more at that.

“Wellll , I-” Tulin let out a squeak as he was launched into the air. His father sent him fairly high up to the point where he had reached the lowest branches of some of the taller trees. Teba chuckled. 

“Who am I kidding, I know it was a bet,” He caught his kid, turning to finally address the Hylians standing nearby, caught between amusement (Link) and awkwardness (Zelda) at the situation. “Those goddess dang kids love getting each other into trouble.”

Link finally let out an audible laugh, the hilarity of the situation finally able to be addressed. “I figured as much Teb,” the knight moved from his spot next to Zelda. “Hylia knows I would’ve done the same thing at his age.” Link ruffled the chick’s feathers. Teba gave Link a look that said ‘do you even know what you were like as a kid?’ That had Link rolling his eyes. 

“We should be heading back anyway,” Zelda butted in. “I’m starting to get cold and a warm cup of cocoa sounds absolutely delicious.”

“Of course Princess,” Teba still hadn’t let go of a now struggling Tulin. “I’ll fly ahead and let Saki know of your arrival.”

“Thank you Teba,” Zelda bowed her head in farewell. “We’ll see you soon. And Tulin,” this time the princess addressed the still struggling chick, “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

“Y- You as well, Princess.” Tulin said, after a prodding from his father.

Link waved farewell to the father/son duo. Man he wished he could fly with them. Even 30 more minutes in the cold was going to drive Link mad, and he could easily tell the princess was feeling the same. 

Chapter Text

By the Time Link and Zelda had made it to Rito Village, the sun was setting. It turns out not bringing horses makes it a lot more difficult to travel fast. Once again, Link was wishing that he could fly. He couldn’t help but think bitterly that Revali had left just to spite him. Of all of the champions, Revali was the most likely one to do something like that. Nevermind the fact that all of the champions’ spirits had left after the Calamity. This was Revali’s fault, it had to be. 

Zelda sent Link an odd look. It was like she could sense the Rito champion rolling in his grave. “Everything all right, Link?”

He sped up to walk in pace with the princess- something he never would have dared to do Before- and nodded his head. 

“Just thinking about dinner is all,” The princess laughed at that.

“If I’d known you had such a passion for food,” The princess began muttering to herself. Something about how much more fun their time together Before would have been if they had been more open with each other. Unlike the princess, Link shied away from mentions of his life pre-Calamity. After all, there isn’t much to be said when you can’t remember any of it. Link honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you if he'd liked food and cooking Before as much as he does Now. 

“I think Saki mentioned that she was making something with seafood,” Link continued, “I’m hoping for her Seafood Curry.”

“Well, whatever it is, I just hope it’s warm and delicious.” Zelda would be lying if she didn’t say that she was delighted to have Link be so open to her. Despite how long they had originally spent together, she didn’t really know much about her knight. But now? She knew he loved to cook. He had a passion for gardening and animals, especially dogs and horses. He had helped to build his house- and wasn’t that something: Link had a house . 

Link also apparently spoke all of the five main languages of Hyrule: Common, Zora, Rito, Goron, and Sheikah. His best friend was a wolf of all things, named quite creatively: Wolfie. Though Zelda had yet to meet Link's wolf friend, she had heard many fond stories of him. And somehow, despite Link’s newfound openness, she still felt that she knew very little about her companion. 

Lost in introspection, Zelda hadn’t realized that the duo had made it to the first mountainous island of Rito village. Link had stopped walking and was glancing around as if looking for something. Odd. Her knight hesitated for a moment before deciding that whatever it was that got his attention wasn’t worth it. Zelda went to ask what it was, but Link was already making his way up the first bridge. Zelda made to follow, she didn’t want to be left behind at night after all. 

Something moved in the nearby woods. Zelda paused. It moved again. It sounded heavy. Unfortunately, the princess wasn’t nearly as good at identifying these things as her knight was. Whatever it was, Link must have heard it too because as suddenly as Zelda could blink, he was standing in front of the princess bow drawn. 

Link had heard. Whatever it was was big. It sounded quadrupedal, its footsteps slow and light like it was stalking something. Or someone. Link positioned himself so that the princess was between him and Rito village. If the princess had to run, Link could trust Teba and his people to keep Zelda safe. He pulled out his bow, one of his stronger Lynel ones, and aimed. Link held his breath as he scanned the forest. Their entire walk back to the village, Link couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being followed. At first he thought it was a particularly curious fox. But whatever it is, is much too heavy. Not to mention that any regular animal would have given up following the pair of Hylians at this point. 

Link was starting to think that maybe the chicks were playing a particularly bad prank on them. There was no way that a monster would have been this patient and the Yiga were too dumb to play the long game. That’s not even including the fact that anything smart enough to track them would most likely be bipedal. Not whatever four legged creature was out there. 

The forest was silent. The birds had gone quiet and the wildlife had paused its usual hustle and bustle. Something was out there hunting them and Link was going to find it. 

“Zelda,” Link lowered the bow. He spared a glance towards the princess, but kept his main attention on the forest. “Please go back to Rito Village.”

Zelda wanted to protest, but she knew it was no use. “I’ll let Teba know you’ve been held up.” She went to leave, “And Link? Please stay safe.”

“OK,” He could hear Zelda’s footsteps begin receding into the distance. “Zelda,” the footsteps stopped. “Don’t wait up for dinner, I don’t know how long I'll be.”

There was a quiet “Alright, Link.” and she was gone. Link hated being too far from the princess. After the Calamity, he couldn’t help but forget (ironic, isn’t it) that Zelda wasn’t still trapped in Hyrule Castle. The moment her constant buzz of quiet mutterings were too faint to hear, Link would begin to go into what Purah liked to call ‘Hero Mode’. In which he would forgo sleep, and wouldn’t stop moving and fighting until he and the princess were reunited. The princess, to her credit, took this all in stride. She and Purah had begun to theorize that this was a mix of PTSD from his journey and subsequent death, and also his resurrection through the Shrine. the Shrine's purpose had been to keep the Hero alive so that he could save the princess, after all, and that purpose had then been ingrained into Link. 

The princess would rather be trapped with the Calamity again then admit she hated being away from Link too. 

It is this ‘Hero Mode’ that Link quickly slips into as Zelda disappears. The princess had left to safety and it was time to do his job. Link snuck into the forest. Whatever beast was following them had friends. Link was sure of it. There was no way one beast would be able to move around as fast as the footsteps were. One moment they were to Link’s left, another to his right. 

He was surrounded. This would have been an issue if Link was anyone other than himself. Link had taken on hoards of monsters with nothing but a pot lid and an over glorified stick in the form of a crude club. He had literally defeated Evil Incarnate. A few maybe-smarter-than-normal monsters was nothing. 

Link continued through the forest. He kept his footsteps quiet, trying to keep track of the monsters in the forest. Based on sound alone, Link could count at least 3 monsters. Two of them were on four legs and one seemed to only be on two. Weird. Perhaps a monster, a Moblin if Link had to guess based on weight and gait alone, had found itself some nasty little pets. A Moblin with hunting dogs. Great. 

It seems the monsters had heard Link’s earlier complaining about wanting to die and had come to oblige that request. Link was having a fantastic night, thanks for asking. And in other news: Link wasn’t cold anymore. It turns out being in ‘Hero mode’ completely negates any stimulus other than fight, fight, and fight some more. 

Link pulled up his slate, the screen lighting up at the movement. These monsters weren’t too keen on coming out of the shadows. Unfortunately for them, Link wanted to fight Something . (but, did he really?) He flipped to the tab that held the slate's ruins. He couldn’t risk catching the forest on fire, but needed something loud and flashy enough to draw the monsters’ attention. Remote bombs did just that. They were magically enchanted to only damage the intended target, and Link really just needed something to draw his opponents in. 

He pulled out a circular remote bomb and rolled it into a nearby clearing. He followed it about halfway there before veering off and climbing the nearest sturdy tree. He equipped one of his many multi-shot bows and detonated the bomb. The explosion was everything Link had wanted and more. It was flashy enough to not only attract his prey (heh, the hunter had become the hunted ) but loud enough to scare off any collateral. 

Now Link just had to wait. Based on his observations, the monsters couldn’t be too far away. They’d definitely heard if not seen the explosion and would be lumbering into the clearing any moment. Link prepared his bow, bringing out some electric arrows. Ice likely wouldn’t do anything and Fire/bomb arrows were too dangerous this close to the Rito Stable and Village. 

Link waited and waited and waited.

Nothing was happening. Maybe the explosion hadn’t been enough. Looks Like he’ll have to do this properly. Link hopped down from the tree, the snow cushioning the sound of his landing. The footsteps could still be heard just on the edge of Link’s earshot. They had sped up, but they didn’t once come close to the hero and his clearing. Monster usually would take an explosion as an invitation to come and eat Link alive. Not run away. However, Link never lost track of the monsters. They were always there, just creeping into his senses. 

Link paused. He tried getting his instincts under control. Patience, he needs patience. He was a survivor. A hunter. He listened. One set of footsteps. One four-legged and the two-legged monsters had fled, leaving the other four-legged creature to keep track of Link. Had they gone to get reinforcements? Monsters didn’t do that. But neither did the Yiga. Patience was getting Link nowhere. He needed to move. To hunt. And hunt he will.

Link pushed forward, going to where he could hear the monster pacing. Maybe if they found their friend dead, the monsters would leave Link, and more importantly the princess, alone. 

Link wanted a break. But Link was a hunter, a survivor. Survivors don’t get to take breaks. Breaks mean giving up and giving up means losing. Losing the princess. And that was failure. Link- no, the world- couldn’t afford failure, not again, because failure meant death. The death of the world. The death of the princess, of Link’s world . He couldn’t lose his world again. So, he pushed on to hunt and to survive. 

Link was a survivor, and by the will of the golden three, he wouldn’t fail again. Never again . 

He pushed on. The beast grew closer and closer. A bow was summoned, something a little less refined, something that would make Link have to work for his prey. An arrow was brought to the string. Link stopped. A few feet away was the beast. It was massive and covered in shaggy fur. Any defining features were lost to the deep shadows cast by the full moon against the trees. Link could barely make out wicked looking claws gleaming in the light. 

The string was pulled tight, aimed right at where Link assumed the beast’s heart was. In a breath. Out. In one more time to steady his shaking hands. He let the arrow fly in tandem with his released breath. The beast’s ear flicked, its head turning towards the sound. Its face- no his face was decorated with familiar markings. Golden blue earrings shimmering with the stars and a silver metal cuff clinking with the wolf’s- with Wolfie’s - movements. The arrow landed. The wolf cried. The moon sang and Link wanted to die.

Chapter Text

The Chain had been lost in this weird big Hyrule for just over a week. The portals had dropped them off on the top of a mountain in the coldest place any of them had had the displeasure of visiting. The mountain range felt like it went on forever with the peaks going on as far as the eye could see. 

Most of the chain had been woefully unprepared for the cold. The smaller members of their group were hit especially hard, with Wind never having seen snow before hopping across time and Four who didn’t do well in extreme temperatures and climates. Not to mention that Four’s body was elbow deep in the thick blanket of snow. 

The smithy had ended up being carried by an amused Twilight. He had grumbled with every step the group took, but politely refrained from saying anything louder so that only the rancher could hear him. 

Wind, on the other hand, decided to stubbornly stay on his own two feet. He instead had managed to steal Warriors’ scarf and was now practically swaddled in it. 

The rest of the chain’s members had extra layers and magic items that allowed them to stay warm. Legend, who resolutely decided to not wear pants, was borderline glowing with the amount of magic jewelry he was wearing. He seemed more exasperated at the cold as opposed to upset about it. Hyrule had his natural magic to keep himself warm. A small flame had quickly sparked to life in Hyrule’s hands the moment his head stopped spinning and his stomach stopped flipping from the portal.

Those wearing armor were visibly shivering, the metal conducting the cold directly into their bones. Wars, now devoid of his scarf, looked absolutely miserable. His face was red against the shimmering snow. His hair had also taken on a light frost. 

Time was better at hiding his discomfort. During the short post-portal recovery break, Time had taken the (heh) time to slip on some extra layers underneath his heavy armor. That, of course, didn’t make the cold anymore bearable, just less bone deep. 

Twilight and Sky were definitely the best off in the snowy tundra. Twi, of course, had his thick wolf pelt. The fur gave plenty of protection against the wind. And Sky had his sailcloth. The large cape was drawn tightly around his shoulders and even some of the cloth was draped over his head to protect his ears. 

All of this to say, the chain was lost and they were cold. It was a miserable existence and the chain could do nothing but continue to look for some semblance of civilization. They were quickly finding out that there was nothing but snow, snow and more snow. 

In the middle of the group Wind groaned, “Ughhh, how much longerrr.” he shuffled forward barely dodging a smacking from Legend. “I swear, if I spend any longer in this fu-” a glare from Time “ Farore forsaken- snow, m- my toes are gonna freeze off!” another close call with Legend’s heavily bejeweled hand, this time because Wind’s own hand almost collided with Lege’s face. At some point during this seemingly never ending journey (that was totally hell bent on freezing the chain to death) the others had decided to corral Wind into the middle. Another member of the chain could be found on every side of the youngest. They were coddling. Again . 

Most of the chain chose to ignore the sailor. He had been complaining for the last hour or so and they were starting to get bored of it. This, however, only seemed to spur the youngest on. There was another groan. 

“I, ugh, I really don’t want to,” Legend had quickly left the vicinity of Wind’s wildly waving hands. “But I have to agree with the Sailor.” Looking around, the chain was shivering violently. Wars had, at one point, tried to wrestle his scarf from a very disgruntled Wind with no results. The sailor only wrapped the fabric tighter around himself. Now though, Wind just looked smug at Legend’s admission. 

“ BUT ,” a glare towards Wind, “I don’t think we're going to make it much farther in the state we’re in.” some others nodded in agreement. 

“Y- yeah,” Wars’ teeth were chattering, “I- I think we ne-need to f-f-find shel-lte-r.” Once again the chain made sounds of agreement. 

The snow, almost as if it had sensed their discomfort, began to fall. The wind picked up whipping the fresh powder snow in a flurry of misery. The wind howled and if they listened hard enough they might have been able to hear a pack of wolves sing along with it. 

“OH!” It was Sky who came up with the idea, “I know! What if we have Twi look for Wolfie.” He pulled his sailcloth tighter around his head and shoulders. “Wolfie should be able to sniff out a town or something.” There was movement towards where Time and Twilight were standing. 

“I don’ see why not,” Twilight took a  step off the maybe-path they were walking along. “I am better off then the rest o’ y’all.”

“Right, that is definitely an idea, but,” Time spoke up next to twilight. As their unofficial leader, the others were quick to turn and listen to him. “Why don’t we find somewhere for the rest of us to camp first.”

“I think I saw something that looked a little like a cave about five minutes ago?” Four didn’t sound too convinced where he was being passed from Twilight to Sky’s shoulders. Surprisingly, it was Four that had the vantage point this time. Being on one of the tallest members' shoulders provided him with a much larger view of his surroundings. 

“We’re already hopelessly lost,” Legend was muttering. “Why not go searching for a cave that might not even be there?” The chain gave a collective eye roll. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Time gestured to Four and by proxy, Sky, to lead the way. 

Four quickly directed the chain back down where they came from. The flurry of snow made it harder to backtrack, but Four could manage. He looked out along the path. It turns out that Four hadn’t seen a cave, It was more of an overhang in the nearby cliff. It still appeared to provide enough covering that the snow was laying lighter on the ground where the stone protruded. The snow was easily cleared and the chain wasted no time in building a big fire. The chain eventually decided that having one member go out alone, in a snow storm while in an unknown Hrule, was a bad idea. So, they made quick work of separating into two groups: one to stay at camp, and the other to search for Wolfie. 

Soon, those in the chain that weren’t going on the search mission, were warmly bundled in blankets and were all snuggled up next to the fire. Now that Wind had his own blankets to cuddle into, Warriors had gotten his scarf back. The captain already looked a lot warmer, and his face was turning a more normal color. Four was still sitting on Sky, this time in his lap. Sky, for his part, looked thrilled at this and was nuzzling his face into the Smith’s hair. 

The four that had been chosen to go, Legend, Time, Hyrule, and Twilight, had taken the time to warm up by the fire before adding more layers and setting off. The brief respite had been welcomed by all, but now they had been plunged back into the unforgiving cold. 

“Alright, how exactly , do we plan on finding Wolfie in all of this,” Legend had long since pulled out his Fire Rod and was now warming his hands over the magic flames the wand produced. 

“I was thinking we split up,” Time had, not so descreetly, shuffled towards Legend and the artificial warmth he was producing. “You and Hyrule can go left, and Twi and I can go right.” Twilight hummed in agreement. 

“Yup, Wolfie knows his name, so just yelling for him should work just fine.” Twilight adjusted his pelt. “With any luck we should be able to find Wolfie and a town by nightfall.” 

“Sounds good to me,” This didn’t seem like a good plan at all. Normally Legend would vocalize this, but right now, they didn’t have the resources for anything else. “Hyrule,” The healer looked up from where he was zoning out. “You ready? It’s gonna be a hell of a long walk.” 

“Yeah, let’s- let’s go.” Hyrule seemed nervous. As the normally soft spoken member of the chain, this wasn’t unusual. What was odd, was that Hyrule was being obvious about it. The traveler looked around again, his eyes pausing on a point in the distance before he forcefully glanced away. 

“You good?” Legend lightly elbowed Hyrule. The vet might not do feelings, but he was- for whatever reason- good with Hyrule. Maybe it’s because his successor reminds Legend of himself on his first journey, or maybe he just liked getting to ruffle the healer’s hair to comfort him. Who’s to say. Not Legend, that’s for sure. 

“Yeah,” Hyrule went to step off the path, heading off in the direction Time had indicated before pausing in thought again. “The forest just feels weird. Like something lives here, and it doesn’t want us to be.” If Legend thought hard enough about it, he could feel the magic of whatever it was Hyrule’s fae blood could sense. Legend may not have the same kind of natural magic that the healer did, but he was pretty dang close. The presence of something was definitely there, but Legend couldn’t pin down what it could possibly be. It didn’t really feel malicious, just protective. 

“We must be in whatever it is’ domain or something.” Legend patted his successor on the shoulder. “I'm not feeling anything bad , just…” again, Legend doesn’t do feelings, how is he supposed to describe this to Hyrule?

“Like, we’re trespassing.” Hyrule finished.

“Y- Yeah. That.”

“Great,” Legend Jumped. He totally forgot that Time and Twilight were still standing nearby. The other duo laughed lightly at Legend’s apparent jitteriness. “We’ll keep that in mind. We’re gonna head off, be sure to return to camp by dusk.” Time waved a quick goodbye before ushering Twilight off in the opposite direction to Legend and Hyrule. 

Legend took Hyrule’s hand, taking him further off of the path. “Let’s get this over with.” Hyrule followed easily despite his earlier misgivings. At some point, the snow had gone from a blizzard to a light sprinkle. The snow really was quite beautiful when it wasn’t trying to kill them. Legend could appreciate how calm the forest was with only a few small animals disturbing the now still landscape. There was even the soft tinkle of birdsong adding to the magical atmosphere. 

The duo moved forward, looking for any signs of civilization, or at the very least, Wolfie. They were careful not to go any farther than their self imposed path. They didn’t want to anger whatever entity had laid a claim to the forest. It would be no use to get cursed on top of being hopelessly lost.

 <———<<     >>———>

Once Legend and Hyrule were out of sight, Twilight wasted no time, quickly transforming into Wolfie. Twi glanced over to look at Time. The oldest hero wasn’t fazed by the rancher’s ‘secret’ anymore. Instead of watching Twi, Time seemed lost in thought. 

Twilight whined to get his mentor’s attention. The wolf tilted his head in the universal sign of question. ‘What is it?’ Time was the only member of the chain who could truly understand Wolfie’s body language. 

“I think it’s calling me?” Time said. He didn’t sound too sure of himself. 

‘What is’ if the old man kept this up Wolfie was going to twist his head in a full 369 degree turn. 

“That,” Time shook his head in a vain attempt at clearing the muddling feeling of being Called. He cleared his throat, “that Being that Lege and Rulie were talking about.” Time’s hand went up to rub his scarred over eye. 

Twilight whined again, bumping his snout against Time’s other hand that was still up against his side. The motion seemed to say: ‘ Go? Leave?’ Others safe?

“No,” Time shook his head one last time before heading forwards. “Let’s keep going. I think we’re going in the right direction.” And wasn’t that cryptic. Time just loved divine intervention, let alone when it wasn’t even from Hylia. Unfortunately for the duo, there wasn’t much they could do against it. Most Divine creatures didn’t take too kindly to being ignored by mere mortals. It didn't matter to them if said mortal was Hylia’s favorite, if a god or spirit decided they wanted to smite someone, they would do it. 

Wolfie huffed. He wasn’t too pleased with the situation, but it was necessary. Twi lifted his head up to sniff the air. The fresh snow made it fairly difficult to smell anything that hadn’t just passed through. Fortunately, Hylian settlement scents were difficult to cover up. All things considered, Hylians stank. 

There. He could smell people to the north of where the man and wolf were standing.

 The rancher-turned-wolf yipped, getting Time’s attention before darting off in the direction he smelled the people. He could easily smell two people, one was definitely a Hylian and the other smelled of both Hylian and something else Wolfie couldn’t identify. It smelled distinctly of feathers. A Rito perhaps? This was a new Hyrule, it was entirely possible that the species unique to Wind’s time could exist here too. 

Time quickly went to follow his successor. Whatever spirit was calling to him was urging them in that direction. Wolfie must have smelled whoever the spirit was guiding them to. The spirit, because that was the only thing that made sense, felt familiar. It was in the same way his brothers in spirit felt familiar. It was almost as if the spirit recognised him and claimed him as family. It felt like home. The ranch, Kokiri forest, his boys, even the sword . They were connected in a way that spanned the length of time itself.

Time had to skid to a stop, almost falling over in his attempt to not run into Wolfie. Twilight had suddenly decided to stop mid sprint. The large wolf nudged Time pointing his head in the direction of a clearing. Huddled over by a rock outcropping were two Hylians, a woman and a man.

The man, though he couldn’t have been older than 19, was standing off to the side. He was standing almost at attention, he must be a knight or guard of some kind. His blond hair was swept neatly back into a loose ponytail and some intentionally placed bangs framed his face. His clothes were clearly meant for the weather. Multiple thick layers sported a multitude of warming materials, including: fluffy wool borders, knitted designs, and feathers were artfully, but practically placed along the edges of the coat and pants. 

The woman, who looked to be around the same age as the man, was elegantly dressed. She wore a cozy looking jacket and pants that were lined with white fur. Draped across her shoulders was a matching cloak. The hood was down revealing long blond hair that was wrapped in an intricate braided bun. Her outfit also glittered in the sun, gold lining making her appear to glow. She practically radiated divine energy. Zelda.

That would mean- the man had to be a new Link . Wolfie seemed to have made the same connection. He had frozen, staring at the man with barely disguised interest. He huffed quietly, getting Time’s attention. The spirit was prodding Time forward. 

Something wasn’t right here. If there really was a new Link, why wasn’t Hylia the one to guide them here? The prodding increased in intensity. His soul almost hurt with how hard the spirit was pushing and pulling at it. He had to suppress a yell as the spirit shoved at Time again. 

Wolfie’s ear flicking was the only warning before he bolted. He didn’t go directly towards the two young Hylians, instead turning to skirt around the clearing. The boy immediately looked up at the noise eyeing the surrounding forest with clear suspicion. Time had to suppress a gasp as the boy looked in his direction. His face was marred in a web of twisting scars. They littered the boy’s entire left side, starting at his hairline and crawling down past his neck. 

Time had to shake himself off. Twilight could still be heard running off into the distance. The older hero set off to follow Wolfie. 

Eventually the two left the clearing behind. They were now coming up along a frozen river. Once again, Time was having to stop himself from running into Twilight. The Wolf stood stock still, the only sign that he was still alive was the slight twitching of tightly wound muscles. 

“Twi-” Before Time could finish, a wolf howl pierced the air. Time shot Wolfie a look, but the rancher still hadn’t moved from his spot. The howl came again, sharper in pitch. This time, Twilight answered. He matched the other wolf’s tone, the two howling in harmony. 

Magic was thick in the air to the point where it was almost suffocating. Twilight’s howl fell into a soft whine. Time could feel a headache starting at the base of his neck. His joints started to ache and his muscles felt overstretched. The older hero tried to stretch out his back where he could feel the pain from his head and neck spreading, but that only seemed to make the pain worse. It had gone from an ache to an intense throb, pulsing from his head all the way down to his feet. He couldn’t stop himself from falling to his knees. He let out a pained gasp as he collided with the ground. 

Twilight’s whining had gotten worse- or maybe Time was just more sensitive to the high pitch noise. Everything was turning to static, and Time couldn't help the pained cry as another pulse of pain went through his body. It was too much. He felt like he was being stabbed a thousand times over, His muscles were pulled to the point of ripping and he could swear that his bones were bending and snapping in ways they shouldn’t. Something touched his face and it burned . He screamed and everything went white before fading into pure nothing bliss.

“TIME!”

 <———<<     >>———>

Twilight looked up as Legend and Hyrule came running up. Time’s screaming had stopped, but his body was still convulsing on the ground. Twilight didn’t know what to do. The moment the rancher had started to feel the pressure of magic, he had tried to change back. It didn’t work, he couldn’t change back. He was stuck. All Twilight could do was watch as Time let out a soft cry of pain, watch as he sank to his knees, and watch as he screamed. The Twili-Wolf had tried to comfort his mentor, but it only seemed to cause the other hero more pain. It wasn’t long after that Time had gone silent. His body was still shivering and jerking with the agony he surely was in, it was just the whimpering that had stopped.

“What in Din’s saggy bosom is going on here?” Legend had skidded to a stop next to Twilight and Time with Hyrule in tow. Hyrule was quick to sit himself next to Time. The healer’s hands were glowing a soft pink as he observed the oldest hero’s condition. “Rulie?”

“I- I don’t know,” Hyrule closed his eyes tight, trying to focus harder on his patient. “I think-” Hyrule gasped as he was thrown off Time. The injured hero hadn’t moved. Twilight could smell the magic radiating off of Time. It was pulsing off of him in waves. Whatever it was, it didn’t want the traveler interfering.

“Hyrule!” Legend quickly went to the healer’s aid. He was already pushing himself up by the time the vet reached him. 

“It-” Hyrule hissed as he pushed himself up, his wrist looked swollen. “It’s fine . It was just a protection spell, nothing dangerous.” A flash of pink, and any hint of pain on Hyrule’s face was smoothed over. “I- I think it's the same thing I sensed earlier. I’m not sure what it wants though.” Hyrule crawled through the snow back to Time’s side. 

“It doesn’t feel like it means any harm, I- I think this is supposed to be a good thing?” Hyrule really didn’t sound too sure about that, but if anyone could be trusted on magic related affairs, Hyrule could. “Legend,” the healer rested a hand on his predecessor's shoulder. “I need you to go back to camp and tell the others what is going on.” Legend went to protest, but Hyrule quickly cut him off. “We can’t move Time on our own and we need Wolfie to find town, and hopefully a more experienced healer.”

Legend couldn’t argue with that. “Fine.” He held up a hand to stop Hyrule from saying anything. “But, I don’t like it.” The veteran got up before he could change his mind and stalked off towards camp.

“And Wolfie?” The aforementioned canine looked up at Legend with his way too intelligent eyes. “Keep them safe.” and Legend was gone. 

Not even a few minutes after the vet left, a sharp glow began to emanate from where Time was laying. Hyrule gasped at the nearly solid mass of magic. “What-?” The light was blinding, almost burning with how pure the magic was. Twilight and Hyrule had to take a few steps back so as to not be hurt by the blast. 

The light was gone before it even began. The spots burned into the two’s retinas, the only proof the light had been there. That, and the golden coated wolf that lay in Time’s place. “What the F-”

Wolf-Time was on his feet before the other two could really process what was going on. The wolf, that was also Time , growled at the two. It quickly petered out into a whimper. Twilight winced in sympathy as he remembered his first few times transforming. Twi took a few tentative steps towards Time. The rancher was careful to keep his posture low and submissive, he really didn’t want to come off as a threat. Wolfie was big, but Wolf-Time was bigger with Twi’s head only coming up to the bigger wolf’s shoulder. 

Time must have finally come out of whatever pain induced daze he was in because he immediately recognised Twilight. Time’s posture practically screamed Friend? Help? Hurt!

Wolfie was quick to respond with his own Yes! Friend! Help!

Something moved off in the distance. Twilight and Time immediately looked towards the sound. There were two familiar smells making their way towards them. This world’s Link and Zelda. Twi nudged Time. OK? Good? Come? 

Yes. Help.

The two wolves shared a look. Someone cleared their throat. Hyrule. Twilight looked over in embarrassment. Oops. Twilight approached Hyrule before gesturing with his head in the direction of the two other Hylians. He barked once before taking a few steps in that direction.

“You want me to follow?” Twilight barked in conformation. “What about Time? He’s- uh he’s a- a wolf? Now?” Wolfie huffed. Yes. Time was a wolf now. This wouldn’t be the first time, not that Hyrule knew that, of course. 

Wolfie took another step, barking once again. This time Time followed, stumbling slightly on his newfound four legs before finding his footing and making his way up next to Twilight. 

“OK, if you two insist. But,” Hyrule stood up from where he was sitting. “If Legend comes back and we’re gone, I’m letting him kill you.”

Twilight just rolled his eyes. 

The trio didn’t catch up with who they assumed to be Link and Zelda until well after sundown. They had stopped just in front of a bridge leading to a strangely placed village. Carefully crafted huts curled around tall stone spires in the middle of a lake that was set deep into the chasm. 

It was clear the moment the boy's shocking blue eyes looked towards the forest that they had been spotted. Not seen, just spotted, as evidenced by the boy’s eyes immediately scanning past them. 

He said something to the girl and she walked off across the bridge. 

Wolfie nudged Time and Hyrule with his tail before turning around. Go. Need Help. Others now.

No! Stay! Was Time's response. 

Go! Need Help! Found Town, people. Hyrule seemed to catch what Twilight was trying to say, nodding before gracing a hand through Time’s fur. “Come on Time, We should go get the others.” He gestured towards the way they came. “Wolfie can take care of himself. Plus, we should probably go let Legend know we’re not dead. Time huffed before leveling Twilight with a glare. Unlike Hyrule, the older hero knew that Twilight and Wolfie were one and the same person, and thus, should not be trusted alone. 

Twilight followed the other two as they backtracked through the trees a little bit, ending up in another clearing. “I’ll see you in a few minutes, Wolfie.” Hyrule patted Twilight’s head a few times before breaking off. Time followed the healer reluctantly. 

Off in the distance Twilight could hear an explosion. Whatever it was he was sure the kid had it handled. Twi could hear the boy following them earlier, he must have gotten stopped by some monsters that the Hylian-turned-wolf had missed. Twi waited a few minutes before he could hear the same light, barely audible, footsteps continue in Wolfie’s direction. Good. the kid could handle himself in a fight. 

Twilight’s ears flicked involuntarily. He turned towards where a soft twang! Could be heard. He barely had time to process what was happening before he could feel a sharp biting pain just in front of his shoulder a few inches to the right of where his heart was. 

He just shot me. Was the last thought Twilight had before he fell. 

Chapter Text

Link wants to die and he’s not sure if it’s a joke anymore. Wolfie , Link’s best friend and loyal companion on his journey, was laying on the forest floor bleeding out. Link wants to die and all he can do is stand and stare at the mess he’s created. The champion remained frozen in his spot. Even as he heard more footsteps approaching. The amount of monsters (people? Had he mistaken them for monsters too?) had at least doubled. Link didn’t want to fight them. 

Maybe it was cowardly of him to just give up, but Link didn’t care . He’s just - goddesses there was so much blood - killed his friend . Was he really so dangerous? Who else would he kill in a blind rage? The new champions just like he did their predecessors? 

Zelda. Could he hurt her too? He had before, and if he could bring harm to Wolfie then surely no one was safe. He had to leave. Maybe if Link left now, no one would know. No. He had to face the consequences of his actions. Just like he had been since The Calamity. That was his fault too after all. All of those people had died because of him. Maybe, just maybe, if he died, he’d stay dead… but he couldn’t do that to Zelda. He couldn’t leave her again.

Link straightened his shoulders. The now very large group was close to the clearing now. Surely they could smell the blood, monsters did have very strong senses of smell. They’d know what Link had done and the champion would face them head on. There was nothing Link could do now but wait. One of the creatures had sped up, barking. Another Wolf? Hylia. Did wolfie have a pack? A family? Nayru grant me your wisdom and Farore your courage. 

A brilliantly golden wolf broke through the clearing.

“Time!” a thick accent called from the forest. “Wait up for the rest of us!” The wolf, Time, slid to a stop a few feet from where wolfie lay. The wolf stared for a moment before letting out a piercing howl. It sounded terrified, a call for help. The wolf still hadn’t moved to attack, or maybe Link just hadn’t been noticed yet. Link raised his sword, he was ready to defend himself. Hylians just didn’t travel in groups this large. If bokoblins could tame horses, then surely they could tame wolves too. 

The golden wolf began to whine as the howl petered out. It rose in pitch with every tense minute that passed. The group of monsters grew closer, using the wolf’s desperate noises as a guide. There was a small part of Link that thought that maybe monsters couldn't talk. That maybe this wasn’t monsters at all, but was actually Hylians. The rest of him had decided that no self respecting Hylian would ever subject themselves to the bitter coldness of the Hebra region this late at night. 

The monsters were getting close now and the wolf had finally stopped its mournful whimpering. Something in Link snapped. A monster group this big so close to Rito Village and Zelda simply wouldn’t do. They had clearly taken advantage of Wolfie and his friend. Link saw red. That small part of Link’s mind that was protesting be damned. When his friends, his family was on the line nothing mattered until they were next to him and safe. 

He just couldn’t think about Wolfie’s blood staining the ground. Or how it was Link’s fault. My fault. My fault. My fault.

Link could hear the group stumbling closer now. Their steps were uneven in the snow, they clearly weren’t trying to be quiet. It was a miracle that Link hadn’t noticed a group of monsters this big until now. The champion could even make out the rough grunting and panting of the monsters as they ran towards Link. They were coming. Link wouldn’t fail his friends again. 

The champion put himself in front of the two wolves. The golden one growled at Link, but he didn’t make any moves to attack. Link brandished his sword in the direction of the monster group. They sounded like a group of moblins and bokoblins based on the weight of the steps. There was no hissing or chirping, so likely no Lizalfos. Any other monsters started to go into mini boss territory so Link ruled them out too. 

Link growled at the monsters as he began to see their silhouettes in among the trees. He tried to convey a sense of protection to the wolves in the noise. He couldn’t bring himself to talk. It’s not like the wolves or monsters would even be able to understand him. 

The group paused as they noticed Link. There was a brief moment of hesitation, that had Link second guessing what he was doing, before one of the smaller moblins started forward again. The champion let out another growl, this one as a warning for the moblin. It promised death and pain for anything that messed with the hero and those he cared for. 

The wolf behind Link made another noise, but Link tuned him out. There were too many monsters for the champion to switch his focus off of. The Moblin stopped again. These monsters were acting weird. (were they even monsters, or was Link wrong again ?) No. Link couldn’t hesitate. The fog that often came with a fight like this crowded Link’s vision. He could recall bringing this odd fact up to Zelda, but he couldn’t remember what she had said about it. It didn’t matter anyway. Link had made it through his journey fine with it, he could survive one battle. 

The monster gave an odd growl before advancing on Link again. This time, the hero didn’t hesitate, any inhibitions long gone in the face of danger. Any logical thought left Link in a rush as he swung his sword at the moblin. He didn’t hear the startled cry or the others yelling for Link to stop. He only had eyes for the monsters (were they really monsters?) in front of him. 

The moblin brought its crude sword up to block Link’s ruthless attacks. Link couldn’t see the way it glowed, he only saw the monster stumble as Link landed a hit. The monster let out a cry of pain as it dropped the sword it was holding. The other monsters were advancing now. It looks like Link’s evaluation of the monsters was correct. The champion could count four bokoblins and two moblins, all varying in size and color. Ranging from red, blue, silver, and an odd green color Link had never seen before. 

The other moblin raised its sword. They kept the bokoblins behind them. If Link had been thinking rationally, he would have thought it odd that the Moblins(?) were trying to protect the bokoblins(?). As it was, Link was deep into ‘hero mode’ and thus, wasn’t capable of understanding such minute details. The other green moblin that had been waiting to join the fight advanced forward. Its rusted sword gleamed in the moonlight. Another odd fact Link didn’t care to notice. He could hear the moblin that had advanced first making a number of pained noises. It was out of the fight, too injured to continue. 

One of the green bokoblins moved forward, it almost looked like it was glowing. It paused next to the fallen green moblin, hands extended towards the larger monster.

Link was startled out of his observations by a sword coming up on his left side. He was quick to block it, stopping the blade only an inch from his already scarred face. The two engaged in a fierce battle. Link could barely register the thought that this moblin was a lot more talented at fighting than usual. Link was used to monsters that stumbled and threw haphazard blows, not precise slices and jabs. 

Link refused to be pushed into a defensive position, he sped his attacks up. The champion wasn’t above playing dirty. A low swipe was quickly followed by an uppercut that left the moblin pushing himself backwards. Link used this momentum to scoop some dust up to throw in the monster’s eyes. The moblin let out a pained squeal, its hands instinctively dropping the sword to rub at its eyes. This was his chance. Time to finish this. Link pushed himself to the limit of his stamina, speeding forward so fast Zelda had said it looked like he was teleporting. There was the flash of a sword as Link aimed for the green moblin in front of him. The blow landed, not on flesh, but hard metal armor. 

Moblins don't wear armor . 

Something knocked Link over. It had taken advantage of Link’s momentary confusion. Whatever it was, was soft. Its fur brushing against Link’s flushed face. The hero struggled under the weight. This couldn’t be happening. Hylia must have read Link’s mind and come to grant him his wish. He was going to die. Something whined in Link's ear. It was in a pitch that said: safe. Help. no hurt. It was the same noise Wolfie- but wolfie was dead, Link had killed him- would make when Link woke from a particularly bad nightmare. 

The weight whined again, this time joined with another. They harmonized in tunes of Safe, help, protect that had Link’s muscles loosening against his will. 

“N-no, I can’t-” Link was cut off by a hand brushing away the hair against his face. “ Please ,” The champion’s voice was quiet, as if he were ashamed by his begging. The monsters didn’t care. They were playing with him. The weight didn’t leave no matter how much Link asked and pleaded and begged. His cries were growing in pitch, going from soft pleas to sobbing apologies. He was being punished. He had made another mistake and he was being punished for it. Hylia was finally done with her failure of a hero. She was finally getting rid of him and she wouldn’t even give him an honorable death. He would die a failure and a coward. 

They had always said this would happen. One wrong move and Hylia would smite him down. Link couldn’t tell if this was better or worse than being struck by lightning. 

Something screamed in the distance and suddenly the weight and the hands were gone. Link blearily looked up, someone was standing in front of the hero protectively. Their mouth was moving, and they were brandishing a bow threateningly. Teba. It had to be him. Something in Link’s mind clicked into place. Oh- oh no. He had done it again . 

“Teb-ah” Link could barely form the words, shame clawing up his throat. “Wha doin’ here?” The Rito turned at the sound of the champion’s voice. 

“Kiddo!” The Rito champion turned fully an odd sigh of trust when they were surrounded by those strange monst- they weren’t monsters. They were Hylians . And Link had attacked them. Oh Hylia. Link really messed up. How could he have lost control, he had been doing so good at keeping the fog away. 

“Link! Link,” Teba was shaking the Hylian champion gently. “Hey, it’s ok. You’re ok ,” the shaking stopped. The Rito’s face was soft where he crouched in front of the hero. “Zelda said you gone off to hunt some monsters,” 

Ah, that would make sense. They were staying at Teba’s nest for the duration of their stay. So of course he would wonder why Link wasn’t dutifully following his princess like he usually did. 

“Some of my scouts reported a commotion and I came to make sure everything was alright.” The Rito chuckled. “Imagine my surprise when,” Teba sent an oddly fond glance at the others standing awkwardly in the clearing. “I found you deep in a battle with a bunch’a Hylians.”

Link could only look down in shame. 

“Hey,” the Rito gently guided Link’s head up to meet his eyes. “I explained what I could, but I-” Teba sighed something Link couldn’t make out. “I think you should listen to what they have to say. And-” Teba cut off any sounds from the group, clicking his beak in the same way he did when Tulin was throwing a fit. “And maybe explain better what happened here.”

The Hylian champion blinked a few times, opening and closing his mouth. He quickly found that his voice had resolutely left him stranded. Link hated disappointing Teba. He always got the Disappointed Dad Look tm . Link wanted to explain, he really did. There was still some of that fog clogging his mind and an iron grip had fastened itself around Link’s vocal cords.  His lungs started to tighten.

Link was suddenly finding it hard to breathe as reality began to set in. The fog was pushing forward again, making it hard to see. This time, instead of the monsters, Link was alone. He was trapped. The fog soon began to pulse in time with his heartbeat. He could feel a headache beginning and suddenly the cool snow felt good against Link’s suddenly warm skin. It was the only thing Link noticed. Even as he was being shaken again. Even as he heard voices calling out to him. Voices? Wasn’t it just him and Teba? Zelda had gone back to Rito Village. Wasn’t Teba supposed to be at Rito Village? Why was he here then? And who were those other voices? It didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was that Link was alone. Noone would have to hear his shame build up into tears and his fear into the shaking sobs he could feel starting up again. 

Nothing mattered. Only the fog that was going to swallow Link up and never let go. 

 <———<<     >>———>

The chain could only watch on in a sort of disturbed horror as the man passed out in the arms of the very scared looking Rito. Wind couldn’t even be excited at the fact that there was a Rito right in front of him and decidedly not in the sailor’s Hyrule. 

Really, of all of the things the group had come to expect from this Hyrule, it was not this . It wasn’t getting dropped into a miserably snowy land or walking up to a man standing over a dying and bloody Wolfie. And it definitely wasn’t getting attacked by said man only to find out that he was this world’s Link. 

Link had collapsed, ragdolling like all of the strings holding him up had been cut. His breath had released in a whoosh as he fell into the Rito’s arms. 

Before any of that thought, the Rito had flown down on them with a battle screech that had the chain flinching back from where they were crowding the panicking man. The man’s sobbing had quieted to scared whimpers and it only took one look at the rito for the man’s eyes to grow as wide as saucers. He muttered something to the Rito that had the bird man twirling around, but not fully turning away from the chain. Some more words were shared before the Rito turned around fully, kneeling down to be closer to the panicking Hylian. 

That’s when the group heard what the Hylian’s name was. Link. The man, Link, seemed to calm down as the Rito’s full attention turned on him. They exchanged more nearly inaudible words. The new hero, because the sword had burned Sky and that only meant one thing, looked down away from the Rito shame written all over his scarred face. 

The Rito sighed before speaking. “I’m sorry about him, he’s- ah, not usually this violent.” Legend raised an incredulous eyebrow at those words. “My name is Teba, the Rito champion. Are you all lost?” 

“You-” Legend spluttered, “You’re really just goin’a skip over all dat?” Legend’s usually carefully hidden accent always came out when he was upset. “Sure, we’re lost an all, but he ,” Legend pointed at the new Link. “Just attacked our friend. An I don like people who attack my friends!” 

Another sigh from Teba. He never turned his full attention away from the man in front of him. “And I’m not asking you to like him.” The bird man gave Legend a look that could rival Time’s I’m Not Mad, Just disappointed Face. “I’m just asking that you hear him out. He’s-” he glanced at Link. The Hylian was still sitting in the snow, clearly having not moved from his spot. His expression was despondent, like he was waiting to be yelled at. “He’s not well. He can get these sort of- well, I’m not sure what to call them. They’re like hallucinations of a sort.”

“ Great ! Our new travel partner is a crazy person who attacks people on sight.” Wind could hear Legend muttering under his breath. Teba clearly heard what the vet had said based on the way his wings twitched at his sides.

“He’s not crazy . From what I know it’s a curse of some sort, and I’m not going to let you speak about my s-” Teba was cut off by a soft whimper that must have come from Link. Wind could see Wolfie and Wolf-Time’s ears flick forward at the sound. It's a really good thing the group had gotten there when they did. Wolfie had been badly injured. An arrow had been sticking out of the wolf’s chest just to the right of where his heart was. Hyrule was able to heal wolfie with a minor scratch being all that remained. Hyrule really was a goddess send. 

The Rito was whispering to Link, a comforting hand (wing?) now caressing his face. Teba shifted uncomfortably, “I think you should listen to what they have to say. And-” there were some cries of: We have to explain? And He’s the one that attacked us ! The Rito reprimanded them all with a sharp clack of his beak. Wind couldn’t help but shrink back, feeling thoroughly told off for their outburst. It kinda reminded Wind of his grandma when he came home all sandy from playing on the beach without washing off first.

“And maybe explain better what happened here.” The Rito finished. Link looked like he wanted to say something, his mouth opening before closing again. The scarred man looked horrible in Wind’s humble opinion. His skin was flushed and his sharp blue eyes had been dulled with fear and exhaustion. Whatever this ‘curse’ was, really did a number on Link. Wind kind of felt bad for the guy. This clearly wasn’t something he could control. 

And that’s when it happened. Link’s breathing picking up was the only warning that something was wrong. Not even a few minutes later (combined with lots of surprised and concerned shouts), Link had passed out on Teba. The Rito, for his part, took this development in stride. It must happen often enough that Teba wasn’t even surprised that Link had fainted. “Ah, there it is.”

“This happen often?” That was Hyrule. The healer was intent on learning everything and anything that could help him keep his family safe. And now that this man was joining them, he had to know what was going on with him. If it was a curse, maybe there was a way to remove it. 

“Not so much anymore,” was Teba’s quiet response. “But, it’s not my place to tell. Come,” The rito stood, the new Link curled into his arm-wings. “We should go back to Rito Village. I’m sure the princess is worried- and you all look freezing.” He turned towards the direction he had flown in from, this time, staying on the ground instead of taking flight. 

“Is this village close?” This time it was Warriors who spoke up. The captain had taken charge while Time, they’re unofficial leader, was stuck as a wolf. (and wasn’t that something?) He glanced around the shivering chain before his gaze landed on the Rito. 

“Yes.” and with that Teba had begun walking away. He wasn’t going fast, clearly used to flying as opposed to walking, let alone with the added dead weight of Link in his arms. Some of the others grumbled, namely Wind and Legend, but Warriors deigned to ignore them. 

“Come on then,” He sent a pointed look to the veteran. “I don't know about you, but I would like to sleep in an actual bed tonight.” It didn’t take long for the others to begin to follow Teba. Some of the shorter members stumbled slightly with Four practically hanging off of Sky’s arm. Their wolf friends, however, navigated the snowy terrain perfectly fine. Wolfie also seemed to be feeling fine too, no signs left that he had been injured just a few minutes ago. Hyrule was really a goddess sent blessing, the chain was all convinced they’d all be dead without him. 

“To Rito Village then.” and with that, the chain began the short trek to safety and, hopefully, answers to the mystery that is this new Link.

Chapter Text

Legend could say with 100% certainty that the Rito down beds are the best thing that has ever been invented. His everything had been aching since before the chain even landed in this goddess forsaken Hyrule. Those beds though, were like magic on his overworked muscles and stiff joints. The beds were soft but firm, molding themselves to the user's body while they slept. Legend didn’t even care if the beds cost more then the regular ones. 

The vet was convinced that they deserved something nice after the last few days. Hylia had dumped them in what Teba called the Hebra Region (which is ironically one of the coldest and unforgiving places in this Hyrule), and then let Time get cursed into a wolf. Not to mention that Twilight has been missing since they split up to look for a town the morning before. It also just so happens that the only person who knows what happened to the rancher is Time. And in case you forgot, Time is currently a wolf . That can’t talk . 

Hylia really screwed them over with this one in Legend’s totally right and definitely not biased opinion.

In other news. Legend has decided that this world's Rito Village is a death trap. The village is positioned on a small archipelago in the middle of a large canyon lake. There were little to no safety rails and anyone who fell (that couldn’t fly ) was sure to die. They were at a high elevation and the winds were strong enough to blow the chain's smallest members over, if not straight off the edge of the island. Because what kind of island is more vertical then it is horizontal? Legend already hates being trapped on islands, with how secluded they are, but add the fact that there is only one exit, and it's a rickety suspended bridge? Legend was sufficiently having a bad time.

The veteran could concede, despite their treacherous home, that the Rito themselves were very welcoming. Their hospitality is top notch and he could admit that the joyful atmosphere was quite contagious. He couldn’t help the slight smile when the chicks would whistle and sing to each other. There was the call of the Rito greeting each other with happy chirps and warbles as they passed on the thin boardwalks. 

The entire village was colorfully decorated with fallen feathers and bright paint. It warmed the cool air and made the almost constant snow more bearable. Legend could appreciate it to a degree. 

The chain had been guided to the local inn. It was small but cozy with the beds close together and a fire for added warmth. Most of the chain had to sleep on the floor or double up. Legend had fortunately been given the blessing of sleeping in the down bed. Time and Wolfie had to remain outside, something about a no pet policy the inn had. But the two had thick fur and they didn’t seem too concerned. The two wolves had continued following Teba, probably staying at his home for the night. 

Some of the others, the vet included, had protested to this, not wanting to leave them with this world’s Link. Time had only leveled them with a familiar glare that was somehow actually made more menacing by the sharp teeth and piercing blue eyes. Wolfie had only huffed in annoyance at their protests. 

Now that it was day though, they were all taking the time to familiarize themselves with the new world they were in. They had taken the morning to invest in some warmer clothes. Wind and Hyrule had wandered off, sometime in the morning before the others had woken up, and found a clothing store that sold clothes specially enchanted for the cold weather. Despite the clerk’s insistence to purchase the full set to make the enchantments stronger, most of the chain had settled with only buying one or two pieces. They weren’t planning on staying too long in the cold region of this Hyrule, and they didn’t think it was cold enough for the full set. 

Legend personally had only bought the headband. He had plenty of enchanted items that could help with the cold, so the vet didn’t think he needed more than one thing. (He didn’t really need any of the set, he just wanted the headband because it looked good with his cap and tunic.) 

The veteran had also been discreetly picking up any fallen feathers along the boardwalk. They were all varied in color ranging from whites and grays to pinks, reds, and oranges. His favorite were the red ones, but he picked them all up with the express purpose of using them for a project or other that came to mind during their journey. 

“Dad! Dad! I found ‘em!” Legend looked up from where he was sorting through the feathers he had collected. Running down from one of the higher island pillars was a little chick. He had white feathers with soft gray and pink accents. He had bright blue eyes that glowed in the sunlight. The boy had come to Legend and Warriors, who had been sitting next to Legend on the platform they had found to settle on. Wars looked up from where he was mending a hole in Wind’s spare pants as the chick approached them still running at full speed. The young Rito must have  misjudged the distance as he came crashing into the pile of feathers the vet had almost finished sorting.

“Hey! Watch it kid!” Legend knew the chick hadn’t done it on purpose. It was simply one more no good very bad thing to add to the list of things that had happened since they had been dumped here. The vet had to restrain himself from roughly manhandling the boy away from his piles. He really didn’t want to have an angry flock of Ritos attacking him. 

“Sorry, mister.” The chick looked down, clearly embarrassed at his rough landing. “My pa said to find y’all,” he shuffled a little. “I didn’t mean to mess up your thing- wait! What’re you doin’ wit all those feathers anyhow?” Embarrassment forgotten the chick was now looking at Legend with all of the curiosity his little mind could muster. 

“Heh, it’s alright kiddo,” It was warriors that swooped in to save the day. “Lege’s just weird and likes to sort things.” 

“Ledge?” the chick tilted his head in confusion. “Weird name.” That had Warriors fully breaking out into laughter. 

“It sure is-” Legend swatted a hand at Wars. The captain dodged gracefully. 

“Oh yeah? Your name’s Warriors! That's not much better!” The chick was giggling at their antics now. 

“Warriors and Ledge! My name’s Tulin!” 

“Nice to meet you Tulin,” Wars turned from where Legend was still trying to smack him. Tulin chirped at the sound of his name.

“Oh right!” Tulin pushed past the two heroes. “I was ‘posed to take you home to meet Dad!” He grabbed Wars by the arm, trying to drag the captain away from the platform they’d sat down on. 

“Woah, wait a sec there,” Warriors carefully retracted his arm, careful not to pull on still developing feathers. “Do you mind explaining who your dad is?” 

“Oh! Right! My dad’s Teba! He said he brought you guys here late last night! Somethin’ must’ve happened cause Link’s been sleeping alllll day and he like never sleeps! Like never!” Tulin was making some worried warbles. He was clearly concerned for this era’s Link. 

“Well, alright then,” Legend stood, giving one last glance to the scattered pile of feathers. He’d have to collect more. “I, for one, would like to know what happened last night too.”

“OK! OH! You guys totally need to meet the dogs pa brought home last night. He won't let us keep them, but they really seem to like Link, even though he's only been sleeping.” Tulin had begun to make his way back to the ramp he had come barreling down. “Maybe he’ll let Link keep them when he finally wakes up! Then they can come and visit!” The chick continued to ramble all the way up the boardwalk and onto the tallest part of the island. The huts here were much larger, clearly for the higher ranking and richer Rito. 

The walk itself wasn’t too long, but it definitely gave them plenty of information about this world. Tulin liked to talk. A lot. He told them about how rito village was one of the few domains that hardly got touched by the Calamity. When asked what the Calamity was the boy looked sad before he brightened back up again and explained how Link had “Totally smashed that horrible pig into a paste!” and how the world was no longer plagued by the blight and malice. He talked about how Zelda was a researcher and how she was one of the smartest people he knew.

Slowly they came upon a lively nest hut. There were some hammocks and shelves hanging on the open walls, a fire was lit in the middle of a space and a pot was hung overtop. Along the walls on the floor were a few nests. One was covered neatly in blankets and pillows, it was empty. The other had clearly been used recently as the bed-stuff on top was thrown haphazardly over the nest and the surrounding floor. One of the hammocks was occupied, but the duo couldn’t make out who was in it. 

Sitting around the fire was a familiar Rito. Teba was sitting closely to a soft looking pink Rito, the two were leaning comfortably on each other as they listened to the Hylian woman, who was sitting around the fire with them, talking. She was facing away from them, but they could tell she was wearing a similar winter outfit that they had bought earlier. She had cropped blond hair with a number of elegant braids pulling her bangs back. She was gesturing animatedly as she talked about something the watching Hylians couldn’t understand.

“It really was amazing! I didn’t think the little creatures could even survive out here! They’re biologically closely related to the flora and fauna of the warmer Hyrulian climates, so surely the cold and snow would be harmful to them. It must be the magic of the Los-”

“Daaad!” The woman was interrupted as Tulin barged into the nest. “I found some of those guys you brought home! They have reeeaally funny names!”

“Tulin!” the female Rito spoke up. She must be Tulin’s mother. She stood up, walking towards the group. “I’m sorry about him. He’s still learning to think before he speaks .” The last bit was directed towards the bouncing chick. 

“It’s quite alright, miss,” Wars paused, he could hear voices coming towards them from the lower part of the boardwalk. The others must be coming over now. “He’s right, our names really are odd.” Warriors then introduced himself with an overly dramatic bow that had Legend rolling his eyes. Legend followed with his own name but stuck to a simple head nod and a handshake instead. 

“Ah, alright then,” she laughed at wars’ antics, clearly finding his display amusing. “My name is Saki, Champion Teba’s wife.” she gestured to her husband and then she moved back to let the Hylians inside. As the two heroes sat down, they finally could see the other Hylian better. She had intelligent green eyes and soft features. Her hair was well kept and almost seemed to glow in the firelight. She didn’t look too upset at the interruption, she was now looking at the duo. She almost looked as if she was trying to solve them like math equations.

“Hello,” She finally spoke up, the intensity of her stare never lessened. “My name is Zelda, it is a pleasure to meet you.” The duo froze at the name. They had thought the princess would be more, well, princessy. Not sitting in what Wars thought would be considered common clothes by his own Zelda. They had clearly been bought a while ago and looked well worn. She had some porridge on her face, and if he looked closer, the captain could see some leftover dirt and grass stains as well.  

“Likewise,” it was Warriors that finally responded. He hesitated at addressing the princess by her title. He was beginning to wonder if she even was a princess. Tulin had said something about Zelda being a researcher. The chick had mentioned the princess by her first name with no mention of her royal status. However, if the captain was recalling correctly, Teba had mentioned a princess the night before. He finally settled on just giving the woman a small, but respectful bow. It was one that he used for his own Zelda when they crossed paths in a public place or gathering. 

 The princess laughed at the knight’s hesitation, “It’s alright, there’s no need for formalities.” The Ritos did not seem to be bothered by this comment. This was clearly normal for them. “I’m hardly a princess anymore,” she sent a pointed look at Teba who glared back at the challenge. “No matter what the others may say.” At that comment, the Ritos ushered their chick outside, giving the group of Hylians as much privacy as possible.

“Now, if I heard correctly, your names are Warriors and Legend?” 

“Uh, Yes?” Legend had finally spoken up. He had let warriors take the lead. He was usually the best out of all of them with the different era’s royalty. Now that the veteran didn’t have to dance around customs and formalities, he didn’t have to worry about saying something potentially offensive. 

“I hope you don’t mind me being blunt,” the maybe-not-a-princess had turned to fully face the heroes now. “But are they nicknames? I can’t imagine your parents actually named you that.” And blunt she was. 

“Yes actually,” If Zelda could be rude, then so could Legend. “And if you don’t mind me being blunt, you need to get your hero under control.” the angry flash in Zelda’s eyes told the vet she knew exactly what he was talking about.

“Well! I beg your pardon, but I’ll have you know that my Knight is not some animal to be controlled! He is a person with thoughts and feelings and if you continue to talk about Link like that well, I’ll-!” The princess was cut off for a second time that day by a large and furry mass. 

The beast had launched itself onto the princess, almost knocking her over. He barked in greeting before settling down on Zelda’s lap. It was Wolfie, looking for all the world like he hadn’t been on the verge of death only the night before. The wolf seemed content with his spot on Zelda, he only huffed in amusement at the girl’s protesting. Wolf-Time had been following close behind, he didn’t look surprised at the scene before him. He boofed his own greeting before settling down right in between Legend and Zelda. 

The others had finally arrived. Fortunately Teba and Saki’s home was one of the larger nests in the village and was somehow big enough for the large group of heroes. The others looked like they enjoyed their time relaxing in the village. Sky and Wind in particular seemed to like the place the most out of them all. The two heroes had colorful feathers braided in their hair. Sky looked almost melancholy as he looked around. The village clearly reminded him of his home in the sky. Wind however, just looked in awe and wonder at everything they passed. The sailor was the only one in the chain to have Rito, so it must be a lot for the kid to see how they’ve evolved through time. 

The chain made themselves comfortable while Legend and the princess continued their angry stare down. Some of the others looked at the two uncomfortably. 

“ As I was saying , I find it quite offensive that you could say such a thing.” Zelda held up a hand to silence Legend’s protests before they even began. “Especially if you do not know what could have caused such a reaction from my knight.” 

“And I don’t really care what caused it. He attacked us, not the other way around. There is no excuse for that.” 

“Even if he was not in control of his own actions?” The princess looked at legend with the wrath of an angry god (or goddess). “I’ll have you know that it was not Link that attacked you all last night. It was his physical body, yes. But it was not him mentally. He was merely a spectator in his own mind.” She paused there to stroke Wolfie. The wolf looked up at the princess with an odd sort of sadness in his eyes. Whatever was going on, Wolfie knew. 

“I think the princess is right,” Hyrule had sat himself on the other side of Legend. His hand was resting on the vet’s knee in a calming gesture. “It was like looking at two different people last night. One moment he was ready to kill us all and the next he was having a panic attack.” 

“Yes, it is likely that something happened to bring him back.” Despite the carefully blank face, Zelda looked almost on the verge of tears. Her green eyes had a wet sort of sheen on them and she had to blink a few times to clear them. “That would have caused the sudden mood swings.”

Wolfie wiggled slightly in the princess’ lap causing her to shift to better accommodate him. She sighed before resuming her careful petting.

“I should explain. You all deserve that much, especially if you all will be traveling together.” there was a knowing frown on her face. It was as if she had just been told a terrible secret. If the hut had been quiet before, the silence now was deafening. 

“Wh- What?” Sky had reached up to touch the sword on his back. He had kept it covered by his sailcloth to avoid any unnecessary attention. 

“I spoke to Hylia this morning, she told me who you are and why you are here. While I am loath to let you take my champion, I understand that we do not have much of a choice. I cannot guarantee that Link will go easily but I hope by telling you all our story that you will all be able to make this easier.” She didn’t look up from Wolfie as she spoke. 

“You spoke to Hylia?!” That was Sky again. As far as the heroes knew, Sky’s Zelda- Sun, was the only one of all the eras that could directly communicate with the goddess. To hear that this Zelda could was a shock to them all. 

“Yes, now heroes of legends, please listen to my tale.” Zelda went on to explain her and her knight’s journey against Calamity Ganon. She spared no details. She told them of her own failures to harness her goddess powers. Of Link pulling the sword at a young age neither of them could say, Link because he did not remember, and Zelda because she never knew how old Link was in the first place. She told them of her selfish jealousy towards her knight. She told them of how he protected her so selflessly despite her strong dislike of him. How, even after everything she and her kingdom had done to Link, he still died for them. 

She told them of the shrine and how she chose to lay Link inside. How she went to seal Calamity away on her own. She told them of her champion's 100 year slumber. Of his return to a society that had been destroyed and a world that flourished despite it. She made sure to mention how the shrine of resurrection had changed her knight. Of his lost memories and altered soul. She told them of the Purpose the shrine ingrained into Link’s brain and how it takes complete control over him. How it makes him a spectator in his own body, unable to stop this Purpose from twisting his thoughts and actions into a weapon for Hylia. She talked about Link's travels to the different domains to reclaim the Divine Beasts. And finally she told them about Link defeating the Calamity once and for all.

She speaks the name of their patron goddess with venom on her lips. How could she love a goddess that treated them as nothing more than toys meant to be tossed aside the moment they weren’t useful anymore. With Ganon gone, Hylia had gone silent. Link, who had been able to speak with the goddess during his adventure, couldn’t hear her. Even at her statues. Zelda’s own goddess given powers had dulled since the Calamities defeat. They had been abandoned. Surely these heroes could understand. They had done everything for Hyrule and its goddess and She couldn’t even let them be remembered. 

The chain, for their part, let Zelda speak with no interruptions. They can only stare at her as she talks to them. Her story is a tragic one. How could a world be so forsaken by Hylia that it has been destroyed. The princess talks about possessed technology and a hero long dead but not. He is alive and well, she says. She says he is free. Or, as much as he can be, given the curse put upon Link as he was brought back from the brink. She leaves them with a warning before she stands and stalks out of Teba and Saki’s home. 

“Tread carefully Heroes. Hylia’s power is weak at best here and she cannot save you like she could elsewhere. Link may not have a choice, but I will fight for him should I determine you are a threat.”

“That wasn’t menacing at all, Zel.”

 <———<<     >>———>

The chain startled at the new voice. Wolfie, who had been practically thrown off of the princess’ lap during her escape, was the first to notice, with a whine, the exhausted looking face peeking out from one of the hammocks. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly Link. He looked tired with thick bags under his eyes. His golden blond hair was stuck in a massive rats nest. His eyes, an electric blue, were sharper now. They were no longer foggy with anger and malice. The curse, because that is what the princess and the Rito champion had called it, clearly had left for now. He was staring at the chain with an odd mixture of regret and confusion. 

It was their wolf companion that took action first. He walked slowly up to the new hero keeping his movements big and telegraphed. Wolfie stood on his back legs with his front paws resting on where the half wall ends. With how big the wolf was, his head came up to be level with Link’s. Wolfie pushed his face against the other hero’s, a wet mark was smeared on Link’s cheek where Wolfie’s face was pressed up against it. Link clearly was surprised at the sign of affection from the wolf. His eyes were blown wide and his mouth was slightly agape. 

“W- Wolfie?” Wolfie yipped at his name before attempting to push himself up into the hammock with Link. “Wait! Wolfie! Haha, you can’t! Wait-!” and with that, the two went tumbling to the floor. It was a miracle that they hadn’t tipped over the other side of the wall. Wolfie took this as an invitation to climb on top of Link, planting himself diagonally across the boy’s back. Link was giggling where he was stuck under the furry mass, the rest of the chain had clearly been forgotten. “ Wolfiiieee!”  

Link was struggling to no avail as Wolfie clearly showed no signs of moving any time soon. “How are you so strong? I could’ve sworn that you were just inj-” Link stilled, and suddenly the room was deafeningly quiet for the second time in the past hour. The look from earlier was creeping back onto the hero’s face. Wolfie noticed the sudden mood change instantly. He whined nudging Link with his face again. Blue eyes looked into impossibly blue eyes. 

“I’m-” Link hiccuped, his eyes were getting misty with tears. “I’m so sorry Wolfie.” Link pushed the wolf off of himself with no resistance. The wolf could tell this was not a time to be stubborn. Despite the champion’s clear need for space, he didn’t stray far from the wolf. He looked as if he wanted to bury himself into Wolfie’s fur and never come out. “I shot you.” It was a statement. Not a question, and yet, he said it with so much disbelief. As if he thought what happened was more of a dream then reality. For Link, it very well could have been. A dream, that is. Zelda and Teba had made it very clear that whatever Link saw, was not what was actually happening. 

Wolfie nodded in that too intelligent way he always did. Then, he positioned himself to be leaning his entire body on Link. It was a clear sign of trust from the wolf. Forgiveness. Wolfie whined and then licked the boy’s face trying to take away the tears that had begun to fall. They couldn’t deny what happened, but Wolfie clearly understood this hero. He knew that whatever took place in that clearing was not the hero’s fault. It was whatever divine Thing decided to meddle with this kid’s life.

“No, Wolfie!” Link once again pushed the wolf away. He looked scared. Not of the wolf, never of Wolfie, but of himself. He was worried he would hurt them again. 

Ohgoddessesdon’tletmehurthimagain. Ican’tdothis.Ican’tdothisagain!

If there was one thing about Wolfie that all of them could agree on, it was that he was stubborn. He resolutely ignored their spectators and moved to lay against Link again. It’s ok cub. Not hurt. Ok. love pack. He barked softly to get the point across before adjusting so that his head was on the hero’s lap. He looked up at Link with his unnaturally blue eyes. He almost looked like a puppy begging for treats, not that anyone would say that to Wolfie’s face. He was a wolf after all. There was no need to risk getting a hand or full arm bitten off. 

“Why?” The tears had slowed some, but there was still water in his eyes and the occasional droplet would stubbornly fall, tracing lines across his scarred face. “I hurt you!” Link attempted to shove Wolfie for a third time, to no success. Wolfie wasn’t budging. “Please, Wolfie. I’m- I’m danger-!”

“And I’m going to cut you off right there.” Legend was sick of all this lovey dovey stuff. Sure Wolfie could forgive the kid, but the vet won’t be so quick to do so too. “Clearly whatever is happening here is very heart touching, but I am personally more interested in figuring out what the problem you seem to have with us is.”

“Legend!” Sky pushed forward from where he was leaning against another wall. “That’s not nice! If Wolfie trusts him, so do I!” Legend just crossed his arms and glared at the chosen hero. 

“Goddesses, You’re all going to get yourselves killed.” Legend was sick of this. The princess spun a convincing story, but, coming back from the dead? She really couldn’t come up with any better lies? Zelda was obviously very protective of her knight to the point of threatening them to keep him safe. But lying to cover up such treasonous actions as attacking Hyila’s chosen heroes , is enough to make Legend's stomach twist in distrust. 

“Hey, Link right?” The other hero looked surprised at seeing the group there, almost as if he had forgotten he and Wolfie had an audience to his minor break down. Sky could work with this. This hero looked to honestly regret his previous actions towards them. Sky could tell, based on the signals Fi had given him, that this Zelda had not been lying. He was sad to hear their story. Hylia was basically his girlfriend, he couldn’t help but want to argue that she would never do anything the current princess claims. But Fi, she would never lie to him, and that meant everything the princess said was true. Hylia had left them to take matters into their own hands. It seems she had aided them as best she could during their journey, but to leave immediately after? He could understand this Zelda’s anger. The boy nodded in response to Sky’s question.

“Well, hello Link. It's nice to officially meet you. My name is Sky. I know it’s weird, it’s just a nickname.” Sky scooted forward to be closer to the new hero. He stuck his hand out to Link. The boy shakily raised his hand and shook Sky’s own. Despite the hesitation, the handshake was firm. Link nodded his head in a small bow of greeting. His eyes glanced over the others, he skipped over Legend. 

“You were there.” Link still had that scared look on his face, his eyes were wide in terror and his other hand fisted tightly in Wolfie’s fur. “I attacked you.” Something clicked together in the new hero at that statement. He stood straight, his back rigid. Wolfie yelped at the sudden movement. “I would like to apologize for all of my past mistakes. I caused you and your group harm and that is unforgivable. I know simple words will not fix what has been done, and I understand that you must want repayment for my transgressions against you.” Link bowed to the group, his movements practiced and stiff. It was almost scary to see the sudden shift in the boy’s personality. 

“I will accept any punishment you deem appropriate.” Link remained in the stiff and clearly uncomfortable bow. He was bent at the waist, one arm across his front and the other his back. He dipped his head low in a sign of submission. The chain looked at the knight with wide eyes. This was a sign of surrender. Warriors had seen this very same thing when a servant or lower ranking knight did something against the code they were bound to, it was usually due to infighting or insubordination. It was a show of humility. To bring yourself low publicly in front of your superiors and peers. It was a chance for them to strike you down. Wars could easily recognise the perfect form of the bow that comes only with practice. Zelda had said this Link was a knight. The captain hadn’t wanted to believe it, but seeing him like this, it was impossible to ignore.

“At ease, kid.” Wars stood and walked towards Link. For once, the captain was glad to not be wearing his full armor. “You did nothing wrong. The Princess explained everything and I promise that it’s ok.” Wars stood intentionally in front of Legend to block him from the kid’s view. The vet would do nothing good for Link by speaking up. Link looked hesitant to straighten from his bent position, but he did nonetheless. He recognised the authority that Warriors holds. 

“Y-Yes sir,” He stood up straight, carefully keeping his eyes on Wars and no one else. This kid was so young. Too young to be a knight. Despite the scars (Warriors tried not to focus too hard on those, if he did he might punch someone) Link had a soft skin and a slim face. He couldn’t be any older than 17, to have been through so much and still barely be an adult should be a crime. Unfortunately, it comes with being a hero. Wars was fortunate enough to have at least been of age to be in the army, not a child soldier forced to fight a war too big for himself. 

“Now, why don’t you sit down, and we can explain why we were wandering around the mountains like crazy people.”