Chapter Text
Rulie did notice something was odd about you, the moment he was near you at that village that this other Link (they were pretty sure at that point that it was another Link) took them to. Since it was right before a portal appearance, he initially thought it was just the air feeling wrong again. It felt different each time, so he didn’t pay much attention to it, and didn’t immediately connect the dots.
Each time they dropped down or went through a portal, there would be some residue for a limited amount of time, since it most likely took an enormous amount of magic. It would also interfere with his own fae aura sometimes, making him spill his guts out. After he collected himself, and saw you once again, he noticed you also do have some type of an aura around you. He initially thought maybe you were part fae yourself, as you reeked of a Great Fairy to his senses. The Old Man seemed to have noticed it too, as well as the Vet. But there was also a hint, such a tiny drop of it that probably anybody but him noticed it. It was something he helped collect piece by piece.
There was a miniscule amount of Triforce of Wisdom involved, in whatever aura you had. How strange.
As the Rancher got up and started speaking to you, Rulie noticed the aura interacting with the magic residue in the air. It was not like he could see it, he was just able to feel it. Something merging, something expanding, becoming more complex. Was it… leeching energy from it? He was carefully watching you interact with the Rancher, then he noticed the Old Man and the Vet were doing the same, though he really wasn’t focusing on the conversation. He heard you speak an odd language with this new Link. Then he started to pay attention, as he felt something shift in the air once again, expanding towards him.
“No but for some reason, you speak better now?” the Rancher was saying to the Captain. His ears perked up, the Rancher sounded as if he perfectly spoke his variety of Hylian (not that it was THAT different), he sounded much more modern.
Vet finally gave in as he exasperated, “Yeah, okay, what the fuck?”
As Rulie made eye contact with the Old Man, he noticed he wasn’t the only one that noticed the shift. They nodded to each other. It must be some type of translation magic… Right? Though not that anybody ever heard of something like that, maybe except the Smith swallowing jabber nuts.
“Huh… didn’t think translation magic actually existed, just like that,” he said towards the Old Man, but also to no one in particular. Well, he wasn’t that old, but sometimes he spoke like a geezer, so might as well. Then this ‘new’ Link spoke (and by the Gods, he looked like he already had a lot of scars on his face), and it just sounded like… like nothing he has ever heard before, to him. He was also noticing that you were in some type of distress, but he also attributed it to the ‘portal sickness’ for now.
Then the Sailor pointed towards this new Link with a confused expression, “Uh, that guy is BARELY understandable.” It was still so weird for everyone to hear the others speak so clearly . There was always some type of struggle before, especially when they first met. It was better now of course, but there were times where they repeatedly asked each other to repeat things where some phrases sounded downright funny.
During the introduction round, he kept glancing at you. You kept rubbing your temples every now then, but you didn’t seem to notice it yourself. It felt so refreshing to the 8 travelers that now they could speak a bit easier with each other. When it was the new Link’s turn, you spoke instead of him and translated between them. He was the Champion of Hyrule, apparently. But as the time passed, Rulie noticed that the ‘quirky accents’ as he dubbed them, were making a comeback. But at least this new Link sounded more understandable somehow. And subtly, yet steadily, the aura Rulie first felt, was now… dissipating, it was like a silent earthquake only he could feel.
And then there was blood. Blood on your blouse, coming from your nose. It happened so fast.
“Oi, catch her!” the Rancher spoke, and luckily this new Link, the Champion, caught you right on time. In his arms, your eyes were open, your body was limp but you were unresponsive. This Link was downright frantic. The scene was horrifying on its own, but it seemed like he cared about you in a specific way.
“(Y/N), (Y/N)!”
“Hey, calm down, good that you caught her. Can you lay her down?” Rulie said calmly. Even with the nose bleeding, it seemed like a case of simple fainting. He wasn’t sure.
He didn’t seem to understand every single word Rulie said. This new Link was a bit protective, as the Captain came near to offer help to lay you down, he protectively wrapped his arms tighter around you. One could almost hear the hiss, even though nothing came out of his mouth. But the Sailor helped, gesturing a laying down motion. Then, Wild allowed the Captain to at least hold you for a bit, as he took out something from his belt, pressed on its… surface and a bedroll materialized, much to the surprise of others. Normally they would ask, but for now they laid you down slowly onto the bedroll.
Rulie carefully moved towards the bedroll you have been on, taking pieces of cotton from his bag. He made sure this Link saw what he was doing. Just pointed towards your nose and the material. He just wanted to stop the bleeding. The Champion just nodded. Rulie elevated your head a little bit, by rolling the bedroll and gently stuck the pieces of cotton to your nose. Your eyes were now closed, your breathing even. He checked you a bit, and overall, it didn’t feel like something was amiss physically at least.
“Just let her rest for now, okay? Rest? Do you understand?”
The Champion just nodded, he seemed to have understood this time. He leaned to a tree trunk nearby.
“Any idear wots the matter wi' 'er?" Sky started talking, as the rest of them gathered around the fire that Four lit while they were dealing with you.
“Don’t know, but I sense a lot of Great Fairy magic around her, some type of an enhancement that interacted with the residual magic of the portal,” Rulie replied. Time nodded as he spoke, "So, that be wha' felt so familiar. Fayrie magick. But I don't be feelin' it as much no more.”
At the mention of the word “fairy”, the Champion’s ears perked up, "Ni a gemmeris hi dhe'n peswar Great Fairies yn Hyrule."
“What?” was the collective response from the rest of the Links. This one seemed to have kind of understood them now, but they weren’t able to completely understand him yet. He just sighed and stayed silent.
The Vet spoke up, “It’s still there, but I think it’s fading… The last residue of the portal magic is also almost gone.”
"I knaa translation magic was too good ter be true anyways. I thought she had some kind of a jabber nut or summat.", the Smith said as he kindled the fire a bit more.
The Traveler sighed. It was much better when they all understood each other so clearly. Well, not like it was that bad now. Slowly, everyone went to sleep, except the new Link and the Traveler. He offered to be the first, as he wanted to check on you again. There was still one red potion in his bag, it wouldn't hurt to give it to you when you woke up. He showed it to Link, who was still by the tree, near where you were laying down.
“Know the red potion?” he asked, hoping he understood him.
“Yea,” he replied, “An potion ma a vydh kosel dhe heal 'er, right? "
The traveler blinked. This guy now sounded a bit more understandable. And the aura around you has decreased significantly.
“Great,” he smiled back at him. There was an awkward pause before Rulie decided to ask, to figure out what happened to you. He still didn’t understand much from what this guy was saying, but he could try.
“So she has… fairy enhancements, right?” he asked. The Champion nodded. Until you started shifting again, they tried to communicate somehow (more like tried to). What the traveler understood was that you were from “another place that is not Hyrule” and was able to confirm you were taken to four different Great Fairies. Well, whatever the place you are from, he could feel that you were different. Your ears were weird too, why were they round? He noticed it when he came to check on you. It was said that the ears of Hylians were long, so they could hear the messages from the heavens above.
Noticing you are awake, the Champion started talking with you, seeing you shift in the bedroll. The traveler had no idea what you were talking about, but he politely offered the red potion to you. He tried keeping his distance, to test something. He noticed that whenever he was near enough, whatever that Link or you spoke became complete gibberish again.
Huh.
When he moved a bit further, Link was understandable to an extent, but whatever you were saying was… something completely foreign. How were you even able to understand each other with him?! Meanwhile, he saw you drink and react to the potion, your face twisting like a LikeLike, it was hilarious. He couldn’t help himself but snicker. He came closer again, both to check on you, you seemed to be doing alright physically. I guess you thanked him, he supposed, nodded and just waved a hand, trying to say ‘It’s nothing’. He didn’t want to speak, because if this happened because of a fairy enchantment combined with the portal residual magic, there was a good chance that your brain simply… overloaded. He almost opened his mouth and closed it again, and pointed towards his bedroll, and made the gesture for sleep. You said something else to him, but it didn’t only sound gibberish, it sounded otherworldly. He just smiled back at you, at least he was glad you looked fine.
It was time to wake the Rancher anyway, he really wanted to get back to sleep. He moved towards where he was sleeping and woke him up. The ranch hand grunted, but he ended up getting up and Rulie went back to sleep, getting all cozy in his bedroll.
Twilight took a deep breath and leaned against a tree trunk, as he waited for everyone to fall asleep. Sure, strange things kept happening to them all the time, they met other versions of themselves, for Ordona’s sake , but the fact that they were able to understand each other so clearly for a moment, and then the effect disappearing, was a new thing. A new Link… He wasn’t sure how to feel. To him, he wasn’t very new . He wasn’t able to reveal his Hylian form as he was sent to his Hyrule some years ago, and then he was suddenly pulled back as his adventure ended. What a wild young man he was. Would he even remember him, recognize him? He seemed also very protective of the woman he came with. Maybe they were lovers? He wasn’t sure. He saw them snuggling to each other on a single bed roll after some type of bickering, but that wasn’t enough proof for him anymore, especially after seeing how the hero of the Skies didn’t think much of stuff like that. ‘Beds are for sleeping, and we slept in them, so what?’ he would say. Ah, the rancher sighed.
After making sure everybody went to sleep, he shifted.
___
Wild was able to fall asleep so quickly, habits he supposed. That didn’t stop him from being a light sleeper though. He woke up to you shifting in the bedroll. He was still half asleep, as the haze of the sleep was still heavy on his eyelids. As you said something , he didn’t understand you at all. Was it too silent? No, he actually didn’t understand.
“What?” he said, as he saw your eyes were darting around, scanning the camp. Then you said something else. He raised an eyebrow, and repeated his question once again, with his sleepy hoarse voice. He was so tired. Maybe the lack of energy was just getting to him, or maybe you were also so tired you didn’t realize what you were saying. He asked if you were okay, that you sounded odd. He only heard you sigh and the stretch again, and then pulled you back to the bedroll. By Hylia’s name, he wasn’t able to get the scenes out of his head, scenes from only a night before. A red flush creeped into his cheeks as he pulled you back to himself once again, to the crook of his neck, and let the sleep embrace you both.
___
As the sunlight hit his eyes, Wild woke up. It was a challenge peeling you off of him, as you grasped him like how a little baby would grasp an adult’s pinkie. After he escaped your grip, he took his slate out once again, seeing he still had some ingredients left. Cooking was always a good outlet to not think about things for now, as they would probably drive him crazy as easily. As he lost himself in the holy act of cooking, the others also started to wake up, including you.
The teenager looked extremely energetic, as he was shouting “Guid mornin'” to everyone. Oh? That actually didn't sound so bad to his ears. The others also started to greet him back in mumbles.
“Gude mornin,” Wild said, not particularly caring whether or not they understood at this point.
“Goo' mornin” came from multiple Links.
The teenager put his hands to his waist as he looked quite surprised, he pointed at Wild.
“He disnae speak oor Hylian, how?!”
Wild was taken aback. Sure, he sounded funny but understood what he meant perfectly fine. It wasn’t the case last night.
“Hey, I do understan' 'ee!" he replied to the Sailor. With the rest of the group and the newfound realization, they started the chitter chatter right away. Apparently, it was the Rancher’s Hyrule.
Meanwhile, you also woke up, they noticed. You looked quite distressed, Wild started to worry a bit. You said something once again towards the Rancher, in a language Wild didn’t understand. Nobody understood it really. There was an awkward, stunning pause. You looked quite lost. The guy with one eye open pointed towards you as he spoke.
"An' 'er? She spoke when we fust met?"
“Ai dunt knaa, aa didn't understand her at nait either." replied the Healer. Traveler, they called him, Wild remarked to himself.
"Woht? But she cle'arly spoke when we met,” the Rancher said, pointing the question more towards him. Damn, all of these people spoke so funny. But then he stopped stirring the stew he was preparing, as he looked at you. You got up, and started slowly moving towards him, your steps unsure, your eyes filled with desperation.
“Link?” was the only word he understood from your inquisitive sentence. Wild had absolutely no idea what you just said. He gulped. He tried to open his mouth, but the only two words that came out were ‘what’ and ‘how’.
The Vet, just cursed under his breath. Honestly, he didn’t hear him not-curse so far, even though for some reason it was always the teenager that got scolded for it.
Then Wild looked at you once again. He saw the blood drain from your face, the slow descent into panic. It was subtle, anybody else would have thought you were just a little bit surprised. Your breathing was quick. Even the rancher could feel from a distance that your heart beat was off the charts.
Suddenly, you stumbled a little bit, trying to hold onto something, but he got you.
He always got you.
He held your hands as he made you sit on the floor again, he sat in front of you, he held your hands in his and gestured you to take deep breaths.
“Hey, I’m here,” he softly spoke. He counted together with you till you calmed down. Just like how you did it with him, whenever a memory came to haunt him.
He was just returning the favor.
_______
“We're gonna gan t'my place,” the ranch hand said decisively, as the group kept following his lead, he was just idly chatting with the Captain since he didn’t understand much from the magic stuff either. Meanwhile, Wild never left your side, even for a bit, even as he spoke to the others.
The Traveler, the Old Man along with the Veteran and the Smith, were discussing what they could do about your situation. Since now they could all communicate somehow, except you, Wild was able to explain to them what happened. How you were found, how you were taken to the four Great Fairies so you could learn the language faster.
"Wor did the fairies actually say they would dee?" asked Rulie once again, to clarify.
“They sez so she could slowly unnerstan' and graps and commun'cate, make it all unnerstood,” Wild replied. It was now becoming more clear to Rulie. There was no way you were from any of their worlds. He shared his theory with the rest of them.
"Wot do yer mean? I ain't technically from Hyrule either, y'know." said Sky.
Rulie explained that he thought you would most likely be coming from another dimension. Legend agreed, having been to different places during his time.
"The only toime Ah felt that kind of diff'rence from a person was when Ah was in Lorule... an' even then, it wasn't this strong."
Time was simply nodding, as he didn’t think he had much to add to the discussion. He had been to Termina, but at least it was still similar enough to Hyrule.
Wild couldn’t deny any of the statements they made. He felt like something was tugging at his chest.
"So wha', wha' happened to 'er, will she ever unnerstan' us again?" He was slightly frantic.
Rulie explained his theory that the Great Fairy magic most likely affected you fundamentally, since how you were simply another being , your brain wasn’t able to comprehend the voices produced by them, just as they were not able to understand anything you said when you spoke your language, whatever it was.
Of course, this was met with a question from both Four and Wild, then how was it fine until now?
“Simple,” the Traveler explained. "Until then, she only 'ad t' deal wi' one Hylian. Everybody spoke the same thing, an' prob'ly in 'er heed, it was a language she was fam'liar wi' that was just warped. Now... wi' all of us 'ere... An' wi' the portal..."
Right. They also had to explain to Wild that the magic from the portals that take them, might sometimes affect the environment, and the auras they have. Making them… feel worse. Interfering with their magical items. This time, it decided to interfere with her aura. And with everything combined…
"So you'm sayin' she short circuited?" Wild said. Well, nobody knew what short circuiting meant. He sighed. At least it seemed like Rulie and the Legend understood him, or what he meant.
"If ye mean she owerloaded, aye. An' now the enchantment's gannin'.” Rulie said. The Vet continued his sentence for him. “ Though at least, since she spent quite some time with ye, absorbing the land’s magic, she kan at least learn the language mannally,” a pause. “...probably."
"I'd rec'ommend a jabber nut, but not sure if it'd work. It's only for the minish..." the Smithy added. Wild felt really frustrated, but tried not to show it. The discussion went on. They decided to possibly consult the spirit the Rancher mentioned, when they made it to their destination. Wild was quite reluctant about it, but hey…
Seeing that the “big boys” were having a serious discussion he absolutely eavesdropped on, Wind decided to try something. He looked at you, and noticed how tall you are compared to most of them. Combined with the complicated discussion he just listened to, he just decided to try to make conversation with you, in his own way. Just then, he noticed a cloud between the sea of clouds. There was a specific one that really looked like his ship with Tetra.
“Woah, mad…” he said out loud.
Why not?
He took your hand to get your attention, and pointed towards it. “Cloud!” he shouted.
As you replied to him with words he cannot comprehend, you made the shape of the cloud with your hands, drawing it into the air.
“Yes! Cloud!” he repeated again.
Four and Wild were watching the exchange from behind as the rest of them continued their chatter. If you weren’t able to say a simple word, if you weren’t able to comprehend their lexicon now, it was going to get much more complicated.
“Cl-oud, clo-ud,” you said, a bit awkwardly, but you were able to say it. That’s what mattered. Unbeknownst to you, a lot of the Links sighed internally.
“Aye, noo say it a few mair times," Wind said smugly, and made you repeat the word at least five more times. Sadly, they weren’t able to play it in reverse. You weren’t able to teach the language you spoke to them for now, it seemed.
After a while, Four also joined your little game of teaching you little words, there was yet hope after all, in this sea of confusion.
Maybe it was your power of understanding what they said, would help them figure out why you got involved with them in the first place.