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They travel for a good week and a half, stopping only to sleep in tight shifts and eat small meals, before Time gives them even a pinch of mercy.
“We have to keep moving,” he’d kept saying and, though he’d agreed at the time, Twilight is swaying on his feet by the time them make it to the small clearing and Time sets down his gear. There’s a creek babbling somewhere nearby and Wind and Four Sword are sent to find it and fill up the canteens. It’s only when Time starts to set up camp that the rest of them realize what’s going on.
“We’re stopping?” Hyrule asks, hopeful. Time nods, about to say something, but is interrupted by a ‘whoop’ from Legend, who promptly lays out his bed rolls and falls face first on top of it. The others look on as he quietly begins to snore. Twilight notes, with a glance upwards, that it is barely past midday.
Beside him, Wild shifts and drops his pack to the ground. He stretches and Twilight can hear his shoulder pop. He’s looking around the clearing, eyes wide. Despite their many days of travel, his protege seems to be the most up and alert out of all of them.
Warriors says as much, grimacing as Wild twists to crack his back.
“I’m used to lots of travel,” Wild says in response.
“Even with your fancy slate?” Warriors retorts, waving his fingers. Twilight shoots him a look, but Wild either doesn’t catch Warriors’ tone or chooses to ignore it. “I had to travel to all the shrines first before I could warp to them.”
“How many shrines are there,” Hyrule pipes up from where he’s sitting and sorting through some potions.
“120,” Wild says, straighten up again. “Well,” he counts on his fingers. “132, if you count…” He trails off, lost in thought, before shaking his head and continuing. “There’s a lot,” he finishes and shrugs. “I had to walk or climb to get to most of them.”
“What about using a horse,” Twilight asks. Wild tilts his head from one side to the other.
“If I wanted one, I usually had to catch one wild. Kind of a hassle. Plus, I’d feel horrible if anything happened to one while I was in a rough area. Lots of monsters about, ya know.”
“True,” Hyrule laughs. “Losing your ride is pretty tough. Not something easily reversible, right.”
Wild makes a sound in the back of his throat that Twilight can’t quite make out. Before he can say anything, Wind and Four Sword return with their water and even a few fish and Wild is swept away to begin preparing lunch. Twilight watches him go and then almost jumps when he turns to find Time standing right next to him, quiet. The Old Man raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything, which Twilight is mildly grateful for. Instead, he hands Twilight a sword and starts to walk away. He glances back to where Twilight is standing, confused. Time chuckles
“I was thinking,” he says and hefts his own sword, imitating a swing. He catches Twilight’s eye and smirks. “Unless, of course, you’re too tired…?”
Twilight rolls his shoulders.
“You’re on, Old Man.”
An hour later and Twilight stumbles back to camp, bruised and more than a little humbled, just in time for Wild to shoot him a look of concern and hand him a bowl of… something. Twilight’s not really sure what’s in it, but it smells good and everything Wild has made for them so far has been delicious, so he’s not too concerned. Time is right behind him, taking his own bowl and giving Wild a pat on the shoulder. Wild ducks his head, trying to hide his blush behind long locks of hair. A few feet away, Legend is stirring, woken by the smell of good food.
“Mrrhmmf,” he mumbles and staggers to his feet. Twilight muffles his snort with the back of his hand as he watches Legend sway and stumble over to Wild. Beside him, Time’s shoulders are shaking in a silent laugh, though his face betrays nothing more than a small smile.
When all of them have had their fill, they sit around the fire. It’s still light out, but they are full and warm and, if he’s being honest, Twilight could curl up right where he is and sleep till next morning. Even Time looks content, the most Twilight’s seen him in a while, his eye closed and the shadow of a smile on his lips. He’s leaned against a tree next to Sky, who’s carving something from a stray piece of firewood. Wind, Four Sword, and Legend are sat together, talking quietly. Legend seems to be regaling some sort of epic tale to an enraptured Wind while Four Sword looks on in amusement. Across the clearing, Hyrule and Warriors are exchanging stories of their own.
It’s with a bit of a start that Twilight realizes that Wild is not among them. He sits up, looking around their camp, but his protege is nowhere to be found. Time notices Twilight’s plight and after a moment, seems to come to the same realization. He leans over and says something to Sky, who shrugs and points to surrounding woods. Twilight is already standing. Time looks at him, questioning, but nods when Twilight shakes his head.
Twilight’s protege, Twilight’s problem.
He leaves the camp quickly, following a deer path deeper into the forest. The trees aren’t especially crowded and the undergrowth is all that overgrown, but Twilight still finds himself a little lost. Wild, true to his nature, has left very little trace of himself. Twilight sighs. He could shift. Change. Track Wild by scent. He mulls it over in his head and looks back towards where the camp is. He doubts anybody is going to come bursting out of the trees any time soon. Twilight sighs and again and closes his eyes.
The transformation is quick. Painless. He opens his eyes to find the world sharper, brighter. The sounds around him are clearer than ever and he shakes his head. New scents come flooding in from all directions and he takes a moment to sort through them.
Deer, pigeon, wild hog, hearty truffle, and ah. Yes.
Protege.
Twilight huffs and starts off again in the direction of Wild. He traces him through the trees, and down another small, twisting path until, finally, he comes to the edge of cliff.
Wild is sitting with his back to the forest, his legs dangling in the air.
Twilight whines, eyeing how close Wild is to the edge. Wild turns and rolls his eyes, patting the ground next to him, offering. Twilight hesitates, but changes back and sits next to his companion, letting his feet hang after a moment. They are high up; high enough that he instinctively places a hand on his Clawshot. Wild gives of huff of laughter at his unease and Twilight nudges him with his shoulder.
“Watch it, cub.”
Wild’s smile disappears as he scowls at the nickname, a blush rising to his cheeks. Twilight grins. The both of them are quiet for a while longer. Twilight looks out over the land beyond the cliff; a great plain lies before them. He can see a structure in the distance, but a storm between them and whatever it is obscures his view.
“So,” Twilight starts. “What are you doing way out here?”
Wild doesn’t answer right away, opting instead to pick a few blades of grass and play with them in his fingers. Twilight watches as Wild weaves the strands together into a loop, braiding them with deft fingers. Wild finishes, a small ring of grass in the palm of his upturned hand. He stares at it for a minute, before letting it slip from his grasp. Twilight feels a twinge of dismay as he watches it disappear beneath them. Finally, Wild speaks.
“We’re on the Great Plateau.”
The way he says it denotes a familiarity with the place that Twilight instantly recognises.
Wild knows this place.
This is Wild’s Hyrule.
Twilight hums in understanding and looks out over the cliff again. Confusion sweeps through him. If this truly is Hyrule, then he should recognise some of it at least. Instead, he finds himself searching for familiar structures that don’t seem to be there.
“Where…?” He questions, sweeping a hand out in front of him and looking to Wild.
“Hyrule Field,” Wild says and Twilight cannot stop the sound of disbelief that escapes him. He turns back and lets his eyes wander the land. It’s… barren. Sure, Hyrule field has always been large and rather empty, but surrounding it were supposed to be towns. Busy roads. People.
In the distance, the storm is clearing and Twilight watches with growing horror as a warped version of Hyrule Castle appears on the horizon. Even from here, he can see that a great destruction had befallen it.
Wild must notice his alarm, because he leans into Twilight, concerned. He looks confused.
“Where…” Twilight murmurs. “Where is everyone? The towns and the people?”
Wild points to the West, towards two great peaks. They look like two sides of a mountain that had been split in half.
“Kakariko and Hateno are that way… and Lurelin Village is to the south,” Wild says, but nothing more. Twilight waits, hoping he’ll continue, but Wild only stares at him with worry creeping back onto his face.
Twilight feels lost again.
“Ordon village,” he hears himself say, but Wild doesn’t seem to have an answer. He only shakes his head and motions to the land in front of them.
“There are some ruins over that way,” he says, pointing and Twilight realizes with a start that what he thought had been just a field of boulders was actually the remains of houses. He lets out a shaky breath. The ruins aren’t where Ordon village would be, but the fact that they’re there at all is concerning. Wild doesn’t seem as perturbed by the existence of the ruins as Twilight is though, and it’s making Twilight nervous.
“How… many ruins like that are there…?”
Wild shrugs.
“A bunch.”
Twilight nods absently. He looks back to where Hyrule castle sits lonely in the distance. It looks decrepit, even from here, and he can only imagine the state of Castle Town. Next to him, Wild is quietly watching him. Twilight manages a small smile and stands. He can’t think about this right now… it’s too much. He offers a hand to Wild, who takes it, eyeing him warily. For once it seems like their roles are reversed; Wild is watching Twilight’s every move, as if ready to catch him should he stumble and fall. Twilight doesn’t quite know how to feel about it. He turns back to the forest. Behind it, he can see another cliffside, with a path leading up. He nods towards, trying to change the subject.
“What’s, uh. What’s up that way?”
Wild looks to where he is, but doesn’t answer. He looks away, but Twilight can see the frown he’s hiding.
“Nothing,” he says and Twilight lets it go. He’s not in much of a mood to talk about such things either. Instead, he places an arm around Wild’s shoulders. He can feel his protege tense beneath him, but doesn’t say anything. After a while, Wild relaxes and actually leans into the touch and they stand there.
Twilight gets the distinct feeling it’s the closest Wild’s been to hugging someone since… well, for a while at least. He doesn’t move to walk away or let go, just stands and waits for Wild. Deep down, he thinks, he needs this too.
Finally, Wild shifts and steps away, his head down as to not make eye contact. Twilight smiles softly and pats his shoulder before starting to walk back to the forest.
“C’mon,” he says and looks back to see Wild following him. “Time and the others probably waiting for us.”
Behind Wild, Twilight can see the cliff edge, leading down to the vast nothing of whatever Hyrule was now.
He swallows and keeps moving.