Chapter Text
Magic. It was helpful. It could heal, could create.
It could also destroy, and break.
But it couldn't heal a broken heart. It couldn't heal the mind, plagued by memories and death.
Hyrule knew that the hard way.
He learned that when Time came home, hardly seeming the same man, missing an eye and dreaming of death. He learned that when Warriors came home, physically fine but missing someone, just as affected by battles as Time.
There was nothing magic could do for an already healed wound. There was nothing magic could affect when grief was concerned.
There was nothing magic could do to prevent his father's death.
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There was a reason the Lon brothers were never accused of being quiet. The addition of friends didn't help. Aryll had retreated to the stairs nearly ten minutes ago, overwhelmed by the noise, and was considering hiding away in one of the boy's rooms for a bit when Hyrule caught her eyes. He motioned for her to wait a second, then sent some motions to Legend, who gave a thumbs up in return. Hyrule bounded up the stairs, grabbing Aryll's hand so she would follow him.
He grabbed what looked like a stick with a hook on the end when the reached the top of the stairs, and pulled down another pair of stairs.
"Come on, it's not as loud up here," He said, before disappearing into the space above. Aryll followed him up.
To her surprise, the attic was wide open and airy. A table sat at against the wall a little ways in front of her, woodshavings dusting the floor around it, and to her right was an easel and tarp. A little ways behind and to her left was a pile of beanbags and a basket, and behind her on the right was a little cozy book nook.
"Welcome to the get away from everyone else space!" Hyrule declared.
"It's nice," Aryll agreed. She could barely hear the others downstairs.
"That's Sky's woodcarving table," Rule said, pointing, "And that's Legend's painting spot, our cousin Ravio got him into it years ago and he hasn't stopped since, the book corner is technically Vio's but we've all used it at some point, and that pile of beanbags is Warriors' sewing corner."
Aryll snorted with laughter at that.
"Hold on, what?" She said, "He sews?"
Hyrule nodded, grinning mischievously, "Doesn't seem like the type, I know. But he does! He sewed us all blankets at some point. And he's handy at fixing up rips."
Hyrule paused, biting at his lower lip.
"Of course, he hasn't done much of that since he got back."
"Why not?" Aryll asked.
Hyrule shrugged.
"Probably a lot of reasons. Honestly, he's still kind of adjusting to being back home."
Aryll nodded.
"Come on, you'll love this part, " Hyrule said, moving on. He moved past the table and the easel to the wall...
Which wasn't actually a wall, Aryll realized, but a curtain covering a pair of doors.
Well, now the weird lighting made sense.
Hyrule dramatically threw the curtains open. Light flooded in.
He waved Aryll over. She could see the backyard, flooded with light. Malon was coming in from the barn.
Hyrule opened the doors and pulled Aryll outside. The sunlight was warm against her skin, and she let out a sigh of relief at the sudden quiet that encompassed them, especially after Rule closed the doors.
"This is my favorite spot in the house," he admitted, sitting down on the balcony, "My room's great and all, and Sky swears by the barn, but he likes to nap in there and that's his spot. Everyone knows about this spot, but it's kind of gotten claimed by me, so they aren't out here a lot."
"It's nice," Aryll agreed, sitting down next to him.
Silence passed between them for a while. Birds chirped lazily, drifting past on the wind.
"How many of you know HSL?" Aryll asked after a while. Hyrule startled, having been lost in thought.
"Hm?" He asked.
"How many of you know Hylian Sign?" Aryll repeated.
"Oh. All of us. Time... I don't know if you knew, but he was in the army, too. That's how he lost his eye. None of us know exactly how, though. Anyways, when he got back, he... he was in pretty bad shape, mentally. He had a hard time with being selectively mute. So we all learned it together, to help," Hyrule paused, then said quietly, "It's helped Wars some too, since he's gotten back."
Aryll nodded. Hyrule went on.
"We changed a lot of things, trying to help Time. Legend used to swear like a sailor, but it always sent Time into a panic attack when he heard it, so we all stopped swearing. He told us after a while that swearing was a big pet peeve with a squadmate of his who got killed."
"Oh." Aryll wasn't sure what to say. What do you say to that?
"Malon's helped him more than any of us could. They were highschool sweethearts. Time tried to break off the relationship when he went into the army, so she wouldn't get hurt," Hyrule chuckled, "She said no. Said if that's what made him afraid, she'd face it for him, because she wasn't scared of what might happen. Stuck with him through thick and thin. They got married a year after he got back."
"When did he leave?"
"He was eighteen. According to him and Dad, wanted to do something meaningful with his life. Thought the army was the best way to do it. Now he's content to run the ranch for Dad." Hyrule broke off strangely at the last, making a strange face.
"Will you sell it?" Aryll asked, tactfully glossing over Hyrule's error.
"I doubt it. We all love it here. It's home."
The silence was comfortable this time, and lasted nowhere near as long this time.
"Anything else I should know?" Aryll asked.
Hyrule chuckled.
"Time hates the moon. Wild stress bakes and is always experimenting. Wind and Red may fool you with the innocent looks but they are a couple of gremlins. If you get pranked it's usually either them or Time, who somehow is still mischievous. Time helps with search and rescue for the Lost Woods -- if he says stay in the house then you stay in the house. Legend is emotionally constipated and so usually grumpy but he's trying. The quadruplets either come separately or all together, there is no in between. Sky is almost always sleepy, if he falls asleep somewhere weird he's alright, just make sure he's comfortable. Oh, and he has asthma."
"...Alrighty. That was a lot."
"Sorry."
Aryll shrugged, "It's better than not knowing anything." She hesitated for a moment, then leaned over and placed her head on Hyrule's shoulder.
"Besides, we've got a lot of time to make up for."