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The construction of the houses on the Surface wasn’t the greatest.
It was to be expected of course. No one on Skyloft had built a house in years. That Groose guy did his best with what they had, but most of the houses had a bit of a draft.
Maybe that’s why Four kept seeing minish running around with grass and straw and mud, watching them carefully fill unseen cracks in the walls.
“ Do you want help? ” He asked them in Minish, easily gathering a few handfuls of grass for them to work with at their direction.
“ Thank you! ” A Minish that seemed to be the director of the project told him. “ We won’t forget this kindness! ”
“ Thank you for making sure they don’t get cold. ” He answered with a soft smile.“ I won’t forget that either. ”
~
Four was ecstatic to be in Hyrule castle’s armory.
Wild had broken all his weapons, again, and Warriors opened the armor to Four to pick out something long-lasting.
Essentially he was going to grab the strongest weapons in the armor, then they were all gonna pray that they’ll last Wild longer than a month.
It was an easy job and if it was really that simple Four would have done it and left by now.
But Four was in the future, many many many years in the future.
Blacksmithing had changed so much in the multiple eras that have come and left and Four was stoked to be looking at the new types of weapon styles that have popped up since his Era.
“ What is this guy still doing in here ?” A huffy voice called out behind him. “ We need to finish maintenance .”
Four tried not to snort.
Town Minish did tend to be more high strung than their forest counterparts.
“ Don’t let me stop you ,” Four said in accentless Minish. “ I’m just looking around .”
Four heard sputtering from behind him and turned around to see a juvenile Minish bright red stuttering over her words.
Restaining a giggle, Four shot the girl a bright smile.
“You all take care of all the weapons here?” Four questioned. “Including the Heros?”
The Minish blinked at him before proudly puffing out her chest.
“ Yep! ” She responded with a big grin. “ I even personally take care of the Heros! I'm a prodigy! ”
Four gave a low whistle at her claims, making the Minish blush.
“ That's so impressive! ” Four said and the Minish covered her face with her hands.
“ Thank you, ” Four said, far more serious than before. “ For helping out the Captain .”
The Minish girl peered out at him from between her fingers.
“ No problem! ” She squeaked out and Four chuckled softly at her.
“ What are you looking for in here ?” She asked, tilting her head.
“ Well ,” Four started. “ Do you have anything that's incredibly durable ?”
~
Twilight asked Four to grab measurements for some tools. Frankly, Four was a bit worried about getting mauled by his goats. Twilight constantly told stories of his friend Fado getting nearly knocked out by his goats and Four really didn’t want to test his luck.
Twilight assured Four that his goats were particularly calm compared to Fado’s and Four struggled to believe him.
Four believed him completely now.
Four’s jaw dropped open as he saw the Minish crawling all over Twi’s goats.
After the surprise had passed, he couldn’t help but smile as he saw the minish carefully soothing and cleaning the goats. They seemed to be everywhere pulling straw from fur and tugging out knots from the beast’s fur.
He left them to their work with only a nod of thanks to one who noticed him
~
Four was slowly losing what was left of his sanity and it was all Legend’s fault.
“ This house is a fucking nightmare! ” Blue hissed in the back of Four’s head.
Four could feel Blue’s presence slowly growing stronger and stronger, and Four needed to leave the room before one of them blew up at Legend. Either Blue was going to take front or influence Four with his rage. Either way, Legend was going to get an earful about the sorry state of his house if Four didn’t vacate his basement immediately. Four turned on his heel, staunchly ignoring Legend’s cries of cursed objects at the rest of the chain, and marched upstairs.
“ What the fuck .” Blue ranted, co-conscious with Four. “ Why does he have all that stuff if he refuses to organize his shit ?”
“ Don’t ask me .” Four responded, rubbing his head. “ We have nearly as many weapons as him in the forge and our house never looks like a wreck. I have no clue how Legend let it get so bad .”
“ Damn right ours doesn’t! ” Blue exclaimed proudly.
Four snorted at his current headmate. The upstairs was cleaner than the basement, it was still a mess though.
“ I’m gonna strangle him ,” Blue said, far too calm for Four’s comfort.
“ I’m going to make us some tea .” Four responded, utterly ignoring Blue’s comment.
Blue rolled his eyes and Four began trying to find the kitchen.
“ This place is like a maze .” Four grumbled. “ How did we find 5 hall closets? ”
“ Rich people’s houses ,” Blue said just as annoyed. “ This place is somehow worse than the Castle .”
“ The Castle at least has guards that tell you where to go… ” Four replied, ignoring the rich people comment.
“What the fuck.” Four said out loud, as he opened a door into a spare room filled to the brim with instruments. “Where is the Kitchen!”
“ I’m gonna go crazy ,” Blue said exasperated.
“ It’s on the east side of the house .” A soft voice answered in Minish. “ The rabbit man covered the door with a purple blanket .”
Four blinked and immediately looked down to see a town Minish looking up at him, overseeing several Minish carrying an ocarina.
“ That’s not just any town Minish… ” Blue said and Four looked closer.
“ Thank you Elder Mage .” Four said politely in Minish to the elder.
Legends house must be where all the magic inclined town Minish go to learn from Masters. The elder barely blinked at being addressed in his own language.
“ Are they cleaning Legend’s house? ” Blue questioned excitedly.
“ Do you organize Legend’s items? ” Four asked the Minish.
“ Master Link? Yes of course .” The Elder Minish responded, gesturing for his apprentices to continue moving the ocarina. “ He has many powerful items and he isn’t home often enough to organize them all. We spend a lot of time sorting his powerful relics so Master Link doesn’t accidentally pick up a cursed object. ”
Four felt warmth spread through his chest. “ Thank you ,” Four said sincerely. “ For helping him .”
“ It’s no problem, Mr.Hylian .” The elder Minish responded with a smile.
“ I still hate this place ,” Blue grumbled, and Four sighed.
Right, he still needs to make that tea.
~
Honestly, it was an accident that he saw it.
The colors had decided to be extremely active for seemingly no reason. He could feel them moving around and talking, but he couldn’t actually hear them. There was just an ever-present buzzing in the back of his head.
So, he was awake. Staring up at the ceiling of the old craggy cave they had taken refuge in. Keese hoards were apparently much more terrifying when they were made of aches.
The air was musty and dank, and he really wished he was asleep . Ugh, the colors can’t even hear him complain about them keeping him awake. Wild better give him the good coffee.
Four quietly grumbled and rolled over on his side, trying to get at least a little more comfortable while he laid awake all night. When he heard shifting.
Four was instantly alert and aware, a sharp burst of panic hitting his body. He quickly glanced around without making a sound. He wanted to keep the element of surprise.
Eventually, he saw a vial of something glowing red being dragged to one of Hyrule’s empty bottles being carried by… is that a Minish?
Four looked closer and yes that was a few Minish struggling to open one of Hyrule’s bottles. Four instantly calmed down as the Minish managed to open Hyrule’s bottle and place the object Four now recognized as a ‘heart’ in the bottle before closing it up.
“ That’s you doing that? ” He whispered softly, recalling Hyrule mentioning finding healing items on his person all the time.
The minish jumped and turned to him.
“ Y-yes! The boy is always in need of healing items. ” A particularly brave member replied.
He smiled at the group of Minish.
“Thank you for keeping him alive.” He whispered in gratitude.
“ Its the least we can do. ” The same Minish stated with pride. “ The boy saved us so we’ll do our best to save him! ”
~
It was no secret that every member of their little chain loved Time’s home. Time’s house was quaint, warm, and Malon was like the mom most of them never had. The ranch itself was cozy and radiated safety, and many of the Links missed a simple day’s work.
Four wasn’t a rancher, and he didn’t grow up on a farm, but he couldn’t deny the appeal.
“I hope you aren’t having a hard time sweetie,” Malon said setting a cup of tea next to Four. “Been on this ranch my whole life, still can’t get the horse sense on how that math works for the life of me.”
Four smiles and looks up from the tax returns. “I’ve run my blacksmithing forge for a couple of years nows, and I love math.” Four responded with a smile. “This is easier for me than dealing with the animals.”
“Well, I never!” Malon laughed brightly. “I’ll pick the animals every time thank you.” Malon ruffed Four’s hair and he found that it didn’t bother him all that much. “I’m just lucky you sweet boys are here to help me with the ranch.” She said, and Four smiled back at her.
“I ‘ought to start cooking…” Malon said walking over to the counter. “How’s about ribs, field peas, pulled pork, cornbread, of course, collard greens…and apple pie with a side of banana pudding?”
“Sounds good.” Four said with a large smile, stomach already growling at the thought of a full sit-down meal. He loved the champion’s cooking of course, but he would like some food that needs something nicer than a campfire to make.
“Promised Wild that I’d teach him some recipes,” Malon said absent-mindedly. “I’m gonna go grab him and we’ll get cooking soon if ya wanna move before we start, hate to bother you while your working with those numbers.” Malon offered with a smile. “I can point ya to the office.”
“It’s fine ma’am.” Four responded kindly. “I don’t want to move.”
“Right then,” Malon said, walking to the doorway. “I’ll be back faster than a jackrabbit.”
“Bye!” Four called and with a click of the front door, Malon was gone.
Four turned back to Malon and Time's taxes. It really wasn't that complicated, he had no clue why so many people struggled with them. Four methodically went through the whole sheet, falling into a peaceful zone of math and writing.
Then two pots clanged together.
Four flinched hard, ripping straight through his scrap paper. Great, that paper was unusable now. Four looked up at the cabinets to see two very embarrassed Minish holding a pot. They looked like they were trying to disappear into the wall.
Four raised an eyebrow. " You two ok ?" Four asked the twins.
The Minish both nodded and went back to pulling out Malon's supplies. They were surprisingly used to Four's presence after they all but had a heart attack when Four introduced himself last time he was on the ranch. Four stood up and gently took the pot from the twins.
" Where do you want me to put this ?" Four asked as the two Minish stared up at him.
" On the other side of the sink ." The female half of the pair responded and Four placed the pot where she said.
"What's next?" Four asked with a grin and the twins stared for a moment.
" Is there a reason you're helping us ?" The male twin asked, not unkindly.
" Think of it as a small thank you for helping Malon and Time ." Four said with a smile and both of the twins blushed bashfully.
" Well, " The female twin stated. " The next thing is in one of the upper cabinets ."
~
Four knew wild could be absent-minded at times but honestly, this took the cake for ‘what crazy thing will wild not notice’ .
Minish were crawling all over him.
Some hanging in his hair, others racing around the kitchen to bring him spices just as he reached for them and putting them away when he was done, he could see them rushing around inside the cabinets and not even bothering to hide themselves as wild worked.
Wild couldn’t think this was normal right? Was he that in the zone he didn’t notice the cabinets opening on their own?
He could see them peering at him, murmuring and chattering about the person watching them even as they kept putting things away and bringing them over.
One Minish managed its way over to him, settling on his shoulder. Clearly unperturbed by the fact that Four could see them.
Were all Minish in Wild’s time this bold?
“ Are you the mr’s friend? ” They asked, tugging on his Minish tail earring in curiosity.
“ I am. ” He answered with a curious grin.
“ Thank you for keeping him company. ” The Minish squeals in delight. “ He’s been very lonely. ”
“ Thank you for taking care of him. ” He replied with a smile.
“ Of course! ” The Minish squeaked happily.
~
“Hey, Four.” Wind said, sitting next to Four on the sand. “You’re the Hero of Minish, right?”
Four blinked up to meet Wind's eyes. “Yes?” Four answered curiously.
“What is a minish?” Wind asked with a tilt of his head. “A lot of information and myths were lost in the flood and it’s been bothering me.”
Four kept his face carefully neutral. He was used to people not knowing about the Minish, most of the Kingdom barely knew he existed until his second and third adventure, but even the children? Children were supposed to be the friends of the Minish and the fact that Wind didn’t know they exist hurt his soul in a way he couldn’t explain.
If Wind didn’t know the Minish existed if children didn’t…
No Four wasn’t going to think about that.
“Ah,” Four said instead of verbalizing these feelings. “Do you just want me to describe them?” Four questioned.
A clinical detached description pulled from a book was easy enough. He could probably recite the main myth about the Minish off the top of his head.
“Well, they’re mainly called the Piccori by Hylians.” Four frowned thoughtfully, he never had to describe the Minish before. “They’re small mouse-like creatures about the size of a thumb, and they can only be seen by well-behaved children.”
Wind rolled his eyes.
“Which obviously means you wouldn’t be able to see them,” Four tacked on, and caught a punch to the shoulder.
“Hey!” Wind said offended.
“Are you claiming you’re well behaved?” Four asked with a raised eyebrow.
Wind went suspiciously quiet.
“I never got in trouble with Granny.” Wind settled on, like he wasn’t a pirate.
In an amazing show of self-restraint, Four did not roll his eyes. Truly he was the pinnacle of control.
“They normally help Hylians with tasks, like cooking, cleaning, their jobs. Just about everything.” Four said finishing his explanation. “Oh. They wear little outfits like look like flowers and have the cutest little hats.” Four said with a smile. The information wasn’t strictly relevant but it made him happy to share.
Wind stared at him for a long moment, clearly lost in thought.
“Sailor?” Four questioned the younger Hero.
“Like… mouse people that wear flappy dresses and have little hats? That only children can see?” Wind asked Four staring somewhere past his head. Four barely finished nodding before Wind grabbed his hand and pulled him off the sandy beach.
"Uh, Wind?" Four asked as he was being dragged away from his very pretty sitting spot. "I was quite happy where I was."
"Wait-wait-" Wind said, still clearly distracted. "I gotta show you something."
"What is it?" Excitement creeping into Four's voice.
Wind suddenly wanted to show something to him right after he explained the Minish wasn't a coincidence. Maybe Wind remembered an old storybook with the Minish in it. A warm smile spread across his face at the thought. Wind pulled him across the beach to his house, quickly opening the door and shoving Four through.
"Hey, hey." Four said a horrible grin breaking across his face. "No need to be so pushy."
Wind groaned loudly. "That doesn't even count as a pun and I hate you." Wind said exasperated, finally letting go of him.
Four nodded sagely. Green would be proud. Blue would probably be trying to strangle him. Which obviously means it's the best kind of joke.
Wind quickly ran into the kitchen and climbed on the counter.
"Should you be up there?" Four asked, frowning at Wind's precarious footing.
"Shhhh, I'm fine." Wind said like a true 14-year-old.
Four shook his head.
"Hey, little guys." Wind said softly to the top of the cupboard and Four's heart nearly stopped. "Are you called Minish?"
Four clambered onto the counter as fast as he could, standing on his tippy toes to peer over the cupboards.
"Oh? How the tables have turned." Wind said smugly and Four very maturely ignored him.
" Hello ?" Four chittered softly in Minish. " Are you there ?"
Four could feel Wind looking over at him curiously but Four couldn't care less. Four thought the Minish were gone not ten minutes ago, he's allowed to be a little excited.
A single Minish slides out of a hole on top of the cupboard, looking at Four with big eyes.
" How do you know our language ?" The little guy asked.
"These guys!" Wind exclaimed before Four could respond. "There are the ones that helped 'Gran while I was gone!" Wind said with a bright smile.
Four smiled back at Wind.
" The Mrs ?" The Minish questioned Wind. " She needs more help now because of her age, and you're not home often due to adventures. She's very nice, I've known the woman her whole life. I'm glad to make her twilight years easier ."
"Did they say something?" Wind asked, cutting Four off before he could speak to the Minish again.
"He said that he's happy to help your grandma out." Four said cutting the extra bits.
Wind gasped happily.
"Thank you, Mr.Minish guy!" He said with a bright smile and the Minish gave a little bow.
" Thank you ." Four whispered in Minish.
" It's no problem, Hero of the Four Sword ." The Minish said kindly with a wink.
Four's jaw dropped open. " You -" Four stated his question, only to be cut off again.
By a much different voice this time.
"What are you two doing on the countertop?" Time's voice rang out clear as day.
"Fuck." Wind said, and Four had to agree with the sentiment.
Fuck indeed.