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Legend walked down the beach of Wind’s Hyrule, the breeze tugging at his hair and fine grains of sand working their way into his boots. He sat heavily below a palm tree, the village of Outset behind him. Below his skin the curse he’d carried since Labrynna tugged at his skin, tendrils of magic snaking up and biting, clawing to escape after a day spent in the surf with his brothers. He felt it reaching further than normal, as if he’d spent the day transformed, its magic tingling all over his legs and up his chest, over his arms and his cheeks to the tips of his fingers. He knew he’d probably spend the entire night awake fighting it if he didn’t transform.
Decision made he pulled off his boots and stockings and stashed them in the brush below the palms. He followed the tugging in his core. The closer he got to the waves the more insistent it became, and before he was ankle deep in the surf he was running towards the break, diving in head first. The magic swirled below his skin, rushing over his legs until they were no longer there, instead replaced with a long muscular tail of pink and shimmering gold scales. The scales rose over his hips and up the middle of his chest, flaps of skin on his sides opening up to inhale the water of the Great Sea. The magic continued over his arms, fins flaring at his wrists and claws extending from his fingers. It rose over his neck and more gills appeared there, scales rising over his cheeks and a second lid appearing over his eyes to protect them. His teeth grew and sharpened, his hair shifting to be slightly pinker in color. His belt and tunic and hat had all disappeared the moment the change started, and he spared a moment to wonder where the curse put them before he was tearing off into the deeper waters around the island, searching for a current where he could drift peacefully.
Instead he found one that made its way around the cliffs of the island and he followed it, scaring away schools of fish and the occasional octorok. The seas were saltier than he’d expected, the fish here different than those around the coasts of Hyrule and Labrynna, but the pressure of the water around him and the pull of currents were calming, welcoming. He let himself relax and let the instincts of the curse take the reins, guiding his movements through the seas.
When the sun had fully set and the stars were shining brightly above he turned back towards the beach. He looked for the grove of trees that had blocked sight of the village, hiding his transformation. Instead he spotted a figure ankle deep in the water. He swam closer to the shoreline, realizing it was Wild before the smell of blood flooded his senses.
He flinched back, trying to get farther away from his brother before the curse took over. He felt his magic fighting, pushing it back, but it was strong here, surrounded by water for miles around. He felt himself losing ground, the curse taking over. He felt the fin trailing up his spine straighten, the fins on his forearms flicking with every twitch of the tide. He felt himself fading away as the scent of blood seemed to flood his gills.
He felt his senses lock on to Wild standing in the surf before everything went black.
`~~~
Wild walked down the beach, enjoying the way the bright light of the full moon played over the gentle waves and the sand shifted under his feet. It dug between his toes and scratched at his skin, still warm from the day's sun. He sucked in a sharp breath when a sharp shell dug into the arch of his foot, and quickly pulled it up to see a gash across the skin.
It wasn’t very deep, so he walked closer to the waves and washed it off, ignoring the sting from the salt. He enjoyed the feeling of waves tickling his skin, walking along the surf with the waves licking at his heels. He walked a little deeper into the waves, rolling up the legs of his pants when a webbed hand reached out and grabbed him. Off balance he toppled forward, landing on his knees, sand and bits of shell digging into his skin, and he struggled to stand up as he was pulled forward, a wave breaking over his head, disorienting him. He inhaled salt water and coughed, gasping, as he was dragged further into the sea. He called out, knowing Twilight was somewhere behind him, or maybe the others at Wind’s house, even as he scratched at the claws digging into his wrist, drawing blood. The creature, whatever it was, was scaled in pink and gold, with strength like a Zora, maybe stronger. It was dragging him out into the deep, down the sloping sands and towards the dropoff. He fought against its pull but with one hand trapped and sands giving beneath his feet, he’d soon be fully in the water with it.
He ended up being saved by Four, he darted into the waves, Pegasus boots on. Wolfie wasn’t far behind him, growling in challenge. Four grabbed him beneath the arms and tugged him back, the bracelets on his arms glinting in the moonlight. Wolfie ran to his front and bit down on the creature's own wrist, right through one of its fins. It screeched and surfaced momentarily, sharp teeth snapping at the wolf's paws, just out of reach. Wild pulled his hand back now that it was free, turning to swim back to the beach, only to turn around when Wolfie let out a snarl, fangs latched around the creature's tail, its own teeth bit deep into his hind leg.
He drew his sword and made to kill the creature, his blade already swinging down when another intercepted. He looked up to see Sky, eyes wide in concern as he held the glowing Master Sword.
“What are you doing? It’s hurting him!” Wild shouted.
“It’s Legend.”
Wild turned back to the creature, still latched onto Wolfie’s leg. It had pink and gold scales, a see through fin running from its tail base and up its spine to the creature's neck. Gills opened and closed on its neck and sides, flaring with every inhale and exhale.
But underneath that he saw his brother.
Pale skin and pink blonde hair, violet eyes wide with adrenaline and maybe a little fear.
“We have to get him to the beach.”
He wasn’t sure who it was that had spoken, but he saw Time and Warriors approaching on either side of Wolfie, who was now simply holding Legend in place. They both jumped forward at the same time, Warriors pining Legends’ arms down and behind his back while Time used his weight to hold the strong tail. Even with his armor on he struggled to keep from smacking into Warriors or himself. Legend let go of Wolfie’s leg, snapping instead at the captain.
Wind called out from the beach, a net in hand in case they needed it. Sky pulled off his sail cloth, wrapping it around the snarling veteran. Arms pinned by the cloth it was much easier to carry him up the beach. Hyrule rushed over once they were out of the water, glowing hands held over the struggling merman.
”He- I don’t sense any injuries?”
Time shared a look with Sky before placing Legend on the sand. Hyrule kneeled down by his head, muttering under his breath, hands reaching for his hair. Legend only snapped at his successor, clearly still lost to whatever this was.
Four touched his wrist gently, pulling it from where he held it to his chest with a roll of bandages in hand. “We’ll have to clean it back at the house, but we should wrap it for now.”
He nodded and let the smithy wrap the bandages around the punctures, still steadily bleeding with every pulse of his pounding heart. What had happened to Legend? Was it a curse? Had they missed some sign of infection or corruption from fighting the black bloods?
He didn’t get any answers.
They decided to carry him back to the house and try to dry him off. They kept him wrapped snugly in Sky’s sailcloth, the fabric seeming to calm him down and keep his arms pinned. It made the walk up the sandy paths easier, even his tail only snapping out once or twice as they neared the little beach house.
Light spilled out of the door as they all piled inside, plopping Legend on the couch as he seemed to drift off. Hyrule, Four, and Sky sat on the floor in front of the couch, swords drawn in case he went crazy again.
Wolfie stayed outside, Twilight coming in a few minutes later with Legends shoes and stockings in hand.
And they waited.
~~~
Legend awoke to warmth. He blinked away the haze of sleep, finding himself wrapped tightly in something thick and soft. A wood ceiling above him told him he was inside, and a quick turn of his head told him he was on a couch. Looking the other way showed Wind asleep against Warriors by the front door. Wild, Time and Twilight sat at the dining room table, cards from an earlier game all but forgotten. In front of him between the couch and the fire sat Sky, Four, and Hyrule, swords drawn across their laps.
He struggled to recall why they were on guard. Had they been attacked? The last thing he remembered was leaving the house to go for a walk- Oh. Oh no.
Warmth forgotten, he pushed against the sail cloth, now feeling trapped. He had to get free, had to explain to them what had happened. A hand appeared, tugging at the cloth around his neck and suddenly his arms were free. He pulled it off, looking up to see Sky standing there, no judgment in his gaze. He looked away, all but shoving the sail cloth into his arms.
“You okay there Vet?”
Legend nodded, scooting back further into the couch. His hands found the hem of his tunic, twisting it with his anxiety. “I didn’t-You aren’t- I’m sorry.” he stuttered, hands finding his hair and burying themselves in the locks. He had flashes of memory- blood in his gills, teeth in his fins, fur in his mouth. “”Is everyone okay?” he asked quickly.
Sky’s hand pulled his hands from his hair and he looked up to meet his gaze. “Everyone is fine, but we've got a few questions.”
He nodded. Alright, sure. He could answer some questions. They weren’t glaring at him or stabbing him, so he was fine for now.
He still pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He flinched when a tender spot on his wrist was rubbed but ignored it. It felt partially healed, likely Hyrule's doing.
“You want to know about the curse.”
Sky sat down next to him, Hyrule joining on his other side a moment later.
“The Master Sword didn’t remove it.”
Legend shook his head. No, it wouldn’t. He’d had it too long, it was buried too deep. “It’s permanent.”
He took another moment to gather himself, Hyrule's hand on his back bringing a slight comfort. “I've had it since my third adventure. I had to go through a water dungeon and found a chest. I was expecting Zora armor or a scale, but instead I found a scaled skin folded up inside. I picked it up and it vanished. I thought that was it. It was so old it’d evaporated or something.” He glared at the floor in front of him. “Then I fell into the water. It swirled under my skin and changed me. Happened every time I was submerged until I got it under control.”
Warriors talked quietly from the armchair he and Wind shared. “You went feral like that every time?”
Legend was shaking his head quickly. NO, goddesses no, he’d have locked himself away, but…“I spent all day in the water with you guys, keeping myself from changing. I had to transform tonight. I just hadn’t realized it’d be so strong and then I smelled blood.” He looked over at the table where Wild sat, wrist bound in bandages. “I’m sorry, by the way. I didn’t mean to..” he waved a hand at his wrist, grimacing.
Wild smiled at him and walked over, sitting on the floor by Four. “It’s okay. You weren’t yourself.”
Legend nodded and let himself be pulled into Sky’s side. “So that’s my curse. I can’t control myself or my magic and hurt my friends.”
Hyrule was shaking his head beside him. “Stop beating yourself up. You don’t get mad at me when I disappear to find sweets do you?”
“No, but that’s not-”
“It is the exact same thing. Sometimes the magic takes over. No one was seriously injured and now we know to be careful. Just let us know next time, okay?”
Legend looked to see the others nodding in agreement. He let out a heavy sigh. “Okay.”
Time stood from the table and leaned against the back of the armchair. “Anybody else have any curses and or transformations they want to reveal.” Some glances were shared, Four and Twilight especially, and he felt Sky flinch beside him, but ultimately everyone remained silent. “Alright then. I think that’s enough excitement for tonight. Let’s all go to bed.”
Everyone slowly filed out of the room, heading to Wind’s room or the vacated loft. Legend moved to follow but was stopped by Twilight grabbing his arm and pulling him to the side. He glared at the man for the rough handling.
“Rancher?”
Twilight looked torn for a moment before he cleared his throat. “I just want you to know you aren’t alone and nobody is judging you for what happened. We’d have liked to be informed before something like this happened, but we’re all just glad you’re okay.”
Legend felt his face soften and turned away, something catching in his throat. He cleared it and blinked away the warmth in his eyes. “Thanks. Now go away. You smell like a wet dog.”
Twilight barked out a laugh and followed Wild into Wind’s bedroom. Legend rubbed at his eyes for a moment before joining Hyrule in the loft.
Things would be okay.