Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wind lets out a yawn as he sluggishly pushes himself upwards in his bedroll. He notices the rest group is already up and awake, save for Sky, of course. When is their furthest predecessor— that's present, at least— ever up before someone else?

With that thought, Wind grumbles as he pulls himself out of his bedroll and towards the fire where Wild is crouched. Said boy is cooking breakfast for everyone and is almost done. Thank the gods and everything else that they finally have a Link who can cook. The rest of them are now finally guaranteed to live another day! Wind looks up to see Wild smile at him as he trudges towards the rest of the group.

"Morning!" He says, far too cheerily for someone who woke up early. Based on what Wild says next, he must've been making a face. "Don't look at me like that. I'm making fried eggs with rice. And they should be done in about... ten seconds."

That's about ten seconds too long in Wind's not remotely humble opinion, but oh well. He's not offending their only cook. They all remember how that ended last time. Wind still shivers at the memory of Wild's face as he dumped an entire bottle of Goron Spice into the stew he'd been making for dinner that time. Yeesh.

With that thought in mind, Wind keeps his mouth shut until the ten seconds pass and Wild finishes piling food onto the plates. Giddily, Wind practically leaps towards them, snatching up his plate with a cheerful 'thank you!' before sitting down nearby.

The only strange thing is that his drowsiness hasn't subsided yet. He's usually a lot quicker to rise, once he's awake, that is. But he just feels... kinda woozy. He was pretty tired the evening before. Maybe he was more tired than he thought? He woke up shivering during the night, so he supposes that didn't help anything. Cold nights are the worst. Thankfully, it seems to have warmed up fairly quickly this morning.

Oh well. He'll just eat first and worry about it later. Right, he probably just needs to eat. Food gives you energy, he just needs food and he'll be fine. With that thought in mind, he scarfs down his plate as quickly as physically possible. This earns him both a fresh breakfast and the other Links telling him to slow down.

As he eats his food, he can also hear the telltale groans of a freshly, and unhappily, woken Sky. He turns to see the Skyloftian begin to sit up before apparently deciding that being awake is overrated and promptly dropping back into his bedroll. The others snicker at the sight while Time and Warriors sigh at their sleepy brother.

The captain gets up from where he's seated and walks over to the other knight, shaking his shoulder. "Sky, c'mon, wake up." His efforts only earn him an annoyed groan and Sky shoving his face even deeper into his pillow. Wind at least tries to stifle a laugh, unlike a few others (ahem, Twilight, Legend, and Wild). Warriors turns back to everyone and scowls for their laughter, which Wind does not deserve, as one of the only ones who actually tried not to laugh.

"Sky, breakfast is ready. Plus we agreed to scout around due to the monsters. You need to get up."

Sky doesn't move, but Wind hears the muffled "no" from the aforementioned Link's bedroll. Warriors sighs again, shaking Sky's shoulder more quickly.

"Sky, c'mon, get up."

"I don't wanna." Warriors scowls again as not a single Link attempts to cover their laughter at the somewhat childish display, "Being up is overrated. So is scouting." Warriors sighs yet again before turning back to Sky for one last attempt.

"Sky, if you don't get up, your breakfast, instead of Wild's amazing fried eggs and rice, will be Hyrule's abomination."

"Hey!"

The entire group, save for an offended Hyrule, bursts into laughter as Sky shoots up from his bedroll in horror. The Skyloftian levels a glare at the captain. "That's low." Despite seeming to wake up suddenly, his voice is still groggy and soft from sleep.

"Then get up and eat, and that threat won't stand." Sky frowns, but nonetheless pulls himself from his bedroll and tiredly trudges over and sits down next to Wind. He's still cranky from being threatened awake until Wild hands him two cups of coffee, which are effectively inhaled in record time. Within minutes, Sky is mostly awake and back to his usual, happy self.

"That's still unsettling as fuck." Wind decides aloud. Time and Warriors give him disapproving looks for his swearing while everyone else chuckles. Legend in particular seems to agree with his statement though.

Time sighs before straightening his back. "Let's just eat. We'll get into the details for scouting for the infected monsters after." A few Links grumble, but continue eating their food. Wind's not personally the biggest fan of having to do scouting missions, but he can manage.

Breakfast seems to drag on a bit. Even after he's done eating, Wind still feels sluggish. Isn't breakfast supposed to make you... not tired? That's annoying. Oh well, he can manage. He's done crazier things while more tired than he is now (not that Time or Warriors need to know that).

They all hand off their dishes back to Wild for him to wash while the rest go and pick up their things. And even after everything, Wind still feels sleepy, annoyingly enough. Maybe Sky had the right idea after all. Aside from that, Time calls everyone to get ready. Apparently, Twilight found some more monsters a bit ago, so not only do they have to go out scouting, they have to move the entire damn camp.

Honestly fuck these monsters. Fuck that weird infection thing. Most of all, fuck that Shadow. He hates that sneaky bastard.

However, he honestly can't bring himself to air his complaints. So instead of doing that, he simply grabs his things and follows the others and Epona out of the clearing.

Which would be fine, if this walk wasn't so boring. Instead of simply walking in silence, tired with a very mild headache, he starts fiddling with his Pictobox. He starts looking through pictures he's taken in his time with the Chain until he finds a recent picture of Legend. The older Link is fast asleep, sprawled out over Warriors— also asleep— with his hair in his mouth and drooling all over the poor captain. Wind snickers as he looks at the picture.

He's also recently had the fun little discovery that he can send his pictures to Wild's Slate. A smile makes its way to his face as he does just that. He peeks back to see Wild and Hyrule quietly chatting about something as they walk next to each other. Wild picks up his Slate as he hears the ping and takes a minute to look at it. He slaps a hand to his mouth as he struggles to muffled a laugh. Hyrule, clearly feeling left out of the shenanigans, pulls on Wild's arm to look at the picture of Legend. Hyrule's eyes widen as he too slaps a hand to his mouth with a badly suppressed wheeze. The sound makes Wind and Wild both start to giggle, which makes Hyrule begin to giggle as well. Wild snorts and gives Wind a thumbs up, to Wind's delight. He truly is an extraordinary photographer, clearly.

"I don't like the sound of that." Legend begins. "What are you weirdos giggling about, back there?" He questions, peering back at the three of them. Wind swears he can hear Sky and Four both starting to snicker a bit.

Wind and Wild both start to giggle even more as Hyrule puts a hand to his heart in mock offense. Wind puts his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest to look as proud as physically possible. The sight doesn't seem to make Legend look remotely reassured. In fact, he looks even more unnerved. Heh... good.

"Perfection, Vet, it's perfection." Wind smiles cheerily. The expression only makes Legend look at him with more suspicion. He looks at him like he's just some heathenish delinquent. Twilight turns back to look at the others laughing, looking vaguely amused.

"That can only mean you have something solely to mess with us with." Lies and slander! Wind would never have something for such a limited purpose. It's not fault he just has several items that also happen to be prime blackmail material. Tsk tsk. Thinking so lowly of his own brothers. For shame, Legend!

"Excuse you! I'm a pirate. I would not take something so useless." Hyrule and Wild both wheeze behind him. Even Sky and Four are really starting to giggle. Legend raises an eyebrow at him.

Before Wind can say anything else, Legend pivots and begins walking over to him. "Alright, brat. Get over here. What do you have?"  Wind gives his best innocent smile as darts backwards and ducks behind Wild. He and Hyrule snicker at the young teen, and Wind can see Legend's eyebrow twitch. "Din damn it, don't encourage him!" Sky, Four, and Twilight all snort while Legend charges after Wind, who runs and spins away as quickly as possible. Wind can hear Time sigh from the front of the group.

Finally, after at least a minute of trying (and failing) to grab Wind, Legend manages to snatch the Pictobox from his hands. Wind cackles as Legend looks at the picture on the Pictobox and his face turns hilariously red.

"How long have you had this?!" Everyone besides Time and Warriors burst into laughter as Legend screeches in horror.

That's when  suddenly Wind gets an idea. He walks up to Legend, giving the veteran his best puppy dog eyes. "You don't like it?" The young teen suppresses a smile at the sound of Wild, Hyrule, Twilight, and Sky snickering. Legend's mouth twitches as he looks down at Wind. However, he doesn't break and instead merely gently bonks Wind on the top of his head with the Pictobox. The audacity, viciously hitting him with his own things. Such a mean older brother, sob.

"You little shit." Wind snickers at Legend's glare and sharp whisper.

Wind can vaguely see Warriors peeking back in curiosity at what in the world is happening behind him. Wild suddenly smiles and sends Wind a wink before running up to where Warriors and Time are walking. Legend looks at him in confusion. His expression then shifts to a more concerned one before looking back down at Wind, who he's put into a headlock. Wind simply gives him another little smile, because he's not a snitch. Legend's expression morphs from concern to horror as he realizes what Wild is about to do. "Champion, don't you fucking dare-!"

Wind hears as Warriors chokes on his own breath when Wild shows him the photo. "Oh, ew! That's what that was?!" Legend's face turns bright pink as the others let out howling laughs. Even Time is trying to smother his own amused smirk after looking at the picture. Warriors shudders, rubbing at his face at the idea of saliva covering it. Wind can only bring himself to cackle at the chaos he's created. Legend's glare is so worth it.

"That's what you get for last week!" Wind thinks, smugly. "You know what you did."

Legend simply pouts as the laughter finally dies down. Other than that, the rest of the walk is spent with casual quiet chatter, only occasionally quieting down to listen for monsters. Finally, they reach another clearing that the three main adults deem a good place to set up camp again.

Wind, feeling a bit more energetic after his previous shenanigans, is quick to offer to scout around. He has so much energy now, he could scout for miles! What even is fatigue?

Gaining permission from Time, Wind is quick to take his sword and shield and hightail his way out of the camp. His headache is a bit more obvious now, but he's fought with far worse. He did fight even after getting thrown into a wall via a catapult. He'll be fine! Infected monsters or not, it's just a quick scout around the area of the camp.

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It's great out here, scouting around. He's a bit further than he should be, but it's so warm and comfy! Sure, his headache is still bothering him and he feels a little achy, plus his tiredness is starting to come back, but he can manage. Not to mention the last thing he needs is the others not trusting him with scouting and such. Just because he's the youngest doesn't mean they need to be so paranoid!

So yeah, he can take care of himself just fine!

His thoughts are then cut off by some very familiar growls. Wind's eyes snap open to see five bokoblins. What's weird is they're currently in an in-between era that seems to come either just before or just after Twilight's. Yet these bokoblins are obviously from the Great Sea.

Whatever, these things are pushovers and nothing worth noting. He'll just take them down real quick. It shouldn't be too difficult. A few well placed jabs, slashes, and rolls and they'll be down in no time.

One of the bokoblins finally takes notice of him. This one doesn't have a weapon, so that's good for him. It lowers itself before charging, jumping into the air to tackle him to the ground.

Wind pulls out his sword and shield as he side steps out of the way, his foot dragging against the ground slightly. Right as the bokoblin hits the ground, he swings, piercing the monster's ribs with his sword. The bokoblin shrieks as it tries to slash at him.

Wind is about to slash again to take it out, but is interrupted by another bokoblin attacking him from the side that he's forced to block. This one has a sword and shield too, so that's annoying. Thankfully, not too difficult. And that's not to mention the fact the first bokoblin clearly isn't infected, if the red blood is an accurate indicator.

Wind forces back the second bokoblin, knocking it away. The first tries to jump away to attack again, but Wind is able to charge it, slashing it two more times. The first bokoblin crumples to the ground, dead. He turns to the remaining four, three having swords and shields with one not having weapons. When he turns to face the bokoblins, he becomes dizzy and his head starts to ache even more.

"Ugh. That's annoying." Wind blinks away the dizziness as quickly as possible before darting to the right. He moves to pierce one of the sword wielding bokoblins, only for it to block him with its shield. It attempts to kick him, only for him to jump out of its way before it can.

He jumps to the left, hacking away at the remaining defenseless bokoblin. It falls after only a couple seconds. He then jumps back to the right, going after the bokoblin that blocked him before. It blocks him again, forcing him back again. He takes the opportunity to duck to the right even further, slicing into its abdomen before it has time to recover.

Yet again, Wind feels tired and dizzy as his head pulses. He stays kneeling for a moment, trying to regain his bearings when he feels a sharp pain in his shoulder. He yelps as the bokoblin pulls its sword from his shoulder. He falls to the ground before kicking the bokoblin away from him.

He pushes himself from the ground, his right arm aching even worse than his head now. In what's probably not the smartest move, Wind drops his shield to take pressure off of his arm. After doing so, he charges the two remaining bokoblins, nearly tripping over his own feet as he does.

He tears through the face of the bokoblin that stabbed him. It screams in pain as he focuses his attention on its throat, cutting away at the body part, hitting the other bokoblin in the process. The screaming stops as the bokoblin drops dead, leaving the last one remaining.

The remaining bokoblin raises its shield, preparing for him to strike. He goes to hit the shield, stopping at the last moment as the monster parries the would-be strike. Taking advantage of its confusion, Wind stabs the bokoblin in the chest. He slashes at it a couple more times for good measure before it finally falls dead in a red, bloody heap.

Wind sighs and grasps at his forehead as he falls to his knees, the world spinning around him. It doesn't solve itself quickly, so he's forced to basically drag himself across the ground to where his shield is lying nearby. He winces in pain as he pulls the shield to his chest, watching as blood stains his sleeve.

Before he can get going, however, another growl sounds from behind him. The teen turns to watch one of Sky's moblins walk out from the trees. Wind immediately jumps into a defensive position, doing his best to fight through his lightheadedness.

The moblin stomps towards him and he quickly attacks it before it can make a move. When he cuts its arm, he can see it. Black blood. Wind is suddenly filled with an intense sense of dread.

"Son of a bitch..." He really should've gone back for help or just not wandered, shouldn't he have? All because he's dizzy, achy, warm, and now a bit nauseous—

Oh fuck, that's what it is. That's what the problem was and why he's been so tired all morning. That's why he woke up during the night with chills. It wasn't the actual temperature, it was a fever. He got sick. How could this have happened.?

He then remembers the days before. They'd gone through the castle town for supplies and found out during their time there that there was a bit of an illness going around at the moment. Whatever the illness is, he must've caught it while they were there.

"Din damn it!" Wind groans through clenched teeth, firmly regretting all his decisions that’ve led up to this point. He dodges an attack from the moblin, only for his legs to give out right under him as the world suddenly goes dark.

After a certain amount of time he isn't quite sure of, he can vaguely hear the moblin stomping around him, growling. His ears ring as he shuts his eyes, the sun suddenly feeling entirely too bright. He then can just barely make out the sound of another presence. He can hear the moblin roar in pain as something (or someone) cuts through it.

Lapsing in and out of consciousness, he can feel a person prodding at him, but can't make out a voice or appearance with what little he can see before the world goes dark again. He thinks he can feel himself be lifted from the ground, a couple things being pushed up next to him before being carried away. He doesn't have the energy, nor the will, to even try to fight it. Instead, he simply lets himself doze off to the sound of footsteps.

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He wakes up again later on. He doesn't know where he is or what the time is. All he knows is he's not in nearly as much pain as before, nor is he as tired. Finally, he manages to begin to flicker his eyes open, groaning quietly.

Wind suddenly feels more conscious as he hears shuffling coming from his right. He can vaguely hear water sloshing from the same side as the noise gets closer. "Where...?" He whispers.

"You awake now?" A low voice asks. He thinks it's Time for a moment before realizing he doesn't recognize this voice. Despite that, there's still something about it that's almost weirdly soothing. It also sounds as if it's coming from just above him.

He finally pulls his eyes fully open to look to see a man crouched above him. It's an older man he doesn't recognize. He has long blond hair and a purple facial marking that Wind knows he's never seen before.

Who is this guy?

Chapter Text

Link opens his eyes to a familiar expanse of darkness. The expanse that's haunted him since he was eighteen, even before the days of his imprisonment. Whenever it appeared, it showed nothing but the suffering and despair to come through the power of a fallen god and mortals who cared for no one but themselves. The space makes him want out the moment he sees it. He did his part. Demise was sealed nearly a decade ago. Not to mention he should stay sealed for far far longer than ten years!

Yet here he is again. Only things are different this time around. There are no flames to light up the darkness. No screams to shake his horrified soul. No smoke to burn his eyes, nose, and lungs. No laugh of the god of destruction, the Demon King. Just an eerie, yet strangely peaceful, darkness.

That's when the lights appear. Small sprite like things of varying colors dance around and even circling him. There are several sprites of green and blue shades. A couple purple. One orange and one pink. One sprite is even green, red, blue, and purple all at once. Link reaches a hand out as a purely red one floats over to him before flickering away. Finally, the small, orb like lights take on Hylian forms. He's not really thinking to count them, but he's pretty sure there's fifteen of them.

As they run about the void, the details become clearer and he can see a few of them wearing armor. One of them is even wearing a knight uniform that reminds Link of his own. Finally, the darkness is taken over by a view of a place that can only be on the surface. A small forest clearing covered in a haze that'd occasionally plague his visions. A haze that always makes the contents of his visions fuzzy and difficult to make out. There are only a few people he can see, seeming to be at camp and are all male, from what he can tell. On top of it, all of their clothing is so different Link can't imagine what all of them are gathered for. Though based on all the armor, weapons, and other items, it can't be anything good.

From where he's standing, he can see nine of the, at least, fifteen lights he saw earlier. They all stand in a circle, Link at one side. He wants to turn to see where the other six are, but finds his feet practically glued to the ground and his waist unable to turn. He can't look around normally, like looking through another's eyes. That being said, despite being fuzzy due to the haze, they all look fairly normal, though some of them have aspects that are particularly jarring. One is so short Link mistakes him for a child for a moment before realizing, based on the rest of his appearance, that he can't be any younger than sixteen. On top of that, his eyes seemed gray at first, but Link swears he sees them flash to green, red, blue, and violet at different points through the haze.

Another member is clearly a child, to Link's horror, and can be no older than fourteen. He has a sword and several items, but no armor. A couple others are similar; swords and some other weapons and plenty of items, yet no armor. One's literally wearing shorts .

The heavily armored one is the next most jarring. It's not the armor that's unsettling, but the face. Or what he can see of it, at least. The markings of Dolahai, the Fierce Deity, are tattooed (or maybe even branded) on his face. Not completely, but enough to be obvious. The markings themselves are almost enough to completely distract Link from what seems to be a deep scar over the man's right eye.

Another has what seems to be some kind of animal pelt. On top of that, the markings on his face feel eerily familiar to Link. Dark, swirling markings that look almost chthonic. He might be able to pin them if he thought about it enough and had a better view, but there's just too much happening, along with too much haze. There's also a dark power coming from somewhere on his person. Not evil, just dark.

When Link looks more, his breath hitches at another one nearby who can't even be in his twenties. Sweet Din, the boy has some of the worst scarring Link's ever seen in his life. They're a web of burns and death on his face and down his neck. Link can only wonder how this kid survived whatever caused this. Much less if he survived at all. The scarring is something that looks as if it could only be caused by a beamos, if a much more dangerous one. Regardless, it looks like something that would've only been caused by the Sheikah tech in the old Lanayru Laboratory, from his personal experience, at the very least. He looks away for a mere moment, but when he turns back, the scarred youth seems older. An appearance akin to someone in their mid-twenties.

He turns to the one standing next to him and, thankfully, is not quite as jarred as he has been. This boy seems to be about the same age as the last one. And while he's not severely scarred, (from what Link can see, at least. With how many layers he has, it's impossible to tell.) he does have the element of surprise that is seeming to almost look like a mini Orville. No intended insult on the boy's height, of course. Besides the hair texture, he looks like Orville. And just when Link thinks he can't be any more caught off guard, he's immediately proven a fool.

On the boy's back is a blue sword. A very familiar blue sword; the Goddess Sword. Though it looks a little bit different, it's pretty clear which sword it is. Or which sword it was , at the very least. And if it is the Goddess Sword, that can only mean one thing. A fact Link realizes as dread slowly settles itself within the deepest pits of his stomach.

This is his future incarnation. And the others... can only be the incarnations after him. How is that possible? Him and Hylia only planned for the one to handle the presently sealed Demise. Had their plan been flawed? Had he set up his successor for failure? What other reason could there be to need more than one? Unless something went wrong.

Din damn it all. If only he'd successfully defeated Demise the way they'd intended, this wouldn't be an issue. And based on what he's seeing, not only did he leave a youth to clean up his mess, but set said youth up for failure! Had there been something they missed? A factor they didn't pay any mind? Something that required a change in the plan they'd never have been able to account for?

"... -ou're not t- boss o- -e-!" A voice says, heavily muddled by the haze. Link snaps out of his self deprecation and turns to the origin of the choppy voice. The accent... sounds only vaguely Hylian. He turns to see the young teen huffing at the one with the blue cape.

"Clo- enough- one." The one with the cape responds. Including in an accent Link much more easily recognizes. There is more muddy sounding banter throughout the group, only one other behind him hidden in haze that he can't see seeming to have the same strange accent as the young teen.

Taking a moment to feel the area around him, he notices something that sends yet another sense of shock throughout his dream-self. Every single person in the group carries a part of him. More accurately, a part of his spirit. That alone confirms it, they have to be incarnations. He feels a pull towards each of them on a soul level. A pull that can only be reminiscent of a soul trying to piece itself back together.

Only, something is strange. Well... a couple things are strange, actually. He feels a pull to the youngest member he can see and also to someone behind him. Now that he pays attention, he can tell it's not his soul. More like something so similar that it's gives off a similar feeling. There are three more like that, but he still also feels his spirit within them. Can a person (if his assumption's correct) actually carry three spirits in them? Or maybe the spirits merged? Not just that, but he realizes that he only feels a pull to fourteen different people. He could have sworn there were fifteen sprites before. Was someone missing? Maybe not even an incarnation? That's... odd.

The feeling is quickly suppressed by hearing a shout in an accent he has no way of recognizing. "-k out! -e Shadow's b-k!" Link blinks and whirls towards the origin of the stranger voice. When he does, every single part of the group vanishes in an instant along with the small forest clearing and the only one left is a black lizalfos with glowing red eyes. The presence fills him simultaneously with a sense of familiarity and horror, like witnessing the worst possible parts of himself. Even better, he's left alone with it back in the pitch black expanse from before. Joy.

The lizalfos squints as it looks at Link and brandishes a dark sword with an evil presence. Link reaches for the nonexistent sword on his back on reflex and sucks in a breath after remembering that it's not there. He attempts to move his feet, but finds them practically glued to the ground yet again. The lizalfos adjusts its stance and charges Link with a laugh-like cry that's grating on the ears.

Link shuts his eyes as he braces for the strike.

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The quiet of the small house is broken by a strangled shout. Link's shout. The man shoots up in bed as he attempts to soothe his ragged breaths. He places a hand to his chest, feeling his heart trying to pound its way out while cold beads of sweat slip down his face.

"What the hell was that?" Link wonders to himself. Firstly, whoever made the statement that you can't feel pain in your dreams is an absolute liar. He can still feel the sharp, yet thankfully dulling, phantom pain in his abdomen. More importantly, what the hell was that monster? Why were there multiple incarnations in one place? How were there multiple incarnations in one place?! He's so caught up in his own questions he doesn't hear the shuffling coming from right next to him.

"Wha— Link?! What's wrong?" Link turns to the groggy voice to see Orville sitting and leaning over to him, freshly woken up. He mentally winces at Orville's tired, worried face.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." It's a weak diversion. One he'd been using basically since he first started receiving visions of the havoc Demise would wreck, which was over twenty years ago now. Specifically, one that Orville's never fallen for even once in that time.

"Link..." Orville sighs and rubs his eyes before cupping his husband's face in his hands. "C'mon. Talk to me. What's wrong?" He asks, voice still groggy and low from sleep. "Nightmare?"

"I'm... not entirely sure myself..." Link admits. "I... I think it was a vision."

Orville blinks. "A vision? After this long?" A fair question. The last time Link had had a vision was just before they organized to send all remaining Hylians into the sky for safety. Even that was about a decade ago, now. "What was it? Demise?"

Link quickly shakes his head. "No. I don't think so. It was something else. It felt similar, but it was clearly different. Some type of shadow." Link can feel Orville tense.

"And your shout?"

"It stabbed me."

"Ah." Orville grimaces sympathetically, making a face that coaxes a quiet chuckle from Link as he relaxes into Orville's arms. Orville smiles at the sound of the laugh and lowers Link into a gentle embrace, leaning the other man's head into the crook of his neck.

"I..." Link begins, "There's more but... I think I'll explain in the morning."

Orville hums in understanding before kissing the corner of Link's right eye and lowering them back under the blankets. Link sighs as he snuggles back into Orville's side, throwing an arm over his lover's torso as he continues to hold him. Within minutes, Link is asleep again. It's not an easy sleep, but it's better than nothing.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

When Link wakes again, the sun has already risen and is very rudely shining in his eyes. The next thing he notices is the bed is not as warm as before. After that, that Orville is no longer in said bed.

As much as he doesn't want to get up, he told Orville he'd tell him everything about his vision in the morning. Regrettably, it's now morning and that means he needs to get up. He lets out a sigh as he recalls the vision. A bunch of men and boys carrying a fragment of his spirit and a strange shadow creature.

He's suddenly pulled from his thoughts by a meow and a light pressure next to his leg. Looking down, he sees Moly, the little remlit of the family, prancing over before sitting on his chest. She meows in his face and paws at his chest as her tail flicks about. A clear message of "time to get up, peasant". Link sighs and gives the remlit the scratches she demands.

With that, he unhappily pulls himself from the bed, shivering with the slight chill that's always present. Even with the gods making the sky island more overall habitable, there's only so much that can realistically be done about the wind. The floorboards are cold as he makes his way out of the bedroom, followed by Moly, and into the small hallway connecting the rest of the house. Turning right, he can clearly see Orville putting food on the table.

At the creaking floorboards, Orville looks down at the remlit before looking up to make eye contact with Link. He smiles, "Good morning. How are you feeling?" That smile and voice immediately make any remaining chill flee Link's body. How he loves hearing that voice.

"Better. Especially after hearing that voice." Orville snorts and rolls his eyes, though he still has a light blush on his cheeks. It's enough that Link counts it as a personal win for the day.

"Flatterer. Now get over here and eat. Unless you want to eat cold pancakes that is." Orville looks expectantly at Link as he sits down.

Link raises an eyebrow and walks over to join him. "Somehow, I'd doubt you'd let that happen, you Mother Cucco." Orville places his hand to his chest in mock offense, making Link chuckle. He pauses as he remembers another factor of their usual morning routine. "Sorcha?"

"Already handled. She's at school." Orville says, "Figured I'd let you sleep in after last night." Ah, and there's the moblin in the room. The memory of the vision floods back into his mind. Apparently he'd made a face, because Orville speaks up. "Let's eat and get washed and dressed first. Then we'll talk about it." Link particularly likes that plan, nodding in agreement before taking a bite of pancakes.

After the initial reminder of the discussion to be had, the rest of breakfast continues smoothly with the usual discussions about things happening around the sky island and Orville fussing over Sorcha's progress. Once they're finished, Link is up to take care of their dishes, Moly rubbing against his legs as he does. Orville is up to bathe and get dressed before swapping with Link to clean off the table while Link bathes and gets dressed.

Once the two are finished, Link heads back into the main room to see Orville sitting on the couch with Moly in his lap. Link sighs and goes to sit next to his husband. Orville's earlier, relaxed demeanor has been replaced with a more serious and calculated one that Link hasn't seen him wear in years .

"You said there was more than just that... 'Shadow'. But do we even know what that thing is?" Orville asks to start the conversation.

Link takes a moment to think. "When I saw it, I felt a feeling of dread. It was like being confronted by the worst parts of yourself that you never want to acknowledge."

"Like what exactly?" Orville presses, albeit gently. Though honestly, Link wouldn't have blamed him nor been offended no matter the tone he used.

"Like bloodlust or selfishness." Link explains. "The parts that make you want to flee at the suggestion of them. It was like if your anger and fears gained a physical form." Orville squints at the description.

"... 'Physical form'?"

"I think it's safe to assume that Shadow is more than just a manifestation of anxious dreams." Links shakes his head. "That's not the most concerning part though." That statement earns him a look like he hadn't just told Orville some of the worst possible news so far. "There was a group of Hylians. There was a haze, but I know I've never seen them before."

"Hylians?" Orville squints, like trying to piece together a mental puzzle. At Link's nod, he continues, "How many?"

"From what I recall, fifteen." Link leans down, crossing his fingers over his mouth. "I could sense it. You remember the plan I made with Hylia?"

"To reincarnate part of your spirit alongside Hylia to take out Demise after the seal has left him sufficiently drained to be more easily defeatable." Orville pauses. "Are you saying these Hylians are future incarnations of that spirit?"

Gods, how Link is glad Orville catches on quick. "Exactly. Each of them carried that spirit within them. I could sense it. There was a pull like a soul trying to reconnect its pieces." Well, there was also the one outlier that Link couldn't quite sense, not to mention the odd spirit he knows damn well wasn't his, but that's not important right now. Whoever they were, they definitely weren't the shadow. That's what's truly important right now.

"But you and Hylia only planned a single reincarnation, did you not?" Orville levels a questioning glance. "Meaning either Hylia or her future incarnation did something, or..."

"Something went horribly wrong." Link finishes the thought bitterly, running a hand down his face. "I... Goddess damn it, I might have damned my successor to failure." Link drops his head into one of his hands. Moly meows and hops from her spot on Orville's lap to lay on Link's arm.

Orville sighs and moves to hold Link's face in his hands, gently pulling his head from his hand. "Link." The blond looks up to make eye contact with his husband. "We don't know anything besides that there are more incarnations than planned. We don't know the plan failed . There's a number of possible explanations as to why it went differently. Don't start blaming yourself over something that you don't even know whether it happened or not. Just focus on what you can confirm." Orville's voice is at a gentle but firm timbre that soothes Link's nerves as he speaks. His lover's thumb rubs over his cheek as he reassures him, making him feel soft.

"You're right, you're right." Link concedes. "I just wish we knew what happened to cause what I saw."

"I know." Orville continues to gently rub just under the corners of Link's eyes with his thumbs. As content as Link would be to stay like this at least a bit longer, the moment is interrupted by frantic knocking on the door. Moly hops off the sofa and trots over to the door, pawing at it. Both men look at each other with surprised expressions before getting up and heading to the door.

Link reaches it first and blinks in surprise. "Rurran? What are you doing here this early?"

Rurran shakes his head, not answering the question. "You two might want to come take a look at this." Link and Orville straighten, turning to each other in confusion.

The two quickly shuffle out of their house, following their older friend. Apparently, Rurran wasn't the only one to notice what he did. Several other knights stare at Link and Orville as they follow Rurran. Link only feels an intensifying sense of dread as they continue to walk.

It seems the knights aren't the only ones affected though. Link sees Rua quickly shuffling over to them, growling lowly. Several other people standing nearby flinch away as Rua makes it to the group of three. Seems even after confirming it's far more docile and seeing it around often, people still walk on eggshells around a full grown lion.

Rua places his chin on Link's stomach, looking up at the Hylian as his tail flicks about. Link's concern only grows. How serious is this that not only Rurran has to retrieve him and Orville from their house in the morning, but even Rua is visibly anxious. Link scratches the lion behind the ears. "It'll be okay. I'll be back shortly." Rua doesn't seem particularly relieved by that, but moves out of Link's path anyways.

The three continue on until they reach the edge of the island. Link wastes no time pushing himself off the edge. In barely a couple seconds after doing so, he hears Lakrim's voice from below. "So nice of you to come all this way." Link smiles at the familiar, snarky tone as he lands on the loftwing's back. Orville and Rurran follow with their own gifted loftwings not long after.

The group soar out away from Skyloft, occasionally looking back to watch the sky island become smaller and smaller. Now that they're actually on the loftwings, Link figures he should explain some things to Lakrim.

"I had a vision last night." Lakrim tenses as Link speaks. If anyone else understands the weight of those words, it's him.

"... A vision?" Lakrim asks. His voice is incredulous. Link sighs before continuing.

"There was a strange shadow creature. It attacked me." He explains. "There were also about fifteen Hylians I didn't recognize, but I could sense. They shared my soul. Or at least a part of it." Link can feel as Lakrim drops for a split second. "I think they were incarnations related to the plan I made with Hylia."

"You both only planned for the single reincarnation, did you not?" Great. Everyone's on the same page over this plan getting fucked up. Link can't help but sigh again. That seems like enough of an answer for the loftwing. "Then it seems our planning ahead simply isn't enough, once again." He pauses, "Though I would not start blaming yourself over it just yet, Hylian. Do not think of yourself so highly that even fate answers to you. You have a bad habit of acting like it."

Link can't stop the snort that escapes him. Alright, he's been told. No more blaming himself over the plan not working properly. Lakrim sighs in exasperation as they continue to fly.

"There it is!" Rurran's voice sounds from above as a much smaller sky island comes into view. The group begins to speed forwards, landing on the ground and skidding to halt within the next minute or so. Link tenses at he feels an eerily familiar power close by.

Frankly, Link doesn't know what he was expecting to see when he, Orville, and Rurran flew all the way out here. Whatever it was, it damn well was not an ominous, dark archway of a portal on a sky island not too far outside of Skyloft proper. Orville and Lakrim both seem to be having the same thought process, staring at the portal with befuddlement.

"Something about this gateway is not natural." The red loftwing says. Everyone turns to Lakrim in concern. "It is not the normal dark magic that can be found around the dead or within the territory of the demon tribe. Something about it tells me that this specific magic shouldn't exist. Specifically not here, I mean."

Well if that's not horrifying, Link doesn't know what is. "Do we have any clue what it's coming from?" He asks.

Lakrim gives the loftwing equivalent of a grimace. "... It feels like you, but not really. There is something that's obviously off about it. Likely by Demise's hand. If not him, something closely related to him." The explanation sends a chill down Link's spine. Lakrim's description of this magic is eerily familiar.

"Like looking at the worst parts of someone?" Orville offers. Lakrim blinks but nods in agreement with the description. That proves Link's suspicions.

"I take it this description goes along with that vision you received during the night?" Lakrim asks, standing over Link. Link nods in agreement. Without a doubt, if Lakrim's explanation is anything to go off of, this portal is the work of that "Shadow". Safe to assume that this is what brought the incarnations together. "It would seem that the gods aren't quite done with you just yet." Lakrim scoffs. "The gods bringing mortals into divine matters. Foolish." Link merely looks at Lakrim in amusement, the statement holding far less venom than the first time he gave this spiel.

Rurran looks back to Link with suspicion, which Link feels he doesn't deserve at all . "You're planning on going through aren't you?" Link doesn't know why he's even asking.

"Rurran, this is Link we're talking about." Orville says, raising an eyebrow.

Lakrim rolls his eyes. "As long as he doesn't just go and get himself impaled again." The divine bird sighs, earning a half-hearted glare from Link. A look that he also makes a point to shoot at Rurran and Orville. The two other men both only chuckle at his expression. Traitors, the lot of them.

"Point aside," Lakrim begins, "I don't think this gate is going anywhere until you've gone through it." And there's exactly what he didn't want to hear. As if he hasn't already done enough. Fucks sake, he fought a literal god and just barely avoided dying in the process. Not to mention the little detail of the old injuries from his imprisonment still very much affect him to this day.

Then there's the actual Shadow. That creature is no doubt incredibly dangerous. Then there's the fact it can apparently open gateways willy nilly as it desires. If it comes back to Skyloft while he's gone—

No, it's fine. Demise is sealed, so it's highly unlikely that it's too powerful. Many of the knights here fought alongside him against the Demon King's army of monsters and demons. If it does return, there are people present that can handle it. Plenty here are strong.

Still, the thought of it returning to wreak havoc leaves a bad feeling in his gut.

Orville and Rurran seem to mirror his concerns. "Is that a good idea?" The older of the two ask.

Lakrim turns to Rurran with a tired expression. "To be blunt, no." He says, "But there's likely no other way this is going to go. Especially if the details about that... creature are correct."

Link and Orville both grimace at his words. Rurran and Lakrim don't seem any happier. All those years of blood, sweat, and tears culminating to this . Link's stomach twists alongside his face.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

And that's how he's in this situation now. Having to say goodbye to his husband and children, and don his armor and sword. And despite how much he would have liked to, he can't, in good conscience, bring Rua with him. As much as he'd like the lion's companionship, he doesn't want to risk his old friend like that, bringing him to an unknown location with a mysterious enemy about. With all that, he finally went through the dark portal to a place he can't begin to recognize, the gateway immediately shutting behind him. It's the surface, obviously. Other than that, he can't make heads or tails of his location. And then he found the kid.

He'd merely been trekking through the forest for a short time when he'd heard the telltale sounds of a fight against monsters nearby. When he'd gone to investigate, he found a mildly injured moblin poking at what could only be a child unconscious on the ground. The two also surrounded by five dead... are those bokoblins? He can't recognize them, but that's not important right at this very moment.

He tore through the moblin as quickly as possible, noting the black blood and strange durability. Once he got to the kid, which he found to be a young teen, he noticed it again.

That pull. The exact one from his vision. The strange, not-quite-trying-to-reconnect feeling the young teen gave off. This was that same exact feeling. He also recognizes the tunic, light blue with a pattern under the collar.

One of his incarnations. Gods, he'd forgotten just how young some of them seemed to be or sound. This one he recognizes as the stubborn child from before.

After getting through that realization, he also finds the teen, not only has a pretty rough fever, but has also been stabbed in the fucking shoulder . Wonderful. He can only wonder where the hell any of the others he saw are. If the kid was already with them, that is. The teen moans in discomfort as Link prods at him, blinking a few times before shutting his eyes again.

There is no way is Link leaving a feverish child out in the woods with monsters out and about. Bracing himself, he pulls the teen into his arms, watching the kid's shoulder, and carries him into a nearby clearing. Link is only thankful Orville made him take as much as he did, setting up a tiny camp for the teen to rest and make sure his fever doesn't get worse and that he doesn't bleed out.

It's been several hours since then, and thanks to the combination of proper rest and the potions and bandages Link provided, the teen's fever has finally gone down and he is no longer bleeding. Despite that, Link can't help but be worried. Hours have passed and yet not a single sign of any other incarnations. Has this kid been alone the entire time? With a fever, no less? That's... not particularly reassuring. He can already imagine Orville's teasing, that his luck must be spiritually hereditary, or something to that effect.

That's not even mentioning the fact the kid has no armor. He supposes it's not that odd, he's clearly only a young teen (at the oldest). All he seems to have is his tunic, capris, a small bag hanging off his hip, and a sword and shield. Everything else is normal enough, though the sword is quite fancy. It's a silver blade with a dark hilt, an hourglass resting just under the blade. Based on the shimmering inside of said hourglass, it's probably not a huge leap in logic that this sword likely has some magic aspects to it.

His thoughts are cut off when he hears rustling and a small groan from right next to him. He turns to see the teen's eyes flicker open. He leans away to grab a canteen with water as the child begins to speak.

"Where...?" The kid blinks as Link holds the canteen above him.

"You awake now?" Link asks, keeping his voice low. A moment passes before the kid's eyes become aware. Before Link can hand him the water, the kid jumps away, scooting away from him and wincing as he puts pressure on his bad arm.

"Careful! Your shoulder is still injured!" The kid merely takes the pressure off of his arm while staring at Link with suspicion. Honestly, Link can only be happy the kid has a healthy fear of strangers.

"Who are you?" The kid demands, still staring Link down despite the raspy voice. With the way he positions himself, Link wouldn't be surprised if the kid has a knife on him somewhere. That fact reminds Link that this isn't just some random kid. This is a kid who can fight . One who can take down monsters, while ill , no less

Link holds his hands up. "My name is Link Katim. I found you unconscious in the woods. You were injured and feverish when I found you." The kid blinks again, seeming to relax slightly. "If it makes you feel better, your sword is there, behind you." The kid turns to see his sword propped against the side of a tree. He grabs it, clutching it in his arms.

Link crouches a bit closer, offering the canteen. "Just some water. It'll make your throat feel better." The kid stares at his face, only hesitating for a second before taking the canteen and taking a long swig from it. He's going to have to refill that in a bit. "What's your name?"

"... Link." Link blinks at the name. He could tell there was the soul connection, but a shared name as well?

"A name we share, it seems." Link mutters. The kid looks at him in surprise before his expression shifts to one of realization.

"You're a hero, aren't you?" Damn, that was quick. The kid stares at him unrelentingly. "Like, chosen by Hylia, I mean?"

Link nods. "I am. I assume that's also your situation." The kid shrugs as he offers the canteen back.

"Sorta." He pauses for a second, "Where are the others?"

So there are others already present. "I haven't seen anyone else. You've been out for a few hours though." Link pauses before the question that's been in his mind from the time he found the kid comes back full force. "Why were you out alone? With a fever, especially?"

The kids blinks before what happened seems to set in. When it does, he slaps his hands onto his head in panic. "AH!" Link jumps at the shout, "I totally forgot about that! I just thought I was kinda tired and now they don't know where I am! And I was actually sick! Hyrule's gonna kill me!"

"Relax." Link gently grabs the kids arms and pulls them back down. "What do you mean? What happened?"

The kids takes a breath, but remains tense. "Because there are these weird monsters around, we scout around a lot to make sure it's safe. I woke up and was kinda tired, I just thought I didn't sleep well. I offered to go scout and they let me go. But I ended up going further than I should've and ran into those bokoblins." The kid shrinks in on himself, blushing lightly under Link's gaze. "So... I fought them, 'cause it's just a couple bokoblins, then everything got really woozy, I got stabbed, and then I passed out."

This kid's going to spike his blood pressure. Link sighs as another question comes to his mind. "'Hyrule'?"

The kid blinks. "Oh, yeah. We all have... basically 'hero titles' that we go by since all of us are named Link. Hyrule is the 'Hero of Hyrule', so... Hyrule."

"Ah." Well isn't that helpful? "And yours is...?"

"Wind!" The kid— No— Wind smiles. His smile turns a bit awkward after a second. He ducks his head slightly under Link's gaze. The man can't help but feel a little concerned. Surely he isn't that intimidating?

"Hero of Wind?" Link surmises. Wind's smile grows again as he nods.

"Yeah!" He says, quite happily, "I got something that lets me control the wind. It's a baton called the Wind Waker!" That's certainly not the most reassuring thing Link has ever heard come out of a teen's mouth. He can only imagine how much havoc a child could cause with something that powerful.

Wind purses his lips. "We also started calling our group 'the Chain'. 'Cause, y'know... we're a bunch of Links." The teen then turns a bit sheepish under his gaze again.

...

Yeah, okay, that's pretty funny.

But that's neither here nor there. Link has more important things to focus on right now. "Your fever seems mostly gone and your shoulder's healed a decent amount. I wouldn't recommend straining yourself until it fully heals and you're confirmed healthy." Wind pouts at him, but doesn't make to argue against that. "Does your group have a designated healer?"

Wind nods. "Yeah, it's Hyrule. He has magic and carries a lot of potions on him. Also, we have someone who can make potions in case we start running low." Oh thank Hylia. High blood pressure won't be taking Link just yet. He'll live to see another day. For now.

"Good." Link sighs, "In any case, do you know how to find them?"

"If I've been gone for a few hours, they'll probably be out looking for me." Wind explains. "If we can't find the camp, they'll probably find us."

Link nods, offering Wind his hand to help him stand up. He takes it and is pulled onto his feet. Link is forced to catch him a bit when he starts wobbling a bit. He leaves the boy leaning against the tree while he picks up his mini camp, packing everything away.

Even with Wind's smile, he can't help but feel on edge. Wind can only be about Sorcha's age. Finding the kid like that was bad enough, but he can't help but think of if he found his daughter in that situation. That thought kept him tense the entire time Wind was unconscious. And to think this kid must have fought Demise (or at least a being Demise-adjacent). That idea did nothing to comfort him. He wouldn't have been able to truly fight Demise when he first began receiving visions at eighteen. He can't even begin to fathom if he had to do that type of thing even younger.

It's at this moment that Link really hopes Wind is an outlier. Sure, some of the others he'd seen in his vision the night before also seemed young. But not that young. Surely Wind was the only one having to fight against evil before puberty had the chance to set in.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Wind will be honest, this other Link kind of intimidates him. He seems nice enough, of course. It's just that his face hasn't really moved out of a tired and borderline annoyed expression since Wind woke up. He supposes it's at least a bit fair. Apparently he did find him feverish, wounded, unconscious, and alone out in the middle of the woods. Then again, he did look at least a little bit amused at the "Chain" thing.

Still, he's intimidating looking.

But besides that, Wind is excited! They haven't had a new Link since Wild joined a couple months ago now. They honestly thought Wild might be the last. Foolish them, it seems.

Now that he thinks about it, he should've expected something like this. Sky and Wild have both mentioned some mysterious, archaic predecessors (neither of which happen to be present). Even Warriors had mentioned he'd heard stories of more heroes than what makes up their current group.

Anyways, that's not important right now. He really needs to get back to everyone else before they end up tearing down the whole forest trying to find him. ("They" mostly being Warriors and Wild, with one's overprotectiveness and the other's, albeit exciting, perchance for arson.) Hyrule will definitely throttle him for getting himself into this situation, but that's a risk he's being kind of forced to take, now isn't it?

When he zones back in and begins observing the surroundings again, he can see Link has finished putting everything away. Sure enough, his face hasn't moved from the previously mentioned expression. In fact, he looks slightly more tense than before. Was the thought of meeting the others really that stressful? It wouldn't be surprising, several of them are more on the awkward or shy side. Then again, he also seems to be older than the Old Man. Maybe he has kids and Wind's previous predicament is why he's so tense? He didn't mention a spouse or children and his gloves cover his fingers too much for Wind to see a ring, but it's possible.

Before either can say a word, they perk up at the sound of rustling coming from the bushes. Both turn to the source and watch for something to exit. There haven't been any voices, not to mention no sounds of armor. Maybe an animal of some kind?

He needn't ponder for much longer as a leg, clearly of an animal, pushes its way into view. Wind watches as it's followed by another, this one with a familiar shackle on its leg. He can feel his face light up as a wolf enters the clearing.

Link tenses at the sight of Wolfie, but Wind pays him no mind as he leaps towards the animal. "Wolfie!" He slings his arms around the wolf's neck and shoves his cheek into his fur. "You found me!"

Wolfie growls in displeasure. When Wind moves away, he can see the clearly disappointed, yet relieved, expression Wolfie gives him. Wind smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of his head as the wolf continues to give him a glare he's only ever seen Wild and Hyrule on the receiving end of.

Wind then realizes that an injured person leaping to hug a wolf is probably not a particularly comforting sight. He turns back to Link to see the man's expression having shifted to a more severe looking one. Though something about his posture says this is more confusion than anger. Despite that, Wind can't help the way he shrinks slightly under his gaze.

"Ah! Uh... This is Wolfie. He comes around a lot. He's really friendly though!" Wind smiles. With that, Link seems to relax. Wind turns back to Wolfie, getting close to whisper to the wolf. " He's another hero !" Wolfie blinks at this as he looks at Link.

Apparently deciding that they're spending too much time not returning to the others, Wolfie circles around Wind and begins to nudge him the way the wolf initially came. "Alright, alright! I'm goin'!" Wind turns back and gestures for Link to follow them. He only hesitates for a moment before beginning to walk with them. Wolfie spends the entire walk back right at Wind's side, ready to catch him if he falls.

Thankfully, the walk back isn't too long. It's longer than Wind would've liked, but there's not much he can do about that fact. Wind instead spends the time absently talking about the morning to Link. The chatter seems to help Link relax, his expression softening from stoic to looking vaguely amused. (He still looks vaguely annoyed though. Or maybe that's just what his face looks like.)

Finally, Wolfie's ears point forwards as Wind can hear voices from up ahead. Smiling, Wind runs past Wolfie and into the clearing where the rest of the group is. He blinks as he sees a small number of bokoblin bodies littering the ground around the clearing, one being dragged away and out of the camp by Legend.

"Nice scouting, everyone." The Veteran snarks, looking up. His eyes widen when he sees Wind standing opposite to him. "Sailor!"

The rest of the group immediately turns to see Wind, who only waves. Not even a moment passes before Warriors has rushed over and is standing over Wind. Wind would be impressed by his speed if it wasn't so goddessdamned startling.

"Sailor! Where have you been?!" Warriors grabs Wind's shoulders, which, ouch. His eyes widen in surprise when Wind winces in pain and removes his hands from the teen's shoulders. He looks down to see the bandages Link had done earlier and looks back at Wind in horror. "Wind. What happened to your shoulder?"

Hyrule is at Wind's side in an instant, checking over his shoulder and pulling him to sit down. The others, primarily Warriors, Time, and Legend circle around them to stand over Wind. Sky, Four, and Wild simply sit back to watch the fireworks, not seeming like they're about to help him. He shoots them a look for some assistance. A look that is pointedly ignored, because apparently his brothers are absolute fucking traitors.

"Sailor, you've been missing for hours." Time begins, "Where have you been?" Wind shrinks under the old man's gaze. He hates that look. He really does. It promises only a scolding, which is annoying. He's not a small, defenseless child, damnit!

...Okay, technically he was defenseless for that bit of time right before the new Link got to him. That and also the entire time he was unconscious. But still, the principle of the matter!

"It's... a long story." Wind says. Time, Warriors, and Legend don't seem impressed by his answer. "I'm telling the truth! I found—!" That's when Wind finally remembers.

Link. The newer Link is still standing outside of the clearing, watching warily. He can also see a dark silhouette, that he assumes is Wolfie, moving around next to him. When he turns back, he can see the others awaiting his explanation.

"I found another hero!" Silence falls over the clearing as the others stare at him. Even Time and Warriors's icy expressions seem to melt away at Wind's words. Thank Hylia, he hates being scrutinized by this. Warriors is overprotective, and Time's glare is scary to be in the receiving end of.

"You're being serious?" Wind pouts as he turns to Legend.

"Of course I am!" Wind immediately turns back to where Link is standing, looking at him pleadingly. From what little he can see, Link seems wary, but moves forward the slightest bit as he seems to be bumped by something.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Link figures he should probably stop standing outside of the clearing like some kind of creeper. Even with Wind explaining, he doesn't want to be mistaken as an enemy. He doesn't know the full strength of this group. And incarnations or not, more diverse groups that are armed like this are more unpredictable. Given that they have a literal child that's injured after having disappeared for several hours, they'll be more on edge than usual. Being an outsider really isn't ideal in this situation.

Two of them carry themselves like knights. One seems more average, but the other (the one fussing over Wind) carries himself similarly to a royal knight. The one who looks the oldest is covered in heavy armor, but doesn't seem like someone with the usual military training. The closest to militaristic appearance are the markings of the Fierce Deity on his face. The others don't seem remotely militaristic, one literally being the one he recalls who was wearing shorts. The one in the blue tunic is odd though. There's something knightly about him, but everything else feels off. Like he's actively trying to have a knightly air about him. But regardless of whether or not they have military training or experience, they all seem skittish, like they'd been attacked not too long ago. Not only that, but they all clearly have well used weapons at easy access. So yeah, really not a time you want to be seen as a threat.

He's snapped from his thoughts by a soft bump against his hip. He looks down to see Wolfie looking at him expectantly. He then looks up again to see Wind looking in his direction, likely wanting him to show himself. He sighs before pushing himself through the bushes.

Link gets several surprised looks when he enters the clearing. Wind seems happy about it, at the very least. The boy next to him gawks at him for a moment before turning his attention back to Wind's shoulder. That must be Hyrule, if the 'mildly disgruntled healer' air about him is anything to go off of.

The one in the blue cape turns and walks around the taller one to stand between Link and the others. Despite positioning himself in a way that would usually be a clear sign of distrust, his demeanor is relaxed and he offers Link a smile. What the hell is with this group? A child member of your group returns, clearly injured, with a strange man following not long after and you don't act even the slightest bit weary? "Hero" or not, there should be at least some distrust. Especially with how on edge as they seem to be right now.

"I take it your name is also Link?" Oh right, Wind mentioned they all share the name Link. Link nods and the one with the blue cape's expression becomes vaguely sympathetic. "I suspect Wind has already explained, but we all share the name Link, so we all go by nicknames." He reaches his hand out to Link, offering a handshake, "I'm Warriors."

Link shakes the offered hand. "'Hero of Warriors', I presume?"

Warriors smiles. "Oh good, he did explain that already." He then turns to the three standing behind him. "Old man over here is Time. The one behind him is our veteran, Legend. And that's Hyrule, our primary healer." He then turns to the other three standing off to the side, firstly, the heavily scarred youth. "That's Wild. The one in the multicolored tunic is Four." Warriors then turns to the remaining person. "The one carrying the Master Sword is Sky. He's the furthest back in time out of all of us. Looks like the Rancher isn't back yet though." Oh right, there is one missing from the group he actually saw.

Link turns to look at each member as they're introduced, most looking fairly surprised, with some semblance of excitement. But when he turns to Sky, the kid looks stunned. The Goddess Sword— or the Master Sword, as Warriors called it— pulses with divine light that immediately fills Link with a feeling of fondness. He hasn't seen Fi in quite a while.

"The Master Sword is the one who figures out the nicknames. We're not entirely sure how it works, but Sky can translate." Warriors explains. "We all come from different points in a timeline none of us honestly have any comprehension of. Like I said, Sky is the furthest back. From what we can tell, Wild is the furthest in the future. He's super far removed from the rest of us. Though honestly, anything after Time is a pain in the ass to try and figure out." Oh, how lovely.

"I mean, we were apparently missing at least two others of us." Four shrugs. "Where in time we come from isn't super important though. Though knowing who you come before or after might help us make sense of the timeline here—."

"He comes before me." Link turns to Sky in surprise along with the rest of the group. Sky rubs the back of his head as everyone stares at him.

"Are you sure?" Warriors asks incredulously. Link honestly can't blame him. It is a bold statement. Especially if he can't back himself up easily enough.

"I... recognize him." He leaves an awkward pause before seeming to get an idea. "I can prove he comes before me though." He turns to Link, holding out the divine sword, "Before Warriors called this the Master Sword, what would you have referred to this as?"

A sense of realization settles in Link. Ah, that makes sense. "The Goddess Sword." Sky seems satisfied with his answer and turns back to the others.

"I forged the Master Sword. It was originally called the Goddess Sword and looked a lot different when I first got it." The explanation succeeds in clearing up some of Link's own confusion. "Speaking of the Master Sword, it's going to be a bit awkward to keep calling you Link." Link blinks as Sky offers him the sword. Right, they all have the same name.

"Thank you." Sky smiles as Link takes the sword from his offering hands. The blade sings with an ancient power, pulsing warmly in his hands. It glows even brighter, looking even more newly made than before. He feels a tingling of latent magic on his fingertips as he clutches the blade. Something about the feeling seems... happy. Link feels a small smile tug his lips. "It's good to see you too, old friend."

Link offers her back to Sky, who smiles as he takes the sword. He pauses as he clutches the blade for a moment. Once the moment passes, he turns back to Link.

"She calls you 'Hylia's Chosen Hero' and 'The First'."

Well isn't that fitting. First nods as Sky places the Master Sword back in its scabbard. He turns back to the others, who look at him in varying degrees of awe. He can feel the blush creeping up his neck and cheeks at their stares. He then blinks as he notices Wind is no longer where he was seated.

"You're really Sky's predecessor?!" First nearly jumps out of his own skin as the teen's voice comes from right next to him. When he turns, Wind is also wide-eyed in awe. "Sky's talked about you before. You sounded really cool whenever he told any stories he knew about you."

First looks towards Sky in surprise, the teen suddenly turning bashful. He figures he can probably take some attention off of his successor (for now, at least). "First of all, don't sneak up on me like that." Wind smiles awkwardly, muttering an apology while a couple others laugh. Funny in hindsight or not, he would've felt awful if he whacked the kid. "And, it seems that way."

"Sailor..." Time sighs apologetically while Wind pouts. "I'm sorry, he's excitable." He gathered that, but good to see he's fairly recovered from his illness.

"It's alright. This is honestly preferable to finding him unconscious in the woods." Wind turns to him in dismay, clearly not wanting that to be brought up. As much as he doesn't want this kid upset, he wants him to be that brand of reckless far, far less. He really doesn't want to have to see that again.

"You were what?!" Warriors exclaims, looking at the teen in horror. The rest of the group mirrors his reaction in various ways. Time, Legend, and Hyrule all look especially stern. "Okay, that brings back my previous question. What happened to your shoulder ?"

Wind flushes as everyone turns to him. "I ran into a group of bokoblins somewhere out in the woods. There were only five of them, so I decided to just take them out real quick." That definitely doesn't help his case as the glares from the older members harden.

"With all these weird, infected monsters all over the place?!" Legend questions. Wind raises his hands, but says nothing. "You know why we don't tackle random monsters alone, sailor!" Infected? First does remember that moblin from earlier being stronger. The one with the black blood. Is that what they're referring to?

"I know. But I fought them and they weren't infected!" Incredibly lucky for Wind, "I managed to kill them all. Then a moblin showed up, but I passed out before it really did anything. Then everything's kind of fuzzy until I woke up with First." The rest of the group's expressions morph from anger and disappointment to confusion.

"If they were just bokoblins, how did one nab your shoulder? Much less enough for you to faint?" Sky questions. The rest of the group seems to be mirroring his thoughts. First just sighs.

"When I found him, he had a fever." Hyrule, Sky, and Warriors all pale. "He was being prodded at by the moblin, but it wasn't attacking him. I killed it before it could do anything." The three sigh in relief at his explanation.

"Why did you take over scouting if you had a fever?" Warriors asks.

Wind blushes in embarrassment. "... I didn't realize I had one." Y'know what? First can't even blame him for that. He's had a fever and not noticed in time before. He's also taken up tasks like that. He once did that with a delivery his mom had him take in her place and Orville looked like he was going to murder him over it.

Speaking of, Legend and Warriors both seem the type as Wind says that. Meanwhile, Sky, Hyrule, and Wild all look either sympathetic or resigned. Wind's situation aside, First has a certain glaring question he needs to get out of the way.

"When you say infected..." everyone turns to him while Wind seems relieved to have the heat off of him, "do you mean stronger than they should be? Have black colored blood?"

"You know about that already?" Four asks.

First nods tensely. "The moblin that was prodding at Wind was like that. Unnervingly strong and durable." The group pales. Maybe it's a good thing Wind passed out. It might've actually protected him.

"Damn, just got here and already showing the rest of us up?" Legend mutters. First blinks, looking at the older teen in bewilderment. What kind of reaction...?

In the span of a mere second, the rest of the group relaxes and starts breaking down with laughter as First continues to stare at Legend. How is he supposed to react to that drastic of a shift in tone? Thankfully, he doesn't have to worry about it much longer as another person walks into the clearing.

"Why is it every time I come back, y'all're laughing? Am I not fun enough for you, or somethin'?" Time smirks as another person with facial markings walks into the camp with his arms crossed, but smiling nonetheless.

"Rancher! You missed the fun. Anyways, we found Wind." Warriors pauses, "Well, okay, he found us. But he's fine. Mostly." He then turns back to First. "Anyways, we have Sky's predecessor now. This is First. First, this is Twilight."

Twilight turns to nod politely at First, which he returns. However, he can't shake the feeling that he's already met Twilight. Something about him just seems too familiar. He only saw him in his vision the night before. He might be able to piece it together. However, after everything he's had to deal with so far today, he just doesn't have the energy to at this point.

"You always disappear and no one's entirely sure where you are." Wind says. "Besides, Wolfie is the one who found me, so maybe do a better job at scouting."

"Where were you, anyways?" Legends asks, looking expectantly at Twilight as he walks over to relax against a log. Twilight stretches and reclines against it, rubbing his neck.

"Dealing with some bokoblins y'all didn't kill." He grimaces. "Maybe you do better at killing them before you criticize my scouting."

"Hey! That was Wind, not us." Warriors laughs.

Time rolls his eyes (well... eye), visibly amused, and walks over to First. No matter the obvious differences, every time he sees Time, for a split second, he thinks the man is Dolahai. Gods how First already wants to know more about the man's background. "You'll have to excuse everyone's reactions. We've all been together for a while now and haven't had anyone new join since Wild did a couple months ago." He explains. "Also, both Sky and Wild have mentioned some mysterious, archaic predecessors that haven't been present this entire time. We still haven't seen even a remote trace of Wild's predecessor."

First takes a moment to process that information. The only ones he actually saw in his vision are the group he's currently with. There are nine of them. Including him, there are ten. And if Wild's predecessor is to join, that'd bring it up to eleven. But there were definitely fifteen in his vision. If that's the case, they're definitely missing four others, not including Wild's predecessor.

Speaking of predecessors, 'mysterious' and 'archaic'? He has no way of knowing Wild's situation, but just how far into the future is Sky? Based on that description (and his knowledge of Demise's seal), he'd have to guess that it's at least a couple thousand years. And if that's the case, how the hell did Sky recognize him on sight? He can't imagine there's any pictures still in good enough condition that Sky could recognize him from. And say there are, somehow. Would he even be able to have access to them?

Or maybe Fi's just described him to Sky before. Who even knows at this point, with divinely-originating weapons? He doesn't claim to fully understand these things.

"It's fine." First shakes his head. "I'm used to dealing with far more... 'excitement' than this, shall we say?"

Time nods in understanding, snorting as he looks back to the rest of the group, who are either continuing to fuss over Wind or pester extra information out of Sky. "Honestly, most of us are. But no matter what, it's been a bit jarring to have been thrown into this situation without warning." They weren't prepared for this? First had that vision earlier. Did the others not get anything of the sort? Were they just snatched from their families, homes, and times? With that thought in mind, he can't help but loathe the Shadow.

The two men jump when they hear a cry from just outside the clearing. The rest of the group turns to the sound as First can hear numerous footsteps and grunting.

"I thought you said you finished off the remaining blins, Twi." Legend scowls, turning to the other.

"I thought I did! I couldn't track any more!" First watches as several more of the strange bokoblins from earlier march towards the camp. He can see their sword shine in whatever sunlight pierces the leaves and branches. The snarl louder and louder as they continue on their path.

Everyone swiftly runs to retrieve their swords. All of a sudden, an arrow flies past First's head, planting itself in the skull of one of the front bokoblins. Despite the, what would normally be fatal, injury, the bokoblin doesn't stop stalking towards them. Even with the blood pouring from the wound. Black blood .

First winces at the sight as Warriors calls out to the others. "Wind, you're out of this fight for now. Hyrule, you stay with him. Everyone else, make sure these blins don't reach those two!" He doesn't need to be told twice. One of the bokoblins breaks into a sprint, charging towards First. He sidesteps it just before it can impale him and swings his sword.

Time gawks at him as the bokoblin is split in half, falling to the ground. Fair enough, that is pretty damn impressive. Not many swords are sharp enough to slice a monster in half. Seems Orville has his work cut out for him. Thankfully, black-blooded or not, a monster isn't surviving after being split in two. "Don't get distracted. There are plenty more." Time turns his attention back to the bokoblins at First's words and jumps into the fray with the others.

Taking a moment to observe, First watches as the group fights. They're clearly experienced and adapted to fighting alongside each other. Time, Warriors, Sky, and Four form a semicircle, forcing the bokoblins into a compressed group. The four force back the bokoblins, swords loud as they clash against each other. Meanwhile, Twilight and Wild have pulled themselves into the surrounding trees, bows drawn. Arrows rain down from where they're perched. Wild even shoots three arrows into one of the bokoblins at once.

Thanks to the combination of arrows planted in their heads and the rest of the group's impressive swordsmanship, most of the monsters are taken down after not too long. However, First can still hear the signature grunts of the bokoblins. They weren't kidding, these things are tough. Normally, even with a pack this big, a group of six should be able to take down these monsters easily. That's when he hears a high pitched, guttural cry.

GRAAAAAAH !

First turns as Hyrule yelps at the sound. He sees a bokoblin leaping towards Hyrule and Wind. Hyrule quickly jumps up and in-between the monster and Wind. First pivots, spinning on the balls of his feet to throw himself at the monster. The sound of clanging metal rings in his ears as the bokoblin is forced back. First doesn't give it time to recover, immediately darting towards it and stabbing in the abdomen. It cries out in pain before jumping off of his blade, the wound oozing with black blood.

The bokoblin growls, pouncing towards First with its own sword. He blocks it again, forcing it back before cutting its throat twice. The monster stumbles, allowing First to stab it once more. It finally falls to the ground, unmoving.

First hears Hyrule let out a relieved sigh behind him. He turns to see Hyrule looking tense while Wind looks excited, if a bit miffed over being left out of the fight. When First turns back to the rest, he sees them all standing around a pile of dead monsters, looking tired.

"Weird, they're usually smarter and aren't just rushing in like that." Legend mutters, prodding at one of the dead bokoblins with a stick. "Maybe they got desperate." The teen shrugs.

"First, are you alright?" Twilight asks, turning over to him. First nods, feeling even more tired himself.

He then notices Warriors smiling. "Fancy fighting. Reminds me of Sky's." Sky flushes lightly, rubbing the back of his head as he flicks blood from his sword.

Time merely sighs, grabbing everyone's attention. "We should probably get some rest. The sun's going down and we're all exhausted." First is immediately thankful for the decision, as is everyone else, seemingly.

"I'll get started on dinner." Wild smiles. The teen then looks over at First and becomes sheepish. "Er... You don't have any allergies, right?" First shakes his head, to which Wild beams. "Okay, great! I'd rather not kill someone." First lets out a quiet snort at that.

Chapter Text

Widespread, undisturbed darkness is all Link can see beside his own hands. The wind is cold, malicious. He can hardly feel anything but it. A small flame lights, floating several feet in front of him. Slowly but steadily, it grows. It becomes brighter, warmer, and more aggressive. Smoke seems to pour from every part of it until even the light is obscured.

Then it shifts. A large being of smoke with long hair of fire. Link stumbles back as the being wheezes, becoming more enraged by the minute as it seems to point at him. The Demon King Demise. Link can only gape at the figure of the god. He's sealed away, why is he-?

The smoke clears and leaves the clear image of Demise in its wake. Link can see his mouth move, yet he can't hear his voice. The booming rumble that was said to be able to shatter a mountain just... isn't reaching Link. But whether he can hear the voice or not, there's no denying the pool of dread forming in his gut.

Then the god lets out a screaming sound, roaring with nothing but contempt. His body distorts violently, seeming to split into several and rejoin within seconds, tiny fragments of his body flying off and dissolving. Link can't help but frown at the sight. He'd been told about Demise in the past. The formerly wise and just god being reduced to a mere caricature by powers beyond any being's control.

Finally, the distortions stop, and Demise has seemingly imploded into a bright blue light. Link can't help himself and walks towards it, stretching out his hand. When he places his hand onto the light, it bursts, an ever brighter light, well... lighting up the void. Once he can see again, he sees the same fifteen lights from before. They've flown from where the light burst. Link's eyes widen as he looks at them. The lights suddenly stop moving about before flying directly into his chest, making him fall back and fall deep into the void.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Even with the numerous trees and leaves above them, the sun is still shining almost unrelentingly in Warriors's eyes. The captain groans as he pushes himself out of his bedroll, trying to get the sun out of his eyes as much as possible. He loves being in the sun in the morning, he really does, but damn he doesn't love it in his eyes. (He figures that should be standard, but Wind did also stare right at the sun for shits and giggles just a couple months here ago now, so what the hell?)

That aside, he glances over to look at the rest of the Chain. Twilight, Time, and Wild are all already awake. Makes sense. Twilight works on a ranch, as does Time, and Wild is their only cook, which is why the champion is currently crouched over a makeshift griddle. Warriors can also hear Four and Legend begin to shuffle.

Hyrule and Wind are both still curled up tight in their bedrolls. As is Sky, which is to be expected. However, he's not exactly aware of their newest member's sleeping habits. First is still asleep on the outer area of the camp, looking the most relaxed Warriors has seen him thus far.

Now that he thinks about it, First is still pretty mysterious. They know next to nothing about him. He's the first incarnation of their spirit, directly chosen by the goddess Hylia herself. He's Sky's successor, someone who fought alongside literal gods , a man who seems to have a soft spot for children, an excellent warrior, and someone who clearly doesn't trust easily. Warriors hadn't missed how the older man's eyes flickered over the group, how he stayed positioned in a way that all of their group was still within his line of sight, and how he never divulged too much information. Though to be fair, he just got here, and then there'd been a lot going on, so the lack of personal information makes sense. But even then, he was still cautious. A perfect example being the way he's planted himself on the outer rim of the clearing, keeping the rest of the small area within his field of vision before he went to sleep. He's still asleep in that position now, his back never being turned on the others once.

It's obvious that being torn from his own time was disorienting for him. That's to be expected, none of them particularly handled it super well. Legend and Hyrule were especially affected by it, being as distrusting and skittish around others as they are. That being said, he also seemed fairly accepting and unshaken by the monsters and general situation he's found himself in, given the circumstances. Maybe he had a bit more of a warning before having to join them? Sky mentioned shortly after they met that he received a vision of being with them before the portals started appearing. Time also mentioned that Lullaby had sent him word about her own vision of the group. Given their stories, and if First worked as closely with the gods as Warriors suspects, it doesn't seem like a huge leap in logic to say that's likely what happened on his end.

However, as of right now, that's beside the point. Legend, Four, Hyrule, and Wind have since gotten up and trudged over to the fire where Wild's cooking since Warriors became lost in his thoughts. Time and Twilight have also joined everyone else at the fire, looking amused over the others' slowly fading drowsiness. Despite the noise rising as the others talk, Sky and First still show no indication of getting up soon. Warriors clearly isn't the only one who noticed as Wild looks at them before raising an eyebrow with an amused expression on his face.

"... Who wants to bet on which one gets up first?" Four, Legend, and Hyrule all start to snicker while Twilight rolls his eyes. Wind seems amused (and thankfully much healthier than yesterday), as does Time, somewhat. "They've both been out heavier than a mountain this entire time."

"The day someone out-sleeps the Skyloftian is the day I let you people start messing with my things." Legend states, puffing out his chest. Warriors can't help but raise an eyebrow at the, almost cocky, statement.

"There are definitely more with our spirit that will likely join us eventually. I would be careful on the wagers you make, Vet." Legend seems unaffected by this and simply smirks and waves him off. Alright then, he can keep his confidence. But if it backfires, no one is going to back him up over it. Besides, if he can get his hands on another one of Legend's staffs...

Wild hums as he begins to pile food onto the plates. Warriors turns to see exactly what Wild made for breakfast and immediately begins to salivate when he does. Crepes covered in honey. Gods he loves Wild. He doesn't know how they ever survived before the kid joined. "Well, we can wait and leave them until after we eat. If they're not up by then, we can wake them up and save that observation for another day." Wild says, handing off the crepes to everyone. Warriors cheerfully thanks him as he takes his breakfast.

Breakfast goes slower than usual. Everyone's content with talking over focusing on eating, both not expecting to be attacked or on the move and to let First rest at least a bit longer. Giving a newer member a bit of extra rest the morning after they join had become standard practice a few Links ago. (Specifically, after Wind, to let the kid sleep in since he's... well, a kid.)

Warriors isn't particularly paying attention to his surroundings at the moment when he suddenly hears a low groan come from behind him. When he turns, he sees First rubbing his eyes while beginning to lift himself from his bedroll. From the looks of things, the Skyloftian is still the true sleepyhead of the Chain. Seems Legend's things are still safe from the others' grasps. For now .

"Good morning!" Wind smiles, waving with the hand holding his crepes. First blinks as he looks over to where everyone is sitting. Wild smiles and waves him over. The man blinks again before pulling himself onto his feet and trudging over, not looking particularly happy to be awake. Yeah, definitely not a morning person. From what Warriors can tell, he seems nearly as bad as Sky. That aside, he doesn't seem to be unwilling to approach them, though the way he carries himself is still wary.

Other than being wary, the way he approaches just seems kind of... awkward? Like he isn't sure how to approach or even be around them. Wild also seems to pick up on this, giving as inviting of a smile he can muster as he offers First a plate. First stares blankly for a second before seeming to zone back in. He takes the plate, giving a quiet thank you before sitting down. He sits near them, but not with them. Whatever talkativeness he had the other day seems to have faded. Whether that's because whatever adrenaline was in his system is gone or if it's just because he's not fully awake yet is left up for debate in Warriors's mind.

Warriors is a captain in the army, so normally a fellow soldier being this distant would immediately trigger the usual leadership instincts that he's cultivated over the years. But with First, that's just not the case. He's definitely a knight, that much is clear. But he doesn't have the air of your standard soldier. Just the other day, when he wasn't being awkward and distant, he had the air of and carried himself like a general . Whatever his rank is or was, he definitely outranks Warriors by a decent margin. Basically, as a captain, there's not much he can particularly do about the distance First is putting between himself and the group.

The hero in him though, that part of him desperately wants to get the predecessor out of his shell. It's not just the desperate sense for unity between another bearer of the Hero's Spirit. Sky's told them a number of stories about the original hero that came before all of them. The picture Sky painted them was one of a seasoned warrior. Someone who would fight even a god to defend others and stop at nothing to not let the evils plaguing the land and wanting to destroy it win.

However, those stories didn't really describe how the man was outside of his duties. He wasn't sure what to expect. Would he be relaxed and wise? Would he be like Time, caring and wanting the best for everyone, yet strict? Stubborn and adventurous? A complete and utter gremlin? He's not sure, but he definitely wasn't expecting him to be quite as distrustful as he is. And Warriors has to admit that he finds First a bit... intimidating. Given that he's definitely a strong, high ranking knight with one of the firmest resting bitch faces Warriors has ever seen, he feels it's at least a little justified. Is he still somewhat embarrassed and ashamed of that? ... Honestly, yes, yes he is.

The blank gazes over the group don't help Warriors's worry though. High ranking or not, First is or was definitely a knight. Meanwhile, he and Sky are the only ones that actually are knights. Wild was a knight in the past, but his actual job and position now is in a bit of a gray area. The rest are just some guys who got dragged into saving Hyrule. Four's a smith, Time's some weird forest kid turned rancher, Twilight's always been a rancher, Wind is a young teenager that happened to be taken in by some pirates, Legend is... something (they know he's technically a prince, but he doesn't need to know that), and Hyrule is some paranoid traveler who's terrified of others. To someone older who's been through war, their group might not meet certain... expectations the man could have.

And yet, despite all of that, yes, the man's distant. But he's not unfriendly. He's polite and clearly at least a bit of a softy for children, if his treatment of Wind is anything to go off of. And as Warriors observed earlier, some of his distance seems to be due to awkwardness more than anything else. Besides, Hyrule immediately broke into a sprint in the exact opposite direction of them when they first met, so his distrust in them could be a lot worse than it is.

Warriors finally looks up and over at First, who's quietly eating his food nearby. He doesn't seem quite as tired as before, but his eyes are still distant. Distracted. He's definitely not quite paying attention to what the others are talking about. Thankfully, he is at least eating, as absent as he still is. There's also a mug placed next to him with steam coming out of it. Seems Wild decided First was a bit too out of it and decided to sacrifice some of the coffee he usually saves for Sky and gave it to the Skyloftian's predecessor. Warriors has the distinct feeling Wild is going to be carrying around a lot more coffee from now on. From what Warriors can tell, it's working. First still seems distracted, but it's clearly not from being tired.

Speaking of those two, Wild seems to have a thought as he turns to First, who suddenly snaps from his thoughts. From the way he reacts, Warriors guesses he could probably feel the teen's gaze on him. "I had to rush a bit since I got up kinda late. Sorry if those are a bit undercooked or burnt." Wild rubs the back of his head as he turns to the others. "Er... That goes to the rest of you, too."

First merely shakes his head. "No. It's good. Thank you." His voice is soft, but firm. Reassuring. Warriors can't help but smile at the voice as he finishes off his own crepes.

"He's right. These are really good." Warriors says, turning Wild's attention to himself. "Thanks for breakfast." The others either murmur or nod in agreement, save for First. Wild smiles in relief before giving a thumbs up. However, his smile falls when he appears to remember something, turning to look over at the only remaining occupied bedroll.

"We should probably wake him up." Wild mutters. Everyone turns to see Sky still cozy and fast asleep. Legend and Twilight chuckle at the sight of Sky sleeping facedown in his pillow. Not only that, but he also has the Master Sword lying across his back like an oversized paperweight. Oh the things he'll do to not get up. Warriors is quick to offer to get him up, pushing himself towards Sky and beginning to nudge him with his foot once he reaches their sleeping group member. This earns him... absolutely nothing. Sky is still out like a light and the slow and steady rise and fall of his back is Warriors's only sign that he hasn't accidentally smothered himself in his sleep.

"Sky. It's morning. We have breakfast. You gotta get up." He says, leaning down to shake Sky's shoulder. After doing so for about five seconds, his attempt finally gets him a groan. It also gets him Sky moving his arms under his pillow to snuggle into it even more deeply. Warriors sighs again as the others begin to snicker behind him, to which he has to suppress the urge to turn and glare at them. Instead he has to begin to nudge Sky with his foot again. "Sky, c'mon. Wild made crepes and they're really good. But they're starting to get cold." They're not, Wild is keeping them warm next to the griddle so they're ready, but that's not the point.

Sky finally moves his head. Only instead of moving his head upwards, he turns it in the exact opposite direction of Warriors. He can hear Wind, Wild, and Hyrule snort and giggle behind him.

"... Is that normal?" Warriors blinks in surprise at the sound of First's voice. He mentally shakes his surprise away. First initiating a conversation or not, he's trying to get Sky up.

Four snickers. "Yeah. He's always been the last person up and usually takes a decent bit of prodding to get him out of bed. When he doesn't get up himself, that is. We were actually betting on whether you'd get up after him or not." Four pauses momentarily. "Well, more like talking about betting on it— Eh, it's not important." The others chuckle as Four verbally waves his point off. Warriors starts nudging Sky again as the others continue to talk.

"Anyways, yes, he's just like that." Legend explains. "I said the day someone actually out-sleeps him is the day everyone actually gets their hands on my things. Better luck next time, everyone." Warriors snorts at Legend's confidence. He stops nudging Sky momentarily to turn to the veteran and points directly at him.

" For now ." Warriors states. "Watch out, Vet. Soon enough, you'll have to be keeping an extra close eye on your staffs." Legend only smirks and raises an eyebrow.

"We'll see about that, Captain ."

Warriors rolls his eyes before turning back to Sky and nudging him again. "Sky, seriously, c'mon. Get up."

His attempts finally prove fruitful at rousing Sky, who breathes heavily and mutters a drawn out and groggy "no". His gaze turns unimpressed as the others begin cracking up again. He can even feel First staring at him. What the older man is feeling about the situation, Warriors has no idea.

"Sky, please, for the love of Hylia." Sky finally turns his head to look at him. The look being a glare that would make even that shadow creature falter. "Wild spent all morning making us food so that we won't be hungry. You really want to make his efforts and ingredients go to waste?" Yes he's guilt tripping Sky. And it's going to work, damnit.

"You eat it. I'm not getting up." Sky mumbles into his pillow, once again planting himself facedown in it.

... It's going to work eventually .

Wild snorts loudly. "I'm surprised you're not just threatening to give him Rulie's food again." Now that he's mentioned that, Warriors can feel Hyrule's intense gaze burning into his back, as if daring him to do exactly that. However, the others seem to agree, if their snickers are an accurate indicator.

"I did that yesterday morning." Warriors pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation, "If I do it again this morning, Hyrule will probably castrate me."

"I hope he does." Sky mutters. Warriors can't help but drop both his hand and jaw in shock as he stares at Sky, making the others burst into laughter. He turns to look at the others, with even Time wheezing (responsible adult his ass) along with the others. The only one not laughing is Hyrule, his passive-aggressive gaze still boring a hole into Warriors. His gaze turns further from the others to where First is seated. And just when he thought he might get at least a bit of sympathy, he can see First covering a smile with his hand, stifling what can only be a surprised laugh.

Bastards, the lot of them.

Hyrule's eyes suddenly light up and Warriors feels himself fill with dread. "Hey, Sky." Said Link only grunts in response. "Remember shortly after most of us met, a while back now? We didn't have Wild yet and had to make our own food." Oh dear Hylia, not this—! "We were in Four's era and Wars made those jelly filled pastries—."

Hyrule doesn't even have to finish his treason before Sky is practically launching himself out of his bedroll and over to the fire where everyone is still seated. The traveler is looking distinctly proud of himself while Twilight, Wild, and Wind howl with laughter and Four and Legend aggressively slap their knees, snorting loudly. Even First has turned away and Warriors can see his shoulders shaking the slightest bit with suppressed laughter. Time just sighs, but Warriors can still see the small smile he's trying to force down.

Wild hands Sky the warmed up crepes and freshly made coffee, both of which are downed in record time. Within a mere few minutes, Sky's gone from violently cranky to his usual airy, cheery self. "It's so good!" He smiles. "Thank you, Wild. Breakfast was delicious!"

Wild is fighting his own laughter as he responds. "Y-You're w-wel-welcome." He wheezes when he sees Warriors still standing next to Sky's abandoned bedroll, frozen in shock. First seems to have reigned himself in, but still looks vaguely amused at Warriors's predicament. The others are still snickering though.

Finally, Warriors is able to shake his thoughts away and rejoin the others sat around the fire. Wind grabs him to laugh into his arm once he sits down again. Brothers, yeesh. They're lucky he loves them. Warriors can only bring himself to shake his head while the others' laughter dies down.

When he looks up again, he sees First has stopped laughing. And even yet, there's still the slightest ghost of a smile on his lips. Warriors can't help but feel a bit relieved. He doubts First fully trusts them yet, but there's no denying that it's a start.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

One day. For the love of Nayru, just one day. He just wants one day where his attempt at cooking isn't being used as a threat. At the very least, Warriors gets to suffer with him now. So he can suck it! Use his food to get Sky up again. See how that works out for him!

Anyways, Hyrule's not a hundred percent sure how he feels about First. Not that anything's actually wrong with the guy. From what Sky's told them, he seems really cool. It's just that he's distant and a bit intimidating. He doesn't seem to trust them very much. Then again, Hyrule wasnt exactly any better in that regard. He saw the Chain the first time and immediately took off in a sprint in the exact opposite direction. That left them to have to do a two-day-long manhunt for him before they finally caught up to him and were able to explain the situation. So First's reaction could be way worse.

He seems polite, at the very least. But something about how he looks over all of them feels a bit scrutinizing. He'd quietly mentioned it to Legend over breakfast and he seemed to agree. Though he mentioned it didn't seem to be quite the same as when Warriors did it. Besides that, Hyrule still feels some pressure from him. Then again, he's not even sure if First is doing it intentionally. He's seemed a bit distracted all morning. Hyrule had just chalked it up to him being tired, but that's clearly not what it is. Both him and Legend agreed that it seems more like he's contemplating something.

And even then, there's something about the man's presence that just draws him in. Maybe it's because he's the origin for their spirit. He doesn't know. Whatever the reason, there's no denying they all seem kind of attached to him for no apparent reason other than the previously mentioned one.

Normally, by this point, late in the morning, they'd be packing up camp and be on the move. However, given that First just joined yesterday afternoon and, more importantly, Wind's state and health at the time, it's better that they stay put for the day. Wind's just recovering from his illness and it's better to give First a bit more time to adjust. None of them particularly handle being overwhelmed around a group of strangers well and Hyrule highly doubts First's any different.

They've all since finished breakfast and handed their dishes off to Twilight to wash. He notices Wind sitting on one of the logs surrounding the fire, swinging his legs happily. Hyrule grabs a few things from his bag and begins to walk towards the younger teen. He can feel as several other pairs of eyes suddenly turn to watch as he approaches Wind.

Wind seems to sense his approach and jumps up from where he's seated. "Wind. Don't even think about it." Said boy immediately darts away. Hyrule sighs and starts to chase him. "You're not getting outta this!"

Wind's voice is high pitched as he runs. "I'm fine, Rulie! Seriously!" Hyrule can hear Time sigh as Wind darts behind Wild. Wild takes one look at Hyrule before immediately stepping out of the way, leaving Wind open. Wind looks at him in betrayal before darting away again.

"Wind, you got sick and injured yesterday. You wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't. Let him check you over." Warriors scolds. Wind scowls before attempting to duck behind Legend.

"Nope." Legend immediately side steps out of the way just before Hyrule runs to grab Wind. However, Wind darts away again as hides behind Sky, grabbing his sailcloth.

Sky doesn't seem too enthusiastic to be used as a human shield against Hyrule. So instead, he removes his sailcloth from Wind's grip and moves out of the way. Wind puffs his cheeks and ducks out of the way again before Hyrule can grab him. Hyrule's quick to notice that he's obviously avoiding Time, Warriors, and Twilight. The only place left is a small bush he'd be able to duck into. The only person there is First, who still seems distracted.

Wind picks up speed a bit and is just about to pass by First when his plan is foiled. Before he can pass him, First's gaze suddenly becomes aware, tracking the two teens. Without a word, First reaches his arm out and catches Wind before he can hide, grabbing him by the arm to spin him back around to look directly at Hyrule. He lets him go, but keeps his arm behind him to keep him from running. It's honestly kind of impressive. He caught him with so much ease Hyrule can't doubt that he's done this plenty of times before now.

Before Wind can process what's just happened, Hyrule grabs Wind by the arm and begins pulling him back towards the no-longer lit campfire. Wind starts to whine and tug away from Hyrule slightly, but his grip is too strong. Damn kid couldn't just make this easy. Hyrule shoves him down onto the log, minding his wounded shoulder. Wind pouts as he pulls the bandages away to assess his shoulder.

"Well, it looks better than it did yesterday. You're lucky First found you when he did. This could've been a lot worse." Hyrule says, wincing slightly at the mangled skin. It's not a lie though, his shoulder has mostly healed thanks to Hyrule's magic and whatever treatment First gave him. It seems to be mostly healed, and Hyrule doesn't think he'll need to bar him from fighting. For now at least.

Hyrule continues checking over a very miffed Wind while the others continue with whatever they'd been doing prior. Thankfully, Wind has recovered fairly quickly. Not fully, of course. But resting for the rest of the day should make up for it. Given he doesn't do anything stupid, that is.

Overall, he doesn't need to be on bed rest to recover. He still needs to rest for the day, that and his shoulder is still a bit tender. Basically, as long as he doesn't go and exert himself, he'll be fine.

Hyrule finally deems Wind fit to go on about his day (while making sure to hammer in that he doesn't do anything reckless), letting the boy run off to Warriors to complain about the "gross ass medicine". Warriors only flicks his forehead as a response. With that, Hyrule finally lets out a sighs to which Legend walks over to him, looking amused.

"What do ya' know? We got to witness Sky be scared up again, Warriors be threatened, and Wind get chased around the camp. And all three by you, on top of that!" He says, smirking as he slaps Hyrule on the shoulder. Hyrule can't help the blush that faintly creeps onto his cheeks. All he can do to at least feel like he isn't being perceived is to shove his face into his hands. He's not gonna live this down for a while, is he?

"Wasn't expecting First to catch Wind like that though. I honestly thought he wasn't aware of what was going on. Then all of a sudden, he looks at you two and grabs Wind like he'd been anticipating it beforehand." Legend says, leaning back as he recalls the events a few minutes prior.

Hyrule blinks and pulls his face out of his hands to look at his predecessor. "You really think he was anticipating that?" First definitely seems to be good with kids and appears at least a decent bit smart in terms of foresight. But even then...

"Nah," Legend waves, "I don't think so." Hyrule looks at him to elaborate, which he does. "I don't think he was actually expecting that to happen. I'm just saying that's what it looked like. He's clearly quick to adapt and act though. Which would explain how he's been this entire time." Legend pauses briefly. "Don't get me wrong. Something about him seems like a nervous wreck and I'm pretty sure he was weirded out by how friendly and trusting we were when he walked into the clearing yesterday. But from what I can tell, he accepts weird bullshit happening around him pretty easily. But then again, he's not an easy one to read, so I could be totally wrong."

Hyrule too can't really say whether Legend's right or not regarding First's reaction to how they treated him yesterday. He was kind of focused on tending to their idiot sailor at the time and wasn't really paying that close attention. However, he can agree that First has been especially awkward around them. Especially this morning.

"Do you think he's intimidating?" Hyrule suddenly finds himself asking. He can see Legend's tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek as he thinks. Instead of saying anything, he only raises his hand flat towards the ground, making a 'sorta' motion.

"A little? I don't know. He's so Hylia damned awkward I'm not entirely sure. His gaze is a little intense, I'm not going to lie. But in terms of his expression, that's probably just what his face looks like." Hyrule chuckles in agreement as Legend huffs. "But if one thing's clear, if we were right about his distractedness, he's definitely not one to get stuck in his own head too deeply."

He hums, taking a moment to look around and observe the others before turning back to Legend. "Well, intimidating or not, he does seem kind. I bet we'll get clearer answers once he's more comfortable."

"Oh?" Legend raises an eyebrow. "You're so sure? He could be even more stoic and cryptic than the Old Man."

Hyrule snorts and points his thumb behind him, getting Legend to look. In the time between First catching Wind and now, Sky has moved to stand with him and is happily chatting away. First still seems a bit awkward, like Legend said, but he doesn't look distinctly uncomfortable either. He's just silently and contentedly listening as he pays attention to whatever Sky's talking about. For a split second, Hyrule even swears he can see a small twitch at the corners of the man's lips.

Legend snorts, turning back to sitting normally. "Alright, I see your point." He says, ruffling Hyrule's hair. Goddessdamnit, always this. Hyrule pouts as he does, making the veteran laugh.

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First is pretty cool, Wild thinks. He's the first (no pun intended) of the missing predecessors to show up. Plus the man had literally sliced an infected bokoblin in two yesterday evening, so that's cool. How can he not be at least a little excited over something like that?

He hasn't gotten to see him fight at all since then, though. They've been stuck at camp so First can adjust and Wind can finish recovering without extra stress. The main thing that sucks about that is that he's not exactly used to being stuck in one place for extended periods of time when he himself isn't sick or injured. He turns to Hyrule, who also seems a bit antsy.

They all had lunch about an hour or two ago now, and Wild has energy to burn off. So to deal with it, he waits for Hyrule to go to a more isolated part of the clearing. When he knows no one's looking, he tosses a small rock over to where Hyrule's crouched. When the other looks up and over to Wild, he starts signing.

" You. Me. Explore woods?"

He watches as Hyrule's eyes light up at the suggestion. The other teen quickly and quietly attaches his pouch to his belt. All of Wild's things are in his Slate, which is already clipped in place, so he doesn't need to worry about that. Since they have their things, now's time for the tricky part. Getting out of camp.

No way in hell will the others let them out of the clearing right now. They'll have to wait until no one's paying attention to make a break for it. Time, Warriors, and Twilight they both know the habits of. They've snuck away from them plenty before, so that's the easy part. Four and Sky might not say anything, but either way, they should probably wait till they're not looking. Legend very well would say something, but it's easy enough for Hyrule to either charm or bribe him into silence, if not rope him into their shenanigans, if he notices. Plus, if that doesn't work, Wild still has that prime blackmail material from Wind from just the other day. Speaking of Wind, normally he would be all for letting them sneak off. However, he might be salty over Hyrule's earlier bedside manner, so they probably shouldn't risk it for now.

First is the tricky one. They don't know his habits well enough to be confident in sneaking off. That's not even to mention the guy's observant as hell when it comes to his surroundings. He's been distracted all day, so normally that would mean that just speeding right past him wouldn't be an issue. However, they saw how well that worked out for Wind earlier. Distracted or not, he'll react immediately if he sees them. He's been distrustful of the group, so Wild wouldn't be surprised if he's set off by seeing two of them trying to sneak off. Especially after finding Wind alone, injured, sick, and unconscious like he did yesterday. So yeah, darting past him's a definite no go.

However, it seems the environment is in their favor. The wind has been picking up since lunch and there's been some gusting. That in and of itself has been making it harder to hear each other. On top of that, it's been moving the grass a lot. Specifically, it doesn't take long for signs of something having been placed in the grass to disappear. That means, if they time this right, he and Hyrule will be able to sneak away silently and leave no footprints behind. They'll practically disappear, like they'd never been there. It'll be best if they head in the direction the wind is going, which is, conveniently, almost the exact opposite direction of where the others are sitting from them. Y'know, path of least resistance and all.

Now, they wait. Wait for the wind to pick up to a gust and for all of the others to be looking away and not paying attention. Finally, after probably ten minutes of waiting, their requirements align and the two take off into the forest, the wind covering whatever sound they make and their tracks.

They run for a bit before ducking behind some trees and observe the direction they just came from for a moment. Nothing. They're not being followed. Their escape wasn't noticed.

Hyrule chuckles. "That was easier than I thought it'd be. I thought we'd have to wait at least a bit longer." Ain't that the truth?

"Yeah." Wild laughs, turning to Hyrule with a grin. "I wasn't sure if we could get out without First noticing. I guess it's easy enough as long as we're not running past him." Hyrule grins back and gestures for him to follow. They are out here to explore after all. Best make the most of it before the others come to drag them back.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

They've been running around for probably an hour now. On a positive note, they found a cave. Those are always fun. Wild personally is ecstatic. Even if there's no treasure down here, there could be other stuff that can be of use. Even if that's only to be some fun little collectibles.

And find some stuff they have. Not only have they found some ore that Wild is more than happy to collect, there are even old chests thrown precariously into the lower parts of the cave. And they don't even need any sort of keys to unlock them. Then again, Hyrule did get his hands on a lock picking set alongside Four a few portals ago, so it's not like that really matters now.

Regardless, they've collected some fun thing in their time running about the cave, no one particular goal in mind. Wild's even found a bunch of shiny ore that seems like it could be used to make some form of jewelry. Cara and Isha would no doubt be excited if he brought it back with him. So he may have made a point to nab some extra for them whenever possible.

By now, Wild's Slate and Hyrule's bag are full of their little treasures. They've begun heading back to the entrance of the cave when they hear voices coming from above. The two freeze instantly, ducking closer to the wall and looking up through the hole at the top they used to get down in the first place, really close to the entrance. From what he can hear, there are three sets of footsteps. Smooth and rhythmic; Warriors. Lighter but steady; Legend. The third set is unfamiliar, so Wild can only assume that it's First.

"Damnit, don't tell me they went all the way down here." Legend groans, likely looking down the main cavern. Warriors only sighs. Even without seeing him, Wild can tell he's pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Frankly, I'd be more surprised if they weren't." They don't speak anymore, but after a few seconds, he hears the three of them start to run further into the cave. Sweet, they might be able to get out of here without getting caught! All of a sudden, he hears one of them suddenly stop while the other two keep running.

... Or not.

They don't move for a second before Wild sees them crouch next to the hole. It's First, without a doubt. They just had to bring the overly observant one, didn't they?

"Wild? Hyrule?" Wild ignores his surprise to push off the wall and awkwardly peek at First through the hole. Now, how to play this? They're getting in trouble regardless. But if they can make the others think being gone this long was accidental...

"Hi, First." Hyrule says awkwardly, also pushing off the wall.

"Sorry about sneaking off." Wild says. "We... uh... We got stuck down here, so we haven't been able to get back. We've kind of just been waiting for someone to find us." Hyrule nods in agreement, realizing what he's doing. What he's doing being lying through his teeth, of course. Wild could easily climb through the hole then pull Hyrule up through as well. It wouldn't work on the others, he's their number one climber after all. However, First doesn't know that.

And yet, instead of sympathy, First only raises an eyebrow at them. "Is that why you hid even though you could clearly hear us?" Ah shit, he'd caught them. He's not particularly impressed, if the obvious rhetorical question and flat tone is anything to go off of.

"... Okay, we've just been running around for fun. I can climb out easily." Wild finds himself immediately admitting under First's gaze. Somehow, the man just looking at him, visibly unimpressed, even if vaguely, is enough to make him feel bad. He and Hyrule duck their heads in embarrassment. Even with Wild admitting to lying to him, which shouldn't help his distrust in the group at all (and should honestly only make it worse), First suddenly seems amused. Wild's... not sure if that's how he should be reacting to this. Maybe he doesn't distrust them as much as they'd thought? Maybe he really is just awkward, like Hyrule had mentioned as a possibility earlier.

However, nothing's changing the fact they all need to get back to camp. The hole itself is out of reach on the ground. So instead, using the narrow width of the tunnel to his advantage, he jumps onto the opposite wall before pushing himself off and grabbing the ridge of the hole where it becomes the main floor of the cave. First stands up and moves out of the way as he pulls himself up before he turns around to help Hyrule.

"Uh... Ledge and Wars went further down into the cave, right?" Hyrule asks, rubbing the back of his neck. Oh, that's right, they are further down in the cave. He's... not particularly sure how he wants to handle this. Hyrule obviously feels the same.

First only hums quietly before looking down into the cave. Putting two fingers into the corners of his mouth, he lets out a loud whistle. Within a minute or so, they see Warriors and Legend running back. Both of them are clearly displeased— Well, no. Legend is displeased. Warriors is pissed .

"You two have a lot of explaining to do." Warriors scowls. Both of them duck their heads in embarrassment yet again. Not necessarily for sneaking off. Just for getting caught in the manner they did. Scolding never stopped them from continuing to sneak off in the past and it's definitely not going to work now.

Legend only rolls his eyes. "We'll save the scolding for later. Old Man wants to see both of you." Oh. That's even worse than Warriors. Time's glare is nothing to sniff at. Warriors sighs and gestures for them to follow. He and Legend exit first. First, on the other hand, looks at them for a moment before turning to leave.

And even yet, Wild can see the slightest amused smile on the man's face, not to mention the nearly silent, breathy laugh that gently shakes his shoulders. Wild turns to Hyrule to see if he also noticed it. Based on his surprised expression, it's safe to say he did.

Getting back to the others is going to be hell. Especially with Time. But seeing a bit more of First's personality brings a sense of comfort to both of them. Whether they were to get in trouble or not, this little excursion was definitely worth it.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Wild and Hyrule are both confined to being watched over by the others after Time's exasperated scolding. Wild is currently being watched by Twilight as he silently cooks dinner while Hyrule is being watched by Legend as he checks on Wind. Albeit, the veteran seems a bit more miffed about being left behind rather than the two sneaking off. But that's just his opinion.

Four will forever wonder how a group this size can be this chaotic. Then again, they're all Links, so that's not really an anomaly. More an expectation. Still though, he does feel a bit bad for the two. They've never been particularly good about being cooped up. They're very much rangers at heart.

The two dumb buddies aside, most of Four's attention has been on First. He's not going to lie and say First isn't at least a little intimidating. He can tell it's not an unpopular opinion. The only ones who haven't seemed intimidated by him, from what Four can tell, are Wild and Sky.

But then he came back alongside Legend and Warriors with both Hyrule and Wild (looking very embarrassed, but fulfilled) in tow and he looked different. His expression had shifted from his usual one that he'd been wearing all day to a much more amused looking one. Four wasn't sure what to expect when they'd all had to drop what they were doing and drag First along to find the two, but it wasn't this.

There's no denying he's been distant this entire time, but it could be worse. (Ahem, Legend .) And that's not even acknowledging he's seemed kind of melancholic since this morning. Yet after Time had finished scolding Wild and Hyrule, and from what Legend and Warriors told him about First being the one to find them, they both have seemed a decent bit more comfortable around him despite everything. Even chatting at him with Sky, along with Wind now. That in itself is impressive. Hyrule's never gotten comfortable like this around another person they've just met in the span of a day. Well, except maybe Legend, but that's his own predecessor, and so far, they've tended to attach themselves to whoever comes before them like a weird baby instinct. Sky currently being the prime example of it.

In Four's case, he mainly finds First interesting. He's obviously a knight, similar to Warriors, but he doesn't seem all that intent to exercise any authority he might normally have in that regard. If what Warriors mentioned to him earlier is correct, First may very well be a general. Or at least had been a general. And yet, the man seems content to let Time and Warriors do their thing while he just hangs out in the background. Now, he's only been here for a day, so that's not unexpected. But his unwillingness to take over any more authority seems more like something coming from personal preference rather than simple awkwardness.

Which does honestly make sense, putting yourself into the authority of a group you just met outside of a work environment isn't a good look. But none of them would've begrudged him for it. They had honestly expected to be a bit more proactive in planning how to find Wild and Hyrule earlier than he was. Taking on more of an authority, or at least an advisory, role would've solidified him a place in the group. He's seemed to have picked up on all of this, Four thinks. Yet he still hangs in the background.

Honestly, the longer he thinks about it, First is less intimidating and just more odd.

Well, whatever his motivations or thought processes are, something about the man just draws them in like a bunch of moths to a lantern. Something about meeting your furthest predecessor apparently just turns all Links into a bunch of ducklings. It's actually kind of funny.

Onto more important things, that sword . That thing is sharp. Skilled swordsman or not, it takes more than just experience to slice a monster in two like he did yesterday. He just wishes he could get a closer look at it! He doesn't want to potentially stress out First with his questioning though.

Then again, it can't hurt to ask, right? After pondering for a moment, he finally comes to the decision to ask the older man about his sword. Standing up from where he's been fiddling with a few of his tools for the past twenty minutes, he begins to trail over to where First is sitting with Sky. He gets a few confused looks from the others as he passes by them, but that's not important right now.

First blinks and looks over at him just before he reaches him. Four quickly notes that he doesn't seem quite as distracted anymore like he was throughout the day, probably because he's been listening to Sky. Whatever, a good thing is a good thing. On top of that, he also doesn't seem apprehensive towards Four's presence.

"Hey, First. I have a question." First only hums in response, but his attention is trained on Four. "I wanted to take a look at your sword. If that's okay with you, that is." Four can feel the rest of the camp tense slightly at the question. Sky, Wild, and Hyrule are the only ones who seem unperturbed.

"Er... Smithy." Warriors begins awkwardly. The others also seem a decent bit uneasy. However, First does not. He seems to notice how the others react and puts his hand up to pacify them.

"It's fine." He says, pulling over his scabbard to hand to Four. "Here." Four, very happily, takes the sword from him. He thanks him before pulling the sword from its scabbard. He can see the reflection of his eyes clear in the blade as he does.

He can tell just from looking at it that the sword is newly made. He can also tell whoever made it put a lot of care into it. The craftsmanship is remarkable ! It's not too heavy anywhere, balanced perfectly. It's incredibly sharp and well proportioned. The metal itself seems like a lot of time and effort went into creating it properly. It's not super heavy, but it's definitely not brittle either. Creating a blade like this would've taken a long time and a lot of careful attention. It's no standard knight's sword, that's for sure! This could've only been made by someone who cares deeply for First, no way it's just some run of the mill blacksmith. That much is pretty clear. That and Four is very jealous of the person who was able to make this.

"This sword is amazing!" Four exclaims, handing it back to First. The man chuckles lowly as he takes it. Chuckles ! He wouldn't have done that earlier. "Whoever made it put a lot of care into it."

Four is almost surprised by the small smile that shows on First's face. "He tends to do that." He mutters. "He doesn't particularly like making a bad quality sword unless he's actively out to get someone. He once spent four years working on fixing one of my old ones after it broke."

Everyone looks at the man in surprise. It's the most he's spoken in one go since yesterday. "He sounds like a good friend." If a bit of a menace. First's expression doesn't change much except of a twitch in the eyes and lips that looks like he's holding back a laugh.

"You could say that." Four isn't quite sure what that's supposed to mean, but whatever. He's starting to open up much more and that's all that matters. It's the most information they have from him so far and he'll likely tell them more over the span of this journey.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Time would be lying if he didn't find First mildly unsettling. He feels a bit bad about it, of course, but it's the truth. Something about the way he looks at him, like he recognizes something, is a little unnerving. The man's gotten a bit better over the last couple of days. He even told them a bit about a close friend of his the day after they met. Legend didn't even tell them about Ravio, never mind the fact they literally live together , till they met him in Legend's era. (And they'd been traveling together for weeks by that point!) Yet, even then, he's still incredibly mysterious. He hasn't really divulged much more information about himself since then. Time fully realizes he's one to talk. He likes being somewhat cryptic with the others, if only to mess with their heads a little bit.

Still, he seems to know a lot of information that he just... isn't telling them . Time's of course noticed First looking at the markings on his face. A gaze that seems like recognition. He's even looked like he's expecting to see someone else every time he looks at Time. Sky had mentioned that First fought alongside actual gods. Maybe he recognized the markings?

Did he... know the Fierce Deity? Like, outside of the mask? Time isn't quite sure how to feel about that. First's looks don't seem negative. He's seemed interested in the markings though. Conversely, Time has been wondering about the markings on First's face. At first, he thought he had no recognition of them. Then he thought about it more. He thinks he's seen the exact same markings on something of Sky's. He can't actually remember what off the top of his head right now though.

"What'cha thinkin' about?" Time jumps at Twilight's voice before looking up at his descendant. Twilight sits down next to him, offering him a canteen. He doesn't know what's in it, but he declines it regardless.

"First." Time admits. "It feels like he's staring straight through me at times. I think he knows more than he's letting us in on. I have no way of actually proving it though. He seems content to mind his business and he's been so quiet there's nothing I can so much as make an assumption from." Twilight quietly listens to him explain. He clicks his tongue, seeming to have his own train of thought.

"Now that you mention it..." Time gestures for him to continue. "I've been having the same thought."

"... Explain?"

Twilight purses lips, leaning his chin in his palm. When he speaks again, he keeps his voice low. Clearly not something he wants the others to hear. "I think he knows I'm Wolfie." That explains his voice. "He's looked at me with some sort of recognition since the day we met. I can't say for certain if he actually consciously recognizes me as Wolfie, but he definitely suspects something."

Time hums. So it's not just him that's had that feeling. First may be pretty quiet, thus far at least, but there's no denying that he's incredibly observant. Warriors's guess that he might've been a general seems a lot more likely now. He's clearly used to looking out for groups of people and keeping a close eye on his surroundings.

"Well, don't start freaking out just yet." Time says, slapping a hand on Twilight's upper back. "First is still a bit stoic and hard to read. We don't know for sure that he's actually realized something. It could just be us being paranoid and our minds panicking over nothing. We don't know what he's thinking. We should just continue on normally until he says something."

Twilight only huffs. "That could take ages though. And I am trying to keep the Wolfie thing a secret." He says, flicking his hand back as he looks at Time. "I don't know how he feels about dark magic. An' if he did fight with gods like Sky said, I don't wanna to be on the receiving end of his ire. You saw what he did to that damn bokoblin the other day. I jus' about felt bad for the damn thing!" Time laughs at Twilight's exclamation. But funny or not, it only makes it clearer to him that Twilight is feeling at least a bit paranoid.

"What did I just say about freaking out?" Time smirks, making Twilight groan. "Besides, even if he does have a negative opinion about it, we've both seen how cautious he's been. I somehow doubt he's going to cause a scene with this group. Even then, he's been rather relaxed about some rather ridiculous stuff already, so I don't think that's something you're going to need to be worried about." Time slaps his knees, groaning as he stands up. Goddess damn his back. He's getting old. "Well, Wild looks like he's plotting to make dinner fancier than usual. We should probably go see if he needs some help with anything."

Twilight raises an eyebrow at him. Rude little brat. "Ya' saying this because he's actually planning somethin'? Or is it just because you're hungry." Time only dignifies him with another smirk before walking away. "Ol' Man, I swear!" He laughs as he hears Twilight stumble up to follow after him.

Time is right, of course. Wild is more than happy to have them help him cut up some vegetables for him while he simmers some fruit. When asked what he's making, he happily tells them it's paella with sides of cream of vegetable soup with small dumplings, simmered fruit, and salt-grilled fish. It's a bit of a heavy meal, to be sure. But after a very long day of walking and having to set up camp at the foot of a mountain, it's more than welcome. Besides, whoever gets stuck with first watch is going to be very thankful for the extra energy.

"Ugh! This is so annoying!" Wind exclaims from a short distance away. The three of them all look back to see Wind lying flat on the ground, moving his hand from his shoulder. His shoulder has fully healed by now, so why is he—? That's right. He was stabbed through his tunic as well. Now that Time looks, he can see a clean tear through the sleeve of his tunic and shirt.

Wind's fuss attracts the attention of the rest of the group as well. They also notice the tear in his clothing. How they haven't noticed or even thought about it till now is surprising. Then again, he hasn't been wearing those clothes in particular since the night after he fought those bokoblins.

Time can tell they don't really have a good way to help him with that at the moment. That is until he looks over at First. The man walks away from where he's talking with Sky and Warriors and crouches next to Wind.

"You have more clean shirts, right?" He asks. Wind seems confused before nodding. Time watches as First opens his bag and pulls something out. Thread and needles. Can First sew? "I can fix them for you, if you don't mind."

Wind blinks before shedding his tunic and shirt and handing them off to First before putting on one of his sleep shirts in their place. Time, Twilight, and Wild mostly turn back to dinner, though they do continue to silently watch First out of the corners of their eyes.

Eventually, First has finished fixing Wind's clothes and hands them back to their owner. Wind thanks him casually before Time sees the teen's eyes widen in awe. Time can't figure out what would cause that reaction until he actually sees where the tears had been fixed. They haven't just been pulled back together like the rest of the group would usually do to fix their own clothes. It's as if the tears were never there in the first place . It's truly impressive. Who would've thought First would be able to manage such a thing?

"Woah!" Legend exclaims. "Where'd you learn that? That's insane."

First chuckles. "My mother taught me when I was a child. Everything after that was self taught though." Able to make obvious damage disappear like that and at least partially self taught? Color Time impressed. First only smiles somewhat awkwardly as the others gawk at him.

Some things are certain about First. He may still be mysterious and he may know a lot more than he's willing to let on. But at the end of the day, he's not remotely unfriendly. Slowly, bit by bit, more distrust and unease slip away. First will certainly be a solid adult in the Chain in no time.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

It's times like these where First really wishes he was still as outgoing as he was in his youth. It would make being around the group so much easier. Talking to them yesterday was easy enough, with all the adrenaline running through his system from the earlier events. But after having that vision and getting a full night of sleep, that adrenaline is gone and the expectations the bunch likely have for him has set in. He's not sure how to approach them anymore. Distracted by that vision of Demise, he can only sit and stand around them, awkwardly silent.

Gods he really wishes Orville was here with him right now.

The breakfast Wild made for them was good. That and the whole performance needed to get Sky out of bed was immensely entertaining to witness. Though he does feel a little bit bad for Warriors being threatened. The rest of the morning went slow for a while. At least up until Hyrule went to check on Wind and the young teen immediately tried to escape. One moment he's in his head, missing Orville and their daughters. The next? His attention is being drawn to Hyrule chasing down Wind and him having to catch the kid before he could duck into a bush. How the kid can bounce back like this is honestly impressive.

The rest of the morning, after that little debacle, was back to going slowly. Most of the Chain seemed willing to give him some space for the time being. However, that's when he was able to become lost in his thoughts again. There's no way he's what they would've expected. Most of them seem solid in their own roles and are plenty comfortable around each other. First on the other hand is a former general and now only a part time knight who mainly trains younger recruits and deals with the occasional monsters that followed them into the sky. He could try and replicate his prime, but... he truly doesn't know how to do that. Did he ever even have a prime? If he did, it would've been over twenty years ago now. And in all honesty, his memories from that time are too fuzzy to even attempt to replicate. It doesn't help that he feels like most of them are at least a little... intimidated by him.

The main exception is Sky. The kid's been practically hanging off of his hip like a cheerful remlit kitten the entire day, chatting away to him. It's kind of adorable, if he's being honest. First can't bring himself to say much of anything back, but that doesn't seem to bother Sky. He just continues talking. Even if he doesn't say it, he appreciates Sky's company. The kid talking to him helps to start make him feel at least a little less isolated.

Eventually, they have lunch and end up in a circle afterwards. The group all happily talk with one another, even if First doesn't say anything, only observing how they interact. When he looks to Twilight, he's hit with the exact same sense of recognition he had the day prior. Sure, he saw the guy in his vision, he knows full well he did. Albeit, what he saw wasn't much except for the fur and facial markings—

Goddessdamnit, that's what it is. The wolf had those same facial markings. That's why First recognizes him more familiarly. Twilight is that damn wolf. Or, more nicely, Twilight is Wolfie. Thinking about it more, he recalls Wind's words from the other day.

"You always disappear and no one's entirely sure where you are. Besides, Wolfie is the one who found me, so maybe do a better job at scouting."

If he's right (which he's pretty damn sure he is), then as funnily ironic a statement that is, First still mentally stares incredulously. Do they... Do they seriously not know? They have the same facial marking and, from what little information he has that he can use to gauge, Twilight and the wolf are never in the same place at the same time. There's no way they haven't realized. Either that or Twilight just thinks he's keeping a secret and they're just choosing to humor him. Then again, Wind doesn't seem to have any semblance of knowing of a connection. Could they seriously have no idea...?

Ah, whatever. He's not going to say anything until someone else comes to him with it. Everyone's got their secrets, he can't begrudge Twilight for his. If they won't pry into his secrets, he won't have any inclination to pry into theirs.

That little hell of a revelation aside, the conversation continues without incident. Though First then notes that it's been a few minutes since Hyrule got up and excused himself to check through his things real quick. First decides to turn back in curiosity to see what could be taking him so long. Does he really just have that much stuff he's carrying around? But when he turns back, he sees something he definitely isn't expecting.

Wild and Hyrule have completely vanished. How on earth did no one hear them? Then again, the wind's been picking up and making it harder to hear each other. Did they just decide to sneak off when the wind picked up and no one was paying attention?

"First, is something wrong-?" Twilight groans when he sees why he's staring behind himself. Instead of panic, the group responds with various levels of exasperation and several cries of "again?!" Because apparently those two sneaking off in particular is just a standard thing that happens. First can't help but feel at least a little bit of amusement over it.

Alas, he's dragged along into looking for the two of them, being put with Warriors and Legend. The three explore the woods for a while before coming across some footprints. Those footprints lead them into a cave. Warriors and Legend grovel over it before running further into it. First is about to follow after when he feels it. To his right. The pull of his spirit and the same one as he's felt with Wild.

When he looks over, he sees a hole in the lower part of the cave wall. He pauses before crouching down next to and peering into it. "Wild? Hyrule?" He then watches as the pair awkwardly shuffles out from right next to the wall (a very convenient hiding place) and greet him.

Wild then claims that they'd gotten trapped in the small cavern. However, they'd clearly been right next to the hole the entire time. And that's not even to mention they had plenty of time to announce their presence before Warriors and Legend ran off. He calls them out on the lie and Wild immediately fesses up on the lie before climbing out of the tunnel and helping out Hyrule.

Even though lying shouldn't be particularly reassuring to him, someone who just met these people yesterday. It still is, weirdly enough. Something about it truly proves that a good chunk of this group is just a bunch of goofy children. That point alone makes the idea of being around them far less daunting. Though he can't help but mentally shudder at the thought of this bunch of goofy children being tasked to fight against great dangers at such young ages. Even with that thought, he can't help but laugh at the two as they began heading back to the camp. He definitely did feel a little bad about the two being confined and watched for the rest of the day. Though given the grand circumstances, it didn't exactly go beyond that.

The day continued and brought First being happily chatted to by Sky, Wind, Hyrule, and Wild. Once again, he doesn't really say much of anything, but listens happily. Seems the others have also become more comfortable with his presence over the span of a day. Eventually, Four joins in, asking to get to take a look at the sword Orville made for him, eyes shining with curiosity. Some of the others seem a bit alarmed over the kid approaching him this eagerly, but he doesn't mind. He only waves them off, handing Four his discarded scabbard and letting him look over the blade.

Four is practically vibrating as he looks over the sword. He reminds First of a much younger Orville in that regard. He swears the kid's eyes start to switch through four separate colors as he looks the sword over. When he finally looks back to First, he's practically buzzing as he starts rambling about how excellent the sword's quality is. He also mentions it seems that it had a lot of care was put into it. And how's he supposed to react to that? By not talking about his dear husband? Four also notes that Orville must be a good friend.

Ah yes. Just a good friend. A friend so good he's literally been married to him for the past nine years and has raised/been raising two children with him. (Not to insult Four, of course. He has no way of knowing. He just thinks it's at least kind of funny.)

A couple days have passed since the mass of events and they've since been one the move. First feels he at least gotten a bit closer to the others. Four, Legend, Warriors, and Time have become more comfortable approaching him to talk. Twilight too has joined the others in chatting at him about whatever's on their minds. Warriors has also brought him to add his own input on some of the plans he's made with Time. He doesn't miss that this giving him a place within the group, and he truly appreciates the effort. However, he's good just going along with whatever Time and Warriors decide, not including potential extenuating circumstances. Yes, he definitely outranks them. But he's already had to fight a god and nearly died and left his loved ones behind in the process. He's perfectly content with not having to play general.

And little by little, day by day, he begins feeling more and more like he's a part of the group. Not like he's just some straggler they picked up. He's not sure if he can manage to be the powerful, unrelenting predecessor they seemed to have been expecting him to be. But that might not be a bad thing. It'll be okay. He has plenty of time to continue to adjust.