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Time was a light sleeper. It was a wonder that not all of the links were, they had all been through a lot. But no, as evidenced by Wind snoring like a train’s whistle, some of them were very, very heavy sleepers…
Time was able to wake at the drop of a needle. There were no needles in the forest though, at least, none that he knew of. No, tonight, he woke to the crunch of autumn leaves. It didn’t take more than a moment of having his eyes open to pinpoint the source. Wilds flowing cape was distinct as ever, the baggy hood helping to create a shrouded silhouette as he stood in the nearby clearing.
The chain had set up camp within the trees, to give more cover, and the only thing in the clearing was a small pool of water, and a curiously side-swept tree looming over the water, the lone oak framed wild perfectly, and it framed the full moon he gazed at alongside him. The soft white light created a hazy highlight around the short hero, and it gave him an almost ethereal look as Time gazed at him.
The tired man got up from his resting place after a few moments. Wild staring at the moon like an enamored wolf wasn’t exactly the usual behavior that Time had come to expect of him. He approached quietly, and almost cracked a joke to start the conversation before he stepped side-by-side with the other and caught a glimpse of his face.
Wild’s expression was… almost slack. Doe eyes staring towards the full moon. The pale white light reflected silent tears from the heroes cheeks. A silent despair.
He looked young like this, Time noted during his speechless pause, young and hopeless. Young and tired. Young and grieved .
It took a minute for the older Link to process this, and change what he was going to say.
“… You can tell me, if you want.” Time spoke. His voice was gentle, and nearly hushed.
Wild still startled slightly when he realized the other stood beside him, but the soft tone lessened the effect. The shorter hero sniffled after a moment, raising a palm to his eyes to clear them of tears. He looked almost lost for a moment as he stared back into the glow of the moon, and slowly dropped his gaze to the carp in the pool in front of him, watching as the gentle light lit their scales like glitter.
“Do you think I have a soul , Time?”
a beat passed in silence.
“What do you mean?”
“… What if I lost it , when I died. When I went to the shrine of resurrection.” Wild spoke, feeling a ball of emotion choke his throat halfway through his words.
Time stilled for a moment at the words that came from the younger hero. Wild felt soulless. Soulless, meaning lacking human emotion? Lacking human qualities? Time thought Wild was anything but lacking emotion, and his humanity was never a question. He was caring , if nothing else. Attentive. Kind. Loving. And he was giving. The amount of times he’d seen the boy halt his task to help something, or someone, was insurmountable. From helping someone find a cure for their family, to finding a person's favourite food, or helping a Korok back to its feet when it’s fallen, and its arms are too little to push itself up off of the floor.
“Wild, if you’re lacking anything, it’s certainly not soul. You’re… you’re kind . And you care. ” Time began, but the hooded hero interrupted him a sentence in to talk over him.
“Kind, kind?” Wild spoke, a sarcastic, incredulous tone coating his voice for a moment. “And caring? How am I either of those-?” The boys voice cracked there, tears pricking his eyes anew after the brief reprieve.
“My friends- the champions. I let them down, all of them-! I failed them all. If I had really cared, I would have pushed through.” Wild hiccuped before he continued, body tense with emotion, “And a century later, I didn’t even apologise-! I didn’t even speak ! I took their gifts, free’d their spirits, and walked away! ”
Time cut the other off at that, grabbing the shorter hylians shoulders firmly, as if to ground the emotional hero from losing himself, “Hey- hey! It’s okay. They were your friends, right? They knew you weren’t invincible. You had nothing to apologise for, Wild. They knew you were a silent man, that’s all they’d ever known you as.”
“Still…” Wild took a staggered breath as the pressure the other put on him registered. Helped. The feeling of a friends hands pressing him down was calming. Reassuring. Time was still here. The chain as a whole was still here. “Still, I’ve- I’ve killed-“
“Haven’t we all-?”
“Not just monsters , or ganon! What about the yiga? Real people with- with real families ? Kids waiting for their return? Wives wondering why they haven’t come home? How can I do that so ruthlessly with a soul? How can I be such a cruel weapon with a soul inside of me, Time-“ Wild weeped there, feeling his sentence collapse on him as he broke down completely.
He didn’t know how long he had just stood before his fellow hero, wracked with sobs, until he came back to his senses upon feeling his hood come off of his head.
Time had moved it, gently taking the others hood down as he bawled in front of him.
“They attacked you first, didn’t they? They always did. They chose to hurt you first, Wild. You aren’t a bad person for fighting for your life, whether your opponent was human or not. ” Time spoke, a feeling of pain twanging across his heart as the others teary doe eyes watched him speak, clinging to every word. It felt like staring at a child as they cried, unsure and hurt by the world around them of which they knew little. It hurt to keep him any distance away.
So he hugged him. Wild felt like his spirit had entered his body again as the other embraced him, and for a moment he froze entirely, before he felt emotion build up once again, and bubble over into Times arms. Wild just sobbed into the others shoulder, then, feeling exhausted and all too guilty as he cried into the night, into Time.
It was the next day before anyone found them. Sky, namely.
The two missing from camp were a cause for concern, and Sky, the first awake, found them only a hare-leap away, slumped into the cradling curves of the side-swept tree's roots. Wild was half-buried into the older man’s side, and the smaller hero's cape was draped across the two as a blanket, by who Sky could only assume was Time.
They got to sleep in late.