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“So funny story.” The violently purple Four said. “Did I ever mention I can split into four?”
What Wild wanted to say was “funny story? Funny story? Yeah I think I missed that particular little titbit. Also, sincerely, Smith: what the fuck?”
Of course, he couldn’t say any of that so instead he settled for tilting his head to the side and raising an eyebrow, rumbling as sarcastically as he could manage.
It had started off as a fairly average day. Hyrule had finally deemed Wild well enough to leave his prison bed and so Four had offered to let him spend his first day of freedom finally getting to see the inside of the forge. Wild had been ecstatic - finally he was going to get to see what all the fuss was about. Ever since Four had explained the difference between the swords of Wild’s era and everyone else’s, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it.
Weapons, real weapons that wouldn’t break apart after a few uses. Steel that was forged and tempered to be strong and durable, that was basically an art form in and of itself.
He dithered for a while over what to wear. Before leaving Ordon, Uli had taken him aside and gifted him a series of newly made tunics, ranging from light linen to thick, protective wool. Apparently she had been worried about how he would manage come winter and had made them herself, even managing to embroider them with traditional Ordonian decoration.
Wild had teared up when she gave them to him and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Much as he didn't mind being shirtless - he always was a bit 'out there' in his outfit choices and he had fur to keep him warm on a cold night - he missed being able to just pull on a tunic. It made him feel more normal, less like an outsider.
Not to mention he could match with Twilight now. Twinsies!
He just wasn’t sure if a tunic was the right thing for the forge, where it would be hot enough with his fur and he might get his clothing dirty. But then Four walked in and told him yes, he should absolutely wear a tunic to protect himself from getting singed.
Well that was him told.
For some reason the rest of the Chain found his invitation into the forge hilarious. Apparently they had all, at one point or another, volunteered to help out and had all been summarily thrown out in less than a day. Only Hyrule was still allowed in, and only because he just like to sit in the back and watch Four work. And even at that, he had been tossed out on his ear several times.
No one would say why. Only that none of them would think less of Wild if he didn’t make it to lunch.
(Legend said he bet he would last half an hour. Warriors scoffed and told him to be reasonable, even Time made it to a full hour. Legend stood by what he said.)
(No one would say why Time was thrown out after an hour. Time refused to even address the subject.)
(No really, when Wild tried to mewl in question he blinked, stood, and walked out of the room)
(weird.)
So, needless to say, Wild was determined to last out an entire day at least. If only to wipe the smug look off of Legend’s face.
(‘Just bitter because Sky lasted longer than him’, Wind whispered and Wild laughed.)
So after a big breakfast courtesy of Wild (and hadn’t they all missed his cooking while he was ill!), Four led him outside to the adjoining forge. It was a dark space, the roof slightly too low for comfort, but Wild was fairly certain that was to do with how much shorter Four and his Grandfather were than the Champion.
Four lit a few lanterns and began to talk Wild through the various parts of the forge as he stoked up the furnace.
“It’ll take about half an hour to get it to the right heat.” Four was explaining. “And we’ll need to manage the air flow around it. You stay on the bellows, keep them even, and I’ll tell you if you need to change pace. Like this, see?” he moved to the strange instrument that looked a little like Kass’ accordion and began to pump it, gusting air into the forge and causing a flurry of sparks to rush up into the furnace. “The air makes the flames burn hotter.”
Wild nodded and rumbled to show that he understood. He had been in the forge for five minutes and he knew that he had to manage for at least an hour if he wanted to beat Legend’s bet. He put as much focus as possible into evenly pumping air into the furnace as Four clattered around, explaining the various other instruments and how they would work in the forging process.
Wild tried to pay attention, he really did, but there was a lot more to this smithing process than he had expected and without being able to ask questions he was more than a little lost. Still, he figured no one ever learned all of this stuff in one day. As long as he just did what he was told and enjoyed spending time with his brother, it would be fine.
After a few hours in the forge, Wild could understand why the others tended not to last very long. Four was well known amongst the Chain for being uniquely single minded. When he set his mind to a task it was nigh on impossible to pull him away from it. He had promised to show Wild how to make a sword and by Hylia, he was going to do exactly that. He may have sold it as ‘showing Wild the forge’, this was no casual look around. This was nothing short of an apprenticeship.
If Wild hadn’t been so eager to learn something that was lost in his own era, he probably would have bolted long ago, bet or no bet.
But he was glad he stayed. The Smith may have been a tough taskmaster, but he was still his brother and it was nice to spend a day with him.
As it turned out, Four had a number of half-finished swords to work on and he pulled one out to show Wild a few of what he called ‘the basics’. To be honest, Wild didn’t see why Four didn’t think these particular blades weren’t ready to go, but after a few hours of tempering and refining and forging, he was beginning to understand how amazing the whole process was. By mid afternoon the weapon that Four had started with was almost unrecognisable, the blade as sharp and keen as any Wild had ever seen.
No wonder his brothers took such good care of their swords.
After a quick break for a late lunch, Four turned to him with a grin.
“Wanna try it out?” He offered, his eyes reflecting the flames of the forge in tones of green and red
Oh hell yeah, Wild wanted to try it out! Was that even a question?
He nodded eagerly and may have flapped his hands in excitement, just a bit. Four grinned. “Come on, there’s a good spot in the woods a few minutes away that I like to use.”
Wild gave a massive thumbs up and followed him as he slung his own sword across his back and made his way into the woods. Four was chattering the whole way, the way he had ever since Wild first stepped into the forge. It was almost impressive how much of a stream of conversation he could keep up single handed, preempting questions and answering them as he went, almost as if he was having a conversation with himself. But despite the fact that he was the only one talking, it was very much a conversation between the two of them. He addressed Wild throughout, paused to ask him questions, gave him tips and advice, made him feel included even if he couldn’t really join in.
It was just nice.
“You know.” Four said as they ducked into a small clearing. “No one else has ever actually stuck with me in the forge long enough to try this part. I think that makes you officially the second best smith in the chain. Because I’m the best, obviously.” He chuckled, leaning against an old well as Wild preened in pride, his tail wiggling with joy. Four laughed. “Okay when I say ‘stuck with me’, yes, sure, I did throw most of them out, but they couldn’t hack it. Didn’t take it seriously, didn’t get it. You know?”
Wild nodded. He thought he probably did know. Satisfying as it had been, it had been a day of hot, dirty work, and Wild’s hands and muscles ached with the strain he had put them through. He was pretty sure he would have to spend the evening thoroughly scrubbing out his new tunic.
Still, it was worth it.
The clearing itself really wasn’t much to write home about. A tiny old building that may have once been a hunter’s cottage stood to one side, a crumbling well to the other, and what looked like the frame for a scarecrow in the middle.
Four straightened from where he had been leaning and pulled a ring of keys from his pocket.
“Okay, just, let me get a dummy out and we can have a go cutting it apart.” Four walked over to the little building and reached for the lock.
As soon as he turned the key, all hell broke loose.
A ragged blur of fur and claws and teeth leapt out, twice Four’s size and knocking the smith easily to the ground. Four yelped, rolling out of the way at the last moment as the monster went in for the killing blow. Wild reached for the newly forged sword, but before he could run to protect his brother, more creatures burst out of the building, big and hulking and hungry.
A lot more creatures.
They looked like something out of Twilight's world; a portal must have dumped them into the cottage and left them there.
It didn’t look as if they had eaten in a while.
Shit.
Wild swung wildly at the crowd of monsters, not aiming for any one in particular, mostly hoping to create a space for Four to scramble to his feet. He roared, putting every ounce of animalistic rage he could muster into his voice, his chest rumbling with the effort and the scars on his vocal cords straining.
Four scrambled free and darted behind Wild, gasping for breath. He looked around, his eyes flashing through many colours as he counted the monsters surrounding him. From the look on his face, he clearly came to the same conclusion as Wild: they were hopelessly outnumbered.
“Wild” Four said quickly. “I’m gonna need you to be really chill about this, okay?”
Huh? Wild barely had a chance to hum in response before Four reached for his own sword, still in place in his back, and then-
And then reality flickered. There was a flash of light. And then Four had split into four identical versions of himself, each wearing a different colour from the quarters of the smith’s patricoloured tunic.
Oooo…kay. Well, he had asked Wild to be chill, and they were still surrounded by monsters. Wild was a man of his word, after all. Each of the four Fours had a sword of their own and that was good enough for Wild. With another roar, he leapt into action.
It was not an easy fight. The creatures were fierce and their hide was thick, and when they bled their blood was black. Whatever had led them to being stuck in the little house had left them hungry, and hungry animals, cornered and desperate, are some of the most dangerous. Wild wished for a moment that he could shout at one of the Fours to go and get help, but it was quickly apparent that this would be useless.
One of them - the purple one - apparently had the same thought and called to the red to return to the forge, but no sooner had he spoken than their way was cut off by the circling monsters. These things were smart enough to know not to let anyone get away.
Wild whirled around and slashed, finally striking a killing blow and watching in satisfaction as it crumbled to dust.
Well, at least these things could be killed. They just had to keep going.
Wild span and hacked and slashed. There was no space here for style or finesse, this was a real, dirty battle with enemies on all sides and risk at every turn. For once he was beyond relieved that he was twice the height of Four because it meant that he could slash in almost any direction he wanted without the risk of hitting the tiny smith.
Or, well. Smiths. But he wasn’t thinking too hard about that. He was in battle, both his and his brother’s lives were at stake. He didn’t have time to worry about how many brothers that might include.
One by one, the monsters fell and crumbled into dust, and after what felt like an excruciating eternity only three remained, staggering and badly wounded at the other side of the clearing. Wild panted with exhaustion, taking the temporary reprieve to check on the Fours.
It wasn’t a good scene. The purple, red, and blue were scratched up and wounded but still on their feet. The green, however -
The green was unconscious, a cut on his head bleeding sluggishly as he lay supported by a horrified red Four, still brandishing his sword furiously.
This wasn’t good. The monsters were gaining on them and this wasn’t good. Shit.
Wild dashed to where the Fours were standing and scooped the green one into his arm, croaking a yowl that he hoped they understood as ‘any big ideas?’.
The purple one looked up at him, his eyes narrowed “Got any bombs?” he asked.
Boy howdy, did Wild have bombs. He nodded and held out his slate.
Purple Four gave a thumbs up and began to walk backwards, tugging his (brothers? Other selves?) with him. “Okay, dump out as many as you can and then book it for the well.”
Wild blinked and then nodded. He saw where this was going. He emptied as many bomb flowers as he dared out of his slate and then began to make a dash for the well, hurrying the Fours along with him. They wouldn’t need to worry about igniting the bombs, he had that covered.
Finally the fours jumped down and Wild clambered after them. The green Four was still unconscious on his shoulder as he braced himself against the edge of the well.
The monsters were gaining on them, moving through the sea of bomb flowers.
Taking a deep breath and praying to anyone who would listen, Wild threw a fire fruit and let himself drop into the well.
Above him, it sounded like the world had ended.
The bombs exploded in a chain of thunder, rolling out across the clearing and shaking the ground above the well. Even protected as he was down here, Wild’s ears rang with the volume as he landed hard on his rump.
Huh. Turned out the well was dry at the bottom. So much for an easy landing.
Wild gently laid the green Four out on the ground and then for a moment just sat there, his eyes closed as he tried to steady his breathing. His heart felt like it was going to hammer out of his chest and he could feel his hands shaking with leftover adrenaline from the battle.
Okay. It was okay. It was safe now.
He exhaled a final, heavy breath and opened his eyes, peering around at his new surroundings. For all that it was dark and hung with shadows, the well was larger at its base than it appeared, with just about enough space for Wild and four versions of Four to sit without actively lying on top of each other.
Speaking of-
“So funny story.” The violently purple Four said. He was sitting closest to Wild and was twiddling his thumbs anxiously, a habit that Wild was sure he had seen Four exhibit before once or twice. “Did I ever mention I can split into four?”
What Wild wanted to say was “funny story? Funny story? Yeah I think I missed that particular little titbit. Also, sincerely, Smith: what the fuck?”
Of course, he couldn’t say any of that so he settled for tilting his head to the side and raising an eyebrow, rumbling as sarcastically as he could manage.
Apparently the blue Four agreed with this sentiment, as he leaned across where the red was cradling the still-unconscious form of the green and glared at the Four who had spoken. “Yeah, no offence, Vio? It’s no wonder you’re so bad at jokes if this is your idea of a funny story.”
Wow, okay, blue Four is rude.
“Aren’t you the one always telling me I’m too analytical? I’m just trying to soften the blow!” purple Four - or was it Vio? - bit back.
Blue looked like he was about to make one hell of a biting retort, but the red Four began to flap his hands in distress, looking up from the green. “Guys, not now!” he cried. “Green’s hurt and Wild’s probably freaking out and we don’t have time for you to fight about this! Neither of you have a good sense of humour, can we move on?”
Both the blue and purple Fours looked suitably cowed and they all looked around at Wild. Wild figured he might as well go with this and mewed, waving hello. Then - because it really was too dark to properly see and while he may not have had a lot of sign, he still used a lot of gestures to communicate - he pulled a bright bloom from his slate and threw it against the wall.
Ah, light.
Vio’s eyes widened a fraction. “That’s so cool! How-” He exclaimed, but was abruptly cut off as the red Four whacked his arm. “Oh. Right. Explanations. Okay.”
He cleared his throat, glancing up at Wild. Wild neatly folded his hands on his lap and tried to look attentive, because now that they were out of immediate danger he really wanted to know what was going on.
“So.” Vio said. “When we- when Link went on his second journey he got the Four Sword. And when he drew it, it… changed him. Split him apart. That’s what we are. We’re all Four, and Four is all of us. Each of us has different parts of his personality. Like me. I’m Four’s brains, but as Blue pointed out, I don’t really do well with tact.”
“Or jokes.” Blue supplied.
“I’m great at jokes!” Vio protested.
“GUYS.” Red interrupted. “Seriously!”
“Right.” Vio agreed. “Um. Yeah. So we’re all Four. Four is all of us. Usually we stay as Four, because, you know, we’re one person. Just sometimes we split into four. But we’re still the Four you know. Just separate.”
“Feel dizzy yet?” Blue asked drily.
Wild nodded. Yes, this was… a lot to take in.
Red smiled up at him. “Basically we’re all different parts of Four. Normally we all come together as one voice in his mind. But sometimes we start to come apart. Things get muddled and it’s better for us to split for a while.”
Wait. This sounded familiar. Wild racked his brain for the right sign and then lifted his hands “Portal?” he asked.
“Yeah!” Vio agreed. “That’s why we get so sick after portals, it’s like we all come apart inside our head and it’s pretty disorienting. That’s what we do when we disappear off after shifting. I know Wind and Legend think it’s to do with bowel movements, but we’re just taking ten minutes to split and get ourself together again.”
Wild nodded. He guessed that made sense.
Blue grinned. “It also comes in useful in fights like today. I can’t tell you how many people look at Link and think ‘oh a tiny little man-child, I bet I can take him’ and then PSYCHE, there’s FOUR of me.”
He looked so delighted at this story that Wild couldn’t help but rumble a laugh along with him. Okay sure. Four could split into four. He was them and they were him. Wild could deal with that. He looked over the three sets of brightly coloured eyes looking up at him and then his gaze rested on the unconscious Green.
Wild whined softly, reaching out and gently brushing against Green’s arm.
Red’s lower lip trembled. “The bublin hit him in the head.” he said quietly. “It was aiming for me, but Green jumped into the way. He just dropped and I caught him but he was out cold, he was just out! I killed the bublin but it was too late!”
Blue, despite his acerbic personality, reached over and put an arm around Red. “He’ll be fine.” he assured him. “He’s just taking a break. We’d know if there was anything more wrong, right, Vio?”
Vio, grimaced and shrugged. “I think so.” he said, although he didn’t seem completely convinced. “Wild do you have anything in your slate? We can’t join together again until he’s awake.”
Wild hummed. Most of his elixirs were for drinking, not topical applications. Still, he should have something. He tapped open his slate and flicked through it, hoping beyond hope that he had a fairy.
Yes! He so rarely caught them any more. Now that he had Hyrule at his side, it seemed fairly redundant to still catch fairies - not to mention he had started to wonder if it was a little cruel. He’d have to ask once he could properly speak. But no, there was one left in a little bottle, bobbing away and flickering brightly.
He uncorked the bottle and the fairy chimed cheerfully - maybe they didn’t mind being bottled? Hyrule would know. - and flitted over to Green, landing delicately on his head where blood was still oozing slowly from the gash across his eyebrow.
It chimed again and fluttered, and the skin began to knit itself together. The fairy glimmered triumphantly and flitted back to Wild, flying a few rings around him before disappearing up and out of the well.
Where he lay with his head propped on Red’s knee, Green groaned.
“Whaaasgoinon?” he slurred, eyes flickering but not quite managing to fully open.
“Green!” Red cried. “You’re okay! We were so worried! But Wild had a fairy and it fixed you up and it’s all going to be alright now.”
“Huh.” Green relaxed for a moment, his eyes shutting as he exhaled. Then his eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright. “Wild?! Ow, shit- ah-” he wavered and dropped backwards, caught only by Red and Blue grabbing his arms. He winced, bringing his hand up to his still bruised forehead, his skin pale. “What happened?” he hissed.
Wild whined in sympathy and pulled out a hearty elixir, passing it over to him.
“There were bublins hiding in the old cottage.” Vio explained. “And they attacked. And then we split, because there were a lot of them and we were outnumbered. And then Wild blew them all up and we ducked into the well to get away from the blast, and now we’re stuck down here because I don’t know if anyone’s noticed? But there isn’t exactly a ladder in this place.”
“Also.” Red added on. “We explained to Wild about us and splitting and the sword, and he’s totally chill about it. Right, Wild?”
Wild nodded and gave a double thumbs up. Green looked vaguely ill and his eyes weren’t exactly focused, but he still nodded and flashed Wild a faint smile. “Sweet. Now you can try and convince Legend and Wind that I’m not actually relieving myself every time we go through a portal.” he sipped at the elixir and pulled a face, but kept drinking nonetheless. “Ugh. Can these things never taste of anything good?”
Wild snorted. He supposed a fairy tonic would have tasted better, but he wanted to keep those for the next time he and Twi had a Night Out. And by that, he meant the next time they got absolutely off their faces sloshed.
Green grimaced as he finished the elixir and passed the bottle back to Wild. “So. Tell me you were joking about us being stuck down here.”
Wild looked at Vio. Red and Blue looked at Vio. Vio looked at his hands. “I mean.” he cleared his throat. “Maybe? I may have… not thought that far ahead?”
“Oh, for-” Blue began to say.
Vio threw his hands in the air. “You’re always telling me to be more impulsive!”
“Not like this!” Blue replied. “No wonder you and Shadow were so close, you’re both idiots.”
“Hey!” Vio glared all of a sudden, and while Wild didn’t know who Shadow was, he got the idea that he was a touchy subject for the purple Four. “That’s not fair.”
“Oh please.” Blue smirked. “He would have been wetting himself laughing at this situation and you know it. Damn gremlin.” there was a strange, thick tone of affection to his voice as he teased his - brother? Self? Other part? - and Vio smiled softly.
“Yeah.” he admitted. “But only because he could fly out. Oh! Hey Wild, can you do that cool through the ceiling yoink thing with your arm and get us out of here?”
Wild hummed and peered up. Although the wellshaft widened as it got deeper, there was nothing resembling a flat overhang for him to target. He grimaced and shook his head. There wasn’t even any chance of climbing out; the walls were too steep, too smooth, and to make things worse: it was starting to rain. There was nothing worse than trying to climb in the rain.
“Shit.” Blue said, and was lightly slapped by Vio as Green put his hand over a very confused Red’s ears. Blue looked at him, unamused. “Green. He’s me. He knows what swearing is.”
“Still.” Green chided, still slurring ever so slightly. “It’s the principle of the thing.” he sighed heavily, squinting up at the well. “Maybe we should join again. I’m not sure I can think this through like this, and it should be easier to get one person up than four.”
“Sounds good.” Vio glanced at Wild. “We’ll probably be a little woozy when we join up again, because of Green, but not as bad as he is now. Is that okay?”
Wild rumbled and nodded. He was a little concerned, he couldn’t lie. Sure, Vio said it would be fine, but Green didn’t look like he could walk right now, how would that affect him when he magically smashed himself into three other men and became one?
Or maybe it was more… elegant and refined than that. He needed to trust that Four knew what he was doing.
Sure. This would be fine. Whatever.
He gave a thumbs up and sat back to watch what happened next.
The four Colours reached across to each other, touching their hands together. There was a flash, but not quite a flash. More like a ripple in reality, like Wild had something in his eye. He blinked, and then there was Four, back in his normal particoloured tunic and with the Four Sword clutched in his hands.
“Ugh.” he groaned, slumping back against the wall of the well. “Din’s sweaty ass crack, my head hurts.”
Wild snorted and burst out laughing. He was worried about his brother, of course he was, but damn. That was a nasty swear.
He scooted over to Four’s side and carefully wrapped his tail around his back, supporting him as best he could. Four was pale and drawn, and his expression was pained, but his eyes were clearer than Green’s had been. He leaned into Wild, burrowing into his tunic
“I’m sorry about this.” he slurred quietly, his voice slightly muffled. “If I hadn’t been so damn eager to test out the sword - should have checked the shed was clear.”
Wild whined and shook his head, but Four grimaced.
“I know this is weird.” he admitted, adjusting himself so he could look up at Wild. He was gnawing on his lip the same way that Red had, twiddling his thumbs like Vio. Wild couldn’t help but rumble affectionately. The Colours were right: they really were all different parts of the Smith’s personality. “I- we were outnumbered, and it just seemed like the best option. Then we ended up down here. Shit.”
Wild gently headbutted him, whining and rumbling peace friend peace okay, even though he knew Four wasn’t animal enough to understand. He sighed, tilting his head instead and carefully touching the spot on his head where Green had been injured. The skin was smooth and unblemished, no outward sign of the injury.
Four grimaced. “Ugh.” he said, his eyes tinted purple. “Yeah. Injuries are weird. If I get hurt it might appear on all of the Colours or just a few or maybe just one. If one of them gets hurt I usually get a smaller version of the injury. It’s… I try not to think too hard about how it works, to be honest. I’m just glad that it does.”
Wild tilted his head and rumbled more insistently, tapping his brother’s head again. Four frowned and then blinked, his eyes returning to their more balanced grey. “Oh! Right, yeah. No, I’m fine, just a bit groggy. It still hurts a bit, but like a normal headache. I’ll be okay.”
Okay, well, Wild didn’t fully believe that, but he didn’t push it. He leaned back and squinted up, scooting closer to the wall to try and get out of the persistent drizzle that was starting to turn into full blown rain. He looked hopefully at the shaft of the well, hoping to find some sort of grip or overhang that he had somehow missed, but no such luck.
Then, in the distance, someone called out. Wild hummed and scrambled to his feet, tilting his head and listening carefully.
“Wild?” Four began to say, but Wild shushed him.
There it was again!
“Wild? Four?” it was distant, but it was recognisable. Time!
“We’re down here!” Wild called. Or tried to call. He had forgotten, once again, that he couldn’t speak, and instead gave an almighty yowl that echoed around the well and was massively amplified.
There was a pause, and then: “Wild? Is that you?”
“And me!” Four called, jumping to his feet and immediately stumbling. He would have fallen had Wild not anticipated this and darted his tail out, steadying him.
Yeah, maybe Hyrule was right. Maybe the Chain did have no sense of self preservation.
Four gripped onto Wild’s arm, steadying himself for a second. He shook his head and called out again. “We’re in the well!”
A few seconds later, a Time-shaped shadow appeared at the top of the well.
“Oh.” He said. “Hi guys. Whatcha doing in the well?”
“Trying to get out.” Four replied “Wild blew everything up so we had to go in here to shelter.”
Wild made as offended a sound as he could muster and flicked at Four. Four waved his hand in acknowledgement.
“Okay the blowing things up was my idea. There were a lot of monsters. But the point is we’re stuck down here.” He squinted up. “You got any rope?”
Time laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t worry, Smithy, I’ll get you out. Hang on-“
He disappeared for a second and then a thick coil of rope was unfurled down the shaft of the well. “Okay, it’s secure. Come on up!”
Wild rumbled and then looked down at Four. Four looked up at him in question. Wild narrowed his eyes.
There was absolutely no way that the Smith was in a fit state to be climbing ropes. Of course, there was also no way he would ever admit tho this. Wild sighed and signed a quick “sorry.”, and picked his brother up, slinging him over his shoulder.
“Hey!” Four screeched, kicking his legs into Wild’s chest. Which- ow. Ungrateful much? “What the hell are you doing?”
Wild just rumbled lightly in amusement and patted his back.
“All okay down there?” Came Time’s uncertain voice.
Wild rumbled an affirmative as Four said “Wild’s turning into Hyrule and I hate it.”
Wild chuffed in amusement and began to scale the rope. Judging by how Four groaned and kept his head down, he had finally realised that he wouldn’t have managed very well on his own. Good. At least he had stopped kicking.
When they reached the top, Time helped Four off of Wild’s shoulder so that he could climb over and onto solid ground. The Old Man was drenched, his hair plastered to his face, tunic clinging to his chest. He also was very clearly fighting to hold in his laughter, and it was a losing battle.
Wild looked around.
The clearing was scorched, trees blackened in every direction, foliage burned and destroyed. The cottage was reduced to rubble, although oddly enough, the scarecrow frame was still intact.
“So.” Time began once the two of them sat down and caught their breath. “I was just relaxing, doing my thing, when a fairy came up to me, chiming that five of my brothers were stuck down a well and needed help.”
“Uuhhhh.” Four began to say.
Time snorted and waved him off. “She meant, of course, Four plus one more person.” He demurred, his eyes twinkling in amusement. “You don’t have to explain anything else, Smithy. It’s not my business. Although…” he glanced around at the destroyed clearing. “Why exactly were you and Wild blowing up the forest?”
“UUUUUUHHHHHHH.” Four’s brain, all four parts of it, had apparently ground to a halt.
Wild rolled his eyes and lifted his hands. “Monsters. Many. Black blood.” Hey that was almost a sentence! He was doing great at this.
“Yeah.” Four said, coming out of his stupor. “Didn’t you guys hear the explosion?”
Time shrugged. “Figured it was a blacksmith thing. You make a lot of weird sounds in there Smithy.”
Four looked like he was going to argue, but apparently thought the better of it. “Yeah.” He said. “Yeah I guess that’s fair.” He pulled himself to his feet, bracing himself against the side of the wall and wincing. “Ugh, my head still aches though. What are the chances of you two not telling Hyrule about this?”
“None.” Wild signed.
“None whatsoever.” Time agreed, smiling. “Come on, let’s get in and get everyone dry. You can tell me about these black blooded monsters on the way. Idiots.”
Wild chuffed in amusement and stood, keeping a careful eye on Four as they went. The smithy seemed determined to walk rather than be carried, but was still a little unsteady on his feet and didn’t complain when Wild braced his tail against him
“Well.” Four began. “We were just going to test out a sword…”
-
Later that night, Wild found Four sitting alone in a window seat, looking out at the night sky. Most of the rest of the Chain had gone to bed, and those few still awake were in mother rooms, playing an extremely dubious card game invented by Wind. Wild suspected it was a scam to steal their money, but he wasn’t going to argue. It was kind of funny to see how much money Legend would lose before he caught on.
He purred softly to let his brother know he was there before he approached, perching on the edge of the window ledge. Four smiled, but refused to meet his eyes.
“Hey, Wild.” He murmured.
Wild rumbled softly and waved to get his attention.
“All good.” He signed. He’d been thinking through his limited vocabulary since coming back from the well, practising for this conversation. “You. Me. Four of you. All good. Friend. Brothers.”
It wasn’t the most coherent of sentences in the world, but it was the best he could manage. Hopefully Four would understand what he meant, that he was okay with the knowledge of Four’s different parts, that he trusted him.
Four flushed, worrying at his lip again as his eyes reflected red. Wild wondered if he knew that he did that, that the different colours of his emotions could be read so clearly in his eyes.
“Are you sure?” He asked in a very small voice. “I know it’s not… normal.”
Wild snorted and gestured to himself. He could hardly talk about normal, after all. Then he purred again. “Brothers.” He signed and then laughed. “But Purple Four has bad jokes.”
“Hey!” Four laughed, swatting at him. “I’m not that bad!”
Wild raised an eyebrow and then joined in on the laughter. Mission accomplished: for the first time since leaving the well, Four had finally begun to relax.
He purred again for good measure, letting his tail brush companionably against Four’s arm.
“Thanks, Wild.” He said quietly, looking up and meeting his eyes. “Really. Thanks.”
Wild purred again. No problem, he thought.
No problem.