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Wild knew that he should have expected this. It was a fair reaction. It made sense. If their positions were reversed, if one of his brothers were in his shoes and had done what he had done, Wild would probably be doing the same thing.
Still. It was a little overboard, in his opinion.
He’d only been dead for like, an hour.
It had been a normal day like any other. No, scratch that, it had been better than normal. It had been a great day. The sun had been shining and despite the cool autumn morning they had all stripped their cloaks and coats to enjoy the rare day of quiet sunshine. They were crossing a wide expanse of wetlands, the sunlight reflecting off of the water in a bright glimmer. All of their boots and socks were soaked through but despite a few token complaints, no one much minded.
Everyone had been happy and high spirited, cracking jokes and grinning and messing about. Wild wasn’t even that surprised when Wind grabbed the slate from his hip, cackled and dashed off, waving it in the air in the world’s most childish game of ‘keep away’ he could manage.
It had become a group game, everyone else laughing and running up with the sole purpose of messing with Wild. Wild himself had crowed in laughter, dashing after his little brother. When he had been about to catch Wind, the sailor tossed the slate to Wars, who nimbly caught it and took over running away, cackling all the time. Wild couldn’t help but laugh; his brothers would never do anything deliberately cruel, after all, and it wasn’t like the slate could be easily damaged.
Still, he might have cussed them out just a little. Didn’t really matter, he reasoned; it all came out as rumbles anyway.
Wars threw the slate to Hyrule, who threw it to Twilight, who Wind feared for a moment would give it back to Wild. But the Rancher just threw it back to Wind, sticking his tongue out at his brother while the others howled in laughter, and Wind bolted off again.
It was a good day.
And then, because they were all Links and Links have the luck of a particularly unfortunate river snail, it all went wrong.
There was an ambush. A dozen black blooded lizalfos, stronger and smarter than they should have been. A scuffle, confusion, and then Wild had leapt in front of Wind just in time to stop the sailor from being impaled.
So then, action met consequences. Wild was impaled instead. And then, very quickly, he died.
Like he said: oops.
Ever since the Champions’ souls had finally moved on, Wild had lost all access to all of their powers. All of them, except for Mipha’s. It was her final blessing, a gift of a small part of her Grace, permanently lodged in his soul. It didn’t heal him as instantly as it had before, nor did it leave him fully healed and rejuvenated as it once had. It saved him from the brink of death, it took time to do so.
But it still saved him.
So yeah, he got why everyone was so upset.
When Wild woke up an hour later, his body hurt. He still had plenty of injuries, not to mention the massive slash across his chest which Mipha had only closed enough to bring him back to life. His muscles were aching and stiff from battle and his scars felt like they were going to crawl off of his body.
So he’d done what anyone would do in that situation. He’d whined in pain. It wasn’t intentional, it was just a reflex. He certainly hadn’t intended to scare the living daylights out of everyone within a ten foot radius.
To be honest, if he hadn’t been so sore it would have been kind of funny.
Wind, who had been curled into his side and softly crying, screamed and jumped three feet in the air. Twilight, who had been clutching his hand and refusing to leave his side, jerked backwards so violently that the prosthetic came clean off, which of course only panicked him more, and he fell backwards onto his rump.
Oops.
Wild had just laid there, too tired to really move much and watching as the chaos unfolded before him. Almost immediately his brothers swarmed around him, shouting and asking questions, all of them looking about as terrible as Wild felt. It was only when Hyrule shoved his way through and signed something that looked deeply threatening that they all backed down and let him examine Wild in peace.
To be honest, Wild was glad of the momentary quiet. Hyrule patiently and methodically checked him over, healing the worst of his wounds with his magic and then passing him a red potion to help with the rest. He would still need to take it easy for a day or two, until the aches in his limbs and chest subsided and his scars stopped burning. Knowing Hyrule, the Chain would be banned from moving on until Wild was recovered. Honestly? That didn’t sound so bad.
He was so busy relaxing into the cool sensation of his brother’s healing magic that he almost jumped out of his skin when Hyrule tackled him into a bone-splitting hug. Wild may have let out a strangled yowl of surprise but hugged the Traveller back, purring reassuringly as he nuzzled into his hair.
Finally Hyrule pulled away, knuckling tears from his eyes. “Idiot.” he signed, going slow so that Wild would understand. “Never again?”
Wild nodded. He absolutely did not intend for this to happen again, hadn’t even wanted it to happen this time. Useful as Mipha’s Grace was, he didn’t actually enjoy having to use it.
Hyrule sighed, smiling broadly through his tears. He shook his head and gently punched him in the arm. “You good? Sore?”
Wild grunted. “Tired. Sore.”
Hyrule nodded. “Rest.” he turned and pointed over to one side, where Twilight had been making up Wild’s bedroll. The Rancher had not only managed to get all of the blankets and pillows from his slate, but he had apparently scavenged the packs of the rest of the Chain. The result looked less like a bedroll for camping in the woods and more like the sleeping arrangements of a very pampered prince.
Don’t get him wrong, Wild wasn’t complaining. He loved a cosy bed. Just… damn, Twilight.
He whined and held out his arms - well, arm, given that Twi was still holding the prosthetic - to ask for help. The nest was only a few feet away, but Wild’s limbs were still stiff and sore and he honestly wasn't sure if he could make it over there on his own. Not to mention he was pretty sure that Hyrule would kill him if he tried. Again.
Twilight carefully set the prosthetic down and hurried over to help, supporting Wild as he manoeuvred over to the blanket pile. Wild groaned as he flopped down and Twi sat right beside him, letting Wild lean against him for support, holding on tight to his hand.
The real hand, that is. The prosthetic was still set safely to the side.
“Okay?.” Twi signed, pulling Wild in closer as Hyrule went to update the Chain on how he was doing.
Wild nodded and rumbled. He really was okay. He was alive, after all, and Hyrule had healed almost everything else. Still, he felt pretty guilty for causing his brothers so much stress in the hour that it had taken him to come back. It had honestly never occurred to him to tell his brothers about Mipha’s Grace, and even if it had he wouldn’t have been able to. There was no way they could have known, no way he could have let them know it would be alright.
He twisted around and nuzzled at Twilight’s head.
Safe brother safe sorry
Twilight gently butted his head back. Safe brother okay safe safe safe.
“Are you two gonna just sit there making weird animal huffs at each other or can someone else join in?”
Wild jumped and looked around to see Legend standing in front of him, one hand on his hip, the other holding the collar of a very excited Wind. Wild hummed, tilting his head to one side.
Legend rolled his eyes. “Hyrule told us you’re fine, but said only a few people can bother you at a time. The gremlin here declared he was going to die if he didn’t get to see you - which, poor choice of words, to be honest - so I’m here to supervise.”
“Wild, I thought you were dead!” Wind cried, unsuccessfully trying to wriggle out of Legend’s grasp. “We all did! For a full hour!”
Wild chuffed lightly, that guilty feeling welling up in his chest again. He pushed the feeling down. It had happened. It had sucked. But it would be alright now.
Instead he held out his stump, Twilight clutching his good hand once again, and wiggled it in invitation.
That was apparently all that Wind needed, as he finally tore away from the Veteran and dove towards Wild's side, burying himself in his fur. “I was so scared.” he whispered, his voice slightly muffled. “And I’m so glad you’re back.”
Wild purred softly in comfort as Legend sat down beside them. “We all thought the same.” he admitted. “Even Hyrule, and he generally knows the difference between alive and dead. Is that just something your people do? Shut down when you’re badly injured so you can heal?”
Huh. Wild considered for a moment. He supposed it wasn’t the wildest leap of logic ever. He supposed it was a more sane assumption than ‘my dead fiance’s ghost gave me a blessing of healing but only for when I do something stupid enough to get me killed, cause apparently she knew what I was like and that I would need that’.
He shrugged and then nodded. It wasn’t exactly true, but it would do as an explanation until he improved his sign enough to explain. It would be fine.
Legend rolled his eyes. “Okay, well, thanks for the heart attack you gave us. Maybe try not to go into cat-shutdown mode next time, yeah?”
Wild nodded weakly, purring in apology. Wind poked his side. “Legend’s just cranky cause he had to admit he likes you. He cried so hard.”
“So did you, you little shit!”
“Yeah, and at least I’ll admit to it!”
“I admit to it just fine!” Legend turned to look at Wild again. “I’m really glad you’re alive Wild. For a while there I thought we were gonna have to go back to Twilight’s cooking and-”
Twilight picked up a pillow and threw it at him, and legend ducked out of the way, laughing and holding his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay! I’m glad you’re not dead. Happy?”
Wild chuffed again and freed his hand from Twi’s grasp just long enough to make his best attempt at another sign. “Love you too, Legend.”
Legend flushed and blustered and said something about ‘dumb brothers’, but that was okay. Wild was tired now, could feel the exhaustion of the day washing over him as he relaxed back again. He was surrounded by his brothers. He was safe. He was alive. He drifted into sleep, purring softly as he did.
-
Over the next few days, Wild was never alone. He understood and he appreciated it: he was still pretty bruised and weak enough that he didn’t even protest his enforced bed-rest. But still. It was a little grating that he had to try and mime to his brothers that ‘no, really, I can go to the toilet on my own, thank you very much’.
Twi was the worst for this, but also, in a sense, the best. The rancher determinedly stuck by his side day and night, checking that he was comfortable and had everything he needed. Given how often Wild needed to smear salve on his scars, it felt like a blessing to have someone right there who could get the ones he just couldn’t reach on his back.
The rest kept up a near constant rotation, some of his brothers chattering pleasantly to Wild and Twilight, some sitting quietly in their company as they went about their business.
Sky was one of the first to join him the next morning, chatting softly about whatever popped into his head as he fiddled with the hilt of the Master Sword. There was something odd about his demeanour, more than just the general ‘my brother came back from the dead’ vibes that the rest were giving off. He blushed as he spoke and Twilight seemed to be teasing him about something. Whatever it was, though, Wild’s sign wasn’t strong enough to understand and he couldn’t ask Sky to explain, and half the morning had gone by before Wild finally found out why.
Warriors plonked himself down beside their little group, grinning and passing Wild a cup of tea. “Morning Wild, Twi.” he greeted, grinning. “Godslayer keeping you company?”
Wild blinked. Twilight snorted. Sky made a very undignified “Uuuuh.” sound.
Warriors burst out laughing. “Wait, wait, Wild.” he began. “Has no one told you about Sky’s fit of rage yesterday?”
Wild shook his head and mewed curiously while Sky began to wave his hands in protest.
“No,” he protested. “Absolutely not, this is not a story, guys. Come on.”
Twilight apparently disagreed, shifting enough as he signed so that Wild could just make out a delighted “SCARY!”
Sky groaned, his cheeks flaming bright red.
Oh this was going to be good.
Warriors snorted. “So yesterday - you know, when we all thought you were dead - it was a bad time.” For a moment a shadow crossed his face and he grimaced. “It was… it was really bad. We all thought- anyway! I gave the order to retreat. There were too many of them and we had to get your body to- We had to get away. But when I said that Sky just - well, not looked at me, but you know what I mean. And he was so, so angry. I’ve seen a lot of angry people in my life and never like that. And Godslayer here just lifts his sword and says ‘I once tore a god limb from limb. These bastards aren’t getting away with this’.”
Sky moaned in embarrassment, burying his head in his hands while Twilight giggled in delight and Warriors grinned, raising his right hand. “Hand up to Hylia, it was the single most badass thing I have ever seen. And then he just plunged into battle, just swinging madly and taking on all of the monsters at once. So obviously the rest of us joined in, couldn’t let him do something that stupid on his own, after all. But Sky still took out about half of the monsters single handed. It was insane.”
From behind his hands, Sky groaned. “Please never scare us like that again, Wild.” He pleaded. “I don’t think I can take it.”
Wild rumbled softly and reached out to gently take Sky’s hand. He couldn’t very well make eye contact, after all, but he wanted his brother to know that he was making a promise. That he would do his best not to put him through this again. Instead he pulled the Chosen Hero into a hug, letting Sky bury his face in his fur. After a few moments, Warriors joined in too, pulling Twilight with him.
“New family rule.” The Captain murmured into his hair. “No dying, however temporary. Agreed?”
Wild laughed. Yeah, he could agree to that.
-
No matter how hard he protested, no one would let him cook. Wild understood why: he was barely strong enough to sit up unsupported, there was no way he was going to be able to produce a meal for nine people. Still, he absolutely refused to eat anything made by the rest of them. He was already feeling rough enough as it was, he didn’t need to get food poisoning on top of that because Hyrule thought he should help out and cook for them.
Thank Hylia for his slate and its ability to store vast quantities of hot food. Without it, Wild was fairly certain he would have starved. And no, he wasn’t being dramatic. After being thoroughly assured that the Smith would not try and tamper with it, he happily showed Four how to access the food section on that first day. Four seemed to delight in his temporary position of responsibility, fascinated with the slate’s abilities.
“This is so cool.” Four confided as he settled down beside Wild on the evening after the battle. He gestured to his own meal, a cheesy meat and rice bowl freshly produced from the slate. His eyes were tinted with purple as he spoke, turning the bowl this way and that as if inspecting it. “I don’t have a clue how this is possible, it’s like you just made it there now!”
Wild shrugged and rumbled softly, picking up his chopsticks. He hadn’t a clue how it worked either, but he would happily throw Four at Purah when they finally got to his era. Something told him the two would like each other.
They sat in companionable silence, and when Four had finished his meal he sighed and leaned gently against Wild.
“I don’t know what we would have done without you.” he admitted quietly. “You’re family.”
-
The third night after the battle, Wild woke up with a start.
It was full dark, the stars bright overhead and the crackling of the fire the only sound, save for Hyrule’s snoring a few feet away. The camp was asleep. To his left, Twilight was quietly snoring, and on his right Wind had rolled over from where he had been buried in his side, mouth hanging open. Wild’s scars were itching and his limbs felt stiff and uncomfortable from how long he had spent curled up in his bedroll. He needed to get up, to stretch and move around.
Slowly, he pushed back the layers of blankets and began to pull himself upright, careful not to jostle his brothers. They had been doing so much to look after him recently, they deserved some uninterrupted sleep for once. Not to mention, on a more selfish level, Wild desperately wanted a few minutes to move around without someone lingering at his side.
He stepped towards the campfire and shook himself off, stretching to test out his limbs. His joints were stiff and he felt slightly unbalanced, but that could be more to do with the fact that he wasn’t wearing his prosthetic than anything else. He sighed heavily, leaning back to crack his back.
“Wild?”
He turned around, yipping in surprise. Of course, Time was on watch. The Old Man was sitting on the other side of the fire, fiddling with one of his packs. He was in just his tunic and looked tired as he smiled softly over at him. He shuffled where he sat on an overturned log, making space for Wild and inviting him to come over.
Wild rumbled softly, embarrassed at having been caught sneaking about. Well, not really sneaking, but after three days of bed rest, even walking around the campsite at night felt illicit. He went to join his brother nonetheless, rumbling in greeting and flicking him with his tail.
Time had been the only one not to crowd him over the past few days. He had spoken to him, of course, had hugged him tight and said how glad he was to have him back, but other than that he had given him space and Wild was glad of that. He didn’t begrudge his brothers their reactions, of course not, but he needed space to breathe as well. Time seemed to understand that.
“It’s good to see you up.” the Old Man said as Wild perched beside him. “Wild, I-” he cleared his throat, glancing away. “Can I ask a question?”
Something in Time’s tone made Wild look up from where he had been kneading at his sarong. The Old Man was looking at him with a mixture of uncertainty and apprehension, his eye glimmering in the firelight.
Wild swallowed, and nodded.
Time sighed. “Wild… what happened - you dying and coming back. That’s not really something that people in your era can do, is it?”
Oh. Wild supposed he shouldn’t be that surprised that the Old Man had seen through the lie, shoddy as it had been. From the way Time spoke, he already knew the answer to his question, but Wild shook his head anyway, looking back down at the ground. He lifted his hands to sign, wishing that he could explain properly but knowing that he just didn’t have the vocabulary. He chewed his lip, thinking, and Time waited in patient silence,
“Gift.” he settled on at last. It didn’t get across the importance of who Mipha had been to him or the miracle that was her gift of Grace, but it would have to do. He pressed a hand to his heart to emphasise how valuable it was, how important he knew such a thing could be. How important he knew that Mipha had been.
Time exhaled through his nose and nodded, his expression distant. Finally he smiled, putting an arm around Wild’s shoulders. Of all the Chain, he was the only one close in height to Wild, and it made a hug from him a little different to the others. Time could properly encircle his arms around the Champion, could pull him into a hug without risking being crushed by Wild’s sheer size. It wasn’t often in this body that he got to feel like someone else was holding him, but Time could manage it.
“That’s some gift.” he spoke quietly, slowly and rhythmically stroking Wild’s hair. “I’m not saying you should get in a situation to use it again. Ever. But whoever it was that gave you such a gift- they have my gratitude.”
Wild rumbled softly, snuggling into his big brother - because heights be damned, Time really was the big brother to all of the Chain. Sometimes more of a father, even. Time sighed.
“I know it isn’t always easy.” Time murmured into his hair. “We can’t always communicate, although we’re getting better. But you’re one of us. You’re family. When you- it was like a piece of us was missing. Like we’d been shattered. And I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
Wild rumbled softly, burrowing even closer as Time let out a brief laugh.
“Not to mention, Wind was panicking about how he’d break the news to the people of Cat Island. I think he’s forgotten he made that up.”
Wild giggled into Time’s tunic. Of course that’s where Wind’s head had gone. How to break it to his family and friends. His heart swelled with affection for his little brother.
They sat there for a while, listening to the crackle of the fire and each others’ breathing, content to just sit. Then Time patted his arm and straightened.
“I’ll tell the others to lay off you tomorrow. For now, though, I’d recommend you get back to bed before Twi notices you're missing and starts to panic. Okay?”
Wild nodded and purred, lightly brushing Time with his tail in gratitude.
“Night, Wild.”
Wild waved and crept silently back to his nest of blankets. Wind had started to snore by the time he arrived, but Twilight was awake, watching him through tired, half-lidded eyes. He wiggled as Wild lay down, the gesture more wolf than human.
Okay, brother? He asked sleepily as Wild snuggled up to him.
Okay brother Wild replied, rumbling softly. Safe, safe.
Safe. Twilight agreed, yawning and drifting back to sleep. Brother. Family. Safe.