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Before they met, Graham hadn't even contemplated the idea of parallel universes. The concept that there was someone exactly like him, but with a few changes, was something astounding.
After the magic mirror had caused their dimension hopping, and their eventual meeting, the four Grahams had adjusted to seeing each other without being so surprised by a mirror version of themselves.
To differentiate each other (because even while they had their different appearances, they looked relatively the same from a distance. Also, they couldn't just call each other Graham. They tried, for a while, and that had gotten confusing fast.) they assigned themselves to the seasons of their home dimensions - the seasons they were in before the whole universe-hopping situation occured.
Adventuring was a shared love of all four of them. So, after a bit of finagling with the magic mirror, they set off to explore Autumn's forests. Autumn insisted the deep woods of his world were ripe with all sorts of uncharted sights. They were Autumn's comfort place, where he felt free and alive.
They trekked, and they talked. It was fun, having people who knew you, but only slightly. Between the four of them, their lives were surprisingly varied. Winter talked of many goblin sightings. Spring wandered endlessly in search of something new. Summer had much to say about his old adventuring crew. And Autumn, while mostly keeping tight-lipped, said a bit about his past adventures being wild and often unpredictable.
The sun was starting to set, so the four of them set up camp in a roadside clearing. They lit a campfire and settled down.
Autumn leaned back, "Hm, I realize I can't remember the last time I've gotten a good night's sleep. Like a really good night's sleep."
Winter looked up at the stars, which were slowly popping up one by one, "Then I hope we get a lot of rest tonight. We'll need it for the road ahead."
Spring tucked himself in early, with Winter following after. Summer stood up, but then turned back to Autumn.
"Are you going to bed soon?" Summer asked.
Autumn grimaced, "I don't think I'll be able to sleep."
Summer's expression fell. He scooted next to Autumn. "Why's that?"
Autumn rubbed his temples, "I don't know, I just feel so... So off, tonight," He started counting on his fingers, checking off items on a mental checklist.
"Do you need me to stay up with you?" Summer offered. Sure, he did need the sleep, but this felt more important.
Autumn, however, shook his head. "No, no, I... I don't wanna do that to you. I can just..." Autumn looked to the sky, and his expression formed into one of dread. He stumbled to his feet.
Summer reached out, "Where are you going?"
"I- I need to do something. I'll be back tomorrow morning, no need to worry," Autumn waved goodbye, "You should get some rest!"
And then Autumn disappeared into the thick shrubbery.
Too stunned to ask, Summer stood up, and crawled into the tent. He could ask in the morning.
-+-
With all the tossing and the turning, the constant adjusting of his position, and the occasional accidental bumping into one of the other Grahams, Summer realized one thing;
This couldn't wait until morning.
Summer donned his cape and adventuring cap, then followed in the direction Autumn had gone in. Fortunately, Autumn had left a slight trail in the branches he had rushed through.
As Summer trekked through the woods, he noticed the trail of came to a stop, yet there was no sign of life anywhere.
Then Summer heard rustling... Then a snap and a yelp, followed by pained howling. He rushed towards the source of the sound, and found a wedzel wolf, caught in a metal snare.
Summer took one step. The wedzel wolf growled upon Summer's approach, baring its teeth, but feral fear behind its eyes. The wolf tried to step back, but stumbled and whined at the pain in its leg.
Despite part of his mind nagging at him to leave while the wolf was still trapped so he wouldn't be mauled, Summer couldn't bear the thought of ignoring the issue. He just hoped Autumn wasn't in a time-constrained situation - because this could take a while.
First step was to quell the beast's fear. Summer took in a little advice from what Royal Guard Number Two had said to him. (During some random conversation on a particularly dull work day, No.2 had started rambling about the animal traps around the forest and how ridiculously easy they were to disarm. No.2 also said not to tell No.1, and Summer hadn't, for the most part.)
He unclipped his cape, then threw it over the wedzel's eyes. The wolf yelped, pawing at the ground out of stress. Eventually, out of exhaustion, the wolf calmed down.
Summer then knelt down next to the trap, and studied the mechanism. A puzzle, in dim lighting, at a little past midnight, was not what he planned. A challenge to wake the brain was good for him, Summer told himself. It was something he sometimes told Link and Guybrush, during those moments where he was the only one enthusiastic about a potential puzzle.
The springs loosened, and the trap opened. Without hesitation, the wedzel stumbled out of the trap, then shook off Summer's cape.
Summer fumbled with the clip on his cape, snapping it on just in time to see the wolf digging its muzzle into a thornbush. Bringing his lantern closer, Summer swore he saw something... Something red and blue.
He gasped. Then, without thinking, Summer plunged his hand into the bush, ignoring the "thorn" part, and fishing out just what he expected.
A blue, feathered cap, and a red cape with a maple leaf brooch on it. Autumn had been here.
Dread swept over Summer like a fog over his shoulders. Where had Autumn gone? Why was Autumn in such a hurry to leave last night? He said he was going to come back, but if his clothes were here, then...
Summer felt claws on his leg, and looked down to see the wolf was trying to leap up and grab Autumn's clothes. Summer stood on the tips of his toes, trying to keep Autumn's belongings safe.
Summer walked at a brisk pace, making his way back to camp, but when he turned around, he realized the wolf was following him. He took a winding, confusing path, that Summer himself almost got lost in, in hopes of losing the wolf's trail.
He reached the clearing, knees weak but yet still restless.
The bushes behind him rustled. Summer fumbled for his bow. Somehow, despite its injury, the wedzel wolf had made its way through the forest.
Summer had led a wolf to their campsite.
The beast snarled at Summer, then made its way towards their food storage. In a panic, Summer did the only thing on his mind. He threw Autumn's cape over the wolf, to quell the beast. To his surprise, it worked instantaneously.
What he didn't expect, however, was for the wolf to start howling in agony. Summer stumbled backwards, as he saw the wolf grow in size, its fur receding, and its howling starting to sound more... Human.
"Agh... Ow... Oh that's so much worse with an injury, so much worse."
Summer leapt to his feet, "Autumn?!"
Autumn gave a toothy grin and a half-wave. "Ah, um... Hi."
Without warning, Summer threw his arms around Autumn, "Oh, I'm just glad you're alive!"
Autumn chuckled. He tugged at his cowl, "And I'm surprised the myths about 'throwing werewolves their human clothing' are true."
"Wait..." Summer's face went through a whole range of emotions as he processed what Autumn had just said. "Wait... you're- how long- I mean I- but you didn't- I just-"
"You have a lot of questions?" Autumn smirked.
Summer nodded vigorously.
"I'll gladly answer them! While my leg gets patched up, of course," Autumn hisses as he balances his weight on his uninjured leg. The injured one is red and wounded, and notably is still a wolf leg. "I can't turn back all the way when I'm hurt, I learned."
"Turn back... Human?" Summer takes a guess.
Autumn itches his half-fluffy face. "Yeah, that's one way to put it," He screws his cap onto his head, "Can you get the-"
"First aid? Yeah, I'll... I'll go find it," Summer trailed off. Sure, he wasn't unfamiliar with magic and curses - adventuring with a pirate and a hylian tended to lead him into that kind of thing quite often. Seeing Autumn, however, made Summer wonder just how much magic was in the others' worlds.
The tent opened before Summer could even touch it, and out popped Winter, displeased with the early awakening. Spring was still curled up, instinctively turning away from the light outside.
Winter yawned, "I heard growling, is everything alright?"
Summer shrugged, "More or less." He snatched up the first aid kit.
Winter rubbed his eyes, "Hey is that... Autumn-?"
"Uh..." Summer looked at Autumn, whose tail was wagging, and who had a mostly cheerful outlook despite his situation. "I'll explain in the morning," Summer gave a forced smile, before closing the tent.